~15~

March 27, 2000
New York

“We’re actually doing a home video now,” the group’s Lance Bass told MTV over the weekend in between appearances and live performances. “We’re taking some footage that we shot from when we first got together, and it’s very funny.”

This news comes straight from the boy band themselves in an exclusive reveal. If you don’t know how *NSYNC was before, you’ll soon learn exactly who they are as your daughters will rush out to buy this release. Not only will the boys’ music soon be playing nonstop for months to come, soon they’ll even feel like a part of your family—if they don’t already feel that way. 

“It’s not just always on stage and big and huge,” ‘NSYNC’s J.C. Chasez added. “It’s like chillin’ at home, being normal.” Yes, you’ll probably get the opportunity to see the boys with their feet up on the couch and lounging around. Successful boy bands do take breaks from time to time, you know.

The group’s Joey Fatone noted, “It’s everything from traveling to toboggan rides to….”

“Our first gigs,” Justin Timberlake concluded. There’s no official word yet on when that archival footage will hit stores. In the meantime, the band’s most anticipated album, No Strings Attached, is releasing at the end of this week and the projected numbers of sales have the boys shooting for a new sales record for the week.

Annaleigh turned the page of the magazine in her hands and made a face at the image of herself on the red carpet of NSYNC’s album release party stared her in the face. Her dad was going to kill her for the chest design of that dress. The whole outfit, makeup and hair, really did work together, she had to admit.

“Why didn’ anyone tell me I have no butt?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. Her upper lip curled just slightly.

“Are we allowed to look?” Chris asked.

“No,” Lance and JC instantly replied.

Joey took the magazine from her hands before joining her on the couch. “This?” he asked. He clicked his tongue. “You look fine. Trust me.” He handed the magazine back to her and jumped onto the couch, jostling her. “Ugh, my feet are killing me.”

Annaleigh pursed her lips as she lifted the magazine in her hands and faced the sock covered feet that belonged to Joey; his heels pressing into her stomach. She started to repeatedly swat at his feet with the magazine but he didn’t budge. “Does that explain why you’re usin’ me as a foot rest?” she asked. She then made a face, wrinkling her nose. “Phew!  I normally say this ‘bout your breath, but take a step back or get a tic-tac, Joe.”

“I told you they smelled,” Justin said with a loud laugh from where he sat on the counter in the kitchen. He had one arm wrapped around a cooking pot. In his hand was a wooden spoon. As usual, he was eating a giant bowl of cereal. Just the thought of how soggy the remaining pieces were made Annaleigh’s stomach turn; not to mention the purple colored leftover milk. “I can smell them from here.”

With how much they had gone through over the past week, Annaleigh wasn’t surprised Joey’s feet smelled. Or, even more likely, that he hadn’t touched his laundry. She made a mental note to check to see if any of them needed theirs to be done otherwise she knew it wouldn’t be touched for the longest time.

From here on out, things were getting really busy as it got closer and closer to when the tour kicked off. They’d be stationed in Orlando, Florida working day after day on the tour apart from their other responsibilities already scheduled for them. Just looking at what was laid out ahead of her, including finishing up her schooling in time for the tour to start, made her feet ache. The boys would be dancing all night, but none of them knew how hard it was to have to stand in cowboy boots all day.

Throughout this whole experience, Annaleigh was getting more time on stage and learning the ins and outs of promoting your work and marketing yourself, but she was nervous about tour. It was on a grander scale than a TV show, and everybody would be there in person to see how the show would turn out. It made her stomach twist, just thinking about it.

And she was currently on her period, so that was a bonus.

Now they were all lounging in one of the couple suites they checked into, waiting for Johnny to start the meeting he called. They were becoming more frequent as it got closer towards tour starting and it ranged a lot of topics. Family accommodations (Justin’s mom was coming to be with him soon), deciding who would be in which tour bus, finalizing their ideas for stage design, and so much more was on the agenda.

“I’m not givin’ you a foot massage, Joe-Joe,” Annaleigh said to him. She grasped his toes in one hand and moved his foot over to the right just slightly before allowing him to drop his heel onto her stomach. She sighed as his heel pushed away a cramp. Much better. She gave him a bright smile. “But, you could be a sweetheart and massage mine.” She wiggled her toes as she stretched her legs out on the long “stick” of the L-shaped couch they sat on.

“That’s not fair.” Joey rested his arm over the back of the couch and stuck out his bottom lip. He started wiggling his toes as well. Annaleigh shrieked, turning her head away as he lifted a foot and started putting his toes in her face. “For the refusal, I command thee to smell my feet.”

