CHAPTER EIGHT

"What are you doing home and what are all these groceries for?" Aja wandered down the stairs just in time to see Jerrica returning home with several shopping bags. "I thought you'd still be with Riot," she wondered, looking at her watch. It was only one o'clock in the afternoon.

"Riot had some damage control to do," she answered. "Some photos surfaced from last night of Minx throwing her shoes at LYNX's limousine," she giggled. "One hit one of the members, Jay Larson, in the head."

"Oh no!" Aja laughed. "Is he okay?"

"I think so," Jerrica laughed. "Riot's working with their public relations team to spin the story without making both sides look bad," she explained.

"And what about all this food?" Aja gawked. "The girls aren't coming home early, are they?"

"No," Jerrica smiled. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited Riot's parents over for dinner tomorrow," she answered.

"No, not at all," Aja replied, looking surprised. "It looks like you guys are getting serious," she commented.

Jerrica smiled. "Oh, I don't know about that," she coyly replied, trying not to let her friend read too much into it. "After last night, we thought it would be a good time to formally re-introduce me," Jerrica explained. "I left a message at Sean's place for him and Kimber to join. I hope you will too," she skeptically mentioned, knowing Aja's reluctance to accept her relationship with the Stinger.

"It sounds like a family thing," the blue-haired guitarist replied.

"Aja, you are family," Jerrica pointed out. "Please?" she sweetly asked. "I think it would give you and Rory a chance to really get to know each other," she continued.

Seeing the importance of tomorrow in Jerrica's eyes, Aja agreed. "Okay, what can I do to help?" she willingly asked.

"For starters, there's a couple more bags in the car," Jerrica giggled. Aja laughed. "Here!" Jerrica handed her a pair of keys.

Aja noticed they weren't hers. "Yeah, it's not serious," she teased holding up keys to his Aston Martin.

"It's just a car," Jerrica replied, downplaying his gesture. "I didn't have mine with me and he needed to go to the office, so I dropped him off at his place to get his other car." His Jaguar was no joke either, but everyone in Hollywood knew his vintage Aston was his baby.

As Aja returned with the rest of the groceries, Kimber suddenly returned home. "Back so soon?" Aja greeted her.

"Sean and I were having lunch at Palisades Square when we spotted this!" Kimber held up the latest edition of Hollywood Tales, the new celebrity gossip rag. On the front cover was a picture of Jem kissing Riot at the Countess' party from the night before.

Jerrica's jaw drop. "How did they get this?" She was stunned.

"I don't know," Kimber replied, "But everyone is now talking about it. Sean and I had to leave once they realized who I was," Kimber revealed.

"Who could have done this?" Aja wondered.

"Pizzazz," Jerrica and Kimber bluntly answered in unison.

"I should have known she was up to something," Jerrica mused. "She likes causing trouble, but she barely made a scene last night. Now I know why. I have to call Riot," she said, quickly running towards the phone.

Across town at Stingers Sound, Riot sat at his desk ruminating deeply in his thoughts. He had just finished meeting with his public relations team on spinning the story about Minx and the limo incident when a photo on his desk caught his eye. It was of him and Jerrica in front of the Trevi Fountain on their final night in Rome last month. He remembered throwing the coin behind his back and into the Trevi, wishing Jerrica would be at his side the next time he returned to the Eternal City. It was that night that he saw his future with her in it forever. He happily allowed himself to sink into his memories of Rome until it was rudely interrupted by the phone.

"Oh, who could that be on a Saturday?" he mumbled to himself. He thought about letting the answering machine pick up until he realized only Jerrica, Minx and his PR team knew he was in the office that day. "Hello?" he quickly answered in his sultry voice just as Jerrica was about to hang up.

"Hi," she answered with a bit of reluctance in her voice.

"Jerrica, what's wrong?" he asked.

"We have a problem," she bluntly replied. "There are photos of you and me on the front page of Hollywood Tales all over town."

"Ok-aaay," he replied, wondering what exactly what the problem was. They both knew this was to be expected when they made their first public appearance together.

"But it's me as Jem," she clarified, much to his grief.

"But how?" he managed to say. "I barely kissed you for two seconds."

"Pizzazz," she reminded him.

"Of course," he glumly replied. Riot hated himself for not notifying security of her presence.

"What are we going to do?" Jerrica sighed.

"The only thing we can do," he replied. "Deny it. It's only a picture. There's no time or date on it, is there?"

