Chapter 27: Well...?
"Well?" Nick questioned
again.
"Yeah, yeah, forgotten," Brian nervously commented.
"Yes, same here," I added.
"Good, now we've got a plane to catch, let's go," Nick
stood up, grabbed my hand as we all paid and left.
~OTTAWA, CANADA~
"NO! It's one-two-three-two-three-four. You have
to back up twice before you come forward," Fatima instructed
on stage. They had brush-up rehearsals and some of the
routines were quite new.
"McLean, don't fuck with me now, come on, let's go,"
she yelled as A.J. played around.
I was on my lunch break as I sat snacking on an apple, watching
them rehearse.
"Kate," one of the PR guys called behind me.
"What's up?" I asked.
"The record company wants them to do a press conference in
two hours, we've gotta get going," he replied almost out of
breath as he pulled me up from my seat and dragged me down the
corridor.
~BACK AT THE HOTEL~
I walked into our "office" and slammed down my apple.
"A conference in two hours!?" I shrieked.
"Yes," they all mumbled.
"How can they give us such short notice!?" I
yelled again with frustration.
"Well they haven't done much publicity stuff for the
Canadian fans, so we're taking the first fifty fans that arrive
early and the rest will be from radio stations and television for
questions," one of the girls replied.
"Argh," I sighed as I went to my desk and called Jive.
~BACK AT THE ARENA~
The guys were sitting on the stage sipping on water bottles as
the sound crew ran a few checks.
"Brian I don't know why your mike isn't working, it must
have a bad coil, toss it here," one of the technicians
replied.
"Bad news guys," I replied as I approached them.
I was wearing jeans and a long sleeve white shirt. My hair
pulled halfway up with the backstage pass around my neck.
"What's up Kate?" they all looked at me curiously.
"Your record company has scheduled a press conference
in..." I looked at my watch, "one hour and fifteen
minutes," I sighed.
"What? We're not even done with rehearsal or lunch or
anything," Nick whined.
"Well you're gonna have to find a way to be cleaned up and
suitable and back at the hotel by four," I ordered.
"When did you find this out?" Brian asked.
"About forty-five minutes ago but I've been on and off the
phone with management and Jive tryin' to figure out what
in the hell is going on," I said, pushing some long strands
of my bangs out of my face.
"Okay, we'll finish up here in about an hour and run back to
get cleaned up, thanks Kate," Kevin replied, trying to calm
everyone down.
"Are you coming?" Nick asked as I began to walk
away.
"Of course, it's my job babe," I smiled as I kissed him
goodbye.
~TEN MINUTES TO FOUR~
I was running in and out of the press room getting everything set
up. The guys had just arrived and were being seated as the mikes
were being checked.
"No Carrie, Nick is right there, you have his and Brian's
place cards messed up," I replied.
"Oops, sorry!" The blonde answered.
"Okay, all the fans, I need you to listen to me closely,
okay?" All the goo-goo-eyed teens looked up at me,
tears in their eyes as they stared up at the five men.
"Okay, it's one question per person. We will select
you by the number on your place card. Sarah just passed out
the place cards. There's a number in the right hands
corner. She also gave you a pen. On that place card
write down at least three questions you want to ask the guys just
in case one gets answered right before you're called on.
The reason why the person next to you has a higher or lower
number than you is because this will be aired on television and
we want people from all different places of the room standing up
at different times. That's another issue. We will
start with number one, if that's your number you stand up, speak
clearly, ask your question. When the guys are done
answering, sit down and then number two stands up and so on and
so on. Don't argue or switch cards, you will all get your
turns. Does everyone here understand?" I asked
with a serious tone. They all looked at me and nodded.
"Good."
I approached the news crews and reporters.
"After the fans ask their questions you will have a
chance. You all have done this many times and I expect
order. We need to have these guys out of here in two hours
tops because they have a show to do and fans to greet.
Thank you for coming," I walked away and approached the
table where the guys were sipping on water and chatting amongst
themselves.
"I can't believe you guys put this together in less than two
hours," Brian replied as he smiled at me.
"Me neither, but can't you tell with all the disorganization
and mayhem?" I sighed, as I looked around the room with
exhaustion.
~FOUR PM~
"Okay can we have it quiet in here?" I announced
as I stood in front of everyone.
"The boys will be more than happy to answer your questions
but remember this is aired on television and radio so let's keep
it good and clean. We also don't have as long of time as
usual, so let's keep the questions short and sweet. Thank
you for your time ladies and gentlemen and I have for you, Brian,
Nick, Howie, A.J. and Kevin, the Backstreet Boys," I replied
as I walked off to the side of the room and sat in my chair.
"Howie, this question is for you," the young thin
fair-haired fan quietly said as she stood up shyly.
He smiled at her.
"We heard that you are engaged, is that true?"
"No, no ladies, that's completely false. I'm single
and dating," he winked at the girl as she almost turned to
mush.
a heavier brunette took the floor as her eyes stared lovingly at
A.J. "Umm, A.J, uh, is it true that you, uh, got a new
tattoo on your, uh back?" She mumbled.
"No I haven't gotten another on my back since the
dragon. I've actually stayed away from those needles
lately," he chuckled.
The girl smiled meekly at him as she sat down.
Another girl stood up. She was older and had curves that
could catch any guys' eye.
"I love you Brian," she shrieked when she stood
up. He smiled at her and said "thank you."
"Um, I just wanted to ask you," her Jersey accent
heavy. Had she traveled all the way here to see them?
"If you were still with your girlfriend," she asked
quietly.
"Yes, we're still together," he sweetly replied.
"Well I wish you the best of luck," the girl said back
to him.
"Thank you, that's very sweet," his smile melted her
away.
There was silence in the room as the other girl stood up.
"This question is for Nick," her red hair dangled down
her back as she looked at him fiercely.
"Okay, go ahead," Nick smiled at her.
"Is it true that you are dating a reporter from the New York
Times?" Nick froze, he didn't know what to say. What
was the best answer at this point? How controversial it
would be, especially after all that went down in Orlando.
He shot a look at me, I looked back at him. The last time I
asked him he said yes, but that question didn't even make the
final cut into the article that was printed. That was when
we were more naive.
The guys all looked at him, wondering what he was going to
do. The girl waited impatiently as seconds seemed like
hours.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
"Come on Nicky, just admit it. It'll help Kate dig her
own grave so I don't have to do it for her!" Kaylee
yelled at the television screen that aired the conference on her
satellite.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
He looked back at me after stalling with a sip of water. I
nonchalantly nodded. But would he take my answer?
"Well, ummm..." he started, his thoughts running a mile
a minute.