The atmosphere there was absolutely amazing. There were thousands and thousands of girls (and some guys) screaming out the names of their favourite bands. From somewhere not too far away from our seats, I could hear a chant of "Kitsch, Kitsch! Kitsch, Kitsch!". It was really cool, and I felt really proud. Around half an hour later, a guy appeared onstage, and spoke into a microphone, booming through the screaming crowds.
"Hello Savannah!" he cried at the top of his lungs. "It’s time to PARTY!" The crowd went wild, cheering and screaming. "First of all, we have a talented little guy who comes from FLORIDA, and his big brother’s gonna be on in a couple of hours! We’re happy to introduce you to…AARON CARTER!!!" Jerry and I screamed and cheered and clapped as Aaron ran out onto the stage with his two dancers.
"Isn’t he great?!" Jerry screamed into my ear through the noise.
"You betcha!" I screamed back.
Aaron was really, really good, he performed excellently. Then it was time for Kitsch.
"And now we have a new band." The presenter guy yelled once Aaron had left the stage. "They’re also from FLORIDA and these guys are REALLY, REALLY COOL! Give a big Savannah welcome to…KITSCH!" Kitsch appeared onstage, and Mack spotted us and waved to us. The crowd were screaming for them, and as I looked all around the arena, I could see quite a few Kitsch banners. Kitsch then proceeded to belt out four fantastic tracks, and they really got the crowd going. Once Kitsch had finished playing their set, it was Britney Spears, and I had absolutely no desire to watch her perform, so I went backstage to congratulate Kitsch and Aaron. Jerry desperately wanted to congratulate them both as well, but Mom and Dad thought she’d probably get lost in the crowd, so she was told to stay with them.
I had to show about twenty-five security men my backstage pass, and I also had another pass to say I was related to a member of Kitsch. They all wanted to see both, and after about fifteen minutes of going through security, I finally managed to make my way into the backstage area.
It didn’t take me long to find Kitsch…I could hear Jamie (who was very loud!) shouting and talking and stuff.
"Hey guys…you were great!" I told them as I entered their green room.
"Thanks, Hal!" Josh exclaimed, giving his cousin a high-five.
"You enjoyed it then?" Mack asked me.
"What sort of question is that?! I loved every second of it, you guys were awesome! You totally owned the audience." I gave Mack a huge hug, and then congratulated the other guys. Then, I heard several voices say,
"Wow, Aaron, you were great!"
"Yeah little bro’, you rocked! I’m so proud of you!"
I followed the sound of the excited conversation and found the Backstreet Boys’ green room, occupied by the Backstreet Boys (obviously) and Aaron and his and Nick’s mom.
"Heya guys! Aaron, you were awesome!" I grinned at him as I entered the room. "Jerry wanted to come backstage and see you but she can’t until the show’s over. But I know that her and my parents thought you were really, really good."
"Really?" Aaron was really happy that everyone was congratulating him so much.
"Yeah!"
"Wow, thanks Hallie! Oh, Mom, have you met Hallie?"
"No, I haven’t." Aaron and Nick’s mom held out her hand, and I shook it. "I’m Jane."
"Hi, I’m Hallie. Mack’s sister."
"Oh yes, I was talking to your parents earlier. I bet you’re very proud of your brother."
"Oh yeah, definitely. And you!" I added, turning to face Aaron. "You’ll go far!" I told him, and he grinned even more.
"You gonna stay and watch the rest of the show?" AJ asked me.
"Yeah, of course. I wouldn’t miss you guys for the world!"
"That’s cool, thanks Hallie." Howie grinned at me.
"No problem. Well, I’ll head back out into the crowd now, and I’ll look forward to seeing you guys play! See y’all later!" I left the green room then, spoke to Mack one last time, and then went back out into the crowd.
A couple of hours later, it was time for the Backstreet Boys.
"Okay…here’s what you’ve all been waiting for!" the presenter cried. "It’s time for…THE BACKSTREET BOYS!!!" The crowd screamed even louder than they had before as the five guys made their way onto the stage.
They performed a couple of tracks, one was a ballad, the other was a more up-tempo track, and then Aaron bounded onto the stage.
"Hi Savannah!" Aaron screamed into his microphone.
"Now, we’re gonna perform a song with Nick’s brother!" Kevin cried into his mic.