"No," she answered.

"I'll deny it, Jem will deny it. We'll say it happened several months ago when I first came to town. I'll get my PR team to issue a statement right away," he continued.

Jerrica agreed. "I'll have Starlight issue a statement on Jem's behalf to corroborate your press release," she replied.

"That sounds like a plan," he sighed. "My parents are looking forward to tomorrow," he added, trying to bring something positive into the call.

"I am too," she replied, sounding more upbeat than earlier.

"Don't worry, Jerrica. We can handle this," he assured her.

"I know we can," she replied as the two said their goodbyes over the phone.

"So? What did he say?" Kimber eagerly asked.

"Stingers Sound will issue a statement on his behalf and Starlight will issue a statement on Jem's behalf, both stating that the photo was taken a long time ago," she explained.

"Well, that sounds easy," Kimber replied.

"A little too easy if you ask me," Aja chimed in.

"I know what you mean, Aja." Jerrica knew what her friend was getting at. "We'll just have to be a little more careful when it comes to Jem and Riot being around each other. We can't give Pizzazz any other opportunities," she added. "I guess I better get going on that press release."

"What about the groceries?" Aja asked. Unfortunately, Jerrica was too lost in her own thoughts to hear.

"What are all these groceries for anyways?" Kimber curiously asked.

"Come on, help me get these into the kitchen and I'll explain," Aja replied, handing her a bag full of vegetables.

CHAPTER NINE

"You were busier last night than we thought," Rapture cleverly greeted Riot as she and Minx entered his office.

Riot looked at them with a bewildered look. Minx handed him a copy of the Hollywood Tales. While he had heard about it from Jerrica, he had yet to see it.

"Are you still seeing Jem?" Minx candidly asked as he scanned the photo.

"That's an old photo," he flat out lied to his bandmates. "Our PR team is handling the situation as we speak," he informed them. It tormented him not being able to tell them the truth. He had never been one to lie, especially to those most loyal to him. But he gave Jerrica his word, even if it meant betraying Minx and Rapture's trust in him.

"It sure looks a lot like what you both wore last night," Minx pointed out.

"I saw Jem for a brief second as we got on stage. There was nothing more," he quickly brushed off Minx's insinuations.

"Even if Riot was seeing Jem," Rapture chimed in, "it didn't bother Jerrica Benton before," she said, referring to Rio's relationship with them.

"If they only knew," Riot thought to himself. "If you came to discuss my prior dalliances with Jem, I've got more important things to do," he informed them, clearly giving them a clue.

"We actually came here to thank you," Minx gleefully replied. "I love the new equipment!" she squealed, running over to hug him in his chair.

"Well, you're very welcome," he replied, caught off guard.

"But why did you get me a new bass?" Rapture asked.

"Do you not like it?" he asked, surprised. "It's the best one out there. Since Minx was getting new equipment, I figured we could all use new, updated equipment," he explained.

"It's great," she sarcastically replied. "I guess I just have to get used to it."

"It's yours," he bluntly replied to Rapture. "You are free to do with it as you wish," he instructed her.

"I bet I can find some use for it," she mused.

"Good. Now, is there anything else?" he asked. "I have a lot of work to do."

"Something's bothering you," Rapture pointed out.

Riot tried to hide his aggravation, but he knew his bandmates knew him well. "I'm just a little perturbed at Phyllis Gabor," he finally admitted.

"Oh?" Rapture looked at him with a probing eye.

"She's the person behind all this," he said, motioning towards the copy of Hollywood Tales.

"What business is it of Pizzazz to gossip about you and Jem? I thought she hated Jem?" Minx chimed in.

"She loathes Jerrica more and would like nothing more than to humiliate her," Riot bluntly replied.

"How could anyone hate Jerrica?" Rapture wondered. "She's too nice."

"Since when did you become such a fan of Jerrica's?" the German keyboardist asked.

"Since she introduced Rapture to Nigel," Riot smirked.

"What do you suppose we do?" Rapture asked their fearless leader.

Riot sat thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "For now, nothing. The last thing I need is to be paying the PR team any more overtime," he said, reminding Minx of her spectacle the night before.

"I promise I won't throw anymore shoes," Minx giggled.

