a/n: oh. my. you all are SO super amazingly awesome. i log on and i see that there's freaking 99 reviews for this story. ALREADY. :D AH. I'm so excited now. :D :D :D okay, anyway. so sorry for the wait. i know this chapter was originally supposed to be posted last week, but hey, i get distracted aaandn better late than never, right? ;) and plus- this chapter's pretty long. 13 PAGES. :O

this chapter will hopefully answer some of your questions you've been asking. :) aaand you can enjoy some spieling (is that a word? it's supposed to mean fighting... haha) between our two faves: chris & jess!

disclaimer: i don't own starstruck. come to think of it, i don't even own any of these letters i'm typing. HOW WEIRD IS THAT?! who even made the alphabet anyway? whatever. moving on. ;)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU: (yes, i used caps, bold, italicize, underline AND i didn't use punctuation. ;D and again, unbolded are anonymous.) TeddyLuver. allieroxs106. Animefreakkagome. h2olgd. Taylaa. cherrypinky16. Ilovemydad. Sophie Cullen 6. Queen-Pip. Dakey96. caligrl479. stupid-cookie-cutter-popstar. monkey87. kutsune jewel. misken67. Julia Sonshine. PRETTYbandie. (laughter. happiness. me.) Aimlessly Unknown. li'miss sunshine. wwsadd. elly755. SKnightFan. sTARSTRUCK. vampbooklover3000. xxHeadInTheStarsxx. STERLING KNIGHT *fan*. scifichick07. ashash105. WhiteMoon1. MidnightEclipse6. AsphyxiatedSelfMedicated. Liz Night. haRryPotter. pledge520. KaylaSimms1990. Sportygirl458. DancingintheRayne. EmmKaylikesMusic. Hellkat53. meme. SterlingKnightFan. 1fanofthemarauders. Lily. RenesemeeRita. frowninggivesyouwrinkles. xpskl. x3OJDx3. SuperxXxgirl79. supertesz. oxlifexo. WinglesslyWinged. Treacherous Darkness.

geez. that was a lot of typing. i apologize for any misspellings, etc. :) ON TO THE CHAPTER!

-3-

Chris

Jess stared at me.

I stared back. After minutes of staring at each other, I opened my mouth, prepared to launch into a speech of how she'd gotten here, why I hadn't been in touch with her, and a whole lot of "I'm sorry's". "Jess-"

"How do you know my name?" She asked quietly.

My eyes widened. Was I really that forgettable? Or was it just too dark? Was she teasing me? Was she mad at me and just refusing to acknowledge me? Or had she just hit her head too hard?

"Jess, it's me." I said, gesturing wildly, "Me. Chris?"

She smirked, "Chris? I don't know a Chris."

"Sure you do!" I said, mostly to reassure myself.

She snorted, standing up. "Sure I don't."

"Yes, you do!" I argued, helping her up, "It's me. Me? Me. You know, Christopher Wilde? McKinley Junior High? We met in Miss Montclarke's second grade class-- when neither of us could open our cubbies on the first day of school!" Memories flooded my brain, but I pushed them away. I needed to make sure she was just playing with my head and not actually some random girl who looked like suspiciously like Jessica Olsen.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Stubby appeared suddenly, his confused expression visible even in the dark, "What happened?"

"Ah!" I pointed hysterically, "Stubby! You remember Jess, right?"

"Jess?" He repeated, staring at the girl next to me, "Of course I do. I just emailed her back last night." He did a double take and poked her, "Jess?"

"Stubby!" She grinned, wrapping her arms around him. I let out a sigh of relief. She had been playing with my head this whole time.

"What in the world are you doing here?" He asked her, escorting both of us to the car.

"Ask my sister." She retorted. "Wait, what am I doing? I have to go find her!"

"Okay, okay," I said, "I'll go help you."

"Whoa, wait, are you out of your mind?!" Stubby exclaimed, "There's a billion paparazzi cars parked out there! You'll get killed. Remember what you promised your parents?"

"Well, we can't just leave her here by herself!" I said, "First of all, she just hit her head. Second--"

"You hit your head?" Stubby asked her.

