Undercover: Book 1 — Chapter Twenty-Seven

I woke up the next morning and realized I wasn't in my room. The memories of last night rushed through my head, making me grin again. I quickly got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I did my business and fixed up my crazy bed head before deciding I looked presentable enough. After using some mouthwash on the counter, I walked into the kitchen where Andrew's mom was.

"Hello," she chirped.

I smiled in return. “Thank you for letting me stay over last night," I said, sitting down on the chair.

"Oh, no problem, dear. Would you like some eggs and bacon?" she asked and I agreed.

"Is Andrew still sleeping?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, actually he went to go pick up some bacon he should be here any—"

"Ma, I'm back," Andrew yelled as he was walking into the kitchen.

"Thank you. I'll get started right away!" Shelby said, already taking the bacon out of the package.

Andrew wore a pair of black jeans that hung low, showing off his V-line and a pair of combat boots then a red shirt under his black leather jacket. I looked up to see Andrew smirking at me.

"I know I look good but no need to drool," Andrew said, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Arrogant much?" I said as we walked out of the kitchen toward the living room. After about twenty minutes, Shelby called us in the kitchen to eat. We shut off the TV and sat down at the table. When I sat next to Andrew I noticed there was actually a girl next to his mother. She must be Jenna. She must be on break already then?

"Oh, hello, I'm Jenna. I'm Andrew’s sister," Jenna said, smiling politely.

"Oh I'm—” I started to say but she interrupted me.

"Lucky or now Clover Thompson, I guess? Either way, I know. You are like my inspiration!” Jenna gushed, causing me to smile

"You’re already beautiful enough," I said, causing her to turn red.

“I thought Andrew said you were away at school?” I asked curiously.

She nodded. “I like to come home on breaks. We’re already out of school for the year.”

“Oh, how nice,” I said, honestly jealous.

"Jenna, how do you know Clover?" Shelby asked her daughter.

"Mom, she is a model!" Jenna whispered in a duh voice.

"Oh, really? I had no idea. Did you show Andrew your photo shoot pictures? Because a while ago, you came over and you sadly left before I got home, but Andrew was standing in the kitchen blushing, I mean, Clover, you should hav—"

"All right, Mom. She gets it," Andrew said, sending her a glare.

"He was like a little school girl. If I would have gotten him a wig and let him wear Jenna's uniform. Oh, then there was this one time when he was four—"

"Mom!!" Andrew exclaimed as red as a tomato as I sat here laughing.

Shelby stopped talking and gave him a confused glance. "What?"

"Can you stop talking?" he asked, well, more like demanded.

"Andrew Carter! That is no way to talk to your mother. Now, please, Shelby, continue. I would love to hear more stories." I smiled as Andrew sent me a glare.

"Oh, okay, darling. There was this one time when Andrew was ten, and he wanted his first leather—"

And that was how I spent my morning, listening to Shelby tell me baby stories and show me pictures about Andrew as he sulked in the corner.

***

"That was so embarrassing," Andrew groaned as we sat on his bed.

"You really pissed on your cake at your own birthday party?" I asked, holding my stomach as I laughed.

"It wasn't exactly my fault," Andrew said as he started turning red.

"So, you say, but I’m pretty sure you control where you point that thing,” I said, looking downward then back up.

"Whatever.” He suddenly stood up and grabbed a pile of clothes off his dresser. “Here, my mom washed your clothes," Andrew said, handing me the pile.

I thanked him and quickly rushed off to the bathroom to change. As I walked back into Andrew's room, I handed Andrew his sister’s clothes.

"Well, I have to go but I'll talk to you later. Thanks for last night, I had fun," I said with a smile as I grabbed my purse.

"Yeah, no problem. I’m expecting a second date soon, but this time as your boyfriend,” Andrew said, and it took me a second to process what he was saying.

My lips quirked up as I turned away from the front door to look at him. "Is that your way of asking me to be your girlfriend, Mr. Player?” I asked, stepping toward him and putting my hands on his chest. "If that's the case, then I guess I can say I wouldn’t mind being your girlfriend.”

