~3~

January 3rd, 2000

Clinton, Mississippi

“Why’s that, daddy?” Annaleigh asked, lowering the size of the flames that licked the bottom of the skillet she was currently cooking with. She turned towards the island, where her father was perched on a stool, nursing a cup of tea.

“If my memory serves me correctly, the first opportunity you had to further your music career, you drove your mother and me nuttier than a fruit cake talkin’ ‘bout it all the time,” he replied, hiking an eyebrow before crossing his eyes, sticking out his tongue. Annaleigh rolled her eyes and he chuckled. “How was school today?”

“Good. They made us play kickball outside in the snow during PE today,” Annaleigh replied, her upper lip curling slightly into a smirk. “Isn’t it against the law to force kids outside in the snow?”

“Not as long as the wind chill is still above 10 below zero,” Ryan replied with a snort before lifting the cup to his lips, taking a long sip. He let out an “Ahhhh” before licking the left over beverage from his lips.

“I already said I wasn’t just going to leave to audition for something I might not even get, dad,” Annaleigh replied with a sigh. “Especially when I haven’t been playing the bass for too long.”

“Yes, but you’ve improved a lot due to your involvement with playing for Youth Group’s band and the church band,” Ryan pointed out to her. “I’m not surprised you’ve been suggested for the spot. You know Lance would do anything he could, even thousands of miles away, to look out for you and your interests. Your mom would be very proud.”

“Mmhmm,” Annaleigh replied with a nod of her head.

She didn’t know whether or not to really believe that. She used to be quick to accept and be suckered into believing anything anybody would tell her about her mom. It was hard to believe anything said about her when she wasn’t around to confirm or deny those sentiments herself. Not to mention Annaleigh hadn’t gone a return call about the news…

“You know she would, Sweet Pea,” Ryan replied with a hint of a hard edge to his tone. He sighed, his facial features softening just slightly. “Just because she’s not around anymore doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you anymore.”

What about you? Annaleigh thought, feeling her eyebrows twitch. Does that mean she doesn’t love you, anymore? She didn’t ask the question out loud, but she wondered if that were the case. He sure was still in love with her mom, Annaleigh could tell. He had taken a few pictures of her down, maybe four or five, but some were still hanging up.

Whether it was too hard for him to do so emotionally she could only assume. Anytime she asked about it, he changed the subject as quickly as he could. He was getting better at mastering the art of segueing from one topic to another faster than you could blink.

But to really answer his statement, she hadn’t brought the audition thing up a lot was because she didn’t want to get her hopes up. The more she thought about it, and the more her friends bugged her about it, the more she allowed herself to play the “What if” game?

What if she nailed the audition and got the job? What if she left everyone and everything back at home and it wasn’t as glamorous as she thought it’d be? What if she had the time of her life and never wanted to come home? What if she ended up leaving and everything at home went to “you-know-where in a hand basket?” What if the audition went well, she got the job, and the influx in finances helped everything at home?

What if, what if, what if.

That was too many unanswered questions. She preferred to know how things would turn out, or at least know potential outcomes, before she agreed to do anything. She didn’t use to be that way; a lot about her had changed about them since her mom left. He had become more overprotective and proud and she had become more responsible.

He wanted to know where she would be at every moment during the day and have an estimate on when she would be home, to be sure he’d be waiting up for her. He used to just give her a kiss on her way out the door and greet her whenever she got home from a long day of fishing, swimming in the creek, or off road riding.

The days where she would get up at the crack of dawn and be out all day playing and hanging out with friends until late had been traded for late nights at work; pulling double shifts whenever needed. In her opinion, it was always needed. While her dad was getting paid leave until his ankle healed, Annaleigh knew she should take any and all sources of income as she could find, whether or not he agreed with it. He was too proud to accept help that had been offered towards them, and he had nearly talked her ear off when she had brought up the idea of working at the diner, but she could be just as headstrong as her dad.

