Jeffrey Tifton was ranked the sixth most famous person in the world in Life magazine. On their list of most influential people in the world he was tenth. In 'Teen Fad' he was ranked number five on their hottest celebrity list, just under Channing Tatum.
So, yeah, in theory Jeffrey knew why he had a mob of paparazzi chasing him down the street. He appreciated his fans, he really did. If it weren't for them, he and the rest of his band wouldn't be worth swat. But Jeffrey also appreciated the freedom of just being able to go for a walk without being assaulted by overly-adoring teenagers. He had even waited until it was dark out, he was wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap too. Somehow, one teen girl had caught sight of his face as he strode past her and her friends, and her shriek had brought everyone's attention to him.
Hence, the running for his life. Jeffrey wasn't in the mood to have to explain himself and talk to half a dozen over-excited girls. He should have listened to the band's manager, Cagney.
...
Skye didn't love her job, but she didn't despise it either. It was simply a necessity, something she did to pick up some extra cash to help pay her way for school. Night shifts at a tiny convenient store were pretty boring, but the quiet hours were also convenient for studying with only a few interruptions from some people picking up a pack of cigarettes or scratch cards.
Once, a drunk guy had tried to rob the place. That was about the most exciting it had ever gotten, and Skye had laughed at him until he had grown flustered and bought himself a pack of gum instead. He wasn't even the most depressing character she had met there.
So when the store's door had opened and slammed shut with a rather rough jostling of the bell hanging from it, Skye didn't even turn from where she was straightening the camel packs.
The customer didn't get her attention until he vaulted over the counter and crouched on the floor behind it. Even then, Skye was only momentarily startled.
"Hey! Get out of here." She kicked at him.
"Ow! Please? There's a whole bunch of girls chasing me out there. I just need somewhere to hide real quick!" The man fell over, clutching his shin where Skye had kicked him. Soccer had left her pretty experienced at that sort of thing.
"What the-?" Was all Skye had time for, before the door opened again and her small store was swarmed with a whole bunch of teenage girls.
"Where is he?! Is he in here?" They clamored loudly, their words over-spilling each others and reaching a very high volume. Skye glanced briefly down at the prone figure behind the counter with her, and he clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture.
"Who?" Skye asked the girls, "What are you talking about?"
"Jeffrey Tifton! The famous singer!" Skye was barely able to interpret the group of girls.
"Who?" Skye squinted, "Does this look the kind of place anyone of any decent intelligence would visit, let alone anyone famous? In less you guys are in here to buy some of our over-stocked chips, get out of here."
The girls filed out, insisting to one another that he, "Must have run past." or "He gave us the slip." and "Are you sure it was him?".
"Alright. I covered your stupid butt, now you've got some explaining to do." Skye grunted and hauled the boy up by his hood. He was tall and had some impressively messy hair that he had managed to shove under a baseball cap, but Skye wouldn't say he was worth getting frenzied over.
"You sure they're gone?" The boy craned his neck to look carefully out the window, "Do you mind if I just stick around for a couple of minutes? Just until I'm sure they're not around."
"Not unless you're buying something." Skye stood unmoving, her arms crossed. He shrunk and nodding meekly, he stepped around the blonde. This time he walked around the counter instead of vaulting over it. Skye watched him out of the corner of her eye, but all he did was grab two sodas and a bag of sour cream and onion chips.
Skye rang him up like she would any normal customer, aware of the boy's curious gaze.
"$4.23"
The "famous singer" started as if he forgotten that money was traditionally exchanged for goods, and he fumbled as he pulled out his wallet.
"Um...I got no cash so..." He held out his card to Skye. Skye took it and slid it through her machine. He looked nervous and at a loss as to what to say as he stood waiting for his reciept to print out.
"Sign here." Skye told him unphased. He complied, scrawling on the line with big looping letters.
"Well. That proves you're Jeffrey Tifton." Skye remarked, "Still never heard of you though."
Tifton looked shocked and flabberghasted.
"You've...you've never even heard of me?"
She shrugged, "Should I have?"
"I'm the lead singer and keyboardist for Bach's five? We've had six No. 1's on the music charts?" Jeffrey Tifton spluttered in disbelief.
