Stuttering

Chapter Nine

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Jessica's POV

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Jessica tip-toed on her way towards the pool area of the idol mansion.  It had been hours since the three of them got home from that ackward pizza dinner.

"What are those two up to?" she asked herself.

She tried to make sense of what happened at the pizza parlor earlier.  The way Colton and Phillip weren't talking to each other and the way they both looked like they didn't want each other in there.  

"Weird." she muttered to herself.  No way they'd feel like that, those two are like bestfriends.

She sat down at the edge of the pool and dangled her legs on the icy water.

"Brrrr, that was cold!"

"Jess?" said a voice.

"Whoa! God! You scared me!" it was Phillip.

"Sorry bout that, I couldn't sleep, I was on my way to warm myself a glass of milk when I saw you creeping out." he smiled.

Jessica's heart skipped a little.

"I wasn't creeping out.  I just didn't want to wake up anyone." I answered, 

"uh-huh!" was his reply.

Phillip proceeded to sit beside me.

"Are you feeling okay now?" he asked.

"Yeah, kinda. I wasn't scared I'd be voted out you know..."

"You didn't deserve to be voted, specially after singing that song." he replied.

"Thanks.  I Love Jazmine.  I feel like she doesn't get recognize for her talent and the song is lovely."

"It is.  Stuttering."  I haven't heard of that before, but after you sang it.  I'm immediately a fan."

"of hers or mine?" I joked.

"Both."

I chuckled. 

"So how are you and Colton?" he asked and I gasped.

"What?" how could he know?

"I mean he looked really...I dunno scared I guess when he heard you were in danger of going home."

"He did?"

"Yeah."

"I sang it for him you know..." after Deandre left.  I desperately needed someone to share my secret with.  Phillip looked like he can be trusted with stuff like this.

"I kinda figured out." was his short reply.

"He doesn't feel the same way though."

"You dont know that." he answered.

"Well....yeah..."

"Have you told him?"

I laughed.

"No, I meant to.  But I decided not to anymore. I realized I should be focusing on the competition instead of this."

"Well...maybe you should."

"yeah...you're right."

We sat there together, under the canopy of the early morning stars, both deep in thought.

to be concluded in Chapter Ten