January 28 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
They stepped off the bus at three o�clock that afternoon and she walked ahead of Nick as he stopped and signed autographs for the fans who were waiting when they pulled up. It made her skin crawl to know that they were watching her get off his bus. Hopefully, her sunglasses and one of Nick�s baseball caps would hide her identity. She could feel the eyes on her and her heart raced as she made her way towards their tour manager so she could get their room key. Dealing with the fans was something she didn�t miss at all when she and Nick were apart. She pretended to be confident and cool but they could be very unnerving and the situations were intimidating. Caring about what little girls and other women thought of her shouldn�t matter, she knew that, but she couldn�t help it. Being disliked was something she could never handle but being disliked for the simple fact that she was in love made it even harder. How dare they begrudge her relationship for no legitimate reason? She looked back to see a couple of the girls looking at her and turned around quickly,
�Hey Skip can I get our key please?� He nodded without looking up at her,
�Yeah, hold on a minute.� She rolled her eyes, she never felt completely welcomed in this environment. They always made her feel as if she wasn�t wanted around. If she were Kristin or Leighanne he would have stopped what he was doing and took care of her but she was just a kid. It surprised her and she wondered sometimes if Nick said things about her to them because no one seemed to like her very much. Maybe it wasn�t that they didn�t like her, they were just indifferent to her and sometimes she felt like a piece of the scenery. She wasn�t around the tour as much as the other girls, maybe that was part of the reason for the distance that seemed to be there when she would go out and visit Nick. Her career, former career, wasn�t like Leighanne and Kristin�s, she didn�t have a flexible work schedule, she was nine to five, five days a week. Deep down she felt she was the best girlfriend Nick ever had, especially after hearing from him and others some of the things he had been through in his previous relationships. Kristin was the best but she wouldn�t exactly call her a close friend. When Shayna and Nick broke up she and Kristin never talked, she knew their relationship depended on her relationship with Nick. Kevin was always nice and cordial to her as was Brian and Howie. Her relationship with AJ was the best out of them all. He was a little more laid back then the rest and they had a common bond, their distaste for Leighanne. Well, Shayna didn�t have a problem with Leighanne, not until Leighanne made it clear that she had a problem with her. However, secretly AJ would make comments about Leighanne to Shayna and that, more than anything, helped them grow closer. Skip handed her the key and she walked over to the elevators. She had left her bags on the bus; she wanted to make a quick and clean getaway. She would go get them in the middle of the night if she had to. She stepped in the elevator with a couple of the dancers and AJ,
�Shayna, how�s it going?� She smiled at AJ,
�Great, what�s up with you?� He shrugged,
�Can�t complain.� She smiled at the dancers and they smiled back but that was it. She was a friendly person and the fact that these people didn�t seem eager to get to know her upset her a little. She wrapped her arm around AJ and he wrapped his arm around her waist,
�What are you doing today?� She shook her head,
�All depends on Nick and what he wants to do. I don�t know yet.� He nodded,
�Well, I�m not doing anything so ring me if you guys decide on something.� She nodded and leaned against the wall waiting on her floor.
Nick made his way up to their room and flopped on the couch. She looked over at him from the bed,
�Hey, you�re blocking my view.� He lay down against arm of the couch and sighed,
�That better?� She nodded,
�Much. You were down there for a while. Were you with the fans the entire time?�
�First you whine about the TV, now me being with the fans. What else do you want to complain about Shayna?� She frowned, she wasn�t complaining at all; she was just trying to talk to him,
�What�s your problem?� He turned and stared at her,
�You trying to bitch at me about every little thing and I just stepped in the room.� She couldn�t believe he was doing this,
�Nick, I was just�I wasn�t complaining at all. You sat in front of the TV, I asked you to move. And I asked you if you were with the fans. What is wrong with you?� He shook his head,
�Nothing.� He began to cough and clear his throat,
�Are you ok? Want something to drink?� He didn�t say anything and she walked over and filled a glass with water, sitting down beside him and offering the water. He took it and she watched him drink and continue to try and clear his throat,
�It�s like I have something in my throat and I cant get rid of it.� She slid closer to him,
�Maybe you�re coming down with something.� She stood up, the last thing he needed was to catch a cold or something, and the tour had just started,
�Yes, can I get a bowl of orange slices, warm tea and honey please?� It was just like Nick to get sick because he didn�t take care of himself. Walking around outside in the cool air after just taking a shower, not wearing coats or even socks, just flip flops. It�s surprising that he wasn�t sick year round. She down next to him,
�Room service will be up soon.� He nodded,
�Thanks.� She placed her hand on his forehead and he pulled away,
�Shayna don�t. I�m not five.� She fought the urge to sigh loudly and argue that point. Five years old was exactly his age when he was sick, the amount of whining was unbelievable. She hated when he got sick he was definitely going to get sick on this tour. Not a season went by where he wasn�t noticeably sick.
For whatever reason as she watched Nick sleep she thought back to their conversation on the bus the previous night. He denied being with other girls when they were first together but Kristin had no reason to lie about that. Nick was her boyfriend and she loved him dearly but sometimes he was allergic to the truth. She was prepared to argue with him when something else Kristin said entered her mind and she remembered she told her she was going to make this the best tour ever for Nick. She shook her head; there she was last night arguing with him over things that happened years ago and no longer mattered. There would be no petty arguments and stress for him on this tour, if she had to swallow her pride and be the one to take the high road every time then that was what she was prepared to do. The phone rang and she ran over to answer it quickly so Nick wouldn�t wait up,
�Hello?�
�Hey, let�s go shopping.� It was Kristin,
�Ok, cool. Let me get ready and I�ll meet you in your room in ten minutes?�
�Ok, I�m in 917.� She hung up and wrote Nick a little note letting him know that she was going shopping with Kristin and she had her cell phone with her.
She and Kristin walked through the lobby and she heard her name,
"Shayna!" She turned and she could see a group of girls reacting. A couple of them waved and she waved back as she continued to walk. She could hear them,
"I told you that was her." She looked over at Kristin and she smiled sympathetically,
"They were going to find out sooner or later, it's better they know. Now you don't have to worry about when they're going to find out." She nodded and sighed,
"I guess you're right."
