Chapter Eight

Reference: Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me is mentioned here. I lub this song! And mentions of Twilight, Edward Cullen and Bella Swann, Lucas Till and DAVID ARCHULETA!!!


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So tell me.

How does one describe the setting where you're seated on a sofa with two of your new friends, and two girls on the sofa opposite of yours, one who was your best friend?

Awk-ward.

Both Jay and Gabriel fidgeted uncomfortably next to me; Dakota had serenely given her brother a smile with a threateningly quiet, "Jay, Kaitlyn's your guest."

When someone emphasizes their last word like that, you obviously know what's going to happen to you if you happen to defy the order hidden among the sentence. Gabriel had decided to stay as well, instead of heading down to the recording basement because, well, Dakota's smile scared him too. To be honest, I'm quite frightened myself.

Fifteen-year-old girls who look like harmless lambs are not what they always seem to be, let me tell you.

Evie broke the silence first.

"You never said you were moving here," Evie said, her tone clipped and cold. Ouch? She's not as nice as the other Evie. The school nurse, I mean. Ms. Summers. Ms. Summers is way nicer and is not as catty as this Evie is.



I shrugged indifferently. "Well, you never asked. Besides, when I told you my parents were sending me to live with my aunt somewhere, you never replied,"

"I did reply," she sniffed, throwing back some of her hair over her shoulder.

Yeah. Well, your reply wasn't that much of a reply, was it? All the e-mail said was, "Oh. Too bad. You'll miss the awesome Back-to-School BBQ party that Tanya's throwing at the beach!"

Now you tell me, is that or is that not a proper reply when a person who has been your best friend for two years tells you they're moving!?



Exactly my point.

"What are you doing with him anyway?" she asked, directing her eyes towards Jay.

Ah. Jay. Always the centre of attention. Bloody limelight hog.

"We're acquaintances," Jay put in helpfully.



"He dragged me here against my will," I said dryly.



"Who are you, by the way?" Dakota, Jay's sister, asked. "You don't look like you're from around here,"

"I suppose you know my name already, but I'm Kaitlyn Hunter," I replied, smiling a polite smile. Well, I can't be rude to a person in her own house, now can I? Sans Jay, by the way. He's a special case. "The person your delightful and dear brother molested and kidnapped,"

Okay. So I lied about the etiquette. Doesn't everyone do that?

I looked at Evie again. "Why are you here anyway?" I asked, because I really was curious, "It's not summer holidays anymore. They are way long over."


"Asher insisted on coming to look for you, since it's Friday and we have no school tomorrow," she muttered, "And he left me at some nasty little random chain restaurant to look up your address, and that's when I met Dakota, who then brought me here,"

"Asher did?" I echoed, dumbfounded.

Gabriel elbowed me lightly in the ribs. "Kaitlyn!" he whispered into my ear, "Who's Asher?"

Good question. I did say that I had friends and a best friend in Boston, but I guess I forgot to mention something else.

Something like, my other best friend?



Evie, who was the queen of gossip back at our high school, earned her title by being able to hear just about anything and transmitting anything interesting to anyone who passes by. Actually, now that I think about it, I can't believe I was ever BFFs with her. Woe is me, truly.


"Who's Asher?" she gave me a pointed look; her eyes reminded me of my homeroom teacher, "I can't believe you would just bury Asher like that. What kind of sick b-person are you?"



Sick person? I'll bet everything I have that she was gonna say sick bitch. Oops. Pardon my language.

"Says the person who chose a party over someone who was supposed to be her best friend," I muttered, standing up, "Forget it. I'm leaving,"

I stormed out of the room and mansion.


-

I felt pretty bad later, though. Leaving just like that, unannounced. I did promise the guys that I'd record with them and stuff, but I broke it. I stared at the folder containing lyrics of all the Lightning Devils' songs. Maybe I am a bitch, for being so mean like that. I can't really face Evie now, or Asher for that matter.



"Kaitlyn??"

Speak of the devil. I glanced up and got a shock. A dirty-blond-haired guy with cognac-colored eyes looked at me as if he were seeing an apparition of me. Asher.

Memories that I created with him and Evie came flooding back into my mind, a dam that I created whilst packing my things and crying, broken open.



"Asher?"

Asher, as heartbreakingly handsome as always, gazed at me, his jaws wide open. "I can't believe it... I found you! You're alive!"


"Uh, Asher, I moved. Not died,"

Bless my sarcasm to always work, even in the most sombre of situations.

