"Ready?" Chris stood in front of the room, a tv next to her, VCR remote in hand.
"Ready." Kevin replied for the guys, all sitting in front of her, looking eagerly at the TV.
With a grin, Chris turned the lights out in the room, and pressed 'play on the remote.'
The countdown rolled "DAY IN THE LIFE OF" PROMO, TIME 00::31:00
Text on the screen, white on black, one letter at a time:
-everthing is different when you become a celebrity
-every minute of your life is on film, whether you like it or not
-no privacy, no secrets.
-ever wonder what is was like?
-fans are screaming everywhere.
-you are one of the BACKSTREET BOYS.
A group picture of the Backstreet Boys filled the screen, with Nick's voice coming in softly, "People change once your name means something...Nothing's real.."
The screen flashes pictures of fans screaming for the guys, a girl fainting in Nick's arms, Brian comforting a fan, to the guys in concert, AJ gyrating to the sound of screams.
Cut to Chris meeting the guys that first night, she looks around the room, "I know this is going to be tough..." the screen fills with Nick and Howie in the dark, digging under hotel beds looking for cameras, "it's creepy" Howie's voice adds, cut to Amanda giving the camera the finger, Kevin slamming the bathroom door shut, "I hate this," Brian's voice comes in soft. The guys kissing their girls goodbye before leaving for the airport that first morning. AJ sitting at a bar, glaring at himself in the mirror...Brian lying on his back at the photoshoot, wet and glistening, a quick shot of Nick's picture from 'People's 50 Most Beautiful People', Chris' voice "most boy bands can't do sexy."
"The world will see.." Kevin's voice, over a shot of Howie alone in his hotel room, hair loose around his shoulders, staring at the ceiling, tears in his eyes. Nick..."we're just normal guys."
"We're not a damn boy band." AJ's voice comes in, harsh, sharp.
The screen goes black. White text fills it again, letter by letter.
A Day in the Life Of...Behind the Scenes with the Backstreet Boys
Every Monday night, at 9:00pm.
If you ever want to understand...
Chris' voice "They are so NOT 5 normal guys."
The screen goes black.
Chris flicked the lights back on in the room and turned to face the guys. "What did you think?"
The guys look around at each other, thinking over what they'd just seen.
"Howie?" Brian asked hesitantly. "Were you ok? That shot.."
Howie looked at the floor. "I was scared to sleep...I'm ok."
"One thing I need to try to impress on you all," Chris raises her voice slightly for emphasis. "It's important that you guys try not to watch the episodes each week, and then turn to grill each other over it. Just watch them, make sure you're ok with it, then move on. You guys may learn stuff about each other from these shows, and I'd hate for it to make any of you feel uncomfortable."
"That was me last night?" AJ asked Chris.
"The bar shot?" She nodded. "Julia got that cut in this morning. The promo still has a few hours of work left on it, some of the cuts are rough, we need to loop some screams in over the text at the beginning, some of your music at the end. But that's pretty much what's going to run, tomorrow night, to tease the show."
"It's good Chris, it's definitely us." Kevin says somberly. "It's strange seeing that, but it's definitely us."
Nick had been sitting silent the whole time, his arms crossed over his chest. "Last night, I..."
Everyone turned to look at him, as he stumbled for words.
"Nicky Nick had some fun last night." AJ turned to the closest camera and winked. "Fans favorite, and all."
"That's sick, AJ." Kevin smacked his friend playfully. "What, Nick?"
Nick looked around the room, his eyes finally resting on Chris, clearly thinking something over. "I, well, nothing."
"You sure?" Chris asked, waiting for him to tell her not to run the footage.
"Yeah." He nodded.
A knock on the door startled them all, and Kevin got up to see who it was.
"Ready, everyone?" It was time for makeup and clothes, photo shoot time.
Chris grimaced and followed the guys down to the studio, where a makeup artist and stylist would be doing her hair and face.
