Dedicated to Contagious_ for the amazing poster on the side, thank you!<3 :)
--
(Unedited)
It's in the stars,
It's been written,
In the scars on our hearts.
We're not broken just bent,
And we can learn to love again.
~Just Give Me a Reason- P!nk ft. Nate Ruess
In the end, we gave in and agreed to the group dinner.
We didn't give in easily though, It had taken Kallie the 'It'll be just like old times' card, the 'Do you have anything better better to do' card and the 'Don't you miss how it was before' card to convince us. It was the last one that had us in Bells' car, driving downtown to an Italian restaurant I couldn't even pronounce the name of.
"So how was the date with Blake?" I asked once Bells and I were on the road.
She shrugged and kept her eyes on Kallie's Volkswagen. "It was nice."
"Nice?' I repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Bells sighed and flicked on her turn signal when Kallie did. "It was fun. He was nice and respectful. It was a great date."
"Yet you're not gushing" I stated as she made the turn. She gave a bitter smile and shook her head. "Not over Clark?" A slight nod this time.
"I don't blame you. You guys did date for six years. “If you had told me all those years ago that Bells and Clark would break up, I would have laughed in your face and definitely not believed it. But now, now I was questioning whether or not Clark really was the best for her. They weren't over each other, I know, but things had changed, and there was Blake, and it had been the fame industry that had broken them up. Clark still had the same job in that industry and Bells might even be joining, which would mean even more exposure to the tabloids. If they were different people from who they had been when they broke up, maybe it could work, but they were still the same people and those same people had broken up.
"But it's been three years. And past aside, Blake is the perfect guy. He's nice and respectful, and smart, and honest, and funny, and smart, everything."
"Sounds like the classic nice guy against ex-jerk, except Clark's not really a jerk," I remarked wryly
"It's been over a thousand days. Why is it so hard to get over someone?" Bells demanded, slamming a hand against the steering wheel.
"I don't know, Bells, I don't know."
It was silent as we followed Kallie through a series of turns.
"So, memories of ex aside, how was the date?" I asked, hoping to lighten the mood.
Bells smiled slightly. "Ranks in the top five of dates, definitely. He was nervous. It was kind of cute," she said, chuckling. I grinned. So at least there was a little something there. It could build, things could work out. Bells deserved it.
"Good. That means he’s serious. Blake isn't one to get nervous."
She just blushed and didn't say anything as she pulled into the restaurant's parking lot.
"Oh, uh, Bells?"
She turned to me.
"Sorry about the publicity and Clark thing. I thought, because you majored in Business and minored in marketing, it'd work..."
"No, it's okay. It'll look amazing on my resume. Working with Summer Productions and the manager of the 'Heartbreaker Heir'?"
I grinned and rolled my eyes. A knock came from my right. I turned to the window and barely contained a scream. Brett had his face smushed against the glass in the weirdest expression. Kallie, Clark and Kaden stood behind him, laughing slightly.
"What were you guys doing in there for so long?" Brett asked once Bells and I were out of the car.
I shrugged "Heart-to-heart," I replied, only partially joking, since we actually sort of, to a very small degree, had had a heart to heart.
Kallie raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"
"Sorta, not really," Bells said, looking around. "Are we gonna get in? It looks like there are a lot of people here," she remarked, changing the subject.
Kaden, Cark, Brett and Kallie all smiled at the same time- which was really creepy. "Trust me, we'll get in," Clark assured her. We started walking towards the restaurant, Kallie and Bells catching up as Brett and Clark talked about the movie... Which left Kaden and I to have to talk to each other, or at least walk beside each other. Any other time, I would be feeling dread and awkwardness but right now, I was actually kind of glad.
"Kaden?"
"Hm?"
"What did you mean over the Skype call?" I asked slowly, watching him intently for his reaction.
Nothing. He kept his face blank. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Are you really going to pull that?" I asked, shooting him a flat look.
He sighed and glanced at the people in front of us. "Maybe later."
I didn't want to just leave it at that. I didn't any a response like 'maybe later', but before I could open my mouth to object, we arrived at the doors of the restaurant. Once we were inside, the pair line-ish thing changed into a group. Kallie shot Kaden and me a suspicious look, but, thankfully, she didn't comment, instead walked to the hostess stand.