“Ewwwww!” Annaleigh pushed his feet away and said between laughs, “people in hell want ice water but that don’ mean they’re goin’ to get it.” JC let out a loud laugh from where he was slumped sideways in the arm chair across from the couch. His eyes were on the TV screen where Chris and Lance were playing a fighting game on the PlayStation.

“Good one,” he said, swinging his arm out, pointing in a random direction. He swung his feet to the floor and glanced at the clock on the wall and stretched his arms over his head. “Come on guys, wrap it up. Johnny will be here soon for the meeting.”

“We didn’t even get the chance to play NBA Hangtime yet,” Justin protested, milk dribbling down his chin. He started to loudly, and rapidly chew the rest of his cereal, jumping down from the counter. He used one arm to wipe the milk from his face, leaving a light purple streak before tilting the rest of his cereal and milk into the sink. Running the water he turned on the garbage disposal. “I’ve been waiting.”

“I’ve also been waitin’ for you to eat some fruit, Timberlake,” Annaleigh called over to him as Lance and Chris turned away from the game system. “You can’t just eat cereal all the time.” She grit her teeth. “Especially when I went out and bought a lot of it.”

“Sorry, mom,” Justin said with his bright smile as he turned off the water and the disposal.

Annaleigh bristled. “What’d you just call me?” she asked, trying to get up off the couch. Justin’s eyes widened as he lowered himself into a seated position on the floor by the table.

“Calm down,” Lance said, turning around to face her, giving her a small smile. “He’s just kidding. You were the one who had the sudden craving for blueberries, anyway.”

“I ran out of jellybeans,” Annaleigh said with a shrug.

Lance blinked in surprised before an “ah ha” look suddenly appeared on his face. He got to his feet as a loud knock was heard at the door.

“Oh, that must be Johnny,” JC said, following Lance out of the living room. He slid the lock and pumped the door handle, pulling it open. “Hey, man.”

“Is everyone here?” Johnny asked, getting straight to the point as he walked into the hotel room, pausing briefly to clasp hands with JC in a handshake and quick hug. “I know Wade is out working on new choreography at a studio.”

“Gabe’s spending some time with his mom before we fly out,” Lance explained as he made his way out of the kitchen with a bowl of blueberries and a bottle of water. “Here.” Annaleigh took the bottle of water with a smile of thanks, her other hand grasping the bowl of blueberries. “Advil, too.” Lance dropped the two light pink rounded painkillers into Annaleigh’s palm.

“Thanks, Lance.” Annaleigh quickly downed the two painkillers before starting to chow down on the fruit. She grasped a pillow and set it on the floor against the couch and leaned back against it, giving JC room on the couch. Lance joined her on the floor, leaving the chair empty for Johnny. With a running start, Justin leapt through the air and landed on the couch.

“Ow!” Chris shouted as Justin’s bodyweight landed on top of him. “Dude.” Justin cackled loudly as Chris tried to push him off of his lap.

“Justin, get off Chris,” Johnny said, shaking his head back and forth. He rolled his eyes when he got snorts and chuckles in reply. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“What’s all that?” Annaleigh asked before shoveling a handful of blueberries into her mouth, nodding at the manila folder tucked under his arm.

“Only a little bit of what’s needed for tour,” Johnny replied with a short laugh, setting the folder down onto the table. He removed he baseball cap perched on top of his head and scratched his fingers through his short hair before putting it back. “I’m flying out tomorrow to meet with Tim Miller—the tour’s production manager to go over the pieces for the stage, for pyrotechnics, and all of that to make sure we stay in budget and to see that we have everything the boys wanted.”

“Tim-my!” Chris called, clapping his hands together. The other boys copied his announcement, clapping his hands together.

“I’m also meeting with Ibrahim Duartes—the tour manager—as well.” Johnny snapped his fingers, pointing in Annaleigh’s direction. “Remind me to give you his phone number. If there’s anything at all you need while on tour, and I mean anything, you talk to him. He’s on top of everything.”

“Yes, sir,” Annaleigh replied.

“And my mom will be there, so if you need anything um…” Justin hesitated for a moment, chewing slightly on his bottom lip, “girl related, you can talk to her.” Annaleigh hadn’t been around Justin’s mom a lot, but she was easily comfortable in her vicinity. Lynn was like a mom to everyone and made sure everyone was physically and mentally ok as well as just feel like they had someone looking out for their best interest.

