chapt9

Chapter 9~
The Party

�I want you to want me. I need you to need me,� Charity sang as the hot water poured down on her in the shower, �I love you to love me, and I�m begging you to beg meeeeee!� Charity wanted to make sure she looked great for the party. If Chris and her were supposed to be going out, she had to make it look real. Once she got out of the shower, Charity blow-dried her hair using styling gel, making sure every strand of her hair was curving in. She slipped on a light orange skirt that ended just below her knees. Charity bought a Banana Republic tank top the day before to match it. She put on her silver necklace and bracelet. By the time she was done, it was already 5:30.
	She heard the doorbell ring as she slipped on her shoes. Charity ran to the door and fixed her hair one more time before opening it. Chris was wearing a light green collared shirt and khakis. His hair glistened in the moonlight more than ever. 
	�Don�t you look stunning?� Chris said in a deep voice.
	�I know� Charity sighed as she fanned herself with her hand. �You�re not too bad yourself.�
	�Well when we�re trying to make a scene together, you gotta make a scene out of yourself. So are we ready to make some people jealous?�
	�Chris, I was born ready.� Chris laughed and took her hand. Charity and Chris went into Chris�s Jaguar, ready to make a scene, make people jealous, and still look glamorous at the same time. They arrived at the Hyatt Hotel for the party at 5:45. Chris saw Greg�s convertible and Frankie�s BMW in the parking lot. Charity held Chris�s hand and entered the party room. There was a large banner hanging from the ceiling that read, �It Happens Every Time.� There were blue and green decorations all over the place. They anxiously walked over to Dream Street�s reserved table, smiling at each other. Greg (who had his arm around Jordan�s shoulder) dropped his mouth open at the sight of them.
	�Looks like someone found a date,� Jesse teased.
	�Oh, shut up Jesse,� Brittany laughed, �Don�t tease them. Hey, I�m Brittany.� Brittany introduced herself to Charity.
	�Hi, I�m Charity,� Charity replied. 
	�Hey guys!� Charity shouted, looking from Jesse to Greg to Frankie and then to Matt who was pigging out on the cocktail food. Each of the four guys had a lovely girl sitting next to them. Charity was about to take off her coat when Chris took it off for her and put it on her chair. Afterwards, Chris pulled back the seat so Charity could sit. She stared wide-eyed at Chris, amazed at what a gentleman he could be. The last time she was treated this nice was when she was a baby.
	The DJ had been playing the song �More Than That� by the Backstreet Boys. Charity grabbed Chris and dragged him across the dance floor. They put their arms around each other and moved closer together. When they got comfortable dancing together, Charity set her head on Chris�s shoulder. 
	�Ppsst!� Greg elbowed Frankie, �Are Chris and Charity going out?�
	�It looks like it!� Frankie exclaimed. Frankie didn�t know why Greg was so uptight about it.
	Throughout the party, Chris and Charity continued to flirt and act like a serious couple. Chris fed Charity some of his ice cream dessert and put his arm around her.
	�So are you two just good friends?� Matt questioned them.
	�Who knows? Maybe more,� Charity said staring at Chris. 
	�Ohhhh! Someone�s getting it on!� Matt joked.
	Charity was having a blast while tricking many people and flirting with Chris. At some points in the party, Charity started to actually think that her and Chris were a real couple. This whole scam thing was getting to her heard. Actually, it was getting to both of their heads.

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	It was time for Dream Street to make their speeches and thank you�s. All five Dream Street boys went up to the podium at the front of the room. There were cameras and the Press all around them. They boys each individually thanked their families and close friends. All of them thanked their manager, Adam and all of their fans. When it came to Chris�s thank you�s, the scam had gone to a huge extent. 
	�First and foremost, I�d like to thank my family. I love you guys. Without you, I wouldn�t be here. I�d like to thank Adam for dealing with all five of us; that must have been pretty hard to do. Haha. Thank you Claudia. Thank you Frankie, Jesse, Greg, and Matt. You four had to deal with me the most- how DID you do it? Thank you fans! Without you our single wouldn�t have reached number one!� The crowd started to cheer and laugh. Most of them were screaming Chris�s name. Then Chris�s voice became softer. �And last but definitely not least, thank you Charity. You supported me so much and gave me hope. You are so special to me and I thank God you are mine.� Greg, Matt, and Frankie had also thanked their girlfriend, but never said anything more but their girlfriend�s name. The crowd stirred and �awwww�-ed at the same time. 
	Charity turned bright red when the spotlight came on her. She smiled at Chris when he winked at her. Chris held out his hand and spoke through the microphone. �Come up here, Charity!� Charity walked up to the podium, face bright red, staring into Chris�s light brown eyes. When she made it up to the podium, they kissed each other on the cheek and hugged. This was one of those moments where their relationship seemed almost real. Chris felt that same realness inside him, too. The Press soon caught on. They jotted down notes about Charity and how they had casual flirts. Chris�s plan was definitely working.
	Chris and Charity made their way back to their seats. He noticed Charity�s shocked face as he sat down. �What?�
	�You have got to be the best pretender I ever knew,� Charity whispered in his ear.  She pressed her lips against his cheek so the Press would be even more interested in Chris�s love life. But that wasn�t the only reason why she kissed him. Charity visited the Lady�s Room as Chris waited for her at the table.
	A girl from nowhere suddenly came up behind Chris and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smelt his hair and kissed the back of his head. Chris lifted his head to see Adrienne�s eyes glaring into his. 
	�Hi hunny. I hope I�m not too late,� Adrienne said in an angelic voice. Chris suddenly got tense. He had to keep up with the plan to make Adrienne jealous. He couldn�t get weak just then.
	�What are you doing here?� Chris retorted. 
	�Well Greg told me you didn�t have a date for the party. What�s the matter? Can�t I see my boy anymore?� Adrienne gave a puppy face.
	�Oh you wanted to see your boy? Brian isn�t here. Sorry to burst your bubble,� Chris said angrily staring at Greg across the table. Greg sunk in his chair and his face turned as bright as an apple.
	
