| Prologue
There are few times
in a person’s life,
He watched her mouth intently as she spoke. It moved as if God himself had formed each syllable to fall perfectly from her heart shaped lips. Truth be told, he had actually tuned out the sound of her voice long ago, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t necessary for him to hear the vocalization of the words as she spoke. He had memorized the particular curves her lips made as each word fell from them years ago. "You only think you love me." he heard himself say with a soft laugh. She lifted the frosty glass to her lips and then tilted her head slightly in thought. As he closed his gaze in on her eyes, he lost himself in their indistinct color as she cooed her reply. ‘And you only wish that you could stop loving me’ He hadn’t heard her say the words or even been looking at her lips as she said them, but he knew that was exactly what she had said. "Your so beautiful" he replied sincerely as he changed the topic. Avoidance was always the best tactic with her. "Lets not do this now, okay?" he asked, gently trailing his hand down the side of her face. ‘Ok’ she whispered before tossing back the rest of her drink. Never taking his eyes off of her, he watched as she refilled her glass before reclaiming her spot next to him. She just had this aura about herself when they were together. There was a certain look in her eyes, the way her posture softened just enough, a slightly insecure smile and an heir of hopefulness that were reserved for him and him only. He loved her. Truly he did, and he knew that she loved him, maybe even more so. He would never admit it though. What use was there in talking a situation to death, when both of you knew what it was? In the beginning he would have chalked their "relationship" up as her being young and inexperienced. Maybe even a little pigheaded, but definitely naive. Then there was him. He had told himself that he was just being and opportunist. Capitalizing on the ignorance of her youth. But now he knew it to be more than that. He could honestly say that as dysfunctional and at times disturbing as their relationship was, he loved her with more passion and fury than he had ever loved anyone else.Why else would he be sitting her watching her image smile at him on his television from a video they had made together so many years ago. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there, but he could assume that he had now watched the video for what could only be considered an unhealthy number of times. Now focusing his attention on what she had been saying, he allowed her voice to join his reality again. "I could spend forever with you." She spoke from her heart, but there was hesitation in her voice. It came across as a question more than a statement. A fact he hadn't noticed until now. It was almost as if she knew what he was going to say before he parted his lips. "As nice as that thought may be to you, you might want to come up with a back up plan that could actually produce a happily ever after." he replied matter-of-factly. The tone of his voice wasn't necessarily harsh, but then again, it wasn't gentle either. "Yeah........those are always nice." she replied, a sense of defeat washing across her delicate features. Gently rubbing the pad of his thumb over the soft buttons on the remote in his hand, he held down the small rewind button until it had taken him back to the moment of his choosing. After pressing the play button, he resumed watching the movie only this time focusing on her eyes rather than her mouth. It was a strange thing, almost
an anomaly. Being able to rewind your life, but not being able to change
a single moment of it was almost masochistic. The vulnerability and powerlessness
you feel playing voyeur to your own past is surreal. Letting out a small
sigh, he came to realize whoever said there was no such thing as a small
lie couldn't have been more right.
…..and when you look
back, then and only then, do you realize that the choices you made might
have been wrong.
Chapter 1
"Oh do NOT even give me that look! You can't sit there and say you don't find her the least bit attractive." Tyler said turning the magazine JC's direction. "Look at her Jace! She's prime!" JC snatched the magazine from his borther's hands, reading the title of the cover article in disgust. 'Holland Simonovitch. 18 Never Looked So Good!' The title was accompanied by a cover picture of the youg starlet biting her index finger in an innocent fashion, wearing what could only be described as a glorified thong and a barely there t-shirt with the word 'LEGAL' printed on it in bold letters. "Prime?" JC laughed. "She's a fucking baby man! And this, this is a step above child pornography." he said tossing the issue of Stuff magazine down on the coffee table. JC couldnt believe that 3 grown men were sitting in his living room ogling a teenage girl. A teenage girl who had been legal for less than a month at that. Disturbing couldnt even begin to describe it. "Ok Jace I'm really sorry, but I have to agree with Tyler and Chris. I mean good God look at her!" Justin chimed in. "I'd bang her." he added with a shrug. "You guys are all sick in the head." JC stated, a look of disgust on his face as he reached for his keys on the table. Making his way toward the front door, he heard one of the other men in the room call his name. Turning his attention back toward the room he gave the other 3 men an annoyed look. "Where are you going?" Chris asked "Studio." "So.....Whats up for tonight? You still having people over or what?" "Oh yeah yeah." JC replied running his hands through his unruley hair. "You guys can take care of it right? I just wanna get out of here for a while. I'll be back later." Before anyone else could utter an objection, JC had already walked out the door. The soft thud of it closing behind him the only sound he left behind ~*~ "Quit finding things to bitch about Holland. You look amazing, the cover looks amazing, and who gives a shit that yet another magazine changed the color of your freaky ass eyes." Korine objected, picking up the magazine. "Oh and for the record. Your eyes aren't any color, but they look pretty cool green." Not bothering to debate the topic with her sister any longer, Holland began flipping through channels aimlessly. She needed to do something to take her mind off of picking apart the photographs of herself in the latest issue of Stuff magazine. She had been on the cover of magazines before. Magazines that carried a lot more credibility than Stuff, but for some reason she couldn't stop herself from obsessing over the issue. "I think we should celebrate!" Korine