Kara groaned when she heard Justin's cell phone ringing. She wondered why he even kept the ringer on at night since he never heard it ring while he was sleeping. She smiled when the ringtone finished playing and was happy for a whole 30 seconds until the phone started ringing again. Kara would've answered the device (or silenced it depending on who was calling) if she could but the death grip Justin's arm had around her waist left no room for movement. When he slept he always had a grip on her like he was afraid she was going to run out on him in the middle of the night or something. It was when the phone rang for a third time that she really doubted Justin's sense of hearing and nudged him with her elbow.

"Justin," she whispered harshly.

No answer. Damn this boy was a heavy sleeper! She nudged his hip with hers and said his name again. No response what-so-ever. It wasn't until she ground her backside into his pelvis that he started to stir.

"Mmm," he moaned groggily. "If you wanted to go another round all you had to do was ask."

He kissed the back of her neck.

"Nice try, but your phone has been ringing off the hook for the past 5 minutes."

"What?" He released her and rolled over toward the nightstand. "I didn't hear it."

"That's because you sleep like a friggin' bear in hibernation. Whoever it is has called like four times. It seems kind of important," Kara responded, rolling over so that she was facing his back.

She watched as he pulled up his 'Missed Calls' list and saw that it was his manager, Johnny.

What could he want at this time of the morning?" Kara said, glancing at the clock to see that it was 3:27 in the morning.

"You took the words right out of my mouth; let me call him back."

Justin pressed the 'Call' button on his Blackberry and pulled Kara's arm around his waist. He'd just placed a light kiss on her palm when his manager answered the call.

"Took you long enough! I've called you five times."

"More like four, and 'hello' to you too, Johnny. What's so important that you couldn't wait until the sun was up to call me?" Justin asked.

"Where are you?" Johnny asked.

"In bed, where you should be. Why? What's up?"

"I'm going to ask you another question and I want you to be completely honest with me, ok?"

"Ok," Justin replied hesitantly.

"Are you cheating on Marz with her sister?"

Justin fell silent. Kara felt his body tense up and she knew where this conversation was going.

"Well? Are you?" Johnny repeated when Justin didn't answer him immediately.

"No, I'm not currently."

"But you were?" Johnny asked.

Kara was surprised at how calm the man's tone was.

"It's not what it seems like," Justin began, but the older man silenced him.

"I don't even want to hear it! You know I don't like to get involved in your personal life, but when it starts to affect your career I have to intervene."

"What do you mean 'when it affects my career'?"

"I just got a phone call from Ken. Apparently someone's been tailing you and Kara, and they went to the Rolling Stone with the story. RS emailed Ken an offer."

Ken Sunshine was Justin's long-time, trusted publicist. Ken was the keeper of all of Justin's dirty little secrets, and it was his job to make sure they stayed secrets.

"Rolling Stone? What? Since when did they become a gossip rag?"

"When they got this story in their hands. I'm sending you the email Ken forwarded me now."

Justin put the older man on speakerphone before accessing his email account on his phone. He saw the email from Johnny and hesitated for a second before opening it.

To Whom It May Concern:

Several photo agencies have brought to our attention various photos of you and Kara Sotelo in some compromising positions. We, along with the rest of the public, understand that you're currently dating Ms. Sotelo's sister, Maritza, to whom Ms. Sotelo is employed to as personal assistant, but these pictures show something different.

Here at Rolling Stone we aren't about gossip. For your protection we have bought the photos from these agencies of both you and Kara in various types of activities. Some of these photos include: Kara arriving at the JFK airport in December with yourself and Mr. Trace Ayala, the long embrace hello, your trip to a recording studio with Kara, the compromising embrace between you and Ms. Sotelo in the Good Samaritan Hospital parking garage and more recently an intimate embrace shared between the two of you on El Matador Beach.

If you are curious about the other photos that we have obtained from these agencies please give our offices a call. There are also several of Ms. Sotelo without you, but with Mr. Ayala. These pictures would give the impression that Ms. Sotelo is involved with both you and Mr. Ayala.

