“Yeah, I’m dying to see what kind of people we run into.”

As they entered a seemingly popular store, the clerk at the counter gave them strange looks. The stares followed them throughout the store, until someone finally came up to them. It was a young girl, somewhere around sixteen. “Hey what’s your name?”

“Who, me?” Ali asked, startled.

“Yeah.”

“My name’s Ali.”

“Ohhhh. I heard some little hooch named Ali was dating JC from N Sync. You must be her.”

“Hooch?” Anger boiled inside her, but Ali kept her cool. She knew word would get around soon, but she had no idea as to how soon. But she had nothing to hide. “Yes, I am. We’ve been seeing each other for about two months now”.

The girl frowned. “I’ve heard you’re a real bitch to him.”

Ali was taken aback by the comment. “Excuse me?”

“You treat JC like dirt. You have a fit if any other girl looks at him cross-eyed and you practically follow him everywhere he goes”.

“Well, what do you think?” Ali finally asked.

“Considering JC’s famous and all, you’re probably just with him for his money.” The girl’s face was stuck in a mean stare, and she wouldn’t take her eyes off Ali.

“That’s not true, not in the least. I live on my own here with my friend in Florida. I don’t have time to chase him all over the place. Besides, he can take care of himself just fine.” But then Ali stopped. Why am I even trying to explain myself? “But you know what? You can believe what you want. I know JC loves me. Most of all, he cares very much for his fans. He has nothing to hide from you guys. We’re very happy together and that’s that.” With that, Ali started to walk away.

“Whatever, ya dumb bitch. You break his heart and you’re going to have some serious problems”. The girl yelled back. Ali waved her hand and she and Rose rushed out of the store.

As they headed home Rose kept noticing that Ali’s face hadn’t softened. “You still thinking about that girl at the store?”

Ali nodded. “I know I shouldn’t let it bother me, but she was just rude. I guess it comes with the territory though.”

“Are you going to say anything to JC about it?”

Ali shook her head. “Why should I? He’ll say the same thing. Besides, I can handle it. As long as I have him.”

Rose smiled. “Just make sure you get pepped up for tonight,” she said as they got to their hotel room. “This will be the time you can let everyone in the whole world know that you’re JC’s girl and you don’t give a damn what they have to say about it.”

Ali grinned back. “That’s right.” She took a glance at her watch and her mouth dropped. “Oh shit! We have to start getting ready. The guys will be done with the promo in about another hour and then they’re coming to pick us up and we’re going straight there”.

“You want first dibs at the bathroom?” Rose said grinning. “I know you want to look your best.”

Ali rolled her eyes. “Please, girl. You know I’m low-maintenance. You go ahead and do your thing. I think I’m going to use my cell and give Mom a call. I haven’t talked to her since we left and I’m sure she’s dying to know what’s going on.”

“Sure thing,” Rose said as she grabbed her dress and headed into the bathroom.

Ali dialed her mom’s number. “Hey mom, its Ali”.

“Oh hey, Pumpkin. How are you?” “Pumpkin” was Ms. Edwards’ little pet name for her daughter. Ali never really complained. She had had that name since she was a little girl, and as far as her mother was concerned, that’s what she still was.

“I'm doing good. Just getting ready to go out and show off”.

Ms. Edwards had just remembered what Ali had gone out of town for. “Oh that’s right! You’re going to that awards ceremony, aren’t you? You must be so nervous.”

Ali shook her head. “Not really. I’m actually looking forward to it. As long as I’m going with JC and the guys, it should be fine.”

“So how are you guys doing?” Ali’s mom was a bit surprised when her daughter said she was dating a celebrity, but she was never the type of mother to discourage. She only said something when she felt a major need to. Otherwise, she knew Ali was grown and she was old enough to make her own decisions. She was just going to be there for her if she needed someone.

“Mom, I’m on cloud nine. JC and I got a chance to go out before he had to do his promo yesterday and we had a blast.” Ali felt her face spreading into a wide grin as she talked about JC.

“Is he behaving himself?”

Ali blushed. She had told her mother that her and JC had finally slept together, and now her mother was teasing her about it whenever she saw the opportunity. “What’s the fun in that?” she said, jokingly.

“Ali…” her mother said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Mom, JC is being very good to me.”

“I’ll bet he is.” Ms. Edwards said with a laugh. She never liked acting her age, so she was constantly being funny with Ali, especially about her love life.

“Oh stop. Seriously, he is. He’s at a promo right now, so he can’t be here to defend himself. But I know what’s up. Anyway, I have had a crazy day so far. Today I had my first teenybopper account.” She told her mother about the girl at the store.

