|
|
Bring!
"God dammit where's the phone?
Fuck, of all places, it's there at the end of the hall!" she curses, stomping
over to the white deluxe phone receiver. "Hello!"
"Paigey honey, that was NOT a
good way to answer the phone!"
"Oh. Hi, Mom. Sorry, I was pissed
of this damn new house. It's too damn huge!" she complained, bringing fresh
pleasant laughing from her mom. "So what's up?"
"Just wanted to know how you've
been. Making sure you aren't making a party or something. Oh I miss you
already, honey."
"Does that mean you're finally
bored with Jacob and decided to get a divorce soon?" she asked hopefully.
"No, no matter how much you hate
Jacob, he is your dad now, you have to respect him."
She sighed heavily, gritting
her teeth. She wanted to talk about anything besides her mother's new husband.
"Honey, aren't you going to ask about our honeymoon?"
Holy-! But Paige didn't
want to let her mom down. Afterall, it's the few happiest days of her life
after a long, long time. "Okay mom. How's your honeymoon?" she asked, not
bothering to cover up the fact that she wasn't interested.
"Egypt's great! We got to the
Cheops' pyramid by bus today, just a couple of hours after we visited the
Sphynx..." And she went on and on about her exciting camel ride and sandy
trip. Paige took the cordless phone back to the living room. A big, windowy
and windy room with huge couches and a large TV screen complete with stereos,
big speakers and a complete VCR device. She switched on the TV and settled
down on the middle couch. A music video was playing on MTV. She flipped
to another channel, Disney, and it was the same people singing their hearts
out. She flipped it again, but she got the same five men, only this one
was a re-run of an interview of the group. What is it with these guys?
she protested. Interested, she listened and watched carefully. Wow.
Not exactly Boyz II Men, but they're good. "And we had lunch at--"
"Mom! Sorry for intruding your
exciting story, but I just rememberred something! I recall the birthday
present you and Jacob haven't got me? It's already been like a month and--"
"Yes we know, we're sorry, but
we had too much to do since the wedding and all--"
"Mom! I have just the thing for
it! If you could get me that, I'd be very happy and I'll forget about the
dork you just married and maybe, just maybe, I'd make peace with him afterall!"
"Well that isn't nice, you have
to, how did you put it? Make peace? You have to--"
"Mom.... You know I like him
so much." She bit her tongue for saying such outrageous lie.
"Stop that. I know you don't
mean it from your heart."
"Uh, don't change the subject!
Now about my present..."
"Yes, sweetheart, what is it
that you want so bad?"
"Well, I want... Hold on." She
leant closer to the screen to read the introductory of each guy from the
group. She finally made a choice. "Mom, I want Brian Littrell."
"What? Who?"
"Brian Littrell from Backstreet
Boys, ring a bell?" She knew it sounded too rude to snap her mother like
that, but she knew her mom would understand. Everytime she wanted something
badly, she'd lose her manners.
"I'm not actually a music lover,
darling, but of course I know Backstreet Boys. Hmm... Weird request. I
don't think I can get one of them for you, Paige."
"You aren't really creative in
person, you know that Mum? Here's some ideas; maybe you can arrange a ticket
to one of his concerts, or arrange so that I could be backstage, or....
being in the same hotel would be perfect! Come on, what's that place Jacob
works at?"
"Alright, Paigey. I'll get Jacob
and see if TransCon can do us good."
"Thanks, Mum! I love you!"
It's good being a girl in the
family, Paige Andrews thought. Especially with mum an up-and-rising
writter and Jacob working in a big entertainment production. But I hate
this house! It's big, creepy, its marble floors and walls... white candles...
this stupid leopard skin! She kicked the couch ornament to the floor.
And I'm all alone because the house maids and the cook are gone after
7! I'd choose my old, tiny, but comfortable house anytime!
She slowly drifted to sleep.
She had a dream, where her dad came home, still alive, and her mum wasn't
married to Jacob. Paige's dad had died of cancer five years ago when she
was twelve, and her mum just married Jacob Holden, one of the executives
for TransCon Records. As much as Paige hated her new dad, she couldn't
do anything to stop the wedding.
