Chapter 32 - Davy the Trojan Horse
By Chelle, Tess, Farah and Shawn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the girls’ suite~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tyler, the head body guard for the Backstreet Boys, headed up to the girls’ suite. He knocked on the door. Brian answered it.  "Hey Tyler" Brian said when he saw who it was.

“Hey Brian. So where are the other guys?" Tyler asked.

"They are still sleeping." Brian said. He opened the door and let Tyler in to the suite.

"So everyone's here right?" Tyler asked.

“Yes" Brian answered back thinking to himself, ‘forgive me father for telling a fib’. Nick never returned to the suite, however, he had an idea that Nick was somewhere with Chelle.

“You may want to be sure the others are awake and ready to go by 10 am sharp” Tyler instructed. “The fans outside have grown overnight so we will probably let you guys sign some autographs so they can simmer down.”

“We’ll be ready for the fans at 10 am” Brian answered with a salute. Tyler laughed at Brian’s gesture and left the suite.

Howie walked out of Tanya’s room as the front door closed. “Who was that, Brian?”

“Tyler. He was letting us know that the security guys are here and will be back at 10 am to get us” Brian answered. "I'm going to call Nick." Brian told Howie. Brian picked up the phone and tried Nick's cell phone. 'Come on Nick pick up' Brian said to the phone.

Kevin walked out of Shawn's room. "Hey cuz who are you on the phone with?" Kevin asked.

“I'm trying to get a hold of Nick" Brian said.

“Nick? Didn’t he and Chelle return last night?” Kevin asked looking between Howie and Brian.

Brian answered, “No, neither one of them made it back. But I have a feeling they are somewhere together.”

“I hope you’re right. The last thing any of us are in the mood for is looking for Nick” Kevin said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Well, according to Tyler..we have till 10 am to be ready. And that is about two hours to let Nick find his way back.” Howie said with a grin.

“Great. That will give us time to drag AJ out of bed.” Kevin replied. The guys all laughed at the thought. It was usually a bet on who would be the last one to get up, Nick or AJ.

“what’s so funny?” Shawn asked as she entered the room.

“Oh nothing really, just guessing how long it will take AJ or Nick to appear” Kevin answered as he pulled Shawn on his lap." then whispered kissing her softly, “morning hun”

“where’s Sherry and Tanya?” Shawn asked the other guys.

"They are still in bed." Howie told her

"Those lazy bums." Shawn laughed

“why didn’t you ask about Carmen and AJ?” Brian teased.

“Oh please. Our room is next to theirs…and we thought Nick and Chelle were noisy. Ugh!” Shawn said shaking her heads. “Besides, Carmen sleeps like a log.. So, I knew she wouldn’t be awake."  The others continued laughing and joking around with each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~in the guys’ suite~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Davy walked into the guys suite. “Damn, I can’t believe we’ve been paying for a vacant suite” . As Davy began walking towards the bedrooms, he overheard laughter coming from one of the bedrooms. “What the hell. Great someone would be here when I need to clear out the room. How typical” Davy said to himself. As he walked closer to the room, Davy tried to listen in on the couple in the room. “I wonder who’s in there?”

Nick leaned over and kissed Chelle's shoulder. "I was worried when Shawn said they couldn’t find you.”
“Shawn always worries about me." Chelle giggled. "after all she is mama Shawn".

Nick looked into Chelle's eyes "They heard you were rescued by Jared".

The mention of Jared made Chelle cringe. Before saying a word, Chelle sat up on the bed and pulled her knees to her chest. Looking towards the window Chelle said, "I am sorry about that Nick. I know what must have gone though your mind when you heard that".

“Honestly, I was hurt that I couldn’t be the man who rescued you.” Nick answered with a soft tone in his voice.

Chelle looked over at Nick and rubbed her hand against his cheek, “Me too. Unfortunately, I wasn’t given a choice. But in a way, I am glad I had the chance to talk to him.”

“What happened?” Nick asked.

“Basically, he tried to warn me what I was getting into. You know, getting involved with a celebrity.”

“What did you tell him? And how do you feel about that? Given a small dose of what will happen?” Nick questioned praying that Chelle would be understanding.

“Well, I will be honest. It freaked the hell out of me…but while I was trying to gather my thoughts about that, Jared reminded me of how horrible my life would have been if he and I stayed together. You see Nick, I never really liked who I was when Jared and I were together. I never was allowed to be my own person. But with you it is so different. For the first time, I feel alive and I can handle whatever is thrown our way.”

Nick was speechless. He then pulled Chelle to him and asked, “would you tell me again your answer about moving to Florida with me?”

