~8~

January 12th, 2000
Shrine Auditorium

Gabriel carefully set his keyboard down onto the floor before resting it up against the sinks in the bathroom of the Shrine Auditorium. He looked around, sliding his palms down the sides of his jeans, checking 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 bag 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, thin 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 dirty blonde hair a brown color. Once his hair was the color he wanted, he put the can back before grabbing a jar, twisting off the top.

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 brown spray came off onto his hands as he did so. He used the sides of his hands to turn on the faucet and rinse the brown residue from his hands, watching the dark water swirl down the sink.

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!” Gabriel 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,” Gabriel 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. Gabriel bowed his head for a brief moment, scratching at the back of his neck.

“I know and I apologize,” Gabriel 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 Gabriel, 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 Gabriel’s head.

“Everyday I’m here,” Gabriel replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “For a little while, I guess. 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. Gabriel gave a brief shrug of his shoulders. “That’s not an answer.”

“Don’t know how to bring it up,” Gabriel 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,” Gabriel said with a shake of his head. “Not now at least.”

“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. “People want to know who the new musicians are in *NSYNCs band. With your interviews coming up…just stick with your story. People will dig around, but stick with you want to tell them.”

“I have a story ready, don’t worry,” Gabriel replied, running his fingers through his damp hair. He briefly checked his fingers, giving a satisfied smile at the lack of brown 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.” Gabriel 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,” Gabriel 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 Gabriel’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,” Gabriel 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 as Lance moved to make his way into the bathroom.

“Sorry,” he said, jumping back from Johnny. He lifted his hand and waved in Gabriel’s direction. Gabriel 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 Gabriel who brushed past him as he slipped out the door.

“Hi, I’m Gabe,” Gabriel said, offering his hand to Lance. “Gabe Hamilton. I’m the…late keyboardist.” He then quickly pulled his hand back. “And I was just using the bathroom so…bad idea!” He let out a nervous laugh. “I’ll just get going.”

Gabriel shifted the grip on his case as he made his way towards the stage. Lance fell into step beside him. “I’m Lance by the way,” Lance said to him.

“I know,” Gabriel replied with a nod of his head. “Everyone knows who you are.”

“So you’re filling in for David,” Lance said to him, sliding his hands into the pockets of his mesh shorts. “Did he say why he was leaving?” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We all sent out a good luck card, but…”

“Uh…” Gabriel gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I just heard there was an opening in your band so I auditioned to fill it. I didn’t ask questions.”

“Oh. Ok.” Lance then clapped him on the arm, giving him a bright smile. “Well, welcome to the *NSYNC family. We’re glad to have you here.”

“Thanks,” Gabriel replied with a nod of his head. “I look forward to working with you all.” Lance quickened his pace as they came up to a short set of stairs. He bounded up them and pulled open the door, leading the way into a darkened area. Loud music reached Gabriel’s ears as he followed Lance through the dark before pushing aside the heavy curtains in their way.

Lights flashed, twisted, and twirled around the stage in betweens puffs from the smoke machine, and pyrotechnics exploded from their containers. Sitting in the middle of the stage, Justin and Annaleigh played game after game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” , slamming their palms into their hands as quickly as they could. Justin towered over her, sitting on top of a basketball.

A tense, electrical feeling swirled through the air, shocking everybody in its wake. It was only a couple of days until the big awards show. Everyone looked excited, scared, and relaxed all at the same time. The large stage was divided by a thick black stripe on the ground. Behind the line in the darker part of the stage the rest of the band was set up. As the crew were testing the lights (with someone’s loud voice coming in through the speakers), they couldn’t rehearse.

 “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

“…One more time, the lights were in my eyes.”

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

“…One more time, I couldn’ hear you count.”

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

“…One more time, I—“

“Annaleigh!” Annaleigh put her hands up defensively when at Justin’s laugh-groan. “Dang, girl! We’ve already played eleven games. I won. You lost.” He pointed his finger in her face. “You’re sitting next to Chris on the Dumbo ride.”

“Nooo,” Annaleigh groaned before holding her hands out towards him. She curled one hand into a fist, holding it over her palm. “One more game; best 11 outta 15.”

“You guys came just in time.” A boy in long athletic pants with brown and blonde hair made his way across the stage, holding a microphone in his hand. He flipped the microphone in his hands into the air before catching it. Lance made his way over to center stage and Gabriel followed after him. Justin and Annaleigh got to their feet. “Wade Robson, choreographer for the boys.”