“I’ve just been thinking…it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot,” Annaleigh replied, turning back towards the stove. She lifted the tongs that sat on the top of the stove and clicked them twice before prodding the sizzling food in the pan. “Kale chips are almost done.”

“We’ve been through this before, Sweet Pea,” Ryan replied with a sigh, briefly closing his eyes, setting his cup down onto the table. “I don’t think—“

“Then what was the point of bringin’ up the gosh darn subject if y’ain’t going to hear me out?” Annaleigh interrupted him, turning back around to face him. Ryan’s eyebrows lifted before angling together just slightly. Annaleigh let out a huff of air, blinking rapidly. “Sorry.”

“Annaleigh, you know I don’t think this is the best career move for you,” Ryan said. He slowly shook his head from side to side. She couldn’t really blame him for trying to steer her away from the music business. He had tried his luck in music in his past, having some success. That was all she really knew about it as he never went into detail about it.

He was the reason why she had gotten into music in the first place. He had taught her how to play the guitar as a kid, but she quickly opted to learn how to play the piano instead. He sat through constant banging, jumbles of notes, cries of frustrations and numerous headaches to help her progress with the new instrument. It was during Youth Group when she had been introduced to the bass.

The church’ usual bass player had been out sick and they needed a replacement quickly. She had volunteered, having previously had experience on the guitar, and from that moment on, she had been hooked to the instrument. Her dad was proud, believing she was to follow in his footsteps…on his terms anyway.

Ryan was a handsome man and very talented. After his time in the music business, he had changed his profession to working at a construction company and running Youth Group at the local church. Recently, he had picked up teaching Religious Studies at the University of Mississippi whenever the department needed him to fill in. After breaking his ankle, the only thing keeping them afloat was his secretarial job at the construction company, and Annaleigh’s job at the diner.

If there was anyone who understood turning their life around, for the better in his opinion, it was him. He decided music wasn’t something he wanted, or could, continue when his whirlwind romance with his wife, Caroline, had resulted in Annaleigh.

“There are too many temptations out there, and it’s a hard lifestyle to live. An’ you’re at such an impressionable age; it’d be a lot of pressure. Everyone will be watchin’ your every move. You wouldn’ be allowed to have a bad day.”

“I know, dad, but it’s not like we couldn’ use the money,” Annaleigh replied. Ryan sighed, resting his cheek in his hand.

“You shouldn’ have to worry about that you know,” he said to her before lifting his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. He then leaned back in his chair, running his hands over his face. “I shouldn’t have to make you worry about all of this. Your mom and I can handle this.”

“You mean you can handle this,” Annaleigh replied, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. It’s not like she has a say in anything around here. She was the one that decided to leave.

“Exactly, so you don’t have to worry about it,” Ryan replied.

Annaleigh let out a huff. “I’m just tryin’ ta help,” she said quietly.

“I understand that, sweetie,” Ryan replied before he sucked in a deep breath of air through his nose. “Believe me, I do and I’m incredibly proud of ya, Sweet Pea. But, ya need to remember that yer job is ta have fun and get in trouble.”

“Trouble? Me?” Annaleigh asked, turning back around to face her dad, widening her eyes in innocence. She put a hand over her heart. “Have I ever done that?”

“What ‘bout the time ya got me stuck up in the tree with the hornet’s nest?” Jasmine asked as she stepped into the kitchen. She removed her purse from her arm and set it down onto the peg on the chair nearest her.

“I got you stuck in the hornet’s nest?” Annaleigh asked, turning off the flames.

“If you weren’t too busy tryin’ ta impress my brother, and prove that girls can do anythin’ boys can, I wouldn’ have had to go up the tree,” Jasmine replied, putting her hands on her hips.

“That was my way of flirting,” Annaleigh replied with a roll of her eyes as Darren stepped into the kitchen behind his sister. He lifted an eyebrow. “Pathetically, I might add.”