announced, interupting Holland's thoughts. "I thought that's what the party the magazine threw was for." "Seriously Hol?" her sister gave her a questioning glance. "C'mon, Nate said theres a party in the hills tonight. It should be fun." Givng her sister a regretful look, she let out a less than enthusiastic 'fine'. She really had no desire to be around her sister's asshole boyfriend, but the prospect of a night out was always welcome in Holland's book. "Yay!" her sister jumped from the couch in a childlike fashion, clapping her hands. "So what time is prince charming picking us up?" she asked ignoring her sister's excitement "I dunno probably around 10. Which doesn't leave us much time to get sexified. So get your ass up and get in the shower." Allowing herself to be drug from the couch by her sister, Holland trudged up the stairs to her bathroom. She loved being all dolled up and dressed to impress, but she hated the process. She mentally added number 23 to the list of reasons why she wanted to be Samantha from Bewitched. Staring intently at her shower, she attempted to twitch her nose without scrunching up the rest of her face in an effort to turn it on. Giggle slightly at her own silliness, Holland leaned foreward to turn the shower on manually. Maybe one day there'd be a remake that she could be a part of. ~*~ He wasn't sure exactly how long he had been sitting at the mixing board. Honestly, he didn't really care. He felt more at home in the studio than he did in his actual house anyway. This was just who he was. It didnt matter what he happened to be doing in the studio, just so long as he was there, he felt relaxed. Hearing a light commotion come from behing him, JC looked up to see BT and a couple others walk through the door. "Oh and you're saying that you wouldn't fuck her?!" BT asked, laughing as he made his way through the door. "Hey man, I didnt say all that!" Craig defended. Putting the track that he had been working on on hold, JC spun around in his chair so that he could be a part of the conversation. The other men seemed to be having a pretty heated debate over the do-ability of someone. He couldnt wai to hear this. "Ok, you know what? We'll let Mr. 'all day long I dream about sex' decide" Bt announced walking over to JC. Plopping down in the chair next to him, BT flopped the magazine that they had been looking at in JC's lap. Glancing down at the periodicle, JC let out an audilbe groan and rolled his eyes. "You have got to be fucking kidding me?" he mummbled to himself, seeing Holland Simonovitch's baby face giving him 'fuck me' eyes form the cover of Stuff magazine for the second time that day. "No. I wouldn't fuck her." JC answered before any of the other men even had a chance to ask the question. "Are you kidding me?!" Craig asked in genuine shock. "Look at this girl man. She is fine!" "Shes 18." JC scoffed. "Psh. Shes LEGAL!" Craig offered with a sligh chuckle. "Look. Even says so on her shirt!" Shaking his head in disgust, JC stood from the chair he that he had been sitting in for hours. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation for a second time today. "Well what a relief!" JC
almost shouted, shaking his head as he began gathering his things. "Its
such a relief to know that should I ever find myself in a moral conundrum,
the answer to my dilema will be clearly printed on some jail bait's t-shirt."
~*~ "Well if it isn't Little Ms. Holland!" Nate's voice sounded as she made her way down the stairs. The sound of his voice made her physically cringe. She couldn't see what her sister saw in this loser. The sound of his name alone made Holland's skin crawl. He was just such a.............loser. Ugh! Once she had reached the hardwood floor of her living room, she made a b-line for the mini bar off to the corner. Helping herself to a glass of Belvedere on ice, Holland pressed one hand firmly against the bar as she took a less than feminine gulp of the potent liquor. She was going to have to be nice and drunk if she were going to endure an entire night in the misfortune of his company. "You look nice Hols." Nate interupted her thoughts, 'accidentally' brushing his hand against her thigh as he stood next to her by the bar. "Where's my sister?" "Well thats rude Holland. Normally when a person gives you a compliment, you say 'thank you' and return the gesture." Nate informed her, placing his hand over his heart in mock offence. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Holland topped off her drink and headed over to the couch. She threw herself into the plush sofa with a huff, hoping her sister would hurry up. She was about 30 seconds from a serious Nate overload. As the thought crossed her mind, she heard the rythmic click clack of her sister's high heels coming down the hallway. Stepping into the livingroom clad in a barely there slinky black mini dress and black heals, Korine gave herself a quick once over in the mirror that hung on the wall. Once she was satisfied that her appearance was more than adeguate, she skipped her way over to her boyfriend. "Hey baby!" she exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms. Holland was going to be sick watching them. The way he was groping her sister was just.....sick. He didn't touch her like a loving boyfriend, hell, half the time the way he touched her made Holland want to press charges. It was borderline molestation "Sorry I kept you waiting so long." Korine pouted to her boyfriend in one of the most nausiating tones Holland had ever heard. "You should be." he replied, roughly grabbing a handful of her sister's skantily clad back side. "You better be makin' it up to me later!" "I will." she kissed him again. Holland rolled her eyes. "Ok well now that I am sufficiently disgusted. Kori? Slimshady? Can we go now?" Holland didnt bother waiting for an answer before she walked out the front door, letting it slam behind her. Nate and Korine exchanged amused glances before making their way out the door as well. "I swear man! Your sister is like the biggest bitch I have ever met in my life!" He exclaimed as they headed toward the car. "She for real needs to can that slimshady shit." "Be nice Nate." Korine warned before sliding into the passenger seat of his sleak Escalade By the time they had both gotten into the SUV, Holland was already sitting in the back seat, her iPod earphones tucked securely in her ears. She watched as her sister's boyfriend slipped one of his own cds into the player before putting the car in gear and taking off at an unnecissarily high rate of spead. How tacky? She thought. She had never met anyone who listened to their own music as much as he did. Thank God