He hails me like a queen, but Idon’t stop him; Iamoften regarded as the Princess of Rock, after all. Ilet him kiss my hand before pulling him back up. The event photographers click away like mad, and Irealize one is doing video. Igrab Jett, turning him to the cameras so we can stick out our tongues andmake rock n’ roll signs with our hands before jumping off the table, fingers interlaced as we jump with a shout.
I can tell Sasha really likes that, because she makes sure we are seated next to each other, and this boy’s big mouth starts moving a million miles a minute. “Your dad is my idol. What’s it like being Maxwell Morningstar’s kid? I’ve heard you have a statue of Baphomet in your living room. Is that true? Are you and your siblings really all named after songs your parents were listening to while you were conceived?”
“Did you really just ask me that?” Isnort.How did Iend up in a couples costume with my dad’s rabid fanboy?“No, we have a big screen surrounded by Grammys and a giant sectional in our living room. And yeah, I’m named after a Pink Floyd song, and my siblings are after the Kinks and the Beatles, obviously. It’s not my fault, my parents live to overshare and give TMI! And being his kid is amazing, just don’t tell him Isaid that.”
“Sorry, that was crass. I’m fucking crass, Iapologise. Bloody hell, I’m starstruck, Mads.”
This boy is ridiculous; his accent is so thick that it sounds like he’s from a different country than my mum’s posh family in London. Idon’t know why my insides do a little squish when he calls me Mads, but Ido secretly enjoy people being starstruck in my vicinity, what can Isay? He hovers his teapot over my cup with a cocked eyebrow, and Inod quickly before Ican regret it. Islug back the whiskey, making sure to react nothing like Alessandra had, like it’s just a little afternoon tea. He grins so wide Ican see all his beautiful teeth, and now I’m wondering if he had them fixed when he hit the States. Oh God, was that a tongue piercing?
“You think I’m offended by crass? I’ve been surrounded by rockstars my whole life, nothing you say or do could shock me! Let me guess, the first album you ever bought was Souls Shattered and you live and breathe for Manchester United?”
His baby green eyes twinkle in the candlelight. “How did you know that?”
I grin.Oh, Idon't know.Maybe because it's everyone's first record they ever bought of Dad’s, and I’ve only been listening to this particular cadence for my entire life. “Lucky guess.”
“Why don’t you have an accent like the rest of your family, Mads?”
“We left England before Icould really talk, and Idohave an accent, it’s just subtle.”
“When you go to the shops, you call it a cart or a trolley? When you need to put bags in the back, you call it a boot or a trunk?”
“All of the above,” Ilaugh, “interchangeably. My friends and family call it my BritMerican speak.” For some reason, Istill can’t take my eyes off his mouth. “Why are your teeth sobloodyperfect,Jett Raven,and is that even your real name?”
He fidgets with the tablecloth, and his knee starts to jiggle. “I mean, they’re my realnames.Ijust dropped the surname Jones. It’s a bit boring, you know? And yeah, best dentist my label’s money can buy.”
“You must have pretty cool parents,” Isay, taking a bite of something a masked server hands me that will definitely hurt my stomach later .
“Not as cool as yours, but sadly I'm an only child, so they’re all I've got. How old d’ya turn on your last birthday, Mads? Eighteen?”
“Eighteen in August, yeah. Now how did you know that?”
“Lucky guess?” He tips back his teacup and finishes his whiskey,yeah, like it's water. “I turned nineteen in August,” he says. “Leo twins?”
“Oh fuck, that’s obvious. You’re the mostLeoLeo I’ve ever met!”
He grins. “I’ll take that as a fucking compliment, Mads.” He leans in and kisses me on the cheek. Acamera flashes in our direction.
“Did that shock you?” he asks cheekily.
I roll my eyes. “Not in the slightest.”
“Hmm, how about this?” He turns to his left and lays a kiss right on the lips of the guy sitting there.
I giggle at this guy’s surprised expression. “Not really, but Ithink it shockedhim!” Isay, right as Irealize who it is, just as the cute ginger girl sitting next to me asks Jett ifshe’snext.
Jett jumps out of his seat to go give her a smooch as Isay, “Killian Cash, is that you?”
Now Jett’s running around the table kissing everyone and Ihave no idea what to think of this hyperactive, human puppy dog.
Killian climbs right into Jett’s open chair. “Hey, Maddy, yeah, it’s me. How could ya tell?”
I snort. He blinks his big blue eyes at me, the ones girls everywhere swoon over. The shiny, brown hair that usually falls in his face is slicked back, does he think that makes him disguised? “Because you look like Killian Cash in a Danny Zucko costume. Greased lightning or not, it’s pretty obvious, Kill.”
We star in different teen dramas on the same network and film on the same lot. My show is calledElite’s Academywhere Iplay a heinous bitch cheerleader named Cherry, and Killian plays Jasper onJasper’s Landing,where he plays an absolute sweetheart soccer star. We’ve even done photoshoots together with both of our casts, it’s not like I’ve never seen him before.
“Maddy, who the hell just kissed me? That isnotgoing online! Jesus!”
“You haven’t heard of Jett Raven? He’s getting big in the UK, but not here quite yet. Ithink it’s just a matter of time. He says my dad’s his idol, but I’ve heard his music is more … poppy emo rap than hard rock.”
