Chapter 3-And Reality sets in....

            He is not real. This is all a dream, and Justin Timberlake is not standing in the middle of the room, and he did not overhear my confessions of love toward JC. This is all a nightmare.

            I pinched myself and moaned. This is real. Shit. I want to go home. I am so fucking embarrassed it's not even funny, but that dick head Justin thinks it is, all he's doing is smirking at me. I glared at him as hard as I could.

            "You know, you could've at least said that you were here, you know, make your presence known?" I shot at him.

            "I should've, would've, could've... but I didn't. Shoot, you were the one intruding me. Here I was, taking a nap because I am worn out. I just finished a concert and I thought it would be alright if I sleep here, undisturbed... but look what happened, I had to overhear one of the silliest fights, and had a vase thrown across the room." He shrugged and laughed softly.

            I could feel the temper rise in my body. This guy is a complete asshole. How... How rude! As Stephanie Tanner would say in Full House. He heard everything... everything I said to JC... I wish I would never have said those things.

            "You know, Mr. Timberlake... eavesdroppers-" I began furiously.

            "Eavesdroppers often learn quite informative and amusing things." He grinned. "Why I used to eavesdrop on-"

            "God, you know what? You're a fucking asshole!" I screamed.

            "Well that's an accurate observation." He answered. "And you, Brooke, aren't exactly what I would call an angel." He seemed to have found me amusing, like some sort of fucking doll, and he laughed softly again. "No one can say they're an angel after saying what I have just heard. But you know Brooke, you are one of the few people to have the guts to say what an asshole I am. Most other girls hold that back, no matter how rude I act, mostly because I am Justin Timberlake, the pop star. And that gets old real fast, let me tell you what. But you Brooke... you are one in a million, a rare spirit.  You and JC wouldn't mesh well together, but we-"

            "There is no ‘we'." I stated.

            "Fine, whatever, go ahead and hate JC for all your life. I knew you were planning to anyway." He sank down on the couch, and I heard him laughing. Bastard.

            If I could've killed him, I would've. But, I knew he was one of JC's closest friends, though I didn't exactly know why. So instead, I walked out that room with all the dignity I had left (and let me tell you, it wasn't that much), and slammed the door behind me.

            ~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

            I traveled toward the bathroom; I really needed to freshen up. I looked like a piece of shit. As I approached the doorway, I overheard some voices, and opened the door slightly.  I saw Christina and Melody applying makeup over the counter.

            "Oh my God Melody, did you see how slutty that Brooke girl was acting today?" Christina said as she applied some mascara.

            My heart began to beat fast. What a fucking bitch. Should I let them know I was here, and burst there bubble? Eavesdroppers often learn quite informative and amusing things... Damn that Timberlake was right.

            "Oh, shut up Christina. Don't be a bitch. She's just trying to have a little bit of fun tonight." Melody defended. I feel bad now, Melody actually stood up for me. The girl who was trying to steal JC from her. I felt a pang of guilt serge through my body.

            "Well... you must be blind, girl," Christina said bitterly.

            "Sh... Christina, someone might hear you." Melody cautioned.

            "Everybody knows about Brooke, and Brooke won't hear this, she probably already left, I haven't seen her in like half an hour." Christina said matter-of-factly, but then lowered her voice. I had to strain to hear what she said next.

            "You saw how she was trying to sleep with every guy out there, and she was definitely going after Charlie." Christina giggled self-consciously. "And you know Charles and I might be-"

            "No way!" Melody whispered excitedly.

            "Yeah way! But don't tell anybody... yet."

            "Oh then you'll get to be my sister-in-law!" Melody squealed. Oh yeah, that's right. I always  forget Melody and Charles were brother and sister.

            "You know Melody... I think there is only one guy Brooke cares about." Christina began. "And that's JC."

            Damn. How the hell did she know?

            "God, are you trying to get me mad at Brooke, too? I know she doesn't like JC like that, because... because everyone knows about our engagement. She wouldn't go after a guy that I have, don't be so mean to her, Christina." Melody snapped. Guilt was running through my system at high speed.

            "She does like him, Mel, and if you weren't busy looking for the good in people, then you would see it. It serves her right anyway. All Brooke O'Neil has done from day one is steal other people's boyfriends, even if she doesn't want them. Don't you see, can't you see that she is a bit-" I silently closed the door and went running downstairs.

            I want to go home...I thought, but then as I neared the front door, I stopped. I couldn't, no, I wouldn't let them ruin a perfectly good party. I'd show them. I don't know how, but I'll show them, and they'll hurt worse then they hurt me.

            At least I forgot all about JC at the moment. All I could think about was how to get revenge and make them sorry.  As I was deep in thought, I felt a slight tap on my shoulder, I turned around and it was Charlie.

            "Hey Brooke." He said softly.

            "Hey." I replied.

            "You okay?" he asked his eyes huge with concern.

            "Uh... yeah. I'm fine." I replied. My eyes weren't looking at him, because I got an idea. Maybe not the brightest idea, but at the time, it seemed pretty smart. He has a lot of money. He's going to be leaving soon to go to war, so it's not like I'll see him that much... If I marry him, it would show JC that I really didn't care about him, and it would just KILL Christina. And it would hurt Melody because  it's her brother. That's it. I'll ask him to marry me.

            "Uh... Brooke?" Charlie waved his hand in front of my face. "You there?"

            "Yeah... I was just thinking... you know Charlie, we should get married." Was I drunk? Maybe a little bit.

            He looked at me like I was joking. "Um..."

            "I know it may seem a little bit fast Charlie, but I know you're going off to Iraq soon... and I really, really like you. Don't you like me?" I made my eyes huge, to look like I was being sincere.

            "Er..." Damn he's not giving in.

            "You know... it's okay. I don't know what the hell I was thinking, you have Christina, and you probably don't like me anyway." I pretended to be sorry, and walked away with fake embarrassment on my face.

            "Wait! Brooke!" he yelled.

            I turned around.

            "I'll.... I'll marry you."

            I smiled. With the exception of JC, no man has ever said no to Brooke O'Neil.