She shrugged casually, nodding at me, "It was his fault."

"Well, maybe we should take you to the doctor." He suggested, opening the car door.

"We should." I agreed.

"No, I'm feeling fine." Jess replied, exasperated. "I have to go find Sara, and--" Her eyes widened and her hand moved to clutch her stomach. "Uh-oh."

"Hey... hey!" Stubby yelped and started rambling in Spanish as Jess leaned over and puked all over his brand new, favorite, red shoes. "Ohh..." He moaned, staring down at them.

Jess coughed and wiped her mouth as I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to block out the morbid sight.

"These are my favorite shoes!" Stubby whined.

"I"ll buy you new ones," I offered, reaching my hand out for the keys. Stubby promptly dropped them in my hand and closed the door shut. "Make sure Sara gets home okay."

"And AJ!" Jess added.

"You mean Super-Mean Sara? Oh, great! This day just keeps getting better and better!" He exclaimed sarcastically.

Jess laughed lightly and patted his hand, "You just saw me again, so it's okay."

"And don't tell anyone about this," I added.

He ignored both of us and looked down at his shoes. As I started the car and drove away, we both heard a distinct, clear, "I gotta get some new shoes!"

The rest of the ride was awkwardly silent. I'd tried to start a conversation, she'd answer sarcastically, never taking any of my questions seriously. After a while, I gave up and tried to concentrate on driving, but there was something, just one thing, that was bothering me. Jessica had changed. Not drastically, like from some nobody to a cheerleader-type girl, but enough so that it seemed like she was doing fine on her own, without me.

Had my non-existant communication with her really pushed her that much so that she decided to kick me out of her life?

"Jess-" I started.

"Oh, look!" She said cheerfully, pointing at the large sign out the window, "We're almost at the Doctor's!"

"Jess," I said again, "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice dull again, "I got hit in the head, you won't believe that I'm completely and absolutely fine, and now you're driving me to some Doctor."

"I meant," I explained, knowing fully that she knew I was talking about what had happened between the two of us, "What happened between you and me?"

"What happened?" She snapped, pausing for a second. "Oh, nothing. You know, just that you stopped emailing, stopped talking, stopped calling, stopped communicating or even acknowledging me for four years!" She stopped to take a breath.

"Jess, it wasn't--"

"How is it possible that Stubby still talks to me, while you, my supposed 'closest' friend just decides one day to forget about all the times we've had together and drop me out of your life?" I glanced her way and realized how much my non-communication had hurt her.

"You know," She turned away from me and tried to hide her tears, "I read somewhere that most famous people don't do that to their friends. Did you know Miley Cyrus, of all people, still visits her best friend back in her hometown every once in a while?" She laughed bitterly.

I sat still, registering the words. I didn't know what to say.

"But it's okay." Jess said, wiping her eyes, "I'm totally fine with it. I'm used to not having you in my life anymore. After this, you can just drop me off at my Grandma's and return to your fabulous, famous life. Have fun with Alexis."

"Jess," I started to say, not really knowing where I was going to go with this, "It's not like that."

She turned and smirked knowingly at me, "I'm sure you're absolutely in love with her."

"Jess," I said anxiously, "You need to hear this. I have to set things straight before--"

She cut me off again. "Oh, look!" She pointed towards the big building in front of us, "We're here!" She unbuckled her seat beat and quickly moved to get out of the car.

I sat, shaking my head for a moment, before realizing that she didn't know where to go. I led her in and used my skills of being famous to let Dr. Sanjay Dasari, my sister's husband, ignore all the other patients and check on her.

"Follow the light with your eyes..." Sanjay said. I tapped my foot and waited impatiently behind the curtain. "Well," He continued after a moment, "We did a thorough exam, and the CT scan was normal."

"And?" Jess inquired.

"Everything looks good." He replied.

I let out another sigh of relief and peeked in, "So she's okay?"

Sanjay turned and glared at me, "Out!" I stayed looking around aimlessly for a few seconds, but retreated behind the blue curtain again when Jess also gave me a look.

