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Ciara’s POV

“I need you to pretend we’re together,” I told Jon. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t decide if it was meant to or not.

                “Huh?” Jon asked, looking confused now – and so cute, at that.

                “Pretend we’re a couple! I’ll explain later,” I hissed, getting even more paranoid.

                “Oh- okay then.”

                “Hey, Ci, who’s this? He the guy you told me about?” a disgustingly familiar voice asked. I spun around, almost bumping into Darren. He laughed. ‘Cackled’ was more like it.

                “Don’t call me that!” I snapped. “And yes, he is. Not that it should matter to you.”

                Jon slipped his arm around my waist, the protectiveness seeming real. I wasn’t surprised. Darren did give off a creepy vibe when he was acting like this.

                “But what if it does matter to me, Ci?”

                “Then… then…”

As I struggled to think of a snarky reply, a girl drifted over and draped herself over Darren. She had blonde hair with the brown roots showing, a completely fake tan, and the shortest skirt I had ever seen. It ended about a quarter of an inch below her butt. Her breasts were nearly hanging out of her navel-baring tube top. Behind me, Jon pretended to gag. I tried not to laugh.

“Babe, who’s this?” the girl asked Darren. I remembered that voice. High pitched, annoying. It was the girl on the phone that night. Lucy.

“Nobody, Luce,” Darren replied as they turned to leave. “Just a whore of an ex-girlfriend who can’t seem to get over me.”

I knew he had meant for me to hear that, and I tried to hide my reaction, but my mouth dropped open anyway. He glanced at me over the shoulder that didn’t have a Lucy stuck to it and smirked before disappearing into the crowd.

“I can’t believe… ugh.” I was so mad that I couldn’t form a proper sentence.

“Don’t let him get to you. He’s just about the biggest asswipe I’ve ever seen,” Jon remarked, still staring after them in disgust. His hand was tracing small circles on my back. It had a calming effect, and I shivered. “Are you okay now?” he asked.

“Sure,” I replied, knowing I didn’t sound convincing enough.

He opened his mouth to say something, but just then someone came over and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, breaking contact with me. “Violet, hi,” he greeted the girl, his voice going all mushy.

My heart sank. A million times.

“Ciara, this is Violet, my girlfriend. Vi, this is Ciara, I met her at a CD store a few days ago,” Jon introduced us.

Violet was petite, brunette and looked part Asian. I felt inferior and boring compared to her.

“Ciara? That’s an awesome name. I love your hair!” were Violet’s first words to me. She was either really bubbly, or really fake. I knew it wasn’t the latter, but I couldn’t help thinking it.

We shook hands and I managed a smile. “Nice to meet you, but I sorta have to go now… I ran away from my friends, and they might be looking for me,” I added as an excuse when I figured my sudden departure might have seemed overly strange. Then I realized that my explanation probably sounded even stranger. Oh well. Jon understood, and Jon was the one that mattered. I gave him a tight smile and spun around before it got too fake.

“See you around,” he called, and I could almost hear the grin on his face. Just like that first day at the CD store.

“What was that about?” I heard Violet asking him.

I didn’t turn back.

Katie’s POV

                My heart pounded. They had just announced the third place winners. I recognized the bassist and drummer from the last band of the night come onstage to accept the cash prize. The guitarist and singer were nowhere to be seen. Second place would decide everything.

                I had Josh’s hand in a tight grip, and I grabbed Amy’s too. Josh was playing with his lip ring, looking adorably nervous.

                “Starts with a P… Second letter A…” The host cleared his throat. “Second place goes to…”