January 16th, 2000
Los Angeles, Califnoria
AMAs Rehearsals
5:00am
“I’m surprised you’re up so early,” JC said to Annaleigh as he stepped into the small hotel dining room the next morning, rubbing at his eyes with his fists. He sniffed once before making his way over to the coffee pot, reaching for a cup that was stacked next to the machine. “We practically had to carry you to the car once we landed at LAX.” He peered at her over his shoulder and laughed a little. “We definitely had to carry you into the hotel.”
Who said I went to sleep? Annaleigh blinked her burning eyes, letting out a yawn. “Couldn’ sleep,” she replied, spinning the small spoon in her hand around the ring of her cup of hot chocolate. She set it down with a clatter and set her hands down on the table, tapping her fingernails on the table as he moved to sit in front of her, laughing at the irony. “Sides, I’ve always been taught that a lady doesn’t sleep past ten. You could’ve told me we had to fly out late last night.”
“Hey, I apologize for us not relaying you any information, it’s just something we’re getting used to,” he said to her, a small frown coming to his face. “We don’t normally have anyone else staying at our place, unless Wade is crashing for the night, and we have to remember that you’re new so you’re not used to jumping from one thing to another so quickly.” He then gave her a patient smile, shrugging his shoulders. “Besides, it was one of your last days off for a while, we wanted you to have fun and to get you to stop panicking about the AMAs.”
Annaleigh couldn’t help but smile. The boys sure had been doing their best at making her feel comfortable in the house. They didn’t change how they acted just because she was a girl in the house, but made her feel like she was a welcome member. The only thing that slowly had started to change was the boys making it that she did all of the cooking if they were staying in to eat, and she had also started taking up doing their laundry and the grocery shopping.
It wasn’t anything that bothered her; she did the same at home with her dad being injured. Plus, she had grown up learning how to take care of a home. Whether or not she ultimately would end up as a stay at home mom, or working outside of the home and running a household at the same time was up to her, but growing up in the South taught her that it was important for her to be able to run the house. They made sure to show her their appreciation for all of her hard work, not just with taking care of them, but with her supporting them as their backing musician as well.
“You’re not nervous or anything?” Annaleigh asked, squinting at him. “I mean, you’re putting out your new single tonight…and you have a new, and nervous, musician in the *NSYNC band.”
JC pursed his lips for a moment before lifting the cup of coffee to his mouth. He took a long sip before swallowing, smacking his lips. “We are nervous,” he replied and Annaleigh blinked in surprise. “I know what you’re thinking; we’ve been doing this for a long time, so how can we be nervous?”
“Ya got that right,” Annaleigh replied and JC chuckled.
“Well, we’ve been doing this for a while, so in that regards, we could see this as just another performance, or just another song we’re releasing,” JC explained. He was talking slowly, choosing his words carefully.
Annaleigh quickly noticed that about him; he liked to be eloquent whenever he talked and to get his point across in a clear and concise way. It was no wonder they always described him as the serious one. What was surprising was that he was up this early. Annaleigh had noticed how much the man loved his sleep.
“But, we always worry about the first song we release from the new album because we’re putting ourselves out there time and time again and not only that, but the fad in music changes so fast.” JC snapped his fingers repeatedly to show his point. “You could be a hit one day and then the next…” Annaleigh slowly nodded her head, taking in every word that he said. JC sighed, a slightly distant glint appearing in his eye before it disappeared with a blink.
“And everything with Lou…people are anxious to see what we’ve come up with despite everything that had happened. That’s what makes it so nerve wracking. We’re preparing ourselves for all of the questions that we’re going to be asked but…we can only focus on the past for so long.” He then started counting off on his fingers, pulling them back with his other hand. “It’s said and done, we learned from our mistake of blindly trusting one person to do everything, we’re working with a group of people we’ve handpicked and trust that share our creative vision, and there’s nothing else to do but move forward.”
“You aren’ scared that somethin’ else Lou has done is gonna mess anythin’ else up?” Annaleigh asked, feeling her eyebrows crinkle together.
