| Chapter Two |
| Shea Walker: "I never knew we had so much in common," I said to Nick. He and I had spent the entire afternoon, and a good share of the evening, talking over coffee and getting to know each other. "No. I didn't either," Nick stated. "So, how long have you and Lauryn been friends?" he asked. "Well," I began, taking a sip of my Chai, "she and I have been best friends all our lives. She is a week younger than I am and our parents are next door neighbors," I finished. "And how old are you?" Nick questioned. "Twenty-two," I stated. "You and Lauryn have been friends for twenty-two years?!" Nick asked, amazed. "Yeah," I giggled. "And hopefully we'll be friends for at least twenty-two more." "When's your birthday?" Nick inquired. "God! I fell like I'm under interrogation!" I laughed loudly. Nick laughed too. "You don't have to answer anything you don't want to, but that kind of defeats the purpose of getting to know each other," he said. "January 31," I replied. "Three days after mine," Nick stated. I nodded. "Where did you grow up?" he asked. "Sedgwick, Rhode Island. It's a small coastal town with a population of about two thousand. Pretty dull," I answered. "I can imagine," Nick responded. "Is there anything you want to know about me?" he asked, slurping up some of his coffee. "Nick, you are my favorite musician. I pretty much know everything there is to know except the really personal stuff that shouldn't be asked on a first date," I answered with a chuckle as I placed my hand on his forearm. "Do you want to go bowling or shoot hoops or something?" he questioned. "Sure." Nick and I left Starbucks and headed out for a good time. Lauryn: I woke to the sound of Shea coming home. I knew she was trying to be especially quiet but when one tries to be quiet, they often fail. I chuckled silently to myself as she futilely tried to stifle a cry of pain when she stubbed her foot on the dresser. "Let it go, Shea. I'm awake," I said. Shea screeched. "Holy hell that hurt!" she whined. "Did you have a good time?" I asked, sitting up in bed. "Oh, yeah. We went miniature golfing and I kicked ass. Then we drove around so Nick could show me the sights of Orlando," she answered. "All day?" I asked, my one eyebrow raised. "No. We just talked over coffee all afternoon." "You do realize that we have to be at the Studios in about six hours, don't you?" I questioned. "Yeah," Shea sighed as she crawled into bed. Before I could ask her anymore questions, I heard soft snoring coming from her side of the room. I sighed, rolled over, and attempted to go back to sleep. Eight o'clock was coming really fast. At eight the next morning, Shea and I were back at the Studios for the second round of tryouts. The lobby looked bare compared to yesterday. Yesterday Shea and I had been surrounded by dancers; today only a hundred shared the lobby with us. By tomorrow only twenty would remain. I was extremely nervous. What if I didn't make it today? What would I do then? My nerves calmed a bit when I saw Brian smiling at me from across the room. "Hello," he mouthed at me. I flashed him a genuine smile and waved my fingertips at him. The tension evaporated from my body. We were broken down into 10 ten-person groups and the tryouts began. Shea was in the first group and I was in the second. Only two people from each group made it to the third and final round. About 45 minutes later, Shea came out of the gym crying. 'Oh, no,' I thought. 'She didn't make it.' I was wrong. They were tears of happiness. Shea: When Fatima called my name as one of those who moved on, I fainted. It isn't even the final round and I'm already fainting. Raul picked me up and brought me back to conscientiousness. He'd made it too. At least two people from Madame DuBois's studio were on their way to round three. I knew that Lauryn and Jason would make it too. Lauryn: "Congratulations, Shea! Raul!" I screeched. Many of the other dancers, especially those who had just been rejected, glared in our direction. My face flushed red at my rudeness and I avoided all eye contact with the other dancers until my color returned to normal. "My turn. Wish me luck," I said as I walked over to the gym. "Good luck!" Shea and Raul said in unison. Shea: Raul and I sat outside absorbing the warm April sun. Madame DuBois was going to be so surprised when she learned how well we were doing in Orlando. "Hey! How's it going?" a voice asked. I turned around. There stood Nick, looking sharp and relaxed, an adorable smile on his face. "Fine. How are you?" I asked back. Nick shrugged. "Can't complain," he answered. Raul cleared his throat. "Sorry," I apologized. "Raul, Nick. Nick, Raul. Raul works with Lauryn and me at the dance studio in Manhattan." "Nice to meet you, man," Raul said, extending him right hand. "Same here," Nick replied, shaking Raul's hand. Moments later Lauryn emerged from the Studios. "I made it! I made it!" she shouted, hugging Nick enthusicastically. "That's great, Lauryn!" I replied, jumping up from my seat on the steps. "Did Jason make it too?" Raul