Chapter 5 Is He A Celebrity

I woke up the next morning as usual and forced myself from my precious bed into the bathroom to refresh up with one last glare at my alarm clock.

One day, I'll kill you.

After that, when I got out and started looking for another outfit, I managed to settle myself down in less than 30 minutes. Then, I took my bag and phone before jogging downstairs.

And when I entered the kitchen, the smell of fresh cooked bacon hit my nose. Mom was making breakfast as always, Cody was eating everything on the table, and dad... dad must be in the toilet or something.

The only person that loves food more than I do is Cody. And trust me when I say, I really love food.

Before a piece of bacon could enter his mouth, I snatched it from his hand and munched it in front of him. Which made him roll his eyes. I might want to say that this is starting to be a habit of mine.

"Good morning, Maddie," mom said when she placed more food on the table.


"Morning, mom," I said back with a mouthful, earning a stern look from her. I sometimes do it on purpose because I know she hates me doing it.

What can I say? I love annoying my mom...


Just then, my dad entered the kitchen wearing his working uniform and took a seat on the table next to his newspaper. And once he took a sip from his freshly-made coffee, he looked at me and asked. "So when are we going to meet that boyfriend of yours?"

No, I didn't choke. I actually stopped myself before I could.

"Yeah, Madison. How come you never mentioned that boy before?" mom adds. And when I glanced at Cody, I saw him smirking devilishly.

"She doesn't have a b-"

"Well, you met him yesterday!" I reasoned, cutting off Cody, forcing a piece of bacon inside his mouth. Unfortunately, he didn't get suffocated.

Dad raised his eyebrows at me. "A proper meet-up."


Mom nodded. "What was his name?"
"Joseph ..." I replied slowly when I figured I didn't even know his last name.

And as much as I want my parents to know the truth, I don't want them to be disappointed in me for ordering a fake boyfriend. I mean, I don't know if they'll understand my situation, but still...

"I heard you last night telling Jen that you've been dating this guy for a few months. Is that true?" she asked again, curiously causing dad to get even more interested in finding more.

"Yeah..." I mumbled lowly with a nod. And I'm glad they heard my answer because I didn't want to lie again.

"Why would you keep such a secret from us," she gasped. "How did this even start?"
"I don't know mom. Online?" that actually was not a lie. It did start online... An online website to be more specific.

"Is that true? Because last time I checked, online is a place where careless teenagers do outrageous things," dad commented with an informative voice. "Have you been doing outrageous things with Joseph, Madison?"
At that, I felt as if all the blood inside my body rushed up to where my cheeks were. I flushed red so hard that I don't think you can make out the features on my face. All you can see is a tomato. A frustrated tomato.

And what made me more frustrated was the snicker that escaped Cody's mouth.


"I can't believe you just asked me that!" I hid my face inside the collar of my shirt, embarrassed.

No, no, humiliated!

"What? I just asked a question." he reasoned innocently as I held the urge to puke. Mom, on the other hand, started shaking her head while laughing.

"You know I think it's time we probably gave her the talk." he said to my mom, which made me blush even harder.


Oh my god...

"And... I'm out of here." Cody stood up awkwardly, deciding to leave before getting called back to his seat.


"Oh no, you stay too. This involves you as well!"

"I can't believe you're making us do this!" I cried, sliding further down to my seat, hoping the floor swallows me before my dad's words do.

"Common on, it's not that bad!" mom interjected. "We just want you two to be careful. We know that you're both still young and want to enjoy life before you get older, but you have to know that there will be consequences to everything you do, especially when it comes to relationships and sexual-"


"Mom, dad, I'm going to be late for school!" I stopped her from getting any further as Cody got on his feet again.

"I have college too." and with that we started walking out of the kitchen, only for dad to call after me.

"Sooner or later, we're going to have
the talk. You can't escape this conversation!"

"Watch us!"
.
.
.
.
.
With one last left turn, we drove inside the school's parking lot. And fortunately, I didn't get up late.