“Well, hon, that comes with the territory.”

“I know. But I guess I wasn’t expecting something like that so soon. We hadn’t even gone public yet. I guess the rumor mill is working overtime”.

“Sounds like it,” Ms. Edwards replied. “Well, as long as you and JC are happy that’s all that matters. You know that I have to meet him soon.”

Ali smiled. She had seen that coming. “Don’t worry. After their tour winds down in the next month or so, I’ll have to bring him back home with me.” Then she grimaced at the thought of being him home. Her family had a tendency to make a scene whenever any of the girls in the family brought a new guy over. “Hopefully they won’t scare him off”.

Ms. Edwards laughed. “Don’t worry, you can hide him in my house. But then again…”

“Yeah right! I’ve seen what you can do. You’re no better! This one’s mine!” Mother and daughter cracked up laughing. Suddenly Ali heard Rose coming out of the bathroom. “Well, Mom, I have to start getting ready for tonight. Don’t forget to watch for me!” Then she laughed. “Who knows? Maybe Lance and JC will be so impressed by the way Rose and I look tonight that they’ll bring us onstage with them just to show us off”.

“Well, in that case, I’ll be looking for you, and making sure that JC’s not trying to make moves.”

“Oh please. JC’s a gentleman. Big difference from the last one, right?”

“Definitely. Let me tell you, I’m glad you’ve kept your distance from Casey. He just did you wrong. I’m glad to see you’re happy finally, because you deserve it.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“I love you”

“Love you too, mom”. With that, Ali hung up and started getting ready for the awards.

** Later On That Night**

Rose finished curling the last strand of her hair when the doorbell rang. “Ali, the guys are here!”

“Go ahead and let them in,” Ali yelled back. “I’ll be ready in a little bit.”

Low-maintenance, my left foot, Rose thought as she went and opened the door. Lance greeted her with a kiss. “Hey you”. He stepped back and examined Rose. “Man, you look gorgeous. Be prepared in case I decide to drag you onstage with me and show you off to the rest of the world.”

Rose blushed. “You’ll be doing that with me kicking and screaming.” Then she smiled. “Just kidding.”

“Where’s Ali?” JC asked.

“She’s finishing getting ready. She’s been kind of on edge lately so you might want to give a little extra TLC on the way there.”

“Why, what happened?” JC asked, concerned. Rose filled him in on the incident that the store earlier that afternoon. “Oh jeez, and we haven’t even made it public yet. Man, the rumor mill must be having a field day with us”.

Rose laughed. “That’s exactly what Ali said.”

“Oh well. Like I said before, I have nothing to hide.” “Am I hearing an echo? Sheesh…you two were definitely made for each other”.

The guys cracked up laughing. Suddenly, everyone got quiet as Ali emerged from the bathroom. She saw the stunned looks on everyone’s faces. “Do I have something on my face or something?” she asked.

After a slight pause, JC finally managed to speak up. “Wowwee”. Everyone couldn’t help but laugh slightly at JC’s awkwardness. He went over and put his arms around Ali. “Mamma put the coins on my eyes because I sure don’t believe what I’m seeing.” Ali blushed and let out a tiny giggle. “You look absolutely angelic”.

“Thank you”.

“That’s it. I’m taking you onstage with me and showing you off to the rest of the world.”

“Hey, don’t be taking my ideas, man.” Lance replied.

Everyone laughed as Ali and JC looped arms and looked at the rest of the gang. “So is everyone ready to go?”

“Let’s roll!”

** At The Show**

As everyone made their way out of the limousine, the sound of clicking cameras was deafening. Reporters and the like crowded the guys. JC was the first one they went to. “JC, N Sync has been nominated for three awards tonight. Are you guys at all nervous?”

“We’re a little nervous, but that’s to be expected from anyone in this business on awards night. But we’re confident enough to handle things in case we don’t walk away with anything. The honor of being nominated is enough”.

“What do you have to say about the rumors concerning your alleged relationship with a fan you met at a past show?”

As if on cue, Ali stuck her head out from behind JC’s shoulder. The group of reporters gasped. “You can go ahead and write this down. This is my girlfriend Ali. We did meet at a show in Florida about two months ago, when she got a chance to meet us backstage. She brought with her an old grade school friend of Lance’s and they too have been seeing each other since that show”.

The hoard of cameras turned away from JC and Ali to Lance and Rose. Lance answered their questions and he and Rose made their way into the Shrine Auditorium for the show.

“This is going to be a very interesting night”.