Categories > Celebrities > 30 Seconds to Mars > Finding Jared
FINDING JARED
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Later on that day, Jared and Skyla boarded the plane to the United States. They sat beside each other, holding hands. The small flow of electricity between them was no strange thing, now. They kept their heads together on the whole flight back to New York, where Jared and Skyla had arranged their date. Skyla had on some dark sunglasses borrowed from Vicki, who was overjoyed when Skyla told her the circumstances. Soon they all knew about Skyla and Jared.
"Oh my God, congrats!" Vicki squealed as she hugged Skyla. She slipped her the sunglasses in between hugs.
"You guys look so cute together!" Emma told her.
"About time Jared got a girl!" Tomo whispered. Skyla giggled.
Right now it was just the four of them in the room. Vicki was helping her choose outfits for her date with Jared, while Emma was helping with constructive criticism.
"If you put her in a standard outfit of blue jeans and a pretty blouse, Jared would still like her just the same," Emma said.
"Yes, but we want her to be pretty, don't we?" Vicki asked.
After tossing aside almost every piece of clothing Skyla had brought with her, Emma, Vicki, and Skyla were heading out to find a pretty dress and some shoes to match.
"I'm not a dressy person," Skyla noted. She had on a sky-blue strapless dress and clear sandals. She turned to the right, then the left. "I don't like it," she grimaced.
"It's pretty!" Vicki said. Skyla had to admit, the cut was pretty, and the bottom of the dress flared out. But it just didn't feel right.
Skyla saw a cherry red dress with spaghetti straps and grabbed it. "This dress is my size," she said.
Emma saw a pair of red high heels and grabbed them. "These heels match that dress perfectly," she said excitedly.
Vicki and Emma helped her get into the dress, then helped her with the heels. As they all eyed the red dress, they simultaneously shook their heads.
"Too red," they all said, and collapsed into giggles.
They continued their commentary through five more dresses until they decided on two: a black cocktail dress with a ruffled skirt and a halter top; and a long, floor-length peach strapless dress that was fitted. She loved the peach dress, but loved the style of the cocktail dress.
"Let's look around," Emma suggested, for Skyla's benefit. Emma knew Skyla loved that dress. The three of them looked around the store and finally found a peach cocktail dress in Skyla's size. The dress was gorgeous: it had a knee-length ruffled skirt and was strapless, a mix of the other two dresses. Vicki walked away for about ten minutes and came back holding a pair of strappy peach heels. Together Emma and Vicki dragged Skyla over to the dressing rooms and put the dress and heels on her; they stood back and looked at her.
"You look gorgeous!" Emma said.
"You're gonna stun him speechless when he sees you!" Vicki said excitedly.
"Thanks," Skyla said sheepishly. She blushed a light shade of magenta. Vicki and Emma noticed.
"We gotta make sure if you blush, he won't notice," Vicki said.
After they bought her dress and heels, they went and bought some makeup and some hair products.
"I'm being turned into a regular old Barbie doll!" Skyla laughed.
"Only difference is you're a red-head and Barbie is blonde!" Emma said.
When they were finished shopping, they headed back to the hotel they were staying at. Skyla was excited.
"Now don't forget, tomorrow when you wake up come over here and start getting ready, okay?" Emma told her.
"Okay. Later," Skyla told her. She headed back to her room.
When she woke up the next morning, she had a quick breakfast and shower. She brushed and dried her hair and her teeth. She walked down the hall to Emma's room and knocked on the door; Emma and Vicki opened the door and pulled her inside quickly.
"Jared can't see you before your date tonight!" Vicki said.
"That only applies to weddings," Skyla pointed out.
"This is a special case!" Emma said.
Skyla waved it off. "It's just a date."
"But Jared loves you!" they said in unison.
Skyla sighed. There was no getting through to them. As they helped her into her dress and heels, she contemplated cancelling the date just so her and Jared could stay in the hotel; but then they would have no privacy. So she kept the date with Jared.
"Close your eyes," Vicki told her. Skyla felt the gentle tugging of an eyeliner pencil on her eyes. After about two minutes of eyeliner, she felt something cold on her eyes.
"Okay, now open your eyes," Vicki said. She held a tube of mascara in her hand. "Look up," Vicki commanded. Skyla did as he was told; Vicki put the mascara on both sets of eyelashes in a few minutes. After she closed the tube of mascara, Emma expertly applied some blush and put some earrings in her ears for her. Vicki and Emma stood back and admired their handiwork.
"Okay, now time for your hair." Vicki pulled out a curling iron and a flat iron. She straightened Skyla's hair and put some curls into her hair in sporadic places. After she did that, she left the curling iron and the flat iron out to cool and let Emma spray some hairspray on Skyla's hair.
