Disclaimer: See chapter one. Just, I don't own, so don't sue.
:}
"One story." Margo said. "And I believe your driving this leg?" The girls wanted to know if the psychotic goth they'd just seen was an act, or if that girl was as dangerous as her friends pretended.
They walked towards Trina's car as the older Vega sister started to speak. "One time, when she and the rest of Tori's friends were doing this sleepover acting exercise for their weird teacher, and yes, their all weird, in one way or another. But after she was eliminated, on her way out, Jade slammed a car window with her fist, Hard. So hard she shattered it. With her fist. Thats right, she did. According to Tori, and the others who were there to see it, she did what usually takes swinging a tire iron at full force, sometimes several times, but she did that kind of damage to the front window of that car. With her hand." She unconsciously massaged her own right hand. "That's not easy." She stopped to take in a breath before continuing to drive in her warning about Tori's new girlfriend.
"Okay, she's dangerous, or at least doesn't care about maybe breaking her hand." Margo cut Trina off. "Soooo, lets meet this model you've been seeing." It felt abrupt, but was a welcome shift in topic.
"He's a friend, and the ex of a friend." Trina tried to explain. "Everyone got their seat belts on?" One glance confirmed that the girls were in the car and bucked up. "Good, cause it's time to go."
Trina's car drove down the road, and through the city of Hollywood, slowly making it's way to the "World Famous" Palm Woods hotel, and the park next to it. Quickly finding a parking spot near the hotel, they disembarked from the vehicle and worked their way towards the front entrance, and the fist chance to see the beautiful people who lived there. Things seemed to be going casually as the group cleared the front door, looked around to take in the lobby. Trina and friends saw the small groups of young people, with the occasional older adult, sitting around, enjoying the morning. The group of old friends also noticed the front desk, manned by a portly, middle aged men wearing glasses. Said man greeted them as he recognized they were new to his hotel. "Welcome to the World Famous Palm Woods, home of the future famous. I'm Mister Bitters, the manager here at the Palm Woods, and I'm sorry to inform you, but we don't currently have any open rooms. However, if you wait a bit, someone will get frustrated and drop out of Hollywood, and I'll have something for you." He smiled an almost evil smile, like he was anticipating that event. "It always happens. Just a mater of time."
"Jax, Fitzpatrick." Trina said. "I believe he's expecting me."
"Oh..." The man at the desk said. Trina noted the name plate said Mister Bitters, confirming the name he'd given. "Okay, I'll let him know your here, but remember, no partying in the rooms. And if he doesn't know you, I have security ready to drag you out."
"Okay, no problem." Trina tossed out, turning to look out at the pool.
"Ah-hem." Bitters coughed. "I need your name." His voice edged with disdain.
"Trina Vega." Trina said, not bothering to look back at the man.
"Wait anywhere." Mister Bitters said, pointing to the couches in the lounge area of the lobby. The few kids who'd been sitting there barely acknowledged the girls.
"This is so exciting." Cindy all but squealed as she looked around the lobby area.. "Wait, didn't I see her in something?" The Asian girl was pointing towards one of the girls walking through the lobby.
"I don't know..." Trina said, looking. There were a few people who looked like she'd seen them before, in commercials, or on one of the many lame teen dramas made by the smaller networks. "I heard that some band lives here. Think that maybe we might see them?"
"Or, maybe you'll settle for a world traveling model." Jax announced. "I wasn't sure it was you until he sent someone to look for me." The handsome young man turned to the manager. "So, Bitters, you gonna give me the no partying rule again?"
"He might have mentioned it." Trina said. She felt a nudge, from Margo, and was reminded of her duty as the "Host" of this get together to make introductions. "Jax, these are some of my oldest friends. Chloe, Margo and Cindy."
"Charmed." Jax said as each girl offered some form of greeting. "I'd say lets go hang out at the pool, but there's something going on there, so why don't we go to my room first. And don't worry, Trina here told me we're just friends, so I'm on my best behavior." He gestured with his arm, a wide, sweeping motion that ended with him pointing at the stairs. Then, as the girls started moving, he quickly raced to take the lead, showing them the way.
