Chapter Sixteen, Part Two

So, this was what it was like to be a normal person, he thought as he handed over his ticket, waiting for it to be torn away from the other part and handed back to him. "Enjoy the concert," the woman mumbled, as he was pushed through the line up. Maybe he wasn't enjoying this as much as he thought, but it was definitely an experience.

Laughing to himself, he made his way into the actual arena and walked down the aisle, excusing himself with a smile and apologizing when he bumped into someone to get to the front row, where his ticket told him he was sitting. The whole area was a mass of bodies, pushing, shoving, and talking loudly. He had never experienced it from this angle in a long time, and had almost forgotten what it was like. He made his way to his seat and sat down, waiting for the concert to start. There would be no doubt that as soon as the concert started, everyone, including himself, would be on their feet.

The person sitting next to him, thankfully not recognizing him, smiled brightly. "Are you a big fan of Brooklyn Turner?" she asked.

He smiled back. He could get used to this. Just keep heading to country music concerts and he could get away with hiding. "Yeah, you could say that. I've been following her career since she first started. This is the first concert of hers that I've gone to, though."

She smiled again, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Really? I've been to every single one that she's had out here."

Nodding politely, he straightened the hem of his shirt and looked towards the stage briefly. He could tell that the band was setting up for the first opener. It was just another part of his life to remember stuff like that. "I'm not from Texas. I'm from Florida. I'm just out here on business, and decided to get a ticket when I heard about it." So, that was a lie, but it didn't matter. It worked, didn't it? She didn't need to know that he was going to be Brooklyn's escort to the ACMAs.

"Really? I heard that this year's concerts are better than ever." They were both quieted when the first group, Sons Of The Desert came out to a warm reception. This was definitely knew to him. Usually, during their concerts, the crowd chanted through the performance, asking for NSYNC. It had happened many a times, but this time, every one seemed to be into listening to the opener, not even wondering when Brooklyn was going to burst out on stage.

Lance waited through the other opener, and when the house lights dimmed, he could feel himself holding his breath. He hoped that she wouldn't recognize him, knowing that she could only see a few of the first rows, since this was set up as a surprise. Truth was, he wasn't supposed to be in town until the next day, the day before the award show.

He was caught up in the stomping of the feet, the screams and cries for her, when all the lights went out, leaving them all in darkness. His eyes didn't have time to adjust before a flash of lights and sparkles appeared in front of them, blinding them all for a moment. The lights on the stage turned on to show them...nothing.

A smile broke out on his face when he recognized what was happening, and all of the rest of the fans were left in the dark, so to speak. Nodding his head, he shifted his weight on his feet and looked towards the stage. Another flash before them and still nothing. There was no such thing as silence. Finally, a last burst, lasting much longer than the rest went off, enveloping the whole arena in light. From either side, two lines of women started to backflip across the stage, before they disappeared on either side. They came back across and stopped at the center of the stage, before another woman came flipping in from behind the back. Her hair flew up and she smiled to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, your Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders!" she shouted over the microphone, laughing as a cheer went over the crowd.

A song started up instantly, and Brooklyn skipped to the front of the stage, the cheerleaders dancing behind her. A bright smile covered her face, and Lance couldn't help grinning back when he saw the look in her eyes. It was one that he had seen in the mirror so many times. Despite the fact that her face was covered with makeup, her clothes were everything that she normally didn't wear, it was still her.

She started to sing the lyrics, joining the cheerleaders every now and then in the dance, always smiling and waving to people. By the end of the first song, the cheerleaders had disappeared and Brooklyn was standing alone, the band sitting behind her. With a grin, she put her hands on her hips and scanned the crowd, even though he knew she couldn't see most of them. She was a born performer, that much was obvious as he watched her. Finally, she started to speak, only after the cheers had died down. "Well, hello Dallas, Texas!" she shouted, pumping her fist in the air. With a laugh, she listened to the cheers. "Now I know that y'all can do better than that. I was here just a few months ago and believe me, last year's crowd was much louder. Can we try this again?" She stepped back, a saucy half grin on her face. "Hello, Dallas, Texas!"

The cheers increased, and she nodded happily. "That was so much better. Now, as y'all know, this is a pretty special weekend for me. Not only am I doing a concert here," she paused for the screams, "And these concerts here are always special because this is the only place that I do a stadium, but this is also where my mentor played his only stadium concert. And everyone knows that no one puts on a show like Garth Brooks." She laughed, running her hands through her honey brown hair.

He shook his head, smiling at the look on her face. She was practically glowing. No wonder JC talked about and hung around with her so much. The pictures on her CD covers, he saw, didn't do her justice. He had picked up on the sparkle in her eyes before, but there was something about the warmth in her smile, the way that her cheeks flushed whenever she heard a guy whistle. There was more to her than just what everyone saw.

"Well, unfortunately, you're going to have to put up with me for a little while. I hope that none of you mind all that much." She was pulling her accent out, but there was no way that anyone could miss the genuine part of her that seemed to glow on stage. It was the same warmness that she talked on the phone with, or that you saw during interviews, or when you heard stories about her.

He didn't come to psycho-anylize her, he realized, and relaxed a little. She wouldn't recognize him; he found that out when her eyes stopped on his for a moment before continuing on. If she had, there was no doubt that she would have held his gaze. For now, he was just going to enjoy the little taste of freedom that he had been granted, and be sure to thank her afterwards.

She turned around and grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler beside the table, opening it quickly. Her eyes traveled down to the watch she was wearing on her left wrist, and sighed. By now, Austin would be in the air, heading towards France, and landing early the next morning, her time. Already, she missed him. It was like a part of her was missing, considering that her and her brother were almost inseperatable.

Catching the rest of whatever conversation was happening beside her, she smiled brightly. "Are you kidding?" she asked, with a quiet laugh. "I think I'm half blind from the pyro, and I'm half deaf from the crowd. That had to have been our loudest yet."

Mia ran up to her, a smile on her face. "Brooke!" she shouted, waving over the heads of everyone else. Once she got to her, she noted that her publicist was out of breath, not that it wasn't normal for her, and watched Mia brush the hair out of her eyes. "I kind of listened in on some of the reporter's conversations," she said with a sarcastic smile.

Brooklyn raised her hand and grinned back. "You might as well tell the truth. You eavesdropped, not that I would put it past you. Now, what did they say?" she asked almost jumping up and down in excitement. She loved to hear what the critic's thought about her concerts, but she never let it bother her if it was something bad. It was just the plain excitement that anyone could be talking about the shy, if not plain (in her mind) country girl that just happened to be living out one of her dreams.