“Not with the team we have,” JC replied, shaking his head back and forth. “We know how to handle things now. Don’t forget, there’s still a lot things about this industry that we’re learning as we go along, just like you.” Annaleigh made a noise in the back of her throat before lifting her mug of hot chocolate to her mouth. She took a long sip, allowing the chocolate beverage to slide over her tongue before she swallowed it. “So, what is it that you’re afraid of?”
“I’m from Clinton, Mississippi,” Annaleigh replied around licking her lips free of the chocolate. JC gave her a look, silently asking, And? “I’ve wanted ta leave for so long, but now I’m here, I’m scared I’m not ready for the world; that I, once again, jus’ wanted ta do whatever it was Lance was doin’, but never really thought ‘bout what it entailed.”
“Do you always do what Lance does?” JC asked, his eyebrows shooting up in amusement.
“Ever since I met him, I wanted ta do everythin’ he did,” Annaleigh explained, her nose scrunching up just slightly as she gave an embarrassed smile. But, that was party because I knew our friend, Darren, would be doin’ it too.” JC chuckled. “I don’ know, with Lance singin’ and everythin’ and doin’ great things with his life, it always made me feel like I could do anythin’ I wanted to. It’s comforting ta know that he’s there and supportin’ me with stuff.”
She let out a heavy sigh, but not one of sadness or annoyance, or stress, but of content. “But with this, I wanted ta be able to support Lance with somethin’ cause he’s always done so much for me,” Annaleigh continued. “Not jus’ him, but all y’all.”
“You were at the court hearing that day,” JC said, tapping his fingernails against his coffee mug and Annaleigh nodded her head. JC gave a shrug of his shoulders, a curious look crossing his face. “Why didn’t you say anything? You had Lance thinking he saw a ghost or something.”
“Naw, that’s a completely differen’ story,” Annaleigh said, waving her hand in the air, her lips curling into an amused smile. “Like I said, I wanted to show y’all support, but it was your day. You deserved ta celebrate with your families. Plus, I was kinda scared, too. I mean, y’all had gone and done so many things while I was stil lat home doin’ school and church, and whatever else kept me preoccupied…I thought he wouldn’ be the same Lance.”
She fell silent for a moment, messing with her spoon. JC didn’t say anything, just lifted his coffee mug to his lips, silently watching her. She stretched her arms above her head before using her hands to pull her hair back from her face, gathering it into a ponytail between her hands before allowing her hair to splay out across her shoulders.
“I felt bad ‘bout it, but I figured now that he got ta see the world, he woudn’ wanna come back to a small pace like Clinton, so I kinda avoided him whenever he did come home. That and I was mad about him not bein’ there when everythin’ with my mom happened, and I was jealous, and…yeah. I was happy he was doin’ what he wanted ta do, but I took it too personally when he said that he’d always be there, and when I needed ‘im he wasn’. I knew things couldn’ have been easy for y’all, but I couldn’ help thinkin’ it.” She let out a small laugh, peering up at him. “I hadn’ told him that yet. You’re easy ta talk to.”
“Thanks, but you really should be telling Lance about this,” JC replied before his lips pulled back into a smile as she let out another yawn. “Sometime after you go to sleep. You have a lot to do today.”
Annaleigh stared blankly at him for a moment. “Rehearsals aren’t even until the afternoon,” Annaleigh replied, blinking repeatedly.
“And before that, you need to get your hair, makeup, and wardrobe done,” JC pointed out to him. Annaleigh grabbed a lock of her hair, peering at it. “There’s nothing wrong with you, it’s just part of the business. It was weird for us at first, but wardrobe does keep your personal style in mind. The more events you do, the easier it is and the faster it’ll get done.”
“But—“
“Go. Now,” JC said, interrupting her.
“Fiiine,” Annaleigh replied with a small pout. She reached for her cool cup of hot chocolate before tilting her head back, quickly downing the rest of her beverage. JC offered his hand for her empty cup and she thanked him, pushing her chair back; the legs scraping against the floor.
She gave JC a smile of thanks before making her way over to the elevators. She rode up to her floor, pulled her key card out of her pocket, unlocked her door and was passed out on her bed as the door clicked shut.
..
.
7:00am
Annaleigh wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep before she was woken up by soft voices, clattering, and the sound of metal hangers clicking together. She blinked open her eyes and pushed up from the mattress she was curled on, rubbing her eyes.