The girls followed Jax up to his room, complete with a view of the pool, which seemed to be just past the small balcony. The room wasn't huge, but it was large enough, with a central area including a couch, an attached but not quite separate kitchen, and two doors leading off to a bathroom and a bedroom. The girls sat down on the couch as Jax got himself a chair and situated himself facing them. "So, Trina, you brought your friends."
"I invited Cindy here, and the others, they just came along." Trina explained. "Sorry about that."
"No, it's okay." Jax insisted. "When I saw a group of you, I figured this was enforcing the whole friends thing, or maybe you girls were into some freaky stuff." His smile hinted that he hoped it was the later, but Trina's glare let him know it was the former. "So, what do we do now? I'll admit, I'm not really sure..."
"Why don't we talk." Cindy suggested. "I mean, we're all friends here, right? And Trina, you hinted that you were trying to be Jax here's friend so he'd have a real one, as opposed to the one's he gets through modeling."
"Thats a good idea..." Trina agreed, smiling at her friend. Only, she wasn't able to continue, as the short interrogation began.
"So, why are you living here, instead of in some nice home?" Margo asked.
"My mom is living in a nice home, one I paid for." Jax replied. "But it's not in Hollywood. In fact, it's not even in New York. She felt we'd do better living some place quiet, and had me buy a house in the countryside. Riverside, California, so I can go home on the weekends. It's not huge, but big enough, and on the lake, with a nice view and plenty of good schools near by. My sister is going to school there, while I'm here, because they have a school on the grounds."
"They do?" Trina asked, not wanting to be dragged into this, but knowing she had no choice now.
"Yep, the Palm Woods School, where all the kids here study. I'm nearly done, but still need my education. Every day, except the weekends, I spend hours there, or with a tutor if I'm on the job." He smiled.
"So, who's with you, if your not with your parents?" Margo asked.
"In many countries, once you're sixteen, you're seen as old enough to live on your own." Jax replied. "I've got a lot of people looking out for me, but for the mot part, I'm alone here. I work next weekend, and will have all kinds of people, including my manager, and the nice lady in room nineteen, looking after me."
"You have a lot of friends here?" Chloe asked.
"No." Jax replied. "I came in with my usual bluster, thinking these were my peeps, only to find out that models are not like actors, or musicians, or whatever the hell the people here do. I was used to the relations models had with one another, and this place is clean California. I was almost tossed out when I got a couple of the kids here drunk, so that's out. I tried to sleep with this girl named Jenifer, and that led to my near exile. Apparently she's part of a set, three of them, all names Jenifer, and they are a hard unit to get past. Girls are cold, but have lots of friends. So, I have to be a bit reserved, try to work my way back into the local scenery." He ran his hand through his hair, sighing. "I can use the pool, do that kind of stuff, but I still feel like an outsider." He let out a sad sigh, then straitened up, shaking his head. "No, I actually need this, this new world, cause I don't know how to live in the real one any more."
"How many models have you slept with?" Margo asked. Oddly, as personal as it sounded, Trina realized it was the right one to ask.
"Maybe two dozen." Jax replied. "You'd be amazed at what kinds of things they don't care about. Under age, not an issue, just as long as your willing, cause odds are your of legal age someplace. And god they try to get you willing. That is, unless you're too young, and that does happen, but most of the models I've dealt with are at lest in their mid teens, sooo." He closed his eyes for a moment. "See, people promise everything, and sometimes they deliver, but it's often just part of the game. The girls, and the guys, they become rivals for a while, see a new threat, and unite for a while. It's hard." Jax sighed. "I'm also here to try and learn to act, so I can break in. I'm working, doing commercials, but that's almost still model stuff. I'm just paid to be hot, and stand there, maybe move. Really, I'm replaceable, with a very limited shelf life."
"Not the question." Margo snapped.
"Margo, down." Trina said, putting her hand in front of her friend. "Okay, Jax, I think I see what you need. As much as it pains me, what you need is to get away from this place, just for a little while."
"But we came her to see celebrities." Cindy protested.
