We didn't get done with the day's filming until late, so Caleb and I decided to go straight to dinner. On the ride over, we talked more about our aspirations and our pasts. He was fun to talk to, he kept the conversation light with all kinds of anecdotes about his crazy family back home. I told him about how I wanted to move up in the makeup business, away from reality shows and towards big budget movies. We arrived at the restaurant and walked inside, taking a booth near the back. It was late and we were both tired, so we didn't talk much as we ate. He paid like a gentleman, despite my attempts to make him split the bill, and we left the building hand in hand. He opened my door for me and helped me in, flashing me another winning smile. He drove me back to the lot where I'd left my car, kissing my cheek before heading home.

I smiled to myself. It had been a long time since I'd been treated like this, since I'd had a real, traditional, date. One with a man who held the door and kissed my cheek and gave me his number at the end of the night, telling me I could call anytime. I went to bed that night with a bubble of happiness in my chest, excited to go to work the next morning.

As I pulled into the parking lot on Tuesday, I saw a few news vans out front. I rolled my eyes. They must have found out that Mr. Mathers is here. I walked inside, skirting the reporters. Luckily they didn't care about me.

I went back to my corner to get to work, but only three people were waiting for me this time. Jackson had been eliminated yesterday, which was really shitty for him, but pretty nice for me. One less face to work on. I shared some secret smiles with Caleb, talking softly about our date last night. Missy noticed, so of course I had to spill all of the details to her. I think she expected it to be raunchier, but she got excited for me all the same.

I sent her to soundcheck and headed off to the dressing room. Mr. Mathers was sitting, waiting for me and drinking a Redbull.

"Good morning Mr. Mathers."

"Morning." He still seemed cold, despite my efforts to be friendly.

"Just to warn you, there are a couple of reporters outside." I said, figuring he should know.

"Goddamn it, how do they always find me?" He sighed in frustration.

"Well, I can tell you I didn't tip them off." He gave me what could have been a grateful smile. All he did was flick the corner of his mouth up for a half second, but I was going to take it as a grin. It was as close as I was gonna get to real emotion from him anyway. The door opened, and we both turned to see who it was.

"Hey Addison, I just wanted to bring you these brushes you left out there." It was Justine. She walked in swinging her hips way more than was necessary.

"Okay, thank you." I swear she winked at Mr. Mathers as she swayed back out, brushing her arm up against his. He recoiled like she'd stung him, looking disgusted.

"The hell was that about?" He asked me.

"I don't know. I've yet to figure out what her deal is." He nodded. I guess he didn't want any more information. I went back to my powder. I understand the effect he has on women. He's rich, he's famous, and let's face it, extremely good looking. I imagine that won't be the last time I have to watch girls throw themselves at him.

I put the last touch of highlighter on his nose, and he pulled away, shaking his head.

"I don't know why I gotta wear this shit. Nobody cares what I look like."

"The producers say you have to look pretty. I'm just doing my job." I put a little more highlighter on his nose, just to spite him.

"All right, you're done. I'll see you in a few." I heard the door open and close, signaling that he'd left. He really was a man of few words.

About 30 minutes later, I headed out to the main stage to do a quick touch-up. I was surprised to see however, that Justine was working on Mr. Mathers. She definitely wasn't supposed to be doing that. I strode over to her, hands on my hips.

"Justine. What are you doing?" She ignored me, pulling some setting spray out of her bag as Mr. Mathers wrinkled his nose.

"Justine." I said, a little louder this time.  She turned to me.

"What do you need, hon?" Well that was patronizing.

"I'm supposed to stay with Mr. Mathers, not you." I said through gritted teeth. She went back to ignoring me, leaning in closer to him than was necessary. God, I hate her. Giving up, I walked over to an unattended judge and gave her a smile, trying to pretend that this was normal. I finished quickly and stalked off. I just wanted to get away from Justine. I spent the rest of the day trying to stay as far away from her as possible.

The day was finally over, and I was packing my things up to go home. I was the last one in this part of the building, so I was mumbling to myself about how much of a bitch Justine was.

"Yeah, I'm not a fan of her either." I jumped, making a strangled squeaking noise. Whipping around, I recognized Mr. Mathers.

"What are you doing back here?" I asked, my hand on my heart, trying to catch my breath.

"I wanted to talk to you." Something about the way he said it made my stomach flip. He stared at me, and I felt like I was being x-rayed.

"Is there anything you can do to keep Justine away from me?" That wasn't what I expected.

"I'm not sure I can do anything about that Mr. Mathers. Aside from following you all day so she can't get to you. I'm pretty sure you don't want that though." He looked at me like he was weighing his options.

"Just try, okay?"

"Sure, Mr. Mathers." He walked away, not acknowledging me for the second time that day. It was starting to make me angry. We don't have to make small talk, or be best friends, but he should treat me better than this. At least he agrees with me about Justine.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Maybe I'll call Caleb later. I have a feeling he'd be a good person to talk to right now.