Oreos for Breakfast - Chapter 11
By The Paperbag Princess and The Pumpkin Coach

Corresponding KTBPA Message Board Posts (Fictional!)

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Rachel sauntered onstage and the entire crowd exploded. They'd cheered for James and Darien and the collective range of the screams rose an octave when Jeremy took his place stage right, but when Rachel walked out, it was amazing. I hadn't seen a reaction like this for her before.

I leaned over the balcony to see the crowd better, just knowing I was wearing that dopey "I love her too much" grin. But I couldn't help it. I did. They had me in a little roped off VIP area, just me and a few industry people who alternately sneered at me and tried to make small talk to get dirt on AJ or our supposed feud with N*Sync. I was relieved when I heard the familiar sound of Duran Duran, their pre-set music, and the lights go down. I was thrilled when Tsar came up and joined me, teasing me about being the only VIP. But now I liked this angle, I could look down on the crowd and watch them as they watched my girlfriend.

My girlfriend.

Sometimes I still found myself stumbling over that word. Is that what she was? Lover? Friend? Girlfriend? Yeah, girlfriend fit. Here I was following her around on tour like a groupie, waiting for a few minutes of her time.

I wasn't good at that. This morning I'd left messages for everyone I knew and even spent a few hours online, surfing our boards and logging into the fan club chat room to see what they were all talking about. AJ mostly. And me. Me and Rachel, really. I knew that she'd seen some of the message boards before, but I really hoped she was too busy to surf them now. The fans couldn't decide whether to love or hate her. I'd tried to calm them down today in the chat, telling them how cool she was… but I think I only made it worse.

"Fuck me!"

Rachel's voice brought me back to reality and I smiled down at her as she covered her mouth with both hands, turning bright red.

"Nice, Rache. Really nice, just get their hopes up," Jeremy deadpanned, making the rest of them laugh.

"Shit. Sorry!" she stammered, "It's just. Damn. Last time we played San Francisco, I bet there weren't 100 people in the room. And look at you all! You rock."

The crowd exploded again. Something landed at Rachel's feet and she looked out to see who'd tossed it. Finally she spotted a girl jumping up and down about 3 rows from the stage.

"I know you. You were in Vegas, weren't you?"

I couldn't see the girl's face, but I knew she was dying. Her friends were patting her on the back and I could see her head bobbing up and down, as she indicated that she had been. Was she? I certainly wouldn't have recognized her.

"So what's this, then?" Rachel bent down and picked up a T-shirt at her feet and held it up. She looked at it for a moment and then burst into giggles. "You're joking, right? I'm not wearing this!"

The girls all pointed to James and Rachel looked horrified, "But he hasn't! He wishes he had…" she responded, sharing a joke with the three girls, certainly making their trip from Vegas to San Francisco well worth it.

She took the shirt over to James and the girls screamed at the top of their lungs as he looked at it. Suddenly, he whipped off his bass and pulled the shirt on, then took a quick twirl in front of the audience. The entire front section of the audience burst into applause and laughter. I squinted at him, trying to tell what the shirt said.

"For those of you in the back or not wearing your reading glasses… what does your new shirt say, James?"

James went back to his mic, "I fucked a Backstreet Boy, Rache."

"You wish!" She screamed and without skipping a beat, they launched into "Get Another Boyfriend," much to the crowd's delight.

"That's going to be everywhere tomorrow, James." I giggled, jumping up on James' back for a piggyback ride as we made our way down the hall to the dressing room.

"Ugh! Rache, you need to lay off the room service."

I pouted at him even though he couldn't see me and kissed his cheek before sliding off and landing on the couch. "Very funny, James." I considered the buffet of food and beverages left over from before the show and wrinkled my nose at them.

"Oh, I know what that means." I turned to look at Lola who was eyeing me from across the room, "What do you want, Rache?"

I shrugged, "Anything."

But Lola rolled her eyes before throwing me a bottle of water, "You are a bad liar. You won't eat anything on the table and you know it."

"She's got you pegged, girl!" Darien hollered from the other end of the room as he filled his plate with what looked like every vegetable left on the table.

I pouted at him for good measure, "I'm not that picky!"

"Yes, you are!" They all shouted at once and I hid my head behind my hands. I hated it when the boys ganged up on me and now they had Lola in on it, too. I peered out from between my fingers and spotted Nick standing in the doorway.

"My knight in shining armor! Save me, Nicky. Tell them I'm not that picky!"

"About what?" he smiled, licking his lips quickly. Damn, how long until I got to pin him up against the wall and have my way with him? I wasn't picky, I'd do him here or at the hotel. Hell, if I didn't think that James was serious about having a camera up in the back of the bus, I might even rip off his clothes there.

"Eating," Jeremy informed him, "Lola was just teasing her that she won't eat anything on the food service table."

"Oh. She won't. But when we get back to the room, she'll want a tuna sandwich. Plain, no stuff in it, just tuna and mayo. And not Miracle Whip."

