I glance around at all the toned bodies around me and avoid looking in the mirror at my own. I had spent the past month going to dance and choreography lessons in preparation for this moment – the first day on the Britney Spears tour. All the dancers have been called for an extra run-through on my behalf and I am as nervous as hell. I’ll end up fucking it all up, the only question is how many times. A tall blonde dancer runs over to me. I met him a couple of weeks ago. His name is Jesse and he’s my partner for the next week of dancing hell. Britney is late. A major black mark against her name in my mental book. I am kinda determined to hate her. The girl has it all. Jeez.
“Hey Jade, how you feeling?”
“Nervous as hell,” I tell Jesse who laughs.
“Already? Wait until tonight.”
“Thanks,” I say dryly and he gives me a quick hug.
“Ah, you’ll be great.”
The door opens and Britney walks into the room. She drops her bag and ties her hair back.
“Hey Brits,” Jesse drags me over to her. “Meet Jade.”
She looks me up and down. “The writer?”
“Yup. Good to meet you Britney. Thanks for having me on the tour.”
“Not my idea,” she sniffs and walks away. She waves the choreographer over. “Let’s get started.”
The five guys decide to head off to a mall in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have two days in the town before moving on.
“Hey y’all, let’s go into Waldenbooks. I want to see if they have that novel that Jade wants.”
“Yeah, I think they have that cheat book for my N64.”
Kevin and Howie roll their eyes and follow Brian and Nick into the bookstore, AJ saunters in behind them. Almost missing the doorway due to the subdued lighting and his new shades.
“Guys, this is what we need. Great publicity,” Kevin says, picking up *NSYNC’s official book.
AJ turns around and lowers his sunglasses. Pointing to a cardboard cut out of themselves advertising Black and Blue, “Like that ain’t good publicity?”
“Still, we don’t have a behind-the-scenes tour one yet. I think we should do one. It could be fun.”
“And I know just who should do it!” Brian exclaims excitedly.
“Yeah! Jade and Ali! We could bring them on tour with us!” Howie dances around, attracting the attention of nearby shoppers.
“Chill, man,” AJ says with a groan. “Wanna get us mobbed? I’m not in my mobbing mood.”
“When are you ever?” asks Kevin.
“Well y’know, some days I kinda feel like a little scratching, screamin’ and mauling,” AJ deadpans.
“Oh man, we don’t wanna know ‘bout your little sex fetishes,” laughs Howie.
“Ditto,” Kevin shudders. “Anyways, back to the book. I think Jade and Ali would be cool. I mean we already know ‘em so we wouldn’t exactly be walking around all cautious around them.”
“No, absolutely not,” Nick states. The guys look at him annoyed but he just shakes his head. “No way. Jade’s a good idea, but Ali? You can find someone better.”
“Ditto about Jade,” says AJ. He still hasn’t gotten over her rejection. “I’m cool ‘bout Ali.”
“Why?” Brian stares at him. “Man AJ, I MISS her y’know…”
“So?” AJ shrugs. “That ain’t no reason to HIRE her.”
“You’re just jealous,” Brian growls at him, walking over.
Kevin rolls his eyes and stands between the two guys. “Hey, I thought you guys were ok now.”
“So did I,” mutters Brian.
“We are,” AJ says. “We are.”
“So why are you vetoing Jade?” asks Kevin. “She’s cool. And that feature she did on Robbie Williams was great.”
“Well I… Uh…” Faced with all four guys against him, AJ has no clue what to say. He can’t exactly tell them the real reason. Besides, maybe getting Jade on tour isn’t such a bad idea. The girl can write and she is damn easy on the eye. She might even get tired of Brian after being around him 24-7. Yeah, not a bad idea at all. He shrugs. “Ok, Jade’s in.”
Brian gives him a look and then shrugs himself. “Yay.” He turns to Nick who has busied himself with a game magazine. “So, Nick… What’s wrong with Ali?”
“You need to ask?!”
“I meant as a photographer.”
“She’s not THAT great.”