“And for you, Little Missy,” Johnny said as he opened the manila folder. Sitting on top of a stack of papers was an envelope. He lifted it off the stack and handed it over to the Southern woman. “Your paycheck.”

“Ooh, good,” Annaleigh said with a smile as she took the envelope. She flipped over the back of the envelope and pulled out the check, turning it around to look at the dollar amount. “By the way, how do I put 10% of this in my bank account?”

“You mean you haven’t been?” Lance asked after a moment of silence.

Annaleigh felt herself blush when she realized everyone was staring at her. She shrunk in front of them, seeming to fold in on herself. “…I don’ know how?” she said as more of a question. Scratching the back of her head, she admitted, “Actually, I haven’ put any of my money in the bank.”

“You know checks can expire,” JC explained.

“I do now,” Annaleigh said with a frown. It wasn’t like she needed a lot of money and she hadn’t found anything to spend a lot of money on, but this was a lot of money saved up. One of her dad’s rules for her to even take the job was to put part of her money into the bank to save up for college and she wasn’t even following through with that.

“Ok, don’t panic, I can handle it,” Johnny said, plucking the check from her hands. “Just get me the rest of them and it’ll all be worked out in no time.” He folded his hands together on top of the table. “Do you have a savings account?” Annaleigh stared blankly at him. “Guess I’ll be handling that, too.”

“Where’d you keep the rest of it, anyway?” Joey asked.

“Tampon box” was on the tip of her tongue but he she held off on answering on the question with a verbal response. Instead, she just shrugged and started twisting a lock of hair around her finger. She knew none of the guys would ever look in there, let alone go out and buy her some whenever she asked.  But, this was the kind of stuff she needed to learn in school, not Pre-Calculus. This reminded her that she had math problems she still had to do.

“Just get it to me later, that’s ok,” Johnny repeated, waving his hand in the air. He then started passing out the papers and Annaleigh quickly noticed the staple binding them together, diving them into stacks.

As soon as she was handed one, she started flipping through the pages. The word “Rehearsal” appeared one, two, three, four...too many times to count. Her body was already tired just thinking about it all. At least they’d be in Florida in the next couple of days. The sunshine and warmer weather was sure to put her in a better mood. From what small instances she’d get to see the outside world. Whatever this “Lakeland Center” was, she would be trapped inside it day in and day out until they hit the road.

“MTV will start following you all around for a Making the Tour they want to do with you all,” Annaleigh snapped back into the conversation in time to hear this tidbit of information. “After the success of the making of the ‘Bye Bye Bye’ video and with the anticipation for the tour, this will be a big opportunity to see what it’s like to get prepared for the tour.”

“Let me remind everyone of what we decided to do for the set list. Ok, we’ve got ‘No Strings’, ‘Tearin’ Up My Heart’, ‘God Must Have Spent’, ‘It Makes Me Ill’, ‘I Want You Back’, ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’, ‘Drive Myself Crazy’, ‘Just Got Paid’, ‘ I Thought She Knew’, ‘Space Cowboy’, ‘This I Promise’, and ‘Digital Get Down’.”

“Instead of quick changes, I think we should be able to have power naps,” Joey commented with a laugh, shaking his head as he listened to the song list. “We’re going to be so tired.”

“I vote for massages,” Annaleigh muttered.

“Now she’s getting the idea,” Chris declared.

“How many new dances is that?” Justin wondered aloud. “That’s…seven new dances you’ve got to work out or the tour?”

“At least you already know ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’ or ‘Bye Bye Bye’, ‘I Want You Back’, and ‘Tearin’ Up My Heart,” Annaleigh commented. “Are live arrangements that much different then how they’re performed for other live shows?”

“In a word; yes,” Lance replied with a nod of his head. He shrugged his shoulders before stretching his legs out in front of him. “You can do a lot more improvisation when you perform live. No two shows are ever the same.”

“We also do intermissions and things like that to give us time for quick changes,” Joey explained, “so it’s not exactly song after song after song. Songs can be longer because of the different arrangements for them because they sound better a certain way when they’re played live.”

“Speaking of which, we need the final decision on whether or not you’ll be performing ‘Music of My Heart’ on tour,” Johnny spoke up. As silence stretched through the room, he tapped his pen against his thigh. “Everyone would get a kick out of hearing Ryan Carr’s daughter sing. They’ve been asking since you were signed to the band.”

