... not in love with Kale Eddison (25 page)

At 9.30pm,
Izzie was starting to panic; DJ Chill had meant to have arrived
half an hour ago and he wasn’t answering his phone. Stacey had
glared in Izzie’s direction and many people were starting to get
restless; desperate, Izzie quickly nipped out to her car and
managed to come up with her iPod and a set of speakers. She figured
she could get away with it until DJ Chill showed up.

After Izzie had
got some music playing, she tried ringing DJ Chill again; still no
answer. Izzie sighed in frustration and felt the colour drain from
her face when she noticed Stacey making a bee-line for her …
uh-oh!

“Isobel, what
the hell is going on? Where is the entertainment? It should be here
by now! Please tell me you have a good excuse as to why they
haven’t arrived yet!” Stacey flipped her long blonde hair angrily
over her shoulder and eyed Izzie scornfully, waiting for her to
answer.

Izzie sighed,
“Stacey, I’m doing the best I can; it’s not my fault that they’re
running late. I’ve tried ringing but there’s no answer … but I’m
sorting it, ok? Just leave me alone to handle it and it would go a
hell of a lot quicker!”

Stacey glared
at her but seemed to get the message since she stomped off a few
seconds later. Izzie gulped; Stacey was going to murder her before
the night was out – she was sure of it! She sighed wearily and
tried DJ Chill again; thankfully he answered on the fourth
ring.

“What up?” came
the same male voice again.

Izzie refrained
from shouting ‘Hallelujah’ and instead remained calm while she
questioned him, “Where are you? Have you left yet? You were meant
to be here three-quarters of an hour ago!”

The male voice
chuckled, “Alright love, keep your hair on … I’m on me way. Ran
into a bit of traffic but I’ll be there in five.” And then he hung
up.

Izzie scoffed
at the cheek of him and decided she was going to let him have it
when he turned up; he was going to have to accept a lower rate
because Izzie sure as hell wasn’t giving him the full amount after
that!

Izzie looked
around and was grateful to see many people dancing and having a
good time; even Stacey was busy gyrating to Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad
Romance’. Izzie made a break for the bathroom to freshen up and was
relieved, on her way back, to find DJ Chill setting up. She made
her way over and was shocked to find he was a guy who was probably
in his late fifties and was now too busy leering at all the girls
instead of concentrating on plugging in the speakers. Izzie tapped
him on the shoulder and eyed him with disgust; he was even creepier
up close. She shuddered as she took in the lecherous grin, receding
hair-line and beer belly; she hoped to God that he had a decent
music collection!

“You’re late!”
she yelled over the music blaring out from her tiny set of
speakers.

He grinned, “I
woulda got here sooner if I knew there was so many of these hot
young things here!”

Izzie quivered
with anger, “Oi! You are here to do a job; get on with it!” she
made to walk off but not before she turned back and yelled, “Oh and
just to let you know … I’m docking your fee for being so
unprofessional!” With that, Izzie stalked off, leaving him
open-mouthed, and went to sit in the corner but she was careful to
keep an eye on him.

Another half
hour passed and still DJ Chill wasn’t set up yet; Izzie was furious
but also mindful to avoid Stacey – she was rumoured to be asking
around for Izzie; no doubt to yell about why the band they had
picked hadn’t turned up and why DJ Chill had. Izzie quickly ducked
behind one of the tables as Stacey marched past and tried to think
of the best way to break the news to her; she couldn’t avoid her
forever.

Finally, Izzie
plucked up the courage to face Stacey; better to get it over and
done with. Stacey suddenly spied her lurking near the door and
advanced on Izzie.

“There you are!
What the hell is going on? Where are ‘The Kickers’ and why the hell
is that pervy guy here?” She glowered at Izzie with her arms folded
and tapping her foot impatiently.

Izzie sighed
heavily, “I told you at the time that ‘The Kickers’ weren’t
available and I couldn’t get anybody else at such short notice! You
may make do with him ‘cause he’s all we’ve got!”

Stacey shook
her head and ranted, “That’s not good enough! You have ruined the
Formal for us … do you realise this? God! I should’ve known you’d
make a mess of this! You are such a stupid bitch who isn’t worth
the dirt on my shoe!”

