Hidden Gem (7 page)

TYLER CHASE SINGLE!

The Pop Source

October 2

Teen heartthrob Tyler Chase and actress girlfriend of ten months, Desiree Silver, have reportedly broken up.
 
Silver, 17, met the 16-year-old pop sensation while starring in his music video for “Chasing You.”
 
The pair famously kept their relationship under wraps for almost a year before going public at the MTV Movie Awards.
 
Silver has been quoted as saying that she regretted ever announcing their relationship.
 
“I wish we never did it. The paparazzi started waiting outside my house. But they weren’t nearly as bad as his fans.”

There were reports of Chase’s notoriously hounding and possessive fans sending angry
Twitter
messages to Silver, which proved to be the least of it.
 
Silver was also the target of verbal abuse on the streets as well as the burglarizing of her home in early June.

On Thursday, Silver announced the break-up on her Twitter page. “Unfortunately our careers have come in the way of our relationship but I will always have a special place in my heart for Tyler.” Silver’s representative has denied claims that she broke up with Chase because of her fear of his obsessive
fanbase
.

Chase has yet to make a statement.

The Mall At Beauford was surprisingly full for a Tuesday at 1PM.
 
Young mothers dressed head to toe in designer labels had their babies dressed to match.
 
They pushed Bugaboo strollers through the wide, glossy walkways.
 
They examined furniture in Restoration Hardware and cookware at Williams Sonoma.
 
From the way they were dressed, it was safe to guess that they had already bought out the current seasons of Neiman’s and Saks.

Madison had convinced the girls to cut class after lunch to go shopping and avoid the afterschool crowds of kids from the next town over.

“They just come here to be seen,” Madison stated simply.
 
She leaned in to check her reflection in the dark windows of Chanel’s storefront.
 
Gemma laughed inwardly every time Madison checked her reflection because there was never anything to touch up. “I’m not trying to be mean or anything. But from the way they’re dressed, you know that they’re not from Beauford and they can’t afford to buy anything here.
 
Not even from
Anthropologie
.”

“And,” Jillian added.
 
“There’s this one guy here who hits on Madison every single time.
 
Like, no fail.”

“What’s his name again? He’s introduced himself like a million times.
 
It’s a bit much,” Madison rolled her eyes.
 
“Not that he isn’t cute, he’s just
so
not my type.
 
But I don’t know, maybe one day if I’m feeling like taking a walk on the dark side.”
 
She giggled. “Actually, I invited him to my party.” The girls followed her into Chanel.

“What? Hel
lo
?” Leah stuck her neck out.
 
“Are we forgetting about Lucas, here?”
 
Kate nodded solemnly.
 
Gemma looked to see Madison’s reaction, which was to toss her hair over her shoulder and laugh.

“Come
on
.
 
Can’t a girl joke around?” she stood in front of a square shelf boasting the Chanel Flap Bag.
 
“So my mom wants to get me another one for my birthday.
 
Do I want the turquoise or the red? I already have it in black.”

Gemma was excited for Madison’s birthday party.
 
Her family friend owned a club close to the one they had gone to a month ago.
 
He offered to close it down for a night so Madison could celebrate in style
.
 
She invited nearly the entire school, but with no guarantee that they’d get in.
 
Gemma was thankful she was on the VIP list and arriving with Madison via limo.
 
Not that Queen Bee ever had to worry about being on the VIP list,
she lamented.
 
She was, however, excited to buy a normal party dress and go as herself for a change.
 
She just wasn’t entirely sure how to go about that.

Madison had settled on a jewel-toned,
colorblock
silk satin dress from Gucci.
 
It had a crossover halter neckline with a sexy cutout that showed off a small sliver of her ballet-toned waist.
 
Jillian and Kate bought pieces from Nicole Miller and Betsey Johnson respectively while Leah opted not to buy anything.

“My mother has an
Herv
é
Leger signature,” she said.
 
“I’ve been wanting a reason to take it from her.”

“C’mon, Leah,” Madison nudged.
 
“The point of this was so we’d
all
buy something new.
 
Besides, Gemma hasn’t gotten anything yet either.”

“Well, I mean… I can probably find something in my closet too,” Gemma said.
 
It was true, but she also wasn’t comfortable with the idea of trying on clothes in front of the girls.
 
While she had frequently done wardrobe changes in front of her crew as Queen Bee, she had also had things made or bought for her specifically without having to worry about whether or not they would fit.
 
Seeing Jillian struggle to stuff her boobs into half of the dresses and enduring the girls’ laughter was enough to deter Gemma from suffering a similar fate.
 
She understood that it was all in good fun, but she wasn’t prepared for it.

Somewhere along the way, Kate had picked up a People magazine.
 
On the cover was Tyler Chase, by far the biggest
popstar
in the U.S and arguably, the world.
 