for iPod, because not only was his voice annoying, his "music" was horrible. ~*~ "Beautiful!" he exclaimed tossing his hands in the air. "Absolutely beautiful. I can't even park in my own fucking driveway!" Whiping his car around, JC managed to find a spot that wasn't too far a treck from his home, and pulled into it. After placing the car in park, he mummbled a few more choice words to himself before hopping out of the vehicle and walking toward his house. Making a mental note of all the foreign cars parked carelessly in front of his home, he tried to estimate exactly how many people inhabited his house at the moment. After just a little more than a minute of walking, JC was finally standing on his doorstep. Diging into his pocket for his keys, he heaved an annoyed laugh when he finally payed attention to his door. Placing his palm flat against the door, he pushed it completely open and made his way inside. As he stepped over the threshhold and into the house, he was greated by the sounds of loud music and drunk conversation. "Dude, we didnt think you were EVER comin back!" He felt an arm go around his shoulders. "Sarvesa?" Glancing over to his right, he couldnt help but smile a clearly inebriated Justin holding out a beer to him. Taking the beer from his friend, JC twisted off its cap and proceeded to take a large drink from the cold bottle. "Hey, I'm gonna run and take a shower real quick. Keep all these drunk motherfuckers down her, alright?" "A shower?" Justin asked giving JC an annoyed stare. "Yeah man a shower!" he lauhged. "Look man just make sure nobody comes upstairs." Not bothering to wait for a response, JC turned around, making a b-line for the stairs. When he had finally reached his bedroom door, JC closed his eyes and said a qiet prayer to himself. He hoped to God that when he entered his room he didn't find some drunk idiots in there getting their jollies off on his bed. He also made a note to pray for their lives if he did. To his surprise, when he pushed the door open the room was completely empty. Giving the man upstairs a wink, he made his way to the bathroom. After gulping down the rest of his beer in just two drinks, JC began to peel off his clothes in a less than enthusiastic fashion. He didn't know why his body suddenly felt so tired, but at the moment he felt as if he had just done three shows back to back with full choreography. Hopefully this shower would be just what he needed to rejuvinate himself and begin to feel human again. Chapter 2 The starlet had been turned on. Since the moment her stilleto clad foot hit the pavement, she had become a completely different person. The girl that everyone seemed to want a piece of. The confident, almost cocky bitch that got whatever she wanted. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't eat up every last moment of it. Bringing the glass that she held to her lips, Holland took a large drink of its potent contents. After emptying the glass completely she handed it to the closest person to her. She didn't know him. It didn't really matter though, because what she did know was that he would get her another drink. "Would you mind?" she asked tilting her head to the side, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Whoever he was gave her a wink before accepting the glass and heading across the large living room to the bar. The party was pretty nice. Just the right size, not too big and not too little. There seemed to be a decent mixture of people there as well. The guests ranged from young A-listers to random "nobodys". But that was what was so great about partying in LA, you always rubbed elbows with any and everybody. "You do realize that you have sent that guy to get you a drink three times now, and you still haven't even asked his name?" Korine interupted her sister's thoughts. "Thats the same person?" Holland asked with a laugh. She heard her own voice as she made the comment and interanlly cringed. Sometimes she thought that she was a little too good at the games she played, but it was better than getting hurt. Better than letting any "friends" or boyfriends know who she really was. Better than ending up like her sister in some pathetic excuse for a relationship, or being used by some "friend" who really just wanted to find out if you could get them intouch with this or that person in the industry. No no, things were much better this way. "You are unbelievable!" Korine laughed Holland ignored her sister's comment. "Looks like prince charming is working on expanding his fan club." She nodded toward Nate who was chatting up two leggy blondes and a busty red head. She watched her sister's face contort into a look of disbelief as she stalked over to her boyfriend. Holland wasn't quite sure what Korine could have found so unbelievable about the situation. It wasn't like this was some new developement. She rolled her eyes at her sister's stupidity. At times she could't believe they were related "You look bored." the guy whose name she didn't know handed her a drink. Holland shrugged absently, lifting the full glass to her lips. She loved vodka. Maybe it was just in her blood, because her tolerence for the stuff was unreal. No name was gawking at her with a look of disbelief on his face. "You sure can drink a lot for such a small girl!" he sounded impressed as he lifted his own mixed whatever to his lips. "I know." she shrugged. "Why dont you introduce me to people." It wasnt a question. Offering a small smile, the man with no name lead her towards a small group of men that were laughing and talking loudly next to the stereo. She didn't understand why people tried to talk over music. It seemed kind of redundant to carry on a conversation full of 'huhs?' and 'what'd you say?'