Chelle sat up on top of Nick, leaned over kissing his face and teased, “I… am …. MOVING to Florida to be with you… cuz you know why?”

Nick laughed, “why?”

“Cuz, I am in love with you. And I want us to be together. We’ll figure everything else out along the way.”

This was the best feeling in the world Nick thought, to be in love. He then said, “you’ve made me so happy Chelle. I can’t believe we found each other here in Hawaii.” Nick and Chelle continued kissing each other oblivious to the world around them. However, a loud sound was heard from the living room area.

“What was that?” Chelle said almost out of breath.

“I don’t know? Think someone’s in the living room.” Nick answered then said, “Maybe we should get dressed and head back to your suite.”

Chelle said with a pout, “Do we have to? I like having you all to myself.”

Nick rolled Chelle on to her back, “Babe, you do have me. And I have you. We’ll have many more opportunities to be alone.. I promise.”

Outside the doorway, Davy couldn’t believe his ears. Nick’s little fling was a lot more serious than he realized. He decided that he’d get someone else to retrieve the guys’ things. He now had a bigger problem at hand. That problem was named Chelle Wilson. With a new album in the making followed by another tour, there wasn’t any time for distractions. As Davy walked back towards the front door, he knocked over a trash can. “Shit” he swore. He quickly exited the suite in hopes of not being spotted by Nick or Chelle. Once the door was shut, Davy sighed in relief. He walked towards the elevator and said to himself, “Think I am gonna have my career on the line for them? Don’t think so. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me”. Davy figured he’d find Mr. Roark and ask him to assign someone to move the guys things. Before he reached the front desk, Davy’s cell phone rang. "Hello?" Davy answered.

“David......Walter James. Are things going better down there?"

"Ah....well...yes sir....we ...I mean the guys...did well yesterday at the studios."

"Good.....I am sending a few men out there......to oversee the next few days. They should be arriving early tomorrow morning. Be prepared to show them around David."

"Ah...yes, sir." Davy answered as the call ended. Davy looked at his phone and thought, “Great he’s sending a team to spy on us. Better make sure the guys are prepared.” Davy spoke with the manager on duty and requested someone move the guys things into the girls’ suite later in the day. The manager agreed and also advised that Mr. Roark will have his security team ready for the guys when they leave in a few hours. “Tell Mr. Roark, thanks” Davy then walked towards the hotel restaurants. Before entering , Davy saw Tess Dayne sitting at a table alone. “Mmmm, well looks like my problems are about to be solved.” Davy said to himself. Davy walked over to Tess’ table, “Well, hello again Tess. Hope you don’t mind if I join you”. Before Tess was able to respond, Davy was already seated and making himself comfortable.

“Well, good morning to you.” Tess greeted still shocked that she was sitting with Davy.

“Good Morning. I didn’t get a chance to thank you for helping Chelle yesterday. I know Nick was very appreciative of your assistance.” Davy started off. Tess thought to herself, “who in the hell is he kidding here?” Davy then continued, “ I was hoping to get a chance to chat with you before I met up with the guys later”.

“Oh yeah? What about?” Tess asked.

“Well, I forgot that you’ve been around the Backstreet scene and well..” Davy started to explain but was interrupted by Tess.

“Mr. Johnson, I haven’t been around the scene in quite some time thank you. Kevin and I broke up a few years back.”

Davy replied "I know that Tess...but I really could use your help with the girls. They went through a lot yesterday, and you know what that’s like."

"So...what do you want?" Tess asked

"I want to show them a good time....to help make up for the incidents they went through. But they won't be able to deal with the reporters. I thought if you tagged along you could deal with them." Davy suggested.

Tess narrowed her eyes. She wasn't really up to staying to deal with reporters, but she really could use a break. Some time off, away from it all. She then asked, "Don't you think the reporters will want to know why an ex Backstreet girlfriend is hanging around with them?"

"You'd be helping out the guys....Kevin, especially. He's been so uptight..." Davy said, using his ace in the hole.

Tess couldn't believe her ears. She didn't really know Davy all that well, but he seemed to be a nice guy. Her first impression wasn't all that great but who knows maybe he's not that bad. "so, you're wanting me to hang out with the girls is that it?" Tess questioned.

"Yeah...but tell them it's all your idea..they don't like me much."

“Why is that?” Tess asked with a curious look.

"Because I have been pushing for the guys to get the working part of their vacation done.." Davy answered. Secretly he hoped he was getting through to Tess.

"alright, but I am not too sure of where we can go. Yesterday was nuts. and there are a lot of fans still out there" Tess replied.