He grinned widely.

“I look forward to that second date and learning more about you, Mr. Carter," I said, teasing him as I brushed my lips against his then stepped away, opening the door.

Andrew groaned and stopped me by grabbing my hand. "You can't leave like that." Andrew smashed his lips against mine.

"Mm, I think I can," I said, pulling away a little.

He ignored my comment and pulled my face forward again, putting his lips on mine. We got interrupted by sniffling. We pulled back to see Shelby holding a video camera while crying.

"This is so adorable. My little Andrew is growing up. Now I don't have to worry about you getting any STDs or mono. Well, you still could get mono but there is a less of a chance now,” Shelby said, wiping her eyes. “I'm going to send this to your Aunt Mallory right away." Shelby nodded furiously before running into a different room.

Andrew stood there with his mouth opened and my face wasn’t much different. "Andrew, I'm sorry to say this, but your mother is crazy."

"No need to be sorry for something I already knew. I can't believe she got all that on video," Andrew said, shaking his head with a sigh. "I'm gonna go try to stop her from sending that to everyone and posting that on YouTube so I will text you later." He gave me a quick peck on the lips.

As I walked out to my car, I heard Andrew yell, "Ma, the whole world does not need to see that."

I let out a chuckle and got in my car and left.

When I arrived home, there were more paparazzi than usual swarming my door. I decided to be nice and answer some questions, but avoided all the ones about school. On my table was a cake with white and blue frosting along the edges and on it was a printed image with words on it.

Dear Clover,

So nice that you decided to let your little secret out. I hope you don't think everything's over. Plenty more to come and you can't say a word about this to anyone. Or else...

Kisses,

Unknown.

Underneath it was a kiss mark, causing me to frown. I took a picture with my phone and opened my back door then threw the cake at a tree. Luckily, my backyard is fenced in so no paparazzi witnessed it. I called Tori and immediately ordered her to get over her without any explanation.

Tori's Point of View

I wiped my forehead with a towel, removing any sign of my daily workout.  I went into the locker room and took a quick shower then changed into a pair of yoga capris and a pink spaghetti strap tank top to match the pink fold. I wasn’t in that much of a hurry, but I could tell by Clover’s voice on the phone that she definitely needed me.

I picked up my purse to leave, but a purple envelope fell out. I picked it up and looked around before opening it.

Dear Tori,

Aren't you tired of living in Clover Thompson's shadows? I can fix your problem. We can work together and take Clover's career down. I could make you the number one model of Victoria's Secret. You wouldn't have to be Victoria, Lucky's amateur best friend, anymore. You could be first place in everything. Imagine the popularity at school you could get. Imagine Clover's face when she sees her best friend betray her. You like the idea yet? You want to contact me? Talk to Anne.

Kisses,

Unknown

I stood there rereading the message, my heart pounding in my chest. Was this how Clover felt every time she opened one of these things? I didn’t like this feeling, like everyone could see the note, everyone was judging me. I felt naked in a room full of men. I wouldn’t ever do that to Clover, but I felt like everyone here could read the note and thought I would.

I wouldn’t.

I quickly made my way to my car then to Clover's house. When I arrived, I was attacked by paparazzi.

“WHAT ARE CLOVER’S SECRETS?”

“WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MODEL POSE?”

“WILL YOU BRING CLOVER OUT HERE?”

I ignored all their stupid questions and went to the front door, knocking. Clover opened it a second later. She squinted from the flashing of lights and let me in, shutting and locking the door behind me.

“Sorry, Mary said she would work on getting them removed. They’ve tripled since the whole telling my real identity thing,” Clover said, frowning.

I waved her off. "What's the problem?" I asked as we went up and sat in her bedroom.

"The problem is this unknown person is now sending me cakes and managed to get in my house … again." Clover grabbed a pair of Adidas shorts and a PINK shirt. She quickly changed and laid out on her bed next to me.

