| Chapter 10 |
| Shooting the Everybody (Backstreet's Back) video was more work than Aubree had realized. The dancers and the Boys made more mistakes now than they did in practice. Maybe it was because of the seperation of combinations because of takes or maybe it was just because the guys loved to goof off. Aubree sat in make-up and let the artist, Andrea, finish. She was AJ's dance partner for the ballroom scene but was an extra in Howie's vampire scene. Madison took a seat next to Aubree and smiled at her in the mirror. "What," she asked trying not to move to much. "AJ's in wardrobe and wants to see you." Madison was in AJ's scene, but was Howie's partner in the ballroom scene. She sat to the right of AJ at the Phantom's table. "I'm kinda busy here." "Oh after you are done, of course. He's got a surprise for you." Andrea watched Madison leave the room and smiled back at Aubree. "Something between you two?" "No," she responded quickly. She blushed at the thought of her and AJ together. "We were friends when we were kids and now we're friends again. I moved to California for 12 years and now I'm back." "Lucky that you guys get to work together now." "Yes, very," she agreed. "Do you like him?" "I know I love him like a friend but I'm not sure if I love him in other ways. Everyone keeps saying that he loves me more than just a friend, but I really don't know." Andrea smiled, leaned back on the counter and crossed her arms. "Say his name." "Alex." "Full name." "Alexander James McLean," Aubree said as she smiled. "You want him!!" Aubree's mouth dropped to the floor. "What? How the heck do you know??" "You love him! First, you call him Alex when everyone else calls him AJ or Bone. Only his family calls him Alex. Second, you can't say his name without smiling. He's on your brain 24/7, am I right?" "Yes," she mumbled. "My job is done." Aubree got up from the chair. "Thanks for your insight but I'm still not sure. I just broke up with my boyfriend and I'm having a hard time with it." "And why did you break up with your boyfriend?" "I better go see what Alex wants." "Aubree," Andrea said with a more serious tone. "Sweetie, from my experience with guys, I've learned to go with who my heart says to go to. You know the feelings are there and they are mutual. It will make your life a lot less stressed if you just accept them." ~*~*~*~ Aubree opened the door to the wardrobe department and found Howie in full costume, with the stylist perfecting his look. "Wow! Howie, you look amazing! You totally fit that vamp look." "Thanks. You better watch out when I get my teeth in," he said as he took a bite at her. "Have you seen Alex?" "Yea, he stepped out for a second. He told me to tell you he'll be back." "Okay," Aubree said as she sat in one of the chairs and watched Linda accessorize Howie. He turned to where Aubree sat and cocked his head to the side. "You don't look well. Are you okay? I heard you and Ryan broke up." "I'm fine. How'd you know?" "Ryan told me." "What else did he tell you?" "He told me to make sure that you were always happy with AJ." She stood up from the chair and stomped her foot. "Why does everyone want me to be with Alex? We're just friends!! That's it!!" "You don't want to be with him?" Before Aubree could answer, AJ walked through the door followed by a camera crew. "And this is the wardrobe department, where we change into our characters," AJ said as the camera panned the room. "And that's Howie D getting ready for his scene that's going to be shooting here in 2 minutes. And standing ever so politely," he said with a southern accent perfected from Brian, "is the fairest of all his maidens, Miss Aubree." He leaned in closer to the camera. "I would love to switch characters with him just so I can suck on that neck. Yum!" He rubbed his hands together and laugh devilishly. Aubree giggled as she heard his snicker. "What is he doing," she asked Howie. "All Access. Tell ya later." "Well, we better move on so they can finish up in here," AJ said as he noticed the producer point to his watch. The camera crew followed AJ out of the room only to stop recording and set up for the next shot. He entered the room again and smiled as he looked at Aubree. "Damn girl! You're as fine as fine can be." She blushed. "Thank you. So what did you want to see me about?" "That was it! The cameras, the All Access video I'm hosting." "Oh, ok," she said not obviously amused. "Sorry if I took you away from something more important. Why do you think I asked you here?" A small shrug and no eye contact was the only response she could give. AJ looked to Howie for an answer but had no hope. "Something you want to tell me, Bree?" "No," she hesitated. "Is there something you want to tell me?" The door to wardrobe opened and a man stuck his head in. "AJ-video, now! Howie and Aubree, you're up. Let's go!" Aubree stepped around AJ and walked out the doors. 'Why are you so confused about this, Aubree,' a voice in her head asked as she headed for the set. Another voice came into play. 'He's Alex. He's the guy she knew when she was a kid. He's not even cute!' 'Whatever! You know those eyes are killer, and you melt each time he speaks, let alone grunts.' 'Stop!' 'You love that he's back in your life and you've got to admit that you love how Ryan is out of the picture so you can f...' 'Stop!!' 'You love him and you'll never let him go until you accept that!' "Stop! Stop!! Stop," Aubree screamed as she held her head. "Aubree," Ryan asked as he stood right in front of her. "What's wrong?" She placed her hands on his chest to make sure he was real. When she saw how confused he looked, she snapped out of it and convinced him she was alright. "Are you sure?" He placed his hand on her cheek to show some sort of concern. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Feeling his touch sent a chill down her spine. She missed it. She missed it badly. "Yes," she repsonded hesitantly. "I have to go now." She quickly hurried to the set and readily awaited instructions. Chapter 11 Featured Stories Main Page |