[center]CHAPTER TWO:[/center]

"Hey, what took you so long?" I asked just as an exhausted looking Dakota as she rounded the corner of our private Chic Little Devil's dressing room.

Dakota shook her head as Kohl scoot over on the sofa to give her room to sit down. "Long story. Hold on, let me catch my breath first." She warily sank into the cushion of the love seat Kohl was currently camped out at and after a couple of minutes, started talking. "I was just getting something to eat at that restaurant on the edge of Monroe and Callan. You know, Italiana and these guys walked in, asking for a table. The mater de wouldn't sit them and when the manager echoed his sentiment, one of the guys threw a punch and pretty soon an all out fight had broken out." Dakota started to pile her long strawberry blond locks on top of her head in a messy bun. "The police were called and all witnesses had to give a statement.

"Why wouldn't they sit them?" I wanted to know.

Dakota eyed Kohl meaningfully before saying in a matter-of-factly way, "It's because the restaurant is a chain owned by Letters Inc. And they were Teagues."

"Oooo." Kohl nodded as if this simple word explained everything. "Mayor Princeton is going to be so mad! I wouldn't be surprised if he put that city-wide curfew in effect that he threatened to do the last time there was a city brawl." She pulled out her phone and started Googling like no tomorrow, probably checking to see if she was right.

I didn't even know about the curfew threat which shows how much I care/know about politics, that's Nick's half of our soul.

I rolled my eyes. "I do not understand people here. What's the big deal if you got your start in the industries by a record label or studio owned by Monty Teague or C. A. Lett? I get they had a long held grudge against each other but they're both dead now. We should all be able to move on with our lives. Not upholding the feud of two crazy old men!"

Kohl glanced up from her phone as she and Dakota exchanged looks again. Kohl had grown up in Hollywood and Dakota had been here since she was at least 6 years old. So they grew up with this feud long enough to not question things like I did. The way things were done here didn't seem out of the norm for them because they'd been around it all their lives. Like why people in Hollywood remained determinedly segregated in aggressive Teagues versus Letts rivalries when the enforcers of such a thing were long gone.

"Haven't you ever wondered why there's another school for children of celebrities other then ours?" Dakota began. "Why Galaxy's rival is the Starlight School?"

"So Galaxy wouldn't be the only business in the schools-for-kids-of-stars and monopolize on the industry." I answered proudly, sure I was right.;Nick had;explained this concept to me when I asked why all Walgreen's and CVS Pharmacy's are always right across the street from each other. I glanced over at Kohl who was slowly shaking her head. "Right?"

"No." Kohl answered, forgetting about politics and checking out her reflection in different positions. "Starlight is meant for people under MTV, Universal Studios, Nickelodeon, they're people who can all eventually be traced back to Montgomery Teague."

"What?" I cried, no longer focused on just shopping as I hurried over to them. "Even the schools?"

"One of the reasons the two tycoons became rivals before the feud is because their competitiveness towards each other," Dakota said. "Like, Connell Lett built a suburb on the outskirts of Hollywood so of course Monty had to too. And as they became more successful, so did their rivalry. It's too the point where there's actually is a dividing line between what's considered Monty's territory and Connell's, here in Hollywood. The line between Monroe which is the Teague's land and Callan which is ours. The line that is considered neutral territory like a few celebs here."

"Like?" I wanted to know, intrigued which was kind of surprising because my thing was science not history (that was Nick's).

"Like Taylor Swift for one," Kohl interjected. "And the studio that Dakota does the Twilight movies with. Not all of those stars are Lett's like us. Some are Teagues or even neutrals too."

"Hmm," I said thoughtfully.

I still didn't understand why Hollywood had to still be divided, social wise. If we could move on from the divisions of race all the way from when African Americans were slaves to now, we had to be able to move on from this. Right? However, one of the; reasons I went along with it because it affected my brothers otherwise. Walt Disney was brought into this business by Connell A. Lett and therefore pledged his allegiance to him and everyone who worked under something Disney owned (at least in this area) echoed this allegiance. Plus my modeling contract was also (somewhere down the line) owned by Disney too.

