~*~ Chapter 11 ~*~

ORLANDO, FL - O-Town House - Thursday

     “1, 2, 3 and that's it.” Dan was practicing, in fact, teaching Ashley some of the steps for the song 'Take me under' on the little rehearsal area they had at their house “I think you got it now Ash.”

     “Yeah, I think so too. Thanks Dan.”

     “No problem, bro.”

     They made their way into the kitchen to find the other 3 guys eating cereal at the kitchen table. They were being videotaped already because the show 'Making the Band' would be starting in less than a month and MTV needed a lot of material to work on for its first episode.

     “What do we have today? Does anybody know?” Trevor asked, putting his bowl of cereal and spoon down in the sink.

     “Hm, we have a meeting with the Mikes. They called about an hour ago saying they would be coming soon, so they should be here at any moment now. They said we'd have a meeting. I don't know what it is about, though.” Dan answered.

     “Good. I wanna talk to them about the editing again.” Jacob said “I didn't like the editing there on ABC. I wanna discuss that with them.”

     “Yeah, no one was really happy about that Jake. I think Mike and Mike will bring that up.” Erik told him. The other 2 seasons, when the show was airing on ABC, didn't make the guys were happy because of the way the episodes were lead. Especially the second season. So they wanted to be as much part of the editing process as possible.  

     When the Mikes got to the O-Town house, they went straight to the dinning room to have their meeting. They discussed about the last dates of the tour (they were finishing a tour opening for Britney Spears) and some rehearsal schedule. Jacob, seeing that the MTV issue was not being brought up, decided to speak his mind:

     “What about the show? Did you guys talk to someone at MTV about the editing problems we had at ABC?”

     Mike Morin was the one who answered him:

     “Not yet. I've talked to one of the producers and asked for the number of the responsible for editing and I still didn't get a call back. But I'm gonna rush things and call him later. I wanna talk directly to the one responsible for the editing part, maybe arrange a meeting. Do you guys wanna join the meeting or leave it to me and Mike?”

     “I wanna be at the meeting.” Jacob was the first to answer followed by a 'Me too' that came from the other guys.

     “Alright, then. I don't know if it's gonna be possible for you guys to go to NY right now because of your schedule and the last 2 concerts with Britney are gonna be here in Florida, but maybe I can ask for the person in charge of editing to come here. How does that sound?”

     “Great.” Dan spoke and it looked like it was on behalf of the group.

     “Good. So as soon as I have a date settle, I'll let you guys know. Anything else?” As no one answered, he carried on “Ok, then. I think this meeting is over. We have to go now. You guys have the day off. Try to practice your routines a little bit.” And then he and Cronin were off. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

NEW YORK CITY, NY – MTV Studio 

     “I'm sorry, what?” Kirstin couldn't believe her ears.

    “What what? What didn't you get?” Andrew didn't understand her behavior.

     “We'll be editing Making the Band?”

     “Yeah, that's what I told you before.”

     “Making the Band is moving to MTV and we are gonna be responsible for editing it?”

     “Yeah Kirstin. What's the matter? You seem weird. Is there a problem? With the show, I mean?”

     Yes, there was a problem! Now that Kirstin was finally forgetting about Ashley again, she would have to see his face every single day at work? Hell yeah, there was a problem! But she couldn't say that to Andrew. She needed that job too much. She couldn't afford to lose it because of some stupid love issue.

     “No, of course not. Why would there be?”

     “That's what I thought. But it looked like you were in shock for a moment there, I was worried.”

     “No, don't be. Making the Band! I'm gonna be working on Making the Band. That's just… great!” she had her 2 thumbs up. But she sure was uncomfortable with the news.

     “Ok. Can you leave me your phone number so I can call you later? We don't have the tapes here yet, so we can't start working, but I'll call you as soon as I get the material and we can start working on that.”

     “Yes, sure.” she got a paper and a pen from his desk, wrote down her numbers on it and handed it to Andrew “Here's my phone number and my cell number.”

     “Terrific. Then I guess this is it. Anything else you wanna ask?”

     “No, I'm fine.”

     “Good. Then thanks a lot Kirstin. I'm sure it will be a pleasure working with you.” he said giving out his hand. Kirstin shook it.

     “You too. Bye.”

     “Bye.”

     And she was off of MTV. 

     When she was outside the building, she chose to go for a walk on the 5^th Avenue. She wanted to think about how things would be now she got that new job. First, she was so happy to get that job, but now, she wasn't so sure she wanted it anymore.