“You got my attention in any sense,” Darren replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He moved to stand beside her and grasped the crisped edge of the chunk of kale in the pan, popping it into his mouth. “No one could miss the terrified screamin’ and cryin’.” The kale crunched between his teeth and he licked his lips before smiling. “That’s good. Afternoon, Mister Ryan.”

“Afternoon,” Ryan replied with a nod of his head. “Would you like some tea?”

“I thank ya, kindly, sir,” Jasmine replied with a bright smile. She then put her hands up defensively as he moved to get to his feet. “No, no. Jus’ sit, I’ll get it.” Ryan hovered over his chair for a moment before slowly lowering himself back into his seat.

“And what about the time we got caught gamblin’?” Darren asked.

“You lost your marbles fair and square,” Annaleigh shot back after letting out a loud “Ha!”, tilting her head back. She then gave him a sweet smile. “On both accounts. ‘Sides, you were the one who went runnin’ to your daddy ‘bout losin’ your cat’s eye marble. You’re not getting that back, by the way.”

Annaleigh slapped at Darren’s hand as he reached for more kale chips, dropping them into his hand. She transferred the kale chips onto a plate with the spatula sitting on the side of the stove. “Not that I’m not happy to see y’all, but what are y’all doin’ here?” she asked, joining them at the table.

“Comin’ to try and convince me to let ya go to Orlando,” Ryan replied with an amused smile. “Only this time in person.”

“Sorry,” Darren said with a sheepish smile.

“I’m not,” Jasmine chirped. Ryan merely blinked, settling back in his chair before lifting his chin just slightly, indicating for her to go on.” I know you’ve been through this before yourself, so ya know all ‘bout what goes on durin’ a tour and have reservations ‘bout what could happen, right?”

“Right,” Ryan replied with a nod of his head.

“Did your parents approve of you goin’ out on the road?” Jasmine asked. Ryan stared at her for a moment before his eyebrows lifted. He scratched the side of his jaw, his lips betraying him as they twitched upwards into the tiniest of smiles.

“Do go on! Gammaw and Gampaw?” Annaleigh asked with a snort. “Not likely. They were farmers and all ‘bout hard work.”

“Not like I wasn’ doin’ any of that with my music,” Ryan muttered before he let out a sigh. “But, no, they weren’ too happy that I wanted ta leave home for my music. They couldn’ deny I was talented, though.” He lifted his hand and mussed Annaleigh’s hair. “Where do you think she got it from?”

He then gave her a pointed look. “They’re not too happy with the path in life you want to take either, Sugar.” Why am I not surprised? Annaleigh thought to herself, shifting her eyes up towards the ceiling. “They jus’ don’ want ya ‘rollin’ around with some boys while on tour’.” Annaleigh, Jasmine, and Darren burst out laughing when his falsetto reached their ears.

“Gammaw.” Annaleigh groaned, feeling her cheeks burn. She bowed her head for a moment, allowing her hair to fall over her face before she lifted her head to look at her father. She planted her hands on her hips. “I don’t go rollin’ ‘round with nobody.”

“Glad to hear it,” Ryan replied with a half smile. “And get your hands off your almost-hips.”

Annaleigh’s lips curled up into a half-smile and a half-grimace. “Almost-hops” was her grandmother’s phrase, referencing how late she had first started going through puberty. According to her, Annaleigh had started developing so late that she had actually started worrying about her. While her curves had been non-existent for a while, her “teenager with attitude” personality had shown through and planting her hands on her, almost grown, hips was a regular appearance in the Carr household.

That, and rolling her eyes.

“So, how’d you get ta go?” Darren asked, changing the subject. He frowned when he obliterated the ends of the kale chips in his hands as he curled them slightly, bringing them to his mouth.

“Lord have mercy, y’all are going detective on me,” Ryan said with a shake of his head. He paused for a moment, the muscle in his jaw twitching. He rapped his knuckles on the counter before reaching for the cup of tea. “I got to go, that’s all that matters.”

