Every Pearl Has Its Oyster (13 page)

“I will,” Gemma replied.

“Tell him what I really wanted was an inappropriately long goodbye in person,” Gavin added. “Like one that involves sunsets, long hugs and tears.”

“I’m not telling him that,” Gemma shook her head, laughing. She watched as Gavin hugged Leah and Kate goodbye before disappearing into the house. She was sad to see him go. Having been the person she saw the most throughout her life, adjusting to Gavin going off to college was difficult, but not nearly as difficult as living on opposite coasts. It was something she hadn’t recognized until seeing him again in her new home.

“So when are you going to be back on the east coast?” Leah asked.

“I have to check my tour schedule,” Gemma replied. “I have a couple dates set in New York alone so I’ll probably be there for awhile before I go to Europe.”

“Ugh, lucky!” Kate squealed. “I’m trying to save up so I can study abroad in Florence but I have to be accepted into the program first. Oh my God, maybe we can both meet up if we’re there at the same time!”

“Maybe,” Gemma smiled.

“It’s a big ‘if’ though,” Kate frowned.

“How long is your tour?” Leah asked, sitting up and dangling her legs into the pool.

“We have about a year scheduled,” Gemma said. “And depending on how it goes, we might add more dates.”

“A year?” Leah gaped. “I can’t imagine knowing exactly where I’ll be everyday for a year.”

“Well I don’t know every day,” Gemma shrugged.

“I know we’re the same age but I feel like such a kid around you,” Leah laughed. “I have no idea what I’m going to be doing ever and you have a job and your life planned out for a year.”

“I don’t even know my dorm assignment yet,” Kate nodded. “Oh God, I don’t even have a major. At least you have a major, Leah! I have no direction at all! I have no idea what happens next!” Kate faceplanted into her crumpled-up towel.

“Calm down!” Gemma laughed. “You’re going to be fine!” She got up from her seat, walking over to shake Kate from her panic. Gemma sat down beside her, coaxing her to sit up.

“I need a hug,” Kate whined. Gemma wrapped her arms around Kate, squeezing her tight as she continued to frown. She noticed Kate’s iPhone still open to the producer’s uploaded pictures.

“Let’s look at more set pictures of Carbine,” Gemma said. “Will that make you feel better?”

“Will it make me feel better to look at people who already have jobs and lives and your stupid, sexy, famous boyfriend when I don’t even know where I’m going to be living in a few weeks?” Kate asked, dramatically. Leah snorted, shaking her head as she jumped fully into the pool.

“I suddenly feel like less of a mess,” Leah joked, wading in the water. Gemma laughed, looking again at the picture of Tyler on set. She continued flipping through the photos, admiring his image quietly as she rubbed Kate’s arms to soothe her. Kate didn’t pick her head up, still whining steadily into Gemma’s shoulders. She smiled to herself, truly feeling lucky as she looked at the various photos of Tyler, working hard and looking great in every single one.

But then she popped up. The series of pictures began with Tyler and Madison rehearsing scenes but progressed to shots of them laughing offset as well. Gemma only became more disturbed as she got into the shots of Liam Brody. While he was in the foreground, posing for lighting fixes and talking to other cast members, Gemma could see Tyler and Madison in the background, still talking. The pictures were from all different shoot days spanning from the beginning of the production to now.

Kate lifted her head from Gemma’s shoulders. Thankfully, she had flipped to an innocuous looking photo of a shirtless Tyler standing alone on set. Kate giggled, taking the phone from Gemma’s hand.

“This is my favorite picture of him,” Kate exclaimed, seemingly recovered from her brief state of depression.

“Shirtless one?” Leah asked, floating peacefully in the pool.

“Yep,” Kate nodded, excitedly.

“Yep,” Leah laughed. “Hope you don’t mind us perving on your boyfriend, Gem.”

“We’re only human,” Kate shrugged. “Also, we loved him before you loved him.” Gemma forced a laugh. Of course, she didn’t mind Leah and Kate fawning over her boyfriend. It was innocent, more playful than serious. She just wasn’t sure it was the same case with Madison.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH TYLER CHASE?

Pop Rock Gossip

Posted by Jessie O.

September 12th

Is it just me, or is Tyler Chase becoming a bit of an asshole?