"I appreciate you girls looking out for me," he replied as he stood up from his chair to embrace his bandmates. "But the best thing for now is to just let Pizzazz entertain herself with her own antics. She'll grow bored of it sooner or later once she realizes we don't take her seriously," he explained. "Now, I must get back to all this work. Stingers Sound has a major event in a couple of days and we'll start recording the Christmas album next week. I want this work off my desk by then."

"As you wish, Riot," Rapture sweetly replied as they left his office, leaving him alone once more.

"Well, he's in a better mood than when he called me earlier," Minx whispered to Rapture in the hallway. "He wasn't too pleased about the shoes," she giggled.

"He's hiding something," Rapture mused, completely disregarding what Minx just said to her.

"Rapture, what are you talking about?" Minx quickly replied.

"I think there's more to that picture than Riot implied," the bassist revealed. "I feel it."

"You think he's still seeing Jem, don't you?" Minx pressed her.

"I really don't know," she murmured. "It's obvious Riot's in love with Jerrica. I can see it in his aura when he's around her, but there's something about that picture that doesn't fit with what he told us."

"I don't think Riot will be too happy if we start snooping where Jem and Jerrica are concerned. If you ask me, as long as Riot stays this happy and we're happy, he's free to do whatever he wants," Minx replied.

"He won't stay this happy for long if Pizzazz is up to something, and she is definitely up to something where Jem and Jerrica are concerned," Rapture said thoughtfully.

"What do you suppose we do about it?" Minx wondered.

"I'm not really sure yet," she contemplated. "But I'll think of something."

"You really do like Jerrica Benton, don't you?" Minx prodded her.

Rapture shrugged. "She's not so bad. Riot seems more relaxed with her than he was with Jem. I think being with Jem stressed him out," she revealed. "But I'll take either one over Pizzazz!" Both Stingers giggled at the thought of the Misfit, reminding them of how love struck Pizzazz was with Riot.

"I see Jem as more of his type," Minx casually added. "But you're right, Jerrica doesn't bother me as much as all the other women he could possibly be with. And she doesn't seem as plain as she was when she was with Rio."

"Speaking of Rio, what's going on with him?" Rapture wondered.

Minx shrugged her shoulders. "Why waste my time on a jerk like him?" she asked rhetorically. "Why?"

"Nigel has a friend," Rapture began to tell her as they entered the elevator.

"Oh?" Minx was intrigued. After all, who could be worse than Jordan Lyons?

CHAPTER TEN

Representatives for both singers claim the photo was taken several months ago, before Riot began dating Jerrica Benton of Starlight Music. The two made their official appearance as a couple the night the photo allegedly took place.

"Ahh!" Pizzazz shrieked upon reading the article on Jem and Riot in that morning's paper.

"What now?" Jetta asked, annoyed by Pizzazz's screams.

"They're spinning this to make the photo look like it was taken months ago," Pizzazz complained. "If they only knew," she mused.

"Yeah, so?" Roxie wondered.

"So," Pizzazz began with a bright look in her eyes. "We'll just have to get them sneaking around behind Jerrica's back on film!"

"How do you suppose with do that?" Stormer asked skeptically.

"I have a little something, I mean, someone up my sleeves," she revealed.

"Who?" Roxie wondered.

"Who is not important right now," Pizzazz answered. "Right now, I want you and Jetta to follow Riot wherever he goes," she directed them.

"And what if we say no?" Roxie challenged her.

"Then don't be surprised if the next photo on the cover of Hollywood Tales is of you and that guy from LYNX," she threatened her.

"Fine," Roxie bemoaned her.

"Stormer!" Pizzazz continued, turning to the blue-haired wallflower. "I want you to find out what you can about Jem or Jerrica from Kimber Benton."

"But Pizzazz," Stormer protested. "I can't do that. Kimber's my friend."

"If you ever want your brother to have a job in this town, you'll do it!" Pizzazz demanded. Stormer's brother was Craig Phillips, who happened to be Aja's boyfriend as well. He was the drummer for the British rock band, the Blue Bloods, and had spent the last couple of years touring in Europe. Stormer was hopeful her brother would find an opportunity in Los Angeles one day and be able to come home for good.

"Fine," Stormer reluctantly agreed. "I'll see what I can do."

"And what do you suppose you're going to do?" Jetta questioned her.

"Don't worry about me," she giggled. "I'll be working with my secret spy," she replied mischievously. "Now go!" she directed her bandmates, as if they were her minions. "I want this Fourth of July to give Jerrica Benton the loudest BOOM she's ever heard!" she wickedly laughed.