She still didn’t understand how a lot of people—maybe more than she realized—had even knew who she was. Her dad had barely talked about his old band or life on the road, but obviously they made a bigger impact on people’s lives than she realized. Maybe that was why they were so interested? She’d be lying if she said she didn’t pour over every ‘Where are they now?” articles of some of her favorite musicians. Only she never realized that her dad was one of those people. Not only was she getting more recognition for being the new bass player in NSYNC’s band, and the only girl, but she was, in a way, becoming famous for being famous.

“You’ve been doing well during practice,” JC spoke up. He gently kicked Annaleigh’s back (which just briefly alleviated the tightness in her lower back) and gave her a warm smile as she turned to face him. “Work on it every day for the next month and you’ll be ready to perform no problem. And we’ll all be on stage with you, so you wouldn’t be alone.”

“Let me ask you this,” Johnny spoke up. “Why are you so against performing this song?”

She didn’t want people to think she got the job because of her dad. She didn’t want people to think she got the job because of Lance. She wasn’t good enough to be part of Attaché and Showstoppers, so what made her think she was good enough to sing with NSYNC. All of that and more. But, NSYNC were able to make names for themselves and they were from all over the place and was given the right opportunity at the right time.

Annaleigh shrugged. “I don’t know,” she muttered in reply. “No reason, I guess.”

Johnny leaned forward in his seat, setting his elbows onto his knees. “I don’t want to pressure you into doing something you’re not ready to do,” he said quietly. “I just need to know before talking to Tim, Ibrahim, stage managers and a whole handful of other people in regards to purchasing another set of microphones, and mixers and to let them know to add in work for another person performing, there’s a lot that goes into this; having a guest sing for even just one song. We just need to get final numbers in.”

This is the kind of thing you always wanted to do, Ace, Annaleigh thought to herself. She looked over at Lance who gave her a small smile of support. He’ll be on stage with you; he’ll be right beside you while on tour. There’s nothing to worry about. Annaleigh lifted her hand to the chain around her neck and grasped her necklace, sliding the ring back and forth around the chain. You’ve already taken this big step, don’t let your parents down after talking them into it. And JC has already put in so much time in helping you.

“Ok,” she said, before she even really realized what she was doing. The truth was, this whole thing was bigger than just her. It was all really hitting her now. She was going on tour with one of the biggest bands working in that moment. “I’ll do it.” She smiled. “No problem.”

“Are you sure?” Johnny asked, the tip of his pen poised over his copy of the stack of papers (which housed their upcoming schedule, the prices of pieces for their stage, and clothing options which all amounted to more money than had to be in a single Monopoly box).

“Yes, sir—Johnny, I’m sure,” Annaleigh said with a series of nods, “I’m sure.”

“All right, that settles that,” Johnny said as he started to write. “The next time we meet, I’ll have a list of interviews you all can choose from to take part in. MTV is definitely one you’ll want to hit up, and Lance and Annaleigh, I’ve been getting offers for interviews for you back home in Mississippi; Annaleigh some even including your dad that he seems to be excited for.”

Annaleigh nodded along with the boys as they moved onto the next topic to be discussed. But she was barely paying attention. Her dad had all but left the music world behind and even when she brought up the topic of him and music, it was quickly changed. All he’d ever really discuss was anything related with music and the church. It had taken a lot of convincing to get him to perform at the diner back home for the holidays. She wouldn’t have just now been finding out more than ever about his band if it was an open topic of conversation. So what changed?

Seemed Annaleigh still had a lot to learn about the business.

Lance set down the hotel’s menu after having decided on what it was he was going to have to eat. He reached for his glass of water and peered at Annaleigh as she continued to look through the menu. It was one of the last few times they’d really be able to spend some time together and he’d get to prep her for the month of rehearsals before touring started.

He could tell that everything was really sinking in for her. And for them as well. The second they set foot in Orlando it was crunch time. For a month straight they were rehearsing non-stop. They had new upbeat dance choreography to learn, and they still had to put everything on stage, and time it with the pyrotechnics, and get their wardrobe down exactly to what they wanted, and and and. Even Johnny was worried, and he was the first to let you know when he was worried about something.

“Annaleigh is very inexperienced,” he had said the second she left the hotel room when her part of the meeting was over. “We’ve had to get her to caught up to speed in a very short amount of time and I’m worried that it’s really going to make her crack at some point.”

“Johnny, this wouldn’t be easy for anyone,” Justin had pointed out, slouched in his seat, arms crossed over his chest. “We had to find a new bassist fast.”

