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Chapter 11

I woke to the sound of a buzzerAt first I couldn’t figure out where the sound was coht I was inforinto contact with hard plastic, all I felt arm skinThis was unusual, to say the leastWhat was even more unusual was that when I opened my eyes, I saasn’t inup, the hospital No, I was in Nikki Howard’s don loft, where I’d apparently fallen asleep on the living room couch – with my head on Brandon Stark’s chest, no lessWhen I jerked ht position – completely startled by the intimate way in which I’d curled ot a head rush Not just a head rush, but a headacheIt only took a second or two to reroaned and droppedall around– didn’t seeled her way pastlickThen the buzzer went off again‘Oh God,’ I groaned, and, lifting Cosabella, I staggered across the living roo for the source of the sound so I couldThe sky outside the floor-to-ceiling as already a bright autumnal blueBut that didn’t seem to trouble the two FONs who’d fallen asleep beside me and who continued to doze undisturbed Lulu Collins looked like a little angel, with her pageboy all edAnd Brandon Stark, all six and a half feet of hihtly, the television remote in his hand On the screen over the fireplace flickered soundless ies of faain and Lulu, over on the couch, groaned and pulled the cash over her head I realized the sound was co from some sort of interco what else to do – but desperate to make the sound stop – I lifted the handset that was connected to the here the buzzing see from‘Hello?’ I croaked into the handset‘Sorry to wake you, Miss Howard,’ said a nize (of course), ‘but Mr Justin Bay is here, and he’s asking to see you ’Justin Bay? The star of the Journeyquest movie (which blew)? Justin Bay wanted to see me?Then I remembered He wasn’t there to see me at all He was there to see Nikki HowardBut wait Why? Wasn’t he Lulu Collins’s boyfriend? I remembered the pink sapphire she’d shown me that time she’d visited me in the hospital, when I’d hoped she’d been a hallucination Hadn’t she said that ‘Justin’ had given it to her?Yes Yes, that’s exactly what she’d said‘He must mean Lulu,’ I said ‘But she’s asleep—’‘No, Miss Howard,’ the doorht? – said ‘Mr Bay says to tell you he’s here specifically to see you, and that he’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell Miss Collins, and if you’d come down toat the intercom in confusion Justin Bay wanted to see Nikki Howard, but he didn’t want her to tell Lulu What was going on here?‘He also says,’ the door until you see him, and that this time he really means it ’Whoa! I stared at the intercom some more Why did Justin Bay need to see Nikki Howard so badly, but didn’t want Lulu to know? I tried to remember what I knew about Justin Bay, which – beyond what I’d read in the pages of Frida’s Us Weekly and that he’d been horrible in the Journeyquest movie as Leander – wasn’tOh, and rich Because his dad, Richard Bay, had also been an actor, star of the er Now he produced heartwar family friendly television shows on pri her celebrity gossiparound forthee ranch in MontanaMaybe Justin had a surprise for Lulu Sure, that had to be why he wanted to see Nikki and not her Right?‘Do you want me to call the police, Miss Howard?’ was the door question‘What?’ I squawked in astonishment into the intercoht down ’‘Sure thing, Miss Howard,’ the door up the handset OK Great I was going to have to talk to Justin Bay As Nikki Howard though, not as me, because I couldn’t tell hih to convince Lulu and Brandon that I wasn’t Nikki Howard Forget Justin Bay His portrayal as Leander in the Journeyquest uy on earth Fine I could do this I could –Oh God I couldn’t do this I didn’t have tiet back to the hospital I kne that I had had a good night’s sleep (even if it had been on a couch, in front of Lulu’s de her first albu voice wasn’t that bad actually) that I had to find out as going on, how my parents could have done this toon, what had happened to my old bodyand Nikki Howard’s brainI put Cosabella down and darted into Nikki Howard’s bathroom Yeah Nikki’s face was still the one that looked back at me in the mirror No chance that any of this had turned out to be sohtmareI splashed some cold water on to it to wash the sleep away, then pulled open a drawer in the hopes of finding a brush, found one and dragged it through my hair – carefully, so as not to hurt the tender sutures at the back of my head I old cup by the sink It was Nikki Howard’s toothbrush, but I used it anyway Because, whatever – ht?I rinsed and wiped rabbed the first jacketmade out of buttery soft brown suedeI was about to walk out of Nikki’s room, when it hitit to confirht was true I ling myself would only take a secondAnd besides, if I’d really been in a coma for a month, I probably had a ton of emails Sure, most of them would be spam, but it would only take a minute to check them and see if maybe Christopher had written But when I opened Nikki’s pink laptop, I saw right away soht It wasn’t just that it was a Stark-brand PC, which frankly wasn’t what I’d buy if I was a millionaire supermodel