Remember when the kid was this sweetheart who serenaded twelve-year-olds and flew them out to his concerts because they cried for him in a YouTube video? Looks like those days are over. Check out Tyler’s last three moves into the Asshole Hall of Fame:

1. Opts to do a movie with Madison Lennox, the evil hag who tortured his girlfriend when she was poor, lonely Gemma Hunter in high school. Way to be loyal to your lady there, Ty.

2. Initiates a scuffle with Liam Brody for unknown reasons at Smythe. Sure, Liam’s no angel but really, Tyler? Starting club fights for the fun of it? That’s like, the signature move of a full-blown jerkwad.

3. And the best for last: Rumor has it that instead of kissing his actual girlfriend on New Year’s Eve last year, Tyler actually locked lips with Elizabeth Clarke, Queen Bee’s stalker and impersonator! Ewww. Yeah, we hear Elizabeth was pretty skilled with the makeup brush, but don’t you recognize an imposter when she’s got her tongue down your mouth? Maybe he didn’t even care. He’s obviously not the guy we thought we knew.

Emerging from her trailer in a plain white leotard and no shoes, Gemma looked out at the vast, emerald green field before her. A small crew was setting up for the photo shoot about a hundred feet away between, two tall trees. Not far from them were Perrin and Andro, no doubt discussing safety or something dull with Thierry Marc.

“Let’s make this quick, okay?” Perrin said, looking bored already as she stood with Andro at Gemma’s second and last photo shoot for Thierry Marc’s fragrance, Wanderlust. “Bee needs to be at Oro by three. There’s a lot to cover with Cliff today.”

“Alright,” the new photographer Darlene said, ignoring Perrin and taking Gemma’s hand. She took her thick, red-framed glasses off and let them hang from its turquoise chain. She gave Gemma a quick onceover, twirling her around as if there was anything to look at. There was barely a hair and makeup team and she was wearing something that resembled a modestly cut, one-piece bathing suit. It was a low-key enough concept that Tyler and even Nicki hadn’t felt compelled to accompany, unlike last time when the ad was shot by the overtly sensual photography duo, Lourdes and Cai. The pair was famously responsible for aiding in the growing complexes of Gemma and Damian’s significant others.

“So, we’re going to put the wander in Wanderlust since Lourdes and Cai put enough lust in the last campaign to last a couple years. The goal is like I said – we’re going to make you two look like you’re flying so I hope you two don’t have a thing about heights. You ever hear of aerial silks?”

“I think so,” Gemma said. Her mind flashed back to a Cirque du Soleil performance she had seen when she was younger. She had been fascinated with the woman who suspended herself between two luxurious pieces of silk, rolling her body up and performing elaborate acrobatics while swinging through the air. She had certainly looked as if she were in flight.

“Well the crew here is well-trained in that,” Darlene said. “They’re going to teach you how to do a simple wrap but we’re going to have you suspended a little higher up than most beginners since we’re going to shoot from below. You’ll look like two clouds in the sky.”

“Oh,” Gemma cocked her head to the side. “That actually sounds really nice.”

Darlene clapped her hands. “Damian!” she shouted. “You okay over there?” Gemma turned to see Damian cautiously making his way out of his trailer, wearing a pair of knee-length, white spandex shorts.

“I think,” he shouted back. Gemma laughed as he jogged over to them, looking a little less secure than his usual self. Darlene smiled, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“If I gave you anything looser, it’d be a safety hazard,” she said.

“No, I know,” Damian nodded, pulling the spandex away from his thighs. “I understand. It just feels… awkward.”

“You’re an athlete, think of them like compression shorts,” Darlene suggested before skipping over to check on her crew. Gemma smiled, crossing her arms and giving Damian a sympathetic look.

“Well,” she said, holding her arms out to show Damian her matching spandex. “A little less glamorous than our last shoot.”

“I feel like we’re about to run away with the circus or something,” Damian laughed.

“That doesn’t sound so bad these days,” Gemma mumbled. Damian put a hand under her chin, turning her face up towards his.

“Hey. Talk to me,” Damian said, his warm eyes studying her. Gemma looked up at him. His eyes were focused on her with a softness that made her want to pour her heart out and an intensity that assured her he’d be listening to every word. But despite the comfort of that familiar glance, those three words suddenly felt threatening. She wanted to talk but she remembered the anguish in Tyler’s voice when he confessed to her what it was that had upset him so much about her interview with Frances Browning.