I stood up from the bench I was sitting on, and started walking away. Well, tried to walk away. Asher caught my arm. "Are you avoiding me?" he asked me incredulously, "After all I did coming all the way to this place to look for you?"

"I never asked you to," I reasoned with a snide tone, taking a few steps away from Asher. I'm not taking any chances with a very emotional guy.

Asher Greene, a perfect male specimen standing at five foot nine; hair like the sandy dunes and liquid amber eyes. A package of a male model. An All-American Golden Boy with stellar achievements who is every parent's dream child. My… best guy friend.



I know what you all are thinking. What a waste, isn't it?



"Kaitlyn..." Asher had that sad puppy look on his face that never failed to capture the hearts of girls who are into sensitive guys; his brows knitted together and his eyes were large and sorrowful. He stepped closer towards me. Damn it. His arms are reaching out towards me!

I don't like it.

It's kinda creepy, somehow.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked, laughing nervously. Not good.

Asher stopped his advances towards me, but he still had his eyes locked into a steady gaze with mine. "I came to bring you back,"

Well, he's as straight-to-the-point as usual.



"Well, you can't," I answered, "Because this is where I'm supposed to live now,"

"But we all miss you..."

Yeah. Sure. Sure you do.

"Uh-huh...so that explains why I watched you and Evie kiss the day I was supposed to leave?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "Quite strange, considering the fact that, oh, I don't know, you told me that you had fallen for me?"



That caught him there.

 Asher's eyes grew wider in shock.

"H-how did you-?" he sputtered.

"I was there," I deadpanned, "I dropped by the beach so I could say goodbye since none of you bothered to send me off at the airport, so I decided to say goodbye there. Instead of doing so, what did I see my ex-best friends do but kiss? The both of you broke our promise."



"It wasn't intentionally, I swear. We were drunk," Asher put in; there was a slightly desperate tone to his voice.

"Passionately, might I add?" I said. Even though I feel hurt, it felt kind of good too, to finally let it all out into the open. "Both of you seemed perfectly sober. As far as I'm concerned, I'm pretty sure Tanya is very much against alcoholic drinks since that accident her boyfriend had. So I'm sure there wasn't anything to make you guys drunk and kiss behind my back,"



"But if you just let me explain-!"

"I do not want to hear anything from a big, fat, frickin' liar!" I seethed, silencing Asher with my outburst.

A few quiet minutes crawled by, as he obviously had nothing to say to my rage, and I sighed. I wanted to get out of here. 

"Please, go home with Evie and don't ever come back," I said softly, and walked away from him, "Do me a favor. Bye."

-



To be honest, I was feeling pretty down after that. I went to another park; this time I made sure there was no one I knew present before I sat on a bench and huddled there, listening to my iPod. Taylor Swift and David Archuleta both helped me with their songs when I first felt the stabs of betrayal and hurt.

'It rains when you're here, it rains when you're gone, and I was there when you said forever and always...'

As I listened to Taylor's voice, I vividly imagined my own life back in Boston. I really should clarify a few things here.


Evie and Asher had been my world; they had been the best friends I ever had. My parents' jobs required a lot of moving around, since they were both writers. They needed to go to places for inspiration and research; all that author-y stuff. So when they finally decided, "Enough! We shall settle down in Boston!", I was mad for joy.

I always referred to Boston as my home. We had never settled down longer in any other place than Boston. Come to think of it, I don't even know where my real hometown is.



Evie had been the first person to talk to me, to tell me where the best places around were. She was the popular one, the one that guys always wanted to ask out. Evie had dismissed the fact that the both of us had been completely different people with two different personalities that didn't match. She had been my best friend.



She was the one who had introduced me to Asher. We hit it off instantly, because of our mutual interest in many things. Asher was always the one who helped me get through the tough times at school, like the time when I had forgotten to study for a test and he helped me cram by giving me quick notes he'd make especially for me, or when the time he had filled in for me when I got sick and was unable to help the cheerleading squad be their mascot.

It just happened - how, I do not know - but I found that I was increasingly attracted to Asher. Who wouldn't, though? He's a frickin' real-life Gary Stu. Then, he had admitted that he had fallen for me, a week before I found out that I was moving. I had been happy, I guess, knowing that my feelings could be reciprocated despite the long distance.

But we had an agreement. The three of us would still be best of friends; nothing in the equilibrium of our friendship was going to change. We would suppress any different kind of feeling for the sake of our friendship.

