[LoyalSamy]

Part 19:
“ Are you Claire?” Zoe was the first to ask. “ Yes, are you Zoe?” Kate then came to the door. “ Hi, I’m Kate.” “Hi Kate.” Arianna said. “ You must be Arianna?” Claire asked. “ here I am!” She put her hands up. “ You guys can come in.” Claire told them opening the door wider. “ We were just saying how we love the pictures on your door.” Zoe said as they stepped in. “ Oh ya, I thought it would be cute.” “It is.” Arianna followed. “ So how was your flight?” Claire asked. “ It was good, we were actually on the same flight!” “ Same with us.” Claire commented. “ So its weird to see everyone in person.” Zoe spoke again. “ Ya, one second were internet buddies, and now here we are.” Kate said. “So I wonder where the other three are?” Arianna asked. “ So who else is coming? Remind me.” Zoe asked. It was like Claire had everything memorized. “ The four of us, Xesca, Rhiannon and LeAnn.” “ Oh, LeAnn is a hoot.” Arianna stated. “ Ya, I know, I cant wait to meet her.” Claire replied back. Claire saw that all of them were just standing around. “ oh, you guys can sit.” Claire sat on her bed and moved over. Zoe sat next to her. “ So do you guys want a tour of the hotel?” Kate asked. “ Oh, no, we’ll get one later when everyone else gets here.” Arianna said sitting on Kate’s bed. “ Well its great to meet you girls, but I think I’m gonna go unpack before dinner. Zoe now said. “ Oh that’s fine.” Claire said. “ I’ll stay with you guys.” Arianna said not moving.

~ an hour later:
Arianna, Kate and Claire were hanging out in the room getting acquainted when the phone rang. “ I’m getting hungry.” Arianna said moving her lips. “ Ya, me to.” Kate agreed. “ Hello?” Claire answered the phone. “ Hello Claire, its Alana.” She laughed. “ Hello again.” “ I just wanted to let you know that the next three loyals have arrived.” “ Ok, great.” Claire replied. “ Ya, I’ll send them up and then we can all go to dinner.” “ Oh, sounds good.” Claire said. “ Claire?” Alana said before hanging up. “ Yes?” “ Don’t tell the others, but Criss will be joining us to meet you all.” “ Oh, ok, thank you.” She hung up. She was not going to betray Alana’s trust. “ So?” Kate and Arianna wondered. “ Good news. The others are here, we wont have to wait long, and then we’ll be off to dinner.” “ Awesome.” Arianna said.

~Downstairs outside the hotel:
LeAnn, Rhiannon, and Xesca got out of the car, “ Thanks so much Derek!” Rhiannon said, and the others followed. “ Hi, nice to meet all of you.” Alana stood greeting them. “ Alana as in Criss’s assistant?!” LeAnn asked stunned.

~ Claire & Kate’s room:
“ Alright, I think im mostly done with unpacking.” Zoe said coming back into the room. “ Feel better?” Claire asked. “ Yes.” “ Good, well I just got off the phone with Alana and she said the others are here and we’ll be going to dinner.” “ I wonder when we’ll finally get to meet Criss?” Kate asked. Claire pretended not to know either.
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Part 20:
Rhiannon, LeAnn, and Xesca all rode up the elevator together anticipating. “ I hope our rooms are nice.” LeAnn said to break the silence. “ I’m sure they are.” Rhiannon said. It was awkward that three loyals were in an elevator, and had nothing to say to each other. Xesca was very tired. She only got a little bit of sleep the night before and she started to yawn. “ Maybe Criss can do hypnosis on me, it will work wonders, and then I’ll sleep eight straight hours.” “ I’m sure it will.” Rhiannon usually was in a good mood, and always seem to look at everything on the positive side. “ Well if you wake up tonight, don’t come into my room.” Leann warned her sarcastically. “ Psht, I’ll come in and jump on your bed.” They all laughed and the elevator stopped and the doors opened. They all stepped out slowly. The hallway was quiet until Rhiannon said “okay, were in room 42.” They looked down the hall. “Oh, this way.” Leann led the group. When they got to the door, Xesca was awake enough to notice Kate and Claire’s door. “ hey, look at this door.” They walked over. “ Oh, this must be Claire, and here’s Kate.” Xesca said. “Aw, this is cute.” Rhiannon commented. “ Alright, can I get the key? I’m most likely gonna take a nap.” “Okay Lee, lets put our stuff down, and then will come and say hi.”

“ Everyone just loves us.” Claire told the group as the next knock came. She opened it. “ Hi.” “ Hi.” Rhiannon, and Leann said excitedly. “You’re Claire?” “Yup.” Claire said with a smile. “ Lemme guess, your Leann?” “ uh huh.” “ Well hi.” Claire said again, and decided to give them each hugs. “ Come in, come in.” Claire stepped away. “ Soon, there’s gonna be a party in here.” “ Leann, Rhiannon, meet Arianna and Zoe.” Claire introduced them. “ Hi, nice to meet you guys.” Rhiannon said. “ Xesca would be here, but she was so tired, she took a nap” “ Aww, poor girl.” Claire said knowing how she had sleeping issues. “ So what time did you all get here?” Rhiannon asked. “ Well Claire and Kate have been here the longest.” Arianna said. “ Have you seen Criss yet?” Leann asked. “ haha, no.” “ Can you believe this whole floor is just for us and him?” Claire told everyone. “ And him?” Leann asked. “ Ya, his room is down the hall.” Claire said walking over to the door to open it. “ Alana didn’t tell you?” “ I still cant believe we met her!” Leann said. Claire opened the door, and the loyals peeked their heads out. “ “ I had this fun idea to slip notes under his door and see what he does.” “ And?” Zoe found this funny. “ And we didn’t do it.” Claire said flat out. “ I wasn’t interested in getting into trouble.” They all started getting comfortable as Claire sat on her bed with Zoe, Rhiannon sat in a chair on Kate’s side as Kate sat on her bed with Arianna. “ Speaking of trouble, have any of you seen that new article on Criss? Arianna asked. “ Oh no, your not talking about..” Claire said looking at her. “ What are you guys talking about?” Zoe asked. “ I’ll be right back.” Arianna said. Everyone looked at Claire. “ I was telling Kate about this earlier.” Arianna came back to the room, and dropped the magazine on the bed. Rhiannon, Leann, Kate and Zoe all looked at it. Arianna sat with Claire and waited. Rhiannon picked it up. “ 7 Days with 7 Loyals?” questioning the title. She started flipping through the pages. “ Shall I start?” she said, brave enough to read this crap.
Saving them all, the phone rang. “ Is that Alana?” Kate asked. “I think so.” Claire said. “ Are you all ready for dinner?” Eliza asked on the other line. “ Are we all ready to eat?” Claire covered the phone and asked the girls. They nodded. “Oh, Xesca.” Rhiannon said quietly. “Alana, we are, but as you could tell, Xesca was really tired, so she went to go take a nap.” “ Oh I see, how long has she been asleep?” “ About 10 minutes?” she told her. “Do you want us to wake her up?” Claire asked. “ Ya, I really don’t want to, but I don’t want her waking up and then not knowing where everyone is.” “Ya, true.” Claire agreed. Alana then explained to Claire where everyone should meet. “ Ok, good, see you soon.” “Tell Xesca I’m sorry.” “ I will.” Claire hung up. “Okay, Alana wants us to wake up Xesca.” Claire told them. “ I’ll go do it.” Zoe volunteered.
~Downstairs in the dinner area:
“ Do I look okay?” Criss asked Alana fussing with his clothes. “You look great.” Alana then tilted his fedora so a shadow cast over his eyes. “There you go.” She looked at him admiringly. “ Think there gonna freak?” “ Oh ya.” Alana smiled. “Except one.” “Except one?” Criss asked. “ I, I told one of the loyals.” “ Thanks Alana, you’ve just ruined it.” Criss turned to disappointment. She tapped him on the arm. “ No, for some reason I trust her.” “ Now, go hide.” She told him.

[LoyalSamy]