“Oh, good, you’re up,” a cheerful, sweet voice said as a woman moved to stand by her bed. She stuck her hand in Annaleigh’s face. “Sorry for the wake-up call, but we need to get everything worked out before your show tomorrow. I’m Monica Blount, I’ll be doing your hair and make-up.”
“Nice ta meet ya,” Annaleigh replied, her eyes shifting over towards the two other women in the room. Once was unpacking jar after jar of make-up, setting it down onto the vanity, while the other started unzipping clothing bags that hung on a metal portable clothing rack.
“And that’s Johanna Pepitone and Terry Smith who will be covering your wardrobe,” Monica continued the introductions, motioning towards the two women sitting by the dresser. The two women gave bright smiles and waved as they started sorting through the clothes, muttering to themselves. “Alright, up and at ‘em, you have a long day today.”
“Yeah, I know, I have rehearsal,” Annaleigh replied as Monica grabbed her arm, pulling her up off of the mattress. She was practically dragged across the bed to the edge, where she was moved to sit up and Monica grabbed her chin with her long fingernail covered fingers, turning her head this way and that. “Hmmm, I was wrong, you have a cool skin tone.”
“I do?” Annaleigh asked, reaching up to touch her face. “Feels warm ta me.”
“No, sweetie,” Monica said with a tinkling laugh, shaking her head. “It means that pinks, blues, purples, ad reds are better colors of make-up for you. You can also mix in brown since you have these amazing honey colored eyes.” She gently patted Annaleigh’s face before moving to sort through all the make-up. “We’re going to want to make a statement, so I think I’m going to give you a shimmering winged eye.”
“While she’s doing that, we’re going to get you measured,” Johanna said as she pulled Annaleigh to her feet. She shook out a tape measure, dropping it down by Annaleigh’s head to the floor while Terry started measuring around her chest. “We’ve got a lot to fit in before all your interviews and photo shoots today?”
“32B!” Terry called out.
“Wait, what?” Annaleigh asked, her eyes popping open.
“You don’t know your own bust size?” Terry asked with a snort.
“No! I mean, yes, but…” Annaleigh trailed off, briefly closing her eyes. “I only have rehearsals—“
“And interviews with the local magazines and some radio outlets, not to mention everyone on the red carpet, but there are some specific ones you’ll be hitting,” Terry explained, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Annaleigh who quickly unfolded it to read:
January 16th, 2000 – AMAs Rehearsals
7:00am-9:00am – Hair/Make-up/Wardrobe Consultant
(8:30am – Breakfast)
9:00am-10:00am – Interview prep
10:00am-12:00pm – Rehearsals
12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch
1:00pm-3:00pm – Press/Interviews/Photos
3:00pm-5:00pm – Rehearsals
5:00pm-5:30pm – Red carpet prep
6:00pm-7:00pm – Dinner/Rest up
January 17th, 2000 – AMAs
7:00am-9:00am – Hair/Make-up/Wardrobe Consultant
(8:30am – Breakfast)
9:00am-10:00am – Interview prep
10:00am-12:00pm – Rehearsals
12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch
1:00pm-3:00pm – Press/Interviews/Photos
3:30pm-4:00pm – Hair/Make-up/Wardrobe/Light dinner
4:00pm-5:00pm – Walk the red carpet
5:00pm-7:00pm – The AMAs! (Broadcasting live at 8 EST)
7:00pm-9:00pm - Dinner
9:00pm-? – After party
As Annaleigh’s eyes dropped farther and farther down the list, she felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop. She bit back a groan, mentally kicking herself for getting up so early…or rather, staying up so late. She really wasn’t going to have any time to relax.
“What are the interviews for?” Annaleigh asked.
“You’re the only girl in the *NSYNC band and not only that, but Lance’s friend from back home,” Johanna explained, removing a hanger with a floral top from the clothing rack. “What do you think of this?” Annaleigh looked over at her and felt her upper lip curl. “No? OK, then.”
“Our goal, Annaleigh, is to stick with your personal style,” Terry explained, starting to lay clothes out on the bed. “Your accent is something new, something fresh around here. Your story is something everyone is talking about. It’s not only you, but Mika, too. You’re two of the youngest members of the *NSYNC band, people want to know about you.”
