Alyssa hurried down the hall, doing her best
to ignore the roars of the crowd. She hadn't much time,
but knew she had to get her job done. And finally she heard
it. The unmistakable titters of The Backstreet dancers.
"Oh that's not what I heard" said Lindsay, as usual
gossiping about the latest hot topic.
"Oh really, what did you hear?" Lou asked lifting her leg to
her head as she did her warm ups.
Lindsay was about to answer when she noticed Alyssa standing
infront of them
"Can we help you?" she said snottily, a little annoyed by the eavesdropper.
Alyssa forced a fraud smile. "Do you know where Tori is?" she asked,
thankful she hadn't forgotten the other girl's name.
"I'm right here"
Alyssa turned to face a girl with blond hair and dark
eyes
"You're Tori?" she asked, approaching her.
"Yes, I am" she said a little hostile. What did she want?
"I would like a word with you" Alyssa said
Tori eyed her suspiciously "Sure"
"Alone" Alyssa added pertinently
Lou and Lindsay rolled their eyes and left with out a peep.
"What do you want?" Tori asked roughly.
Alyssa wanted to smack her so badly,
but refrained herself. She had to swallow her pride for a change. "I'm going to
get straight to the point" she said, "I heard rumors about you seeing Brian with
another woman"
Tori's face grew pale. No one had ever actually been able to trace a rumor back to her. She wanted to deny it, but Alyssa's
eyes told her that she’d be able to see right through her.
"Yes. Some short redhead chick" Tori told her.
"When was this?" Alyssa asked.
Tori thought a while "I think it was the night of that
celebrity party." She saw that Alyssa was about to ask something yet again, so instead of letting her open her mouth to spew out another batch of questions, she decided to save her the trouble.
"Look, this is what happened. I heard loud voices in the hall, so I stepped out to see what was going on. The I spotted Brian chatting up some girl who just upped and kissed him”
"Did he kiss her back?" Alyssa questioned urgently.
Tori smiled "Oh yeah"
With out even thanking her, Alyssa stormed off in disgust. She was hoping that it was all just some malicious rumor, but there was no denying it now. As Eli’s friend, Alyssa knew that her duty was to protect her from getting hurt. After all, she had been through more than enough. Deep in thought, she failed to notice a door open right in front of her.
"Ouch" she cried, dropping to the floor and clutching her nose and mouth.
"Oh fuck, I'm so sorry" apologized A.J, reaching out his hand to help her
up.
Alyssa pulled her arm away from him and stood up without assistance before continuing down the hall.
'What's wrong with that girl?' A.J thought as her silhouette
disappeared. It was obvious that she was bitching
him, but why? Normally he wouldn't care, but something about
those long slender legs, that enticing curvaceous body and those
mesmerizing emerald eyes...
He sighed. Why bother asking himself? He reached into his
pocket to take out his cell . It was time to check up on
Amanda.
**Meanwhile**
"When are we going to have your article Miss. Scalis"
"Soon! I've been very busy and I haven't had much time to
talk to the bands" Annie said to her boss, Mr. Lee
"What do you have so far?" Mr.Lee was Annie's journalism teacher's brother, and it was thanks to this connection that she had scored a job at his newspaper.
Annie looked through her notes "I have a review of the show
and a few tidbits about their opening acts. I’ll also have the opportunity to interview them…"
M. Lee rolled his eyes "Annie, anyone could write that king of rubbish" he interrupted.
Annie's brow furrowed "What do you mean?"
"Young lady, you are touring with these bands!
You spend every waking moment in their presence! You are living the dream of every journalist! If you can't appreciate this once in a lifetime chance handed to you in a silver-platter, then I'm afraid you won't make it in this business"
Annie winced as the receiver on the other end was brutally slammed down. Sighing, she banged her head on the table. Writing was her passion. She needed and wanted this gig!
"Hey sis" Michael bellowed as he walked in on her.
"What's up?"
"Oh, not much" Annie lied, dropping her pen on the table
"Why aren't you with Laurel?"