Part 21:
Leann, and Kate were nice enough to go down the stairs with Claire. She really wasn’t in the mood to feel a drop in her stomach before eating. When they got to the lobby area, she started walking “ Ok, I think its this way.” “ Lets wait for the others.” Kate reminded her. “ Right.” The group of them worked together to find where it was. Criss had reserved a special area of the hotel’s restaurant. They were led in by a maitre d’ to the back area. They were all looked apon by the others who were also wondering where they were going. Kate, Claire and Leann just smiled at each other and kept walking. Claire looked back at Xesca.” You doing okay?” Claire asked her. “ Ya, just give me some food, and put me back to sleep.” They then entered the room. Claire thought it looked very similar to the room in season 5 where Criss did the light bulb illusion for a couple of girls. The room just had a long table with plates and silverware all set up, and to add a touch, two candles were lit. “ Hello loyals.” Alana greeted them as the stood together. The maitre d’ smiled at Alana and left. The room was dim, but enough to see each other. “ Please sit.” The look on everyone’s faces said they were impressed. “ I want to start by thanking all of you for being so loyal to Criss. It really does mean a lot to him. He loves you all. He and I are so glad that all of you could make it. You all are going to have an opportunity that most celebs wouldn’t consider, but this is why Criss is amazing.” “ I have one thing to ask you.” “ Are you all ready for a surprise?” Claire knew this was it. She looked around the table at the other girls anticipating faces. “ Criss?” Alana called out. The dark red curtain that was closed behind Alana started to open, and there was Criss. Everyone started to clap. “ How are we all?” He asked, with a smile. “ Thank you.” He nodded his head listening to the last of the clapping. Claire couldn’t believe it. There he was! And he looked amazing: A black fedora, a dark regalia purple button down shirt which he never wore before, and black pants. “ Lets see, a lot of you I think I’ve met before.” As he looked at all of them. “Have any of you not met me before?” Leann, not typically a shy girl raised her hand slowly. Everyone looked at her and laughed. She looked so embarrassed. “ Well, I guess you’ll be the first one I give a hug to.” Leann looked at Alana with a : what do I do now look, but Alana reassured her with her eyes. Criss went over and held his arms out. Leann was hesitant, but of course hugged him back. When he looked at her, he asked. “ And you are?” She was surprised she didn’t faint. “ I’m Leann, from Kentucky.” “ Very nice to meet you Leann.” When Criss turned to Arianna on his right, Leann started to fan herself. “ You I recognized.” She smiled. “ Remind me of your name again?” “ Arianna.” She said. “ And how many times have you seen my show?” “ Eight.” “ that’s why.” He continued to Xesca who was sitting next to Arianna. “ And you are?” I’m Xesca.” “ Xesca?” she nodded. “ Wow, that is a very interesting name.” “ Thank you.” He gave her a hug. Criss then went to the other side of the table. “ Hi Criss, I’m Kate.” “ Well hi Kate, you seem very excited to see me.” “ I am.” He gave her his hug. Claire was so nervous. Criss pointed this out when she took a deep breath before saying anything. “ Are you a bit nervous?” Criss was able to read people’s emotions so quickly. “ A little bit.” As she looked at him, she remembered how amazing his eyes looked with eyeliner as they made his eyes stand out more. “ You look familiar to.” He smiled. “ How many times have you seen my show?” “ A couple.” Lightly stating. He knew she was lying. “ How many?” he asked again. “ Five.” “ Thought so.” He then hugged her, and she hugged him back tightly which he responded to. Like Kate, Rhiannon introduced herself politely. “ Hi Criss, I’m Rhiannon.” “ Nice to meet you.” “ Nice to meet you.” He gave her a hug. “ Is it okay if I give you a hug and then sit?” He asked Zoe. “ Oh no, please do.” She said. Criss sat down at one end of the table, and so did Alana.
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Part 22:
Instead of a waiter taking everyone’s orders, Criss decided to pick out a meal that he loved whenever he came to Cabo. As tired as Xesca was, she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t get sick or anything from what he was feeding them, but, she trusted him. “ So, what is this?” She asked as the server put a plate in front of all the girls. “ Its called Chicken Chimichangas,.- none of you are vegetarian right?” All of them nodded. All the girls were hesitant, but Kate decided to go for it. She cut a piece and then started eating. She looked at all of them while chewing and gave them thumbs up. After Criss swallowed his first bite, he looked up at everyone and realized a part of him was glad Brooke wasn’t here. “ So how is everyone liking it?” “ Its really good Criss.” Arianna told him. “ So I now want to go around the table and – he stopped to look at Claire who was the only one who wasn’t exactly eating, but picking at her food. “ Your food okay?” Criss and everyone looked at her wondering. She looked up embarrassed to quickly explain what she was doing. “ Oh, im sorry, I just don’t like it when I’m given food when I don’t know whats in it.” “ Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you guys whats in it.” Like an actor who forgot to say his line, Criss realized he was a bit nervous and here was his first mistake. “ Its just chicken, rice, beans with an olive mixture, and everything else is on the side.” Claire felt like a complete idiot, and not just that, but the fact that she didn’t change her clothes before coming. She looked around. “Oh, okay.” She picked up her fork and it was quiet. “ I’m sorry, continue what you were saying.” “ No, its okay, part of it was my fault. I’m glad you asked .It shows a cautious trait which can be good sometimes.” It was moments like this when Criss made her feel better. “ So I was going to go around the table and ask all of you where your from, and if you had a question for me.” Crap, a question? Claire thought as she was finally enjoying what she was eating. What the hell I’m I gonna ask him? Please don’t pick me first. “Leann, that was your name right?” Claire relaxed. She nodded. “ And your from., Ken..” “ Kentucky.” “ Do you have a question for me?” “ Uh, ya, kinda.” “ Um, could I take a tour of your closet?” Everyone laughed. Criss coughed and then laughed. “ Why, what’s in my closet?” “ Umm, just trying to find something.” What was funnier was that Claire was the only one who knew what Leann was looking for. “ Okay, who wants to go next?” Claire was still in shock that she was sitting at the table with Criss and all her loyal friends getting to personally ask Criss questions. It was finally Claire’s turn. She was nervous, but wanted to redeem herself.
By the time everyone went around and asked Criss there questions, they had all finished eating. I’m gonna have to make this at home to refresh the memories. Claire thought. Criss had his phone on him and was wondering if he should tweet a photo of all them for others to see how it was going, and to start putting that magazine article to shame. “ hey Eliza?” Criss said as he reached into his pocket. “Could you take a photo of us?” He motioned for her to take his phone. Claire was excited. She was going to be in one of Criss’s tweet photos! “ Twitter time.” Rhiannon and Zoe said together. Alana stood to take a picture. “ Alright everyone, gather around.” Criss motioned for them to come to his chair. Claire first thought she would have to stand in the back, but seeing as she wasn’t that tall, Kate said “ No, no, come here.” Criss looked up at Claire and she smiled back when she kneeled down next to him as he put his arm around her and Arianna who was on the other side. “ Smile” A phrase that Eliza was so used to. Claire made sure to give the best smile she had since she the day she met him. “Thank you” Claire said as they then went back to there seats. “ Your welcome.” Criss said looking at her. Honest and polite. Criss thought. On twitter it read : 7 of the best people in my life attached with a link. Criss’s mom at home clicked on the picture. “ awww” she said outloud. She then texted him: Love the photo honey. Criss then clapped his hands and then asked “ alright, who’s ready for dessert?” “ Let me guess, chocolate chip cookies?” Zoe asked. “ No, haha.” He loved how they knew him so well. “ No, this is something special. It’s called Apple Enchiladas.” Claire looked over at Xesca, who was starting to fade. She wanted everyone to be having a good time, but she had to save Xesca. “ Xesca, do you want to go back to your room?” Everyone looked over at her as she rubbed her eyes. “ I hate to kill the party, but I don’t think I can stay.” “ That’s okay.” Leann touched her on the arm. “ Want someone to go with you?” In the state that she was in, Criss wasn’t about to let her go alone. He stood up and came over to her. “I’ll go.” He put his arm out for her to take and link hers with his. “ I’ll be back in a bit. Enjoy dessert.” Before they left the room, everyone could hear Criss say “ A little hypnotism, and you’ll be out like that.” Everyone giggled.
As everyone was enjoying dessert, and interviewing Alana, Criss came back. “ Sorry about that.” “ That’s okay.” Claire said. “She okay?” “Oh ya, asleep.” Claire now felt better. Maybe they shouldn’t have woken her before.

[LoyalSamy]

Day 2: Parts 23-31

Kate was still sleeping when Claire got up the next morning. The both of them talked about Criss until about 1 am. It seemed weird doing it, as they did enough back home via computer. Claire hadn’t shared a room with another girl since she began college. Typically she would get a drink and turn on her computer, but since didn’t have one, she was wondering what to do. She put on a hoodie and as quietly as she could, she decided to open the door and see if anyone was in the hallway also awake. She was right. She looked down the hall to the left, and thought she saw Costa sitting in a chair that wasn’t there yesterday. She squinted her eyes for a second and for sure it was him. He looked up at her and because he could hear the door opening. Claire smiled at him, and wondered, what now? He then motioned for her to come over. She shut the door quietly. As Claire walked, she was nervous. She wasn’t sure if she was allowed at this end of the hall. “ Hi, good morning.” Costa greeted her and she put her hand out. “ Good morning-I’m Claire.” She whispered back. “ I think I’ve met you before?” He questioned as she crossed her arms against her in a shy –hope I’m not intruding way. “ Ya, you have, the first time I met Criss.” “ Well I’m glad you’re here.” “ I am to.” She said. “ So what are you doing up, are you okay?” “ Oh ya, I’m just one of those people, once I wake up- “You cant go back to sleep? Costa finished her sentence. “Yup.” “Same with Criss and I. JD needs an alarm clock.” She giggled at the thought. “ I’m just out here going over some stuff, do you want to sit? I can bring a chair.” “ Oh, no that’s okay, I don’t want to bother you.” “ No,its okay.” Costa said breathing. “ I need to take a break anyway, and I’m sure your more entertaining.” I feel a little bit embarrassed, I’m here talking to you in my pj’s.” she giggled. “I’m gonna change, I’ll be right back.” “ Oh ya, sure, take your time.” Costa told her sweetly. When she started walking back to her room Costa realized he liked her to. She was a rare type to the kinds of women Criss and the family had to deal with in the past.
About ten minutes later Claire opened the door and looked down the hall again. She saw Costa talking to someone, and didn’t want to be rude. As Claire walked back over, she thought it might be Tommy, and when he turned, it was. “ Hi there.” He said. “ Hi.” Claire said back. “ I’m Tommy.” He gave his hand, and Claire took it. “ I’m Claire, nice to meet you.” “ You to.” “ So, are you okay?” he asked. Claire thought Tommy always seemed intimidating from far away, but now, she got to see his personality. “ Just woke up early is all.” “ Ah, yes, I know what you mean.” Tommy told her. The three of them stood there uncomfortably for a minute.
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Part 24:
Claire was once again stunned that not only was she on this trip- but at the moment, she was the one who got to talk to Criss’s brother and bodyguard. She was so worried about being respectful and normal. As she talked to them, she remembered to use her words wisely. Claire felt rude for asking, but she just curious to know. “ So is it just the two of you and Alana?” “Oh no, JD is here and Derek.” Costa said. “Oh, where is Dimitra and Brooke?” Costa and Tommy were impressed that she knew names. “Oh, our mom has come with Criss every time, so she decided to stay home. “And Brooke..” Costa shifted his eyes a bit. “Well..” Claire was wondering where he was going. “Well she didn’t want to come either, and Criss told her he only wanted to bring a few people.” Something by the way Costa said this was suspicious. “ Oh ok, I see.” Claire gently said. As Claire continued talking to them, Criss was having a conversation of his own.
Criss’s Room:
“ Hey sweetie.” Criss started when he called Brooke that morning. “Hi baby.” Her voice sounded fake, like most girls who aren’t sincere. “How are you?” he asked. He wanted to know she was okay regardless that she wasn’t there. I’m okay, just missing you.” “ I know.. how’s my mom?” “ She’s good. Alive.” Well I’d hope so. Criss thought. “So hows it going down there?” She now asked him. Even though this statement was general, she was curious as to what was going on. “ So far so good. I was very excited to meet all my loyals.” Criss said as he looked out the window. “Very cool.” Brooke said. “ Ya, this week is going to be fun, and I’ll have so much to tell you when I come home.” Brooke, back in Vegas, looked at her nails thinking she was going to go out. “Okay, well I’ll let you go.” They obviously didn’t have anything to say sadly. “ Alright, love you.” Criss said before hanging up. “ Muah!” Brooke said and hung up.
The breeze was soft, the sun was shining, the palm trees swayed. Everything was so vivid just like in the photos online. Claire at the moment was starring out to the beach below them as she and the others were on a private balcony for breakfast, where Alana had brought them later that morning. Claire was glad it was only morning and not too hot. When the girls came up, they noticed a table in the middle all set, and another table on the right buffet style, so they figured this time the meal wouldn’t be a surprise. “I wonder what’s in there?” Kate asked always curious. Claire, not looking away from the gorgeous scenery said “I’m gonna guess plantains, rice and beans, and I don’t know what’s in the fourth one.” “ Oh.” Kate said. “ I have to take a picture.” Claire said now. “ I just don’t want to be rude.” “You’re not.” Kate said. “Here, I’ll have one of girls take us together.” As Kate called Zoe over, Criss came to the balcony. Everyone else went to go say hi, and when Zoe snapped the photo. Kate and Claire gave a great smile. “ Good morning.” Criss laughed as all of them were hugging him. He waved to Claire and Kate. He walked over to where they were and held his arms out. “ Come and give me a hug.” Claire and Kate of course went over, and feeling Criss’s hand on Claire’s back gave her a sense of calmness and happiness. “Come lets have breakfast.” Criss said as he led them to the table, and everyone else sat in seat. Alana was already sitting and almost waiting for her next move as she looked at Criss as he sat down. “ How did everyone sleep?” he asked all the girls who looked at him, as they all said good at the same time. He then narrowed his eyes at Xesca, and everyone followed. “ Ah, very good!” she said with a smile. “ I’m glad.” “ So isnt this view amazing?” Criss said again as he turned around to view what Claire was looking at. She appreciated that someone else loved nature. " Biggest reason why I come out here.” Claire saw Criss smile for a second and turned back around in his chair. “Okay, so who’s hungry?” “ What are we having?” Kate questioned asking the same thing everyone else wanted to know. “ Ah, a typical Mexican breakfast.” “ Eggs, rice and beans, and plantains.” Kate looked over at Claire surprised that she was right. Claire smiled raising eyebrows. “ Alright, lets go.” Everyone followed Criss to get food.