If these photos were to leak at this or any other magazine her anonymity would be forever tarnished, as would your image and possibly her sister's.

As previously stated, we here at Rolling Stone aren't about gossip. But we could easily turn around and sell these photos to an anonymous buyer, or accidentally release them to Us Weekly or the National Enquirer.

All we're asking of you is this. We want back what we paid for the photos, plus 10%. On top of this we would like exclusive access to you and Ms. Sotelo for interviews if and when it is made public of your relationship.

Thank you for your time and discreetness in this matter. We really don't want to see what would happen to Ms. Sotelo if this decides to unfold itself.

Regards,
Chad Jackson,
Rolling Stone

Both Justin and Kara's jaws dropped when they finished reading the email.

"Can they do this?" Justin exclaimed, sitting straight up in bed.

"It doesn't matter if they can, the point is they are. The question is what do you want to do about it? If this comes out it won't just affect your career, but Marz' too."

"I'm not paying these leeches a fuckin' dime! Greedy motherfuckers! They can't do this! It's blackmail!"

Justin was furious and Kara was frozen in shock. She thought shit had hit the fan when Trace and Marz found out about their secret rendezvous, but this was a million times worse.

"So what do you want me to do, Justin? You don't want to pay them?"

"Hell no! We'll sue them for slander if they think about releasing the photos, but I'm not paying them a dime. They're fucking vultures!"

Justin's body was practically vibrating he was so livid. If he were Jacob Black he would've changed into his werewolf form five minutes ago. Kara smiled at the thought, and just as quickly as it came, it left. Not only did it remind her of the time she'd spent reading the book series with Trace, but this wasn't some fictional story, it was real life and they were really fucked.

"Justin," Johnny sighed, "I'll call the lawyers and see what we can do about this. But you do realize that by turning them down, you're opening the door for them to expose you. Once they make this public, it'll be a free-for-all for all the media outlets."

A muscle jumped in the side of Justin's clenched jaw.

"I know. That's a chance we're gonna have to take."

"All right. I'll get started on it tomorrow. Get some sleep Justin."

Easier said than done.

Justin flopped back against the mattress, dropping his phone onto the nightstand carelessly. He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, and when he opened them again he looked over at Kara.

"Johnny-."

"I heard," she interrupted. "I know what he said."

"I'm not paying it," he stated. "It's bullshit."

"I agree. I don't think you should pay it."

Justin sighed.

"Johnny's worried about what'll happen if they decide to release the photos anyway. Who knows what will happen to my fan base. This could be bad, for Marz too."

Kara shook her head.

"It won't be bad for Marz. She'll get the sympathy of the public. Her boyfriend and her sister getting together? How could they not love her?" She said. "But it'll be bad for you. Are you ready for that?"

He looked at her, his hand rising to hold her cheek.

"I guess I'm gonna have to be."

She nodded and pulled back to kiss his hand the way he'd done to her before. Justin half smirked at her, and then pulled her closer.

"Come on. Let's go back to sleep. I was just getting to the good part of my dream, where you and the lesbian wrestler get into the pool filled with red jell-o."

Kara laughed out loud, snuggling down into the bed. The rustling sheets finally grew silent as she found a comfortable spot. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, but neither of them got much sleep that night.

"No, no, no. I know, for a fact, that there is no way in hell that I'm going to give them a dime. I don't understand how they can get away with this, Johnny... Just because they're Rolling Stone, you think that if I challenge their credibility it'll only make me look bad?... Christ! Once they release those pictures I'll already look bad. I might as well try to fight it. If I give into their offer it'll just make me look like some punk with bottomless pockets. What's to stop them from coming back in another month and asking for more, or from cashing my check and then publishing them anyway?... Their reputation is no better than mine. At the end of the day they're just another business, and they'll do what they have to do to sell magazines... Of course I want to keep this quiet. I don't want this story to go to press anymore than you do. But not at this expense."