. As they approached the other men, Holland realized that she recognized quite a few of them. The most recognizable of them was the ever smiling Justin Timberlake. She had met him before, wasn't terribly impressed, and had come to the conclusion that he was over rated as a heart throb. Talented? Yes. Irresistable? Defiantely not. She wouldn't go as far to say that she wouldn't hook up with him if the opportunity presented itself, but meeting him the first time was almost disappointing. He seemed so much larger than life before she met him, maybe it was knowing how easily she could have had him if she wanted that inevitably turned her off, or maybe the knowledge that her sister had ridden the Timberlake Express more than once was what did it. "Hey superstar!" he draped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her away from no name. "You know I saw your fine ass all over Stuff right? Looking all grown and shit!" "I am grown." she shoved him playfully. She couldn't deny that he was a pretty cool party buddy though, just not relationship material. Atleast not for her. "So I see you and your crazy ass sister had Tyler plaing drink bitch for you for a while." he slapped Tylers shoulder in that way that only another guy can. "He was being polite." she batted her eyelashed at Tyler discretely. "And I don't recall my sister being 'crazy' when you-" "Hey you remember Trace right?!" he cut her off From there, Justin introduced her to the couple people that she didnt know, and reintroduced her to Chris and Trace. After the general pleasantries were out of the way, the small group settled into drunk conversation, each man taking a turn to refill Holland's glass. She had them eating out of the palm of her hand. They're eyes never left her as they spoke, and they all seemed to be trying to impress her. It made her feel almost empty that nothing any of them said really held her attention. Aside from a moderately witty comment or two from Justin or Trace, Holland couldnt have been less interested in the conversation. But she did have their attention, which given the situation was what really mattered. It could have been worse. She could have been alone. ~*~ JC ran his fingers through his still damp hair, distributing a small amount of styling gel through his unruley locks. He felt refreshed, the day's earlier stress now washed down the drain. He wondered how much larger the party had gotten in the time that it taken him to wo shower and dress. Making is way out of his bedroom and down the steps, he braced himself to find out. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was relieved to see that the party hadn't expanded too terribly much in the short amount of time. He really didn't have any desire to deal with the aftermath of an unruley party. After taking a large breath of the now poluted air in his home, he headed strait for his bar to make himself a nice stiff drink. He was definately overdue for a liquid vacation. As he poured himself a generous portion of his favorite scotch, he smiled at the familliar sound of his brothers boisterous laugh traveling across the room. Once his glass was filled almost to the rim, he scanned the crowded room for his brother and friends. JC felt his stomach twist into a tight knot, when his eyes finally found where his brother's voice was coming from. He was going to be physically sick. Was this some sort of sick joke? Was somebody fucking with him? He blinked slowly at the site in front of him, hoping that when he opened his eyes the disturbing site would be gone. Unfortunately, as his lids drifted back open that was not the case. The one thing that he had tried to escape all day long, had seemed to follow him home. Not only had it followed him home, but it seemed to have all of his closest friends in a pathetic daze. Holland Simonivitch in all her adolescent glory stood less than fifty feet away from him, with is nearest and dearest fawning over her. Was this really happening? Was she really in his house? And who the hell had invited her. Hearing a collective 'oooh' from across the room, he knew the answer to his question. Kori was there. Glancing briefly in the direction of the group instigation, he saw Korine and her boyfriend having their signature 'we're both too ridiculous to handle out problems in private' fight. He scoffed at their fight before directing his attention back to the original object of his disgust. Lifting the small glass to his lips, he quickly relieved it of its contents in three large gulps. Refilling the crystal glass, he glared across the room at the show that she was putting on for her audience of awe striken grown men. She was good, he would give her that. She gave all of them just enough attention to keep them around, but kept just enough to herself to keep them wanting more. She never laughed to hard or smiled to big at anything they said. She kept her comments short and to the point. She gave each man a small amount of personal attention, but not enough to make any of them feel any more specail than the others. He didn't understand how the rest of them didn't see it. He really couldn't believe that she was working her magic on Justin. Of all people, Justin would have been the last person on earth he would expect to see reduced to a bumbling idiot in the presence of this girl. JC pondered for a moment. Didn't he sleep with her sister? Just as JC was beginning to think that the situation couldn't possibly get any more disgusting, he saw her hand her empty glass to Tyler with and expectant look on her face. "You have got to be fucking kidding me." he said to himself, seeing his own flesh and blood rushing his direction. "Hey man. Where have you been?" Tyler asked, refilling the glass with ice and Belvedere. "Seriously Ty?" JC aksed looking down at the glass, across the room, then back at his brother. "Your really catering to an eighteen year old girl?" Tyler shrugged at his brother. "I can't believe Im seeing this shit. You're all pathetic! Are you even........I mean do you.........seriously man......" JC couldn't even begin to find the right words to verbalize his disgust. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves." Twisting his lips up at his brother, Tyler once again offered JC a shrug. He wasn't about to admit to him that he had a thing for her, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let JC make him feel bad about it either. "I really don't understand why you're getting yourself all fit to be tied over this girl man. I swear, as much as you bitch about her, a person might start to think that maybe you liked her." he raised his eyebrows at JC in an accusatory manor. "Are you fuckin......your kidding me right?!" JC shook his head in disbelief. "You know sometimes I swear I cant believe we're even related. I'm going to get some air." JC didn't bother waiting for hsi brother to respond to his comment before he stormed off to the balcony. He had become quite the pro at storming out of a room in the past 24 hours. Honestly, it was probably the best solution for everyone. He was getting to the point that if one more person came up raving to him about how hot little miss 'it girl' was, he was going to snap. Letting the cool night air
drift over his body, JC braced himself against the railing of his balcony
and took a deep breath of air. He really needed to calm himself down. Even
he was beginning to feel like he was overreacting. It wasn't like there
weren't a million Holland Simonivitchs running around LA, so really this
girl in particular shouldn't have gotten under his skin the way she did.
