Chapter 2

Stella’s POV:

I almost feel bad for Jacob, he clearly doesn't notice the hateful glare that Estelle and I are exchanging. He says something to Estelle and then walks out of the room with the pilot. His actions leave me and Estelle to sit in awkward hate by ourselves. I move over to the couch and sit down, as soon as I slump down onto the plush cushions i realize that i have put myself at a disadvantage. Now she is above me. Estelle leans against the wall and eyes me like a predator would eye its prey. I shuffle awkwardly under her hard gaze.

“Were you and Jacob lovebirds at school?” She spits.

“No, we were just friends.” I reply.

“Really? Well, obviously you haven’t seen the way he looks at you.” She snarls.

“What are you talking about?” I ask her.

“You are so naive! He obviously likes you, you idiot! But you know what, you will never be good enough for him. Because. He. Loves. Me. Not you!” She screams.

I am shocked by her hateful words as they sink into my mind. But she’s right, what am i doing here? In this pretty dress, the paparazzi outside. I dont deserve this, yet its everything i have ever wanted. And Jacob, i hadn’t realized how much i liked him until she had said something about it. Why would i ever think that he would fall for a girl like me? I dont even notice the tears threatening to brim over until one of them splashes on my cheek. I look up at Estelle and I can see the triumph in her eyes before she turns and proudly walks out of the room. My vision is blurry from my tears and i quickly wipe them away when i hear footsteps and people talking.

Jacob walks into the room followed by the pilot and Estelle. He turns to Estelle, gives her a hug, and then opens the door for her to leave. I turn my back to him once she is gone so that he wont see the puffy redness of my eyes.

“Stella?” He says.

“Yeah,” I reply, my breath is coming out in shaky puffs as i try to hold in my tears.

“Are you ok?” He asks as he walks over to the fridge to grab a drink.

“Im fine.” I say.

He walks over to the couch and sits down next to me. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him studying my face. His attentative staring helps my sadness go away as it becomes replaced by irritation.

“Would you stop staring at me?” I snap.

“Oh yeah, sorry.” He says, “I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“Thank you.” I say, my voice coming out as a whisper.

“For what?” He asks, clearly confused.

“For caring.” I answer.

He nods his head and i can’t tell if he is going to continue talking or not before the pilot walks in and says that we are about to take off. Jacob stands up and extends a hand to help me up from my comfortable position. I frown at him and he laughs at my facial expression.

“We have to sit in the other room while we take off. That way we will have seat belts.” he explains.

“Oh.” I say.

I follow him out of the room into the one with the ordinary airplane seats. He motions with his hand or me to sit down in one at takes a seat next to me.

“You ever been on a plane before?” He asks.

“Once, but I was five so I don't really remember it.” I tell him.

“You’ll definitely remember it this time.” He says with a smile.

I laugh at his silly grin and i realize that he has a dimple on his left cheek whenever he smiles. When I mention it to him his smile gets even wider.

“Is that a bad thing?” He asks.

“No, I like it.” I say, returning his warm smile.

The pilot’s voice comes on the intercom and he announces that the plane will be taking off. I nervously glance at Jacob as i feel the engine rumble, he grabs my hand and squeezes it gently.

“Its ok, you’re safe with me.” he whispers.

My eyes are squeezed shut and I can feel us rising into the air. The thought of being in a giant flying piece of metal scares me so I try to think of something else. I rack my brain for something to think about. I'm concentrating so hard that I don’t even notice Jacob get up.

“Stella… Stella!” He shouts.

“What? Oh, sorry!” I say, snapping back into reality.

“You can get up now.” he says.

“Oh.”

I undo my seat belt and stand up. I am suddenly overcome with excitement and I run into the other room. I jump onto the couch and stare out the window. I gasp in awe of the view.

“Everything is so tiny!” I exclaim.

Jacob laughs and joins me to look out the window.

“Seriously, look at those people. They look like tiny little ants.” I say.

“I know.” He says.

