Better Than Revenge

 Chapter Six

Even though I really, really, really didn’t want Christian Ryder to catch up to me, after about two minutes of running at full speed, I was pretty much exhausted. My fat ass couldn’t keep running at that pace. It just wasn’t happening. I realized there was no way of avoiding him unless I took a series of turns to throw him off. I just wasn’t fast enough to outrun him and I didn’t have enough endurance to keep running anymore. The only way was to confuse him and get him off my tail.

My plan was to take a bunch of random turns and hope he wouldn’t be able to keep up with me. I didn’t even know where to turn, though, and I was pretty sure this method was going to make me get lost or something. Either that or I’d end up in Hollywood’s slums where a hobo would attack me and rape me. No, thank you. I’ll pass. 

Looking behind me, I realized I had no one on my tail. He was nowhere to be found. Had I lost him already? Was it really that easy? 

I turned a corner, then turned left and then turned right. I found myself in a small park. I had no idea where this small park was, exactly, however. This definitely wasn’t a good thing. It was starting to get dark, as well, and the park appeared to be deserted. This was a perfect setting for a horror film. 

“Shit, shit, shit,” I cursed, stopping to catch my breath. I put a hand on my chest, trying to steady my breathing. Fumbling around in my pockets, I searched for my phone. I needed to call Tori to come get me. I was not running back to our hotel, and I sure as hell wasn’t staying there. 

“There you are,” a voice said from behind me, sighing in relief. 

I froze immediately, my eyes widening. I was sure I had lost him… guess I assumed too quickly… 

I didn’t even know what to do or say. I couldn’t even bring myself to turn around to face him. The only thing that popped into my head was to keep running, so that was exactly what I did. 

I should’ve known it wasn’t going to work. He was too fast. That “killer” body wasn’t just for show, apparently. It served other purposes, too. He not only caught up to me in about, oh, ten seconds, but he also managed to get in front of me, forcing me to come to a halt. 

“Godammit,” I muttered angrily, refusing to look him in the eye. “Would you get out of the way? Can’t you see I’m trying to get away from you? Good grief.” 

He rolled his eyes, pulling his hood down, off of his head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t just follow you all the way here just to let you go so easily.” 

“Oh, because following me for a few blocks must have been oh-so hard,” I retorted, gasping dramatically. “Is it too much work for Mr. Hollywood to handle?” 

“No,” he snapped angrily. “Following you was easy. You’re as slow as my grandmother.” 

Ah, his true colors were showing, now that there wasn’t a camera right in his face. There was no danger of his precious little fans seeing his ugly side, so he could act however he wanted.

Great. 

“Yeah, well, if I wasn’t scared of getting lost in an unknown city, I would’ve lost you, easy,” I told him, finally looking up and meeting his gaze. “But I’ve never been here before and would rather not get lost and molested, thanks. That’s the only reason you caught me.” 

“Oh, really?” he challenged, raising an eyebrow at me. 

“Yes, really. It’s just like when I tricked my pet hamster into eating the pet food he absolutely hated. It’s all about using the difference in intelligence to your advantage.” I took my phone out of my pocket and shot Tori a quick text message telling her to pick me up at the small park in front of a small bakery named “O’Neil’s Baked Goods”. 

“Are you calling me stupid?” he asked incredulously.

“Oh, that’s right,” I cooed sarcastically. “I forgot you’re not used to people not sucking up to you and kissing your ass.” 

“Don’t judge me when you don’t even know me.” He was getting really angry at me; it was obvious. “You have no right.” 

“Like hell I don’t know you,” I blurted out angrily. If he was going to get angry, then so was I.  

“What? You know me?” He studied my face, trying to see if he recognized me, most likely. “I…” 

I immediately panicked. Why did I say that? Why? I needed to throw him off my scent and fast. “I just meant I’ve heard enough about you to know what kind of person you are,” I quickly corrected myself. 

He seemed kind of suspicious but thankfully accepted my pitiful lie. “You don’t know me. You can’t just judge me like that. And I was just following you to… well, that’s not important anymore.” 

I was slightly curious by then. I kind of wanted to know why he had followed me in the first place. I quickly decided I didn’t want to care, though, so I ignored my curiosity. 

