THROUGH THE RAIN

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cDevin reluctantly said goodbye to her new-found friend and walked away. Chris watched her until she had disappeared out the door with her friends. He had to see her again. He couldn't explain it, but something in him wanted to see her, hold her, memorize her every feature.
eChris shook his head violently. He didn't believe in love at first sight. That was for poets and dreamers. Not him. Besides, he was here on business. He'd probably never see her again. And she probably didn't even know who he really was. Angrily he thought to himself, Why didn't I tell her that I am Chris Kirkpatrick, of *N SYNC. She wouldn't have freaked out on me. She's not that type.
d"You are such an idiot!" he said out loud to himself. A girl passing by at that exact moment stopped and gave him a dirty look. Finally Chris wandered off to find his seat again.
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eBackstage, the four guys of Wild Pantherz were getting ready to go onstage. Josh, Aaron, and Randy were talking to Devin and four of their friends, Terri, Jenna, Daesha, and Emily. Jaxie and Landon, the fourth member of Wild Pantherz, were off in a corner of the room, hanging all over each other and basically making out.
vDevin looked at Josh, teasing him. "So, Josh. Why didn't you tell me me you had sent in a demo tape? I could have previewed it so you wouldn't have made fools of yourselves."
i"For your information, Dev-Dev, it was totally awesome. It couldn't possibly have been any better." Josh looked at her triumphantly.
n"Yes it could have. It would have been a lot better if I had been on it. Anyways, I know for a fact that there is a guy here ready to sign you if you do a good job tonight."
r"And just how, may I ask do you know this?" asked Aaron, running his fingers though his thick, wavy blonde hair. He was the trademark blond cutie of the group, since all boybands have them.
e"Because I talked to him just a few minutes ago." She grinned."And, he's really hot. Plus he was hitting on me."
nTerri's ears perked up because, like a lot of teenage girls, she was totally boy-crazy."He was hitting on you? So that's who that hottie you were talkin' to earlier was. He was checkin' you out when you were walkin' out of the room."
eJenna added, "He was fine. But why was he so familiar-looking? I could've sworn I've seen him somewhere."
eDevin smiled. So, none of them had figured it out yet. "We-ell, his name is Chris and..." A gasp went up from the group of girls. Emily was the first to find her voice. "That wouldn't happen to be, Chris Kirkpatrick, would it?"
j"The one and only. He didn't actually come out and say it, but after hearing him talk, well, the voice basically gave it away. Can you believe it? A member of *N SYNC here in Oklahoma. It just doesn't seem real. And I got to talk to him."
e"Girl, what you thinkin'? He's too old for you. I mean, 17, 27, it just don't work out. Now, if ya went for someone like me, maybe..."
n"Shut up, Randy. I don't think anything's gonna happen. I'll probably say a couple more words, then never see him again. Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, you're a WHITE boy, so stop talkin' like that." She playfully pushed the wanna-be Romeo and thought back to when they were going out. They'd had a lot of fun. Too much really. That's when Devin realized that she really only liked him as a friend. Besides, Wild Pantherz had taken up a lot of Randy's free time. So, they called it quits.
kLittle did she know, Randy was coming up with a plan to win her back. He had liked her for so long, and he didn't want to lose her forever. And now that the Pantherz had a chance at fame, plus that Chris guy moving in on her meant that he'd have to move faster than planned. It didn't matter what it took, Devin was going to be his again.
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sFinally, it was time for the guys to go onstage. After prying Landon and Jaxie apart and wiping the lipstick from his face, they ran out on stage. The audience, the entire teenage population of the small Oklahoma town and some of the surrounding communities, exploded in wild screams and applause as their favorite local group appeared.
sOut in the audience, however, Chris was thinking about the girl he had just met, wondering if he would ever see her again. Oh, yeah, he listened to the Pantherz singing. In fact, he was VERY impressed with them. Especially their dance moves. He smiled as he recognized some 'N SYNC moves. Almost all the songs were about love and each one made Chris want to see Devin more.
lMuch too soon, the show appeared to come to an end. The four boys (really, that's what they were. Their ages went from 14 to 19, Aaron the youngest, Landon the oldest. Josh was 16 and Randy was almost 18,) came back out on stage and introduced themselves on last time. As the lights came back on, Josh yelled out, "Wait! We got a little surprise for ya'll! Our very good friend, well, my best friend, is going to come out on stage and help us sing this last song."
oChris's heart began to beat faster and louder. He was sure the people around him could hear it. Was Devin going to be the surprise guest? He just had to hear her. The suspense was killing him. Onstage, Randy continued, "Okay, give it up for my sweetie, Devin!"
vWhen he said that, Chris felt his heart dive into his stomach. Of course. It figured. The most beautiful girl he had ever met and had ever shown geniune interest, not as a fan, in him was taken. But he couldn't let that get in the way of his judgement. His record company would kill him if he didn't sign the Pantherz. As he was feeling sorry for himself, he missed the deadly glare Devin gave to Randy.
eThe song began, a slow, beautiful song. A love song, naturally. Devin started out, then her lovely soprano blended sweetly with the four guys' harmony. Chris stood transfixed, listening to her sing. She noticed Chris staring at her. She smiled and looked straight at him.
sWhen the song was over, the whole audience, who had for once been completely silent, erupted in in screams and applause. Chris wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and clapped louder than anyone else. She was going to be the next big female pop star, there was no doubt in his mind. And he had discovered her! Now all he had to do was sign her too.
JChris pushed his way through the throngs of people backstage trying to get to the group-and Devin. Suddenly a girl (Chris recognized her as one of Devin's friends) started screaming when she saw him. "Everybody, look! It's Chris Kirkpatrick of 'N SYNC!"
aThe whole place turned to madness. Girls screamed and shrieked, crowding around him, trying to get near enough to touch him. He looked around for an escape, but couldn't find one. He was trapped in a living sea of screaming teenage girls!