"Oh." Skye nodded in recognition, "You're in that ridiculous boy band that's really popular right now. Huh, my kid sisters listen to you."
"...You don't seem that impressed, or even that put off." The curly-haired boy eyed Skye with astonishment as he opened his bag of chips.
"Should I be?" Skye took a chip from his bag, before turning to stock the wall behind her, "I don't care all that much for music, and certainly not for music like your's."
"Yeah, but I'm famous." Tifton pointed out.
"I never heard of you before tonight." Skye threw back over her shoulder, "Even so, you could be Beethoven resurrected from the dead and I wouldn't be impressed. I don't really go for idolizing and all that."
"Oh, c'mon." Tifton hoisted himself up on the counter casually and gave her a suave, practiced grin. The way he settled himself on the counter, it was like he was posing but unconsciously. "Everybody's got their heroes. I'd definitely freak out if I got to meet Beethoven. Who do you admire, if not for who they are, than for the works they've done?"
"If we're talking works." Skye paused, "Newton, Einstein, and Galileo come to mind."
"So you're a science nerd." The singer said, his mouth full. "Huh, never would have taken you for one."
"How so?"
"You don't look like the quiet, studious type."
"And you don't exactly look like the kind of guy most girls would want to chase after."
"Ouch." Jeffrey Tifton grinned more authentically than his first time. "Fair enough, I suppose. What's your science, Nerd?"
"Astrophysics. What's your music, Beethoven?"
"We play alot of classic jazz and blues. Think Sinatra and all those smooth crooners, but I dabble in a lot of different genres. I like a lot of classical and some old rock and roll."
"As far as I recall, Bach didn't play jazz." Skye raised an eyebrow, "That's kind of a weird band name."
"It flows off the tongue, not too many people have an appreciation for the masters now a days. All they care is that the name is famously associated with music, that's good enough for them. I wanted to go with Jeffrey and the Jets."
Skye gave him a confused look.
"It's an Elton song reference."
"So something obscure that only a music geek would know."
"Hey, I prefer to think of myself as an artist. Not too many people can do what I do you know."
"Thank God. The fewer annoying people the better I always say."
"You're hilarious." Jeffrey made a face at her and threw a chip at her head.
"Careful there, pretty boy. Don't want your face to freeze like that. Your make up artist will have a hard time covering up that ugliness." Skye snarked and then paused, "Not that they did a very good job on you today."
"Hey! I'll have you know that I've been described as having a classically, noble expression and the brow of an artist."
"Fancy words to describe a gangly dork. I can't imagine the stress your agent has to go through when they come up with creative ways to try to make you seem attractive."
"Hey, at least hit me in an area where I can insult you back." Jeffrey replied without thinking and then choked on his chips when he realized what he had implied. "Wait. No! That's not what I-"
"Your little fan squad is back." Skye was grateful for the returning girls. Anything for that awkward slip-up to pass. Jeffrey scrambled back over her side of the counter until the girls passed again.
...
Jeffrey's stomach felt weird, and he didn't think it was just the stale chips-though they truly were awful. He was kind of having a moment of clarity, of insight. Jeffrey was used to having people notice him, to have millions of girls he didn't even know have crushes on him. This here. This was irony or karma or something. He was an idiot, he must be just overanalyzing something. He was probably just thrown back for a moment, because for once here was someone who didn't give a crap for what he did or how much everyone else cared for him.
And yet, his stomach was twisting and every time the girl put him down, his well-practiced cool composure broke. He couldn't trust himself to speak without looking like an idiot in front of her, he couldn't help but wish he wouldn't look like an idiot in front of her.
Jeffrey almost succeeded, but then they were going too fast and he couldn't stop, he had spoken before he had thought. He meant it, sure. She was easily the prettiest girl he had ever seen, but still...
"They're gone." The cashier nudged him with her foot, and he jumped back up and resettled himself on the counter.
"So you got a name?" Jeffrey tried to recover himself. He was posing, this time purposely.
"Why aren't you leaving? You could slip out now." She pointed out.
"I thought I'd keep you company." He shrugged and covered his red face by taking a sip of his soda. "It must get pretty boring in here organizing the candy bars alphabetically."
