I was at home, alone, watching our finished music video. 101, 205 hits so far on Youtube. It was doing well, considering it had only been out for about two weeks now.
I sighed and closed my laptop shut. I was bored.
It was a Friday night. Mae had gone out with some friends from the design studio she worked at now. Ian went to hang out with Gabe Saporta, who was in town with his band. They were going to go hang out with Pete Wentz. I didn't want to go.
I was getting tired of hanging out with celebrities all the time. I felt like I had to live up to some expectation and couldn't be myself. It was getting annoying to me. But Ian was loving it. He loved all the glory of the life of the famous. He spent his share of the money we got from the first tour and album to buy himself a nice apartment in up-town Beverly. He had moved in last week and had been having non-stop parties for the past week.
It seemed that whenever we were alone, he didn't want to talk. All we did was make-out or have sex. I felt my relationship with him becoming no more than a sexual outlet. I couldn't remember the last time we had gone out on a real date.
I sat up and went to the mirror to look at myself. I touched my hair, which was now long. I had gotten a feather braided into one side. On the other side, underneath, I dyed a few strands of it purple. I looked down at my hands. On the underside of my wrist, I had gotten a tattoo of different sized stars. I looked back in the mirror, surveying myself. I hadn't changed too much. Like my mother had said, I gained a little weight, which wasn't noticeable at all. Other than the subtle differences in my hair, I still looked relatively the same as I did about a year ago. I smiled weakly at my reflection. It was reassuring to know that I could see past the glamour of the celebrity life and still hold onto who I was at heart.
I went to my closet and changed into a pair of navy blue jeans and a loose-fitting white V-neck t-shirt. I braided my hair loosely and applied some light make up. Then I drove to Caleb's house.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hi Mrs. Rhodes. Is Caleb home?" I asked when I got to his house.
"Yes. Come on in, dear. He's just went in to take a shower. He'll be out in a few," she told me. She gestured towards the family room. "Make yourself at home, sweetie. Do you want anything to eat?" she asked me. I smiled at her.
"No, I'm not hungry right now. Thanks for asking, though," I replied. She patted my head. I liked Caleb's mother. She was always so sweet to everyone.
"Well, I'm about to go to the gym. If you get hungry, there's food in the fridge and snacks in the cupboard," she told me.
"All right, thanks!" I said. She smiled and walked outside. I tapped my fingers on the side of the suede couch impatiently. I wished he'd hurry up. I was bored and wanted to go do something.
I heard the doorbell ring and looked around. No one else was home and Caleb was in the bathroom. I shrugged and went to go see who was at the door. When I opened it, I saw a petite girl with moussy light brown hair and light brown eyes standing there.
"Uhhh...hi," I said awkwardly.
"Hi. Is Caleb here?" she asked me.
"I--uh...yeah. He is. He's in the shower," I said. She cocked her head to the side.
"Who are you?" she asked me. I wanted to ask her how in the world she didn't know who I was, but I pushed away my arrogant thoughts.
"I'm Vanessa," I said. "Who are you?" I asked her.
"Emma," she replied. I nearly choked on the air I was breathing. Emma?!
"Uhhh...come in, I guess. He should be out any minute now..." I said, confused and a little angry. Part of me wanted to know what she was doing here. The other part wanted to pound her face in for the way she had broken up with Caleb. The nerve of her. Coming here to his home. I took a few breaths to steady myself.
"I thought you were dating Ian," she asked me bluntly when she sat down.
"I...I am..." I muttered. She knew that Ian and I were dating and yet she had to ask what my name was.
"Then why are you here?" she asked me. I raised an eyebrow at her. Was that jealousy I heard in her voice.
"Caleb's my best friend. I came to hang out with him," I said.
"You should go hang out with your boyfriend. It's not fun being a third wheel," she told me. I had the insane desire to suffocate her with the decorated couch pillows.
"I think you'd be the third wheel in this situation. You two broke up a year ago," I said.
"It hasn't been a year yet. And I'm here to get him back," she told me, inspecting her highly manicured hand.
"Like hell you are," I said. She narrowed her eyes at me.
"Who's going to stop me? You?" she asked.
"Caleb's not dumb enough to go back to you, you little b-" I began, but was interrupted.
"Hey, Ness. My mom told me you were wait-" he stopped, looking between me and Emma. "Emma? What are you doing here?" he asked, thoroughly confused.
"I told you I was coming over, silly," Emma said, batting her eyelashes at him. Caleb blinked.
"I don't think--" Caleb started, but Emma stopped him.
"I wanted to talk to you. Alone," she said, going up to him and running her finger along his chest. I wanted to puke on her. Caleb looked past her at me, an apologetic look on his face. He looked like a helpless puppy with his bright blue eyes and dripping wet hair. Emma looked up and saw him looking at me. She narrowed her eyes at me. "Tell her to leave, Caleb," she demanded. Caleb blinked again, snapping out of it. Now he narrowed his eyes at her. He stepped back away from her.
"Vanessa's not the one that should be leaving," he paused, "You are," he said. Emma opened her mouth slightly in protest and anger. "Don't bother. You know where the door is," he said, putting his hand up and pointing at the door with the other.