"All that's left is your lips," Emma said. "Here's some clear lip gloss; just use it and you'll be fine."
Skyla put the lip gloss on and looked in the mirror. Looking back at her was a completely different Skyla - one that was gussied up for a date. Her mother would be proud. Her brother would kill her.
Skyla looked at the time. It was almost two o'clock; her date wasn't supposed to start for three hours.
"What am I going to do for three hours? Just stand around?" she asked them.
"You can sit down and wait here," Emma told her.
Two and a half hours later, Skyla had butterflies already. Emma and Vicki were trying to calm her down.
"Don't worry about anything; you just have thirty minutes left!" they told her.
"Anything can happen in thirty minutes!" Skyla moaned.
Fifteen minutes later, they ushered her out the door. "You'll be okay. Tell us how it all went!"
Skyla walked down the hall to the elevators and pressed the button to go down. As the doors opened, she stepped in and pressed the button for the lobby. While she was descending, she sent Jared a text.
"I'm on my way. Where should I meet you?" she texted him.
"The vegan restaurant a few blocks from the hotel," he texted back.
She smiled and exited the elevator. As she walked out of the hotel, she realized that there was no possible way she could avoid the paparazzi dressed like this. She kept her head down and kept walking to the vegan restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. Right after she walked in, she heard a sudden clap of thunder overhead and jumped. She didn't bring a clutch or any type of wallet, but she had her phone. She looked around the restaurant and spotted Jared in a corner booth. She walked over to him.
"Wow!" he said when she sat down beside him. "You're gorgeous!"
"Thanks," she blushed. She felt a reassuring pat on the leg, accompanied by a small shock, come from Jared. She looked at him and noticed he was smiling, and she grinned back at him.
Throughout their dinner, she couldn't help but notice how Jared never removed his hand from her thigh. When the check came, she had to admit to Jared that she only brought her phone.
"I didn't even think this morning when I left," she said.
"Don't worry about it," Jared said, and paid the whole check, tip and all. As they were leaving, he took his jacket off and lent it to Skyla to cover her up since it was pouring down rain. As they walked back to their hotel, Jared asked her if it was okay for him to stop and buy a new BlackBerry real quick.
"Sure," Skyla said. After stopping for a few minutes, Jared had a shiny new BlackBerry and one in tow for Skyla. They hurried to their hotel, both of them dripping wet.
"Thanks for the dinner," Skyla told him. She smiled at him.
"No problem," Jared told her. "Listen, why don't you go change and come back to my hotel room?"
"Okay," she said, nervous. She went back to her hotel room and grabbed some clothes, including a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a pair of pajama pants. She walked down the hall to see Emma and Vicki.
"Get in here and tell us everything!" they demanded of her.
"It'll have to wait until tomorrow; he wants me to come over to his hotel room," she told them. "So I want to take this makeup off."
"Okay," Vicki said. Together, her and Emma got the makeup off of Skyla's face and got her dried off enough so she could go see Jared.
"Now you can tell us what happens when you come back tomorrow!" Emma told her as she pushed her out of the room.
Skyla walked down the hall with her purse; she stood outside Jared's hotel room and knocked on the door.
"There's the Skyla I know!" Jared exclaimed when he opened the door. He stood back to let her in; she walked in and sat down on his bed. Jared walked over and sat down beside her.
"What do you mean, 'the Skyla you know'?" she asked him.
"The Skyla I know doesn't get all dolled up. She just wears jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. And that's the Skyla I prefer over a Skyla in a dress with makeup," he explained.
Skyla felt like her heart had swelled. Jared liked her for her, not because she was pretty. She sat cross-legged on his bed.
"So what do you want to do?" she asked him.
He kissed her. "Just lay here and talk," he told her.
Skyla caught her breath. She kissed him back, harder.
"I have to head back to Chattanooga tomorrow," she whispered in his ear.
Jared gave her a sad look. "I wish you didn't have to leave, ever," he whispered back to her.
He grabbed her in a big bear hug and laid her down on the bed; that night they stayed awake talking about their future plans.
"I'm probably going to be forced to go to school by my parents," Skyla told him. "My brother is in med school, and they want me to be in the medical field like him and my dad."
Jared thought for a minute. "You're too pretty to go to college; you should stay with us."
"My parents wouldn't like that!" she laughed. Jared chuckled, and thought about it.
"I'd treat you good; I wouldn't use you or anything," he continued on.
Skyla smiled at him. "I'm sure you would."
Jared wouldn't let up on the compliments and everything. "I'd tell you everyday that you're gorgeous, and that I love you."
Skyla leaned over and kissed him. "Whatever you're up to, hold off on it until tomorrow, okay?" She turned the lights out and went to sleep.