“Getting angry over this is stupid of you,” I pointed out, quickly changing the subject. “You’re a celebrity. You’re always in the limelight. People are going to judge you, so what does it matter if I do it, too?” 

He looked frustrated, probably because he knew I was right. “I just thought my fans would’ve had the decency to try not to judge me. I thought they were better than that.” 

I rolled my eyes. “Maybe they are. I wouldn’t know. You’re forgetting something important, Hot-Shot.” 

“And what’s that?” 

“I’m not a fan,” I said in a ‘duh’ tone. “I thought I made that more than clear already. Wow, you really are dumber than a post.” 

“I’m not stupid,” he snapped at me. “I just thought you might’ve been playing hard to get or something.” 

I looked at him for a second, deduced he was being completely serious, and then burst out laughing outrageously. “You’re kidding, right?” 

He wasn’t as amused as I was. “No.” 

“I don’t play mind games,” I told him seriously. “If I like someone, I’ll make it clear. If I don’t, I’ll make it clear. I think even you could figure out which one applies to you.” 

“Stop treating me like I’m stupid. I finished high school with high honors. I was salutatorian of my class. I’m taking college courses. I’m not stupid.” 

“When, exactly, did I ask for a summary of your life?” I asked, cutting him off before he could continue. 

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “You know, I’m usually a calm person. I don’t get riled up easily. And I definitely don’t believe in hitting a woman. But you honestly make me want to forget all of that. You are the single most frustrating person I’ve ever met in my life.” 

“Go ahead,” I said, shrugging. “Hit me.” 

He looked surprised at this. “Why would you want me to hit you? Are you insane or something? That would explain a lot, if you are.” 

“Isn’t it obvious? If you hit me, I can press charges and possibly file for a lawsuit. And if I were to win this lawsuit, my recompense for the hit I received would so be worth it.” 

“You would sue me over that? Do you know how much shit I’d get from the press if that happened?” he asked, shaking his head. 

“That’s not my problem,” I told him carelessly. “And speaking of the press… could you, I don’t know….possibly find a way to get those freaks off my trail?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean that I’ve been hiding out for the past few days because of that stupid Hollywood Whatever show,” I bitterly clarified. “They’ve got a ton of your stupid Ry-Hards looking for me to reveal my identity.” 

He was the one who appeared to be amused now. “I almost forgot about that. You’re my “Mystery Girl”.” 

I made a face and nearly gagged. “Don’t remind me. Just the thought is sickening. Isn’t there anything you can do to get them off my back?” 

He looked offended, to be honest. “This can’t honestly be so repulsive to you. I’m not that bad.” 

“Yes, you are,” I said honestly. “And if there’s nothing you can do, then this conversation is over.” 

He was about to protest but I had already spotted Tori and began running towards her. I hopped into the car just as he began running after me. “Damn it, MG! At least give me your name!” 

Instead of giving him my name, I gave him the finger and told Tori to step on it. 

She protested weakly, saying, “But… it’s Christian Ryder!” 

“Go,” I snapped, locking the doors. “Tori!” 

She mumbled under her breath but succumbed. After we were far enough away from that awful park, she sighed loudly. When she spoke, she forced calmness into her voice. “So, Soph, do you want to explain what just happened?” 

“Not really.” 

She gave me a look that clearly stated that wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear. 

“Well, you asked!” I said in response to the look. 

“Tell me, now!” She parked in front of our hotel and just sat there, awaiting my explanation.

“You’re so bossy,” I accused, crossing my arms over my chest. “Why am I friends with you, again?” 

“Because I’m amazing, of course,” she exclaimed. “Now spill. What happened over there?” 

I sighed dramatically. “Well, you saw the limo that pulled up when we were over there, stalking Austin What’s-His-Face, right?” 

“Duh.” 

“Well, I was curious as to who was in the limo, so I stood up to get a better look. When Christian Ryder got out of the limo, I froze since it caught me off guard. He turned and saw me and recognized me as his “Mystery Girl”. I paused to gag. “I panicked and turned and ran. He started chasing after me. He chased me all the way to that little park. I had to stop running because I got tired… and he caught me.” 

Tori laughed at this. “Of course you did. Why would you even try running away, knowing how slow you are?”

