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» CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE CUNNING ONE «

"La-la-ah-la-la!" I felt particularly pleased with myself as hit a high note in my scales warm up. I screwed my eyes up tightly and rinsed out the shampoo in my hair.

Someone pounded on the bathroom door. "Put a cork in it!" Alex growled.

After a pause, she whined, "Are you ever gonna be finished in there? I need to be clean too!"

"I'm almost done!" I shouted back, dipping my face into the spray to block out any more noises. It was the day of my audition and I wanted badly to get this part; it was the role of a lifetime. It felt like the man who wrote the piece seemed to have me in mind when he created the heroine.

I turned off the water, wrung out my dripping hair, and stepped into a towel. The clock on the counter told me I still had plenty of time to get dressed, dry my hair, eat, and be on time to meet Nick and Cory in front of the Rosewood Theater.

After spending another ten minutes in front of the mirror, I headed back to my room and got dressed, then brought my script out to the living room and curled up on the couch with a bagel, feverishly reading and re-reading my lines, inscribing them into my memory.

It was fairly quiet in the apartment; Alex was in the shower, Ariana was on an interview for a dessert chef at a famous restaurant, and Laura was no doubt still drooling on her pillow. I was pulling on my jacket when Alex waltzed out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped like a turban around her head and her robe cinched at the waist.

"Going already?" she asked, humming a snatch of song.

"Yup. What are you doing this morning?" I pulled my hair from underneath my jacket and grabbed my purse, checking for my purse.

Alex shrugged. "Oh, I was just gonna hang out for a bit, catch a movie with Brian and Howie later, not too much."

"Ok. I'll see you later. Wish me luck."

"Good luck!" called Alex as I shut the door.

Outside I hailed a taxi, stepped in, and ten minutes later stepped out at the Rosewood: a large, burgundy painted theater sandwiched between a tailor and a pawn shop. The glass door of the pawn shop glinted in the sunlight as Nick stepped out and came over to me.

"Hey, Jennie." he said jubilantly, not bothering to slow down as he rammed into me and wrapped me in a tight hug.

In spite of my shortness of breath, I grinned into his jacket.

"Morning, Nick. Have you been waiting long?"

Nick released me, then brushed my hair back in place with the back of his hand, his touch tender.

"Not really. I was only browsing in the pawn shop for a few minutes before you pulled up. Check out this really great thing I
found." Nick had a bag I hadn't noticed before in his hand, and from it he pulled out a rather tacky looking picture frame decorated with glitter and feathers. He shook it and a little bell at the top jangled merrily, bringing a grin to his face.

My mouth flapped a few times; Nick was serious, he really liked the thing.

"It's very…flamboyant." I quickly looked at the theater steps. "Don't you think we should be heading in, now?"

Nick was sticking the hideous looking frame back in his bag when a loud, unmistakable voice bellowed my name from halfway down the street.

"Jennifer! Wait for me!"

I turned around and watched Cory barrel between pedestrians to reach us. As soon as he was close enough, he grabbed me in a hug and swung me around.

"Jennie babe!" he teased, planting a friendly kiss on my forehead. "Where have you been all this week? I tried calling you at the dentist's and your boss said you weren't working there anymore. Are you excited about the audition? I bet you'll get the leading lady, you're perfect for it! I heard this director's amazing. Oh, who's your friend?"

I let out a laugh at Nick's bewildered face. "Cory, this is my friend, Nick Carter. Nick, this is Cory Davis." They shook hands and exchanged hellos.

"I quit my job as the secretary for Dr. Mitchell about two weeks ago, because I don't need the extra money for bills anymore. I'm all caught up."

"Lovely." murmured Cory. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Shall we go in? I want to get a head start on anyone else. These lines aren't going to stay memorized forever, you know." he joked.

I linked arms with both males and we walked up the steps. I giggled to myself; we reminded me of the Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow were walking through the forest arm in arm.