A couple moments later, she came back, looking like a huge grin was trying to swallow her face. "We're in."
"Do I even want to know how?" I asked, looking around at the large groups of people waiting for a table.
Her smiled widened. "Just a couple connections."
"So?" I asked Kaden as the hostess lead us through a maze of tables.
"So?" he repeated, looking at me curiously.
I raised an eyebrow. "Connections?"
"The owner's a family friend. And a client. He has a room in case he has a dinner with important people. He lets us use it sometimes," Kaden explained, shrugging slightly.
I nodded and dodged a waiter carrying a platter of shrimp. "Oh, cool." Well, aren't I just the best at conversations? Luckily, before any awkwardness set in, the hostess distracted us- or to be more specific, me, since Kaden has probably seen this before. She slid open a panel in the wall, revealing a fairly large room with a round table and mirrors all around.
"He'll be right with you," the hostess told us before sliding the door-panel thing shut.
Two minutes later, not even ten seconds after we sat down, it opened.
"Kaden! Kallie! It's been a while," a man said as he entered the room. He was clearly Italian, from the accent in his voice, but he didn't look the part. He had thick eyebrows and the kind of facial structure most Italians seemed to have, but that was it. Instead of the dark hair, dark eyes combo, he had blonde hair and light green eyes.
"He's the head chef. Though he does more managing than cooking since her's also the owner's nephew," Brett said quietly, noting Bells and I's confused expressions.
"Oh, cool." I turned to look back at the man, Kallie and Kaden. He didn't look much older than us, maybe five years, max? He didn't seem like the cook type either. Then again, maybe that was just because I've seen too many cheesy movies. There was something about him, or his appearance, though, that was familiar. "Is he newspapers a lot or something? He looks familiar."
"He's Rory's twin."
I blinked. Okay. That's just slightly weird. "He sounds a lot more Italian."
"More time in Italy?" Clark suggested with a shrug before standing up. I looked up to see that the guy, Rory's twin, Kaden and Kallie were walking towards us.
"Nice to see you again, Viktor," Brett greeted, pulling Viktor into a 'guy' hug. Clark did the same, then they turned to Bells and I.
"Viktor, this is Raine and Annabelle," Kaden introduced. I quickly stood up, offering a hand and a smile. To my slight surprise though, Viktor ignored the hand and pulled me into a hug. I guess he's a hugging person, then. He of course, repeated the routine with Bells, who was a lot more prepared than I was.
"Is she your amichetta?" Viktor asked, nodding at me. Amichetta? What? People who throw words of their own language into their sentences will drive me insane, I swear. I think I should be scared, though. Kallie's smirking. Same with Brett. And Clark. And even Bells. The question had been directed at Kaden, who looked somewhat flustered.
"Uh, n-" A sharp jab from Kallie cut him off. "I mean yes."
Viktor raised an eyebrow. "Kade?"
Kaden shrugged. "It's kind of recent so the line's a bit blurry." And then, to my surprise, he reached over and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
Oh.
I think I get it.
***
I wish I could say it had been like old times, but that would be lying, and according to my psychotic conscience, I shouldn't lie more than I already have. So truth be told, it was awkward. Not extremely, just-shoot-me-now awkward, but not like before, which, I guess was what we had all been hoping for. That we could pick things up where they left off like nothing had happened.
It wasn't horrible, though. I had learned that Kaden studying Law on the side of acting, which I had sort of already guessed from the law book he had had with him during the Skype call. But the others didn't know about the Skype thing, of course, so I didn't mention that.
"How about a challenge? Just for the sake of it," Kallie suggested as we waited for the bill. The rest of us froze and exchanged stricken looks. Okay, as her former best friend, I know firsthand that Kallie can have some pretty crazy ideas. But I think this was her weirdest yet.
Challenges brought back memories that were pretty bittersweet. Not to mention there wasn't really a point. We had done the challenges for the boys VS girls competition thing, but that was over. We couldn't do the slaves things as payment now. We were all more or less working together and being someone's slave just wouldn't end well.
"Uh, I think Bells and I need to head back. It's getting late," I lied. We didn't really have anything to do and it wasn't like we had a curfew or anything, but it would probably be better to go than to stick around and see where the idea of a challenge takes us.
