A Cliché Love Story

Caught by the Paparazzi

Grace-lynn's POV

Right away, I changed into a pair of sweatpants, scrubbed my makeup, and tied my hair into a messy bun. The bun will most likely cause a repeat of this morning, but I'm too fed up to care. I flopped backwards onto my bed, groaning, "Why did my dad decide to hire John's dad? If John accidentally slips up, I'll never be left alone. Why, just why?"

Sleep was futile, so I grabbed my laptop off of my side table to search the internet for fashion deals. American Eagle, Forever 21, to name a few. I want to shop tomorrow, and the more I prepare myself, the quicker the trip takes. However, I soon got bored of browsing.

I shut down my computer and grabbed my sneakers out of the closet. When my evenings are free, I often decide to run around outside.

When I walked past my mother's study, I peeked my head inside. "I'm going out for a run."

"Okay, Grace-lynn. Remember to watch out for-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Dogs, people, cars, and the paparazzi."

Before I started the jog, I lightly stretched out my stiff legs in preparation to run. About five minutes into the jog, a car drove by and I forced myself to act natural. I also tried to discreetly turn my face away. I kept jogging. My route directs me out of my neighborhood, so I had been jogging for a long time when a light at an unfamiliar house flickered on.

Normally, I would not have looked twice, but out of the corner of my eye, I observed a figure shift into view in the window. A naked male torso was framed by wood, and my traitorous eyes took in the sight. I slowed down to a near stand-by, less running and more shifting my weight between my legs. 

The male figure leaned against the glass and ran his fingers through his hair. In his right hand, he held presumably a cellphone up to his ear. 

With all of his movements, his clearly defined muscles flexed, and shivers ran down my back. This person must be incredibly strong with muscles such as those. 

My eyes roamed the yard until I caught a glimpse of the family's mailbox. Painted in flourished writing, next to a painted key, were the words "Locks family". 

Horrified, I looked back to the lit window. The male form clearly belonged to John Locks... which means I stood here for an extended period of time oogling John. I shook my head and turned back to the sidewalk. I have to get out of here.

~~~***~~~

Soundlessly, I woke up to the bright sunlight bouncing off my curtains. With slight tugging, my hair fell onto my shoulders, and I started brushing. The curls loosened up - slightly frizzy but nothing hairspray can't fix.

I shimmied into a pair of medium-wash denim jeans and tucked my arms into a peach sweater, finally pulling my outfit together with tan oxfords. In my bathroom, I put in my contacts, touched up my hair with some heat, and lightly dusted makeup onto my face. Makeup stays natural unless I attend a big event with Dad.

I slipped out the door to the garage after grabbing the keys to my newly-fixed car: a red-hot Corvette. Thankfully auto shop fixed it quickly. My favorite sunglasses, a cheap Walmart pair, had remained sitting on the dash, so I slipped those over my eyes.

As soon as I entered the parking lot, people were staring at my car. I drove by a bunch of boys who wolf-whistled at me. I rolled my eyes behind my shades. One of the boys stopped and waited behind the group.

I climbed out, only to be face-to-face with that guy. 

"Hey," he said in a seductive tone.

I smiled. "Can I help you?"

He took a step closer. "I really like your car. It's hot. And so are you." He said, winking.

I gazed upon him. He wore a tight-fitting navy shirt hinting of a six-pack underneath. When I made eye contact, his gray eyes drew me into his soul and mesmerized me. "Thanks..."

"Dave. Dave Adams," he introduced himself. He extended his hands towards me and I slipped my palm into his.

"Thanks Dave. It was nice to meet you."

"And it was fantastic to meet you," he said, voice husky. My knees went weak when he raised my hands to his lips. With a caress of the thumb, his lips brushed the top side of my hand. 

I'm so not used to this feeling.

Suddenly, Dave was pushed away from me, and a voice yelled, "Are you hitting on my girlfriend?"

"Woah, dude, I didn't know she was taken!" Dave yelled. An angry John replaced Dave's original spot. "And for being your girlfriend, she definitely wasn't objecting. She acted rather interested in me!"

"That doesn't excuse what you were going to do. I heard your friends betting on how long it would take for you to get into her pants." John's calm tone contrasted his narrowed eyes and tensed limbs. But why is John so upset? It would be rather hypocritical of him.

Wait...

"Excuse you?" Dave turned his attention towards me, eyebrow cocked. "You wanted to do what?"

Dave gave me a cocky - rude - smirk. "Well, honey," he spoke in a different tone, "with a body like yours, what else did you expect?" I scoffed deep in my throat.

Then John clenched his fist and slightly raised it up. "I suggest you walk away now before I land a punch." Dave put up his hands in surrender and walked away.

Once Dave was far enough away, I faced John with hands on my hips. "What the hell was that about? I'm not your girlfriend, and you don't need to act so protective!"

With a blank stare, John turned to walk away so I shouted, "John Locks, stop right now!"

"What?" he spat, facing me.

"Why did you do that?"

He sighed, stepped closer to me, and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know," he muttered really quietly. Then he shrugged his shoulders. "It's what friends do," he said a little louder.

I smiled. Maybe John was serious about befriending me. And maybe he isn't as awful of a person as I thought. "Then, thanks for sticking up for me." I stepped closer to John and hugged him. As I stepped back, I noticed a man with a camera pointed our way.

I squinted my eyes to focus on the man. That's when I noticed a small notebook sticking out from his pocket. It's a familiar image to avoid as someone who needs to avoid publicity. "Crap," I hissed. John started to turn to see what I was looking at. "John, no time. We have to go. I think the paparazzi are here!" 

I threw open my car door, jumped into the seat, and tapped my foot impatiently as John joined me in the car. From the backseat, he started to climb into the front, but I jetted out of the parking space. John got knocked around, but eventually he got situated in the passenger seat.

Looking into my rearview mirror, I watched the camera man climb into a van, driving by a petite woman. Her eyes were directed my way, and we seemed to make eye contact.

As I sped out of the mall parking lot, I muttered, "So much for a shopping day."

A/N: I listened to some great advice from a great critique and fixed the chapter! Hopefully, John doesn't seem so bipolar now since he randomly got into a fight. Instead, he just stood up for Grace-lynn. And I dedicated this chapter to my great critique-- doodledoctor! ♥ Carrington