After we started talking, I should have told her who I was. I didn't. Maybe I was too afraid that she'd tell everyone who I was or sell my number to some crazy fans. Or maybe I was just afraid that she'd stop treating me as a normal person—Jay Dawson in an interview for Teen Choice Magazine

After the initial shock wore off, I was able to continue on with my graduation ceremonies. But even as I waited among my classmates for my name to be called so that I could get my diploma, I was extremely distracted. Mainly, it was because I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed that it was him that night in Grounds. After all, it wasn't as if I was totally oblivious to the tabloids. I knew who Jay Dawson was. Pretty much everyone on the entire planet knew who Jay Dawson was.

And I'd missed it.

I felt particularly idiotic for that one. I'd been talking to the guy for weeks and it was only know that I knew who he was. I was slightly dumbfounded but I was also just a little bit angry. You'd think that he would have had the decency to tell me, especially considering how much we'd been speaking, but he'd left me in the dark.

My name was called and I walked across the stage to get my diploma in a daze. I could hardly focus but I felt my cheeks stretch into a smile as my picture was taken by someone from the school as well as my parents who were standing in the middle of the aisle with large grins on their faces. Once I had my diploma in my hand, I descended on the other side of the stage and slinked back to my seat. Moments after I'd sat down, my phone buzzed with a text.

You saw, didn't you? It was Jay.

I could have replied but I didn't. Maybe I should have but I had no idea what to say to him, especially not at this very moment. The time would come, I thought, where I would have to talk to him.

Or I could just pretend that this whole thing never happened and go back to the relaxing summer I'd been planning before college. Somehow, I knew that wasn't going to happen.

Claire?

I turned my phone off. The screen turned dark and I tucked it away, inside my purse where it couldn't bother me.

When the ceremony was over, I said goodbye to my parents before heading off with Ellie. There was a little celebration for all the grads at Jared's house. Before I was able to get away though, Griffin appeared.

He pulled me away, out of Ellie's earshot, and said, "Did you know?"

I didn't have to ask what he was talking about. "No. I didn't have a clue."

"He didn't stay for the ceremony. His security team forced him away."

"I figured as much," I replied. "I still can't believe it."

Griffin stared at me for a moment. "Are you seeing him tomorrow?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm kind of ignoring him at the moment."

"Ignoring him?"

"I turned my phone off. I just can't deal with that right now so I'm going to go and celebrate my new life as a high school graduate." I sighed. "I'll figure it all out later."

Griffin patted my arm awkwardly in a comforting manner. I smiled halfheartedly at his attempt. "If you need me..."

I hugged him, fully aware of how he tensed beneath my touch. "I know. Thanks."

He nodded and then gave me one last pat on the arm before disappearing off into the crowd of people. I rushed off, scrambling to find Ellie within the throngs of people that were cluttered around. I finally found her with Jared and the three of us set off back to his house where his siblings had dutifully been setting up for the party.

It was a grand affair, though Jared's parties normally were. The decorations were strung about the room. Our school colours were littered about, covering just about every available surface imaginable. The tables were decorated with paper graduation caps and diplomas. Jared's parents had purchased a large cake. On it, our school crest had been traced and underneath it read 'Congratulations Grads!' in a swirling black font.

I tried to enjoy myself and for a while I did but when the mindless chatter of summer plans turned way to the upcoming Jay Dawson movie which in turn then progressed onto the star himself and his sudden appearance at our school, my cheery mood decreased substantially.

"Who's his cousin?" a girl named Samantha asked. She was in my biology class. Pretty but not very bright.

"Dunno," her friend, Miranda, replied. "But I can't believe he was actually there."

"I know," Samantha said. "He's so much cuter in person."

Cade, a boy from my math class, walked up to our group. "You know, I heard that he doesn't actually have a cousin who goes to our school. Supposedly, he's got a secret girlfriend."

"Wonder who she is..." Max, one of Cade's friends, murmured.

"No idea. Bet she's hot though. No way a big shot like him would date some ugly chick."

"That's totally sexist," Samantha said. "Just because he's famous doesn't mean he's a dick. I bet he's actually a nice guy."

Cade laughed. "You've seen the tabloids, right? Dude's a total player. I heard that he was in L.A. last week and got in a fight at some night club. He started it cause some guy said that he thought his last movie was crap."

"Not true," Miranda cut in. "He was doing press conferences the entire time he was there. And when he wasn't doing interviews, he was with Vivian Knoxworthy. I heard that they hooked up on the set of Fine Lines. They've been dating ever since," she added.

Samantha gasped. "What happened to Janet Ling? Those two were an item forever!"

Miranda grinned. "Not anymore, apparently. Besides, Teen Choice said that she cheated on him with the head of her record label. That was two months ago."

