Okay, here's chapter three…
Enjoy.
"Jenna, where'd you put my sunglasses?" I shouted from the bedroom.
"I left them on the counter!" she replied.
"Well, they're not there!" I hollered back, going into the kitchen to look for a second time. "Ugh! You are so not borrowing my sunglasses anymore!"
"Oh, here they are, Meggie," Jenna called, walking into the kitchen a minute later.
"Thanks," I mumbled, putting them on top of my head. Mfy phone buzzed in my hand, and I immediately flipped it open.
u no, it would b polite 2 tell me
if ur planning 2 stand me up, dawson
I groaned and, calling a goodbye to Jenna and walking into the hotel room, answered…
patience is a virtue, gray
im on my way, so calm down
Shane (I had started calling him Gray after he initiated the trend by calling me Dawson) and I had been texting regularly for the past couple of days, and I felt like I had known him forever. He didn't seem like a pop star, just like a normal teenage guy.
My phone buzzed again as I entered the elevator.
its not nice to keep a guy waiting
I didn't even dignify his text with an answer. The elevator doors finally opened on the ground floor, and I speed walked through the foyer and right through the doors to the humongous pool.
I almost ran right past Shane, who was basking in the sun on a white plastic chair. He was wearing red swim trunks and had a white t-shirt wadded up on the plastic table by the chair. I was pretty sure that his eyes were closed under his red sunglasses because he didn't acknowledge me.
"Hellooooo?" I said, waving my hand in front of his face. He didn't react, so I pulled off his glasses. He kept his eyes closed, but I could see a smile playing across his lips.
"Gray!" I snapped my fingers inches away from his face, but he didn't move.
"Okay, that's the way you wanna play, huh? Fine, two can play this game," I mumbled to myself. I took off my own white glasses and replaced them with Shane's, and then I spread out on a chair next to Shane's. I gave a dramatic yawn and said, "Ahhh. I think I'll just go to sleep…"
Next thing I knew, I felt big, muscular arms under me, and I wasn't on the chair anymore. My eyes flew open, and I realized that I was in Shane's arms. He was walking towards the pool, and I realized what he was about to do.
Kicking and squealing, I yelled, "Gray! You better put me down!" The last thing I heard before the water engulfed me was his musical laugh.
I opened my eyes underwater to find Shane's glasses on the bottom of the pool. They weren't hard to retrieve, considering their bright red color, so I hung out at the bottom of the pool for a while.
Any minute now, I thought as I waited underwater. Any second and Shane will be jumping in to save me… I was running out of breath. There was no way he could know I wasn't drowning…why wasn't he coming in after me?
Finally, right after I was about to give up, I heard a splash in the water next to me. I whipped my head around in the water, my hair floating around me.
Shane's eyes met mine underwater and flashed me a grin. Huge bubbles escaped through his nose, and I giggled underwater. The giggle made me realize how low my oxygen supply was, and I immediately pushed off of the bottom of the pool.
When I broke the surface, I gasped for air. I treaded water for a second, and Shane joined me, looking concerned.
"Why the heck did you stay down there that long?" He asked when he realized I would be alright.
I felt my cheeks burning again. "Well, maybe I was drowning because I wasn't prepared for the water," I mumbled.
Shane chuckled. "Yeah, you really looked like you were drowning, Dawson. Seriously, don't become an actress when you grow up…Don't you think I would have jumped in sooner if I thought you were drowning?"
I stuck my tongue out at him, and he laughed his beautiful laugh again. I stared at him for a while, fully realizing how gorgeous he was.
Shuddup! He's four years older than you! My angelic side (who knew that was there?) told me. My line of vision lowered while I appreciated his muscles…his finely toned abs…his perfect pecks…Stop!
I finally snapped out of my trance when I noticed his expression change. Shane's grin transformed into a confused expression, his head cocked and eyebrows knit together.
"Sorry," I muttered.
"'Sokay," he said lightly, giving me a toothless smile and shrugging his shoulders. "Can't say I'm not used to it, to tell you the truth…I just didn't necessarily expect it from you."
