Isabelle smiled and looked at Justin, who looked a little lost. "Go on ahead. I want to talk to the curly-haired wonder a minute." The others nodded and went ahead. "So, Justin, what's up?" He shrugged. "I met the girl of my dreams today. But� I don't know. She didn't seem to like me." Isabelle sighed. "Aww, hun, from what Leila's been telling me, Leslie doesn't like anyone. It's not you." He sighed. "I just thought, ya know, once we met, we'd�" Isabelle nodded, interrupting. "You thought that once she saw you'd, she'd fall madly in love with that charming face of yours and you'd live happily ever after, right?" He nodded, sheepishly. She sighed. "Justin, I know how much you like this girl� but I don't understand how you can. You've never even met her. What if she's the most awful person in the world? What if she's not as she seems to be? She's an actress, J. She can put on any face she wants. Remember that. Personally, I'd like to see you with someone more like Leila."
He looked at her, as if she were crazy. "Leila? Oh, c'mon Is. You're crazy." Isabelle looked at him, wonderingly. "Why is that?" He shrugged. "Because, she's so� plain." Isabelle looked away, a bit hurt. "She reminds me an awful lot of myself. I don't consider myself glamorous in any way, yet I'm dating JC. I'd have thought by now, considering your age, that it doesn't matter what she looks like on the outside, but what's she's like on the inside. She's not at all ugly, Justin. She's not drop dead gorgeous either, but then neither am I. So, do you think it's crazy that JC fell in love with me?"
Justin looked down, feeling guilty. "No, Is. It's just� she's Leslie's sister." Isabelle shook her head, sadly. "Well, then. You're missing out on getting to know a really great girl." She shrugged. "Personally, I think you two would've made a rather cute couple. But then again, I forgot. You don't think the girls that are actually capable of loving, are good enough for you. My mistake." And with that, she turned around and walked inside, leaving him alone to himself.
JC looked at his girlfriend curiously, as she walked in alone. "Where's Justin?" She shrugged. "He'll be here soon. He might need some time to himself, after getting hit in the face with a good dose of reality. Where's Leila?" He laughed. "She actually obliged to dancing with Lance." Isabelle smiled. "Good." She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned around to be engulfed in Justin's arms. "I'm so sorry, Is. I really am. Please don't be mad at me." He said, muffled by her hair. She pulled away and looked at him. "I'm not mad at you Justin. I just wish you wouldn't be so judgmental, is all." He smiled. "I promise, I'll try not to." She nodded. "Good. Now, why don't you go find some girl to dance with, eh?" He grinned. "I've already found her." He winked at JC, before pulling her out to the floor with him.
"So, Leila, are you planning on going to college?" She shrugged. "I wanted to. But I don't know if I am anymore." He smiled. "What do you want to be?" She laughed. "I don't know. But I do know, it's going to have nothing to do with show biz." He laughed. "You don't like being in the limelight?" She shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's just I see all the stuff my sister does, and I'd never want to go through it." He looked at her, seriously. "Is it hard? Being Leslie's sister?" She sighed. "Oh, you have no idea. I mean, it's always about her, and I'm pretty much used to that, but it hurts when my own mother doesn't even care enough about what I have to say. Like in school, my mom would always go to Leslie's plays and talent shows, but when it came to my basketball games it's like she could care less. She never came. I always pretended it didn't matter, but my dad knew it did. And that's partly the reason they separated. He always stuck up for me, and took my side against my mom and my sister." She laughed. "I'm sorry, I've gotta be boring the heck outta you." He shook his head. "No. You're not. If you've ever read any of those teen magazine things, you'd know that I'm the good listener in the group." She laughed. "Sorry, I never did read those. I don't really listen to pop music."
He smiled as he saw Isabelle coming toward them. "Hey, Belle." She smiled. "Lansten. I believe there's a phone call for you, from a Miss Gretchen Stanton." He smiled at Leila. "Thanks for the dance, Leila. Anytime you wanna talk, I'm here to listen." She smiled. "Thanks Lance." Isabelle smiled as he ran off toward the phone. "You havin' fun, yet?" Leila nodded. "Yeah, for once, I am. But, I'm gonna go get some air, for a minute. I'll be right back." Isabelle nodded. "Sure thing." She watched as she left, and smiled. 'Oh, yes. She is practically an exact replica of myself at that age. From the glasses, to the knee length skirts.' She thought to herself.
She felt a pair of arms, snake around her waist and she smiled. "Well, hey there." He smiled, resting his cheek upon hers. "Whatcha thinking about?" She sighed. "About how much Leila reminds me of me. It's uncanny." He laughed. "What did Justin say to you earlier?" She shrugged. "It was nothing, don't worry about it." He nodded and kissed her cheek. "Dance with me?" She smiled and turned around in his arms wrapping her arms around his neck. "I thought you'd never ask." He laughed. "I almost didn't, but then I saw this other guy making his way over to you, and I couldn't let him get anywhere near my girl." She smiled up at him. "Well, thank you, sir, for protecting me." He grinned as he took a bow. "Anytime, milady." She rolled her eyes, before he placed his lips over hers.
Leila walked outside and sat down on the grass, breathing in the night air. She smiled to herself, thinking of all the new friends she had made tonight. They were all so nice to her� well, that is except for Justin, who hadn't really spoken one word to her. She had learned from Joey, that he had a huge crush on her sister, so she guessed it was no surprise that he hadn't taken any notice of her. The thought of someone actually liking Leslie, made her sick. Sure, she was pretty, but that's about it. The girl has NO personality whatsoever. She sighed to herself. It's amazing how someone can like Leslie, who is probably the world's biggest bitch known to man, but no one liked her�
She sighed and buried her head in her hands, closing her eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see who it was. "Are you ok?" the voice asked. She nodded. "I'm fine, I just wanted to be alone." He nodded, sitting next to her. "Yeah, I know how you feel. It was getting kind of crowded in there." She didn't say anything else, just sat in silence. He looked over at her. "Um, Leila? Can I ask you something?" She sighed. "Sure, Justin, what is it?" He looked down. "Well, is it hard? Being Leslie's sister and stuff?" She sighed. "Well, that seems to be the question of the night. What do YOU think? Everyone always wanting to know if I can introduce them to her, or get her autograph for them? Always being second best? You tell ME."
He sighed. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked�" She held up a hand. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just, hard to talk about is all." He nodded. "I understand." She shook her head. "No, no you don't. People know YOU exist. People actually care about what you have to say. They don't ignore you and tell you to go back to your books. They don't make you feel as if you don't matter, or that you're a waste of air. At least you belong and you're loved." She looked away, brushing away a tear that had managed to escape. Silently, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. "Go on, Leila. Let it out. I care." That was all it took, before she began to cry tears of hurt and frustration into his shoulder. He barely even knew this girl, but for some reason, he felt the need to protect her overcome him. And that was exactly what he was gonna do. He just didn't know how, considering he was in love with her sister�
Six