5
"Marshmellows...We need marshmellows." I muttered. The girls were having a sort of slumber party. To my relief, Ryan was disappeared. No one knew where she was and I was glad. Nobody wanted to deal with her.
"Niks, have you seen the marshmellows?" I asked.
"No! I thought Tamrya bought some!" Nikki yelled from the living room.
"Are you telling me or asking me?" I asked.
"Telling you!"
"Well, I'm sorry. I haven't seen any."
Nikki sighed. "We can't have a sleepover without any marshmellows. Don't you want s'mores?"
"Of course I do, but what do you want me to do?"
"Get up off your lazy ass and go buy some!"
"Why don't you go?"
Nikki sounded exasperated. "Because I have to set things up before Christina and Tamrya get back. You clearly aren't doing anything, so I'm asking you to go now!"
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, but you don't have to be so pushy." I said as I walked out of the kitchen.
"Oh, and Kelly? Could you bring me back some gummi worms, too?" Nikki asked as I picked up the keys to my car.
"Okay." I grumbled.
I walked out the door and towards my car. As I jumped in, I saw some guy walk towards me.
"Oh, hey! Are you Kelly Clarkson?" he asked me.
I narrowed my eyes a little. How did he know my name?
I wouldn't have been so suspicious if he hadn't been holding the hand of a little girl. The girl looked about five and she had straight blond hair and gray eyes. I smiled at her but she didn't smile back.
The man extended his hand. "I'm Colin Reed, Ryan Starr's cousin. And this is my little friend, Jody Lynn Tobin. Ryan invited me here. I'm looking for her and a man named Justin. Does he live here?"
"Oh, yes. He does. And can I help you?"
Colin stared at me for a second. "Oh, well...I guess I'll just cut to the chase. I'm a reporter and photographer. Are you going anywhere?"
"Only to the local 7 Eleven and then I'm coming back." I said.
Colin grinned. "Okay. I think I'll come with you. You can talk to me while you drive."
I resisted, but Colin kept begging. "C'mon, this will give you great promotion. Don't ya wanna be in the papers?"
"Yeah, but_"
Colin and Jody Lynn hopped in my car before I could finish my sentence.
"Great! Let's go!" he exclaimed.
I sighed and started the car. I had no idea what was going on.
"Okay, Kelly. Let's start with the basics. How old are you, where are you from, what's your full name, and what did you do before this?" Colin asked.
"Uh...I'm twenty...I'm from Burleson, Texas...My full name is Kelly Brianne Clarkson...And I used to be a cocktail waitress." I said.
"And what made you want to do this?"
"I want to be able to do something I've always loved and to share my thoughts and insights with other people. That's why I wanted to do this."
"Do you have a nickname, Kelly?"
"Uh...Most folks call me Kellbell."
"Have you written any songs yet?"
"I've started."
"When was the last time you were in Burleson?"
"Um...Only two or three weeks ago."
"And do you have a boyfriend, Kelly?"
That question nearly made me hit an oncoming car.
"What?" I asked.
"I said, do you have a boyfriend?" Colin asked again.
Thoughts of Justin flitted through my brain. They nearly made my head swim. There was only one thing I could say.
"Nope. I don't have one. I'm too busy to even think about boys right now."
Colin smiled. Then he tried to cover up the fact he was laughing.
"Is something funny?" I asked, annoyed.
"No. Nothing at all. Those are all the questions I wanted to ask. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
We pulled up at the 7 Eleven. I bought the marshmellows and Nikki's gummi worms, along with a pack of Juicy Fruit for me. Colin bought himself a Snickers and a Crunch bar for Jody Lynn. Then we went back to the mansion. Ryan had shown up and when she saw Colin, she beamed. She and Colin went into the rec room to talk. To my delight, I saw Justin by the pool. He had a pained look on his face and he wasn't very happy. I wondered what was going on. I wandered over to him.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He looked up at me. "Who was that guy you were with?" he asked, that horrible expression still written on his face. It looked as if I betrayed him or something. It made me feel bad.