But the fact remaind.......she did. To no end. Taking a desperate gulp
of his scotch, he attempted to calm his nerves. He really needed to get
a grip on himself.
~*~ Tyler returned to Holland's side, his spat with his brother already forgoten. She was laughing harder than she had the entire night at something that Justin had just said. Her laugh was intoxicating, it was just as delicate as everything else about her, but it was somehow less reserved. Less calculated. It seemed real. Then as quickly as it came, it was gone "You've seriously never been there?!" she was looking at Justin as if he were the most uncultured person on the planet. "No, I've never even heard of it. Its in LA?" "Oh my God, now I have to take you! You seriously need to explore more often.......what the hell do you do while your here?" she was waiting for Justin's response, when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Turning around, she saw that it was Tyler, holding out a fresh glass of her favorite vodka. Reaching into her purse, she fished around until she found her pack of cigarettes. Shaking one out of the red and gold packaging, she rested it between her lips and quickly lit it before finally taking the drink from Tyler. She took two long drags from the long brown clove cigarette before mouthing a slow 'thank you' to Tyler for the drink. "So when are we going to this amazing museum slash cafe, Miss I know everything about LA?" Justin chimed in. Giving him a mischevious smile, Holland simply shrugged and waited for him to offer a day. She wasn't in the habbit of planning outings with men, whether they be dates or not. She just didn't feel like it was her job to do the planning. It was theres, and if they weren't willing to put in the work, then she wasn't about to waist her time. "What about Saturday?" "Sundays better. Its nicer on Sunday." she smiled at him, before tunring her attention back to Tyler. "Where's the bathroom?" He nodded toward a small group of girls standing in an almost strait line. There had to have been atleast 20 people in that line. There was no way in hell that she would be able to hold it that long. She hadnt gone since she got there, and that was about an hour and seven drinks ago. "Is there another one?" "Yeah, upstairs. I'll show you." Taking one last drag of her cigarette, she put it out in a nearby ashtray before falling in step behind Tyler. Every couple of steps, he would look over his shoulder to make sure that she was still behind him. Holland tried not to laugh out loud. He was so obvious it was almost sad, like a needy little puppy. As they walked through the crowded living room, the effects of the potent liquor that she had been drinking were finally starting to take their toll on her. Thats how it always was though, she would drink and drinnk and drink, and then....Boom! It would hit her suddenly like a pile of brick, and out of nowhere she was drunk. She never got wasted, or baligerent, but when her alcohol hit her it hit pretty hard. When they reached the long staircase, Holland all but jogged up them. Her blatter was starting to feel like it had an extra pound of pressure on it, and if she didn't make it to the bathroom soon someone was going to be in for a very unpleasant surprise. All but sprinting passed him, she heard him call out to her that it was the 'second door on the right' before she quickly dipped into it. Tyler waited patiently for her in the hallway, dutifully holding the small glass of vodka that he had gotten for her only moments ago. Within seconds she had reemerged from the bathroom, a slightly glossed over look in her eyes. He could tell that all the drinks that she had consumed were finally catching up to her. "So whose house is this?" she asked taking her drink from his hand and resting her small frame against the wall. "My brother's." he smiled, she was absolutely beautiful. "Would you like the grand tour?" Giving him a look as if to say 'sure why not', Holland snaked her arm in his, more for stability that anything else and allowed herself to be led down the hall. The house was fairly large, not quite large enough to be tacky, but large no less. Each room was decorated in such a specific manor. Down to the last detail. She could tell that he had used a decorator, but the place did have personality. "Have you met my brother?" he asked not sure what else to say. She shrugged. Until about fifteen minutes ago she didn't even know who he was. How the hell did he expect her to know who his damn brother was? "JC?" "Ahhh." she smiled. "We'll no, I havent met him formally......but I did meet his evil eye a couple times tonight. You should tell him to stop scowling like that the next time you talk to him. Hes gonna get premature wrinkles." "I'll be sure to let him know." Tyler laughed, leading her passed one last closed door toward the stairs. "Wait." Holland pulled him back toward the door. "Aren't you gonna show me this room?" He gave her a worried look. "Nah, thats JC's room. He'd kill me if I took anyone in there." "Lucky for you I'm not just anyone then, huh?" The determined look in her eyes didn't leave anyroom for debate. She knew he wasn't going to tell her no, not very many men ever did. Not bothering to wait for him to say what she already knew, she pushed the door open and pulled him in with her. She hadn't gotten completely in the room, before her eyes widened in childlike glee. 