"But first, I wanna say hello to someone in the audience!" Aaron cried, and walked into the middle of the stage. "I wanna say hello to my new friend…JERRY!" Aaron spotted Jerry in the crowd and waved at her. Jerry was totally shocked, and waved back. Then as the guys and Aaron performed their song, Jerry just grinned and grinned. Then Aaron left the stage, and the Backstreet Boys performed another ballad, before closing with a track I absolutely love…Everybody (Backstreet’s Back). The dance for it is totally cool! Jerry and I both adore the song, and we were singing along, Jerry now sitting on my shoulders once again. People from behind didn’t complain as it was the last song of the night, plus Jerry’s not all that tall.
Once the concert was over, me, Jerry, and our parents tried to make our way backstage, but the backstage entrance area was absolutely packed full of fans and security men. A few of the fans in the crowd had backstage passes hanging around their necks, the others were just hoping they’d catch a glimpse of their heart-throbs. We tried to push our way through, and eventually a security man came to our aid as he could see we had genuine access to the backstage area. As he helped us through, some of the girls in the crowd were glaring at me, and I heard some of them call me ‘bitch’. I was really annoyed about that. I just rolled my eyes at the ones who called me ‘bitch’. Jerry was no longer on my shoulders, but so as to keep her safe she was having a piggy-back ride on Dad’s back.
Finally, we were let through to the backstage area, and Jerry was able to get down.
"I didn’t think that would be quite so difficult." Mom commented, obviously very surprised at just how many fans were there.
"In future, Hallie, if you and Jerry are in the crowd, you stay there for the whole thing. Got it?" Dad instructed me.
"Yeah, I got it. We’ll probably get pretty tired of seeing some of the acts over and over, I doubt we’ll be out front for all of the concerts."
"Yeah, I’ll be backstage talking to Aaron." Jerry told Dad as she held his hand.
"Okay, honey. Now, we’re gonna have a last talk and goodbye with Mack, then we’re leaving you to it. But we’ll come visit you a couple of times to make sure you’re all okay, right?"
"Yeah, that’s fine Mom." I told her with a reassuring smile.
We made our way over to the Kitsch area, and were surprised to find the band members talking to some rather excited girls.
"Can you sign it to Rochelle, please?" one girl was asking Mack, who was holding a pen in his hand.
"It’s such an honour to meet you!" another girl gushed over Jamie, and I noticed that Lisa wasn’t looking all that pleased at the way the girl kept touching Jamie’s arm and fluttering her eyes at him. Jamie also noticed Lisa’s disapproving glances, so he decided to introduce the girl to his girlfriend.
"Uh…Candy…this is my girlfriend, Lisa." Lisa smiled at the girl and shook her hand. The girl didn’t smile back, and Lisa had to stifle a laugh.
"Mack, we’re leaving soon." Dad called over the racket, causing Mack to look up from his autograph signing.
"Oh, sorry Dad. Rochelle, this is my Dad, this is my Mom, and these are my sisters, Jerry and Hallie." Mom and Dad shook hands with the girl (she looked around my age) and then I shook hands with her. As Mack talked to our parents, Rochelle whispered to me,
"How do you keep your hands off your gorgeous brother?" I was absolutely shocked.
"He’s my brother." I told her simply, feeling very confused.
"I know, but it must be hard not to make a move on such a hunky guy."
"I don’t think I could ever fancy any members of Kitsch…and there is absolutely no way on earth that anyone could fancy their brother. Man, are you an only child?"
"Yeah. I wish I had a cute brother."
"Believe me, if you had a brother, you wouldn’t fancy him." I shook my head in disbelief, and walked over to where my parents and Jerry were talking with Mack.
"Okay honey, we’ll see you soon." Dad bent down and gave Jerry a hug and kissed her forehead.
"Bye Daddy. Bye Mommy." Mom also hugged Jerry, and kissed her nose.
"Take care, sweetie. And have fun." Mom told her. Mom then turned to me. "Take care of your sister, and yourself." she instructed me.
"No worries, Mom." I gave Mom a hug and kissed her cheek. Then I did the same to Dad. "We’ll be absolutely fine." I smiled at them, taking Jerry’s hand.
"Bye Mom, bye Dad, they’ll be fine, I promise. We’ll call every other day, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Mack." Mom and Dad said goodbye to Mack, then they left the venue.
"Where’re our things?" Jerry asked Mack.
"They’re at the hotel. For the whole thing, you’ll be sharing a room with Hallie. That okay with you both?"
