Chapter 4 –
From here until the end of the story, I'm going to just title the chapters with numbers. It takes too much time for me to think of a title. This chapter is kind of long, hope you like it guys(: Remember to please leave a review after reading, and let me know how I'm doing! I want to know if you guys are liking this stuff you know. Thanks! (:
*BTR-TeamCarlos (Charlene)
Rehearsing at the studio was awkward today. The guys knew I liked Star, and I prayed that they wouldn't let Gustavo know. As we sang in the booth, I kept my eyes on the lyric sheets to avoid looking at her. She sat next to Gustavo while listening to us. I managed to steal a few glances every now and then. She was really enjoying our music, sometimes I saw her singing along with us.
Kendall and I still weren't at ease. We stood as far away from each other as possible. James and Logan tried their hardest to get us talking again, but it was hard for them to get through to us without Gustavo noticing. I was glad that Gustavo was as intimidating as he was. It really came in handy. Of course, I never thought I'd enjoy Gustavo's terrifying stares, but today, I did.
I accidently made eye contact with Star and her smile threw me off track. I stopped singing and smiled back at her. I felt the heat rise up as she waved at me. My chest was trying to tell me something. It felt like my heart wanted to jump out and slap me for being too shy to wave back.
"Carlos!" Gustavo yelled through the mic. I apparently stopped singing for 30 seconds and I ended up missing my part.
Gustavo's booming voice was about to cause my eardrums to explode so I took off my headset and walked out of the booth. The guys came along with me.
"You boys realize that these demos do mean something, right?" Gustavo had his fingers pressed against his temples.
"Yes, yes we do. And it would be stupid of us to throw it all away over something small that could end up being a huge mistake." Kendall was kissing up again, and I knew that last remark was towards me. That sorry ass. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
"Good. Now Carlos, you need to FOCUS! Like Kendall her. Always on top of things… well, mostly." I think Gustavo sort of knew what was going on, but I didn't want to hear his bull right now, so I interrupted him in the middle of his 'Be Just Like Kendall' speech.
"I kind of don't feel so good. Can I go to the restroom?" I pretended to fake vomit. And I'm glad it worked cause Gustavo flinched and dismissed me.
I walked out of the studio and into the hallways of the infamous Rocque Records. I passed by the restrooms and headed through the front doors. Forget those guys. I'm going for a walk. I stepped from the building and into the busy LA district.
Clouds stuffed the sky. It looked like dirty cotton candy was overflowing the world. I started walking towards the Palm Woods. I knew it was going to be an extremely long walk, but I wanted to take a bite out of the world. I wanted to step out of my 'too good to be true' boy band life, and into the world that was always here, but was so absent in a way.
Cars zoomed through the streets, some overtaking others, and some patiently driving behind the really slow ones. I was done driving behind Kendall. I was ready to show him and the others that I could stand away from them and be my own person. I can think for myself. And right now, I think the demos didn't matter as much as they used too. They still meant a whole lot, but their not my life anymore.
I started having flashbacks of the day we got Hollywood fever. The Jennifers told me that if I wanted to be heard, then I'd have to be a piranha. But I picked a tiger shark. The feeling of having it all at my fingertips was coming back. But I didn't want to become too self-centered. I just needed to get it through that I may be a wreck sometimes, but I can lookout for myself. I can be an independent person. I started to wonder if Star thought about me like they did. I shook the thought off – if she did, then she wouldn't have admired me so much. But is that all she thinks of me? Just an inspiration? Just as a best friend?
Just as soon as I stepped on the grass at the nearby park, it was as if some paparazzi took a gigantic camera and snapped a picture of the world – lightning made its mark every minute. The dirty cotton candy in the sky started to dissolve and I was soaked within seconds. Kids ran to their parents or hid under some lunch booths. I didn't mind getting wet, so I just kept on walking through the park.
I was walking at a slow pace. I realized I was only 2 blocks away from the studio when Kelly started calling my cell phone. I ignored it. I wanted to finish my bite. I was still busy taking in the world. Stopping in the middle of my tracks, I looked up at the rain and opened my mouth. About the same time that a few drops fell on my tongue, the rain got harder and the wind got angrier. The rain was disgusting, by the way. It tasted like sewage.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked a little faster. Faster and faster. I started running and I didn't know why, but I liked it and it felt food. Running was probably a stupid thing to do cause I ended up slipping. I let out a groan. My elbow, arm, and palm were scraped and bleeding.
"Damn." I said to myself. I tried rubbing my blood off with my good hands but it was no good. It stung from the left over rubble that I forgot to brush off. I kept my arms at my sides and tried to refrain from randomly running again. I was back on the main street.
