"I have to go make another loop," Sophie announced, getting to her feet as I tried to process what was happening. "Scott, let me introduce you to Nadia." She grabbed Scott's arm-as a sign of friendship or to help her balance, I didn't know-and dragged him towards a pack of attractive Eastern European-looking girls.

Vinny's gaze followed her for a moment before he turned his attention to me. "You can sit," he said, sliding over on the couch to make room. Lowering myself down onto a plush cushion, I couldn't help but notice that his voice sounded much higher-pitched than it did when he was on stage.

"So," he continued, studying my face. "You're Sophie's agent?"

"Sort of," I mumbled, not wanting to get into the details. "You're her best friend?"

Sophie's admission of their closeness had surprised me. I couldn't picture the outwardly clean-cut blonde and the heavy-lidded man next to me having a ton in common.

"Yeah, I guess. We go pretty far back. Grew up together on set," he replied with a casual shrug as he scratched his patchy beard. I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Vinny grinned, a twinkle in his eye. "You watched her show, right? I was her sidekick."

"No way, but you..." I faltered, unsure of how to finish my sentence without offending him.

"Were a fat little geek? Don't worry, I know. The good thing about going off the grid after the show ended was that it gave me time to change my look."

I must've still seemed doubtful because he gathered his long hair with his hand and sucked in the silver ring that jutted from his bottom lip. I began to see the resemblance between him and the pudgy kid that faithfully followed Sophie's character around for seven seasons. "Just picture me with the glasses."

"Woah."

"Yeah," Vinny replied, letting his hair fall back down. I averted my eyes from the flecks of dander that had been shaken loose. "Try not to spread that. Bad for my image as a breakout musician, or whatever."

"Sure, but why tell me?"

"Don't know," he said. "Probably because it's rare for Sophie to say good things about anyone so I figure that you must be alright."

I tried to hide my guilt as I mulled over the thought of Sophie complimenting me to her friends. I couldn't say that I'd done the same. Sensing my unease, Vinny waved over a girl balancing shots on a tray and took two, handing one to me. "Cheers," he toasted and I shuddered as I swallowed the liquor in a single gulp.

Vinny took my glass and set it down next to his on the table in front of us. "I know she can be a pain, but she's a really nice person. She even planned this birthday party for me."

"It's your birthday?"

Vinny chuckled darkly. "Sucks, right? My agent has scheduled me to perform on my birthday every year since my EP charted. Last year I was in Istanbul and the year before I was in Taipei. At least this time I have a few friends around to balance out the freeloaders."

"Well, uh, happy birthday," I said lamely, unsure of how else to respond. Vinny grunted in response and we sat in silence until a stagehand came to tell him his set was starting.

"Nice meeting you," Vinny said and I stood to shake his hand again before he strode towards a man in a headset and disappeared through a side door that I hadn't noticed.

Feeling awkward by myself, I decided to go find Scott and Sophie. The last time I'd seen them, they'd been heading back towards the main area of the club so I made my way to the overflowing dance floor hoping to spot them. I watched Vinny take the stage, his hands held high over his head. "Los Angeles!" his voice boomed through the speakers. "It's my twenty-third birthday and I am so amped to get crazy with you tonight."

His face grew serious as he started spinning one of his most popular songs. Now that I knew his true feelings about the evening, it was hard to match my previous levels of excitement. The swaying mob was too densely packed to make out anyone's face, so I gave up my search and took a seat at the bar, ordering a plain club soda before closing out my tab. The same bartender from earlier eyed me as he handed me my receipt. "You're friends with that tall blonde girl, right?"

I lowered my empty glass. "Why?"

The bartender looked nervous. "She's pretty wrecked, I had to cut her off. I'd go check around the bathroom if you're looking for her."

I thanked him and slapped down a ten-dollar tip before rushing off. Pushing through the throngs of people, I followed the faded signs that pointed towards the restrooms as my worry mounted. I shot Scott a text asking if he was with her before rounding the corner of a corridor and tripping over something sprawled out on the floor. Heart pounding as I righted myself, I heard a groan come from the mass that I'd fallen over and I knelt down. Sophie sat slumped against the wall, her eyes closed and her once angelic hairstyle a tangled mess. I brushed a few strands out of her face and gagged when I realized chunks of vomit were caught in her limp curls.

"Sophie," I hissed urgently, shaking her. "Sophie, get up."

She let out another moan and I grabbed her shoulders so she wouldn't tip over onto the hallway's stained carpet. "Hey," a gruff voice came from behind me, and I turned to see a towering security guard frowning down at us. "Is she okay?"

I searched for a lie, hoping that he didn't recognize Sophie. "Her feet were hurting so she wanted to sit down."

The bouncer gave me a look. "Well, she can't sit here. And if she can't walk, you're both going to have to leave."

"Right," I said to him as I wrapped my arms around Sophie's thin frame and pulled her to her feet. "Sophie," I whispered as she teetered. "You're embarrassing yourself, pull it together."

