Love on the Radio

Chapter 27 - Straight to the point

Like in Britney Spears' Break the Ice: "It's been a while..." 

Haha, sorry, it was the first thing that came on my mind when I pasted the new chapter here.  But seriously, it's been quite a while. It's a short chapter, but includes interesting things...Things are about to get really hot :) Promise you. I really hope, in the future, that I find time to post more often. But until then, enjoy.

Chapter 27 – Straight to the point

“It wasn’t you!” I shoved him with my finger. I couldn’t believe I had thought my secret admirer had been Jace. And he hadn’t even the opposite. He had said nothing. I was confused. Man, this was hard. No movie or book had ever prepared me for this. Unbelievable, my life was such a mess, but the weird (and funny) thing was, that I was actually kind of enjoying it. Better than the ordinary. At least I had something to think or worry about, so I didn’t have to make up stupid things, because they already existed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He was looking at me with innocent puppy dog eyes, and I couldn’t deny his beauty. It brought back memories, why I had fallen for him in the first place. But my like for him was different than for Howard. I knew I liked Jace, but being near him didn’t bring butterflies – only when we kissed. But being near Howard always gave me a giddy feeling.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, worry plastered on his face, brows knit together slightly. God, I wanted to apologize to make him smile, but I had to stay strong. I couldn’t let myself get weak. No. Never.

“I’m talking about us, the date – you were not who I thought you were,” I shook my head. “I though you were the one who had been…well, dedicating songs to me and-“ My voice broke in the middle.

Why had I wanted it to be Jace?

“You’re not my secret admirer,” I sighed and looked at him. It was sad to stare into his eyes. I don’t know why, but I got so emotional. Maybe I wasn’t still recovered from the earlier panic attack. Well, it hadn’t been anything big, but apparently Jenna and Joe had both thought I needed medical help. Turned out a glass of sugar water made it okay. My blood sugar had been low, that’s all. Funny.

“But I am,” he took my hands in his.

“No, you’re not.” I was grumpy.

He exhaled. “I was secretly crushing over you but I was too freaking shy to tell…The biggest cliché – the one who seems so confident is actually a big coward,” he reacted and squeezed my hands. “I admit I wasn’t this radio-lover of yours, but I was, am, your admirer. Who wouldn’t be?” He brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear and lifted my chin gently.

“Stop it,” I slapped his hand away. “Don’t be sweet. How can I be angry when you’re acting all nice? No fair.”

He giggled. It was so cute. “Then don’t. Please.”

“Ugh, fine,” I rolled my eyes. “But remember this moment – this very day you finally admitted you’re a coward.” The left corner of my mouth rose – it was an almost smile.

“Stop grinning,” he said and put his arm around me, “it’s freaking me out.” We started walking down the hall. Classes were already over, I think we were the only ones at school.

“Liar! You like it,” I pinched him, he let out a quiet ‘ow’ which made me laugh. “And thank you.”

“For what?” He asked surprised.

“For not telling everyone at school that we were on a date,” I explained and rested my head on his shoulder, well, basically on his shoulder, but considering he was too damn tall, it was more like I rested my head on his hand…or something.

“You’re welcome. But I can’t promise it’ll stay this way,” he said, smiling, “I think I’m too overwhelmed to keep it to myself.”

“I’m sure you can handle it,” I assured.

“Are you?” He raised his brow questioningly at me. And when I didn’t answer, he pulled me close and gave me a kiss on the lips.

Were we a thing?

Later that day, I couldn’t believe I had forgiven Jace so easily. I knew he hadn’t lied to me about the secret admirer thin, the fact was, he hadn’t said anything about it. Not to prove it, not to deny it. He had just kept quiet like a smart person would do. And now, as I was angry at Jace, I was also deeply disappointed in myself.

I had thought I had found my charming boy, who liked me for who I was and knew me so well. On the upper hand, yes, Jace liked me, but he wasn’t who I wanted him to be. So, really, I was being two-faced here. My actions were childish. I wanted to like my secret admirer, but at the same time, I liked Jace, AND at the same time, I still had feelings for Howard. I couldn’t measure any of those feelings. I was drawn to all of those boys. I was standing on the edge of a cliff. I had three options, plus one. And one of them, the bonus, was jumping off of it. Which should I choose?

So, straight to the point – I needed to get myself noticed. The admirer had to hear me out. The only way was to act like him, and be a stalker. The problem was, I didn’t know who to stalk. So I had to lay low, be like a cat in the dark alley, sniffing the air for mice.

First thing, I had to start dedicating song to get my messages out. Secondly, I needed to get someone on the inside. Thirdly, I needed to get a snack, boy was I hungry!!!

I rushed downstairs and made myself a sandwich. Then my phone rang. I startled a little, but I had been waiting for that call. I grabbed it, pressed that nice little button, and answered: “Mhmm.” Chewing on a piece of pepperoni. Damn, I wanted pizza, all I had was a sandwich covered in lettuce and pepperoni.

“So, I played Harriet the spy, kind of,” Jenna breathed out. The corners of my mouth rose up,  and a smile formed on my lips. Earlier, just after I had put together my evil plan, I had messaged Jenna to see if they had a job to offer me at the radio station. “You might not like this.”

My eyebrow rose. What if they needed an intern, I would have to run to get coffee all the time. Hm, that wouldn’t be so bad. I’d have a reason to walk – good exercise, plus a great view over things. What about if I had to be the cleaning lady? I’d get to sneak into offices and search for a sign of him. Clever. I shrugged, that job couldn’t the that bad.

“They want a talk show host,” she spit the words out. I nearly choked on the piece I had just bitten.

“W-what?” I stuttered, followed by a cough. “No, I can’t take this job. You go. You’re my best friend, you can handle it.”

“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen. They want you,” she said, and sighed. “I…accidentally might have told them who you were. They said it’d to good for their ratings.”

I groaned. “God, what’s wrong with you? How could you tell! Shit,” I closed my eyes to calm myself. “Alright, so it’d be just for the ratings. And it would do only good to me. Experience, being inside of it all…Fuck it! I can’t do this!”

“Come on, Mads. I can help you out, I think. Maybe they’ll let me come sometimes, and host it with you,” she tried to make me feel better. But it’s hard to fix something that is so messed up. Duct tape maybe, but Jenna was more of a clue girl.

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “But remember, it’s all your fault. I’ll do it. When do I start?”

“Tomorrow. Right after school,” she squeaked. “Sorry. They will tell you all about it. You won’t start our own show right away.”

“My own show?” I slowly said. I knew she was scared. Maybe she wouldn’t even come to school the next day. Hm, revenge.

“Didn’t I mention it? Oh, sorry. Well, got to go, bye.” She hung up.

“Lord take me now,” I rolled my eyes and rested my hands on the table. “This going to be like a parade of freaks. Stupid and annoying, but fun for others to watch.”