"Come on you guys, get serious!" Fatima, the Backstreet Boys' choreographer, yelled. "AJ, Nick, I mean it... stop screwin' around. We gotta get these last steps right, the tour starts in just a couple weeks!"
Nick Carter and AJ McLean walked into dance formation, still smacking each other. "I mean it, you guys... knock it off!! Focus!!" Getting the point, Nick and AJ finally got serious and concentrated on Fatima. At 19 and 21, those two getting serious was no small task. But Fatima had been with the group since the beginning. She knew how to get her point across, and they listened to her because they respected her. Cueing up the music, she shouted. "OK, we're gonna take it from the bridge. Counting down... and FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!"
Taking their cue, Nick, AJ, Kevin Richardson (27), Brian Littrell (24) and Howie Dorough (25) turned off their independent personas and became one unit... the Backstreet Boys. They sang hard, danced hard, and worked hard at what they did. It took 6 years, but they had finally achieved world-wide stardom. Their new album, Millennium, had made sales records, and the tour which they were practicing for, the Into The Millennium Tour, had promised to be one of the most sought out tours in recent history. Some were going as far to say that a "Beatle-mania type phenomenon" had resurfaced with the rise of the Backstreet Boys, but the guys themselves would be the first to beg to differ. As hard as they worked, they still remained grounded and humbled, very much the same 5 guys that came together in 1993. Fatima smiled as she watched her boys work hard, as they always have. The music ended and she clapped. "GREAT! Now do it that way again, and I'll KNOW it wasn't a fluke!" All the guys groaned as Fatima walked over to the sound system and restarted the music. "From the top of the song, now! All together! And FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT..."
"Goddamn!" AJ exclaimed. "I love Fatima to death, but I swear to God that woman should have been a drill sergeant. Geez!" he sighed, rubbing his sore feet.
"She's that way for a reason, AJ," Kevin replied. "She wants us to be the best, and the only way we're going to become the best is by hard work and dedication." As the oldest member of the group, Kevin's was almost always the voice of reason. "I know she's hard on us sometimes, but you've gotta look at the big picture... we're going to have a great show because of our hard work. We're going to go out there, and dance our asses off for our fans. The fans is who this is all for, AJ."
"I know, I know. I shouldn't complain. I know it'll be all worth it in the end."
Kevin sighed as he rubbed his own feet. "I do have to agree with you, though. Fatima would have made an excellent drill sergeant," he said, he and AJ laughing in agreement. Just then Brian and Howie walked in the room.
"Alright, time to break up the party," Brian said with a chuckle. "The new stylist is here. We're meeting her in the conference room in 30 minutes... don't be late!" Kevin and AJ sighed as they got up to clean up and change clothes. Brian looked around. "Hey, where'd Nick go?"
"Uhh, we figured he was with you guys," Kevin said, looking down the hallway.
"Nope, haven't seen him since we broke for dinner," Howie replied, looking out the window. "Think it's possible he went to shoot some hoops?"
"Don't you know by now?" AJ replied with a sarcastic smirk on his face. "Anything's possible with Nick!"
"...and Carter catches the rebound off the backboard, and," Nick paused, jumping up to the hoop, throwing the ball in with what looked like little effort, "Carter slam-dunks it for the winning point..." He paused again, jumping around with his arms up in the air. "...and the crowd goes wild, Carter wins it, Carter wins the game by one point for the Orlando Magic! Aaaaahhhhhhhh--"
"Mr. Carter, before you hit the locker room for your victory party, we have to go meet the new stylist, remember?" Brian said, grabbing the basketball from Nick and bouncing it a few times before shooting for the basket, sinking it flawlessly. "SWOOSH!" Brian said, punching Nick in the arm.
The basketball rolled toward Nick. He kicked it up with his foot and caught it. "Show off," Nick said half under his breath. Brian smiled as he and Nick started to walk back to the building. "Why do we have to meet her anyway? I mean, it's not like this is a big earth-shattering thing. So we got a new stylist? Big deal."
"Well, apparently, she's nervous out of her skull. This is her first job of this magnitude. Before being offered this job she was just working in a local salon. So management thought it would be a good idea if she got to meet us and just get comfortable with us on a friendly level."
Nick followed Brian into the building. "So what's this chick's name, anyway?"
"Uhh, I dunno... Lori, Lauren... something like that. Anyway, I heard she's really good at what she does. She's only 23, but her boss heard about us looking for a stylist and highly recommended her. I guess we're just meeting her to help boost her self-confidence."
"Uhhh, why uuussss? Tell me, WHYYY US??" Nick groaned, walking into the locker room to change and wash up. Brian chuckled as he headed to the conference room.
"I thought you went to find Nick, Brian," Kevin asked as he looked at the clock.
"I did! He said he'd just be a few minutes." Brian twiddled his thumbs.
"Wasn't that a half-hour ago?" AJ asked, looking between the clock and the group's new stylist, who was starting to look impatient herself, despite her attempt to hide her frustration. If there's one thing that bothered her to her very core, it was someone who was less than punctual.
Just then Nick stormed in the room. "Sorry I'm late," he huffily spat out as he plopped himself on a chair directly across from their new stylist. Punk, she thought to herself, as she eyed him up and down. 'Bout damn time he graces us with his presence.
Despite her thoughts, she smiled a half-smile at Nick then looked away from him. She doesn't look like anything special... why are we even here, what's the big deal? Nick thought to himself, eyeing up the young woman. Nick's thoughts were interrupted by one of their management. "Nice of you to show up, Nick. Don't be late again!" the gentleman in the dark blue suit said, calmly but sharply. Nick cringed. Not only was he getting yelled at, but he was getting yelled at in front of someone other then the guys. Damn, how he hated humiliation.
The management man continued. "This is Laura Evans. She will be your new stylist. Any hair concerns, makeup problems... whatever. She's the gal you talk to. She'll be traveling with you on this tour, and hopefully she'll be with us for a long time after. Laura's going to be a great asset to this tour, and we're lucky to have her, and welcome her with open arms." He paused to give Laura a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then continued. "I need to go to another meeting, but Laura will be here the rest of the afternoon, so take this time to get to know her." He said with a smile, then walked out of the room.
Everyone was enthused to meet Laura, and very excited to work with her. Everyone, that is, except Nick. He sat in his chair, his arms crossed, slouching. Laura chatted with everyone for a few minutes, then made her way to Nick. She tousled his hair with her hand. "Oh yes, we're cuttin' this, for sure," Laura said with a sarcastic smirk.
"And just what is wrong with my hair!?" Nick asked. He pushed Laura's hand away and sat up straight, looking up at her fiercely.
"The correct question is, what isn't wrong with your hair?" Laura said, stepping back to survey Nick's hairdo from a distance. "It's just gotta go, no question about it." Laura turned to walk away, leaving Nick sit there, stunned. "Great asset," huh? Nick thought has he watched Laura talk to Kevin and Brian. Great, no. Asset, I don't think so. But, I think he had the "ass" part right! She fits that to a tee! Nick sighed as he sunk back into his chair. With Laura around, he had a feeling this was going to be a long tour...
