*Cora*
I didn't expect my night to officially start at 9 o'clock with Theo Archer.
I really didn't expect to be called beautiful and perfect and be kissed on the cheek by Theo Archer.
Walking with him was awkward for the first two steps after the incident, but I loosened up fast after I called him out on his purple pants. (Like for real, what even are those?) I was still blushing like an idiot though and it didn't help that every time I looked at him, he was grinning at me like a child seeing candy.
He seemed different than I expected. I mean, I know you're not supposed to believe everything you see online, but the evidence was overwhelmingly against him at all points in time.
That was the defense I used when I started accusing myself for telling him my real feelings towards Elle. I'd never told anyone I felt inferior around her because I really did love her more than anyone else in the world. Well, except one person, but that doesn't count. Not anymore... It's just— you can't not feel a little inferior when your best friend has been offered modelling contracts and you're the class nerd/weirdo. You think it even if you don't want to.
A while later, we somehow ended up in a little pizza place on a street I'd never heard of. As soon as we walked in the doors, a portly Italian man made his way to us and eagerly grasped Theo's hand and pulled him into a hug. Not they typical guy hug, but a genuine threw-his-arms-around-Theo's-shoulders hug.
"Theo, my boy!" the guy boomed. "Back at last! And with a beautiful little one, I see." The man turned to look at me and the blush that still hadn't gone away deepened, if possible.
I gave him a small smile and looked at Theo, silently begging him to explain before I made a fool of myself.
"Good to see you too, Alfonzo," Theo said, totally at ease. It occurred to me how much time Theo must spend here to be on first name basis of the guy who could only be the owner of Alfonzo's Pizza Palace. (I know it's a stretch, but if you really think about it, you can get to that conclusion too.) "This is Cora Roberts. She's my, uh..."
"I'm a new friend, Mr. Alfonzo." I filled in, hoping that was ok. I looked at Theo, but he was looking at Alfonzo who was looking at me. I got confused real quick.
"Aww, there's no need for that, Miss. Just Alfonzo will suit me just fine," Alfonzo said with a hearty laugh.
"Alright then, Just Alfonzo. Where should we sit at?" I smiled and Alfonzo let out a roaring laugh.
Before he could respond, though, Theo cut in with, "I've got this one, Alfonzo." He gave a knowing smirk to Alfonzo who nodded in reply, also grinning.
I looked curiously at them, even more confused, but followed Theo as he started towards the booth in furthest back corner of the whole pizzeria. I knew why he picked this spot. It was well secluded from public view, but we could see everything still pretty well.
Almost as soon as we sat down a young guy about our age walked over. I was just about to question him when I noticed the logo on his shirt: he was a server, not a Theo groupie.
The guy was good looking, no question about that. He was the suave, Italian sort with dark hair and olive skin. He also had the most gorgeous, deep brown eyes I'd ever seen. Tie that all together with muscles that I could see even under his uniform and oh, my Lordy, Elle would be drooling right now.
"Theo. Hey, man. Haven't seen you in a while," the guy said.
"Luca. What up, bro?" I shook my head, a smile forming on my lips. Guys and their greetings.
"We can get to that later. First, you have to introduce me to Beautiful over here. Are you two together?" For the first time, Luca turned towards me and I extended a hand in greeting.
As much as I would've loved for Theo to introduce me to everyone, I was a big girl and could handle it. "I'm Cora, though I guess you can call me Pip. I'm a new friend of Theo's here." What can I say? I really like the new nickname. Luca shook my hand quickly and looked back and forth between Theo and me.
"Friends, huh? That means I have a shot," he said. "Though I don't know why you would pass this little slice of heaven up, you idiot." He directed this last at Theo who'd been watching our little exchange with an expression I couldn't identify covering his beautiful features.
"I never said I did, Luca," Theo said. My heart did a weird flip floppy thing at the thought that he might think of me that way. "All she said was that we're new friends. We only just met."
"Well, you'd better watch, or someone may come in and swoop little Pip here off her feet," Luca said. He returned his eyes to mine before he continued, "I may not be any kind of expert, but I get the feeling that, despite her size, she's not one to get swept off her feet easily. She's one to be sure she likes you before letting herself fall. And in your case, buddy, she doesn't look the type to get starstruck."
I smiled slightly at him. It was slightly unnerving having someone talk so blatantly about you in front of you, but I liked that he was so open about what he saw. It made me think that he didn't lie that much.
"Well, I'll keep that in mind," Theo said loudly, putting an abrupt end to the moment. "We'll have my usual."
Luca nodded quickly, realizing he still had a job to do and turned to walk back to the kitchen.
"Oh, and Luca?" Theo called and he turned back. "You can call her Cora because that's her name."
I cut a sharp look at him before returning to smile at Luca. "Sorry about him," I said. I motioned to the grumpy boy across from me. "He's grumpy when he's hungry."
That earned me the hint of a grin from Luca before he entered the kitchen.
As soon as he was gone, I leaned over the table and smacked Theo on the arm.
"Ow!" he cried. "What was that for?"
"What was that, Theo?"
"Oh, sorry. I just, uh- I don't know, really. I just don't like the idea of him calling you Pip."
I scowled. "This should be good," I muttered before continuing louder, "And why not?"
"It's hard to explain," he began.