“There’s nothin’ special about me,” Annaleigh replied with a shake of her head.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Cookie,” Monica said with a shake of her head. “Everybody is special, even you. It might take you a while to figure it out, and you might not believe anybody—or any guy—that’ll tell you that.” She looked up from the jar of foundation in her hands and winked at Annaleigh before twisting off the cap, swirling a brush inside. “But you are. Don’t forget that and I’m being serious when I say it. The music industry will be tough and it’ll challenge you in many different ways, and may want to change you. Don’t let that happen.”
10:30am
Mika carefully set his keyboard down onto the floor before resting it up against the sinks in the bathroom of the building where the AMAs were located. He looked around, sliding his palms down the sides of his jeans before looking around the bathroom. He checked to make sure each stall was clear—checking underneath the stalls for shoes—before glancing over at the door, as if daring it to open.
He let out a sigh, pressing his lips together before turning back towards the mirrors. He dropped the back on his shoulder down onto the sink and reached for the zipper, opening his bag, allowing the two parts to flop open. He reached inside and pulled out a rectangle box. Glancing at the door again, he walked over to it and turned the lock with his long, thing fingers.
He made his way back to the sink and popped open the box to retrieve a can from the box. He popped off the top and shook the can before aiming the nozzle at his head, starting to spray his brown hair black. Once his hair was the color he wanted, he put the can back before grabbing a jar. He twisted off the top and a fruit smell hit his nose.
He dipped his index and middle finger into the jar, allowing the white cream to coat his fingers before he rubbed them between his palms. He started running his hands and fingers through his hair. Excess black spray came off onto his hands. He used the sides of his hands to turn on the faucet and rinse the black colored cream from his hands.
He then put the jar back and reached inside the box, retrieving a contacts case. He unscrewed the caps and dipped his fingers into the solution to retrieve brown tinted contacts. Leaning closer to the mirror, he used one hand to pull his eye lids apart, sliding the contact over his eye. He blinked a couple of times to make sure it was positioned right before doing the same with his other eye…jumping when he heard the door stop before loud knocking hit his ears.
“Hold on a minute!” Mika called back before he started throwing everything back into his bag. He then hurried to the door and unlocked it, letting out a sigh as it was pushed inwards and Johnny Wright walked in. “Oh, good, it’s you.”
“You’re late to rehearsal,” Johnny commented, closing the door behind him.
“I know, I was…hurrying,” Mika replied, giving him an apologetic look. “I got a late start today, that’s all.”
“Kevin’s been covering for you, but he shouldn’t have to do that,” Johnny said with a shake of his head. Mika bowed his head for a brief moment, scratching at the back of his neck.
“I know and I apologize,” Mika replied, lifting his head to look Johnny in the eyes. “I won’t be late again. I promise I won’t.”
Johnny peered over at Mika, pressing his lips together. He crossed his arms over his chest, narrowed his eyes just slightly. His chest swelled as he sucked in a deep breath of air before slowly letting it out through his nose. “You have to go through all of this?” he asked, waving a hand in the air, motioning towards Mika’s head.
“Everyday I’m here,” Mika replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’ll get faster at it, the more I do it.”
“And, you can’t just tell Annaleigh the truth?” Johnny asked, stroking his chin with his fingers. Mika gave a brief shrug of his shoulders. “That’s not an answer.”
“Don’t know how to bring it up,” Mika replied, stretching his arms over his head before grasping at his elbows. “’Hey, Annaleigh, I know who you are, but you don’t know me. At least, you don’t remember me, but I know all about you. We played together once when we were kids. I took this job to get closer to you, but trust me; I’m not a creep or anything’.”
Johnny chuckled as he removed the hat from his head, scratching at the back of his neck. “I can see how you’d be having trouble,” Johnny admitted, giving a slow nod of his head. “From my experience though, I’d have to warn you, secrets have a way of getting out before you can reveal them yourself.”
“I don’t think I can tell her now,” Mika said with a shake of his head.
“I’m not telling you to tell her now, I’m just telling you to tell her soon,” Johnny replied. “You’re going to have a lot of days together with this tour, so you have plenty of time.” He put his baseball cap back onto his head. “With the interviews today…just with your story, they’re going to dig a lot into your family and what your life was like before you had called me about Annaleigh joining the band.”
