While Kaci and Pete are plotting against the paparazzi, Kaci gets a phone call from Maksim.
“What’s up?” Kaci says answering her phone.
“Are you still with Pete?” Maksim asks.
“Yeah, why? You want to talk to him?”
“Not if I don’t have to. I know he wanted me to call him back, and I have talked to Alex. He claims that he knows nothing about what happened with the paparazzi. Whether I believe that, I don’t know, but that’s what I have to report to him.”
“Alright, I will let him know. If you find out or hear anything, whatever it is, give me a call and let me know.”
“Will do. Am I going to see you before you go back to Florida?”
“I have no idea. I will be sure to let you know though.”
“Okay. I will talk to you later.”
Kaci and Maksim hang up and Kaci reports the news to Pete.
“If it’s not him, then who?”
“I have no idea! The only person that knows that I’m staying with you is Justin, but he wouldn’t say anything to anybody, let alone pull something like this with the paparazzi. He hates them just as much as I do.”
“Call him,” Pete insists.
Without hesitation, Kaci agrees and calls her brother.
“You alone?” Kaci asks when Justin answers his phone.
“Doug and Angie are here, but otherwise yes.”
“Can you excuse yourself from them for a minute?”
“What’s this about that Doug and Angie can’t be in the room?”
“Just do as I say!” Kaci insists.
Reluctantly, Justin excuses himself so that he can talk to his sister.
“Okay, I’m outside, what is going on?”
“Hey Justin, it’s Pete.”
“Oh hey, what’s up? What’s going on?”
“I got paparazzi sitting outside my house waiting for me and Jess to come out so that they can hound us for pictures together. Have you said anything to anybody that Jess was staying with me?”
“No, not at all, why?”
“I went to confront one of them, and that’s when I was told they were waiting for me and Jess to come out, but they said they were waiting to get a picture of me with A.J. McLean’s girlfriend.”
“That’s hilarious. Oh shit, wait, hold on, when I talked to Jess earlier about the call she got from Latium, my dad overheard some of it, that’s why I had to hang up on her.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he’s pissed because she lied to him. He had pictures of Jess and Alex at Ed Hardy’s.”
“By chance, do you know what the caption of those pictures said?”
“Not at all.”
“Hold on a second,” Pete says turning to Kaci. “Go get my laptop, I need to check something out.”
Kaci goes and gets Pete’s laptop from his bedroom and brings it out to the living room.
“Why do you need your laptop?” Kaci asks handing it to Pete.
“When did you go to Ed Hardy?”
“On the 27th, why?”
Pete googles “A.J. McLean at Ed Hardy on April 27, 2003” and tons of pictures come up of Kaci with A.J. arriving at and leaving the Ed Hardy store.
“This is why,” Pete says showing Kaci what he found online.
“You have got to be kidding me!”
“So Justin, did your dad know that Jess was staying with me?”
“He didn’t say anything to me, no.”
“But you called Jess back, right?”
“Yeah, after he lef…Oh my god, do you think he was listening in on my conversation with Jess?”
“Was it mentioned that she was with me?”
“I don’t think so, but I know that we talked about how she wasn’t with Alex since the fight and how you were coming back with Jess and she was going to call Feco about you staying with him.”
“Is your dad home now?”
“No, they went out with some friends.”
“Have your father give Jess a call when they get back.”
“Alright, I will let him know. You think he is behind this?”
“Who else could it be?”
“I have no idea.”
“Alright, I’ll let you get back to your friends. If you hear ANYTHING, give me or Jess a call.”
Pete hangs up with Justin and hands Kaci’s phone back to her. Immediately after Kaci gets her phone back from Pete she receives a text message from A.J.
*****
To: JESS ROMAN
From: A.J. McLean
What the hell is going on? Why am I hearing you are accusing me of sending paparazzi to follow you?
5/2/03 4:32pm
*****
“So, apparently someone has told Alex that I’m accusing him of sending the paparazzi to follow me.”
“Call Maksim, now!”
Kaci calls Maksim, but he doesn’t answer his phone.
“He didn’t answer!”
“Call again! He is the only one who knows what is going on and has contact with Alex as well.”
Kaci tries calling Maksim again, and when she can’t reach him, she tries calling Karina.
“Hello?” Karina says answering her phone.
“Karina, it’s Kaci.”
“Who?”
“Jessica, Alex’s friend.”
“Oh hey girl, what’s up?”
“Is Maks with you? I can’t get a hold of him.”
“No, he got a phone call from Alex and went to go meet him, why?”
“Do you know where he went to meet him?”
“I’m pretty sure they went to Starbucks.”
“Alright, thanks Karina.”
Kaci hangs up with Karina and quickly goes to get dressed.
“Let’s go, I know where he’s at,” Kaci says.
“Take the keys and go start the car, I’ll be right out.”
Pete goes to the room where Travis is and informs him of what is happening and to lock the house when he leaves.
“Where are they?” Pete asks getting in the car.
“Starbucks.”
“So, since the rumor is apparently going around that I’m with Alex’s girlfriend, I was thinking,” Pete starts to say.
“I already know what you’re thinking babe.”
“No, I’m being serious here.”
“I am too. I know you want me to be your girlfriend.”
“So will you? I mean, I can do it properly but I just want it to be official already.”
“Is that why Travis is at the house? Did you have some big thing planned out?”
“As of this morning, yes. But Jess, I want you to be my girlfriend! I want you to be my babycakes again.”
“Aww, Panda, of course!” Kaci says leaning over to kiss Pete on the cheek.
Chapter 53/Story Index/Chapter 55 /E-mail Brittany