Justin was in his office. He'd been on the phone ranting at Ken, his publicist, ever since he'd climbed out of bed at 7am. Even through the closed door Kara could hear his frustrated voice every time he shouted into the receiver. The situation had really upset him. Neither of them was happy about the threat of their personal lives being exposed to the general public, but Justin was more so upset at the idea that someone would try to exploit the situation. He felt that at some point the truth was going to come out, and he wasn't going to hand someone millions of dollars just to slow down the inevitable.

Ken and Johnny, however, felt differently. While they shared Justin's frustration, they wanted to pay them the money. Both men feared that if Justin went against Rolling Stone that it would only make him look like a desperate celebrity trying to get one over on his fans. Who was going to believe that a successful, long-standing, reputable magazine like Rolling Stone was going to stoop so low as to blackmail an artist? Especially over something like an affair. They weren't known for spreading gossip, so why would they start now, and with a scandal this trashy at that?

But with Justin having been locked in his office all morning, it had given Kara time to focus on other things. Normally she and Justin were wrapped up in each other. They'd lounge in bed until the afternoon, and then drag themselves downstairs where they'd play with the dogs, watch movies, and order-in take-out. Now, without him attached to her hip -or lips- she had a chance to realize what a mess the place was becoming, and how they were running low on groceries.

She cleaned the bathroom, and vacuumed the living room before clearing out the fridge and loading the dishwasher. It was her way of trying to keep her mind off of everything that was going on, especially thinking about Marz and Trace. They already had enough to deal with, now they were unknowingly facing having all of their personal business spread across the cover of tabloids. Trace would undoubtedly be devastated. Who would want to lose their best friend and their girlfriend -to each other- and then a week later pick up a magazine to see pictures of them together, smiling and looking happy? She could feel the guilt building up in her chest all over again. It tightened her lungs, quickened her breath, and made her eyes burn and sting. She had to get out of the house.

Opening the door to Justin's office, she saw him slouched in the leather chair at his desk. One hand was holding the phone to his ear; the other was massaging his forehead. Apparently he didn't hear her come in, because he still sat with his eyes closed. It wasn't until she'd already given him a kiss on the cheek that he jumped.

"I'll be back in a little bit," she whispered.

Justin caught hold of her wrist when she tried to pull away.

"Hang on a second, Ken," he said.

He pulled the phone away and looked up at her.

"Where are you going?" He whispered.

"I'm just gonna run down the hill to the grocery store. I'll be back in a little bit."

Justin nodded.

"Hurry back."

"I will."

She gave him a kiss and then rushed out the door. She was anxious to get out and get away from this mess. Being locked up in a house for days at a time wasn't good for anyone. Hopefully getting out and doing something normal would do her some good. Her car was still parked in the driveway, in the very same spot where she'd left it. Aside from a little extra layer of dirt, it looked the same.

It wasn't until she was climbing in that she noticed the car across the street. It was a big white SUV with tinted windows. It looked average, and under any other circumstances she wouldn't have though much of it. Except, this wasn't any other circumstance. The driver's side window was rolled down, and a man was sitting there looking at her. He wore silver aviators, and in his hands was a big black camera. He raised it to his eyes, clicking away photograph after photograph. Clearly, he knew he'd been spotted, and obviously it didn't bother him because he was still snapping pictures.

Kara could feel her blood start to boil. She'd dealt with guys like this before, only then she had been trying to block them from taking photos of Marz. This was the first time she'd ever been their target.

She climbed into her car, trying her best to ignore the camera man across the street. Once she had the door closed she pulled out her cell phone to text Justin. Hopefully he wasn't still on the phone arguing with Johnny; otherwise he might not be able to hear the text alert.

Papz are parked outside.

She started the car, put on her sunglasses, and checked her hair in the rearview mirror while she waited for him to respond. If she was going to get her picture taken, she wanted to look good.

Want me to go with you?

Kara wrinkled her nose. The whole point of this was to spend a little time away from him. Besides, the last thing they needed were more pictures of them on an outing. It would only give the rag-mags -and undoubtedly Rolling Stone- more ammunition.