"You got a cake?" I asked, surprised. I felt my heart pounding in my ears, the note burning a hole in my purse. I wasn’t hiding it; I just needed to find the right time to bring it up. I would never do something like that to her.

"Yep and this is what it said," she said, handing me her iPhone. I read the note and frowned.

"What did you do with the cake?" I asked.

"I threw it at a tree. Who knows what this person could have done to it?" Clover said, sounding stressed.

“You told me? It says not to tell anyone?” I said, feeling slightly worried. This person would know if she told someone; they were good. Which was why I couldn’t help but wonder. How close was she to this person?

“You’re not just anyone, you’re my best friend,” she said, looking confused on why I would even question that fact.

“I’m worried about how dangerous this person really is. They’re getting into your house. They could come in while you’re sleeping, Clo. It’s not safe and I’m worried about you,” I said honestly.

Clover’s eyes shifted to a darker look. “I’m tired of this. I don’t want to look over my shoulder anymore. I don’t want them breaking into my house anymore. I need my locks changed and I need to figure out a way to end this.”

I looked at her determined face. She was such a strong girl, and she didn’t even realize the extent of power she had yet. “Clove, there’s something I have to show you,” I said, making her sit up and look at me.

I pulled the envelope out and handed her the note. I watched as her eyes skimmed it furiously. “I found it in my stuff while I was at the gym.”

"They would really go this far to try and get my best friend to go against me?" she asked furiously. I could see her shaking in anger, and I quickly grabbed her fisted hands and unrolled them before interlocking them with my own.

“Hey, I’m not going against you, so you have nothing to worry about,” I said and she shook her head.

“What if they sent the same thing to Katy? Or Jasmin? Or hell, even Andrew or Chris? This isn’t good.” Angry tears started welling up in her eyes. "Do you feel like that Tori? Like you’re just a shadow behind me?"

"No," I lied. I couldn’t make her more upset, but it was something that she didn’t need to hear right now. I only felt like a shadow when we’re on the runway and there was nothing she could do to fix that feeling. She’s the prized model and she deserved it for every bit of work she’s put into it.

Besides, off the runway, she was the best friend a girl could wish for, and I honestly wouldn’t want it any other way.

"Babe, this bitch is playing with fire now. And let me tell you, their fire is about to go out," I said with a smirk and she squeezed my hand.

Seeing my determined look, she nodded and wiped her watery eyes. “Let’s throw some water on the bitch.”

Unknown Point of View

I sat there smirking as I pressed the send button on a video of Clover's time in jail.

"By tomorrow her career will be down the drain," Mary smirked from beside me.

The doll that resembled a certain blond girl sat in my hand. Dressed neatly with even her outfit in place. I couldn’t help, but share a smirk with Mary. This goal of bring Clover down was more for the purpose of me. Someone could say I was obsessed more with taking this model down, but it was more about wanting her life. I needed it. Mary knew it too and she was tired with working for a selfish bimbo who could care less about her career.

I would be the best model possible. I’d make it as the world’s biggest model. I’d find a way to be bigger than whatever she was. I couldn’t do that until her career was gone, though. I can’t rise beside the biggest model around right now. I had to go above her, I had to be her. The only way to do that? Take her down.

For good.

I twisted the dolls hair before I threw the doll into the garbage as Mary lit it on fire with a match.

“You’re right, Clover. It never is good to play with fire. The problem is, when you tease the fire with a bit of oil, it’s only going to get bigger,” I said a loud, turning my chair and looking back at Mary.

"Lucky will be no more," Mary agreed.

I smiled, flickering the lighter on and off, staring at the flame. "I can't wait to see her face when the streets are covered with paparazzi and she is on the front page of every magazine and every newspaper with her face being smashed against the wall handcuffed." I threw the lighter into the fire and stood up, turning my back to the flame. My lips curved up further as I started walking to the door with only one thought in my head. “Buh-bye, Lucky.”