Oreos for Breakfast: Chapter 28

Oreos For Breakfast: Chapter 32
By the Paperbag Princess and Pumpkin Coach

What was that infernal buzzing? I rolled over, squinting at the light in my eyes. No way could it be morning already. The buzzing continued and I threw the pillow over my head.

"Go away!"

"Rachel?"

I heard Nick's voice and jumped out of bed. Couldn't be my Nick. My Nick was in LA shooting his video, not in New York in James' apartment.

I ran to the door and opened it. "Bunny!" I said, and he pulled me into his arms. "You're here!"

"Would I miss my girl's big day?" he questioned.

"Well, yesterday you were." And last week. And the week before that, when they had set a date to film the video and it just happened to be in LA on the same day as the VMAs.

"We finished early and I told them I had to be here to see you win your first moon man."

"Shh!" I warned him. "You'll jinx it."

"Yeah, don't say anything about winning, or they get all weird," JC said, and I turned around in Nick's arms to find him standing in the living room considering us.

The doorbell woke JC up? Nothing woke JC up.

"Good morning, Medusa," Nick teased.

JC stuck out his tongue. "Shut up. Last thing I need is a Backstreet Boy teasing me in the morning. My hair has issues." JC patted his unruly hair back down the best he could and then James appeared. He didn't smile or say hello to Nick, but looked at me instead.

I could feel Nick tense. Yeah, probably not a good idea for him to just show up at James' apartment, even if he knew that's where I'd be. James was sort of losing his patience for selfish asshole Nick. Well, I was, too. But then he'd do something sweet like fly across country to wake me up with bagels…. Bagels?

I looked down at his bag on the floor and he laughed, picking it up. "I brought breakfast," he said, glancing over at James.

"Least you could do for waking the whole house like that," James said, taking the bag from Nick.

James stalked into the kitchen and JC followed him, giving me a quick look. I sighed, and Nick wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to him. "I have a hotel," he whispered. "It might be safer for me there."

I smiled. "It's okay, bunny. Ignore James, he's grouchy in the morning."

No, he wasn't. She knew it and I did, too. He was pissed at me. I couldn't say I really blamed him, but I knew what a pissed James meant. It meant I'd lost all hope. I'd really fucked up now. I looked back at Rachel and noticed the circles under her eyes. I knew she hadn't been out partying last night. I'd talked to her before she went to bed.

Or had she been up all night talking to James?

She was better now, right? I was here. She'd told me a million times that it was okay that I wasn't going to be with her at the VMAs, but I knew she was lying. She wanted me here. But Ken and Cynthia thought it was a bad idea for me to be seen in public with her all the time. It made me look 'unavailable' for the demographic. Whatever.

I knew Ken had scheduled the video shoot for this week on the other coast on purpose. I wasn't that stupid.

But I got them to wrap my stuff late last night and I got on a plane. I could still be a good boyfriend. Sometimes.

"When did you get in?" she asked me.

"About an hour ago. I knew you'd still be here."

She smiled at me. "You must be exhausted. How about we let JC and James have breakfast and I'll grab my stuff and we'll go to your hotel. I can shower and you can catch some sleep while we get styled for tonight."

"I want to go with you, Rache. I have to back in LA Saturday to finish the video and I want to spend every moment with you."

That made her smile. "Very romantic, bunny, but it's going to be boring as hell."

"I don't care." And I didn't. We never had enough time together and Cynthia had just given me my new press schedule last night. I didn't have a free day to myself for the next month. Rachel would be here getting ready for their tour and wouldn't be able to follow me wherever I was. This was it for a while and given how much I'd been fucking up lately, I couldn't mess this up, too.

She considered me for a long moment and then turned around. "James, Nick and I are going to go to his hotel, okay? I'll see you at the salon at one."

James' head appeared around the doorway to the kitchen. "Not a second after or Jeremy and Lola will have your head, you know. And no boy wonder."

What the fuck? I was allowed to come!

Rachel sighed and pulled away from me. "My bag's over there. Throw my stuff in it, bunny?" she asked, before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Will you stop it!" I hissed at James, trying to keep my voice down as I heard Nick putting my things in my bag. "He came all this way to be with me. Will you try to be nice?"