"There's also no head trauma, and I'm absolutely sure you don't have a concussion." He said to her.

"So," Jess answered, "How come I threw up?"

"Hm," Sanjay said thoughfully, "Maybe it was something you ate? Or maybe it was a reaction to meeting that doofus over there."

"You're telling me." She mumbled.

I threw open the curtain again. "It's a curtain, Sanjay, I can hear you." Much to my surprise, they both turned away and brushed off my remark.

"So I can go now?" Jess asked, eager to leave.

"Oh, yes," Sanjay replied, "But I want you to put an ice pack on that bump until you get home. I'll be right back." He pushed me away and stalked out of the room.

Jess and I avoided each other's eyes for a few seconds before she looked expectantly at me. "You going to answer that?"

I snapped back into reality and became aware of the fact that my phone was ringing. "Oh, right." I grinned half-heartedly and closed the curtain, holding the phone up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Christopher!" My mom's screeching voice was heard over the loud music playing in the background, "Come home!"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"He's here!" She answered.

I raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Alan! Who else?"

"Where?" I asked, before realizing that Mom was obviously talking about the party they were hosting back at home.

"At home! He's here, right now! You'd better hurry up and shimmy your way back over here!" She snapped.

"Now?"

"Yes, now." She replied, "We thought he wasn't coming, but he just showed up here with your two biggest fans."

I laughed, "Two biggest fans? You mean his daughers?"

She took no notice of my humor. "Look, you promised you were going to stay home this weekend. It's up to you to fix this, Christopher."

When she emphasized my name, I knew she meant business. I nodded, "Okay, just stall them, I'll be right there."

I walked toward the curtain and ran into Sanjay, who was standing there creepily. "That's not a very good idea." He advised. "My waiting room is filled with big guys with big cameras."

I thought for a moment before answering. "Okay, what kind of car are you driving?"

"Oh," He chuckled, "Nothing you'd be interested in. I'm still paying off six years of medical school."

I peeked in the curtain and gestured for Jess to follow me. "Perfect," I replied, "How about a trade?"

"No!" Sanjay replied firmly. "I love my car."

I stared at him, "Didn't you just say it was lame?"

"I never said that!" Sanjay said defensively.

I held up my keys, waving them in his face. He seemed mesmerized. "Are you sure you don't want to trade? Only happens once." I reminded him.

"Well," He seemed to be contemplating the idea, "Okay." He snatched the keys away from me and turned, trying to hide the big grin on his face. I smirked and led Jess quickly to the side of the room. Quickly, I tore off my jacket and put it around her, despite her complaints, and reached around her head to pull the hood up. I waved off the intense glare from her green eyes and stepped back, surveying the results.

She looks pretty good in my jacket. I thought. The green complimented her eyes and--

What was I doing?! I needed to get out of here.

I pulled her out the side door and searched around for Sanjay's car. I knew I'd found it when I saw it- the silver car with the rusty smell. Looking around wildly for the paparazzi, I opened the door and pushed Jess into the seat, then run around to seat myself. The paparazzi were getting closer, cameras flashing as they took pictures of everything in hopes of catching me.

The car made a loud popping noise and Jess screamed. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Uhh," I said, "Pretty sure?"

The car popped again and she retorted, "I'm pretty sure it's not!"

"Just calm down, okay?" I asked, unsure of what else to say. Jess's anger sure hadn't changed-- when she got angry, her words got snappy and you just became so mesmerized by the way she was always cute when she was mad that you really had nothing else to say.

Or maybe that was just me.

"I don't want to calm down, I want to go home!" She threw the ice pack at my face, "Okay?"

"Ow!"

"Stop screaming like a little girl, you're supposed to be a 17 year old guy?"

"Hey, stop that!" I defended myself.

"Just take me home!" She ordered.

"I will! But first," I mumbled, "We just have to make one teeny-tiny little stop."

"Where?!" She demanded. I refused to answer. I was too busy thinking of ways to apologize to her, get her to forgive me, and how to explain why I didn't keep in touch with her.

