Famous Most Wanted

'Kev?' Zach called as he let himself into Kool-Kevin's flat. He walked down the hall towards the kitchen.

'Zach?' came the distant reply.

'In the kitchen!' Zach shouted back, dropping a glossy magazine onto the kitchen table. Kevin stepped into the kitchen.

'What can I do for you, Zach?' he asked. Zach raised his eyebrows.

'Have you seen this?' He held up the magazine. Kevin frowned. On the front cover was a glossy picture of Grace looking concerned. Above it read “Exclusive: Grace Chapman Tells All.” This couldn't be good. Kool-Kevin took the magazine from Zach and flipped to page 15.

'Fucking Eden Edition,' he muttered shaking his head. 'Wonder how much they paid her for this “exclusive interview”?'

'It's a fucking joke.' Zach went off on one. 'She's making out she's the victim. That we're total tossers to her, but really she doesn't give a fuck about Johnny. She just wants money. She paints us in a real bad light in there.' He nodded to the magazine. Kevin was only half paying attention to Zach's ranting as he scanned through the article. 'And I think what's the biggest load of bollocks in that interview was when she said that her and Johnny are in love.' Kevin looked up at Zach and sighed.

'Johnny'll be so pissed if he reads this. He hates Grace . . well, hate's a bit strong. He merely has no interest in her what so ever, never has and only ever wanted to shag her brains out.' Kevin corrected himself

'This is it now, Kev. You realise that? This is just the beginning.' He indicated to the copy of Eden Edition. 'Now she knows she can make a lot of money selling stories about Johnny, she'll sell them every single little bit of him she has. She'll go to every magazine with a new story to tell, in each interview getting more and more critical towards us. She's got them in the palm of her hand.'

'Not yet, she doesn't. I'm sure all your millions of fans wont believe Grace over you,' Kevin said calmly.

'You want me to expose her for what she really is?' Zach offered. Kool-Kevin shook his head.

'Don't you dare. You stay away from that blog, Montana. If I see you blogging, I'll kick your arse so hard your scalp will feel it. It's exactly what she wants us to do. Retaliate. If she approaches you, act normal. Be civilised. It'll throw her off. Never say anything she can use against you in an interview later.'
Zach sighed and nodded. He really didn't want to speak to Grace again, let alone be nice to her.

'Just leave official statements to me. I'll take care of it.'

***

Taylor pushed the trolley as Johnny told her what he wanted to eat for the rest of the week. Since that first difficult week of an uncooperative rock star, they'd formed a shopping routine. Johnny would talk. Taylor would listen. She put his excitement down to him getting out that house. Seeing people and acting like a human being again. Being stuck in that cottage was enough to drive her nuts. God knows what it was doing to Johnny, who only had half his marbles to begin with.
They walked passed the meat section and Johnny stopped, his grin wide.

'The most important three words in the world, Tex.' He turned around, packets of Bacon in either hand. 'Half price bacon.' He grinned like a child and Taylor laughed, nodding to the trolley. Johnny dropped the bacon in and they continued around the shop. They stopped in the cosmetics aisle and Taylor put a box of black hair dye in the trolley. Johnny groaned.

'Shush, you. Your roots are coming through. We need to stay on top of this.'

'At least let me chose the colour,' he insisted.

'And what colour would that be, Johnny? Blonde, perhaps?' she tested. Johnny rolled his eyes skywards and didn't say another word. He adjusted the fake glasses on his nose and Taylor couldn't help remind herself of her predicament.
She was Taylor Reynolds. Just a regular woman who'd never tasted fame. And here she was, buying bacon and hair dye with Johnny Carolina like it was the most natural thing in the world to her. No one in the world knew where he was but her. Sure, chief inspector Norris knew, and so did Vinny, but only she knew where Johnny was every minute of every day. Johnny Carolina. The most famous man in the world. Her own personal rock star.

