The Princess and the Rockstar

Part 1

Runnin' With the Devil

By Nick Maro

The ringing of the doorbell brought Jerrica out of her thoughts. She glanced at the clock and cursed silently. It was nearly two in the morning. She was still going over reports from Starlight Music and the contracts to appear on television shows. She put on her robe and opened her study door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the Starlight Girls run up the back stairway. Jerrica figured she was making a midnight snack.

Holding back a yawn Jerrica opened the door. The sight before her both shocked and angered her. Kimber stood next to a police officer. She was looking at the cement porch and very defiant. The officer tipped his hat a bit and cleared his voice. "Ms. Benton? I picked your sister here up at the high school. She and few other friends were trespassing on school grounds."

Jerrica stared at Kimber with cold anger and then offered a small smile to the officer. "Well, thank you for bringing her back, Officer. I didn't even know she was missing. So what are the charges?"

"No charges. Just a warning seeing how this is her first offense and there was no damage done to the school." The officer gave Kimber a slight nudge to enter the door. "Good night and make sure she stays out of trouble." He turned and left in his squad car.

"Get inside!" Jerrica grabbed Kimber by her upper arm. "What the hell are you doing sneaking out like this?"

Kimber wiggled out of Jerrica's grip. "Let go! You're not Mom! I don't have to answer to you. You're just my big sister. That's all." She began to walk away and up the stairs when Jerrica grabbed her by the arm again and pulled her into her office. Jerrica shut the door behind her.

"Sit." Jerrica waited a second then shouted again at her sister. Kimber slowly sat in the chair. Jerrica began to pace. "I'm not just your big sister. I'm your legal guardian. And don't bring up the turning eighteen shit again. I'm well aware that you are. But as long as you're living here you will obey my rules. And one of my rules is that you come home at ten-thirty on school nights." She stopped in front of the young redhead. "And what the hell were you doing at the school anyway?"

"I see that Rio's car is here," Kimber said after a long moment. "Setting a great example for the Starlight Girls aren't we? I wish I had a boyfriend that could spend the night and have jungle sex with." She slouched further in the chair while Jerrica fumed before her.

"Rio is asleep in a guest room for your information. He was here late helping me with some of the contracts for guest appearances on a few shows. Rio was too tired to drive home so he stayed here." Jerrica began pacing again. "Now what were you doing at the school and who were you with?"

Kimber made a noise with her lips. "I was just hanging out with friends. We weren't doing anything wrong except being too loud. Mary was with us." She went silent again. "At least she trusts me."

Jerrica sighed and rubbed her eyes, she was too tired and it was too late to lose her temper further. "What do you want me to do with you? You're one of the ones that the Starlight Girls look up to. Just think next time and remember that you are setting an example to all of the girls. You're too old for punishment and grounding but I do want you to think about what I've said." She put a few folders away and laid her arm across her younger sister's shoulders. "Come on. We'll have a quick bowl of ice cream while I tell about the time dad caught Rio and I skinny dipping."

Trying to keep her giggle quiet Kimber nodded and went into the kitchen with her sister. She was relieved that the worst she got was just yelled at.

After paying the cab fare Frenzy stepped out of the taxi and walked towards the entrance of the club. She ignored the line and walked up to the bouncer. The people in the line yelled and cursed at her. The bouncer looked the short woman up and down and chuckled to himself. "For a tiny thing you sure have a lot of attitude for doing that just now. So why don't you get back into line, honey."

"Listen dickwad, I'm in kind of a hurry here. So just step aside and let me in. It won't kill you to let someone like me inside without having to wait. I'm probably just going to be a few minutes as it is." Frenzy tapped her foot impatiently flipped the front of her hair from her face.

"You're cute, but annoying. Now get in line or get lost." The bouncer ignored Frenzy and let two women inside. The women shot Frenzy a dirty look and giggled.