     “Ok. It's gonna be terrible. I can see that already. I'm gonna watch hours and hours of video material with Ashley on it. How am I suppose to forget about him if I'm gonna see so much of him every single day? Oh, Lord! And what if he's with somebody now and then I'm gonna have to watch him kiss this girl all the time? Why did you have to become famous Ashley? Why? Why hadn't you just stayed there in Redding? If you had, things would be so much easier for me. I wouldn't have seen you again.” But she knew Ashley wouldn't be just somebody when he'd get out of high school. During high school, he was part of the football team, he took drama and music classes. She already knew back then he would be really successful when he'd get older. At that moment, walking through that crowed sidewalk, she remembered clearly one of the conversations they had about it on her front yard, sitting on the swing, after one of his Friday night games. 

* FLASHBACK * 

     “Ash, will you remember me when you are all big and famous?”

     “Probably not.” he answered, all serious, from his swing. She stopped swinging and exclaimed:

     “Ashley!”

     She then gave him a little punch on his arm. He laughed and said:

     “Of course I'll remember you, K! You shouldn't even ask! How am I gonna forget my biggest fan? The one person who's at every play, performance and game I'm in! I think you've been in more stuff than my mom has!” he looked at Kirstin, who had a shy smile upon her face “I'm never gonna forget my Princess.”

     They just stayed there for a moment until she broke the silence:

     “And I'm never gonna forget my Superman.” 

* END OF FLASHBACK *

     “My Superman… His princess…” Kirstin said to thin air.

     Ashley used to call her Princess because of the time she was helping him with his lines for this play he was on. He was a humble guy, declaring his love to this Princess, and Kirstin was reading the Princess' lines. She didn't remember the play too much; she just remembered that, when they were done with rehearsal, Ashley said she would be a great Princess because she had the looks, the kindness, all it takes to be a Princess. Kirstin, of course, got embarrassed by that comment and he, noticing that, decided to call her Princess from time to time, just to annoy her. She never told him, though, that she did like it when he would call her that.

     And she'd call Ashley Superman because he was a Superman fanatic every since he was a kid.

     She just smiled, remembering the great times they had together.

     She then suddenly woke up from her thoughts to the sound of her cell phone ringing.

     “Hello?”

     “Kirstin?” the voice on the other end asked.

     “Yes…” she answered, not recognizing the voice.

     “Hey, it's Andy.”

     “Oh, hey Andy.”

     “Listen, I just got a call from O-Town's management and they wanna discuss the editing with us. It has something to with the last season's editing, they were not happy about it, so they wanted to arrange a meeting to talk about it.” Kirstin just shook her head. She knew things would get more complicated “But they can't come to NY due to schedule problems, so we are gonna have to go to Orlando.”

     “We are going to Orlando?”

     “Yes.”

     “When?”

     “Tomorrow, at 1 p.m.”

     “And when are we coming back?”

     “The day after.”

     “And this meeting… just the management team is gonna be there, right?”

     “No, in fact, the boys asked to be part of it, so they will be there.”

     “Of course they did. Great!” Kirstin sarcastic said. ‘Just what was missing’ she thought.

     “So, can you meet me here tomorrow at 10:30 a.m.? So we can go to the airport?”

     “Yes, sure, 10:30.”

     “Good. Then see you tomorrow.”

     “See ya.”

     The next day she was gonna meet Ashley again. 'How is he gonna feel about it? How am I gonna feel about it?' She wasn’t sure. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

ORLANDO, FL - O-Town House

     Dan got off of the phone and went to the living room where the other 4 guys were playing videogame.

     “Guys, that was Cronin on the phone. He wanted us to know that the meeting was arranged and they are coming tomorrow. The meeting is gonna be here at 8 p.m.”

     “Ok!” the 4 said in a chorus. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

NEW YORK CITY, NY – Kirstin's Loft 

     “No way! You're kidding me!” Grace was in shock by the news she got from her best friend.

     “Yep, that's exactly how I reacted.” Kirstin called to tell Grace about her meeting with Andrew. “But you know what? I don't care. I'm not worried anymore.”

     “You don't care? You are gonna see Ashley again! Hello? The guy who broke up with his girlfriend because of you and was devastated when he thought you had a boyfriend. He must be pissed at you!”

     “We don't know that. We don't know if he broke up with his girlfriend because of me and he was not devastated when I told Tom was my boyfriend. He was mad. So... yeah, he is probably pissed at me.”