“Gabe Hamilton,” Gabriel replied, taking Wades hand, shaking it. “New keyboardist.”

“I’m Annaleigh Carr,” Annaleigh said, shaking his hand next. “The new—“

“Bass player, I know.” Wade angled his head down just slightly to look her over before hiking an eyebrow, his shoulders shaking just slightly with a chuckle. “Nice boots.” Annaleigh looked down at the cowboy boots adorning her feet. Dark wash skinny jeans were tucked into the boots. With a single white tank top and a flannel shirt all looking crisp and clean, it was evident she had gone through a wardrobe session.

“Thanks?” she said as more of a question.

“Now that everyone’s here we can set up,” Wade said, nodding his head towards the back of the stage before he lifted the microphone back up to his mouth, “and go through a full run through.” Lance tilted his head back, groaning. His groan mixed in with JC, Joey, Justin, and Chris’s from around the stage.

 “Y’all are complainin’, but my fingers feel like they’re on fire,” Annaleigh said to Lance, turning towards him, splaying her bandaged fingers before wiggling them.

“You’re the one who chose not to play with a pick,” Wade commented, tapping a rhythmic beat against his head with the microphone. The low taps filled the auditorium. “If these guys have to suffer through an hour or two of dancing, you have to suffer through an hour or two of pain.”

“Guess I forgot to mention how much of an ass Wade can be the closer it gets to the start of a show,” Lance said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers before motioning for Annaleigh and Gabriel to go to where they were needed.

Wade’s name was on the line just as much as NSYNC’s was so it was a bit justified. This was his first huge choreography job. He was getting praise for his work for Bye Bye Bye but this was a whole new album with new choreography that needed to reflect changes in their style of music from song to song.

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but I’ve got high hopes for you boys,” Johnny said in his calm, yet serious tone, rubbing his hands together, as he walked out onto the stage. “Very high hopes. This next move for you is important; everybody has their eyes on you. They want to see how you fair without Lou around. Everybody has their eyes on you.”

“Not like they didn’t before with our ‘feud’ with the Backstreet Boys,” Justin said, using air quotes before crossing his arms over his chest. He then picked the basketball up off of the floor, passing it back and forth between his hands.

“Yeah, and I have a bone to pick with them,” Chris added, putting a finger in the air. “Did you see what they said about us in their lat interview?”

The Backstreet Boys were around for a little while before *NSYNC came on the scene. Everybody thought the two bands were rivals mainly because they were working in the same genre of music and because both bands were the most popular bands out there. He had met the Backstreet Boys a couple of times and thought they were pretty cool dudes.

That’s not to say that each meeting was all that awkward. They had met once since everything with Lou went down; they had money stolen from them as well.  Not only that, but higher ups at their record companies would relay stories to the band about “Nick thinking Lance is this” or “JC thought AJ was that.” But, the kicker was that Johnny was their manager, too. That gave the boys more reason to respect the African American man; to work that hard for not one but two of the hottest boy bands? And he sure did know what he was doing.

“They didn’t say anything, Chris,” Johnny said, giving Chris a confused look.

“Exactly!” Chris replied, hiking an eyebrow. “The nerve of those guys.” Joey snorted, putting a hand over his mouth to try and get him to stop from laughing out loud.

JC pressed his lips together, the corners twitching, Justin cleared his throat over and over again, and Lance ran a hand over his face before sticking his tongue out between his lips. Gabriel pressed his fist into his mouth and Annaleigh bowed her head, pressing her lips together.

Johnny briefly closed his eyes. His shoulders shook as a small fit of laughter escaped past his lips. He cleared his throat, licking his lips, before his usual air of business returned and a serious look appeared on his face. “Be serious, Chris,” he said to him and Chris seemed to deflate a little bit as he gave a nod of his head. “This is kind of like a comeback for you boys; everyone wants to see how well you can do without Lou. From what I’ve heard, this single is going to be a hit. It’s going to be huge. This is something that no one else has done before.”

“I’m ready for it,” Justin said, a serious look crossing his face, all trace of laughter gone from his face. He held the ball still in front of his chest, the muscle in his forearm straining as he squeezed the ball between his hands. “This…this’ll be something great, I just know it.”