“I have a story ready, don’t worry,” Mika replied, running his fingers through his damp hair. He briefly checked his fingers, giving a satisfied smile at the lack of black smudges on his fingers before looking back over at Johnny. “Nothing that’ll come back and bite me in the ass later on…I hope.”
“First things first, getting back to rehearsal,” Johnny said, reaching up to grab the brim of his hat, tugging it down over his forehead. “I’ll explain to Kevin why you’re…” He trailed off to look at his watch. “An hour late to rehearsal.” Mika cringed before giving Johnny a nod of thanks. “But, this is the only time I’m doing this for you. It’s your responsibility to make it to rehearsals on time and if you can’t make it, it’s your responsibility to let him know why you can’t be there so they can move things around accordingly.”
“Yes, sir, I understand,” Mika replied with a nod of his head. “I’ll head over right now.” He slid his arms through the straps of his bag and reached for his keyboard. “Sorry.”
“Don’t tell me that,” Johnny said with a slight shake of his head, although he had a smile on his face. “Tell that to everyone else.” He then pointed a warning finger in Mika’s face. “I hope you’re good at making up stories in general.”
“My mom always told me I had an overactive imagination so we’ll see,” Mika replied with a shrug of his shoulders and a grin. Johnny chuckled, shaking his head as he made his way over to the bathroom door. He pulled it open, blinking in surprise as it swung open with ease and speed as Lance stepped through the door.
“Sorry,” he said, jumping back from Johnny. He lifted his hand and waved in Mika’s direction. Mika gave a nod of his head, adjusting the keyboard he held under his arm. “We were all just wondering where you were.”
“We’re coming. You should’ve had one of the security team check up on us, though,” Johnny said, quickly changing the subject, stepping past Lance. Lance didn’t answer but gave a small nod, his eyes shifting over towards Mika who brushed past him as he slipped out the door.
“I came to ask you for permission about something,” Lance replied, holding the door open for Johnny. Johnny raised his eyebrows, a curious look crossing his face. “Well, Ace has been pretty homesick lately, so I invited one of our friends down to spend a couple of days with her while the AMAs were going on, so it wouldn’t be too hectic for her. So…is it ok if she sits in during rehearsals?”
“Is ‘she’ Ace or the guest?” Johnny asked.
“The guest,” Lance replied.
“…Alright,” Johnny replied after a moment of silence. He blinked and then shifted his eyes towards Lance. “You all know how hard it is to leave your family to do something like this. I think it’ll be good for her what with her dad being injured and her mom…”
“You—you know about that?” Lance asked, his eyebrows knitting together into a look of confusion. “About her mom? And…that she has a half-brother?”
“It’s my job to know,” Johnny replied, slowly nodding his head glancing in the direction Mika had disappeared in.
He clapped Lance’s shoulder, gently guiding him away from the bathroom door, heading back towards the rehearsal space. Muffled drums and Wade’s voice calling out counts could be heard. “I think you being here has helped her transition as smoothly as she could, but I can’t help but feel like things are still a bit rocky between you two.”
“I’m making sure it’s not affecting the group in any way,” Lance quickly explained.
“Maybe the boys could help,” Johnny suggested. “They want to look out for Annaleigh as much as you do.”
“Yeah, I know,” Lance agreed with a nod of his head. “I just don’t think even they could help me. How do you tell your friend something about their family that their dad made you promise not to tell?”
“Very carefully,” Johnny replied and Lance let out a heavy sigh. He clapped his hand on Lance’s shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “That is, if you think it’s something you should tell her yourself. If that’s the case, I know it’s hard, but you’ll figure out how to tell her.”
“Yeah, well, maybe this will put her in a good mood and then I can tell her,” Lance suggested. “You know, butter her up first.”
“Has that ever worked on her before?” Johnny asked. Lance was silent for a moment and Johnny clapped him on the shoulder, again. “Well, it was nice knowing you.”
January 17th, 2000
AMAs
3:45pm
“Y’all sure know how to put on a production ‘round here.”
