"She'll never make a move with him," Keiran says. I turn to her, surprised.

"Charlie, that's not what I said at all," Keiran insists. "I was talking about Hallie, not you."

But it doesn't look that way. At least not the way it

was edited. Same goes for my comment a few minutes later about Keiran. "She'll never stand up to her parents." But that's not what I meant! I said so much more than that. I remember.

"If she doesn't get what she wants, she can't deal," we hear Hallie say about Brooke, and the rest of us agree. Brooke glares at us.

"But that's not how we said it," I tell Hallie. I look around. "Remember? We were talking about clothes, not guys."

Next there is a commercial break. My parents look slightly stunned and my face flushes. I stare at Ryan-who heard me say on tape how much I hate working dead shifts at Milk and Sugar-and he gives me a small smile. Not his usual effervescent one.

"I need air," I tell the girls and jump up before anyone can stop me. I walk quickly to the back of the restaurant, swinging through the kitchen door and walking past Grady without letting anyone get a word in. I'm not watching where I'm going and I bang right into a waiter carrying a tray of mini egg rolls. Fire and Ice hired their own staff for the food tonight, but Ryan and Milk and Sugar are handling the drinks.

"Whoa, slow down," the guy says as the egg rolls slide to the floor.

"I'm so sorry," I apologize, bending down to pick them up.

"Don't worry about it," he tells me and does the same. "I didn't pay for them."

This for some reason makes me laugh. I look up at him and suck in my breath.

He's really cute. Like Chace Crawford cute, with long bangs, light brown hair, and incredible gray eyes. He gives me a lopsided grin. "You look like you could use some air," he says.

"You noticed?" I ask dryly.

"Want some company?" he asks.

I'm about to say yes, when Hallie bursts through the kitchen doors. "It's back on!"

"I have to go," I say, wishing I didn't.

"Maybe later," he says and holds out his hand. I take it. It's warm and he's got a firm handshake. "I'm Danny."

"Charlotte," I say. "But you can call me Charlie."

"It was nice bumping into you, Charlie." He winks. "Maybe we can do it again."

I rush out of the kitchen and jump back into my seat. As excited as I am, my mood doesn't last long because the next segment is more of the same-the four of us are

constantly bickering. I had no idea we did it that much! Almost everything I've said has been taken out of context. And I'm sure it's the same for the others, but it's hard not to bristle at the comments. Hallie talking about Keiran being a wallflower... Brooke acting obnoxious about our less expensive clothes... Me going on and on about our weekend plans to the point where Keiran snaps, "Who made her the cruise director?" Ouch.

Keiran is no longer holding my hand. Hallie is staring straight at the screen. I glance quickly at Brooke, and Marleyna has her arm around her sympathetically. We'll be lucky if Brooke ever talks to us again after this episode. She just heard Keiran, Hallie, and me call her a barracuda.

The show creeps by and the room gets quieter and quieter. I feel my heart pounding loudly and I'm sweating. What is everyone thinking? What are my friends thinking? I don't think I can handle watching another episode of our show if it is like this one. We all look beautiful-I don't know how the cameras do it, but our skin and makeup are flawless-and our tiny town looks like the Hamptons. The shots are gorgeous, but it doesn't feel...

Real.

When it's over, Brooke jumps up and escapes through the kitchen. I follow, and Keiran and Hallie are right behind me.

"Brooke, wait up," I tell her, as I rush past Danny and out the back doors.

Brooke whirls around. "You have a lot of nerve trailing me."

"Me? What about you?" I blurt out. "You're the one who called me controlling and a dictator."

"You called me obnoxious and a barracuda!" Brooke's voice is shrill.

"Guys, calm down," Keiran says. "Half that stuff was taken out of context. We didn't say those things that way."

"We didn't?" Brooke asks, and crosses her arms, her bracelet dangling. "So, Keiran, you don't think I'm a snob?"

"Well, no, it's just..." Keiran trails off.

"Whatever." Brooke holds up her hand. "You were barely in the show. You had nothing interesting to say anyway!"

My breathing practically stops. Ouch.

"Unlike you, who was all over every shot," Hallie says angrily. "You're a camera hog!"

"I can't help it that the lens loves me!" Brooke is unapologetic.

"Hold up!" I yell. "We're ripping each other apart! Why? Because of a TV show? We promised we wouldn't do this. We knew it would be edited. They want good TV and they cut it to look a certain way."

"Um, guys?" I think Keiran is trying to get our attention, but I'm too fired up to focus.

"You promised not to," Brooke tells me. "But you're not the boss of me anymore. I don't take orders from Charlotte Reed on the show or off. What I saw tonight only proves Marleyna is right. You three have always been jealous of me. We are no longer friends."

"Fine!" Hallie yells back. "But know this: we're not jealous of you. Marleyna is. We don't want to be anything like either of you!" She's literally shaking she's so mad.

"Marleyna will say anything to keep herself on TV," I add angrily. "We've been your friends for years. How can you not see that?"

"Because she's blind," Hallie answers for her. "She's always wanted to be Marleyna Garrison's pathetic lackey and now that she is, she's done with us."

