Chapter 6: Justin Bieber Guest Stars
"Ju-Ju-Justin Bieber?!" I whispered. Yoha San looked up.
"Chyna! Glad you could make it. I would like to introduce you to-"
"I know who he is."
Justin smiled and I smiled back. "Chyna Parks, right? Please, take a seat."
I grinned and sat next to him, wondering what he was doing there. Justin Beiber just doesn't come to Japan for nothing, right? I hoped not.
Yoha San turned to me. "Justin has requested that you 2 pair together to make an album."
I almost screamed. Instead, I smiled so wide I'm sure it filled my face.
"So, you in? We can start recording today."
I shook his head. "Am I ever!"
I didn't know that recording a song could be so tiring! We just recorded, and recorded, and edited, and laughed, and had coffee, and recorded some more.
Finally, at around 8, Dan came and picked me up. I almost fell asleep in the backseat.
When he pulled into the driveway, I walked inside, holding my bag in one hand.
The Quimby's were eating dinner. I hung my bag in the closet and then joined them, taking a seat next to Fletcher.
"Hey, Chyna. How was your first day at the studio?"
I smiled. "I'm doing an album with Justin Bieber!"
I saw something flash in Fletcher's eyes, but I ignored it. "That's great."
"How about you?"
Fletcher groaned. "I was decorating my exhibit today, and the paint spilled. But then I turned it into a design, so it's OK now."
I chuckled. "Sounds like you, Fletch."
Mrs. Quimby picked up her and her husband's plates and put them in the dishwasher. "Kids," she said, "We have some important news."
Fletcher and stopped eating and looked up. "Yes?"
Mr. Quimby started. "We'll be going back to the U.S to bring the rest of our things that we didn't bring with us on the first trip."
Fletcher was confused. "Who's going to stay with us?"
"That's just it," Mrs. Quimby said, "You'll be fine alone, right? Plus, Dan and Estelle will be here, in the guest house. They'll be fine."
I looked at Fletcher. Our eyes met, and then he smiled. "How long will you guys be away?"
"A week."
I grinned and looked down at my food. "Good trip, then," I muttered.
The next day, Mr. and Mrs. Q had left for the U.S. Fletcher and I went to school as normal.
While I was working on a new song, Cam approached me.
"Are you gonna sing, or what?" she asked.
I smiled and stopped writing. "Do you really want me to?"
Cam nodded. I looked at the song I was writing. I didn't want to sing that one, just in case she tried to steal it. So I decided to sing one everyone seemed to know.
"Ooh,
Ooh ooh,
Doh, ooh,
Whoo!
Everybody's got their thing
Something different we all bring
Don't you let it clip your wings
You got it, you got it
We're on fire and we blaze
In extraordinary ways
365 days
We got it, we got it
You dream it
You can be it
If you believe it, you can feel it
Yeah, I am
You are
We are
Exceptional
Yeah, exceptional
Yeah, I am
You are
We are
Exceptional
Yeah, exceptional
Ooh,
Ooh ooh,
Doh, ooh,
Whoo!"
Cam frowned and walked away.
I smiled. "Thanks," I muttered.
Back at the recording studio, Justin and I had just finished recording our second song.
"Hey," he said, "Do you want to go see a movie? It's on me."
I took off my headphones and thought about it. There would be no harm done, right? It's not like I'm cheating on my boyfriend. I mean, it's only Justin Bieber.
"Sure," I said. I took out my phone to text Fletcher.
Staying late at the studio tonight, k?
No probs. I'll have Dan pick you up.
I quickly stuffed my phone in my back pocket. "We're going to the movies," I called to Yoha San. He nodded and went back to signing papers for the album.
Justin took me to see the new Japanese movie, "Run Away Tiger". I wasn't really paying attention, though. I kept thinking about Fletcher for some reason. I felt really bad about what I was doing.
"Hey, Chyna, you OK?" Justin whispered.
I nodded. "Yeah," I croaked.
I turned back to the movie and really tried to pay attention. A young girl was feeding a tiger a slab of meat. Stupid girl. Don't you know what a tiger is?
Fletcher is amazing at painting tigers. I love them.
I shut my eyes tightly, trying to get the thought out of my head.
"Chyna, if you don't want to watch it, it's OK."
"No, I'm fine. I just need to...use the bathroom. Yeah, that's it."
Justin shrugged and I got up, maneuvering my way through the aisle and out the door. I nearly fell when I bumped into someone.
"Sorry, I-"
I cut myself off and looked up. Into blue eyes. But they weren't sea blue anymore. They were so dark, they were almost purple.
"I thought you were having a late night at the studio, huh?"
"Fletcher! I, um, I uh, came to..."
"See a movie? With Justin Bieber? I knew something was up."
"What do you mean? There's nothing going on between me and Justin. We're just 2 friends going to see a movie together."
"I think that's called a date."
