As soon as Jennifer and the Backstreet Boys arrived in Cleveland, Ohio, where they had a show that night, James pulled her aside.
"You might want to read this" he said, handing her a copy of the Rolling Stone article that they had sent before it was available to the public.
"Ok" she said as she took it and ran upstairs to read it.
Her mouthed dropped as she begen reading the article that the whole world would soon see...
She's Definately Got It Goin' On
By Melanie Lasey
What would it take to make millions of young adolecent girls cry? The answer, hearing that their favorite boy band cutie is taken. No, its not Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears this time. Its newcomer Jennifer Calaway and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. What? Never heard of her? Well shes currently on tour with the Backstreet Boys. Calaway, who has been singing most if her her life and was recently discovered by manager James Epson while singing at a kareokee bar in her hometown Orlando, Florida. The 18 year old is eagerly awaiting the release of her first single 'Give It To Me,' which will be available early next month.
I recently had the opportunity to meet this young lady at her hotel in New Jersey. Our conversation was interupted when Carter came over to greet his girlfriend with a kiss. They seem like the perfect couple: She is an aspiring pop singer in need of a big break to set her apart from all the other female pop vocalists, and he is a pop superstar that can give her that break.
However, Jennifer, like every other hot blooded teenager, has her share of celebrity crushes. Jennifer's happens to be 'NSync's Justin Timberlake. The two met for the first time at our Rolling Stone studio, where sparks flew instantly. Timberlake, when able to take a break from flirting, interviewed Calaway. The two also engaged in a sexy photo shoot thats sure to make Carter jealous.
Jennifer couldn't read anymore. By then tears where streaming down her face. 'How could I agree to let Rolling Stone publish the story early' she asked herself over and over again. 'I have to do something about it' she said as she threw the magazine down and ran out of the room to find James. As she got down the hall she ran right into Nick.
"Whats the matter?" he asked sympathetically. He didnt like to see anyone, especially Jennifer, upset.
She couldnt even look him in the eyes. She knew soon enough that Nick and the rest of the world would see the article. "Nothing" she yelled as she kept heading towards James room.
"James, open up" she yelled as she knockedc loudly on his door.
I guess you read the article" he said after taking one look at her.
"Yes, how can they do this?" she cried
"I warned you about dating Nick, I knew something like this would happen. And what the hell is this about Justin?" he asked, sounding very distraught.
"I wasnt flirting with Justin, we were just joking around" she said, trying to convince herself and James. "Is there anything we can do?" she asked quietly, as if afraid to here the answer.
James paused before saying, "I'm afraid not, we agreed to the article and early release date. They printed what they can prove as true, so we have no argument."
Meanwhile...
"Uh oh, Jenn left her door open" Nick said to himself as he approached her room. 'I better close it' he said as he walked up to the door. He saw the Rolling Stone magazine lying on the ground. He walked over and picked it up out of curiosity. 'She got the Rolling Stone article' he said as he sat down to look through it. He knew he should wait until she showed it to him, but he was too curious, so he decided to glance through it....
Jennifer left James' room, now even more depressed. She thought she had better warn Nick. She didnt even care about her career or the fans anymore, she just didnt want to lose Nick, again...
Nick began reading the article. He couldnt believe it, but he knew Rolling Stone wouldnt jeopardize their reputation unless they had proof. How could she? he thought to himself. I trusted her he said as tears streamed down his face. As he turned the page and saw the pictures of his girlfriend and Justin sharing romantic moments that he hadnt even experienced with her, and his heart dropped out of his chest. He threw the magazine on the bed and rna out of the room.
Jennifer saw him run out of her hotel room and instantly ran after him.
"NICK!!!" she yelled as she got to his door.
"Please dont try and talk to me now Jennifer" he said through the door.
"Please Nick, I can explain" she begged
"Theres nothing to explain, I trusted you and I loved you, and you betrayed me" he said, sounding very hurt. "I loved you so much, how could you do this to me?" he said as Jennifer fell onto her knees outside of his door. She couldnt move or answer him. His words entered her body and seemed to shoot right into her heart. She didnt know what do to or say, so she just sat outside his door...all day until AJ and Howie, not knowing exactly what happened, carried her to the bus so she could get to the show that night.
After her performance which seemed to last for an eternity, Jennifer ran backstage in hopes of finding Nick before he went onstage. After looking everywhere, she gave up. She longed for his kiss, his touch, and most of all, his forgiveness. She made her way back to the bus where she layed down in her bunk and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning the bus arrived in Washington. Jennifer managed to get up and make her way into the hotel. She was a mess, and everyone knew it. James approached her.
"Good news" he said
"What?" Jennifer asked unenthusiastically. She knew that James didnt come to tell her that Nick forgave her, so she knew it wasnt that good of news.
"I spoke to Rolling Stone, and although they wont change the story, they have agreed to release it next month after your single is released."
"Thats great" she said without a smile
"Well at least people will form an opinion about your music before they form one about your personal life. So, you have a week after its released to do major promotions on the single. That week you have TRL, Rosie, and Regis and Kathy Lee, so this means that you have to forget about whatever is making you so upset because the world is about to meet you. One more thing, we're shooting the video next week." he said. "Dont embarass yourself" he added as he walked away.
Jennifer just stood there. She knew she should be excited that her single was going to be released and she would be on TRL and Rosie and Regis and Kathy Lee, but she wasnt. She had to at least talk to Nick.
Later that night...
Jennifer was happy to have the night off and she decided to use it to try and talk to Nick.
She headed down the hall where she saw Brian leaving Nick's room.
"Hey Jenn" he said as he stopped her.
"Hi" she said as she walked by him towards Nick's room
"Um, wait, Jenn, can I talk to you" he said quickly as he tried to grab her arm.
"Not now" she said as she moved out of Brian's grasp and around the corner where she saw Nick. Only he wasnt alone. He was arm and arm with some blonde. For a brief moment she caught his eye. They looked at each other intently, both trying to read what the other was thinking. Finally Jennifer broke the gaze as she started crying and ran around the corner, Brian chasing after her.
As Nick watched Jennifer leave his heart ached. Part of him wanted to run after her and make everything ok, but part of him knew it wasnt ok. He didnt know if he could trust her anymore...
