They were in the upstairs bathroom, Cress' eyes squeezed shut, and a pair of scissors in Thorne's hand.
He took a deep breath. "I know I told you not to trust me, but trust me again. Just for two seconds. It'll be over before you know it."
Cress nodded, her eyes still squeezed shut. The top-middle part of her hair was badly burnt, but they didn't have enough time to go to the hair salon; they had to cut it. "Just try to get it over with please."
Thorne's right eyebrow lifted. "I thought you weren't much of a please person when I first met you, but I guess I was wrong."
Cress frowned, as if she had never not say sorry, but it was soon gone.
Thorne paused, the scissor's blade touching her long hair. They were going to have to cut it really short. "Going in action in three, two, one, in!" He cut the hair as Cress let out a shaky gasp.
He couldn't blame her. She's been growing her hair for all her life, and now because of him, it was all gone. Now that he was thinking about it, wasn't she supposed to be furious at him now? Ever since the elevator meeting, he knew this manager job was not going to be easy, but since this morning, everything was going fairly well. Except for the whole threatening-to-call-the-police situation. Maybe she had fallen for his good looks. He was good looking after all.
When over half of her hair was snipped to the floor, Thorne grinned in pride. "Well, that was a pretty good fix. I guess I'm pretty good at cutting hair too."
Cress slowly opened her eyes, and her hand flew up to her mouth. Thorne had a sinking feeling in his gut. This was it. She was gonna slap him and yell at him, just like the girls who took it too seriously with him.
But instead, Cress' face broke into a wide grin. "Stars. This is so cool! Can you believe my hair is short?!"
Thorne sighed in relief and pinched the side of her face. "Let's go now, sweetheart. We'll really be late now."
Cress nodded, getting her make-up bag from the cabinet underneath the sink. They both went downstairs and into the garage of the house. Cress' black van was there, and Cress sat in the backseat of the car. Thorne was surprised that she went in herself, not waiting for him to open the door, but he guessed that she liked her hair that much.
Thorne started the engine and pulled out from the garage. "Let's go!"
As Cress was applying her make-up while looking at a mirror in that was already in the bag, and asked, "Um, Mr. Manager?"
Thorne looked into his rearview mirror. "Yes?"
"I didn't really hear you when you said your name. What did you say it was again?" she mumbled, trying not to move her mouth a lot as she said it.
Thorne smiled, even though he knew Cress wasn't going to see it. "Well, my name is Captain Carswell Thorne, at your service, miss."
Cress' cheeks flushed a little bit, but it could've been the make-up. He wasn't so sure. "Um… Okay, Captain. Next time, can you please wake me up 3 hours earlier than the time my schedule is appointed at? As you can see, waking me up 20 minutes earlier is not enough time to fix my hair, my outfit, and my make-up."
Thorne caught her eye. "I think you're fine without make-up. You look a lot more innocent that way."
Cress blushed. "I think so too, but my fashion stylist and make-up artist said that my concept this year, so I have to apply it a bit more than I want to. But thank you…"
Finally, after a few more minutes, they arrived at a tall building, where Cress' interview was scheduled at. Thorne parked in front of the entrance, and Cress got out, looking just like she did yesterday. Except she was… different. Her outside was the same, but her inside was not the same as yesterday's.
And when Cress went inside, he realized two things; he had called her sweetheart, but she didn't say anything about it to him. And the other one was even weirder. He had touched her, on the face, but again, she said nothing.
This person isn't Cress.
Thorne held the phone to his ear, and covered his mouth with his hands, so other people wouldn't be able to hear what he was saying.
Kai answered. "Hello?"
Thorne started talking. "Cressisn'tCressrig— "
Kai interrupted him. "Woah. Slow down, man." Oops. Too fast. "What were you saying?"
Thorne took a deep breath, and said, "Cress isn't Cress right now." He glanced over at the filming set where Fake-Cress was looking through her interview questions, reading them too seriously. Not what the actual Cress would do. Thorne knew that much already. Cress isn't the type to read and analyze things.
"What? What are you talking about?" Kai asked back, sounding annoyed.
"I'm saying that the Cress you talked to this morning isn't the Cress from last night! They're two different people!" Thorne yelled, his voice loud enough for Fake-Cress to stare at him questioningly. Thorne shot her a grin, and she shyly smiled back. He turned around from the seat, and told Kai, "I don't think she needs to go to the hospital. She needs to go to a psychologist. This is a mental problem, not a physical problem." His voice was hushed, so Cress couldn't hear.
