Teen Idols And Happy Meals

Raspberries And Cigarettes

Jacen's POV

I had to hand it to myself; I was one clever little fucker. I had to be to get away from Odette. And I really had to get away from Odette that night.

I'd been fine with going to the interview. It wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend my night but I was okay with it. Until I found out that my parents were going to be there. It was that time of month again; the day when my parents show up unannounced and drag me to some fancy restaurant or stupid function that they can show me off at. And then after several agonizing hours of torture my mother kisses my cheek, my father shakes my hand, and they leave.

While every visit was unpleasant, their last visit had been absolutely horrid. I had been minutes away from paying the waiter to take me outside and beat me with a barstool till I lost consciousness. That's how bad it had been. I didn't care to think about it, let alone risk it happening again.

But of course, Odette wouldn't dare let me skip. It wasn't her fault really, I knew. She may have raised me, but at the end of the day, my parents were still my parents and they still had legal custody of me. If they wanted to see me, it was Odette's job to take me to them.

Odette's hands may have been tied but I had no such legal or occupational obligations. There was nothing stopping me from bailing on dinner; except Odette that is.

So that afternoon, in between shoots, I'd called my chauffer, Liam, and told him to take my motorcycle and park it behind the local McDonalds. I'd also told him that if he kept his mouth shut he could expect a raise and if he didn't . . . Well the only place he'd be driving to would be the unemployment line.

Obviously, he'd agreed to keep quiet about it. So, that night when he was driving Odette and I to the set of Kelvin I'd had him pull over at that same McDonalds with the excuse of wanting a late dinner. Odette had insisted she go in with me but she'd given it up after I'd bitten her head off about babying me.

Once I was inside I'd located the backdoor, with the help of the quirky girl at the counter, and there was my motorcycle waiting for me with my helmet hanging off one of the handlebars. I'd made a mental note to give Liam one hell of a raise.

I hadn't lingered though. In a matter of seconds I'd been on my bike and on my way the hell out of there. I'd known Odette would come looking for me eventually, which meant I didn't have time to waste.

I felt bad about causing her extra stress and trouble, but at the same time the thrill of rebelling got me high. Of all the things in the world, nothing made me happier than doing something I wasn't supposed to. I got drunk off of disobedience; insubordination was my drug, among others. If I was doing what I should be doing, then I wasn't doing what I wanted.

And because I was so intoxicated by my rebellion I just couldn't help but speed down that dark highway. The adrenaline created by the speed only served to exhilarate me further. When I saw the yellow light ahead of me I sped up even more, in an attempt to beat the light. I almost made it too. But, unfortunately, I was just a little too slow. The light turned red just as I reached it. I braked and came to a jolting halt that made me slam into my handlebars, knocking the breath out of me temporarily.

I idled there for what felt like an eternity, staring angrily at the traffic rushing by in front of me. I hated to be still while they were in motion. I revved my engine impatiently at nothing several times. The car behind me apparently found that annoying because they honked at me. Assholes. I responded with another rev of my engine and a middle finger.

When the light turned green I took off, glad to be in motion again. I popped an illegal wheelie just for the hell of it, endangering myself and my fellow drivers in the process.