Perfect

Chapter Five: Do I look like a hire sign to you?

" Life is a book and there are thousands of pages I have not yet read."

- Will Herondale, Clockwork Princess

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Chapter Five: Do I look like a hire sign to you?

I've always loved the cold.

Ever since I was tiny, I loved the feeling of pressing my face against a cold window, feeling the icy stink against my cheek. I used to claim that I could see Jack Frost on cold winter mornings outside my bedroom window. Now I could say that I still could, but then no one would believe me like they used to when I was a kid.

Toby was curled up on my lap in a tiny ball, his nose tucked under his tail. He had a tendancy to do that whenever it was cold. I probably should have gotten his coat out of one of the boxs that was still stacked packed in the corner of my room. I pulled more of my blanket over his body and his only ignoligment was the lift of his eyes in my genral direction. I stroked the top of his head softly, loveling the silkyness of his fur between my fingers. I was just getting comfortable when the email on my computer dinged. Again. It'd been dinging at me all afternoon. It turned out that being on the front cover of a popular teenage magazine, even if it is against your will is not such a good idea. I'd had journalists from everywhere who had gotten my email address from someone who clearly had no soul and had been pestering me for the past three days, trying to get some information out of me. Now I just ingored my laptop completly. I didn't have the patience to read another desperate email again.

I was down in the kitchen helping myself to my third cup of coffee in the past hour when my phone starting ringing in my pocket. With a sigh, I fished it out, fumbling badly and almost dropping it. Toby was now curled up on the couch and he let out an indigant yelp when I flopped down next to him. I simply sent him a glare as I excepted the call.

"Hello?" I asked, rubbing a hand over my face. I'd been dealing with journalists and my art assiment all day. I really wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Am I speaking to Miss Spencer Rose?" Asked a voice. The vocie was clearly male.

"Yes." I said wearly. "What the hell do you want."

"It's Jack." Said the voice.

"Jack?"

"Jack Bower. From the filming industry." I let out a sigh, getting ready to hang up on him.

"Look, I'm really not interested about answering questions about. . ."

"I'm Jayden's manager." Jack inturpted me. "I'm calling to offer you a deal."

I agreed to meet Jack at the cafe on the corner of Zoe's street. Zoe herself was at work and then she had a beauty class at four so at least I didn't have to worry about explaining myself to her. I gave Toby a small smile as I pulled on my coat and shoved my beenie on my head. He was sitting in the middle of the hallway wtih his head cocked to one side, watching me hopefully.

"I can't take you with me buddy." I said, rubbing him gently behind the ears. "Jack may not like dogs." Toby gave me an annoyed stare before he turned around and trotted back up the stairs, heading towards my room. "If you shit on my sheets I will kill you!" I called.