I don’t how long we sit there, just looking at the world beneath us. The sky starts to become dark as the sun sinks even lower in the sky. The sunset is breathtaking, orange, pink, yellow, blue. All mixed together, painted across the sky. I look over at Jacob and smile, he returns my smile, his dimple popping out. I reach out and tap it gently with my finger, and before I can pull my hand away he grabs it. In this moment - my hand encased in his, the soft pink light shining in - I know there is no place I would rather be than right here with him.

“Do you want to get changed?” He asks, gently kissing the back of my hand.

I am speechless from the fact that someone so famous and good-looking would look at me with so much love in his eyes so I just nod. He stands up and pulls me up to stand beside him. As I turn to look at him in the eye I think of Estelle’s words, “You will never be good enough for him.” She’s right. I’m just a stupid girl who got lucky, and now I think he loves me? What is wrong with me? I will never be good enough for him. I’m so deep in thought that I don't realize that my eyes have fallen to the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Jacob asks, his voice full of concern.

“Nothing.” I lie.

I walk over to where my extra clothes are and grab my pajamas. I keep my eyes on the ground as I walk to the bathroom. After I finish changing I walk back into the room. Jacob is nowhere to be seen so I take my root beer from earlier and sit on the couch.

“Hey.” Jacob says.

His sudden appearance scares me and I jolt.

“Oh my god! You scared me!” I exclaim.

“Sorry.” He says with a sheepish grin.

He walks over to the couch and sits down next to me. The air between us is awkward so we sit in silence. Jacob clears his throat and I look at him expectantly.

“Do you want some ice cream?” he asks.

“Do you even have to ask?” I say.

He smiles and helps me off of the couch.

“You want some music?” he asks.

“Sure.” I say.

As i walk over to the ice cream machine i see him go over to a small control panel on the wall. After he presses a few buttons i start to hear music. While i contemplate what flavor of ice cream to get he turns on his camera and sets it on the counter. It takes us a minute to choose our flavors and then we each grab a glass bowl from underneath the counter. I fill my bowl with chocolate and cookies and cream ice cream and Jacob fills his with vanilla and strawberry.

“Do you have any chocolate syrup?” I ask.

“Pfft! Do I have any chocolate syrup!” he says sarcastically.

He bends over and pulls chocolate syrup and whipped cream out of the mini fridge. Then he goes to a cupboard and starts to pull out different sprinkles and candies. My eyes widen with every new addition to the pile of sweets on the counter. When he finally stops he stands up. I stare at him in amazement.

“What?” he asks innocently.

“I… I just… wow.” I stutter.

He laughs at my comment and grabs the chocolate syrup. He pops open the lid and covers his ice cream in the chocolatey goo. Then he hands the bottle to me. I copy his previous actions but i put a lot more on. He laughs at me before handing me the whipped cream. As we pile candy and sprinkles on our ice cream we dance around to the music. When a One Direction songs comes on i fangirl and start singing along.

“Are you a Directioner?” Jacob asks.

“Yes, now shut up! You’re ruining the song!” I say.

Jacob laughs and grabs his camera to get a better shot of me rocking out. “Cause we’re on fire, we are on fire, we’re on fire now. Yeah we’re on fire, we are on fire, we’re on fire now.” I start singing.

“ONE, TWO, THREE!!!! I DONT CARE WHAT PEOPLE SAY WHEN WE’RE TOGETHER!!!! YOU KNOW I WANNA BE THE ONE TO HOLD YOU WHEN YOU SLEEP!!!! I JUST WANT IT TO BE YOU AND I FOREVER, I KNOW YOU WANNA LEAVE SO COME ON, BABY BE WITH ME SO HAPPILY!!!!” I scream.

As I continue singing I grab the can of whipped cream and start using it as a microphone while i dance around the room. I bust out some of my best moves, like, screw the lightbulb, pet the dog, and stop the traffic-then let it through (classic Louis Tomlinson moves). By the time the song is over I'm gasping for breath and Jacob and I are rolling on the floor laughing like hyenas. I’m guessing that he got the whole thing on tape and I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed or not. I feel like even though we haven’t seen each other forever, we never truly stopped being friends. Eventually our laughter dies and we regain our breath, I roll on my side so i am now facing Jacob. He grins at me and I poke his dimple while smiling back at him.