No. I'm okay.

Be careful. If ANYTHING happens you call me right away.

What did he think she was, a child? She could handle a quick trip to the grocery store with one harmless photographer tailing her.

Pulling out on to the street, she wasn't surprised when the white SUV pulled out to follow her. What was surprising however, were the seven other cars that pulled away from the curb along with it.

This wasn't the first time that Kara had been tailed the paparazzi; this was just the first that she'd been tailed by them without Marz being there. She was used to being in the background, used to being labeled as "and friend" when the paparazzi photos were printed in the various articles. Now she was front and center. It never surprised her how fast news got through this town; she just wished that this particular piece of news wouldn't have spread so fast. Kara was sitting at a red light, trying her hardest to keep her eyes focused on the road ahead of her while dozens of flashes were going off around her vehicle. These people were ruthless; vultures, like Justin and John Mayer had so eloquently put it.

She couldn't make it to Whole Foods fast enough. She raced inside for solace, knowing that the manager of this particular location wouldn't allow paparazzi to photograph in there. She was safe, for now at least. Grabbing a shopping cart, Kara leisurely made her way through the aisles of the establishment, grabbing items she thought they needed at the house. She was standing in the produce section when her phone vibrated in her back pocket. Justin had texted her.

Are you okay?

Kara smiled at his concern before responding.

Yeah, the vultures are stuck outside :)

She chuckled aloud before sending off the text message. Kara began selecting Granny Smith apples and was tying up the bag when her phone buzzed again.

They're probably gonna hound you as soon as you step out there too. I'm sending Eric.

Kara scoffed.

You will do nothing of the sort! I'm ok. I told you I'd call you if I needed something and I meant it. I'm fine, do not send Eric. That would only fuel their fire.

She quickly sent the message and grabbed a bag of organic potatoes, throwing it in her buggy.

Well excuse me for giving a damn. Just let me know when you're on your way home. I miss you already.

Kara smirked at his last text. That boy could piss her off one minute and turn around and make her feel like the only woman on the planet the next. She locked her keypad and slipped her phone inside her purse before finishing shopping.

"Wow, next time I'm making a list, and sticking to a budget," Kara murmured as she watched the total steadily rise as the cashier rang up all of her items.

She reached in her purse to grab her debit card out of her wallet when her phone began ringing. She swiped her card as she answered the device.

"Hello?"

"Kara, it's Lauren."

"Hey Lauren, how are you?" She greeted sweetly.

"Just fine. I'm just calling to tell you that you have a piece of certified mail here at the house. Marz was about to throw it out, but it looks like it's something important."

"Really? I'm on my way to come pick it up."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

Kara hung up the phone and slid her card back into her wallet before pushing the grocery cart outside. She silently thanked God that she remembered to bring her Chanel shades. Maybe the vultures would leave her alone if she pretended not to see them.

"Kara, is it true that you're Justin Timberlake's mistress, that you broke up his relationship with your sister Marz?"

Apparently not.

Kara kept silent and did what her sister always did when she was bombarded with questions by paparazzi: lowered her head and sped up her pace. But just because she didn't respond didn't mean that they didn't continue to ask questions. "Is it true that you're a home wrecker?!"

Kara faltered for a moment and a dozen flashes documented this change in her behavior. She'd never heard that word used to describe her situation with Justin, and hearing it now really hurt her to the core. But what they were saying was true. Every accusation they were throwing at her was true. And it hurt like hell hearing them call her those names.

She loaded the groceries into her trunk in record speed and quickly navigated the roads to her sister's home. Marz lived in a gated community so Kara didn't have to worry about the photographers following her as she pulled up in the driveway.

Lauren was waiting on the front step and met Kara at her driver's window when she cut the engine. She had a thin white envelope in her hand and a sheepish smile on her face.

"Hey."

"Hey. Thank you for calling me."

"No problem. I know you would've done the same for me."