Her mum had always told her to
stop her egocentric mind and always reminded her daughter that she wouldn't
always get what she wanted even though they were awfully wealthy now.
But isn't he suppose to grant
his new daughter's wish to show that he welcomes her? Paige thought
sneakyly.
|++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++|
A week later
"You can take a couple minutes
breathing, guys," Fatima Robinson told her 'students'. They all mumbled
a 'Thank God' or all sorts of relieved statements. Brian Littrell rested
his butt on one of the chairs set up in the stadium in the audience area.
He looked around and noticed the back door opened. A girl came in and caught
his eye. What's she doing here? he thought, thinking what she'd
done to Q, their burly minder on the entrance door. Fans aren't allowed
in!
She stared at him straight in
the eye. He prepared himself for a high-pitched squeal or scream that might
come out a nano-second later. But she remained silent. Instead, he himself
felt something strange, like he wanted to know more about her. Tables had
turned on him.
"Hey Brian!" Nick Carter called
out from the front, startling Brian's pretty occupied mind.
"What?" Brian asked, composing
his nature. He quickly turned again, but she was gone. Shit.
"When Fatima says 'a couple minutes',
she really means 'two minutes'! Come on!" Nick warned.
Brian sighed heavily and started
up for the stage. Accidentally, he tripped between two huge speakers which
were set for the stairs, and fell out backwards.
"Brian!" Nick, AJ, Howie, Kevin
and Fatima watched in horror as he rolled down.
Brian felt dizzy and prepared
himself for a knock-out.
Suddenly he felt a strong grasp
under his arms. He was put down to the ground safely, but still had bruises
for the result of his rolling. He watched the guy who caught him. Boy
he sure is tall! Brian thought in amazement. And big. Who is he?
"Thank you! I thought I was going
to die."
"That's actually my job," the
guy said ignorantly, "to protect people. I'm a bodyguard."
"Huh? I've never seen you around.
You new here?"
The guy looked puzzled.
"Julian isn't working for the
Backstreet Boys," a feminine voice explained. "He works for my dad."
Brian watched her. She was the
girl he saw coming in just now. She doesn't look like a teen star or
something, Brian doubted. What does she need a safety for? She
was wearing a tight white V-neck tee underneat an opened button-down shirt,
with dark blue jeans. So simple, yet attractive.
"And you are...?" he asked, quietly
preferring to ask her age and status.
"Paige Andrews. Nice to meet
you, Brian," she smiled.
"How do you know my name? Are
you a fan?"
"You can say that," she answered.
She looked up to the stage where the rest of the guys and Fatima were looking
down at them. Fatima's look of concern changed to a business-like manner
when she gestured for Brian to climb back up again and continue their dance
routine. Brian scowled at her.
"Well," he said, defeated by
Fatima's mean, authoritative stare. "thanks. To both of you. Um... I'd
better be going," Brian excused. Paige's deep blue eyes focused to his,
and he felt a tingling inside. "I'll see you later."
"You too."
He worked his way up to the stage
still wondering about the girl and the bodyguard.
When he looked down, Paige and
Julian had gone.
"Yo, are you alright, Frick?"
Nick and the others swarmed him. "You were flying, man!"
"Nothing big. A couple of bruises,
that's all."
"That'll teach ya how to focus
on your steps next time!" AJ said. "And who're the peeps you met down there?"
"The guy, Jules or Joe or something....
he's the girl's bodyguard."
"Huh?" the others really paid
attention this time. Only Fatima stayed un-interested.
"Fatti, you know something!"
Brian teased on Fatima on her diet program she was working on. She didn't
need the program, everyone had told her, but she still insisted that she
had gained too much weight.
"Do you want me to fill you in,
calory lover?" Fatima said, bringing out the topic about the doctor's order
for Brian to quit eating so much junk food.
"We could fire you....."
"Holy shit! That was mean, Brian!"
Nick said, chuckling.
"I could always go work with
Will or MJ," she said matter of factly, naming some of her other clients;
Will Smith and Michael Jackson. Seeing the curiosity look on Brian's face
that seemed to be killing him, she gave in. "Well, this is what I know.