Brooke raises her hand and for a moment I think she's going to hit Hallie. "What I see is the show is all about you and it shouldn't be." Brooke points a finger shakily in my direction. "Well, it's not going to be that way anymore."

"Guys?" Keiran tries again.

"Are you threatening us?" My eyes are seriously going to pop out of my head. "Because since this is my show, I can have you fired!" Okay, I doubt that, but I'm really mad.

Brooke laughs. "I'd like to see you try! You wanted this to be the Charlie show so you could have the glory to yourself. Imagine what you'd be getting paid if we weren't each getting eight thousand dollars an episode!"

"You mean ten thousand dollars an episode," I correct her.

Brooke's eyes bulge and I immediately realize I've said the wrong thing. "You get ten?" she screams. "I knew it!"

"I get six thousand," Keiran says quietly and we're all stunned for a moment.

"I get eight," Hallie says sheepishly.

"You are not the star here," Brooke tells me and her eyes are watery with angry tears. Her mascara is running down her cheeks, but I'm sure mine is too. I can't believe how emotional I'm getting. "You're not as interesting as me. I don't know what they're thinking, but they're wrong and I'm going to change their minds!"

"Brooke, what is more important here-being the star of some TV show or our friendship?" I'm suddenly exhausted and I just want this fight to end.

Everyone is quiet. I can hear dishes clanking in the kitchen and the sound of the Fire and Ice wait staff calling for more orders of sushi. The four of us stare at each other sadly.

"You've left me no choice," Brooke says quietly. "I love what the show has done for me. Think about how people look at us now. Marleyna wouldn't give me the time of day before this, and now we're inseparable."

"Doesn't that say something to you?" Hallie asks hoarsely. "She's not a true friend."

Brooke laughs bitterly. "I don't care. For the first time I have a chance at getting out from under my parents' thumb and getting away from this sad little town. Whether Marleyna is using me or not doesn't matter. I'm using her just as much. We work well together and our scenes make great TV. I'm going to ride this wave as long as I can."

"So that's all that matters to you now?" I feel choked up. "I don't even know you anymore."

"Me either," Hallie agrees.

"I'm not going to apologize," Brooke says frankly. "I've always been honest about what I wanted in life and now

I'm this close to getting it. I'm not going to let any of you blow it."

"How are we going to film if we're not talking?" Hallie's voice is rising. "The show is about the four of us."

Brooke pulls out a compact and begins touching up her makeup. "They'll figure it out. This is television."

"Um, guys?" Keiran tries again.

"WHAT?" The three of us yell at the same time.

Keiran looks mad now too. "I've been trying to tell you that you're on camera!" She motions to the kitchen doorway and I realize Phil is there. And on his shoulder is his video camera.

Oh. My. God.

"Phil!" I freak. "Why didn't you say you were there?"

He lowers the camera and stares at us guiltily. "Sorry. Susan-I mean, Addison-asked me to tape this. She said they'll edit out anything show-related if that makes you feel better."

"But Phil, this was a private conversation," Hallie tells him.

Brooke sighs. "Get over it," she says to Hallie and pushes her way through the three of us. "Phil, use what you want to use. Unlike them, I have nothing to hide."

She strides past him, head held high, and Phil follows her. The three of us just stand there.

"I guess we should go back in," Hallie says, looking sort of hopeless.

Keiran laughs bitterly. "You two can. No one else cares that I'm there. You heard Brooke."

"Don't listen to her," I say.

Keiran hesitates. "She's right though. That's what-never mind."

"What?" Hallie presses.

Keiran sighs. "Nothing. Look, I'll go with you, Hallie. I'm starving." The two turn to go. "You coming in?" Keiran asks.

"I need a minute alone," I say, still feeling weepy, which is something I don't want to be in front of a room full of executives and family. I plop down on an overturned milk crate and put my head on my lap. The girls must know I really need space because I hear Hallie's heels click-clack on the concrete until they're gone.

What have I gotten myself into? What have any of us gotten ourselves into? Is this what we have to look forward to? Fights every week over every little thing we say on camera? Never speaking to Brooke again? I wish I had someone to talk to about all this, but everyone I'd usually talk to is too involved. Zac would have listened. But now...

"I thought you might need this," someone says and I look up. Danny is standing in front of me holding a box of tissues.

I take them from him and hug them to my chest. "Guess you heard everything, huh?"

He crouches down next to me. "Not everything," Danny says and I give him a look. "Okay, ninety percent of it. Are you okay?"

"No," I say with a sigh. "But I guess I have to be." I motion with my head to the kitchen door. "Someone will notice if I don't return to my own party."

"I could give you a great getaway speech," Danny suggests. "I can say a crazed fan was stalking you and I helped you get away in a waiting yellow Camaro."

My eyebrows raise. "Yellow Camaro?"

"You know, like the car Bumblebee the Transformer comes from," Danny says and blushes. "I'm a robot geek. Can't help it."

Transformers. Zac is into them too. Now I feel sad all over again.