“No?” Brian smirks as the cover of a magazine catches his eye. Picking up the latest Teen magazine, he quickly flips through to a certain page. He folds the cover back and begins reading aloud. “Who says celebrities have to be able to sing, act, or dance? New York’s own Alicia McNamara is the talk of the photography world. Her resume includes working for Hollywood’s top magazines including Rolling Stone, People, and our very own Teen magazine. Not only is she a breathtaking photographer, she’s quite breathtaking herself. (See picture on page 74.) With hot family connections – her cousin is Backstreet Boy AJ McLean – and teamed up with her best buddy and writer Jade Greene, she’s unstoppable. When it comes to this dynamite duo, there’s no one better for the job.”
“No one better for the job,” AJ repeats, pushing his sunglasses back up on his nose. “Hmm, what do you guys think?”
“I think I agree. You guys in?” Howie asks them, hoping to get a unanimous answer.
“Definitely,” Kevin and AJ nod.
“Of course!” Brian says.
The four turn to Nick as he shifts uncomfortably. “Fine.”
“I’m gonna go back to the hotel and call Jady. I’ll see you guys later!” Brian shouts, leaving the store and rushing back to the Embassy Suites.
“Cool it! We gotta talk to management fir-“ Kevin yells after Brian’s disappearing back. “Ah, like they’ll say no,” he mutters to himself flicking through N*Sync’s book.
Nick sulkily walks around the store, searching for anything interesting.
“Want to talk about it?” AJ asks, coming up behind him. “I know this is your and B’s thing, but if I can help… I mean, I know her better than anyone. Uh, except Jade that is,” he allows himself a secret smirk.
“What’s there to talk about? It’s over. It’s been over. End of story.”
“Admit it. You still love her. Who you trying to fool?”
“IF I did… what difference would it make?” he walks over to another aisle, trying to escape another question.
“What are you going to do when she gets here? Ignore her, or just pretend you’ve never met her.”
“Whatever it comes to. If possible I’ll stay away from her as much as possible,” Nick answers carelessly.
“You can’t do that,” AJ turns Nick and uses both hands to grab Nick’s collar. “I told you once if you hurt her your ass was mine. You treat her like shit again and believe me, you don’t get another warning.”
“Let it go man, I get it,” Nick says, pulling AJ’s grip off his shirt.
I manage to get through most of the rehearsal without any major problems. Sure I miss a few beats and sing along embarrassingly to Baby One More Time, but damn that song is catchy. We get to the routine for the final song Oops I Did It Again. In the instrumental part, I get to dance right next to Britney. We all do a weird spinning move and somehow I end up on the floor next to Britney. Everybody stares at us. I glance at her and burst into giggles. It is just too funny. I lie back on the floor laughing. Britney joins in pretty quickly and we giggle at each other until the dancers manage to pull us up.
“And that’s an outtake,” says the choreographer. “Again!”
Twenty minutes later, we’ve been released for the afternoon. I change my shoes in a corner and Britney joins me with a smile.
“Hi Jade. That was pretty good.”
“Sorry ‘bout tripping you,” I grin.
“Hey, no problem. I thought I tripped YOU though?”
I laugh. “Yeah, you did.”
“Did not!” she counters with a laugh. “So, want to go get a coffee someplace?”
“Sure. I could do with a caffeine boost.”
“Cool.” She takes me to a quaint little coffee shop a couple of blocks away from the arena and we find a quiet table and order. “So,” she says when our drinks have arrived. “Sorry I was a little off with ya earlier.”
“That’s ok. Bad day?”
“Kinda. I only found out about you this mornin’ and I was stomping around yelling that you’d be trying to get the dirt on me for the whole week and that you probably couldn’t dance for shit.” She gives a little embarrassed laugh.
“You weren’t far off on the dancing thing,” I grin. “But I kinda understand your reaction. I’d have done the same. But I’m only interested in the day-to-day life of being on tour as a dancer. You can read through my stuff before it gets published if you want.”
“Really? That’d be cool.”
“No problem.”
“Ok, so tell me about yourself. Brothers? Sisters?”
“I have a brother called Jay. He’s back in Atlanta and he’s in the police.”
“Police? Cool, I have a real thing for uniforms!” Britney giggles. “My brother’s called Bryan and my little sister’s Jamie Lynne. They’re both back in Kentwood.” She suddenly claps her hands together excitedly. “Ooh, and Justin’s coming tonight!”
“Justin?” I ask confused.
