Prologue:
When I Was Thirteen
“Chase!” Carrie Flinn yelled over the roar of music. A boy who looked uncannily like her— black hair, hazel eyes and a thin nose dusted with freckles— turned around.
“What?” he yelled back. “I'm trying to listen to the concert!” Carrie rolled her eyes and leaned her arms against the cool metal bar of the small balcony. She was with her brother, Chase, at a Metallic Lights concert, the band Chase loved and Carrie detested. They had quite amazing seats on a little metal balcony that hung just above the stage, so that anybody on stage could just reach up and swing himself or herself over.
“Why am I here?” Carrie groaned. Thankfully Chase was too busy cheering and taking pictures with his iPhone of the lead singer, J.P McCarthy, to notice. Carrie glanced down at Chase's idol.
There's nothing special about him, Carrie thought. Other than being special in the head.
J.P had messy black hair that fell below his ears, he was wearing robes of metallic blue— the main outfit of Metallic Lights— and was clutching a blood red guitar and shouting into the microphone. Between choruses he would bend down toward the people beside the stage, which were mostly girls screaming shrilly, and high-five each of them in turn. Carrie suddenly grimaced when she and J.P made eye contact. She was the only one in the whole stadium who looked unhappy to be there. J.P suddenly smiled at her. It was a charming, simple smile that said, “I've got one hell of an ego.” The lead singer of Metallic Lights grabbed the topmost bars and swung himself onto the edge of the balcony. Thousands of people kept screaming for J.P, even as he advanced on Carrie, still wearing that irritatingly calm smile. He was so close to Carrie she was able to see that one of his eyes was green and the other was blue.
“Why do you look sad, girl?” he said sweetly. “Would you feel better if I kissed you?” Carrie opened her mouth to tell him to go harass somebody else, but J.P used that to his advantage. He grabbed the side of her face and covered her mouth with his. Some girls screamed with jealousy, others were gasping. Carrie angrily elbowed J.P in the ribs. He backed off, blinking at her confusedly.
“Don't touch me, you ass,” she snarled, pushing him away from her. J.P fell off the side of the balcony, but he flipped over with grace and elegance and landed like a cat back onto the stage. He glanced up at Carrie again, only to have her give him a look of pure loathing and quite a rude hand gesture.
“Let's go Chase,” Carrie snapped, pulling her brother through the throng of people. Lots of them kept trying to take Carrie and Chase’s pictures with their phones, no doubt itching to post the news that J.P McCarthy had kissed somebody who wanted nothing to do with him on some website like Twitter or Facebook.
“Hey, wait!” Chase cried as he was tugged away. “I PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THESE SEATS!”
That was two years ago.
Scene 1
It’s You, Isn’t It?
“Coming up next, a new drama series,” the announcer was saying on the television. “Chase Flinn, starring in Blackened Moon.” Carrie cheered. Her entire family was surrounding her, including her blushing brother Chase.
“So, what’s the first thing you’re gonna do with all the cash you make?” Carrie grinned. Chase playfully thrust his arm around her shoulder and laughed, “I’ll buy you a brain straight away, no need to worry.” Carrie slugged him in the arm and shot at him, “And who’s character do you play, exactly? It’s either a gay guy, a woman or someone in a mental institution.”
“Well, mental institutions aside, thanks for the party guys,” Chase said happily, allowing Carrie to rumple his black hair playfully. “I can’t wait for you guys to meet my partner.”
“Ooh, when do we get to meet him?” asked Fiona Flinn, Chase and Carrie’s mother.
“Is he civilized?” Mort — their father — demanded to know while munching on a piece of the celebratory cake that Carrie had made.
“Not at all, if he’s Chase’s partner,” Carrie giggled. Chase made a face at her and said calmly and coolly, “He’s perfectly ordinary… when he’s not onstage,” Chase added, so that only Carrie could hear him. “And we’re going to meet him tomorrow morning when we move into our new house.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to live in a mansion!” Carrie sighed, squeezing her brother’s arm in a dreamy fashion. “All because Chase is gay on television.”
“Stuff it or I’ll leave you behind,” Chase said irritably, taking a gob of icing from the cake and smearing it on her nose. While Carrie let out a mew of protest and reached for a napkin she glanced at the television. The storyline of Blackened Moon portrayed the bonding of a young boy called Zack in a normal high school and a girl named Moon who was being mercilessly abused by her parents. During the show, Carrie and Chase had a fight over the popcorn, resulting in a thousand kernels being thrown all over the place.