with all the ish, not responding to ht to haveIt only took a second for me see why Every time I pressed a letter on the keyboard, the network activity light on Nikki’s modem flashedWhich meant, I knew perfectly well from Christopher’s father’s obsessive belief that all our coovern Nikki Howard’s keystrokesHer co spied onSomeone who didn’t spend much time on computers – like, say, a world-famous supermodel – wouldn’t have noticed But to someone who basically lived on one, like me, it was totally obviousAnd deeply, deeply sinisterI pulledI hadn’t clicked on anything except Google News I hadn’t typed in ivenon Nikki Howard?And why? How interesting could a supermodel’s emails be anyway?Just then I heard the elevator doors open, and I darted from Nikki’s roorinned at , Miss Howard ’‘Shh,’ I said, and pointed at the sleeping Lulu and Brandon They looked so angelic No ould you guess they were a couple of lunatics whoher of brainwashing by ‘Scientologists’

‘Oh, sorry’ the elevator operator whispered He held the door open fordown?’‘Yeah,’ I said, with one last and final look at my ‘captors’ And I stepped into the elevatorjust as a tiny white blur whizzed past , who’d plopped down on to the elevator floor as if she owned it ‘Get out You don’t really belong toback Go home ’But Cosabella only whined softly‘Seriously,’ I whispered ‘You can’t co up and plopped her down on to the white carpeting just outside the elevator door, where I commanded her to ‘Stay’But one look at that sad, furry little face – not toher pathetic whine – and o withto do with her love for me and more to do with a call fro leaped excitedly into the elevator afterlike awell, I don’t even knohat Thing that wags a lotThe elevator operator smiled at lided down to the lobby, where he slid the door open again and said, ‘Have a nice day, Miss Howard ’‘I’limpse of my reflection in one of the lobby’s mirrored walls And I realized the futility of it all‘Thanks,’ I said instead And stepped out of the elevator, with Cosabella at h all I’d done ash her face and brush her teeth, Nikki Howard still looked gorgeous Gorgeous enough, anyway, that the UPS guy delivering packages to the y when he saw methen picked it up, all flusteredEither that, or he was just freaked out to see a celebrity of nitude in jeans and SkechersSoeousnessWhich eous that you stop UPS drivers in their tracksBut when it’s just so you were transplanted into? It isn’t really all that much of an accoht before – having been in theI was trapped inside so was huge, with a gigantic crystal chandelier hanging in thedirectly beneath that chandelier was Justin Bay, looking as if he’d just stepped out froazines He was dressed casually in jeans, a grey V-necked sweater – and a brown leather jacket When he sawface twitched, and his gaze darted nervously pastout of the elevator with h, he seerin that showed all his white, impossibly even teeth‘You canized from the awful Journeyquest movie, as I approached hi straight towards the revolving doors outside ‘Yeahbut I can only stay a ive Lulu?’Justin’s grin vanished ‘Lulu?’ His handsoive so to Lulu?’‘U on her hind legs, dancing around in front of the revolving doors I’d been right She really needed to go ‘I just figured that’s why you wanted to see ht you had a surprise for her or sorabbed one ofto it, while gazing downand half-filled with tears – just like that scene in Journeyquest the movie when his character Leander pleaded with the evil sorceress not to kill his beloved Alana (played by Mischa Barton) ‘Nikki, where have you been, baby? I’ve been dying You haven’t returned any of es It’s been more than a month Then I hear you’re finally back, and you don’t even call What did I do wrong? Just tellhorror as his words sunk in, I becas at once One, Justin Bay was in love with me Well, not with me, but with Nikki HowardTwo, Nikki Hoas apparently a total skank as slutting around behind her best friend and room-mate Lulu’s back with her boyfriend, Justin Not to mention behind the back of Nikki’s own boyfriend, BrandonAnd three, Nikki Howard’s dog was about to pee on the‘Could you just hold that thought?’ I said to Justin, slippingout ’‘Nikki,’ Justin said, his face clouding over with frustration ‘You can’t—’‘Seriously,’ I said Just hold on adoor‘Here, Cosy,’ I called to the dog ‘Here, girl –’And the little dog darted afterdoor and went out into the cool autuot outside, Cosabella squatted next to one of the planters beside the buildingand I realized she hadn’t just needed to peeI also realized I had nothing to clean it up with‘Oh ized to the door down a cab for another residentHe looked at me with an expression of bewildered amusement‘Miss Howard,’ he said, ‘I’ll take care of it, like always ’Ohfor her? How totally e A detached part ofthat Nikki Howard blushed so easilyBut most of me just continued to be mortified Also hideously uncoone on back in the lobby‘Really, u, or so, I’ll clean it up ’‘That’s not necessary, Miss Howard,’ the doorht I’d lost my mind Apparently Nikki Howard never offered to clean up after her own dog ‘It’s me, Karl I’ll take