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turned and stared out the windows and
waited to get back to the hotel.

 
    ***

 
    When they got back to the hotel, Raven
and Jake were met by a team of security guards as they pulled up outside.
    There was a large crowd outside as they
arrived.
    Raven looked at Jake.   “I guess everyone knows you’re here.”
    He nodded and then looked at her.   “They know we’re here.”
    “Nobody cares about me, Jake.”
    His brown eyes studied her face.   “You might be surprised,” he said.   And then he turned towards the door,
gripping the handle as one of his security team stepped close to the car.   “When I open it, you get out fast and
come right with me,” Jake said.
    His voice had a note of tension it, which
made her realize that this situation was perhaps more important than it first appeared.   She looked out and noticed the crowd was
raucous, and there were paparazzi battling for position to get a shot.
    People were starting to actually push each
other, and someone fell and hit the hood of the car with a loud thump as they
went down.  
    Her heart started beating faster.   “Don’t leave me,” she said.
    “Keep an eye out for Kurt—he should
be waiting for us.”
    “Kurt?   Your manager?”    
    “Yeah, he flew in right away after we
spoke this morning.   He needs to be
here to coordinate all this publicity we’re doing.”
    She tried not to think about his manager,
because even the thought of Kurt made her want to run as far away as possible.
    Raven grabbed his arm.   “Promise me you’re not going to leave me
behind.”
    Now there were people pounding on the
sedan so hard that it rocked on its wheels.
    He looked at her.   “Come on,” Jake said, “its’ go
time.”   And then he was opening the
door and the crowd was screaming, the photographers were taking shots.
    And for the first time, as she scooted
out of the car as close to Jake as possible—for the very first time she
heard her own name being called.
    “Raven!”
    “Raven, over here!”
    “Just a quick smile Raven!”
    “Are you two an item?”
    “Jake, how’s Raven in the sack?”
    “Slumming it Jake?   What about Courtney Taylor?”
    “Raven, what do you think about Jake’s
comments?   Do you agree with him
that depressed people are losers?”
    “Is the tour cancelled for good, Jake?”
    “Did you cancel Boston because of Raven,
Jake?”
    Raven held onto Jake’s arm as the
security team encircled them, trying to fend off the anxious paparazzi, many of
whom simply pushed cameras above the shoulders of the security guards, pointed
in Raven and Jake’s direction and began snapping away.
    Cameras were pushing in at them from
every direction, but Raven just looked straight ahead at Jake, following him
the best she could, staying close behind him as they moved as quickly as
possible to the hotel entrance.
    How
do they know my name already? She wondered.   How?
    The moment they got into the lobby, Kurt
was there, motioning for them to follow him.   The security team fanned out, making
sure that nobody impeded their progress to the
elevators.   Once at the elevators,
one security guard stood right outside the door while Raven, Jake and Kurt went
inside.   The guard continued to stand
in front of the elevator until the doors slid safely shut.
    Raven was shivering from the jarring
experience she’d just had.   Jake
turned to her, his eyes concerned.   “Are you okay?” he said softly.
    Kurt didn’t say anything, but Raven
couldn’t help but look at him.   Just hours prior, he’d threatened her very existence on the
phone.   She couldn’t talk in front
of him, and yet she couldn’t allow Jake to see just how uncomfortable his
manager (and closest friend) made her.
    “I’m fine,” she lied.
    “I know it’s a lot,” he said.   “I mean, I’ve had years to get used to
it and it still can get to be a bit much sometimes.”
    “Just a bit?” she laughed.
    Kurt shot her a glance that Jake