I suppose I had been played. Made fun of. Ridiculed. Lied to. Seriously, I can't believe I ever actually thought that Asher had been telling the truth, and that Evie had kept her promise, even for a second. I shouldn't have; it was impossible.


Despite knowing that, I was unable to accept the fact that the two people whom I trust the most betrayed me like that. My two best friends. Unconsciously, my eyes started to tear up.

"Kaitlyn?"

I looked up to the familiar voice. Leo. He looked at me with his startling blue eyes; his golden eyebrows furrowed. He looks concerned... I think.


What?? He may be mad at me for ditching them, you know. I know I would. It's rude to ditch without informing people involved in said ditching.



"What are you doing here?" I asked him, hastily wiping away my tears, trying to look as casual as possible. I trained my puffy eyes on the folder, hoping that I passed off as nonchalant.

Leo took a seat beside me on the bench.

"Well, when I showed up at Jay's place with the other guys, he told me that you left suddenly..." he trailed off, "Why?"

Trying to look like I am not sad: Epic, collosal FAIL.



I shook my head, hugging my knees tightly to my chest. "It's...kinda complicated to explain,"



Leo smiled. "I can do complicated,"



Wow. This is so... Twilight. It's like, I'm Bella, he's Edward, Edward asks Bella about her life, she says it's complicated. Edward can do complicated too, you know?

"Are you quoting Edward Cullen?" I asked, a smile itching at the corners of my mouth. It's kind of stupid, yet funny, at the thought of the suave Leo quoting a sparkly vampire off a movie, "That is so lame,"



Leo chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Well, you caught me there," he admitted, "My sister asked me to watch the Twilight saga with her yesterday. She practically had me strapped and chained back into a chair while re-watching the movies five times. It was hell, considering the fact I only got two hours of sleep before I had to get ready for school,"


Ah. That explains why I bumped into him this morning.

"Must've been agony," I commented while making a face, "Watching the same movies over and over again,"

"You do not want to know what other movies she had me watching the other day,"

"Try me," I challenged.



"Then you tell me what's up first," he replied.

Well...



"The girl with Dakota is my ex-best friend," I confessed, "And I just met my other ex-best friend not too long ago,"



And then I started blabbing everything.



I know. I can't believe myself either. Pouring my heart out to a guy who's notorious for breaking girls' heart? Something is very wrong with me. But still... it's kind of refreshing.


"Well, Kaitlyn, I must say, if they came looking for you, maybe there's this little thing that's bugging their subconscious," Leo said in a sagely manner, after I was finally done ranting, "Maybe they want you to forgive them? You could have been mistaken about your notions for their actions, and they want to explain it to you,"


"But I just can't..." I said softly, staring at the sky. Clouds swathed the twilight sky; a faint dull ache starting throbbing at the back of my mind. Oh God, this is so scene-off-a-movie-ish.

"I'm pretty damn sure you can," came Leo's reply, "After all, this is the girl that called Asher a 'big fat frickin' liar', we're talking about,"

A bubble of laughter escaped from me; I couldn't help it. It sounded pretty darn silly when I think about it, acting like a kid and calling Asher something like that. How much more classier can I get?

"Well, you have to face them at some point of your life," Leo reasoned, as I faced him again. A smile played at his lips. "Might as well do it now."

"I trusted the both of them so much, but they backstabbed me," I said bitterly, "How would you feel if someone did that to you? Literally? I could demonstrate if you'd like,"



At this point, both of us were looking right into each other's eyes. You know, to make my point come across clearly. It is strictly for that matter and NOT romantic. At. All.

Well... I'm having second thoughts on that one.

As I buried my face into my arms again, Leo reached out, and stroked my head comfortingly. I could feel the temperature within me rise, as I processed the fact that he was touching me and I had not screamed yet.

What is wrong with me?


Chapter Seven

I do not own Gossip Girl, Paramore, and definitely not Isaac Newton. But I do own the whole story, plot, characters and the sad attempt of a song here.

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"You do NOT fraternize with the enemy!"

I heard Jay shout loudly, and the next thing I knew, I was pulled back, away from Dash and I became the apple to Jay's Isaac Newton as he had Dash up against the wall, holding him by the collar of his shirt while I sprawled gracelessly on my back against the ground. Jay's face was the colour he saw - red - and his jaw became even more defined as he clenched his teeth. His eyes darkened as they narrowed into a glare, but nothing that had happened seemed to faze Dash, who merely countered the angry Jay with a laconic smirk. Could he be any more masochistic? Collective gasps of horror could be heard from the two women who were watching the escalating violence with pale faces from their desks.