"Fine, be that way." Frenzy grabbed one of the women by her arm and swung her into her friend. The two women slammed into the wall falling to the ground. She then kicked the bouncer in the kneecap causing him to fall to his knees. Frenzy then grabbed him by the throat and pushed him backwards. She leaned in toward his face and snarled her teeth. "Can I go in now? I tried asking nicely." The bouncer nodded and Frenzy let go. She smiled sweetly. "Thank you!"

Frenzy turned and lightly skipped inside the club. She went down the dimly lit hallway towards the bass heavy music. Turning a corner she came face to face with the darkened club dance floor. Lights flashed on and off on mirrored balls, while lasers made patterns on people, floors, walls and the ceiling. She began to mingle with the crowd against the wall while looking for the woman she had agreed to meet.

After a few minutes of looking she spotted her. Frenzy walked quickly up to the woman with the gray hair. She tapped the woman on the shoulder and gave a wave when she turned around. "I take it you're Madison, right?" Frenzy yelled over the music.

At first Madison didn't hear the woman with the red and black hair. She then nodded and tapped her ear. Madison then pointed to a private room in the back and motioned for Frenzy to follow. They pushed their way through the crowd and entered the room. There were three other women inside. Madison turned to Frenzy and offered a kind smile. "So, you're Frenzy I take it?"

"That I am. It's good to finally meet you. I've been looking for a band to play and sing with when it's needed. I saw your ad in The Musician and thought Banshee's Wail might possibly use me." Frenzy poured herself a glass of ice water. "When did you want me to audition?"

The four other women looked at each other and gave a shrug. The woman with light purple hair spoke with a hint of a questioning suggestion. "Well, we could go to Maddie's place. We still have all of our equipment there. It's our makeshift rehearsal hall."

Madison nodded at the woman. "Good idea, Thorn." She then turned to the twin women sitting on the couch. "Gemini, do me a favor and bring the car around to the side. I don't feel like dealing with people." The twin women nodded as one. To Frenzy's amazement, they stood and walked out the door as if they were one person. Madison smiled at Frenzy's reaction. "They were conjoined twins. They still move in sync due to it. It's a really interesting phenomenon. Hearing them speak is even stranger."

"It's like listening to a person in stereo. They talk as one and it's like they know what the other is going to say. It can be a bit disturbing at times." Thorn stood up and slid her backpack onto her shoulder.

The three women left together. They were silent until they reached the side door and climbed into the car. One of the Gemini sisters drove the luxury car to Madison's mansion in Beverly Hills. Frenzy knew that she was joining a band that was going somewhere.

Slowly waking from his deep sleep David felt someone in the bed behind him. He turned and looked over his shoulder careful not to wake the person up. The white hair of Roxy's spilled across her face. It moved with each breath she took. David figured that she had crawled into his bed with him sometime during the night.

It was common knowledge that the two were seeing each other. He just wasn't used to her habits yet. Although, it was mildly comforting to know that she enjoyed his company enough to stay close to him even in sleep. David watched her slumber for a few minutes before glancing at the clock on the desk behind her. It was almost time for him to get up.

David carefully reached across Roxy to turn the alarm off so it wouldn't wake her. He split his attention from turning the alarm to not bumping Roxy in the head with his arm. Successful in switching the alarm off, David moved his arm back and slowly sat up. He dry scrubbed his face and yawned silently. He grabbed a shirt and pair of jogging pants off of the chair next to his bed. He slipped on the shirt and stood to put on the pants.

After slipping one leg into the jogging pants David heard a soft groan from the bed behind him. Roxy yawned and sat up a bit. "So, you don't wanna sleep with a rockstar?" She gave him a mischievous smirk.

"And good morning to you too." David finished putting on the jogging pants. Roxy gave him a wolf whistle. "Well, aren't we frisky today?" David gave a short leap to the bed, landing on his side next to her. "I was just getting up to do my morning exercises. I didn't want to wake you before. But now that you're awake wanna join me?"