Kai sighed. "I have no idea what you are saying. Cress' blackouts are physically… they have to be… physically… involved." Kai's voice trailed off, as if he were reconsidering his words.
Thorne tapped his foot impatiently, and a man yelled, "Standby!"
"Alright. I think I see what you mean. We'll take her to the hospital first, and then we'll see the psychologist if needed, okay? I have a meeting in a few minutes, so I'll hang up now." Kai hung up.
Thorne turned around to see Fake-Cress smile nervously at him. He gave her two thumbs-up, and the camera started to film live.
"Hello, viewers! Welcome to Star News! I'm Kate Fallow, hosting today's show, and we're filming live with the renowned singer, Cress Moon!" the host said to the camera with a blinding smile. A small audience behind cheered, and Fake-Cress blushed deeply.
"So, Cress? How are you doing this morning?" Kate asks.
"I'm doing fine, thank you," Fake-Cress squeaks out.
"You sound a bit nervous, Cress. This is your first live interview; am I correct?"
Fake-Cress nods, her new haircut bobbing back and forth with her. Thorne felt his insides cringe a little bit. On live interviews, you are supposed to look confident, not like a nervous wreck!
"I've noticed you got a new haircut! It looks beautiful on you! What made you decide to cut it?" Kate asks.
Fake-Cress smiled. "Thank you. It was cut this morning, actually. I was running a bit late today, and while I was rushing, I happened to burn part of my hair!" Fake- Cress giggled. "It was very shocking."
Kate's eyes widened. "No way! I've heard that you've been growing your hair for years! It still looks very beautiful on you, though." Fake-Cress shrugged modestly, but her eyes beamed.
Thorne smiled to himself. Fake-Cress is beautiful when she beams, even if she is pretending to be someone else. He hopes he'll see more of that side in the future.
"So, when did you enter Commonwealth Entertainment as a trainee?" Kate questions.
Fake-Cress scrunches her face, as if she's racking through her brain for the information. "I'm not really sure. It was when I was really young, I think. Probably like… when I was 12? 13? Around that age."
Kate turns to the camera, her shock radiating from her face. "Do you hear that everyone? No wonder Cress is one of the most famous singers! Training at 12… that is amazing."
After the interview, Fake-Cress collapsed onto the van's seat. "Stars, that was exhausting. When is my next schedule Captain?"
"We're going to the hospital soon. But I left something at the underground parking lot. Let me stop there first." Thorne felt bad lying to her, but he remembered that she isn't Cress.
Thorne drove down to the underground parking lot, and Fake-Cress raised an eyebrow. "How can you leave something here?"
Thorne shrugged, the lie coming easily through his lips. "I guess it fell out when I opened the car door."
He parked at an empty parking spot, and turned off the engine. Since these were celebrity vans, he was sure that no one would see them inside the car from outside. He turned around, and struggled to get to the backseat, next to Fake-Cress.
Fake-Cress scooted back, getting farther away from him. "Um… Captain? What are you doing?"
Thorne didn't answer. Instead, he took Fake-Cress' cheek with his right hand, and leaned in a little. Fake-Cress' eyelids fluttered shut, and a deep color started to rise from her cheeks.
When his lips touched hers, something seemed to flash through his blood. This was definitely not the first time to kiss a person to deceive them, but it felt… different. Her lips were soft and hesitant; unlike some girls he had kissed.
Thorne intended the kiss to be short and sweet, but he couldn't find himself to tear himself away from her. The kiss got deeper, and he could feel Fake-Cress tremble in front of him. It was obvious that she didn't have many experiences with kisses.
Surprisingly, it was Fake-Cress that tore away from him, not him. That surprised Thorne a bit, but then he recovered, sitting back in the seat, grinning.
Fake-Cress looked flustered; how could she not? She had just kissed Thorne anyways.
Thorne had to make sure he wasn't being paranoid about Fake-Cress being Fake-Cress. He was sure that the real Cress would be having an angry fit by now, but the Fake-Cress would just be flustered. He was right.
Fake-Cress finally caught her breath and asked, "Captain? What was that? How… Why…?"
