| One Boy, One Girl |
| November 6th, 1998 Britney�s POV The day before our first tour date in Orlando I get a call from my cousin, Laura Lynn while I�m in my hotel room. �Hello?� I answer. �Hey girl!� �Hey LL! I�m so glad you called. I miss everyone like crazy already.� I lean back on the fluffy couch cushion and pull my knees up to my chest. �Well we all miss you! Are you excited for your first big show tomorrow?� �Excited� terrified, same thing.� �Well your gonna be great, they�ll love you.� �Mmm� I hope.� I say unenthusiastically, �So how is everyone? Anything interesting happen lately?� �Everyone�s good. It�s pretty much the norm� Oh but I finally got my license! I passed with 3 wrong on the written and got 100% on the driving! Afterwards the girls and I all went out and had a ice cream party at Wam Bam Yogurt.� �Oh my god! I wish I could been there. I�m sooo proud, someone with the same blood as mine running through their veins actually passed their driving test.� She laughs. �You don�t need to drive, a big star like you will be getting chauffeured around in limos.� �Lordy.� I start to crack up. �Well if I choke on stage tomorrow night, I�ll need to get that license, I�ll be driving the limos not riding in them!� �Don�t say that Brit, I know your gonna be fine� better than fine, amazing!� �Thanks.� �You know I�m always here for a quick boost to the ego�. Plus you have all those cute guys you�ve been gushing about to help you through it. And I�m sure Juuuuustiiiin loves you� I mean would love to give you some pointers.� �Laura Lynn!� I shriek before we both burst into a fit of laughter. �I know you want him. You were completely heart broken for sooooo long after MMC ended, you guys are soul mates.� My cousin says confidently. �Soul mates?� �Duh, Dawson and Joey. Ya�ll are meant to be. It�s fate, destiny� you two will inevitability end up together.� She says quickly. I can�t help but giggle. I don�t know about all that, but there is definitely something between him and I, there always has been. If there are such things as soul mates, I think there is a good chance he could be mine. �Brit, there�s something I have to tell you.� Laura Lynn�s change in tone grabs my attention as Justin fades from my thoughts. �About what?� She takes a deep breath. �Reg.� Oh yea, Reg, my boyfriend. �You two are still together?� She asks. �I guess that depends on how you define together�. We are still a couple, officially, but I haven�t spoken to him since I left for Orlando. Remember he freaked out because I was doing something I wanted to for a change, I wasn�t revolving my entire life around him. So he decided that I wasn�t worth the trip to the airport, little alone a simple �good-bye�.� �I�m sorry Brit�� �Don�t be, because I�m not. I�m not going to waste my time, ruin this experience because I�m worried about how I�m hurting his delicate ego. I don�t really care anymore, and I know he�s not worth it.� �Good! He�s not, and you shouldn�t! He�s such an ass Brit, I�ve always told you that, you can do 1000 times better. Reg is a total bottom feeder.� I sigh into the receiver. I hate how he gets me all worked up, he�s infuriating. �So� what was it you wanted to tell me? About Reg?� �It can wait until after the show tomorrow. You don�t need anything else to worry about�� �No, it�s fine. What is it?� She doesn�t answer. �C�mon, I have to know now!� I plead. �Well there have been these�rumors. Around school, around the town� I don�t even know if they are still considered rumors anymore because there are so many eyewitnesses who can verify them. I mean I would have told you the other night when we called, but they were still just little rumors, and I wanted you to be able to concentrate on the important stuff and�� �Laura Lynn! Sometime in the next decade please�� �Reg and Amy have supposedly been fooling around� together, ever since you left.� �Amy? His ex girlfriend Amy?� �Ted said, that she said they�ve done it. I�ve seen them at the movies a few times together before but they were with other people, so I didn�t think anything of it but now� I wouldn�t tell you if I wasn�t sure it was true.� I should be shocked, I should be crushed, but I�m neither, I�m pissed. �Tell him its over.� �Me?� �Yea, tell him that my publicist won�t allow me to converse with flipper baby freaks produced by faulty inbreeding experiments.� She starts to laugh so hard I can�t help but join her. �I will so tell him that!� �Good, and do it when he�s in front of everyone, all his meat head friends.� After a long silence. �So� you and Justin. Seen any fire works yet or what?� �I�ve been blind folded by Reg, but I definitely felt them.� �Time to take that blind fold off girl. I�ve seen some recent pics, he�s in about every mag out there, he�s really grown up into a major cutie.� I giggle. �Yea, he has.