"Raine. It's seven thirty," Kallie told me flatly. Well this is just a little awkward.
"Kal, I really don't think it's the best idea," Bells said.
"Come on, it'll be fun. Besides, the idea I have can also help with Kaden and Raine's romance," Kallie insisted.
"Fine, we'll hear it," I told her. "But that's not a guarantee we'll do it."
"Okay, just I'll explain it after."
"After? After what?" Kaden asked, shooting his sister a 'have-you-gone-crazy' look.
Just then the waitress walked in with the bill. We all turned to stare at Kallie, who simply flashed us a wide grin and handed her credit card to the waitress.
"Okay, what the hell?" Clark demanded once the waitress left.
Her grin grew wider. "A magician never tells her secrets. So. The challenge."
"Yeah, the challenge," I repeated slowly.
"I was thinking, it'd probably be better if the fans heard from you guys instead of the tabloids," she paused.
"Okay, so, what's that gotta do with the challenge?" Kaden asked.
"I was thinking couple photos. Twitter votes for the best pair," Kallie replied. Oh my god. Oh my god. No way. I didn't think it could get worse. And it just did.
"You and Brett are the only two that are dating," I pointed out.
"No," she said, drawing out the word. "You and Kaden are too." Not really. Just for the tabloids, and fans, and management.
"What about Clark and Bells?"
"What about them?"
"Kal-" I started.
"Come on, it'll be fun." Yeah, for some reason I doubt that. I mean, it'll probably be really awkward for everyone but Kallie and Brett. Kaden and I may be actors, but that doesn't means we don't feel stuff when we're acting. At least, for me, I wasn't sure about Kaden.
"What do the winners get?" Brett interrupted.
"One favor from each pair. They can decide whenever," Kallie replied.
"Fine. Let's do it," Bells said, surprising all of us. "What? It'll be fun," she added when all of us turned to stare at her.
Kallie grinned. "Okay, everyone got a phone?"
"It's New York, Kallie, people can't live without their phones," I told her.
She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me. "Okay, anyway, go for cute, or original or something. Has to be both of you in the picture, and no stunt doubles. Meaning, the couple has to be you and your partner."
The waitress came back with Kallie's credit card and a receipt.
"Let's go," Kallie said, taking both items from the woman and grabbing her bag.
"So how many photos do we have to take?" Clark asked as we walked out of the room.
"Ten? You can take more if you want," she replied.
"Can we post tonight? A couple Internet magazines released the stories and the fans are kind of attacking my Twitter. Probably Raine's too," Kaden said, tapping a couple things on his phone.
"Uh, sure, nine-o-clock meet at Kaden's?" Kallie suggested. We nodded. "Okay, break!" she exclaimed, drawing a couple chuckles from the guys.
"This isn't a football game, Kal," Kaden told his sister. She merely stuck out her tongue at him and dragged Brett away.
"So, where do you want to go to do this?" I asked Kaden, shuffling towards the door after Clark and Bells.
"Well, we need an idea first," he pointed out with a shrug.
Before I could reply, a somewhat familiar accented voice it in. "Oh, Kaden, my uncle wants to know, how is the signore?" Viktor asked, straightening from his casual position against the door that divided the kitchen and eating area.
Instantly, with his words, Kaden's playful smile dropped. "He's fine. Tell your uncle not to worry," he told Viktor, his tone serious.
"Alright," Viktor replied, regarding Kaden with a slightly doubtful look. "Nice to meet you, Raine. See you soon, Kade."
"What was that about?" I asked when Kaden tugged me through the doors.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it," he replied harshly before composing himself and pasting on a smile. "So, where do you want to go?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Well, like you said, we kinda have to have an idea first." I decided to let it drop for now. It wasn't any of my business and I wasn't exactly on the best position to intrude into his life.
"Um, how about the heart with hands kiss in the background thing?"
I stared at him.
"What? Kallie has weird photos on her phone. She calls it her inspirational folder."
"Uh, can we not?" It would be awkward. I knew we had to kiss in the movie, but that wasn't until later. I wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. It wasn't like he was bad or anything, it was just that he was my ex. And kissing would bring back feelings. Feelings that I didn't want.