Michael let a small object drop on the table
"She asked me if I could bring in this roll of film to get
developed. Thought I'd ask you"
"You're all too kind" Annie snorted sarcastically "When the
hell do you want me to get this done?"
Michael shrugged "Dunno. You said that you'd be going out to
town during the concert tonight. You can drop it off at one of those one-hour photo places"
"Yeah, whatever" Annie grumbled, getting up and throwing the
film in her bag "I need some fresh air anyway."
"Thanks sis" Michael said before running back to the girls
dressing room.
With a groan, Annie grabbed her jacket and
handbag. Still pondering what she should write her editorial on, she left for the nearest mall.
**Later**
After the girl’s performance, Dawn beckoned them all to join her in
Eli’s dressing room.
"Girls, we have a lot of work ahead" she chimed happily. It
had taken her a while to get all of this organized.
"Next week, we'll be in New York City."
"Felicity, your song is doing wonders on the radio, but
you need MTV ! So while we're in NYC, you'll
be shooting a video for 'All Over You' "
I grimaced "What? But that hasn't been released yet. The
only song that's been getting air play is 'All This Time' "
"You need to come out with a bang. 'All Over You' is catchy
and upbeat and your vocals on it will insure your respect
from the get go" she said with more certainty that I'd ever
seen from her.
"What about us?" Naila interjected, upset that her group was
being neglected.
Miss Miller smiled "I've also arranged your video shoot for
'What I Need'. They both will be taking place in the same
hangar, only on separate sets. It's a lot less time
consuming this way"
Laurel and Kristy exchanged happy grins. They'd dreamed of
this all their lives.
"What's the concept?" Alyssa questioned.
Miss Miller shrugged her shoulders "I don't believe that has
been decided yet"
Alyssa's mind immediately went into overdrive.
"But that's not all" Miss Miller boasted "You will also be
making your very first television appearances"
The girls’ jaws dropped as she continued
"Angel will be appearing on Rosie O'Donnel and REFLECTION on
Regis & Kathie Lee."
"Awesome!" Laurel screamed.
Miss Miller nodded "Oh, and try to think of some 'cute'
anecdotes to share. Talk shows eat that stuff up. You’ll have them in the palm of your hand"
"Will do" Kristy saluted as Miss Miller left the room.
"Oh my god, this is awesome" Laurel yelped as she jumped up and
down
"This is really happening, really!!"
I smiled at her but for some reason couldn’t echo the excitement around me. I was being ungrateful when I had everything to be thankful for. I made a mistake with Brian. So what? It's not as if Nick and I wanted to sleep together. We were drunk… But I'd have to make myself up to Brian, plain and simple.
**Meanwhile**
Brian trotted around stage with a goofy beam entertaining
the vast crowd with his angelic voice. He
loved performing and would always get a rush from it
"I can't control it anymore, I've never felt like this
before" he sang happily into the mike.
Tonight just felt right for some reason, and he was greatly
enjoying himself. He still felt awful about what happened
with Becca, but it was a simple mistake. He loved Felicity,
and since she never found out about what had happened, all
he had to do now was compensate for his error.
"Uh huh, Uh huh, all the way" sang A.J flirting with a
pretty blonde in the audience.
It came naturally to him, but inside he was still pining
over Amanda. He blamed himself for what had happened. He
should have been there for her instead of being with
some other girl. Some other girl! Was Alyssa just some other girl?
Kevin pranced around smiling "Cuz baby I see only you" the words soared from him with more passion than he'd ever
experienced. Could he be falling in love?
"Can't see the world I'm walking through" was exactly what
Nick was feeling. Shit, why the hell couldn't he just get on
with his life and forget about Eli for a fraction of a
second? She was blinding him from the world.
"Kinda get me go crazy" Howie sang, still going insane over
Dawn. She was hiding something, and what ever it was, it
wasn't good.
**A Bit Later**
Annie dragged her feet through the empty mall deep in
thought. She had no idea what to write for her article.
Aside from a review, she had nothing. She checked her watch:
9:50 PM
The concert would be over soon, and she needed to get back.
