Smashed Into You

Chapter 9: PARALLEL WAY OF THINKING?

“NEXT QUESTION! Andrew from PopSugar!” the publicist shouted.

“Hello Jessica and Phillip. Have you always been in contact after Idol or did you just reconnect?”

“We’ve been really busy the past few years so it was hard to consistently communicate.” She calmly replied. She’s such a pro at this. “But it’s really good to see Phillip again.”

“So you two just recently got together? And now you’re sorta dating?”

“We’ve been friends for, I don’t know, so long, I don’t think there’s anything wrong if we hung out. Last question for real…”

“Phillip, how do you feel about Jessica?”

He smiled. He wanted to shout his true emotions but knew he had to play it safe. “I’m happy. I’m just really happy right now.” He replied. Jessica smiled at him.

“What happened in Chula Vista two weeks ago, Jess and PP?”

“OKAY. Thanks guys for the questions, hope this somehow cleared issues.” Her publicist said.

“Maybe we could focus on the tour now? Fulfill your part of the deal?” She joked.

---

Jessica’s senior publicist, Phoebe, scattered photos on the coffee table.

They were photos from the fight in the Mexican Restaurant and the incident a while ago during the press conference.

“Are you happy now, Jessica?” Kendall asked. “I’m really disappointed in you.”

Jessica threw her arms in the air as an act of resignation. “Okay. Why are you blaming this one on me? I was not the one who stormed in the room and caused a scene.”

“It was bound to happen, Jay!” Kendall shouted. “I seriously do not know how to fix your mess anymore.”

“Bound to happen, and my mess? Are you serious, Kendall?”

Her manager stood up. “I already warned you weeks ago that Phillips was bad news! But you still agreed to meet him in San Diego! You even talked to him today at the restaurant when we agreed you would avoid him! Jessica, is my opinion not important to you anymore? I’m just looking out for you!”

She kept quiet. She knew Kendall was just looking out for her but he did not have to get mad. He was the one who helped her get through the Mexican restaurant brouhaha by telling her to take a much-needed vacation with DeAndre in Hawaii. She needed to get away from Hollywood. DeAndre knew Hawaii so well and took her to places that were paparazzi-free. She had a really good time with her best friend and felt relaxed all throughout that week. After she got back, Kendall and her other publicist asked her to just act normally and pretend that the incident with Phillip in Chula Vista never happened. They wanted her to ignore it and any questions related to that. They even asked to record her part of the Idol song earlier so they wouldn’t have to meet.

“Now everyone will be talking about the two of you… and what good will that have on your career? NOTHING! What good will it bring to his? EVERYTHING! Look at the Billboard charts. He overtook you already. He’s number 2 and you’re freakin’ number 4.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Happy with Phillip, still? And guess what, people are not talking about your damn world tour… they’re talking about your possible romance with the guy! It’s the Phillip Phillips Show, Jessica! You’re just a guest star. He is using you to get ahead. Can you please think for a second? Why is he suddenly reaching out to you? And why just after releasing his single? Perfect timing, much? You’re basically one of the most popular stars right now and he knew you ever since that show. If he was sincere about his feelings for you he would have contacted you ages ago!”