Kara chuckled. She didn't expect that answer from her sister's assistant, but then again, what were you supposed to say in a situation like this? That was one of the things she admired about Lauren. She knew all the dirty secrets but she wasn't treating Kara any differently. She didn't look at her with disgust on her face. She didn't smile and grin either, but then again they'd never really had that kind of relationship. There was an awkward moment of silence between them before Lauren said something.

"Well, I got to get back inside; got to take care of some stuff for Marz."

"Alright," Kara responded, "Thanks again."

She watched the woman walk back in the home before flipping over the envelope and pulling out the single piece of paper inside of it.

Ms. Kara Sotelo,

Rolling Stone magazine has brought it to our attention that Mr. Timberlake has recently turned down their reasonable offer, and we thought that it would be best to approach you, Ms. Sotelo. We know that you're currently involved with Mr. Timberlake, which is shocking because as far as the public is concerned, he's involved with your sister Ms. Maritza Sotelo. As you know it is our duty as the media to report on this matter. Before selling us the photos of your relationship and time spent together, Rolling Stone asked us to send you one more notification before buying the rights and publishing them into our magazine. This would, of course, make front-page news.

If you would like to come out with your relationship we're willing to discard the photos Rolling Stone has for an exclusive photo shoot and interview with both of you. We would also be willing to work out some sort of compensation for your cooperation in this matter.

Normally, since Mr. Timberlake has disregarded Rolling Stone's generous offer to buy the photos, the price of the rights would have gone up, but we have a better deal for you. We're only asking for one-third the price we paid for the photos, plus 5%. If you do not respond by the end of this week this offer will become null and void and our cover story will run on Monday.

In the wake of Ms. Maritza Sotelo's new album and Mr. Timberlake's pending album this could potentially be detrimental for both of their careers. We look fowardr to your speedy response.

Regards,
Chuck Bass
Us Weekly

Kara read the letter three times before letting it fall in her lap. She brought her right hand to her mouth and choked back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. These people were threatening the careers of two people she cared about deeply, and she couldn't just sit back and let that happen even if that meant that all their dirty laundry was about to aired. At least this way they'd be able to control what would be said. She pulled up a blank text on her phone and typed. We need to talk.

"You want to sell our story?"

"No. I want to try to spin this in such a way that it won't completely ruin your career."

When Kara had gotten home Justin was already waiting for her in the living room. He'd gotten her text about them needing to talk, and it had worried him. He'd thought something had happened with the paparazzi, but this was worse in a different sort of way.

"Kara, don't worry about my career, okay? That's my job, and Ken's job, and Johnny's job."

"So what am I supposed to do, sit back and watch while something I did ruins yet another person's life?"

"Kara," he sighed, "you weren't alone in that, all right? I had a hand in everything too, so you don't need to protect me. I'm a big boy; I can handle the repercussions of my actions."

Kara chewed on her cheek, momentarily thinking over Justin's words, before continuing on with her argument.

"It's just one interview with one magazine. If we give them the exclusive then they'll tell my side of the story. Maybe it'll stop someone from thinking we're horrible people."

"It won't matter," he stated.

He was already growing frustrated with this. He'd already spend all day on the phone fighting for his right to keep people out of his personal life, and now he was fighting with the very girl he'd wanted to protect from the negative spotlight.

"I want to do this!" She exclaimed.

Justin's brow furrowed as he watched her. She took a deep breath as she collected her thoughts. When she spoke again it was much quieter than it had been before.

"I couldn't help Trace and Marz. There wasn't anything I could do that would have made this any easier for them. This just seemed like something I could do to make it a little easier for you. Maybe I could make this situation just a tiny bit better for somebody that I care about. Maybe if Trace read it he'd believe that I didn't do all this to hurt him, he'd believe that I do... care about him."

She wanted to say 'love him', but that wasn't something she needed to say to Justin. She had a feeling he already knew, but he never brought it up.

Justin nodded. So that's what this was about, the guilt she was still suppressing inside. He took a few steps forward to close the distance between them and took her face in his hands.