'Oh crap, the pictures' she remembered. She ran back to the
photo shop, paid, and called a cab.
On her way back to the arena, she decided to take a look at
what she had developed.
They seemed interesting. A picture of REFLECTION dressed up
for a night out. Angel dancing with Brian; Kristy dancing
with Nick Lachey; Kevin talking to Naila; Jennifer Lopez'
'muy grande' ass, and then... Annie gasped. She took a good, long look at
the picture, assuring that what she was seeing wasn't an illusion. "Bingo".
**Later**
"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE" Tyson, one of the Boys body guards shouted, pushing them onto their buses.
Nick stumbled up the stairs right to the fridge. He was
starving.
"We know where your heart lies" A.J joked punching him
playfully in the arm.
"I didn't eat all fucking day, so lay off" Nick shot back
his mouth full of pizza.
Howie came between the two "Hey... peace" he said shoving
two fingers in each of their faces "No arguing tonight, I'm
pooped"
"We weren't arguing D" said A.J already taking a prudent
step back "Nicky boy's just a little insecure about his gut"
"And his butt" came a rhyming voice from behind and slapping him
right on the ass.
"Hey!" Nick scram, grabbing his rear-end "That's private property
man. No touching!"
Brian laughed "I'm going to have to run my hand through
disinfectant now"
"What is this, 'gang up on Nick night'?" Nick grumbled,
pushing his way through his friends to his bunk.
A.J and Brian chuckled a bit when they felt the engine start
"I hate sleeping on the bus" A.J complained taking a seat in
the chair next to the window
"It's so freakin' bumpy"
"We've been down bumpier roads before" Brian said on a metaphorically, referring what he knew his friend was actually feeling "But we've
always pulled through"
A.J smiled "Man, I really wasn't thinking about her. But
thanks for the support, you great big cheese ball"
"We're always here for you" said Kevin patting
A.J on the shoulder as he made his way to the entertainment
room. He turned on the light to watch a little T.V when he
saw someone sitting on the couch
"Hey baby" Naila smiled patting the seat next to her
"Thought I'd pay you a visit"
Kevin grinned "How thoughtful"
He sat down at her side. Naila began to massage his
shoulders
"You're so tense" she whispered in his ear.
Kevin stifled a moan at the feel of her sweet breath and the
touch of her soft hands.
"Does this feel better?" Naila murmured seductively, running
her hands up his shirt, the heat of his body making herstingle.
Without warning, Kevin turned around, pushed her back and engulfed
her lips in his own.
She was beautiful, she was smart, she was irresistible, and
she was all his.
**Meanwhile**
Brian soon got bored of gazing vacantly out at the stars,
and decided to call it an early night. He pulled the curtains open and hopped into his bunk.
"Oww!"
Brian bolted up, banging his head on the top of his bunk.
"Geez Brian, open your eyes before you jump on
people" I whined, inching closer to the security of the wall.
"Eli!" Brian exclaimed "What are you doing here? You scared
the hell out of me!"
I let out a breath and tucked my now messy hair behind my ears.
"I thought I'd surprise you"
"Well it worked" Brian exhaled placing a hand over his
chest.
We stayed in awkward silence for what seemed like eternity.
This was the first time we'd really spoken since the
'incident'. Maybe sneaking onto the bus wasn't such a great
idea after all.
"I missed you" I confessed breaking the tranquility of the
situation.
Brian grinned "So did I. I'm sorry about what happened. I
didn't want you to think I didn't, um" this was quite inept
"Well, that I didn't want you"
"Yeah" I spoke softly, shyly lowering my eyes to my hands. Unwanted?
Did he really think that's what I felt? Sluttish would be more
like it.
"Eli I..."
"Shhhh" I hushed, placing my finger over his lips "Let's
just sleep, Ok?"
Brian nodded and I lay down trying to take up as little
space as possible. I felt his arms wrap around my shaking
body, bliss creeping into my heart. I felt at peace with
him, and soon fell in to a blessed sleep.