� The thought of Justin instantly pushes that cheating bastard out of my mind and brings a smile to my face. � The next morning I drag my sleep-deprived butt out of bed, into the shower, into some clothes and out into my floor�s lobby. I stare out the huge window overlooking the pool area five stories down in a trance, watching all the tiny people below me lounging around pool, diving off the board, generally having a good time. As excited I am about tonight, part of me wishes I could just submerge myself in that pool and hide there until the next morning. �Hey.� A voice from behind me causes me to jump. I spin around to a very amused looking Justin. �Sorry�� He says and lets out a small laugh. �It�s okay.� I say, lowering my head. I start to study the buttons on his shirt as we stand there in silence. �Is something wrong?� He murmurs quietly. �I didn�t get much sleep last night�� He pauses, �Your gonna be great tonight you know.� He reassures me, as if he were reading my mind. I blink a little and look up at him. I shrug and he looks into my eyes, trying to read them. �You sure there isn�t anything bothering you?� �Reg and I broke up�� I don�t know why I tell him that. �I�m sorry.� He says lowering his voice, looking a little taken aback. I shrug. �It�s been over for a while.� �What happened? I mean I thought you said he was like �Mr. Supportive� and all, there for you?� I close my eyes, I knew those lies would come back to haunt me. �That was� a lie. He wasn�t supportive or happy for me, he was actually the exact opposite. He felt threatened when I decided to actually do something with my life and got angry. We hadn�t spoken since I left�� Anyway, he cheated. But the sad part is that I�m not surprised.� He nods slightly. �The only part that really stings, is the fact that I wasted so much time on him.� �If a guy hurts your heart or tries to make you feel bad about yourself, he doesn't deserve your love or your time. If Reg can�t see what an amazing person you are, if he treats you like anything less then a queen, then he must be a moron.� He looks at me solemnly. My heart starts to flutter and each word sends a shiver down my spine. His eyes linger on mine, and I�m stuck in his gaze, astonished by what he has said. All the angst and hurt Reg caused dissolves away instantly. It doesn�t matter if some idiot doesn�t want me, because this amazing guy in front of me is telling me I�m amazing, and I deserve better. Justin has always been the only guy that can make me feel special. �Thank you.� I murmur, I can feel eyes start to get misty. �C�mere.� He whispers and pulls me into a hug. I brace myself on his shoulders as my knees literally go weak. His strong arms hold me tightly. A stray tears slides down my cheek but I quickly wipe it away. I rest my head on his chest. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, inhaling the fading scent his cologne. It would be easy to stay locked in embrace forever, just to feel the security of his arms. To forget about Reg, and my show tonight, all which have formed a tight knot of nerves in my stomach. I feel him place a gentle kiss on the top of my head and I melt into him even more. �Hey J, we gotta g� Oh.� A voice from behind Justin says. I regain my composure and reluctantly pull away from Justin to find Lance and Chris standing a few feet away. Justin slides his hand down to the small of my back protectively. �Sorry, I didn�t know you two were uh�� Lance says quickly and glances at me. ��having a moment.� Chris finishes Lance�s sentence and grins. �Yea�� Lance gives Chris a weird look. �Uh. We�re leaving in about 20 minutes for rehearsals...� Justin nods his head. He turns his attention back to me, raising his eyebrows. �I�m cool�� I say and give him a reassuring smile. � We arrive at the arena and do a sound check and get into wardrobe. My mind continues to race. In my head I go over every possible scenario, ever little thing that could go wrong. I could trip, or forget the words, or mess up the dance moves, anything could happen, I�m so spastic. The hours fly by like minutes and before I have anymore time to worry I find myself sitting in the make-up chair in my dressing room backstage. I have 20 minutes before I go on, people are flooding into the amphitheater. I break into a nervous sweat and Nicole, my hair and makeup woman, has to keep reapplying my blush. �Here Brit, have a few sips of water.� Fe says and hands me a bottle of Crystal Geyser. �I�ve already drank two of those in the past 10 minutes. I wouldn�t be surprised if I have to run off stage to pee halfway through my first song.� I say in a half mumble. �You�ve done this routine a thousand times before, nothing is different�� �Everything is different. There are about five thousand people out there, and they didn�t come here to see me, they came to see Nsync� What if they hate me?� �They won�t! And you have fans out there, just don�t even worry about it.