Chapter 1
"With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else's ideas about you, but what's important is how you feel about yourself – for survival and living day to day with what comes up."
(Marilyn Monroe)
--
Mikan Sakura didn't like this at all.
She rested her chin on her palm as she watched the actors rehearse their lines. She thought how unfair everything worked for her, one minute she was the lead and the other she was unexpectedly out of the movie.
"Mikan, what the hell are you still doing there?" Tsubasa Andou called, dangling his suit over his shoulder. "I have another job fo—"
"Mikan!" Kira, the actress who was added in the cast for the last minute, the girl who Mikan was replaced with, called out, shifting her position towards the boy. "You're leaving? Good luck, then." She smiled, placing her bag on the table beside her.
"Thanks." The brunette stood, eyes on the girl's new Louis Vuitton bag. She knew it was really mean of her, but she couldn't help but think that she didn't need any of that, most especially coming from her. Role-stealer, she thought. "You too."
Her manager then placed a hand on Mikan's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kira-san, I have to take my agent with me now, we have some important business to attend to." He pushed Mikan out of the room and waved. "Best wishes on your next scene!"
The brunette looked at Tsubasa, wondering why he even added that unessesary line. "What are you planning?"
"You'll just have to wait and see, Mikan-chan." His crooked smile explained everything for her.
And by that time, Mikan Sakura was quite sure something was not right.
--
He lay on the bed, watching the girl put her clothes back on. She immediately noticed, holding her blouse close to her before putting them on. "Stop staring."
"No, I'll stare all I want." His voice was husky and low. Just how she liked it - actually, how everyone liked it. There was nothing about Natsume Hyuuga that you wouldn't like about. Everything about him captivated anyone who comes across him. He'd just unconsciously wrap you around his fingers and then crumple you to pieces. That was how he was. How he was like. And how he survived in the social circle, putting himself all the way to the top. "You don't have any problems with that, right?"
Her face turned red. Her body heating up. "N-no..." She tried to not make the conversation or what else they had been doing for the last hour any longer and hurried off to the door. "I'll go now."
"One last thing..." The Hyuuga turned around, his back faced to her. "...If you want to be famous, you should do a better job at this next time."
The girl clutched her handbag furiously. Her vision turned black. She was tired. And she decided she won't give a damn anymore. This man was just as evil as what she had heard. "N-next time? What do you intend on doing?! I tried my best to please you today – I sacrificed my virginity to you, damnit!" With that, she raised her hand and attempted to slap him, only to be stopped by him.
"Did you think you can get away with slapping me with that dirty hand of yours?" He pushed her away, grabbed his wallet and placed a handful of money on the bed. "You just gave up something most precious to you for money with someone you barely even know… do you think you deserve to be treated differently?" He chuckled, standing up, letting the dollar bills fall on her. "Although you try to act innocent, but you're actually the same as I am."
The girl collapsed on her knees the same time Natsume Hyuuga slammed the door behind him. She cried, just because she knew that the only thing she could do now was to cry after what she had just lost.
--
She scanned the rooms, her heart pounding faster than her footsteps were on the wooden floor. Her hand rested on her knees as she tried to catch up with her breath. She tried to clear her mind for that moment; trying to prevent herself from thinking Tsubasa had completely betrayed her, luring her into one of his experimental antics - just for the sake of being famous. She played the bet, gambled her life - gave up on what she was supposed to be, what her family would've wanted, just to chase after her dreams. Mikan had always been the type to follow what she wanted, without going against the rules. She wanted to play safe, and at the same time, win the game. She wanted too much, expected too much - and ended up nothing but being in the last place.
Someday, she said, she thought, she knew she'll be able to reach the top; her hard work would pay off. After all, isn't it the turtle, who played right - slow and easy, who won the game and had beat the rabbit?
Mikan Sakura stopped, her head looking up in front of the white wall. She grimaced. It was a dead end.
"Looking for something?" A voice called out. Mikan felt like she was in one of those crappy HBO movies they show every Monday morning. The brunette didn't dare turn and waited for a signal to break into an escape until a hand stopped her from doing so.