"Oh. Look, Fletcher, I'm really sorry."
"I know you are, Chyna."
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"No. I meant that. I'm just upset and disappointed. I need...I just need time to think."
"Oh. OK."
"We should probably go..."
"Yeah."
I followed Fletcher out the back door and through an alleyway. There, at the end, was Dan waiting in the Range Rover. We both climbed in, but it was different this time. We sat at opposite end of the car, staring out the window, disregarding each other.
But maybe he was just disregarding me.
I sat in my room, staring out the window. I couldn't face anyone right now. The high, golden moon was all I needed.
I had several text messages from Justin on my phone.
Where are you?
Chyna, the movie's over! Where did you go?
Call me.
Where did you go?
Did you get flushed down the toilet?
Hellloooooooo! :( :( :(
I quickly blocked his number at the last text.
Fletcher hadn't talked to me since we came back. He locked himself in his room. I think he was painting. I'm not sure.
"Dinner!" I heard on my intercom. It was Estelle, the live-in housekeeper. She lived in the guest house, along with Dan.
I got up from my bed and went over to my dresser. I got out a scarf and quickly tied it around my hair. For some reason, I always did that when I was in a bad mood. And right now, I felt really guilty.
I ran down the stairs, but stopped at Fletcher's room. The light was off. Maybe he was downstairs already.
I ran down the stairs again and straight into the dining room, where the table was set. We were having macaroni and cheese today.
I sat down next to Fletcher. He cringed a bit, but didn't get up. That's an improvement.
Estelle sat next to Dan. I put a few steaming spoons of mac and cheese on my plate and dug in. It was delicious, just like it always was.
At around 9 o'clock, I heard a knock on the attic door.
"Come in," I said into the intercom. The person opened the door and climbed up the stairs.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," I replied. He hadn't talked to me in hours.
Instead of sitting on my bed with me, Fletcher sat down on the chair.
"So, I was thinking," he said.
"Yeah?"
"Today went a little out of hand, don't you think?"
I shrugged, and then thought better of it. "I'm really sorry, Fletch."
"Don't worry, I forgive you."
I smiled brightly. "Really?" I got up and gave him a long kiss, but something was wrong. He didn't kiss back.
"What's wrong, bubby? I thought you forgave me." I used the nickname I had given him last week.
"I did."
"Then...?"
"I never said - I never said that - that we were back together."
My face fell. I slumped down on my bed, pulling my legs towards my chest so that my knees touched my chin.
"Chyna, I don't like this either. But I don't think I could ever feel right after what happened tonight."
I nodded my head slowly, and he got up and sat next to me on the bed.
"But we can still be friends, right?" he asked.
"Definitely. Friends."
He gave me a 'friendly' hug.
That was the problem.
Just friends. How was I supposed to be 'just friends' with Fletcher Quimby?
The next day at lunch, I went through the lunch line and ended up with a tuna fish sandwich and a carton of low-fat skim milk.
I sat down at my usual table, where I usually sat with Fletcher. I looked around. Where was he, anyway?
And then I saw him, sitting at a table at the center of the lunchroom, with Cam and her posse of friends. He was laughing at something Cam said, and before I knew what was going on, she pecked his cheek and he blushed slightly.
Did Fletcher just blush at another girl?
I bit into my sandwich and looked down. Around my neck was a special necklace Fletcher had given me back in San Francisco. I cherished that thing like I hadn't with anything else. I rubbed the small heart in the center of the chain and looked back at Fletcher. Cam had scooted a mile closer to him. I shivered and took a sip of my milk.
I wanted to march up there and give her a piece of my mind, but it was impossible. Because we were 'just friends'.
I sat down at my desk in the A.N.T Farm, tapping away at my ANT pad. I was designing a new guitar, and I wanted it to look special. But, unfortunately, I needed an artist's touch. But Fletcher was out of the question.
I looked up from the ANT pad. Fletcher was painting a new picture, but it was facing away from me.
Maybe he was painting me again!
I had a small string of hope that I held on to, that maybe Fletcher would realize his mistake.
I got up and walked over to him confidently, with my head held high and my nose stuck out.
"Hey, Fletcher," I said, sitting on his desk.
"Hey, Chyna. What's up?"
"Oh, nothing. What are you doing?"
"Painting." he had a 'duh' ring to his voice.
I ignored it and continued. "Can I see?"
Fletcher didn't hesitate. He picked up the painting from his easel and showed it to me.
The air almost left my lungs.
It was a painting of...Cam. The painting was like a pair of shiny scissors, and it cut up my small string of hope into much smaller, almost invisible tiny pieces. Then they melted away, into a puddle of despair.
"Do you like it? What do you think?"
I shook my head. "Oh, I love it!"
Fletcher put the painting back and picked up a new jar of paint. When his back was turned, a snuck away and back to my desk.
Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I was really busy with my other story :(. But, I'm trying to concentrate on this one, too!