Hidden Gem (19 page)

Elisa’s eyes widened in amazement as Gemma made a beeline for her.
 
She jumped down from Lucas’s shoulders and attempted to compose herself as Gemma approached.
 
Lucas’s own excitement was palpable as he grabbed his camera to take a picture for them.
 
The moment the camera flashed, Elisa’s knees gave out beneath her and she hugged Gemma in tears.

“Oh my God, Queen Bee, I love you! I dressed up as you for Halloween!”

Lucas laughed as he restrained her.
 
“Thank you so much,” he said as he put a hand on Elisa’s shoulder and led her towards the door.
 
“You don’t know what this means to us.”

Gemma looked up at Lucas, his gorgeous eyes absolutely gleaming with gratification.
 
It was one thing to impress Leah and the girls, but an entirely different thing to impress Lucas.
 
She could hardly contain her own happiness. “Well, I’ve owed you one,” she laughed heartily.
 
Lucas’s smile faded into confusion.

“What?”
 
Lucas looked deeply into Gemma’s face.

What did you say?
Gemma’s eyes widened just slightly as she realized her mistake.
 
Feeling her heart pound, she pressed the back of her hand against the small of her back – a signal used for security to extract her from dangerous fan situations.
 
While this one was far milder than the mob situations that occurred in Europe and Asia, she felt a panic that she had never felt before.
 
He probably didn’t hear me.
 
I’m sure he didn’t even understand if he did.
 
Her security arrived at her side immediately, hustling her away from Lucas.
 
As they pulled her away, another guard pushed Lucas back towards the exit.
 
He had yet to take his eyes off of her, and Gemma saw in them a look of vague comprehension that seemed to increase by the moment.
 
He had heard her.

THE RISE TO ROYALTY

Queen Bee’s popularity skyrockets in States amidst first American tour

The Pop Source

March 7

It’s hard to go anywhere these days without hearing about pop megastar, Queen Bee.
 
You hear her songs blasting in stores, restaurants, and cars that zip past you on the highway.
 
You may very well be playing the number one Billboard hit “Tell the World” in your very own car.
 
Her constantly concealed yet obviously stunning face can be seen on a dozen magazine covers this month.
 
Page Six reported that a slew of A-list celebrities have reached out to the house of Balenciaga in hopes of getting their hands on a replica of Queen Bee’s feather and pearl stunner – only to be rejected one by one.
 
And this, of course, only furthers America’s worship of this teenaged prodigy.

Despite our country’s obsession with the private lives of celebrities, Bee has not lost any popularity for keeping hers completely, well,
private
.
 
That of course is not to say that many fans aren’t desperately trying to pry their ways into it.
 
In fact, many websites have popped up in honor of that mission itself – uncovering the true identity of Queen Bee.

Regardless, it’s refreshing to have a celebrity on the scene who has made it because of her talent and not her celebrity social circle or extracurricular drama.
 
Though that’s not to say that Bee won’t soon see her fair share of drama (what with millions of Tyler Chasers heavy on her tail).
 
But in the meantime, we’re pretty stoked to welcome the future and very worship-worthy Queen of pop.

Off the high of the New York concerts, Gemma went on to do two of her most solid performances to date in Miami and Austin.
 
She didn’t tell anyone about the incident with Lucas for fear of an extreme security overhaul.
 
She could almost see Mira sending a team of intimidating security over to Lucas’s house with hush money to keep him quiet.
 
She tried to reassure herself that in such a moment of frenzy, Lucas probably couldn’t be certain of what he heard.
 
And even if he were, he wouldn’t necessarily make anything of it.

It was easier to calm herself over her slip of the tongue when she was out of Lucas’s knee-weakening presence.
 
Plus, she had plenty of things to distract herself with.

In their one day off between the Austin and Los Angeles concerts, Penelope had convinced Gemma and Armand to stick around so she could drive them through her home city.
 
To get in the spirit of the trip, Gemma put on a red plaid Ralph Lauren shirt over a pair of Hudson jeans.
 
Penelope provided her with a cowboy hat and the three drove to get some Texan barbecue.

The Salt Lick was a restaurant somewhere in the Hill Country.
 
Gemma found it charming, looking hand-built with its wooden walls and wooden tables.
 
A hand-laid brick pit boasted the most fragrant barbecue brisket, ribs, and sausages.

“Oh well, no diet for Armand today,” Armand declared as he untied the
Imprimeur
Fou
Hermès
scarf from his neck and tore through the first round of the meal.
  
“I read this article that says men are turned on by the smell of barbecue, so before we leave, we should all rub the brisket on our necks and wrists, yes? They have done studies, ladies, so don’t look at me this way.”

Gemma and Penelope stared for a few moments before all three burst into laughter.

“As if our jobs would allow us to have boyfriends,” Penelope lamented.

“In due time, ladies,” Armand said.
 
“We will each find a man.
 
I think the baby’s going to be first!” Armand teased, flicking a balled up paper towel at Gemma.
 
