"This is Kristen Wellington, saying goodbye for now. I�ll be back for the Eye Opener on Monday morning at 6am. Til then, see ya!" Kristen said and shut down her mic. Then she turned to Shane and winked. "Done for the day, let�s get outta here."
"Alright," Shane said and followed Kristen out of the studio. He was used to this routine by now, meeting Kristen at 7am on Fridays whenever he was at home in Ireland. Depending on how long he�d been gone, they either stayed in Dublin or headed up to Sligo. Every summer for three years they�d followed the same routine.
Shane and Kristen had met back in the summer of 1998. Kristen�s uncle, Jason Maine, was a DJ at fm104. He had gotten Kristen her first radio gig the summer she turned 18. She�d just moved from her hometown of Los Angeles to Dublin after her high school graduation. Kristen had spent every summer since the age of five in Ireland. Her grandparents, her mother�s parents, lived in Cork, and she was sent there every year, so she could stay in touch with her Irish heritage.
The year Kristen was 14 was the summer she stayed in Dublin with Uncle Jason. He took her to the radio station every night while he did his show and she feel in love. She knew she was meant to be on the radio. Jason would occasionally let her take the mic, and she was a natural. People loved to hear her smoky American accent on the air. That was how she landed her first full time job.
Listeners began calling the station, asking if Kristen did her own show. It was like a sign from God when an opening for the Eye Opener occurred just a week before Kristen�s high school graduation. She was offered the job and moved to Dublin.
That was the summer Westside first arrived on the pop scene. They were opening for Boyzone, Kristen�s favorite band, in the summer of 98. Kristen managed to get backstage passes through the station.
"Hi," Ronan Keating said as Kristen wandered around backstage.
"Oh my God," she said aloud softly. "Ronan just said hi to me." She was walking backwards and not paying attention to where she was going when BOOM. Kristen turned around. "I am so sorry."
Shane laughed. "It�s ok."
A smile crossed Kristen�s face. "You�re one of those guys in Westside aren�t you?"
Shane blushed. "Yeah I am. I�m Shane Filan."
Kristen shook his hand. "I�m Kristen Wellington."
"The girl from fm104?" Shane asked excitedly.
"The one and only." It was Kristen�s turn to blush.
"I love your show, when I�m up to hear it. You are so funny."
"Thank you" was all Kristen knew to say.
"You�re welcome. So, what are you doing after this?"
Kristen pretended to think for a minute. "Let�s see�nothing. Why?"
"Wanna go hang out with me and the other Westside lads?"
"Sure," Kristen answered with a smile. She had taken a particular interest in one of the blondes in the group. She wasn�t sure what his name was, but she had a feeling she would know by the end of the night.
Shane instructed her to follow him and he did introductions. "This is Brian McFadden, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, and Nicky Byrne. Lads, this is Kristen Wellington, the DJ from fm104." The lads all said hello to Kristen. Then Shane said, "She�s coming out with us tonight."
"You sure you wanna do that Kristen?" Brian asked.
"What�s that supposed to mean?" she replied.
Kian laughed. "We can party pretty hard Kristen. It can get ugly."�
Kristen rolled her eyes. "I grew up in LA boys, I can get down with the best of them."
"Well, then let�s go," Brian said and everybody followed him out of the arena.
Shane walked beside Kristen. "We�re gonna have fun tonight Kris."
She turned and looked at him with a smile. "I know we will, especially since you already are calling me Kris."
He laughed. "You like that then?"
"Sure do, only my best friends in the world call me that."
"So you think we�ll be friends?" Shane asked.
Kristen linked her arm with his. "The best of, for years to come. I�m already looking for ward to the day when I can say on the air �and here is my friend Shane and his band Westside�s latest hit�."
Shane laughed again. "Sounds like a plan Kris, sounds like a great plan."