Annaleigh looked over at Jasmine who merely shrugged her shoulders. Jasmine was the best at getting answers out of everybody…mainly because they knew she’d stop her constant talking the minute they tell her what they want to hear. She had to give them credit for trying, nevertheless.

“Is there any way for you to get a copy of the contract if you were to get into the band?” Ryan asked after a moment of silence, “to have my lawyer look through things.”

“I guess I could ask Lance and—wait!” Annaleigh shook her head back and forth, her brain locking onto one part of his sentence. She leaned forward, resting her arms on the kitchen table. “Why do you have a lawyer?”

Ryan chuckled. “All family’s have a lawyer, Sweet Pea,” he replied, lifting his cup of tea to his lips. He took a long sip and set the cup down onto the table. “See if you can get in touch with Lance. If there’s any way to get it faxed, I’ll have it looked over quickly.”

“Dad, it’s already close to the auditions and—“

“And if ya want me to allow you to audition for *NSYNC I’m goin’ to take as many precautions I can ta make sure you won’ get screwed over,” Ryan replied, shutting Annaleigh up instantly. She pressed her lips together. “Given their new management and everythin’ that happened with Lou Pearlman, I don’ see it happening, but you can never be too careful.”

“So…you’re going to let her audition?” Darren asked. He said each word slowly, deliberately, as if he was holding a microphone out towards Ryan, waiting to capture every sound that came out of his mouth.

“Well, don’t sound too excited, Chippendale,” Annaleigh said, slapping Darren’s arm as Jasmine let out a squeal before excitedly clapping her hands together. Annaleigh’s teeth started to chatter as a cool wave of excitement crashed over her as Darren closed an eye, making a face at the loud shout…and at her nickname for him.

It was only payback; she could only be called “Bookworm” or “Anal-Lee” for so long. It was all in teasing fun, however he chose to call her those two names more often lately the more she buckled down with homework and making sure everything at home ran smoothly. Who was she kidding, anyway? She could try and be the responsible person she had been for months, but she could only hold back her excitement for so long.

“On a couple of condition,” Ryan said loudly, over the excited chatter. “I’m goin’ with you, to make sure everythin’ checks out.” He paused for a moment, his chest swelling as he sucked in a deep breath of air through his nose. “And you have to be happy with bringin’ these two along for support. God knows they’d be drivin’ me nuts even more than they already do.” He looked over at Jasmine and Darren, pointing to the teenage girl. “Of course you’ll need your parent’s permission, and to make sure you can get out of school with no problems. I’ll check with John and Evelyn ta see that you did.”

“School doesn’ start back up for us until next week,” Jasmine said. Ryan shifted his gaze over to Darren for confirmation and he gave a nod of his head as he reached for more kale chips. Jasmine let out another squeal, clapping her hands together before doing a little dance in her seat. “We’re going to Orlandooooo.”

“Are you sure you want to bring her?” Darren asked, deadpan, jerking his thumb in his sister’s direction. Annaleigh laughed as Jasmine hit his brother on the shoulder before she got out of her seat to execute a perfect pirouette before dancing across the kitchen tiles.

“Dad, are you sure?” Annaleigh asked; the thought suddenly coming rushing to her. “What about work? Can you miss a couple days?”

“I really don’t think the company will go under just because they don’t have anyone to file papers for a couple of days,” Ryan replied with a laugh. He pushed his chair back and slowly got to his feet before reaching for his crutches. “I’ll get some sparkling cider to celebrate.”

“Please, sir, I’ll get it for you,” Darren said, jumping to his feet.

“No, that’s quite alright,” Ryan replied, curling his fingers around the grips of his crutches. “I know my way around my house well ‘nough by now.” His crutches creaked as he made his way towards the basement stairs, swinging his good leg forward, stabilizing himself with the crutches. “I’ll confirm everything tomorrow morning. You just’ make sure the McIntyre’s have enough time to look for a new employee just in case ya do get the job. And take out some glasses for me, sweetie.”