"You don't even know me," I pointed out as he handed me a towel and we both sat down on our chairs. We didn't lie down, though; we just sat on the sides of the chairs so that we were facing each other, our knees slightly touching.
"Well, then, tell me about yourself," Shane instructed, as if it were the most obvious thing to do.
I took a deep breath. His expectant glance told me that I would not get away with one sentence.
"Okay. I have one sister, Jenna, and she's the only one that calls me anything other than Meghan; she calls me Meggie. She's pretty much the coolest person you will ever meet. I don't have any pets even though I love animals, which is a total bummer. But if I could have any pet, it would be a Dalmatian puppy, without a doubt. And I'd name her Jasmine. I love snow, but I hate the cold; which, if you think about it, doesn't really make sense because in Virginia we have cold winters but it hasn't snowed in years. Oh, and I live in Virginia Beach, like 5 minutes away from the beach, which is awesome because I love the beach. The sun is my best friend, besides my Jenna and a totally amazing girl named Gabrielle, who is my neighbor. Um, lets see…I play soccer and I love to swim, and Michael Phelps is, like, the best person ever. Besides Andy Roddick. I have a couple of months left of my sophomore year, which is pretty sweet because summer is the best time of the year. Oh, and I'm pretty much a nerd…"
I blushed when I finished and smiled at Shane meekly, waiting for his reaction. I was still trying to get used to being in the presence of a celebrity.
haneS was looking at me with his eyes full of unanswered questions. I really wanted to hear about him, though, so I talked before he had the chance to.
"Your turn," I said, resting my chin in my hand and looking at him expectantly.
He laughed. "Not so fast! I have so many more questions!"
"You're joking right?" I asked, my expression incredulous. "I don't think so. Go ahead, Gray…it's not polite to keep a girl waiting."
He sighed dramatically, but I saw a hint of an entertained smile playing around his mouth and in his eyes.
"Okay. I'm Enrique–"
"Gray!" He smiled his contagious smile.
"Fine, fine! I'm Shane Michael Gray, and I'm in this band called Connect Three…dunno if you've heard of it. Um…I have black hair…and I have three band-mates…" He paused.
"Looks like somebody's a little guarded against their personal life," I said quietly. He didn't respond. "You know, I can be a pretty good listener, if there's something on your mind."
Shane sighed. "Why are you so easy to trust? It's not good for me."
"Yeah, it is. Everybody needs somebody to just hear them out, every once in a while…without having to care about what Disney thinks."
Shane smiled weakly and sighed again, running his fingers through his wet hair. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" he admitted. We were both silent for a minute, staring at the wet cement underneath us.
Shane looked up and smiled truthfully, immediately lightening the mood. "Okay, here goes. I'm Shane, and I'm kind of a dork. I like to be funny and make people laugh, but sometimes I use humor to cover up other things that I'm worried about, instead of addressing the problem directly. I'm in a band with two of my best friends, which is awesome…usually. But sometimes I get jealous, and, although I never admit it, it really bothers me sometimes. Who gets jealous of their best friends?" He sounded disgusted with himself. "Like Nate. He's obviously the hot one, and all the girls love him, and usually I'm okay with that. I'm cool with being the funny one. But sometimes, you know, I'll see a packed arena with hundreds of posters, and I can't find my name on any of them…just Nate's. And Jason. He's this prodigy guitar player, and he's an amazing singer. Anyways, I don't get jealous that often, but when I do, it's bad. I have to like, leave the room and calm myself before facing my friends again, so they don't think less of me.
"That's another thing—always having to keep up a reputation for not only your fans, but your best friends. Especially Nate, since he's younger. I have to play the 'big brother' role, which isn't always easy. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and I don't want to stop for a long time, but it's way more stressful and difficult than we lead on in interviews."
He had been staring at the sky over my shoulder as he talked, but he hung his head when he finished. It was silent for a minute while he studied the concrete.
"Feel better?" I asked after a while.
He looked up at my and gave me a weak grin, but nodded his head with a sincere expression on his face.
"Don't feel ashamed, Shane. Seriously, everybody else gets jealous sometimes."
"But Disney isn't watching everybody else."
Well, there you have it.
Review, review, review!