Thorne shrugged. "Well, I thought you would know? That was a kiss. And I did that by taking your head with my hand, and leaned in. I did that because… well, you're attractive, you know that?"
Fake-Cress opened her mouth, but then shut it. She opened it again, and said, "I thought we were going to the hospital?"
Thorne checked his watch. "Aces, you're right. Let's get going." He climbed to the driver's seat and started the engine.
The rest of the drive was very awkward. And quiet. Very quiet. Suddenly, Thorne wondered if it was right to kiss her or not. That scared Thorne. He normally never regretted his kisses…
Thorne couldn't take it anymore. "About the kiss— "
"I don't want to talk about it…" Fake-Cress interrupted.
Thorne frowned. "I need to ask you something about it though."
Fake-Cress stayed quiet.
"Should I apologize for it? Or should we go on a date one day?" Thorne asked. Again, Fake-Cress stayed quiet.
Thorne knew that this was all acting, but he felt a pang of his pride shatter when Fake-Cress said, "I want you to apologize. Now."
Okay? This wasn't what he was expecting. Nothing close to what he was expecting. He stopped at a red light, and turned to face Fake-Cress. Her face was red, and she was staring at her fidgeting fingers.
"Okay… I'm sorry I did that without asking… I won't do that again without permission…" Thorne said, staying with his sheepish act.
Fake-Cress nodded, and said, "Apology accepted." After a few seconds of quiet, she looked up and pointed towards the road. "Green light," she said quietly.
Thorne turned around hastily, and pressed the accelerator pedal. When he checked the rearview mirror, he saw Fake-Cress lean her head back onto the seat's headrest. Of course she would be tired; she's been acting like a different person for the whole morning.
Thorne turned on the radio, hoping the music would relieve the awkward silence. A beautiful, soothing voice came on, and Thorne nodded along with the beat. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but Thorne couldn't seem to fit the face with the voice.
Fake-Cress hummed behind him the same beat, and the voices sounded the same. That's when Thorne realized that the voice on the radio and Fake-Cress' voice was the same. What was going on? Was arrogant Cress the actual Fake-Cress, and Fake-Cress was the real Cress?
Thorne shook his head, his mind in a bunch of pieces. This made it more complicated. Girls always made his head hurt, but this was different. His head felt like it was about to split open because of the overdose amount of suspicion and information it had. Heck, he might be the one that needs to go to the hospital.
Thorne turned to the entrance of the hospital, and saw Kai waiting for them at the entrance of the hospital. His face perked up when he saw Cress' van come up in front of him. Kai opened the door for Fake (or real?) Cress, and he said to Thorne, "We'll be on the 5th floor, room 506. See you soon."
Thorne nodded back, and drove to a parking spot after Kai had closed the door. Then, he went into the hospital, and was about to get in the elevator, but thought against it. The last few times he was in an elevator, he got tangled up with Cress and Fake-Cress. Who knows what might happen this time he got in the elevator?
He turned around and went to the staircase door. Instead of walking up the stairs like a normal person, he ran up, knowing he was way far from normal. The burst of adrenaline felt good, and he kept running up to the 5th floor. When he got out of the staircase, he saw a bodyguard dressed person waiting for someone in front of the elevator. This floor must be the floor for celebrities.
Thorne walked down a white, but busy, hallway, looking for the room number 506. He sighed in relief when he saw a doctor looking over Cress, a light shining in her eyes. His breath caught in his throat when he saw how blue it was, like the ocean in the Bahamas or something. Crystal blue.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he saw the bodyguard he saw earlier. "Yes? Can I help you?" Thorne asked.
The bodyguard said, "Please follow me."
Thorne frowned, but followed him anyways. His instinct was telling him to run, but history has shown that his instincts are normally .1% right. He ignored it, and followed him into an empty room.
"What—"
The bodyguard punched him in the stomach, knocking the breath out of his lungs. Thorne hunched over, gasping for oxygen. What was going on?
The bodyguard was about to throw another punch, but this time, Thorne was ready. He dodged the punch, and caught his wrist, twisting it. The bodyguard screamed, but his other hand reached out and punched Thorne in the face.
Thorne grunted, and almost fell back, but instead, he tripped the bodyguard, and the bodyguard fell. Thorne panted, and punched him twice in the face. The bodyguard didn't move, so Thorne left him and turned around to get out of the room.
Four more bodyguard people stood in front of him, blocking his way. Uh-oh.