[LoyalSamy]

PART 25:

When breakfast was over, Criss let the girls go do what they wanted for a bit so that they could set up for the big part of the morning. Criss told them that it would just be him, Alana, and JD and Costa. Tommy and Derek and free out and about until they were needed. All the girls parted ways oddly, and it took Claire a few minutes to realize her dream was coming true.“ This is so weird..” Claire was telling Kate as they went back to their room to wait. “What?” “ I had a dream just like this.” “You did?” she asked. “ Ya, I don’t remember if we were on a balcony, but I do remember Criss sitting and listening to me talk about my photo.” “Well that’s neat- god’s being really nice to you.” She said. “ Ya, two dreams coming true.” Claire said proudly.

Claire flopped on her bed face up. “Ah.” Kate sat down on her bed. “ I wonder how long its gonna take them?” “Good question” Claire replied squinting her eyes and looked at Kate. “ Eh, probably not long.” She said, and took out her journal. Claire decided to get out her camera and take a pick of Kate writing. She looked through the photos she had since yesterday. So far she only had the group photo with Criss from last night and the photo of Kate and herself from this morning. She clicked the button and to her surprise found a picture of her and Kate hugging Criss! “ Omg, this is a soo cute- look!” She showed Kate. “ awwww, you’ll make me a copy right?” Kate asked. “ Nope” Claire said sounding serious. Kate was shocked. “ Kidding.” Claire joked. “How’s the journal?” “ It’s good.” “Writing about how bad of a roommate I am?” Claire asked.“ Yup.” Throwing Claire a dose of her medicine. Claire rolled her eyes and got up starting to feel bored. “I feel like we should be outside.” Claire now said. “ Let me just finish this sentence, and then we can.” Kate said. When Kate and Claire opened their door to go out they saw Arianna. “ Hey” they all said to each other. “ Going back out?” she said. “ Ya.” Claire said as she shut her door. “ Any idea where the other’s went?” Claire asked her as they walked together to the stairs. “ Walking around outside I guess?” “ Nervous about showing your photo?” Kate asked them. “ No, just gotta prove why you won.” Arianna said. “ Good point.” Claire said looking at Kate. The three of them made it back to the balcony even though they weren’t sure if they were allowed yet. “ Hey Alana.” They all said. “ Hi girls, were almost finished, you can have a seat.” They noticed that all the chairs were put in a circle. Well less intense then in my dream. Claire thought. After they sat, they then saw JD and Costa. “ To bad LeAnn isn’t here.” Claire said. “Why?” Arianna asked. “ Loves Costa.” Claire said.
Within a few minutes the other girls came up and said they were hanging in the lobby. Everyone had an assigned seat, and Claire saw she would be sitting directly across from Criss. She was happy for LeAnn, because she got to sit next to Costa. Kate was on her left, and Rhiannon on her right. Arianna sat next to Alana. Before they started, JD and Costa came over to say hi to each girl. When Claire saw Costa greet LeAnn, she was happy.
Alana began talking and explaining how there photos were directly picked by the three graphic designers that were on staff. They wanted seven that would catch Criss's eye, and with a smile she said " and I think we found them." " So we'll just go around, I'll give you your photo back, just hold it up, and explain why you chose this photo and your process. Claire soon began talking to herself about what she would say.

Arianna was to go first. She made a photo of Criss from season 3. It was an upclose of Criss’s face wearing sunglasses, not looking directly at the camera, and he had blonde highlights.
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Part 26:

After Xesca and Kate showed their photo's, Claire was finally up. She took a deep breath. " When you listen to Criss's song Snow, how do you feel?" pausing asking rheorically. Her photo was still turned so one could see it yet. She wanted everyone to get into a state of mind. She answered for them. " relaxed?". All of the nodded. As she turned her photo around she said at the same time " thats exactly how I wanted the viewer to feel when they saw this. There are so many great photos of Criss, but I wanred to express how Criss makes me feel when I'm anxious or upset." She saw Criss smile, and now she was able to relax. It would now be easier to explain the process of how she made the photo. She then asked everyone if anyone knew what Creer meant. No one knew, except maybe Eliza. So she told them: " Believe." " I dont know if that means always, or to believe in calmness and relaxed state." " I guess thats up to the viewer." Was she done? It sounded like an ending. Oh wait- gotta tell them the process. " The beginning was really hard- I didnt know what to add to change the feeling-but then I remembered how color plays a role on how people perceive something." Criss was impressed with the way Claire talked and looked at everyone, and she understood about visualization which magicians have to know to suceed in an illusion. " So first I played with changing the color of the lighting, I had to decide on what color people associate most with relaxation..." She contuined. It didnt seem so boring whenever someone else talked- but felt like she was even though everyone was paying attention. "Well I hope you all like it. Hard work, but of course, worth it."
Everyone clapped, Claire gave her photo back and sat dow, took a deep breath and smiled. Rhiannon gave her a pat on the shoulder. When she looked striaght, she couldnt believe it-Criss looked at her, bowed his head and smiled as a way of telling her " I approve." When everyone was done presenting- they got a strong appaluse from JD, Alana, Criss and Costa who expressed how impressed they were. Claire smiled again and looked at everyone else who were also smiling. They all seemed pretty proud of themselves, and if not- at least Claire was. All Claire could think was hell ya. I got myself here.

[LoyalSamy]

Part 27:
“Alright- lets look at the schedule.” Criss said initiating to Alana- who in a couple of seconds went through her chocolate brown briefcase to pull out a piece of paper, and handed it to Criss. “Everyone got a copy right?” He asked the girls. Everyone just nodded, but Claire spoke up. “ Ya, Kate and I looked at it last night.” “ Okay” Criss said. “pop quiz, what are we doing today?” Criss put the paper to his chest. “ I believe were going to Plazzaa..” Claire was thinking for a second. “ Plaza Mijares?” She hoped she pronounced it right. “She’s right.” Kudos to me. Claire thought. “ what’s that?” Xesca now asked. “ It’s a place with restaurants, shops, people selling stuff outside. I thought it would be nice to walk around with you all and get acquainted.” “ Sounds like fun.” Zoë said.
“How about we leave in an hour?” Criss said looking at his watch. This watch was simpler looking than the one he normally wears. Arianna also noticed and asked “I see your not wearing your expensive watch.” “Oh ya, that’s another thing you guys should know. I don’t wear my jewelry on vacation. Its back at home in the safe.” “Very smart.” Zoe said. Criss clapped his hands together. “Okay gang, let’s go to our rooms and get whatever you need to bring with you.” “ We shall meet back in the lobby at..” He looked at the watch again. “ two o’clock?” Everyone agreed.
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Part 28:

As all of the girls headed back to their rooms, they complimented each other on their photos. Claire was happy that so far non of them were being bitchy to each other and competiting for Criss's attention like some dumb reality show. Although Claire only knew them a day, so she didnt know what any of them could have up their sleeve.
When Claire and Kate got inside their room, Kate was a little puzzled as to what to bring. Claire on the other hand was on fire. She started searching for stuff. " camera, sunscreen, water bottle.." Claire grabbed. " anddd a great big smile." She turned around and flashed her teeth at Kate. Kate smiled back at her, slightly nervous, but liked Claire's energy. Claire waited and Kate finally grabbed her notebook. " You sure you want to bring that?" " Well ya, I dont know how far we have to go, what if were on a bus or something?" Claire didnt think of this. " You know, ill bring a cloth bag so that if we are on a bus, you can put it in here so it doesnt get lost." " Thanks." Claire looked at her cell phone. " Damn, that took us about 5 minutes." Kate laughed. " Lets go see what the others are up to."

As Claire was walking over with the others, she noticed that Alana was wearing a tank top and pulled her hair into a ponytail, which had soft curls going down. Unfortunely this made Claire think of Criss's ex girlfriend Hazel. Claire just shook her head and reminded herself that it was just Alana. Criss then looked up. " Here they are."
Claire felt a warmness knowing that Criss was smiling in her direction. She couldnt wait to get the afternoon started. LeAnn happened to be walking next to her. She nudged Claire lightly. " do you see that? he's smiling at us." " Shut-up" Claire said quickly and harshly, but smiled slighty. Eliza then turned around and smiled at all of them. Claire realized that no one from the public who was staying at the hotel was running up to Criss and asking for photos and autographs. Claire wasnt paying attention from when they first arrived that this hotel was probably for those of high wealth status or famous. She remembered not to hold her breath. Once they were out on the streets, more people would recognize him.
"So who's ready?- Derek, if you want to go and get the van?" Criss started to say. " Sure boss." They both smiled as Derek walked away and Criss patted him on the shoulder. " Do it once for us." Kate now asked suddenly. They all looked at her. " Do..?" Criss paused. " Oh!" and put his hand out in a famous pose: " Are you ready?" he whispered. At the same time all seven girls shouted " yeah!" Criss laughed and lead them outside.

[LoyalSamy]

Part 29:

When they walked outside, Claire and the other’s saw a big black van waiting for them. Claire glanced at Criss who, had now, pulled down his sunglasses over his eyes. As the van pulled closer, they all saw that it was all tinted windows- mostly for Criss’s sake. The van was a Chevrolet Tahoe, like black, like ninety percent of the ones you see on the highway. Claire was amazed that all ten of them would fit in there. “Do we have assigned seating?” Claire joked. “No.” Criss giggled. All the girls then shouted where they wanted to sit- Claire heard Xesca yell “shot gun!” “I don’t think so sweetheart.” Claire remarked and smiled. Xecas still proceeded to, while Criss and Alana watched her as Travis held the door for the rest of the girls. “ Hi Xecsa.” Derek said lightly and turned to look at her. “Hey Derek.” She said. This was too funny. Claire got her camera and snapped a pic. “You know your sitting in Criss’s seat?” he asked. “Okay, lets go!” ignoring his comment. “c’mon, get back there.” Derek said, smacking her gently on the arm. Everyone laughed. “I had to.” She told Criss before climbing into the back seat. “That’s okay.” Criss got in and Alana sat behind him. As the van pulled away, Claire asked “Alana, could you take a photo of the three of us?” “Oh sure.” She handed the camera to her. Before Alana could take the picture – Xesca chimed in. “You mean the 5 of us?” As Xesca and Arianna leaned in for the photo to. “Okay, the five of us.”
The scenery was incredible from what they saw from the road. Cabo was mostly made up of rock formations that were separated from each other like spaces between teeth. Very much like Brazil- the mountains that were inland from the beach inhabited people’s houses on different levels. Some were smaller or bigger. Cabo is a peninsula, so no matter where you looked- the ocean was right there.
Criss now turned around. “ So girls, remind me where your all from?” Zoe started .When he got to Claire he asked “Oh, where in NY?” “Larchmont?” pause. “It’s about an hour north of Long Island.” “Oh, ok.” Criss was intrigued about Xesca and Leann’s life in Wisconsin and Kentucky. “Two states I’ve never been to.” “Me either.” Claire said.