If I'm not mistaken, she's probably has the surname Holden," Fatima waited
for an 'oh, yeah!'. But Brian and the rest were still in the dark. "What
is it with you guys? They just had this big party a few days ago!"
"What party? We don't know,"
AJ asked.
"The Party Freak himself doesn't
know?" Howie sneered. AJ gave him a nasty look. "Yes Howie, do I make the
Guiness Book of Record?"
"It's not like a party for you
guys anyway, it was a wedding," she explained.
"But her name's not Paige Holden,"
Brian denied confidently.
"Fatima, what wedding?" Nick
intruded.
Brian cut back in, "She told
me she was Paige Andrews."
"It's probably her previous name,
'cause I'm pretty sure she's Jacob Holden's new step-daughter. The wedding,
it's Jacob Holden's wedding."
"Oh, that explains," Howie said,
proud of himself that in his very lack of free-time for socializing these
days, he actually had heard that name. Unfortunately the others had begun
to lose interest of the topic.
"And who's Jason Holden?" Brian
asked. The rest let out a huge groan.
"It's not 'Jason', Brian! Man,
let's get this practise over with and you can ask anything to Howie!" Kevin
ordered, getting an approving hail from Fatima.
|++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++|
Just outside the elevator, sometime in the afternoon
"Wait!" Brian called out, running
toward the elevator with his one shoe left un-tied. "Crap!" he swore under
his breath.
"I'll hold the door for you,"
Paige said as sweet and heavenly as she could. It worked. Brian stared
adoringly at her slender image wrapped up in casual dirt-brown sleeveless,
hooded dress that went down to just above her knee. Her high heels and
the lightly smeared make-up added up the glamour. Brian smiled.
"Hey! It's you again! You look...
different!"
"In a nice way?"
"In the nicest way."
"Thanks. And you know what?"
"Yeah?"
"My finger's getting tired pressing
this 'open elevator door' button," she joked.
"Oops, sorry," Brian said as
he jumped into the elevator. He kneeled and tied his shoe. When he looked
up to Paige, he caught her in the middle of studying his feature. She turned
away. He knew he looked quite good at the moment. Not exactly a sophisticated
one, just a white hooded sweat and blue jeans, but he knew he looked good.
"I thought I wasn't going to
see you again," Brian said, matter-of-factly. He wasn't on an effort of
seducing her.
"I didn't expect we'd see each
other again, either," she lied. She'd found out everything from Julian,
who refused to reveal his source. She snorted at the bodyguard, but she
was pleased. She now knew everything from their breakfast menu to their
24/7 timetable. "Are you going to the restaurant on the 16th floor?"
Again he was surprised. "Actually
I am! How do you know?"
"I've been spying on you and
the guys pretty much. I'm a serial-killer and I'm crazy over the Backstreet
Boys. Beware," she said the last word in a horror flick-esque tone.
"Spine-chilling! But we're not
built up for nothing, you know." He bent his arm in a way to show off his
not-so-bulging byceps.
"I suppose so."
"Are you going to have dinner
there too?" he asked. "Please say yes!"
"Yes!" she replied vividly. They
both laughed.
"Can we, I don't know, like,
share a table later? That is, if you don't have someone else waiting for
your company there..." Brian hesitated, reffering to Julian.
"No! I'd love to sit with you."
"Great," he said, secretly jumping.
"Alright."
"Yeah," she said, looking at
the metal door. They looked at each other, exchanged a friendly laugh,
and then she looked down to her shoes while he turned away. Both smiled
plainly, either enjoying the silence or just having no clue of what to
say.
"No, seriously are you a fan?"
Brian asked all the sudden.
"Wow, are we all back in the
generous land of the Backstreet Boys..." she joked, getting sarcastic.
Brian smirked. He's definitely dying to know. Because if she was, then
he would feel trapped. "I don't know every one of your songs, hell I don't
even know just one of them! But I saw you on TV once, and that's how I
know your name. Do you think I'm dedicated enough to be called a 'fan'?"