The cars seemed faster in the pouring rain. The drops of water was only increasing my pain in my arm. Something started to scratch my throat and it got me couching like crazy. I sneezed a couple of times too. Great, I caught a cold, and I still had a long way to walk.
A car slowed down next to me but I couldn't see who was inside. The rain made the person inside look disheveled. The driver rolled down the window as I walked closer.
"What happened and why'd you leave?" It was Star and she looked really worried.
"I needed air." My nose was dripping and I sounded horrible.
"Hey, I'm on my way back to the Palm Woods, I'll give you a lift. If you're worrying if Gustavo and the guys will be there, they won't. My uncle made them work harder after he found out you ditched us. And for a little heads up, the guys aren't happy."
"Thanks." I got in the car and immediately smelled her girly aroma.
She gasped when she saw my arm and hands. "What happened?"
I told her what happened to my arm, and why I left. But I still couldn't tell her how I felt. I wanted too, but I couldn't.
"Tell you what, when we get to the apartment, you can go clean up and I'll fix up your arm and if you want, you can have dinner with me."
I jumped at her offer. The rest of the ride was quiet. Mostly because I couldn't stop smiling. I liked her a lot and I was starting to get the feeling that she had a little something in her heart for me. But I couldn't jump to conclusions. Dak was our friend, and I didn't really want to try anything until I was sure they were over.
I cleaned my wounds and took a quick shower. Finally, I could pick out some good clothes before meeting up with Star. I decided to wear what I wore when we sang at Rocktober Fest. I decided not to wear the vest though. I didn't want her thinking I was trying something with her. The guys weren't home yet, and I hoped they didn't come back for another hour or two. I knew they were going to be mad and I didn't want it to mess up my dinner with Star.
I knocked on her door. Feeling nervous, I was sweating like crazy. I could smell the food from the hallway, it smelled fantastic. She opened the door beaming at me. I saw that she also changed her outfit – and that she looked gorgeous! Letting me in, I realized that Bitters gave her one of the nicer looking rooms. It was better than what we had to start off with.
"Hey, you look great!" She said while giving me a quick hug. I compared our outfits and I realized that I overdressed. Great.
"Thanks, you too! The food smells great." I complimented her, but I didn't want to let go of her hug.
"You can sit on the couch. I set up some bandages and alcohol for your arm. I'll get right to you r right after I turn off the stove."
I took my seat and looked around. There were pictures of her and her family near the couch. Some of them had Gustavo in the background. I smiled a little, Gustavo looked unusually too happy.
"Can you take off your shirt?"
I felt a shock in my chest. Her question caught me off guard and by looking at her, it looked like she was embarrassed too.
I started to laugh and demanded an explanation. I was actually more than happy to take off my shirt for her, but I was sure that she couldn't tell from my tone.
"Yeah uh, I can work with your hand, but if you want your arm fixed, you're gonna have to take off your shirt. Your sleeve is covering your wounds." She took her place next to me and waited for me to take off my shirt.
I nodded and unbuttoned my shirt. I wasn't wearing anything under, so my whole torso was exposed. I was pleased to see that she was eyeing me like crazy. I saw her eyes tracing my shoulders, chest, arms, and everything else that was bare. She snapped out of her trance and started working on my hand.
Her touch was delicate, like a baby's. I wanted to hold onto her hand. I wanted to surprise her by holding her beautiful hands. But I couldn't. I looked away for a short while in an attempt to control myself.
I only looked back when I felt her fingertips trace up to my arm. It tickled and I think she doing it on purpose. I saw her trying to hide a little smirk. Her eyes were focused; concentrated on my wounds. The rubbing alcohol didn't hurt as much since I already cleaned some parts of the wound in the shower. Star finished her nursing by firmly wrapping the bandage around my arm. I waited until I made eye contact for me to thank her.
She nodded once, smiled, and reached over to give me a hug. I felt her breasts rub against my chest. The sensation gave me goose bumps and I felt myself erect. Shit! My pants got tighter. After she let go, I leaned forward with my good arm, hoping that she didn't see my hard on. I filled my mind with old ladies in bikinis in an attempt for me to relax.
Star stood up and walked towards the kitchen counter and pulled up two stools.
"Hope you like pasta!" She motioned for me to come over but I waited for her to turn around before I rushed over to the counter.
I decided to leave my shirt on the couch since my bandages would make it harder to fit my arm through the sleeves. Eyeing the food, I saw that she made salad, garlic bread, and pasta. I was starved!
Dinner was great. She was great.
I know this chapter ended in a weird spot, but there's more to this chapter that I decided to put in chapter 5. So the beginning of the next chapter is just going to pick up after Carlos and Star's dinner. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, don't forget to leave some reviews! Sometimes I feel like I should stop writing when there aren't any reviews. So please, help me out! (: Thanks guys!
*BTR-TeamCarlos