Izzie was
getting more riled up, the longer Stacey yelled; if she wasn’t
careful, she was going to end up belting Stacey one. However, she
kept her cool as Stacey continued on calling her every name under
the sun; she just didn’t see the point in starting something so
close to the end of her final year.

Stacey raved on
and Izzie just rolled her eyes, not paying much attention to her.
She really didn’t see what the problem was; DJ Chill had finally
finished setting up ten minutes ago while Stacey had been shouting
and everyone seemed to be having a good time – even if DJ Chill’s
choice of music was a little dated.

Finally, Izzie
yawned and held her hand up to interrupt Stacey, “Oi, Stace, if you
spent less time screeching at me; you would’ve realised that
everyone seems to be making the most of it. I admit DJ Chill isn’t
the best but at least he is providing us with some music. I think
you should just shut the hell up, leave me alone and go join in the
fun.”

Stacey looked
like she had just been slapped and then started off on her
shrieking again. Izzie tried to escape but Stacey kept blocking her
path so she gave up; she knew Stacey would tire eventually – even
if it wasn’t the most enjoyable way to spend her Formal.” Izzie
paid more attention to what everybody else was up to rather than
listening to Stacey. She had just about made out – over Stacey’s
lunatic screaming – that DJ Chill was now going to play ‘an oldie
but goodie’ and Izzie found herself curious; the man had truly
terrible taste in music judging by tonight’s show!

Izzie nodded to
Stacey’s shouting; she hoped it at least
looked
like she was
listening, even though she was actually trying to hear what the
song was.

After a few
seconds, Izzie felt a punch in her stomach; of all the songs … DJ
Chill just
had
to pick that particular song; her and Kale’s
song … ‘You Do Something To Me’. And suddenly, Izzie now noticed
that everybody had stopped dancing; even Stacey had broke off
mid-rant and stood dumbstruck.

‘Ok,’ Izzie
thought after a few seconds of this strange behaviour, ‘everyone’s
acting weird … what the hell?’

It was then
that she noticed a group of young men carrying equipment over to DJ
Chill and then they started to set up drums etc. Izzie was
perplexed; where had this band appeared from? She frowned and
noticed Stacey was still standing mute. Then Izzie felt a warm hand
place on her shoulder and she spun around …

Kale smiled
warmly at her and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “I believe
DJ Chill is playing our song … would you care to dance Miss
Frank?”

Izzie was
stunned; she was totally speechless so she nodded mutely and let
Kale lead her to the dance floor where everyone created space for
them and then returned to their own dancing.

Izzie blinked
up at Kale; afraid he was a mirage and was about to suddenly
disappear. They danced for the entire song and then one of the
young men from earlier grabbed a microphone, “Hey guys … we heard
it was your Formal and that you needed a band. We are ‘Broken Disco
Floor’ and we’ve come to your rescue.” He nodded at the rest of the
band and they struck up a rock number which had everyone dancing in
minutes; Izzie noticed that DJ Chill slunk away to the bar huffily
and the she finally looked back at Kale.

“Are you going
to explain to me what the heck is going on?” she asked him
angrily.

Kale looked
sheepish, “I called by your house and your mother explained the
whole deal; you know … the Formal, no band – the whole thing and I
wanted to help. I called in a favour with these guys and they were
happy to come; I hope this solves any problems Stacey had … she
didn’t look too happy with DJ Chill.”

Izzie rolled
her eyes, “Understatement of the century! I guess I should say
‘thanks’ for everything but you still haven’t told me
everything.”

Kale’s grin
faltered, “You want an explanation about the article and not
calling you, don’t you?”

Izzie nodded,
waiting for him to speak.

Kale sighed,
“Izzie, I wanted to call but I knew if I did I would want to walk
out on the film again and I knew you’d be mad if I did that … I
just thought it’d be best if I didn’t speak to you for awhile; to
try and focus on something else for once … you know. Anyway, it
worked for awhile but then I just got so fed up of not seeing you …
hearing you, so I decided to fly back today. As for the article; it
was all lies … Tess Drudger got fantasy and reality mixed up. She
got her hands on some pictures of me doing what she described in
the article; what she didn’t know was that I was acting.”

