Finally, she leans back and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. It’s the friendly kind of kiss girls give people all of the time, but it sends shockwaves up and down my spine. I close my eyes for a second and try to get a hold of myself.
“I hope you’ll come out to visit me in California soon,” she says, stepping backward and releasing me. “Maybe next month. Don’t you guys get a week off in February or something?”
I look down and nod. “Yeah, I think so. That would be fun.”
Her stare burns through mine. I’ve forgotten what I was supposed to do and why I’m even down here. I remain in place like an idiot, trapped by her eyes again. There’s something in them that I can’t quite read; it’s something she wants to say, and I’m desperate to know what it is.
Before I can ask her, she says, “Sorry, I didn’t want to keep you from your workout.”
“Oh, yeah. See ya later.”
I want to ask what she’s thinking. I want to know why she’s looking at me like that. I push it to the back of my mind and get out of the house before I can admit that she tossed my anger right out the window.
DIRTERAZZI.COM
CHERIE BELLE LOVE AFFAIR: REAL LIFE ROMANTIC COMEDY
Celebrities really are just like the rest of us: they trip, they fall, and they are caught in midair by a handsome prince charming that can’t tear his eyes off of…um…yeah, keep dreaming folks. That kind of stuff only happens to princesses, and celebutante Cherie Belle!
Cherie Belle stepped out yesterday for the first time since the funeral for her parents, who were killed in an automobile accident on Christmas Eve. Escorted by her new family member/possible love interest/arm candy, Jack Hansen, Cherie made her way to a local grocery store in upstate New York. Following our last report about Cherie’s dwindling waist size, we’re not really sure she’s going to eat the food she was buying, but that’s another story.
Our reporter on the scene claims the moment between Hansen and Belle, pictured above, was the kind of stuff romantic comedies are made of as Cherie, who was sporting her signature high heels, suddenly tripped and soared toward the ground. In a blur, Hansen, the 6’2” tight end (ahem, get your mind out of the gutter, ladies, it’s a position he plays for his high school football team) thrust his arm out and caught the teetering Belle just in time. Then, they stared into each other’s eyes, forgetting everything and everyone existed, even Hansen’s five year old sister. All these love-struck kids needed was a little Maroon 5 ballad playing in the background and some rain to make it a magical movie moment.
Cherie’s reps are keeping mum about Hansen’s relationship to their client, insisting he’s just a nice kid who is trying to help Belle for the short time she is in his hometown, and they want to emphasize the word short. No decision has been made yet about whether or not Cherie’s grandparents will be her permanent guardians, but Cherie isn’t letting an uncertain future keep her from fulfilling her duties as a star of the upcoming flick, “This Side of Sunny.” Cherie will be on the first flight back to Hollywood after she and Caz Farrell perform in Times Square for the Kidz Channel’s New Year’s Special. According to Carl Schwartz, Cherie will promptly begin touring and giving interviews to promote the movie.
From the looks of this picture, however, Jack Hansen isn’t letting Cherie out of his sight too easily. Even though she plans to perform with Caz Farrell on New Year’s Eve, one question still remains: Who will Cherie kiss when the ball drops?
CHAPTER 11
The front lawn is a minefield of cameras and reporters on Saturday morning. They are waiting for a sign of Cherie, their perfectly tragic teenage victim, to have to leave our house. For some reason, I’m good enough, and they pounce the moment they see me.
Reporters emerge from vans, shouting questions at me. It’s hard to get to my car unscathed by a flurry of strangers. I don’t want my picture taken anymore, so I keep my hood up and my sunglasses on. I don’t stop to listen to the questions or tell them to go to hell, which is what I really want to do. This time, I don’t have Britney around to protect, or Cherie to make a path for. This time, I could just give them a piece of my mind. But Mom said not to talk to anyone, and I promised her that I wouldn’t. I jump into my car and head for the mall.
As soon as I am within feet of Josh and Frank, Josh thrusts a magazine into my chest.