What's his problem - Jay's - anyway? I let him get away with the creepy, flirty comments he gives me, let him call me kitty (I don't really care anymore. What's the point of teaching an old dog new tricks?) and let him drag me off in the middle of a school day, despite the well-established fact that I am not the brightest student around.

And what do I get? I big fat bruise possibly forming on my ass because he had pulled me so roughly, that I fell smack down onto the cold, tiled floor. Dude, I'm actually lucky that I haven't hit my tailbone and been paralyzed!

I am so getting a more expensive health insurance now.

I groaned, and Leo, who had come out already, proceeded to help me up like the gentlenotman he is as he rushed over, kneeling down to grab hold of my hand.

"You okay, beautiful?" Leo asked, and for a split second he actually seemed genuinely worried, with the way troubled creases formed on his forehead and his golden eyebrows knitted together. But the 'beautiful' comment basically erased all traces of earnestness from existence.

"Sure, if you think having a butt-bruise is okay," I grumbled, "That guy needs some serious anger management,"

Which is true. Jay looks like someone just killed his family and now he's Uchiha Sasuke taking his long-awaited revenge on Uchiha Itachi a.k.a. Dash Stryker. Except, I remember that Itachi merely gave Sasuke a look of boredom, like he really had something else better to do - True. Itachi pwnz! - while Dash was providing a catalyst for Jay's anger with that arrogant smirk of his. I must say though, Dash and Itachi do have something in common: painted fingernails. And Jay and Sasuke? Apart from the otherworldly and overbearing attitude that radiates of them in big, tsunami-sized waves, they are nothing alike.

For one thing, I'm pretty sure there's no Naruto for him to bully, and he's not gay either. I know Sasuke isn't really gay, but everyone who is sane in the Naruto fanbase knows that behind all that angst, bloodlust and sneers, Sasuke really lusts for Naruto. If he didn't, he wouldn't exactly go to great pains to-

Okay. I'm getting out of topic. Back to reality. God, what is wrong with me? Here is a potentially barbarous situation which could get Jay suspended if he touches Dash, or in the worst case scenario, expulsion and all I'm doing is thinking about Sasuke and Naruto. Mom always did say I had a knack for doing things in the wrong times.

Dash now looked bored, rather than scared or pissed off. In fact, he was kind of amused, judging by one corner of his lips curving into a malicious smirk. "Over-possessive, aren't you, Stanford?" he commented loftily, "What is she? Your girlfriend?"

What the bleep!?

Jay started spluttering; the redness on his face was probably for another reason now. His grip on Dash loosened as he attempted to form coherent words with his mouth, but failing to do so. I guess he has the right to. I mean, like, who in the world wants to be his girlfriend?

Okay. So I asked a rhetorical question when I know the answer. The truth hurts my feminine pride, but I know that the real question here would be: Jay could have any girl in the world with a snap of his fingers, including the ones that ooze liquid sexiness as they walk down runways in four-inch platforms, dressed in tight-fitting clothes that reveal all womanly curves that all men would die to have their hands on, so why the hell me?

But still, what is wrong with that boy?

I pushed past Leo, who seemed to be getting pretty worked up as well. He had his fists clenched into a bloodless white; I could tell that it was taking him everything to control his urges to give Dash a black eye. I went up to Jay, who still had Dash immobilized against the wall despite the loosened grip.

"Listen here, Stryker," I hissed, "The relationship between Jay and I is strictly platonic, you hear me? We. Have. NOTHING. Going on. "

"Uh-huh," Dash nodded, the very humored look still on his face. Ugh. I totally want to slap him right now. A nice, tight slap - totally got that off my old History teacher. Was a nice, salt-and-pepper haired lady in her fifties. - that'll leave a clear imprint of my hand on his cheek for a while, and every time someone asks what happened, he'd have to say he got his ass kicked metaphorically.

In fact, you know what? I think I will.

I zoned in on him, my eyes narrowing into my best glower as I growled in frustration and irritation.

"Bring it, I suppose," Dash was grinning widely, his cheeks stretched to the maximum point. It was a wonder that he hasn't shown any signs of strain yet, with all that facial muscle stretching going on.

