Star Stuck (#Wattys2015)

Chapter Eleven - Bet's On

Chapter Eleven - Bet's On

*Xavier's POV*

Imagine the shock of my life when I see my best friend, closest accomplice, and the closest person to a brother patiently standing against my car.

I thought he was thousands of miles away, back in California. He didn't even give me a heads up about visiting me. For a second, I wondered how he found my location, but I was reminded of the recent media blast.

Hunter gave me a goofy grin. I'm sure that his eyes would be full of amusement - at my apparent shock - if they weren't covered by his sunglasses.

"Hey man," I greeted him after a second. "When did you arrive?"

"I arrived this morning," he answered. "It didn't take too long to find you in this tiny town. I was worried that I'd have to hunt for you in the acres and acres of farmland."

I laughed. Hunter was lucky that I had even been in town, considering that Aunt Cora's house was smack in the middle of farmland. If I hadn't stopped at the gas station, who knows how long it would have taken him to find me. After all, since the paparazzi had arrived, I've made sure that they couldn't tail me back to Aunt Cora's house.

"What brings you out here?" I ask, wondering why he chose to come here with his free will.

"You know that I'm a magnet for trouble. When I heard some interesting news about you, I knew I had to come here to help you out - or add excitement," Hunter replied.

I grimaced. "I think I already have enough excitement," I said, thinking about the latest headline about me. Also, if his idea of excitement included Kylie at all, Kylie would probably blame me even more. I was starting to inch my way to her neutral side.

"But speaking of interesting news, I met that girl of yours earlier," Hunter said nonchalantly. That piqued my interest.

"She's not my girl," I clarified right away, before asking him more about his meeting. "But how did your meeting go?"

I flashback to the day I met Kylie. It had started with a rainy day and an old car, spiraling to when I bumped into her and provoked an argument. The thing that has bugged me the most - and admittedly, still does - was that she didn't recognize me.

I wonder if she recognized Hunter Taylor. If she did... the thought of that made me a little jealous. We had similar amounts of fame, so if she recognized him, but not me, I'd be slightly annoyed.

"I like her. She's completely different from the normal crowd and she's hilarious," Hunter complimented. "But she's a real ego-squasher. She didn't even recognize me," he whined.

I laughed, glad that I wasn't the only one she didn't recognize. And boy, did I know how much of an ego killer she was. She placed me down to everyone else's level every single day.

"She didn't know who I was either," I admit. "She actually yelled at me when we met."

This time, it was Hunter who started to chuckle. "I like her even more now."

"She's certainly something," I grumble, ready to discuss something else. "How long are you staying?"

"Just for my break. I'll go back to act in the next season when it starts. But for now, I think I'll hang out around here," Hunter answered, before adding something else. "Oh yeah, I enrolled into Waverly. I figured that I should get a taste of what you are doing. I start tomorrow."

Um, wow, surprise!

"If you arrive before the mob comes, I can show you around," I offer. After around three weeks of being here, I'm pretty sure I've gotten used to the layout of the building.