"And we will." Trina assured her. "Just as soon as Jax here has a regular day out with friends. We head out for a couple of hours, do normal kid things, then come back and he can show us around, including who's who here. And Jax, I'm sure, once they see you have regular friends, people here, they'll open up a bit, let you in." She flashed her best smile at the boy. "Everyone okay with this?"
The girls all agreed, getting ready to show Jax the normal side of Hollywood.
The day had turned out to be surreal. Trina's friends had a blast out with a gorgeous boy, and it wasn't a date. They spent time doing normal teen things, like hitting the mall, or playing video games at the nickle arcade. (Costs a bit to get in, but most of the machines are free after that, with only the prim ones costing a nickle per game.) Jax got to be a normal teen, enjoying time with people his own age, and not worrying about being cool, or sexy, or whatever it was the other models, actors, or whomever he was associating with were into. They listened to music, talked, gossiped, and enjoyed themselves.
And Jax had the best gossip. Mostly because he had some dish on the starlings who lived at the Palm Woods, especially some of the actors from "New Town High." All the girls loved hearing how self centered Jett Stetson seemed to be. Trina in particular loved it, since the boy was seen as a marginal talent, someone who pushed his image over substance. "If he can make it, I can." She declared.
"Lets hear it." Jax said, sounding supportive. "Wait, does anyone know a place where we can sing karaoke?" No one felt the shift was sudden.
"Nozu." Trina told them. "They have sushi, and karaoke, and the place is run by someone who treats famous people right."
"Then maybe we should choose a place less likely to blow Jax here's cover." Margo suggested.
"Okay, I heard of a place not far from here called Karaoke Dokie, in Los Feliz." Cindy suggested. "Maybe we could go there, sing some karaoke, before the evening crowd comes in? I hear they have buffalo nuggets."
"Okay, lets do this." Trina declared. Everyone in the car was abuzz at the thought of singing, enjoying themselves. It was early enough in the day that Karaoke Dokie wouldn't have too many people there, so they should get to sing a few songs before they'd need to head out. It would also double as lunch. "Um, Jax, you're paying." Trina said.
"Why am I paying?" Jax asked. He didn't sound particularly upset, just caught off guard.
"Most disposable income?" Chloe guessed.
"You know what? Sure, I'll pay." Jax declared. "Might as well, since I'm getting the company of such wonderful ladies."
"Wait until you hear us sing." Cindy said, smiling.
They got to the club, and only had to wait a short while for their chance to sing. Jax was allowed to go first, mostly because he was paying. The boy chose his song, walked up on stage, and immediately set the bar very low. He wasn't a singer, had never taken lessons, and wasn't in that good a voice. He made up for lack of skill, melody, or tone with volume, and the crowd gave him the required applause at the end that said "Good Try."
Cindy was next, and had a voice. It was untrained, but still held a melody that wasn't unpleasant. She sang something so sugar coated it made the audience miss Jax's song, but after it was over, they still applauded for her untrained talent, as well as her effort. She was far from the kind of professional any member of Tori's gang was, but good for an amature.
Trina was next, and she had the opposite problem. She had the training, but was either tone def, or just didn't care. Off key, often not hitting the notes, and backing her music up with a dance routine that was flashy but lacking in logic, she didn't leave that good an impression. It was so awful that some people might believe that Jax was deliberately bad, so as to not embarrassed his companions. Her applause was more for effort then any entertainment value. Or celebrating the fact that she was done.
Margo was next, and like Cindy, had some small talent. But the mean girl was not a huge talent, just trained for her church quire, and as such could only do so much. Margo still entertained the crowd, who'd suffered enough, with a strong rendition of a pop song. She wasn't going to be selling any records, but she was entertaining, got the crowd going, and seemed almost comfortable up on stage.
Chloe didn't even try. Not even being the singer Trina was, she fell back on the years of dance lessons her parents had sent her too, and performed to the music. She tried to sing, for about one line, then abandoned it for the dance. By the time she was done, the small gathering of patrons at the club clapped for her, showing their enjoyment of her moves.
"My god, Chloe, I had no idea..." Trina started.
