Jaded (Rock Star Trilogy) (2 page)

“
Do you think it's safe?” I ask. Really, I just want to keep Thor in this tiny room a little longer.

He slightly cracks open the door, looks outside, and then motions me forward. We quickly make our way to the administration office.

Thor starts to leave, but I stop him.

“
Hey, what's your name?”

He smiles, then says, “If you want to find out, you have to eat lunch with me.”

I have to admit, the boys got game. “Then, I guess I'll see you at lunch.” I flash him a seductive smile, and watch him trip over his feet as he leaves the office. I decide at that moment that I'm going to like high school boys. Especially high school boys who look like that.

9:06 am

Please don't maul the new student.

An hour later, I make my way into the school's auditorium. The principal is making a “special announcement”, and I am the subject at hand. I stand beside him on the stage.

“We have a new student,” the principal starts out once everybody is seated, and I swear I hear excitement in his voice. I want to roll my eyes. He actually asked me for my autograph before we came in here. “And I know you're all excited that
the
Scarlett Ryan is here, but I ask that you all treat her with respect.” He pauses for dramatic effect. “Please, don't maul the new student.”

I look out, and literally every eye in the building is on me. Even the teachers are staring. Finally, my eyes find Thor's. He looks amused. And I am the source of his entertainment.

“Do you have anything you want to add, Miss Ryan?” the principal asks me. I almost don't hear him because I am too busy starting at blue eyes.

“
Yeah.” I step to the microphone. “Guys, I'm human. I shit too...” After a short pause, I ask, “Am I allowed to say shit?” Silence is all that answers. “Anyway, I'm going to be here for the rest of the school year. I'm taking a break from touring to finish my senior year. Hopefully we can be friends.” As I step away from the mic, I suddenly feel faint. Did I seriously just talk about shitting in front of the entire high school?

Real attractive, Scar.

After the assembly, the principal walks me to my algebra class. When I go inside the classroom, the first thing I see is Thor. The principal asks for a volunteer to walk me to my classes and show me around, and he is the first to volunteer... Of course... I sit down in the empty seat beside him.

“
Will you please tell me your name?” I pout.

“
If I tell you, then you'll have no reason to eat lunch with me. So, no, I'm not telling you.” He turns his attention forward, and I roll my eyes at him.

Mr. Franks is my algebra teacher. He actually looks
nervous
as he teaches. I resist the urge to bang my head against my desk. Why can't everybody act
normal
around me?

Because you're NOT NORMAL
, a voice from within reminds me.

While Mr. Franks teaches, I have a hard time concentrating. In fact, I'm thinking about the first time I met a celebrity.

I was 15 years old, and had just finished recording my debut album. I was about to go on tour with Alec Torch, and we were meeting for the first time. I actually forgot my own name! I was so embarrassed. But Alec sat me down and we had a long talk. He gave me the “
I shit too
” speech and I couldn't help but laugh. We've been best friends ever since. He's very down to earth for a celebrity, and really, he is the one who has kept me grounded. Trust me, it's very easy to lose yourself when people are shouting your name. I'm thankful for him.

The bell rings, alerting us that class is over, and I panic, realizing that I just dazed out for the entire period.
Great
... At this rate, I am still going to be repeating my senior year at age 40.

“
Ready?” Thor asks.

I nod. “You know, until you tell me your name, I am going to refer to you as Thor.” I smile at the creativity of his nickname.

He stops half way to the door, and looks at me cautiously. “Why are you naming me after a Greek god?”

“
Your eyes. You put Chris Hemsworth to shame. And I would know, cause I went to the movie premiere.”

“
Are you real?” he asks.

“
Last time I checked.” I answer with a shrug. “Why do you ask?”

“
No reason.”

I follow him to my next class, which also happens to be his class. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering how small Hope High School is.

Again, Thor sits beside me in my next class. I decide right then and there that this is going to be a long day.

11:01 am

And the blonde jokes begin...

I don't share the following class with Thor. He happily walks me to the door, and says he'll meet me by my locker for lunch.

“Goodbye, Thor,” I smile up at him.

“
Goodbye,
Rock Star
.” He shakes his head at me as he walks away.

I enter Mrs. Borring's class, and can't help but laugh at her last name. I wonder if she really is
boring
.

This class is called study hall. When the bell rings, I wait for the teacher to get up or say something, but she doesn't. I watch everybody around me pull out their books.

I look at the girl next to me. She's reading a novel, and she looks really into it. I look around me to find somebody who doesn't look preoccupied. Finally, my eyes land on the guy behind me. He's got a look of amusement on his face as he watches me.

Creep much
?

“
Why isn't the teacher... um... teaching?” I whisper to him.

He leans forward in his desk like he's going to let me in on some mind blowing secret. “Tell me, is the blonde hair natural?”

I roll my eyes. “Either you're stupid, or you don't watch TV.
Everybody
knows my hair is natural.” Duh, creeper.

He smirks. “Feisty. I like it.”

I glare at him. “So are you going to tell me what I'm supposed to do, or what?”

“
It's called study hall, Blondie. It's where you
study
.” He looks amused. “Can you even read?”