Inside most of the lights were dimmed, giving the foyer a shadowy, undefined look. The stage inside the auditorium was brightly lit, as well as the first few rows of red velvet seats. One row was sparsely filled with teenagers and twenty something actors and actresses, each with their heads bent over scripts and frantic looks on their faces. Behind them were the middle-aged men and women, all without scripts and conversing confidently, having already secured their status that came with age. In the very front was the director, Joseph Morgan, along with various theater people. On stage a woman was singing her audition while a man played a baby grand behind her.

A young woman with bouncy red curls stopped us just inside the double doors.

"Hi," she whispered loudly. "If you're auditioning, please write your name and phone number down and find a seat near the stage. When the director calls your name, go up, state your piece, sing your song, and do a quick scene with one of the extras. And please be quiet."

Cory and I scribbled down our signatures and numbers, then our trio found seats. After waiting for almost an hour in tense silence, my name was finally called. Nick and Cory flashed me thumbs up at the same time as I made my way to the stage.

Once I was looking out into the audience, I pushed the nervous tingle in my stomach to the back of my mind. I met the director's gaze confidently.

"My name is Jennifer Alton, and I'm auditioning for the leading lady, Cordelia. I'm going to be acting the scene on page 56 and the song from page 4." I executed my audition as well as I could, and when I was completed, I felt like I had running chance.

Next up was Cory, who was, as usual, booming, charming, and talented.

Nick squeezed my hand as we walked out of the building.

"You were amazing." he said sincerely. "I never knew you could act like that. If you don't get the part, the director's an idiot."

I blushed. "Aw, thanks, Nick. Cory was wonderful too." I flashed Cory a grin.

He smiled back. "Thanks, Jenn. You looked beautiful up there. Blew all the other females away."

"Geez, I'm gonna get a swelled head from being around you two." I complained.

"I resent that." Nick pouted. He nodded towards a coffee shop. "Are you guys thirsty? I could use a cup of iced mocha and chocolate blend. Yum-my."

Cory nodded enthusiastically. "I love coffee!" he exclaimed.

I patted his hand. "And we can tell, too."

He slung a arm over my shoulders and ruffled my hair.

"Watch your mouth." he warned playfully. He opened the door and walked me through, neither of us seeing the fiery look in Nick's eyes.

Chanel let out an un-ladylike scream of frustration. The hotel room was stifling; suffocating her, wrapping warmth around her like a blanket until she felt choked.

"Why must every hotel put their heaters to broil!" she growled, stalking to the window and jamming it open, breaking her fingernail in the process.

She moaned and clutched her finger, running to the bathroom for her file and clippers.

"Damnit." she swore, sawing at her nail until it was nothing more than a stub. It clashed horribly with her other perfectly manicured fingers, but she was beyond caring.

Right now she had bigger problems: boredom, and her non-existent boyfriend.

'He didn't even bother to invite me along, though I would much rather stick my head in a pot of boiling water.' she pouted, flopping on the bed and clutching a pillow to her stomach. Her frown deepened to a scowl when Jennifer's face flashed through her mind.

It was utterly impossible that a person of Nick's standards (and someone who had her as a girlfriend) would let himself be be-witched by that she-devil. Yet it was happening-she could see it-no matter how much she turned away from it-that her Nick was falling in love with Jennifer. It was evident in the way he kept talking about her, how his eyes lit up when her name was mentioned and how he was practically dancing around lampposts when he finally returned to the hotel late into the night.

Chanel growled, twisting a strand of black hair around her fingers. She could not lose him, not after all the effort she put into him. She loved him, and he did love her-he just didn't remember.

'I need a plan.' Chanel mused. 'Something to make him see that I'm the girl of his dreams-not that wimpy, unimaginative little child. Something that will force him to stay with me-just until we're out of England and far away from her.'

But no spark of ingenious flashed through her mind, so Chanel grabbed the TV remote-yanking viciously on the cord that bound it to the night-table beside her-and turned it on. She rested on a British soap opera, willing to drown her sorrows in a cheesy day-time show.

On screen, a gorgeous woman was draped over a chair, looking up at a tall, handsome man with a tense face.

"You're…what?"

The woman looked down, and through a veil of raven hair you could see her smile evilly. When she glanced back up, her eyes were filled with tears and her red lips were trembling.

