Part 430
Howie and Sarah were the last to join the group and as usual, it was the normal chaos. Brian and Nick were entertaining everyone with their antics while Kevin was standing off watching Lynne. It was like he was afraid to go near her all of a sudden.
"God, he needs to just go ahead and sleep with her," whispered Sarah. "I’m going over there and…."
"No, you’re not! Stay out of it, Sarah," said Howie sternly.
"But…"
"But nothing, Sarah," said Howie forcing her to face him. "Sarah, you told Kevin last night that you were going to set him free. That INCLUDES letting him make his OWN mistakes in a relationship or go at his OWN pace. Do NOT get involved and I mean it."
Sarah knew Howie was serious and that he’d be angry if she went against his wishes. Giving in, she said, "Fine. I need to talk to Becca anyway. Hmm…maybe SHE can talk to him."
"Sarah!"
"Okay, Okay!" said Sarah throwing up her hands. "I’m going to talk to her about singing again with me tomorrow night. She needs to be more comfortable on stage before she starts doing all these service announcements and talking to groups for the foundation."
The couple joined the group and before they realized it, the guys went off in a group alone and the girls went off talking. It was so junior high that it was almost comical.
"Bec, I want you to sing with me tomorrow night."
"I don’t know, Sarah," stated Becca. "Once was enough."
"No, it wasn’t. Look, if you’re really serious about this foundation and all your plans, then you need to get more comfortable in front a crowd."
Lynne spoke up, "Come on, Becca. I’d REALLY love to hear you sing and if it’s half as good as the review from Calgary, you HAVE to do it."
"She was FAR better than the review," said Sarah.
Lynne asked Sonja and Alison, "Have you ever heard Becca?"
Sonja spoke up, "I have but only in church. Bec, come on. With all of us together, it would be perfect. From the pictures on the lists, you and Sarah looked awesome together."
As Sarah smirked at her, Becca blushed realizing that just like Nick and the guys, pictures of her were now floating in cyberspace.
"Well, sis?"
"Okay! I give up. Are we going to do the same song?"
"Unless you have a better one. Those songs fit perfectly together."
Sarah gave the others a quick explanation and they all agreed they wanted to see the two perform together.
The conversation shifted slightly once Becca had been convinced to sing.
"Sarah, AJ said we’re going with you and Howie to Seattle after Kevin’s birthday party. What’s going on?"
"Johnny Wright called…"
"You mean the Johnny Wright who is ‘NSync’s manager?" questioned Lynne.
"Yeah, him. Anyway, he called while we were in LA and asked Howie and Kevin if I’d open for ‘Nsync at some charity thing tonight," explained Sarah.
"Oh wow! You’re opening for ‘NSync? That should be interesting," said Ali.
"Yeah, that’s what I thought too but Howie and the guys all felt like it was something I needed to do…you know, to get away from their shadow."
"Are you nervous? I mean, there’s such a rivalry between the two groups," said Lynne.
"It’s not so much between the guys as it is the fans," said Sarah and suddenly paled.
"Sarah?" said Lynne wondering what was happening.
As Sarah made a hasty exit for the bathrooms, Becca laughed and said, "Her morning sickness is worse when she’s nervous."
"Poor thing," sympathized Lynne. "How long will it last?"
"Until she goes on stage," answered Howie. "Becca, would you mind checking on her?"
"Not at all. I’ll be back in a minute."
Lynne asked Howie, "How does she perform every night if she gets like this?"
Howie laughed, "She’s gotten use to performing before us. It’s the thought of a new crowd that’s NOT our fans that’s got her nervous."
The guys had joined the girls when they saw Sarah leave and now the conversation included them.
"You know, it would be so cool to be able to sit in the audience and NOT have to rush to get ready," said Nick.
"Yeah, it would," agreed Brian.
"I take it you guys aren’t going?" asked Lynne.
"No, originally, it was just going to be Howie and Kevin going with Sarah," said Brian.
"Why Howie and Kevin?" asked Sonja.
"Well, Howie is Sarah’s manager and Kevin the main producer for her stuff," said AJ.
"Then why are we going?" asked Ali.
"The local radio station here decided to have a softball game and birthday party for Kevin and I offered to go instead."
"Then we decided that we could all hang out for the party and still get to Seattle in time for sound checks," continued Kevin.
"Only the Diva decided she still wanted AJ to come along too,"
added Nick snickering at getting away with calling Sarah ‘Diva’.
"Keep on, Nick, and Sarah’s gonna have your head," warned Howie. "And I’m not gonna stop her."
"Nah! Sarah knows I’m just playing."
"Playing or not," said Kevin. "You need to cut it out. Sarah’s hormonal enough without you adding to it."
Becca returned and Howie asked, "Is she okay?"
"She’s just washing her face now."
"Isn’t she on y’alls label?" asked Sonja.
"Yeah, she is and I think we should all go to Seattle," said Brian.
"You MUST be joking," said Becca. "Can you imagine the RIOT you’d cause? The Backstreet Boys at an ‘Nsync concert."
"That’s all hype, Bec," said Nick. "Caused by the fans."
"Exactly my point. ‘Nsync fans would go nuts and Sarah is ALREADY nervous enough just doing the show in the first place. She doesn’t need anything taking away from her."
"We wouldn’t be going to see their show. It’s ‘Tigger’ we’re going to see," pointed out AJ.
"And what happens when you guys walk out on THEIR show?" asked Sarah who had rejoined the group.
"Simple. WE have our own show in Boise which is eight hours away," said Nick.
"That’s NOT how the fans or the press will see it," pointed out Sarah.
Howie spoke up, "Sarah’s right. If we all go, then we need to stay for their show too."
"What’s it going to be?" asked Kevin. "Are we all going and do we take all the buses?"