Fangirl (28 page)

When asked whether he and Josie Brant were still romantically attached, Maxx relayed, “That's something I am trying to figure out. But I hope so. If I have my way, you will be seeing more of Josie Brant, who is a very talented songwriter. She is, quite simply, my muse.”

Three months later. . .

Josie and Peter both learned a hard lesson of the Internet Age: the hammer of public opinion can strike with powerful force—for good and for bad.

As much as Josie had been demonized by the media, now they adored her.

Fans, meanwhile, launched blogs, Tumblrs, Twitter accounts, and Pinterest and Facebook pages dedicated to the pony-tailed teenager with the sweet brown eyes. So many girls simply related to her, felt she was just a regular girl who had been betrayed by a psycho-chick. Many even started dressing like her. Jeans, TOMS sneakers, baseball caps, message T-shirts, and all. Blondes even started to dye their hair brown . . . hoping they too could snag the affections of Peter Maxx. But, of course, the pop star had eyes for only one brunette.

And thanks to Peter's tell-all interview with Hot Hollywood (and some crack investigative work by Big Jim), the public was starting to find out what Peter had known all along: that Josie was a gifted songwriter. In fact, Peter proudly announced that he and Josie were cowriting a new album together that would be out just in time for Christmas.

But, now, Josie was about to reveal another talent.

Josie sat in a dressing room at L.A.'s Staples Center, a makeup artist putting on the final touches of bronzer and eye shadow as a hairstylist sprayed her hair into perfect place. She wore a black T-shirt with the word “love” embroidered on the chest in shiny beads and red-and-white kicks that stuck out from underneath the bottom pant legs of her skinny jeans.

In the mirror, she could see sitting behind her on the couch Connor, her mom, and Delilah, who, thanks to casting that Harry Potter spell on her during that Vegas trip, was majorly responsible for the fearlessness she was about to show by doing what she was about to do. Ever the loyal BBFF, Christopher also wandered around the room, documenting every moment with the camera on his phone.

Next to the couch stood a handsome man in blue jeans and a perfectly ironed dress shirt. Josie locked eyes with him in the mirror as the makeup artist dabbed her with more bronzer. The man snapped a picture of her with his phone.

“Please, Dad,” Josie said. “Don't you think we've had enough with the paparazzi?”

A day earlier, Peter had posted the $5 million bail, setting Kyle Brant free.

For the first time in seemingly forever, everyone Josie loved most was in one place with her. Everyone, that is, but for one person—though his voice was vibrating through the walls of the arena, rattling Josie's chest just as it had the very first time she heard him sing.

Then, Peter's dad stepped into the dressing room and announced, “Showtime!”

Bobby handed her a wireless microphone. Josie then went around the room and hugged everyone. She couldn't look her mom and dad in the eyes, though. She didn't want their tears to make her cry and ruin her perfectly applied makeup. Josie took one last glance in the dressing room mirror and, for the first time in a very long time, liked every inch she saw.

Josie followed Bobby down the hallway and climbed a set of stairs to the edge of the stage, where she stood behind a curtain. She could hear Peter gently strumming his guitar.

“Well, honey, you sure do look like a pop star,” Bobby told her.

“Maybe,” Josie said with a smile. “But I'm still just a fan.”

My heartfelt thanks to the team it took to write and research this story day and night

Are most fittingly delivered in the form of lyrics, all right?

Michael, Miriam, and Jane—my literary agency crew

Who knew, who could see

Even when I didn't yet hear the music in me

Loving encouragement from friends and family—Jackson, Chloe, and Brooke, as I took

Time and space to explore the characters in this book

Tim James and Antonina Armato, Rock Mafia (all of you, to be sure)

Miley, Selena, Jonas, Justin, pop stars at the creative core

Lisa Cheng and Running Press pushing for more

God, Goaltending, the Paynes, Matt Riley, observed Beach Cities teens, y'all in Bakersfield

Twitterverse, Aurora, Kris, and Chris

A BFF whose friendship knows no yield

Every love song ever written

Every crush to have ever bitten

Everyone at E!

Everyone who cares about me

Anonymous lovers in the category of “was”

Inspiration amid this hopeless romantic's endless Coffee Bean buzz

Ken Baker is E! Entertainment Television's chief news correspondent. Ken has interviewed or reported on just about every major pop star in the world—all of whom he proudly has on his playlist. Follow him
@kenbakernow
.