A Beautiful, Terrible Love by Lucky 97 (books for 9th graders txt) 📖

man was doing. “You want... ME to be that girl?”
“Duh,” he said sarcastically, “Didn’t you realize that?”
“I don’t want to!” I said angrily.
“You have to now,” he replied, calm and collected, “You could’ve said no when you were still in your seat,”
“I didn’t know!” I protested as he pushed me up the stairs and into the blinding white light. I blinked, having to adjust to the brightness. All the people! I felt dizzy.
It was then that I realized that Dex was standing next to me, holding a microphone.
“What’s your name?” he asked me softly, drawing me in with his green eyes. I couldn’t believe I was actually standing there. Meeting Dex.
I tried to regain my composure, “Eve,” I said into the microphone. I shuddered as my voice was amplified a hundred times over, washing over the crowd. I could see some girls seethe at me, angry because I had taken their much wanted spot in the spotlight.
“Are you ready?” he asked, taking in my pale hands and face. A small associate handed me a microphone. I turned to face him. I was, for the millionth time, struck by his handsomeness. “I’ll be right here,” he comforted me, taking my hand. A jolt of electricity shot through me. Everything was going to be alright, Dex, the boy of my dreams, was with me.
The first few notes began, and I started in, my voice starting out small, then growing as I gained confidence. Dex and I were facing each other, still holding hands, and I could see his eyes widen. We sang, voices in perfect harmony, I, feeling energized, actually powered by the crowd instead of feeling suppressed by it. Energy pulsed through the song, pulsed through us. Our voices did flips and turns, a renegade of sorts, but still always in perfect harmony. I felt proud of myself. This was my moment to shine.
The song slowed, and we sang the last few notes, each reluctant to stop. It came to a gentle close, then a huge roar of applause followed. I could see Sadie and Delilah jumping, screaming my name.
Dex looked at me wonderingly, not saying a single word. Then, he nodded, and flashed me one of his heavenly smiles.
And just like that, the moment was over.