"well, I've checked with the front desk...and heard that the north side of the island is pretty secluded but is great for water sports. Maybe you girls would like to spend the day out there, and we'll pick up the tab for whatever they want to do" Davy suggested.

"wow, that's pretty generous of you Davy." Tess commented. She still wasn't too sure what to make of this side of Davy she was seeing.

Davy answered, “Well I understand. It's tough for the guys to work on their vacation. Maybe they'll get some work done if they know their girls are relaxing and having fun. Especially if they know the girls were in good hands. That is why I am hoping you'd help with this.”

Tess blushed at the compliment. Maybe this wasn’t a bad idea. “Ok, I will invite the girls here in a bit. But I need more details about this place you mentioned. Oh and just in case, we may need to get someone to go along with us for protection. Ya know for any run ins.”

“Let me tell you want I had in mind real quick. I have to meet up with the guys here in a bit." Davy said, then leaned over to explain his plans to her.

~~~~~~~~~outside of the restaurant~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sherry looked over the pictures that captured her special day with Brian as she walked out from the gift store. She made a mental note to thank Chelle for taking them. She smiled and placed them back in the cover. She looked up and did a double take. There, sitting in the restaurant was Tess with Davy. She frowned. Tess and Davy having breakfast together? This was not good. From what she had heard from Brian, Tess had always been a trouble maker. And Davy? Well he had already proven what a jerk he was. She turned to go into the restaurant, intent on confronting them, but quickly decided to use it against Davy by telling Brian. He would know what to do. She headed for the elevators...and was instantly besieged by a small group of fans. As she slipped into the elevator, she heard them scream...'Where's Brian?'' She leaned against the panel, relieved that she had gotten to the safety of the elevator. If she had to go through what Chelle did yesterday....well, she didn't think she would fare as well.  

As Sherry entered the girls' suite, she was greeted by a room filled with laughter.
"Sherry, there you are?" Tanya greeted.

Sherry looked around the room, surprised that everyone was awake. She then noticed that Nick and Chelle had returned. “Chelle? Oh my god, You’re back.” Sherry squealed.

Chelle walked over to her friend and hugged her, “Yes. I'm back. Sorry for scaring you.” Chelle looked back over at the others, “I just told the other girls that I had a chance to clear my head…well, until the craziness had started.”

Kevin then interrupted, “Speaking of the fans downstairs, are you alright Chelle?”

“Oh my god, Chelle. What happened to your arms there? There’s bruises and cuts all over.” Shawn pointed out. Nick looked at Chelle’s arms and was surprised he didn’t notice them before.

“Oh...they don't hurt.....I was just jostled so much between all those crazy fans..and I tend to bruise easily..." Nick hugged Chelle close, just the thought of her getting hurt upset him.

"Well, then I think we need to provide a few security guards for you until the craziness dies down. We don't need anyone getting hurt," Kevin said.

“Yeah, I agree with ya Kev. I don’t think I’d feel comfortable going anywhere till we know the ladies are safe” AJ said as he held Carmen in his arms.

As the group gathered around Chelle to look at her bruises, a knock was heard from the front door. Tanya opened the door. “Oh, good morning Tess” Sherry quickly looked over at the door to see Tess entering the suite. “Dammit, I was wanting to talk to Brian first. Well, it’s gonna have to wait till later. I will just be sure to keep a close eye on her” she thought to herself.