“That’s right,” JC agreed, nodding his head. “No strings.”

“No strings,” Lance repeated, a half smile coming to his face.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Wade said into his microphone. “Reset everything back to one. Gabe, Boots, get set up, please.”

“Safe to assume I’m Boots, then?” Annaleigh asked, lifting an eyebrow as she turned to make her way to the back of the stage. Lance chuckled, clapping her on the shoulder before joining the boys on stage.

“Since you were late, your wardrobe fitting has been pushed to after rehearsal,” Johnny said to Gabriel. “You can do it here or at your apartment or whatever, but you need to get it done.”

“Yes, sir,” Gabriel replied. He hurried after Annaleigh and jabbed his finger into her back. “Have I missed much?”

“Naw, not really,” Annaleigh replied, her nose wrinkling just slightly, pulling her freckles towards each other. “The boys rehearsed bits and pieces by themselves as Wade; I guess it was, worked out the choreography with lights and the backup dancers.” She snapped her fingers before turning towards him. “Me and the boys are plannin’ a trip to Disney on our day off. Wanna come?”

“You think that’d be ok?” Gabriel asked as he started to set up his keyboard, shooting Kevin a look of apology.

“Well, I could make sure, but you need to get ta know ‘em, too,” Annaleigh replied, reaching for her bass, removing it from its stand. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He gave a small smile of thanks and in moments, he was set up with the rest of the *NSYNC band and they were playing through their AMA performance.

 “Keep going,” Wade said into his microphone, his words cutting over the music. He slowly swiveled his head from left to right as he watched the five boys dance, bobbing his head to the music, dancing a couple of the steps on the spot as he watched them. “Lift your knees higher when you run back to your mark, JC.”

JC angled his head slightly in a nod, but never stopped what he was doing. He never lost control of his body as he continued to dance.  “5, 6, 7, 8. Lance stay in time, pick it up just a little bit,” Wade called, snapping his fingers in Lance’s direction. “Knees a little higher, Chris. Justin, great combination. Joey…” Wade trailed off as he let out a small laugh. “Bring the ham down just a little.”

“Actually, ham sounds pretty good right now,” Chris said as he stopped dancing. “Like on a ham and cheese sandwich, maybe?” Wade made a cutting motion across his chest and the music died out as the musicians stopped playing.

“Didn’t you just get done eating, Chris?” Wade asked, pinching the bridge of his nose before raking his fingers through his hair. He lifted the bottom of his shirt with his free hand to wipe the sweat from his face. “In fact, that would explain why you’re all a little sluggish today.”

“Wade, just chill out for a sec,” JC said as he walked across the floor. He disappeared into the wings for a moment before walking back out. He pulled his headset down around his neck and twisted off the cap to the water bottle in his hands. “This is big but you can lighten up just a little bit. We’ve been working all morning.”

Wade crossed his arms over his chest. His chest swelled as he sucked in a deep breath of air before letting it out through his nose. He twisted his mouth to the side before bowing his head, a smile coming to his face. “Alright, alright, let’s go through this a couple more times and then we can take a break.” The boys let out sighs of relief. “You’re doing a good job, guys. Really."

“Thanks, Wade,” Joey said, sweat droplets sliding down the sides of his face.

“Alright, lets pick up from the top,” Wade said into his microphone. “Remember, the performance will be longer when we have the marionettes. And 5, 6, 7, 8.”

They played through the performance a couple more times before Wade allowed for them to have a break. Gabriel removed his fingers from his keyboard keys and massaged his fingers as the boys dispersed to take their break. Lance made his way into the back, reached across the drum set and slapped Billy’s hand in greeting.

“Having fun watching us die?” he asked, face bright red and sweaty.

“Watching you die, maybe,” Annaleigh replied with a hint of a smile.

"Are you going to tease me about it or are you going to help me?” he asked, shifting his gaze towards the ceiling.

“Well, I’d have to check my schedule, I’m a pretty busy person, you know,” Annaleigh replied, with a small laugh.

 “You’re about a half a beat off, by the way,” she replied. “I don’t blame you after how terribly I’ve been playin’.”

“You’re doing better than you want to believe,” Gabriel said to her and Lance nodded his head in agreement. “Really.”