"Well, first they tried to be all professional. Talking about what they thought were the strong suits, what they thought was weak...which was nothing, really. They were just looking for something to pick on, so don't worry about that. But then, you should have heard it. I always laugh when I hear that the men are normally the entertainment journalists, so I always think that at least seventy percent of them are gay." Brooklyn waved the comment away as one that Mia usually said when she 'listened in' on some of their conversations. "No, no, they proved me wrong. I have never heard so many comments about you in my life, and they were all these glowing, 'she's so sexy' comments. Those leather pants that you wore for the second part definitely made them happy. They loved them. All they could talk about were your legs, your smile....everything."

Her eyes rolled as she took a sip of water and leaned against the wall so that the person that was running by wouldn't bump into her. "That makes me feel so wonderful, considering I'm a singer, and not a model." The sarcasm was so thick in her voice, that Mia couldn't help laughing.

"They gushed about your voice, too, don't worry. According to them, this is your most powerful tour ever, and the album has gotten nothing but high comments. I think they like you."

Brooklyn bit back the comment she had, copying the Sally Fields acceptance speech, and smiled instead. "Cool. So, in other words, I should buy up all the papers I can to save for Austin, right?"

With a laugh, Mia ran her hands through her hair, settling it a little more. Another person rushed by, and Mia turned around to look at their retreating back. "Slow down, would you?" her powerful voice called out. The person immediately slowed down and went on in a hurried walk. Facing Brooklyn again, she caught the eye of a person standing behind her. She was about to comment when he silenced her and pointed to Brooklyn.

"Mia? Weren't you going to say something?" she asked, her eyebrows raising.

"Don't give me that look, honey. It still scares me. Anyway, I was going to say that they'll probably have American papers out in France. I don't know. I've never been there before." A wondering tone filled her voice and Brooklyn groaned loudly. "Don't give me that. I think I know where I'll be spending my vacation time after this tour is over, and I'll see if I can hook up with that hunky brother of yours." Mia winked and laughed.

Crossing herself quickly, Brooklyn giggled. "Lord save him. I'd just like you to know that he has not been corrupted yet, and I don't think he's up for it. I've been around you for how many years? And I've just barely kept my sanity."

An evil smile spread on her face, and Mia pretended to look around nonchalantly, all the while checking out the person that was behind Brooklyn. "I noticed that there was no comment on your virginity there, but then again, I had nothing to do with that one. That was all Tim, the rat bastard's doing."

"Can we not speak ill of my fiancé for at least one hour? You're going to be one of my bridesmaids and I can just see you at the wedding." Brooklyn lowered her voice for a moment to make her point. "Do you, Brooklyn Arizona Turner, take this man...blah, blah, blah." Her voice went back to normal, albeit slightly nasal. "Brooke, you're not actually thinking of marrying HIM, are you? I mean, he can barely zip his own pants," she finished with a sarcastic smile. "Yeah, that'll go over well with the guests, huh?"

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Mia crossed her arms under her breasts and slumped slightly, all the while keeping her modeling stature. One foot out in front, one hip cocked to the side and slightly upward. "I wouldn't dream of saying that." Brooklyn's eyebrows remained raised. They held the gaze for a little while longer before Mia burst into laughter. "I would be far more mean and nasty than that. I was meaning to ask you, is your brother going to be the best man?"

"Would you like the see a boxing match just before the vows? I doubt, very highly, that Tim, and don't bother putting that look on your face because even though I'm looking at my shoes and thinking about how I need a new pair of sneakers, I can see it, would ever dream of asking Austin to be his best man. No chance in hell."

Now, the publicist smiled again, and stood up straight. "You know, we've stood here and talked about how I would corrupt your brother, your virginity, what I would say at your wedding, and the look on my face that I had when you mentioned..." she mumbled something that Brooklyn knew wasn't very nice, but couldn't actually pick up on, "and all this time, there's been this really sexy guy with the most gorgeous green eyes that I have ever seen standing right behind you, listening to all this. Hmm...how embarrassing is this for you. You're going red...deeper red...wow, we hit scarlet. Not bad, Brooke."

"You're kidding, right? This is just another of your stupid little jokes."

Mia's eyebrows shot up, and Brooklyn was reminded of herself. Well, it was about time that she had picked up the mannerism and used it more often, she thought to herself. "Why would you think that, darling Brooklyn?" Mia asked, leaning forward to pinch her cheek with a laugh. "I'll see you back at the hotel in a little while...if you're not too busy with that drop dead gorgeous man behind you." She leaned forward, and started to talk in a stage whisper. "Hey, when you tire him out, send him to my room. I'll be sure to raise his energy level a little."

With a smirk, she watched after her retreating back. "That isn't all that you would raise." Laughing, she closed her eyes and mentally counted to herself before turning around and opening them. Slowly, her eyes traveled over his chest, to his face, and settled on his hair. Her eyes went back down, and finally a smile spread over her face. "I thought that you were going to be a reporter for a minute. I thought that you weren't supposed to be out here until tomorrow," she said with a bright smile, reaching up to wrap her arms around him.

Lance laughed and couldn't help picking the small woman off the ground. She laughed again when she was put back down on the ground. "As big a fan of yours I am, I have never seen one concert."

She took another long drink of water, and looked at him with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "That's a crime."

"I know. It should be a federal offense, but I took the extra day off to see your concert, and girl, it was worth it." She smiled brightly at the praise and pulled him on the arm, directing him to her dressing room. "Whoa, slow down a little before that psycho woman comes back and screams at you. Where are we going?"

Turning briefly to smile at him, she pulled him even faster. "My dressing room. I need to get my stuff before we can leave. Did you bring a pair of jeans with you?" she asked.

He had no idea what she was talking about, and his face showed his confusion. "Yeah, why?"

"Are they Wranglers?"

A grin spread across his face, in turn making his eye brighten slightly. "Classic country jeans. Yeah, I did. Why do you want to know if I brought jeans, specifically Wranglers with me."

Her laugh was pure evil as she opened up the door and walked in, heading straight for the counter. She had already changed into a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a western shirt. Her cowboy hat, which had been present for a quarter of the concert, was laying on the counter, and her boots were underneath. "Well, considering that we're in Dallas, Texas, we're going to have a little fun. Now tell me, in such a country music populated place, what's a regular around here?" she asked, sitting down on a small couch. He sat beside her, watching her closely. The sneakers were tossed across the room, towards an open backpack, and the boots were on her feet. "You have no clue. Country bars. Hello? We're going to go party tonight. My crew and I haven't had a good party yet, so anyone that wants to come is going to join us and do a little Boot Scootin' Boogie." He laughed, as she reached for her cowboy hat and stuck it n her head, tucking her hair behind her ears as she did so.