In four days? Annaleigh thought to herself as she gave a nod to his back. “Sure, daddy,” she voiced as she pushed her chair back from the table. “I never thought he’d change his mind. This’d be enough money to turn things ‘round for us. Downside—“

“You’d have to be away from your dad while he’s recovering,” Darren finished for her, nodding his head.

“And you guys,” Annaleigh added as she opened the cabinet above the sink, grasping three glasses by the inside of the glass. “I always wanted to get out of Clinton, but I never thought about what it’d be like to actually leave.”

“I think your dad’s just worried that you won’ want ta come home, I guess,” Jasmine said, stopping her dance to pull her leg up behind her, stretching her hamstring. “Your dad wasn’ too fond of working’ on a farm and he never really went home.”

So, he doesn’t want me to end up like mom, Annaleigh thought to herself, setting the glasses down onto the table. She frowned, feeling her eyebrows knitting close together. Maybe this isn’t a good idea.

“No,” Jasmine said loudly, pointing a finger in Annaleigh’s face. “No, no, no. I know what you’re thinking. Don’ go changing’ your mind, now. You’ve got your dad’s permission. We’re goin’ to Orlando. This is *NSYNC we’re talkin’ about. You didn’t talk Lance out of auditioning with his doubts, did you?”

“No,” Annaleigh mumbled with a bit of a pout.

“Then I’m not lettin’ you talk yourself out of this,” Jasmine said, looping an arm around Annaleigh’s shoulders, putting her free hand over her heart. “What kinda best friend would I be if I let that happen?”

“One that would stop talking for five minutes?” Darren asked. Jasmine stuck her tongue out at him and Darren did the same before throwing a wink in Annaleigh’s direction when she started laughing. Annaleigh felt her cheeks burn; she was sure she had gone through pink, bypassed all the reds, and now blushed a bright purple.

“Look, the point is, Orlando is filled with the four esses: Surf, Sand, Sun, and Single,” Jasmine counted off on her fingers. Annaleigh gave her a confused look before looking over at Darren who just shrugged his shoulders, waving his hand in the air as if saying, “She’s your problem now.” Jasmine wiggled her eyebrows, a grin coming to her face. “Single boys.”

Shoulda known, Annaleigh thought with a roll of her eyes. She bumped Jasmine’s hip with her own. “I’m goin’ there for work, Jazz, that’s all,” she said to her friend.

“That’s great ta hear, Sweet Pea,” Ryan said as he slowly came back up the stairs, a bottle of sparkling cider tucked tightly under the four fingers of his right hand, his thumb wrapped as tightly as he could get it around the grip. His face was a light red and he was breathing a little heavily. “Told ya I could get it.”

“I’m proud of ya, daddy,” Annaleigh replied with a smile as she moved to take the cider bottle from under Ryan’s arm as he reached back to flip off the light switch to the stairs.

Ryan kissed the top of her head, before following her back to the kitchen table. “You look more ‘n’ more like your mother every day, you know,” he said. “She’d be proud.” Annaleigh sighed, frowning when she spotted the light dimming from his eyes. He then cleared his throat. “So, how much do y’all want?”

She took a page from her dad’s book and tried changing the subject. Darren and Jasmine had both been supportive since they had found out about her mom leaving. The day she had come home from helping Darren pack and head off to University of Mississippi, all family pictures were taken down, and her mom’s belongings were already out in the front hall in boxes. Jasmine had stayed at her place for the initial couple of days, and Darren made sure to call in each day to see how she was doing.