"Yeah, that’s fine. I wouldn’t want her to be on her own." I bent down and let Jerry sit on my shoulders again.
"Thanks Hallie, you’re a great sister. And you’re a great brother, Mack." Jerry told us.
"You’re a great little sister." Mack told her, and I nodded in agreement. Mack ruffled her hair slightly.
"You’re messing up my bunches!" Jerry told Mack as she giggled.
"I would show you to the hotel now, but it’s gonna be kinda crazy out there for the next hour or so." Mack informed me. "Aaron usually gets sleepy at around 11:30pm, we leave the venue at around midnight. So if Jerry gets sleepy, you can let her sleep where Aaron sleeps…in the wardrobe room." Mack grinned. "His mom always keeps an eye on him, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on Jerry."
"You tired, honey?" I asked Jerry. She shook her head, but I could hear her yawn at the same time. I grinned at Mack, knowing that Jerry would probably fall asleep while still on my shoulders. "C’mon, let’s see where Aaron’s got to."
We made our way through the venue, and the whole place was buzzing with excited fans running from room to room, trying to get as many autographs and photos as they could, and a few tired pop-stars, exhausted and more than ready to go to bed. Most of the stars of the show were on a total high, and had bundles of energy. But for Aaron, it was all too much.
The door to the wardrobe room was pushed ajar, so I knocked gently on it and crept inside.
"Hi, Hallie. You got a tired little one there?" Jane asked me, smiling and helping Jerry off my shoulders.
"Thanks. I think she’s about ready to drop." Jerry didn’t protest, she just yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"You can bed down there, sweetie." Jane told Jerry. There was only Aaron and Jane in the room, so Jerry laid down on one of the piles of clothes, Jane placing a blanket over her.
"Is it okay for you to keep an eye on her?" I asked Jane.
"Sure, it’s no problem. Nick’s coming to keep an eye on Aaron in a couple of minutes - if he can get away - while I call home. My husband, Bob, wants me to call every night just to make sure everything on the tour is okay. And I wanna make sure that everything at home is all right. Actually, honey, could you watch these two for me until Nick comes? The show finished later tonight, I need to get ahold of Bob before he heads off to bed."
"Yeah, of course, you do what you have to do."
"Nick shouldn’t be too long - he knows he has to get away from the fans and look after his little brother. Okay sweetie, thanks a lot." Jane smiled gratefully and left the room quietly. Jerry and Aaron were both fast asleep on separate piles of clothes, each with a blanket.
A few minutes later, there was a gentle knock at the door.
"Mom?" Nick walked in then. "Oh, hi…sorry, I thought…"
"Yeah, your mom was here, but then she had to call your dad, so she left me here. Jerry’s asleep over there." Nick followed my glance and smiled to himself.
"Little kids look so sweet when they sleep." Nick commented, smiling as he looked over at Aaron.
"I bet Aaron was a really cute baby."
"Yeah, he was. He used to follow me around everywhere when he was little, kinda like a bad smell." Nick laughed. "I don’t mean that, but he really did follow me around all the time."
"Jerry was like that. But ‘cos I’m practically ten years older than her, I’ve always been old enough to pick her up, and carry her about, and look after her. Like, when Mom and Dad were at work, me and Mack would baby-sit for Jerry. Mack’s only two years older than me." Nick came and sat down on a chair across the room from me.
"So are you seventeen this year?" he asked me.
"Yeah, I’m seventeen in November. Mack’s birthday is in May, and Jerry’s is in June. Their birthdays are only a few days apart."
"Aaron’s gonna be eleven in December…I’ll be nineteen in January."
"I’ll be an official adult in just over a year!" I told him, laughing.
"Well, not too long to wait. So, you guys are here for the whole tour, huh?"
"Yeah, you’d better hope you don’t get sick of me and Jerry!" I joked.
"Well I doubt that’ll happen. Aaron’s found a buddy…and you’re into Nintendo…so I’m happy!" Nick grinned and I grinned back. Nick and the other Backstreet Boys were such nice people, I knew that I’d really enjoy the tour. "Hey, maybe you should talk to Britney Spears. She’s your age."
"Uh…well, I don’t really like her music very much, we probably wouldn’t get along. I’ll hang out with Jamie’s girlfriend, Lisa. She’s a good friend of mine."