“Seriously?” Josh says. I look down and unfold the magazine. In the upper right hand corner of the cover page, there’s a picture of Cherie walking through the cemetery, adorned with the line: “Cherie Buries Her Parents With New Beau By Her Side.”
In the picture, I walk beside her, her arm tightly curled around mine.
I gawk at the magazine and then at my friends. “Where did you get this?”
“In the deli. Is this for real?” Josh demands, his eyes wide.
“What’s ‘beau’ mean?” I ask, flipping through the magazine pages until I find the article, “Love for Orphan Cherie?” It’s three pages long, and one page is devoted entirely to a shot of us in the Shoprite parking lot. Cherie is in my arms, staring longingly into my eyes, and I look ready to kiss her. I remember the moment vividly, and they’ve captured it to look romantic, not anxiety-ridden as I recall. Another page is littered with pictures of us at the cemetery, coming out of our house, driving in my car. I’m so taken aback by the photos that I can’t even read the article. In some pictures, I look extremely attentive and attached to Cherie. It’s as if they’ve crafted the images to make it look like we’re dating.
“It means boyfriend, you idiot. When were you going to tell us?” Frank chastises me. “This is insane!”
“It’s not what it looks like.” I glance around the food court, suddenly self-conscious. I’m on the front page of a magazine? I’m described as Cherie Belle’s boyfriend? “Jesus Christ…”
I’m Cherie’s supposed new love affair, and it’s a total lie. I can’t deny the relief that washes over me, and I feel foolish for having been so angry about her fictional love affair last night. I toss the magazine back into Josh’s arms.
Frank scoffs beside me, “Why didn’t you call us? I texted you all week – you coulda just answered!”
Josh elbows him. “Dude, I’d rather hang out with Cherie Belle, too.” I roll my eyes.
Frank groans, “Get over it! She’s, like, fourteen!”
“She’s sixteen,” I correct him. “She’ll be seventeen this summer.”
He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Wait – is it true? Are you dating her?”
“No!” I nearly shout. “Not even close. She’s my stepdad’s niece.”
“Well, you better tell Katrina that ‘cause she’s real upset. She’s been crying all week to my girlfriend – ”
“So that’s why she texted me last night,” I grunt, realizing now why she sounded so angry. I rub my forehead. “Guys, I’ve done nothing all vacation but deal with this crap – can we talk about anything else please?”
“No way!” Josh cries. “You’ve been hanging out with celebrities all week, and you’re not gonna share one detail? It’s Cherie Belle!” Josh nudges me. “Is she hotter in person? Dude, have you seen her naked?”
I shove him away, and it’s harder than I meant to. He almost falls, but Frank catches him.
“Ow, man, take it easy,” he complains, rubbing his arm. “You’d better get used to answering questions – inquiring minds wanna know!”
“Get over it, Josh! He said it’s not like that,” Frank groans. He seems relieved that the rumors aren’t true.
“Thank you!” I exclaim, walking away from them and toward a table. “You guys wouldn’t believe what a circus my house is right now.”
Frank gives me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Sorry dude, that sucks. If you want to stay at my house, it’s no problem. My mom loves you; she’d probably let you live with us if your mom would allow you out of her sight for two seconds.”
I groan in response as I sit down. “I wish.”
“So what’s going
to happen now?” Josh presses, sliding into the seat across from me.
“Not sure,” I say with a shrug. He gives me a doubtful look. “She’s going to go back to California after New Year’s.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” I reply, taking in their doubtful looks. “Why? What?”
They look at each other and then at me. Frank scoffs, “Dude, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has to stay with your family. I mean, your stepdad is her freakin’ uncle, right? Is he her only uncle?”
I nod. Their point is coming to me, but slowly. “I’m sure he’s not the only person in her life.”
“Well, is there any other family who could take her in?”
I shrug. “Her grandparents. She’ll probably live with them. Maybe they’ll move out there with her.”
Frank smirks. “What are they, like 80? Not happening. You’re looking at another roommate, buddy,” he says matter-of-factly.