Lance was impressed. That much as certain. He had never met Brooklyn before, but seeing her was a hell of a lot different than talking to her on the phone. JC hadn't even been close when he had talked about her. She seemed to be nothing but a big bundle of energy at the moment, but that was understandable, after watching the show that she had put on. Still, there was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on. Maybe it was her naturally happy and almost flirtatious attitude (and even he could see that it was all in fun). Maybe it was the way she smiled or the way that her eyes glowed. Still, he couldn't tell, but he loved it.

"So, we're going to do a little line dancing to Achy Breaky Heart?" he asked, leaning back on the couch as she got up to shove all of her things into her backpack.

"I'm not sure about that one. There might not be a lot of line dancing going on, but there will definitely be some dancing, and I can almost guarantee a Billy Ray Cyrus tune or two. I'm more interested in hearing some Garth Brooks or something."

He couldn't help laughing. "Oh, you mean that you don't want to hear your voice over the speakers?"

Turning around, she looked at him, a smile playing on her lips. She was trying to hide it, but there was no way that she could. He grinned back in response as she pressed a finger to her lips and went into the over-exaggerated 'thinking' pose. "You never know. I might not mind, but hey, if they want to play my stuff, they play it, right? I'm sure that you don't get sick of hearing your songs playing over the speakers when you guys go out to clubs." She whirled back around and zipped up her backpack, putting it on her shoulders. "Now, I guess that you don't have a pair of cowboy boots, and I know that you don't have a cowboy hat, because you told me that a long time ago, right?"

Nodding, he took his time to examine her. There was a lot for JC to be attracted to, he saw, but that wasn't what reeled everyone in. He looked at her slim legs (which were clad in a pair of tight jeans), her small waist that was covered with a black leather belt and a belt buckle, though he couldn't see which kind it was. Going on, he saw the deeply tanned skin, the honey brown hair, and most importantly, the verdant eyes that she possessed. "Not at all. Sorry."

"That's okay. I know that I can snag a cowboy hat for you....definitely black. You would look great in a black cowboy hat." With a quirky grin, she started to fan herself. He picked up a stuffed bear beside him, obviously given to her by a fan and tossed it. Brooklyn caught it and stuck out her tongue before throwing it back. "I might even be able to find a pair of boots that would fit you, because honestly, you can't go into a country western bar and not have a pair of cowboy boots."

"You're dead serious about this, aren't you?" he asked in amazement. When she nodded, he couldn't help chuckling. Her mouth dropped and she stared at him for a moment. "What?"

A grin started on her face once she had her mouth closed, and her eyes took on a different type of sparkle. "Do that again," she urged. "That little chuckle. Do it again."

The request was so absurd that he couldn't help laughing, and it was the same low chuckle that had made her stop completely in her tracks the first time. "What's so great about that?" he asked her, watching as her face flushed slightly.

"Honey, you can laugh like that, and you're single? What is wrong with women today. I am obviously engaged to the wrong man," she said with a laugh, readjusting the straps of her backpack. "Are you ready to head out? We're riding to the hotel in the bus, and then taking the rented vans to the bar. Don't think that you're getting out of this," she said with a short laugh.

He stood up and started towards the door before he turned back around. "Wait, you said it again. Before, you were talking about your fiancé, and you just said again that you were engaged. Jace never said one thing about it. Since when have you been engaged?"

That was strange. When she had told JC about it, he had been excited for her, to the point where he couldn't stop smiling when he looked at her. It was strange that he had never mentioned anything about it to his friends, and to Brooklyn's friend, as well, but she figured that it had something to do with the fact that she didn't want anyone to know about it.

Now, with a secretive smile, she dug into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out the diamond ring that she had been sporting on her third finger for the past little while and held it out to him. "New Years Eve, just before midnight, Tim proposed. I wasn't going to say no to a rock like that," she joked.

Lance raised his head and looked at her. Surprisingly, he noticed, the smile on her face looked tired, like she didn't really want to smile. She had just had the most radiant grin on her face, and now, she wasn't all that happy? She was getting married to the man that she loved.

He also realized what this meant. Every little thing that he had come out to do, every plan that he had come up with to make sure that JC was permanently stuck in her mind, was done, over before it began. There was no way that he was going to play around and possibly ruin a marriage, just because he thought that she should be with a man that would actually treat her like the wonderful woman that she was. No way in hell was he going to mess with that. "Congratulations. I never knew."

That didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her and picking her up off the ground again. This was turning into a habit, as she laughed, holding the ring tightly in her hand. "Thank you. Don't think that this means you're not going to be at the wedding, you know. I expect you and JC to get some dates, and sit front row, right next to my brother, because there's no one else that I would rather have there." She laughed again, now putting the ring back in her pocket after her feet were back on the ground. Brushing the hair out of her eyes, she winked. "And you can't say a word to anyone about it. Mia, that psycho woman that you saw, thought that the best way to announce it would be in a public way, so when we hit the Entertainment Tonight Crew on the red carpet, that's who I'm telling first. Everyone else just gets a 'maybe'. I have very strict orders about this."

Laughing, he went back to pick up the little teddy bear and opened her backpack, pushing it in amid the rest of her stuff before he closed it again and patted the top of the bag quickly. "No problem. Let's head out of here."

They walked at a brisk pace to the front door, where it seemed so empty considering that the band had already packed up and left on their bus. "Okay, Brooke, I want you to listen to me. You and...who is this?"

She looked over at Lance for a moment. "I don't know. He just followed me back here, and I thought that I could keep him. He's just so darned cute," she said in a high pitched voice before pinching his cheek. "Kidding. This is Lance Bass, and he'll be my escort for the ACMAs. Is that sufficient?" she asked, cocking her head to the side with a smile. She seemed to have been smiling a lot that night.

"That's fine. Nice to meet you," the bodyguard said with a slight nod of his head to Lance. "As I was saying, you and Mr. Bass are to run out there, straight for the bus. If you want to head out tonight, you'll have no time for autographs. Besides, I think most of the people here know you personally." She smirked at that one, though it could have been true. She knew a few people out there, but mostly from dinners and things that she commonly had with her fan club or just with people that she had met out there. "Straight out run. Can you do that in those boots?"