“Mmmm, but someone else with years of experience could pick things up faster,” JC had replied.

“You don’t think she can do it?” Lance had asked. A part of him was annoyed; Annaleigh was working her butt off to help them be the best they could be. On the other hand, he understood what it was they were saying. Even back when she auditioned, they all knew they were taking a big risk with her. But everyone had to start somewhere. “I mean, you brought me in late and thrust me into the group and I could barely dance.”

“You still can’t,” Chris had replied. Lance rolled his eye as JC elbowed him in the side. Chris just gave a smile of amusement before laughing quietly. Before he could make a comment on the word “thrust”, JC jumped in to explain himself.

“I didn’t say that,” he had said. “You just can’t deny that a musician with prior experience would’ve been able to adjust quicker.” He had given a shrug of his shoulders. “That’s all.”

“Everyone has to start somewhere, C,” Joey had said, stretching his arms over his head before dropping them down onto his stomach. “This is all different compared to how she was living before and you see how hard she’s working.”

“We all saw how insecure she was just a moment ago,” Johnny had pointed out, cradling his chin in his hand. “I just wonder if this really is too much for her. She doesn’t want to let any of you down; least of all you, Lance.”

“I know she can do this,” Lance insisted. “She gets along well with everybody. Sure, she’s scared to make a mistake, but how many of us wasn’t when we first started this career?” He lifted his eyebrows in a pointed look. “And she always does better after you correct her on something. Once we get into rehearsals and we run through everything day after day, she’ll get the hang of it. And she’s more confident then when she started.”

“The fans like her already,” Justin added. “I think she’ll be fine.” He put a hand in the air. “I see why you’re worried, Johnny, but things will be ok. She just needs support.”

“She has our support,” Chris quickly jumped in.

“Ok,” Johnny said with a small smile. “I trust you. Thank you for hearing me out. I can’t deny that there’s something about her and she has been doing a great job, I can’t deny that. Both her and Gabe.” He cleared his throat. “But thank you for listening to my concerns.”

“Of course.”

“No problem, man.”

Lance figured this was as good a time as any to pick Annaleigh’s brain and really get to know what it was exactly that she was feeling about the upcoming tour. She could be one of the most confident people he had ever met, but this wasn’t Clinton, Mississippi anymore. The United States was a lot bigger with more people watching everything they were doing.

“So, how are you feeling about everything?” Lance asked.

“I think I’m goin’ ta have the lobster,” Annaleigh replied.

Lance’s nose wrinkled as he made a face. “You hate lobster,” he replied, not bothering to correct her on the topic that he was trying to discuss. “Ever since that time you thought you were having a heart attack from all the butter you put on it.”

“It wasn’t a coincidence that I had those chest pains around the time I ate it at the fair,” Annaleigh protested, putting her hands in the air. She quietly cleared her throat. “Stacey helped me realize I needed to go up a bra size but that’s beside the point.”

Lance snorted.

“I’m jus’ really in the mood for some,” Annaleigh replied as she lowered her menu. She folded it together and set her hands on top of it. “But, I think I’ll stick with the burger and onion rings, though. And the mac and cheese.”

“You just can’t stay away from the mac and cheese can you?” Lance asked with a smile.

“They don’ call it comfort food for nothin’,” Annaleigh replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I’ll remember to put it on the tour bus rider for you, then,” Lance said, tapping his  “And Blueberry jellybeans for the dressing room, too.”

“Speaking of comfort,” Lance commented, “I have never seen you this insecure in your life.” Annaleigh lifted an eyebrow at his sudden outburst.

“I could say the same for you,” she replied and he blinked in surprise.

“How so?” he asked.

“You’re different out here,” Annaleigh replied with a shrug.

Lance was silent for a moment. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean…different,” Annaleigh repeated. “I know the James Lance Bass at home that’s always out with his friends, can barely stop talkin’, and always has a good time. You’re jus’ different.”

“It’s just because tour is coming up,” Lance replied, reaching for his glass of water again. “We all get more serious once it gets closer to rehearsals. Don’t worry; we’ll have you pulling your hair out again in no time.” She didn’t know how right she was, though. He was different when he was with NSYNC and now she was getting a front row seat to it.

“I don’ doubt it,” Annaleigh laughed. “Nah, I love bein’ ‘round all of y’all.” She set her elbows down onto the table and tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s fun and I’m learnin’ a lot.” The corners of her lips pulled down just slightly. “It’s just a lot more than I really thought went into it and I don’ want to mess it up.”

