Oreos
for Breakfast: Chapter One
By The Paperbag Princess and The
Pumpkin Coach
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5
It was just like high school all over again. I was primping in the bathroom and James was sprawled out on my bed, reading gossip magazines and telling me that I needed to put on more makeup and that my outfit made me look fat.
"Jesus, James! I don't know why I'm even letting you be here. It's not like this 'Frank' is going to show. When do Darien and Jeremy pop up out of the wardrobe?" I stood there in the doorway to the bathroom with one hand on my hip brushing my teeth.
I'd been trying to get him to spill it for the last hour, but it wasn't working. Either they left him out of the plan knowing he couldn't keep a secret or someone had replaced my beloved James with a straight man who hated to gossip. I spit out my toothpaste and walked over to him, pressing the back of my hand against his forehead.
"Hmmm… no fever. Tell me, what did you do with my best friend?"
He pulled me down onto the bed and we erupted in a fit of giggles. In no time I was laughing so hard I couldn't catch my breath and tears were streaming down my face. It felt like a lifetime since I'd laughed this hard with James.
The last year had been hell. Pure hell. First I up and leave him and the band to follow Damon to bloody London only to get there and find out I was playing second flute to a one night stand about to give birth to his daughter. I shuddered at the memory. It was as clear as this morning, walking into Damon's kitchen after shopping with Em at the market and seeing her standing in front of him, as he held Missy to his chest. He didn't know I was there, didn't know I saw his entire face melt as he gooned over his daughter.
I rolled over to face James, "I can't believe I almost lost all of this for him."
James was my best friend since I was 11. I didn't have to explain anything to him. He brushed the hair gently out of my face with the back of his hand and smiled, "Rachel, I wouldn't have let you get away. Never."
I smiled at him and let him pull me into a bear hug. I wiped my eyes. Fuck. If this 'Frank' did show up, I was in a right state now.
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. I looked at James and he shrieked like the Queen he was. "Jesus!" I screamed, jumping off the bed. Calm down Rache, it's probably just Jeremy or Darien. Maybe it was Cute Boy. The image of him flashed through my mind, but it was quickly replaced with Nick's face. Okay, I secretly wanted to be Queen for a Day tonight and be going to the Backstreet Boy concert where I'd get a private audience with the King Boy Toy and be the coolest girl in the 6th grade. What girl doesn't want that?
I motioned for James to get the door and slipped back into the bathroom. Staring at my reflection, I heard a familiar voice. Not Jeremy. Not Darien. Definitely not Cute Boy. Shit. Fuckfuckfuckfuck.
I bent over, fluffing my hair with my fingers and then whipping my head back up, striking a rock pose in the mirror. Who the hell was I kidding? I quickly put on some dark lipstick and grabbed my leather jacket off the bed as I went to join James and Frank at the door.
"Hey, Frank" I smiled at him, raising an eyebrow.
He grinned at me, "You have no idea what a long day it's been ma'am."
He had the most adorable Texas twang in his voice and called me ma'am. Is this the same guy that was going to body check me because I wanted to get a soda out of the vending machine on the boys' floor?
Frank glanced down quickly and stammered, "We're late. They go on at 9:00 and Nick wants to introduce you to the fellas before the meet and greet."
"Meet and greet? Is that like grin and grope the groupies?" I glanced over at James who laughed. Frank didn't. He cleared his throat and opened the door. Oops. Watch the mouth, Rachel. You aren't in Kansas anymore.
I kissed James on the cheek and he told me to behave. As if.
Frank was quiet during the 20-minute ride to the venue. He had brought a regular car. Not a limo or a helicopter or private jet. I started to tease him about it, but he kept his eyes on the road, so I turned on the radio, flipping through stations until he glanced over at me.
"Sorry… What kind of music do you like?" He rolled his eyes at me and I sighed. "Okay, you don't want to talk, I get it. Nick swear you to silence or something?"
"I'll let him do that talking, if you don't mind. My job was to come collect you. End of story."
Okay. This was gonna be fun!
I glanced down at my watch for the hundredth time and AJ threw the b-ball at me, "One on one?"