The ride back to her Grandma's would give us plenty of time to talk about that.

--

Jess

To sum up Chris's house in one word, it'd be humungous. The size of it was like a hotel, literally. I seriously began to wonder if he had people stay there for money.

"You've got be kidding me," I mumbled, "You live here?"

"Yeah, why?" He asked nonchalantly.

I didn't answer and stared up at the giant poster of him posing with his guitar. As much as I tried to, I couldn't stop the one thought that crossed my mind.

He looked good.

"Okay," Chris said, pulling me toward the long, winding staircase, "Go!"

"What are you doing?"

"Gotta go upstairs." He said hurriedly, still dragging me along with him.

"Stop. Pulling. Me." I said through my teeth, getting dizzy from all the stairs.

"Sorry."

"Where are we going?" No reply. "Chris!"

"I'm sorry," He apologized again, "I just, I don't know--"

"Don't know where to hide me?"

"No," He seemed ready to begin pulling out his hair, "I'm not hiding you, I just don't want these people to..." He peered over the banister, "... to see you, right now." He finished.

I stared. "Because I'm not a movie star? And because you haven't talked to me in four years?"

"No!" He replied rather quickly, "I don't want anyone asking questions. And neither do you!" He imitated an annoying person, "Who is she? Where'd you meet her? Are you two dating?!"

"Dating?" I asked, trying to keep myself from flushing red.

"They make stuff up." He explained, glancing over at the crowd of people again. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and raced over to the room with a glass door. "Um... the guest room." He said, "Be my guest."

I stared around the room and laughed, "Do I have a choice?"

"Not really." He replied. "I'll be right back. Just... stay."

"Woof." I imitated a dog and proceeded to look at the big flashing sigh above the giant bed. My hands still tingled from when he grabbed them.

Not that that meant anything.

The fact that he was downstairs mingling with famous people gave me time to think. I looked around the room once more first, looking for a place to sit down without him freaking out once he came back. My eyes lingering on the huge, block letters of Chris Wilde on the wall. How much had that thing cost?

I decided on sitting down on the edge of the bed. Hopefully, I wouldn't fall asleep and Chris wouldn't come back and yell at me for not 'staying put.' I smoothed down my dress and sat awkwardly, facing the glass door. My legs started feeling stiff after only a minute or two, so I got up and crossed over to the balcony. I could see plenty of people dancing, sipping their drinks, laughing, or just talking. Craning my neck over the edge, I squinted, thinking I could somehow find Chris in the midst of all this.

I did.

Even from far away, his blue eyes seemed to pop, and his dimples were plainly revealed when he smiled. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he wasn't just plain average looking.

Not that I thought he was cute or anything.

I'm totally fine with it. I'm used to not having you in my life anymore. After this, you can just drop me off at my Grandma's and return to your fabulous, famous life. Have fun with Alexis. The sentence suddenly popped up in my head. Why had I even said that? I wasn't fine with it, I still wasn't used to not having him or Stubby around, and I didn't want him to just drop me off and forget about me again.

So I'd lied. But who cared? Knowing the new Chris, he'd probably do exactly what I told him and within minutes he'd be completely oblivious to the fact that I was there anymore. And anyway, there had been some degree of truth in what I'd said. I didn't care about him being with Alexis.

Did I?

I shook my head furiously and tried to think of something, anything besides the guy sitting on that chair with a guitar and a infectious voice below the balcony. I raised my eyebrow and stared, listening to Chris's song against the otherwise silent audience. How the audience had calmed down to this level was beyond me.

"I'll be your hero..."

I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't. I always had to analyze songs. Who was he talking about? Was it Alexis? I thought for sure he was only dating her for publicity. Was I wrong? Had he just changed so much that I didn't even know him anymore?

The applause interrupted my thoughts. My crazy thoughts. I took a deep breath and decided to go on a wild search for the garage. Sure, I technically didn't have my liscense yet, but Grandma's house wasn't that far away. I could drive there, dump one of his cars in a puddle and everything would be great.

