SMILE FOR THE CAMARA EVERYONES LOOKING AT YA

[DAPHNE FAITH MCADAMS]

Daphne twitched her nose as she put on a old baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses to try and hide her identiy. It had be come increaseingly hard to walk around without some sort of protection. But she was determined not to let that stop her from touring Hollywood. She pushed some of the blonde chunks farer into the cap, to conceal who she was for a bit longer. She would have to sneak out of the hotel, always a treat if done sucessfully. She put on a small backpack, which contained several things she figured she'd need. She wasn't much for carrying around a purse, although in these big cities that was probably safer. Making sure she had her room key on her, Daphne let her room and took a back stair case down to the ground floor. Figureing most would just assume she'd sneak out the back door, she made her way to the front.

It was always good to be right. Not diddle-daddleing, Daphne hurriedly walked away from the hotel, just in case. When she was a good three blocks away, she felt a bit safer. Daphne passed several shopping stores, stopping at none on her quest. She'd already seen these stores anyways, they were fairly close to the hotel. Her plans for the day were to tour Hollywood, just a regular tourist, not a person on tour. This was her first big tour, and everything seemed to be happening so fast. She was the lead singer in Rake of the Scooby Position, and she really hadn't expected for the band to blow up the way it had. Not that she was complaining. It was a dream come true to be in a band and touring. Even if she had just found out some distrubing family news right before tour had started.

It felt like she had ran away from the problem at hand, which she did. At some point she knew she had to face the truth. That her parents, really grandparents, and lied to her all her life. And that her brother, who was not suppose to really be her father, was actually her father. Her mother, not the one she'd grown up thinking of as mom, hadn't wanted her when she was born, and her father, who she had thought was her brother, was too young and immature to rise a child. She had been angry when she was told, but now, some odd days later, she'd grown calm. She couldn't change the past. That didn't mean she was talking to anyone in the family though. Not yet. The only news they'd get of her would be the news that came from that blasted blog.

Taking the public bus to Hollywood, Daphne came upon a booth that sold tickets for a bus ride around hollywood. She bought herself a ticket and waited roughly ten minutes before the bus showed, allowed people off, then allowed others on. Daphne decided to sit up top, where the wind would be in her hair. It was what most sane people would pick on such a pretty day! She didn't bother taking her backpack off but just sat down on one of the back rows. She snuggled into her seat and waited for the tour to begin.

[ALEX RYAN MCQUEEN]

Alex was bored out of his mind. It was one thing to be bored on a bus with his band mates, but sitting still in a hotel without anyone else around drove him nuts. Just another one of those rock star things he'd learned were part of touring life. It was fine at night since they were usually playing shows or going out, but during the day it was hard to get out without a swarm of fans or paparazzi following him around. Alex loved his life, but he just wanted to have some normal days to balance things out every once in awhile. He just needed to get out of the stupid hotel room he was cooped up in. Alex got up from the bed he was currently laying on and pulled on some jeans and a hoodie, and topping off the disguise with sunglasses. It was the same outfit he always wore when he was trying to be inconspicuous in public. He slipped on his shoes and then pocketed his room key and wallet before stopping at the door.

Alex had forgotten where his cell phone had gone until he felt it in his jeans pocket. He'd probably left it there the night before on accident. With a smile on his face, Alex left the hotel room and used the back stairs to avoid people that might be waiting for the elevator below. Five minutes later, he was leaving the hotel through the kitchen exit. Alex walked around the building until he was on the main street where all the shops and heavy traffic were on Hollywood Boulevard. He'd been in most of them since he'd been stuck in the hotel for days and was bored with that. Now he just needed to figure out what else there was to do that would allow him to remain anonymous. That's when he spotted the giant red bus that said "Hollywood Tours" on the side of it. Alex smiled. It was perfect.