"It's not mayonnaise!" I exclaimed as Nick went on, informing them all about my post-gig meal ritual. I stuck my tongue out at him, but he laughed. "You're supposed to be my boyfriend, Nick. No ganging up on me with the others!"

"Well, you need to eat something here, Diva Princess," Lola stated, looking down at her watch, "We need to be on a plane in two hours. You have to go back to the hotel and pack, but no time for dinner."

We all stared at her. Plane? What the fuck?

"Close your mouth, James. You heard me right. You're booked for a record signing in New York tomorrow."

As if on cue, we all started grumbling. New York? But we were in San Francisco, that didn't make any sense. We'd be in New York next month.

"I know, I know," she shouted over our complaints. "Sucks, but yes. We're bound for the Big Apple. Z100 at 9, Virgin at one and then TRL at 4."

"What?" Jeremy was suddenly interested. I smiled, remembering how he used to sneer openly at the mere mention of those three little letters. Now they made us all a little giddy. We weren't number one today, were we? No, Lola would have told us. We didn't get to watch it, we were being interviewed by… someone. The journalists were beginning to run together.

"TRL… you know, that little show you're all obsessed with," Lola laughed. "Single's out tomorrow and they want you on MTV, so they've booked a slot on TRL. If we go in the morning, you'll be too jetlagged, so we're going tonight. And since we'll be there…"

I didn't let her finish, "Amber thought it'd be great to get us to do some signings, too. Whore us to anyone who'll have us."

She smiled and nodded. I stole a look in Nick's direction and he was frowning. Damnit.

No, I wanted to scream. They didn't need to go to New York! Rachel and I were planning to rent a car and drive up to the wine county. She even found this cute little inn online and we were going to stay there tomorrow night. It looked all secluded and romantic…24 hours without the others. No James popping his head in the room for something or Jeremy teasing her and making her all annoyed. Damnit!

I didn't want her to go to New York. I wanted a whole day alone with her. The day off in Vegas had been amazing, I wanted more of that. Lounging around in bed with her until noon and then coming back early and falling back into bed. I didn't want a red-eye flight to New York and non-stop promotion.

But this wasn't my decision. And it wasn't hers either.

I looked over at her and she looked crestfallen. Good. It wasn't just me. I went over and slid next to her on the couch and she reached out for my hand, our eyes meeting briefly. In that two seconds we had a whole conversation and I smiled, trying to reassure her. This was their first big single release. Their first spot on a national TV show. She looked like she was about to throw up all over my shoes.

"Have you all done a record signing before?" I asked, trying mostly to break the tension in the room. None of them wanted to do this. After LA and Vegas they were ready for a day off and away from one another.

"Nah," Darien responded, his mouth full of salad.

"Yeah, we have," Rachel argued and they all burst into laughter. I looked at Lola and she shrugged.

"Okay, clue us in. This has got to be good."

Rachel bit her bottom lip, trying to stop herself from giggling and then took a quick breath, "Dad had us do a signing at the winery. It was when Long Island hit."

I couldn't stop laughing, remembering how proud Dad had been of that single. They played it on Long Island radio all the time and Dad made everyone stop what they were doing when it came on. What had James said the other night about him? That he'd quit the winery to run our fan club. Looking back on that little record signing he'd made us do, I wasn't so sure that James wasn't right.

Oh my god.

We were going to do a record signing at Virgin fucking Records. I suddenly felt nauseous and held onto Nick's hand harder. He brushed the hair off my shoulder and leaned down, giving me a tiny kiss on the shoulder as if to ground me.

"The one in Times Square, right?" I asked Lola, interrupting Jeremy's story about our last record signing.

"Duh," she answered. "That's the one across the street from MTV."

I caught James' eye and we screamed. We used to go to signings at Tower in the Village all the time, but now Virgin was the place to be. Thank god, because my last signing at Tower had been the night I threw Jeremy out and Damon and Graham had shown up on my doorstep to console me. We ended up writing most of "Long Island" that night. And thus began the beginning of Damon.

Damn, I couldn't think about that now. Our single was being pushed by our record company and we were going to be on TRL!

"And TRL? You said TRL?" James asked, as it all started to sink in. A minute ago, it was just one more thing to do, something that was keeping me from a romantic trip with my boyfriend.

This was the big time, wasn't it?

"Yes," Lola smiled. "Interview with Carson himself. They want you to play games. Will you do that?"

"Games?" Jeremy asked. "What, they want to film us playing Pounce?"

"Do you not pay attention, man?" James yelled. "Trivia! Answer stupid questions about other band members! Guess the video shit! They've got a ton of them."

"They don't make us play games," Nick smirked and Darien threw a carrot in his general direction.

"That's because the girls won't stop screaming! They love us for the music, man. Besides, we will ace them all," Darien crowed, finally giving up on his salad. "Dudes!" he yelled, stepping up onto the coffee table in the middle of the room. "T R FUCKING L!"

We all screamed, coming together in the middle of the room to hug each other and jump up and down.

"How many shots does this mean?" Lola sighed. "Can it be none? The only sleep you'll get is on the flight, we touch down at eight and then you are booked fucking solid until the flight back at 10 tomorrow night."

