Celebrity Status (currently being revised to 1st person) Walk of Fame-- Book 1

Chapter Twelve

 "It's hard for me to see you,

Living with my shame,

I broke your heart with one bad choice,

The price tag of the fame." - Bach's Revenge debut album, track 12

Mitch stood and walked over to the passenger side door, opening it for Charlie. "Hey baby," he said.

Charlie looked down, like her eyes would reveal her secret if she met his. "Hey."

He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing. Fear snaked down her spine, electrifying her insides. He knew. He knew something. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back. "Whoa. What's that for?"

Mitch shot Tally a sideways glance. "Do I need a reason? I know we haven't had much time together." His fingers tucked loose hair behind Charlie's ear. "I miss you."

Mitch was a good guy which only made everything worse. It would be far easier if he were a jerk. But she was the indisputable jerk in question, not him.

"I miss you too," she lied. Sebastian was the one she missed and he'd hardly been gone that long.

"I have tonight off," Mitch said. "Thought we could spend some time together."

There was no perfect timing to dump someone. Regardless of how Charlie chose to look at it, it was an awful thing to do just the same. But she couldn't give her heart over completely to Sebastian as long as Mitch stood in the way. "Tonight would be good."

He looked at Tally, "Maybe after our date we could all meet at Suzie Cue."

Tally popped her gum. "No can do Barista Boy, Adam is gone and I have a hot date with Darren."

Mitch raised an eyebrow and puffed out his chest as if the dignity of Adam's manhood rested solely on his shoulders. "Who is Darren?"

"Darren," Tally said without skipping a beat. "Is my esthetician."

"Your what?"

Charlie laughed.

"My esthetician." Tally wiggled her toes. "Gives a great Pedi. The guy is like God of nails."

Mitch shook his head and looked at Charlie. "Looks like it's just you and me, babe. I'll pick you up and we can grab dinner, maybe see a movie."

Charlie shrugged her shoulders. "That sounds good."

Mitch planted a quick kiss on her forehead. "Anything that involves spending time with my girl sounds good. I've got to get to class. My dad had me working so late that I failed the chem exam last week. Robson gave me a rewrite."

"Oh," Charlie said. "Um, okay. I guess I'll see you at lunch."

Mitch turned and winked. "You bet."

When he was gone, Tally leaned against Charlie's shoulder. "Wow. I really don't envy you right now. That must suck."

Charlie sighed and brought her hands to cover her eyes. "Suck? It's the worst feeling in the world."

"Don't worry about it," Tally advised. "Just think of Rock God and you'll do fine. If I had that waiting for me at the finish line, ugh, what I wouldn't do..."

Charlie rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long day.

The social committee consisted of Tally, Lilah MacDonald, Ally Baker, Mia Sorenski, Bianca Lukenchuk, and the very last person Charlie wanted to see. McKenzie Johnson. She noticed not one male in the school thought the social committee was worthy of their time. To be honest, she couldn't really blame them. Because two seconds ago, when she walked in and saw McKenzie sitting at the table, she didn't want to be there either.