� Fe says and puts her hand on my shoulder. I nod my head and hop out of the make up chair as Nicole finishes up. �Hey Britney, you�re on in 10. They need you out there.� Melinda, our tour manager, pops her head into my room and says. �Thank you.� I say and force a smile. I walk out into the hall and see the guys all playing hacky-sack in a small circle. Justin misses the sack when he turns to look at me. �Hacky?� He says and moves closer to me. �We always play a game before our concerts, helps us relax and like� unwind.� �I uh� I have to go on now.� I say slowly, but I don�t move, staring into those bright blue eyes of his is the only thing that has stopped my head from spinning. The knot in the center of my stomach starts growing and my hands start shaking convulsively. Justin notices and quickly grabs both my hands in his. �Brit. I know you�re nervous, I know you have those butterflies, but when you get out there and the crowd erupts with applause, it�ll all go away. You�re in your element when you�re onstage. Your going to be amazing tonight, and they�re going to love you, because� it�s impossible for anyone not too.� He says quietly. I let go of his hands and wrap my arms around his neck for a quick hug. He pulls me in closer and I�m sure he can feel my heart pounding against his chest. I squeeze my eyes shut, silently praying that he never lets go. �Brit�� I hear Melinda�s voice behind me, signaling its time to get onstage. I pull away from Justin and look over to the guys. They all wish me good luck. �Brit, everything will be perfect. But I promise if any little thing goes astray I�ll personally run out there and start stripping!� Chris jokes. The guys all start laughing. �Like that would help� You�d have a stampede out the exit door.� JC fires at him. I can�t help laugh that time. �Thanks guys. And Chris, I�ll be waiting for you out there.� I say as Fe slowly pulls me away. � Justin�s POV The guys and I finish up our hackey sack session and head backstage to watch Britney perform. She stands on the darkened stage and looking out into the screaming crowd, they are cheering and I know everything is going to be fine. That is until I hear her introduction boom over the loud speakers and �boos� echo throughout the crowd. My heart stops, but the music doesn�t. �Oh man�� I hear one of the guys mumble behind me as we watch in shock. She hides the terror in her eyes well as she goes into her first song, Baby One More Time. The boos seem to die down after she starts singing, but there are still pangs in my heart. I can�t believe our fans would boo her off the stage. Her set ends when she finishes Sometimes, and I can still hear a few loud boos. Britney gives the audience a weak smile, and murmurs �Thank You� into the mic. When she turns towards us to walk off the stage I can see the tears falling from her eyes. She runs past us quickly with tear stained cheeks. �Brit�� I say and quickly turn around to try and catch her arm as she walks away but I miss. I go to chase after her but Melinda grabs my arm. �Justin, she�ll be fine. You need to get out there.� She says. I look past her at the guys who are already filling out, taking their positions on the stage. �I�� I start to protest. �Justin. Stage. Now.� She says sternly. I quickly jog out on stage and stand next to JC and Joey. I know she�s right, but I can�t help worrying about Britney. The lights hit us as we start into Space Cowboy and the crowd goes wild. Throughout the entire 8 songs all I can think about it her. When the show ends we all thank the crowd. Then I personally thank Britney for opening up for us, hoping it�ll help her get in the good graces of our fans. We walk off stage and I quickly make my way through the crew looking for Britney. She�s no where in sight, so the guys drag me back to our dressing room where we shower and change. I try Britney�s dressing room once more, then I follow the guys outside and try her tour bus but she�s not in there either. The guys and I get on our bus and decide to chill out on the bus. �J. I�m sure Britney�s fine. She�s probably on her bus, or talking with Johnny.� JC tries to comfort me as he can see I�m obviously worried about her. Britney�s POV After I run off stage crying, Johnny finds me in the dressing room and we talk about what happened. I sure I�m off the tour. Everyone hates me so why would I continue to tour with Nsync. �Look Brit. We were concerned that when Nsync fans were first introduced to you they wouldn�t be as accepting as could be. But that�s only because you�re a girl, and you get to spend all this time with these 5 teen heartthrobs. It�s just jealousy, this has no reflection on you as a person or on your musical ability.