“Chelle! I am so glad that you are alright.” Tess said as she hugged her friend, “I was so scared when I couldn’t find you.”

“I know you were, but I am alright now.” Chelle consoled. She had spent that last twenty minutes explaining what happened. And was now tired of talking. Chelle only prayed that no one would mention Jared. Especially in front of Nick.

“So, what are you ladies planning to do today?” Kevin asked.

“I don’t know. We haven’t exactly talked about it.” Shawn said as she looked at her friends for an answer.

“Well, I just came from downstairs and it’s already getting crazy with the fans.” Sherry commented.

“Oh god. Not again. We can not stay hiding up here.” Carmen blurted out afraid that their trip was about to get ruined by the crazy fans.

“Well, I have a suggestion” Tess announced.

“What’s that?” Tanya asked.

“I’ve heard that there is a nice secluded beach on the northern part of the island. We could go there. They have different types of water sports that we can participate in. Or we could just hang out on the beach. But it would be free of any reporters or fans.” Tess explained.

“wow, that sounds great” Chelle replied happily “ and it’s secluded?”

“That’s what I was told” Tess answered. The other girls smiled at the idea.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea” Kevin said then looked over at Shawn and the other girls, “if you ladies don’t mind, we’ll have a few of our bodyguards to accompany you just to be safe.” The girls all agreed. As the group continued discussing the girls plans another knock came from the door.

“That’s probably Tyler or Davy” Howie said aloud. Brian opened and saw Davy, Tyler and the rest of the security team.

“Hello guys. Ladies. I am Davy Johnson and it‘s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Davy greeted as he shook hands with each girl with the exception of Chelle who was still clinging to Nick. “Hope you guys are ready to go cuz the fans are definitely ready for you.”

The guys all moaned at the idea of the crazed fans that awaited them. “We’re ready as we’ll ever be” Brian replied.
“Hey Davy? Who can we assign to the girls cuz they’re planning on taking a trip to the northern part of the island? We would like to make sure they are safe.” Kevin suggested.

“Of course. How about we have Mike and Billy stay with the girls today? But that’s after we get you guys boarded on the van. Cuz we’re gonna need all of the team to get you through the lobby safely.” The guys all looked at Davy stunned that he agreed.

“That sounds reasonable. You girls don’t mind waiting for a little bit till we are out of the building. This should only take about thirty minutes.” Kevin asked.

“No, that’s fine. That will give us enough time to get ourselves ready.” Shawn replied for the girls.

“Great. Then it’s settled” Davy said looking over at Tyler, “Mike and Billy will come back up here once we are safely in the van” Tyler nodded as he agreed with Davy. “Well, let’s head out then” Davy said as he walked out of the suite. The guys quickly said their goodbyes to the girls then followed Davy and their security team out the door.

As the door closed, Chelle looked over at the other girls and said, “Damn. Don’t know about you but that guy just gives me the creeps.”

Tess replied, “what do you mean Chelle? He seems really nice. I mean, yes he is working with guys but he seems concerned about your well being.”

Sherry mumbled to herself, “I bet he’s nice to you.” Tess couldn’t understand what Sherry said but understood the look she was receiving. Shawn looked from Tess to Sherry and also sensed the uneasiness but decided not to acknowledge it . The last thing anyone needed was more confrontation.

Oblivious to what was happening, Chelle asked placing an arm around her friend “So Tess? Tell us more about this beach? This sounds exactly what we are needing. A fun girl day in the sun”.   Tess explained to the girls what she was told about the northern beach.