"Excuse you, that's the highlight of my day." She retorted, "And I do my schoolwork back here too. I've got a rather interesting thesis paper on the components of what makes up a black hole, that I find enjoyable."
"Fascinating, and here I thought you couldn't sound like a bigger nerd." Jeffrey snorted. God, she was incredibly smart and sarcastic. What was wrong with him? Why was finding her every word delightful? "C'mon, what's your name? You know mine."
"Buy something else, and maybe I'll tell you." She crossed her arms stubbornly.
Jeffrey bought a chocolate bar. "So?"
"So what?" The blonde handed him his receipt.
"What's your name? You said you would tell me if I bought something."
"I said I would maybe tell you if you bought something. And I honestly don't feel inclined to give that information to a total stranger." She shot back smoothly and picking up her textbook she began to ignore him with a deep yawn.
"That's not fair." Jeffrey was pretty sure he was pouting, but he didn't care.
"I realize that you probably get everything you want when you ask for it Mr. Entitled, but here in the real world Life isn't exactly fair."
"You conned me into buying a chocolate bar."
"A Mars Bar at that. What kind of idiot buys a Mars Bar instead of a Milky Way or a Snickers?" She shook her head in disbelief. "I must be better than I thought."
"Alright, let's try a new tactic. I'll guess your name and you tell me yes or no." Jeffrey leaned on the counter and took a bite out of his Mars Bar. She was right, he should have gotten the Milky Way.
The girl made a non-committed grunt and flipped a page. Jeffrey took it as a sign that she wasn't totally against his plan.
"Barbara?"
"Oh hey! First try too!" She exclaimed with round eyes.
"Really? Your name is Barbara?" Jeffrey was excited.
"Absolutely not." Her expression melting effortlessly back into it's apathetic state, and her attention drawn back to blackholes.
Jeffrey made a face at her, but she gave no sign that she saw it. "Fine. How about Ariana?"
"Nope."
"Rihanna?"
"Nada"
"Celine?"
"You're just listing the names of famous singers aren't you?"
"Of course. Is your name Celine?"
"No. Not even close." She shook her head.
"I could do this all day." Jeffrey told her.
"Good for you. Guess you can add that to your list of talents, huh?"
"Come on." Jeffrey stooped down so he could rest his chin on her counter. "I told you my name."
"Because you were trying to impress me. Need I remind you that I don't care in the slightest if you're Jeremy Kitten?"
"Jeffrey Tifton."
"Hmm, you should change it. No wonder people don't know who you are, your name is super forgettable."
"You're the only person I've met who doesn't know who I am." Jeffrey protested. "Have you been standing there, calling me Jeremy in your head? I'm insulted and I demand restitution."
"I'm not telling you my name."
"What if I sue you? I'm rich, remember?"
"How are you going to sue me if you don't know my name?" She pointed out.
Jeffrey mock scowled at that and crossed his arms in a sulky manner. "You're mean."
"I've never been more offended in my life." She replied in an unoffended tone. Jeffrey sighed when he realized she was unmovable, but he didn't feel inclined to go outside and show his face again. Besides, this girl was the most interesting person he had met in forever. Well, the most interesting person he had met ever, Jeffrey corrected himself. Maybe this was a waiting game; if so, Jeffrey was determined to outlast her. He could be ten times more annoying and tenacious when he wanted to be. He blamed his mother for that.
Jeffrey plopped down on the floor, and crossing his legs he fell back on his hands just to show her through his posture that he was going to be there for awhile. She didn't even seem to notice. "You're not very busy at this time of night."
"Probably, your ugly mug scaring business away." She hummed.
"Classically, noble expression and the-"
"Brow of an artist. I know I heard you the first time."
"What'll it take for you to tell me who you are?" Jeffrey was lost just staring at her.
"Mmmm, I don't give my names to insincere flirts. They're too fake for me."
"I'm not fake!"
"You're trying to model again right now."
Jeffrey looked down at how he had drawn one knee up to his chest and had rested his left elbow on it. He certainly had an air of casual suaveness. She was right. "Sorry. Bad habit. I've always got the press agents on my back to make me look good."