Izzie looked a
little puzzled so he continued on.

“Izzie, those
pictures were taken during filming of the movie; it’s my character
who was behaving like that … not me. However, Tess printed the
story anyway because she knew it would stir up some trouble; that’s
what reporters do. Anyway, I hope you can forgive me.”

Izzie merely
stared at him for a few minutes and finally spoke, “I forgive you
and that’s all very sweet Kale but you’ve just done the one thing I
told you not to; walk out on the film again.”

Kale shook his
head, “No, I forgot to tell you; it’s not like that. Sam knew
something was up with me from the beginning. He knew I was in some
sort of funk and then he finally figured out I was ‘love-struck’ –
that’s how he put it. He was awesome Iz, he demanded that I
followed my heart and told me we can resume filming at the end of
next month; that way you can come with me. Sam knew I wasn’t
performing up to my potential; so he decided to let me follow my
heart and then come back and give my best performance and really do
the role justice.”

Izzie smiled at
him, “I have to confess; I’ve been miserable without you too. I’m
sorry about all the nasty things I ever told you to force you to
leave. Just know that I really do love you.”

Kale grinned,
“I know Izzie and I love you too … always have … and always will.”
Then he grabbed Izzie and they kissed as many cheered and whooped
around them … guess they were destined for a Hollywood happy ending
after all.

A few months
later …

Izzie had just
stepped out of the limo and lifted the delicate hem of her dress so
it wouldn’t get caught on anything. Kale appeared two seconds
later, looking extremely handsome in a tux and held out his arm for
her. She took it and they both walked down the velvety red carpet
to many screams and flashbulbs until they were safely inside. The
ceremony started fifteen minutes later, Izzie and Kale both sucked
into the show.

Soon, it was
the last award to be revealed and Izzie waited with bated
breath.

Dean Jameson
was standing on the magnificent stage behind the stylish plinth. He
addressed the audience and read out the nominees. After all the
clips had played, he pulled a little gold envelope out of his inner
jacket pocket.

“And the Oscar
… for best villain goes to …” Dean paused dramatically and the
camera flickered between all the nominees, “for his part in the
chilling, terrifying and truly haunting ‘Bad Times’ … it’s Kale
Eddison!” Dean finally shouted and the applause nearly deafened
Izzie as Kale rose from his seat and made his way up to the
stage.

He accepted the
statue and shook Dean’s hand before stepping behind the plinth, “I
don’t know what to say … thank you so much everyone. I had some
stiff competition and I admire every single other nominee’s work.
This job isn’t easy and it’s taken me long enough to gain the
respect of some amazing directors which led to even more amazing
roles. This role was a rare opportunity for me to expand my acting
ability beyond that of ‘romantic hero’ and I have one special
person to thank for that. The only girl who had the guts to tell me
when my films were crap and that I should go for the unthinkable.
She was also the only girl who was immune to my charms but also
made me feel like the real me. Ladies and gentlemen … I’d like to
thank the girl I’m in love with and who is daft enough to love me
back … Miss Izzie Frank. Izzie, could you come up here please?”

Izzie was going
to kill him; flaming cheeks, she made her way up to the stage and
he put his arm around her. She, however, leaned into the
microphone, “To be honest … there have been times when I’m
not
in love with Kale Eddison … and now is one of them!”
Izzie hit him playfully on the arm, “I can’t believe you’ve
embarrassed me in front of all these people.”

Kale smirked,
“You love me really.”

Izzie rolled
her eyes and turned back to the audience, “I really am quite daft …
I’d need to be to be in love with you!” She laughed and then Kale
swept her up into a kiss … It looked like – against all odds – they
really could live happily ever after.

The End

About the
author:

Joanne has
loved writing from a young age and didn’t start writing properly
until she was at college. The idea for this book struck her on a
bus journey home one day. She hasn’t been able to stop writing
since.

Discover other
titles by Joanne McClean at Smashwords.com

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