"The only one I want you to worry about is Kara. Don't worry about me and Marz. There's a reason we pay publicists big bucks to sit around behind a desk and talk to magazines. This is their job. If anyone needs to worry about anyone, we should be worried about you."

"All the more reason we should take them up on their offer. At least they'll tell my side."

Justin shook his head.

"They don't care about telling your side, they care about revenue. They'll sell the photo shoot pictures to other companies and spin your quotes so you're saying whatever they want you to say. This isn't a good idea, trust me."

The last time he'd said that they'd been lying in Trace's bed together.

"Justin, I don't know-."

"Trust me."

He looked her dead in the eye. He seemed so certain, so assure of what he was saying.

"Okay," she relented. "I trust you. I won't do it."

"Good. In the morning we'll call those bastards and tell them to take their offer and shove it where-."

"Babe, we might at least want to consider being civil to them. Maybe if we're nice they'll take pity and hold off on this story."

Justin snorted. That wasn't likely. He could imagine the magazine publishers practically salivating at the mouth at the idea of how they'd pull in when the story ran.

"Well tomorrow you're going to call them and tell those bastards -in the most civil way possible- where they can stick it, because we aren't interested."

Kara just chuckled. She was pretty sure that between now and then she'd think of a less insulting, more subdued way to say that.

"So, you went to Marz' place?"

Kara had mentioned getting a call, and driving to Marz' to pick up the letter, but she didn't provide more than the basic details.

"Yeah."

"Did she... say... anything?"

She shook her head.

"She didn't even come out to meet me."

Justin chewed the inside of his cheek, his fingers drumming on the kitchen counter top.

"Think she knows you're here yet?"

Kara shrugged. No doubt it was possible. Anything the papz could figure out, any other person could figure out too. There was also a possibility that another magazine had sent a similar offer to Marz, or Trace, for their stories as well. But they had no way of knowing any of that. Justin sighed and threw his hands up in the air before heading up the stairs.

"This week just keeps getting better!"

On Monday morning Kara, once again, awoke to the sounds of Justin's cell phone ringing. It wasn't until the caller dialed his number for the third time that she attempted to reach over him and answer it. But as always, that arm locked around her waist kept her in one confined position. Also like usual, Justin was dead to the world amidst all of her straining.

Kara wasn't sure how he could be sleeping so peacefully at a time like this. Monday was the deadline Us Weekly had given her to accept their offer. She didn't think the voice mail Justin had left a few days ago -basically saying 'fuck you' in not so many words- had managed to sway their money-hungry minds. All night she'd been in and out of consciousness, wondering what was going to happen, what they were going to say, what pictures they were going to use, and what the backlash was going to be. The anxiety was so bad Justin had wanted to give her Tylenol PM to knock her out. Now that his phone was ringing so persistently she wished she hadn't declined the offer. And at this time of the morning she had a pretty good idea as to who was going to be on the other end of the line.

After finally wiggling her way out from under him, Kara quietly made her way downstairs. She needed to see what, if anything was being said about them. She'd most likely get her answers from the television or the internet blogs. Not wanting to venture into Justin's office to get the laptop, she decided on the TV. She didn't want to wake him by turning on the TV in the bedroom, so she headed into the living room and curled up on one end of the couch.

With a cheerful chirp the television clicked on, and she started skimming through the morning news channels. Every ticker at the bottom of every screen seemed to be talking about either Justin, Marz, Trace, or Kara and their bizarre love square.

"Which popular singer was caught secretly keeping it all in the family? Find out after this short break."

She knew when Justin was awake because the light from the upstairs hall flooded the foyer. Then she heard a yawn, and a groan, as feet padded down the carpeted steps. He rounded the corner a moment later, one hand tiredly rubbing the top of his head, his pajamas rumpled from tossing and turning.

"It's five in the morning, what are you doing down here?"

"It's five in the morning and it's already everywhere. Listen to this," she said.

Kara turned up the volume just as the segment began.