Her dad on the other hand, tried to act like nothing happened, or he couldn’t believe it was happening. Not that she could really blame him; her mom did just up and leave. That was the ultimate betrayal and against Matthew 19:16’s scripture. When getting married, the two become one person, one force, one spiritual entity that couldn’t be split. Annaleigh remembered one picture of her parents on their wedding day. It hung in the living room, above the stereo cabinet, with her mom’s vow:

“My husband and I are best friends first and foremost. We fight like cat and dogs, but never stay mad for long. I was lucky to find him. He is, in every way, my soul mate.”

A part of her couldn’t understand why her dad chose to leave the picture up, let alone decided to keep that only possession—or reminder--of her mom. It didn’t matter though. Once she got into the band, she wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. It was just her and her dad now and she would do everything she could to make sure they were going to be ok.

January 7th, 2000

Orlando, Florida

“We have to get goin’ soon,” Annaleigh said, glancing at her watch for the umpteenth time. She chewed on her stinging bottom lip as she leaned back against the hard, plastic seat lined up with the many, now empty, seats at the Caribe Royale All-Suite Hotel outside of the Convention Center.

“Darlin’ you need to relax,” Diane Bass said with a small chuckle, setting down the newspaper in her hand. “Our flight out isn’ for a couple of days. We have plenty of time.”

At Annaleigh’s request, she had joined herself, her dad, Jasmine, and Darren on their trip to Orlando. The Bass family, as well as the Dale family, had always felt like an extension of her own family. They celebrated birthdays and holidays together and shared any good news or bad news if any was to come up. Also, it was a nice quick vacation and she had the opportunity to see her son for a short amount of time before he went off touring again.

Calm down, Ace. They’ll see you audition today…

Annaleigh started tapping her foot on the ground as she brought her thumb to her mouth. She started chewing on her thumbnail, opening and closing her jaws in time with her foot. She had already paced around the room, counted the ceiling tiles twice, and popped every joint in her fingers. She was starting to run out of things to do to take up her time.

She had been personally invited to audition for *NSYNC, she never thought about how many people would be there waiting for their chance to audition as well. Not that she expected special treatment or anything, but was it too much to ask for people to get her name right? It was Annaleigh, not “Anna-Lee”, or even “Annie Lee” like the receptionist had decided to continue calling her when she was signing in.

Annaleigh couldn’t figure out what it was that made the girl seem to hate her on sight, but was quick to figure it out when she realized she was one of the only girls auditioning. And if she were to get in, she’d be around five of the hottest guys on the planet. Any and all other girl on the planet would be falling over themselves to even stand in the same room as the boy band.

“It’s Annaleigh,” Annaleigh corrected the girl as she rested her chin on the top of the case to her bass guitar. “Carr. I also go by ‘Ace’ if it’s on there.”

“And…they are?” the girl asked, shifting her eyes back and forth to everyone standing behind Annaleigh.

“Ya ever hear of moral support?” Jasmine asked in the same snooty tone. She put a hand on her hip and twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. Annaleigh laughed as Darren gently thumped his sister’s back, giving her a warning look when she widened her eyes up at him.

“Whatever.” The girl sniffed as she flipped through page after page of names before finding hers. She then picked up a highlighter and dragged it across the paper, adding to the large block of yellow sitting in front of her. She then lifted her head and hiked an eyebrow at her, slowly shifting her eyes downwards and upwards, looking. That was ok; Annaleigh could scrutinize her, too.

Blonde hair, dark roots, a tight shirt, cut very low in the front. If she had the chance to see *NSYNC that morning, she was sure to make some sort of impression…if they remembered her after all the people they’d see during the day. Annaleigh looked down at her own clothes: white overalls jeans shorts, a white and black lace sleeved shirt, black hi top shoes, and just a hint of lipstick. It was a lot of black and white, but it was a simple look, and both of those colors were used for performances.  

It was simple by Orlando standards, and definitely by Hollywood standards, but she was from a small town where your talent was more important than your outwards experience. Once people heard her accent she was sure they silently questioned where her cowboy hat and cowboy boots were. No one really wore those unless they were working on the farm or being dressed up for the fair or a barn dance. And thaws just how she liked it. Besides, most times, they pinched her feet.