“I don’t know! I told you, I panicked!” I glared at her. 

“Okay, then what happened?” she pressed eagerly. 

“Nothing much happened,” I replied honestly. “We just fought over God knows what. I can’t even remember what we talked about.” 

Tori looked at me as if I was an alien. “How can you not remember?” 

I shrugged nonchalantly. 

“You are unbelievable,” she seethed. “It’s not fair!” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“This is such a cruel twist of fate is what I’m talking about!” she whined loudly. 

“How… what are you talking about?” 

She sighed dramatically. “It’s not fair. There are tons of girls out there, including me, who would love to be in your shoes. I would’ve died if I had talked to Ryder for as long as you did. You had a conversation with him! You were still talking to him when I got here! But you don’t even appreciate it!” 

“What’s there to appreciate?” I asked, rolling my eyes. 

“The fact that you talked to Christian Ryder, that’s what! You don’t even like him! You were super mean to him! It’s just not fair!” 

I suspected that was what she was talking about, but I wanted to hear her say it before assuming anything. “I get it now. You wish all of this had happened to you.” 

“Well… yeah,” she admitted quietly. 

“Tori, you know perfectly well that if I could hand this situation over to you, I would,” I told her, turning to face her. “I don’t want any of this. I wish it had happened to you or someone else. I’m sure it would’ve made someone else super happy.” 

She shrugged. “It would’ve. But that’s fate, I guess. Fate wanted it to happen to you, for some reason. I’ll be okay. I’ll find a way to mooch off of you and use this to my advantage.” She grinned widely. 

“That’s my best friend,” I replied, grinning back. “I’ve taught you so well.” 

“Of course! Oh, gosh, I almost forgot to tell you! I have another surprise for you! I’ve actually had it all day. I’ve just been waiting for the right moment to tell you!” 

“Another surprise?” I echoed warily. 

“No, trust me, you’ll love it!” she squealed. “Okay, so you know how I was freaking out because they announced that my favorite book in the whole wide world was being made into a movie?” 

“Yeah,” I answered, wondering where she was going with this. 

“Well, guess when the casting for ‘Kidnap My Heart begins’?” 

“I don’t know,” I replied, beginning to get the gist of what she was saying. And I had to admit, I was getting excited. 

“Trick question. It already started! It’s going on until the end of this week!” 

My eyes widened. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” 

She nodded emphatically. “I’ve got the address and I got you an audition!” 

My mouth dropped open. “Nuh-uh! You got me an audition?” That, I had not expected. I thought she just had the news for me. I didn’t think she had secured me an audition. 

“I told you I had a surprise for you!” she reminded me. 

“I didn’t think the surprise would be that big!” I exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down in my seat. “When’s the audition?” 

“Tomorrow,” she squealed. 

“Ohmygod…. Come on! I have so much work to do! It’s tomorrow? I don’t have enough time! I need to practice the lines and find the lines, for one, and…” 

“Soph!” she shrieked, shaking my arm. “Calm down! We’re going to go upstairs, order room service and calmly prepare for tomorrow. Okay?” 

I took a deep breath. “Okay. Got it.” 

On the outside, I looked completely calm, but on the inside, I was more hyped up than Tori when she tried Red Bull for the first time and ended up drinking three cans because she liked it so much. 

Yes. It was that bad. 

Tori parked the car in the guest’s parking lot and we exited the car, making our way back to our room. I ran into a poll, a random fat guy and a few walls on the way back up. 

This was going to be a long night. 

***

Tee hee. I know I'm probably supposed to hate Christian Ryder as well, but he's a fun character to write about. He's always in denial. :P

Writing this chapter was super fun. :D I hope you guys enjoyed reading it!

And... gosh darn it, what was I gonna say? Hmm... oh yeah! (Yeah, instead of waiting here patiently, trying to rack my memory, I keep typing what I'm saying in my head...) Since this is my new favorite story to write, it's the one I'll be primarily updating until further notice. I'll still try to squeeze in updates for my other stories, but this is the one I'm currently focusing on. Sorry if this disappoints any of you!

Just remember: if there's a story you want to be updated really bad, message me. It'll remind me and get me writing. 

And... yeah. That's pretty much it.

VOTE.COMMENT.FAN.