� He looks at me and I nod before brushing away a few tears off my cheeks. �That crowd absolutely loved you out there, it was only a few of those obsessive Nsync fans that didn�t want to hear you, they are just envious. But we are gonna make them hear you, Brit, you�re gonna be so big no one will be able to ignore you and your music. So I don�t want you to let those few negative people out there get you down, because all of that cheering and clapping is going to prevail over those few boos you heard tonight. I promise�� He says and smiles before standing up. �Thank you.� I say softly and give him a quick hug before he leaves. Fe comes up from behind me and puts her arm around me. �You okay B?� She coos soothingly. �Yea it�s fine. I think I�m going to go take a shower and get dressed then meet the guys on the bus.� �I�m sure they�re all worried about you.� She says and smiles. After my shower I have time to decompress and wash away all my grief. I slip into a pair of white shorts and a small pink T-shirt. I meet Rob outside in the hall as we make our way to the busses in the parking lot. �Rob, I think I�m gonna visit with the guys for a little bit�� I say and turn to him as we get outside. �No problem Brit.� He says as we turn right and I get on the Nsync bus in front of mine. I step onto the bus to see the guys sitting around the table and couch. Chris is on the small love seat playing game boy, and Joey is in the mini kitchen looking for food. Lance is sitting in a chair flipping through a magazine. Keri, who decided to visit with her boy for a while, and JC are cuddling at booth table with the backs facing me and Justin is sitting across from them. When sees me he immediately stands up and moves towards me. �Brit� Are you okay? I looked for you after the show but I couldn�t find you and-� Justin says quickly, his eyes wide with concern. �I was talking to Johnny� I�m fine now, it�s okay.� I interrupt and smile at him and the rest of the guys who are now staring at me. He nods his head and takes a step back, for some reason all I want is to be held in his arms, but instead I move towards the table. Keri stands up and gives me a big hug. �Oh my god Britney! It�s so good to see you, when JC told me you were touring with Nsync I knew I had to come down here to visit.� She says cheerfully and takes a step back still holding on to my arms. �Brit, you look great! I can�t believe your all grown up! And you were so great out there!� �At least someone thought so�� I say sarcastically and give her a crooked smile. �You look great too. I�m so glad you�re here, we definitely need to catch up!� �That�s why I came!� �Mmm. Hmm..� J.C. clears his throat loudly. �Oh yea and you too�� She giggles and flops down next to him on the couch, snuggling into his chest. �You two are adorable.� I say and take a seat across from them. �Yea, so adorable it makes me sick!� Chris yells from the couch and I giggle. J.C. and Keri just roll their eyes. I scoot over in the booth, giving Justin room to sit down next to me. �Want something to eat? We got� well pretty much just cereal. It�s the only think we know how to make. Unless Joey wants to cook ya up some spaghetti, cause that�s the only thing he knows how to make.� Justin asks me and the guys all snicker. �Hey! I can make other stuff!� Joey whines pretending to be offended. �Oh I�m sorry. There�s also pasta�� Justin says sarcastically. �That�s right!� He says and pours a bag of chips into a bowl. �Spaghetti and pasta are very different you know�� �I know Jo, I know.� I say seriously before breaking into a grin. �So what�ll it be?� He says before popping a chip in his mouth. �Not really too hungry, but thanks for the offer, I�ll be sure to take you up on that soon.� I say and he flashes me a smile before resuming eating his chips. �Guys, I wanna do something�� Justin states abruptly and we all turn to him. �Something?� I ask looking at him curiously. �I mean, it�s only 8, and I�m not really tired. The show totally pumped me up.� �Me too!� JC agrees. �We should party! Celebrate the first show of your first tour together!� Keri says enthusiastically. �What do you say Brit?� �I�m up for anything.� I say. �Well I think when we get back to the hotel we should all go for a swim! And when I say �we all� I mean those hot dancers of Britney�s!� Joey says and wiggles his eyebrows at me. �I agree! I�m not nearly as familiar with your dancers, and our new ones, as I should be. And I think most successful bonding experiences should always include bikinis and Jacuzzis. � Chris says and stands up from his position on the couch. I laugh out loud with the rest of the guys before saying, �Sounds like a plan to me. Just make sure you don�t give anyone a reason to have any �sexual harassment in the workplace� charges pressed.� �We�ll have to keep an eye out on Joey!� JC jokes and Joey laughs sarcastically. Shortly after, the bus drives us back to the hotel. We all head up to our rooms to change, I push the fears that I will fail miserably as an artist to the back of my mind in anticipation of the fun I�ll be having tonight. |
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