“You’re so weird.” Jacob says.

“I know, its one of my many talents.” I reply with a grin.

I bounce up off of the ground and run over to the counter to grab my bowl of ice cream. Its extremely melted now but I don't mind because I actually like melty ice cream for some reason. Jacob walks over and gets his ice cream too and we both go to sit on the couch. We sit in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the deliciousness of our ice cream, and then Jacob breaks the silence.

“Soooo, how big of a Directioner are you?” He asks.

“Huge. But not like overly obsessive. I don’t have any posters and I’ve never been to a concert before. I’m just one of those Directioners who supports the boys by buying songs and albums and posting stuff about them and how awesome they are.” I reply.

“You’ve never been to one of their concerts?” he asks in disbelief.

“Nope. Never.” I reply while shaking my head.

“Don’t you want to go to one?” He says.

“Of course I do! I just don’t have enough money to buy a ticket.” I tell him.

He gets a look on his face that I’m pretty sure means that he is thinking. He sits like that for what seems like hours but it really is only a few seconds, and then he turns to me.

“How about i take you to one?” He asks.

“WHAT?!?!?!?!” I scream.

“I asked if I could take you to one.” He repeats.

“I know what you said, BUT OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!” I scream.

I throw my bowl on the side table and jump off of the couch. Jacob just sits and stares at me while I fangirl hardcore. Literally, I’m jumping up and down, flapping my hands at my sides, screaming, spinning around, and… well you know the rest. And if you don’t know what fangirling is like, then you have no soul.

Once I had finally calmed down I stood panting for breath. Jacob smiles at me.

“You done now?” He asks.

“Yes...I’m...done.” I say, gasping for air between each word.

“Are you ok?” He says.

“I’m fine, but did you really mean it? Like, are you serious?” I ask.

“Yes.” He replies.

“Oh my god!!!!! THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!” I scream.

I pull him off of the couch and into my arms. I almost squeeze all of his breath out before I let him out of my bear hug.

“Sorry. Sorry, I’m just REALLY excited.” I apologize.

“Its ok, I get it.” Jacob replies.

I’m a little shocked by this statement. I mean, he is famous. Why would he understand getting excited about going to see or meet famous people if he is famous too? I’m guessing my facial expression shows how shocked I am because Jacob laughs and says:

“Just because I'm famous doesn’t mean that other famous people are any less famous. They are still famous to me, and it’s still really exciting to meet them.”

“Oh, I understand. Have you met the boys yet?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m actually really good friends with them.” He says.

“Really? What are they like?” I ask excitedly.

“They’re all really funny and nice, they are basically just like every other guy. They don't really act like they’re famous or anything.” he says.

I nod solemnly at his answer, causing him to laugh.

“What?” I ask.

“Its just that you were so serious about it. Its funny.” He explains.

I shrug and continue eating my ice cream. We waste time eating and talking about random stuff until about 12:30 A.M. and then i start to get a little tired. JK, a lot tired.

“Jacob.” I say with a yawn.

“Yeah?” He says.

“Its kinda late, i think we should try to sleep.” I say.

He grumpily moans and gets off of the couch. I am confused as he walks to another couch and starts pulling it towards the one i am sitting on.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Making a bed, if you put the two couches together with the cushions touching then they make a really comfortable bed.” He explains.

He motions for me to get up and i do, taking the ice cream bowls with me to put on the counter. When i come back he has the two couches right up next to each other and he has thrown some blankets onto the makeshift bed.

“Where am i supposed to sleep?” I ask him.

“On the couch.” He says.

“Then, where are you supposed to sleep?” I ask.

“On the couch.” He says.

“But…” I start to protest.

“Its fine, there is enough room for the both of us. And there will be space between us, its not like we will be right next to each other.” He says.