I grinned at him, "Do you think she'll come?" I questioned as I threw the ball over his head and made the basket. I know I was being like a lovesick teenager, but I couldn't help it. I was getting obsessed. After AJ kicked me out of his room, I fired up my laptop and spent half the night looking for information about her on-line. I'd seen some of our sites and knew how the fans had access to everything. Maybe Sudden Silence had fans like that, too. Hell, if I hadn't found anything, I would have called BJ and flown her to Pittsburgh to teach me how to build a web page so I could start my own shrine.
I heard the door behind me close and I turned around. There she was! I could barely contain my excitement and AJ could tell. He walked in front of me, smiling at her and giving her a big hug.
"Vending machine girl!" He exclaimed, "Great to see you. So glad you could come and see our little show. Have you been a fan long?"
She laughed at him, biting down on her lower lip like she was nervous. Why was she nervous? I was the one who was putting myself out on a limb here. "Well, you know," she teased back, "I'm a huge fan. I just use that 'I'm in my own band and don't follow pop music' persona to get in good with the boy bands. Works like a charm." She walked a few steps away from him before turning on her heel and staring him down, "You should see the notches on my bedpost, dear."
God, she just exuded sex, didn't she? She was wearing the black leather pants I'd seen her in last night and a faded t-shirt and was holding a leather jacket in one hand. I felt my dick move in my pants and quickly held the basketball lower. Get a grip, Carter! Think about something else. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. There… better.
She turned and continued joking with AJ. They were laughing like they'd known one another for years. I was immediately jealous. When their sparing died down, she gave me a questioning look over AJ's head. Well, Carter, you're on.
"Rachel!" I was at her side in a moment, attempting to act as cool as AJ. I beamed down at her, flashing her my trademark Carter smile. "I'm glad Frank got you to come… Good one, Frank." I called over to Frank and he ignored me. I shrugged him off and led her into the backstage area.
"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any more!" It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself. I'm sure my mouth was hanging open as we walked through the loading dock. I counted 20 trucks and at least 8 buses. Tour buses. I thought about our little van that'd been to nearly every city in the country, hauling a dilapidated trailer with our equipment.
Nick smiled at me as he pointed out what some of the trucks were carrying. AJ corrected him more than once and I think he blushed. He fidgeted with the basketball in his hands, dribbling it as we walked and throwing it against the gig boxes every few feet.
After walking a while we came to a lounge area that was sectioned off by black curtains. As we entered, I saw the familiar faces of his band mates. Oh god, I was going to get all their names wrong, wasn't I? That other blond one… what was his name? Billy. Brad. Something with a "B," I think. He was the boring one, James would say.
We walked in to choruses of "dawg!" and "bro!" where was I, a Snoop Doggy Dog video? I didn't know white boys used those expressions. I had to stifle a laugh.
Nick was rambling on about their show and I had to admit that I just liked to watch the light play against the highlights in his hair. At one point I found myself lost in thoughts of how blue his eyes were. God, shake it off, Rache. The little one was not interested in me like that… hell, this was Nick Carter, he could have - and probably would later - any one of the gorgeous groupies I'd seen at his hotel the other morning. Remember, Dorothy, you are definitely going to wake up back in Kansas.
Of course, he was going on and on about himself. His band. His show. His tour. I almost had to stifle a yawn once I started listening to him. The boy could talk.
Somewhere along the way he'd lost his basketball and suddenly one of the others threw another at him, yelling, "think fast!" Not fast enough, though, he completely missed it and I caught it with one hand. I looked back at the blond who threw it. Brad? I think that was it. He looked embarrassed, "Sorry!" He called and I shrugged.
"Want it back?" I yelled and he started to run over to me to retrieve it. I held up my hand to stop him. "Think I can make it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. One of my favorite pastimes was making boys rethink what they thought about me. This was definitely a group that believed girls were girly and couldn't hit a shot from behind the free throw line.
I looked over at the basket and bounced the ball once, then threw it. Perfect.
"Nothin' but net!" Exclaimed the tall brunette in the corner. Kyle? I think he was the "K." He was definitely the really gorgeous one. Damn. Yes. He had perfect cheekbones. How old was he? He had to be more my age.