“You’re too hard on yourself,” Lance said.

“Not as hard as the fans will be,” Annaleigh replied with a short laugh, “not as hard as the media will be. Not as hard as—“

“I felt the exact same way when I started, but look at how it’s turned out,” Lance pointed out to her. “I promise, everything will be ok.” He twisted his mouth to the side. “In fact, I seem to remember you and Darren telling me that my worries of dancing were all in my head before I flew out to Orlando.”

“Here I thought you were a lost cause,” Annaleigh said with a smirk.

“Oh, ha, ha,” Lance said, making a face. “I know I wasn’t the best, but the guys really stood up for me when they wanted me out of the band. So, I’m going to stand up for you.”

Annaleigh smiled. “That’s sweet, James,” she said as the waiter came over to take their order. After it was put in and their menus were collected, Annaleigh set a curious look on him. “So, what do I have to look forward to while on tour?”

“Farts, body odor, and piles of clothes,” Lance replied. “And that’s just from Joey.”

Annaleigh laughed. “So, do I have to look forward to you bringing a girl back to the tour bus?” she asked and Lance let out a loud laugh.

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “Definitely not.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What?”

Annaleigh shrugged her shoulders before taking a long sip of her water. “You have hundreds of girls throwin’ themselves at you and you’ve never once taken the opportunity to bring one back to the tour bus?” she asked, giving him a pointed look.

“Nah, I’ve been too busy,” Lance replied, waving his hand in the air. “No. No, no, no.” Not to mention that it would be hard to bring back who he wanted to bring back to the tour bus. If he wanted. And he didn’t.

Sure, there were a lot of good looking guys while on tour, but it wasn’t like he could really do anything without making people wonder and question. Then it’d get back to the band and he didn’t know how they’d feel and he didn’t know how it’d affect everything as a whole and he was not going to be the reason why it didn’t work out for everyone else.

“Busy with what?” Annaleigh asked.

“Oh, I never told you,” Lance said, blinking in surprise. “I have this company—or management business rather, called Freelance Management.”

“Cute,” Annaleigh said with a smirk.

“Anyway, it’s to help develop country artists,” Lance said after he pulled his tongue back into his mouth having stuck it out at her. “You remember Meredith Edwards from home?” Annaleigh nodded. “Through my management, she’s going to open for us on tour for a while. Mom and Stace are helpin’ me out.” Annaleigh gave him her words of well wishes, eyes alight with excitement. “Anyway, Joey for sure,” Lance continued on their previous topic. “But not me.”

He made a mental note to remind himself to bring up that topic with the other guys. Joey was the most obvious flirt out of the five of them. JC could be a flirt as well, but he was more calculated with his endeavors. Chris and Justin he didn’t have to worry too much about with their relationships. He then pointed a warning finger at her.

“And I better not hear about you.”

Annaleigh let out a laugh. “Please tell me you’re jokin’, Lance,” she said. “I don’ have the self-esteem for that and you know it.” Lance was silent for a moment. That was true. “Heyyyy.”

“You’re not wrong,” Lance protested with a sheepish smile. “So, I have nothing at all to worry about?” Annaleigh shook her head. “Not even Wade?”

“Excuse me?” Annaleigh asked.

“Like my Mimi always says, ‘He ain’t holdin’ a candle for you, he’s holdin a goddamn torch’,” Lance said in his best falsetto, earning a laugh from his old friend.

“Bless your heart,” Annaleigh said as her laughter died down. She adjusted the napkin in her lap, shaking her head. “There’s nothin’ goin’ on with me and Wade. We couldn' even have chemistry with vinegar and baking soda.”

“Well, at least you learned something from science,” Lance commented and Annaleigh rolled her eyes. “Why? Because he’s not Darren?”

“Nobody’s like Darren,” Annaleigh said with a shake of her head. “And I think I’ve been wasting too much time thinkin’ that way. Can I really think that anythin’ could happen while I’m on the road for the next year?”

Lance didn’t say anything. Chris and Kelly knew how to work out their relationship and Justin and Britney were doing pretty well with both their busy schedules. He wasn’t an expert in this field at all and didn’t know what the right answer would be. But, if you liked someone enough you’d work hard to have things work out between the two of you, right? There was his almost year long relationship with Danielle Fishel, but that was hard to not only try and keep personal, but keep going. Like he said, he wasn’t an expert.