"I've been taking dance since I was little." Chloe said. "At first it was fun, but then I had that string of dance instructors who live to make you feel like crap for not being perfect. Hell, the class I had when I was ten, I'd be amazed if half of my classmates didn't turn into anorexics. That's the kind of pressure they put you under, and I hated it. I used to love to dance, I loved it when I was up there, but the dance teachers, the one's my mom found, they didn't teach dance so much as verbally harass you for every little mistake. Margo is so sweet compared to some of them."
Jax had put his hand on her shoulder, an act of support, since she'd been ranting. "I totally get it. Sometimes, the girls I work with are like that. The agencies, they put you under that kind of pressure, but the girls do it to themselves as well. I model, but I'm a dude, we need to be muscular, trim. The girls, thin was their watch word for so long, the body images got totally unrealistic. I mean, how could some of the sticks they use in some places ever be considered attractive. Female bodies, with curves, are making a comeback, and I, for one, am grateful for that."
"Thanks." Trina said, smiling at her friends.
"So, suggestions on what we should sing next?" Margo asked.
"No, but Trina, as a friend, I need to tell you this." Jax said. "Don't sing. I suspect, acting is your best rout to success, but hell, I may be wrong about that too. We have this one girl where I live, Camille, who's totally into method acting, and she gets totally lost in her characters. I swear, she is one thing today, and something else tomorrow. I don't even know how her on again off again boyfriend deals with her. But Trina, for you, maybe fame will need to be found another way. I have faith in you. I really do. Just, mostly, don't let the stars get in your eyes and keep you from seeing whats right in front of you." He gave her a genuine smile, holding her eyes for several moments. "I love your friends. I hope I can continue to be a part of this group."
"They kinda live all over the place, all around L.A. But I suppose, as we get to know you, we can give you our information, maybe contact you on line. I think we can be good for you, having friends in the real world." Trina replied. "But really, was I that bad?"
"Horrible." Margo said with a smile.
"You do need work." Cindy suggested.
"It was bad, and I know bad." Chloe added. "Trina, we love you. Trust me, you need work if your gonna be a singer. Use your strengths, and be an actress."
Trina tried not to be too offended that her friends thought so lowly of her. But, despite feeling bad about her delusion being poked, hearkening back to the conversation she'd had with Maddy, Trina decided to let it go and focus on having some fun. They headed out to look around, walking the neighborhood, then driving to the next one to walk around there. It was time to do some sight seeing, check out the Hollywood Walk of fame while it was daylight, and safe. They all took the chance to pose with one of the many costumed people selling pictures of themselves along the walk of fame. It killed another hour or two.
After that, they headed back to the Palm Woods to do some kinda-celebrity watching, relax by the pool, and maybe rehab Jax's reputation a bit. It was a fun day for the girls, getting to hang out with a hot guy, and not have to worry about impressing him. "So, anyways, the guys all agree that whomever goes under the laser grid would have to be the flattest, and me and Jade, we kind step back, cause, you know..." She glanced down at her chest.
"There you go again, Treen," Margo huffed, "Reminding everyone that you got the big-un's. Well, maybe you and this Jade person have large knockers, but have either of you snagged a decent boyfriend?"
"Jade dated Beck," Trina said, pulling out her phone, "For three years before they broke it off for good. And now, she's dating Tori, kinda maybe, and I have to at least tolerate her." The Latina's face broke into a smile as she found the picture she was looking for, from the slap. "The guy's Beck, and the girls Jade." She showed the group.
"Yea, we met Jade." Margo reminded her. "I swear, I've never met a psycho killer, but she's got that vibe..."
Jax looked at he picture. "A, she's hot, and B, you'd have no idea they were a psycho killer. I mean, really, if it were that easy to tell, how would they blend in, stalk their prey. I swear, movies today make it so easy for the real sociopaths to find victims cause everyone is looking for the creepy guy staring at them like lunch meat. Killers gonna look like everyone else, maybe even be a bit charming. The kind of guy you'd dream of taking home to meet mom and dad. The guy will not only scream harmless, but the best catch ever. Makes it easy for him, cause you'd want to spend time with him, alone, all trusting and defenseless."
"Kinda like you?" Trina asked.