"She's a keeper, Nicky!" Called the short one from the couch. No clue about him. Was he the boring one or the shy sensitive one?
Nick turned around to me, a surprised look on his face, "You're my perfect girl! Where'd you learn to do that?"
"You didn't know I was a professional ball player on my days off?" I grinned. "I grew up with two brothers… had to know how to play!"
The blond retrieved the ball and threw it back at me. I dribbled around Nick and laid it up past him. He held out his hand, "I'm Brian, by the way."
Brian…That was it! I grinned at him and nodded then turned to look back at Nick and practically ran into him. He was standing right behind me. He had a good 9 or 10 inches on me. Taller than James maybe. "What are you, 6'4"?"
He looked down at me, "6'2" actually. Well, depends on the shoes probably." He stared down at his feet for a moment, "Nah, 6'2" today." He looked over at Brian, who passed him the ball as if on cue. Nick made the jump shot and grinned at me, "Didn't want you to think I couldn't play. That would damage my rep!"
"Yeah, Nick's got a rep to protect!" Teased Brian. "What are we, 0 for 6 or is it 7? The boy ain't known for his b-ball."
Nick shot Brian a look that I couldn't quite read and then grabbed him into a headlock. I had to jump back as they stumbled into me. Brian was grabbing for Nick's hands and Nick looked up at me with an evil look on his face. They continued their mock fight and the tall one came over to me.
"Since Nick's lost all his manners, I'll introduce myself, I'm Kevin," He smiled down at me. He put an arm around me, leading me away from Nick and Brian who were now wrestling on the floor.
Kevin leaned down to me, "Nick's such a show off."
I laughed, "Well, he's grown up in the limelight, right?"
Kevin rolled his eyes, "That's his excuse, yeah. So he played your CD for us the other day..."
I didn't even hear the rest of Kevin's sentence. I could see his lips moving but all I could hear was that they had all heard my CD. Did they like my music? Did they tell anyone else they liked it? Oh, god what if they all hated it?
"What's so funny?" Kevin was looking down at me. Shit! Pay attention, Rache!
I shook my head, "I'm really sorry… Kevin, right?"
He nodded, slightly amused. Obviously people don't ask him his name all the time.
"Sorry… did you say Nick played Sudden Silence for you? I kinda lost my train of thought after that." I think I blushed and Kevin gave me a warm look. God, his eyes were piercing, weren't they? He wasn't a little boy. Damn.
"Yes. Nick played your CD about 20 times on our way to and from LA last weekend." He leaned down to me and whispered, "He's a little obsessed, if you ask me. You should have heard him when he got back from your gig last night. Bouncing off the walls!"
Just then Nick appeared by my side, dropping himself down onto the couch next to me and leaning his head against the back of the couch, breathing heavy. I rested my hand on his knee and he looked over at me, not moving his head, "Dear, how are you going to dance and sing at the same time if you can't wrestle the shrimp over there?"
She had her hand on my knee! That amazing woman was inches away from me, her hand on my knee and that sparkle in her eye as she teased me about Brian. It took every bit of self-control I possessed not to run my fingers through her hair and lean down to kiss her.
I felt AJ staring at me from across the way and heard him in my head. Play it cool. Don't come on too strong.
"Who was that guy you were hugging last night?"
It was out before I could stop myself. Her eyes widened and she didn't say anything for the longest time.
"What? What guy…?"
"Busted!" Kevin laughed as he got up from the couch. Offering a hand to her, he laid on the charm, "It was great to meet you Rachel, but I'm off to the makeup station." He pointed at me, "Nick, you're next."
Yeah, yeah… go away now dad. I glanced around the room and they were all gone, just a few roadies and Frank standing guard by the entrance. I've just made a complete asshole out of myself and they've left me here to die. Great friends they are!
She smiled and watched Kevin walk out of the room. Then she turned back to me, excited by Kevin of all people! "He's great. He likes our music, said it reminds him of Letters to Cleo. I didn't think anyone remembered them! And you played them our CD! Wow."