It was only a 10 minute ride into Plaza Mijeres. It was so different from where they were staying. Now they would get to see more of the people who lived here, there expressions, how they talked. Claire was interested to see how everyone would take seeing Criss here if they didn’t know already. As they pulled into the center of the Plaza, in the middle was a huge round fountain, with small bushes surrounding it. The water was an amazing aquamarine. Derek drove around the fountain and dropped them off in front of a while gazebo and church behind it. “First things first.” Criss started, as it was obvious that they all wanted to look around. “Eliza and I are responsible for you, so it’s really important that we stick together. I’ll need you to split into two groups of three, so that way in case we do get separated, you’ll have someone with you.” “Everyone got a cell phone?” They all nodded. “So where shall we go first?” Criss asked. “Let’s take a group photo by the fountain.” Zoë suggested. They all liked that idea.
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Part 30:
When they were by the fountain, none of the girls knew where stand for the photo that Alana would take. All of them wanted to stand next to Criss, but obviously that wasnt going to happen. They decided that since everyone was taller than Claire, they could stand, but now Claire didnt know where to be. Everyone was ready for the photo until Claire had an idea to stand on the base of the fountain behind everyone. " smile" Eliza said. Claire couldnt believe how close she was to Criss's face. " Lets tweet this to" Criss told Alana handing her his blackberry. Claire smiled again, and thought to herself eat your heart out haters.

As they started to walk into the center of the plaza, Claire could start to hear the native music. As much as she wanted to talk to Criss, she didn’t want to come across as obsessive, or square. She found herself walking along Alana, when she decided to ask her questions. “So, when did you start working for Criss?” At first she thought it wasn’t the best first question, but Alana didn’t seem to mind. “Two years.” She smiled. “ And how did you get the job?” Claire asked. “ Well it wasn’t working out so well with Criss’s last assistant, and I was at the end of my term with my last client..” It was amazing how Alana always used proper vocabulary and didn’t just blurt out the last person she worked for. She was professional. “So, I was highly recommended to Criss, and when I found out, he was interested I was pretty excited because I was also, she whispered, a loyal.” “And she’s been terrific.” Criss suddenly said without even turning around. It was weird how he was listening the whole time.“ So how long do you think we’ll be here for?” Kate asked. “ Well as long as all of you are having a good time, and its not too hot out.” It was so nice to see Criss concerned about everyone’s well being. As they got closer to the crowd, the girls could see that some people were looking at Criss, possibly starting to recognize him. Claire was a bit nervous that some crazy person would try and hurt Criss. They weren’t in the US anymore. Claire was glad Travis was with them. Watching him do his job made Claire feel better. The area they were now in was just like a marketplace, vendors of people selling things on both sides, and people walking around with food in there hands, and you could hear people speaking Spanish to one another. It was nice that today it wasn’t too crowded. “ Hey Criss, remember that time when we were at LAX for your 40th birthday?” “Ohhh yeah” Criss remembered. “Yeah, I was so nervous; I was tugging at your shirt sleeve.” “ LAX was so crowded that night!” Criss told the girls. “Well that’s what happens when you celebrate in a public place.” Zoe said.
After a few minutes, a few people started to recognize that it was Criss. A couple of people walked past, and yelled out “I love you Criss!” some in Spanish, and some in English. Criss always acknowledged them. The girls and Criss would stop by a venue to comment on what they liked. At one point they came to a venue in which a lady was selling jewelry, but besides the everyday necklaces and rings, she also hand made bracelets that looked just like friendship bracelets: Each with a different color, and a different symbol on the front. The woman selling them didn’t speak English, so Alana talked to her. “ She says she made these because she knew that people are drawn to different symbols regarding what they feel or want to feel.” It was interesting to Claire that the woman had only made 8 different kinds. Just enough for everyone, except for Derek. “ I really like that idea.” Criss commented still looking at them. Criss now had an idea. “ I want each of you to take a bracelet you like.” Everyone seemed a little confused, but listened to Criss. Claire chose the one that was all grey with a yellow lighting bolt on it. To her it signified strength. Alana has chosen one which was a dark purple and had a light pink circle with a X on the end. “ The female sign”. Rhiannon chose an all yellow one with a brown horse. When they each had there bracelets, they looked at Criss thinking maybe he was going to do some kind of trick. Criss recognized this expression. He laughed. “ Oh no.. there to keep. I’m gonna get them for all of you.” At the same time the girls all tried to tell Criss that wasn’t necessary, but he insisted. “Gracias” He told the woman as he was giving her the money. She was now smiling, feeling glad she had made a sale, but not knowing she just sold them to one of the biggest acts in Vegas. As they all walked away, Claire decided to wear hers at that moment. “As long as we all have our bracelets, we will remember this day of this trip.” “Which one did you get?” Claire asked him. He showed it to them, which was already tied on his left wrist. It was all black with a red heart in the middle. “Because I’m filled with love, and have been blessed with it.” He said smiling. As they continued walking, Kate showed Claire hers which was white, with two green palm trees.
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Part 31:

“ Hey do you hear that?” Arianna now asked, as the group was still walking around. Claire was in awe of how Travis didn’t drop his demeanor. Always looking tough, and eyes peeled for anything coming at Criss. “Yeah, I heard that music when we came in.” Claire replied.“ Oh, I guess I wasn’t paying attention.” Arianna said. “ It’s nice, I wonder where its coming from?” Alana now asked. “ Lets go find it.” Criss said.
It was a few minutes later when they came to an open area where they saw people gathered around looking at a band in front of them. “Ah ha.” Criss said. “ Do you all want to check it out for a few minutes?” The girls nodded. The band had stopped playing a soft ballad and now began to play a song Claire thought she knew. As they got closer she did know it. “ Oh, this song is so fun!” Some of the girls started to look at her when she started to sing along in Spanish. After a few minutes Claire started to shimmy her shoulders and sway her head as her straight brown moved with her. She looked at them. “ This song is from the Gyspy Kings!” she asked them surprised. Criss and Alana laughed. “ Sounds like a cool song” Xesca replied. Claire ignored them, and kept dancing and singing. Criss was impressed how she knew the words and every beat. When the song was over, the band played another song which of course Claire also knew. She laughed. “ We have this album at home.” She told them. When she looked at the band, she noticed the lead singer looking out at the crowd and smiling. She could see she wasn’t the only one who knew this music. Then Alana’s phone rang. She answered. Criss was standing next her watching her talk to whoever was on the phone. A few of the girls decided to sit. “ Hello?” Alana asked. “ Oh hi.” “ Yes?” There was a pause. “ Oh, okay?” Alana then responding obviously not sure of what they were talking about. “ Alright, thanks.” She hung up. “What was that?” “Oh, JD wanted to tell you that you got a fax from Sara.” She kept her voice quiet incase it was something personal. “ Oh, yeah. Okay.” Criss said, and his voice changed. “ Shall we continue?” Claire and the girls followed Criss. Claire decided to text her mom. Hey mom. I know I haven’t called. All is well here. We’ve been out this afternoon. =) Having a good time! Tell dad and Shadow I said hi. Criss then saw something he wanted to show the girls. Claire hung back to finish her text. Alana waked next to her. “ Hey, I just wanted to tell you I didn’t get a chance to say thank you for keeping the surprise from the girls at dinner.” “ Oh, of course. No problem.” Claire smiled. “ Now, lets go see what Criss is doing with that flower.” Alana said.

~~~ Later that afternoon~~~

The afternoon was nice, but the girls were interested to get back to the hotel, and Xesca wanted to get to bed early. It was nice to see Derek again. “ How is everyone?” He asked as they got back into the car. As Derek started to pull out of the parking lot, Criss decided to turn on the radio. “ Let’s see what they listen to down here.” Alana was going to tell him of how you can find a mix of music from Spanish to anything they listen to in the US, but she let Criss explore. “ As long as they don’t play Forget You.” Arianna said somewhat disgusted. “Or Going Down” Xesca said. “ Too bad we just make a CD of our favorite songs.” Claire said jokingly. “ No, this is fun.” Criss said still flipping through the stations which didn’t seem to bother Derek at all. “ I actually want to hear something we don’t get to hear in US.” Rhiannon was hoping he wouldn’t find anything Justin Bieber. Soon Criss found something he liked. Alana and Claire recognized it as Regional Mexicano music. Is this okay?” Criss asked everyone. “Sure.” They all muttered. Criss turned it up a bit.
It was about four o’clock when they got back to the hotel. Everyone seemed to be really hungry since they had a big breakfast and nothing for lunch. Claire was tired from all the walking, so she didn’t mind too much about taking the elevator. They couldn’t all squeeze into the elevator, so Travis went with Alana and four of the girls. When the doors closed Claire realized that she would be taking the next one with Criss. She smiled slightly. “ I know you don’t enjoy this, so I hung back.” Criss said to Claire in the midst of the quietness as they waited. This time she was going with Arianna, Rhiannon, Zoe and LeAnn. LeAnn standing next to her nudged her, and Claire looked at her and smiled showing her teeth. When the elevator doors opened, Claire took a deep breath. She didn’t understand what she was so nervous about. She just flew all the way to Mexico. That was so much bigger than this. Claire and Criss went in first and then the girls followed standing in front. When the doors closed, Claire grabbed for the railing inside. She looked over to see Criss’s hand reaching for hers. Could this be happening? Claire took Criss’s hand and lightly squeezed it as she started to feel the elevator go up. She closed her eyes and felt herself relax. When the doors stopped, she noticed how Criss hadn’t let go until now. As they got off to head to their rooms, Criss told them “ hey, tell the others we’ll be eating at six.” “okay” they said. A part of Claire wanted to tell the others what happened, but then realized she didn’t want to spoil it. Her little secret. Would he do it again?

5:20 pm

“What are you gonna wear?” Kate asked Claire as they were getting dressed for dinner. “ I think I’m gonna pull out my red skirt.” Claire said as she was ruffling through her clothes to find it. “You think I can wear jeans?” Kate asked as they both turned around at the same time to show each other.“Wow, that’s so pretty!” Kate said dropping her jeans on the bed to look at Claire’s skirt. “Yeah, I got it in a store where I live.” “It’s really nice, and its got that whole Spanish theme going on.” Claire chuckled. “You mean like Flamenco?” “ Yeah, that.” Kate said pretending to know what Claire was talking about. Claire then turned back around to pull out a black tank top to accompany it. She looked back at Kate. “ I guess you can wear jeans?” I just don’t want to look like an idiot and be the only one.” Even if Kate did wear jeans, it was okay. They were a dark blue with no holes. “ Did you happen to bring a skirt?” “Oh no, I don’t look good in skirts.” Kate said defensively. “What else do you have?” Claire asked.
When it was about 5: 40, they heard a knock on the door. Kate this time decided to open. “ Hi Kate.” Alana said. “You girls ready?” “Uh, yeah.” “hey Alana” Claire said putting on her earrings. “Hey Claire- wow, I love your skirt!” “ Oh, thank you. I like yours to!” Alana had on short skirt mid thigh, decorated with flowers, with heels and a tight tank top, very much like Claire’s in red. Her hair was down, and curled mid length, and she was carrying a hand purse. She was so pretty. As Claire shut the door, she said “why isn’t Criss dating you?” Alana laughed. “ Claire! I cant date my boss!” She nudged her. “ Yes, you can! Your so pretty, and you seem a hell of a lot nicer than Hazzzel.” Kate smiled and rolled her eyes in agreement. “ Claire, shhh” with a smile in her eyes. Claire then realized they were the first girls to be picked up. Alana then knocked on the other doors to get the other girls. Kate was glad she wasn’t wearing her jeans.
“ Criss will meet us in the lobby.” Alana told them as they now headed for the elevators. “We’ll go four at a time again?” Everyone nodded. Claire now took the elevator with Kate and Xesca. “ Love your shoes.” Claire told Xesca as they stepped into the elevator. Just keep my mind distracted. Claire told herself. “ Thanks.” “ I’ve wanted to get these for a while, so I had to work and save for them.” “ So how do you like this
trip?” She now asked. “ loving it! Look at all this time we get to spend with Criss, and so far hes nothing like the crap we hear people say about him.” “ I know, what is it with them?” Kate said. “ I think people just want to make him look bad, they are scared of something that’s too good to be true.” Claire said as the elevator doors now opened.
“ Hello ladies” Criss said to all of them. Criss looked amazing once again. Claire was a little freaked when she realized both him and her were wearing red and black combined. “ So where are we going?” Zoe now asking the question on all there minds. “ Well it’s a restaurant called 12 Tribes. Alana told me its beautiful, so of course I wanted to try.” “ Are you ready? Wow, haha,” Criss said, “ I feel like I say that all too often.” “ That’s okay, we enjoy it.” Rhiannon said. All the girls smiled.

At 6:05, they arrived. Criss was such a gentleman and helped each of the girls out of the car. “ Nice colors you chose.” Claire said to Criss speaking about his clothes. “ You to. I really like that skirt.” he said as she noticed him checking it out.” “ Thank you.”
“Ladies first” Criss held out his hand as they got to the front of the restaurant. The maître d' led them to their table. The girls couldn’t help but noticed everyone look at them. To Claire, she felt special and smiled. The table they were given was set in the back of the restaurant, with an amazing view. The restaurant was sitting on land facing the view of the Sea of Cortez surrounded by rock formations. Some boats were just docked in the middle of the sea not moving. It was early, so the sun was just starting to set. “ This is incredible” Zoe was the first to comment as she turned around to look at the view. They were sitting at a long table. Rhiannon, Zoe, Arianna and LeAnn, had to have there back facing the other direction, while Kate, Claire and Xesca were on the other side. Criss sat on the left of Claire at one end of the table, while Alana was sitting on the other to the right of her. Claire was lucky and got the seat right in the middle. The weather was perfect with a bit of a breeze. The waiter soon came around to hand out the menu. “ I’ll give you a few minutes to decide what you all want.” Criss told them, as they all started to open it.Claire found the menu to be very interesting. Instead of each dish having a name, it was labeled with a country where it came from, so the menu wasn’t constrained to just Mexican food. She was soon caught between the Spain, or Romania. After they all ordered, Criss spoke. So tonight, I thought we’d do a little Q&A.” “Q&A?” LeAnn asked. “ Yeah, we’ll go around the table, and each of you can ask anything you want.” After they all ordered, Criss had Rhiannon start. Arianna wanted to know if Criss ever listened to Lady Gaga’s music. Criss laughed. “ Yes, I have. I think I like Paparazzi the most because I can understand and relate to it the best.” LeAnn followed that with What’s is your least favorite part about being famous?” “I think what’s really frustrating is that fame seems to come with this idea that people have whatever they want. Instead of remembering what fame is about, they take it too far.” When it was Xesca’s turn, she asked “What is your biggest weakness?”
“Getting up in the morning?” he laughed. The girls laughed to. “ No, I’m kidding.” “ I would have to say getting paperwork done. When I come back home from Believe I tell myself it will get done in the morning, and sometimes I don’t get to it until mid afternoon.” “Ah, procrastination.” Xesca defined for him. “Exactly” He replied. It was Claire’s turn. She really was desperate to ask him about Red Carpet, but thought this wouldn’t be the right time. “If you could be instantly fluent in one language, which would you choose?” “That’s a good one. I would have to say its either Greek or Spanish. If I knew Greek, I could impress my mom and my family, but Spanish would also be good because we have so many immigrates coming in to the US from this country, and its especially present in places like California and Nevada, and I wouldn’t have to have an interpreter with me.” “Tears or laughter?” Kate asked. “Laughter for sure.” Claire was excited about her dish when the food started coming around. She chose Spain as her dish, which was roasted duck glazed with apple sauce and olive oil. Some of the girls started to pick up there forks, but Claire wanted to show Criss respect. She waited. She also noticed that Alana waited to. They smiled slightly, and Claire put the napkin on her lap. “Ah” Criss clapped his hands together when his plate was put in front of him. “ Gacias.” “ De nada” the waiter said back. As Claire and the rest of them started to eat, not only was she enjoying what she got, but she then had another question for Criss. “ Criss, I actually have another question for you” she now asked as she was cutting her food, and set her fork down. “ Sure, go ahead.” He said. “What the best thing you ever ate?”

~~ later that night~~

Criss didn’t even look at the paper that was given to him when they all got back to the hotel. He just folded it up, as they kept walking back to their rooms. When they got upstairs, Criss’s invited Alana inside. After a few minutes, he handed the paper to her. “ Read this.” She took the paper and sat down in a chair. As she read it, Criss dialed a number. “ Hello?” “ Hi Rex, its Criss.” “ Hi Criss, how are you, hows the vacation going?” Rex Willmoth was a well known journalist in the US. “ From the insider point of view its going great, but from the outside world, I think people are getting the wrong idea.” “ Are you talking about Red Carpet?” Rex asked. “Yes.” “ Yeah, I saw that in a store and started to read it.” “ What do you think?” Criss said as he turned to see Alana who was not pleased. “ I just think it sounds like someone who doesn’t have enough sources to back up what there saying, and sounds just like they made it up, like gossip.” “ Well I’m glad you didn’t report on it.” “ No, no, the last thing I want to do is give it more attention.” “ What I can do if you want, is write a small article about how the trip is going from YOUR side, so at least people can see that the other article is BS.” “ That sounds good, thanks so much Rex.” “ I’ll call you tomorrow at some point.” Criss hung up. “ This is crazy” Alana said to Criss as she lifted up the open magazine. “ It just sounds like someone doesn’t really know you.”