And the blonde jokes begin. “I can read just fine, thank you.”

I turn in my seat, looking forward. I already don't like this guy. I'm about to pull out my phone when I feel a pencil poke me on the back. It's sharp.

“
Son of a bitch!” I yell, rubbing the spot where he poked me, and then instantly cover my mouth. “Sorry,” I apologize to the teacher and the classroom. When everybody looks back down at their work, I turn around in my seat. The boy behind me is silently laughing. “I hate you.”

He covers his heart with his hands. “That hurts.”

“Maybe you should stab yourself with the pencil next time. In the heart. That
is
how you kill an evil being right? A stake to the heart?”

He actually smiles, and I realize, he has a wonderful smile. Actually, he's kind of hot, even if he is a
douchetard.
He has bright, emerald green eyes, and jet black hair. It's just long enough to run my fingers through, but not too long where it looks sloppy. He also has dimples, which I quickly decide is a sexy quality in a guy.

“
I'm Stephan.” Yep, even his name is sexy.

“
I'm Scarlett.”

He laughs again. “I know... I heard your speech about shitting. It was a great way to start off my Monday. Very entertaining. I can see why you have
so many fans.
”

I feel my face flush, though I'm not really sure why I'm embarrassed. “Well, it's very nice to meet you.”

I turn back around and pull out my phone. I spend the next hour checking my email, and tweeting.

I think I'm going to like “study hall”.

12:00 pm

I Googled you.

After study hall, I meet Thor at my locker. He is waiting for me when I get there.

“
You know you're not supposed to have your phone out during school,” he tells me as I walk up to him.

My phone is currently in my purse. “Um, my phone
isn't
out.”

“
I saw your tweets during study hall.”

I shrug. “I didn't hide it, and the teacher didn't say anything. I'm not used to all these rules. It's going to be hard to remember them all.” I pause and then add, “So, you follow me on twitter. You
are
a fan!”

“
Maybe I am,” he laughs. “Or, maybe I Googled you?”

Ouch.

I follow him into the cafeteria. I vote
no
on the nasty looking food, and we sit at an empty table.

“
So do you know a boy named Stephan?” I ask him, not really sure why I am bringing up the jerk from study hall.

“
Stephan Montgomery?”

“
I don't know... Black hair, gorgeous green eyes, snarky attitude that makes you want to slap him...” I describe.

“
I resent that,” I hear a voice behind me. I know who that voice belongs to without looking. He takes a seat beside me. “Besides the gorgeous eyes part. That
is
true.”

Thor looks annoyed. “Scarlett, this is my
little
brother, Stephan.”

“
Little? He's 2 days older than me,” Stephan immediately clarifies.

I look between the two. “You're brothers? And how is he two days older?” I am very confused.

“
STEPBROTHER
. My mom didn't choose the best candidate for husband,” Stephan smarts off.

“
Whatever.” I turn my attention back blue eyed boy in front of me. I've already decided that Thor and I will be good friends. “So,
Thor
, you were going to tell me your name....”

“
Thor?” Stephan questions.

“
He reminds me of Thor, you know, the Greek god,” I answer.

Stephan makes a gagging noise. I ignore him.

“I'm Ethan James,” he answers, shooting an annoyed look at his brother. “And that guy with the snarky attitude was just leaving.”

Stephan puts his arm around me. “I think the lady said
gorgeous
before she said
snarky attitude
.”

I toss his arm off me.

“Fine, I can take a hint.” He gets up, leaving me and Ethan sitting there.

Ethan watches his brother leave. Once he's out of earshot, he turns back to me. “So, how are you liking public school so far?”

I shrug. “It's ok. You and douchetard are the only one's who have spoken to me though. I think everybody else is intimidated.”

He laughs at my douchetard comment. “They are just all starstruck. Soon they will be following you around, asking you for your autograph...” Before he finishes the sentence, a group of girls come up to me. They begin telling me how much they love me, I sign a couple autographs, and as soon as everybody else see's, they are lining up through the cafeteria.

And the madness begins...

3:05 pm

With my middle fingers up.

After lunch, the craziness continues. I pretty much have to shut my car door in people's faces to get them to leave.

I lean my head against the warm leather seats and sigh. I'm so glad that the day is over. I crank up the radio and smile as I hear my song come on the radio. Four years later, I still get excited when I hear myself over the air.

As I pull out of the parking lot, I look in my rearview mirror and see that people are staring at me as I leave. I scream out in frustration, but quickly remind myself this is what I wanted. I wanted to be a rock star. Music is my passion. It's worth it. Or, at least, it used to be.

My cell phone rings, and I smile, hearing Alec's beautiful voice sing to me. He recorded a special ringtone for me last year, and I love it.

“
I miss you,” I answer.

“
You too, babe,” he agrees.

Ok, I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that between Alec and me. We are friends, yes, but nothing more. Not that I don't find Alec sexy, he is absolutely gorgeous! He's one of the sexiest guys on the planet, number five according to People magazine, but he's just an adorable big brother to me. Well, besides that one time we were really drunk, but I don't like to think about that night. We both just agreed to forget. Not that we could for a while. There were pictures of us making out, basically raping each other in public. It was very embarrassing.