Lance turned away from the mirror in the hotel room he shared with Joey and gave Jasmine a smile, setting down the comb he was using to touch up his hair. He grasped the chain to the cross necklace around his neck and made sure it sat between the unbuttoned portion of his blue unbuttoned polo shirt.
“Hey, Jazzy,” Lance greeted the girl who stepped up beside him, moving to give her a hug. At least he tried to as she had a big cardboard box in her arms. “Thanks for coming down. Did you just get here?”
“Yeah, Joey just let me in,” Jasmine replied, turning her head to give Joey a smile of thanks as he made his way into the bathroom. She then turned back towards Lance and gently shoved his shoulder with her free hand. “I couldn’ leave my girl hangin’. Darren said he wanted ta come, but had a big school project or somethin’ due this week.” Her lips curled up into a teasing smile. “She’s jus’ gonna have ta settle with me.”
“Yeah, he told me yesterday that he couldn’ make it,” Lance said as Jasmine moved set the box down onto the bed. “But, Ace will be happy to see you here, too.” He then nodded towards the box. “What’s in there?”
“Care package from everyone back home,” Jasmine replied with a happy sigh. “Even managed ta get your Grandpa Jim and Grandma Bass to put in somethin’ for ya all special for your big night. JC, Joey, Chris, and Justin, too.”
“Thanks, Jazz,” Lance said with a wide smile. “I don’t think we have time to open it now, we have to get going.” Lance then shifted his gaze towards the bathroom door and walked over to it, pounding on the door with his fist. “Joe, we have to get going. Everyone will be waiting in the lobby by now.”
“I’ll meet you down there,” Joey called back. “You still have to get Annaleigh, anyway.”
“Just down drown yourself in cologne again,” Lance said with a sigh, rolling his eyes in Jasmine’s direction. She put a hand over her mouth, giggling. “We all still have to share a car with you.”
He then offered Jasmine his arm and she looped her arm through his, giving him a bright smile. He stepped out into the hallway and got into the elevator, riding it down one floor. Lance led the way to Annaleigh’s hotel room and knocked on the door.
“Be there in a minute.”
“Take your time,” Lance called back.
“No, I mean, it’ll take ma minute to get to the door,” Annaleigh sad as she pulled the door open, practically doubled over as she tried to keep her balance in the black heels she was wearing. “And it was well worth the wait. Jazzy!”
Jasmine let out a loud shriek, flapping her hands, and running in place, causing Lance to squeeze an eye shut at the sudden loud sound. He smiled as he watched his two friends come together in a hug, squeezing each other tightly. “What are you doing here?”
“Lance asked me ta come down,” Jasmine replied, taking a step back from her friend, looking her up and down. “Joey told him that you were feelin’ homesick, so…” Her eyebrows shot up. “Girl, you look amazing.”
“You really look great,” Lance agreed.
Annaleigh pushed the rolled up sleeves to her white jean jacket up past her elbows before looking down at the rest of her outfit. She had on a billowy green spaghetti strap tank top, a black shimmery skirt, with a hint of jeans short, and black heeled round toed shoes.
“You don’t think it’s too casual for the red carpet?” she asked, brushing a few loose strands of her hair behind her ears. They had kept her hair wavy, but braided two locks of her hair back behind her head to create a bit of a braided headband.
“Have you seen what he’s wearing?” Jasmine asked, hiking an eyebrow, motioning over towards Lance. Lance looked down at his brown leather coat, blue polo, and dark pants. He reached his hand up to lightly touch the gelled spikes in his hair.
“What’s wrong with it?” Lance asked, looking down at his clothes.
“Nothin’, darlin’ don’ worry,” Jasmine said, waving her hand in the air. “I’m jus’ sayin’ you’re really lookin’ casual.” She let out another squeal, clapping her hands together. “I can’ wait for the show, this is so excitin’!”
“It won’t be exciting if we don’t get going,” Lance said, ushering the two girls back towards the elevators. He was fine before, but now he could feel the nervousness sink in.
This was it; they were debuting their new single that night as well as performing it. Rehearsals were a bit rocky with marionettes malfunctioning, messed up dance steps, running behind schedules, people were trying to gt quick interviews with them, the fans who were there for sound check distracted them.