He waited in line like a normal person and then paid for his ticket before climbing to the top of the bus. Alex was so obvious, but it was the last place anyone would look for him. It was a great feeling. He took his seat next to a girl that had a hat on and had the only unoccupied seat next to her. Alex sat down and looked at her more closely and his eyes widened in surprise. He knew her. She was Daphne McAdams, one of the band members of one of the other bands on the tour with them. Alex figured he'd have some fun with this. He tapped her on the shoulder and said quietly, "Holy shit! You're Daphne McAdams!" He knew she'd have the same reaction as any celebrity trying to avoid attention. She'd probably freak out and ask him not to tell anyone. Alex grinned before lowering his glasses and continuing, "Just kidding, Daphne. It's me, Axel. What are you doing here?"

[DAPHNE FAITH MCADAMS]

Daphne pulled her hat farther down to try and hide her face from the guy who sat down next to her on the bus. She was not wanting to end her tour before it began, that'd just be horrible. She knew the hype on the upcoming concert. The tour was produceing some major interest from all over the place. She knew bye the time the tour ended it would be almost impossible to sneak out. At the moment, it was just difficult, it would get a lot worse, she knew. While she wanted the rockstar life, she wasn't fully prepared to give up all her privacy. She just wanted to make music and to have people feel inspired by them. Not freaking stalk her like the only way they'd live is to snap a picture of her eating cake.She wanted a life, and not have any ' i wish it could be different's. Already she had to live with the fact that she has 'just friends' practically tattoed on her forhead. It was pretty much offical, she figured. Any guy she met who was cool enough to attract her would only want to be friends. It was a horrible syndrome. She vaguely wondered if there was a pill to take to fix that.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to look at the guy beside her. Then the dreaded ' holy shit your....' was sounded. Thankfully he was quiet, or else people would start to whisper and turn around in their seats to look at her. She wasn't going to sit around and let people gawk at her. It was not how she wanted to spend her day. She groaned and almost sunk into her seat farther, hopeing to just ignore him. Maybe if she didn't reply he'd leave the idea alone. Before she could go into all 'pout' mode, he claimed he was Axel, another person on tour. She, of course, knew who Axel was, having been a fan of Dope, Guilt, and Complicated Sex. This claim made her look back up at him. He'd lowered his glasses so that she could really see him. Her eyes narrowed at him. Now why would he try and freak her out like that, when he himself should know all about the stardom life. Suddenly she grinned, surely a sign of trouble.

With the lungs of a singer, she yelled out, " OH MY FUCKING GOD ITS AXEL FROM DOPE, GUILT, AND COMPLICATED SEX!" She knew the people on the bus, and several on the ground could hear her. She had a loud voice when she wanted. Sure it wasn't good for her vocals to just be yelling, but she felt a little justified. She'd apologize the next time they ran into each other. It'd teach him to try and freak out a fellow rockstar! And if not, well at least she'd be enteretained. Already the people were looking back at them, trying to get a better look at the guy beside her. The whispers had started...Was it really Axel, she knew, was the question being asked.

[ALEX RYAN MCQUEEN]

Alex watched Daphne's eyes narrow at him. She looked kinda pissed until she smiled at him. He relaxed until Daphne opened her mouth and shouted out to everyone in the area who he was. Oh shit. This was exactly what Alex had been trying to avoid and she'd just gone and blew his cover. Well, he wasn't just going to let her get away with it. If he had to have his day ruined, then she would too. Alex cupped his hands and shouted as loud as he could, "HOLY SHIT! IT'S DAPHNE FROM RAKE OF THE SCOOBY POSITION!" Alex looked around the bus where the crowd had gone from curious to frenzied. The cameras were already being pulled out and Alex grabbed Daphne's hand and made a dash down the stairs and off the bus. So much for his quiet tour of Hollywood.

Now the two of them would be on the run, though technically this was her fault. If she hadn't said anything they could have gone on without any problems. With her hand still firmly grasped in his, Alex took down the street followed by a crowd of people trying to get autographs and pictures from the two of them. As the people and windows passed by in a blur, he realized they couldn't keep running forever. Alex picked a door at random and led her inside before hiding behind a wall. He peeked around the corner to see the crowd passing right by them. They were safe for now. Alex waited until his heart had stopped beating so fast in his chest before he surveyed where they were. It was a small restaurant and the people inside were staring at them like they were crazy.

