Ashley took a deep breath as the first girl went on stage. She was glad it wasn't her going on stage first, but she wished she wasn't last. She had two hours to wait before she went on. And it was gonna seem like the longest two hours she'd ever experienced.
The girl on stage was good, but Ashley knew, as she watched her, that she was no match for herself. There was a slight stiffness to her movements; she seemed unnatural, almost like a doll. And she was pretty, but there wasn't anything that would hold your attention.
Everyone clapped when she was done. There was a ten minute break before the next girl went on stage.
She had a wonderful voice, and Ashley felt her heart start to sink. There was no way her voice compared to the girl's. But then she began dancing, and Ashley knew the girl was no competition. She couldn't dance. There was no getting around that fact. She was stiff, and her movements weren't in rhythm.
Ashley breathed a sigh of relief, and watched her finish her routine. There was an hour long break between the second and third contestants.
During that time, she talked to Alex.
“How did the first two do?” Ashley asked.
Alex arched an eyebrow. “You know how they did. So far, the first girl is the best. The other one is no contest. She can sing, but that girl can't dance.”
Ashley nodded her head. “That's what I thought.”
“Unless the next contestant is amazing, I'm confident you'll win.”
“You're a great support team, you know.”
Alex smiled. “I know.”
Ashley laughed.***
The third contestant walked up on stage, turned to face the audience, and collapsed to the stage. It took the stage crew five minutes to wake her up. Once she was conscious, she ran off stage, crying.
“I can't do this,” she said, running out of the auditorium.
Ashley was moved up, and ten minutes later, the music to Mariah Carey's “One Sweet Day,” filled the auditorium, and Ashley's voice rose in perfect harmony with it. She seemed to have forgotten that she was on stage, that she was being judged. She was just as natural on stage as she was dancing at home or in a club.
Alex smiled, watching her best friend dance on stage. Unless she did something terrible at the interview or press conference, Ashley was destined to win.***
Ashley danced into the room, Alex right behind her. “Oh god, I can't believe that's over with. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. It was soo amazing, and wonderful. I did good, didn't I?”
“You were the best,” Alex assured her. “We have the rest of the day free, what do you want to do?”
“Anything, I don't care. I need to burn off some of the energy I have, though.”
Alex laughed. “That's obvious. I'm gonna hit the beach.”
“Ok, I'll go with you. Oh, the beach will be fun. Cute guys everywhere.”
“I'm gonna tell Nate you're checking out other guys,” Alex teased, digging in her drawer for a bathing suit.
“Nate won't care,” Ashley replied. “We're not dating.”
“But you will be soon.”
“If he agrees.”
“I'm sure he will. The two of you have had crushes on each other since you began talking back in 2000.”
“It's been a year and a half now. And we did not have crushes on each other since the beginning.”
“Yeah, sure,” Alex said, walking into the bathroom to change.***
Ashley took a deep breath as the door opened. Brian Littrel smiled at her, holding the door open so she could walk in.
"Hi, I'm Brian Littrel," he said, shaking her hand.
The others shook her hands as they introduced themselves.
"Sit down," Kevin told her, indicating a chair in the center of the room.
Ashley sat, facing the five guys.
"Why did you enter the contest?" Kevin asked.
"I've always been a huge fan of yours, and I've always loved to sing and dance. When I saw the article in the newspaper, I knew I had to enter."
"How would becoming the newest member of Backstreet change our life?" Howie asked.
"I wouldn't be around my friends as much, and I'd really miss them. My friends are like my family."
"Would the fame and money you'd be getting change you in any way?" AJ asked.
"I hope not. I'd like to think that those things wouldn't matter to me, or to my friends. I suppose they will affect my life, I'd have a lot more people claiming to like me, but I won't start thinking I'm any better than anyone else."
The guys smiled at each other. They liked her reaction to that. The last thing they needed was someone who'd change with the spotlight.
"Would you mind the traveling?" Nick asked.
"At times, probably. I'd be away from my friends and family." Ashley smiled. "But I've always wanted to travel."
"The practice and shows, events and tours, we'll be doing can become tiring," Brian stated. "Are you willing to go through them all even if you don't really want to?"
"Life is full of things of you don't want to do," Ashley replied. "You have to put up with the bad in order to get the good."
"That's a good philosophy to have," Howie said.
Ashley laughed. "It's not originally from me. My best friend Alex is always telling me that when I start complaining. But it is a good philosophy to have."
"Thank you for the interview, Ashley," Kevin said, as they all stood up and shook her hand again.
"Thank you," Ashley told him sincerely.
"The press conference begins at ten. A limo will take you to the studio where it is being held. Good luck tomorrow," Kevin told her.
"See you tomorrow." Ashley walked out the door. She walked down the hall, towards the elevators. The interview had been held at the Hilton, so she only needed to go to up to her room, and not worry about anything else.
Once in an elevator, Ashley took her first real breath in five minutes and leaned against the wall. It felt so good to have gotten that over. And it had gone well. At least, Ashley assumed it went well.***
AJ looked at the others. "What do you think?"
"Ashley was my favorite," Howie said. "She was open and natural during everything."
"I have to agree with Howie," Nick said.
"I think so, too," AJ announced.
The three of them turned and looked at Kevin and Brian.
"I agree with the three of you," Brian said. "But we need to go over the other two."
"The first girl was ok, but she seemed stiff, unnatural," Nick began. "And did you see how she acted during the interview? Like we were gods or something."
"Are you complaining, Nick?" Brian asked.
"It could get annoying, especially since we'd have to be with her for over half the time."
"He's got a point there," Howie agreed. "And that second girl- she couldn't dance, and I think I'd go crazy if I had to spend even one day on a bus with her."
Everyone laughed, remembering the girl. She was either a total air head, or a damn good actress. She didn't know when to stop talking, and although her voice wasn't annoying, her words were. She had managed to offend all five of them with a few comments.
Nick, AJ, Brian, and Howie looked at Kevin, waiting for his decision.
Kevin sighed. He'd be the one making the final decision. Not that it was that hard, but still.
"We're gonna go with....."