Chapter 6: Why?

Just a quick note: Writing in bold italics is Star's thoughts. 

Warm days turned into cold weeks. Star's life had inevitably moved on. It wasn't like she should have been grieving, right? She lost something she wasn't supposed to have in the first place, and as if that wasn't fair enough, she got fame as a consolation prize as well. Many would say she got a good deal, and she had. She blackmailed a celebrity and was not going to jail. She had practically gotten a reward for doing it. The calls asking for her to make appearances at sweet sixteens and proms were endless. They hadn't wanted her to preform. She hadn't been famous for that. The teenage girls wanted to have someone who was close to the famous Tim Levesque. Sure they had "broken up", but as Tim claimed on his social media accounts, it was amicable and they were still friends.

Her voicemail was full and she didn't bother to clean it out. This was what she wanted all along right? Fame. She should have been more specific when she asked Tim for publicity. Next time she knew. One particular voice mail she couldn't ignore. It was from the proprietor of Mick Master's Karaoke, asking her if she'd like to preform an acrobat gig at their annual birthday celebration. According to the proprietor, every year, in honor of the day that Mick Rifley decided to open the bar, there was a huge party thrown at Mick Master's karaoke. Star could tell she had been called for her rising fame on social media, not her acrobatic talent. She didn't know if anyone took her talent seriously, or even believed she had any. She hadn't exactly proved it when she was on Morning on the Shores. If she could get up on stage and show that she had talent, then she'd be able to get people to talk about her skills and not if she was dating Caleb or not.

She would be meeting up today in person to discuss what she would have to do. She had to grasp the opportunities while they were in front of her. There was no time to mope. That would be done behind-the-scenes with Harper, who still didn't know the complete truth.

"Mrs. Upton, it's an honor to meet you." The proprietor outstretched her hand.

"An honor to meet me..?" She asked in disbelief. All she did was "date" the heartthrob Tim Levesque.  It felt weird hearing it said to her, even though she dreamed of a moment like this her entire life.

"Of course. You're extremely beautiful and I know you have what it takes to be the next big star, so I want you to come to our birthday bash. Do you think you'd be able to make it?"

"Well, what would you have me doing? I can perform a few stunts-"

 She was cut off by the waving of the proprietor's hands. "That's not really necessary. We want you to make an appearance, take a few pictures with some of our guests, and then do a brief Q and A."

Well, how did she not see this one coming. She thought about turning the offer down as soon as she heard it but, the thought of a question and answer seemed intriguing and as much as she didn't want to admit it, people wanting to take pictures with and of her, was exciting. "What do you mean by question and answers? Is there a specific theme in mind?"

"Well, this year it's all about fresh young faces. You'll be among some newbies in the show business world. We have some models, voice actors and a band coming along, and together the media just wants to ask a few questions about what it's like to be you."

"What it's like to be me?" Well, she definitely knew some things she would be leaving out.

"Yupp, by that we mean you'll get questions like, 'what's your favorite color?' and 'how do you style your hair?'. These are fan questions and the fans in Starlight Shores are very powerful. They're pretty much the lifeline to your fame. Pleasing them, will help you immensely in this business. Right now you're new, so this event is a great way to draw in some fans and make some cash."

Star's eyes lit up. Cash would be nice. She had almost forgotten that she was still the same poor girl she had been before she met Tim. "A question and answer wouldn't hurt. It sounds really fun, actually."

"So we can count on seeing you this weekend?"

"Yes, I'll be there for sure." Star smiled sweetly.

"We're excited to have you. My people will be in touch with your people, miss Upton."

"Well, I am my people," She laughed nervously.

"That's totally okay. If you keep doing events like this, you'll have your own people in no time."

Star said her thanks and headed straight home. She was glad Tim had decided to get her extra dresses for the gala because she would definitely look amazing at the event. She wouldn't be performing, but she was making money to smile and look pretty, which was definitely much better than working at that stupid salon.

As Star promised, she arrived at Mick Master's Karaoke early on the day of the event. The fans were even earlier (which apparently the staff had instigated just a bit). Star was met with flashes and shrieks. There weren't nearly as many people as there was in the audience at Morning on the Shores or Caleb's concert, but it still blew her away. She was the star of the show. They wanted to take pictures of her, and show those pictures off to their friends. Star was eating it up.

"Hey Star, can you pose for a picture!?" A bold fan asked.

"Sure!" Star threw up two peace signs and flashed her best smile.

"My daughter is going to love this. Thanks Star!"

"No, thank you! Tell your daughter I said hi and thanks for the support."

Thanks for the support. It was a strange phrase. She hadn't thanked Harper for her never ending support, but here she was thanking this stranger for her daughter's support. Support for what? What did she do? What could Star have possibly done in her short stunt to fame that somebody could offer support?