"I-I'm pregnant, Josh." she sobbed. "I don't know what happened, but I am. And I think we should tell them."

Josh's face contorted in anger. "We can't, Elaine! I'm engaged to Felecia, and I love her. I can't break her heart to get married to you just because you're pregnant."

Elaine's eyes flashed. "But don't you love me? You promised you'd leave my sister to be with me! Or were you just lying to me, you bastard?"

Josh turned away from her. "I don't want to deal with this right now. Get out of my house, Elaine."

Elaine's reply was cut off by the mute button under Chanel's thumb. She sat up quickly, her eyes glowing, her mind working at the speed of light.

"Oh, that is brilliant…just what I need."

With a malicious giggle, Chanel picked up the pillow and held it in front of her stomach, looking in the mirror. "Whoever said third time's the charm was lying…"

Nick tried to control his temper when he saw Cory yet again touch Jennifer's shoulder, the two of them leaning in ever so slightly to laugh at their private joke.

'Jenn and I used to have inside jokes like that.' he thought jealously and a bit sadly. 'It used to be my shoulder she'd lean her head on when she  was laughing too hard.' Abruptly, Nick mentally shook himself. 'Why is it bugging you so much that she's laughing with him? It's not as if they're dating or anything.'

And yet…the way Jennifer looked at Cory with such affection in her eyes…it may be possible there was something happening he didn't know about.

Again, his voice of reasoning poked in. 'Why do you care if they like each other? You are happily settled with Chanel-'

'you make it sound like I'm married or something,' Nick grumbled.

'-who is your loving and stable-'

'don't you mean suffocating?'

'-girlfriend who will do and go anywhere for you. Concentrate on that!'

But as Nick watched raptly as Jennifer slowly reached up her long and slender fingers to brush a piece of chestnut brown hair off her forehead and smiled that gorgeous, toothy smile of hers, his stomach twisted.

'I'd like to…but for some reason, I don't want to.'

Take my hand…take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you

I breaked from my laughing to take a sip of my cooling hot chocolate.

'Geez, is it just me or is Cory really funny today?' I thought, rubbing my side. He had had me in stitches all during our conversation.

I looked over at Nick to check how he was fairing, and was surprised to see him staring blankly into space, little frown lines on his forehead appearing above the bridge of his nose. He looked sort of conflicted. My heart skipped a beat as I traced the line of his jaw, wondering what it would be like to kiss him.

'Don't think things like that.' my mind reprimanded my aching heart.

Forcefully, I rested my gaze back on Cory.

He was staring at his watch. "Well, kiddies, I think I'm gonna have to get going." he said, gulping down the last of his cappuccino.

"Ok." I replied, smiling half-heartedly.

"I'll call you if I get any word from Morgan." Cory promised me, then reached over and gave me a hug.

"Thanks, you'd better."

"Nick, it was nice meeting you, after hearing so much about you from Jennie."

Nick snapped back to reality. "Oh, right, yeah. Nice meeting you too, Cory." He shook hands with my friend, a strange look on his face as he studied him.

"Bye," Cory waved, then disappeared out the door.

"So…" I began. "My place or yours?" I joked.

Oddly, Nick's cheeks began to color. "Uh, I think, um, we should go back to you-you're place." he stammered, fumbling with his sports jacket.

I raised my eyebrows, but dismissed it soon after.

"We can stop at the video store and rent a few movies. I think everyone will be out of the house for awhile, so we'll have the place to ourselves." We walked outside and I searched for a cab. "We can make some popcorn too."

"Sounds great." replied Nick. "But I get to pick the movies."

"Uh-uh." I argued. "You're just gonna pick action-adventure crap."

"And you're just gonna get sappy romantic-comedies." he shot back, holding the cab's door open for me.

I slid in, moving over to let him sit. "They beat the pants off of watching people get shot by a buff, sweating guy with an Uzi." I protested.

Then I paused. "Wait a sec…never mind. I think action would be just fine. Just make sure there's a lot of sweating."

Nick let out a groan. "I did not need to hear that."