I pulled away from my boys and went over to her. "Schedule," I demanded, holding out my hand, and she produced one instantaneously. "Why are we just hearing about this now?"

"Because I know you and you would have all freaked out if you knew two days ago. Why do you think I didn't let you watch TRL today?"

Bitch. She was right, too. I scowled at her and fell onto the couch next to Nick again. He leaned over my shoulder, looking at the list. Z100 at 8:45, Spin at 10, it went on and on, only half an hour for lunch, even.

"I am so fucking changing my rider," I whined, looking up at Lola. "I want an hour lunch!"

"Hell, office drones get an hour for lunch!" James complained.

"You can have whatever you want," Lola offered. "They already asked me where you want to order from."

"Indian," I asserted. There was no decent Indian food anywhere else in the country.

"No! Ray's pizza, man," Darien argued, and I had to give him that. Pizza did suck the further away from New York you got.

Jeremy threw in Chinese, from our favorite place, and I was about to argue, when Nick kissed my cheek. I smiled at him. "What, bunny?"

"I think I should stay here. Don't you?"

She just blinked at me, surprised and maybe a little hurt. I was too, I didn't want to stay behind while she got to have an amazing, exciting day in New York.

But I was bored today, and we'd hung out most of the afternoon, watching talk shows and having sex and laughing over stupid things. She wouldn't have time for me tomorrow.

And I really didn't want all their press to be about me. I knew it would be, it so often was. So many of their reviews had to mention that I was up in the balcony or backstage or wherever. If I was there, it just increased the odds.

"Tomorrow should be all about the band, Rache. You know they're going to want me to talk. I know Carson too well, if I'm in the studio, he will find a way to drag me out in front of a camera, and I don't want that."

She nodded, considering it. "I hate that that's true, Nick."

I shrugged. "But it is. You go and have fun and I'll…"

What would I do?

"I'll hang out," I finished lamely. Where was the next stop? I hadn't thought much beyond the romantic little bed and breakfast place in the wine country with my girlfriend.

She considered me for a moment, then kissed me quickly. "You could go home," she offered. "Or down to L.A., you have to be there anyway this weekend…"

Band stuff. "No. L.A. sucks. You'll be back tomorrow night. I'll catch a ride on the bus. And hang out at the hotel or something."

"Are you not coming with, boy toy?" Lola was standing next to us, and we both looked up at her.

"No," I answered, and Rachel squeezed my hand.

"Steven's taking the bus down to Bakersfield tonight, you want to go with him? Or are you jetting off somewhere?"

"Bakersfield?" I whined. Man. Of all the places to get stuck, Bakersfield, California? Rachel giggled.

"Bakersfield is not exactly the most exciting city in the country."

"I know!" I complained. "We've played there before. Are we actually staying in Bakersfield? Is there anywhere to stay there?"

"Yes," Lola snapped. "There's a…" She consulted her ever present clipboard. "There is a Doubletree Suites. Not exactly the best hotel we've stayed in this tour."

"Does it have a pool?" I asked.

She glanced at her notes again. "Yes."

"Alright, I'll go," I grumbled. "I'm just going to be watching TRL anyway." Rachel kissed me for that.

My clothes were everywhere, and I screamed, stomping my feet. "What am I going to wear?"

"I like the 'rock babe' shirt," Nick offered helpfully, and I threw it at him.

"It's going to look like I'm trying too hard! Fuck, I've only got ten fucking minutes until we leave!" I screamed again, and Nick got up from the bed, pulling me into his arms and letting me stomp my feet some more. He stroked my hair carefully and I relaxed, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Nick, I'm gonna be on TRL tomorrow," I whined into his chest and he squeezed me tighter.

"I know," he said quietly. "And you're going to be fantastic. You're going to be funny and sexy and smart and all those things I love about you."

"What if I'm not? What if I freeze up in front of the camera and can't talk to Carson and I wear something stupid so everyone will look and me and think that I'm a talentless hack who only got this far because I'm dating a Backstreet Boy?"

"You are going to be amazing, and wear something amazing, and everyone will wonder why you're only with a talentless Backstreet Boy when you could be dating someone with indie cred."

I took a deep breath, holding him tighter. "Can I call you a million times tomorrow and have you say nice things to me?"

"You'd better. I'm gonna be hanging out bored in Bakersfield."

I looked up at him. "You don't have to. You can-"

He kissed me, forcing me to stop talking. I clung to him, wanting nothing more than to stay here in this nice hotel room and fuck him senseless and not have to worry about the rest of my life.

He cupped my face in his hands, smiling at me. "I want to. I'll sleep, and play video games, and be thinking about you every minute, wondering what you're doing. You're going to be great, I know it. And I'll be at the hotel when you get back, and you can tell me every single detail about your big day."

I had to blink back tears, scared and overwhelmed and adoring him. "I love you, Nick."

He smiled, kissing me quickly. "I love you. Now pack and go be fabulous."

Chapter 11:
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