Aside from his sweet and soulful voice, he was known for his swift dance moves and shaggy boyish haircut.
 
He was Gemma’s age and rumored to have secretively attended the final concert of Queen Bee’s summer tour.

“Not sure how that’d be possible,” Jillian shook her head. “Girls would’ve noticed him and mobbed him
ASAP
.”

The girls bit their smiles back as they flipped through photos of Tyler.
 
He wasn’t her type, but Gemma had to admit that he was cute with his floppy brown hair and somewhat innocent charm.
 
She wasn’t particularly familiar with his music, but the little she had heard surprised her.
 
His soft crooning had an unexpected edge, and he did have a way of making her blush at the choruses.

“Kate – did you take that from the table next to us when we were at Starbucks?” Jillian asked.

“Yes, I did,”
Kate
chirped from behind the magazine.
 
“I love his song ‘Galaxy Girl.’
 
When he tells the girl her freckles are sexy, I’m like, ‘But mine are so much sexier!’ And I used to hate my freckles.”

“Easy, Kate.
 
Don’t tread on Madison’s crush territory,” Leah said.
 
“You know her cougar ways.”

“Shut up, Leah.” Madison narrowed her eyes playfully.
 
“I’m only a year older than Lucas.
 
And he’s
so
worth the cougar title.”

Gemma held back a pout.
 
She could imagine.

“You’re almost two years older than Tyler Chase,” Leah said.

“So? It’s legal in Jersey,” Madison scoffed.

“
Ew!
” the girls shrieked.

Jillian doubled over in laughter, gasping for breath.
 
“What would Lucas think if he heard that?”

Madison shrugged.
 
“
Whatev
. I let him crush on Gwen Stefani ‘cause he just can’t resist the blondes.”

“Well if it doesn’t work out with Lucas, it says here that Tyler Chase just broke up with Desiree Silver,” Jillian said, reading over Kate’s shoulder.

“Okay, I will freak out for that,” Madison said, jumping up and down and squealing with excitement.
 
She quickly stopped to laugh with the girls and regain her composure.
 
Gemma thought about how Tyler Chase would most certainly fall for Madison had he seen her in that radiantly adorable moment.
 
In the least, he would write a song about it.
 
She could feel herself falling back into a cloud of self-doubt when Leah suddenly gasped.

“Look!” she pointed at the magazine.
 
“Oh my God, if they sold that dress in stores I would sell my little sister for it.”
 
The girls huddled around.
 
There, under the tip of Leah’s red-painted fingernail, was a small photo of Queen Bee in her Balenciaga gown.

“I would get married in that,” Jillian breathed.

“How much do you think it costs? And who’s Queen Bee?” Madison asked.

“A European pop star, I think it says?” Kate held the magazine closer to her blue eyes.
 
“It says it was custom-designed for her.
 
God, that’s crazy. I wish Balenciaga would custom design something for me.
 
I’d be happy if like,
J.Crew
custom designed something for me.”

Gemma felt at once uncomfortable and delighted.
 
Mira had said that she was starting to gain notice in the states.
 
It was exciting to see a picture of
herself
in People magazine, even if it wasn’t a particularly big photo.
 
Even more exciting was that her friends hadn’t the slightest suspicion they were standing just inches from Queen Bee herself.
 
If keeping a secret was this easy, Gemma thought she might enjoy it after all.

“So what, are you guys an item now?” Gemma asked as she looked out the passenger side window.
 
It was raining hard and she had stupidly opted for suede flats that day instead of the Valentino rain boots that Penelope sent.
 
She spent most of the day walking around in soaked shoes that angrily squeaked their way down the hall.
 
She couldn’t want to go home, kick them off, and take a nice hot shower.

“Kylie’s not into labels,” Gavin answered matter-of-factly. “And I don’t like her
that
much, so I wouldn’t say we’re an item.
 
All we really do is – ”

“No! Stop right there,” Gemma shouted over his voice. “I don’t want to know what you and Kylie do during your
playdates
.”

“O
kay
. Damn, what bug crawled up your ass?” Gavin frowned. “Cranky virgin.”

“Ex
cuse
me!”

“Sorry, sorry. Uncalled for,” he laughed. “Where’s your babysitter today anyway?”

“If you’re referring to Madison, she left school early to practice for her NYU audition.”

“
Alright
, well, don’t play with matches while you’re home alone and what not,” Gavin said as he pulled the car halfway into their driveway.
 
He grabbed his black nylon backpack from the backseat and tossed it into Gemma’s lap. “Can you bring this inside for me? I need the backseat clear.”

“Oh my God,” Gemma wrinkled her nose with disgust, taking the backpack reluctantly.

 
“I made Kylie wait while I drove you home to the opposite end of town.
 
Can’t you do me a small favor without judging?”

“I can do the favor, I can’t promise not to judge,” Gemma said as she got out of the car and shut the door.