I snuggled up next to him, grinning in his face. "And a lot of muscles. Possibly ripped shirts. And those army buzz cuts, those are so adorable…"

Forty-five minutes and a thousand movies choices later, Nick and I walked into my apartment. "Hello?" I yelled. "Anyone home?" I was replied by silence.

"Cool." said Nick. He made a dash for the living room. "I get the couch!"

"Hey!" I protested, following. "I like the couch too."

Nick was already lying down, kicking his shoes over the side.

"Tough luck, honey. I need room to stretch out."

I stuck my tongue out at him and stuck a tape in the VCR, then slid out of my coat and sneakers, finding the remote to fast-forward through the previews. I stood in front of the couch and without bothering to look down, plopped right on top of Nick.

"Oomph!" he groaned, wheezing. "Jennifer, you little brat. Get off me."

"Nope. No can do, buster." To re-affirm my statement, I stretched my legs out luxuriously, then rested my head on top of his chest. "You know, you  make a good body pillow."

Nick wiggled and squirmed so his head was resting against the armrest, then he draped his arms over my back. The movie began and we settled down, enjoying each other's company. I felt at peace with myself and the world-if only I could stay in this moment forever. Halfway through the movie we paused it and made some popcorn, sitting side by side with the bowl between us.

"This isn't such a bad movie," Nick commented, throwing a handful of kernels in his mouth. "for a sappy romantic-comedy without even the hint of a Bazooka or bloody guts."

I laughed. "Thanks. I'm glad you like it."

When the credits started to roll, Nick jumped up. "Ooh, this is a cool song." He stretched out a hand. "Dance with me, Jenn."

Without thinking, I placed my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. He grabbed my other hand and brought them to his neck, letting my arms rest against his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned into me, rubbing his face in my hair.

But I've broken all the rules of love
I never dreamed that I could come this far
And now I'm lost in my emotions
You're becoming my devotion
There's nothing I can do
To stop this love for you

The feeling of being pressed up against him was making me dizzy with passion, and the smell rolling off of him was so utterly male it was intoxicating. Absently, I swirled the little wisps of hair at the nape of his neck around my fingers, rubbing my nose in his neck. In response, Nick tightened his grip, rubbing his fingers up and down my side while his other hand moved to my hair, crunching it between his fingers gently.

Even though it wasn't a very slow song, we stayed close together and swayed slowly. His lips were moving against my skin; I could barely hear him murmuring the words to the song.

I was not supposed to fall in love with you
I have someone else and someone else is loving you
And I was not supposed to let this love get through
So let me say for real
Heaven's what I feel when I'm with you

The minutes seemed to dissolve like seconds, and soon the song was over.

Nick pulled back slightly, allowing me to see him singing the last line of the song, "Heaven's what I feel when I'm with you…"

I felt like I could barely get in a complete breath, my chest hurt from my erratic breathing. How had we gone from playful friends to erratic breathing in four minutes flat?

"What's going on with you and Cory?"

I blinked. "Wha?" I asked, not sure I heard Nick right. What the hell did that have to do with this?

Nick sighed. "I said, what is going on with you and Cory?"

"Going on?" I repeated. "Nothing's going on between us. Cory's my friend."

Nick eyed the air above my head. "Could've fooled me." he said under his breath, so quietly I thought I must have imagined it.

Was Nick actually…jealous, thinking that there must be something going on between Cory and I? 'No way, Jennifer, you must be day-dreaming a little too hard.' my inner voice snorted.

Nick met my gaze again, his dark blue eyes troubled and moving.

"This is really confusing." he whispered, his breath washing over me.

I nodded slowly. Involuntarily, I lowered my gaze to his lips, hovering above mine. I leaned closer, closing the gap ever so slightly. Our lips were a breath away, about to touch, when…

RING! RING!

We jumped apart so fast I scraped my hand against the metal buttons on his shirt, he looking as guilty as I felt.

"What the f*ck…?" Nick muttered, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out his phone.

"What?" he snapped. His face clenched and he blinked rapidly.

"Ok, Chanel. I guess I'll be there in a little bit. Bye."

