Howie gave Lou an angry glare and hurried after his girlfriend. "Grace! Grace wait!"
She was already outside, speed walking towards the bus stop. Howie threw open the back stage door and was immediately engulfed by girls who Grace had simply pushed passed. "Security!" Howie cried, trying to protect himself from long, painted nails. "Security!" In seconds, two big burly males had come to secure the situation.
Howie sighed as they closed the door on his fans. He leaned against the wall. He wanted to break down. He wanted to leave. He wanted to cry.
"Hey Howie," A.J. said, sitting down beside him. "Chill about it, okay? You can see Grace back at the hotel." His friend didn't respond. A.J. leaned against the wall. "This sure has been one hell of a fucked up day."
"You can say that again!" Howie sighed.
Nick stood beside Cora, leaning against the wall. "You feeling alright?" He asked her. "I know you and Grace are pretty tight."
Cora wrapped her arms around his waist. "Yeah, we are," She told him. "It's funny you know, how unlikely and stupid this whole situation seems."
"What do you mean?" Nick coaxed, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Cora sighed. "I don't know. Have you ever been on a more fucked up tour?"
"Yes," Nick smiled. "We've had some crazy European tours! This one has actually been pretty great. Your the first girlfriend in a long time that I've really cared about."
"You haven't known me two months yet Nick," Cora replied flatly.
"Actually, in a way, I have known you for longer than that," Nick told her. Cora looked at him with confused eyes. "It's like, if I had a normal job, or I went to school and basically had a totally normal life instead of this mad, crazy one, then I probably wouldn't see you everyday and if I did, it would only be for a few hours. Right?" Cora nodded. "But,"Nick continued explaining, "because I do lead this mad, crazy life and your a part of it, I see you every single day for at least seven or eight hours. I mean, on the bus, during the show, time off, backstage, at night, I see you almost as much as I see the guys." Cora looked up into Nick's eyes and smiled. "So, having a normal relationship for like four or five months is like equal to a Backstreet-Nova relationship for like a month. You know sort of like one year to a human is like seven years to a dog . . . You know, dog years." Cora giggled and rested her head on his chest.
"Dog years, thank you so much Nick," Cora laughed.
He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "Just telling you why I care . . ."
"Yeah? Well try explaining that to my mother!" Cora looked up into his eyes. "Or your management!"
Nick put on a thinking expression. "You know, I don't think they'd understand . . ."
"Me neither hun," Cora replied. She closed her eyes, resting against him. Her mind began to drift . . .
"Hey babe," A.J. came up from behind Alison and swung an arm around her waist. He nuzzled her ear.
"I finally got rid of your fans,"Alison told him, a grim expression on her face.
"And I finally got rid of Mr. Jones back there," A.J. added. Alison glanced back at him.
"Howie?" She asked.
"Yeah," A.J. nodded. "He's gone back to the hotel. He and Grace man, schizo!"
With a sudden thrust Alison pushed out of A.J.'s arms. "They've been through some shit A.J., get over it! Or are you just pissed because all the attention's not on you for once!" Alison spat.
A.J. looked at her with surprised eyes. "Alison, what's up with you? I didn't mean -"
"No! I guess not! You never really mean anything you say now do you?" Alison demanded. "Just leave me alone!" She tried to run away, but A.J. caught her arm.
"What's wrong with you?" A.J. asked. "Alison, I haven't done anything, why are you going all-"
"Let go of me!" Alison told him, and pushed his arm away. She hurried out of the building, leaving a dumbfounded A.J. to wonder why he was suddenly so screwed.
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