asked, rising to his feet. "I don't know. He's trying out right now," Lauryn answered. She finally realized that she was still clinging to Nick. He didn't seem to mind however. She pulled away, her cheeks flaming red. Nick smiled down at her. "It's okay, Lauryn." The four of us sat outside a while longer, talking and basking in the sunlight. Jason came out of the Studios looking solemn. "Hey, Jason. How did it go?" Raul asked. Jason shot him an angry glare. "It didn't. I go home tomorrow," he replied bitterly. "I'm so sorry, Jason," I said softly, going towards him to give him a hug. He pulled away. "I don't need your sympathy! Maybe if I were friends with a Backstreet Boy, I would have made it too!" he spat. I stepped back in shock. Over the four years that I had trained and worked with Jason, he had never once raised his voice to me. Lauryn saw the look on my face and started over to me. She grabbed my arm to pulle me away, but I jerked it away from her. "Jason, I am a great dancer! I have ambition and skill! I dance from my heart! Just because I'm friends with Nick doesn't meat that he got me to round three! The Boys don't even get any say in the decisions!" I began forcefully. "You go back to your meager existence in New York. I'll send you a postcard from Europe," I calmly finished before turning on my heel and storming away. Now it was Jason's turn to be in shock. Lauryn: I have never seen Shea that angry before or heard her speak so forcefully. It took me and Raul by surprise. But I don't think anyone was more surprised than Jason. I followed Shea, leaving Jason and Raul bewildered. Raul didn't know what to do. Stay with his friend or follow Shea and me because Jason deserved Shea's retaliation. Raul was loyal to his friendship with Jason so he stayed behind. I motioned to Nick to come with me. He looked pissed. His fists were clenched at his sides. He walked to my side so we could find Shea together. We found her hugging someone under a tree in the Studio's garden. Nick and I ran over to her and found her sobbing on Brian's shirt. "Shea," Nick said, placing his hand on her shoulder. Shea removed herself from Brian's arms and flung herself into Nick's. Nick wrapped his comforting arms around Shea's body and gently rocked back and forth. "Why did he say that? And why did I let it get to me?" Shea sniffed. Brian gave me a questioning look. I nodded toward a picnic table under a nearby tree. "Shea, I'll be right over here," I whispered. Shea, who had stopped crying, looked at me and nodded before laying her head on Nick's chest. Brian and I casually walked over to the picnic table and sat down across from each other. "What happened?" Brian asked. "I walked out the door and saw Shea sitting under the tree so I went to see her and as soon as I reached her, she jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly. She was crying so hard she couldn't tell me what was wrong," he stated. "Jason, one of our co-workers from Manhattan, didn't make it to the next round and then told Shea the only reason she made it was because she's friends with a Backstreet Boy," I told Brian. "What a jerk!" Brian said angrily. "What did Shea do then?" he asked. "Well, first she stared at him in disbelief. Then she ripped him a new one. Everything she said was true and Jason had it coming," I answered. "You should have seen the look on Jason's face!"I laughed. Brian laughed back. "Well, do you want to try and cheer her up?" Brian asked, staring over at Shea, who still clung to Nick. "Yeah," I said. "Disney World?" Brian suggested, turning back toward me. "Neither of us have ever been to Disney World," I stated. "Disney World it is!" Brian grabbed my hand and led me back to Shea and Nick. "Hey, Shea! Nick!" I hollered as Brian and I started towards them. They turned to face us. "We're going to Disney World!" I said. Nick looked at us with the 'What?! Are you stupid?' look. "Brian, you want us to go to Disney World? What about all the fans?" Nick asked. "Disguises are a necessity my young friend," Brian remarked. I looked at Shea and she nodded. "And we know just what to do," I added. Nick and Brian looked at each other. "Should we be scared?" Nick asked. "Have no fear. You're in good hands," Shea smiled sweetly. I grabbed Brian's hand and Shea took Nick's and we led them into the Studios. In the costume room, Shea and I found some old wigs from past musical productions. With a quick wash and styling, the real hair wigs would suit the boys perfectly. Brian and Nick sat patiently in the make-up room awaiting our return. When they saw the wigs in our hands, they began to scramble from their chairs. "Sit!" Shea ordered. "I'm sorry, but I am not going to dress up as a girl," Nick protested. "I'm with him. Can't we just wear hats and shades?" Brian asked. "But that's what they'll be expecting. The Backstreet Boys trying to be incognito in hats and sunglasses. They won't expect you to be dressed in drag," I explained. "Now quit bitching and let us work our magic," I stated, pushing Brian back down into his chair. |