Okay, so there were a bunch of problems, formatting wise, on the last chapter. Sorry about that! I make it clearer when I'm switching points of view! Okay so on with the story. By the way, Connor is not gone for good, just for now.
Briinng. Paul and Claire made it into their English class just as the bell rang. They took the two empty seats in the back, Claire noticed Layne sitting on the other side of the room and waved. Just then, Derek came in, followed by a few guys Claire didn't really know. He slid into the seat directly in front of her and turned around. "Hey Claire. What's up?" He smiled warmly.
"Hey." She said, Wow, he's so much nicer than he used to be. Just then a guy, who looked to be about college age, came in and stood at the front of the classroom. Ahem! He cleared his throat loudly and everyone quieted down at once. Claire and Paul exchanged glances.
"Good Afternoon. Before we get started I would like to introduce two new students." He gestured to Claire and Paul and the entire class turned around. "Paul Marcos and Claire Lyons. Could you two stand up and tell us where you're from and two things about yourself?" Both nodded and stood up reluctantly. "Paul, you can go first."
"Uh. Hey. I'm Paul Marcos. I moved here from Seattle, Washington. I played soccer for the US Men's U-16 team last year (A/N There really is such a team, they go all the way down to U-13, I think) until I was injured and uh, I'm fluent in German, Chinese and French." He sat down quickly. Mr. Martin looked at Claire, as did everyone else.
"Hi. I'm Claire Lyons. I'm originally from West Chester but I moved to L.A. three years ago. I'll be a part-time student here as I'm filming a new movie due out next winter. So far I've starred in six movies, the first being Dial L for Loser." She took a deep breath and sat down. Just then, she felt her phone vibrate. New message from 451-951-1800, it flashed. She flipped it open.
451-951-1800: Has every class been like this?
Claire: Pretty much. Who is this?
451-951-1800: I can't tell you right now.
Claire: Why not?
451-951-1800: You'll find out soon.
Claire looked up and her eyes scanned the classroom. No one seemed to have their cell phones out. Sighing, she put her phone back in her pocket and listened to Mr. Martin's lecture. She glanced over at Paul, he was staring off into space but when he saw her turn her head he smiled. She put her head down on the desk. Finally, about an hour later the bell rang and she left for her next class.
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Massie strutted down the hall. As she walked she could see people stare. Holding in her smile, she walked with a purpose. Suddenly, some LBR freshman started walking towards her and then she walked right past her. Massie ignored it until she heard the girl say, "OMG! Aren't you Claire Lyons? Can I have your autograph?" Massie stopped dead in her tracks. Had people been staring at her? Or were they staring at Claire? She turned around and saw a crowd, mostly of guys, formed around her. Massie walked straight through the group, grabbed Claire's arm and pulled her into the bathrooms.
"Hey!" Claire said, obviously offended. "What are you doing?!" Massie released her arm.
"We need to talk." She said sternly. "What the hell are you doing here? Can't you get, like, a tutor or something?"
"Mass," Claire said with fake concern, "don't you want me here? I thought we were friends!" Massie had to suppress her laughter.
"Of course, we're friends but I'm worried about how other people will treat you." Claire rolled her eyes.
"Whatever Massie. I heard you guys talking, I know you guys don't want me here and guess what! I don't care. I've got friends who actually care about my well-being. Leave. Me. Alone!" With that Claire tore out of the bathroom and sped down the hallway. She glanced behind her and ran into some guy. She dropped some of her books and his paper's went flying. "Ehmygawd! I'm so, so sorry." She began grabbing books and papers before they had gotten stepped on.
"It's okay, I saw you coming and didn't think to move." He chuckled. The voice sounded familiar but Claire couldn't quite place it. She finally looked up at this mysterious guy, coming face to face with….
Heeheehee! I figured I'd make it a cliff hanger. This is a tad short. I think the mystery person is a tad obvious but… review!!!! Eh, Screw it I don't want to stop writing.
…. "Connor!?!?" Claire shrieked. "What the hell are you doing here!" He shifted uncomfortably,
"I'm not Connor. I'm Marcus." He offered his hand. Claire just stood, hands on her hips, even with the dark curly hair, Claire wasn't fooled.
"Well, fine if you really aren't Connor you won't have a birthmark shaped like a top hat on your wrist. He immediately pulled his sleeve down but she was too quick. "HA!" Connor sighed.
"I wanted to see you and since you wouldn't see me any other way, I got a wig and Laurelle put some makeup on me to change my face. I can't believe you recognized me." He looked embarrassed but pleased at the same time. "Can we talk?"
"No. It's over Connor. I asked for time and you just ignored me, so I'm done. Now f off!" She shook her head and ran away, her eyes welling up with tears. She sped towards the back staircases. On her tour, Layne had shown Claire the quietest place in the entire school. No one ever used the back stairs. She threw her backpack down and leaned against a wall. She slid down the wall letting out a sob. She cried for a long time. She knew she'd almost missed all of her class, not that it mattered. A good cry was much more important to her. Bzzzz, bzzzz. Claire phone vibrated. She glanced down. New message from 451-951-1800, it read. She flipped it open and read.
451-951-1800: U ok?
