His Pride is Prejudiced

Chapter Twelve: He's Still An Egoistic Baboon

Chapter Twelve
He's Still An Egoistic Baboon 

He put his shades back on before we got off the plane.  The passengers kept their eyes on the star as we boarded off the aircraft.  We rode a cab to our apartment.  His courteous gesture in lifting my luggage up to our room surprised me.

     “Thanks,” I said sheepishly.

     I unlocked the door to our apartment.  He looked around the room, familiarizing himself with the place.

     “I know this is some place you're not used to, but—“ I said as I slipped my two hands in my back pockets.

     “It’s fine,” he cut me off as he wandered a little more longer before turning to me and smiling timidly.  “It’s fine, really.”

     I winced in disbelief then, immediately recovered.  “That’s good then.”  I looked around to see if there was any sign of Haley.  “Let me introduce Haley to you.”

     We went into our bedroom and found Haley lying on her stomach in front of the laptop looking worried sick.  She briefly glanced up then, back to the screen.  She did an instant double-take and her eyes doubled their size.  “Holy cow!”

     I held out two of my hands to calm her down.  “Hale, let me explain.”

     She sat up, gaping at the battered celebrity then, looked at me.  “Are you out of your mind?”

     “He needed a place to stay,” I explained.

     “Oh, God,” she put her hands over her head.  “Have you seen the news?” she asked frantically.

     “What news?”

     She typed into her laptop without delay then rotated her computer facing us.  At the tiny YouTube screen of the notebook, there I was with Caleb on the set of In Time With You talking closely as if we were couples.  The voice over the news spoke, “A huge surprise from Caleb Princely’s new girlfriend on the set of In Time With You.  Is she the same girl who splashed her drink all over Caleb last night?” she added as the video made a division and showed a slow-motion footage of me disgorging all over Caleb.  The videos were gone and a blond girl with a cheeky smile appeared with her name on the bottom heading.  “Join me again next time on giving you full truth on what’s hot and what’s not.  I’m Katie Blaire and you’re watching Gossip Angels.”  The screen faded into black as tiny square video suggestions appeared.

     “Unbelievable,” I said underneath my breath breaking the long silence.

     “They do that all the time,” Caleb spoke from behind.  “Turning facts into fiction.”

     I turned and looked straight through his eyes which I found intimidating.  “It must be hard for you.”

     He looked down then, back to me.  “Uhm, can I get some rest?  I'm quite tired.”

     “Sure,” I lightened up.  “Uh, take the other room.”

     His lips made a thin smile.  “Thanks.”

     I nodded.  “Sure,” I faltered.  Then, turned to Haley the moment he was out of earshot.  “What do you think?” I beamed.

     “I think…” she hesitated then, jumped at me.  “You’re amazing!” she screeched.

     I screamed and gave Haley a tight hug.  When we finally pulled away, she looked out the door weirdly.  “But, what happened to him?  He looked like you picked him up from the back of a dumpster truck.”

     I giggled.  “He got mugged in the plane.”

     Her eyes widened.  “What?”

     I explained to her about the plane incident earlier and what actually happened on the set.  After which, she laughed unstoppably.  “That was so funny!”

     I laughed then, suddenly felt empathy for the guy.  “Hey, I gotta go and treat his wounds,” I said, leaving the room.

     “Okay,” she said, giggling nonstop.

     I tried to keep a straight face and pointed at her sternly.  “Hey, stop that.”

     “I’ll try,” she said, holding back her laughter.

     I giggled one last time before closing the door to prepare a bowl of hot water and a towel.  I took the medicine kit from the cupboard then, entered his room without a sound and kneeled beside his bed as I placed the basin on the nightstand.  For a moment, the world seemed to slow down as I studied his beat up face which still looked cute.  I smiled at the sight of him peacefully sleeping that made him look like an angel.  Even for his bad way of behavior, his looks could never lose the battle of making girls want him even more.

     I soaked the white cloth and started to pat his face with warm liquid.  His eyelids fluttered awake, probably because they still hurt.

     “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” I apologized as I opened the balm and began to wipe it gently on his injuries.  He watched my hand work and flinched every time my skin made contact with his.  “Sorry,” I tend to say every time he jerks his out of the way in pain.  “Can you take off your shirt?”

     He looked at me with regard.

     I giggled lightheartedly.  “I'm not going to molest you.”

     He sat up and was careful in taking off his clothes because of the twinging sensation.  There were scratches on his body which made me feel even sorrier for what happened.  I gently dabbed the warm cloth all over his trunk and swabbed my finger on the marks.  Before I turned to leave with the things I've brought in earlier.

     “Ava?” he called out weakly.

     I turned.  "What is it?"

     “I'm hungry.”

     Argh!  So much for being nice and sorry!