"You should know by now that I can do everything in these boots. Just haven't tried sex with them on yet. Would you be game, Lance?" she said with a laugh as the door was opened. Immediately, they were caught off guard with the sound of cheering and screaming people. For a moment, Lance thought that he at the back of the arena after one of their concerts. He was in the midst of plastering a smile on his face before he realized that it wasn't him they were screaming for, and he didn't have to worry about that.

Brooklyn didn't pause at all. With one guard in front of them, the two started out at a fast sprint towards the bus, but when they could hear the guard's footsteps behind them, they picked up the pace until they were in a full out run, Brooklyn managing pretty well with cowboy boots and a backpack. Finally, they neared the open door of the tour bus, and without thinking twice, Lance pushed her ahead of him and picked her up from the waist, pushing her on the bus before he climbed on and the door was slammed behind him. "Damn, are they normally like that?"

She shook her head and looked back. "No, but I shouldn't have been surprised. If you would have noticed, most of the people running after us were guys, and that was only because I was seen with a man that wasn't my brother or my manager. Some of those guys think that, even though they know I have a boyfriend, they might have a chance with me, and they're willing to fight off any guy that comes near me." Laughing, they headed towards the back of the bus, stopping only to get some bottles of water.

"What about the hotel? I mean, you must have some sort of security protocols for that," he said, once they settled themselves on the couch. "There's no way that security would just let you walk in like you were a normal person."

Her hands came up to tuck her hair back again and readjust her cowboy hat. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. I am a normal person, I'm just not living a normal life. But, to answer your question, there are no security protocols at all. I can just walk in and out. My fans don't really like hanging out at the hotel. They know that they have a better chance at seeing me walking around on the street than running up the steps of whatever hotel I'm staying at. You're really not used to this, are you?" she asked.

Shaking his head in amazement, he watched her reaction. "Not at all. You're a very lucky person to have a career in the music industry like this, Brooklyn. Very lucky."

Turning her head away, she looked out the window for a moment. "Not as lucky as you would think."

the group tumbled out of the rented vans with a loud gust of laughter. Everyone seemed to be attired in some sort of country apparel, and at Brooklyn's request, Lance had donned the Wranglers, the black cowboy hat that she had stolen off of one of her guitar players, and a pair of borrowed country boots. Normally, the getup would be seen as humorous, but there was nothing funny about the group that he was with. All of them seemed to be very dedicated to country music, with the exception of Mia, who had reluctantly put on a small red cowboy hat.

Still, the group of close knit, and as soon as Brooklyn had told them who Lance was, he was immediately seen as not an outsider, but a friend. He wasn't treated like royalty, not the way that everyone seemed to bow down to Brooklyn. They didn't care that he was a singer, or that NSYNC was so popular. That had nothing to do with the fact that he was still put in a normal hotel room, much like everyone else, and he wasn't given special privileges. All they cared about was that he was a friend of Brooklyn's, and he was escorting her to the awards show. So what if he sang and danced on stage? They were country fans, and country fans they would remain.

"Come on, guys. Let's go tear the roof off this place," someone shouted. It got everyone moving. Brooklyn was in the front, ripping open the door before she jumped in, stopping for a moment for everyone to join her, before most of the group made their way to the bar. No one was driving that night; two bodyguards were at their disposal for the night as chauffeurs, and the large mass of people were going to take advantage of it. For once, they had the freedom they usually died for in the middle of a tour, and they could drink the night away without wondering about the repercussions the next night.

With a laugh, Brooklyn turned on her stool as soon as there was a bottle of beer in her hand, looking over at Lance. "Not a bad place, huh? I still know where the hottest country western bars are," she said with a laugh. Leaning forward, she dropped her voice a little lower, which could have been considered a whisper in the loud bar. "My reason for asking you to wear Wranglers was a purely selfish reason," she admitted, her cheeks flushing a little. Sweeping her arm out to the dance floor, a grin replaced the blush and she looked at him. "I always thought that a guy looked great in a pair of Wranglers. I could never get Tim, my boyfriend, into a pair, and there was no chance in hell that I could get JC into a pair. I figured I had a chance with you."

"That's low, Brooke. I'm going to make sure that next time I see you, you're wearing those leather pants you wore on stage. Damn, girl, I was never told that you had legs like that before," he added with a chuckle. "Was that what hooked your boyfriend, because it sure as hell would have hooked me."

Shaking her head, she took a sip of the beer. "Not at all. It had something to do with my gleaming smile," she said, flashing one his way.

"It looks more like a happy-go-lucky grin if you ask me."

The conversation ended when Brooklyn was pulled away by some guy on the tour and brought out to the dance floor. She had already sworn that she was a horrible dancer, but it didn't show. She was dancing like a pro, and having the time of her life. Her head was tossed back as she laughed, and her cowboy boots made merry little thumps on the floor. From the moment that she had walked in, it seemed like almost every guy was looking at her. Not because she was Brooklyn Turner, the country singer, but because every man could see that she looked unbelievably gorgeous. The blouse she was wearing had been buttoned up, but she had been forced to keep a few top buttons open, due to Mia, and every man seemed to be wondering what she was wearing underneath, if she was wearing anything at all.

Lance just shook his head in disgust when he saw some of the guys staring at her before turning away, and looked at the rest of the bar. It was with a face of shock that he looked over and saw Brooklyn's old spot now filled by the fiery Mia. "Hello, there. You weren't checking out Brooke over there, were you?" she asked.

He caught the very hopeful tone in her voice, and wondered what her fiancé was like. It seemed that anyone who had said his name, other than Brooklyn, hadn't spoken with a glowing tone. "If I was, it was completely accidental," he said. It was the truth. He didn't think that he was checking her out, but it was such a normal thing to do that he didn't realize it. “Honestly, I was trying to find out why she seems to be either everyone's best friend or everyone's fantasy. I can't figure her out."

Mia shook her head with a short laugh. "See, that's the thing. You can't figure her out. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing fake about the girl. She's like that perky little cheerleader in high school. Always has a smile on her face, always in the limelight, but if you really knew her, you'd know that she's a very down to earth person. That's my Brooke, all the way."

"Your Brooke, huh?"