"Wh- Is this about the kissing?"
I didn't answer, instead just looked away. Kallie, Brett, Bells and Clark had left. Or their cars had been stolen. Where was his car? I knew what Kallie's looked like, and I definitely knew what Bells' car looked like too, but I didn't know where his was.
"Raine-" Getting in a car can't really stop an awkward conversation, though.
"Why don't we go to the park? I kinda want a piggy back," I interrupted, forcing a light tone.
He sighed, stopped at a white Audi and clicked a button to unlock the car. "Alright, does it matter what park?" He opened the passenger door for me.
I shook my head. "Thanks." I waited until he got in on his side to finish ."Maybe not Central. There are usually a lot of people there."
"Okay." Unlike last time, it was kind of awkward. The only sound was the radio playing a series of love and partying songs. After twenty minutes and multiple 'I can't live without you' (awkward) and 'I want you tonight' (double awkward) songs, Kaden pulled over and parked along the street. He was around at my door and pulling it open in the time it took me to blink. He grabbed my hand and started walking down the street, pulling me along. Okay? Well. This is a little awkward, and it feels just a bit déjà vu-ish.
"So," I started awkwardly as we passed a sign that said Carl Schurz Park. "Whose phone do you want to use?"
"We can use mine," he offered, pulling his iPhone from his pocket. "Hey, do you mind taking a picture for us?" Kaden asked, stopping a teenage girl walking close to us.
"Yeah, sure, one sec," she muttered, her eyes on the phone in the hands. Finally she looked up and gasped. "You're Kaden Fleming!"
"I will never get used to that," Kaden murmured before addressing the girl. "Yeah, I am. Uh, please don't scream," he added, noticing her near hyperventilating expression.
Her eyes trailed down to our still joined hands. "Oh my god, are you guys dating?" she asked.
"Uh, kinda?" I answered hesitantly, not really sure if we should tell people -fans- already.
"Kinda? Babe, I'm offended," Kaden said, pulling his hand out of mine and wrapping an arm around my waist, instead, much like he had done at the restaurant.
"You guys are so cute," the girl squealed. "Can you sign my phone?" she asked, flipping it over to reveal a plain, white backing.
"Sure," he flashed her his infamous smirk and pulled a black Sharpie out of his pocket. He quickly scribbled his signature on the surface.
"You too?" the girl asked when he finished, moving the phone in front of me.
I'm pretty sure my eyes widened a considerable amount. "Yeah, sure." I took the Sharpie from Kaden and scrawled my name beside Kaden's, the last letters almost falling off the edge. "Sorry, first time doing this."
Now it was her turn to look surprised. "Oh my god, I took Raine Evans' autograph virginity?" What the hell?
Kaden, noticing my speechlessness, thrust his phone to the girl. 'Do you mind taking a picture of us? Kallie proposed a challenge," he said.
She blinked several times before speaking. "Yeah, of course." She accepted the phone from him and flicked the little button beside the Slide to Unlock to get to the camera.
"Yeah, I think I get how you aren't used to that," I said to Kaden as the girl took a couple steps back. He chuckled, then motioned for me to get on his back. "I feel like I'm going to knock you over.
"Don't worry. My abs feel like a wall, remember?" he replied, chuckling again. I took a deep breath and leapt onto his back, gripping his shoulders tightly and winding my legs around his hips to keep from slipping off. Once he steadied himself, I slowly slid my arms around so I could interlock my fingers at the base of his throat. "And smile for the camera."
Then I realized we were using Kaden Fleming's phone. "You're not scared she's going to run away with your phone or anything?" I asked, ducking my head down so he could hear me.
He shrugged slightly, causing me to tighten my grip. "It's two against one."
"What if she's some sort of Olympic runner?" I challenged, still grinning, though this time it was for real.
"Track star or not, I don’t think she could run very fast in those high heels," Kaden replied.
I looked back at the girl. On her feet were brown, three inch wedge sandals. How anyone can wear something with more than a two inch heel and still walk blows my mind. "Those are wedges."
"I don't need to know my fashion, Raine, I don't think it'll really come in handy," he said, almost singing the sentence.
Click.