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Charity just got out of the bathroom when she was searching around for Chris. When she spotted him, she saw a girl hanging around him. Chris looked like he was pushing the girl away and giving her nasty looks. 
	�Ohhh�you must be Adrienne,� Charity thought to herself. This was the right time to make her move. Charity walked over to Dream Street�s table and winked at Chris secretly. 
	�Sorry I took so long, Babe!� Charity exclaimed. She brushed Chris�s hair with her hand and leaned into his face. Charity�s and Chris�s lips touched. For the first time ever her and Chris kissed. As weird as it was, this kiss was just supposed to be part of a scam. To Charity, it meant more than that. Charity turned in her chair to face Adrienne.
	�Oh, you must be Adrienne. I�m Charity, Chris�s girlfriend.�
	Adrienne looked from Chris to Charity in disgust. �Get away from me,� Adrienne shrieked as she stormed away. Chris smiled at Charity. Charity�s slyness impressed him and made him think more of her. Everyone at the Dream Street table burst out with laughter.
	�You go girl!� Nina, Frankie�s girlfriend, gave Charity a high-five. 
	�Did you see her face? I would pay big money to see that again!� Frankie chortled. 
	�That was devilish!� Brittany commented.
	�Yeah!� Jesse shouted, �Greg, I can�t believe you told Adrienne to come.�
	�Yeah, Greg. I can�t believe you did that!� Jordan exclaimed.
	�But Chris sounded desperate when I asked him if he had a date. Sorry, pal,� Greg looked at Chris. 
	�It�s good,� Chris replied. Chris wasn�t as surprised about the whole Greg thing as he was with the whole Charity thing. Chris just gazed at Charity.
	�What?� Charity asked while laughing.
	Chris repeated what Charity said before, �You have got to be the best pretender I ever knew.� Charity and Chris laughed a while. They had to admit that Adrienne�s expression was amusing. 
	The next half hour of the party went pretty well. Adrienne didn�t bug Chris and Chris�s plan was progressing even more. The Press kept on taking pictures of Chris and Charity on the dance floor, and people kept on coming up to Chris to ask him if him and Charity were going out. After their legs became tired they went to grab some dessert at the buffet.
	�Chris, I want to go home now,� Adrienne complained from behind his back. Charity turned around and was grossed out by the site of her.
	�You NEVER give up, do you?!� Charity complained in her head. 
	�Why don�t you call Brian to pick you up?� Chris laughed.
	�Very funny, Chris. Brian and me are over and done with. He�s such a loser. Will you bring me home now?� Adrienne urged. Chris looked from Charity to Adrienne and then to Charity again. 
	�I can�t believe that Chris is actually thinking about bringing Adrienne home,� Charity thought, �Doesn�t he remember the plan?� Charity started to realize what the purpose of this plan was. The only reason Chris came up with this scam was to get Adrienne back. Chris was starting to get what he wanted, but Charity wasn�t. The scam wasn�t supposed to be over until she got Cameron jealous of her. But was Cameron the person she really wanted? 
	�You�ll be able to find a ride home?� Chris asked Charity. She couldn�t believe her ears. Although she had to understand that he wanted Adrienne and not her.
	�Yeah, I�ll ask Jesse or someone. Go ahead,� Charity offered. Charity watched as Chris took Adrienne�s hand. They walked together out of the room. Charity glared at the both of them until she couldn�t see them anymore. Her eyes became watery, but she couldn�t explain why. She went back to the Dream Street table. Charity figured that she would go home with whichever one of the guys wanted to go home first. She sat patiently in her chair. 
	�Princess Charity Teeting, may I have this dance?� Charity turned to the side of her chair and saw Chris bending down on one knee, offering his hand. Charity smiled a shocked smile. What happened to Adrienne? Why did Chris come back to her?
	�Well, I don�t know. I wanted to dance with this other guy,� Charity sighed.
	�Oh?� Chris frowned
	�Yeah, he just left with this girl. I should�ve known better than to like a guy from a boy band,� Charity laughed.
	�Well, hey! I didn�t want to dance with you either. I wanted to dance with this other girl named Charity. But I thought she wouldn�t like to dance with me. She seemed out of my league,� Chris smiled.
	�Oh I�m pretty sure she�d like to dance with you,� Charity said in a mature voice. She took Chris�s hand as he led her to the dance floor once again. Once they moved closer and became comfortable dancing to a slow song, Charity had to ask Chris a question.
	�So what did happen with Adrienne?� Charity smiled wickedly. 
	�You actually think I would leave you for a snob like Adrienne?� Chris replied, �I took her out to the limo and told the driver to take her home. It would be un-gentleman like of me if I didn�t make sure she had a ride home.� 
	�You know, considering the fact that you didn�t get Adrienne and I didn�t get Cameron�our plan did work,� Charity grinned.
	�How?� Chris asked with a puzzled face.
	�We both got who we wanted,� Charity replied with a wide smile on her face. Chris leaned into Charity�s face and kissed her. It was just like the kiss they did before when Adrienne was around, except this kiss meant way more than just a scam to both of them.

T*H*E   E*N*D