Star shook it off. She was just having cold feet. This was her big day. People were here to see her, and ask her questions.

The proprietor waved Star over and gave her a run down on what she would do. Pretty much smile, answer questions loud and clear, and be polite. As Star had found out the hard way, all publicity was not good publicity.

"Ladies and gentleman, our celebrity representative for the night, a total sweetheart, Star Upton!"
The crowd erupted in applause.

"Hi everyone, how are you guys doing tonight?" Star grinned. The crowd was feeding into her energy. "I heard you guys have some questions for me, and I'm here to answer. So, ask away!"
Hands shot up in the air instantly. "How about you over there in the...oh my goodness is that my face on your shirt? That is totally amazing! Brownie points for you sir! Ok, ok. What's your question?"

"It's not a question, I just want to tell you that I totally love you. I'm your number one fan. Since I saw you, I knew you were meant to be on TV. You're so beautiful." The words were kind, but they weren't really about anything other than what was on the surface. He loved her because he thought she was pretty. She didn't have any real talents that they would allow her to showcase on TV...

"Aww thanks. I really appreciate it!" She smiled sweetly. "Your support means everything to me." She turned to someone else in the crowd, "What's your question ma'am?"

"Hi Star, my name is Angelica and I'd like to know how you feel about having your own clothing line. I fell in love with your look at the Endangered Species Gala, and I totally want to dress just like you."

"First let me start by saying, hey Angelica. Thanks for coming tonight! I never really saw myself as that fashion forward." Star admitted honestly. She had a stylist pick out these clothes. She was a fake and people were eating it up.Ok Star, stop it, you're getting paid for this. 

She took a deep breath and continued on. She answered countless questions about her favorite color, her dream appearance, her favorite store to shop in, if she had any pets. The questions were endless. She was actually having a good time with the crowd, despite that nagging voice in her head that would pop up every so often. It was all going well until that question came up. She had thought it would come up and she prepared for it, but as the word left the young girl's lips, Star forgot everything. "Hi Star. My name is Marina. My question is about your relationship with Tim Levesque. Are you happy with yourself now that you leeched off of his fame?" No. I'm not. I wake up some mornings and hate what I see in the mirror. I look in the mirror and see this glamorous celebrity, but I feel trapped. That's not me. Thank you for your question you hateful little brat. 

"What are you talking about? Tim and I are good friends. I would never ever do anything like that to him. He's such a good person that doesn't deserve that kind of treatment."

"Explain why you guys only dated for a few days."

"Well, you see..." Star thought for a minute. Crap. She got me.

"That's all Star. I think I've made my case." This isn't court. You don't get to judge me. "Tim Levesque is the greatest actor out there right now and I hope you know that you did nothing but disrespect him and his fans by thinking we're that stupid."

"Actually..." A voice arose from the side of the stage. "Star and Tim dated for a while before they became the celebrity it couple. But, Star is too nice to put Tim's reputation on the spot like that."

The crowd began to gasp. "Is that Caleb Gray!?"

"Caleb, oh my gosh. This is such an honor. It's like my dream to meet you, and now I'm having a conversation with you!" Marina gushed.

"It's really nice to meet you too Marina. Star here is my best friend. She and I grew up together in Lunar Lakes. She's kind of the reason I'm famous. I introduced her and Tim,who you might know is my other best friend, and well one thing led to another. Star is like a little sister to me, so I don't think that saying rude hurtful things to her is the right thing to do. I try to relay a message of goodwill to all of my fans, not animosity." Caleb!? What is he doing here. Oh gosh...was her hair ok? Wait a second. Caleb was saving her ass. WHY IS CALEB HERE. 

Marina looked away embarrassed. "I'm sorry." She mumbled and passed the mic back to the proprietor.

"Thank you for the surprise appearance Mr. Gray. I want to send out a big thank you to everyone who showed up tonight. This has been a great birthday event to Mick Master's Karaoke and we can't wait to see you guys again!" The proprietor ushered to the two stars on stage. "Why don't you two 'besties' pose together for a photo? Paparazzi are everywhere." Caleb is a genius. He saved her but and dispelled the rumors of their "scandalous relationship," all at once. 

"Sure, of course, if Star doesn't mind!" He smiled.

"I don't mind!" Star said quickly.

Star and Caleb did a few goofy poses, as "best friends" would and then headed off the stage.

"Are you going home now, Star?" Caleb asked her when the shoot was over with.

"Uhm, yeah. Probably."

"Why don't you stay a little longer? I'll buy you a drink."

"I don't really drink." She shrugged.

He let out a breath. "Neither do I, not much at least. But, I thought maybe you'd like a glass of wine or something. Come on, I'll get us some soda."

How could she say no to a face like his? She decided to stay a bit with Caleb and talk.

"Thanks a lot 'bestie'," She giggled. "You're quick with a wit aren't you?"