“My bra is all buttery now,” Carrie said irritably, fishing another popcorn kernel from inside her shirt when the show ended.
“And now, the top-rated show of the year, Falls,” the announcer said.
“Top rated show?” Carrie repeated. Chase grinned.
“Yeah, it’s got my partner in it!” he said happily. “He’s also in Blackened Moon, but he only first shows up in the fourth episode.” Carrie’s eyes immediately widened when she saw who the star of Falls was. J.P McCarthy’s irritating, egotistical face was splashed on the screen as the character Light, who was a student at an everyday high school who was in love with his sister, Midnight.
“Turn it off!” Carrie demanded, burying her face in her pillow so she wouldn’t have to see the TV screen.
“Why?” Chase asked curiously, but he shut the television off anyway. “So guys… tomorrow I was thinking I bring you to the studio to check out some of the filming we’re doing.” Carrie took her mind off of J.P McCarthy and gasped.
“Really?” she asked excitedly. “Oh my gosh, I can’t wait!” Chase laughed at her.
“Yeah, and I’ll introduce you to my partner!” he said, poking her shoulder. “Maybe you two will like each other.”
“There’s a chance,” Carrie said.
Carrie was wrong.
The next day Chase drove Mort, Fiona and Carrie to his studio in a long white stretch limousine.
“Welcome to the set of Blackened Moon,” Chase smiled, opening the door. Carrie beamed. She recognized the halls of the school that Zack, a.k.a Chase Flinn, and Moon McKay had all of their adventures. To her left was the actress who played Moon. She was chatting with the director, looking a great deal different than when she was on the set. Her makeup wasn’t on, making her look quite normal, her black hair was curly and her face was positively beaming. Carrie suppressed a laugh when Chase’s face went beet red because Moon had glanced at him.
“Hi, Victoria!” he said, waving. Moon, or Victoria, waved back and then continued her conversation. Carrie leaned over towards her brother.
“It’s a good thing you play a role of a person who falls in love with Moon,” she whispered.
“Why?” Chase whispered back confusedly. Carrie smirked and replied, “Because you’ll be able to use your little crush to your advantage.” He rolled his eyes.
“My partner’s in there,” said Chase, pointing to a door to Carrie’s right. “You can go meet him if you want.” Carrie shrugged and began to walk toward the door. She tried to imagine what Chase’s partner might look like. Blond hair? Blue eyes? Would he be weird like the people on the street who sell drugs? Carrie suddenly felt frightened as she approached the door. She turned around, deciding to meet Chase’s partner later. But the second she turned around the door swung open and somebody stepped out, wearing robes of metallic blue. Carrie froze as she heard his voice.
“… And I have to be at the studio by three,” he was telling his manager. “So I can’t accept any more offers…” His voice trailed off. Carrie dared to glance behind her to see if it really was him.
J.P McCarthy was staring at her with wide, un-matching eyes. Carrie immediately started power walking toward the elevator, panicking.
“J.P…” his managed called out, when J.P began following Carrie. She pressed the elevator button desperately. The doors stayed firmly shut. J.P tapped her on the shoulder and said quietly, “It’s you, isn’t it?” Carrie flinched when J.P laughed.
“I’m not going to bite you,” he said. Something inside Carrie snapped.
“That’s like saying I won’t kill you if I get the chance,” she snarled. The elevator doors slid open and Carrie and J.P stepped inside.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Carrie shot at him, edging away.
“Down,” said J.P, pressing the down arrow. “You really don’t like me, do you?”
“That’s an understatement,” she replied coldly. The doors slid open just as J.P shoved a pair of large sunglasses on his face.
“HEY EVERYBODY, IT’S J.P MCCARTHY!” Carrie yelled. Then she darted out of the way as thousands of screaming girls nearly trampled J.P. He saw, over the throng of people and the thousand pieces of paper being thrust at him, Carrie smirking at him before she skipped over to his partner, Chase Flinn.
“Erm… why did you just do that to J.P?” Chase asked her confusedly, when Carrie caught up with him.
“Because he’s a useless pest who deserves to get trampled to death by a bunch of blond girls who are all probably brain damaged,” Carrie said happily, tugging on his arm. “I wanna see you film the next episode of Blackened Moon now.”
“Alright,” Chase agreed.
It’s been years since stupid McCarthy pulled that stunt on me at his concert, Carrie thought bitterly. And yet everybody still remembers it. Carrie sighed and thought, I guess it’s true what they say; if something happens it’s there forever. Two years later, it’s still there.