I got up and walked away. Hearing about Jay Dawson and his life was only making me more sullen. It was my graduation. Surely I should have been having a good time but all I could do was fret about what I was going to say to him if I texted him back.

I left the party earlier than most. After the conversation had shifted to Jay Dawson, I just couldn't find it in me to get back into the celebratory atmosphere. So, I headed home. It didn't take me long to get there but by the time I had arrived, night had fallen and the moon was shining brightly amongst the stars.

My parents were up when I walked in the door, watching some sort of romantic comedy that I knew my dad must have been completely bored of. He was only paying half-attention to the screen. My mom, on the other hand, was absolutely absorbed in the story line. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she was leaning slightly forward, as if she could lurch herself into the screen and join in on the romance.

I bade them goodnight so that they knew I was home and then I ascended the stairs to my bedroom. After I'd changed into a pair of sweats with a large hole in the left knee and a too-large T-Shirt, I sat down on my bed and turned my phone on.

Immediately, the screen lit up with a multitude of missed calls and unanswered texts. They were all from Jay and ranging from things like "Are we still on for tomorrow," to "Why are you ignoring me."

Resigned and tired, I turned the light off and fell into a fitful sleep.

When I woke the next morning, it was to the sound of a sharp rap coming from the front door of my house. I jolted upright in bed, groggy and disoriented, certain that I'd imagined the sound. When it happened again, I threw the covers away with a groan and reached for the elastic band I'd left on my bedside table. I threw my hair up hastily and retrieved a sweater from the floor before I rushed down the stairs and to the front door.

I flung the door open and froze. "Jay?"

"In the flesh," the actor replied. He was standing on my doorstep, dressed covertly in a pair of dark sunglasses and a Yankees baseball cap. There was a leather jacket draped across his broad shoulders and he was wearing a pair of black leather jeans. Altogether, he looked completely unremarkable. Like this, he was just someone I would pass by on the street without giving a second look.

This was the Jay Dawson I'd met in Grounds.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"I came to see you," he murmured. "I needed to talk to you."

"What about? The fact that you're famous?!"

He shushed me. "Can you bring it down a couple of octaves? I don't exactly want the entire hoard of New York paparazzi to come down here with cameras blazing."

I narrowed my eyes. "Then you should just leave!"

"Claire, I really want to speak to you." Jay removed his sunglasses, exposing his bright green eyes. "Please. If you don't like what I have to say, I will leave and never come back here again."

For a moment, I stood there as a barrier between the outside world and my house. Then, grudgingly, I stepped aside and allowed the celebrity to pass into my home. He smiled his thanks, one of his disarming grins, and stepped around me. As he did, I noticed a black SUV parked on the other side of the road. Two men were sitting in the front seats, just watching.

I closed the door quickly and turned to face Jay. His smiled turned sheepish. "Those are Marcus and Liam. My bodyguards."

"Right," I said slowly. "Bodyguards."

We stared at each other for a long minute. When the silence became too much for me to bear, I walked past him into the kitchen. I grabbed a cup from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. I gulped it down in seconds and placed the glass down on the counter beside a note from my parents stating that they went to do groceries.

"Uh," I said awkwardly, "Do you want anything? A drink or something to eat...?"

"No, thank you."

"So," I started. "You're famous."

Jay nodded. "So it would seem."

His nonchalance annoyed me. I glared. "And you didn't think to mention that when we met? Or when we started texting?"

"The waitress seemed to recognize me. I figured it was only a matter of time until you did too."

"But considering the fact that I didn't figure it out until yesterday when you showed up at my graduation, I get the feeling that you weren't going to let me know."

Jay's smile waned and I knew that I'd guessed correctly. "Well," he said slowly, like he was choosing his words very carefully. "I knew you'd find out eventually. After all, I figured that I'd see you in person again and knew that you'd learn who I was then."

"So you were just going to drop a bombshell on me?" I asked, incredulous. "Cause I'm still feeling the shock from yesterday."

"You don't seem too shocked," he commented dryly. Jay leaned against my kitchen counter and removed his baseball cap, showing off his dark, chestnut coloured hair.

It was a fair enough statement. I probably wasn't reacting as I should have been. Most people would have been awestruck and nervous if they were in my position. True, there were plenty of nerves but awestruck? Not so much. More than anything, I was frustrated—and not just with Jay. I still couldn't believe that I'd missed it.

I shrugged. "I'm just trying not to freak out here."

"That's exactly what I was trying to avoid by not telling you!" Jay said forcefully. "I knew that if I told you the truth, you'd start treating me differently."

"Differently how?"

He looked away, at the counter, at the ceiling, and then finally back at me. He seemed to slump in resignation. "Like I'm less of a person. Like the person I am is utterly dependent on the characters I play. Like they define me."

"From what I hear, it's your party-boy reputation that defines you. Not the characters you play on screen."

Jay swore. "Do you always believe everything you read in the tabloids?"