"Only if we can take a shower together afterwards." Roxy giggled when David gave her a small smile. "Just joking, of course I'll exercise with you. It looks like it's a gorgeous day out. Just let me throw on my jogging pants and a sports bra." Roxy leaned forward and gave David a quick kiss on the lips before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She stood up while yawning and tousled her hair as she left the room.

David chuckled to himself as he stretched on his bed. He got to his feet and left his room. Jetta startled him with a slow clap. She walked toward him with a smirk. "Looks like you and Rox finally consummated your relationship." Jetta rolled her eyes when she saw David's expression. "Relax, love. I'm just foolin' around."

"I wasn't too sure. It's still hard sometimes to figure out what's humor and what's serious in America. Anyway, Roxy and I were heading to the backyard to work out. You up for it?"

Jetta thought about the offer then shook her head. "Nah, my ankle has been hurtin' so I'm takin' it light on it. I'll just watch you two lovebirds from inside." She gave a playful wink and went down the stairs. David waited for Roxy to come out of her room before going downstairs together. Jetta waved to them after pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Now you two behave, you hear?" Roxy flipped Jetta off as they passed. Jetta giggled and sipped her drink.

Roxy rolled her eyes and shook her head in annoyance. "She's always like this when I start taking an interest in someone. Just ignore her and she'll stop it. Sheila can be such a child at times." She followed David as they headed to the backyard.

Standing under the beating water of her shower, Pizzazz finished rising the shampoo from her hair. She turned the shower off and grabbed her towel so she could towel dry her hair. Wrapping the towel around her hair, Pizzazz began drying herself off.

Halfway through drying herself off she heard the door bell ring. She figured someone else would get the door and just ignored it. The bell rang again at a more frantic pace. Growling to herself Pizzazz wrapped the towel around her body and made her way down the stairs. The bell continued to ring over and over. She opened the door a crack and peeked out. Jerrica and Kimber stood waiting patiently.

Pizzazz opened the door all the way. "Hey Jer, Kim what brings you two over this early?"

Jerrica shifted her weight a bit and smiled. "I have something to tell you, Phyllis. Are the rest of the Misfits here? I want to tell them as well."

"Well, I was in the middle of getting out of the shower." Pizzazz looked over her shoulder toward the windows in the back of the house. She saw Roxy and David doing various exercises and the dark outline of Jetta. "I see everyone but Mary here. She's either upstairs or at her mom's place. Let me get dressed I'll check up there and then call everyone into the living room." She let her adopted sisters in. "By the way, why didn't you use the key I gave you?"

"Oh, I forgot it and Kimber lost hers." Jerrica gave an apologetic smile. Pizzazz shook her head and went up the stairs.

She went into her room and quickly dressed into an old pair of ripped jeans and a t-shirt. On the way back down she peeked inside the room Stormer had kept for herself at the mansion. She saw Stormer sprawled out on the bed asleep. She heard the faint sound of snoring come from her long time friend.

Flicking the light on Pizzazz walked up to the bed and shook Stormer awake. Stormer jerked out of Pizzazz's grip and gave a startled yelp. She then dry wiped her hand down her face to wake up. Stormer looked up at Pizzazz and gave a tired smile. "You scared the crap outta me. I was having this nightmare about being grabbed by hundreds of fans when you woke me." She took a deep breath and let it out. "So, what's going on?"

"Sorry about scaring you like that. Jerrica and Kimber are here. Jer says that she has something she wants to tell us all. I don't know what it is." Pizzazz gave a slight shrug. "So put some clothes on and join us in the living room when you can, okay?"

Stormer nodded and yawned. Pizzazz left her friend's room and joined the rest of her friends in the living room. "Mary will be down in a few. She had another nightmare about becoming famous." She sat next to Kimber and put her arm around the teen's shoulders. "So how are you doing, you little shit? Looking forward to graduating next year? I miss seeing you around."