Her shoulders moved in a shrug, and her eyes moved to look at the country star that had traded partners and was dancing again. "She's my pet project. I'm responsible for bringing her out of her shell a little, but most of the credit goes to your friend. He's a wonder. I don't know how he did it, but if I ever meet him, I'll be sure to get down and kiss his feet. Brooklyn is...herself. This is the real Brooklyn, the one that everyone loves, not the small, frail, quiet little girl that took her place for a little while." She sighed deeply and looked over at Lance. "The only problem about Brooke is that she doesn't take my advice very seriously, and I think she should right now."

Nodding slowly, he turned his stool to look at her a little better. "Does it have anything to do with..." he trailed off and raised his left hand.

Mia nodded just as slow as he had. "That would be it. In my opinion, Tim Croft is an ass. It's a perfect way of putting it. He is nothing but an ass who doesn't deserve to have a woman like her. He's only into the relationship for one thing, and don't get all preachy on me, because I know this has nothing to do with love. At least, not on his end. She's so blinded by her love that she can't see it. I think...and remember, I've never met your friend, but the stories that I've heard from Joe, her manager, and so many other people, I think that those two should be together, not Brooke and that asshole that's sitting in California on the beach, sponging off of her."

"I never realized that it was like that," he said quietly, stealing another look at Brooklyn. She was having the time of her life right now, he could tell, and so could Mia. "I know that JC doesn't really care for...Tim, is his name?" Mia nodded. "He's never talked that nice about him, if he talks about him at all. He does talk a lot about Brooke, though. There's something there, but it's one sided, and he knows it, so he tries to hide it and forget about it."

A smirk appeared on her face. "I wish that he would just listen to his heart and go after her, instead of listening to whatever his head is telling him, because honestly? Well, let's just put it this way. I don't have a crystal ball, and I definitely can't tell the future. My GUT, and that's the only thing that I rely on, is telling me that this is going to end in nothing but tragedy, if you ask me. I don't think there is such a thing as a happy ending anymore, and if there is, it definitely isn't in the stars for Brooke."

This trip seemed to be filled with nothing but firsts for Lance. It was like rediscovering life, even though he knew he had to go back to his confining touring schedule, and living out of hotels the next day. For now, though, he was going to enjoy the night. He couldn't really remember the last time he had gone to an awards show when he wasn't up for some award of some sort. This time, he wasn't nervous for himself. Hell, he wasn't even nervous for Brooklyn. There was no doubt that she was going to walk away with at least one, like all of the critics and journalists were predicting.

So, it was now that he walked to her hotel room, and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. The ACMAs were the Grammy's of the country music awards. They meant a great deal to the country stars, so it wasn't unusual to see the women dressed up more than usual. He just wasn't expecting to see Brooklyn the way she looked when she opened the door.

The dress was probably the first thing that he noticed, probably because of how well the white contrasted with her deep tan. Spaghetti straps landed on her shoulders, moving into a tight corset across her top, tied in the back with silver strings. The skirt was full and hid her shoes, except for a tiny tip of the white heels he could see. The skirt itself had been adorned with a few silver sequins sprinkled sporadically through it. She wore little jewelry, other than her engagement ring and the necklace that he always saw her wearing, with 'NEW YORK' resting in the hollow of her neck.

Finally, he looked up to her face and took notice of the perfect makeup, and her silky hair, half pulled into a mess on the back of her head. A grin creeping onto his face, he whistled lowly. "Wow. I think that's the only word that would work right now. Wow."

"Well, no one ever said that you were a genius with words, but I'll take that as a compliment. You're looking pretty sexy yourself. With that voice, and those looks, I swear, you should have been snapped up a long time ago."

With a laugh, he looked her over one final time before extending his arm to her. She giggled as she rested her hand in the crook of his arm and shut the door behind her. One of her body guards was already holding her door card for when she came back, since she didn't want to mess with a purse for the award show. "You know, you're only engaged, not married. If you want to ditch the guy you're with now, I'm more than available."

Shaking her head, they stepped into the elevator, amid the curious stare of two tourists standing in the back. Lance had to admit that it would have been funny to him to see two obviously expensive and well dressed young people standing in front of a person that was wearing a pair of cut off jean shorts and an old tee shirt. Brooklyn nervously brought her free hand up to touch her hair before Lance seized it at the wrist and brought it back down gently. "You're going to ruin it if you touch it. You look great, Brooke. Don't worry. I have a feeling that you're going to be the most gorgeous woman there."

"Now, if my brother was with me, he's be saying that I paled in comparison to Faith Hill. He always managed to make me feel less than adequate compared to her," she said with a small chuckle. "I can't help being nervous, though. I mean, I have to perform up there, I have to do a little tribute, and I have to worry about whether or not my album was good enough to get at least one award. That's all I'm asking for is one award."

The smile on his face was a teasing smile, but she couldn't pick up on it. "Isn't it supposed to be an honor just to be nominated?"

Her head shook slowly, so that she wouldn't mess her hair. "Lance, this isn't any type of fiction story. I'm going to be brutally honest here. It sucks not to win when you're nominated, and you know it," she said with a little laugh, pushing him with her elbow. "I mean, come on. If you think you did a good job on something, and you weren't recognized for what you thought was your best work, wouldn't you be just a little miffed?"

"Miffed? Am I getting some sort of English class here. Besides, I never said that this was some sort of story. I know exactly what you mean. I don't think you're all that nervous about the show, because you've done so many of them. I think it's more about what's on your hand," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper. The man behind them didn't even pick up on the comment, or if he did, he didn't make it look like he had.

She relaxed a little more, and he watched her shoulders move down from their tense position before. "You're right. I can't wait to get this over with. I hope to hell that the ET crew is right in front, and that I don't have to go through everyone else just to get to them. It would suck to lie to everyone else, and then at the very end, tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

"So help you God," he added in his low voice.

Smiling at him, they stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the front doors. There was no mass of pavarattzi waiting for them, and they rushed out front the slightly warm afternoon to the limo that was waiting for them with open doors. Once they had settled themselves in, and the limo was heading down the road, Brooklyn reached for her necklace and held onto it for dear life. "I was meaning to ask you when I saw that. Who gave you that necklace? I know that Jace would freak if he found out that someone else calls you New York."

A laughing glint appeared in her eye as she looked over at him, folding her hands in her lap. Even her nails matched her ensemble, being painted a slightly sparkling silver tone. "Actually, JC is the person that gave it to me. For Christmas, he mailed it over so that I would open it on Christmas morning as my last gift. It's beautiful," she said, fingering it again before letting it go.

