When Carrie got into her car she immediately called Veronica from her cell phone. She knew the older girl would be out -- after all, it was a Friday night -- but could not wait to tell her how well played her little joke was. The phone rang several times before Veronica's voicemail picked up. Carrie sighed, disappointed, but she decided to leave a message anyway while the joke was still fresh in her mind.

Beep.

"Hey Ronnie, it's me… Well played! I have to be honest; I didn't think you had it in you. And let me tell you, I was totally freaked out at first, but once I realized… good lord! Where did you find these guys? They're perfect! And oh my goodness the fake ears were too much! Speaking of which, who is he? He's gorgeous! Well anyway, I gotta go. Call me tomorrow when you get a chance!"

Carrie pressed 'end' and tossed the phone on the passenger seat. She started the car but did not pull out of her parking space. Instead, she leaned back against the seat, her eyes unfocused, her mind lost in thought about the bizarre turn of events that evening. Suddenly the passenger door swung open, startling Carrie and causing her to grab the steering wheel in alarm.

"Spill it!" Melissa commanded, hopping into the car, her eyes gleaming in anticipation of juicy gossip.

Carrie's eyebrows pulled together. "Spill what?"

Melissa sighed extravagantly and rolled her eyes. "You know what." She leaned in towards Carrie. "Did you see him?"

Carrie debated whether or not to feign innocence and decided that Melissa would wheedle the information she wanted out of her eventually. She sighed.

"Yes."

Melissa folded her arms across her chest. "I want more than one-word answers!" She leaned even closer and grabbed Carrie's arm. "Tell me everything."

Carrie shrugged. "There's not much to tell. My friend was playing a joke on me."

Melissa looked confused. "By sending gorgeous guys to your show?"

Carrie pursed her lips, unsure how to explain without actually getting into the whole long story. "Sort of. It's kind of an inside joke."

"Fine." Melissa seemed annoyed; Carrie knew her answer would disappoint. In a sudden change of mood, Melissa flashed a mischievous grin. "Keep your secrets… for now." Still smiling, she flounced out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

Carrie sighed as she watched the younger girl bounding across the parking lot towards a group of people. Melissa would be at the diner later, as would the rest of the cast, and would be sure to badger Carrie for more information. If she did so in front of Scott, it would be sure to cause even more of a headache for Carrie.

Sighing again, she put the car in reverse and backed carefully out of her spot. "I guess I'll just go home," she muttered to herself. It wouldn't eliminate the problem of Melissa or Scott, but it would at least put it off until the next evening.

When she got home, she dropped her bag and keys on the chair by the door and ran up the stairs. Suddenly tired, she changed quickly and lay down on top of the covers, falling right to sleep. It was a restless sleep, in which she dreamt of blue eyes watching her, following her moves. It was not altogether unpleasant until they started ringing. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

Carrie woke with a start. The sun was shining in her windows and someone was ringing her doorbell. She got out of bed and went to check her reflection in the mirror. "Ugh," she groaned and wrinkled her nose, disgusted at herself for falling asleep in her makeup…again. Satisfied that her appearance wasn't too bad considering she just woke up, she ran down the stairs and looked out her peephole.

"Unbelievable," she said aloud and stifled a yawn. She opened the door a crack, careful to make sure the chain was still on it. "Can I help you?" She met his gaze, painfully aware of the effect he had on her pulse.

"I wish to speak to you about last night..." he began.

This time Carrie could not contain the yawn that escaped her lips. "Sorry." She smiled sheepishly and then shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I had it coming, after what I did to Ronnie."

He frowned, confused, but somehow it looked wrong on his face. "I apologize. I do not understand."

Carrie rolled her eyes at him through the crack of the door. "Still not ready to give up your little charade, are you? Well I guess I'll humor you." Her stomach flipped nervously as she chose her next words. With her best flirty smile, she added, "But only because you're so good-looking."

An emotion flashed briefly across his usually cool blue eyes that Carrie could not identify. Surprise at her forwardness? Shock?

Attraction?

Yeah, right. Carrie thought to herself. You may be pretty but this guy is movie-star material.

As swiftly as it had come, the look was gone and he smiled serenely at her. Carrie's heart raced and she thought she might collapse. Get a hold of yourself, girl!

"May I come in?" he asked, the epitome of politeness.

Carrie bit her lip. "Come in?" she repeated, rubbing her palms on her thighs.

"Yes." He smiled wider, appearing amused. "So that we may continue our conversation face to face."

It seemed like a reasonable enough request. Carrie regarded him, trying to decide if it was safe to let him in her house. She remembered the strength of his grip on her arm the night before and thought better of it.

"We are face to face."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," she relented. "Why don't I just come out there instead?"

"In your bedclothes?" he asked skeptically.

Carrie glanced down at her pajamas. "No?" she asked, stalling for time to think of another alternative. "I could change," she suggested.

He appeared to mull that over. "You could. And perhaps then you could let me in." He shrugged.

"But it's such a nice day out," Carrie continued to protest.

He smiled at her again and her stomach jumped. "I promise, I mean you no ill will. I will not harm you." Something in his eyes made Carrie trust him. Besides, she reasoned with herself, Ronnie knew him so it wasn't like he was a complete stranger. Part of her knew she was grasping for any way to make sense of what she knew she was about to do.

"Alright," she sighed. "Let me go change."

He looked pleased with himself but said nothing, merely nodding once and then turning his back to lean on the doorframe and wait for her. Carrie closed the door and ran back upstairs, pulling off her pajamas as soon as she was safely in her bedroom. Thankfully there was a clean pair of jeans in the closet. She pulled them on, grabbed a t-shirt out of the drawer and put that on as well. She didn't bother to look in the mirror before running back downstairs, figuring she didn't have much time to fix what she saw anyway. She paused briefly at the bottom of the stairs to catch her breath. There wasn't much hope for that. She was far too nervous.

She undid the chain and opened the door. He gently pushed himself off the doorframe and turned to face her. His eyes took in her new outfit.

"If you wish, we could speak out here," he offered. "Whatever makes you more comfortable."

Before Carrie could respond, the phone started ringing, effectively making her decision for her.

"Crap! Ok, um…" she tried to think quickly, flustered by the second ring of the phone. "Come in and have a seat on the couch. Let me get that and I'll be right back."