Chapter 11
As I carefully approached the table where Nick was sitting, my palms began to sweat and I could feel the touch of butterflies’ wings as they flew anxiously around inside of my stomach. Once I was about three feet away, he stood up and watched me warily.
“Hey,” he said, barely whispering.
“Hey,” I responded, not much louder.
“You wanted to talk to me?” He questioned as I stood in front of him, staring back into his deep, brown eyes. They were like pools of chocolate, and so captivating all the same that I couldn’t spare to take my eyes away from them. “Remy?”
“Oh, yeah. I did want to talk to you,” I answered, sitting down in the chair across from where he sat, “I’m sorry. I misunderstood you and why you were here. I thought you were just using me and my friends like we were extra practice. I thought you weren’t taking me seriously, and when you were done with this, you were going to pack up and leave, forgetting all about me.”
“Never. Remy, you’re my friend; I would never do that to you. I would never hurt you, and neither would my brothers,” Nick assured me as he leaned across the table and looked into my eyes.
Well, I’m sorry for misunderstanding you,” I said, looking down at the table, embarrassed at my ignorance.
“Don’t be. Look, I’m sorry. I should’ve waited until some better time to tell you, not on the night of the dance. But it just felt wrong kissing you when you didn’t know,” he replied, blushing at the word kissing. “So, are we cool?” he asked, holding out his hand in peace.
“We’re cool,” I sighed happily as I shook his hand firmly and then reached across the table to give him a small hug.
“So, where were you, Kevin, and Joe today?” I asked once I had pulled away and situated myself back into my seat.
“Press conference for our new movie,” he said, playing with a straw wrapper that lay alone on the table.
“That’s cool. So, what is this movie about?” I questioned, excited to have my friend back.
“Well, so far, I know that I play a ‘mysterious kid with a dark past’,” he smirked, playfully using air quotes.
“A mysterious kid with a dark past?” I laughed as he nodded in reply, “That’s hilarious. I definitely have to come see this movie. Who do Joe and Kevin play?”
“Joe’s the popular kid who’s a jerk, and Kevin’s the reject.”
“Aw, poor Kevin,” I giggled with sympathy. “So, what’s the actual movie about?”
“Well, I’m not very clear on the plot yet, but I do know that we’re all kids in high school and that somehow we all come together to save our school. I don’t know what we save the school from so don’t ask me. And of course, there’s going to be some drama and love interests along the way,” he explained as he brushed his soft, brown curls away from his eyes.
“Love interests? This should be interesting. Who’s yours?” I teasingly questioned him as I tried my best to hide the twinge of jealously that coursed throughout my body.
“Me?” He pointed to himself as I nodded my head in response. “Um, in the movie it’s some girl named Sky Christie, who’s supposedly an outcast no one likes, but is secretly beautiful. Sky’s being played by Heather Hanson,” he stated, sneaking a peek at me from under his curls.
“Heather Hanson? The Heather Hanson?” I exclaimed, disbelief flooding throughout my veins.
“Yeah, she’s pretty cool. I met her a couple of weeks ago when we first signed on to do the movie,” he shrugged, oblivious to my excitement.
“Whoa, that’s so cool. She’s like the poster child for perfect girl. And she’s the Hanson brothers’ cousin, music legends,” I declared, readjusting myself in my chair.
“Yeah…Do you like her or something? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this excited,” he stated before motioning for a waiter from across the room.
“Well, Heather Hanson is my favorite singer. I mean, she’s got an amazing voice, and she writes really good music,” I told him as the waiter approached, and took our order.
“Really? I’ve never heard her sing. Have you been to any of her concerts?”
“No, and I’ve never met her either,” I sulked before looking back up into his eyes. “She just seems like such a genuine and down-to-earth person. She’s also gorgeous. I definitely need to find out some of her beauty secrets,” I nervously giggled, looking back down at the table.
“You’re pretty,” Nick barely spoke, his face flushing a crimson red.
“Thanks,” I blushed in response, anxiously shifting my hands in my lap. Just then our drinks came, and I quickly took a sip of mine, forgetting I had ordered hot chocolate.
“Ah!” I screeched, practically throwing my drink back down onto the table. “It’s hot,” I breathed as I watched Nick’s face crack into a wide smile, trying to fight away the laughter.
“I would think,” he managed to sputter out before falling over in laughter.
“What’s so funny?” I grinned, laughter fighting its way through my mouth.
“Yo-your face!” He managed to say before spilling into another fit of laughter.
“What? What’s wrong with it?” I giggled as the contagious laughter threatened to hit me too.
“Nothing, it’s just the, the face you made was hilarious,” He said, trying to regain control of his breathing before another fit of laughter and giggles came along.
“Hey!” I slapped him playfully on the arm, a wide grin spreading across my face. “It was hot; I couldn’t help it.”
“What do you expect? It’s hot chocolate,” he took a sip of his own drink, glancing at me from over the cup as he raised it to his mouth.
“You wanna go somewhere?” I asked as I took an apathetic look around the coffee place.
“Sure, where do you wanna go?” He stood up, pushing in his chair.
“We can go to my house and do our homework together,” I offered, following suit.
“Homework?” He groaned, handing the waiter a ten dollar bill before walking out the door with me beside him.
“Hey, just because you’re a famous rock star doesn’t mean you don’t have to do school work,” I told him as we walked out of the front doors to the hotel and ran across the street, dodging cars. “Plus, my mom’s going to be wondering where I am.”
“Okay, fine,” He reluctantly agreed as we continue on our way to my house. The distance to my house from the hotel is two miles, but we agreed to walk. As we walked along the sidewalk, I looked up towards the bright, blue sky and silently thanked God for bringing back my friend.