Alex turned to Daphne and grinned before saying, "Well we lost them. You wanna grab something to eat here and lay low for awhile?" Now that their cover was already blown, Alex took off his sunglasses and pulled his hood down. It didn't look like anyone in the tiny restaurant recognized them, which was a relief. Now that he had a moment, Alex took the time to really look at Daphne. She was cute. Like really cute, but there was one problem. He smiled and pulled her hat off before saying, "Much better. Now I can see that pretty face of yours." Then he turned to the hostess and said, "We'll have a table for two. Thanks. The woman was still looking at them like they were crazy, but she grabbed two menus and led them to a booth in the corner. Alex took his seat and waited for Daphne to do the same before he said, "So you never answered my question. What are you doing out here?

[DAPHNE FAITH MCADAMS]

So yelling out who he was may have been a bad idea, but the look on his face when she had yelled was worth all the trouble it would get them into. She could have smacked him when he did the same to her, making a curious crowd a frenizic crowd. Already camaras were snapping, the flashing of the camaras would have been blinding if it wasn't the middle of the day. Daphne was glad she had not taken her bookpack off when she felt Alex grab ahold of her hand and drag her off the bus. Once they were off the bus, she ran top speed to keep up with him and to stay away from the crowd. She stayed less than a foot beside him the entire time. She was not in great rockstar shape, but running fans was almost like a high, the type she got on stage singing to the crowd, and that gave her energy. She was glad when she felt him pulling her through doors and behind a wall. As the crowd passed by, she noticecd they were in a resturaunt, drawling more attention to themselves. The only good thing was, none of the people there seemed to recongize just who they were.

She took her sunglasses off to better see the room, but she had made no move to remove her ball cap. She gave a nervous smile to the people looking at them before turning back to her partner in the running away crime. " I'm game." She said. She mentally had to slap herself back to attention when he took off his sunglasses and hoodie. He was most definitely hotter in person than in the million posters she had around her room, but she wasn't going to tell him that, after all, rockstars don't tell other rockstars of their obessions of them, that would just be weird. She held her breathe as he took off her hat and could barely utter anything in reply to him. Instead she just followed him to the table the hostess seat them at. She vaguely wondered what kind of restaurant they had managed to hide out in. Daphne slide into the seat across from Alex and thanked the waitress for seating them.

Once the waitress was gone and she was settled into her seat, Alex started speaking. She folded her hands onto of the table and leaned in and whispered, " I was playing tourist." She grinned and leaned back into her seat. " But then some hotshot rockstar crashed in." No need to say that really it was her fault they had had to run. She'd just put the blame all on him, because he started it. " You wouldn't happen to be playing tourist as well were you? " She asked as a waitress came up to the table to ask for their drink orders. " Water with a lemon." She told the waitress. Normally she would have asked for a sweettea, but she wasn't so sure that they would have that here. In Flordia, sweet tea was like the only thing she really drank. At some point, Daphne made a mental note, she would have to go to the store and get ingrediants to make some sweet tea, or else she'd go into sweet-tea with drawls.

[ALEX RYAN MCQUEEN]

Alex listened to Daphne's answer and question, and then ordered a Coke when the waitress came over to them. He grinned and replied, "Actually, the hot shot rock star was trying to play tourist for the day and have a quiet day in public, but this crazy chick with a crush on him pretty much blew that for him. At least he got away with the girl in the end though. He said he's pretty happy about that part." Alex leaned back in his seat and smiled his best smile at Daphne. Not many people knew it, but he was a virgin. Not that he couldn't have done it before, but for whatever reason Alex felt like he should wait for the right girl and at the moment he was crushing pretty badly on Daphne. She was super cute and definitely funny. He'd just have to see where this would lead.