~~~~~~~~in the lobby~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the famous quintet exited the elevators, excited female screams were heard from all over the lobby. A barricade was set up for fans to stay behind in the lobby, and they were at least four rows deep. Kevin looked at Brian and sighed. He loved their fans, but this was ridiculous. How had things gotten so out of hand so quickly?
He approached a girl, who looked to be about 14 and held out his hand to take her pen and paper. He signed his name and quickly moved on to another fan. To his right and left the others did the same. They tried to take their time, making sure they spent as much time as they could with their fans.
Pictures were taken and Howie felt like his face was frozen into a permanent smile. He glanced over at Nick, who was hugging a crying teenager. Beside him, Brian was signing yet another autograph.
AJ looked over at Billy, happy to see that he had signaled to the other security to start wrapping things up. He signed his last autograph, smiled at the girl and headed for the front doors. Close behind him, he heard Brian and Howie. Nick followed with Kevin bringing up the rear.
They ran out to the van, the fans trying desperately to get one last glimpse, photo or autograph as the guys made their escape. Brian slid into the van and let out a huge sigh.
"I am so glad that's over. I love our fans, but sometimes, I wish they weren't so loving."
"Yeah....my neck hurts. That one gal had a death grip on me," Nick complained, rubbing his shoulder.
"Well, I am sure if you ask Chelle, she'll massage that kink out of it," AJ snickered.
"Just remember...without our fans...we would just be a bunch of guys singing on a street corner," Kevin reminded them.
Howie agreed with him, knowing that a fan base could shift and leave them high and dry. They had to accommodate their fans as best they could...just to keep them happy. Otherwise, there would be no Backstreet.

~~~~~~~~~back with the girls~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once the guys were safely on their way towards the studios, Mike and Billy went back to the girls’ suite to accompany them on their trip. The two men knocked on the girls suite. “I’ll get it” a voice was heard yelling on the other side of the door. When the door opened, Carmen greeted the men as they entered the suite. ”Hello. Come on in.” Carmen then excused herself and ran back to her room.

“Good Morning ladies. Are you about ready to go?” Mike asked as he noticed the girls rushing around the room carry all sorts of bags with them. He laughed at the sight then thought, “yup, Brian was right. They’re gonna need more than 30 minutes.”

“Sorry for the delay guys. We’re almost ready to go” Shawn said out of breath as she ran back to gather the other girls. Mike and Billy both laughed at the sight.

“Take you’re time, we’re not in any hurry.” Billy announced, “besides, we’ve found a better way to exit the hotel without you girls being noticed.”

“Oh really? Well you’ve got my attention now. Where’s that?” Chelle asked as she walked up behind the guys. She then extended her hand, “oh and I am Chelle by the way. We are very glad you guys are coming with us.”   Mike then thought to himself, “boy, do we get the tough assignments. Guarding the beautiful women’ as he shook the girl’s hand.

“Yeah, Nick made us promise to keep an extra tab on you.” Billy said as he took Chelle‘s hand.

Chelle laughed at the thought. “what else did he tell you?”

“Well, not too much more but AJ said that you tend to find trouble so…”

Chelle quickly interrupted. “Oh, he did huh?” Chelle asked then mumbled to herself, “Wait till I get a hold of him later”

Shawn laughed at her friend’s gesture, then hollered out, “come on girls. We don’t have all day.”

A knock was heard at the door. “That’s probably Tess.” Chelle jumped up to answer the door but was stopped by Billy. “Allow me. Don’t forget, I made a promise to Nick.” Chelle moved out of the way, “well, if you insist on opening the door…by all means” Chelle giggled and plopped herself on the couch next to Shawn. Shawn just shook her head and thought to herself, “this is gonna be another long day”. As Chelle guessed, Tess was at the door all dressed and ready to head out for a girl day. She was stunned to see what Tess was wearing. Unlike her normal business or casual business look, Tess was finally taking her friend's advice by letting loose. She was dressed in a short summer dress that hid a swimming suit underneath. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. A look Chelle never saw from Tess. It was obvious that she was ready to have a good time.

“Wow, Tess. Look at you. You’re not the same girl I saw yesterday.” Chelle said then whistled at her friend.

Tess blushed, ’Oh stop it Chelle.” Within minutes, the other girls appeared. “Great, we are all ready to go” Shawn announced.

“yup, ready to get away from these walls. They are really starting to get to me.” Carmen said as she threw her bag over her shoulder.
Mike and Billy then stood in front of the door preparing to give out a few instructions. “I told these ladies here,” Billy said as he pointed over at Chelle and Shawn, “We’re going to go out a different way. However, in case we do run into any disturbances please stay close together. Keep your bags tightly secured and for whatever reason do not stop till we are in the van. If no one sees us leave, it will be very unlikely that we‘ll be followed. The guys want you to have a fun day but also a safe day. My name is Billy. And this clown here is Mike.” Billy said with a smile looking over at Mike. “And we’ll try to stay out of your way as much as possible.” The girls laughed at Billy’s joke.

“Thank you both for helping us out.” Tanya said with a smile. Billy then opened the door and checked to make sure there was no one lurking around. He then, guided the girls towards the opposite way of the elevators. Mike was following behind.

“so, where exactly are we headed?” Chelle asked Mike. “The service elevators are back here..and they go directly to the kitchen.”

“Oh, how clever.” Tess commented.

“Ms. Dayne. I am sure you remember the routine, huh?” Mike replied.

Chelle looked over at Tess with a puzzled look, “what does he mean by that?” Sherry, who was walking in front of Chelle, overheard what she had asked Tess and was eager to hear the reply.

“Well, it’s a long story. But after last night, you’re now a pro at all of this.” Tess answered. She wasn’t ready for this conversation just yet so she quickly changed the subject. Tess then looked over at Mike “Chelle was quite popular last night. But you should have seen how she handled herself.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard. But AJ still says to keep a close tab on you. He says you tend to wander off alone” Mike answered.

“Grrr that AJ” Chelle said shaking her head. The other girls laughed.

“I swear you two are just like brother and sister. Always picking on each other.” Carmen said with a laugh. Sherry looked back at Tess. It was obvious that she was hiding something from Chelle. “I can’t believe Chelle doesn’t know about Tess and Kevin’s relationship. I wonder what else she’s keeping from Chelle?” Sherry thought to herself. The group boarded the service elevator and rode it down to the kitchen area.

“Ok ladies, the van is out this way. Let’s move quickly.” Billy directed. The girls followed Billy and were safely inside the van without any problems.

“Wow, that was incredible. No screams, nothing.” Shawn said amazed. Tess explained to the driver where they were headed to. The girls all smiled to themselves excited that they were going to spend a day together and in peace. Or so they hoped.