"Phew! I mean, no, you have to
learn so much more about us! Yes we are back in the land of Brian Littrell,
where generosities are never exsisted. Oh wow, this elevator's getting
old, I wonder if we've been stuck the past few minutes." He punched the
'16' button four times. She giggled quietly at his transparently shown
embarrassment.
|++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++|
"Frick! Over here!" Nick called
out from his seat. He was sharing a table with Howie and AJ.
Brian held Paige's hand in his
while going through the paths between tables. AJ and Nick exchanged looks.
"Hi guys! Meet Paige. Paige,
meet... don't bother their names. Please, sit down." AJ, Nick and Howie
spurted out protests.
"Nice to meet you guys," Paige
praised.
"Thanks, nice to meet you too,"
AJ answered and winked to Brian. "And she's your...?" Then Brian looked
as though he wanted to eat AJ.
"Friend," Brian said coldly.
"So, you come to our shows often?"
Howie asked.
"Um, I'm gonna be honest with
you.... No. I-"
"See?" Brian interrupted. "We
Backstreet Boys have high self-confidence!"
"As I was saying," she continued,
throwing a momentary glance at Brian. "I only saw you guys on TV once and
that's where I know about you for the first time."
"Enough about us already!" Brian
whined. "Where do you live?" he asked, acting not too anxious.
"Florida. I'm only here for a
vacation. My mom's been spending her time with her new husband, and I didn't
wanna be at my new home, so..." Paige stopped, feeling embarrassed of herself
for giving details to everyone.
"Hey, where's Kevin?" Brian looked
around.
"He said he'd be down in a few,"
answered Howie.
"You mean 'up'," AJ fixed. "Our
rooms are on 12th floor. We're on 15th now."
"Okay. He said he'd be UP in
a few," Howie declared, emphasizing the two letter word.
"AJ, we're on 16th floor, not
15th," Brian said.
"Like I care," AJ replied, pretending
not to hear Howie sneering.
"Paige, how long are you staying
here? In.... In where, guys?" Nick asked sheepishly. The others exchanged
questioning looks and shrugged. "In somewhere near the beach?"
"France," Howie said. Nothing
else.
"I'll be staying for two days
probably. How about you guys?"
"Same here," Brian answered.
"Long enough to start a relationship,
huh, Frick?" Nick asked, nudging him on the ribs.
"And I don't get your point,
Nicky," Brian replied sharply. Nick started to say something but Brian
cut him off, "Shut up, Nick."
"Fellas, it's just embarrassing
for Brian, let him go!" AJ neutralyzed. "So Paige, have any boyfriend?"
Definitely not getting off the topic.
Brian tried to watch Paige casually,
but it was hard to do when Nick and Howie were examining him like that.
Paige wanted to laugh at the guys' obvious actions and Brian's repulsive
expression.
"No," she answered shortly.
"Heyyyy...." Everybody turned
to Brian's sudden happy tone. "The menu's here!"
"What's a matter? Never seen
one before?" Nick asked sarcastically.
|++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++|
When they were finished, Brian
and Paige left to take some fresh air.
"Get a room!" AJ mouthed over
to Brian. Brian shot another 'look' furiously while Nick and Howie chuckled.
Paige took Brian's hand and dragged
him outside. "Let's check out the beach at night!"
"No! I'd catch a cold!" Brian
refused playfully.
"Then we'd both catch a cold!"
she said stubbornly. "Come on out!"
"Oh alright," Brian said lazyly.
Inside, he was totally up for it. They walked out to the cold breeze. Another
older tourist couple were strolling the shore. They started to the opposite
direction.
"Where's your tall, handsome,
sexy bodyguard?"
"I told him to take time off
and go home to Orlando."
"That easy, huh?"
"My mum doesn't know, anyway.
What to worry about? Oh wow, look at that wave!"
She pulled off her expensive
mules on the sand. "Brian! Let's chase them!"
Brian looked at her absent-mindedly.
"Chase who?"