I raised my hand to slap him squarely on the jaw, but Leo and Jay both grabbed my wrist, and pulled a struggling me back as I shrieked, "What!? You're protecting this mother effing son of a not-literally-a-bitch!?"

Jay shook his head grimly, having released Dash from his grasp when he had stopped me earlier. "We'll get suspended if we do anything violent within school grounds, and have our chances of playing at the Winter Dance revoked,"

"Sexual harassment! And he said to bring it!"

"Kitty." The hard and pointed look Jay was giving me made me back off, dampening my desire to bring harm upon that evilly handsome face of Dashielle Stryker. Well, Jay's right. But there must be justice served, for this guy freakin' deserves to have his face in the ground, lying in a bloody pool!

Life stinks.

I grumbled some more and stalked away, taking care to distance myself from Dash. Leo had this slightest look of amusement on his face as he stood beside me, and had an amused eyebrow raised as he said, "Anger management?"

"Shut. Up."

I watched as Jay seemed to utter a few more words to Dash, probably a warning. Dash nodded as he rolled his eyes as the serious expression on Jay's face hardened. Jay lifted his hand to gesture towards Leo and I, and Dash sighed - clearly, with the excitement having passed over, it wasn't fun anymore - as he nodded once again, opening his mouth to speak. Only then, did Jay release his hold on Dash's arm and walked back to us, with Dash going towards the opposite direction.

"As it turns out, Lucifer is our main competitor for the spot in the Winter Dance," he reported. He looked really agitated right now, but not as much as he was before. "Which is quite unfair, since they're not even amateurs,"

Not amateurs? Maybe I should Google them or something. I have a suspicion that if I typed 'asshole' and 'Lucifer', the search engine would probably show up with, 'Did you mean: Dashielle Stryker'.

Leo seemed to be processing the fact; mulling over Jay's words. "Well, I guess we'll have to send in our original CD, not the covers. I'll talk to Gabriel about it,"

"I have a question," I asked, raising a hand.

"Shoot."

"What exactly is the Winter Dance?"

Leo and Jay started laughing and I huffed indignantly as I crossed my arms in defiance. "Well, it's not my fault that I've only been here for only two days!"

They're so mean. I feel like kicking their asses right now. But I shouldn't. Because there is no meaning in doing so when I was denied permission to spill metaphorical Dashielle Stryker's blood on the stone tiles of the school building.

Leo was the first one to stop laughing, while Jay still chortled like the stupid moron he is. "The Winter Dance is one of the biggest social event here in Sandfields Academy besides the Spring Prom. Everyone wants to go, even adults, because it's spectacular every year," he explained, "Last year, a white Bengal tiger was brought in to do tricks,"

Okay. I was mistaken. Genevieve and I are the only poor students in the school. Everyone else probably rolls in pools of money as a penguin-suited butler stands nearby, holding a towel and asking, "What car shall you be taking to school today, master? The -insert expensive car here- or the -insert expensive car here- ?" and the person'll probably answer with a different but equally expensive car and probably go, "I feel like going low-key today.". I mean, white Bengal tigers!? Bengal tigers could be acceptable, but white ones!?

I think I misheard.

"You have got to be kidding me," My expression probably mirrored my tone of disbelief as I widened my eyes.

"It's true," Jay said, recovering from his chortling episode. "This year, the performing band gets to do a cover of one Paramore song with Paramore itself, since one of the school contributors are doing a term-partnership with their label, Fueled by Ramen,"

WHATHEEFFINGBBQ!?

"WHAAAT!?" I screamed, "PARAMORE!!!!??"

I heard desk chairs scrape, and I think Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Smith are looking over at me right now. Well, not everyone screams out of the blue like me, I guess. I could hardly believe my ears. If I'm dreaming, please don't wake me up, because I'm definitely enjoying it. Jay nodded in confirmation, and I felt a bit faint.

"It's good publicity for us if we do," Leo pointed out, "That's why we're keen on getting the spot that's coveted by every single amateur band here in school, and of course we know how much you love Paramore,"

Like hell yeah!

"So, we're gonna have to change the songs in our album a bit," Jay decided, "Since all the songs we have don't have your voice in it, kitty,"

"When do we start??" I asked eagerly. Anything for a golden meeting with Paramore. I don't care if I have to skip school (Actually, I do. But details can wait!). Once in a lifetime chances should not be taken lightly!

Jay grinned that cocky grin of his. "Come over to my house after school, and in the meantime, listen to this," He held out a jet-black iPod nano. "Listen to the album with the name of the band. I'll be claiming that later, all right, kitty?" He winked at me and headed for homeroom with Leo.

