With Hollywood's resident sweetheart as her mother, of course Micah Tanner is lapping up the fame.
Or is she?
In truth, Micah suffers from a Social Anxiety Disorder...
Honestly, Norman is being just a wee bit creepy. Does he think Nick and I have broken up? I mean I haven't hinted at anything, have I? My head is a storm cloud of thoughts, ideas, and fears as I stand there in the hall. My throat tightens and I feel a pulling sensation in my gut.
Micah, it's just nerves, I try to tell myself. It's not like Norman is going to hurt you. He just has a crush.
"Norman," I say very slowly. "It's really sweet that you bought me flour/flowers but I'm dating Nick and the prom was just a one-time thing. I'm sorry if that sounds rude." I give him a nervous look and try to calm the army of butterflies in my stomach and my fast beating heart.
"Really?" A look of confusion clouds his face. "Because it looked like that was a thing of the past." He reaches into his suit coat pocket - oh my god he's wearing a suit - and pulls out a slightly crumpled latest edition of Glam Weekly. And guess who is on the cover? Yours truly. It is that same awful school picture that makes me look like The Joker. The two reasons why they keep using this picture is because, one, they can't get any new ones and, two, it makes me look terrible. The headline is a killer one. Micah Tanner: Heartbroken, Confused, and Embarrassed.
Can these get any worse?
"God, Norman you don't believe the crap Rhina writes about me." In case you can't remember, she is the bitch-of-a-reporter that has been stalking me ever since we accidentally met at a party. I begin to read the article.
Micah Tanner has been spotted in Downtown, LA, far from her mother's mansion in expensive Beverly Hills. Rumor has it that Lauren Tanner has rejected the girl and Micah has been taken in by a distant relative.
In fact, Micah and her sweetheart, Nicholas Garner, have not been together for quite some time. We have reliable sources telling us that Nick dumped her and she is devastated.
I tear my eyes from the paper, anger welling up in me. Is it really their business to tell the world about my love life?!
Norman tucks the paper back into his coat, then looks to me again. "So, you're single."
It's not a question, but I don't contradict him.
"Wanna see my room, Mikey?" he says, suddenly in a lighter mood.
"Uh..." Before I can say anything else, he grabs my hand and leads me up the stairs. He drags me down the ornately decorated hallway, up another flight of stairs, down another hallway, around a corner, and, finally, to a huge blue door that two of me could fit through.
I swear his house is some kind of castle.
Pushing open the door, Norman sprints like he's on fire and jumps dramatically onto a king size bed in the corner of the bedroom. He smiles at me, but not in a creepy way. I swallow before I sit down next to him.
He drapes his arm over my shoulder and looks at me kindly.
"So, how are you doing?"
I roll my eyes. "Fine," I reply, though I'm really not. Everything has gone wrong since my mom released information of her "scandal" to the public. I still don't even know if it actually happened, or if she made it up. Unfortunately, it's probably the first.
"You know, it was really nice dancing with you the other day." He edges slightly closer, and I edge away.
Now I'm feeling a little more insecure.
"Do you want to go, like, to get burgers or something like that, you know, sometime?" He grins at me with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Look, Norman, I really just......am not...." I sigh. Standing up, I tuck my hair behind my ears. I don't look back as I run through the maze of hallways and staircases, finally finding myself at the door.
I'm about to walk down the steps when Norman appears in front of me. "Wait, Micah," he says quickly, grabbing the door before I can close it in his face.
I bite my lip.
"Micah, I'm really sorry that I made you uncomfortable and that you had to friend zone me, but..."
"But what?" I huff.
He plants a firm kiss on my lips, then closes the door.
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I take the bus back to Miles' apartment. The sun has just begun to set, even though it's only three o'clock. I knock on the door, and, after a few seconds, Miles lets me in.
"I realize I haven't given you a key yet," he says, smiling. He tosses me a single key attached to a chain, and I catch in my hands. "So how was your day?"
"Fine," I reply. "I got pancakes, then went over my.....friend's house."
Miles nods. "Your mother called. She wants to know how you're doing."
"Tell her I'm doing fine." I wave him away, and he retreats to the couch, potato chips in hand. I would gladly join him, but I make my way down the hallway to my bedroom. I close the door behind me, then collapse on the bed.
What is wrong with me?! All my life, I have never had an attraction or boyfriend of any kind, and now I'm indecisive as hell. All of a sudden, I'm super popular. I mean, I just had to friend zone a guy!
I rub my eyes, my head sinking back into my pillow.
It's okay Micah, I tell myself. You're to be okay. You're just going through shock.
I stand up and go into the bathroom. I need my anxiety relief pills. Opening the cupboard, I begin to search through the shelves of bottles and boxes. Suddenly, I realize something and start to panic.
