"Oh…so I have earned my status back as Brian Thomas Littrell's girlfriend?" I asked smoothly.
Brian ran his hands through his curly bangs. "We need to do some talking tonight," Brian said.
"Yeah, I would say so!" I grabbed the towel from his shoulder and wiped my face, following everyone else to go and greet the crowd.
There was a slight ripple of screams and applause when I exited the backstage area. "It's Brian's girlfriend Selena!" I heard. There were a few requests for autographs…but the crowd's reaction to me was pretty tame in comparison to the response Brian received. I was in the middle of signing a piece of paper, when the girl who asked for my autograph snatched the paper away from me and shoved me out of the way in effort to get to Brian. Rolling my eyes I made my way over to Nick. I was glad the crowd was small, because I didn't think I had the energy to face a mob.
Nick was talking to a pretty blonde reporter who looked like she was our age, perhaps a bit older. She held a notebook, and her pen was poised over the paper.
Evidently she was asking Nick what he thought of the whole tabloid incident.
"I've recently come to realize that I need to focus on the fans that I still have…because they are the ones who really count. I mean…what's the point in trying to win back old fans? It all boils down to one fact." Nick turned and saw that I was standing next to him. He grinned and placed his elbow on my shoulder.
I grinned back, glad that he had thought about my words from the other day.
"And that's this, and you can quote me: people are going to believe what they want. They hear what they want to hear. The fans that I still have…like the ones here today…are the fans who I will be eternally grateful for." Although Nick meant what he said, he was also hoping that those words would at the very least end any lingering hostility people held towards Nick.
I looked at the reporter in the eyes, "in a lot of cases, Nick is merely the object of circumstances. I mean, whenever there's a breakup..the guy is automatically to blame, and I just think that's wrong. Nick is one of the sweetest guys I know, and he's more sensitive than most."
Nick cleared his throat, slightly red-faced. "Umm..thanks Selena, but I doubt she wants to hear that."
The reporter was furiously scribbling down what I had written. Satisfied, I gave Nick a big hug and grinned up at him. Although he was still a little embarrassed, I also knew that he was grateful. The smile on my face disappeared when I looked over to see Brian, completely surrounded by a group of girls. At first I didn't take heed, but when I looked closer I saw a look of panic in his eyes. One of the girls, a much larger one that easily out-weighed Brian by one hundred pounds was clutching a corner of his shirt. She jumped up and down excitedly. Each time she jumped Brian was jerked forward because she held onto him from the front. He gently tried to remove her hand, but she just screamed in his face, the tears streaming down her face. It was obvious things were out of hand. I marched over, shoved two girls aside, and firmly grabbed the girl by the hand, pulling it off of Brian's shirt. I was shocked when, instead of relenting, she swung her other hand around and slugged me on the side of the face. The shock of what she had done startled me more than the pain. Red faced, I was just about to retaliate when Brian decided to take the fan's slight relent in grip as an opportunity to wriggled free from her grasp. His hand grabbed my wrist before any damage could be done.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" a girl who appeared to be one of the large girl's friends looked from me to Brian. "I can't believe this...really…she just loves you so much…" her voice trailed off. She gently guided her sobbing friend away from us.
"I think it's time for me to get going…" Brian said. "Do you want a ride back?"
"Yeah I do," I said simply.
"Bri, you don't realize what you have until it's gone. I said as he steered his Jeep to the highway.
He snapped his gum, "why's that? He looked at me expectantly.
"Because, that crowd's reaction to you reminded me of how special you are. I mean…they would do anything to get their hands on you…"
"Selena…quite that ok? I broke things off…and that's mystupidity. I was selfish."
"Selfish? You practically married Nick and I yesterday!"
"I see the two of you together…and you just seem to click so well together."
"B, I've heard people say the same thing about us you know."
I could read the hope displayed on his face despite the darkness. He reached over and squeezed my hand.
"Do you know how much it means for me to hear you say that to me?" he said shakily.
"Oh…not again!" my voice trembled as the tears built up again. "Nick and I…" I said in a trembling voice, "we get along too…and I love him to death. But it's more of a fond kind of love…like we're siblings…with you…I love you…but I look up to you…." There…I had said it.
"You look up to me?" Brian laughed. "Man this is too funny. Say…do you feel like a Quarter Pounder wth cheese?" Brian asked, turning into McDonald's.