They passed a rack of magazines and Taylor saw Johnny sneak a glance. He did every time they went shopping, just to see if the world still cared he was missing. His eyes lingered however. Taylor followed his eyes to the glossy magazine. A pretty, tiny little blonde sat on the cover, looking mildly unhappy. Above it read, Exclusive: Grace Chapman Tells All.
Johnny reached across the trolley to grab the magazine but Taylor seized his hand in hers before he could. His eyes snapped to hers. Suddenly Johnny looked haggered. Taylor shook her head.

'What did we discuss this morning?' she asked in a level voice. Johnny swallowed and held eye contact . . . just.

'The bubble?' he offered.

'The bubble of what?'
He licked his lips.

'. . . the bubble of ignorance,' he finished, like a child reciting the alphabet to his teacher.

'And what about it?' Taylor pressed.

'It's where I'm safest.'

'That's right. You read this, and you'll upset the balance of the bubble and it'll pop. Now stay away from the magazines.' Johnny nodded weakly and lowered his hand. Stealing one last look at Grace, a familiar face in a strange place, they carried on with the shopping.
They continued through the aisles silently, Johnny no longer in his normal talkative mood. Taylor glanced at him, hands in his pockets and eyes set to the floor.

'Who was she?' she asked carefully.

'I broke up with Grace that night,' Johnny mumbled numbly. 'It was her.'

'Your ex-girlfriend,' Taylor nodded in understanding, feeling her blood slightly heat. Of course it was, she was beautiful, that Grace Chapman. Everything a man like Johnny would be expected to have on his arm. If he left someone as perfect looking as her for simply being annoying, Taylor realised she'd never have a chance with Johnny.
She frowned at her sudden strange thoughts. Why would she want a chance with Johnny? The man was the very epitome of disaster. And so not her type . . maybe.

Taylor erased the absurd thought from her brain and focused back on the shopping. Neither one seemed to concentrate, so as the items ran through the till, Taylor's eyes scanning each one, she noticed something had been forgotten.

'Marmite!' Taylor gasped. Johnny looked at her and she looked back, deciding in her head what to do. It had been a few weeks now. Taylor liked to think she could trust Johnny to not run away. Johnny or Marmite. Johnny or Marmite. She decided to risk it.

'Don't go anywhere,' she ordered with a stern face. Johnny nodded, looking far too miserable to even consider running off.
Taylor hurried down the aisles searching for the Marmite. It wasn't a huge shop and so she found it pretty quick. Taylor walked back, jar of Marmite clenched in her left fist. She thought again of Grace Chapman.

What was the deal, really? Had she really just gotten annoying? Was that really how he ended it? Was he that much of an arse? Taylor eyed the end of the aisle. She was out of sight from Johnny as she stopped in front of the magazine rack.
Hurriedly, Taylor seized a copy of Eden Edition and opened it to page 15. She skimmed through the most part. She sounded worried about him.
Then Taylor felt a definite drop to her stomach.

“Are you and Johnny in love?

She nods with a fond smile. “We are. We've only been together a few months really but it's real. I'm the longest relationship he's had. We're in love and I just want him back.””

So . . . what did that mean? Johnny and Grace were still together? He hadn't dumped her for being annoying? Johnny lied? Why? Why would he lie about Grace, Taylor wasn't interested in Johnny romantically?

Taylor slapped the magazine shut and walked steadily back to the check out where Johnny still stood, packing the shopping into white plastic bags.
He looked up at Taylor, his eyes puzzling over her sudden pale complexion, her strained expression, over why she wasn't meeting his eyes.
He put his questions to one side for now. He'd asked her later when he maybe felt like talking.

Taylor handed the cashier the jar of Marmite with a weak smile.
Dirty cad, she thought, refusing to look at Johnny. He'd lied to her, convincingly too. It meant nothing to him that he'd led her to believe he was single, then in which she'd allowed herself to imagine feelings for him.
Well she didn't. She didn't have feelings for this dirty, lying, alcoholic media whore.

She was mad. Of course she was mad. If there was one thing Taylor hated more than anything, it was being betrayed by those she believed she could trust.
And she didn't trust Johnny anymore.
Not with the truth, not with her life and certainly not with her heart.