I'm Ready for My Close-up

Chapter 1- The Last Sleepover?

By: Anonymousgrrl

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except the aliens in the basement. Shh!

I hope you like this story. Because I couldn't fit the preview on the stories page, here it is:

Summary: It is one year since Dial L for Loser, and Massie and Claire are as close as ever. In fact, they are too close for comfort for Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen. While Massie and Claire are off in California playing with Hollywood hotties, the world is turned upside-down in Westchester. Alicia becomes anorexic, and Kristen takes her place as the part one in the Twenty while befriending Olivia. Dylan has lost weight, but is still insecure about herself. So she joins an online support group for teens with famous parents. With their alpha gone, will the Pretty Committee fall apart? Find out when you read I'm Ready for My Close-up.

The Block Estate

Massie's Bedroom

8:53 P.M.

April 4th

"I can't believe this is our last Friday Night Sleepover before me and Claire leave! Good thing we'll be back for exams." Massie said in an excited but sad voice.

"Since when do you care about school? I remember when you cheered when we were expelled from OCD," Alicia replied grumpily. She recalled when she was Massie's perfect beta, and now that she was being replaced by Claire, she was as bitchy as ever. She had fallen into last place, and, even though she had been skinny her whole life, she started to use food as her comfort. In fact, she went to the mall yesterday for a secret shopping trip to buy all new clothes, size 2. Size 2!!! Thankfully, no one noticed her change of wardrobe because they all figured they were Spanish clothes from her cousins.

"Stop being such a party pooper, Alicia! This is our last night together for a while! Oh, btw, I have some stuff for the best beta in the world! It's about how you have to run the Pretty Committee while I'm gone, 'kay?"

Best beta in the world? Who is she kidding? Alicia thought angrily to herself. She reached into the Swedish Fish bowl (today's theme was beach or bust) and grabbed a whole handful of it. She really didn't care how much fat or calories were in one of the little candies, let alone all of them. She just knew they tasted good, and she wanted more. Once again she was ignored by the short-attention-spanned girls, so she was not seen swallowing down the mini-fish.

"I'm gonna miss you guys! You have to e-mail us every day, 'kay?" Dylan said with a hint of something Massie couldn't quite put her finger on. It wasn't a serious voice; yet it wasn't sarcasm either. Or was it? Massie started to get lost in thought but Claire's overly excited voice disrupted her.

"Of course, Dyl! I mean, do you really think we could forget about you? We love you. As a friend, duh!" Claire quickly recovered herself at the sight of Dylan's mortified face.

"Are you okay, Kristen? Your face is really pale," Massie said, trying to pull the attention off Claire because she was the only one who felt the same way.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled. It was the first time she had spoken since she had got there, and she was planning to make it the only thing she said there. The Pretty Committee made her everything because now she had nothing. The only reason she wasn't an LBR was because she used to have money, and that's how she met Massie. Massie made her everything, and now that she had no money, the only connection they had was their life-long friendship. And now with Massie gone, Kristen feared she would be photoshopped out of every picture, erased from every note, deleted from every buddy list, and banished from every conversation.

Suddenly a loud knock came from the door and everyone jumped into their sleeping bags. When Massie's mom or Inez came in, they had always called on the speaker phone. Once they heard a knock and they thought it was Massie's mom, and it turned out to be Todd and Tiny Nathan. They brought a camera with them and caught pictures of all the girls in their underwear! The girls learned their lesson, and now they are very aware of surprise visitors.

The girls hid in their sleeping bags until a familiar voice said, "Whoa, this place looks awesome, Mass."

"Derrick? Is that you?"

"Of course it is, snookums!" Derrick said in his best girly voice.

Everyone started laughing, and as he entered, his friends followed. Kristen quickly slipped back into her emo-like mode, because she remembered everyone had a boyfriend, or at least available crush, except for her.

"Hey, everyone, quiet down. This is important, so shut up, Plovert. Since Massie and Claire are leaving, we decided to crash this sleepover! Massie's mom said it was okay, so here's what were gonna do. Dudes, over here. You let the men handle it, ladies."

Dylan immediately perked up at the sight of Chris Plovert, along with Alicia because Josh Hotz was there, too. In fact, Derrington's whole posse was there, including a newcomer. Kristen started to watch him and knew she liked him, or at least the back of his legs. His strong, muscle-y legs.

I wonder if he plays sports, Kristen thought. Of course he plays sports; Derrington would have never even talked to him if he didn't play sports. I wonder which one though… Kristen started watching his tanned muscles flex as he tapped his foot on the floor. I have to meet him, no matter what…

The Block Estate

Spa and Gym

2:18 A.M.

April 5th

"Claire, wake up, it's me, Cam. Come on, we're going to the old stables." Cam said it so softly, Claire almost didn't wake up. She tried to maneuver so wouldn't wake up Massie, but then she realized she wasn't there. Claire was lost in thought on her way to the old stable/new Spa and Gym. Why wasn't Massie in bed? Why is Cam taking me to the Gym? Does this have something to do with Massie? I'm still tired from Twister; couldn't this have waited until morning?

"Claire, I have a surprise for you," Cam said quietly, but shaking ever so slightly. He sat down, and started shaking violently. He pulled out a small box that had a ring in it, with a tiny stone the color of aquamarine, Claire's birthstone. (A/N: I don't know if she says her birthday in the books, so I made one up. Sorry:)

"Claire Judith Lyons, I want to give you a promise ring, to show you how much I care for you. I've been saving my money for this since I started giving you gummy bears. Will you promise me to think of me every time you see it, and wear it everyday?"

"Ehmagawd! Yes. Yes, yes, yes!" Cam jumped up and hugged her. Then he slid the ring on her finger ever so gently, as if he was a professional. Then Claire heard a noise in the background that made her body jump out of her skin. It was a high falsetto of shrill shrieks. "Ehmagawd Derrick! Yes, I love it! No, it's not the size of the ring that counts, although it could have been bigger…"

Now Claire understood why Massie was out of bed. Cam and Derrick wanted to do something for Claire and Massie before they left! How sweet! Claire thought silently to herself. At the thought of that, Claire pulled Cam in for a long kiss, and then they walked back to the house together, hand in hand. And, without saying one word, they shared their love for each other the whole way back.

The Block Estate

The Veranda

5:52 A.M.

April 7th

It had been two days since the sleepover, and Claire still couldn't get over her ring. "Claire Judith Lyons… do you promise me?" Those words rang over and over in her head. But she jumped back into reality when a loud moan threw her face-forward into reality. It was 6:00 in the morning, she was going to Hollywood to "keep her options open, see what is available for her", her mother's words, btw, and now she was leaving her sweetheart forever (or at least it seemed like it).

"I can't believe we're leaving for Hollywood!" Massie yawned. It was just yesterday when she found out the time they were leaving and spent a whole half-hour complaining about "losing her beauty sleep". Now that it was time to leave, she was super excited. Maybe that was from her mini-caramel-frap-machine new from Starbucks, but what did either one of them know?

"It's time to go, girls," the two moms said from behind them. They climbed into the limo where Isaac waited, and started a new chapter in their lives as they headed out to California. Claire cried silently to herself, not knowing why, just crying. Goodbye, Westchester. Goodbye Pretty Committee. Goodbye Cam, Claire thought.

That was the end of the first chapter! Please tell me what you thought, good or bad. I would really like to know. Thx! 

-Anonymousgrrl-