“Yeah. My boyfriend? Timberlake? N*Sync?” she says with a smile. “Don’t tell me you’re the only Teen Girl writer who doesn’t know?!”
I laugh. “I’m freelance actually, and yeah I knew. It was just a jump from Jamie Lynne to Justin.”
“Oh yeah, sorry! I tend to do that. Anyways, he’s coming to the show tonight and I’m SO excited!”
“How long since you saw him?”
“About… 4 months. Can you BELIEVE that?!”
“Wow, long time. Gonna have fun tonight,” I say slyly and then blush as I realise what I just said to the world’s most famous virgin. “Uh, sorry… I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s ok,” she laughs. “I guess I should’ve kept it quiet.”
“No way. I think it’s cool. Too many people lose their virginity before time. I mean… I kinda wish I’d waited.”
“Why?”
“Well, I lost it with a guy I thought I loved. But he turned out to be a complete jerk. But my boyfriend now… He’s just perfect so I do kinda wish I’d waited.”
“Yeah?” Britney smiles. “What’s his name?”
“Brian Littrell.”
“Brian Littrell,” she repeats. “Why does that sound so familiar?”
“Because it is. Think Backstreet Boys.”
“Oh!” She giggles, “He’s a cutie.”
“I bet Justin’d love to hear that,” I tease her.
“Probably. Ooh, rival band girlfriends!” she hisses at me and then bursts into giggles. “Don’t think so. Wow, that’s cool. We can have whining contests about how little we see our guys.”
“Great,” I roll my eyes and she laughs.
Her cell phone rings and she pulls it out. “Sorry, I’ll get rid of them.”
Mine rings. “We can be rude together,” I say, answering the phone as she laughs. “Hello?”
Brian shuts his hotel room and throws his keys on the floor. He jumps onto his bed and picks up the cell phone on his nightstand.
“Hello?” Jades voice fills the line, and Brian smiles in ecstasy.
“Baby! It’s Brian!”
“Bri, hey honey! What’s going on?”
“I got a proposition for you.”
“Do I wanna know what it is?” she asks curiously, causing Brian to laugh.
“Of course you do.”
“Okay, then tell me.”
“You know how I said I’d think up some way for you to come on tour with me?” he asks. “Well, we thought up this idea of an official book and we want you and Ali to come help us with it! It’s perfect! You write it, and Ali makes collages for it. You and Ali are cool, right?”
“Oh, yeah, Ali and I are great. But before giving you a direct answer, can I talk with her first?”
“Why wouldn’t the answer be yes?” he asks, somewhat upset. She should be jumping for joy at the thought of spending time with him.
“Just… lemme talk to her, okay? I’ll call you back.”
“Love you.”
“I love you too B-bear.”
Brian puts the phone down and stares up at the ceiling. Her reaction had been decidedly cool and it has taken the edge off his excitement. Why wouldn’t she say yes straight away? Ok, maybe she was worried about Ali being around Nick but fuck Ali. Her desire to see him, to be with him, should override everything else. He sighs. He was probably running ahead of himself. They had to get management’s approval on the book before they could hire anybody.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Britney says as she hangs up. “Justin wanted to tell me he was about to board the plane.”
“Cool,” I smile at her. “Brian was askin’ me to go on tour with him.”
“Are ya gonna?”
“I’d like to but… Ah, it’s a long story.”
“I got time Jade,” she takes a sip of her coffee.
“Well, it’s my friend Ali. She’s a photographer – she took pictures of you a few months back.”
“Really?” she shrugs. “I meet a lot of photographers.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I grin at her. “She used to date Nick from the Backstreet Boys but they split up. It ended kinda badly and she’s still totally hung up on him. I can’t exactly leave her alone while I go off on tour, and I doubt she’ll jump at the chance to join the guys.”
“Don’t blame her,” Britney says. “But if she’s your friend, she’ll find some way to let you go.”
“Maybe…” I drink my coffee. “So, what time’s Justin due?”
“In exactly three hours and twenty minutes,” she says excitedly checking her watch and I laugh. “Have you met him Jade?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Sounds like there’s a story behind that uh yeah.”
I laugh. “Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly impressed with JC.”
“Ah, I get ya.” She shivers slightly, “JC can be pretty creepy.”