Love Song - 11

---Crystelle---
There it was again. That telltale lump in my throat that told me I was about to cry. The simple feel of Will's hand in mine was enough to trigger a million sweet memories, and then some, and knowing that he was so close but not mine hurt more than I'd ever imagine.

Sighing, I used my other hand to hutch my slipping bag up my shoulder and smooth my hair out. Will looked at me critically, raised a hand and smoothed a curl back into place before smiling and nodding. We were ready.

With a deep breath, I smiled widely and stepped into the glaring sun.

"Will! Crystelle!" there were immediate screams, and my smile grew wider as I spotted a huddle of my very own paparazzi from outside our house.

"Crystelle, give us another beautiful smile, love. And this time, keep your head up." The same photographer ordered, laughing as I did as I was told. "Gorgeous!"

"Are you going out?" Somebody else screamed in our direction. Will was staring at me, dumbfounded, so I answered.

"Well...yes, I suppose we are." I replied, grinning as the cameras flashed again. I hated getting my picture taken, but this wasn't so bad. At least you knew they were professionals and would edit out anything bad.

"Is it love?" Someone else yelled. I looked at Will in askance. He smiled and turned towards the audience at last.

"Always had been. Always will be. Crystelle Giovanni is seriously the love of my life, cliché as it may seem." He announced, and now it was my turn to be dumbfounded. If only he meant that ... He was a hell of an actor, anyway.

Then, having answered the most questions he had ever answered for the paparazzi in his life, Will pushed through the remaining crowd and made his way towards his car. I stared. A sleek, little, black, beautiful thing stood in front of me. It was so low it came a little higher than my waist.

"Wow." It was a far cry from the beat up, rusty Volvo Will used to drive. He glanced at me as he unlocked the doors automatically, watching my expression. I stayed carefully composed.

He opened the door for me, which went up instead of out, and I tried to climb gracefully in. He shut the door behind me and then got in himself. The engine purred like a cat as he started it up. Hot air blasted out of the vents. We were off.

For a long five minutes, we were silent. I sat there, staring out the tinted windows, trying to ignore the fact that it was Will Carmichael who sat in the driver's seat, the same person I had promised to hate forever. I tried to ignore the fact that I was now his fake girlfriend, instead of his real one.

The drive to his parent's new mansion was a long one. It was a good two hours to get there, and then a further two hours to get back. It was a good thing we had set off so early.

"So, Crystelle. Tell me about yourself. Where are you living, who are you seeing, what are you doing...?" Will asked suddenly, glancing at me. I shrugged.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Mr Carmichael." I replied curtly, recoiling from this new, friendly version of my boss, the one that would be easier to love than the evil, twisted one.
"For Gods sake, you have to call me Will. It's going to seem weird if you go around calling me Mr Carmichael."

"Fine, Will." I replied huffily, and that was the end of conversation. When we pulled up at his parent's seaside mansion, I was careful not to gasp. It was beautiful, and massive, with a view overlooking the ocean and gardens the size of football fields. The whole structure was a brilliant white, and everything looked amazing in the sun.

I stepped out onto sandy gravel and looked around. Everything was amazing.

"Welcome home." Will murmured, moving to take my hand. I let him, and momentarily, in my wonder, replied genuinely.

"It's beautiful." I breathed, holding onto his hand tightly. We were both smiling when we looked at each other.

"Thank you."

Then, before we had a chance to recover from our moment of friendship, the front door burst open and Barbara, Will's mother, ran out.

"Crystelle!" She trilled, skipped over to me and pulling me into a big hug. Barbara looked well. Her blonde curls had traced of silver running through them and she had smile wrinkles around her eyes.

"Barbara. How are you?" I asked, returning the embrace.

"Oh fine now that I've seen you again, poppet. I've missed you. When you and Will broke up, it was like losing a daughter. Maybe this time you guys will settle down for good?" She asked, looking from me to him and back to me again. I stole a glance at Will.

"Sure, mum. Maybe." He said, and then grimaced playfully as she grabbed him in a bear like embrace.

Barbara then led us inside and gave me a tour, introducing servants and staff like they were friends and gesturing proudly at everything. I smiled at her zaniness. When Will and I broke up, it was like losing a mother.

We were introduced to Walter, a nice old man with white hair. He was handsome, and had a neat little mustache. Will seemed to like him, and that was all that mattered, in the end. Oh yeah, and the fact that he had complete puppy eyes for Barbara. It was sweet to watch.

We all sat down to dinner, which was served by guys in penguin suits, and then went to the entertainment room. A sixty inch television took up one wall, and a full sound system sat under it. The two oldies switched some news on, and gave Will orders to show me the rest of the house.

I had only seen the ground floor yet, and there were three floors to go. Will, took me up the first flight of stairs, our hands still clasped tightly together, and took me into the first room.

"A guest bedroom." He introduced, gesturing towards the massive room that was twice the size of mine back at the flat. I laughed and went to bounce on the bed.

"This place is massive," I sighed, lying back on the cushion mattress. Will laughed and came to sit beside me. We had both let our guard down now, and were as friendly as ever.
It was as if the mansion was a new little world, where nothing could hurt us and no paparazzo could report our every move and no one could judge. It was heaven.