care of it ’I wanted to die I said, ‘Well, OK, Karl I’o Can youback into that lobby and facing Justin againKarl nodded and went to scoop up the little dog –Who took one look at an to wailNot just whine Not just bark But howl Like a tiny coyote With a bouffant hairdoWhat was her problem now?Karl was all too happy to answer that question for me‘She misses you,’ Karl said all jovially But there was an undercurrent of seriousness in his voice ‘She did this the whole tione last month ’OhforAnd I wasn’t a horrible person either Karl didn’t know that the reason Cosabella had been abandoned was because her real oas – I’ht about the whole spirit-transfer thing Which I was pretty sure she wasn’t Because such a thing wasn’t physically possibly‘Cosy’ I hurried back to the door fro and tried to bury herself insideall over again ‘I can’t take you You don’t really belong to s in the hospital Re just s happily, her tail thuainstCosy with h water Whatever that expressionunduly coIt was kind of ironic that, just as I was thinking this, Justin Bay appeared, looking annoyed He strode over to ?’ he leaned down to askon Center Street, a one-way street that was still busy enough that I could barely hear hiave Lulu? Because it didn’t , baby I only did it to throw her off the scent, becau

se she was getting suspicious about us You can’t honestly be holding that ring againstabout,’ I told hio now –’His face twisted with e I knew, he had hold of bothme towards him to lower his lips over mineMy second kiss in the past twelve hours was eventhan the first one I could feel this one all the way down to my toes, which instantly curled inside ot to the parts in Frida’s romance novels where the dukes snatched up the poor but spunky heroines and ainst the front of their waistcoats or whatever I always thought to myself, as the heroines’ bodies went liine uess I should say, Nikki Howard’s body – went liht there on Center Street, in front of Karl the doorhts to turn, aI nearly dropped Cosabella – as getting smushed between us anyway – I was so shockedWas this nor kissed – especially by guys ere practically strangers to ossip azines)? Or were Justin Bay and Brandon Stark just pheno – seriously, I could totally get into it Kissing rocked I was loving the kissing thing INikki Howard’s best friend’s boyfriend behind her best friend’s back and especially behind Nikki Howard’s boyfriend’s backNot to mention the fact that, truthfully, I didn’t even like either of these guys I mean, I still had a monster crush onmy body back there on Center Street, I swear to God, there probably would have been an explosion or so business continue, however ht have wanted it to What if Christopher ca up (for whatever unlikely reason) and saith Justin Bay’s tongue rammed down my throat? He hates Justin Bay for what he did to ruin the JourneyquestAnd OK, he wouldn’t necessarily knoas me and not Nikki HowardBut that’s beside the pointAnd what about Lulu? Supposing Lulu woke up and looked out of theand saw us? True, Lulu had kidnapped oodness of her heartIt was kind of hard to say anything though, withJustin’s o on It took every ounce of determination I had to wrench my lips from his and say, ‘Um, please stop—’‘You know this is what you want,’ Justin said in a thick voice – really! Just like the dukes in Frida’s books! – keeping an iron grip on ht I did want it Did I ever But I wasn’t going to be boneheaded enough to say that‘No,’ I said weakly instead, ‘I don’t It’s wrong ’‘That’s not what you said in Paris,’ Justin re my still throbby mouth carefully averted from his in case he tried to persuade me soo –’A second later, o But not because I’d asked hio because Gabriel Luna, of all people, appeared as if from nowhere and yanked hi lady asked you to release her,’ Gabriel said to Justin in his crisp British accentWhoa! This was getting more and more like one of Frida’s romance novels every minute! In a totally excellent way‘Who the hell,’ Justin asked, checking his leather jacket for dents where Gabriel had manhandled it, ‘do you think you are?’‘A friend of Nikki’s,’ Gabriel said woodenly in response An FON! Gabriel Luna had just called himself an FON !To me, Gabriel asked, in a ht, Nikki?’I nodded, absently stroking Cosabella, who hadn’t taken too kindly to being squashed againstat Justin with all the ferocity of a nine-pound Rottweiler‘I’ht have seen us ’I meant Christopher – and Lulu – of course But this caused Justin to look all around quickly, as if realizing for the first ti on a fairly busy street corner Not once did he glance in the direction of the wide floor-to-ceiling s above us, though The cad! Or was scoundrel the right word? I’d have to check one of Frida’s books‘That’s right,’ Gabriel saidJustin’s sudden alarht I saw some around the corner actually, on my way over ’And that was all it took to cause Justin to say, ‘I’ll call you later, babe,’ toup the collar of his leather jacket and hurrying awayI couldn’t believe it! Lulu, his alleged girlfriend, he didn’t give a second thought to But paparazzi scared him so badly he took off like a shot! What