"The wind!" she shouted, tucking
her hair behind her ears. Her hair was black, long, shiny and straight...
at least it had used to be straight, for the wind was messing around with
it now. Brian smiled, took off his sneakers and threw them along-side her
shoes. She ran off with her hands out-stretched above her, closing her
eyes and feeling the free sensation slapping her face. Brian came up beside
her, feeling the same way - only it became stronger when he found himself
staring in awe at Paige. Another feeling flooded him. He felt a happiness
he never felt for so long.
They ran around on the sand until
they tired themselves. Brian settled on a rock, followed by Paige. They
just sat there, enjoying the sea smell and the wind breezing.
"You didn't look pretty happy
when you told us about your mom got married," Brian said.
"I guess that's just how I feel.
Not happy." Do you know you make ME happy? he asked, only in his
head.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Yeah, get a cork to stuff your
ears while I talk."
He laughed softly. "I wanna hear
you." She eyed him suspiciously. He laughed again. "Honest!"
He returned her stare intensely
that she began to feel nervous.
"Okay. What should I say, huh?
The guy's a jerk. I don't like him."
"Why? Does he treat you bad?"
"No, but he gives me these gifts
and stupid necklaces, I hate him doing that! Talk about snobby!" Her eyes
blared with anger. "Me and my mom, we weren't exactly rich back then.
Mom had been struggling with her books ever since Dad died, and me, I went
to public school so all was good with me. Then one of mom's books became
big. Darn! I was so proud of her. Then there were all these autograph sections
and seminaries and stuff. She didn't come home for days, nights..... The
whole thing parted us apart, you know......." She fell silent.
"My mother," Brian stated. "told
me the same thing, just after we hit the European chart with We've Got
It. But she said she's cool with that and that she and my dad would still
support me in whatever I do."
"Your parents seem great, Brian,
but it's not the same. How would you feel if you only had your mom and
then she left you at home and didn't bother to come home everyday?!"
"You're right. It's not the same.
But you can at least try to be happy for her."
"I've tried. I told her that
I was behind her 100%. But then one day she got me into this book launching
party, and introduced me to Jacob. What I was thinking was, 'how could
she do that to me?' It wasn't easy. As I was saying, I hate Jacob."
"It's because you're jealous
of him, right? It isn't that he's an asshole."
She didn't respond.
"You have to make yourself comfortable.
If not, then you'll be tortured for the rest of your life. 'Cause if your
mother loves him, there's no way your mother's gonna let him go, even for
you."
Paige closed her eyelids and
a single tear rolled across her cheek. "He ruined my life! That jerk!"
"Maybe. But do you want to ruin
your mother's life too?" Brian asked symphatetically. He took her into
his arms and let her wet his sweatshirt.
A half an hour later, she calmed
down. Brian offered to take her to her room.
"Sorry," she said as they reached
her hotel door. "I didn't realize I cried that much," she pointed to Brian
who was now soaked.
"No problem. I'll just charge
you a couple of bucks and it's all good." Brian joked. She laughed.
"Thanks, Brian. I think I can
handle it on my own from now on."
"You sure? 'Cause if you want
to cry again, just call, okay?"
"Yeah, good idea," she laughed.
"If you think about it, it isn't that big a deal. I'm 17 for crying out
loud!"
"I thought you were at least
19," Brian responded sheepishly. He was rather surprised.
"Do I look old?"
"No, it's that you seem so calm
and composed. You're a beautiful woman." Brian smiled nervously and looked
down at his shoes. "I... should be going...."
"Don't want a coffee or something?"
she offered, trying to brush off the pink from her cheeks.
Brian suddenly recalled AJ lecturing
him and Nick sometime ago, "when a girl offers coffee, she does NOT mean
coffee." Don't even think about it, you sick pervert! Brian told
himself.
"Sorry, but I have a photo shoot
tomorrow at 6. I gotta sleep early."
"Okay then. Thanks again, Brian.
You're very sweet. I knew it from the very first time I saw you on TV."
She stepped closer and kissed him on the cheek.
"No probs. Good night. Sleep
tight."
"Good night, Brian."
He went back to the room he shared
with AJ, singing As Long As You Love Me. About half-way through the corridor,
he put his hand over his mouth. Automatically embarrassed for singing his
own song.