"Well, by all means, do your best," I quipped. I couldn't help it, I just had to say it.
He sighed. "Look. I only have one friend my age. Well, one friend that's actually a friend and not a fame leech or an acquaintance. Then I met you and I knew that you could be my second, if I could manage to convince you that I'm actually a decent human being. It's stupid, but calling you Pip is kind of my thing and I want to keep it that way."
My jaw had fallen limp at some point and now hung open. I closed it, sure I looked like an idiot. "I didn't realize that. I'm so sorry. I guess I never thought about it like that."
Theo shook his head, clearly done with the conversation. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words were lost with the return of Luca with a gorgeous pizza.
I thanked him and he scurried off into the kitchen again.
I got a slice of what looked to be delicious looking pepperoni and extra cheese pizza and saw Theo do the same, staying quiet. I was about to take my first bite when a thought struck me.
"Hey, why do think you need to convince me that you're actually a decent human being?"
He looked up at me, cheeks full of pizza and I fought back a smile. I know that the magazines and paparazzi tried to get him either at his sexy best or his horrible worst, but this was the part they all missed out on: the adorable boy. The one who stuffed his mouth with pizza and then tried to talk.
"Mphhh, thephs uh luungh stophy."
"Theo, I'm gonna need that translated into English," I said and immediately noticed his cheeks grow slightly pink. I smirked. I liked knowing that few people got to see him like this. It was just proof that he was a normal teenager, like me.
He finished the bite and tried, unsuccessfully, to hide an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. I said that's a long story."
"Does it look like I have anywhere to be?" I spread my hands to illustrate my point. "You also still owe me the story of why Naomi slapped you, so you'd better get to talking. I'm gonna sit here and enjoy me some pizza."
Theo chuckled before giving in. "Alright. I'm going to explain the Naomi thing second, it'll make more sense that way." When he saw me nodding, he went on. "Two years ago, my first big hit came out and I was swamped with people and paparazzi and fans. It was gratifying, but also overwhelming. Then Lacey came into the mess. She's my manager, by the way. She got things under control, well, most things. Once she heard that I had a bit of a reputation as a player, she ran with it. Now, at this point in my life, I'd had one girlfriend and she had been the only girl I'd kissed. And that's all we'd done, too. Because of the fans mobbing me, though, the press decided that they were gonna print rumors saying I'd been spotted with a different girl every week, when in reality, it was just some girl trying to get into a paparazzi shot with me. My girlfriend dumped me because of it, but Lacey managed to convince me that keeping my image like this would boost album sales. I was 16 and stupid, yes, but I'd also wanted to believe her. Selling my music to an international fan base was such an amazing feeling and I never wanted to lose that feeling, so I let myself believe her. Selfish and horrible, I know, but I did it. Two years later, I hate this image of me that's shown to the public, but if I tried to change it now, no one would believe it and sales would drop exponentially. So, because of the public image I have, I assumed that I would have to convince you that I'm actually not like that at all."
I didn't know what to say. I had just been given so much info in such a small amount of time that, if it was all true, changed everything I'd ever thought about the boy sat in front of me.
"I know it's a lot to take in, but all I can say is that it's all true," Theo said. I sat back against the booth; pizza momentarily forgotten. I didn't care that I hardly knew him, I could tell that he'd just gotten a massive weight off his shoulders. He seemed almost ashamed that he put his image on the line for more album sales and I understand, but I couldn't blame him there, could I? If I was in his spot, I would've probably done something similar.
I looked up and saw the top of his head. He seemed to be studying his pizza intently. "Then they're the ones missing out," I said gently, but with as much feeling as I could muster.
His head shot up and I found myself looking into his eyes. I'd seen them in pictures plenty of times thank to Elle, but in real life, they looked nothing like those pictures and would never cease to amaze me: mostly dark blue, but with specks both lighter and darker scattered throughout them. They reminded me of pictures I'd seen of the Caribbean Sea at night: the lighter spots glowing in the dark like the beautiful bioluminescent plankton (even though that doesn't sound beautiful at all) and the deeper blues swirling beneath like an undercurrent. The colors melded together in a way that reminded me of a never-ending whirlpool, one in which I sort of wanted to fall into and get lost in forever.
"Thank you," he said in a slightly hoarse voice.
"Anytime," I spoke softly and felt a strange tension between us.
His eyes bore into mine and after a short pause, he continued speaking. "I know that you don't really know me, but I'd like the chance to prove this to you, Pip. If you'll be patient with me and are willing to give me your time, I will show you that this," he motioned up and down himself, "is who I am, not the person that the press and the media say I am."
I wasn't sure what to say, honestly. I knew my answer, but I didn't have the words in my head to say it. I stared at him for what seemed like ages and finally, I got out, "Yes. I mean, it's not that I don't believe you right now, it's just that there's so much evidence against what you just said that my head is spinning. But yes, I'd like to see if this is the real you."
He nodded once, still not breaking eye contact. "Thank you," he said again, barely audible.
I nodded too, unable to look away from his captivating eyes. Eventually, I managed to clear my throat nervously. "Now how 'bout you fill me in on why this has anything to do with Naomi slapping you."
The tension snapped and he shifted awkwardly on his vinyl seat,grimacing and I instantly felt better and got the feeling I was going to enjoythis discomfort for the next few minutes.