“No, I don’t care what you do about it.” Renee spoke into the cell phone irritably. She actually had two cell phones - one was for business calls, one was for personal. One of them rang incessantly and unluckily for her it was the former.

“It’s all over the news this morning, Renee.” Marcia berated her at the other end.

Why they were having this conversation when Marcia was in a car on the way to the hotel already she wasn't quite sure but over the last few days it had been a regular occurrence. Back in the land of normal people, if somebody wanted her they could wait the extra five minutes to speak to her in person if they were practically on her doorstep. She’d just had to wish herself into Bizarre-o World.

“What? We went out for a few quiet drinks.”

“On VMA night when you’re expected to attend after parties. You put on that display at the ceremony, disappeared when everybody was waiting on you and then you turn up in some Irish bar the other side of the city with only one bodyguard between you!”

“Why does it sound like you’re chastising me right now?” Renee replied picking at her nails, disliking the colour she had put on them only last night. She was standing on the other side of the bedroom, leaving Justin to continue sleeping.

“Because I am! The papers are all over it because you’re behaving so strangely and with all those rumours that had started…”

“Marcia?” Before Renee could say another word, Justin had snatched the phone from her manicured hands and started speaking forcefully into it. She was quickly learning that he wasn't so great in the mornings. “Yes…” He appeared to be listening. “The rumours are bullshit, and excuse me if I didn’t wanna go kiss ass all night but we decided to go have a quiet drink. I’m a big boy and she’s a big girl, we’ll do whatever the hell we want. If you have a problem with it you can bite me.”

He had not only hung up on her but Justin had also turned the phone off completely. Nobody was getting through to Renee at all now because her personal phone hadn’t even been switched on in the first place. With a loud yawn, he stretched his arms above his head before letting them fall back down over his girlfriend’s shoulders. Resting his head on top of her unnaturally golden hair, he muttered something that to Renee’s ears could have been “good morning.” Either that or it was German.

She wasn't surprised he was incoherent; they had seriously been on the beer after they had decided that the night was still young and they wanted to do something before retiring. Of course that in itself had now got them in trouble because one pop star had woken up in another’s hotel suite in a whole different hotel where she really wasn't supposed to be.

“See that was what I wanted to say but I was trying to be polite.”

“Screw that.” Justin complained as her hands idly rubbed his back. “I still don’t know why you keep the bitch on the payroll. She hates me.”

“And you wonder why after you talk to her like that?” She smirked. She couldn’t say she liked Marcia that much either but apparently she needed her.

“Anybody tries to get between me and my woman they just gotta expect it.” He caught her lips with his and Renee swore she actually felt her knees buckle just a little tiny bit. Not enough to be noticeable to any but her but still she felt it. This whole kissing gig was getting easier as it went along.

And she felt a lot better about it after last night. Going drinking in a small bar somewhere was the first thing she had done since she’d woken up famous that felt real to her; they’d had to sign napkins for the owner to hang behind the bar but that had been it. Everybody had been perfectly nice but they’d kept their distance and she’d just spent the night sitting with Justin, drinking and laughing her head off. The whole emotional issue was no less confusing but playing her part was coming easier every time she saw him.

“Yeah, okay.” She pulled back reluctantly. “She’s coming up here to ream my ass out and probably yours so you might wanna be dressed for that.”

“I have other plans…” Justin smirked, lowering his head to her neck. “And neither of us are dressed in them.”

“She’s practically at the door, J, no.” She pushed him away.

How long was she going to be able to keep these excuses up? It was almost lucky they’d been so drunk when they got through the door because they’d made it to the bed, made it down to their underwear and somebody must have fallen asleep before it could go further. If they hadn’t, not only was Renee sure that he would have tried to seduce her or jump her or whatever she was pretty sure she would have co-operated.

“Fuck.” Justin groaned, reluctantly removing his lips from her skin. “If I had a dollar for every time that battle axe has stopped me getting laid…”

“Yeah, yeah, clothes.”

“Can’t we just refuse to answer the door?”

“I got crap to do today.”

“Me too, what’s your point?”

“My point… Justin!” Renee’s eyes opened wide in horror and her fingers immediately grabbed at his biceps, her knuckles white.