Jared sighed. She didn't get the hints. Not a single one.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Later on that day, Jared and Skyla boarded the plane to the United States. They sat beside each other, holding hands. The small flow of electricity between them was no strange thing, now. They kept their heads together on the whole flight back to New York, where Jared and Skyla had arranged their date. Skyla had on some dark sunglasses borrowed from Vicki, who was overjoyed when Skyla told her the circumstances. Soon they all knew about Skyla and Jared.
"Oh my God, congrats!" Vicki squealed as she hugged Skyla. She slipped her the sunglasses in between hugs.
"You guys look so cute together!" Emma told her.
"About time Jared got a girl!" Tomo whispered. Skyla giggled.
Right now it was just the four of them in the room. Vicki was helping her choose outfits for her date with Jared, while Emma was helping with constructive criticism.
"If you put her in a standard outfit of blue jeans and a pretty blouse, Jared would still like her just the same," Emma said.
"Yes, but we want her to be pretty, don't we?" Vicki asked.
After tossing aside almost every piece of clothing Skyla had brought with her, Emma, Vicki, and Skyla were heading out to find a pretty dress and some shoes to match.
"I'm not a dressy person," Skyla noted. She had on a sky-blue strapless dress and clear sandals. She turned to the right, then the left. "I don't like it," she grimaced.
"It's pretty!" Vicki said. Skyla had to admit, the cut was pretty, and the bottom of the dress flared out. But it just didn't feel right.
Skyla saw a cherry red dress with spaghetti straps and grabbed it. "This dress is my size," she said.
Emma saw a pair of red high heels and grabbed them. "These heels match that dress perfectly," she said excitedly.
Vicki and Emma helped her get into the dress, then helped her with the heels. As they all eyed the red dress, they simultaneously shook their heads.
"Too red," they all said, and collapsed into giggles.
They continued their commentary through five more dresses until they decided on two: a black cocktail dress with a ruffled skirt and a halter top; and a long, floor-length peach strapless dress that was fitted. She loved the peach dress, but loved the style of the cocktail dress.
"Let's look around," Emma suggested, for Skyla's benefit. Emma knew Skyla loved that dress. The three of them looked around the store and finally found a peach cocktail dress in Skyla's size. The dress was gorgeous: it had a knee-length ruffled skirt and was strapless, a mix of the other two dresses. Vicki walked away for about ten minutes and came back holding a pair of strappy peach heels. Together Emma and Vicki dragged Skyla over to the dressing rooms and put the dress and heels on her; they stood back and looked at her.
"You look gorgeous!" Emma said.
"You're gonna stun him speechless when he sees you!" Vicki said excitedly.
"Thanks," Skyla said sheepishly. She blushed a light shade of magenta. Vicki and Emma noticed.
"We gotta make sure if you blush, he won't notice," Vicki said.
After they bought her dress and heels, they went and bought some makeup and some hair products.
"I'm being turned into a regular old Barbie doll!" Skyla laughed.
"Only difference is you're a red-head and Barbie is blonde!" Emma said.
When they were finished shopping, they headed back to the hotel they were staying at. Skyla was excited.
"Now don't forget, tomorrow when you wake up come over here and start getting ready, okay?" Emma told her.
"Okay. Later," Skyla told her. She headed back to her room.
When she woke up the next morning, she had a quick breakfast and shower. She brushed and dried her hair and her teeth. She walked down the hall to Emma's room and knocked on the door; Emma and Vicki opened the door and pulled her inside quickly.
"Jared can't see you before your date tonight!" Vicki said.
"That only applies to weddings," Skyla pointed out.
"This is a special case!" Emma said.
Skyla waved it off. "It's just a date."
"But Jared loves you!" they said in unison.
Skyla sighed. There was no getting through to them. As they helped her into her dress and heels, she contemplated cancelling the date just so her and Jared could stay in the hotel; but then they would have no privacy. So she kept the date with Jared.
"Close your eyes," Vicki told her. Skyla felt the gentle tugging of an eyeliner pencil on her eyes. After about two minutes of eyeliner, she felt something cold on her eyes.
"Okay, now open your eyes," Vicki said. She held a tube of mascara in her hand. "Look up," Vicki commanded. Skyla did as he was told; Vicki put the mascara on both sets of eyelashes in a few minutes. After she closed the tube of mascara, Emma expertly applied some blush and put some earrings in her ears for her. Vicki and Emma stood back and admired their handiwork.
"Okay, now time for your hair." Vicki pulled out a curling iron and a flat iron. She straightened Skyla's hair and put some curls into her hair in sporadic places. After she did that, she left the curling iron and the flat iron out to cool and let Emma spray some hairspray on Skyla's hair.