“Oh. There’s nothing to talk about,” Gemma replied rather unconvincingly. She lowered her gaze to the grass, hoping Damian wouldn’t push past that.

“Okay,” Damian said, putting an arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze. “Let me know when there is.”

Before the conversation could continue, Thierry and Darlene had gestured for Gemma and Damian to approach the hanging silks. A crew member removed his sweatshirt, revealing an acrobatic physique underneath as he began to go over rules for safety. Once he finished up, a second crew member came over to go over the basics. Gemma listened intently, learning to wrap her foot and ankle in a way that would keep her secure but allow her to move freely up and down the hanging silk.

As she twirled and climbed, her exhilaration soared. She was hardly bothered by the growing distance between her body and the ground. In fact, she felt lighter and freer as she ascended farther and farther away from Andro and Perrin. She giggled as she looked down at them, inverting herself so she was hanging upside down as she swung above their heads.

“Careful!” Perrin yelled. Gemma could see Andro instinctively positioning himself below her as if he was preparing to catch her from a fall. Darlene just smiled, pushing him back.

“You’re in my shot,” she said. She and Thierry shared a laugh.

“You’re a natural, sweetheart!” Thierry called up to her. Gemma smiled, bowing her head slightly in thanks. Thierry nodded in Damian’s direction. “Your friend too!” Gemma pulled herself up, hanging on the drop of silk like a rope. She felt herself swing back and forth, catching glimpses of Damian between the bright rays of the sun. He had wrapped the silk around his shoulders and calves so that he was hanging above the ground Mission Impossible style. He looked up to see Gemma smiling at him.

“Hold out your hand,” he said. Gemma did as he asked, leaning forward with an arm outstretched towards him. Damian freed a hand from the silks and swung himself over to grab her by the wrist. She wrapped her fingers around his strong forearms, giggling as they swung through the air.

“Oh my goodness, that’s just perfect – don’t move!” Darlene said frantically, struggling to set up her camera. She sprawled across the ground, positioning herself to shoot straight up as she had discussed. “Someone grab a bounce board! Quickly!” A crewmember ran to grab a bounce board, positioning it so that just enough sun streamed across their faces for the first shot. Darlene rolled around the field, snapping shot after shot as she collected grass stains on her sweater.

“Give me something else!” Darlene called out. “New poses!” Gemma let go of Damian’s hand, pulling her body into the silks and letting the lower half of them unravel. Her hands and feet slid down the silks, positioning herself in a graceful gazelle pose. She watched as Damian did the same, mirroring her motions before once again reaching out a hand to her. Gemma swung forward, placing her hand in his. He pulled her forward in a swift motion, letting go of his grip and replacing his arm around her waist. Gemma bit her lip, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She adjusted her hip so she could put some space between their torsos.

“Bee, honey, you okay?” Darlene asked. To Gemma’s dismay, she had noticed her sudden uneasiness.

“Yeah,” Gemma replied. “Just lost my grip a little.”

“Did I hurt you when I pulled you in?” Damian asked, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

“No, no,” Gemma said, shaking her head as she tried to regain the pose she had before. “I just lost my grip, that’s all.” She could feel Damian’s eyes boring into her but she couldn’t bring herself to look up at him. When they last met at the gym, Gemma had noticed his cautiousness in the way he touched her. She had brushed it off as an overreaction but was now overcome with the same feeling. She thought about seeing Tyler with Madison, their chemistry on set and how much that had upset her. Of course, Madison wasn’t just any girl but then again Damian wasn’t just any boy. It was suddenly clear – their friendship couldn’t stay the same.

Gemma swallowed, her sudden understanding of things making her that much more uncomfortable. She recognized now how lucky she had been with Lucas and Damian. They had done nearly all the work in the relationship, shielding Gemma from whatever elements posed a threat to the peace. If there was jealousy, she never heard of it and if she ever did anything to upset them, they seemed to just let it go. She saw now how downright spoiled she had been. And it wasn’t that Tyler wasn’t doing all in his power to make their relationship the best it could be, there was just a whole lot more work this time around. After all, together they had braved Tyler’s crazy fans, a stalker and the media. It was by no means an easy feat. Gemma saw what she had to do now. It was time for her to step up and take some of the weight off of Tyler’s shoulders