We were silent for the next half hour. Kohl was trying to check out coverage over Mayor Princeton and the conflict at Italiana while Dakota absentmindedly helped me pick out clothes. She'd just gone to ring them up for my birthday present while I sat down across from the registry when my phone vibrated in my tote and I reached inside and pulled it out.

Instantly my stomach flipped. I had a text from Zac Efron, Joe's best friend and my escort for Nick and I's birthday masquerade tonight. As I opened the text I crossed my fingers. Oh, please don't tell me he can't come either, I prayed before I glanced down at the screen.

[center]From: High School Musical Boy
Hey, Happy Birthday Alexie.
Just Picked Up My Tux.
Can't Wait 4 Your Party L8r.[/center]

I sighed in relief.

[center]From: Me
-oh, good then ur still coming.
Sent from My Motorola Backflip

From: High School Musical Boy
Of Course. I Wouldn't Miss It 4 The World. After All I'm Your Escort. And If I Stood You Up Your Brothers & God Father Would All Kill Me.[/center]

I laughed.

[center]From: Me
-yeah, ur rite; they r wayyy 2 overprotective.
Sent from My Motorola Backflip.[/center]

I had just sent the text when Kohl returned from her quest to get a better web signal looking annoyed as she groaned.

"What's wrong?" Dakota asked as I stood up and she handed me 3 paper white shopping bags.

"The paps found us," Kohl answered. "I just looked out a window and they're positioned at both the entrances and the staff doors."

"Ugh," I groaned, feeling a headache coming. "How did they find us?"

Warily, Dakota sighed. "I'm guessing they may have followed me from Italiana."
She turned to Kohl. "And you're sure that there's no way out."

Nodding, Kohl answered, "Yep. They have the pretty such the entire place surrounded."

I set my shoulders back. "Let's just get through this. The sooner the better." I stalked over the door and grabbed the handle before looking back at the girls. They both gave a slow nod so I pulled open the door and the second I did someone shouted, "There they are!" And suddenly a mob of photographers and camera crews flocked upon us, their camera flashes so plentiful there was a permanent glare on my eyeballs.

"Stick close to me!" Kohl yelled as we stepped down the steps and straight into the thick of the crowd. "I have to find the car!"

As we tried to get through, the paparazzi pressed against us even more shoving their cameras into our faces and shouting out questions, all meant to provoke us.

One of them shouted to me. "Princess, how's your birthday going without your parents?"

I stumbled as my heart painfully twisted in my chest and hot tears began to burn my eyes.

"C'mon, Alexie!" Kohl cried, causing her to be singled out.

"How do you feel about the accusations against Kimora?"

Kohl froze and looked mad enough to spit nails. And the last thing you want to do is mess with a angry Kohl.

"Kohl, no!" Dakota shouted, grabbing her by the arm, trying to shake her out of her anger. "C'mon, we have to go!"

"How's filming for Breaking Dawn? Over that dry spell yet, Dakota?" shouted another.

Dakota's face turned paler which is bad seeing how all ready pale she is and she looked like a deer caught in headlights. Hurriedly, Kohl grabbed both Dakota and I's hand and we tried to surge forward through the crowd, using each other for strength as we kept the plastic smiles plastered to our faces.

If there was anything that made me hate the press even more then their stalkerazzi tendencies, it was their sharpened ability to know how to hit you below the belt just so they could catch you off guard and get your reaction. Kohl's mom used to be the representative of Baby Phat but recently Kimora had been fired for reasons none of us knew. Some people were speculating that she was secretly stealing money from the company. Really, we didn't know if they were right or wrong but throwing it in Kohl's face just to catch her reaction and twist it into lies? What butt heads!

"Ugh," I muttered under my breath as we reached Kohl's golden yellow Lamborghini and hurriedly piled inside. "I wish the Teague's would get ride of them once and for all."

Dakota and Kohl all laughed and I tried to smile even though I realized that it was all forced. Because the paps had managed to hit us all under the belt. With Dakota's non-existent boyfriend, the scandal with Kohl's mom and the jab about my parents they'd managed to take us all down like that.