"That was only Ryan's cousin. He's a reporter and photographer. Ryan invited him over and he wanted to interview me. He came with a little girl."
"Why was he interviewing you?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't tell me why. He just said Ryan invited him." (Why was I explaining myself to him?)
Justin dipped one of his feet in the water. The expression on his face was gone, but he wasn't smiling either.
"Is there something else you want to tell me? I mean, I can tell. You look like you have something more to say." I replied.
Justin gave me a half-smile. "I guess I might. Can we go somewhere to talk? I have something really important to tell you." He looked a little surprised at me.
"Okay." I replied, my heart skipping a beat.
I followed him inside the pool house. The pool house is very fancy. It has all the comforts of home. A pool table. Reclining chairs...and much more. Justin sat down on the couch and I sat down in a chair.
"What is it you want to tell me?" I asked.
Justin got up from his place on the sofa and began to pace around the room really fast.
"I can't believe I'm telling you this." he replied.
"Telling me what? You haven't told me anything yet." I said.
Justin took a deep breath and sighed. "Just give me a few moments, Kelly. This might take awhile."
"Okay. I have all the time in the world. When you're ready."
Justin nodded and took another deep breath. Finally, he spoke. "Kelly, I think I like you." he replied.
"Well, I li_" I began.
"No, I think I really like you. I've liked you ever since that day we all had lunch together. I've never met anyone quite like you. You're...different. And it's not a bad thing. You're funny, outgoing, smart, easy to get along with, talented...You're someone who's on my wavelength. Someone I feel really comfortable with. And I feel that every time we talk, we have more and more in common and I can't get that off my mind. And I know you feel the same way, Kelly. You just don't want to admit it."
I was surprised by his bluntness. I liked him, too. But...there was something holding me back.
"You can't like me...Ryan...She..."
"Ryan's okay, but she isn't my type of girl. She'd make a great friend, but we just don't share the same magic like we do."
Magic? There was magic?
I backed away. He couldn't have liked me. All those girls who liked him... There were millions of girls now who tried to throw themselves at him and out of all of them, he liked me? Why?
"Kelly, why are you trying to run away? I'm trying to tell you how I feel and you try to run from me?"
"J, I'm not the one. There are other girls who are willing to do anything for you..."
"I don't want to have anything to do with those other girls! Kelly, listen to me! I want nothing to do with any girl who's stuck-up, divalike, whatever! I like girls who want to have a good laugh, to play and goof off, but who's also serious. And that girl is you."
I tried to cry, but it was no use. I smiled instead.
"You mean it?" I asked. But I was sure he did.
He nodded. I gulped.
"Well, truthfully, I've felt that way about you all along and I can't believe my own ears!" I replied.
"I'm not surprised." Justin replied.
He wasn't?
"You weren't?" I asked.
"No. I've always been able to sense things faster than others can. I could tell from the way we handled ourselves that night that you were interested in me."
I blushed.
"Oh, and by the way. Speaking of that, I'm sorry about the time I_"
"When you walked in on me in the dressing room?" I asked.
Justin nodded.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. But I hope Ryan won't find out."
We laughed.
"Hey, Kelly?" Justin asked me after we'd stopped laughing.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Is it okay if I kiss you?"
"If that's all you're going to do, then I don't mind."
"I know you don't." he replied, pressing his lips against mine.
And this time, I didn't budge.
"Kelly, where are you?" Nikki yelled.
I was still in the pool house with Justin.We were lying together on the sofa. He was holding me in his arms and I didn't want to go. I'd forgotten all about the slumber party.
"Let me take care of this." I whispered to Justin. I kissed him on the lips and walked towards the front door of the pool house. I slipped on one of my old nightshirts and ran to greet Nikki at the door.
"Niks, what's up?" I asked.
"The party's just beginning! The guys are out, Ryan and her dopey cousin are gone and Tristen and Jody Lynn are asleep. What are you doing in here?"