     “Well, who wouldn't?”

     “Grace, I'm not worried. And I don't see why you should be.”

     “I'm not worried! It's just that… how can you not be worried about what's gonna happen?”

     “G, you know how I believe in fate, right?”

     “Yeah…”

     “So, I got to think about it after I got the news I was gonna work at 'Making the Band'. You know that I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. It's not just coincidence. So if this thing came up, it's because it had to happen. It was meant to happen. So let it happen! Let's see how that's gonna turn out.”

     “It's gonna be interesting.”

     “To say the least!” they both giggled. But Kirstin's was a nervous giggle “So, I have to go packing now but I'll call you when I get back.”

     “You better.”

     “Don't worry. I will. Good Night, G.”

     “G'Night, K.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~

NEW YORK CITY, NY - Airport - The Following Day 

     Kirstin and Andrew were already inside the plane. They were fastening their seatbelts when Kirstin asked:

     “So, where is this meeting gonna be?”

     “At the band's house.”

     “Their house?”

     “Yeah. They live together. Did you know that?” Kirstin nodded “Have you ever watched the show? Do you know the band?”

     “A little” ‘If he only knew’ she thought “I've watched the show just a couple of times.”

     “Then you know them better than I do.”

     “But why is it gonna be at their house? Don't they have like an office or something?”

     “I don't know why it's gonna be at their house. I didn't ask. I didn't think of it as a problem.”

     “Yeah, you are right.”

     “Kirstin, are you ok? I know I don't know you that much, I met you yesterday, but you seem kinda weird. Are you worried about something?”

     “No, it's nothing, really.” she wouldn't talk about it with a guy she just met.

     “C'mon. I know it's something. Are you nervous about the job? Is that it?”

     “Yes.” she lied, hoping that way he would stop bothering her about it “It's my first time doing this, a meeting with important people I mean, and it's also my first time in Florida…”

     “It's your first time in Florida?” Kirstin just nodded “Oh, you are gonna love it! It's hot! But it's beautiful.”

     “I bet it is.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

ORLANDO, FL - O-Town House

     “They're here!” Mike Cronin yelled on his way to get the door. Dan, Erik, Jacob, Trevor and Mike Morin were all sitting at the dinner table.

     “Where's Ashley?” Morin asked.

     “He was gonna take a shower, but that was like, 40 minutes ago. I'll get him.” Erik informed, going up to Ashley's room. 

     Kirstin and Andrew were greeted at the door by Mike Cronin, who led them to the dinning room. Kirstin felt butterflies on her stomach. She was nervous, sweating, she thought she would handle the situation better. She didn't say a thing when Andrew introduced her to Mike as his assistant, she just shook Mike's hand. Every step she would take, she would get more and more nervous. Finally they got to the dinner table. Ashley wasn't there. She felt relieved. Maybe he wasn't coming.

     “Everybody, this is Andrew Jackson and his assistant, Kirstin Addams. They are gonna be editing your show.” Cronin introduced them to the guys at the table.

     “Hey, I'm Jacob.” Jacob, who was sitting on the first chair at the opposite side as they were standing, got up and shook Kirstin's and Andrew's hand.

     “Hi, I'm Dan.” Dan, who was sitting beside Jacob, did the same.

     “Hey! What's up? Trevor.” Trevor, who was sitting on the first chair at the opposite side of Dan and Jacob, did as his other friends did.

     “And I'm Mike Morin.”

     “So, it was you I spoke to on the phone?” Andrew asked.

     “Yes, it was me. Please, sit.”

     Kirstin sat beside Dan and Andrew sat on the chair in front of Kirstin, leaving an empty chair between him and Trevor.

     “Thank you.” Andrew was still doing all the talking “Isn't there 5 guys in the band?”

     “Yeah.” Jacob decided to speak “Ashley and Erik. Erik went upstairs to get Ashley. They will get here in a sec.”

     ‘So he is here’ Kirstin thought. She felt like running, leaving everything behind. She was good at that. But she couldn't, mainly to the fact she felt her whole body was numb. She then heard a voice coming from behind, it made her heart beat rapidly.

     “Hi. I'm sorry I'm late. I'm Ashley.” he said, giving his hand out to Andrew, not minding the girl that had her back to him.

     “Hey Ashley. This is my assistant, Kirstin.”

     “Hey Kir…” Ashley stopped talking when he saw the too familiar face.