Highmore Manor

I gasped and jumped as the door hit the wall beside my arm; it was only inches away from smacking really hard into me. I glared at the door and then at the person who had slammed it open.

"Oh!" the flight attendant whose nametag read Janice stared at us in shock. "Umm we're about to land, can you go - you please go to you're seats and buckle up, sorry?" Janice said, her tone of voice was sort of scared and apologetic.

Chase groaned irately and hit his head on the wall beside his hand lightly. He pushed off the wall and away from me. He turned his annoyed glare on Janice.

"Thanks," he muttered to her then grabbed my hand and pulled me over to my seat.

I walked back to my seat behind Chase trying to keep my head held high, ignoring Smelly Lady who was staring at both of us with an almost horrified expression.

Janice, who was holding the door open for us and was staring at me with the evilest look in her eyes, her mouth set angrily and jealously in a thin line. She had after all been expressing an interest in Chase while we were waiting for take off, smiling flirtatiously and eyeing him up when she thought no one was looking.

Most of all I was trying not to smile at Callie’s shocked but admiring expression, all the feelings she had been showing towards Chase earlier must've never been serious, or if they were, they were being bottled up inside her because she seemed completely happy for me.

I sank down into my seat and turned to look back just as Janice, the flight attendant, stormed past my seat, almost hitting my face with her arm. I jerked back and then turned to look at Chase with a raised eyebrow, he was watching with a small, amused smirk on his face. He glanced at me and grinned at my expression. Callie was also smiling slightly when I turned to look at her. And surprisingly when I turned to look at the Smelly Lady sitting beside me she had the smallest glimmer of a smile on her lips and a bright sparkle in the corner of her eye.

So it seemed only Janice hadn't come out even a little bit happy in this situation.

♥♥♥♥♥

The trip from Nice Airport to Monaco felt a lot like the trip from London to Kent. Only this time Alex and Ryan weren't with us. Chase and I sat on one side of the limo that had been sent to pick us up from the airport and Callie sat on the other side, smiling smugly the whole way. The other difference was that none of us spoke.

About 30 minutes after leaving Nice Chase suddenly turned and looked out the window, his expression brightening slightly. I had been looking down at my hands for almost the whole trip begging myself to not be sick on the steep hills of France but I now looked up.

We were driving along a small lane about a quarter of the way up a hill, to my left there were hills and cliff faces and on my right was bright sparkling ocean.

I turned around fully in my seat and gaped out at the view.

It was absolutely, stunningly gorgeous.

From where we were in the hills we could right out over to the city of Monte Carlo and the bay. We could see the main bay of Monte Carlo and harbour filled with hundreds of luxury boats. There was a smaller bay in front of us also had a few boats in it as well and a small peninsula with a few buildings on it before the coast joined with the hill we were situated on.

The other most stunning thing about this area was the houses. All of them were large and expensive looking; it almost looked like a more beautiful and hilly Los Angeles. We pulled up to a driveway before a huge tan coloured villa and stopped in front of the large wrought iron gates.

"We're here!" Chase exclaimed half climbing over me to get to the door beside me. I watched as the iron gates swung open and we drove up to the house, which was set into the hill. It was absolutely amazing here.

Chase leaped out of the car and half ran over to the front door. Callie and I followed him out with awed expressions looking up at the house. From the front the house looked only once story but the rest of the house went down the hill.

"Woah! Get a load of this," Callie exclaimed, her eyes shining, all problems and difficulties of before completely forgotten.

"This is amazing!" I gasped, almost finding it hard to breath. This was just about the most expensive looking place I'd ever been.

"Hayley! Callie!" Chase called out to us. He was beckoning us over to the front door. We walked over from the car and followed Chase into the house after he'd typed into a keypad installed beside the door.

The air inside was cool compared to the slight warmth of outside. We followed Chase through the large lobby which opened out into a hallway with staircase leading downwards down the end and few doors; we went through the door to our right which came into a family room. From the family room you could see straight through to the kitchen and living room and out the large floor to ceiling windows at the sparkling blue ocean.

"Come I'll give you a tour," Chase said grabbing my hand and pulling my through to the kitchen. I beckoned for Callie to follow, noticing she looked slightly deflated when he didn't grab her hand as well.

"This is the kitchen and living room!" he exclaimed. The living room had a balcony in front and floor to ceiling windows that opened out completely onto the open bay in warmer months. Everything was in cool hues of tan and brown and everything was neat and tidy. The kitchen was sparklingly clean.

Beside the living room was a dining room. Out in the hallway again there was a bedroom and the garage, all huge. Then down some stairs was another family room, a games room, a huge study, four bedrooms and en suites attached to every one of the bedrooms. And then out on the down stairs terrace was swimming pool. It was pure luxury.

Everything was ten times the size I was used to and it had so many expensive gadgets and very beautiful modern rooms. Chase showed us into one of the bedrooms again, this one had to two double beds, a TV and a view out over the swimming pool and then out over the bay. He told us this was to be our bedroom for the five days we were staying on dry land.

“Wow, Chase this place is amazing!” I exclaimed when we got back to the kitchen. He poured us some drinks and then leaned on the bench.

“I grew up here every summer and then some winters as well, we have another house in Greece and then my apartment in England and my father’s bound to have other places all around the world that I don’t know about,” Chase said sipping his beer.

“Lucky, my family only has two houses,” Callie said in a downtrodden voice.

“Hey, I only have one!” I complained dramatically. Chase laughed at me for a minute and Callie giggled slightly.

“Well get used to it, darling, this is the luxury you’re going to be experiencing for quite a while, now that you know me,” he said with a sly smile in my direction. I raised my gaze to meet his and he held it.