He didn't dare say what he wanted to say. He knew what JC felt towards her, and he also knew that he wasn't exactly quiet about talking about Brooklyn. Usually, in any conversation, he would say something like, 'that's something New York would like' or an off handed remark about her. After awhile, people got a little tired of hearing her nickname come up in every conversation they had with him, and Brooklyn had easily become the most talked about, and most speculated about person that wasn't on their tour. Still, he wondered if Brooklyn knew about what JC thought of her, even a little bit of it. It might have given her the shock of a lifetime.

And he wasn't the one that was going to give her that shock.

Instead, they talked normally, and he tried to keep her mind off of what was going to happen out there. Any conversation about her ring, her engagement, or her fiancé was immediately out. He even refused to talk about the fact that her dress was white, just in case she would think that he was commenting towards her wedding gown, which she had yet to purchase.

When they pulled up to the red carpet, she was practically shaking from her nervousness. Reassuringly, he took her hand and looked at her. "Brooke, you've done this before. I didn't come to watch you shake and stutter. You're going through with this, or else I'm going to leave you right in the middle of the reporter's wet dream and fly back to my tour, all right?"

She nodded, and put on her usual smile, before their door was opened, and he helped her out. She immediately put her hand back in the crook of his arm before smiling again, waiting long enough for the photographers to get a few snaps of her before moving on to the first group of reporters. Luckily, she saw that they were from Entertainment Tonight, having the prime spot of the evening. No one would pass by the first group, and Brooklyn was the person that they were looking for.

Without even thinking, she walked up to them, and Lance followed, knowing that this was part of the game plan. They had already agreed that he would be with her as she did her interviews, unlike the usual, where the date would wait slightly in the back, and if any questions about him or her association with NSYNC arised, she was going to tell the truth and say that she was friends with him and JC.

Mark Steiners, the reporter on duty for the evening, grinned back when he saw her approaching them, and he stepped forward, hand out for her to shake. She did, and waited for Lance to do the same before the camera was turned on, and Brooklyn's 'television' smile took over her face. It was a routine that she was more than used to, and she wasn't planning on changing anything. "I'm here with Brooklyn Turner, country music superstar, who's up for four awards tonight, including best album, which has to be an honor."

"A very big one, at that, and one that I don't really think I deserve, but I'm willing to take the award if I win," she said with a chuckle when the microphone was pushed into her face.

"And I also hear that you have a pretty big announcement to make, but before that, I just want to touch on some rumors circulating about you briefly before we get to that. Now, I see that you're on the arm of Lance Bass, from NSYNC, and in fact, JC Chasez, also from NSYNC was featured on your album. Everything thinks that something is going on between you and JC. What's the real truth about it."

She smiled again, and looked towards Lance for a moment. "The truth is very simply that JC was invited to sing a track on my album, and we ended up being friends. It probably started out of self respect more than anything, but I met Lance through him, and we also became friends. Nothing more than that." Her shoulder moved in a shrug and she smiled again, brighter than she normally would for television.

Mark grinned again. This was the big moment, and he could tell that Brooklyn knew. Her hand tightened briefly on Lance's arm before she looked up at him. "Now, everyone has speculated on your big announcement for the day, and ET is the first to hear this announcement, I understand."

"Very true. My announcement is that..." she paused and took her hand away from Lance's arm before extending her left hand to Mark, "that my boyfriend, Tim, proposed to me on New Years Eve, a few seconds before midnight. We're planning on getting married this summer, if possible, after the second leg of my tour is finished, and before the third leg starts. Not as exciting as everyone had hoped, I'm sure, and a lot of people have probably figured it out, but I'm just happy to have it out in the open finally."

The interview didn't last much longer, and she continued down the mass of reporters, not wanting to leave anyone out, but they did skip a few, only because of time. Finally, after a quick interview with CMT, the two headed inside and were immediately met by some of country's highest and most respected artists. Lance couldn't help smiling when he saw Brooklyn and Faith Hill practically attack each other, considering that it was well known that they were close friends. As he was talking to Faith's husband, he kept one eye on Brooklyn, only because he knew that if anything happened to her while he was with her, he would be the one to take the vicious beating from his friend.

After a few conversations, and a few introductions, they actually got into the sitting area, and were escorted towards their seats, which were in the front row. He shouldn't have been surprised, since the biggest stars usually sat there, but he didn't realize that one of his friends was considered to be one of the biggest stars in the building, especially surrounded by the likes of Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton, who really had revolutionized country music and brought it into mainstream USA.

"I didn't realize that you were so popular," he whispered to her before the show began.

Shaking her head, she looked over at him. "Not even close. Compared to a lot of these people, I'm just a kid," she said with a laugh. "I mean, think about it. You have Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, and Kenny Rodgers in the same room as me, and you're calling me a big star? Thanks for the compliment, but I don't think so." She laughed again, settling back in her seat.

Lance couldn't help shaking his head at her twisted logic. There was no doubt that Brooklyn was popular, if not one of the most popular in the music industry right then. Her albums had out sold Faith Hill's latest, and she didn't think she was big? As he reflected on it more, he noticed how more she was wrong. Brooklyn had the whole package. She had the looks, the talent, and the right marketing skills. She even came around at the right time, just when country music started to make an explosion on the charts. Basically, she had it made, and he knew that she had more than at least one million dollars held away, even if it was in stocks and bonds. It was hard to tell from the way she acted, though.

"Hey, you just signed your third contract, huh? At least, that's what I heard."

Her head shook as she checked out to see who else was in the room. "My current contract runs out when I'm on tour. I sign it when I come back." A wicked smile appeared on her face. "I'm guessing, but you're not allowed to do that, are you? I mean, be in the middle of a tour and not sign a contract until the tour is over." Sticking out her tongue, he couldn't help but laugh. Who else would be dressed up, looking like a princess, really, in a room full of music royalty...and stick out their tongue at their escort. "My record company trusts me," she added in a fake haughty voice.

Turning back to look at her from where he had been staring at the stage, he took in her appearance again. He also couldn't help thinking that he was with the most beautiful woman in the room (in his opinion), even if she was engaged to be married and one of his best friends was hung up on her. It was turning into nothing but a big soap opera. "My, my, aren't we special," he said dryly. "I know that after Australia, you have some time off. Are you going to come and attack all of us on our tour? The rest of the guys want to meet you."

"I keep hearing this, but I highly doubt it."

Shaking his head, he drummed his fingers on the arm rest and looked to the stage again. "Trust me. The main reason they want to meet you is because JC talks about you so much, they want to know if you're real or not. Chris, especially because he's never talked to you, and Justin just likes anyone from Tennessee."