“Go take a seat over there,” the girl said, waving her hand in the air, indicating after row of chairs. She then reached for the small walkie-talkie next to her. “They’ll call you when they’re ready for you.”

“I thank ya, kindly,” Annaleigh replied with a sweet smile. The girl let out a short laugh, her eyebrows shooting up. Annaleigh pushed her brown tresses out of her face as she lifted the case off the ground, leading the way into the waiting area.

“Clearly southern hospitality don’t mean nothin’ to these folks,” Annaleigh commented as she set her bass guitar down, leaning it up against an empty chair before moving to help her dad sit down.

“Shoot, and they’re even more southern than we are,” Jasmine said with a wrinkle of her nose, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. “Southern of the United States anyway, ain’t no way city folk down here—“

“Jazzy,” Darren said with a groan, running his hands over his face, “slow down the jams, ok?”

“Nah, I’d rather have her talkin’ then it bein’ silent,” Annaleigh said with a wave of her head. “Miss Diane, how was Lance before his audition?”

“Looked like he would’ve thrown up the minute they asked to see him dance,” Diane replied with a smile. She folded the newspaper in her lap before folding her hands down on top of it. She gazed towards the ceiling, lifting a hand to brush her dark brown bob back behind her ears. “He was nervous of course because they were specifically askin’ for him for his voice. They couldn’ believe how he sounded on his own; of course with a Garth Brooks song, it’d impress anyone, but when he sang with everyone else…” She trailed off for a moment. “Everyone in the room had goosebumps. I could tell then an’ there he wasn’ going to be coming home for a while.”

“Come on, I wasn’t that good.” Lance’s deep voice reached Annaleigh’s ear. A flash of red moved past her and Annaleigh turned her head to see Lance leaning over to give his mom a kiss on the cheek before handing her a rose. “Hey, mama.”

“Lance,” Diane said with a smile as she took the flower. She held it to her nose and closed her eyes, taking in a long, deep inhale, before she got to her feet, leaning over her chair to give her son a hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Lance replied, returning her hug. “And, Ace, one for you. Good luck today.” Annaleigh’s lips curled up into a half smile as she took the flower from him. As he turned to give Jasmine a flower, and gave Darren and Ryan some candy (to which Darren chuckled when he saw that his was a bag of mini Three Musketeers and chuckled saying, “how fitting”) before doling out hugs, Annaleigh took the time to look him over.

He looked even more lively and awake then she had seen him a couple weeks prior. Having just gotten off tour, he had gone home to spend the holidays in Clinton for a brief amount of time before finishing out the rest of the tour. Even then, most of his time was spent sleeping; on the couch, on the floor, in the car on the way to his grandparents’ house, even standing up when they went caroling. His bright blond locks were now gone, but his dark hair still had bits of gold streaked into it. His hair was a longer, but due to the spikes looked the shortest she had seen on him.

And he had just about lost his accent.

With his natural deep voice, no one would really know that he had a southern accent to begin with. There were some cases, for instance if he got mad enough, or started to spout out southern phrases, or a combination of both, where people would pick up on it. Being out of the country for so long, it wasn’t too big of a surprise that he lost his accent. It was returning home for an extended period of time and then going back to do things with the group did anyone realize he started to pick up on it again. It was the cause of a lot of jokes from Joey, Chris, and Justin despite the latter being southern himself. In most cases, you could hear it in his “Is” and “Os.”

“How’s your ankle, sir?” Lance asked, climbing over the row of seats to sit next to him, giving him a look of worry. “Not much longer on the crutches, eh?”

“Here’s hoping,” Ryan replied, clapping Lance on the shoulder before he went to open his bag of mini Hersheys. “Not much work ta be done in the winter but I gotta get back.”