She seemed shocked by this. Hadn't I told her how much I loved her show? Certainly I mentioned that it hadn't been out of my CD player for over a week. Or did I? I quickly retraced our steps in my mind the blurted out, "I love your CD. Last night I ordered them all!"
"We only have two." She looked at me questioningly.
I shook my head, "No… one of the sites has all these CD-Rs of live shows. It's pretty cool."
Sites? He looked me up on-line? "I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped out by this fact," I only half-teased.
When 'Long Island' hit, I loved surfing around to see fans' reaction or just what they were saying. For a while we had a few fan sites, mostly page after page of pictures of Jeremy or speculation about which of our songs were about Damon. But when Missy was born and I moved back home, I couldn't bear to read the sites anymore. Suddenly there was all this traffic about how the only reason we were signed to EMI was because I slept with Damon. Overnight I became a conniving man-eater. Of course no one mentioned that Damon had cheated on me, lied to me and then left me to be with his daughter and baby's momma.
After all this time, I can't even say her name, can I? I pushed the thought out of my mind and focused on Nick again. He was telling me all about the sites he'd visited. Luckily he had the attention span of a gnat.
"And then it took forever to load, but it had a link to this other page and that had all these CD-Rs. Had to have Frank over there order them, though."
I smiled, "Can't get your money out of escrow? I could give you a CD, hon."
He laughed, "No… can't use my name."
"Right…" I drawled, considering him for a moment. "How bizarre your life must be… can you ever just order a pizza?"
"That's why I have Frank!"
"So you can order pizza?" I raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled.
"So I can do anything. Without Frank, I can't leave this room. Well… I can…" He glanced at Frank and then looked at the door. "Wanna have some fun?"
"What are you suggesting, Mr. Carter? I'm not one of your groupies," I flirted.
He licked his bottom lip and met my gaze, matching my flirt and raising it by 10. "No, I'm yours!"
He grabbed my hand, pulling me up and we ran out of the room in the opposite direction from Frank. I think I screamed and he shot me as stern a look as he could while trying to negotiate through the maze of black curtains and gig boxes littering our way. I heard Frank yelling behind us, but Nick pulled me into a room and slammed the door.
He leaned over, his back against the door and hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He looked up at me through his blond bangs and I started giggling. He must have heard something because he threw a hand over my mouth to quiet me, then leaned down to my ear, "Be vary vary qwiet…we're hunting wabbits…" giving me his best Elmer Fudd impersonation. His blue eyes sparkled as he tried not to laugh and then there was a pounding on the door.
"NICK! Come on! That shit ain't funny!"
"A very angry Frank?" I questioned.
He nodded solemnly and then tilted his head to the door, "I'm fine, Frank! Just playin'!"
I heard Frank grumble something about there being no way out and then it was quiet.
"So, he goes everywhere you do?"
Nick nodded. "Just about. Well, not there… you know…" He stammered. "But in the venue, at the hotel, between the hotel and venue, to the plane… anywhere that they can get to me."
"The fans?" He nodded again. I pulled myself up on the counter behind me and looked at him, "Boy in the bubble."
"Well, it's a really nice bubble sometimes," he responded, walking over and standing between my legs.
We were eye-to-eye for the first time all night. I wanted to freeze this moment in time. Well, I wanted to rip off most of her clothes, kiss her until she couldn't breathe and freeze that moment in time… but that wasn't going to happen.
I glanced down at my watch as Frank pounded again. "8:30, NICK!"
I rolled my eyes and frowned at her, "I gotta get changed. Frank will show you where you can stand. Just do what he says, it's easier that way."
"Oh and you're such a good role model!" She laughed, tousling my hair quickly before she jumped down onto the floor in front of me. She lost her balance slightly and fell toward me. For a second our bodies touched and she stepped back, embarrassed.
"Umm…" I stammered, "Frank will take good care of you." I opened the door to meet Frank's angry face. "Dude! You found me… just trying to keep you in shape! What if that had been a mob of screaming 6 year olds?"
I glanced back at Rachel as I walked down the hall to the wardrobe room. "I usually stand stage left!"