I hesitated. "Um...I'm not in the party mood right now. I'm still kinda tired from all I had to do today to get ready for the party and I'm just (I managed to fake a yawn) so tired. I need my beauty sleep. Just tell the others that I'm real zonked out. Tell them I'm really sorry." I replied.
Nikki shrugged. "Okay. Well, get some rest. We'll spend more girl time some other time with you, okay?"
"Sure. Sounds great, Nikki."
"Okay. See ya, Nikki."
"'Bye, Kelly."
I smiled and closed the door. Then I ran back to the back of the pool house.
"So, where were we?" I asked Justin seductively.
Justin gave me a mischievous grin. "Well, we were starting the part when you were kissing and licking my neck. Can you continue?"
I returned the grin. "I'd be more than happy to oblige."
We continued our now uncontrolable kissing. This was uplifting to the soul.
"Kelly, where were you last night? You missed the party of a lifetime!" Christina replied.
It was a bright and sunny afternoon. I was still 'zoned out', but I still managed to hear Christina.
"Huh? Oh, I was...around. What happened at the party?" I asked, barely showing any interest.
"Well, we played Truth or Dare and then Nikki..."
I started to zone out. Pictures of smiley faces, clouds, and Justin's faces began to appear in my mind.
"Kelly? Are you listening to me? Kelly? Earth to Kel!"
I snapped back to reality. "What'd ya say?" I asked.
"I've been talking for one minute and you haven't heard a word I've said? What's with you? Are you_" Christina stopped herself. "Wait a sec...She was right!"
"Who's right? Who's she?" I asked.
Christina looked at me and smiled a smile like she'd just figured out someone's little secret.
"I can't believe it!" she exclaimed.
"Believe what?"
"Ryan's right!"
Ryan? What the hell was Christina talking about?
"Are you going crazy, Chris? Do I_"
"Ryan told me she caught you up on the balcony fooling around with Justin. She happened to see you guys and she told us."
"But how'd she_"
"Maybe Justin told her to meet her there and_"
Justin asked to meet up with Ryan? After all that he told me the other night? I felt like I'd been slapped in the face. I actually touched my cheek.
"So are you and J really an item, Kellbell?" Christina asked.
I didn't answer her. I muttered something about going to the bathroom and left. When I reached the bathroom, I ran in there and slammed the door.
How could he? He lied to me. He told me Ryan didn't matter and he asked her to...! I couldn't even think about it. No tears came to my eyes, I was so angry! I marched up to Justin's room and opened the door.
He smiled when he saw me, but I didn't. In my anger, I slapped him across the face.
"What the hell...What was that for?"
"How could you? You lied to me. I thought..." My voice trailed off in a sea of sobs.
"How could I what? And what are you talking about?"
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about!" I said, nearly screaming.
"No, I don't. What are you talking about?" he wanted to know. He tried to wrap his arms around me, but I dodged him.
"Why did you think I wouldn't know?"
"Know what?"
"For fucking around with Ryan! And don't tell me you don't that!"
"Wait a minute. You just said that I was fucking around with Ryan? Kelly, I've told you that I don't like Ryan like that. And I thought you believed me."
"Why would you lie to me? After what you told me_"
"Kelly, I'm telling the truth! I don't have anything to do with Ryan! I mean, she's a pretty girl and all_"
"Oh, so now she's pretty! What am I then?"
"Kelly, don't act like that. That's not what I mean."
I shook my head stubbornly. Then I fixed my most fierce glare on him. "You know, when I first met you, I thought we had something going well for us. But now I see I was wrong. I'm a fool for ever falling for you! I hope you're happy with Ryan, because you won't be with me anymore!"
Then I let myself out, leaving Justin standing like a sock in the wind. I made my way into the bedroom I shared with the other girls and cried myself to sleep. It seemed to me that just when I thought I found someone I liked, he managed to slip away from me. Life was not fair at all.