Love to Hate You

Chapter Twenty-One

I’ve been avoiding speaking to Laney about the fan site. I know that Stephanie would have already relayed the message that the Heartbreakers aren’t exactly happy with the site, but I’m itching to talk to her myself—then again I don’t want to because I just made friends with her and I don’t want tension between us.

I understand that the site is purely fun and games for her, but when you make that kind of deal with Stephanie it becomes more than just a game. Stephanie takes things seriously. She thinks she’s the real paparazzi and that scares me. The site has been up on my laptop all day so that I can check up on it. I’ve become so paranoid about Stephanie that I’ve closed the curtains in my bedroom even though I’m on the second floor.

My fingers hover over the button on my phone that would begin dialing Laney’s phone number while I chew on the inside of my cheek. What if she doesn’t like what I have to say? What if she doesn’t want to be friends anymore? I admit, having a real girl friend is close to therapeutic. I spend way too much time with a group of boys so having a girl I can talk to has been really nice for me. I don’t want to lose what I just got.

I sigh and toss the phone back onto my nightstand and walk away from my bed. My fingers fiddle with the guitar pick around my neck as I begin to pace the room until my hand is clenched around the necklace and I stomp back over to pick the phone back up. Without another thought I dial Laney’s number and sink down onto my mattress as I wait for her to pick up.

The line keeps ringing and I’m about to call it quits and try again later when Laney’s sugary sweet voice answers the phone with a cheerful, “Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Reese,” I say plainly. The fact that her voice is so peppy kind of annoys me when I would think she would be as hesitant to talk to me as I am to talk to her.

“Hey, Reese! What’s up? I heard you guys saw the site. Do you like it? You’re one step closer to someone recognizing your talent and getting famous,” she rambles into the phone. I can hear the smile in her voice. Stephanie didn’t tell her how upset the guys and I are.

I clear my throat and smooth the comforter beside me before answering, “That’s the reason I called, actually. The site is a bit…much. Don’t you think?”

“Much?” she asks confusedly, “What do you mean? It’s practically professional. Every time someone stumbles upon that viral video of you guys at the Lunch Box they’ll get a link to the website. It’s been working. You’ve got a little over a thousand followers now. I’m updating the website as we speak.”

A thousand people are a lot of people. It’s an insane amount of people considering that the site has only been up for six days.

“Laney,” I try again, “we really appreciate everything you’re doing for us, but Stephanie is getting a bit carried away with the pictures, if you haven’t noticed. She’s peeking into windows and secretly following us and it’s creepy.  I’ve been considering a restraining order, which I really don’t want to do because I’ve known her since we were little.” I explain.

Laney exhales heavily on the other end and answers, “I know she’s getting carried away. I’ve tried to talk to her about it, but the pictures get so many views and comments that it’s hard to come up with a valid reason to get her to stop. I know your privacy is important, but you guys making it big is important too. You guys are talented and should be getting all this attention. To be honest, I really don’t feel that bad about it. Sean’s upset with me about it. He’s been ignoring my texts—but you guys are just taking things the wrong way. I’m just trying to help you.”

My lips have tightened into a thin line and I’m biting my tongue. Is everyone this crazy, or is it just the people I decide to hang out with? My privacy is important, actually. I could care less about fame! This is just something fun that we do for a little extra pocket change. We’re teenagers. We don’t need this kind of attention! The odds of the Heartbreakers making it out of teen fame without getting into trouble with the media is not likely to happen. The way I see it is that she’s setting us up for failure.