Alex brushed a strand of hair out of his face and then continued, "So now that we're gonna be together for a little bit, you wanna hang out after this? I still never got my tour of Hollywood thanks to someone's antics on the bus." He smiled and opened his menu, noticing for the first time that they were at a burger and fries sort of restaurant. He decided on a cheeseburger before closing the menu and returning his attention to Daphne. Alex couldn't help but realize how much prettier she looked up close and in person. He'd seen her performing a few times, but they'd never been close or even talked like this. Alex was really liking being able to talk to her finally.

Now that he thought about it, they would be spending a lot of time together on tour and the thought made him excited. He would get to see her all the time and maybe, if he was lucky, get a date with her. If she hadn't realized it already, Alex was definitely interested in her. The tour would give him the opportunity to spend time with her and he would take care of the rest. Alex was nervous that she wouldn't like him, but he wanted to at least take Daphne out on one date. Even if this was by accident, their time together was kind of like a date. It just kind of depended on how she felt about him in the end. Either way, at least today was going to be a good day. He got to spend it with Daphne after all. A minute later the waitress returned and asked what they wanted and Alex replied, "I'll have a cheeseburger and fries. Now he and the waitress were just waiting for Daphne to order.

[DAPHNE FAITH MCADAMS]

If it wasn't for the fact that she's learned to train her emotions as best as possible, since media was always after a certain reaction to whatever it was that was going around here, Daphne's face would have lite up like the fourth of July. Instead her checks only went a nice rosey color, just enough to betray her. " I'm sure if the hotshot rockstar hadn't tried to spook the crazy chick, then the chick wouldn't have blew it for them." She said with a serious look on her face before breaking out into a grin. " I'm just going to blame ya, in case ya hadn't caught onto that just yet." She said with a wink. Daphne hadn't know that Alex was a virgin, and was like most in the world, assuming he was just another womanizer band member. She herself was still a virgin. Not because she was waiting on just the right person, but for someone interesting to find her attractive enough to sleep with. At least that was what Daphne told herself all the time. The truth of the matter was, she didn't know if she was waiting for someone speical, just just someone in general.

" That someone would be you. Ya owe me a tour bud." She said when he asked if she wanted to hang out after they ate. Touring the city with someone else seemed way better than touring it all by herself. Although, it would be a bit risky with another famous face. It was worth the risk, she figured, to enjoy his company for a bit longer. Daphne searched her brain for what she knew of Alex. He was suppose to be dating his band-mate, Elisabel. At least that was what the media was saying, and boy did she hope the media was as wrong about this as they were about practically everything else. He was definitely the kind of guy that appealed to the lead singer.

It would just be her luck if he really was dating that chick and was only interested in being friends with her. It would be the story of her life, the one the media had yet to pick up on. If she was interested in someone, they just weren't. If they were interested in her, well she simply wasn't interested back in them. If she was on a computer, or texting, she'd insert a sad-face at the thought of her own luck, or lack-there-fore of. Daphne flipped the menu open as Alex gave his order to the waitress. She ordered the first thing she saw there that looked appealing. " I'll take a grilled cheese with fries." It was off the kids menu, but thankfully they didn't seem to have a age limit on who could order the food and who couldn't. She wasn't too hungry, having snacked most of the morning before attempting to tour the city.

[ALEX RYAN MCQUEEN]

Alex grinned in response to Daphne's blushing. It was just the reaction he'd wanted to get from her. She definitely looked even cuter when she was blushing, and he couldn't help but laugh at her response. Of course she would put the blame on him, not that Alex cared. Whoever Daphne blamed, he still got to spend time with her and that was what he wanted. Besides when she winked at him, Alex had gotten butterflies in his stomach. So, yeah, he was crushing on Daphne and she was obviously interested in him. Alex was trying to act cool as if he didn't really like her all that much, but he really was enjoying this and knowing that such a beautiful girl liked him. The fact that she was agreeing, in her own way, to walk around the city with him was making Alex excited and incredibly happy.