The girl walked back towards us and handed Kaden his phone. "There, hope that one’s good."
"Yeah, it's great, thank you," he replied, checking the photo.
"No problem, I'm honoured," the girl said. Okay, yeah, I will never get used to this either. She checked her own phone, then quickly walked away.
"Okay, what's next?" I asked, trying to pull Kaden’s attention from his phone.
He turned to my abruptly. "Raine, what's so bad about kissing?"
"What?" Why was he asking this now? And how am I supposed to answer this? Was I supposed to tell him I didn't want to kiss him because I didn't want to bring back memories and feelings? That I hadn't moved on all these years? No, I'd look like a complete idiot. Who doesn't move on after three years? Especially on a relationship like me and Kaden's.
"We have to do it for the movie. And maybe the paparazzi," he told me.
"Can we not talk about this now?" I asked, looking around awkwardly. Then I spotted my saviour. "Come on, there's a pickup truck and there's a photo I want to try." This time, it was me who grabbed his hand and started dragging him back to the street. I didn't want to talk about. Not here, not now, not ever.
"Hey, can we use your pick-up truck?" I asked the man standing near it. Please let your pickup truck be clean.
"What for?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at us suspiciously.
"Just a photo," Kaden told him with an easy grin.
"Depends. There's stuff in the back and I don't want my license plate in a photo," the man replied. Despite his somewhat hard words, he looked more relaxed. Okay, I'm officially jealous of Kaden's talent in doing that with just a smile.
"We can just use the seat part, if you don't mind." He looked fine. Not like a stealing type or anything, or even a dirty one. He looked sort of like the neat, normal, family guy.
"Alright fine. It better be quick, though," he said.
"Five minutes," Kaden assured him. "And if you don't mind taking the photo?" He offered his phone to the man, who nodded and took it. "So what are we doing?" he asked, walking towards me.
I opened the door of the pickup. Okay, pretty clean. There was a candy wrapper in the foot rest part, but we weren't going down there so it would be fine. The seat covers didn't have any stains on them and the car smelled fine. It could be worse. "Okay, lie down."
Kaden shot me a curious look, but did as told. I can't believe I'm doing this. Is this really better than kissing? I asked myself. Oh well, too late to back out of it now. After making sure the door wouldn't slam on Kaden's, and later mine, legs I shifted on top of him.
"How is this supposed to work?" the man yelled.
"Just take a picture," I replied, resting my legs on Kaden's.
"This is interesting," he said, shooting me an amused look.
I returned it with a flat one. "Shut it."
"Where's the button to take the picture?" the man asked, loudly so we could hear him.
"It's the button near the bottom. Or side," Kaden yelled back.
No response.
Well, don't I just have the best of luck.
"I'm sorry." Worst time for an apology. Ever. But somehow, for some reason, I felt like I had to.
"For what?" Kaden asked, leaning back to get more comfortable.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. "The first time. Breaking it off the way I did." Okay, add worst apology ever to the list too.
"It's not your fault."
I shot him a doubtful look. "Oh, whose is it, then?"
It was then that I noticed how blue his eyes were, how much of the color swirled with the gray. I wasn't sure why this stood out to me so much, I guess it made his eyes look almost... Sad. Wow, Raine, nice time to be sentimental. You're getting your picture taken in some unknown guy's car for a challenge. "Mine."
"How's it your fault? How?" I felt like screaming the question, but instead it came out as a whisper.
"I found it!" The man yelled, but we paid him no attention.
"I shouldn't have said it," he replied, causing me to freeze.
"So do you regret it then?" The question came out even quieter than the one before.
Click.
"No. And I never will." He stared at me for a moment. "Come on, we should go."
-READ ME-
asdfghjkl; *dies* Raiden moments.
What the heck, though. This was supposed to be a light, fun, rainbows-and-unicorns chapter. Then it ended with that.
Might edit this a bit later. I'm half-happy with it.
Vote if you wanna know what Kaden said.
Comment, if you wanna know how Raine broke it off.
Fan, if you just want to know freaking everything. x3
Teaser: "So is this later? Do I get to know what you meant now?"
Update: Aiming for Friday. Latest will be Monday.
No question for this chapter 'cause I can't really think of one.
~JJ :)