The fans were getting a taste of what it was that they’d be putting out into the word. It was a little hard to believe that their “OMG, that was amazing” and “I loved it” were genuine and not just being said because they were in the same room as *NSYNC. He did feel bad to even think about ulterior motives for his fans, since he knew they wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for them, but he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly they thought about the song.
Those worries ran through his mind all the way to the venue. “Alright, you guys—“
“Achem,” Annaleigh loudly coughed before slapping at her chest.
“And girls,” Justin corrected himself, giving her a sweet smile. Annaleigh smiled back, pleased. “This is it.” Lance popped the buckle to his seat belt as Justin turned around in his seat to look at everyone crammed into the car: himself, JC, Joey, Chris, Lance, Annaleigh, and Jasmine. “We’ve come a long way with this album; we’re finally getting able to do what we want to do. We’re finally getting to show it to the world.”
He held out his hands, one towards JC, the other towards Chris. “Lance, if you don’t mind,” Justin said to him.
“Uhhh,” Lance hesitated, looking over at JC who held his hand out towards him. He slid his hand into JC’s and felt his older friend curl his fingers around his hand, gently tightening his grip on Lance’s. JC silently peered at him with his blue eyes. His lips curled up into a small smile and Lance’s mouth suddenly went dry.
He felt a wave of heart rush over his body as his heart doubled the speed of its beating. He repeatedly licked his lips and cleared his throat. Annaleigh, who held onto his other hand, gave his hand a slight squeeze of encouragement. Lance shifted his gaze to his lap and cleared his throat again.
“Um, Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for all the support you’ve given us through this difficult time,” Lance said, his eyes falling shut. “Thank you for your daily strength and being there for us when we needed you and we ask you to please help us get through this exciting and scary moment in our lives. Amen.”
As everyone else in the car muttered an “Amen” Lance quickly pulled his hand out from JC’s grip, resting his hand on his knee. He tapped his finger nails on his jean clad knee before wiping his palm on his jeans, trying to rub away the tingling feeling in his hand.
“Dude, just get out of the car already,” Chris loudly declared as the car pulled up to the curb of the venue. He lifted his feet and pushed at JC’s back, trying to get him out the door.
“Chris, if you leave footprints on my coat I swear…” JC left his threat trailing off as he tugged at the collar of his gray leather coat. He reached for the door knob with a shaky hand.
They could already hear the muffled fan screams and see cameras flashing whether they were at other artists and celebrities walking the carpet, or they were taking pictures of the cars as they pulled up, waiting to see who would come out of the cars next.
“Woohoo, let’s do this!” Joey said, clapping his hands together, reaching up for the sunglasses that sat on his head. He tipped them down onto his nose and gave Annaleigh and Jasmine a smile. “Welcome to our world, ladies.”
“Just get out of the car, Joe,” Lance said with a small laugh, shoving at Joey’s shoulders.
JC pushed open the door and the cheers swelled in decibels. It instantly flooded Lance’s body, filling him with so much energy, it felt like he was moving on autopilot as he took his turn to leave the car. His lips pulled back into a smile, he angled his head back just slightly, and he felt himself burst with confidence.
“Wow, that’s a lot of people,” Jasmine said as she and Annaleigh made their way out of the car. She gave Justin a smile of thanks as he offered her his hand to help her out.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Annaleigh muttered in reply. Lance could see the fear in her eyes and the uncertainty as she started to tug at her clothes. She was holding her
“Hey,” Lance said quietly, looking over at his friend. Annaleigh turned her wide brown eyes towards him. “You used to do pageants, right?” Annaleigh slowly nodded her head, giving him a confused look. “Well, you’ve performed in front of hundreds of people, probably thousands during your whole career. Just think of it as one giant pageant; you have this initial moment to present yourself, and then the talent portion, and then it’s all over.”
Lance watched as a spark seemed to flicker in her eyes before growing with intensity as each second passed. She straightened her posture, rolled her shoulders back, and lifted her chin, following the boys onto her first red carpet.
She was learning quickly; to fake confidence even if she was the most nervous she had ever been. It had helped him throughout his bad days in *NSYNC. He just hoped there’d be days soon where he didn’t have to fake anything.