"All that's left is your lips," Emma said. "Here's some clear lip gloss; just use it and you'll be fine."
Skyla put the lip gloss on and looked in the mirror. Looking back at her was a completely different Skyla - one that was gussied up for a date. Her mother would be proud. Her brother would kill her.
Skyla looked at the time. It was almost two o'clock; her date wasn't supposed to start for three hours.
"What am I going to do for three hours? Just stand around?" she asked them.
"You can sit down and wait here," Emma told her.
Two and a half hours later, Skyla had butterflies already. Emma and Vicki were trying to calm her down.
"Don't worry about anything; you just have thirty minutes left!" they told her.
"Anything can happen in thirty minutes!" Skyla moaned.
Fifteen minutes later, they ushered her out the door. "You'll be okay. Tell us how it all went!"
Skyla walked down the hall to the elevators and pressed the button to go down. As the doors opened, she stepped in and pressed the button for the lobby. While she was descending, she sent Jared a text.
"I'm on my way. Where should I meet you?" she texted him.
"The vegan restaurant a few blocks from the hotel," he texted back.
She smiled and exited the elevator. As she walked out of the hotel, she realized that there was no possible way she could avoid the paparazzi dressed like this. She kept her head down and kept walking to the vegan restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. Right after she walked in, she heard a sudden clap of thunder overhead and jumped. She didn't bring a clutch or any type of wallet, but she had her phone. She looked around the restaurant and spotted Jared in a corner booth. She walked over to him.
"Wow!" he said when she sat down beside him. "You're gorgeous!"
"Thanks," she blushed. She felt a reassuring pat on the leg, accompanied by a small shock, come from Jared. She looked at him and noticed he was smiling, and she grinned back at him.
Throughout their dinner, she couldn't help but notice how Jared never removed his hand from her thigh. When the check came, she had to admit to Jared that she only brought her phone.
"I didn't even think this morning when I left," she said.
"Don't worry about it," Jared said, and paid the whole check, tip and all. As they were leaving, he took his jacket off and lent it to Skyla to cover her up since it was pouring down rain. As they walked back to their hotel, Jared asked her if it was okay for him to stop and buy a new BlackBerry real quick.
"Sure," Skyla said. After stopping for a few minutes, Jared had a shiny new BlackBerry and one in tow for Skyla. They hurried to their hotel, both of them dripping wet.
"Thanks for the dinner," Skyla told him. She smiled at him.
"No problem," Jared told her. "Listen, why don't you go change and come back to my hotel room?"
"Okay," she said, nervous. She went back to her hotel room and grabbed some clothes, including a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a pair of pajama pants. She walked down the hall to see Emma and Vicki.
"Get in here and tell us everything!" they demanded of her.
"It'll have to wait until tomorrow; he wants me to come over to his hotel room," she told them. "So I want to take this makeup off."
"Okay," Vicki said. Together, her and Emma got the makeup off of Skyla's face and got her dried off enough so she could go see Jared.
"Now you can tell us what happens when you come back tomorrow!" Emma told her as she pushed her out of the room.
Skyla walked down the hall with her purse; she stood outside Jared's hotel room and knocked on the door.
"There's the Skyla I know!" Jared exclaimed when he opened the door. He stood back to let her in; she walked in and sat down on his bed. Jared walked over and sat down beside her.
"What do you mean, 'the Skyla you know'?" she asked him.
"The Skyla I know doesn't get all dolled up. She just wears jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. And that's the Skyla I prefer over a Skyla in a dress with makeup," he explained.
Skyla felt like her heart had swelled. Jared liked her for her, not because she was pretty. She sat cross-legged on his bed.
"So what do you want to do?" she asked him.
He kissed her. "Just lay here and talk," he told her.
Skyla caught her breath. She kissed him back, harder.
"I have to head back to Chattanooga tomorrow," she whispered in his ear.
Jared gave her a sad look. "I wish you didn't have to leave, ever," he whispered back to her.
He grabbed her in a big bear hug and laid her down on the bed; that night they stayed awake talking about their future plans.
"I'm probably going to be forced to go to school by my parents," Skyla told him. "My brother is in med school, and they want me to be in the medical field like him and my dad."
Jared thought for a minute. "You're too pretty to go to college; you should stay with us."
"My parents wouldn't like that!" she laughed. Jared chuckled, and thought about it.
"I'd treat you good; I wouldn't use you or anything," he continued on.
Skyla smiled at him. "I'm sure you would."
Jared wouldn't let up on the compliments and everything. "I'd tell you everyday that you're gorgeous, and that I love you."
Skyla leaned over and kissed him. "Whatever you're up to, hold off on it until tomorrow, okay?" She turned the lights out and went to sleep.
Jared sighed. She didn't get the hints. Not a single one.
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