Frank guided me back through the labyrinth of black curtains toward the stage. Well, I presumed it was the stage. Either that or he was taking me out back to shoot me in the head and I have to say, after the evening I had, it wouldn't have surprised me.
"Here… Do you need earplugs?" He said as he sat me in a chair by the side of the stage, behind in wall of speakers.
I raised an eyebrow, "What do you think?"
"Right… I was there last night. This will be a piece of cake?"
I nodded and he smiled, "Okay. We've got about…." He glanced down at a stopwatch dangling from his laminate pass, "20 minutes. Nick will come up through there and there will be a deafening wall of sound. That's the girls."
I laughed, "They come up from under the stage?"
Frank nodded, pulling back the curtain slightly, he pointed to the front of the stage where another curtain hung from the stage to the floor. I noticed that the stage was a good eight feet off the ground and the front row was another 10 feet back. Of course, no one could see the stage if they were standing right in front of it. And the boys don't have to touch them, either. Good planning.
"Keep the pass around your neck. I'll be busy with Nick underneath, so I can't baby-sit you." He cautioned. I stood up straight and saluted him to indicate my affirmation of his strict orders. He laughed quietly and shook his head. "See you after the show, then."
I sat there for a moment, taking in the stage set. Roadies rushed past me, not even giving me a second glance. I could hear the crowd through the curtain and walked over to peek out. Wow. I didn't know what I expected, but it wasn't this. The stadium was full. Not more than a handful of spare seats. I watched two little girls, no more than 5 or 6, standing in the front row clutching programs and wearing t-shirts that came down past their knees. They were jumping up and down, their mouths moving in time to some Backstreet song. Their moms were turned around talking to other moms behind them.
A tall, pretty blond was sitting inside the barrier in front of the stage. She looked like a model and I could see a pass hanging around her neck. Why wasn't I sitting out there? I could actually see what the fans saw then. I grabbed a roadie as he whizzed past, "How do I get down there?"
He picked up my laminate and inspected it, "You can go anywhere, love." He motioned to the stairs behind us and scurried off.
I walked over to the woman sitting inside the barrier and smiled at her, "Hi… I'm Rachel." I held out my hand and she considered me for a moment.
"AJ's?" She responded, eyeing my laminated pass.
What did she mean? I took a seat next to her. She meant who did I know. I shook my head, "Nick invited me." She nodded and looked over at me again.
"Oh… you're the girl Nick played on the plane! Sure! Kevy was telling me that Nick was hoping you'd come." She immediately warmed to me. "So much better than the last one." She laughed.
Last one? Last what? It's not like I'm his girlfriend - he's a child! I started to explain, but someone called her name.
She glanced behind her and waved to one of the fans, then crouched down behind the barricade. "Does Frank know you're out here? It's pretty brave to sit here with the lights up. Your picture's gonna be everywhere tomorrow."
"You're not serious. No one cares I'm here. Frank just told me to stay out of the way."
She leaned forward, laughing, "Oh honey, you're here because Nick asked you. They all care. One new face and they've already got the back-story figured out! You watch."
One of the girls I had been watching earlier came up behind her. She glanced over to the girl and then back to me, "I'm Kristin, by the way, Kevin's wife." Then she stood up and smiled down at the little girl, accepting her program and magic marker. Kristin signed her name. I looked over my shoulder and there were about 20 girls hovering around the barrier shouting her name. Instinctively, I ducked down in my seat.
And, damn, the hot one's married.
Soon the lights went off and the screams were deafening. I stood there mesmerized by the video effects and when the pyrotechnics started, I think I jumped out of my seat. Kristin leaned over, "Ever seen a Backstreet show?"
My eyes wide, I shook my head, "I play 500 person clubs!"
She smiled at me and pointed to the stage. Five spotlights were pointed on the empty stage then five Backstreet Boys rose up through the trap doors and up and up. They stood 10 feet in the air for at least five minutes, motionless as the wave of sound crashed around them. I'd never heard anything like it.