A wry smile covered her face. "What, they don't want to meet me because I'm such a stunning and wonderful woman?" she asked sarcastically. "I'm hurt, really. That's a mega blow to the ego." A small giggle erupted from her, and she sighed, looking at the stage. "He can't talk about me that often. I'm not the type of person that is talked about all that much."

"Wow, and I thought that I was being the pathetic one. Brooke, my God, would you, for once, open up your eyes and looked around. You're sitting front row at the Grammy's of country music. You're up for a few awards, the most important being Album of the Year. Don't tell me that you don't have enough money to be living comfortably for the rest of your life if, God forbid, you decided to give up your career. The entire first leg of your tour is sold out, and I'm sure that as soon as tickets go on sale for your second leg, they'll be snatched up like that," he said, snapping his fingers to emphasis his point. "You're actually talented, which can't be said for half of the people in this room," at that, she slapped his arm, "and you're gorgeous. Why wouldn't people talk about you."

"First you kill my ego, now you pump it up. Can you just make up your mind?"

Again, his head shook. He really couldn't see where she was coming from? Either she was acting shy and fishing for a compliment, or she really didn't see herself the way that everyone else did. He could tell that it wasn't the former just by looking in her eyes. Her eyes always told the truth, and they were telling the truth now. "Never mind. You won't listen anyway. But he does talk about you A LOT. It's like every other word out of his mouth is your name." Okay, he knew that she was engaged, but it couldn't hurt to try, could it? As mean as it sounded, he was closer to JC than he was to Brooklyn, and priorities showed that JC was before her. "Everyone is a little sick about it, but hey, that doesn't mean that they don't want to meet you. Although he definitely built you up to high. You're not nice, you're not funny....should I go on?"

The lights dimmed, letting everyone know that the show was starting soon. A mad dash happened for everyone's seats before the host, Vince Gill, came out. Brooklyn grinned when Faith Hill and Tim McGraw were seated beside her. "There goes the blow to the ego again. I don't know whether I should keep you around to keep me grounded, or if I should kick your ass to keep my pride from being wounded. Hmm, that's a hard one."

He pushed her arm lightly as the lights came back up, and Vince Gill came out on the stage. A genuine smile was on Brooklyn's face when she looked up at him. There was no doubt in Lance's mind that they knew each other, or had at least met once. It seemed that everyone knew everyone. It was a little intimidating at first.

Vince went through the normal jokes, even poking a little fun at Brooklyn, and her engagement. He also called attention to Lance before moving away to Brooks and Dunn. The show was off to a pretty good start when the first performer came out and really opened the show, being Brad Paisely. He could tell that Brooklyn was resisting the urge to sing along when he was singing, and instead just wiggled a little in her seat, as if she couldn't help dancing along, either.

It was amazing, what these people were like. It was almost as if he were at someone's family reunion. Faith and Tim knew Brooklyn. Brooklyn knew Garth Brooks. Garth Brooks knew Reba McEntire, who knew Dolly Parton, who knew Braid Paisely, who knew....it was like playing a word association game. There wasn't a cruel word spoken, unlike some of the other awards shows, and everyone seemed to be there just to have a good time, like the stress of winning an award was non-existent. In fact, he had heard many a people talking about how they couldn't wait for the giant after party. Instead of separate record companies throwing separate parties, there was just one big one at the end of the night that everyone was invited to. According to Brooklyn, it wasn't supposed to stop until the sun came up, or they were forced to bring it up. "Think of it this way," she had said, "you put a bunch of heart broken country singers in one room that has a lot of free alcohol, and what happens? I guess you'll find out."

She had already told him a few stories about what had happened the year before, and he couldn't stop laughing for a full hour when his mind kept racing back to thinking of the lead singer of Diamond Rio and the lead singer of Sawyer Brown having a competition to see how many dollar bills they would get from the women. They had dropped their pants and walked around in boxer shorts, while the women in the room pushed bills into the waist band of their boxers. It turned out that most people that were still there until the end were so smashed that they couldn't remember who had won. It was still a big mystery, especially to the two participants.

An hour had passed while they were sitting there, and one award that Brooklyn had been nominated for had passed by, with Faith Hill taking it. She practically had tears rolling down her face in laughter when Faith got up to the podium and looked over at her. "You want it, Brooklyn? You'll have to fight me for it," she had said, waving the award at her before she began her real acceptance speech.

"Now I'm hoping that I don't win tonight," she said laughingly during one of the commercial breaks, when Faith was still in the back, finishing up on the media circuit. "That was part of our deal. If she won an award, she was supposed to try and tempt me with it. If I win, I have to bow at her feet before I get up there. Yeah, I got the short end of the stick on that one," she finished, laughing again.

"Sounds like something that you would do."

Both of them looked at a person from the backstage when they appeared in front of Brooklyn. "Ms. Turner, we have to get you back there and get you ready for your performance."

She turned to Lance and smiled timidly. "See you in a little bit," she said, standing up.

He grinned back, stopping her briefly. "Good luck, Brooke. Don't fall flat on your face out there," he warned her, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Thanks. That's really going to make me feel better about this."

She ran off after the man and followed him through the twists and turned backstage. A change room, more like a cubicle, was set up for her, an outfit waiting for her in there. She slipped into the tight black jeans, changing her heels for her cowboy boots before she added the sparkly red tube top. She emerged and waited for makeup to check her over and make sure that nothing had smudged when she was changing before she was escorted to the wing to wait. From behind her, someone handed her the special guitar she owned, usually only used on awards shows and television. It was colored a beautiful midnight blue, slightly metallic. She had been given the acoustic guitar when she received her first platinum album, and she had held it dear for many years.

Nodding, she waited for the count to walk out there, just before Vince Gill's introduction ended. "Not only is she one of the most popular country performers out there, she's made quite an impact on the music scene. Through her almost eight years of performing, she had released many popular albums, this last one the most popular of all. And guys, she's unavailable now, as she just announced that she's engaged to be married. Please welcome, Brooklyn Turner."

Now standing on the stage, she looked out as the lights came upon her, and her nervousness seemed to disappear instantly. Aside from the few wolf whistles from the fans part of the audience, everything was going her way right then. A grin covered her face as the drummed counted off the beat, and she started to strum along with the tune. The fans cheered when they heard that she was singing her cover of 'Beaches Of Cheyenne', and doing a damned good job of it.

Again, when Lance watched her, he couldn't help seeing the love for performing that she had in her eyes, and the way that she seemed to take up the entire stage, but at the same time, she was putting a lot of the attention on her band, trying not to leave them out.