I decide to not push the subject any farther because he seems like he is getting annoyed. And i don't really feel like sleeping on the ground either. Jacob jumps onto the “bed” and cuddles underneath the blankets then looks at me expectantly. He pats the spot beside him and i hesitantly move forwards. Once i am under the covers i move as far away from him as possible. It doesn't feel right, sleeping in the same bed as him. For one thing, he has a girlfriend. And for another, we are just supposed to be friends.

“I won't bite.” Jacob says, snapping me back into reality.

I realize that i have pressed myself into the cushion in an attempt to get further away from him and i allow myself to move a little closer to him. He smiles at my actions and brushes his hair off of his face. I cant help but think about how amazing he looks. I study the profile of his face, his eyes are closed and his long eye lashes lay on his rosy cheek. As i look at his soft pink lips they curve up into a grin and I realize that I have been caught. I can feel my cheeks reddening as I turn away.

Jacob laughs as I turn onto my side and snuggle deeper into the blankets to hide my embarrassment. Falling asleep isn't difficult, and the whole night my dreams are filled with Jacob and One Direction.

****

I wake up to a bright light and my immediate reaction is to pull my pillow over my eyes. But when I reach up I feel something smooth and warm instead. When I fully open my eyes I realize that I’m on top of a person. Wait what? I shoot up and look around me, and then it all comes rushing back. Well that explains where I am, but who am I on top of?! I look down and I am greeted with bright blue eyes and a wide smile.

“Hi.” Jacob says.

“Crap,” I say, rolling off of him and jumping out of the “bed.”

Jacob laughs at me as I fall over the side of the couch and scramble to stand up. I glare at him while he continues to laugh.

“Whats so funny?” I ask bitterly.

“Your….your face….and you….hahahahahaha!” He says, bursting into laughter.

I stand awkwardly while he laughs until he can’t breathe and then he pulls himself out of the “bed”. He effortlessly pulls the two couches apart and fixes the blankets and pillows so the room looks exactly like it did before. I glance out of the window and realize that we have already landed.

“How long have we been landed for?” I ask Jacob.

“Since about one in the morning.” he replies.

“Really? That long?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says simply.

“Hey, ummm… I thought you said you couldn’t sleep on planes,” I say.

“I didn’t sleep,” he says.

“Wait... so… how did I get on top of you?” I ask.

“Well, when you fell asleep you turned on your side and started holding my arm like it was a stuffed animal or something. And then you just kept snuggling closer until you eventually ended up on top of me.” He explains.

“And you didn’t try to stop me?” I ask.

“No.” He says.

“Why!?! I’m just a totally random person that you haven’t seen in like FOREVER and then you just let me sleep on top of you?!?!” I say, almost screaming.

“Woah! Calm down. What did you want me to do?” He says.

“I don’t know!” I say.

The truth is, I don't understand anything right now. I mean, he has a girlfriend, but we were just sleeping in the same bed. And I was on top of him! If Estelle knew i'm positive that she would rip out my guts. But why is it that I don't care what she would do? Do I…? No, never. He has a girlfriend, he’s famous, and i'm just...me. Even if i did have feelings for him, he wouldn't feel the same way about me. He’s just so, perfect. And I’m just so... not perfect.

“Helloooooo?” Jacob says.

I snap back to reality on hearing his voice and seeing his hand waving in from of my face.

“What?” I say stupidly.

“What?” He replies.

“No, no. I said what. What did you say?” I ask.

“I didnt say anything, i thought you said something.” He says.

“I did, i said what. And then you said what. And then… well, you know.” I say.

“Yeah.” He says chuckling.

After his statement, an awkward silence ensues. We both just kind of stand there looking everywhere but each other. Luckily the silence is broken by Mandy bursting through the door followed by Jessica and Chartreuse.

“STELLAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Mandy screams.

All three of them envelope me in a giant bear hug while screaming my name and jumping up and down. After they are done they pull back and stand smiling at me while i catch my breath and regain my balance.

“Hi.” I manage to say.

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!” They all scream in unison.

“Sorry, we’re just excited.” Jessica says.

“Its ok.” I say.

“Guess what we have!” Chartreuse says excitedly.

“What?” I say, even though i can clearly see the the rack of clothing behind her.