Two hours later, Chris was finally released from the makeup room, all made up and dressed to the nines. She was wearing a red silk dress that flared out just slightly at the hips, and a pair of thigh-high black leather boots designed to show off her long legs. Her long brown hair was swept up on her head in a loose bun, with trails curled around her face. And she felt like a whore with the amount of makeup they'd put on her, heavy shadow around her eyes to bring out their bright blue color, bright red lipstick, heavy lashes. Looking in the mirror one last time, she sighed before going out to meet the guys.
"Hey," she found Howie and Brian sitting in chairs beside the set, waiting for everyone, also made up in red and black leather.
Howie looked at Chris and whistled, "Jesus, look at you."
"You like?" She twirled around, looking at her boots as she did. "I like the boots, but I kinda feel a bit overdone. Leather becomes you boys, no question." She grinned, looking over Howie and Brian.
"It's a photoshoot, baby, that's what they're for." AJ was looking her up and down from the doorway.
"You gonna come in, or just stare from there?" She looked him up and down as well, damn he looked good, wearing red leather pants the same color as her dress, and a black leather vest. Nothing underneath, of course.
"If I can find my legs again.." he grinned, and took a seat next to Brian and Howie. "You standing all day?"
"Oh, well," Chris checked how long her dress was, "I don't think I can sit. It's one of those 'only works while standing' dresses. Kinda short."
"You're far from short." Kevin hugged Chris from behind, "and you look amazing in that outfit."
"Heels, ya know." She smiled, taking in Kevin's outfit. "Maybe photoshoots aren't such a bad thing."
"And as always, we wait for Nicky." AJ looked at the photographer double checking lights. "He looks eager."
Chris looked up and felt her heart sink through her stomach as she saw Nick. Good god...he was wearing tight black leather pants, cut to emphasize his long legs and lean body, with a white button-down shirt on top, hanging wide open. Topping it off were a pair of black leather cowboy boots, and, oh god, he was holding a whip...
Nick winked at AJ and sauntered into the room, flicking the whip. "Kid Nicky's in town, better watch your women," he stopped as he saw Chris, his mouth dropping open for an instant before he caught himself. "Wow."
Chris blushed, and looked at the photographer to start the session and end her embarrassment. "Thanks."
"You look...amazing." Nick was still staring.
"Thanks." She repeated. "So, why the whip?"
A quick look of confusion passed over Nick's face before he realized what she was referring to. "Oh, this," he shrugged. "Was in the props closet and looked like fun," a grin crept across his face, "why, wanna play?"
"Ok, everyone listen to me," the photographer called, finally ready for the shoot to begin.
To Chris, the session was endless. In reality, it lasted about 2 hours, with the photographer, his assistants, and the ever present stylist constantly running in and adjusting someone's hair or makeup. She was posed between the guys, sitting on their laps, hugging them, pretty much every way imaginable. She also had to pose for individual shots with each of the guys, which was fine, until...it was Nick's turn.
"Nick, sit down on that stool there," the photographer pointed.
Nick did as told, waiting for further instructions.
"Now, Chris, go stand between Nick's legs, like that," the photographer came over and adjusted the two of them until Nick's ankles were wrapped around the back of Chris' feet, their arms were around each other, and his face was buried in her chest.
Chris stood there, growing extremely uncomfortable, and trying to avoid how incredibly warm she was feeling.
"Just relax" Nick whispered, rubbing her back through the thin silk. "It's just a photo shoot."
"Right." She smiled back at him and hugged him tight as the camera started clicking. She could feel every inch of his body through the silk, the hard leather outlining every bend and curve. Yet another thing she tried not to think about.
"Get a little closer together," the photographer walked over and pushed the two closer until Nick and Chris' hips were directly against each other, and Chris became aware of something she didn't need to know. She looked at the camera and froze as every thought she had became focused on one thing. Nick was getting hard. And that little Nicky wasn't little...
Nick shifted slightly, all too aware what just happened. He couldn't help it, he was snuggled up tight to a girl who was looking mighty sexy and wearing a very thin dress, he could feel her skin through the fabric. And she felt really good in his arms, soft in all the right places, and smelled really good. Would happen to any man... "Almost done?"
