Tear: A Seaside Novel

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

By lunchtime, word had spread and it was nearly impossible to see Alec and Demetri without a swarm of people stalking them down the hallways. It made me wonder why they chose Seaside of all places. Granted, we were on the Oregon coast — far away from their homeland of Canada, and nowhere near L.A., but still. We had the Internet. We had phones. They were in no way invisible to our sleepy town. It was only a matter of time before they high-tailed it out of here. I mean, they didn't even have body guards!

With a sigh, I fished out my lunch money from my back pocket and looked at the choices of the day.

Tacos or a salad.

Or, I gave a mischievous smile, taco salad. I quickly made my little concoction and grinned even brighter.

"I must say..." A deep voice said from behind me. "I've never seen a girl get so excited over a taco salad."

"Well," I turned to face Demetri, of course it would be Demetri. "I like food. And I think I get a gold star for being creative."

He laughed and leaned in closer his golden hair falling gracefully across his forehead. "Think you can make me one too?"

I put one hand on my hip. "That depends. Are you asking me so you don't have to make your own, or are you just wanting an excuse to talk to me?"

"Both."

I laughed. "Fair enough. But be warned, perfection doesn't often happen twice in a row."

He smirked and stood next to me as I made him a similar salad. "So, where are all your admirers?"

"With Alec." He nodded his head toward the other side of the cafeteria were Alec was holding court with at least fifty people. His face was as handsome and stern as ever.

"Does he smile, like ever?"

Demetri shook his head, a bright grin creased his lips. "He smiled at you, didn't he?"

"That was a smile?" I handed him his tray. "I thought it was a grimace. Easy to confuse the two on his face."

"Don't let him hear you say that. He may just fall in love with you if you tease him."

"No danger of any guy falling in love, no worries." I kept my head down so I wouldn't have to look at his gorgeous face and walked away, but felt his hand touch my arm.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To eat, like normal people. It is lunch time and we only get fifteen minutes."

"Sit with me." His blue eyes sparkled, and his dimples seemed even more pronounced as his smile spread even wider across his face. Stupid rock star.

"Um, no thanks," I said as politely as I could.

His smile faded. I continued walking to my usual table, when I felt a hand on my arm again. "No thanks?"

Demetri sure was persistent, but I didn't want to be a part of his harem. "Let me guess, you've never faced rejection before."

He looked a little less confident as he shuffled his feet, his eyebrows drew together. "No, um, not really."

"There's a first for everything, Demetri. Enjoy your salad." I patted him on the shoulder and continued walking in a straight line even though my legs were wobbly. Why the heck did I just turn down a lunch date with the hottest guy I've ever seen?

I turned back around to see if he was following me. Big shock there, he was surrounded by at least twenty girls, each of them touching his arm or shoulder, even his butt. Disgusting. And that was the reason I wasn't sitting with him. I wasn't them. I would never be that girl.