"You're going to regret this, Caleb Rhodes!" she threatened.
"Right. I'll be sure to seek help when I do," he said, pushing her towards the door.
"Don't do this to me! We loved each other!" Emma pleaded.
"Loved being the key word here," he said. "I couldn't care less about you now. Get out and good-bye," he finished, closing the door and locking it. He turned around and looked at me. "Well, that takes care of that," he said. I smiled at him, shaking my head.
"What the hell is she doing back?" I asked him as he came over and sat next to me.
"Well she wasn't going to move to France. She came back at the end of the winter holidays last year," he told me.
"And how long has she been coming here?" I asked him.
"Recently, actually. Like a few weeks ago," he said. "I haven't been home. And when I have, I've just ignored her," he told me. "I think, though, now she got the message for good. Hopefully she won't bother me again," he said. I looked at him worriedly. He smiled at me. "Don't worry about me, Ness. I can handle myself," he said.
"I can't believe she had the nerve to come back here after what she did to you," I said, shaking my head. He shrugged.
"I can," he said. I raised my eyebrows at him questioningly. "We're famous now, remember? Of course she's going to want to come back to me. She just wants to be known as 'Caleb Rhode's girlfriend' and hang out with celebrities and stuff," he explained.
"Oh..." I said. "What a prick," I added. He laughed. "Oh well. You're Mae's now anyway," I said. He stopped laughing.
"Shut up," he said, turning his face away from me.
"Oh, come off it! You two totally like each other. I think it's about time you make a move," I said. He shook his head.
"Not yet. She just now started working at that studio. She's got a lot going on," he said.
"That's a dumb excuse," I commented.
"No one asked you," he said, shoving me into the pillows. I pushed him back. "
"Well you better hurry up. Mae's a pretty girl. She won't be single for long," I said. He rolled his eyes.
"I know what I want right now. I'm in no rush to get into a relationship," he told me. "What about you and Ian?" he asked me.
"What about us?" I asked, examining my split ends.
"How are you two doing?" he asked me. I put my hands down and looked up at the elaborately decorated ceiling.
"Fine, I guess," I replied.
"I have a feeling there's more to it than that," he said. I looked at him.
"I don't remember the last time we went out on a legitimate date," I told him.
"But you guys are always hanging out!" Caleb said.
"Yeah, but all we do is make-out or have...you know..." I trailed off, not wanting to go into details with Caleb about my sex life. He understood, though.
"But you're not fighting or anything, are you?" he asked me. I shook my head.
"No. It's like we're together physically, but not emotionally," I said.
"What do you mean?" he asked. I shrugged.
"I don't know. Sometimes I feel like the trophy wife kind of girlfriend," I told him. "Like, I feel like he's only with me for show; like 'Oh, look at me and my hot girlfriend...'" I said. He raised his eyebrows at me and then bit his lip. "What?" I asked. He looked down at his hands. I could tell he was debating on whether or not to tell me something. "What's wrong? Did Ian say something to you?" I asked him. He shook his head.
"No, he didn't. But..." he trailed off, biting his lip. "Ness, I told you this when you two first started going out and I'm going to tell you again. Be careful. Ian's a hot-head and he doesn't know what he's got 'til it's gone. I don't want you to get hurt," he told me. I smiled at him.
"I can take care of myself, Caleb," I assured him.
"I know you can. You're strong. I just...be careful is all I'm saying," he said. I nodded. "If you want, I can tell Ian to take you out on a date," he suggested. I shook my head.
"No, don't do that. I want him to realize for himself," I told him. He nodded.
"Hungry?" he asked.
"I wasn't before, but I am now," I said.
"Let's go eat, then," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"No...stop....Ian...STOP!" I yelled, pushing him away. I buckled my bra up and pulled my shirt on over my head.
We were in his apartment. It was Sunday night and I had had every intention of sleeping over at his place. But now, I just wanted to go back home.
"What the hell is your problem?" Ian asked angrily, his hair ruffled and messy.
"This! This is my problem," I said, indicating me and him.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"All we ever do is make-out or have sex. I'm sick of it, Ian! I'm your girlfriend, not a plaything!" I exclaimed. He glared at me.
"Well what do you suggest we do?" he asked. "We can't go anywhere in public or the paparazzi will drown in pictures and questions," he said.
"Then be creative! If you care enough about me, you'd want to do something other than just kiss me," I said, getting up and putting my shoes on. He buried his face in his hands, frustrated. My phone buzzed on the table. I looked at it.
"Mom?" I asked, picking it up. I heard sirens in the background and my heart suddenly dropped.
"Vanessa! H-hurry! Your father! He-he's..." she stammered frantically. My hands began shaking.
"What happened, Mom?" I asked. She stammered some more, making no coherent sense. Ian looked at me and I felt my face pale. "Mom! Calm down! What happened?" I cried, getting frantic myself. I held onto Ian's shoulder tightly, feeling dread creeping in.
"Your father had a heart attack," she finally managed to say.
I dropped my phone and the battery fell out.
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A/N: Uh-ohhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! What's going to happen to Vanessa's daddy? We'll find out soon!
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