Eclipse - A Jem & the Holograms Story

2 | secrets

Regardless if I was Jem or Jerrica, drama seemed to follow where I went. And I was in desperate need of a break.

Breaking out of the hug, and standing in front of Riot, I turned to face Rio. He lowered his fists, but his eyes were still wild with rage.

"I am perfectly capable of looking after and making decisions for myself." I glanced at Riot, expecting him to want to say something, but he remained silent. He really had changed. In the past he probably would have started a brawl with Rio on the spot.

Rio shook his head "when will you learn that Riot is nothing but a troublemaker? He doesn't have your best interests at heart."

"And you do? Why don't you worry about your own girlfriend," I snapped.

"Leaving so soon?" Rio jeered.

I turned to see Riot walking towards the exit. I ran after him.

"Why are you leaving?" I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder.

He sighed "I should get home anyways," and kept walking. I didn't blame him for wanting to leave and I watched as his car sped off into the distance.

I turned at the sound of footsteps, and found Rio walking towards me. He stopped beside me and sighed.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you back there, it's just after the Mexico ordeal, I struggle to trust him."

"It is one thing to not trust someone, but it is something else entirely to make a scene at a charity gala by threatening to punch someone." I replied.

"Jem-" I started back towards the party. Rio followed.

"I love you."

My heart stopped cold. I spun around.

"Rio what are you talking about? You love Jerrica, not me!"

"No, it's been you all this time." He insisted, his gaze interlocking with mine.

"No, you must be drunk," I declared, in full denial. "You can't be thinking straight."

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him, but I twisted my hand free and ran. I ran to my car and twisted the key, letting the engine roar to life, I drove away. Rio didn't follow.

I didn't know where I was going or why, but all I wanted to do was to get as far away from everything as fast as possible.

...

I found myself in a nearly deserted bar on the beachfront. It was late into the night by now, and the responsible voice in my head told me to head back to Starlight Mansion. But instead, I sat at the counter with a glass of whiskey in my hand and let my mind wander.

Rio's words were still fresh in my mind, and they stung. If what he had said was true, he was confessing to love a part of myself that wasn't real. Maybe it was just another one of his 'phases' as I liked to call them, when things were bad with Jerrica and he came running to carefree Jem.

But I couldn't shake the way he looked at me- his blue eyes were piercing, and I couldn't ignore the feeling that there was something more there.

I took a sip- or rather a gulp of whiskey, draining the contents of my glass. I headed out of the bar in search of a telephone booth. The streets of LA were empty with the exception of a few stragglers. Checking my watch, I found it was nearly four in the morning.

In my current drunk and depressed state, I didn't trust myself to drive, so calling a ride was the responsible thing to do. But I stopped myself before the telephone booth. Who could I call? I sure as hell wasn't calling Rio, and at this time everyone at Starlight mansion would be fast asleep.

The affects of the whiskey were settling in and everything was spinning. I stumbled back to my convertible, clambered into the vehicle. With a twist of the key, the engine started, and I was off.

I tore through the streets of Los Angeles, rushing home. I knew I shouldn't be driving, and I knew I was driving recklessly. All I wanted was to get home and-

I was blinded by a white light headed towards me. I tried to swerve away from it, but it was too late. The last thing I saw was the wind shield shatter and then my vision went black.

••
I awoke with a start; finding myself in a white room. I squinted, taking in the bright lights that filled my vision. I was in a hospital. God, what had happened last night? How would I ever explain it to the band?

A nurse walked into my room.

"I'm glad to see you are finally awake. How do you feel?"

"I feel fine but can you please tell me what happened?" I replied.

"You were in a car accident. It wasn't your fault though, and you were the only one injured. You were found unconscious at the scene and were brought here so you could recover. I couldn't find an ID among your belongings, do you have anyone you can contact to check you out?" There was no way I was going to let the girls know about this. I felt nothing but embarrassment, me the responsible one getting in a car crash? Some example I was. I sighed, "I know a number.."

After the nurse left I got myself out of bed and went to look in the mirror. My Jem form was still intact and I couldn't help my surprise at the fact I wasn't recognized. Though the nurse was older and probably didn't fall into the typical Jem and The Hologram fan demographic.

Changing into a new outfit, I readied myself to leave the hospital, hopefully, as inconspicuously as possible.

My legs were badly bruised from the impact of the accident, but thankfully nothing had been broken. In a mini sun dress and shades, my pink hair tucked into a ponytail, I walked out into the Los Angeles sun and found him waiting in the pick up line. I could recognize him anywhere: long blonde curls, chocolate gaze, yellow outfit.