a jerk Or rake Or whateverGabriel looked at ht, Nikki?’I blinked at hi at both of us with his ers on his cellphone, as if he’d just been about to call nine-one-one Noticing the direction of my stare, he hastily tucked the phone away‘I’o Back to the hospital II wasn’t supposed to be let out this early andI just need to get back ’‘I know,’ Gabriel said in the same calm voice in which he mentioned the paparazzi ‘I’ve just co, and I found the place in an uproar because you were gone Snuck out for a bit of fun last night, did you?’I stared at hi what he meant at first Snuck out for a bit of fun? No, actually, I was kidnapped by two FFBFs dressed as surgeonsBut then I realized what he must have walked up and seen –out with Justin Bay – and how that had to have lookedAnd I felt myself blush to my hairline‘N-no,’ I stammered ‘No, it wasn’t like that! Not at all There was aIt was Lulu! Lulu Collins and Brandon Stark –’I broke off I could tell by his expression that I was only et back,’ I said, unable to aze, I was so mortified ‘I’llI’ll see you later ’And I turned, Cosabella still in my arms, and headed for Center StreetHis voice stopped le step‘I wouldn’t bother There are no taxis ’‘Hardly ever are, this tietic eavesdropper, called fro uptown to work Give it an hour ’An hour! I didn’t have an hour! I had to get back to the hospital! Especially if what Gabriel had said was true, and the place was ‘in an uproar’ Why had I stopped to check my email upstairs on Nikki’s completely compromised computer? I should have looked for a cellphone so I could call my parents and tell them not to worry Maybe Karl would let et uptown ‘That’s OK,’ I said in a voice gone suddenly shaky ‘I’ll just take the subway ’‘You can’t take the subway,’ Gabriel said si to head in the opposite direction, towards Broohbourhood, after all I knew exactly where I was I didn’t really think it was going to be fine, but what else could I do? ‘I can just grab the Six over by Bleecker and take it to Fourteenth Street and walk the rest of the way It’s not far ’Then, as I reached into my pocket for my wallet and MetroCard, I realized it wasn’t actually my pocket at all, but Nikki Howard’s pocketAnd it was eroan I didn’t have reat‘It doesn’t matter,’ Gabriel said in the same calm voice ‘Because you can’t take the subway anyway ’I started to say that of course I could – why couldn’t I?But no sooner was the first word out of my mouth than m

y arain), I whipped around fast, expecting to have to fend off another knee-roup of eleirls in plaid skirts andthe minute they saw my face‘I told you, Tiffany!’ shrieked the one who had hold of my arm, an adorably freckled nine-year-old in braids ‘It’s her! See!’And Braidy pointed past h– a mural which just happened to be of Nikki Howard in a bikini, urging viewers to coastore in SoHo‘See? I told you! It’s her!’ Braidy screa raph?’‘I want it too, Nikki!’ Tiffany shrieked, shoving a pen and a French notebook in n et away frouys, I’m not—’‘Girls!’ A nearby nun, as clearly supposed to be in control of the group, but who had vastly underesties, called vainly for order ‘Stop this! Stop this at once! Leave the young lady alone!’But they wouldn’t leave me alone They didn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t Nikki HowardAnd why should they, when the proof that I was Nikki Hoas spray-painted as big as a building just a street away?They were pulling atto tumble Cosabella out from under it Who knohat they would have done, if Gabriel and Karl the door irls, and the next, Karl was holding thein a wry voice, ‘Now do you see why you can’t take the subway? At least, not unless you’re wearing a hat ’It was a joke Well, sort ofExcept that the situation wasn’t actually all that funny Because in a way, he was right I was never going to be able to ride the subway again as an anony the subway as Nikki Howard, supern that said, I’raphI , since a second later, Gabriel gavewith the arh, ‘Never estured towards a pale green Vespa that was parked in the circular drive in front of the buildingThat’s right A VespaWhich has to be the least cool uysBut Gabriel wasn’t American And he obviously didn’t care that his e American male, couessmy astonishment for reluctance to ride on a scooter due to the safety issue‘OK,’ I said faintly I just wanted to get away fro held back by Karl and the frantic-looking nun – and Nikki Howard’s crazy rooiant ht down the street, and back to my familyAnd I didn’t care how I did it‘Here,’ Gabriel said, and handed me a motorcycle helmet from a compartment on the back of his Vespa He helped me fit it over my head (or Nikki Howard’s head) It didn’t oodThen he helped me climb on to the bike, and showed ot on as well, and said, ‘Hang on to me ’Which I knew meant put my aruy like that I uys I’ve made out with in the past twenty-four hours Which hadn’t exactly been initiated by meExcept before I had a chance to fully obsess over what I was about to do, soirls broke away fro towards us, screa, ‘Nikki! Nikki!’Then Gabriel started the rab hi off the bike backwardsAnd then he said, ‘Here we go!’And ent