A muffled voice came from Chris' chest. Nick. "Not that I mind this," he looked up at Chris and grinned, "not every day I'm forced to cuddle with a beautiful girl."
"All you had to do was ask, Nick." She laughed and ruffled his hair.
"We're done." The photographer announced, and the group happily changed back into normal clothes, removed all makeup, and left the studio without incident.
"Whatcha doing?" Brian sat down next to Chris in the empty Staples Arena.
"Just catching up on some stuff," she waved to the laptop. "The initial reviews for your concerts have been phenomenal, have you read them?"
Brian shook his head. "Not interested. The fans are happy, that's all that matters."
"So why did you agree to this? If you don't mind my asking..." Chris put her laptop on the seat beside her and turned to face Brian.
"I didn't want this at all," he confessed, "but Kevin's very convincing. And he's right, it is the right thing to do for the group as a whole. Not to mention, fans should love this, right?"
"That's the one thing I'm not sure about." Chris replied. "I know mainstream media is going to eat this up, and they're never going to see you guys the same way again. There's no way to tell how your hard core fans will react. Those who saw you as the people you were should love it. Those who had you guys on pedestals..."
"Will be sorely disappointed." Brian finished. "Yeah, I can see that. We never tried to make ourselves perfect."
" 'Course not."
As loud howl filled the arena, both Brian and Chris covered their ears. "What the hell?"
AJ bounced onto the stage, doing his best coyote howl into the microphone. "Think the speakers are working?" He screamed, looking up at the rafters.
"Bone, the deaf are down here," Brian called up, walking to the edge of the stage.
"Was it that loud?" AJ bent down to talk to his friend.
"Yeah, AJ, warning would be nice." Chris grabbed the microphone from AJ's hand. "Let me just hang on to this for a while..."
"I'll take it," she heard a soft voice behind her, and a hand take the microphone from her. Spinning, she saw Howie standing close...rather close, behind her, and took a step back. "Hi.."
"We heard AJ screaming all the way downstairs," Howie gestured to himself and Nick, who was climbing up to join AJ on stage.
"Was a bit painful in here." Chris rubbed her eyes. "I don't think I'm ever going to get all that damn mascara off," she muttered. "Alright, it's been fun guys, but I should go, long night for me tonight."
"You coming to the show?" Kevin asked.
Chris shook her head, "Can't tonight, we're going to be cutting the show together."
"We have that press conference thingy with you tomorrow?" Brian helped Chris gather up her laptop and bag.
"I'll be there for that, yeah." Chris kissed Brian on the cheek, "Have a good show tonight."
She followed suit with Kevin and Howie and turned to leave when another earpiercing howl erupted from the stage. "What?" She whirled around to stare at AJ.
"You were going to leave without kissing me and Nicky."
"You're all the way up on that stage." Chris laughed.
"Get up here, woman," AJ gestured to the stairs. "You're depriving us of your presence tonight, can't we at least get a kiss? Might be the last one Nick gets for a full 4 hours!"
Chris walked up the stairs, not missing the glare that Nick shot AJ. She kissed AJ's cheek, swiveling her hips quickly to avoid the pinch coming at her behind, "I don't much want a black and blue bum, darlin."
Walking over to Nick, she kissed his cheek quickly, giving a start when his hand came up to the small of her back and pulled her in for a tight hug.
"I wanted my kiss too." Nick said softly into her hair, his hand sliding down her back.
Chris quickly pulled away before his hand could get much further, and smiled. "Have a great show tonight, Nicky."
"Aww, you let him cop a feel..." AJ hooted after her as she walked out of the arena, laughing.
"Nite guys!"
Chris returned to the production truck, arms full of coffee from her Starbucks run. "Caffeine incoming," she called, pushing the door open with her back.
"Thank god," Julia grabbed a tray from her and started passing out the coffee. "We're going all night on this, you know."
Chris nodded and settled into a chair with her cup. "We'll get the timing down soon enough."
"True." Julia took a large sip of her coffee and smiled. "You're a lifesaver for getting this. So, while you were out, tonight's concert footage was run in, we're cutting it into what we have so far now."
"Good? Bad?"