The possibility frightens me. “That’s – nah, it can’t happen. We can’t have another person in that house. Besides, the twins hate her. It would never work.”
Josh laughs and slides the magazine across the table. “Well, the entire world thinks a loser like you is dating Cherie Belle because of this stupid picture, so anything can happen, right?”
I gulp quietly. They have no clue how bad it would be for me if they’re right. The thought of another girl in that house…a diva that brings media chaos…even if it is Cherie…
I will beg Frank’s mom to take me in if that’s what Jim has planned.
DIRTERAZZI.COM
YOU DON'T KNOW JACK: JUST WHO IS JACK HANSEN?
Jack Hansen, Cherie’s rumored love interest, has turned a lot of heads the past few days. You’ve seen him brooding beside her at the funeral and catching her in grocery store parking lots, but Dirterazzi asks the question: What do we really know about this kid? The mysterious teenager with the serious eyes and dashing good looks has Cherie Belle fans asking if he is really deserving of Cherie’s sudden attentions, or if he is just taking advantage of being in the right place at the, ahem, right-ish? time. We here at Dirterazzi have the same question, so we did a little investigating of our own!
Jack, 17, was born and raised in the swanky suburbs of Westchester County, New York, just about an hour from Manhattan (That means he’s got some money, y’all!). At Thomas Jefferson High School, where he is a junior, Jack plays football and gets mostly A’s in courses like AP U.S. History and Pre-Calculus. Friends say he has applied to some Big East schools in the hopes of achieving a football scholarship. Teachers at Belleville praise his exceptional manners in and out of class, and a few have called on him to tutor struggling peers. Sounds like your all-American boy, right?
Well, not exactly. Classmates tell us there’s a darker side to Jack, due in part to his biological father leaving the family when Jack was just 13. Jack’s childhood friend, Josh Parker, tells us, “It really messed him up for a while. He was so angry, and he used to get into a lot of fights with kids.” Others label Jack as a womanizing misogynist, who even broke up with his most recent girlfriend because she wouldn’t have sex with him. Teammates use the words “standoffish” and “cold” to describe him.
So is this the right guy for Kidz Channel princess, Cherie Belle? We can’t be sure yet, but something tells us Cherie is latching onto a kid who is just as broken as she is. Only time will tell if this is a match made in heaven or in haste….stay tuned!
CHAPTER 12
I close the front door behind me at around 12:15 that night, and I’m hoping I won’t get caught by Mom or Jim. My normal curfew is midnight on weekends, but sometimes stuff happens, and I get side-tracked. Or I’m avoiding my house at all costs and don’t really want to go back, like tonight.
As I turn to race up to my room, I find both of them approaching, faces plastered with huge smiles. If it wasn’t for the smiles, I would be fumbling to come up with an excuse.
“Hi, honey,” my mom coos. Her arms are folded, though, and I know that means she’s nervous.
“What?” I ask, immediately sensing a fresh bomb about to be dropped.
When she hangs back, Jim moves forward. “Sit down, Jack. We want to talk to you about something.”
No, I think to myself. No, no, no. Nothing good ever starts with that line.
Like a man walking on death row, I follow him to the dining room. We sit across from each other, and I think I could melt ice with the way my eyes burn into his.
I want to say, “Don’t say it, Jim. Don’t say what I think you’re going to say.” But I don’t. Instead, I just try to convey it with my glare.
He clears his throat. “Well, bud, as you know, a lot has happened in the last few days,” Jim begins, resting his elbows on the table. “We, uh, we went to meet with my brother’s lawyer, and we discussed the terms of my brother’s will and custody for Cherie.”
“What does that mean?”
My mom’s tone is gentle, like a kindergarten teacher explaining to her students how to add. “It means that Mark and Camille wanted Jim to take Cherie should something happen to them, which, well…” Her voice trails off for a moment.
“I know what custody means.” I’m growing more and more impatient as I wait for them to hit me with it. I can’t bring myself to ask, Cherie’s moving in, isn’t she?
“Well,” Jim chimes in, “Cherie is now my responsibility, so she’s kind of like a daughter to me.”