Taking one last look down, I crept out of the room on my tiptoes. I knew it was stupid to think someone might see me, but I walked slowly and quietly anyway.

Grinning, I bit my lip as I came down to the living room without any attention. I had always considered being a spy when I grew up. Turning around, I closed my eyes and picked the first door I pointed to. Luckily, it was actually the garage and I stepped inside.

Standing right in front of me were six cars. Beautiful cars. Cars I wish I could afford.

"Hey," A voice said behind me, "Where are you going?"

I whipped around and was relieved to only find Chris standing there casually, putting on a sweatshirt. "For a second I thought you were some creep that followed me."

He raised his eyebrows. "Do I look like a creep?"

"No," I answered, "But you do kind of sound like one."

He mocked offense. "I'm offended. So where were you planning to take off?"

"Anywhere but here. You said you'd take me home. When?" I asked. The words came out more angry than I'd planned.

"Just pick a car," He said, "I'll take you home now."

"No." I replied, then stopped. Why had I said no? Was that really the only thing that came to mind? How stupid did that sound?

"Fine, we'll walk." After seeing the surprised look on my face, he added, "Don't worry, we'll get there. On Tuesday."

"Sorry," I apologized after clearing my head, "I didn't know what else to say so I just said 'no.'"

He chuckled lightly. "Pick a car." He suggested again. I nodded, gesturing to a blue one. The thought of it matching his eyes made me cringe, but I managed to keep the disgust with myself inside. Chris opened the garage door, and backed out like an expert. I kept my eyes glued to the window, forcing myself to avoid his gaze.

After a few moments of awkward silence, he signed and reached over to the turn on the radio. A Christopher Wilde song came on.

What a surprise.

Chris grinned and began singing along, "Something about the sunshine, baby, I'm seeing you in a whole new light--"

"Really?" I interrupted sarcastically.

He glanced over, "What? I thought you'd like it."

I laughed humorlessly, "Let me guess. You thought I'd be dying to ride in a car with Chris Wilde while he sings one of his big hits! A definite fan's dream come true!" I paused, "There's just one problem."

"Which is?" He pressed.

"I'm not a fan."

His smile dropped. "You don't..." He cleared his throat, though there was obviously no reason to, "You don't like my music?"

I shook my head. "No, I like your music."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm just not crazy about you."

For a while, all that was heard was the music from the radio. Just as I was about to apologize for my rudeness, he opened his mouth and let out a weird noise- as if someone was strangling him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not caring whether my concern showed or not.

"I just-- would you-- um, how-- okay, just listen to me for a second?"

"Okay...?"

"Jess, we used to be-- I mean, we still are, well, at least in my head, best friends." He began. Before I could interrupt again, he held up his finger, "I just-- I mean, there's a reason why I didn't communicate with you for all those years."

"Then why did Stubby--"

"Stubby's parents aren't my parents." He answered grimly, eyes fixed on the road in front of him, "Look, my parents decided one day that it would be best for me not to talk in any way with you. They thought if I talked to a regular girl like you, it'd make my fame drop 'below sea level.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Don't ask me." He replied, rolling his eyes, "The only reason my parents allowed Stubby to come with us for the adventure was because he was in that foster home, remember?"

"How could I forget?" I still remembered the time we all went to the home. The memory flashed in my mind- kids everywhere, parents groaning and rubbing their temples, dirt on the floor. I shuddered just thinking about the image.

"You know I did try to convince my parents to let you come along. But they--"

"I know." I cut him off again, "My parents didn't agree to it either. And I was fine with it, but I didn't expect you to forget about me like that!"

"But I didn't." Chris emphasized, "I didn't forget about you. Do you know how many times I tried to sneak in an email or text to you? My parents found out every time. They also claimed they'd let me visit you one day, but they were obviously lying. It's a miracle this," He gestured to us, "Even happened." He stopped, thinking I'd interrupt again. I didn't.

"I always tell Stub to send you a message or something." He mumbled.

"He does." I replied quietly.

"You never say anything back."