As soon as the waitress had returned with their food, Alex took one of her fries and ate it and then grinned before saying, "So what exactly does this giving you a tour gig involve? Cuz I don't put out on the first date. I'm not that kind of girl." If she hadn't figured out that Alex liked to joke around a lot by now, she definitely knew now. He liked making people laugh. Now that he thought about it though, two famous people walking around the city together like a couple would definitely start a tabloid storm. Well, that was okay with him. Maybe if they saw him and Daphne together, they would stop assuming that he was with Elisabel as they'd been saying for months. Alex couldn't believe they thought he'd date her. Elisabel was like his best friend and kind of like a sister. Definitely not his type though. She was too bitchy.

Alex took a bite of his burger to give Daphne a minute to process what he'd just said and response. Knowing what he did of her by now, she was probably bright red at the moment. Sure enough when he looked up, Daphne had a healthy dose of color in her cheeks and he smiled wider as he chewed his food and then swallowed it. He followed up the food with a drink of his soda and then sat back to look at Daphne, who he could see was trying to formulate some kind of response. She really was adorable when she was blushing and Alex was already planning how he could get her to do it more often. In all honesty, Alex just wanted to see her more often after today. He really liked Daphne and hoped that something would happen between them.

[ISA THE GREAT ! ? !]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY THIS IS VERY SHORT AND VERY LATE -is sick and feels like she is dieing!-

IC:

Daphne had no clue what was going on in Alex's mind, or that he found her to be attractivve. She was not use to guys crushing on her, always the friend never the girlfriend. It had been like that ever since she could remember. Most of the time it made her feel very unattractive, and perhaps a little worthless, but as of late she's grown alot into herself, and to all those guys who just want to be her friend; they could kiss her mudd tracks for all she cared. There would be someone out there some day that would find her attractive, and while she didn't know it was Alex at the moment, she was certainly hoping that it was.

Daphne was greatful when the waitress finally came with their food. She looked pointedly at Alex as he stole one of her fries, practically dared him to steal another fry. His comment made her slight blush bloom full on. " Well damn, this day would have been a waste of time. " She said playing along. " Good thing you told me so I don't expect you to get into bed with me. Guess I'll have to hit the stripe to find someone." She said the last part with a completely straight face, but on the inside she was dying of laughter. Daphne picked up her grilled cheese, which had been cut diagonally, just the way she liked, and bit into it. She sighed happily as she chewed on the sandwhich that reminded her so much of home.

[ALEX RYAN MCQUEEN]

A couple of hours later...

Alex smiled at Daphne as they stood back in front of the restaurant they'd eaten at earlier. They'd had a great time together touring around Hollywood and talking. Alex had flirted shamelessly with her the entire time, hoping that he would be able to work up enough courage to ask her out on a date. Daphne was gorgeous and fun and sweet and as the day had progressed, Alex had started liking her more and more. Now that they were about to leave each other, he still hadn't asked and realized it wasn't going to happen at the moment, but resolved to ask her out later. Alex wanted to at least take her out on one date, just to see where it led. He gave her a hug and said, "I had a great time, Daph. Thanks for walking around with me. You've got my cell number now, so text me later. Maybe we can do this again sometime." With that, he turned and started walking back towards the hotel, his thoughts still on the girl he'd just left behind.

[DAPHNE FAITH MCADAMS]

Through out the reminder of the day, Daphne was able to enjoy Alex's company while they toured Hollywood. It was better than being alone, touring a town by ones self. Although there had been one minor incident when someone had recongized them, but that situation was easily dissolved with a few signed things and a couple of pictures. Other than that, the day had gone on perfectly. She was barely aware that he was flirtting with her, mostly because she was so unaccostumed to being flirted with in the past. She, herself, she knew, was pathetic when it came to fliting back. She had no skills in that department, but she tried. He was hot, and funny, and simply great. The whole day she wished it would never end, but as twilight came, she knew the day was coming to an end and that they would part. She had no clue that Alex was planning on asking her out later, or that he was really interested in her. What she did know was that she was totally digging on him. When it came to part, she stepped into Alex's hug and mentally sighed. " Yeah so did I. That goes for you as well, don't be afraid to send me a text." She said grinning at him. " See ya later." She said as she walked away from the man that just made that day the best day in her most recent memory.



END THREAD