She half-heartedly raised an eyebrow, but looked more engrossed in highlighting a passage in her book. Jeffrey got to his feet again and approached the counter, doing his best to look more natural and less like he was trying embody James Dean. She looked up expectantly.
"Full sincerity and genuine interest right now." Jeffrey assured her motioning with his hands. "What's your name?"
She scanned his face, looking for any trace of humor or smugness, but it looked like she didn't see any there because she held her hand out to him. "Skye Penderwick."
"Skye?" Jeffrey shook her hand enthusiastically and forced himself to not hold it too long.
"Blue eyes, Blue Skye." She said it like it was a repeated phrase, pointing to her eyes and then the sky outside even though it was black at that moment.
"It's a great name, really suits you and it kind of rolls off the tongue. Skye Penderwick." Jeffrey tried out the name again. "It's really memorable too, better than Jeremy Kitten that's for sure."
Skye laughed slightly at that and Jeffrey felt his face flush and his chest puff in pride. He had made her laugh, and God how he wanted to do that again.
"I don't care that much about being a household name." Skye told him. "I just want to be the person who discovers things and sheds more light on the areas we don't know that well."
"If you can read a book on black-holes as if it's the most interesting story in the world, than I know you'll do all that." Jeffrey agreed. "What would that make you? An astronomist?"
"You're thinking astronomer, but you're pretty close. I'm going to be an astrophysicist, it deals with the more mechanical side behind astronomy. You know, observing the more physical elements of celestial bodies and all the interactions between matter and...and I'm boring you aren't I?" Skye faded out. She looked almost self-conscious and as if she was used to that kind of reaction.
"What? No way! You didn't finish." Jeffrey shook his head and waved her on. "You were saying it was about examining the interactions between matter and-what? You stopped there."
Skye was visibly staring at him with surprise. She almost looked lost, but she shook herself quickly and continued with a slightly more pink face and an eager air. Jeffrey could tell she didn't often get a ready audience, which was a shame. Her passion alone was enough to get him hooked and make what she said the most interesting thing he had ever heard.
"The interactions between matter and radiation." She explained. "You know, basic physics stuff."
It was hardly basic, and Jeffrey knew she was downplaying it. "So you're basically breaking down those basic physic compounds to explain what makes a black-hole then?" He scratched his head and tried his best, "That's what you're working on for your thesis paper, right?"
"Exactly!" Skye looked pleased. "Of course I have to explain how the black-hole works too and its effects, but in essence that's what my paper is going to do."
"It sounds interesting." Jeffrey said sincerely. "Can I read it when you're done?"
Skye was definitely taken aback, to the point where she was looking at him with suspicion. "Why would you want to read a college-level astrophysics report? You're not exactly the scientist type."
"Because you think it's important enough to write about. That's good enough for me, and if you love it so much, it's got to be pretty fascinating. Right?"
"There's going to be a lot of terms that you wouldn't recognize, and it's not like you're going to be around to read it by the time I finish."
"Do you at least have a rough outline?"
"Of course, but-"
"Then tell me about it. I'll stay as long as it takes." Jeffrey settled himself. "Go ahead, I'm listening."
Skye slowly shook her head, but there was a wide smile on her face and Jeffrey's heart sped up. at the sight of it.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." Skye warned him, and Jeffrey could have laughed incredulously at that. As he and Skye leaned on opposite sides of the counter. As she began to spill scientific facts about the universe, and as he got drawn in more and more. Jeffrey knew Skye was right: he had no idea what he was in for, but he did know one thing for sure.
He couldn't wait.
...
KoalaLoverABC-123: So happy you liked the last one-shot I wrote. I love Aunt Claire and I really want to write more with her now.
GM01: In answer to your last question: You always make my evening with one of your reviews. I'm glad you liked Claire's point of view, it was fun and surprisingly not too hard to write, she's a really great character and we don't see enough of her in the books.
Nijibrush: Pointe Moutte is definitely my favorite book in the series too! And it was really fun writing a piece that takes place in the book's setting, I'm absolutely going to do more one-shots like that in the future, it forces me to set all the AU's aside and do something that's more challenging.