"Fair enough." Nick smiled. "I don’t particularly like Britney’s music…and she’s a bit of a snob. Her and Justin are all snobby together." We both laughed, and it was then that Jane reappeared.
"Oh, Nick, you made it. Thanks a lot, Hallie, I owe you one." Jane smiled at me.
"No you don’t! It’s fine, really."
"Oh, I have a message for you from Mack. He says that your cell phone was ringing earlier, but he didn’t want to answer it in case it was something private. And Nick," Jane turned toward her eldest son. "A magazine wants to talk to you…it’s English I think…Smash Hits or something?"
"Oh man, they’re not meant to talk to us until Cali. I was hoping to just chill for a while back here."
"You know you can’t just slip away when you feel like it. I’m sorry honey, but you have responsibilities now…"
"I know, I know, but the interview wasn’t scheduled."
"Do it anyway, yeah?" Jane smiled at Nick and put her hand on her tall son’s shoulder.
"Yeah. You coming Hallie?"
"Oh, yeah, I gotta talk to Mack. Thanks again Jane, see ya soon!"
"Bye Hallie." Nick and I left the room, and we walked over to the Backstreet Boys’ green room.
"Hi, Nick, I’m Sandra Challis from Smash Hits, England. Could we talk to you please?"
"Yeah, sure." Nick was just about to say goodbye to me when the woman jumped in with,
"Hi! And you are…?" I was slightly taken aback by this pushy English woman.
"Uh…Hallie, Hallie Stevens. I’m Mack Stevens’ sister. You know, Mack from Kitsch?"
"Oh, I see. We’ll be interviewing your brother a little while later on in the tour, I hope." She smiled and turned back to Nick. "Now Nick, do you have a girlfriend?" Nick rolled his eyes and smiled at me, and I waved as I walked back to the Kitsch green room.
"Hallie, did Jane tell you your phone rang?"
"Yeah, she did. I’m just gonna do ring-back, okay?"
"Sure, I put your phone over here." Mack got me my phone and I dialled ring-back. The person who’d called was my best friend, Angie.
"Hi, Angie, you called me earlier?"
"Hiya Hal! Yeah, I did. Sorry it’s so late, I just wanted to know how the tour’s going."
"Oh, it’s really good, Kitsch are awesome! Aaron Carter has made friends with Jerry, and I’ve hung out with Nick for a little bit."
"Nick Carter?"
"Yup. He’s a really nice guy."
"Man, he’s totally gorgeous! You’re so lucky."
"Well you can see the tour when they play Florida. They already played Miami and Orlando, but the very last date of the tour is Tampa…you can come see it!"
"Yeah, definitely! I wanna meet Nick!"
"He’s just an ordinary guy…everyone is ordinary. That’s why this whole thing is so cool."
"Okay, well, it’s late, I should go. But say hi to Mack and the others for me, Hal. And send me some decent tickets for the Tampa show!"
"Will do, Angie. I’ll call you soon, ‘kay?"
"Yep, bye!"
"Bye!" I rang off then, and went and talked to my brother. "Mack, how long ‘till we leave?"
"About another half hour. There’s just so many fans around, Hal, I’m sorry."
"You don’t have to be sorry. I’m just kinda wondering what we’re all meant to do for another half hour."
"Well I’m not busy right now…you wanna play Nintendo?"
"Oh yeah, sure!" I grinned at Mack and together we walked off to find a console. We found one in the Backstreet Boys’ green room, and as no-one seemed to be using it, we sat down in front of it and played a Mario Brothers game.
"Hey guys!" Nick called around ten minutes later as he strolled over to us.
"You all finished with that magazine?" I asked him.
"Yeah. Man, those people are so nosy. They wanna know everything about my personal life, they even asked if I had any gossip on the other guys for them."
"Man, that’s bad." Mack commented. "We have an interview with Seventeen tomorrow. Hallie, I suggest you steer clear…they’ll take a picture of you and then call you my girlfriend. They did that when Sam’s sister came down for the day. We had to chase after the magazine people and tell them what a huge mistake they were making!"
"Magazines have finally accepted that BJ is my sister. So many of them thought she was my girlfriend, it took my mom to sort them out and put them straight."
"Wow, some magazines really are that stupid." I muttered. Nick and Mack laughed. Just then, I lost the game, and it was game over.
"Ha! I win!" Mack exclaimed. I just rolled my eyes and handed the control pad to Nick.
"Here, you have a go. And I expect you to kick his butt!"