'Oh my God' she mouthed to herself, walking over to JC's bed. She ran her hand over his plush comforter. She wasn't sure if it was the site of the bed itself, or the countless number of strait vodkas she had drank, but something about seeing the large bed was so nostalgic. It reminded her of the first time she had ever stayed in a hotel, and how grand everything had seemed. The bed seemed like she would drown in it, and she and Kori had bounced up and down on it for hours, never wanting their fun to end. They pouted and whined when they're mother made them go to bed that night. That was of course until they realized that the only thing better than bouncing in a big comfy bed, was sleeping in it. She decided that night, at the ripe old age of seven, that the best thing about America was the big, huge, bouncy, comfortable warm beds. Closing her eyes, Holland let the memory dance in her head. She remembered every detail as if it were yesterday. Letting her delicate lids drift back open, a small smile danced across her lips as she eyed the bed. She wasn't sure what came over her as she set her drink on the nightstand and slid her feet of of the restricting confines of her shoes. Tyler watched her intently, wondering what exactly was going throug her mind as she climb on his brother's oversized bed. He didn't have to wait long for an answer. Standing in the center of the bed, Holland smilled a genuine happy smile at him before she began to jump up and down on the bed. A small giggle escaping her lips as continued to bounce with complete abandon. Not only was she beautiful, but something about her was absolutely intruiging. Chapter 3 Hearing a loud crash come from inside the house, JC let his head drop and let out a heavy sigh. This just want working. He was annoyed, bored and tired, and now people were breaking his shit. As much as he hated to be 'that guy', he needed everybody to get the hell out of his house. Trying his best to get himself into a calm frame of mind, he physically cringed at the sound of yet something else in his house breaking. That was it! He didn't care who he offended. Everyone needed to get out, and now! Bursting back through the balcony door, he stalked through the house in search of Tyler. "Where's my brother?" he asked impatiently when he bumped into Trace and Justin. Justin shrugged and turned his gaze back to the smoldering latina who seemed to have his undivided attention. Trace gave him a suspicious and uncomfortable stare, but remained silent. As ridiculous as it seemed, he knew JC's mood wasn't going to improve upon hearing the answer to his question. "Hello? Am I speaking a foreign fucking language?" he asked waving a hand in front of Trace's face. Now even more annoyed than before. "Where's Tyler?" "Hes uh.......he went ummm........" Quick thinking was never Trace's strong suit. "Jesus Chris Trace! Its not a trick question." "He walked Holland to the bathroom." Justin chimed in. His own voice sounding slightly annoyed now. "He walked her to the bathroom?" JC was almost shocked. "Was she physically incapable of getting there on her own? I thought you said you didn't.................you know what, never mind." Making his way toward the downstairs restroom, JC pushed himself through the sea of bodies that had taken over his house. It was taking everything in him not screamed at everybody to 'get the fuck out!'. When he finally reached the bathroom door, neither his brother or Holland were anywhere to be found. Deciding that the best course of action was just to ask around, he stopped the nearest person to him. "Hey have you seen my brother?" The young girl he stopped looked almost confused by the question. Taking a deep breath, he decided to try a different approach. He was going to hate himself for this later. "Have you seen Holland Simonovitch?" he asked with a sigh. "Not for a while." she shook her head. "But I saw Korine leaving not that long ago, so she probably left with her." "Thanks." he offered dryly. JC was getting near his breaking point. He knew that if he didn't find his brother soon, things were going to get very ugly very quickly. Realizing that maybe he wasn't on the main floor at all, he headed toward the flight of stairs near the foyer. "Tyler?!" he called from the bottom of the stairs. "Yo! Tyler?!" After a few seconds of no response, he walked halfway up the stairs and tried again. "Ty?" Nothing. Just as JC was about to climb the rest of the stairs, Tyler appeared looking uncharacteristically guilty at the top of the stair case. "Whats up?" "Look man I really can't deal with this tonight. You think you can clear the place out for me?" JC asked raking his hand through his hair in frustration. "Dude, you cant do it yourself?" Tyler asked back. "This is your house." Before JC had a chance respond, another loud crash came from behind him. Followed by a chorus of 'DAMN!'. Turning his head slowly back toward the living room, then back to his brother, he smoothed his hand flat against his face. Unable to stop himself, JC let a desperate laugh escape his lips. If one more thing in his house got broken, he was gonna break someone's ass. Watching his brother begin to lose resolve in front of his face, Tyler began to feel genuinely sorry for him. JC was normally the one to defuse a situation. He was the voice of reason, the level head. But right about now, that level head was about to explode. "Fine." Tyler relented "Just gimme-" "Thanks Ty, I really appreciate it." JC interrupted, giving his brother a light pat on the shoulder before jogging up the stairs. "Wait, Jace! I just need to-" Unfortunately, before Tyler could manage to halt his brother, he was interrupted again. Feeling an arm snake around his shoulder, Tyler looked to his left to see a very intoxicated Trace staring back at him. Smiling briefly at his friend, Tyler turned his attention back to where his brother had been standing. To his surprise, JC was nowhere to be found. Glancing around, he wondered where his brother had gone before it finally hit him. His mouth went dry as his gaze settled on the stairs that his brother had occupied only seconds ago. Realizing that he had probably just created the most disastrous situation ever, Tyler attempted to go up the stairs after his brother. That attempt however, was short lived, as the feel of Trace's arm tightening around his shoulder immediately brought him back down the one step that he had managed to climb. "What's the word man?!" "Uh, Jace said he wants everyone to leave. So....ummm...yeah." he replied quickly, "Would you mind-" Tyler attempted to get back up the stairs again to no avail. "Ok so what are we waiting