Once I was over the shock of the sound and light show, I looked up at Nick. I could feel him staring down at me. I couldn't catch my breath for a moment. His boyish blond floppy hair was now all spiky and he didn't look like a 16 year old pretending to be 21. I smiled at him and waved. I don't know why I did that… lost myself in the moment. He was dressed in black leather pants and the most amazing matching black leather trench coat with bright electric blue lining. As they launched into the first number, my mouth fell open. They were good. Really good. I sat motionless, watching them and listening. No way in hell could they hear one another, how were they singing on pitch? I stand 2 feet from Jeremy and we sing off pitch all the time.
Where is she? Frank said he put her on my side. I scanned the side of the stage. Techs, roadies, sound and lighting board… no pretty brunette waiting for me to appear out of my hole in the floor. Did she leave? She couldn't have left!
I looked over at AJ and he motioned in front of him with his head and I followed his gaze. There she was! Did she just wave at me? How cute! I tried not to laugh… this was supposed to be the serious part. But, god, she was gorgeous, wasn't she? I tried to pay attention to the fans, but my eyes kept coming back to her.
After the second song, the boys disappeared, and I looked over at Kristen. "Costume change number one!" she told me.
My eyes widened, "How many are there?"
She considered me and counted them off in her head, "Six. I think. There were last leg of the tour, but they've changed a few things. I still think it's six, though."
Wow. And think, I'd be wearing this to my show tonight. What would Nick think about that… I'd been wearing it all day. Hell, I might not even comb my hair!
We dropped down and I hollered to Frank, "She's not where you said she'd be!"
He looked clueless, "I put her on the side. Damn. Where is she?"
"With Kristin," Kevin interjected. "Nick, it's fine. Kris will keep an eye on her. Just remember there are about 20,000 screaming women out there, not just Rachel."
I stuck out my tongue at him. Always sucking up to the fans, Kevin was!
I pulled on my stupid black shirt and took a towel from Marcia, my wardrobe assistant, "Is my hair a mess? Do we have a mirror down here?"
"Nick!" It was a chorus of four impatient voices. Everyone else was on his mark. I could hear the intro starting and I sprinted to my place beside Howie.
They launched into another fast number and I was amazed at how hard it sounded. I stood up on my toes to see over the lip of the stage to the band. Their guitarist was really good. Actually, the whole band was good. Wonder how much they got paid to make the little boys sound good? Probably more than I'd earn in the next 3 years!
I looked up as Nick moved quickly in time with the others. This was the boy that was out of breath from running 20 feet earlier today? After the song, everyone but Brian disappeared. While he talked to the crowd in true 'hello, Pittsburgh!' fashion, I turned around to look out at the crowd. The arena was packed, probably 10,000 or 20,000 fans. Brian asked the crowd who else they wanted to see. "Kevin? AJ? Howie?" He hesitated a moment, considering. "Nick?"
The place erupted.
"He's the favorite." Kristen hollered at me. Obviously.
Brian disappeared, and AJ came up, looking like a pimp - solid white suit and matching pimp hat. He winked when he saw me giggling at him, and then launched into his little speech. I wondered if it was exactly the same every night, or did they make it up as they went along?
Nick was next, and he had plenty of time to grin down at me while he waited for the screams to subside. Jesus. Where was the hyperactive kid that I'd met in a hotel hallway? He was in a white suit with a long jacket, and I completely understood why they were screaming for him. Hell, I wanted to scream for him and throw teddy bears on the stage.
Maybe it was subliminal messages hidden in the music or something.
He thanked everyone for coming with excellent manners and then got them to scream some more, sinking below the stage to have the one whose name I didn't know come up. Howie! Thankfully he introduced himself, even though I was probably the only person in the arena who didn't know his name.
I sank beneath the stage and leaned against the wall, letting Marcia fuss over me. Yeah, my cuffs weren't buttoned. Whatever.
I could barely talk to the crowd with Rachel's eyes on me like that. She'd flirted with me, but I knew she hadn't taken me seriously. But just now, when I was standing on stage, she was looking at me with definite lust. I knew from lust on the faces of pretty girls.
I was too fucking crushed out. Kevin was going to scream at me again soon if I didn't start looking at someone else in the crowd. But she was so gorgeous, and she was into the show, I could tell. I had been nervous about that, what was a rock chick going to think of our dance numbers and costume changes?
