Yay! Fun chapter this time! Again, school has been a pain and I've been doing a ton of stuff as usual. I wrote this chapter at 1am this morning, so I'll probably be really tired when I post this.
In this chappie, Jerome gets his party and some minor drama happens that includes Tyga and Jansen. You'll have to read to find out though.
Enjoy the chapter!
Ray POV
"Party time!" Jerome shouted.
Mitch finally allowed Jerome to host a party in the TC house. He knew Jerome wanted a party ever since we moved in, but there had been so much chaos and drama that there was no time to have fun in LA. Now that everything had been settled out, Jerome got his party.
I woke up an hour after everyone else that morning. I'd been up late recording videos with Noah, who I'd bonded with since the Youtuber Hunger Games. We played six games in total before almost falling asleep on our desks and bursting out with laughter at one in the morning. He was still in Canada, and couldn't come down to LA due to personal issues. I was a bit upset about Noah not coming to the party because he was now one of my best friends, but I understood his situation once he told me about it. During recording, I almost awoke Mitch, which would've been a bad idea. Mitch didn't like being woken up when he slept as a result of spending hours on end recording his multiple series that exhausted him. Not to mention, I spent a lot of time with Mitch as well.
When I reached out to touch my alarm clock, I squinted my eyes to see the time. 12:30. Turning to my side, I realized Mitch had vanished. He wasn't in bed, wasn't in the bathroom, wasn't searching the closet, and any other place I'd expect him to be. Instantaneously, I leaped out of bed, glanced at the clock a second time just to confirm the time, took a warm shower, dried my hair so it wouldn't be wet during the party, did my makeup, and begun to hunt my side of the closet for a perfect outfit. Finally I found a familiar dress that surprisingly still fit me. It was purple with small ruffles at the neckline. I slipped on my little black sandals. I almost burst into tears upon remembering the party before I "died." Fortunately, I kept my cool, brushed through my hair with my fingers, took a good look in the mirror, and opened the door.
I bumped into Mitch, which was very lucky.
"Ray Ray." He dreamily gazed in my chocolate brown eyes. "You're gorgeous." He'd gotten into the habit of calling me "Ray Ray." It always sounded adorable when he said it, not like those other bullies from my past who hadn't come back into my thoughts for years.
"You're just saying that," I teased, rolling my eyes.
"I'm not just saying that, silly Ray. I'm talking about the real deal. A star."
"Aw. You're so cute Benja."
He looped my arm around his and escorted me down the stairs as if I was a princess. We entered the entertainment room, where the party was located. I saw all familiar faces and those who I'd talked to through Skype: Jerome, Carter, Fia, Adam, Tyler, Preston, Jason, Brooke, Ian, Zee, Quentin, Sapphire, Ty, Crystal, Caleb, Jade, Seto, Kae, Mat, Poppy, Dakota, Cloude, Allison, Brotato, Megan, Jordan, Lexi, Ryan, Emma, Allison, Kohta, David, Joe, Light, Avery, Melody, Joshua, Kitty, Dan, Piper, Ck, Rain, Rosetta, Luna, Bobby, Zenna, Miden, and Rose. Some of those people I had not talked to or seen in forever. But as I talked with each individually or in their certain groups/couples, we became quick friends even if we'd been enemies before.
Luna was included in this category, especially with the whole scenario with her dating my husband in Washington. During our conversation, she attached to Bobby the entire time, sharing the moments of their romantic trip to Europe, and not bringing up anything about hating me.
The whole time, Mitch stood by my side. Even when I talked specifically with my friends like Avery or Rosetta, Mitch happened to pop in once or twice just to make a funny comment about me. As soon as those occurred, I laughed and so did the people we were talking with.
I was so focused on all of my friends having a good time that I completely zoned out and missed Mitch's question. "Liking the party so far? Ray?"
"Yeah!" I finally acknowledged my husband, "Jerome did a good job with the decorations and music and all. Of course for his second party."
"The first one being where you passed out in that dress…?"
I stared him down. "Yes but don't bring it up again."
Dan, Ck, and Piper rushed over to Mitch and I. We exchanged hugs. "Mitch! Ray! It's nice to see you two again!"
"Ck! Piper! Dan! How have you all been?"
"Well I'm dating Piper now. She's a cutie." Ck chuckled. Piper blushed and lightly punched her boyfriend's arm.
Dan burst out laughing. "I've been called on as a starring role in The Producers for one of Rosetta's friend's productions."
"Nice," I told Dan, "You did great in Hit List. You deserve this."
"Hey thanks." Dan turned to Mitch in a joking manner. "Now… Mitch… about those 4 million subscribers of yours…"
Mitch grinned and placed his hand on Dan's shoulder. "Let's discuss, shall we?" As they conversed about the number of subs they'd gotten, I concentrated on another chat.
On the other side of the room, Tyler approached Jason, who was talking with Brooke, Adam, and Fia. "Hey, Jansen, can I talk to you? In private?"
Jason laughed. "Why does it have to be privately? None of us here have secrets anymore. I think you should just tell us right now."
"Are you sure…?"