“I’ve just come to accept that it’s not going to happen right now,” Annaleigh concluded with a shrug of her shoulders, twisting her mouth to the side. “That’s all. It kind of sucks but…not like I had ‘im to begin with, right?”

Lance’s chest swelled with pride. “Maybe I don’t have to worry about you so much,” he commented.

“Ya never have,” Annaleigh said in a sing-song tone. “Wade and I are just…co-workers—I guess. That’s all.” She drew an X over her chest. “Besides I still have that ‘no romantic entanglements’ rule.”

“That’s only until you turn 18,” Lance pointed out to her. “And the least you could do is try and be friends with him.”

Annaleigh waved her hand in the air. “You on the other hand; how have ya gone this long without a girlfriend?”

“Don’t start,” Lance muttered, shifting his attention to the kids in the lobby who had commandeered a luggage cart and was pushing it back and forth against the smooth tiled floor. He wondered how long it’d take for them to lose control of it. After a couple of meet ups with hotel security due to a decent sized hole in a couple walls at the start of NSYNC’s career, he quickly learned what he and his friends could get into when they were bored enough. “I have to deal with it all the time from the other guys.”

And he knew this tour wasn’t going to be any different. He knew it was all just in good fun, and like Annaleigh said, the fans were throwing themselves at him; it was like any man’s dream. Only he wasn’t like any other guy out there. He used to think being on stage and showing everyone his talents was something he had always wanted, but he never thought people wanting to know so much about his personal life would come with that package. It was something he was growing used to, but even then, there were some instances that were just crazy. Just recently there was a fan that wanted to buy some of Justin’s French toast.

“Ok,” Annaleigh said as she reached for her glass of water. She held it in the air. “Here’s a toast; to the tour.”

Lance smiled at the notion and lifted his glass as well, gently tapping the rim against hers. “To the tour,” he repeated. Their food was delivered to them and they continued their meal with laughter and reminiscent conversation before they paid and started making their way up their floor, but were met in the lobby by everyone else.

“More like falling on our asses,” Chris said with a shrug, “but since it’s one of our last days here, why not go out with a bang.”

“Or bumps, or bruises,” Joey said with a smirk.

“Sounds fun,” Lance agreed. He turned towards Annaleigh. “You in?”

“Why not?” she asked. “I can mask the pain in my stomach with how many falls I’ll take on my butt. I jus’ need to get my coat.”

“Me too,” Lance replied.

“Hurry up, then,” Justin said, angling his head towards the revolving door. “Wade and Gabe are going to meet us there.”

“I’ll get yours,” Lance offered, holding his hand towards Annaleigh. With a “thanks” she handed him the card to her hotel room and he hurried back upstairs to grab their coats before joining everyone back downstairs. With Justin leading the way, they headed out of the hotel (out of a side door to not get held up by the fans that lingered around outside) and down the streets of New York towards the ice skating rink.

They had barely even set foot at the Rockefeller Center when Lance a weird buzz around him. Kind of like the feeling of carbonation stuck in his chest when he drank Barq’s Red Cream Soda so fast it got stuck in his chest. (Which reminded him that he needed to put that on the tour bus rider as well; it was hard to find and was a tour staple for him.) Kind of like the electric feeling his body held after a concert only on a smaller scale. He slid his hands into his coat pockets, sniffed as a cool breeze blew and squinted his eyes against the sunlight. Looking around, he instantly figured out what it was and let out a sigh.

He didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but it really was hard to be famous sometimes. He could barely go to the mall without being mobbed and having to go from store to store as if he was in a Mission Impossible movie. Apparently, it was even harder to go ice skating if the stares and whispers meant anything.

Maybe it was her short stature in comparison to the rest of the group or maybe it was simply that she was the only girl there, but Annaleigh was spotted first. Her reaction at Disney with all the fans wasn’t the best and he could only imagine how she would do now. Before he, or even Joey as Lance saw, could edge her closer to the center of the group, it started.

“Hey!” a girl with a carrying voice cried. “Aren’t you—ohmygoshitsNSYNC.”

For the longest moment, no one moved as the group of faced the fans that suddenly all froze to see what the screaming was about. A loud scream erupted from somewhere in the middle of the large crowd and at once, it surged forward, right towards them. Annaleigh was the first to move, turning on her heels and taking off as fast as she could.

 Justin, JC, Lance, Joey, Chris, and Wade’s heads slowly turned as they watched Annaleigh sprint away from the shrieking fans, arms and legs swinging as fast as she could make them go.

