| �Five minutes guys.� Shelby called out as she came into the green room. �It�s about time. Feels like we�ve been waiting here for hours.� AJ complained as he tugged at the black sweater that was stretched over his thin, but muscular frame. At 28 he had settled down quite a bit. His sense of style was still a bit out there, but that was AJ. �Well this is your life remember and the price you pay for being the world famous Backstreet Boys.� Shelby looked around the room. �Where�s Brian?� She made some notes on the clipboard in her arm. �Oh he and Laurie took off,� AJ commented rolling his eyes and the others just nodded in agreement. �They�re probably back in his dressing room if I know them.� Those two were always off somewhere. You think they never spent any time together. Her assistant came into the room. �Leslie hold the fort. I need to go get Brian. I�ll be right back.� She handed her the clipboard and started down the hall in the direction of the dressing rooms. She had just turned the corner when she saw the two of them at the end of the hall. They were walking hand in hand. Suddenly Brian stopped and pulled the girl into his arms and kissed her. It was no ordinary kiss as his mouth covered hers; it was a tonsil washer. Shelby backed up and stood out of view. It was getting harder and harder seeing them together. She let out a sigh and began to count to ten. She took a deep breath and turned the corner practically bumping into them. �There you are. Come on Brian. They are ready for you.� She turned and started back down the hall. �If you keep this up, I�m going to have to put a leash on you to keep track of where you are.� She tossed the words over her shoulder as she picked up the pace. Brian could sense she was annoyed as she walked briskly towards the group waiting out in the hall. �I was aware of the time, don�t worry.� Brian grinned at her as he kissed Laurie quickly and she was whisked off to her seat the auditorium. �Cutting it pretty close, aren�t you Rok?� AJ jibed as they proceeded to the stage entrance. �Hey I�m here aren�t I. So don�t sweat it.� Brian patted him on the back, the screams and applause drowned out AJ�s words as they entered from stage left to present the next award. Shelby leaned back against the stone wall. Her heart was beating rapidly. She couldn�t shake the image of them kissing. It was getting worse every day. Yet there was a time when this was all just a job and the guys were just her bosses. When it all changed she still wasn�t sure, but it was getting more difficult every day to watch them together. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Shelby O�Connor�s entrance into the Backstreet world was by chance. She was in her second year as a business major at NYU when she saw a small ad in the classified section of the paper for a part-time receptionist for a recording company. In desperate need of the money she went on the interview and they hired her on the spot and put her to work right away. Her duties besides answering the phone included simple office tasks and the pay was just what she needed to help her meet her share of the rent and food for the apartment she shared with three other girls. She never saw any clients come and go but the mail was voluminous. Young artists trying to get a break sent recordings daily. They were all catalogued by genre, individuals or groups, male and female. Shelby learned the routine quickly and being a young college student she was asked on many an occasion to give her opinion of the aspiring songwriters and singers. They ranged from would be rocker rage to the sugary, sweet pop lamentations of jilted lovers with a little country thrown in for good measure. Her little part-time job became full time during her summer break and she slowly began to learn various aspects of the business. Pop music was beginning to break through the angst of the grunge scene and the company was busy grooming a young male group to hit the American market. They had swept Europe by storm over the last year or so but had made little impression on the charts at home. Shelby remembered listening to the single once, but it didn�t impress her very much. During the following year plans were made to release an album in the states and possibly put a tour together. She was aware that many hours were being expended on this project but Shelby never saw the group. Sometimes she wondered if they really existed. Her doubts were short lived though. The album fared well on the charts and the first US tour sold out. The phenomenon that had surged through Europe spilled over to the American teenage girl and Backstreet mania was born. She continued with her studies and in the spring of �99 she graduated. She had planned to resign her position when she was offered a permanent assignment. The only hitch was she would have to relocate. The Backstreet Boys would be releasing their second album in a couple of weeks. Promotions, concerts, and appearances were planned over the next several months. Their road manager was in need of an assistant and Shelby had been recommended for the job. It meant moving to Orlando and working in their organization. She had watched this group rise from sheer nothingness to full tilt stardom in the last couple of years yet she had never met any of them except in the many pictures that had crossed her desk. She had been recommended for the job and it was hers. She hadn�t heard back from any of the interviews she had gone on and Shelby was concerned that she would be like so many other graduates pounding the pavement all summer in search of a job. After taking 24 hours to think about it, she decided to seize this chance. It was a job, even if it wasn�t what she had planned, but until something else came along, it would pay the bills and a change of scenery would be nice too. So Shelby packed up her belongings and settled into a small one-bedroom apartment in Orlando. Most of the schedule for the group had already been put together by the time she arrived. She had