Kimber let out a soft giggle and glanced at David who was sitting by himself. "I'm fine. I got in trouble with Mary the other night. We were hanging out with a few friends at the high school. Just sitting around talking. I learned my lesson by having the cops drive me home." She giggled louder when Pizzazz tousled her hair playfully.

"I'm sorry about bailing on you, Kim. I thought you were behind me. I should've made sure. I-I'm sorry." Stormer gave Kimber a sheepish smile. Kimber returned the smile and nodded her head that she understood.

Jerrica stood when Stormer sat next to her best friend. She took drink of water to calm her stomach. "For a while now I've been keeping a secret from each of you. I wanted to tell you it personally before you hear rumors or find out for yourselves." She paced nervously for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Next week Jem and the Holograms are scheduled to appear on the Lin-Z show on V-TV. As their manager I'm supposed to be there. Don't get me wrong, I will be. But Jem and I want to tell the world who she really is. But first I want to tell you."

She glanced nervously at Kimber who just smiled at her with pride. Jerrica brought her hand to her earring and whispered, "Showtime Synergy." A long moment went by, and then pink and light purple light filled the living room. The Misfits and David sat in mild shock at what they were witnessing. The light slowly vanished and before them stood Jem. She gave a humble smile to each of the people in the room.

"Jem and Jerrica Benton is the same person." She turned to Stormer. "You always said I had the voice but I was just too shy to take the stage. Well, I found a way to follow in my mother's footsteps. I wanted to tell you at the Battle of the Bands but I never got the chance. I hope you're not mad."

Stormer sat in thought about what was just revealed to her. A slight smile crossed her lips and a soft laugh began slowly. Everyone looked at her in confusion as her laughter grew louder. She finally stood and hugged her sister. "I'm proud of you, Jer. You showed the world your artistic side. You shared that beautiful voice with the world."

David stood and went up stairs. He came back down before anyone could follow him. He handed Jem a necklace. "I found these on Minx when she and Kevin tried to trick us into thinking you were trying to kill Kevin. I had a feeling there was a connection between this necklace and the hologram projector prototype that was stolen from Gabor Industries."

"Thank you, David. Why don't you hold on to it for safe keeping?" Jerrica turned off the Jem hologram. "I'll introduce you guys to Synergy later. Right now I have to get to Starlight Music. Rio and I are going to go over the tracks we laid down the other day." She hugged each of the Misfits and David. "Kim, if Phyllis doesn't mind, you can stay here. It'll be boring at the studio anyway."

Kimber gave an uncaring shrug. "I don't mind. I can just hang out with Mary or something."

"Well, we were going to head to the studio ourselves. But I'm sure David wouldn't mind having Kimber keep him company for a few hours. In fact, he was telling me the other day that he never really got to have a tour of L.A. last time he was here." Pizzazz winked at David who gave her a silent protest.

"Okay, I'll see you at home, Kim." Jerrica kissed her sister on the forehead. "And stay out of trouble." She made a face as Kimber mocked her. "Thanks, Phyllis. Come by later tonight and I'll introduce everyone to Synergy." She hugged Pizzazz and said her good-byes to everyone else.

David slapped the armrest on his chair and stood. "Well, I'm going to take a shower."

Looking around Roxy tapped her chin with her fingernail. "So, I guess I'll go make breakfast or something." She tapped Kimber on the shoulder. "Wanna help?" Slowly Kimber nodded. The two left the room. The rest of the Misfits went about their own business while waiting for breakfast.

Staying hidden the self-named rockstar listened to the Princess and her friends talk. Frenzy was angered that she allowed herself to get captured by the Princess so shortly after joining the new band. She vowed that tonight she would slip by her captor and elude her for as long as she could. "Maybe," Frenzy told herself, "maybe I could use what Jerrica told them to my advantage."