"Why didn't you tell mom and dad the truth?" Cody asks from the blue while he drives around to an empty spot to stop the car.


I glanced in his direction with a frown. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

When he stopped, he let his body relax back on his seat, and tilted his head at me for an answer. "I just didn't want them to get disappointed in me for renting a boyfriend instead of finding a real one."

"How did you rent a boyfriend anyway?" his expression turned bemused.

"I found an online website." I sighed before smirking. "I also used your credit card."


"You-" before he could continue his sentence, I quickly hopped out of the car and ran away. Luckily, he didn't get out and chased after me. He just took off.

I let out a breath before I started looking around, looking for Zoey's car. But instead of finding it, I found her standing a few feet away with her eyes narrowed at her phone.


"Hey!" I greeted her once I reached her, making her look up at me with a smile.

"Hi!" she stuffed her phone inside her pocket. "Why so weary? Haven't you got enough sleep?"

"No. It's not that. It's just my parents making a big fuss about Joseph at breakfast..." I informed her and looked at her for a reaction. But she zoned out. "Zoey?"

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking towards the direction she was gazing in. Only to see students gathering around in a small place. "What's happening there?"

Before I could register what was happening, Zoey started walking towards the crowd.

Which lead me to shake my head before following her.

She's a curious cat ...

And before I knew it, we both started pushing through the crowd to get a view at what was getting a lot of attention. But only then, when I got a glimpse, my mouth dropped to the floor.

I stare in shock and confusion at Joseph who is taking selfies with girls that are lining up beside him while he leans on a yellow-shinning Camaro. Girls fighting for a turn while he waits for the next drooling girl.

I blink once.
I blink twice.
This is not a dream.


Is he a celebrity or something that I don't know?!

His eyes gazed around again, and only this time they landed on me. A smirk played on his face as he stood up straight and started walking towards me.

Shivers roll down my spine as he stands a foot away from me.

"Hey, girlfriend." he smirked, looking down at me as I felt myself getting choked.

I stare at him with complete shock. He was wearing a white shirt with black pants and had a backpack over his shoulders. And what's worse was catching people gawking their eyes at us, as if waiting for a scene to happen. Which made me really uncomfortable.

So, ignoring the ice glares some were sending me, mostly from girls, I grabbed Joseph's hand before I pulled him out of the crowd.

I stomped my feet a couple of miles away from the crowd and stopped when we stood in a clear spot, away from everyone.


"What was that?!" I finally had the chance to snap, but not in a high voice, as I glared at him.

"Oh that?" he glanced back at the crowd that was watching us from far. "It was nothing. Just a couple of girls wanting to take pictures. You don't need to get jealous."


My eyes widened. "Okay first, I am not jealous. And second, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"Oh I didn't tell you?" He raised his eyebrows innocently as if he had forgotten to text me some juice. "I'm exchanging schools."

"You WHAT?!"

"Maddie, baby. Are you deaf?"

Is this a joke?! Because ha ha, very funny.


"What kind of maniac exchanges schools when there's only one month left?!" I questioned, getting annoyed by the smirk that was annoying on his face.

"A maniac that wants to spend the last month near his girlfriend." he winked, making me somehow blush.

I shook my head, and cleared my mind from his insanely hot features. Which is not the case now. Stop swooning!

"Don't call me that, I'm not your girlfriend!" I warned him, narrowing my eyes as he grinned, amused.


How is this situation even funny?! It's beyond frustrating.

"Okay, fine!" He raised his arms up in defeat. "Girlfriend."

"Don't!" I really want to punch that smirk off of his face right now.

"C'mon on, cheer up! It's not everyday you get to have an extremely hot and sexy rented boyfriend." he leaned down and whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine, before backing straight away.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, dear girlfriend, I need to find the main office to register. But I'll catch you soon." he winked one more time before he walked away casually with his hands in his pockets.

Just in time when the school's bell rang. And I couldn't help but pinch myself because of thinking about the way he called me girlfriend.

Oh, snap out of it, Madison!