"I wish..." Jax said, only to have his head pop up a second later. "That is, I wish I were that charming. And, and the thing is, charming is a trait of sociopaths, but not all sociopaths are dangerous, and not everyone who's charming is a sociopath..."
The girls laughed at his awkwardness. "You know, that looks good on you." Chloe said to Jax. As the boy glared back, she continued. "No, I mean it. Think, you're almost impossibly good looking, and then you show us you can be human. And you are charming, I don't care what you say. I just think that maybe, you need to stop making scoring the main goal when you deal with girls. Then, who knows, happiness?"
"Yea..." Jax was looking away.
"So, Pizza?' Trina asked.
"Gonna spend more of my money?" Jax asked, and the girls all burst out laughing.
"Maybe you'd prefer to show off your mad cooking skills?" Trina suggested.
"You are so gonna regret that challenge." The model said, moving the group towards his room. The girls got busy gossiping on his couch while he made a quick call. Twenty minutes later, a man delivered the supplies he needed, and they watched as he went to work making some kind of healthy meal. "This meal is high preteen, low fat, and I do recommend portion control, cause while I wanna build up my muscle mass, you girls don't need 2000 calories in one meal."
Jax maintained a constant barrage of chatter as he made the food, while the girls watched, memorized, entertained, and frequently asked to do one chore or another. Trina found herself cutting vegetables, and Jax talked her through the best way to do so. "The goal isn't making it bite sized, but to release the flavor so everything melts together. It's about creating a total taste, something beyond the individual ingredients. Okay, about ten more minutes, and we'll be ready to eat. How're the spaghetti noodles coming?"
"You realize, by now, we could already be eating pizza and making fun of the girls out by the pool." Cindy said, but she was clearly having fun.
"Keep that up, and you don't get a taste of the ice cream I'm making." Jax scolded her.
"So, Jax, how'd you learn to cook?' Trina asked.
"My mom downloads cooking shows, sends me the SD cards." He replied. "Gives me something to do during the long waiting times I'm in makeup, or otherwise waiting for my turn at a show or shoot or whatever. She thinks it'll keep me from fooling around."
"Does it?" Margo wondered.
"I make great breakfast too." Jax responded. All the girl laughed.
"That explains why you won't shut up when your cooking." Chloe commented. "The cooking shows that tell you how to make chiz, they talk all the time."
"You watch cooking shows?" Jax asked.
"My gran does." Chloe said. "She's kinda old school, makes things drowning in butter. Tastes great, but then you have to worry about the coronary."
"Hence the healthy cooking." Jax said. "I've scoured the internet to find the best healthy recipes, and shows telling me how to do just about anything involved in those recipes. I know I have a long way to go, but I'm making it, and now I can cook."
"You're hot, you can cook, and I know the kinds of programming you like." Chloe said. "Mister Fitzpatrick, you're gonna make some girl a wonderful housewife some day."
Jax served them each a portion, and then sat back and watched as they tried the food. "Not gonna eat with us?" Trina asked.
"The cook doesn't eat with his guests." Jax replied. "Etiquette. I'll grab some in a bit."
"After you know it's not poison." Chloe joked.
"No, he just wants to make sure it doesn't taste bad." Margo mentioned.
"Does it?' Jax asked.
"This is great." Cindy said. "So, why the noodles?"
"I needed something as a filler, so you don't eat too many calories from the main dish. Vegetables make the best filler, cause they tend to be very low calorie, but too many people don't like veggies." Jax sighed. "I love em, use them as snacks."
"Healthy boy." Margo teased. The girls all laughed.
It was after dinner that Trina loaded the girls up into her car and headed home. "Thanks for having us all over." Trina said to Jax.
"No problem." Jax replied. "Most fun I've had in a long, long time." He held his smile for a second, combating the raised eyebrow Trina shot him. "Okay, that doesn't involve nailing models." The girls all laughed, said their goodbyes, and headed out. Jax watched them drive into the evening before heading back to his suddenly, strangely lonely apartment.
:}
So, thoughts?
Got to learn a bit more about Jax, see his upside. The side of him he doesn't get to show off very often. Also, I borrowed the palm Woods from Big Time rush, along with a couple of it's residents. Overall, a fun girls day out.