for?" Trace asked, pulling Tyler back into the densely populated living room. "Lets get this shit moved over to Justin's!" Allowing Trace to drag him away from the stair case, Tyler threw one last look of despair over his shoulder. JC was going to kill him. God was he going to kill him. In a way, Tyler was kind of happy that Trace hadn't allowed him to get up the stairs. After the night that JC had, he definitely did NOT want to be the one standing there when he walked into his bedroom to find an intoxicated Holland jumping up and down on his bed. ~*~ With her eyes closed, Holland continued to bounce her small frame up and down on the plush bed. She didn't think she would ever get tired of it. She hadn't heard any mindless rambling in quite sometime, so she assumed that the guy had finally found something better to do, which was fine by her. Just the sound of her heart beating and the mild grunt of the mattress as she landed on it, was enough for her. "Hey!" The voice wasn't quite loud enough to be considered a yell, but clearly someone was trying to get her attention. Ignoring the voice of the other occupant of the room, Holland continued to bounce like she didnt have a care in the world. The thought that her actions could have been considered terribly rude, never crossing her clouded mind. "HEY!" Without pausing in her bouncing action, Holland finally opened her eyes, giving her newly acquired companion a questioning look. Allowing her lips to curve into what was arguably the biggest smile humanly possible, she bounced closer to the edge of the bed. "Hey." she offered with a slight giggle, fully aware that her behavior was probably working his last never. The irritated looking young man tilted his head to the side looking almost confused, before crinkling his face into a look of disgust. Obviously he was looking for some sort of explanation. She figured he deserved one, being that this was his house and all. Bouncing back to the middle of the bed, she answered him with a nonchalant shrug . "What the fuck are you doing?!" JC's voice was a mixture of confusion, curiosity and fatigue. "Bouncing." "Well can you stop please." his voice was beginning to sound more and more impatient. She playfully shook her head from side to side, now jumping in a zigzag pattern across the bed. There wasnt really any reason in particular that she had decided to annoy JC. Most likely though, it was the vodka ~*~ If JC had to pick a word to describe how he felt at the moment, it would have to be flabbergasted. She really wasn't going to stop. He didn't know if he should laugh or scream. The situation was just entirely surreal. "This is not happening." JC shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment hoping to calm his over worked nerves. When he finally opened them back up, she was still jumping on his bed, a carefree grin spread across her lips. The short babydoll type dress that she was wearing rising up to flash him a glimpse of the almost sheer underwear she wore, each time her feet came back down to make contact with the bed again. He watched her curiously for almost a full minute, unable to tear his eyes away from the site in front of him. "This is a joke right?" he asked, looking around the room once he finally tore his eyes away from her. "I mean what, am I being Punk'd or something?" After several second went by and Ashton still hadn't jumped out of his closet with a camera crew, JC realized that this really was happening to him. The disturbing site in front of him wasn't some elaborate practical joke, it was indeed reality. Clearly he had done something so horrible that God felt it was necessary to punish him in the most cruel fashion. "Ok seriously, you need to get down." "Maybe you should come up." her voice was playful but not flirtatious. "Are you dense, little girl?" he asked as he took a step closer to the bed. "Are you always so up tight?" this time the tone of her voice was bordering on patronizing. "C'mon, it'll be fun." "You know what....." JC didn't finish his statement, and instead leaned over the bed to reach for her legs. Unfortunately for him though, her intoxicated state didn't hinder her reflexes in the slightest as she hoped across the bed to avoid him. It was to the point that he was now almost completely on the bed with her. Heaving a frustrated sigh, he quickly reached his hands out and swept her legs from underneath her. The force of the action causing her small body to hit the bed with a soft thud, and his to be jerked forward almost on top of her. He felt kind of bad seeing the awkward way in which her body landed, her dress now doing close to nothing to cover the most intimate area of her body. However, his sympathy for her was short lived, when he heard a thunderous laughter explode from her body. Looking up at her from his own awkward position, JC rolled his eyes. This girl was a piece of work. "Are you ok?" she laughed out, straining her neck to look at him, "Peachy." he replied dryly, still not moving from the position that he had fallen in between her legs. Realizing that his head was resting against her thigh, JC quickly jerked himself away from her, an almost frightened expression taking over his features. Sitting himself up on his knees, he stared down at her. She had stopped laughing now, and was looking up at him with that same coy expression that she displayed so effortlessly on the cover of Stuff magazine. Something in him just wouldn't allow him to look away from her in that moment. He watched in a trance like state as one of her hands slid back and forth over the exposed skin of her collar bone, before running a delicate trail between her breast and down the fabric of her dress. Once she reached the hem, she wrapped her slender fingers around the thin fabric, and gently tugged it upward. The sheer lace of her underwear now completely exposed to him. Swallowing the lump that had suddenly risen in the back of his throat, JC watched as she lifted one of her legs into a bent position, swaying it back and forth in a