“I’m sure they’ll be falling all over themselves to welcome you back the minute you step through those doors,” Lance said with a grin. Ryan let out a deep chuckle before he gave a single, short, nod of his head. He then got out of his seat and moved to sit on the floor in front of Annaleigh, reaching out his foot to tap hers. “Anyway, Ace, they would’ve called you in by now, but Joey and Chris were having a light saber battle with some microphone stands and broke them.” He rolled his eyes.

“Microphones?” Annaleigh repeated, feeling her eyes widen. “Like…singing microphones?”

“The things you talk into to amplify your voice, yes,” Lance replied, his lips parting into a small, toothy grin.

“You didn’t say anythin’ ‘bout singing at this audition,” Annaleigh replied, feeling her eyes widen.

If there was something she loved, it was singing, but if there was something she hated, it was singing in front of people she didn’t know. Actually, it was performing in front of people she didn’t know she tried to avoid at all costs. Clinton was a small town; everybody knew everybody and everybody knew everything about you and your business practically the minute it happened.

Why audition where she would have to perform in front of thousands upon thousands of people every day? For the simple fact that she’d be in the back, while everyone else would be paying attention to the five boys dancing and running around on stage. She was used to being in the back, in fact she liked being in the back; less attention on her. After all the attention she got from her mom leaving, she’d do anything to slide into the background once more.

“Relax,” Lance replied, his smile fading just slightly. “It’s only for people that want to show us their singing talents.” He waved his hand in the air before leaning forward, wrapping his arms around his legs. He looked around at the few hopefuls who were left in the room and lowered his voice. “Between you and me, you’d blow ‘em all out of the water anyhow.”

“How many people have you auditioned today, anyway?” Darren asked.

“A lot,” Lance replied, letting out a sigh. “Local people, people who flew from all over, people we’ve invited like Ace.”

“How are you auditioning them, anyway?” Jasmine asked. Annaleigh watched as Lance’s eyes widened as she started talking rapidly. “I mean, it’d give some people an advantage because they know someone in the band like Annaleigh knows you, and does the singing really give them an advantage? Hey! If Ace does get into the band, you could perform Music of My Heart live. I love that song, I think it’s actually one of my favorites apart from—“

“We’re recording auditions on video tape to make it fair,” Lane said, interrupting his friend.  “So, if it’s for anyone we know, we can’t be in the room. For example, I can’t be in there when Annaleigh auditions, which is why I’m out here. I’m also not allowed to vote on her to be in, but it’s really up to Johnny and Melanie and few other folks at Jive; they have the final word.”

“Anna Lee Car?” a female voice was heard a moment after the sound of a door opening reached her ears.

“It’s Annaleigh,” Annaleigh instantly corrected the woman, her words mixing in with Lance’s deep intonation.

“I’m sorry,” the woman said, flushing bright pink, giving a small grin. “We’re ready to see you now.”

“That’s you, sweetie,” Diane said with a smile. Annaleigh sucked in a deep breath of air, grasping her guitar case as she got to her feet. A wave of heat rushed over her body and her knees started to shake. “You’ll do fine. This is a great experience for you.”

“Knock ‘em dead, girl,” Jasmine said with a bright smile, throwing her arms around her friend in a tight hug.

“You’ll be great, Ace,” Darren said, taking his turn for a hug. He then hugged Lance, his, mom, and her dad, giving him the tightest hug she could muster. She felt Ryan’s chest shake from his deep chuckle as he squeezed her back just as tight.

“I’m so incredibly proud of you, Sweet Pea,” Ryan said before he pressed his lips to the top of her head in a sweet kiss. “I know I haven’t been the most supportive of this…but, I hope you know that.”

“I know, daddy,” Annaleigh replied, smiling up at him. With a second deep breath, she took a step back from her dad, rolled back her shoulders, lifted her head just slightly and made her way into the audition room.

If she thought she was ready before, she sure as hell hoped that was true.