"No," I said truthfully. "But I have seen some interviews of yours and you've never stricken me as the nicest person on the planet."

He sighed. "Look, the guy you see in the interviews and on the cover of magazines...he's not me. I mean, I am him but...it's difficult to explain."

I leaned against the counter and cocked my head to the side. "Try."

Jay's eyes burned into mine. "I try to distance myself from my job. It's hard because I constantly have paparazzi following my every move but...when I give interviews, I make almost everything up about myself. I've told so many lies about who I really am that I can hardly keep them straight these days."

"Why do you lie?"

"I don't want them to own me," he answered and his answer was so unlike what I was expecting that my eyes snapped to his questioningly. "The industry owns pretty much everything I am. My look, my career, my personality. So, I give them all lies so that I can still be who I am. I don't want to give that up too."

"And you lied to me..."

Jay released a pent-up breath. "And I lied to you because for the first time in years, I've actually felt normal. I mean, my family doesn't treat me any differently because of my fame but I don't really have any friends. I don't have anyone I can talk to besides my family about who I really am and...it's hard. When I realized that you had no idea who I was, well, I didn't want to give that up. I just wanted the chance to have a bit of normalcy in my life.

"Don't get me wrong," he said quickly. "I love my job. I love my life. It's just that sometimes I get a little sick of the fame. Everything I do, ever move I make, is criticized. The media hates golden-boys. Rescuing cats stuck in trees or building schools in Africa doesn't sell. But they get a picture of me coming out of a bar with a girl and it's printed on the cover of every possible tabloid magazine the next morning with a headline about how I'm cheating on a girlfriend I don't even have."

"What about Vivian Knox—"

Jay's shaking head cut me off. "Vivian and I have never been a couple. She's been dating this guy Peter for three years. The media has no idea so they try to make it seem like we've hooking up on the set of our upcoming movie or on the press tour. But there's absolutely nothing going on there."

"Hmm." I was trying to absorb all of this new information. It was a lot to take in less than twenty-four hours after learning who Jay really was.

"Look," he continued. "I'm not saying that I'm a saint. Some of the stuff that has been reported, I have done. But most of it is just a load of crap."

I nodded slowly. "I can believe that. But, I'm a little confused on what you want out of me. If you're just worried about me selling your number to the tabloids or some crazed fans then you don't have to worry. I'm not that kind of girl."

"I know. I've been talking to you for a couple of weeks and I've yet to get the malicious vibe from you."

"Then, what do you want from me?" I asked in befuddlement.

Jay straightened up and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I don't really know. A friend, maybe? Someone I can talk to about normal stuff and not have to worry about getting judged. There's only so much of my family I can handle when talking about personal stuff."

"A friend..." I said dubiously. I wasn't quite sure how a friendship would work between us when he was constantly in the spotlight. While he might enjoy that attention, it was the last thing I wanted. I'd never had any yearnings to become famous. I didn't care about having everybody in the world know my name. I just wanted to do something with my life.

"Yeah." He nodded. "A friend."

I bit the inside of my lip. It was a tempting offer. I didn't know celebrity Jay Dawson but I was fairly certain that I knew Jay, at least a little bit. Our days of talking and texting had softened me up a little bit and I wasn't too eager to just let go of the connection we'd made. So, I said, "I have some conditions if you want us to be friends."

"Conditions?" Jay asked warily.

"Yes."

"Okay." He braced himself. "Hit me."

I held up a finger. "One. You cannot, in anyway, shape, or form, give away any form of identification that will lead the paparazzi to my doorstep. Two," I held up another finger. "I'm not to be used in any sort of publicity stunt. Three..." I held up a third finger. "Okay, I don't really have a third yet but I might so keep that spot open."

Jay fought back a smile and lost. He grinned widely. "You won't regret this decision. Trust me, I'm an awesome friend."

"Are you?" I asked teasingly.

"Oh, yeah. But I'm an even better wooer." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I grimaced. "Three. You're not allowed to hit on me."

It was his turn to grimace. "Damn it," he whispered under his breath but there was humour in his eyes. Before I could say anything, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He retrieved it quickly and pulled it up to his ear, shooting me a motion that clearly stated: hold on a second.

"Yeah?" There was no greeting, just the one word. Jay paused, listening to something the person on the other end of the line was saying. "Okay. Yeah, I got it." He ended the call and turned to me. "That was Marcus. I've got to go but I'll be in touch soon." He smiled softly and arranged his hat and sunglasses on his face. "Maybe we can actually have a chance to hang out like friends."

I nodded. "Maybe."

Jay headed back towards my front door. As he opened the front door, one last thought occurred to me and I called out his name, stopping him in his tracks. He paused, turning back to me with raised eyebrows.

"How did you know where I live?"

The only answer I got was a lilting laugh as Jay Dawson stepped out of my house and shut the door behind him.