Was It a Dream?

Why did I listen to my ass of a brother? If I'd just thought for a moment I wouldn't be running down the street with a bunch of crazed fans chasing us.

They had been walking to Starbucks because Tomo wanted some coffee and he had convinced them that only Starbucks coffee would satisfy his craving, although they had their hoods up and shades on a bunch of girls had recognized them.

For some reason Shannon had laughed and yelled "Run for your lives" and he had started running away. Naturally he and Tomo had followed him which had been a bad idea.. Suddenly he grinned to himself - talk about Band on the run. They had managed to build up a head start on the girls.

"Quick let's go into that book shop over there, we can hide behind the shelves." Tomo yelled.

They all entered the shop. Jared noticed the girl behind the counter and he could see that she was definitely looking nervous. He would probably also be nervous if four grown men barged in on him.

"Did we lose them?" Shannon asked Tomo; who was looking back through the glass door.

He saw that the girl was definitely looking even more nervous when she heard that remark. She probably thought they were thugs or something. He wanted to reassure her, but before he could say anything Tomo talked.

"Quick, get back here they come!"

They all sped to the back of the shop and hid behind the bookshelves. He heard the girls as they ran past. He peaked from behind the shelf to see that the shop girl looked more curious than nervous now; she was walking towards the door.

He noticed that she was petite but beautifully proportioned. She walked through the door and stared after the group of girls running down the street. After a while she returned to the shop.

"Uhm, I don't know why you're running from those girls, but they're gone now."

She had a beautiful voice, soft and gentle. The three of them came out behind the shelves laughing at the stupidity of the situation; she must think we're a bunch of idiots. Jared took his hood off and he saw that she was studying him so he decided to take his shades off and speak to her.

"Thank you, we appreciate your help."

He smiled at her. She was looking into his eyes and suddenly her eyes went very wide. She knows who I am, probably a fan he thought to himself. He steeled himself for the usual results, but she didn't react like he was expecting. He could see that she was shaken, but she didn’t start squealing or any of the other reactions that normally followed when a fan recognized them. Her reaction only managed to grab his attention.

"No problem, I guess you have to deal with this kind of thing every day." she replied and smiled.

Jared felt his stomach make a summersault. Holy shit but she had a beautiful smile, it lit up her whole face and reached up into her eyes making them sparkle.

"Stay as long as you like, nobody should bother you here."

He heard Shannon laugh. "I guess you don't get many customers." he said

The girl rolled her eyes dramatically, "This has been the slowest day to date, I don't know how the owner keeps this place open."

She walked away from them and went behind the counter, Jared wanted to talk to her and was about to ask her what her name was, but Tomo beat him to it.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The girl blushed. "Oh, sorry my name is Alena."

Alena, such a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl, Jared thought. Shannon headed to some couches that had been set up and he and Tomo joined him, making themselves comfortable. Jared gave Shannon a baleful glare.

"So what now oh fearless leader?" he asked mockingly.

Shannon just laughed at him.

"We wait here for a while and then sneak out and try for Starbucks again, hopefully we'll make it this time." he said with a cheeky grin.
Tomo moaned dramatically.

"Man, I really need some coffee."

Although Alena couldn't have heard them she spoke up suddenly.

"There's some coffee on the table and there should be some snacks as well."

Tomo jumped up and got himself some coffee, sighing as he took the first sip. Jared watched Alena; she was really trying not to stare at them. There was just the hint of a frown on her forehead, which he thought made her look cute, she seemed to be completely lost in thought. He saw her jump when her phone started ringing. The other two had also seen and all three of them laughed as she fell off her chair.

She didn't get up, so he walked over to see if she was all right. He felt slightly bad for laughing at her. As he walked closer he heard her answering the phone

"Hello,"

He stood there listening to her conversation, he knew he shouldn't but he was curious.

"Nothing much, why"

"Why not, where do you feel like going Tina?

At least it wasn't a boyfriend, wait what am I thinking? I don't even know her. You’re turning into a real pervert.

"OK, how about that new club on Second Street, I hear it's great. Meet me at my place and we'll go there together."

He heard her end the call and as she had yet to make her appearance he started to lean over the counter just then she came up. He saw her looking startled and take a step backwards.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you; I just wanted to see if you were okay." He smiled at her again.

She laughed self-consciously. He felt his heart beat faster at the sound of her laughter. What's wrong with me? I'm acting like a teenager. I'm Jared Leto; I don't react like this at the first pretty girl that catches my eye.

"Yes, I'm fine thank you." She said.

Shannon had come up behind him.

“'When do you close?" he asked.

Alena looked at the clock.

"Well we close at five, so that would be now." Jared's heart sank into his shoes; he'd hoped to spend some more time getting to know this girl.

"If you don't feel like going out through the front door, you can come out the back way with me." She offered.

"I think that might be a good idea, we don't want to run into any of those girls, they're usually very determined and can hang around for hours." Shannon said with his signature smirk.

Alena laughed at that. Oh great, it would be just my luck that she would like Shannon more than me. He watched her as she started to close the doors and pull the shutters down. He thought that she moved very gracefully. She gathered her bag and started walking to the back of the store.

He was slightly puzzled because there was no door evident He looked at his brother and Tomo, they looked just as puzzled. He turned back to Alena and saw that she was smiling a little Mona Lisa smile. He found himself captivated with it, she looked amazing. He watched her reach out to a book it read "Hidden adventures.”, she pulled it down and the shelve moved, she pushed it open and behind it there was a hidden passage.

"That's so cool!" he heard Tomo say she just laughed

“The owner is obsessed with these old mysteries; there are secret passages and hidden rooms all over the place." she explained.

They followed her down the passage; he was enjoying the view he had of Alena. She walked like a dancer. All too soon they were outside; Jared was very reluctant to leave.

"Goodbye Alena, thanks for helping us out of a sticky situation" Shannon said, giving her one of his most charming smiles.

"Goodbye Alena, thank you for your hospitality, it's been a pleasure to meet you." he said smiling at her.

"Feel free to run in anytime." she smiled at him.

His heart went flip-flop again. Damn that smile should be illegal, it's wreaking havoc on me, he thought to himself As they walked away, he tried to think of an excuse to see her again. Suddenly he had an idea.

"Do you guys feel like going out tonight?" he asked the others innocently.

He saw Shannon give him a suspicious look, but just pretended like nothing was going on.

"It beats staying in the hotel all night" Tomo said with a shrug.

"I suppose you have someplace in mind?" Shannon asked him with raised eyebrows

"There's a new club on Second Street, why don't we go check it out."

Jared smiled to himself; hopefully he would see Alena soon.

*************************************************
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When Jared asked them to go out he was very suspicious, since Jared broke up with his girlfriend he had been down, and hadn't been up to much. He hadn't even been writing anything, and he tried to stay out of the public eye. So naturally he was suspicious, maybe today's outing had been a good thing.

He had noticed his brother's interest in Alena, he grinned to himself. With a little nudge here and there he might make sure that his brother started enjoying himself again. He looked at his brother and saw that he had a very smug smile on his face. Then again, maybe my help won't be needed, she definitely has him hooked. He grinned happily.

"What are you grinning about?" Jared asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, just looking forward to a good time." he replied, innocence dripping from every word.