The girls weren’t tired, so they gathered into Rhiannon’s room for a little get together, or “slumber party.” Arianna brought her copy of the magazine. They all got comfortable. “ Alright, now where were we.” “ Before we start, does anyone besides me think that Criss possibly knows about this?” Claire said bringing her knee close to her chest. Some of the girls were a little stunned. “ I didn’t think of that” Rhiannon said. “ I hope not..” Zoe said. “ Alright, just lets read this, and get it over with.” Xesca demanded.By half way through, the girls couldn’t read anymore they were so confused, and definitely angry. Rhiannon closed the magazine. “ I think we should throw it away.” After a few seconds of silence Claire said. “ All its gonna do is hurt us, and while were at it, I’ll throw my copy away to.” “ You have a copy?” LeAnn asked. “ Yes.” Claire said with a sigh. She started to get up. “ I think we should tell Criss.” Zoe said. “ Tell Criss?” Claire asked somewhat defensively. “ Well yeah, were not gonna tell him because we believe it, but..” She stopped not really knowing what to say. “ But because, if we tell him, we can work together to figure out who wrote it.” LeAnn said. “ She’s got a point Claire.” Arianna said. Claire then sat back down on the bed.

[LoyalSamy]

Day 3: Part 32

The next morning the girls decided to bring the magazine to breakfast. Get it over and done with, so they could enjoy the rest of the day with Criss. When they came, they saw that Criss and Alana were already there. Rhiannon held the magazine behind her back, and Criss could tell she was holding something. “ Morning Criss” the girls said. “ Morning girls.” Alana smiled at them. They all sat down. “ Before we eat, there’s something I want to talk to you all about.” The girls looked at each other slightly. “ Don’t worry, your not in trouble.” “ I hope.” This was the first time Claire saw Criss more serious in person. This made her a bit nervous. “ I don’t know if you girls know, but there is a article in a magazine called Red Carpet about me.” “ Now normally I wouldn’t give a crap, but there’s something off about the way it’s written.” “ Do you know anything about this?” as Alana put the magazine on the table. “ Yeah, we do.” The girls all turned to Rhiannon who put the copy on the table to. “We only read like half of it.” Arianna and Claire were the only ones who knew about it.” “Can we talk about it?” Criss asked. “ Yeah, that’s why we wanted to tell you we knew, because I thought that maybe we could all work together to figure out who could have written it.” LeAnn said. Criss nodded slowly in agreement. “ Maybe a loyal was extremely jealous that they didnt get picked.” Alana said looking at the cover and feeling like she wanted to open it again. “ Could I just get a drink?” Claire asked. “ Oh yeah, sure, I’m sorry.” As she got up to get some juice she turned around. “What Alana said could be true, but whoever wrote it would have to know about the contest before you announced it to all of us?” The girls picked up on this. “ She’s right. The only people who knew about this would have to be people I’ve told.” Criss said started to figure it out. Alana was a bit nervous now. She was scared that Criss would suddenly accuse her. As she walked to the buffet area, Claire suggested that they write down everyone in Criss’s social circle and eliminate people they didn’t suspect. “ Lets get some food, and will make the list.” Criss told them. When they all sat down, Alana started to write names, Criss had to ask. “I would never go behind your back like that, then come on this trip and pretend I knew nothing about it.” Alana said defensively. “ Wait, what?” Criss asked her. “What?” Alana said back as she picked up a piece of watermelon and looked at him. “ You just said something about coming on this trip and knowing about it.” Criss said suspiciously. She didn’t understand what Criss didn’t understand about her statement. “ Well Criss, why would she do it, and then be in the spotlight with you when she knows she could get caught?” Arianna told him. “Well from what we read, to me it seems like someone wrote it, and then stepped away like they didn’t want there presence known.” “ Lets write down everyone who’s not on the trip.” Xesca suggested. When they did that, Criss didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “ Lets go out there and have a great day, this can be dealt with later.”


It was about 86 degrees when the girls and Criss were ready for today’s afternoon adventure. Since the news of the magazine, Criss decided that today should be a day for pure fun and relaxation. He decided they should go to the beach for some jet skiing. Claire was excited since she had never jet skied before. She wasn’t excited about having to show off her body in a bikini, and neither was Kate. They both wanted to take the high road though. “I’m sure we’ll be fine, its not like were the only two wearing one.” “ True.” Kate said as they both put on a different colored tank top. There was a knock. “girls ready?” Alana asked on the other side. “ Yes, one second.” Claire answered. Kate opened the door and Claire grabbed her small beach bag. Alana had put her hair back in a braid. Claire thought it looked really pretty. “Wow, hi everyone”. Claire said in surprise as Alana was standing with the rest of the girls. She closed the door behind her and they headed to the elevators. After Alana pushed the elevator button, her phone beeped. She looked at it. “ I just got a text message from Brooke.” She sounded confused. Just wanted to say hi and hope your having a great time!!! Xoxo Alana read it out loud. “Whats wrong?” Rhiannon said. “Its just a little weird that she’s texting me. She never really does.” “ well I guess that was nice.” She put her phone away. Alana and a few of the other girls stepped in. Claire and Arianna were the last ones to take it down. “ Is it just me, or do you think there’s something off about the way Alana feels about Brooke?” Arianna asked without hesitation. “Yeah, I noticed that to, I wonder if that was the same or worse reaction she had with Hazel.” “Probably the same when she first got to know her.” Arianna said as they stepped into the elevator. “I feel bad for her, she probably saw the whole break up go down.” Claire said. “At least she was there for him.” Arianna replied. When they got down to the lobby Claire was glad that all they had to do was walk outside for five minutes. The beach was in front of the hotel, but pushed out. Claire was a bit amused. She was interested to see if she could operate a jet ski.
“ Is this good?” Criss asked his loyal group as they were trying to find a perfect place to put there stuff. “Yeah.” They answered. “I’ve got a better idea.” As the girls started to lay out there towels, Claire said “ since I know we all want to sit next to Criss, why don’t we put our towels in a circle around him, that way we can all.. kinda be sitting next to him.” “ great idea Claire” Criss told her smiling. He liked her creativity. They made sure there was a little opening towards the waves so that way Criss could get in and out of the circle when he wanted. When they were all sitting on there towels, Alana thought this would be a great time to take a picture. “ Oh yes” Criss said. “ Alright girls, gather round.” “ Smile!” Alana said. When she took the picture she saw that Criss was actually smiling to. She loved it. Some of the girls had already gotten comfortable in there bathing suit around Criss.

Unfortunately Kate and Claire still weren’t. Alana was now stripping down. Her bathing suit was a blue and yellow bikini that Claire once thought she saw on a website. Criss had gone off to find out about the jet ski’s which Alana told him he should have called about earlier. When he came back he told them.“So since a lot of people also enjoy jet skiing, they told me that since we have more than 5 people, we can only use two.” “So what does that mean?” Zoe asked. “Well we’ll just have to take turns.” I can go on one, and take one of you with me, and someone else can take the other, or have Alana go on one.”
“I just want to make sure all of you get a turn.” They all agreed that they were fine with that. “ Okay, who’s first?!”

When Xesca was brave enough to go first, Claire and Kate were surprised to see her so comfortable in a white bikini. They all watched as Criss helped her onto the jet ski that was bobbing in the water. Alana called out if he wanted help. “ No, you stay there Alana, start tanning like you usually do!” “ Haha.” She sarcastically called out. She then positioned herself on her stomach on her bright pink towel so she could still see what was going on. Claire then decided she was being silly. The rest of them had already taken off their shirts and enjoying the sun. She was being self conscious because she was worried Criss would judge her. After a few minutes, it seemed Xesca was getting the hang of how to drive the jet ski. They could hear her calling out “ I think I’m getting it!!” They watched as Criss jumped on his. “Wait for me!”, and he rode on his ski after her. The girls laughed. Claire began to lather herself with sunscreen. “ Love your bathing suit!” Zoe looked over at her. Claire’s top was a bright red lightly dotted with rhinestones on the chest area, and the top was tied around her neck leaving the back open. “Very pretty.” Alana said. “ Where did you get that?” “ Oh, at a store where I live, thanks.” “ I like yours to. Blue always looks good on blondes.” Xecsa came walking back to the group surprisingly dry. “ Oh my god, that was so much fun, you guys have to try it!” She said with a smile on her face. Claire grinned as Xesca sat down on her towel. Criss was now walking back to. “ wow, I never thought I’d see him without a shirt on in person.” LeAnn said obviously slightly turned on. “Ditto” Rhiannon said. “What are we smiling about?” Criss said as he looked down at all of them. “ It’s just a great day in Cabo” Claire said with a smirk on her face. “ Alright, I think I’m ready to learn jet skiing.” Zoe pronounced starting to stand up. “awesome, let’s go.” “ Criss, have you put sunscreen on?” Alana asked him. “Remember last year, you started to complain because you were peeling?” “ Okay, okay” Criss said sitting down on his towel. Alana reached into her bag and brought out SPF 50 and handed it to him. “ Since we’ve been here, I notice that you don’t get a zillion people running at you asking for an autograph.” Claire said to Criss as Alana was rubbing lotion on his back. “ Well yeah, since I’ve been here before, people now understand that I’m on vacation, so it’s a bit easier.” “ I’m also sure there wondering what your doing with seven other girls.” Kate finally speaking. “ Doesn’t matter.” He said smiling.

When it was Claire’s turn, she gave Kate her camera. “ Any good moments, take em!” The rest of the girls were lying down on their towels with there eyes closed, or readying. Alana was reading a book. Claire made sure to take her sunglasses, although she was hoping they wouldn’t drop in the water. When she got on the jet ski, she felt like she was driving a small car in the water. “ wow, this feels like a small car.” She said to Criss as she was getting adjusted. “ Yeah, it kinda is.” He said giggling. He started showing her all the basic maneuvers just to get the ski going. “I’m gonna get on mine, I think you’ve got it.” “Just follow me” “ Okay.” She said back. He started driving in front of her and she followed slowly. Soon she was driving at ease. She looked back on the beach and waved at Kate who was taking a picture. In front of her, Criss swung his jet ski around with such ease that he was now facing her. She started to slow down, and he drove up next to her. “ Wanna try that?” “ Yeah, I guess im game.” He told her that she would have use her stomach muscles to help her stay on as it swung around, because inertia will want to push her sideways.

“ Okay, my turn!” Kate got up when Claire came back and handed her the camera. “ Thanks again Criss!” “ Aw, your welcome Claire.” Kate was the last one to go. Kate didn’t say anything about taking her picture, but Claire decided to anyway, since she was nice enough to do it for her. It would be a nice surprise to get in the mail. “ How’s everyone doing here?” Claire said as she sat back down on her towel. “ Were good.” Alana said as she sat up from lying on her back still reading her book. Claire was curious. “ What are you reading?” She showed her the book without having to say anything. “ Under the Desert Sun?” Claire slightly smiled asking. “ Its one of those, you know, romantic novels.” “Ohhh.” Claire said understanding. “ It’s not what I typically read.” Alana defended herself. Claire put her sunglasses back on her eyes and looked out to the ocean. “ looks like she’s having a good time to.” “ Yup.” replied Alana. Claire quickly then took a few photos. Claire then took out her phone and decided to call her parents. A part of her felt weird that she was the only one checking in on how things were going back home. “ Hi mom!” “ Hi honey, how are you, hows everything?” “It’s great! Guess what I learned how to do today?” “give me a clue?” “okay, umm Pisces.” “ooo something to do with the water?” “Uh huh.” Claire said wondering if her mom would guess it right away. “snorkeling?” she asked. “ no, we didn’t get wet.” “ skiing?” “ yes! I learned how to jet ski! And not just from anyone, but Criss!” “ Oh honey that’s fantastic! I hope you took some pictures?” “ Of course!” “ How’s dad, how’s kitty?” “ There good, Shadow sleeps on your bed every night.” “ awww he does?” “ yup.” “ How are you getting along with the other’s?” “ Just fine, were not as crazy as I thought we could be.” Her mom laughed. “ Its nice that you call your parents and let them know how your doing.” Alana told her after Claire hung up. “ Yeah, as much fun as I’m having, I don’t want to completely ignore them.” “ I just don’t call my parents because they thought I was crazy for going on this trip.” “ Yeah, my mom just told me to have a good time, and that I didn’t need to call if I didn’t want to.” It was interesting to Claire the relationship these girls had with their parents. She put her phone back in her bag and started looking around the beach. She thought she recognized two people. “ Is that.. JD, and Costa?” Claire now said squinting and looked back at Alana for approval. “ What, where?” LeAnn said sitting up. They started to come closer. “ Oh yes, I guess they decided to join us.” Alana waived her hand. Criss and Kate were starting to come back to. “ Hey Alana, hi girls.” JD said as everyone started to sit up from tanning. “ Hey bros!” Criss said as he saw them. “ What are you two doing out here?” “ Well we were a bit tired of doing our own thing this whole time, so we decided to join you.” “ Well great, sit down, I just taught all of these loyals how to jet ski.” “ did you girls have fun?” Costa asked. “ Oh yeah!” LeAnn said with excitement. She was excited to finally get a chance to talk to Costa. They came around and both sat on the sand in the opening where Kate’s and Arianna’s towels separated. “ The only person who didn’t go jet ski yet was.. Criss looked down at Alana who smiled at him. “ Reading and tanning!” as she held up her book. “ Oh come on you.. you always have fun when we go together, and what is this your reading?” Criss took the book from her. “ Eh, I’m gonna loose my place!” Alana stood up trying to get it back from him. Criss tossed it back on her towel and before she could reach for it, Criss grabbed her am. “ come on.” Alana went. The girls laughed and Claire nudged LeAnn and smirked at her. LeAnn smiled back and nodded her head in agreement. “ Did you see that?” Costa asked softly to JD. “ yeah.” “ See what?” Kate asked. “ Nothing.” Costa said and smiled. They turned around to now talk to the girls. “ Anyone want gum?” Claire offered.