AMAs After Party
11:15pm
Loud music pounded through Lance’s body, shaking and rocking every nerve in his body. Flashing neon lights lit up the dark room packed with party goers. Despite the loss of the Group of the Year AMA award to the Backstreet Boys, they had a great performance and a good reception to their performance. There were a few malfunctions with the marionettes and the back-up dancers’ harnesses, and, and, and.
And Wade had brought up each thing they had done wrong the minute they stepped off the stage, but just like the rest of them, he was excited with what they had accomplished. He was just as amped as the other boys and offered words of encouragement and excitement to the band as well, especially to Mika and Annaleigh who looked as if they couldn’t believe what they had just done.
And now they were all moving to the beat of the music as if performing was as natural as breathing to them. “Ok, what about that girl over there?” Joey asked from beside him, elbowing him in the side. “What do you think?”
Lance lifted his glass of soda to his mouth as he turned in his seat to look over at the girl that Joey was pointing to. He angled his head to the side as he took in the leggy blonde that shimmied along to the beat of the music, hands in her hair, eyes closed to the pack of guys ogling her as they danced around her, trying not to be too obvious with their staring.
“I think Kelly would kill you when she finds out,” Lance replied after swallowing.
“You mean ‘if’?” Joey asked and Lance shook his head.
“No, I don’t,” he simply replied with a slight purse of his lips. Joey let out a short laugh before turning back around to the bar, grasping his beer. He tilted his head back and tossed the drink into his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp. “You know I’m right.”
“Shut up,” Joey said deadpan before letting out a heavy sigh. “Ok then, let’s find one for you.”
“Joe—“
“You’ve been sitting here all night, you haven’t taken up anyone offer to dance all night,” Joey said shoving his shoulder. “And trust me, you’ve had plenty of offers.”
“Just distracted, that’s all,” Lance replied, tapping his fingernails on the cup in his hand. He peered over the dance floor and watched for a moment as Annaleigh and Jasmine danced with Mika. “What do you know about him?”
Joey waved his hand to get the bartender’s attention before turning back towards his friend. “Who, Mika?” he asked. “I don’t know much. Seems to be off by himself even with the band. Why?” Lance nodded his head in the boy’s direction. Joey followed his gaze and chuckled.
“Wade’s the one you need to worry about, not him,” he said, gently hitting his friend on the shoulder. “I mean, come on? Flowers? Sweet comments? He’s really laying it on thick with her in case you haven’t noticed.”
“I’ve noticed,” Lance replied with a sigh. How did could anyone not notice? He had been around Wade enough to see the difference between when he likes a girl, and when he was strictly business. Luckily for him, he could have both at the same time, considering Annaleigh’s role with the band. “I’m not too worried though. It’s just…I mean, I know Wade, but I don’t know a thing about Mika. He seems familiar to me, though.”
“Come on, Lance,” Joey said, shoving his shoulder. Lance made a noise in the back of his throat as some of his soda sloshed out of his glass and onto his pants. “I know you an’ Anna have grown up together way back yonder in the countryside—“
“Clinton isn’t the country,” Lance interrupted his friend, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. “Although, I do have to give you points for your Southern accent.”
“Well, thank ya, darlin’,” Joey said, putting a hand over his heart, batting his eyelashes. Lance let out a laugh, shoving his shoulder in return. “I’m just saying, you and I both know Annaleigh is a firecracker. She can take care of herself. She knows Johnny’s dating rule, and she’s really getting a crash course with this music thing. Everything will be ok. What we need to be focusing on is getting you a dance with that fine lady over there.”
Joey changed the subject, pointing across the dance floor to where a brunette was bobbing her head to the beat of the music, sitting by herself at a table. She twirled her hair around her finger with one hand, giving a finger wave in his direction with the other. Lance lifted his hand, waving in return and the girl’s smile widened as she bowed her head.
“Ah, see?” Joey asked, getting to his feet. He grabbed Lance’s arm, pulling him to his feet. “Go! You’ve been sitting around all night.” Lance stumbled as he was shoved forward. “Have fun.”
Lance wiped his palms off on his jeans, making his way through the dancing crowd towards the girl. He could tell immediately that she was looking for a good time in more ways than one. He’d just let her know flat out that it wasn’t going to be the case.
That’ll never be the case, he thought, putting a bright smile to his face as he reached the girl. “Hi.”
