Superstar

I'm no-one special just another wide-eyed girl, who's desperately in love with you

Desiree stared awestruck at the impromptu stage which had been set up in the middle of the shopping centre. Beside her, Jake and Terry sniggered at her stunned expression and her momentary loss of the speaking ability. Dessi ignored them though. This had to be the biggest coincidence in the history of...well, coincidences.

Unit One had just come back from their latest mission – an undercover operation which had lead to them being able to eliminate some of the key figures of Australia's underground gangs. None of them had been hurt (a true miracle), so Jake had decided that the four of them needed some "treats", thus leading to them stopping off at the shopping centre. Of course, being the wonderfully responsible leader that he was, he left Dean to go get them some ice creams while he, Terry and Desiree wandered around.

And that was how they stumbled onto the seemingly impromptu performance being given to a rather big crowd of rowdy teenagers. Most of whom appeared to be girls. Screaming and cheering and swooning for the boy up on the stage, who was singing with a band of teenagers. Surprisingly, the boy actually could sing. But that wasn't the only surprising thing about him...

"Hey Dessi, didn't you save that kid's sister from drowning back in March?" Jake sniggered as he pointed to the lead singer.

"Shut it, Jake," Desiree snarled, though less viciously than she normally would. For her attention had just been caught by the aforementioned sister, standing slightly off one side of the stage and gazing at her older brother with pride.

The boy ended the final note of his song, and the crowd erupted into even louder cheers than before. Those passing by doing their Christmas shopping looked in their direction with curiosity, before going back to buying their respective presents. The boy on stage gave a very showy bow, before giving his band the thumbs up and blowing his sister a kiss. Then he turned back to the audience with a very cocky smile on his face, waving at his cheering fans. Finally he and his band left the stage, and the crowd dispersed off, many breaking into groups of chattering girls.

Terry prodded Desiree in the side. "Aren't you going to say hello to your boyfriend, Des-Des?" He smirked.

"When are you going to stop using that hideous nickname?" Desiree asked irritably, smacking Terry's hand away.

Terry just grinned in what he felt was a mysterious manner, one which caused Jake to burst out into laughter. Desiree just shook her head. "Come on, let's go find Dean," she muttered, turning to leave, before Terry caught one of her arms and Jake grabbed the other.

"Oh, no, you're not getting away that easily!" Jake grinned. The two then began dragging the girl towards the stage, overpowering her attempts to wriggle free. The few stragglers left hanging around gave the three strange looks before hurrying away, obviously under the impression that they were not normal.

"Okay, okay, you can let me go," Desiree said, highly annoyed. By now they had reached the actual stage, which was really just a platform raised by a multitude of metal supporting it from underneath.

Jake and Terry just grinned, though they did let the girl go. Neither wanted to die a horrible death anytime soon. Desiree huffed, brushing her hair, which was still in soft curls from their mission, off her face. Before any of the three could make a move though, the girl who Desiree had saved from drowning stepped around the corner of the stage and saw them

The girl's eyes widened, taking in the two men before zeroing in on the girl. She recognised her facial features, though the rest of her had been drenched in sea water the last time they'd met. A shy smile spread across her face.

"Hello," she said.

Desiree smiled back. "Hi."

"I remember you. But, I didn't know your hair was curly. It's very pretty."

"Thanks, though it's not normally curly." By then, Jake and Terry had found some way of disappearing from sight. Not that Desiree noticed. Well, okay she did notice. But she really didn't care.

"Are you here to see my brother?" The girl asked shyly.

"Well actually, I hadn't planned on this visit at all. I didn't know your brother could sing," Desiree explained. "It's a very nice surprise."

The thirteen year old grinned happily. "He's very talented," she explained, "He gets all sorts of gigs, and we get to travel around everywhere. Mum and dad normally don't come along, and I have to go to school, but when he's performing locally I get to go backstage to all his shows!"

"That must be exciting," Desiree smiled.

"It is," a new voice suddenly spoke, causing both girls to start. Desiree turned to see the girl's seventeen year old brother leaning against the side of the stage, staring at her with mild curiosity. When blue eyes met hazel however, his face suddenly lit up in recognition.

"You!" He exclaimed happily," I wasn't expecting to see you here!"

"To be honest, neither was I," Desiree grinned wryly.

"I have to thank you again, for saving Abby. If you hadn't gone after her, I...I just...thank you," he finished with sincerity.

"You've thanked me enough," Desiree said, "It's seriously getting on my nerves. No offence or anything," she quickly added, "But a person can only be thanked so many times for something."

"Fair enough," the boy grinned, "Okay, let me make it up to you. I have a three hour break now, before I'm scheduled to perform again. How about I take you out for lunch? At no charge to yourself, of course. Just you and me. And Abby if she wants to come."

Desiree hesitated slightly, her eyes darting quickly to where Jake and Terry were hiding. She knew that the two boys were bound to either try and listen into their conversation, or lip read. Those two were just too curious for their own good sometimes. Jake noticed the subtle change in attention, and realised that Dessi was asking for his permission to go. The unit leader grinned, giving his field partner the thumbs up.

Desiree smiled up at the seventeen year old. "I'd love to."

"Great! Abby, you coming?"

The girl shook her head. "I wanna hang out with Julian," she said.

"Okay then. Tell him I'll be back in time for the next gig." Abby nodded and gave Desiree a smile, before running off, no doubt to where backstage was located to find Julian.

"Julian's our bass player," the seventeen year old said, leading Desiree in the direction of the food courts, "He's teaching Abby how to play guitar." Suddenly the boy stopped walking. "I haven't introduced myself at all, have I? Oh, wow, I have manners," he muttered to himself before turning to Desiree with a grin.

"Oh fair lady, I beg forgiveness from you, and plead for you to reveal your name so that I may be blessed enough to whisper it with my unworthy lips –"

"Stop that," Desiree grinned, giving the boy a shove, "You're even more overdramatic than Jake!"

"Ah! And who is this Jake whom I must fight with for your attention?"

"Jake would be my surrogate brother," Desiree said. It was a very well practised lie. "And I'm Desiree."

"Desiree...that's a very pretty name."

"Mm-hm. And you are...?"

The boy grinned, before sweeping into a very low and dramatic bow. "Derik Wilkes, at your service."

.

Thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it.

Until next time

Love Chariots99