“CLOTHES!!!!!!!!!” She says while pulling the rack out from behind her back.

I smile at her enthusiasm and try to keep up with the words that spill from her red lips. But despite my best efforts, i only catch a few things. They are going to pick an outfit for me, then Jacob and i are going to go to some cafe for breakfast, and then Jacob has to go sign autographs. Other than those few things i don't understand a thing she says.

“Are you ready?” Jessica asks.

“Umm, sure.” I say.

Mandy pulls me over to the clothes and in no time she has picked out a light blue, sleeveless, collared shirt that has buttons going up the front, a pair of white shorts, pink sunglasses, and light blue vans. After she has piled all of this on top of me she shoves me towards the tiny airplane bathroom to get changed.

After having much difficulty in the bathroom, i finally stumble out in my new clothes. Mandy smiles at her work then pushes me onto the couch. Jessica rushes over to me and announces that she needs to get started on my makeup.

“Why are we rushing?” I ask.

“Because you only have a little bit of time to eat and then Jacob has to leave.” Jessica says.

“We could have gotten up earlier.” I say.

“Jacob doesnt like waking up early.” She replies. “Mandy! Get over here and do her hair!”

I am genuinely surprised at how fast they do my makeup. They took maybe five to seven minutes whereas i usually take about twenty minutes. Well, not really. But it seems like a long time when i'm the one doing it. After they are both pleased with their work they leave to help Jacob while i go to look at myself in the bathroom mirror.

When i turn on the light i am astonished at what i look like. My lips are a light hot pink, i have smoky eyeshadow on which makes my eyes look silver, and my hair is the way it naturally is, straight, but they have done something to make it look a lot better than it ever has before. I’ve always wanted to become a makeup stylist but I can see now that i clearly DO NOT have the skills.

“Stella!” somebody yells.

I run out of the bathroom and almost bump straight into Jessica.

“Sorry,” I say.

She doesn’t respond to my apology, instead she grabs my arm and pulls me over to the door.

“There’s going to be a lot of people, so don’t get freaked out.” She warns.

And with that, she opens the door and practically throws me out. She was right, there are TONS of people. And they are all staring at...me? Why? And then i realize that when Jessica threw me out onto the steps i had tripped and fallen straight into Jacob’s arms. I hadn’t even noticed. I quickly scramble to stand up straight and do my best to make it look like nothing happened. I can feel my face burning and I’m certain that I look exactly like a tomato. Of course, the thought of looking like a tomato in front of hundreds of people doesn’t help my embarrassment.

Calm down, calm down. Just breathe. I tell myself. Im hoping that my face isn’t red anymore as i make my way down the stairs to Jacob’s outstretched hand. When i make it to the ground Jacob incases my hand in his and leads me towards a big black car with tinted windows. Being the gentleman he is, he opens my door and helps me into the car and then climbs in after me. He closes the door with a small bang and the sound of the screaming girls becomes muted.

“Well that was embarrassing.” I say.

“What?” Jacob asks.

“I just fell down the stairs and right into you in front of tons of people.” I say.

“And…?” he says.

“It was super embarrassing!” I exclaim.

“Why?” He asks.

I give him an “are you kidding me?” look and turn to stare out the window at the passing cars.

“What?” he asks innocently.

I continue to look out the window.

“Come on Stell, I just don’t see why it was so embarrassing.” he says.

“Dont call me that! And it was embarrassing because they already hate me for getting to spend time with you and i don't need them to start thinking that there is something between us!” I shout.

“I...im sorry, i didnt know it was a bad thing for there to be something between us.” He mumbles.

“No, thats not what i meant, i just…” I start.

“You just what?” He interrupts.

“I mean, you have a girlfriend. And if your fans or the paps think there is something between us then this whole thing will blow up in our faces. I dont want to ruin your life.” I say.

“Ruin my life? If anything you’ve made it better.” He says.

I sigh and close my eyes.

“We can’t talk about this right now.” I say.

Jacob doesn't respond and we spend the rest of the drive in silence.

Notes

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