Chapter 3
Dex

I watched the beautiful girl walk away, the alluring way she walked grabbing my interest, her singing even more so.
Her voice was the best I’ve ever heard, and clearly the audience felt that way too. The teenage fans roared with excitement, instead of seething with disgust at her for being by me, cheering with happiness. I had never seen any group of fans react so positively to any of my songs! I knew it was because of that pretty girl. Her voice was even better than mine, like an angel, sweet but powerful.
And if I was voted the Hottest Man on Earth by People, she would DEFINITELY be voted Hottest Woman on Earth for sure. It was just the way she looked, with beautiful brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, and not to mention a killer figure.
I ended the concert to the loudest deafening applause I had ever heard. I had to bow several times to appease the crowd. This was incredible... an unforgettable experience.
I searched the endless crowd of fans, searching for that one girl, who so easily stood out from the crowd. I had told my associate to get that girl, because I had seen her from the start. She didn’t blend with the crowd, but shined as if under a constant spotlight.
Also the fact that she was wearing a shiny purple dress with sequins that caught the light and flashed it on my face didn’t hurt.
I quickly left the stage and headed towards my manager, Penny Connor, who’s heavily lip-glossed mouth was formed into a perfect “O”. She looked at me, amazed, eyes widened in surprise.
“Dex, that was incredible!” she gushed, energetically grabbing my hand. “That girl you had with you had amazing chemistry. For a few seconds, I thought she was Richy Charles in disguise!”
“She was much better than Richy Charles,” I pointed out.
“Yes, she was,” Penny amended.
“Can you check up on her?” I asked hopefully.
“Yes,” Penny said, a little less energetic than before, “but what are you going to do when I have all of her information?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “I might ask her to sing some more with me,”
“You can’t just do that, sir!” Penny said, “Think about it. This was ONE performance. How do you know she can sing well on a regular basis? You know we cannot invite her to sing with you just because of a whim of yours. Think of one bad performance would do to the ratings! I-”
“Just look her up,” my voice was firm, resolute. She nodded slowly, then walked away, five-inch heels clicking on the cold, hard floor.
I walked slowly to my designated seat, my name was embroidered on the back, and plopped down, pondering over the current situation. Penny was right. I couldn’t just ask that girl to drop everything to go with me across America to record a song together. She would have to want it, desire it with every fiber of her being. For all I knew, she might have a life back at her home. She might have... a boyfriend.
I did like her, with her beautiful light brown hair and big blue eyes as clear as the sky above me. She was tall and leggy, like a model, but a bit too short. That was okay, though. I personally was only 5’10, and any decent model would tower over me. I could envision me and her, walking down a crowded street, sipping lattes and just talking, while we posed for the dozens of cameras. We would make a good couple...
Whoa, stop thinking so far ahead, I told myself gently. I just wanted her to record a song for me, and on strictly business terms. At least that’s what I tried to tell myself.
I thought and thought about it, confusedly looking around the room, searching for some sort of clue, something that would lead me to the answer. Nothing gave me any leads though. I sighed. What did I expect? A newspaper or something lying around giving me the answers to all my problems?
I soon spotted a poster hanging around, a giant one, with an American Idol picture on it. “Do you think you can sing?” it screamed, a huge display of words splashed on the colorful paper.
That was it! I will have a contest. I could picture it now, a huge sign saying “DEX: THE SINGING CONTEST,” and that new picture of me displayed on the front. The prize would be a record deal with me. If that pretty girl, Eve, was serious about singing, she would definitely come.
I rubbed my hands together, a habbit I always did when I was excited about something.
“Penny!” I called, rather seductively. I always had to get a bit... persuasive around Penny to get her to do something.
I don’t even know how Penny got to be my manager. She started when I was seventeen, my previous manager recently died in a car accident. I never liked her from the beginning, but she was the daughter of the owner of the record company I usually dealed with. I couldn’t fire her, or else she would go crying to her daddy and they would cut off everything from me. Penny was really quite young, only 27.
Penny opened the doors to my room energetically, holding a stack of papers. She quickly laid them down on the settee, then crossed the room over to me.
“What is it, Dex?”
“Penny,” I grabbed her and gave her a nice long hug. She hugged me back, and as I pulled away, I knew she was so enchanted she would do anything for me. “Penny,” I repeated, “I have an idea,”
“What?” she asked, dazed, “Oh, that. What is it?”
“I think we should have a contest.” This was the point where it became all or nothing. I was sure Penny would think it was an atrocious idea, so I held her close as I talked. “If we have a singing contest, I think she would come, and all our problems would be solved,”
“I don’t know...” I could see her eyes becoming a bit more focused, a tad more alert. I had to do something!
I leaned in and kissed the top of her forehead. Her breathing became more relaxed, and she swayed a little.
“Could you set that up for me?” I asked. She nodded, hanging on to me. I gently propelled her out of the room, and she walked off, stumbling a little. Good work, buddy! I mentally high-fived myself. I knew I could always fall back on my charm when something didn’t work out.
I leaned on the settee, leafing through the papers she forgot to bring with her. They were filled with info on the girl, “Eve Valencia”. I looked at the pictures with interest. One was of her at school (from the school’s security cameras), one was from her house (facebook), and one was a headshot (I don’t know WHERE she got that).
At school, I could tell she dressed sloppily, but what amused me so much was that I could see a handsome guy staring at her, lovesick, forever frozen on the page. I laughed. Wouldn’t that guy be happy to know I saw THAT?! I chuckled. I made a mental note to check up on that guy later.
Her headshot was absolutely magnificent, striking me into silent amazement. At the concert she wore makeup, which really took away from her natural beauty. I felt that it made her look a bit more artificial. In the headshot, though, she looked dreamy, with her big blue eyes and a gorgeous expression on her face. She looked like a movie star.
I imagined myself, once again, by her side, us holding hands. In my fantasy, I leaned in and kissed her, her wavy brown hair tickling my face. I laughed and held her face in my hands, kissing her once more...
This was weird. Why was I thinking about her so much? The question surged through me, hurting my head with the possibilities. I came, slowly, to the realization that I liked her, maybe even loved her. But how was that possible? How could I like, or love, someone I don’t even know?
That can’t be right. It must be... infatuation! That’s right, I quickly assured myself. It was simply not possible. There was not one freakin’ chance I was in love with her.
Little did I know Eve felt the same way.

Chapter 4
Eve

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WENT UP ON STAGE AND MET DEX!!!!" Sadie screamed. "AND EVEN SANG WITH HIM!!! AND SOUNDED AWESOME!!!" We were driving home, slowly, because the traffic was absolutely awful. It seemed like everybody went to the concert. The smell of gas thickened the air, mixed with the stench of smoke and booze that plagued the drunken passengers and drivers surrounding us.
"Yeah," I said plainly, without expression.
"You finally got to meet your dream boy," Sadie teased. Delilah raised a delicate eyebrow.
"Dream boy...?" she inquired, her ears perked towards some juicy gossip.
"Nothing," I muttered quickly, looking away from them both. I began to feel little prickles of being uncomfortable, and getting the disgusting taste of hiding something from my friends in my mouth. The rough and scratched seat rubbed against my back, making it itch annoyingly.
"Eve, why aren't you happy? Come on, sing with me! Your voice is