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Day 4: Part 33

The copy of the pages of the fax that was sent to Criss was still lying in the same spot as it was yesterday. Unfortunately Criss had to wake up to it. “ ugh, you again.” He sat up slowly in bed. He really didn’t feel like getting up and throwing it out. He was starting to feel angry towards it. He looked at the clock. It will be so much better when he would be out with the loyals again. Being at the beach really took his mind off it. It was a bit early, but he heard a knock on the door. “ It’s Alana.” He quickly smoothed out the blanket on the bed. “ Sure, come in.” She opened the door and slowly came in. “ Morning Criss.” She noticed he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Morning Alana.” She stood at the side of his bed holding her coffee in one hand. “ Oh, sit down.” He told her. She felt strange doing so, but did. “ How did you sleep?” She took a sip. “ Pretty good I guess.” He said. “ You?” “ Same.” For some reason there was awkwardness between them. It wasn’t too often Alana saw Criss after he would wake up because Brooke would be next to him. “ I don’t mean to come in so early, but I just came in to tell you that I got an email asking me that your wanted for an interview.” “ Alana, it’s a bit early, do you think we can wait on the business side of things?” “ Oh, I’m sorry, Yes, I’ll, talk to you about this later.” She started to get up. “ It’s just they need an answer soon.” “ Criss reached up to sit her back down. “ What are you doing checking emails anyway? Your on vacation with me.” “ Its sort of become a habit. It’s my job, you cant blame me. She paused. “ I just don’t want you missing a golden opportunity.” Although I’m sort of missing a golden opportunity myself at the moment. She thought. She was worried that if she didn’t work when she needed to and let her guard down, Criss might find out she had feelings for him, and she certainly didn’t want to get hurt. “ Alana, don’t play dumb, we both know what that interview is about.” “ I know. And I want you do it, so you can prove to everyone there wrong.” She lightly tapped him on the knee. Alana had been by his side ever since the break up with Hazel. Just because Criss had a beautiful house and nice cars, it never filled the hole after they broke up. Soon would come a new girlfriend, but until then it was mostly Alana. Criss’s staff watched as she was the one to really help take care of him when days were bad. He appreciated her much more after that and they became good friends. “ So, I’m gonna get dressed. Alana started to get up, a part of her hoping Criss wouldn’t make her sit again. When she was at the door,Criss sat at the edge of his bed. “ By the way Alana, I really liked that bikini on you yesterday. Is that new?” “ uh, yes. Thanks.” She opened the door and left.

“Have any of you done this before?” Criss turned around from the front seat of the van as it started to pull away from the hotel. They all shook there heads no. “ You girls will have a lot of fun.” “ Alana and I did this last year to.” “ Yeah, and I loved the part where you weren’t paying attention, looked back at the dolphin, and almost broke your nose, because he wanted to give you kiss.” The girls laughed. “ Oh, yes, and I’m glad that didn’t happen.” Criss touched his nose. “ So tell us all about it, what are they like?” Kate asked. “ Well there very cute, very friendly.” Criss started. “ Criss was smiling the whole time we were there.” Alana said writing something down on a piece of paper. “ Criss, was last year the first time you came to Cabo?” Claire questioned. “ No, I was here with Hazel to.” “ I wasn’t here for that trip.” Alana said. “ So this is the second time you’re here with Alana?” “ Yes.” Something about that didn’t make sense to Claire. She didn’t know if the other girls picked up on it. Criss had started dating Brooke in June, because she remembered seeing pictures of them at a club together. “ So you haven’t come to Cabo with Brooke yet?” A few of the girls started to look at Claire, and so was LeAnn who was sitting next to her. “ Claire what are you saying?” Derek asked. Criss and Alana also looked at Claire who now was a bit nervous she had said something wrong. “ Um, nothing, I was just.. curious.” When Criss turned back around, Claire mouthed to the rest of the girls and Alana : that doesn’t make sense? When they had gotten to there destination, Criss told the group he was going to check them in. When he walked away, Arianna asked “ What was with that weirdness back there?” “ What?” Claire asked. “That whole, Brooke hasn’t been to Cabo.” The girls and Alana looked at her to see what she would say in her defense. “ You don’t think its weird that one month after he dates Hazel he brings her, yet he hooks up with Brooke and six months later, she’s not here?” Alana was impressed that she knew how long they’ve been together. “ Okay, come on girls” They saw Criss call them in. There was lots of “ awwwws” when the girls got a tour of the place as they saw dolphins swimming around and looking at them. It was another beautiful day to be outside. A few of them including Claire brought there camera to take pictures and soon they would get to swim with them. Claire wanted to be super excited, but as they walked around, Claire stayed a little bit behind Criss. She was nervous that maybe she had rubbed him the wrong way.
A ittle while later, as the girls put on there life jackets for security reasons, Claire could see where Criss would be smiling the whole time he had been here. Maybe being with the dolphins wasn’t the only reason.

____

“ Hey Criss, great to see you here again!” There trainer for the afternoon said to him. Hi, good to see you to!” they shook hands. “ Do you remember Alana, my assistant?” He put his hand on her shoulder. “ Yes, I think so..” “ So who did you bring with you?” He now noticed all seven girls standing with him. These are the girls that won my “ come with me to Cabo contest.” “That’s exciting.”
“ This is Rhiannon, Zoe, Arianna, Xesca, Kate, LeAnn and Claire.” Criss introduced all of them. “ Nice to meet you all, I’m Eric, I’ll be your trainer for a bit. If you just come with me, we’ll get started.”
The pool that they stepped into was a solid blue, like the color of a Windows computer toolbar. The water wasn’t too cold as they stood ankle deep. “ The first thing were gonna do is greet the dolphin, I’ll show you how to touch him, and some basic commands that they know. And, we can test Criss and Alana and see if they remember anything from last time.” He winked at them, and the girls smiled. The first dolphin that came over was named Lima. “ Like the capital of Peru.” Claire said. “ Exactly.” Eric said smiling impressed. As the first dolphin came over, Eric was standing next to Claire, and she was the first one to touch her. She glided through the water so smoothly as Lima passed right by her, and Claire gently moved her hand over her back as the rest of the girls did the same. When she got to Alana, Alana decided to have a little fun. The girls looked over as she made a command with her hands. Lima moved onto her side, and raised her right flipper in the air and flapped it like she was waiving. Eric chuckled. “ very good!” Lima moved her flipper like she was waiving as she swam back to Eric. The girls laughed. “ Do any of you know the parts of a dolphin?” “ Well, the flipper.” Claire said. “ the median notch.” Alana said after her. “ the beak”. Claire then said. “ the melon.” Alana said. Criss was impressed. He wondered for a minute if Brooke new anything about dolphins. Eric then showed them the rest of the parts of Lima. “ I’ll show you some tricks she can do, and then you’ll be split into pairs for more one on one time with the dolphins.”
It somehow happened that Claire got paired up with Criss. As excited as
she normally would be, she wanted to set things straight. They were on the other side of the pool with another trainer while the other girls were spread out with there own dolphin to work with. The trainer had to talk to Eric. “ Just keep touching him on the beak and the melon, so he knows to stay with you.” “ Okay” Criss said, and looked back down at Reynosa, the dolphin, who’s name was a place in Mexico on the east side, at the very southern tip of Texas. “ Listen, I just want to make sure your not mad at me or anything. I know that what I said might have rubbed you the wrong way. Claire started. "I cant speak for anyone else, so is it okay if I tell you what I’m thinking, because whenever I’ve been in a difficult situation, I always have kept you in my mind and it always seems to make things better, so now I feel like its my turn to help you. ”Criss looked at her amazed at how genuine she was being. “ Yes.” “ You cant admit that its not strange that you brought Hazel here after one month of dating her, and now your with Brooke, and six months later, she’s not here?” “ She just didn’t want to come.” Criss said not hearing his own words. “ Is that true, or is it because your not that seri..” She was cut off when the trainer for them came jogging back. “ Sorry about that.” Claire really tried to have fun with the time they got with the dolphin, but she was distracted. She cared about Criss, and knew that Brooke wasn’t so much in the picture as people thought she was.

In the locker room getting changed to leave- “Didn’t you girls have fun?” Alana asked putting on her white tank top over her head. “ It’s so cool how these animals respond to all the commands!” Zoe said “ Arent they cute?” Alana gushed looking at herself in the mirror. “ I cant believe you remembered all the parts of them.” Claire said. “ You to!” Alana put up her hand for a high five. Claire obliged and smiled. “ I thought I was gonna loose the top of my bikini when we held on to the dorsal fin, and zipped through the water!” Rhiannon said. The girls laughed. “Ok, I’m gonna go out, ill let Criss know your almost ready.” Alana said grabbing her bag. When she was out of ear shot, Claire spoke up.” She seems so nice, I’m glad Criss has her as his assistant.” “ And she’s down to earth, there’s nothing fake about her.” Arianna replied. They gathered there stuff and went out. It was about 3:45, and the sun was still shining. Claire put on her sunglasses, and Criss already had his on. Alana was wearing pink and white baseball cap. She wondered what she wore during the week when she works for Criss. She imagined her hair slicked back in a bun with a white collared shirt.
“Did you all have fun as I hoped?” Criss asked as they were in the car as Derek started putting out of the parking lot. “Oh yes, the pictures came out great!” Zoe said. Derek put on the AC. Claire looked out the window pondering way too much. She hoped Zoe at least got one photo of her smiling at some point. She felt awkward about pressuring Criss, and she kept thinking he was discouraged at her for asking what she did, but with enough trust, maybe he would tell her what was going on. He did trust her, but there was a few emotions he couldn’t trust. “ I was thinking, how about tonight, we go clubbing?!” All the girls got excited except for Xesca, Kate and Arianna who were under 21. “ Uh, Criss, what about us?” Criss looked back. “Oh, don’t worry about it. You just have to be over 18.” “What?” He looked at Kate. “ Ohh…” He looked at Alana and Travis who didn’t know what to say. “ You know, don’t worry, your with me, I’ll get you in.” He winked at her. The blessing and curse of being a celebrity: Getting almost whatever you want.

~~

That night:

Claire loved the way she looked for the night. She wore black pants with heels that were sparkling with sliver glitter. Kate loved them. Her top was red with no sleeves, and had a bit of a turtle neck, and a zipper that had little white rhinestones. She put her hair in a ponytail. Kate tried to dress as best she could. A mid-short denim skirt with a black tank top and wore a long necklace with a lighting bolt. “You think this club has a dress code?” She asked as her ran her fingers through her hair. “I doubt it, I think Criss would tell us..” “True.” She looked in the mirror again as Claire applied her lip gloss. She was interested to see how Kate would get in.

All the girls looked amazing, and so did Criss. JD, Costa were coming with them this time and LeAnn was excited because she thought she just might get her chance to dance with him. Anything can happen when the sun goes down. Criss helped them each get out of the car when they arrived. All eyes were on them. You could hear the music through the walls, and as the door opened when a few people went inside. Claire smiled as Criss helped her out, and kept praying he was feeling better. She felt like a celebrity. As they walked towards the front door Criss went up to Kate and linked arms with her. “ Come with me.” The girls looked at each other as Criss look Kate ahead of them to the front. Travis motioned for the girls to go in, as he walked behind them. Alana thought he might need assistance with speaking in case whoever was in front didn’t speak English. “ Hola.” The girls stood behind him and watched. “ Hola.” Criss said back. “Listen, I’ve been to this club once, I know you have to be over 18, but my friend here is 17.” The guy looked at them a little confused. “Your friend-?” Alana stepped in. “ Hola, buenos noches.” She then translated for Criss. He now understood, and told her he needed to ask someone else.” “He’ll need to ask someone else.” She looked at them sorry. “I guess it wont be that eas-“ She was cut off when another guy came over and immediately knew Criss. “ hey Criss Angel, right?” He went to give him a high five. “ How are you?” “I’m great, listen; my friend here is not 18.” He gave a puzzled look. “That’s fine..” he said with a big smile and looked at Kate suddenly “ Your not going to drink right?” “Oh, no.” Kate said. “ Good, come on in.” It was that easy.