James smirked down at me and I wanted to slug him. "Why? So he can disappear with a groupie later tonight when you're too busy to placate his every whim?"

Ouch. Leave it to James to make me feel like shit. I glared at him. "Stop it. It's not like that and you know it. Just…" I had to stop talking or I was going to start to cry and I didn't want to do that. No, this was fine.

Sure, I had been hurt that he wasn't coming to the VMAs, but he was right, he had a lot to do in LA. He couldn't just fly out here on a whim. Besides, Jive had decided that the VMAs would showcase Justin. Showing up would mean he agreed to play second fiddle and that annoyed him. I didn't blame him.

"You don't know everything, James." I sighed, leaning back against the kitchen table. JC took this as his opportunity to slink back out of the room. He knew better than to get in the middle of James and I when we were fighting.

"Bullshit. Is there anything you haven't told me about your love life this summer?"

I couldn't meet his eyes. I had been spending a lot of time complaining about Nick to James. I shouldn't be surprised that James hated him by now. James had been good for a very long time, but when the video shoot was scheduled for this week, he'd had it.

It might have been James' final straw, but it wasn't mine. Just because my best friend was pissed off at my boyfriend didn't mean I had to be.

"Well, he came all this way," I started, but Nick's voice cut me off.

"James, I know I've been fucking up."

I turned around, looking at Nick, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Oh, this was not such a good idea, Nick.

"You have," James held his head a little higher, straightening his shoulders. He only had a couple of inches on Nick, but he seemed to tower over him now. "I can't stand here and let you continue to hurt her, Nick. I just won't do that."

"I know. Believe me. Do you want me to go, Rache?" Nick's eyes were pleading with me and it broke my heart. I looked back at James and he shook his head.

"Don't choose, Rache. I'm not asking you to do that."

"You love her as much as I do, James. Believe me, I know that. But can you… I don't know. Cut me a break here? I have to be back in LA on Saturday and I just want to spend a couple days with my girl." Nick stopped talking, but looked hopeful.

I looked back at James and he sighed. "I swear, Nick…"

"I know! I know. Believe me. I'm not going to screw up again." Nick smiled down at me and I went over to James, giving him a hug.

"I'll see you soon, and we'll get all pretty."

"Whatever," he said.

I decided not to deal with James any longer and followed my boyfriend out of the apartment, waving good-bye to JC on the way.

Once we were out on the street, Nick put an arm around my shoulders, holding me close. "Did I something in particular to piss James off so much?"

"No," I said. "Did you eat? Want to get pancakes?"

He grinned. "I forgot about pancakes. Yeah, let's go there. Is that a good idea? Will you still be able to fit into your dress?"

I whacked him. "Yes!" Maybe. I hadn't decided what I was wearing yet. It didn't matter. I'd figure that out later. Right now I wanted to have pancakes with my boyfriend.

The last time I'd been to this place with Nick, he'd had to bring Frank, and we barely knew each other. A lot had changed since then.

A waitress led us to a table in the back of the restaurant, and I smiled at Rachel as we sat down. "I think we sat here the last time we were here."

She looked around. "You might be right. Frank had to come with you then."

I glanced around. It hadn't even occurred to me to look for fans. I used to find them everywhere. Was it a good thing or a bad thing that I couldn't find them now?

They'd reappear when my album came out.

"Do you talk to Frank?" Rachel asked me, looking over her menu.

I smiled at her. "He was your bodyguard the last time I checked." It wasn't even that long ago. When they were on the radio show tour a couple of months ago, right?

"I know! I talk to him. We email, and I think he'll come with us on the No Doubt tour. I was wondering if you talk to him."

I shook my head, looking at my menu. There were too many choices. "No."

"Do you talk to Backstreet?" she said, and I couldn't meet her eyes.

"No," I told her. I was pretty sure they weren't talking to me right now. The last time I'd talked to anyone, it had been Brian, who wanted to go back into the studio, because we needed to get something to Jive to fulfill a bonus in our contract, and… I just didn't care. Backstreet was a lifetime ago. I was doing something else now.

"Really?'

I was saved by the waitress. I ordered what Rachel got, because it was easier that way.

But Rachel picked up our conversation where we left off. "You don't talk to the guys? Really?"