Frenzy slinked back to her prison as she heard David coming up the steps.

The July summer sun beat down on the backs of the necks of David and Kimber. They made their way down the sidewalk through the crowd of shoppers and tourists. Kimber had decided to show David her favorite hang outs first. David went along willingly and with a smile. He'd already seen the places that she was showing him when Kyoko and Hitomi went on their shopping spree after he got his inheritance.

Kimber led David to a fountain and sat down. David sat next to her with a smile on his face. This was actually the first place she showed him he hadn't been to. Kimber opened her backpack and pulled out two bottles of water. She handed one to him. "They're a little warm but they'll get rid of your thirst. I made sandwiches if you want one. Food downtown is expensive as hell."

Opening the bottle David took a quick drink of water. "Thanks. I'm not hungry just quite yet. I was thinking we could find a park or something to eat. It's a nice day but I'd much rather eat in the shade." He took off his sunglasses and wiped his forehead. "You should come to Osaka sometime. The parks there are beautiful. I helped Hitomi and Kyoko write most of our songs there."

"That really sounds lovely, David." Kimber looked off between some buildings and smiled. "Come on. Theres someplace I want to show you, a place where I go to think and write my own music." She jumped to her feet with a smile and waited for David to join her.

David followed behind Kimber quietly as she led him through a maze of back alleys and side streets. He listened to her tell stories of her growing up with Pizzazz and Jerrica. He enjoyed hearing stories about his twin from others. They finally stopped their quick pace when Kimber sat on an empty bench under the observation deck of the planetarium. He saw why she liked this spot. The view of the ocean was very inspiring.

"I can see why you come here. It's a very peaceful spot in the middle of chaos." David sat next to the young redhead on the bench. "So, what's on your mind? You've been trying like crazy to avoid certain subjects all day."

"Well, it's kinda embarrassing." Kimber shuffled her feet on the ground and looked at her hands nervously. "It's like this," she looked up at him with a sideways grin, "I kinda have this crush on you and I'm jealous as hell of Roxy for dating you." She felt her face begin to burn with her blushing.

"Hmmm, I see," David said softly and with a slight smile. "I really appreciate that you feel that way. I like you too, but not that way." He saw her face fall and he took her hand in his. "Hey, if I was a few years younger or you a few years older then maybe something could happen. Theres also the fact that you're my sister's adopted sister. I'm getting a headache right now trying to think what it would mean if we got involved in any way."

Kimber giggled. "Yeah, Mary and I gave each other migraines thinking about that one." She kissed the back of one of his hands and smiled. "Just as long as we're friends."

David spotted a small bed of flowers next to him. He cut one with a small knife he kept and trimmed a few of the leaves off. He handed it to Kimber. "Sometimes stolen beauty is the best." He saw Kimber's face light up as he gave her it. "Now, this reminds me back when I was thirteen or so. I developed a crush on one of my student teachers back in Osaka." He chuckled softly. "What can I say, I was just hitting puberty."

Cautiously Kimber rested her head on David's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her protectively. She let out a contented sigh and smiled at the happy thought that she didn't scare him away. She had his friendship and that was just fine.

After ringing the doorbell to Madison's Beverly Hills mansion, Frenzy began to pace. The door finally opened and Madison let the young woman inside. Frenzy let out a small manic giggle of glee. "I have some news for you. It'll help us get recognized as a band and thrust us into the spotlight."

"Okay, what is it?" Madison asked slowly.

"Are the others here? They need to hear this too." Frenzy's smile grew when Madison nodded. She followed the gray haired woman into the entertainment room. "Everyone, I have some shocking news. I know who Jem is and I know who will give us a recording contract for this information."

The other members of Banshee's Wail leaned forward and listened as Frenzy revealed Jem's identity to the band.

TO BE CONTINUED IN "BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, THAN THE DEVIL YOU DON'T"

PART 2 OF THE PRINCESS AND THE ROCKSTAR