Free Sunset Boulevard by Zoey Dean Page A

she was standing, Jake's hand moved to the middle of
    her back. He looked down into her eyes, a floppy curl freeing itself and falling in front of his
    eyes. "I really appreciate this, Jojo."
    As his hand fell away, the sound of her name on Jake's lips echoed in her ears. She still felt a
    warm tingle where he had touched her, and suddenly she barely knew how to form words.
    Even though they'd just been talking about Justin Klatch for the past half hour, the memories of
    her former crush were fading fast.
    JUST ONE OF THE GIRLS
    "So what do you do for fun, Jake?" Kady asked, leaning back in her bean bag chair so that her
    short, raven-colored hair fanned out around her little doll face. As she stretched, her amethyst
    belly button ring peeked out from beneath her tight aqua tank top. Light from the curvy white
    lamp in the corner glinted off the jewel.
    Amelie suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Could Kady be more obvious?
    "Uh, you know, the usual," Jake said from his spot on the blue couch, beneath the trailer's
    high, vent-style window. He picked up his sandwich, a chicken Caesar wrap from La
    Vincenza, and set it back down on the blond wood coffee table. He'd yet to take a bite, Amelie
    noticed, because he'd only had eyes for Kady since they began their lunch break a half hour
    ago. It was Thursday, the day of their big football game scene, and they'd only shot a few short
    takes, but it was enough for Amelie to see she was going to be odd co-star out. "Hang out, hit
    the beach, that kind of thing. What about you?" Jake hadn't been much of a beach guy two
    weeks ago, Amelie thought, when the two of them traded sci-fi and fantasy book
    recommendations during her math tutoring session.
    "You know, the usual," Kady replied playfully. "A little clubbing, a little dancing. I'm up for
    anything, as long as I like who I'm with." Picturing Jake at a club with Kady, Amelie squirmed
    in the flimsy plastic chair, her knees bumping the folding dinette table. Earlier she'd heard the
    crew making bets on how long it would be before Kady and Jake were an item. Probably by
    week's end--Kady worked fast. And though he hadn't gotten Kady's hints to ask her out, Jake
    was flirting back. And pretty much ignoring Amelie. Last week, she'd thought they were
    becoming fast friends. Now she was more useless than a third wheel.
    "I'm the same way," Jake said, leaning toward Kady. "It's all about who you're with." He
    brushed back a wayward curl with his hand, seeming like a totally different guy than the one
    who'd taken her to Lewis Buford's party last weekend. Thinking about that night made Amelie
    think of Hunter, and she wondered what he was doing now. Certainly not sitting in a corner,
    watching other people flirt and feeling sorry for himself.
    As Kady launched into the positives of MyHouse, a new Hollywood club, Amelie charted the
    trajectory of her week. Hadn't she been ecstatic about shooting at BHH? Feeling like she could
    be part of semi-normal teenage life? Her sheltered existence was her own fault. She was at a
    high school and still sitting in a trailer.
    She stood up. "I'm going to eat outside," she said, stretching her legs. She picked up her script
    and her turkey pesto croissant. Jake nodded blankly, but Kady beamed gratefully, a thank-you
    to Amelie for giving her alone time with Jake.
    Amelie swung open the trailer door and hopped onto the metal steps. She was still wearing her
    costume, an ivory Milly shift dress and gold sequined Miu Miu sandals. Students turned to
    look at her for a swift second before going back to what they'd been doing. It was lunchtime at
    BHH, and since Class Angel was using a lot of the cafeteria, people were eating on the lawn.
    The plush green grass was a sea of cashmere blankets, a sizable number of them clustered
    around the door to Grant's trailer. Girls had kicked off their designer shoes and sunned their
    bare legs, looking up to see if they could manage a glimpse of their crush. Farther away,