"Howie had an off night. His solo was flat, his voice cracked a bit here and there. I wish we were doing confessions this week, but I guess you'll just have to ask him about it next week, we'll use it then."
"Wonder what's up with Howie?"
********************************************************
"You ok, man?" AJ looked at Howie over the top of his beer bottle.
"Fine." Howie took a chug from his bottle and wiped his mouth with his hand. "Just haven't been sleeping very well."
"You said something about nightmares once, then dropped it. What's going on, Howie?" Brian shot a glare at AJ lighting up a cigarette.
"Nothing, just nightmares. The cameras...they make me nervous. I don't want to see myself like I did today in that promo." He shuddered.
Brian reassured him, "just scared, same as we all feel."
"You could probably talk to Julia, I'm sure she'd turn the cameras off at night if it meant you sleeping or not," Kevin offered.
"You know as well as I do that asking that all of five days into this would be a mistake." Howie argued. "We're going to have nine long months on camera. The time to use our favors with Julia is not now."
"He's right, we're going to need to run from the cameras sooner or later, we should wait until then." Nick agreed.
"We can't ever run from the cameras, Nick, not until this is over." Kevin waved to the waitress for another round of drinks for the table. "You can't be thinking that way. If Howie can't sleep, that's one thing, but we can't just tell them to turn the cameras off."
"I didn't tell them not to use the footage of me and that girl, did I?" Nick grumbled. "I know she was waiting for me to tell her not to use it too."
"There's no way to know Chris had even seen it yet, Nick, she's not reviewing tapes anymore, remember?" AJ reminded him. "Anyway, if you're that annoyed by it, just tell Julia not to use it."
"As Howie said, now's not the time to use our favors." Nick shrugged. "Nothing happened anyway."
"Nothing?" Brian raised an eyebrow. "Come on Frick...I know I heard some banging from your room."
Nick grinned. "Yah, well, not much. I still took a cold shower last night."
"Just like the rest of us, Nicky." Howie laughed.
"So we gonna really hit the town tomorrow night? Last night in LA and all?" Nick looked around the table eagerly.
"Maybe I can get Chris and Julia to come," AJ thought out loud, "the show will be ready for Monday by then."
"That'd be fun," Kevin nodded. "Nothing too crazy though, just a nice place for dinner? We don't have a show tomorrow night, we should enjoy ourselves."
"AJ and I will pick a place, get reservations for after the press conference." Howie volunteered. "Kevin, you want to take care of convincing the girls to come?"
"No problem."
Nick looked around the club impatiently. "I'm sick of California girls. Canadian girls, yeah, that's it."
"That reminds me," Kevin pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Monday's road trip from Seattle up to Canada. There's time for 2 of us to go on the trip, Chris just needs to know who in advance. We'll swap who's on the bus half way at a rest stop or something. Anyone want to volunteer? Or should I pick?"
Nobody said a word, all just drank their beer and fiddled with the bottle. Nick muttered something about stupid policies requiring they drive the buses across the border.
"I should tell you, she's got quite the setup on that bus. The way it works, is that you guys need to talk for at least an hour. Beyond that, you can do whatever you want. She has a big tv, good movies, some console systems for Nicky, big fridge with a kitchen, a computer with Internet access, whatever. Oh, and Nick? She mentioned this just for you...she has a Playstation 2."
Nick's mouth dropped open. "You're fucking shitting me."
Kevin shrugged. "Means nothing to me, man, but she thought it'd make doing the confessions easier on you."
"Put me down for Monday." Nick pointed at the piece of paper Kevin was holding. "I talk for an hour, then I can play with the Playstation? What games did she get? Did she get Tekken Tag?"
"Yeah, and I don't know." Kevin wrote Nick's name down. "Who'll go next?"
Nick poked Brian, "You're gonna want to see this thing, Frack, it's awesome."
"Aight, put me down." Brian said reluctantly. "Maybe it won't be so bad, Chris is cool."
"I'm glad we're all getting along with her as well as Mike thought we would." Kevin added, "There were really only 2 ways I could see this whole thing going very wrong. Either we all hated her, or she immediately fell into bed with one of us (or tried to, anyway). Both would have been a disaster, and neither's happened."