"No problem." I got up from my seat and Nick sat down where I’d been sitting. I watched the game…and was disappointed when Mack won again.
"I am the Nintendo king!" he cried. Nick was quite annoyed…obviously a sore loser.
"Hey, best outta three." Nick told him. I just laughed and left them to it.
As I left the Backstreet Boys’ room, I overheard some people talking in the room next door.
"Hey, Brit, whaddya think of Kitsch? You like those guys?" a guy asked ‘Brit’ - obviously Britney Spears.
"They’re a bit crap really. I mean, okay, Josh is a cutie, but that doesn’t excuse his lack of talent. His cousin Sam…what a dork. I mean, the guy can’t carry a tune! Jamie…he has a bitch for a girlfriend. And that Mack…geez…" I didn’t let her finish her sentence, I burst into the room. I was absolutely furious. About six people looked up to see me…they didn’t have a clue who I was.
"Hey, who’re you? Get outta here." some guy told me, glaring at me.
"Justin, be nice, she’s just a fan." Britney told him.
"I’m not a fan." I told them through gritted teeth.
"You’re not?" Britney was surprised. "Oh, who are you, then?"
"I’m Hallie Stevens." I told her simply.
"And that’s meant to mean something to me?" she asked. The guys in the room all laughed. I walked up to her.
"Hallie Stevens…as in Mack Stevens’ sister." It finally dawned on Britney who I was.
"I see…Mack from Kitsch, right? You’re his sister?"
"Yup." I glared at her.
"Oh man, I guess you heard me talking about Kitsch then?"
"Oh yes, every single word."
"Don’t get all pissed at me, bitch…" she started, but I interrupted her.
"Bitch?! Fucking well listen to me! You’re the bitch! You don’t diss someone you don’t even know, okay? And you should at least be able to point out your own faults before you point out someone else’s."
"Who’re you calling a bitch?!" Britney exclaimed angrily.
"You, who else?"
"Yo, watch your mouth." Justin walked over and put his hand on Britney’s shoulder. "I hope you know who you’re talking to."
"I’m talking to a talent-less cow. Why, who’d you think I was talking to?"
"You stupid whore!" Britney shouted at me.
"You’re the only whore here!" I replied. "You can’t fucking well diss my brother’s group without dissing yourself first."
"At least I have talent." Britney glared at me and I glared back.
"That’s what you think."
"You fucking little slut!" Britney moved angrily toward me, trying to slap me. She grabbed my hair and pulled it hard.
"Ow, fuck off!" I shrieked angrily.
"Wo, girls, hold it…" Justin started, and tried to grab Britney. But she struggled free from his weak grasp and came after me again. I was trying to hit her and she was trying to hit me. She was pulling my hair and I was lashing out at her, kicking her, to get her to stop.
"Whore!" Britney yelled.
"Bitch!" I replied. This went on for a minute or two, until two strong people managed to separate us. Mack had gotten hold of Britney, and Nick had gotten hold of me.
"Hey, let me go!" Britney cried, helplessly struggling in Mack’s firm grasp.
"Nick, c’mon, let me hit her!" I lurched forward, almost reaching Britney, but Nick held me back.
"Hallie! Man, calm down!" Nick told me, confusion and slight anger in his voice.
"Keep…still." Mack shouted at Britney, squirming and writhing, desperate to get free.
"Hey, leave her alone!" Justin shouted at Mack. Mack just rolled his eyes and let Justin take Britney, before helping Nick to drag me out of the room.
Back in the Backstreet Boys’ room, Nick, Mack, and the other guys all wanted to know what’d happened.
"Hallie, c’mon, it’s not like you to start a cat-fight."
"I didn’t start it." I told him through gritted teeth. "That little bitch was dissing you guys, I had to stand up for you…"
"Hallie, there’s always gonna be someone out there criticising us, you can’t beat up em all!" Mack told me with a little smile. But I could tell he was a bit angry as well.
"I can fucking well try." I replied stubbornly.
"We just heard this shouting and then Mack and Nick ran in to see what was going on…were you fighting with Britney Spears?!" AJ asked me incredulously.
"She’s a stupid cow." I muttered.
"I would’ve loved to see that!" AJ added. I laughed.
"It was funny how Justin took ahold of Britney and she struggled free in seconds…then Mack took ahold of her and she couldn’t get free at all. Justin’s such a weakling." I commented. This made the guys all laugh. Just then, a security guy walked in.