I found myself swaying back and forth in my seat to the sappy ballads and standing to dance during the dance numbers. Nick caught a teddy bear someone threw onstage and immediately tossed it down to me, winking at the same time. God, he was cute. And he was looking at me! I felt like a groupie. Should I have brought him flowers or something to sign?
At one point, they all came to the front of the stage to sat down and be closer to the audience, even though they were still 10 feet away. Nick pushed AJ out of the way and sat right in front of me. He didn't do that on purpose did he? He caught my eye and winked at me, flashing me a toothy grin. He did!
They came back onstage after what must have been their fifth costume change and launched into a song that sounded more like something my band would do. AJ started, sneering into his microphone…
Let's talk about one, baby
You gotta hear me out
Do you really wanna be the last to know
what it's all about
Let's talk about two, you say
He's the essence of your life
But he'll eat you up from inside slow
And then he doesn't wanna know
Where were the nice sappy Backstreet lyrics? I tossed my head back and laughed, must be the jaded Backstreet sound. Nick's break came and he stepped forward, screaming into the microphone and looking down at me. His stare cut right through me:
Let's talk about what he's done
To become your number one
Was it all the promises …
Whatever he sang next was so fast I couldn't catch it. Backstreet meets punk rock!
God, this was a great song. I was already envisioning what it would sound like with Jeremy's thrashing guitar. We'd turn the bass line into a guitar riff. Jeremy could do that. And James would do the keyboard - plug the bass in there. Darien would love the drum part. He'd tear it up!
Frank was in front of me, pulling at my arm. "You have to go!"
I blinked at him for a second, then jumped up. "Shit! I have a show!"
Frank just nodded, a small smile on his face. He pulled me under the stage, and I followed. Kick ass. I was just looking around, there were costumes everywhere and people milling about. "Frank!"
He stopped, looking at me. "What?"
"Can you get me the sheet music to the song they're doing now?"
"No." I felt so sure that was his answer to everything.
"Why not?"
There was sudden chaos as the Boys ran down their little staircase, and Nick caught my arm.
"Like the show?"
"It was awesome! Frank won't let me…" I was body slammed by someone running over to change Nick's clothes, but Frank caught me, pulling me out of the way.
"Frank! Give her whatever she wants!"
Frank rolled his eyes.
Heh. I considered asking for Kevin. That boy could dance.
"Bye, Rachel!" The other four chorused, and I giggled as Frank led me away, blowing kisses. The little one, Howie, he blew a lot of kisses on stage. He needed to stop that.
"Rachel!" Nick screamed, and I stopped. "Digits!"
I looked over at Frank questioningly. "He wants your phone number," he told me calmly.
I laughed, grinning over at Nick and letting Frank drag me away. Yeah, like the Backstreet Boy is ever gonna call me.
Two minutes later, I was in a car, sheet music in hand, and Frank was shutting the door, tucking my number in his pocket. "Hey! Why aren't you driving me?"
"Got to protect the boy. Steven will take care of you."
"Thanks, Frank." I waved as we pulled away, and then found my cell phone. "Excuse me, Steven. Do you know where we're going? I have no fucking clue."
"Yes, ma'am, I know where we're going."
"Good. Hope you don't mind if I make a call." I pushed the number on speed dial and James answered on the second ring.
"Rachel, we go on in a hour, where the fuck are you?"
"On my way. Get paper and a pen and write this down."
"Shoot." I loved James. He always listened to me. I recited the chord progression and then sang it to him, speeding it up.
"We can do this, right?"
"It kicks. Did you just write it?"
"I'm not telling you who wrote it."
"We are not doing a fucking Backstreet song!" he protested.
"It KICKS, you just said so! The CD is in my guitar case, I think. It's track 3 or 5 or something. Get Another Boyfriend, it's called. Play it, put the bassline on the guitar and let Darien loose on the drums. When I get there, Jeremy and I will figure out the vocals."
I walked into the venue still on the phone, finding my band picking through the song. Oh, yeah, this was gonna rock.
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