Another Chance

Chapter IV

Chapter IV

~Phillips POV~

“So, we’d like to welcome you to our Interscope family! We’re looking forward to working on your first record.” I heard Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Interscope Records, say to all of us. “Uh-mazing, I can’t wait to hit the studio!” said Skylar. I still can’t believe that we just signed a contract for our record. It felt surreal, I pinched myself to check if I was dreaming, and the pain made me realize that this was real. Everybody went around, hugging and congratulating everyone. “Hey.. Congratulations!” I heard Jessica say. “Thanks, you too!” I told her. I suddenly couldn’t resist and pulled her into a hug. “We made it!” I told her and released her from my hug.

After everyone has settled down from the shock, Ann, our Road Manager, told us that we have a week off and we had to be back by June 2nd to practice for the tour. “Let’s celebrate!” said Hee Jun. “I agree, let’s have a cook out at the mansion!” said Elise. “I agree!” chimed Hollie and Shannon at the same time. “Yeah! We have a lot to thank for y’all!” said Skylar. “Nobody dare leave the mansion today! We’ll all leave tomorrow!” said Joshua while laughing.

“Do we have everything we need for the cookout at the mansion?” asked Deandre. “I could go to the store and grab a few things.” I offered. “Ok then, we’ll meet you back at the mansion…” said Elise. Then everyone went out of the room and I noticed that Jessica stayed behind. “Would you like me to accompany you?” she asked. “No, you better join them and go ahead to the mansion.” I told her with a soft smile. She looked surprised at my reply, shrugged and quickly followed the others to the limo waiting for them.

~End of Phillips POV~

~~

~Jessica’s POV~

“I’m excited to do my record! You have to promise me that we would collaborate on a song…” I heard Colton tell me. “I think we should do a cover of a song, what do you think?” he said. “Yeah, that would be great… I’d love to collaborate with you…” I told him. “What do you think about the song, Terrified by Katharine McPhee and Zachary Levi?” he asked me. “It’s a great song, I have it on my phone, wanna listen to it?” I asked him. “Sure!” Colton said. I handed him an earphone and placed the other end on my ear. I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. While we were listening, I thought about what happened earlier.

~Flashback~

“Hey.. Congratulations!” I told Phillip. “Thanks, you too!” he said. He suddenly pulled me into a hug. “We made it!” he told me before letting go.

~

 “Would you like me to accompany you?” I offered. “No, you better join them and go ahead to the mansion.” He replied.

~End of Flashback~

I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. He keeps on sending me mixed signals and I’m starting to think that maybe the spark I noticed between us was just something my mind made up from being with him all the time during the weeks leading up to the finale. I needed a man’s opinion to get a better idea on what Phillip is thinking.

“We’re home… wake up…” Colton said while nudging me. I must have dozed off while my mind explored every facet of Phillip. “I’m gonna go freshen up first.” Colton said. “Okay, I guess I’ll help the others prepare.” I told him.  I followed the others to the kitchen and helped with the preparation.

“Hey Jess! Need some help?” Deandre asked. “Sure, you can help me plus I wanted to ask you something.” I told him. “What’s up?” He asked. “Dre, what would make you give mixed signals to a girl? I asked. “Huh? What do you mean?” He asked confused. “What I mean to say is, if you’re close to a girl and spend a lot of time together, what might cause you to suddenly change the way you act around her? Like, one minute you treat her nicely and you show her how special she is then a few hours or a day later, you suddenly act cold or different.” I explained. “Hmmm, are we talking about anyone in particular?” He nudged me playfully. “No, I… uh, someone asked me that question but I didn’t know what to answer.” I told him. He seemed to have believed me because he stopped nudging me and answered me. “Jess, a guy would give mixed signals if he is unable to process his feelings properly. He might be trying to fight his feelings from developing. Maybe he’s afraid of showing the truth, or maybe he’s jealous,” He said. “that’s usually how I act when I’m jealous.” He added. “Oh, I didn’t think of it that way.” I told him. “What should the girl do then?” I asked. “She should ask the guy to come out clean.” He said. “Thanks Dre.” I told him. “Anytime Jess!” he said.

A few minutes later, while we were all in the backyard I noticed the other girls huddled in the table. “What have you got there?” I asked them. “We’re reading an online article about Phillip.” Shannon said. “Can I read it too?” I asked, “Sure! C’mon…” She said. I was about to read the article when Phillip arrived. “Hey, I bought chips, hotdogs and patties.” He said. “Let’s continue this later and help them prepare the food.”Skylar said. “Okay…” Shannon answered then closed her Ipad.

“Hey guys, I hope you don’t mind but I brought someone along.” Phillip said. “No problem!” They all replied. Phillip approached me and looked at me awkwardly. “Jess, I just wanted to apologize about my behavior earlier. I just have a lot going on in my mind…” he said. “That’s okay, I know you still have a lot going on, but I wanted to ask you something…” I said. “Go ahead.” He said. “Do you..” I started to ask him, stopping to think if it’s proper for me to ask him if he had feelings for me, after all he already has a girlfriend. “What is it Jessica?” He asked. “ I just wanted to know.” I asked but stopped when I saw a slender hand grab his arm.

~End of Chapter 4~