As the girls went inside, ID’s were checked. The place wasn’t as crowded as Claire thought it would be. Criss motioned for them to go to the back corner. They sat down on a round couch with a small table in front of them. “Thanks a lot Criss.” Kate said as the girls got comfortable. “Your welcome.” She leaned over to Alana. “ Thanks Alana.” “Your welcome sweetie.” “ Who’s ready for a drink?” Criss then asked. “Just water for me!” Kate said. Criss chuckled. The place was alive as the music was almost as loud as the clubs in Vegas, and no doubt people were dancing to the techno music that was playing at the moment. Soon a man came over to see if they wanted anything. Criss answered for all of them: “ yes, rum and coke, white wine spritzer, martini, pina colada, gummy and coke, screwdriver, and a long island ice tea and a water. gracias” He then looked to the front door and saw JD and Costa. He waved them over. Claire gave LeAnn a nudge and a smile. She smiled too.

“ JD, Costa!” Criss said happily as they came over. “Hey everyone.” “ Hi Costa!” LeAnn said back excitedly, and then covering her mouth. “ Hi” He directed his attention to her. “tell me your name again?” “ LeAnn.” She said slightly embarrassed, holding out her hand. “I’m sorry about that.” “That’s okay.” He chuckled. Claire decided to be real nice. She stood up. “Would you like to sit here?” She offered Costa. “ LeAnn looked at her wide eyed. “ Oh sure, thank you…?” “Claire.” He asked as he put his hand on her shoulder slightly before sitting next to LeAnn. The man who took there drink orders then came over, and the techno music stopped, and a new song with lyrics that Claire didn’t know started to play. Alana took a sip of her drink. “Come on girls, lets dance!” She said standing up. Claire was ready but some of the others didn’t want to. It was obvious LeAnn didn’t want to move from where she was.
“So hows it going Claire?” Alana shouted as they started to dance on the floor. “ It’s pretty good.” Somewhat lying, Claire didn’t want to talk about what happened today. “You seem kinda quiet today, whats up?” She asked. “ I don’t think this is the best place to talk about this, but do you know that article in Red Carpet?” Alana rolled her eyes in disgust almost looking like she was gonna cry. “It’s disgusting, I don’t know who would believe that!” she said putting her hand to her chest. “I also think there’s something off about Criss’s relationship with Brooke.” Claire leaned in to tell her. “There is.” Claire was curious. Alana leaned in. “She doesn’t really love him.” “No?” Claire said back. “You were right about what you said in the car.” “I was?” Claire was surprised. “Yeah, I agree with you, she’s not here for a reason.” There was a pause.” I live with Criss at Serenity; I know her.” “Well if she doesn’t love him..” Claire started to say. “ She’s really never there for him like a girlfriend should be, its sad.” Claire felt really bad for Criss all of a sudden. She didn’t believe that Alana would lie to her. Claire didn’t feel like dancing anymore. “ I’m gonna go back, and sit.” It was like Alana was filled with caffeine. “ Okay! Tell the girls to get out here!”
“Alright girls, hit the floor, Alana wants you to dance with her.” Claire said as she went back and sat down. “Here’s your drink.” LeAnn pushed the glass towards her. “ Ah, thanks.” The drink was good, but there was something really strange about what Alana had told her.
As the night went on, they were all dancing together. It seemed as though they all got to hear that one song they loved. At one point they all made a circle around Criss, as he tried to dance in the middle he laughed, feeling awkward, he even took Alana into the circle with him, and she was a bit surprised, but was smiling. He then suddenly dipped her, which everyone was really impressed by. Claire saw how Alana just seemed to arch her back with ease and closed her eyes as Criss held her. After a few minutes, they all started to dance in a normal group. Arianna moved near Claire. “Hey, do you see that?” she shouted in her ear as Claire noticed Costa dancing with LeAnn. “Yeah, fun right?” “ No, that’s not what I mean.” She said back. Claire was puzzled.
“ Wow, I’m tired.” Claire said smiling as LeAnn and Arianna walked with her back to the table. “Nothing like dancing.” JD said. “Nothing like dancing.” Claire said back smiling. “Wow, Alana is on fire.” Claire said looking back at the dance floor. “Yeah, I don’t think she’s sat down for a min.” Arianna said. “ haha, look at her and Criss.” Claire now noticed the two of them dancing together.

Claire started to think about what Alana and Arianna said to her earlier. Something was off since what she heard in the car that afternoon. Maybe she needed a third opinion. “ JD, Costa, what do you think of Brooke?” Claire dared to ask. “ She’s phony.” JD stated with no hesitation. “ JD!” Costa nudged his brother. Claire figured it was a bit of the alcohol talking. “ What he means to say is that.. “ Costa looked at her. He tried to look for the words. “ She’s not exactly an angel.” “She’s one of those girls who I think is with Criss because she looks good with him.” “ Kind of like.. Hazel?” LeAnn said. “ Yeah.” JD admitted sadly. Claire was now like a detective. “Do you two know about that magazine Red Carpet?” Claire asked Criss’s brothers again. “What’s with you and this magazine?” LeAnn asked. “Don’t you wanna know who wrote that BS?” Claire said defensively. “Yeah, we do, Criss was furious when he saw it.” Costa said. “ Doesn’t matter though, whoever wrote that is a phon- y” JD didn’t have a chance to finish saying the word as they all looked at each other wide eyed.

[Loyal OC]

Stop it there would ya'! Gahhhhhhhhh what happened? Did Costa drop me? LMAO :P

[LoyalSamy]

Part 34: ( You may want to grab a tissue, the ending is a bit sad, but touching)


“Criss! Criss!” Claire rushed to get up onto the dance floor shouting as JD, Costa and LeAnn followed. The girls started to look over as Criss and Alana stopped dancing. “ What? What’s wrong?” “We know who wrote that article!” she had to shout over the music air quoting the word article. “Well, thanks to your brother.” “What do you mean?” He then pointed to the entrance outside for them to go out. When they were outside, Criss looked around, and looked back at Claire and JD. What a rush of silence it was to Claire’s ears. The girls gathered around them. “What were you trying to say inside?” Criss asked. “The three of us were talking, and we figured, I figured, it was.. JD paused “ Brooke.” “ Brooke?” Criss asked shocked. “ She’s phony Criss, and that’s exactly how the voice of the article sounded.” “ What? She is not phony!” Criss said now annoyed. “ Criss, love you, but sometimes you’re a little thick.” Criss took a deep breath, annoyed again, and the girls looked at each other not knowing what to say or do. “ She’s phony Criss.” Alana said blankly. A few of the girls looked at her. Claire did to. “ Shes phony, and she’s almost never there for you.” Alana said seriously. Criss looked at her a little stunned. So did the girls. JD and Costa didn’t seem surprised. “ Do you think we could talk about this somewhere else?” Criss said quietly looking around. “ Ok, lets go to the back room.” Alana said putting her hand on Criss’s back. “No, remember what I told you about that room?” Criss said to her. “Come on, we’ll just go to the back of the club.” “Girls, maybe we should wait for Criss inside.” Rhiannon said. “ No, its fine, come on.” Criss said and started walking. They all followed. There was a small rock formation at the back of the club, and beyond it, you could see a bit of the ocean where only a few people were talking and having drinks. Criss sat down on one of the rocks while everyone stood around him. “ Are you guys sure its her?” Criss looked up and questioned like he didn’t want to know. “ Well you know its not any of us.” JD started. “Besides your team, and the loyals, no one else knows about this contest.” Costa now said. “Except for Brooke, and Robin.” Alana said. “Well I know it wasn’t Robin, I spoke to him on the phone about it.” Even Sara said the whole thing is just trying to make you look like dog, and wasn’t thought out carefully.” Travis said. “She was right, and even if that’s what you were trying to do, I don’t think you need to come down to Cabo.” Kate spoke up. Criss listened trying to put the pieces together. “The only ones who wouldn’t buy this story are people who love and care about you.” JD said. “ And know you.” Alana stated. “Can we speak freely?” Arianna asked. “Yeah.” Criss said sadly. “I know that some of us weren’t to happy when you were dating her.” Criss looked at all the girls. Claire was the only one who shrugged and nodded in small agreement. She figured the others didn’t want him to be mad at them. Claire didn’t care. She was sick of women taking advantage of Criss. “Well why didn’t you like her?” Criss wanted to know. “ Well, it was pretty soon after you dated Hazel..” “It wasn’t that soon. Criss said. “8 months isn’t that long.” Alana said. “Well it just seemed like you two weren’t really dating.” Arianna continued “We only saw a few pictures of you and her once in a while.” Xesca voiced her opinion now. “I hate to say this, but she seemed like a.. how do I put this? A rebound girl.” LeAnn now said. Criss didn’t know what to say. He looked up at his brothers who seem to agree. A part of him was a little stunned to hear his loyals tell him this, but a part of him was glad to hear their honesty. “Alana, what do you think?” Criss asked her because she worked closely with him. It was pressing question which Alana was waiting for so long to tell him. Alana took a deep breath. The loyals watched as Alana spilled out her feelings like a kid who spilled there glass of milk on the table.
“I have watched the two of you since you started dating. First, I don’t understand why you’ve been with her longer than Hazel. She treated you a little better at least. I was there for you when Hazel and you broke up. Remember? I’m the one who suggested we come here, when I knew you needed some time away so your spirit wouldn’t be completely broken. We had so much fun. Why do you think I came back here? I’m the one who’s been helping take care of you when you got sick or were worried or stressed about things. I always told you to take some of your own advice that’s not only always helped them,” She pointed to Claire and the girls. “But that’s helped me. I told you, when I believed it, that everything was going to be okay, and on my bad days, you told me the same thing. And I’m not Hazel, I’m not Brooke, girls who don’t believe in magic. I defended you to haters and anyone else who tried giving me crap about you, because when they did, I was hurt. I knew you. We were good friends, but most importantly: You know why?!" Her voice rose and she was angry. “Because I CARE about you!” She pointed to herself and started to cry. She looked at him for a second and started to walk away. Travis followed.
Claire, and the other girls were stunned. Claire pressed her lips together and put her hand over her mouth. Listening to her, Claire thought she might to. All of them were silent. She realized how much bottled up emotion Alana hung on to all this time. It was amazing strength for Alana to do that, and Claire needed to tell her that.

[LoyalSamy]

Part 34 continued:

Claire had found Alana in the bathroom standing over a sink trying to dry her eyes. Strangely she was wearing waterproof mascara. “Alana?” Claire walked over hoping she wouldn’t be to mad that she followed her here. “I’m embarrassed” she said looking back into the mirror and wiping the bottom of her eye. “You have so much confidence telling him that- you have kept that bottled up wayyy to long.” “Tonight in front of all of you was probably not the best place or time.” “Of course it was the right time, he asked, and you told him how you felt.” “You know, I’m glad this happened, finally Criss is gonna see someone who’s real and actually cares about him.” “ Why do you think I love working for him?” She then slightly giggled. Claire smiled. Arianna then walked in with Zoe. “Is she okay?” Zoe asked as they both walked over. “ She’ll be fine.” Claire said. “I’m sure you feel much better now.” Arianna said. “Is anyone else stunned that Brooke would do this?” Zoe now asked. “ I knew she wasn’t the real deal, but this was pushing it.” Arianna said.“ You’d have to be such an idiot to buy a story like that though” Claire said.

Travis, JD, Costa and Criss were now sitting on the rocks. “ I had no idea..” Criss said also stunned. “You had no idea?” JD asked. “No, I thought we were great friends with a good working relationship.” “ Criss, we’ve seen you out more with Alana than Brooke.” Jd said. “If she didn’t like Brooke, why didn’t she just tell me?” “ She probably thought things would change.” Travis said. “The best thing she could do was be your friend.” “ And look how you got defensive when I said Brooke was phony.” JD added. The other four girls moved away from Criss after Alana exploded; Giving some space to Criss. They also didn’t know who needed more comforting. Criss then got up to talk to them. “I’m sorry about that girls.” “No, its okay Criss, these things happen.” Rhiannon said. “ I think we feel bad, because this is obviously personal business.” “No, its okay that you are here.” He looked around. “I’m just glad this didn’t happen in front of the paparazzi or something, lets get going.” “Hey Travis, can you call Derek and have him come get us?” “Yeah, sure.” He took out his phone.

Alana had calmed down a bit and just wanted to leave. “ Let’s go find everyone and see if everyone just wants to leave.” Zoe suggested. “ Thanks.” Alana said while taking out her sunglasses and putting them on. As they walked outside, they looked around and then saw the car waiting for them. The windows were tinted, so you couldn’t see anyone. Claire was very curious to how this was making Criss feel. JD came up to them. “ Hey, I’m sorry Alana.” “ It’s fine, lets just go.” She said in a serious tone. They were helped into the car and Alana sat in the back.