“We didn’t see Tyler Chase in New York or Miami or Austin so I think I win our little bet, Penelope.
 
He is going to be at the LA show, and he is going to declare his love.”

“Not fair.
 
I didn’t realize he was from LA until recently, okay?” Penelope licked a drop of barbecue sauce from her lips.
 
“His Twitter said he was shopping for his mom on Rodeo yesterday.
 
How precious is that? You guys would be so cute together.”

“Aren’t we forgetting that he has no idea what my face actually looks like? And he’s never actually spoken a word to me? I have no idea how he developed this weird crush,” Gemma said.
 
“It’s strange.”

“Oh, boo
hoo
,” Penelope pouted dramatically.
 
“Do you hear that, Armand? She’s so sad because that adorable famous boy is semi-stalking her. There are worse kinds of stalkers out there, Gem, you shouldn’t be upset about this one.”

“I’m not
upset
,” Gemma said as she looked down at her ringing phone.
 
“I’m just saying he doesn’t even know who I actually am, so why is he so convinced he’d like me?”
 
The caller ID on the screen of her phone read “Leah.”

“You should pick up,” Penelope said.
 
“They seem like they really miss you.”

Gemma nodded and answered. “Hello?”

“Hey girl,” Leah yelled over the phone.
 
“You’re on speakerphone and Kate’s here and we miss you so much!”

“We miss you so much!” Kate repeated.
 
Gemma laughed.
 
“How’s London? How’s your grandma doing? Is everything okay?”

“Things are going okay,” Gemma smiled.
 
“How are you?”

“The Queen Bee concert was insane.
 
In
sane
!” Leah shrieked.
 
“We kind of sort of met her. I got you an autographed CD.
 
I wish you were there, you should see that Balenciaga gown in person.”

“It’s a hundred times more gorgeous in real life!” Kate said.
 
“Totally breathtaking.
 
I read on ONTD that Balenciaga refused to make another one, even when it was Christina Aguilera requesting it for some premiere.
 
But one of the comments said that this little shop in
Nolita
is making cocktail knockoffs of it so I totally put my name on the waiting list.”

“Do you hear her? She’s so obsessed she’s not even jealous of her anymore,” Leah said.
 
“Tyler Chase tweeted about Queen Bee again saying that he knew the stars would have them meet.
 
Or something.
 
So corny.”
 
She made a retching sound.

“I think it’s romantic!” Kate squealed.

“Anyway Gem, you and Madison
so
missed out.”

Gemma instinctively stiffened at the mention of Madison.
 
She could tell by the silence over the phone that the girls were probably eyeing each other awkwardly.

“I’m sure,” she finally said. “I’m sure we missed out.”
 
She had to muster up the courage to say “we” rather than “I.”
 
She was thankful that for the rest of the conversation, they talked about what the girls were buying in preparation of Spring Break.
 
It was nice to hear their voices and know in her heart that they didn’t believe the rumors surrounding her and Lucas.

Once Armand signaled to her to finish up, Gemma quickly said good-bye and added, “I miss you guys.”

She heard a sad sigh on the other line.
 
It was Leah’s voice. “We miss you too. All of us, okay?”

“Okay,” Gemma said, though she knew not to believe it.

~

The bright sunshine of Los Angeles felt different than the sunshine on the east coast.
 
Gemma was convinced that it even made her hair look better, though she couldn’t enjoy it much because she spent her days almost entirely indoors.

She couldn’t help but let her thoughts run a little wild with all the rumors of Tyler Chase attending her L.A. concert.
 
She wondered where he might be during the concert, what he might do to get her attention.
 
No one had thought it possible that he had gone incognito to her concert in Barcelona, yet he had.
 
Maybe he would pull off the same thing again.

Like the other shows, Gemma was able to forget about her nerves and let her alter ego take over.
 
Her mind quickly forgot Gemma and took on Queen Bee upon feeling the microphone in her hand and the spotlight shining.
 
Her skintight wardrobe was always more of a release than a constraint.
 
The outrageous looks let her act and say whatever she wanted, without anyone questioning her.
 
Queen Bee was provocative, alluring,
sexy
– all the things her fans expected.

She and the crew had easily gotten back into the swing of things.
 
The Queen Bee team moved swiftly through rehearsals, concerts and most importantly, the GTFO Routine.
 
Despite all the standard procedures, Gemma was still awed by the amount of people who bought tickets to see her.
 
Those who couldn’t get tickets waited outside the arena in hopes of hearing her through the walls and perhaps seeing her after the show.

The meet-and-greet outside of Staples Center had by far the most security she had seen yet.
 
It was the first one outdoors, and a part of her worried about the huge open space.
 
Moving purple spotlights glazed over the green palm trees surrounding the arena.
 
The crowd was vast.
 
Gemma couldn’t see where it ended.
 
She suddenly felt overwhelmed, a sense of danger sitting in the pit of her stomach.