"Just do the best you can, Lance,” Lance explained, looking at the two newer members of the band. “I know this is fast paced, but, y’all will get it down.” He spun on his heels just slightly before cupping his hands over his mouth. “Hey guys, come here.” Footsteps made their way towards the back of the stage and JC, Justin, Chris, and Joey crowded into the back of the stage. “This is Gabriel Hamilton.”

“You can call me Gabe,” Gabriel said as he shook their hands. “I’m excited to be working with you all. I’m a big fan of your music.”

“You mean it’s actually your sister, right?” Chris asked with a half-smile. “’Cause you know, for some reason, our male fans don’t really want to admit that they like us?”

“I’m an only child, so…” Gabriel replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t have a problem telling people.”

“I invited him to go to Disneyland with us, if that’s ok,” Annaleigh said, rubbing her hands together.

Gabriel shifted his weight from foot to foot. He gave a shrug of his shoulders before sliding his hands into his jeans pockets. “It was very last minute, so…” he trailed off, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his neck. He shifted his gaze over to Annaleigh and gave her a smile of thanks. “I appreciate you thinking of me—“

“It’s cool with me,” Joey said with a shrug of his shoulders before pulling his t-shirt away from his body.

“Right guys?” He nodded his head when the other boys gave nods of agreement and words of acceptance around heavy breathing and drinking bottles of water. “The more the merrier. Besides, we need people to rotate out holding Chris’s hands on the taller rides.” He let out a laugh, moving to defend himself when Chris moved to punch him on the arm.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m not too big with heights either,” Gabriel said. “It’s really the falling from the height I have a problem with.”

“See? This guy gets it,” Chris said, motioning towards Gabriel with his water bottle. He lifted his fist and Gabriel smiled, bumping it with his own. “And you all make fun of my phobia.” He rolled his eyes, lifting his water bottle to his mouth to take a long sip. “I like you, kid.”

“I…like you, too?” Gabriel said as more of a question.

“Ignore him, he’s a freak,” Justin said with a roll of his eyes. Chris looped an arm around his shoulders.

“But, I’m your freak and you love me,” Chris said with an over the top smile. Justin made a face of mock annoyance before pushing him away. Chris laughed before pointing a warning finger over at his friend. “Hey, I know where you live, buddy.”

“I need *NSYNC back on stage.”

“Hey, it was nice meeting you, Gabe,” JC said, shaking Gabriel’s hand a second time. “And welcome to the band. We look forward to meeting you.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” Gabriel let out a breath of air, laying over his keyboard before putting his face in his hands. “Wow. Did that happen?”

“You really are a fan aren’t ya?” Annaleigh asked with a laugh as she pulled her guitar strap over her head. “You didn’ seem nervous if that makes ya feel better.”

“Oh, thanks,” Gabriel replied. “So, how long have you known Lance?”

“Since we were kids,” Annaleigh replied, grasping the neck of the guitar with her left hand. “For ‘bout eight years now. Why?”

“Just wondered,” Gabriel replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Just looking at the two of them, he could see that they had some sort of history together. Whether they were romantically linked or not, he couldn’t tell, but the mutual camaraderie between the two of them could be evident to anybody. It was the type of friendship and care for each other he hoped to one day have with her. If she can get past my lying to her, anyway. Gabriel bowed his head just slightly as the thought careened into his mind.

Four loud clicks from Billy’s drumstick striking against his hi-hat filled the air before the music started. “And 5, 6, 7, 8.” Gabriel pressed the pads of his fingers into the black and white keys stretched out in front of him, starting the song.

Hey, hey.
Bye, Bye, Bye 

I’m doing this tonight
You’re probably gonna start a fight
I know this can’t be right
Hey, baby, come on

The song was pretty fast paced and Wade was giving them a pretty impressive routine to dance to. It was a lot of quick steps and sharp shapes and movements with their arms and even at one point, to go along with the “no strings” and marionette idea, he had two of the five *NSYNC members acting like they were being controlled by puppeteers.

He was nothing short of impressed. Wade looked like a kid—he thought he couldn’t be any older than fifteen or sixteen--but he knew his stuff;  no doubt about it. If he had any other dance routines in his mind that extravagant, their tour would blow the roof off any venue, big or small.

Bye, Bye
Don't wanna be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two
You may hate me but It ain't no lie
Baby, Bye, Bye, Bye

They continued through the rest of the song a couple more times, pausing occasionally to work out some of the newer movements that they were having trouble with. But, all the boys pushed through. It was only a rehearsal, but Justin and JC really looked like they were going all out for the dance.