I silently cursed to myself, then began imagining a voodoo doll of Chanel, poking pins into the eyes and other vulnerable places.

Nick snapped his phone shut violently, then softened his gaze.

"I'm sorry, she says it's really important and I-"

"It's Ok." I said bitterly. "She's your girlfriend. You should really go."

Nick hesitated. "You know we're leaving tomorrow afternoon for the next tour date…"

I forced myself to reply. "Yeah, I know."

"Have you thought at all about what I asked?"

I closed my eyes and opened them quickly. "Yeah. I don't think so, Nick. I've got a lot of stuff I can't just walk out on and leave tomorrow. Maybe a different time."

His face was neutral, but his voice betrayed his disappointment. "Ok. Well, then, I'll see you tomorrow."

I didn't allow myself to hug him just then. "Tomorrow, then."

Nick quietly gathered up his belongings, gave me one last look, and walked out of the door.

Just one more kiss
She'll have to miss this night with you
Now you're guilty of this secret love
As I am too

Chanel looked in the mirror one last time and adjusted a strand of curled hair. Her silk nightgown hugged her curves in just the right places; diamond earrings Nick had gotten her for her birthday three years ago dimpled in her ears.

At the sound of a keycard being slipped in the door, she turned and waited with an expectant smile. Nick walked in with a huff, threw his things on the bed, and faced her with a unreadable look.

"Hi, sweetie." Chanel cooed, allowing him to get a good look at her. "You look a bit tense."

Nick glanced around, taking in the romantic lighting, burning candles, and soft jazz music playing in the background.

"What is this?" he asked, confused.

"You like?" Chanel looked around herself with a tiny smile, her dark eyes smoldering in the dim light. "There's something about England, isn't there?" she said, playing with him sort of like a cat plays with a mouse. It would be deliciously fun to watch his eyes widen when she told him, see him torn between the shock that she was carrying his baby and the deep sense of loss that he would never have a chance with Jennifer after this-after all, Nick may be dense sometimes, but he was still an honorable man. He would never leave his pregnant girlfriend in the dust while he started a new relationship with some cheap piece of-

'Calm down, girl.' Chanel ordered herself, hoping Nick would think the blush rising on her cheeks was from excitement and not from anger. 'You have to keep a level head for what's gonna happen-no jumping the gloating gun.'

Nick looked at her warily. "Uh, I guess." he sighed. "Look, Chanel, is there something wrong? Some reason I had to immediately come back to the hotel…"

Chanel pouted. "Of course there is, silly. And it's not something bad. In fact, it's something incredibly wonderful." She giggled. "And this time, I'm absolutely positive. I've double-checked." Seeing Nick's warning look, she rushed on. "Honey…Nick, baby…"

Chanel closed in on him and wrapped herself around his side, squirming under his arm and tipping her head up to look at him. "I'm pregnant."

Now that the strings are attached
You'll catch on:
We've done our part
Oh, this is the way we make a broken heart

Nick stared at her for a few seconds.

"Huh?" he croaked, his voice failing him. "Yo-you're what?"

Suddenly her embrace was too tight; he felt like he was being suffocated. She looked a bit disappointed when he shrugged her off him and sat on the bed, staring wildly at the burning candle across the room.

'How could this have happened? Now, of all times? Just when I was starting to have feelings for-' It was funny how the flame ducked and dodged as if something were chasing it-an unseen nightmare of the worst kind. How the tip was bright orange, the inside was white, and the bottom of the flame was a bright, cleansing blue; the hottest part.

'I'm going to have a child. A real living, breathing human being that would be all mine. With-her. And not-her. I'm going to be a father. I have to stay with Chanel, we're going to have to get married; no child of mine is going to live in a broken home, I can't have that, no matter what I feel for Jennifer.'

Chanel was staring at him expectantly, her mouth twitching like she wasn't sure whether to burst out laughing or say something, her eyes were shadowy and impenetrable, but they were gleaming brightly, twin flames reflecting in her eyes. Funny how it all went back to the flame.

'How could this have happened?'

¤ Chapter 17: Orange Feathers ¤
REMEMBER to send feedback to the author, Stephanie