He would have indentations from her nails for a good couple of hours after but for now he turned to look behind him and let out a string of expletives as he pushed Renee behind him, backing up slowly with her. Where to he didn’t know but it was preferably as far away from the weird bearded guy in what looked like the hotel’s uniform but he knew for a fact was not - wrong colour by miles.

“Who are you and how the fuck did you get in here?”

“How long has he been standing there?” Renee whispered, horrified.

She felt indecent and exposed on two counts - like his mere presence wasn't enough the guy had seen Justin in his boxers and her standing there in a push up bra and sweatpants. Not even just a bra, a stupid push up bra that showed off the silicone enhanced assets which her celebrity alter ego was forever placing in tiny lacy bras like this while forever letting the whole world into her world. She had made herself public property to the point where this guy felt entitled to see her behind closed doors, see all of her.

“Baby just stay behind me, its okay… come on, answer me, what are you doing in here?” Justin’s eyes blazed but his hands trembled where they grasped Renee behind him.

“He’s so unworthy, Renee.” The strangely hollow voice sounded.

“Don’t you even fucking talk to her,” Justin snarled. His grip was now painfully tight but the shaking woman behind him actually welcomed the pain; the more it hurt the tighter he had her and the safer she was.

“Mike! Dre!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping the fact that they were in the bedroom of the suite and not the living room where the door was situated wouldn’t stop them hearing.

“He was trying to force you, he puts his hands on you and makes you dirty, and you shouldn’t be dirty, you’re beautiful…”

“Get the hell out of here before I call the cops. Mike!”

“You’re hurting her, you betrayed her…”

Renee hit the wall and there was nowhere else for her to go. Now her whole body was trembling behind Justin as his hands spread-eagled behind him, locking her in. She was terrified that the guy was going to pull out a knife or gun or something and hurt Justin; her mind hadn’t even allowed itself to think what the whack job would then do to her. She’d laughed at the young guy who had hung around outside and proposed a couple of times but suddenly the whole devoted fan thing didn’t seem so funny.

“MIKE!”

“Making her dirty, making our angel dirty…”

With nothing else to do, Renee had to make a desperate grab for the phone that was nearly out of her reach. Something about the movement made the intruder turn and run, which unfortunately for him took him straight out into the living room where Mike had come to investigate, having sworn he’d heard his name through the wall despite Dre’s mocking laugh. Neither of the two was prepared to actually move to go look but the yells from the other room told them well enough that there was a scuffle going on.

“Justin!” Mike yelled. “You guys okay?”

“Will be once you get him the fuck out of here!” Justin replied, still not moving.

“I got him…”

A door slammed somewhere, presumably the front door. Finally Justin rushed to the living area only to find it empty. Muttering expletives under his breath, he pushed his hands over his shaved head and locked them at the back of his cranium, inhaling deeply and trying to ignore the rapid beating of his chest. Staring at the pristine cream carpet, he was lost to the world until a loud retching came from behind him and he turned around to see Renee running into the bathroom with her hand clamped to her mouth.

Quickly turning on his heel and hurrying to her side, he crossed the bedroom and entered the pale marbled room. He found her slumped on the floor by the toilet, doing a fair impression of somebody whose normal residence was in padded rooms not presidential suites, having already emptied her stomach. The sound of the flush interrupted the silence as he moved to her and pulled her to her feet, him doing most of the work. Silently he held her hair back as Renee rinsed her mouth out, taking gulps of water and spitting into the sink until her mouth didn’t taste of bile.

“Are you okay?”

Hesitantly Justin’s hand went to her back, his instinct to hold her only confirmed when in slow motion her body seemed to automatically turn to his and she hid her face in his chest. Her arms locked tightly around his back as one of his encircled her waist and the other cradled her head, fingers tangled in the bed hair she hadn’t got around to brushing yet.

“I thought he was…”

“I wouldn’t have let him hurt you baby, I swear.”

“No, you, I thought he was going to… you.” Renee couldn’t form full sentences in her head before they got to her mouth.

“I’m going to kill Mike. How the hell did he get in here?”

“Justin…” came a sob.

“Shh. It’s okay, Ren, I promise.” He rocked with her. He was alarmed by the force with which her shoulders still shook and worried she was going to make herself sick again. “It’s all okay, baby.”

“Renee!” Came the shrill voice of Marcia from outside.