Her head moved in what looked like a nod and I draped one of her arms around my shoulders as I steered her slowly away. Sophie leaned heavily into me as she stumbled along to keep up. Moving out of the bouncer's line of sight, I was flooded with relief when I saw a familiar red glow come from a door a few yards away.

The man guarding Vinny's party opened the door wordlessly when he saw Sophie, pity in his eyes. "Oh, Soph. I'll get her water," he promised as I led her to the couch that I'd been sitting on earlier.

As I waited for the man to return, I sent Scott another text, hoping that he wasn't too distracted by his new female friend to check his phone. Nearly ten minutes had passed before the door flung open and both Scott and the bouncer hurried in, the latter handing me a sealed water bottle.

"Dude," Scott breathed as I tried to coax Sophie into taking a sip. "I swear, she was fine when I went to dance with Nadia. I wouldn't have left her if she'd been this messed up."

"It's not your fault," I muttered as water dribbled out of Sophie's mouth.

Sophie and I continued this cycle of me forcing her to drink and her spitting the water out until the pounding bass from Vinny's set finally faded and the crowd cheered one last time. Moments later, the performer strolled into the room and his guests promptly began filing back in. Excited chattering gave way to an eruption of gasps and murmurs when they noticed Sophie. Vinny was at my side in six long steps.

"Get her out of here," he said, an edge to his voice.

"But she's your friend," I started and he shook his head.

"Just get her out. I can't deal with this right now."

Stunned by his sudden coldness, I nodded and beckoned Scott over to help me hoist Sophie up. She'd fallen asleep and whimpered as we each took one of her arms and led her past scornful stares. The bouncer who'd brought her water stopped me when we reached him. "There's a bunch of plain clothes hanging around up front. I'll radio the guy guarding the back door so you can take her through the alley."

As promised, there was a man waiting to let us out through the side exit when we arrived. He asked us to get Sophie home safely and I wondered how often she came to this club for so many of the workers to know and look out for her.

"Stay here," Scott said after we'd propped Sophie up against a wall. "I'll go get a cab."

He jogged off and I sighed, gripping Sophie's shoulder to keep her from sinking to the ground. A gust of wind passed over us and Sophie began to shiver, her teeth chattering violently. Part of me hoped that the cold air would help snap her out of her stupor but I instinctively stood closer to her when I felt goosebumps forming on her skin.

"Rich..."

"What was that?" I asked.

Silence. An ambulance's sirens had picked up and I could hear someone shouting unintelligibly from the next street over. An engine rattled near the mouth of the alley and I looked up, hoping to see Scott with a taxi. Yet, even from my place in the shadows, I could tell the boxy vehicle that stopped wasn't a cab. I caught a glimpse of a white baseball cap as the driver got out, lowering something around his neck. Another man exited from the passenger's side and the two began speaking in low voices as they made their way towards where Sophie and I stood.

"You think the tip's good?"

"I got the call straight from..."

I couldn't make out what they were saying over the wind as it lifted bits of garbage strewn alongside our feet and noisily sent them skimming along the concrete like urban tumbleweed. The men drew nearer, stepping into the stream of one of the alley's dull orange lights and I caught the glint of metal. As the identical cameras they wore were illuminated, Sophie coughed gently and I turned to her, panic sinking in. I didn't think they'd noticed us yet, but something told me that Sophie was in for the worst photo shoot of her life when they did. I pulled her to my chest, cradling her head so that her face was buried in the crook of my neck. I patted her hair in what I hoped looked like an affectionate gesture as I tried to ignore the faint scent of vomit that wafted into my nostrils with each stroke.

"Call your friend before we get mugged," one of the men said. "This lens alone could feed a family of junkies for a week."

"Got it."

The men stopped near the back door of the club and I saw the pale green glow of a cell phone as the shorter of the two placed the call. The added light illuminated the Brooklyn Dodgers logo on the second man's baseball cap as he turned to look in my direction. Our eyes met.

"Hey," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. The man in the hat studied me suspiciously while the other let out a startled sound.

"Who's there?"

"Just some punk kid," Baseball cap muttered. We locked eyes again and an eerie feeling settled over me. A look of vague recognition dawned on his face and he smiled. In the orange lighting of the alley's lamps, the effect was ominous. "Have a nice night?"

"Great, thanks."

He lifted his chin slightly. "You should get your girl home."

"I'm trying to."

Baseball cap chuckled and glanced towards the club's back door as it opened, following his colleague inside. The sound of the heavy wood slamming shut behind them echoed so loudly that it drowned out the sound of the cab idling on the cross street. Scott hopped out and hurried towards us, his brows furrowed.

"Who were those guys?" he asked, looping an arm around Sophie and helping me lead her to the waiting car.

"I don't know," I replied, thinking back to when I first met Sophie. The man who had spoken to me tonight had been wearing the same hat then, I was almost sure of it. "I think they're paparazzi."

"Weak." Scott shook his head in disgust as we guided the blonde into the backseat.

