"I just don't think we should wait any longer, Jackie," Nico says, for at least the hundredth time, "We could fly to Vegas & be married like that: no Bill, no MTV." Before the story came out in WhooNoo, informing the world Jackie was having his baby, he & Bill almost had her halfway to the altar. Once the story came out, a horrid story that implied all kinds of untruths about their lifestyle, Jackie became defiant, refusing to get married just to please Bill & the stupid media. "I still want to get married, Nico," she says, "But not like this. I don't want it to look like I caved into pressure."

"I don't understand why you care so much what people think about us, Jacklyn," Nico sighs, "If you don't care about the band's image & all that shit Bill cares about, then why do you care what they think about you & me?" She never answers that question, she just sighs & shakes her head.

They've done a small tour through a few states, Nico's first experience playing large venues. And now they're back in Malibu, Bill calling every hour, angry that they didn't marry up before the story came out, even angrier that they don't have any new material to release now while there is so much free media attention on the band. But Jackie is emotional and unable to focus on anything for very long. So Bill has turned to Nico. "I need you to be the band's face right now, Nico, I need you out there smiling & looking pretty & telling everyone you love Jackie & you're writing songs & everything is fine." Everything would be fine, Nico thinks, if he & Jackie could be left alone long enough to get this family thing really happening. But Nico has a contract, and that means photo shoots & interviews & bullshit, like Bill said, he's the band's face. He hasn't the time, right now to do much more than kiss her goodbye & hope she won't spend the day working herself into an emotional state, worrying what he's up to while he's out promoting their band.

Bill set up a photo shoot for a teen magazine for Nico, pushing the young guitarist out into the spotlight. "You're good press," Bill told him over the phone, "I want your face in every possible place we can put it." For just a moment, a brief flash, Nico envies Matt: it must be so much easier to be the ugly one, he thinks. You get to have some privacy. No one in the media cares that Matt's got a pregnant girlfriend, no one is telling lies on TV about his life with Stacey.

The teen magazine is a subsidiary of WhooNoo, and Monica, the editor of WhooNoo, has come to the studio to talk with Nico. It was not so long ago this woman was paying him to service her in a Sunset Strip boutique dressing room, but that kind of thing doesn't make Nico uncomfortable at all. That was then, and now that he's on his way to superstardom, everything is different. He's not particularly happy with her breaking the story about Jackie's pregnancy, and tells her he doesn't want to talk to her. She laughs, an earthy, gloating chuckle, and says, "Nico, really, you know I couldn't just sit on a story like that...Livin' Large would have broken it if we didn't. And they're the ones who've been painting Jackie as some kind of Courtney Love: my magazine has been relatively softball. You know how this busines is Nico, you have to look out for yourself." She goes on further, not pausing to let him respond, telling him she wants to meet him for lunch at the Beverly Hills Casa Linda next week for a one on one interview.

Nico understands her meaning, but pretends to take her literally. "You have to set that up with the record company, Monica," he says, "I can't schedule my own interviews like that, you should know that." She gives him & evil glare, her lips curled back in a snarl, "Yes, of course," she says, "I'll do that." She walks away angrily, leaving Nico with the sinking feeling that this is going to come back to haunt him.