pendulum like fashion. Lifting his eyes back up to her face, he noticed that the magazine look was gone, and instead had been replaced by a look of lust. She didn't quite look like a little girl anymore, there was actually something intriguing about her as he continued to stare down at her. As the thought crept into his mind, a churning sensation gripped at the pit of JC's stomach. Only this time, the churning wasn't a result of the contempt that he seemed to harbor for her, it was more so a feeling of excitement. "See. I told you it was fun up here." her voice was soft and husky at the same time. "You wanna kiss me?" Leaning over her, JC hovered just inches away from her face. Their faces so close, that he could smell the faint traces of berry from the lipgloss that she wore. The sensation in the pit of his stomach growing more intense, the closer that he got to her. His lips now just a breath away from hers. Feeling more than just his stomach begin to stir, a sudden wave of awareness washed over him. In an instant, every ounce of common sense he had came flooding back with a serious sense of urgency. "No, no no no!" he protested suddenly, pushing himself away from her. "This is just............this is just wrong. You need to leave. Now!" he finished, quickly standing, and pointing a finger toward the door. Pushing herself into a seated position, Holland quickly slid her shoes back on before standing up and pulling her dress back down. Letting out a soft chuckle she grabbed her purse and slowly walked by him toward the door. Shaking her head in amusement as she exited the room. JC definitely didn't see anything amusing about the situation. Chapter 4 "You're a bitch!" Holland
droaned into the reciever as she lit a cigarette.
~*~ JC watched in silent awe
for a moment as the girl who was barely half his size downed vodka like
it was water. His face contorted for her, even though she didn't seem to
be at all phased by the potent liquor.
~*~ Holland watched JC pick-up
toss out and rearrange things with an obsesive fury over the rim of her
glass. He was quite meticulous in his work, putting a momentous amount
of effort into the smallest area before moving on to the next. After more
than twenty minutes of silence Holland decided to speak. Not because the
silence was unbearable, but because she needed to do something other than
think about how long it was taking her ride to get there.
~*~ After quickly pulling the door closed behind her, Holland adjusted her purse on her shoulder and headed down the few stairs toward to long sidewalk that weaved over to the driveway, not once bothering to look Tyler's direction. As far as she was concerned, this was not a social occasion that required conversation. He was simply a means to an end for a very long evening, and he needed to understand that. As she continued towards the driveway, Tyler half ran, half jogged to keep up with her. Clearly in her mind's eye, this was some sort of race, and she was determined to win. "In a bit of a rush?" Tyler asked, quickly sprinting ahead of her so that he could do the gentlemanly thing and open her door for her. "Look, it's been a long night, and I'm not going to insult either of us with useless small talk. So, do you think you could just take me home?" "Umm.....ok."
Unsure exactly what to make of his brother's icy reception, Tyler just gave his head a quick shake and opened the driver's side door. Maybe he was still pissed from the party he thought, placing his key in the ignition. "So, where to?" Tyler asked, starting up his car and shifting it from park. "Willow Glen Drive, over in the Canyons. You know where it is?" "Yeah, I think I know it...vaguely." he laughed, knowing the area well, as it was a hot spot for the young and famous now a days. "Something funny?" "I don't know. Was that a serious question or are you just trying to being difficult?" "Excuse me?" "You asked me a question, I just asked one back. What's with all the attitude?" "Just take me home." Holland snapped back, quickly rolling her eyes at the obvious similarities that Tyler seem to share with is older brother. Just what she needed, she thought. A repeat performance from earlier. She wasnt quite sure if the attitude she was giving him was left over - whatever it was that JC had done to her - or if this guy genuinely irritated the shit out of her. After flipping the strap on her purse over to the side, Holland reached her hand inside and began rummaging around for her cigarettes. Once she found them, she quickly pulled out the small box and flipped over the top, immediately pulling one from it's place in the pack, and popping it in to her mouth. Not wanting to waste time searching for her lighter in the dark, Holland reached forward and pressed the small button that powered his 'in dash' cigarette lighter. "What are you doing?" Tyler asked, giving her a look of what appeared to be a cross between disgust and sheer disbelief. "What does it look like I'm doing?" Holland said, as she quickly removed the cigarette from her lips. "I need a cigarette, I cant find my lighter, so Im using this one." she continued, reaching down to grab the small lighter just as it popped up from it's position. "Well you're not smoking in my car, I'm sorry." "Oh Jesus Christ! Can you hurry up then? I need God damn cigarette!" she groaned, firing her head back against the seat rest. "I'm trying as best as I can." he replied, slowly exhaling. "You call this your best? What are you doing....45?" Holland asked, leaning across the center console so that she could get a good look at the speedometer. Bouncing her knee furiously at the slow speed at which he seemed he was driving, as well as the ridiculous 'No Smoking' rule he was enforcing, Holland knew without a doubt that this was going to be one of the longest and most stress inducing car rides ever. "Hey, you can always get out?" Tyler laughed. "Pull over and I will." she
stated, her tone letting him know just how serious she was.
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