She was mumbling again, the same word over and over: "Rich, rich, rich." Scott and I exchanged glances and the cabbie turned around to give us a stern look through the protective plexi-glass.

"Is she sick? I do not take her," he said with a thick accent that I couldn't place.

"Hey, man." Scott smiled in his usual soothing manner. "Add on another twenty for insurance." The cabbie grunted and Scott handed him the money before asking me, "Do you have her address?"

I shook my head. "No clue."

"Great. Shouldn't you have that info memorized, seeing as you're her agent and all?"

"I'm not her agent," I retorted. "I'm her handler."

Scott snorted and we watched Sophie curl into ball. After a beat, Scott said, "Checking her into a hotel is definitely out. You're going to have to take her home."

"Why can't you take her home? You two seemed to get along well."

"Because it's your job to handle her."

I couldn't argue with that, so with a sigh, I clapped Scott on the back. "Thanks for helping me out tonight. I owe you."

"I'll add it to your tab," Scott said with a wry grin.

"You can crash at my place if you want," I offered. "I'll drive you back to campus in the morning."

"Nah, it's cool. I have a group project meeting at nine in the morning, can you believe those jokers?" He rolled his eyes and then said seriously, "Text me if anything happens, okay?"

I nodded and slid into the front seat of the taxicab, giving the disgruntled driver the address of my modest apartment. He sped off and I waved at Scott, casting a backwards glance at the paparazzo's parked car as it faded into the distance.

------------------------------------

I'd ended up owing the cabbie an extra fifty bucks thanks to the puddle of puke that Sophie graciously left behind. Fortunately, she'd regained the motor control necessary to wobble up the stairs to my place, though the number of times that I had to catch her as she stumbled and the growing soreness in my arms made me regret not going to the gym more during summer.

I led Sophie to the couch in my living room and set a trash bin down on the floor next to her. I didn't have a spare blanket, so I grabbed an old beach towel from my closet and spread it over her, hoping it would do-not that she seemed to mind. She was out cold before I'd even turned off the lights and retreated to my room.

I set my phone down on my bedside table as I undressed, making a mental note to burn every item of clothing that Sophie had touched. I was about to climb into bed when the screen of my phone lit up, displaying a number that I didn't recognize.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey, uh, is this Parker?" a nasally voice asked.

"Yeah, who's this?"

"Uh, it's V-it's Vinny."

"How'd you get my number?" I demanded.

"I, uh, this is Sophie's phone, you know? She left it at the club so I grabbed it for her."

"Oh," I said, remembering that my cell phone number had been on the business card that I'd given her. "Thanks, I'll let her know."

"Wait!" Vinny cried, and I let my finger hover over the end call button. "Is Sophie, I mean, she's okay, right?"

"Do you care?" I asked sarcastically. "You didn't seem to have a problem letting her go off with two random guys."

"I told you, I knew you were chill-"

"Are you an idiot?" I blurted. I felt my face grow warm when he didn't respond. "Sorry-"

"No, you're right," he interrupted. "But that's why I needed you to get her out of the club when you did."

"Huh?"

Another pause. "No one saw her when you were leaving?"

"I don't think so." Vinny let out a sigh of what sounded like relief and I went on, "At least I hope not. I saw two guys coming in with cameras; it sounded like someone tipped them off that you guys were at the club."

A seemingly endless stretch of silence followed and I wondered if he'd hung up on me. "Hello? Vinny?"

"I did."

"Did what?"

"I called the guys-the paparazzi."

"On yourself?" I asked incredulously. "Why would you do that?"

"It happens all the time, you know? Publicity, or whatever."

"But you've had sold out shows for months," I protested, trying to understand why anyone would willingly subject themselves to the terror that I experienced the day I dove into Sophie's car. "And magazine covers."

"It's hard to explain, man. I know it sounds shady but ask Sophie-she used to do the same thing before things got weird."

"So you were trying to protect her earlier? Why didn't you just tell us what was going on?"

Vinny groaned. "Come on, man, it's cool if the paparazzi show up spontaneously at your party but if people know it's a set up, that's totally lame."

"Isn't it pretty lame either way?"

"I guess it is."

Neither of us said anything until Vinny cleared his throat. "So she's good, right?"

"She's fine." I said, sitting down on the edge of my bed and running a hand through my hair. I had a feeling that Sophie would be anything but fine if she knew that her best friend had almost screwed her over for a chance to be featured in a tabloid.

"I'll come get her in the morning. Where are you guys at?"

I recited my address and then asked, "Is that it?"

"Yeah. Well, actually, thank you for-"

"I didn't do anything for you." I said flatly.

"I know, but she probably won't say it so I'm doing it for her," Vinny replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I switched my phone to silent as I hung up, falling backwards onto my bed and staring unfocusedly at the ceiling. The last thought I had before giving into sleep was of the man in the baseball cap. I wanted to believe that running into him again was a coincidence, but the predatory way he'd smiled at me was like a Great White taunting its prey. And if I'd learned anything from watching Jaws and every one of its sequels, it was that there's no escaping a hungry shark.