Lovesessed (8 page)

“
I know,” I said
automatically.

He looked at me quickly.

“
I mean, you talk about a
girl with green eyes in your song ‘Love Struck,’” I
stammered.

“
Yes, I think that I must
have written that song for you. I knew you were out there, and now
I’ve found you.” He took my hand and kissed it like in the
movies.

I giggled. “So, which school do you go
to?” I asked, as we walked out of class. Everyone waited for us to
get up and go fist, even though we had been sitting in the
back.

“
I don’t go to school,” he
replied straight-faced.

“
You’re so lucky! I wish
that I didn’t have to go to school.”

He laughed. “I’m home-schooled, I mean,
we have tutors who come with us on the road. Sometimes I miss going
to a regular school.”

“
I think that everyone at
my school would sell their parents to trade places with you.” I
noticed that “everyone” was stepping aside so that we could walk
without being bumped. I couldn’t help but notice all the eyes
watching us.

“
I’m missing out on school
life, like sports, extra-curricular activities, and friends. I love
my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very lucky. But sometimes, I miss
just being a normal teenager.” He looked at the floor. “That’s one
of the reasons why I’m so looking forward to the dance, because
I’ve never been to a school dance.”

“
You’ve never been to a
school dance?” I realized how shocked I sounded.

He shook his head. It was unexpected to
see him look so sad.

“
I thought that you would
be so happy because of your fame. I thought that your life was
perfect in every way. Celebrities seem so different, but I guess
deep down, they’re just normal people.”

“
We are pretty normal,
well almost,” he joked.

“
It had never occurred to
me that there might be any downside at all to fame, but I guess not
being able to leave you house without being mobbed would
suck.”

“
That is the worst part
for me. Our fans are the best, and we owe them everything, but I’ve
lost my normal life.”

“
Normal is boring. Your
life must be so wonderful,” I said dreamily.

“
It is, but there is a
downside. It’s difficult to even go out to eat at a restaurant. If
I want to go to the movies, I have to sneak in after the
commercials when it’s dark, and then leave before the lights come
up.”

“
Wow, I had no idea,” I
said genuinely surprised.

“
Once, my brothers and I
got chased down the street by a crowd of screaming fans. We had to
hide in an alley until they ran past. It was pretty scary, because
some fans take it a bit too far. They grab your clothes and hair,
anything they can, just to get a piece of you. They don’t even know
us, but they fall in love with what they see on TV or in magazines.
They don’t really love us as people. They love the image or idea of
us.”

A feeling of stupidity washed over
me for being one of those crazy fans, who fell in love with
someone that she didn’t know from a bar of soap. But I really
had felt like I was in love. Maybe it was just a crush. Now that he
so completely in love with me, I didn’t feel in love with him. I
mean, he was still totally gorgeous and really sweet, but it felt
like he was a stranger. We didn’t have years of history together,
like Ben and I.

I felt like the most popular girl in
school. I always wondered how it felt to be envied, or even noticed
by everyone. Everyone smiled at me, and wanted to talk to me. I
even heard a few girls saying that they wished they were me. It
felt so good to be noticed for a change, and to feel special. Being
a celebrity, Chase must have felt so special all the time. I’d
always wanted to be famous, but I didn’t have a talent. I’d always
wanted to be a model, but 5 feet 2 is way too short. I even stopped
drinking coffee when I heard that caffeine stunted your growth. I’d
probably still grow a lot more, but not enough to be a model. I
knew that was the closest I’d probably get to being a celebrity,
and it felt amazing. I resolved to enjoy my 15 minutes of fame
while it lasted. I finally knew how it felt to be Rachel or
Amber.

I didn’t get to talk to Ben or Liz much
for the rest of the day. But Liz had a grin stuck on her face as
she gave me a few thumbs up signs. I think that she was happier
about her Chemistry experiment working, than about Chase being in
love with me. On the other hand, Ben looked like his cat had just
died. Amber kept giving me deaths stares whenever I looked at her,
but I just smiled.

#

When I got home from school, my mom was
in the kitchen. “A package was delivered for you about an hour ago.
It looks really expensive,” she said, clearly dying to know what it
was and who it was from.

I wondered if it was another
Valentine’s gift, but it was better. It was a gorgeous evening gown
and gold strappy sandals for me to wear to the dance. The gown was
emerald green, how ironic. I was relieved that it had been sent,
because I had just planned to wear my purple cotton halter dress
that sat just above my knees. There was also a bottle of extremely
expensive French perfume called “Étoile.” I assumed that it meant
“Star,” because there were little shining stars all over the
bottle.

#

I spent the rest of the afternoon
pampering myself and making sure that all the little details were
taken care of for the dance. I applied an avocado face mask, even
though I hate avocado, except in guacamole. Ironic I know. I even
placed two slices of cucumber over my eyelids. I had no clue what
the cucumber was supposed to do, but they always did it in the
movies. I also painted my fingernails and toenails with red nail
polish, so that I looked extra glamorous. I had a long soak in a
bubble bath and washed my hair. I could have been mistaken for a
prune when I finally emerged.

“
It’s party time,” Rachel
announced, bursting into my room holding a hairdryer, straighter, a
hairbrush, and a comb.

“
Whoa, is all of that
really necessary?” I asked, intimidated by her arsenal of styling
weapons.

“
Absolutely darling,
beauty is pain,” she said too excitedly.

“
You would
know.”

She sat me down by my dressing table.
First, she blow dried my hair with the big roller brush. As she did
it, she kept glancing at my face in the mirror as though she was
confused. When she was finished, my hair was smooth and
slinky.