"Much better than Tim right? At least I didn't say we were dating."

"The world would go crazy if you said that. Did you see how that girl was grilling me on stage?"

"Some people can really be mean, I'm sorry about that. I've always tried to tell my fans that being respectful is important but some people slip through."

"You don't have to apologize Caleb. Just because she's a fan of yours and Tim's doesn't make it your responsibility. She's old enough to take responsibility for her actions."

"I guess you're right, but everytime I see you, somebody is attacking you. I can't help but feel some sort of regret."

"That's not true." She shook her head. "That first time we met, at your show, nobody knew who I was, so there wasn't a threat."

"I don't understand why you talk like that. As if you weren't anything before your fame. You're special, otherwise I don't think I would have remembered you."

"I feel the exact opposite actually." She confided in Caleb. "I feel like being a nobody was my thing. I wasn't important to everyone, but I had people who cared about my existence. My friends and my parents. Now, I'm famous, for no good reason at all, and I have tons of people who want to talk to me and who care about my existence, but I couldn't feel lonelier. Their love is surface only and the people who once cared about me before are all gone, even my parent's gave up on me, and all I have is Harper." She looked around, embarrassed that she had said all of that out loud. "Oh shoot, I forgot that paparazzi could be anywhere."

"No need to worry about it. The staff here knows me and they're very courteous. We're the only ones here right now." Star looked around, even more embarrassed. She was so fixated on Caleb that she didn't notice everyone leave. "I'm happy that you trust me enough to talk about things like this."

She nodded her head. "You have this soft presence about you. I feel like I can be very open with you." She quickly began to change the subject. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Caleb let her deviate off topic. Some people weren't comfortable sharing everything about their lives. He was just happy that for a second she was being herself. "When I was running some errands, I saw a poster with your face on it. I thought I'd come by and show my support."

"I'm glad you came. You totally saved me out there. Thank you."

"You're welcome..." He returned her smile. "You could have handled it on your own though. You were doing well from the beginning."

"You were here from the start of it all?" She gasped. "I thought you just meant that you popped in!"

"I was sitting in the back watching. I didn't really want to make my presence known because the attention might have been shifted, and it was your day not mine."

Star was about to say something when the proprietor began to shoo them out. She had a question that she needed to ask Caleb. It was important that she knew the answer but now wasn't the place or time. "I apologize you two but, it's almost two in the morning. We're closing up now."

"Thank you Nancy for everything. It was a great event as always." Caleb shook her hand.

"Thank you both for coming. We'd love to have both of you return."

They said their goodbyes and Caleb grabbed on to Star's arm lightly.

"What's up Caleb?"

"How are you getting home?"

"Oh, I'll take a taxi."

"No you won't. It's dangerous for a girl to be out so late. I'll drive you home."

"You don't have to." She shook her head. "It's really ok."

"No, come on. I'm not letting you go home alone."

Again, she couldn't say no to that face of his. The ride was filled with small talk and jokes. Caleb was such an easy person to talk to.

"Well, we're here." As Star began to open the door, Caleb stopped her. "Don't worry, I got it." He came around the side of the car and let her out.

"Caleb..." Star began. He looked at her attentively. "Why?"

"It's the gentleman thing to do that's why." He looked at her confused.

"No, not that. Why don't you hate me? Why are you being so nice? I blackmailed your best friend and the only reason he forgave me is because of you. So why do you care so much about what happens to me?"

Caleb paused for a moment to think before answering. "Tim would have forgiven you on his own, he just needed someone to push him."

"No. He was really nice about it, but he told me before that he hated me. I inconvenienced him and you can't expect me to believe that he gave up that easily can you? You coaxed him and I want to know why."

Caleb let out a sigh. "It's really late. I think you should go inside and get some rest."

"You're my idol. Everything that has happened should be a dream come true, but I just feel so screwed up inside and nobody thinks there's anything wrong with what I did. Those others don't know about what I did, but you do...why?" Star repeated in desperation.

"Your idol?" He whispered. "I..." He stopped for a minute and shook the thought out of his head. "I will tell you,  but it'll take a while and it's way too late right now. You can come over my place tomorrow, I'll pick you up."

"No!" Star answered quickly. "I uh...Tim might not like that."

"He'll probably be out with Mya. They're a thing again."

"It's ok, I rather not. You can come here tomorrow. It'll be more quiet, and I know for a fact that there won't be any paparazzi."

"Alright." He nodded. "I'll be here tomorrow around five. I can pick us up some food if you'd like."

"Don't worry about it. I'll cook something. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Mr. Gray."

"Goodnight Star," He said softly before heading back to his car. Once he was behind the wheel again he shut his eyes tightly. He couldn't control his emotions. He had a day to figure out how to keep his feelings in check before facing Star again.