All that glitters, ain't gold.

Chapter 10

| above is Megan and Conner's new home |

It's been a month, and so much has happened. Conner and I finally moved into our fabulous house in Calabasas, together. And we've been getting so much attention because of it. Most of the attention has been bad, with the exception of our fans that are happy for us. It's kind of like the attention Kylie Jenner received when the dating rumors of her and Tyga went wild. It's easy to ignore it when you know it's not true. Despite the negativity, we still have our two huge fan bases and they're growing rapidly.

While I was in The UK promoting my new album, Jake has been doing fantastic at UCLA; he loves it there. Him and Celia have been 'talking' as he calls it. He tells me she's really nice, and a potential girlfriend and she tells me pretty much the same thing.

I talked to Ashely about a week ago and I'm planning on flying her out soon. Although, I have still been getting these frequent dizzy spells and ridiculous headaches, I haven't mentioned anything to anyone because I know they'd take me to the hospital. Somewhere I don't want to go.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure we were still on for today?" I asked Tiffany through the phone. "Conner and I haven't seen you in a while and we miss you and little Annabel" I say smiling. I miss the little green eye'd bundle of joy. "Yes! Of course we are. We miss you guys too!" In the background I can hear Anna screaming 'Momma, tell her I said hi!' I tell her how excited I am to see her and then we hang up.

"Are you almost ready?" Conner says walking out of the bathroom. "Oh, you are ready. I just want to leave early, so we can pick up Annabel and Tiffany."

"Oh, so you do have a sweet side?" I say sarcastically, laughing at his reaction. "I beg your pardon. I have a very sweet side." he winks and walks towards the bedroom door. I laugh and pick up my sunglasses, following after him. Since the swelling has gone down, I don't really need them anymore but it's always nice to have a pair of shades.

---

Since I've been to her apartment, numerous times, when Conner pulls outside the complex, I climb out and head straight to her door. Hoping she hasn't already caught a bus, I knock.

"Oh- hey! I wasn't expecting you! We were just about to take the bus." Tiffany says opening the door. "It was all Conner's idea." I see her blush slightly before Annabel sees me and starts sprinting in my direction. "Meggy! Meggy!" She squeals as I pick her hug and squeeze her. "My little Bell. How are you, sweetie?" I ask. We all walk towards the car and Annabel hasn't stopped talking. I can't help but notice Tiffany's puffy, slightly swollen, red eyes. I want to ask her what was wrong, but I decide against it because I don't want to dampen Anna's mood.

"I'll sit in the back with Anna," I say as I grab her car seat from the back. Conner decided to buy one for her since I'm always going to Tiff's house on my spare time. "Yeah, sit up front with the cool kid." Conner gestures for her to sit and I see her blush, again.

Tiffany and Conner carry a conversation in the front, while Bell sits quietly in the back with me, kicking her tiny feet. "I like your hair, bell." I say playing with one of her pig tales. "Thank you. My momma did them for me." She said, playing with the other one.

"Guess what you're mommy told me yesterday on the phone?" I ask, smiling widely at her. "What?"

"Mommy told me that someone's birthday is next week..I just can't remember who.." I put my finger on my chin and look upwards, pretending to be thinking hard. "It's my birthday! I'm turning 4! And Momma's birthday! She's turning... Old."

"4?! You're getting old, Bell!"

"I know, I'll be a big girl."

---

"So what are you planning on doing for Anna's birthday?" Conner asks. We decided to go to a frozen yogurt place, some place kid friendly. I see Tiffany tense up and her eyes begin to water. "I'm not sure yet. Maybe cake and ice cream." She says, not looking up from her yogurt. "Mommy can I have ponies, and princesses, and a pool, and all of my friends from daycare, and sprinkles, and pink, and purple, and blue, and white, and oh mommy no clowns, okay?"

"Noted, baby girl." She tries to smile but a tear falls and she runs towards the bathroom. My eyes widen and I look at Conner who has the same reaction as me. The only one who seems oblivious to this all, is Annabel. She busy licking the yogurt from in between her fingers. "Alright, I'll go check on Tiffany and you clean Bell up, okay?" He shakes his head and I speed walk towards the bathroom. At first I don't know where she is, but I hear her crying and find her in the handicap stall.

"Tiff, what happened? What's wrong?"

"I just feel so bad for Annabel. Every year it's the same thing. She wants so much and I can't financially support what she wants and I feel like I let her down. I just lost my job, I got an eviction notice yesterday, and after this month I won't be able to afford paying for her daycare anymore. She really likes it there, she makes a lot of friends and the people are great. I can't afford a cake, so I can't dream about throwing her a party." I hug her as she continues to cry. Oh my, I didn't know how rough she really had it. This is the first time hearing all of this. She's never mentioned it any of the times I've came over before. This must be so stressful for her.

"Where did you work?" I ask.

"I worked at some cheap pizza place and a business office close to my apartment, but I wasn't making enough to pay for living expenses and bus tickets every time I had to go to work. So I stared walking but I'd get there too late, so the pizza place fired me two months ago and the office fired me last week."

While she was talking, the gears in my head where churning and idea after idea was popping into my head. "I think I have a solution. At least to one of your problems." Her crying subsided a little and she sat up.

"I want to throw Annabel a party at my place!" I smile. "The backyard is huge-"

"Absolutely not. I can't let you do that for me!"

"And why not?"

"That's way too much! I could never repay you."

"Now that's nonsense. Think of it as a birthday gift for both of you." Her eyes fill up again and she cries, but this time it's happy tears. "Now about the living space-"

"I have that pretty much figured out already. I'll be moving back in with my mom in Nevada. That way I can focus on getting a job, finishing school, and my mom can watch Anna for me." I shake my head, planning something else for her. I don't say anything, deciding to keep the secret from her.

---

"Don't forget Meggy, I like Ana. Not Elsa!" Annabel says while getting out of the car to walk with her mom. "Thank you! I'll see you next week." Tiffany hugs me and waves to Conner. Once we pull off, I face Conner and beam at him. "Oh gosh, I know that face. What is it?"

"I'm throwing Annabel a huge party in our backyard! Tiffany thinks it'll just be us and cake, little does she know.." I rub my hands together. "You look like an evil villain." Conner says. I scoff and roll my eyes, taking out my phone. "Ash bash! I have a huge favor and I'm willing to pay for it all."