Chapter 115
Everyone turned back toward Britney, who paused for a second, slightly amused by the awkward silence that followed Alan's outburst.
"It's okay," she said with a polite smile. "I'm used to... enthusiastic welcomes."
Alan nodded nervously, Judith gave him a sideways glare, and Charlie muttered, "That's going in the family history."
I took a step forward. "Hi," I said. "I'm Marshmello."
"Britney Spears," she replied, shaking my hand. Her eyes lingered on the Marshmello helmet for a moment, then she hesitated. "Can you take the helmet off?"
"I can, but please don't share it," I said.
"I wouldn't. I gain nothing from it. On the contrary, the fine and those clauses are kind of... Spartan," she replied with a mildly offended tone.
I slowly lifted the helmet, revealing my face.
Britney's eyes widened in surprise. She blinked, then narrowed her gaze with a puzzled expression. Tilting her head slightly, she said, "I'm sorry... but who are you?"
I gasped. A few muffled laughs were heard around the room. Cher and Regina couldn't hold back and burst into soft giggles.
"I'm Jake Harper," I said. "And you're totally right. I'm not someone famous. And I don't want to be anytime soon—that's why the mask."
"Damn it, I thought you were someone I would know," Britney replied a little frustrated.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she added quickly.
"Nah, it's okay. I'd feel the same if I were in your shoes," I said.
"I know this has already been discussed, but are you comfortable interacting with everyone here? If you're feeling uneasy..."
"It's fine. I'm already used to it," Britney said with a smile.
"Because I'm the one starting to feel uncomfortable. Feels like there are hungry eyes staring at my back..." I joked, making Britney laugh a little.
"Come on, let me introduce everyone," I said. "That's Cher and Regina," I pointed, as they barely held back their excitement. "Over there are Carly, Freddie, Sam, and Laura."
Then I turned slightly and gestured toward the others. "And those are my family—Alan, Charlie, Judith, and Evelyn."
Pepper spoke up, "Let the two of them go into the booth. Later, if there's time and Britney agrees, we can all talk more."
I nodded, and the two of us entered the booth.
"You're different from what I expected," Britney said as she settled into her spot. "I thought you were older. Are you like sixteen or seventeen?" she asked, eyeing me curiously.
"I'm thirteen, but my birthday is this weekend," I replied.
"What?? You're thirteen??" Britney said, visibly shocked.
"So where is all this music coming from?" she asked, still trying to process it.
"I'm a genius," I said, without blinking.
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "But some of them... like 'Toxic,' for example, are..."
"Whoa, whoa, let's not talk about difficult things," I interrupted quickly.
Why couldn't she just be clueless about this like everyone else? (where is the sitcom logic in her?)
"Okay," she said, nodding slowly. "But can we start with 'Toxic'?" she asked. "I really liked that song."
I nodded, and we stepped into place. Then Britney began to sing:
♪ Baby, can't you see I'm calling?
A guy like you should wear a warning
It's dangerous, I'm falling ♪
Unlike the original, 'Toxic' now carried a more electronic beat—an unmistakable Marshmello touch pulsing beneath Britney's vocals.
After that, we moved on to 'Symphony.'
---
Later that evening, everyone was back at the house in Malibu.
I was watching Cher and Regina with a look of pure satisfaction on their faces. "These two..." I murmured while I was resting my head in Laura's lap
"And what about Jake's birthday party this Sunday?" Sam asked, snapping them both out of their daydream.
"It will be incredible," said Cher. "The best party anyone in our school has ever seen."
"Yes, we already hired everything, and we have a backup too," said Regina.
"How many people are actually coming in the end?" I asked.
"You don't know?" Freddie said, astonished.
"Four hundred people," Cher answered.
Regina added, "Most of them are from our school, but there will be plenty of people from other schools too."
"Only the popular ones," she added with a smirk.
---
The day before my birthday, I was at the Santa Monica house with Laura. The sun had already begun to set. We were lying on the couch
I grabbed the DVD.
"Hey, come on, let's watch it on the TV," I said, getting up and walking over to connect it.
The screen lit up, and the video started with last year's clip—Alan, Charlie, and me singing ♪ Men men men men, manly men ♪.
Right after that, the second video began. It had the same theme song, but it was clear I had grown since the first. This time, the three of us were each holding a top hat, passing it from one to another in a kind of choreographed goofiness. The background was a bright blue sky.
"Cool, right?" I said, glancing at Laura with a grin. "This is a family men tradition now. Days before my birthday, I record with my dad and my uncle."
"That is... actually nice," Laura said, surprised. "I thought it was a little lame at first, but it's actually pretty cute."
"Cute??" I gasped dramatically. "Didn't you hear the song? It's manly men."
We both laughed, teasing each other playfully.
Then my phone buzzed with a message. I reached over, picked it up, and checked the screen.
"Hey Laura, can you help me with something?" I asked.
"Sure," she said.
I handed her my phone and pointed to the screen. Her eyes widened as she read.
"You're texting with Britney??" she said, shocked.
"Yeah, we exchanged numbers... check the other messages," I said casually.
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