When the song ended, she walked over to the podium, her guitar strap still around her shoulder. She held onto it and took a deep breath as she looked through the audience, scanning it quickly. Her eyes landed on Lance's for a moment, before she smiled and moved on, finally finding who she wanted to see. "Normally, when the ACMAs honors one of the prestigious singers in this industry, they're usually really old or dead." She stopped reading the TelePrompTer just long enough to allow most of the laughter to pass. "This time, we're luckier. We actually get to hear what their response is to receiving this honor."

She spoke a little longer about the award before she turned to talking about the person that was going to accept it. "This is a very special thing for me, and that was the reason that I asked to be giving this award. It wasn't that long ago when I started out, a gawky looking seventeen year old that had no idea what she was doing. There was only one person that actually believed I could make it this far. In fact, he was the person that forced me to continue on, even when I thought that I couldn't do this. That man just happens to be...Garth Brooks." The cheers rose, and she looked towards him, a soft smile on her face. "There isn't one person in this room that can't say a few words about how his music has touched us, a word of wisdom that he has spoken, or even a prank that he had pulled. I'm more than honored to know all of these things, although I could have done without the last part."

Again, after a pause, her clear voice entered the area again, speaking of his career and what he had contributed to the industry. A video montage, with her voice over, followed, before the attention was back to her and her smiling face. "Normally, at this time, I would have some way to explain just how he has touched my life. Everyone knows that I'm no good with words, so that's a little out. Instead, I want to do what I do best, and I hope you don't mind that I've borrowed these words. They apply more than ever right now."

No band accompanied her, and no other singer backed her up. Instead, it was just the small woman on the stage, alone with her guitar and the microphone, strumming for a few moments. When the crowd caught onto what song she was going to sing, a short cheer sounded from them, but stopped the moment that her voice started to reach towards the back again.

"Standing in the Spotlight On such a perfect night Knowing that you're out there listening

I remember one time When I was so afraid Didn't think I had the courage To stand up on this stage

Then you reached into my heart And you found the melody And if there ever was somebody Who made me believe in me

It was you

It was your song That made me sing It was your voice That gave me wings It was your life that shined Guiding my heart to find This place where I belonged It was your song

Everynight I pray Before the music starts to play I will do my best I won't let you down

And for all the times I stood here This feeling feels brand new

Any time I doubt myself I think of you

It was your song That made me sing It was your voice That gave me wings It was your life that shined Guiding my heart to find This place where I belonged It was your song

Dreams can come true God's great angels like you

It was your song That made me sing It was your voice That gave me wings It was your life that shined Guiding my heart to find This place where I belonged It was your song It was your song."

It wasn't any secret that her voice broke towards the end, and when her eyes opened, they were filled with tears as she looked towards her mentor. Finally, he came onto the stage and spoke glowingly of a lot of people, Brooklyn included, before he went backstage. Brooklyn was allowed to return to her seat after she changed, and she did so before the commercial break was over.

The rest of the show seemed to speed by, Brooklyn still not picking up any awards. It didn't seem like she cared all that much. She was too busy getting misty eyed and laughing at everyone's speeches. Finally, the most prestigious award of the night came up, Album of the Year. Now, both of them were a little antsy. This could mean a lot of different things for Brooklyn. It could help her career, it could keep it where it was, it could even make her fall just a little, but this was definitely a big moment.

Once the nominees were read out, Brooklyn crossed her fingers, which were hidden under her skirt. Lance wasn't so bashful about it. She took a deep breath and listened as Brooks and Dunn opened the envelope, pretending that they had won, when they weren't even nominated. She knew that her hardest competition was going to be Faith, but she knew that she would be just as happy if Faith won instead of her. "And the REAL winner of Album of the Year is..." They trailed off and looked around the audience. "If I Didn't..., Brooklyn Turner."

It was like all the oxygen in her body had left her all at once and she sat there, dumbstruck for a moment. She had won before for the same category, but it meant so much to all of them that it didn't matter if you won it twenty times, you still had the same reaction the first time you won it. She seemed to be frozen for a moment, before Lance touched her arm. She turned instantly and wrapped her arms around his neck, still trying to get some breath into her lungs. He kissed her cheek quickly before she stood up, a little unsteady at first, but fine once she took two steps. She stopped in front of Faith, and true to her word, executed a deep bow, laughing with her, before heading up the stairs, holding her skirt up.

She moved in front of the microphone after accepting kisses from Brook and Dunn and let out a shaky breath. "Um...wow. I think I was ready to pass out when my name was said. I really thought that this was Faith's year and she had cleaned up again. There are so many people to thank, and I know that I won't get all the names in there, but I can try. A lot of the credit to everything that I do goes to Joe Saviro, my manager, and Mia Coltrain, my publicist. My life would fall apart without them." She started to rattle off the names of song writers and producers, and when they were recognized, a short cheer would come from someone. "I wouldn't be standing here today without the help of Garth Brooks, but everyone knows that. My brother, Austin, too. I really hope that you're enjoying France. Of course, I can't forget these two people, even if a rumor will no doubt start over this. JC, you were kind enough to sing on my album, and you were kind enough to let me into your heart and allow me to be your friend, and that's the biggest thanks that I can give you." As she said that, she fingered her NEW YORK necklace. "And of course, Lance, my 'escort' for the night," she said with a teasing tone. "You two have managed to keep me sane for the longest time, when I was ready to pull my hair out. Thank you, so much. Tim, sweetie, I love you and can't wait until the day finally comes," she added with a laugh, showing her ring to the camera. "And last but not least, the fans. They are what make me, what make all of us, and none of us would be here if it wasn't for you. You're the biggest contribution to everyone's careers, and on behalf of everyone else in this room, and all of your favorite performers, I'd like to thank you all for that. Thank you!"

Finally, she was taken off the stage, and taken backstage. Vince Gill closed off the show, and everyone stood up, ready to get out of there. Lance was taken back almost immediately, and shown to Brooklyn, who was just getting ready to enter the media room to answer their questions before they headed to the party. As soon as she saw him, award in hand, she wrapped her arms around him again, and she couldn't hold back a squeal. "Nah, you're not happy," he teased her. "Congratulations. You deserved it more than you know."

The smile on her face was so bright, it could have been thought of as fake. It wasn't, though. "The engagement, this...I have a feeling that my life could only get better, Lance. I know it can only get better."

Chapter Seventeen
pepsicolagurl@shaw.ca