Which, by the way, I'm late for again.

Insert an exaggerated sigh here. I wonder why do I even bother?

-

I had a free period during the period before lunch, so I took this opportunity to go to the study hall to listen to Jay's iPod. I spent the whole hour listening to the album. Everything inside was, of course, of the rock genre, but some were kind of sad; some upbeat. There was this one song that I particularly liked. The lyrics were kind of weird, but it was played to a cheery and fast rhythm. A part of the song went like this:

I wind back to the past
Don't really remember much
But there was one thing I'd trust
And it was a person who was nonesuch.

I'm looking for the blast
from my past
Even though it's been years
It's bound to bring tears

We used to play games
during long, long summers,
But one day everything seemed to go up in flames,
when I saw you leaving in one of those big Hummers.

I still can't believe
that you left me bereaved
Empty promises were made
And you left me feeling betrayed.

I'm looking for the
blast from my past
Even though it's been years
t's bound to bring tears
It's bound to bring tears...

I looked down onto the illuminated screen to see the name of the song. Blast From My Past. Well, it's a fitting name for the song, seeing how the phrase popped up during the chorus. But I can't believe someone like Jay wrote it. The song talked about the past, where he had a childhood friend who one day suddenly left, and now he's looking for her?

Absolutely no comment there. You kind of don't mix arrogant, handsome boys with sweet-sounding lyrics of innocent, childish love. You just don't. I really should mind my own business. Except...

Okay, since my name's 'kitty' I should live true to my name, right? Like curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back? I'm really curious to know who's the inspiration for that song. Who knew Jay's still hungover a girl who left him?

Ahhh. Young love, young love.

God, now I'm starting to sound like some old geezer who regularly spouts crap about the spring of youth or something.

The bell rang shrilly, signaling the end of the period and the start of lunch hour. I could practically hear every chair in the vast academy scrape back and the thundering feet of students who were deprived of their social oxygen.

I'm pretty sure everyone's whipping out their Blackberries and iPhones right now and texting each other, despite the fact that they're standing right next to each other. It's true. It happens right here in Sandfields Academy, just like the way it probably happens on Gossip Girl.

I picked up my books and headed for the cafeteria after depositing them inside my locker. I saw Gabriel seated at the same table, writing something down in a notebook as his dark bangs fell over his eyes. I plopped down on the bench opposite him. "What's up, Einstein?" I asked, smiling at him, "Homework?"

Gabriel looked up with that fazed look you get when you're doing something and someone interrupts you, and I couldn't help but marvel at how, well, pretty he was. There aren't any other words to describe his frail beauty. His skin was like porcelain - you're not supposed to touch it, but you can't help but sneak a tap because it's mesmerizing. His coal-black hair was shaggy and fell in soft, ebony waves as it framed his face and ghosted across his eyes. I swear, he's so beautiful that it breaks your heart when you look at him.

"Hey Kaitlyn," he smiled at me; his voice velvety smooth and a baritone that could make him a potential candidate for the Lightning Devils, "It's not homework. It's the list of places that I checked out for gigs for the band,"

See? He's so hardworking too, even though he didn't exactly beg for this job. He's like the perfect dream guy, but damn it, why am I not attracted to him?

One of the world's most intriguing mysteries, I kid you not. Every little freshman and sophomore girl keeps taking more than just a brief look at Gabriel whenever they happen to see him.

Gabriel pointed at me. "What's that?" he titled his head sideways. I felt up my face and got a fistful of wires. Right.

I pulled out the earbuds of the iPod and I heard Jay's distinct voice. "Hey kitty!"

How infuriating. Doesn't he know how I hate it when people call me from the distance at a very public place? It's very attention-grabbing, and I hate being conspicuous, especially when I'm with him.

Sorry. I forgot that I've only known the little prick for under forty-eight hours.

I rolled my eyes and Gabriel chuckled. I felt someone pat a hand on my shoulder. I'm betting it's Jay. And surprise, surprise! It was.

"What do you want, Stanford?" I asked as he sat down beside me.

"What do you think of our album?" Jay asked, grinning. Leo was taking a seat beside Gabriel, and the both of them started going over the list, their voices only in soft murmurs.