“
Phoebes, I was wondering
something…”

I had been expecting the inevitable
questions as to why a famous teen idol was my date for the dance.
“Yes?” I asked innocently.

“
Aren’t you going to tell
me what’s going on?”

“
I don’t know what you
mean.” If in doubt, feign ignorance.

“
What I mean is why is the
lead singer of Carson taking you to the dance?”

I knew that there was no use hiding it.
She wouldn’t give up. She would interrogate me until she broke me.
So I gave in, and told her everything. She almost burnt me with the
hot iron when I told her about the love potion. I wasn’t sure if it
was accidental, or deliberate as a punishment. I hoped
accidental.

“
I know that as a
responsible big sister I should tell you that what you did was
wrong. But, I think it’s kind of cool.”

“
You do?” I asked
surprised. I wasn’t expecting that.

“
Yes. I think you should
show Amber and everybody else just how special you are.”

“
Promise you won’t tell
Mom.”

“
I promise. I just told
her that a wealthy guy from school is taking you to the dance, so
that explained the gifts that were delivered.”

“
You’re the best sister
ever.”

“
Your hair looks stunning,
if I do say so myself.”

“
Thanks, I wish you could
come.”

“
I had my Valentine’s
Dance when I was a freshman. At least I have prom to look forward
to.”

“
You’ll definitely be prom
queen.”

“
We’ll see. Bye Phoebes,
I’m going to the movies with some friends.”

“
Have fun
Rach.”

“
Have the time of your
life.” She winked.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves,
and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked taller and thinner,
and my features more striking.

I put on the gold charm bracelet that I
now knew was real, and the matching gold strappy sandals. My
make-up was very “old Hollywood” as the beauty magazine called it.
I used black liquid eyeliner on my eyelids that I finally managed
to get straight, mascara that was supposed to lengthen my lashes, a
hint of blusher on the apples of my cheeks, and red lipstick for a
“kissable” pout. I loved pictures of old Hollywood stars from the
forties, like Marilyn Monroe and Ava Gardener. They always looked
so glamorous with their matching red nails and lips. That was the
look I was going for, and I think that I achieved it. I never knew
that I could look glamorous like them. I felt like I was going to a
red carpet event like the Oscars or the Grammys.

Liz was going to the dance with Nathan,
the “frog boy.” I liked to make up names for people, based on the
first thing that popped into my head when I thought of them. Like
if you see a guy who wears really baggy pants, you’ll call him
“baggy pants guy.” With Nathan, it’s the rescuing of the Biology
frogs that I always think of. I’m not the only one who associated
frogs with him. He’d actually become famous at our school for that.
Liz really was an animal rights activist, and after she heard about
how Nathan saved the frogs, she started to like him. I felt bad
because Ben asked me, and I didn’t give him an answer, and the next
moment I was going with Chase. But I was sure that Ben would
understand. That’s what friends are for.

I jumped when I heard a knock on the
door. My heart stopped for a second. I looked out my window, and
there was a limousine in the driveway. I hadn’t expected a limo,
but I should have known that teen idols always travel in limos. I
knew that everyone at Two Oceans High was going to go crazy when I
arrived in a limo with Chase Carson.

*****

8. A Star

“
Phoebe,
you are so beautiful that you give the sun a reason to
shine.”
Chase gazed at me, and
despite his cheesy line, for the first time in my life, I really
felt beautiful.

“
Thank you,” I smiled
shyly. “You look great.” That was an understatement because he
looked more than great, he looked amazing, like a superstar. He was
wearing designer dark denim jeans with a long sleeve green collared
shirt that matched my dress. He had left the first few buttons
open, like celebrities do, and it wasn’t tucked in. He topped it
off with a really expensive looking chocolate brown leather jacket,
and matching brown shoes. He also had sunglasses on, which he took
off when he saw me. He could easily have been going to the Teen
Choice awards, instead of a silly high school Valentine’s dance. I
knew that I was so lucky to have him as my date, but there was
something missing. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Chase opened the shiny black limo door
for me, even though the driver had gotten out. His bodyguards were
following us in a black SUV. Thank goodness they weren’t riding
with us, because they scared me to death. You definitely didn’t
want to mess with them.

I had never seen the inside of a limo
before, and it was better than I had imagined. There were rows of
soft white leather seats, and a fluffy white carpet. There was a
plasma TV with huge speakers, and even a mirror ball hanging from
the ceiling.

“
Would you like a glass of
non-alcoholic champagne?” He held up a bottle.

“
Yes please.” My mouth
always got really dry like sandpaper when I’m nervous.

He popped the cork, and the champagne
didn’t soak us like I had expected.

Chase was sitting very close to me, and
it made me feel like I couldn’t breathe. My dress suddenly felt too
tight.

It was absolutely unreal to be sitting
with Chase Carson in his limo. If you had told me a week ago that
this would have happened, I would have laughed hysterically.
Everything was so perfect, even the warm February weather was just
right.

“
You smell delicious.” He
said, sniffing me like a dog.

I leaned slightly away from him. “It’s
the perfume you gave me. Thank you for the gifts, it was really
sweet of you.”

“
It was my pleasure. It’s
the least I can do for such a beautiful girl. If beauty were time,
you'd be eternity.”

I smiled, and looked out the
window.

“
If a thousand painters worked for a thousand years, they
could not create a work of art as beautiful as you.”

“
You’re going to give me a
big head,” I said, patting his hand.

“
It’s strange, I feel so
nervous around you. My heart is racing, my palms are sweating, and
my knees are weak.”