"No worries Kev, we're keeping it in the pants." AJ raised a fist in the air to show solidarity.
"No scaring her off either, Bone," Kevin waved off the hand sign.
"She can clearly take it, man, she was giving it back to me ten-fold. To Nicky too," he argued.
Nick stuck up for his friend, "yah Train, those tighty leather pants got uncomfortable devil quick when she turned it on."
"Oh really, now, Nicky?" Howie teased. "Turning the heat on, eh? All I saw was a poor girl trying to pose for a picture.."
"All in good fun, relax Howie." AJ answered for Nick. "No worries Kevin, all's cool."
"I hope so."
********************************************
A Day in the Life Of... Day Six
Chris and Julia sat on the steps of the production truck in the hotel parking lot, watching the sun coming up through the palm trees, sipping even more coffee.
"Do ya think sleep's worth it?"
"We would get to see a sunrise when we're on the west coast. What a waste," Chris sighed, before looking at her watch. "No sleep though, it's already 6. Two hours isn't enough to be worth while."
"We have a great show though."
"Yeah, we do." Chris was exhausted, but they did indeed have a great show. Much as they'd done for the promo, they'd cut together pieces of the guys voiced over by their own conversations. What they'd put together was a good, tasteful show, so they hoped, and a solid introduction to the Backstreet Boys. A few arguments had broken out between Chris, Julia, Dave, and their director Billy over what should go in the show, but all were settled quickly. "That Nick footage though, Jules, if they look closely, they can tell..."
The big questionable moment was Nick in his hotel room, alone with the girl. His pants were down around his ankles, his head down, face not visible to the camera, and on the unfiltered footage, anyway, it was apparent that the girl's mouth was somewhere near his groin. The girl's head, bobbing up and down, paused for a second when you heard her say, "You like this?"
Nick had frozen and pulled away, yanking boxers his boxers back up before the girl had even sat up, "if you have to ask." He asked the girl how old she was, cringed when she told him 14. He'd tried to talk to her further, but ended up telling her that he'd made a terrible mistake, and asking her to leave. When she asked what she did wrong, he told her nothing, he'd just been looking for something that wasn't there for him to find, his voice breaking slightly towards the end of the sentence. The girl, clueless, just walked out, but the pain and loneliness in Nick's voice was impossible for anyone else to ignore. Even Dave had said while editing the piece that every human being alive was going to be swept by a desperate need to hug Nick when they saw the scene.
It was a tender scene, and one that really needed the moment between Nick and the girl to explain what set him off. They'd filtered the footage enough that it wasn't evident where on Nick's body the girl's head was, but Chris had still argued against putting the 5 second clip in.
"They can't tell anything, Chris." Julia grinned. "Anyway, you just wish we'd gotten Nicky's face on camera when she was sucking away.."
Chris shrugged. "I don't think I do, actually. Nick's becoming a friend of mine, all the guys are. I don't really need to see his face...when she was sucking away as you so eloquently put it."
"I bet he looked sexier than hell. Like in that video...where he's wet..."
"Probably." Chris agreed. What a video that was, indeed.
"I gotta go get my crews together, the guys are leaving in an hour for a radio thing." Julia stood up and finished the rest of her coffee. "Want to go get breakfast once we send them off?"
"Can't," Chris stretched out her legs and yawned. "I have a breakfast meeting with Mike and MTV PR to go over the press conference tonight, and show them the promo. They've still only seen the roughs you sent them." She paused. "God, what if they hate it."
"Don't be silly, Chrissy," Julia laughed it off. "They wouldn't let you go this close to the air date before checking up on you if they didn't trust you. And you know they delayed announcing the series until they saw the promo for a reason."
"Very true. Ok, I'm gonna go shower and try to make myself look human again. I'll see you at the press conference tonight, then?"
"Yeah, but you're sitting at the table with the guys tonight. Should be fun."
"Yeah. Fun."
*************************************************************************
Links to other sites on the Web
Get your own Free Home Page