"Okay people, we’re all clear to leave the venue. Make your way to your tour buses, then we’ll be off to the hotel. Okay?" We all nodded and the guy left to inform the other bands.
"I’d better fetch Jerry." I told Mack as I got up and started to leave the room.
"Hey, hold up, I’ve gotta go get Aaron." Nick called after me. He caught up with me, and together we walked to the wardrobe room. "So all that with Britney was because she was dissing Kitsch?" Nick asked me.
"Yeah. I mean, I don’t understand how Britney Spears of all people could call my brother’s band talent-less…I mean, hasn’t she ever listened to herself?!" Nick laughed. "I’m serious. The girl has no talent whatsoever, yet she has the cheek on her to say someone else is without talent. She’s a total idiot."
"I’d have to agree with you there. And you’re right about Justin…he’s a total weakling."
"You’re quite strong though," I told Nick. "You managed to keep ahold of me…that’s quite a feat when I’m really wound up!" Nick blushed slightly as we reached the room. I knocked on the door and Jane opened it.
"Hey guys, what’ve you been up to since I saw you last?" I burst out laughing, as did Nick. Jane was confused. "What’ve I missed?" she asked suspiciously.
"Hallie kinda got into an argument with Britney Spears." Nick told his mom.
"With Britney? Oh I’m not surprised, that girl has such a mouth on her." I grinned at Jane’s comment…it was nice to have another female on my side!
"Well she was dissing Kitsch, so I wasn’t exactly happy."
"I wouldn’t be happy either, honey. I think it’s good that you can stick up for your own. You go girl, that’s what I say." Jane grinned at me and I grinned back. Nick just laughed and rolled his eyes.
"We’re all going back to the hotel now Mom, can you get Aaron?"
"Yeah, sure." As Jane went and gently woke up Aaron, I woke up Jerry.
"Jerry? Jerry sweetie, we’re gonna go back to the hotel now."
"Huh? Oh, okay." she said tiredly and started to yawn. I picked her up in my arms, and Nick picked Aaron up. It was kinda funny…we both left the wardrobe room with a sleepy little kid in our arms.
I took Jerry onto the Kitsch bus…but it was way too loud. The Kitsch guys were all having a party, getting pissed and having a good time. It looked like fun and I would’ve liked to stay, but it was way too noisy for Jerry. We were told that it’d take about half an hour to get to the hotel, so I decided to tell Mack we’d travel on another bus. He said that was fine…and continued to drink more beer, partying with his friends.
I left the Kitsch tour bus and wandered around, looking for a quieter one. I noticed Jane walking toward a bus then, and called after her.
"Jane? Sorry, but is there any chance Jerry and I could crash on Aaron’s tour bus? It’s just that the Kitsch guys are having a party and…"
"It’s no problem, honey. Aaron’s bus is just over here." Jane smiled kindly at me and led me over to Aaron’s bus. "You and Jerry make yourselves at home…Jerry is more than welcome to a bunk bed." Jerry had fallen asleep in my arms, so I carried her onto the bus and put her straight into a bunk bed. Aaron was asleep in another bunk bed, and Nick was sitting on a couch down the far end of the bus.
"Hi, Nick. Jerry’s gonna crash here with Aaron, I hope you don’t mind…"
"No, of course not. You want a drink?" Nick got up and offered me a drink.
"Uh…yeah please, if it’s not too much trouble…"
"Hallie, stop worrying about everything being too much trouble!" Jane told me with a smile. "Now, I have to go onto the Backstreet Boys’ bus…I need to talk to Denise (AJ’s mom), I’ll probably travel to the hotel with her…will you two be okay on here with the kids? The driver will be here in a few minutes…"
"Mom, we’ll be just fine." Nick grinned at his mom, and Jane left the bus. "Okay, what can I get you to drink?"
"Um…can I just have a coffee please?"
"Sure, coffee coming right up. I need some caffeine in my system too. Hallie, you’ll need to drink a lot of coffee if you’re gonna get through this tour sanely."
"Ha ha, sanely?! Thanks for the warning!"
In actual fact, it only took about fifteen minutes to reach the hotel. Nick and I drank our coffee and chatted while the bus made its way there.
"I still can’t believe you were arguing with Britney Spears!" Nick told me, laughing. "But it was about time someone put that spoilt little princess in her place."