I toss my glare back and forth between them. “Yeah, I got that.”
“She wants to step away from acting, which I think is really good for her right now. She could probably use some time to herself.” He glances at my mother. “But she wants to be in her home, too, because it’s her home, and it’s close to her studio for when she decides to go back to work. The social worker we spoke to thinks the consistency would be good for her, and I can understand that as well.”
I nearly sigh with relief. “Okay, so she’s moving back home, then?”
Jim nods. “Yes, she is.” He pauses, and I hate that. It means something else is coming.
“We’ve talked it over and, since it’s been deeded to us as Cherie’s trustees, we think it will be good for all of us to move with Cherie to her home in Hollywood next month.”
DIRTERAZZI.COM
CHERIE BELLE: CAZ FARRELL COMMENTS ON HER RUMORED LOVE AFFAIR
We caught up with Caz Farrell today in the Grove and just had to ask if he believed the rumors surrounding Jack Hansen and Cherie Belle.
With a shit-eating grin, the Hollywood heartthrob told us, “That wasn’t the impression I got from Jack or Cherie at all, and I was at the funeral. I’m sure Cherie is just concentrating on healing right now, and we should all try to give her the privacy she deserves during this very difficult time.”
You know what they say: Denial is a river in Egypt…
CHAPTER 13
I stand up from the table. “That’s it; I’m going to live with Frank.
My announcement comes as more of a shock to my mom than it does to Jim. I almost expect her to ask, “How could you do that to me?” I swallow hard, my stomach twisting in knots until I’m ready to vomit. But I have had enough. I have to stand my ground.
“Jack –”
But I’ve thrown up my hands already and move from the table, not giving them an ounce of time to talk their version of sense into me. I’m practically foaming at the mouth. “I can’t do it. It’s not fair, and I’ve already put up with all of this.” I gesture around the house wildly, but they know what I mean. “Now you want me to pick up and move to California – in the middle of my junior year?”
Mom tries to be patient with me. “Jack, sweetie, I know it’s hard, and I know we are asking a lot of you. Trust me, I do.” She looks at Jim as if this was not her favorite plan either. “But we all have to think about a much bigger purpose here.”
“That’s fine, Mom, I get it, but I’m not moving across the country just because tragedy struck someone else�
��s family.”
My mom pulls back as if I’ve spit at her. “Jack, they were our family. I know you don’t know her well, but Cherie’s your family, now, too, and she’s all alone in the world. She’s – she’s an orphan, Jack.”
She looks me dead in the eye. It’s a cold, hollow stare. “Jack, think of Britney.”
“This isn’t about Britney,” I grumble, but I know what she’s getting at. Her words take an imaginary knife and slice me open. Now she’s staring at my wounds, and I can’t close them up fast enough.
“Just think of what you would want someone to do if this happened to her. Wouldn’t you drop everything and help her and do what’s best for her?”
“I did that once, Mom. Remember?” She blinks back tears, but I don’t feel bad; she started it.
In a trembling voice, Mom adds, “Jack, we all had to stick together then, and we all have to stick together now, too.”
“No, this is different. This is way different. How can you expect me to give up my life and move to a different state and be even more miserable?” I huff. “You keep changing things. You keep adding to a house that’s already full. God, you’re gonna end up like a cat lady – only with kids!”
She sighs and a tear falls down her face. I hate myself for making her cry, and she twists the mental knife deeper. “Maybe you’re right, but I can’t turn a child away, not like this, Jack. I’m sorry. She needs us right now, and New York is not the place for her. They have a beautiful estate out in Hollywood that we can all live in very comfortably. You’ll still have your own room, and the weather’s always nice – ”
“Mom, I get it. Go! You do that – you go live in California with all those kids, and you have a happy life. I want to stay here, in New York. I can just live with Frank, or Aunt Darla.”
Her tears fall faster now. “You know that’s not an option, Jack. Besides, I couldn’t go a day without you – and what about Britney? She’d be heartbroken. You can’t be so far from us!”
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