“Alright, that’s good,” Wade said as the music came to a pulsing stop. He clapped his hands together leading everybody into a round of applause. “Great job, everybody. That’s all for today.”

“Thanks, dude,” Justin said, hands on his knees breathing heavily. Like the other boys, his face was bright red, and sweat dripped down the sides and front of his face. He straightened and lifted his hand to slap it into Wade’s palm. “Moves are sick.”

“Thanks,” Wade replied, clapping Justin on the back before doing the same to the other boys. “But, it’s all on you, guys. Now get some rest. We’ll be doing this again bright and early tomorrow.”

“Just kill me now,” Chris groaned, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palm.

“I would, but I’m too tired,” Joey joked. Chris let out a sarcastic laugh, rolling his eyes.

Gabriel chuckled at the exchange. “Are they always like that?” he asked as he leaned over the top of his keyboard, unplugging the power chord from the back of the instrument after he switched it off.

“Who, them?” Annaleigh asked, nodding her head towards the front of the stage. She wrapped the chord to her bass guitar around her hand. “Haven’t been around ‘em a lot, to be honest with ya, but they’re always makin’ jokes. They know when to be serious, but it’s what makes ‘em fun to be around.”

“I’ll bet,” Gabriel replied. He tapped his fingernails on the plastic edge of his keyboard. “So, listen, we have interviews for the AMAs and everything. I don’t know if we have to do interviews on the red carpet or anything, but since I’ve never done that before, do you mind if we like…I don’t know, team up for it?”

“Shoot,” Annaleigh said with a click of her tongue, her eyebrows twitching, “sounds better than flyin’ solo. Sounds good ta me.”

Gabriel relaxed into a smile. “Good.” He gave a nod of his head before shifting his attention over towards Wade as he made his way backstage. “Ah. Mr. Robson—“

“Wade,” Wade instantly corrected Gabriel. He gave a half startled, half amused laugh. “We’re the same age; you don’t have to call me that.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he regarded himself and Annaleigh. “That was good. You guys clearly have talent, but there’s something missing.”

“How so?” Gabriel asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Wade opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. “Like you’re forgetting something,” he admitted after a moment of silence.

“I…what?” Annaleigh asked. Gabriel watched a look of panic cross her face. She reached for the thick binder sitting on her music stand and started rapidly flipping through pages. “What’s the matter? What’d I miss?”

“Relax, Boots,” Wade said with a chuckle. “I was just implying that you’re not having any fun. You’re both so tense, making sure you get everything right; trying to force it out.” He gave them a small nod before walking off.

“I think he likes you,” Gabriel commented, watching as she continued to back up her belongings. Apart from a loud snort, she didn’t answer until she her backpack hanging off her shoulders and zipped up her guitar case.

“He doesn’ even know me,” Annaleigh protested with a shake of her head as she turned to face him. She  reached her hands back behind her head to free her wavy hair from between her back and her backpack.

“So?” Gabriel asked with a laugh. “I’m a guy, I know the male signs.”

Annaleigh let out a tinkling laugh as she lifted her hand into a wave. “I’ll see you later,” she said to him as she made her way off the stage, saying her goodbyes to the other members of the band.

“See ya.” Gabriel turned back towards his keyboard and continued packing up his belongings. He twisted his mouth to the side, letting out a sigh through his nose. Once completed he bid the rest of the *NSYNC band farewell, slung his case over his shoulder, and made his way out to the parking lot.

Blinking against the bright sun as he stepped outside, he reached into his pocket for his phone. He flipped the top half upwards with his thumb before punching in a number, holding it up to his ear. “Hey, mom. Yeah, we just got done with rehearsals; I’m heading back home now. It was good, the show will be great, and I can’t wait for you to see it. I think Annaleigh and I are getting along pretty well, but I’m worried about when I tell her.”

He pulled his phone away from his ear and rolled his eyes, making a face for a brief moment before putting it back. “Mom, I know it was my idea. I know I’m taking a risk with it. I just couldn’t think of any other way. This way she won’t shut the door in my face at least not right off the bat. Now I guess I’d have to worry about being kicked off a tour bus or something. Well, she’s best friends with Lance Bass, she could do something. No, I don’t think she would, she’s as charming as…whatever’s charming. I’m just saying.”