very little contact with the group, keeping to handling things behind the scenes. They were a fairly young lot. The tall dark headed one was the oldest and she thought she heard someone say that he had a cousin in the group also. Shelby kept to herself and did her job. As assistant she carried through all the requests to make sure that flights, bus schedules, accommodations, etc. were in order when the group traveled. She never went anywhere without a notebook and pen. Their album exploded onto the music scene selling more than any other record in history for the first week of sales. Their appearances and concerts that year sold out and required major crowd control to keep the screaming fans from hurting themselves. And slowly Shelby was thrown into the inner circle. Her work didn�t go unnoticed. So she began to attend planning sessions for upcoming appearances. At first it was just administrative people, but eventually she became part of the larger picture sitting in on meetings with the boys as well. Being on the inside she was amazed how they could create so much energy from their fans. They were just five regular guys who enjoyed the same things as anyone else. They ate, slept, argued, goofed off and valued their privacy just like your brother. Except that their faces were plastered on bedroom walls all over the country. What started out as a strictly professional relationship began to take on a personal tone. She found herself sharing coffee with them in the morning or being included with their lunch plans. It was during these more intimate moments that she began to see the men behind the Backstreet Boys. The magazine articles written about them were fairly accurate but spending time with the group out of costume and away from the screaming fans gave Shelby insight as to what made each one of them tick. And as work and pleasure intermingled, Shelby began to value their friendship too. Each of them provided their own special spin on an event or an interview. They started to include her in their late night parties. This was time to unwind from the pressure of their schedules and let loose about their lives being controlled. But as the months moved on Shelby found herself spending time with each one individually too. AJ and Kevin seemed to confide in her about all sorts of things. Nick, being the youngest, looked on her as a big sister and asked advice about girls all the time. Howie seemed to always be there when she needed a calming presence. And then there was Brian who set her heart racing and her adrenaline pulsing through her the first time she set eyes on him. That, along with his playful nature and ability to make her laugh, put her on a course that would eventually lead to heartache. Early on Shelby pushed the feelings he aroused in her down deep inside. Even though he was single, she felt that working for him was the wrong environment to even think about any kind of relationship. So she kept everything on a business level never giving in to her feelings and never letting him know how much he unnerved her. And then Laurie joined them on tour or at various guest appearances and Shelby found herself green with envy. Brian had no idea how she felt and Shelby would never tell him. He was her employer and there was no room in their relationship for romance. So she stood by and watched as Brian showered his affection on someone else, when Shelby wished it were her he kissed in the dark. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ AJ sat next to her as the van made its way to the airport. Shelby sat with her eyes closed. She wasn�t in the mood to talk even though AJ had tried repeatedly to get her to join the conversation. She had seen Brian and Laurie take the back seats and she could only imagine what they were doing. A shudder went through her and AJ wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her against him. �You okay, Shel?� She nodded. He was too perceptive and Shelby was worried he would see through her smoke screen. �It�s been a long day. I just want to sleep.� Not one to sleep on an airplane she knew it would be a long time before she would get any. She rested her head on his shoulder and their banter quieted down. As luck would have it, Shelby�s seat on the flight back was across from Brian and Laurie. She smiled politely at them as she took the window seat. She could only hope that they would keep their displays of affection to a minimum for the next five hours. There was one consolation though. When they got home Shelby would have no contact with the group for a while. It would give her some time to decide what she wanted to do. She was beginning to realize it just might be time to remove herself from this uncomfortable situation. AJ came and slipped into the seat next to hers. She noticed lately that he seemed to be a bit more attentive than usual. Shelby liked AJ but she hoped he wasn�t expecting more than her friendship. �Aren�t you supposed to be sitting with Nick?� �Yeah, but he snores and I thought maybe you could use some company.� He gave a sidelong glance in Brian�s direction. He and Laurie were already cuddled together. �Thanks, Age,� she followed his gaze and AJ noticed how her look turned to despair. �I�m just so tired, but I can never sleep on airplanes.� He reached out and took her hand. �Come here.� He pulled her close. Shelby settled against him and closed her eyes. Brian had noticed AJ�s solicitous nature towards Shelby lately and when he saw him wrap Shelby in his arms a slight twinge when through him. Laurie�s hand moved down his body and cupped his manhood. He jerked at her touch and scowled. �Not now,� he hissed at her. He glanced back at AJ and Shelby. Both of them had their eyes closed. Why should he feel jealous? If AJ was interested in her, it was no business of his. Laurie continued to try and get Brian�s attention. He pushed her hand away. �I said not now.� He got up and went back to the bathroom well aware of the intimate contact he witnessed across the aisle. |