I sipped the carton of apple juice I'd gotten from the vending machine. "Let's see...it's actually pretty good." I said conversationally, "But I don't think I can memorize all of them at one go,"

Jay patted my hand. "It's no problem. You can look at the lyrics sheet when we're recording. No one's gonna know. Besides, that's what singers do,"

I pulled my hand away. "I said, no touching," I snapped, "Anyways, when do we start recording?"

"Later, at my house." Jay said, "We'll practice a bunch of the songs, then do a tentative recording first."

He has a recording studio in his house? Wait. Why do I sound so surprised?

"Tentative how??"

"It's just the way I call trial recording. Sounds smart, doesn't it? Anyways, basically, we just play a few bars, then replay it to see if it's good or not,"

Wow. This kind of stuff is actually really complicated sounding, yet Jay made it seem like a breeze. Maybe it is a breeze for him. I mean, they've been in the music industry for longer than I have, amateur or not. Or, the only theory that makes sense, is that it's not even hard at all. I mean, I saw it once on TV. They just push the gauge thingies or whatever they call it on some big place filled with techie stuff.

Well, whatever it is, I ain't going near it.

By this time, Jordan, Tyson and Lance (reading The Great Expectations this time) joined us at the table. I somehow have this nagging feeling that the table is soon going to become a permanent place for us.

I had never intended to be tied down like this. It's kind of surprising for me, because before I came here, dating had been casual, and I never joined anything permanently. I was always in motion, going in and out of an extracurricular club once a month. If I liked it well enough, maybe two. The only thing that I permanently had a place in were the art rooms. Oh, and that-

Okay. Not going there. Steer clear of it!! No reminiscing of memories.

Tyson seemed to study me, as he sat down with his tray. "I heard from Jay that he had you listen to the album," he said conversationally as he tore open the package of his sandwich.

I nodded, crunching on the nut bar I'd gotten from a vending machine. Vending machine food is much more cheaper than the cafeteria food here. "Yeah."

"What'd you think?" Jordan asked, carelessly setting down his own tray and a glossy gaming magazine was tossed next to it.

I shrugged casually. "I have to admit, your original stuff is pretty good," I said, a little grudgingly as Jay started to preen like a peacock beside me.

"Really?" Leo asked, turning up from his conversation with Gabriel, "Which song are you particularly drawn to?"

I looked down at the bulky MP3 player in my hands, fiddling with it. "Well, everything could be addictive, if you listened to all of them a couple of times," I admitted, "But Track Five is the favourite,"

Jay raised his eyebrows, as if he was surprised. I think he really was surprised. "Blast from My Past?" he queried.

"That's the one," I confirmed, nodding.

"Ooh. A lot of girls say that this song particularly reminds them of their childhood crush," Jay said, then he gave me a sly look. "Did it remind you of your childhood love?"

I felt all eyes at the table on me, even Lance's. I swallowed hard. It was something that I did not want to talk about.

"So, which track are we recording first?" I asked in a too-fake light tone, digressing the subject.

Leo seemed to understand my need of privacy, because he had answered first. "That song. You must have listened to it more times than the rest, so we'll do that first,"

Okay, apart from having a natural sense of public relations, he also knows the way of humans pretty well. He's not just any male bimbo, he's a pretty brainy male bimbo. Well, that's a surprise, considering the fact that I almost believed in my self-made theory that he had taken a course in flirting and womanizing and graduated with a PhD.

What? Practically anything's possible now these days.

"All right. So where's Jay's house?" I asked.

Jay smirked. "I shall personally escort you there," he said, "Alone."

Oh no he won't.

"With Gabriel," I added, smiling back at him.

Jay's smirk dropped a little. "Fine," he grumbled childishly.

-

Fast forward a few hours later, Gabriel was faithfully waiting outside the gates for me, as I walked towards him with a sulking Jay. "So you don't have a car?" I asked him in surprise.

Jay started walking the opposite direction from where I walked from. "I just live a little way off here. That's why I walk to school, rather than drive. It's a pain to drive at such a short distance,"

Ah. So Jay must be a poor kid like I am. Insert happy smiley face here!

As we got further, I saw that my notions were, sadly, incorrect. Only then did I remember Jay had said something about a recording studio. Curse my stupid memory for selectively omitting things to just disappoint me in the end when I finally remember! Every house here was more like a friggin' huge estate plus a plantation or something.

Sorry, too much Farmville on Facebook. I quit, though. It turned out that my black thumb did not only stop at real plants, but even virtual ones could not withstand it.