When I Was Thirteen
“Chase!” Carrie Flinn yelled over the roar of music. A boy who looked uncannily like her— black hair, hazel eyes and a thin nose dusted with freckles— turned around.
“What?” he yelled back. “I'm trying to listen to the concert!” Carrie rolled her eyes and leaned her arms against the cool metal bar of the small balcony. She was with her brother, Chase, at a Metallic Lights concert, the band Chase loved and Carrie detested. They had quite amazing seats on a little metal balcony that hung just above the stage, so that anybody on stage could just reach up and swing himself or herself over.
“Why am I here?” Carrie groaned. Thankfully Chase was too busy cheering and taking pictures with his iPhone of the lead singer, J.P McCarthy, to notice. Carrie glanced down at Chase's idol.
There's nothing special about him, Carrie thought. Other than being special in the head.
J.P had messy black hair that fell below his ears, he was wearing robes of metallic blue— the main outfit of Metallic Lights— and was clutching a blood red guitar and shouting into the microphone. Between choruses he would bend down toward the people beside the stage, which were mostly girls screaming shrilly, and high-five each of them in turn. Carrie suddenly grimaced when she and J.P made eye contact. She was the only one in the whole stadium who looked unhappy to be there. J.P suddenly smiled at her. It was a charming, simple smile that said, “I've got one hell of an ego.” The lead singer of Metallic Lights grabbed the topmost bars and swung himself onto the edge of the balcony. Thousands of people kept screaming for J.P, even as he advanced on Carrie, still wearing that irritatingly calm smile. He was so close to Carrie she was able to see that one of his eyes was green and the other was blue.
“Why do you look sad, girl?” he said sweetly. “Would you feel better if I kissed you?” Carrie opened her mouth to tell him to go harass somebody else, but J.P used that to his advantage. He grabbed the side of her face and covered her mouth with his. Some girls screamed with jealousy, others were gasping. Carrie angrily elbowed J.P in the ribs. He backed off, blinking at her confusedly.
“Don't touch me, you ass,” she snarled, pushing him away from her. J.P fell off the side of the balcony, but he flipped over with grace and elegance and landed like a cat back onto the stage. He glanced up at Carrie again, only to have her give him a look of pure loathing and quite a rude hand gesture.
“Let's go Chase,” Carrie snapped, pulling her brother through the throng of people. Lots of them kept trying to take Carrie and Chase’s pictures with their phones, no doubt itching to post the news that J.P McCarthy had kissed somebody who wanted nothing to do with him on some website like Twitter or Facebook.
“Hey, wait!” Chase cried as he was tugged away. “I PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THESE SEATS!”
That was two years ago.
Scene 1
It’s You, Isn’t It?
“Coming up next, a new drama series,” the announcer was saying on the television. “Chase Flinn, starring in Blackened Moon.” Carrie cheered. Her entire family was surrounding her, including her blushing brother Chase.
“So, what’s the first thing you’re gonna do with all the cash you make?” Carrie grinned. Chase playfully thrust his arm around her shoulder and laughed, “I’ll buy you a brain straight away, no need to worry.” Carrie slugged him in the arm and shot at him, “And who’s character do you play, exactly? It’s either a gay guy, a woman or someone in a mental institution.”
“Well, mental institutions aside, thanks for the party guys,” Chase said happily, allowing Carrie to rumple his black hair playfully. “I can’t wait for you guys to meet my partner.”
“Ooh, when do we get to meet him?” asked Fiona Flinn, Chase and Carrie’s mother.
“Is he civilized?” Mort — their father — demanded to know while munching on a piece of the celebratory cake that Carrie had made.
“Not at all, if he’s Chase’s partner,” Carrie giggled. Chase made a face at her and said calmly and coolly, “He’s perfectly ordinary… when he’s not onstage,” Chase added, so that only Carrie could hear him. “And we’re going to meet him tomorrow morning when we move into our new house.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to live in a mansion!” Carrie sighed, squeezing her brother’s arm in a dreamy fashion. “All because Chase is gay on television.”
“Stuff it or I’ll leave you behind,” Chase said irritably, taking a gob of icing from the cake and smearing it on her nose. While Carrie let out a mew of protest and reached for a napkin she glanced at the television. The storyline of Blackened Moon portrayed the bonding of a young boy called Zack in a normal high school and a girl named Moon who was being mercilessly abused by her parents. During the show, Carrie and Chase had a fight over the popcorn, resulting in a thousand kernels being thrown all over the place.
