"I'm telling you to loosen up my buttons, babe
But you keep frontin
Say what you gon' do to me
But I see nothing"
-- Buttons / PCD --

"Bye, sweetie," Claire waved walking towards the elevator. Run, she thought to herself, run over and kiss me!! Her anticipation reached max when Cam called, "Wait!" She turned around smiling big. Instead, as if to crush her high hopes, he ran over and passed her her phone. "You forgot this."

Wow, what a thrilling relationship.

She forced a grin on her face and said, "Oh. Right. Silly me." He smiled and without even a kiss on the cheek, he walked back to his room. Claire walked back home. She rubbed the sole inbetween her eyebrows and with the other hand grabbed a pack of ciggarettes. Right when she was about to light a stick, her phone screamed Hush, Hush! Hush, Hush! Irritated with her completely old ringtone, she flipped it open angrily. "Lyons! Where the hell are you?" her boss yelled.

"Huh?"

"You were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago, we have Derrick Harrington here!!"

"Derrick?!"

"What, you know him or something?"

"Y-Yeah, he's actually my fr- -"

"Wish I could hear the whole story but I'm already crying, now move."

Not even aware that she was supposed to be at the office, apparently 10 mintes ago, she dashed out to the street and caught a cab. "Gramps Office, step on it!" Claire yelled at the driver, clutching her bag close to her as if someone were trying to yank it away. When they were a few minutes away, Claire fixed her make up and hair, and when they got there said, "Thanks so much," in a completely different tone. The same tone she uses for Cam.

Tapping her feet restlessly waiting for the elevator to each floor 24, she took the battery out of her phone. As she expected, the second the doors opened the Boss Gramps Herald yelled in her face with his annoying a-little-too-british-but-I'm-American-accent, "DID YOU NOT GET MY PHONE CALLS TO MOVE YOUR ASS 110 TIMES?!"

"My phone's out of batteries- -"

"I bet it doesn't even have a battery in there, so get in there and respectfully greet your new co-worker."

"Co-Worker? What?"

"Are you DEAF?! MOVE."

"Yes, sir."

She got in the room and saw Derrick grin expectantly at her. "If it isn't our very own, Claire Lyons."

"And Mr. Harrington! What are you doing here?"

"Well, actually, I'll be working with you from today."

"I know, but I mean- -"

"Just for a month, no worries. Your Cam won't need to worry."

"Uh, what is that supposed to mean?"

Derrick smirked mysteriously and turned to his new boss. "Getting a long?" He asked.

"Oh, looks like we'll be good friends."

"Well, good. You guys should begin working then."

"...On what?" Claire asked.

"Starting from August, we'll be running the BeRouge, StayGreen"

Claire's was working for a magazine called Rouge Silk, a grown up version of Seveteen, like Glamour. Claire had worked on adding an enviromentally friendly page to the magazine for the longest time, and her drams were finally coming true. "You- - N- -Are you serious?!" Claire squealed, jumping up and down in excitment. "B-But why you?" she asked, looking at Derrick.

"I'm sorry, Harrington, Lyons here doesn't seem to know that you just quit working at BBGUN BOY. I'm trying him out for a month, that's what he's signed for. If I like him, he stays."

"If you don't?"

"What are you stupid, girl? He leaves."

"...Um, okay, this is g-great!! I- -"

"Lyons, do me a favor. Take your thumb and index finger, and pinch your mouth. You're keeping me here longer than I want to be. Scatter now or you're trapped, you too Harrington."

The boss walked out without another word. Derrick stretched his arms, and grinned eerily at Claire. "What?" she glared.

"When you talk to Cam," he began from nowhere, "You talk like you're the sweetest girl. And when you talk to everyone else, you've got that same voice. But when you talk to me...You talk with your real voice."

"Real voice? Like you would know."

"I would. Icy cold, unwelcoming - -"

"I think you can continue amusing yourself without me here."

Claire held her bag tight and left the building. She took a seat right outside and took another drag. What was wrong with her life? Derrick was right. She was perfecting that "sweet girl" personality, but that wasn't the real Claire, at least it hasn't been, not in a while. But how on earth did he figure that out? Because now, he must know that she was completely unsatisfied with her life - her love life too, not to mention. And why on earth did he join Rouge, of all magazines? It was the girliest of the girliest. His motives were unclear, and Claire - -

"Maybe," Derrick said. Claire whipped her head around and jumped back when she saw Derrick in the dark, a small light illuminating his eyes but shadowing below them. "Oh my God!!" she screamed, dropping her cigarette. She stepped on it immediatley so it wouldn't burn the place down. "What the hell, Derrick!! You're seriously creeping me out!!"

"Just trying to have fun- -"

"That isn't all you're trying to do. God, just stop it!! What is wrong with this day?! And why the hell did you, of all people, have to make it worse?!"

"Everyone has a bad day once in a while, but at least you got your Eco page. You should be happy," he shrugged.

"What is it you want from me? Why did you join Rouge?"

"I have my reasons."

"...Wh-Whatever, just leave me alone. Please."

"Stop being such a drama queen, Claire, a second ago you were asking me the questions to life, and now you're telling me to go away."

"So- -J- -I- -Y- -What's your point?!" She grabbed another cigarette.

"Maybe you're not that girl that everyone thinks you are."

"That's been established, thanks to you."

"So would you mind?"

"Would I mind what?"

"Excitement."

Derrick picked her up and grabbed the cigarette. He took a puff, threw it down on the floor, and kissed Claire, as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

"Your Cam won't need to worry." Indeed.