Jay stopped in front one of the estates, a big, fat golden block of the letter 'D' was visible on the iron-wrought gates. God, this is so corny - it totally reminded me of Veronica Lodge's place from the Archie Comics. A security guard - I half expected guards like the ones in Buckingham Palace with the furry hats, but I should expect that only in Leo's case - nodded his head in greeting at Jay as he poked his head out from the booth stationed near the gates.

"Jayden. Are those your friends?" he asked. Well, he certainly looks like he fits the job of a bodyguard more than a security guard. He's pretty damn fine-looking, black shades, suit an' all. Very James Bond. Oh, and the lilting Scottish accent is very very cute.

Jay nodded. "Cliff, this is kitty and Gabriel. Kitty, Gabriel, this is Cliff," he introduced quickly, "The others will be over later. We're going to the recording studio in the basement,"

"All right. Should I direct them?"

"Nah, they can look after themselves. Thanks for the offer, though!" Jay gave a short, friendly wave as he entered the gates, with Gabriel and I following behind him like little lost puppies. I think we really are lost, though. There's like a huge maze right in front of us, and I have no idea how we're going to maneuver through it.

"I know the way," Jay said, answering the question in my mind. Damn him. "My dad, the eccentric billionaire, guy who likes to test others, built this maze for the very purpose of testing house guests."

Rich people like to make fun of us poor people. Screw them.

"Your dad seems like a very considerate person," I mumbled crankily. I hate mazes. I'm not exactly the brightest penny around, you know. And the touching the wall thing while walking? It's totally bogus. Doesn't work at all.

"Didn't I tell you my great-grandfather is the founder of a music talent industry? In fact, this place has been a family home for at least three generations," Jay asked, surprised, "That's why it's pretty big and old-looking,"

Gabriel was faster than me in answering. "Yes, but if you remember correctly, Kaitlyn wasn't actually listening to any of us talk during that car ride,"

Oh. So that was what Jay was talking about.

Jay mumbled a few incoherent words as he helpfully navigated us out of the maze. I'm surprised. I thought an idiot like him had a short attention span. Goes to show, like Leo, you can never judge a book by it's cover.

The really huge double doors were opened by an elderly man, dressed in mud-stained clothes. He looked completely out of place with the meticulous background of polished marble-patterned floors and tasteful paintings hung against the snow-white walls. "Ah, Jayden, you're home! Your sister would like to take some of your time."

"Alright, Travis. Thanks," Jay sighed noisily, dumping his bag on an island in the middle of the hall and putting his guitar on a lone loveseat. "What does Dakota want now?"

"Should we follow him?" I whispered at Gabriel. "And was that a butler? If it was, this place is so damn cliche,"

Gabriel shrugged. "Well, we do have the right. We are his guests after all," he whispered back, "And I believe that was not a butler. I think it was a caretaker or a gardener, judging from his overalls and outdoorsy appearance,"

Boy speaks sense. We walked after Jay, following him towards a door-less frame. He stopped, leaning against the frame and I could see him scratching his head. Rude as ever, I see. "What do you want?" I heard him ask, his voice slightly annoyed.

A loud squeal erupted, followed by a series of "OMGOMGOMGOMG!! I LIKE TOTALLY LOVE YOU!!!"

Yes, people. Either sister Dakota is happy to see her brother, or sister Dakota has got a bimbo fangirl inside there with her. I choose the latter, because if I were Jay's sister, I'd avoid him as much as possible. In fact, I'd probably go out of the way to make sure nobody - and I do mean nobody - knows that we're related. At all.

I'm a very nosy person, and Gabriel apparently is one too, because we scrambled to see who were inside the room. Well, for the both of us, seeing a lone fangirl with Jay is something we haven't seen before, and we're not going to miss it now.

A petite girl with the same brown, sun-kissed locks and sea foam eyes that Jay has was seated on a sofa, her hands folded neatly across her lap and a serene expression on her pretty face. A blonde - oh my god, isn't that-!?

"Kaitlyn!?" the blonde screeched. Literally. Her blue eyes flashed wildly as she processed my presence, "What are you doing here!?"

I forced a smile, tapping my foot against the marble floor nervously. "Evie. Fancy seeing you here. I thought it was school-time back in Boston. On a sabbatical of sorts?"

The blonde, also known as Evie Trummond, is- sorry, was my best friend in Boston. We used to be super-tight and did everything together. But of course, who knew that when once you tell a friend that you're leaving, you're instantly a stranger?

I have a question. What is she doing here?