“So, anyway, what are we going to get up to the next few days?” Callie said interrupting us. Chase looked away from me and sighed, heaving his shoulders up and then down a little bit.

“Well, I’ve got some business to catch up on for the rest of today so I’d recommend you two stay put and just relax, but tomorrow I can show you around, visit some of the attractions like the Prince's Palace in Monaco-Ville it’s pretty amazing up there,” he turned to the window and pointed out across the bay. “See over there, that thin bit of land that sticks out? That orange colour on top of it is the roof of the Prince’s Palace!” he said. I gasped and went over to the window to get a closer look. It was huge; it stretched the whole length of the strip of land.

“Wow, that’s amazing. I want to go there now,” I turned to look back at Chase; he was smiling warmly at me. He looked so cute standing in the kitchen, the light hitting his face slightly, casting him in a warm yellow glow.

“Tomorrow Hayls, I promise,” he said.

I grinned, getting excited immediately.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Callie and I were lounging in our room a few hours later, Callie was watching TV and I was lying on my bed reading one of the books I’d found in the downstairs family room which boasted its own full wall book shelf full of book, Chase was a few rooms away, busy in the study.

Everything has been so peaceful.

Chase had told us that his father would be arriving the next morning from Paris and that we should get as much relaxing done before he got there.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s going with you and Chase?” Callie asked suddenly. I looked up from my book and found her ignoring the TV and staring at me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well are you going out or what?” Callie asked, sitting up from her lying down position on her bed.

“No, we just almost kissed. He hasn’t asked me if that’s what you’re wondering. And anyway, I don’t know if I like him that much,” I said dismissively, looking back down at my book.

“Oh come on Hayls, you totally like him! I’ve seen the way you look at him, you can’t deny it now,” Callie sighed with a roll of her eyes. I tried to stare at my book without letting my true emotions show through but Callie saw the small smile that started to spread across my face.

She jumped up and pulled the book away from my face and then pointed.

“Aha! I was right, you smiling and blushing,” she laughed. I grabbed the book out of her hand before she lost my place and put it down on the bed beside me.

“I am not blushing and if I’m smiling it’s because I’m thinking of how misguided you are,” I said putting on a grumpy face.

“Oh be quiet, I can see right through you Hayley Everett,” Callie said sitting down on the bed beside me wearing a huge grin. I looked up at her with a small smile.

"And you don't mind if I do like him? I mean, you seem pretty into him," I enquired. Callie ducked her head slightly, a blush rising to her cheeks; she glanced back up a few seconds later.

"I thought I liked him but I think I was just trying to use him as a distraction. I mean…" Callie laughed slightly. "If Chase asked and I was single, I would definitely go there because he's hot." We both laughed and I nodded in agreement. "But no, I wouldn't mind," she said with a smile. I grinned back at her.

"So, are you going ask him out?" Callie prodded.

"Probably not, I'm really old fashioned, he has to ask me out," I laughed.

"Aww come on, guys really like it when girls make the first move," she said, looking at me like she knew everything.

"How do you know that?" I asked looking up at her out the corner of my eye.

"Oh um, magazines and stuff," she replied scratching her head with a small laugh.

"Sometimes you are ridiculous, you know that?" I rolled my eyes and shook my head at her, a small smile playing on my lips.

"Oh I know, Alex tells me all the time…" her words ran off like a pipe slowly running out of water and reducing to dribble. Her grin vanished in an instance. She dropped her gaze and stared at her hands intently, picking at the corner of her thumbnail. My shoulders dropped slowly and my smile faded, I watched her in silence with a heartbroken feeling in the pit of my stomach. I moved over on the bed and put my arm around her.

"I hate Camilla Lourdes," Callie spat with an amazing amount of venom in her voice. I pulled her closer.

"Hate is a very strong word," I said without thinking.

"No I really do hate her," she laughed slightly as she said really.

"Hey, you don't even know if it's true yet!" I exclaimed trying to be reassuring.

"Yes I do!" Callie protested.

"Have you actually spoken to Alex about it?" I asked looking sideways at her. She looked up at me.

"Well…no, not yet," Callie said slowly.

"I think you should, you've only got half the story and from someone who calls Camilla their friend. It could all just be a joke," I pointed out gently. Callie nodded slowly.

"True, I hope it's not though because I thought I could trust Brittany."

"I think you can, you just have to get both sides of the story first, simply to make sure," I said. Callie sighed slightly and then got up from the bed, going over to the window.

"I'm glad we're here, I really needed a break from Alex and Camilla, and school. Even though I know Chase doesn't really like me and wishes it were just you here with him, I think it's going to great…and relaxing," she said scanning the bay with a small smile.

"Yeah I know what you mean," I nodded picking up my book again. I was just getting into the story again when I heard a quiet ringing noise from upstairs.

"Hayley! Could you get that, I'm a little busy!" Chase's voice yelled from the study. I groaned. Callie turned to me and smiled.

"You've been here…what? Four hours and your already answering the door for him," she laughed.

"Shut up," I growled rolling off the bed. I thumped my feet on the carpet as I walked out of the room. As I went past the study I said, angrily:
"I won't do this all the time, just so you know." Chase's laugh came from inside the room.

"I'll be up in just a second," he said with a smile in his voice. I banged my foot down on each step as I walked up to the first level and then over to the door that lead into the lobby. The person on the other side rang the doorbell again, more insistently this time too.

"I'm coming," I said in an irritated tone. I unlocked the front door and then opened it, and then gasped.

My heart started to sink slowly, my hopes of this holiday being relaxing and free from school started to disappear in front of my eyes.

Because standing in front of me was Jesse Reed and none other then Camilla Lourdes