"I’m glad you think so!" We both laughed.
"Okay you two, we’re here!" the driver called as soon as we pulled into a huge hotel parking lot. I put my paper coffee cup in the trash and walked over to Jerry’s bunk bed.
"C’mon sweetie, time for you to go to a real bed." I lifted her gently out of the bunk bed, and she yawned loudly. "You gonna walk or do you need me to carry you?" Jerry was absolutely no trouble to carry…well, not much trouble. She was short, and very light.
"I can walk." she told me sleepily. I looked over at Nick and Aaron then. Aaron had obviously decided he was too tired to walk, and Nick was giving the sleepy guy a piggy-back ride.
"You got everything?" Nick asked me as we walked off the bus, thanking the driver.
"I came on the bus with one sleepy little girl…and that’s what I’m leaving it with! Thanks for letting us ride with you and your brother, Nick."
"No problem, Hallie. If ever you want a slightly quieter bus journey, I can’t promise you silence, but I can promise you a quieter ride!"
"Do you always travel with Aaron, then?"
"Yeah. Sometimes he comes on the Backstreet Boys’ bus, other times me and some of the guys go on his bus."
"Well I’m sure Jerry will want to hang out with Aaron some of the time. He’s always welcome on the Kitsch bus."
"And you and Jerry are always welcome on our buses." I smiled at Nick and he smiled back.
In the entrance hall of the hotel, there were crowds and crowds of people. Some were fans, and the hotel security were obviously herding as many of them out as possible. I scanned the room for Mack, and finally found him.
"Okay, thanks again Nick. ‘Night."
"’Night Hallie, ‘night Jerry." Nick smiled at us again before he carried Aaron over to where their mom was stood.
"Mack, Jerry’s tired. Do you have our room key?"
"Heya Hal. I have your key right here. You’re on the same floor as Kitsch, Aaron, and Backstreet Boys. They’re gonna have that arrangement for most hotels. Is that okay?"
"Sure. Jerry can play with Aaron in the mornings." Mack handed me the key - it was the type that looks like a credit card.
"It’s nice to see you getting along with Nick."
"Yeah, he’s a nice guy."
"Shame you’re not getting along with Britney though. She’s your age."
Don’t start that one again!" I warned him, grinning. Mack grinned back and I gave him a hug. "’Night bro’."
"’Night Hal, ‘night Jerry."
"’Night." Jerry managed through her yawn. I picked her up and carried her over to the elevator.
But standing right next to us, obviously waiting for an elevator too, was Britney Spears and ‘N Sync.
"Oh, look who it is." Britney muttered - loud enough so that I could hear it. I just sighed, rolled my eyes, and turned away. I didn’t want Jerry to see me arguing with someone. "Cat got your tongue?" she asked, her and ‘N Stink laughing. Again, I didn’t reply. "Hey, bitch, I’m talking to you!" Britney was getting really annoyed by now. But there was no way I was answering to ‘bitch’. "C’mon you stupid whore, can’t you see I’m talking to you?! Duh!" I was getting very angry, but there was no way I was gonna give her the satisfaction of winding me up again.
"Hallie…is she talking to you?" Jerry asked me worriedly.
"No honey, she’s talking to someone else." Britney overheard this though, and stood in front of me, glaring at me.
"I am fucking well talking to you!" she cried. Jerry was quite intimidated, and as she was so tired, started to cry a little.
"You stupid cow, you’ve upset her. She’s only seven."
"Oh boo hoo."
"Shh, baby, it’s okay." I tried to soothe Jerry. Just then the elevator arrived and the ‘N Stink guys went in.
"After you." Britney told me.
"No, after you, I insist." Britney glared at me one last time and went into the elevator. The doors shut and I sat down in front of them, trying to soothe Jerry. "Jerry, it’s okay, she wasn’t gonna hurt you."
"She was gonna hurt you!" Jerry told me tearfully. She was obviously concerned for me.
"Well she’s not gonna hurt either of us, okay?"
"I’m scared…she’s gonna hurt you, Hallie."
"Aw, honey, you don’t need to be scared. I promise you, she won’t hurt me."
"You really promise?"
"I really promise. Okay?" Jerry pouted and nodded slightly. Another elevator arrived then, and Jerry and I got up and walked in it. There was no-one else in it, and as nobody called it, we reached our third floor room quickly.
I put Jerry to bed, had a shower, and went to bed myself.
The Morning After
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