“My bra is all buttery now,” Carrie said irritably, fishing another popcorn kernel from inside her shirt when the show ended.
“And now, the top-rated show of the year, Falls,” the announcer said.
“Top rated show?” Carrie repeated. Chase grinned.
“Yeah, it’s got my partner in it!” he said happily. “He’s also in Blackened Moon, but he only first shows up in the fourth episode.” Carrie’s eyes immediately widened when she saw who the star of Falls was. J.P McCarthy’s irritating, egotistical face was splashed on the screen as the character Light, who was a student at an everyday high school who was in love with his sister, Midnight.
“Turn it off!” Carrie demanded, burying her face in her pillow so she wouldn’t have to see the TV screen.
“Why?” Chase asked curiously, but he shut the television off anyway. “So guys… tomorrow I was thinking I bring you to the studio to check out some of the filming we’re doing.” Carrie took her mind off of J.P McCarthy and gasped.
“Really?” she asked excitedly. “Oh my gosh, I can’t wait!” Chase laughed at her.
“Yeah, and I’ll introduce you to my partner!” he said, poking her shoulder. “Maybe you two will like each other.”
“There’s a chance,” Carrie said.
Carrie was wrong.
The next day Chase drove Mort, Fiona and Carrie to his studio in a long white stretch limousine.
“Welcome to the set of Blackened Moon,” Chase smiled, opening the door. Carrie beamed. She recognized the halls of the school that Zack, a.k.a Chase Flinn, and Moon McKay had all of their adventures. To her left was the actress who played Moon. She was chatting with the director, looking a great deal different than when she was on the set. Her makeup wasn’t on, making her look quite normal, her black hair was curly and her face was positively beaming. Carrie suppressed a laugh when Chase’s face went beet red because Moon had glanced at him.
“Hi, Victoria!” he said, waving. Moon, or Victoria, waved back and then continued her conversation. Carrie leaned over towards her brother.
“It’s a good thing you play a role of a person who falls in love with Moon,” she whispered.
“Why?” Chase whispered back confusedly. Carrie smirked and replied, “Because you’ll be able to use your little crush to your advantage.” He rolled his eyes.
“My partner’s in there,” said Chase, pointing to a door to Carrie’s right. “You can go meet him if you want.” Carrie shrugged and began to walk toward the door. She tried to imagine what Chase’s partner might look like. Blond hair? Blue eyes? Would he be weird like the people on the street who sell drugs? Carrie suddenly felt frightened as she approached the door. She turned around, deciding to meet Chase’s partner later. But the second she turned around the door swung open and somebody stepped out, wearing robes of metallic blue. Carrie froze as she heard his voice.
“… And I have to be at the studio by three,” he was telling his manager. “So I can’t accept any more offers…” His voice trailed off. Carrie dared to glance behind her to see if it really was him.
J.P McCarthy was staring at her with wide, un-matching eyes. Carrie immediately started power walking toward the elevator, panicking.
“J.P…” his managed called out, when J.P began following Carrie. She pressed the elevator button desperately. The doors stayed firmly shut. J.P tapped her on the shoulder and said quietly, “It’s you, isn’t it?” Carrie flinched when J.P laughed.
“I’m not going to bite you,” he said. Something inside Carrie snapped.
“That’s like saying I won’t kill you if I get the chance,” she snarled. The elevator doors slid open and Carrie and J.P stepped inside.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Carrie shot at him, edging away.
“Down,” said J.P, pressing the down arrow. “You really don’t like me, do you?”
“That’s an understatement,” she replied coldly. The doors slid open just as J.P shoved a pair of large sunglasses on his face.
“HEY EVERYBODY, IT’S J.P MCCARTHY!” Carrie yelled. Then she darted out of the way as thousands of screaming girls nearly trampled J.P. He saw, over the throng of people and the thousand pieces of paper being thrust at him, Carrie smirking at him before she skipped over to his partner, Chase Flinn.
“Erm… why did you just do that to J.P?” Chase asked her confusedly, when Carrie caught up with him.
“Because he’s a useless pest who deserves to get trampled to death by a bunch of blond girls who are all probably brain damaged,” Carrie said happily, tugging on his arm. “I wanna see you film the next episode of Blackened Moon now.”
“Alright,” Chase agreed.
It’s been years since stupid McCarthy pulled that stunt on me at his concert, Carrie thought bitterly. And yet everybody still remembers it. Carrie sighed and thought, I guess it’s true what they say; if something happens it’s there forever. Two years later, it’s still there.