Painted Faces

Chapter Ten

Just keeping it real, y'all who actually read this should recommend and fan comment and vote you don't have to but I mean that would be pretty awesome of you guys <3

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He barley caught himself on the frame of my bed, I glared heavily at the familiar french boy; who's name was John if I remember correctly? He steadied himself and attempted to compose his features.

"what are you doing here?" I demanded.

"well you see miss, I've acquired a job aboard this marvelous vessel you're traveling upon."

"and how exactly did you do that?" I raised an eye brow at him, not afraid of how skeptical I must look.

"well you see, that nice young man of yours... The one who carried you into that hotel when you were sleeping... He helped me get a job here when he heard you had fallen ill." he said matter Of factly. My mouth hung open while I was at a loss for words.

"he isn't my man, we aren't together." johns face fell a little, "but miss he has ordered me to take very good care of you, and you spent the night in his room and there are pictures all over the tabloids of you two at parties and museums and even abroad the Eiffel tower? You two are mighty cozy looking together.. You're telling me you two aren't even an item?" his voice was full of the same confusion that was filling my head after he said there were pictures everywhere.

"wait... What pictures!?" I yelled when I found my voice once again.

"I have a couple tabloids in my room if you would like me to show them to you?" I only nodded in agreement and sunk back onto my pillow covering my face in the process. Great what will Ruth and the guys say. I can see Sam and Jonathan picking on me a lot for everything. I hope Ruth wouldn't be mad at me for with holding this all.

When John returned with the fiendish magazines I made him sit down with me and go through all the stories and photos with me.

"look see this is one of his practice room, how'd ya find that ay missy? That's mighty hard it looks like it was taken through the door or something? Were you two singing to each other? That's mighty adorable if ya ask me."

"well I didn't ask you did I?" I asked grudgingly skimming over the cockamamie story with it which frustratingly enough was mostly true, that i had snuck in and was playing when he showed up and we had a little jam out session.

"I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated we aren't a couple and my friends are gonna be peeved when they see this and think I haven't told them I'm currently in a relationship with a famous musician" I sighed heavily as I picked up a different magazine and read the big red bold words across the front, "Skylar Richards bags himself s new hottie who is this mystery girl?"

I groaned at the photos taken from our trip, him leading me through Paris blindfolded and some from the museum and one from the Eiffel tower. The story mostly talked about how we had taken a vacation in the city of love together which again was sort of true, ugh all this partial truth was getting on my nerves.

I picked up the last magazine hoping that it wouldn't be filled with other mumbo jumbo, alas, the photo plastered across the front page was a picture taken right before entering the hotel. Skylar had me on his back, sleeping, wrapped in his jacket, I winced this one of all the others did look like we were an item. Of course the story inside was gossiping about how we spent the romantic nights together in our fancy French hotel most likely "taking advantage" of the romantic Ora.

"how does one even prove these wrong? They even look convincing to me!" I groaned again throwing the tabloids down on the bed and plopping my head on the pillow.

"they are never going to believe me that we aren't together."

"well they're your friends aren't they? Then they should believe what you have to say."

"I haven't necessarily been truthful lately have I though?"

He shrugged his shoulders and kept looking at the fowl pictures, which truthfully weren't fowl at all. The thought of how great the pictures were frustrated me even farther. How could he have not seen the Paps?!

"well I don't know miss, but I have to get back to work, you can keep these if you want I've already read them and was going to recycle them."

"thanks I guess so, and you can just call me Dakota if you want or D or whatever you don't have to be so formal anymore." I smiled up at him as the hint of a blush appeared on his cheeks ever so faintly. He nodded and excused himself, I furrowed my brows at the photos, I was smiling in almost all of them except for the one where I was sleeping, but even then I had a faint smile across my lips as I was snuggled closely into Skylar's back.

Just when I had begun to even consider what I was going to say to Ruth I could hear her loud voice trailing down the hallway, beginning to panic I threw all the magazines under my mattress and pretended to be asleep. I managed to slow my breathing down to a believable pace just when she unlocked our door. Her light footsteps were being drowned out by someone's heavy footsteps, one of the guys must've came in with her.

"hmmm shes sleeping, she must still be sick. Oh well we'll just have To ask her when she wakes up, I want her to get better before we stop in the Jamaican islands. There is no way I'm letting her miss those...." her voice became softer as I realized she was retreating to the door with whichever guy had accompanied her. I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding, what am I going to tell her? She didn't sound mad but I just didn't know what to tell her.

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I know you may be sad about not taking a side journey to portrigal ad all but it was unimportant to the story line, until later... Mwuah ha ha ha... Nuff said c;