"Positive. Tyler, let it out."
"Uh… okay…" Tyler sighed, "Jason, I think I like you more than a friend. Lia and I never worked out… I never truly liked her… I don't know… I didn't think I would like you but I do…" The entire room became dead silent, even Dan, who usually was loud about everything.
Jason bit his lip and contemplated his response. "I have Brooke. And… I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way about you, Tyler… I would rather just be friends… It's a bit embarrassing to tell me here… in front of our friends…"
Tyler bit his fingernail and looked away. He spun back before replying, "Well sorry Jason… You told me to say it aloud right here… in public… and plus I couldn't tell anyone else or they would mock me about it…"
"We wouldn't tease you," Ian interjected, "We're your friends. We respect your decisions and sexual orientation…"
"It's just that we all have girlfriends," Preston cut in.
"Ignore him," Quentin growled, eyeing Preston, "Still, you shouldn't have to keep secrets from us. You can trust us all."
"Thanks a lot. But it still doesn't make me feel any better," Tyler groaned, staring at Jason, "I'm gonna go." Wiping his eye, Tyler rushed out of the entertainment room and upstairs, slamming his bedroom door.
"Poor Tyler," Mitch mumbled. I nodded, thinking back to how Caleb was back in high school, cheating on me with Rebecca. Shaking the memory out of my head, I forgot about my vow to never recall bad Washington incidents.
After things had calmed down, I also noticed Preston and Rouge together.
"You said that everyone had a girlfriend…" Rouge pointed out, drawing Preston's attention towards her. "Does that mean that you have one too?"
"Yeah," Preston replied.
"Who's your girlfriend?"
Preston smirked and crossed his arms, trying to act like the superhero in his comic books. "I don't know… Maybe the girl who practically saved my life."
"Who would that be?"
"You. Rouge, will you be my girlfriend?"
"Why would I say no?" Rouge leaned in and kissed Preston on the lips. Although slightly startled, moments later he moved in closer and put his hand on her mid-back. The couples around them giggled and softly clapped. After they parted and hugged, I made the choice to motion a thumbs-up to my brother, who smirked back.
Out of nowhere, Amy walked up from behind and patted me on the back. I jumped back a bit, but I soon realized it was a friend. I exhaled and listened to what she had to say, not knowing what good news would come next, "You got the role. Laurel and I loved your final Hit List performance and the audition you sent last week singing On My Own. We placed you as Eponine for our Les Miz production."
I gasped. "You're kidding, right?"
Amy laughed and shook her head. "I'm serious. You got the part. Congrats."
"No. Thank you. And thank you to Laurel." I glanced over towards Laurel, who was testing out the keyboard Brooke had placed in the entertainment room a few days before the party. Joe sat on the leather bench at her side, learning the notes. They were dating by this point, so I would've expected them to be together.
Laurel noticed I'd looked at her and smiled. "Wanna sing your audition song for the party guests? They may want a sneak peek of the show before it opens on stage."
"Sure." I glanced over at Mitch, who'd heard the entire conversation. "Wanna hear it?"
"How did I not listen to your audition?" he taunted me.
I raised an eyebrow. "Well you're hearing it now." Turning to the rest of the party, I coughed. "Who's got the microphone?!"
Jerome, who was directly behind us, reached his hand out. "Oh!" I grabbed the mic out of his hand and smiled back at my friend. Walking to the keyboard, I nodded at Laurel, confirming that I would sing.
"Ehem." I whispered into the microphone, which boomed static throughout the room. Everyone focused on me due to the sudden noise. I glanced towards Mitch, who shrugged, but continued speaking, seeing no more problems with the audio. "Hi guys. I was recently accepted as a leading role in Amy and Laurel's production of Les Miserables." I waited for the guests to applaud, especially Fia who even shouted and cheered me on the loudest. "Today, I'm gonna perform a song that I'll be singing in the musical. It's called On My Own."
This was the ideal time to begin the song. Laurel started creating the music that I loved for years.
"And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home, Without a friend
Without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near
I can make believe he's here
Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping
I think of him and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head
On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me
In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and forever
And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for us
I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers."
Suddenly, I remembered the first day I met Clara in Mr. White's class. I thought about how she was listening to Red and Black from Les Miserables. Just wondering what she would've thought about me playing Eponine brought tears to my eyes. Somehow, someway I would pay her back for the sacrifice she made to me. Wait… I would pay back everyone who'd helped me.
"I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending
Without me
His world would go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known
I love him
I love him
I love him
But only on my own."
As Laurel played the final keys, the room gave a standing ovation. I smiled, recognizing how many of my friends liked my singing, and took a bow. I talked into the mic one last time. "Thanks."
As I returned to Mitch's side, he gave me a kiss on the cheek and my face flushed pink.
Two more chapters left!
As we get super close to the end of Dreams, make sure to leave questions/reviews about your favorite character or event, and spam #memories all over the place! If you're on Twitter or Instagram, tag me (Twit: RayCraftFTW, Insta: girlcraftftw) in your tweet/picture, and I'll give you a shout-out in Chapter 40!
Chapter 39 will be out very soon!