"I'm busy, Rache." I reached out, taking her hand. "When I have time to talk to someone, I want to be talking to you."

She raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't pursue the subject. We'd had a lot of fights this summer because I never called her back. At least she kept calling. The guys had given up. They never called me anymore.

"So, is that why James hates me? Because I don't talk to you enough?"

She looked down at the table, removing her hand from mine and picking up a crayon from the holder on the table. I'd forgotten that you could draw on these tablecloths. Cool.

"He's overprotective. Sorry."

James used to like me. Hell, he'd let me live in his apartment for a month last winter. But it's not like he'd ever pick me over Rachel. Rachel was always first to him.

"I deserve it," I said, doodling on the tablecloth.

"Yeah," she agreed, and I looked up to find her smiling at me.

"I'm trying," I said, and she nodded.

"I know. Thank you. I'm glad you're here."

"Get off my fucking back, Ken! I know you don't want me seen with Rachel, but-"

Ken interrupted me. He was really not happy with me for coming to New York to go to the VMAs. "You think this is all about Rachel? You're dumber than I thought you were, Nick. This is about Justin."

"Justin?"

"Fucking Timberlake, as you like to say. I don't want you anywhere near him. That's why I scheduled the video shoot for this weekend. I knew you'd do something stupid like this."

"Why can't I be near him? Does he have a hit out on me or something?"

"No. But he is going to be the star tonight. He's doing exactly what MTV wanted him to do, and he's going to do a huge production number, and everyone will be saying 'N what?' tomorrow. I don't want you there."

I still didn't get it. "Whatever. He's the star. It's annoying, but…"

"You're there, and everyone is going to compare you to him. You don't want that." Because I wouldn't win. I never won with him. "Your girlfriend was seen out with him not long ago."

"It was coffee! Besides I'm here now. Rachel's still with me, not him."

"I know that, and you know that, but the tabloids seem to think it was proof that she's fucking him behind your back."

"So it's good that I'm there with her tonight. Show everyone that we're still together. Damage control."

"Cynthia and I sorta liked the jilted lover angle. Lots of pathos for the fan girls to latch on to. They like to protect you."

"I don't need to be fucking protected, Ken! If that's the angle you're fucking going for, you're fired. That is not what…"

"Okay. Okay. Stop it, Nick."

I took a deep breath, glaring at the wall across from me. Fucking… how dare they? If my own fucking publicist was spreading rumors, what the hell was I paying her for?

"Its just spin, Nick. No big deal."

"It's enough of a big deal that you're all pissed off that I'm here, instead of in LA, following all your orders. You work for me, Ken, remember that? I'm going to the fucking VMAs tonight with my girlfriend, and everything is fine with us. I'm going to clap for Justin fucking Timberlake and…"

"You're not clapping for him." Ken cut me off and I couldn't even find my voice for a second. What the hell?

"I'm not going to stand there and look like an idiot!" He was closing the show. It was obviously going to be a big number.

"You're not going to be there. Neither is your girlfriend. If I have to fix the voting, I'm going to make sure that you're both backstage talking to the press while Justin is performing."

"You're insane, Ken."

"You're not going to be out there clapping for him. Then the story is all about him, and how supportive you are. You think you look like a pussy because of the rumors about him and Rachel? That'll look worse. You're not going to be there, and if anyone asks you about it, you say you missed it because you were congratulating your girl. Got it?"

"How you are going to get me out of the audience? Do you know that Sudden Silence won something? How do you know that?"

"You're getting paranoid now, Nick. No. But I'll stage a family emergency if I have to. I don't want Rachel there, either. She can't be seen as supporting him, either."

I snorted. "Ken, I have no control over her. She's friends with the guy. I hate it, but she likes him." She was going to be out there watching his performance. I was sure of it. Rachel was loyal to her friends.

"Let me talk to her."

I laughed. "No. She's not even here. You're freaking out over nothing. We're going to go to the awards, and have a nice time, and I'll kiss her when she wins. Maybe we'll be backstage doing press stuff when Justin performs, or maybe we'll watch. Whatever."

"Why do you make me work so hard, Nick?"

"You do it for the love, man."

Love, and ten percent.

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