"S-stop it!" She struggled away from him, but the harder she tried, the stronger he got. Tears filled her eyes as his hand landed on her side. She felt chills run from down her spine and something had just blocked her throat from screaming. "P-please… S-stop it! Stop! Sto—"
The pair of hands around her waist disappeared. Mikan turned, embracing her body to herself as she watched the man get beaten up by a young man.
"Didn't she just tell you to stop? Goddamnit! Everyone I come across today never fail to irritate me." He kicked him, leaving the man barely conscious. "Do you want to die?"
The man couldn't recognize who was the person trying to beat him into a bloody pulp, but at the time he looked up and saw his blazing crimson eyes, he froze. He was Natsume Hyuuga and something about the look in his eyes told him that he had to escape that very moment.
--
"Thank you so much, you don't know how much I'm gra—"
"Shut up, I'm not in the mood to be nice right now." He turned to look at the girl, slid his finger under her chin and lifted it slightly like it was glass. Delicate and fragile, he made her seem. "You're that Mikan Sakura aren't you?"
Mikan smiled, completely thankful for him—and the fact that he knew he name made her feel tingly inside; at that point, he already seemed like a hero to her. "Yes, yes, I am."
"—so you're that no good wannabe, then." He dropped his hand from her face, placing them in his pockets.
Mikan frowned. She inwardly took back what she had just thought about him. "What the hell do you mean?"
"This building is not for kids." He pricked her forehead. "If you want to be famous in an overnight then this is the first place you need to go. Get someone in one of those rooms to sleep with you, get them satisfied, and then you'll be the biggest celebrity in Japan in no time."
Mikan couldn't believe what she was hearing. This... this place this man was telling her, this was the place Tsubasa Andou tricked her in. He was expecting her to... to be raped. Was that it? She was silent for a moment. "I must've been in the wrong place then." She took a deep breath and bowed. "Thank you for saving me. I really don't know what was coming."
He smirked, trapping her with his body all of a sudden. "If you thought that was scary…" He whispered in her ear. "…wait till you see what I can do." His lips teased her skin. "You wanted this right? This is what you've always liked to do. Tell me what you want, a new movie? A CD debut? Your own TV show? Or a big talent fee—"
"You bastard!" The tears building in her eyes dropped one by one as she gave him a hard blow on his right cheek using all the anger she had in. "Who gave you the right to treat girls this way as if we're playthings?! Do you think you can make the world stop revolving with your money and your power? Do you think you can actually buy everything?"
He dropped his arms on her sides. "Is that all you want to say? I actually thought the entertainment world was something much more interesting that what I did so I gave it a try." He ruffled his hair with his hand. "But I can still say politics is the best."
"What's your point then?" She wiped her eyes and continued to glare at him.
He turned at the girl, looking at her like how an eagle would look on his prey. "In this world, there isn't anything you can't buy with money."
"Y-yes there is!"
"Are you going to say it's your heart or something?" He chuckled, moving a step away from her, placing his hands in his pockets.
"It's true! You can't buy my heart even if you'd give me all the money in the world!" Mikan Sakura looked rather determined. She was ready to prove this guy wrong.
"Yes." He took a step closer. "Yes, I can."
And at that moment, he looked her through with his crimson eyes that left her breathless. It was her first time seeing something rare and beautiful as eyes like his – she was left mesmerized. And before she knew it, he leaned in and kissed her.
She didn't have the strength to push him away as he leaned in deeper to kiss her. Mikan Sakura closed her eyes in silent panic, thinking how a dirty player he was.
--
I'm feeling all super human, you did that to me
A super human heart beats in me
Nothing can stop me here with you
Super human (I feel so super human)
Super human
Oh, you did that to me
A super human heart beats in me
Nothing can stop me here with you
Super human (I feel so super human)
Super human
(Super human, Chris Brown ft. Keri Hilson)
--
Author's Note:
This story is inspired by Love Celeb. I wouldn't say it is based from it since I have my own plot for this. I just liked the situation the characters were in and I think it's pretty interesting to write. Not too cliché, and not too out of character. Don't you think?
Please read and review (tell me what you think - constructive criticism is welcome).
Edited: December 22, 2009
Yep, I kind of edited the chapters and re-posted it. I hope you don't mind. Anyways, I'll post the other chapters each day, and I'll release the recent chapter on Christmas day.
XO.