Claire: Who is this?!
451-951-1800: I can't tell you right now.
Claire: If this is Connor I swear to god, if you don't leave me alone I'm getting a restraining order.
451-951-1800: It's not Connor. I just saw you take off crying. I just wanted to make sure you're okay.
Claire: I'm okay.
451-951-1800: Good. I should go the teacher's getting suspicious.
Claire: Thanks.
451-951-1800: No Prob.
Claire flipped her phone shut and let out a sigh. She gathered her bag and glanced at the clock. 12:30, it read. 15 minutes left of 3rd block. She sat back down, pulled out her script and started to read.
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Claire was standing outside at 3 o'clock waiting for Marco. She looked around taking in her surroundings. Almost every girl was dressed in designer clothing, tapping their stilettos, waiting for their drivers. She was startled to feel someone arm on her shoulder. "Hey." She heard a guy's voice. Turning her head, she saw a wide grin spread across Paul's face.
"Hey!" she said, pulling him into a hug. "What's up?"
"Well," he shoved his hands in his pockets, "I missed my bus and was hoping to beg a ride off of someone." He gave her an innocent look.
"I can give you one, don't worry."
"What are you up to this Saturday?" he said, grinning.
"I'm working til 4:30, but I have the evening off. Fortunately, I made sure that in the contract, they gave me Saturday nights free." (I have no idea how it actually works, sorry!) Claire giggled.
"I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie with me." He said looking down at the ground.
"I'd love to!" Claire beamed. Just then, Claire heard bursts of laughter coming through the doors. She turned to see the Pretty Committee strutting down the steps. Massie saw Claire and led the girls straight for her. Claire put on her best smile and grabbed Paul's hand. He did nothing except grin wider.
"Hey Kuh-laire. What happened to your shoes?" Massie asked, her voice oozing with fake concern.
"Um. Nothing that I know of." Claire made her voice as warm as possible.
"Really? Well, lets see if we can change that." Alicia pulled a bottle from behind her back and emptied the contents of it onto her white heels. The girls smirked as they waited for Claire reaction. Claire simply pulled off her now red shoes, carried them over to a trashcan, pulled out a pair of black flats and slipped them on. Claire smiled as she saw each of their faces drop in disappointment.
"Do you really think I'm that stupid? My first day at OCD," Claire laughed, "You guys poured red paint all over my white pants. You've got to work on your bullying techniques, slacking off a little eh? Even blackmailing me with another picture of me kissing some guy would be more original." Just then a black SUV pulled up behind her and she turned to get in, pulling Paul behind her. When they got in the car, Claire noticed Paul staring at her, a dazed look on his face. "Paul? Are you okay?"
"Uh, Yeah." he seemed to snap out of what ever was going on in his mind. "Sorry, I just realized can't go out on Friday. I've got a major test to study for and I really can't deal with bad grades right now." He sounded nervous.
"That's okay. I've got, like, an hour before I need to be on the set. You want to come over and hang out?" She was confused he was acting weirdly.
"No. I think it'd be better if I just went home." For the rest of the ride home, they were silent. What happened? Claire wanted to ask. She hadn't done anything to the PC, just stand up to them. The car slowed to a stop and Paul jumped out before Claire could say anything else. When he was gone, she put her head back and sighed.
"Long day, miss?" Claire smiled weakly.
"Definitely." She closed her eyes and listened to the soft Classical music playing on the stereo.
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
The PC was sitting in Massie room. The girls were all quiet. Massie was furious. Claire had no right to come back! People were talking more about Claire's arrival than the PC. Not a good thing. More than anything though, Massie was upset because she actually missed Claire, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit proud when Claire brushed off their "prank". Massie was pulled back into reality when Kristen spoke.
"Ehmawgawd! Paul just IM'd me!" The girls all tore over to the computer.
SeattleSoccer16: Hey Kristen.
SexySportsBabe: nm, chilling with the pc
SeattleSoccer16: Who's 'the pc'?
SexySportsBabe: It's what my friends and I call ourselves. I'm at Massie's.
SeattleSoccer16: So that means everyone of your friends is reading over your shoulder.
Kristen looked around and Massie nodded.
SexySportsBabe: No, they're playing dress-up or something.
SeattleSoccer16: Not really your thing?
SexySportsBabe: No. I'm all about Soccer.
SeattleSoccer16: Cool….I was wondering something.
SexySportsBabe?
SeattleSoccer16: Does Claire have a boyfriend or something?
The girls mouthes all dropped open. "What the hell!" Massie schreeched. "Can't we go an hour without hearing Claire's name?!"
"What do I say??" Kristen was wide-eyed.
"Yes, duh!" Massie reached her hands in and typed.
SexySportsBabe: Yeah, I think she's going out with Connor Foley.
SeattleSoccer16: Okay. I wasn't sure. Thanks. G2g.
SexySportsBabe: No prob. L8er!
The girls giggled and started pull out the best clothes they could find. Tomorrow there'd be war.
So very sorry it took so long to update! I have been working my butt off getting ready for finals!!!! I wrote this chapter in bits and pieces so I'm really sorry it's a tad on the sloppy side. I promise the next chapter will be better! Review!!!!