"I know." I sighed, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." There was another moment of silence before he turned toward me again, "You know, I'm only dating Alexis because--"

"I know." I laughed, "Don't think I don't remember how you hate blonde Barbie dolls."

"Okay, okay," He agreed, "So? Now you know the reason. Truce?" He stuck out a hand.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I reminded him. "But yeah. And I'm sorry for yelling at you." As we pulled to a stop in front of the house, I added, "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime."

I opened the car door, then turned around, "Maybe we could--"

"You know my parents won't--"

"Right."

"We're still friends though, right?" Chris asked hopefully.

I shook my head slowly, "I don't know. I can't--"

"Look, Jess." Chris replied, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Noted. Are we done now?" The words came out more snappy than I'd intended. I hoped he didn't notice. The obvious discomfort in his eyes, however, showed clearly as he stared at me, his blue eyes doing their thing. I turned around quickly before I could get lost in them.

Five minutes later, I heard a tap on the door. I looked around and quickly spied a baseball bat. Grabbing it and taking it with me just in case, I headed over to it.

It was Chris.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered furiously.

"There's a bunch of crazy paparazzi men outside! They're trying to take pictures!" He whispered back.

"What exactly am I supposed to do about it?"

"I'll give you five thousand dollars if you do me this one favor."

I looked at him, "Which would be?"

He didn't answer, but instead pulled me outside and positioned us behind the car, motioning for me to push it.

"You want me to push the car?" He nodded. "Push the car where?" I asked impatiently.

"In the garage!"

"You're telling me you want to hide out in my garage for the night until the paparazzi go away?" I asked, incredulous. He nodded again. "You're crazy."

"There's really no other choice!" He snapped back, "Let's go!"

Fifteen minutes later, we were both inside the garage. My hands hurt and I felt pretty sweaty.

It was gross.

"You'll be out of here before morning, right?"

"Yes." He replied, "Hopefully, no one will ever know I was here."

"I'll know. And what do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, never mind." He quickly said, "Hey, is there anything in here that I can wear so when I do leave, the paparazzi won't recognize me?" I shrugged and pointed to a box on a shelf. He nodded in thanks and rushed over. A second later, he was done rummaging through it, and turned around, with a new hat perched on top of his head.

I smiled as I looked at it, memories of fishing with my Grandpa filling my head. "That was my Grandpa's hat." I said mindlessly, "He used to wear it when he took my fishing."

"Oh, wow." He said, quickly retracting it from his head, "I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "No, it's okay. You can keep it." The next few words tumbled out of my mouth, "It looks kinda good on you anyway."

He grinned. I raised my eyebrow at him, then started to turn away. A hand stopped me and I turned around once more, locking eyes with Chris. He glanced away once, then returned, his blue eyes doing that thing again.

I snapped myself out of it before I could do something stupid. "Stop doing that!"

He looked nervous, "Doing what?"

"You know. You're giving me that..." I scrambled for words. "That... look. That look that you give to girls when you expect them to fall for you? Well it's not working with me, so get over it."

Quickly, I left the room before he could say anything else. If anyone asked why, I'd say he'd been annoying me with that eye thing. But truthfully, deep down, I knew it was because if I'd been back there and he did it again, I'd probably have second thoughts about what I'd just said.

a/n: ooh la la! things are heatin' up here between Chris and Jess, aren't they? ;) Hahaha. no. just kidding. but i am serious. what'd you think of the chapter?

Sometimes I get so weird- I loooooved it!
I even freak myself out- I thought it was pretty okay, and will tune in next time!
And laugh myself to sleep- thought it was okay, might not check out next chapter.
It's my lullaby- i hated it. end of story.

guess the song? :) and basically every single one of you got the last one right. smile, by uncle kracker! if you haven't already, check it out (: gosh, i should get paid. i'm advertising songs here! jk. OH. and yes- marshall was the SWAC related thing. and also Mitchie from Camp Rock. i seriously forgot that i put her name there. xD anyway, you'll see more of sara & aj in the next chapter.

review? (: and thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers/readers/alerters/favoriters- YOU MAKE ME SMILE :D
-hayley