“I have never in my life seen a girl run so fast wearing cowboy boots,” Chris commented, jaw slack.

“And still look hot, too,” Joey added, earning an elbow to the side courtesy of Lance.

“Clearly, you’ve never seen her on the soccer field,” Lance said, lifting a hand to cover his mouth. He didn’t know what to do. As soon as the fans started screaming there wasn’t much you could do to calm them down.

“Well, don’t just stand there,” JC cried. He started moving backwards, pulling at Justin and Chris. “We have to help her.”

“I think we should save our butts first,” Joey said.

“Shit.”

“Son of a bitch!”

“Run!”

Lance shoved Wade aside as he, JC, Justin, Chris, and Joey took off running in separate directions.

Annaleigh careened into the side of the ice rink, catching herself before she fell. Her toes crammed into the tight space at the front of the skates. Cowboy boots had nothing on ice skates but they both called for a foot massage at the end of a long day.

“Ow,” she groaned, wiggling her toes as much as she could.

“You ok?” Wade asked as he skated over, coming to a stop beside her. He gave her a teasing smile. “Here I thought the posture you pageant girls perfected were to help with your balance.”

“That doesn’t help much when you’re on ice this slick,” Annaleigh replied, letting out a breath of air. “I only skate on the ponds back home and those are more bumpy.” She then frowned. “Shoot, now I owe Chris ten bucks. I bet him I could make it around before him.”

“Ten bucks worth spent, I think,” Wade said with a small laugh, pointing ahead of them. Annaleigh followed her gaze and watched Chris windmill his arms in an over exaggerated way as he maneuvered himself between fans who shrieked and laughed and reached for him, trying to help him stay up on his feet.

Annaleigh shook her head. The man really couldn’t go five minutes without making a ham of himself…or to try and get a girl’s attention.

“So I think I’ve got you figured out,” Wade commented, gaining her attention again. “And a good thing, too, before tour started.”

“Oh, have you?” Annaleigh asked. She slowly removed her hand from the wall and glided along beside him. “Go ahead and tell me.”

“I think you’re a snob,” Wade replied.

Annaleigh laughed. “I’m not a snob,” she replied with a shake of her head. “Believe you me.”

“And yet you seemed to have gone out of your way to avoid me during the album release party,” Wade commented.

“You seemed to have had your hands full with Theresa, why spoil your fun,” Annaleigh replied with an amused smile. “She couldn’ keep her eyes off you.” Her smile turned into a smirk. “Or her hands.”

“You sound jealous,” Wade said into her ear as he skated past her before turning around to glide backwards. “Theresa works in the city for a magazine, I run into her a lot while we’re here.”

“You don’ have to explain anythin’ to me,” Annaleigh replied, putting her hands up defensively. Wade just shrugged. “Seriously.” She pushed herself towards him and grasped onto her shoulder to keep herself standing upright from the sudden movement. “I’m really flattered and I’m grateful you’ve been nice and acceptin’ of me joinin’ the guys and the band, but I’m not interested in you. In that way. I jus’ want to be friends.”

“Ok,” Wade said with a shrug of his shoulders. “No problem, Boots.”

Annaleigh blinked, startled. “Ok,” she slowly replied. “Well in that case, Frostry—“ her gaze shifted upwards towards his light hair, “let’s start over.” She held her hand out towards him. “Annaleigh Carr. Friends call me Ace.”

“Wade Robson,” Wade replied, sliding his hand into hers, shaking it up and down. “So, what made you want to audition for the band, anyway? I don’t think I really asked.”

“Well, after I really started to notice my parents arguing a lot,” Annaleigh explained, starting to skate beside him, “I tried to do anything and everything to be away from home for a long as I could. I hung out with Lance and our friends Darren, and Jasmine for as long as I could.” She sucked in a cold breath of air and let it out in a white puff. “Their parents didn’t fight like mine and they had siblings, just like I always wanted. I wanted his life, I guess. Or a part of it.“ She made a face. “That sounds bad, doesn’t it?”

“No, everyone wants to have someone’s life at some point,” Wade said with a shrug. “Does Lance know?”

“No,” Annaleigh said with a shake of her head. “Not much he could do about it. Plus, I didn’t want him to have to worry about what was going on back home while he was on the road.”

“Well, you’ll both be working together on the road now,” Wade reminded her. “But, you’ll have to go home sometime.”

“Sooner,” Annaleigh said. “Tour starts in Mississippi, remember?”