Stephanie walked through the maze of hallway, praying that she wouldn’t get lost on her first day. She was so excited finally being accepted as a real hair stylist. She was on tour with the biggest boy band in the world, the Backstreet Boys. She turned one last corner and found a room with a piece of paper marked ‘Hair and Make-up.’
"This must be it…" She muttered, opening the door slowly and stepping in. She saw Mrs. Wright first, she came forward to greet her.
"You must be Stephanie, the new hair stylist. You came just in the nick of time. You have to start right away, the boys have a show in less than two hours. Have them ready by then!" Donna explained, briefly shaking Stephanie’s hand and pulling her to meet the guys. Stephanie noticed five young men scattered about the room, and a blond woman carefully applying make-up to a Latin looking man.
"Boys, we finally have a hair dresser again. This is Stephanie. I expect better behavior this time." Donna stated and left the room, before Stephanie could question what she said. She looked around the room at the six people and smiled softly.
"Umm, hey."
The five men laughed or snorted at her and went back to what they had been doing before. The blond woman was the only one who acknowledged her.
"Hi, I’m Theresa, the make-up artist." She held out her hand slowly, but quickly drawing it back when the green eyed one glared at her. "Sorry…"
"It’s nice to meet you guys…" Stephanie started, trying to ignore the tall blond man circle her once, as if she were on inspection. To her surprise, his hand ran down her butt and squeezed roughly. "Excuse me!"
"Oh, she’s gonna be a fun one…" He laughed walking away and muttering something to the lean man with tattoos. Her jaw could have hit the floor. She had always heard the Backstreet Boys were this goody-two-shoes/bubble-gum pop group.
"Nah, bet she ain’t even any good." Green Eyes said venomously, raking his eyes up and down her petite figure. ‘Not too bad. A little conservative, but I bet after those clothes come off she’s a little hottie. After she joins the circle, actually, if we let her join, we’ll have her wearing less than Theresa…’ Kevin thought as a smirk curled on his lips. He watched her frown and shift slightly, nervously.
"Well are you going to get to work on our hair or are you just gonna stand there all day?" Blondie said, walking towards her again.
"Sure, who wants to go first? It will give me a chance to get to know your names." Stephanie tried to smile, even though she felt uneasy with their stares on her.
"Well, since I’m already sitting here, how about you hurry your little ass up! Donna said we only had two hours. Are you gonna move?" Green Eyes growled at her again, his jade eyes sparkling with amusement.
Stephanie nodded and kept her cool, stepping up to the chair and observing her tools for hair styling. She could tell her hands were shaking as she started fixing Green Eyes’ hair, whom she later found out was Kevin. He had a very powerful aura about him and seemed to be the leader of the guys. He had thick black hair, which he instructed her to spike and tousle, and a shaped goatee.
Next was Kevin’s cousin, Brian. He seemed very sweet at first, then he began fussing at her when she couldn’t get his hair the way he wanted it. He had dirty blond-brown hair and dark blue eyes. When she finally got his hair perfect he smiled and patted her hand.
Blondie was after him, tall and goofy, and incredibly rude when he wanted to be. It seemed Nick didn’t like anything she tried, until she gelled his blond hair and tousled it messily. Before he got out of the chair, he pulled Stephanie down onto his lap and stared up at her with his light blue eyes.
"I still say you’d be fun, little one…" Nick grinned, patting her thigh before pushing her back up and getting out of the chair. The Latin man, Howie, sat down in front of her and seemed to agree to anything she wished to do with his shoulder-length brown hair. He made her as uncomfortable as the rest though, his dark brown eyes following her every move. She found he looked better with his hair pulled back into a tight pony tail.
The tattooed man was last, settling easily into the chair and smirked. "You don’t have to do much with me, I already dyed my hair and all you have to do is gel it." His raspy voice startled her at first, but she quickly found it quite calming. He had dark brown hair, highlighted with purple and blue. His eyes peeked up at her from behind his dark sunglasses, revealing a pair of warm chocolate eyes, surrounded by long, thick eye lashes. She did as she was told and gelled his hair as well, letting it ripple naturally, like waves.
"Thanks Beautiful." Aj climbed out of the chair and left the room after glancing towards Theresa once more. The door shut and it was just her and Theresa.
"Well, I can tell this is gonna be a fun tour…" Stephanie muttered, falling back into the styling chair. She sighed and closed her eyes.
"You have no idea. Just wait a little while longer…" Theresa stated quietly, cleaning up around her area a little and packing up a couple things.
"I’m just so happy to have this chance. I’ve always wanted to do this, and I heard this is an exciting job." Stephanie smiled, standing back up and observing the blond for a moment. She couldn’t have been more than 20, layered light blond hair that rested at her shoulder blades. She had a shapely figure, not some anorexic model like one might expect. Her figure was excentuated by a pair of tight black jeans and a faded pink baby doll tee shirt.
"Oh yeah, it’s exciting alright. Where ya headed?" Theresa smiled, noting the girl’s timid disposition. She had long, almost lower back length black hair tied back into a braid and a petite frame clad in dressy black slacks and a loose fitting pale pink button up blouse that kept her figure from sight. She was taller than her, but not by much and had a nice figure. Her eyes were soft, chestnut brown with a thread of steel in them.
"Umm, back to the hotel and order some room service and then sleep." Stephanie answered, still a bit worried about fitting into the routine around there.
"Well, you won’t make any friends that way. I’ll introduce you to the girls. The BSB dancers, they can be pretty nice most of the time…" Theresa smiled, ‘…but only if you’re in the circle. she added silently, biting her lip softly.
"That would be nice. Sure why not…" Stephanie smiled back, cleaning up her small table and followed the blond out into the maze.
They walked for a while, speaking of the weather and tour stops, nothing too important. Theresa led her to the small dining hall in the lower bowels of the stadium. Theresa walked straight to the table full of women of all ages and ethnicity. She immediately joined the conversation, leaving Stephanie to stand there, waiting to be invited.
"Oh, girls, this is the new hair stylist Stephanie…" Theresa stood and introduced the shy brunette to everyone. "Steph, this is Tonya, Raquel, Monica, Amy and Christina."
Stephanie’s eyes moved to each girl as Theresa named them. Tonya was a pale brunette, with tight mouse-like black eyes. Raquel and Monica were both African-American, Raquel had more reddish hair while Monica had tight black curls. Amy was a pretty blond, her hair was in small braids that looked like she could knock someone’s head off if she swung it hard enough. Christina was the tall, red curly haired one, who gave her a snotty, ‘I’m better than you’ look.
"She isn’t part of the circle. Theresa it’s really wrong of you to bring an outsider to socialize with us. What would the boys say?" Christina frowned, "And I highly doubt the guys will accept her into the group, anyway. Remember, they want someone with a figure that also knows how to show it off."
"Chris, shut the hell up. It ain’t none of your business any way. Remember Kev don’t want your skanky ass no more…" Theresa glared venomously at the red head. Christina huffed and turned towards Stephanie.
"Just wait, she won’t make it, and I’m gonna laugh my ass off while she screaming…" With a swing of her red hair, Christina strutted away in her form fitting black leather cat-suit. Tonya and Monica followed, giving Stephanie a distasteful look before running off.
"What exactly am I missing here?" Stephanie asked, confused as hell. What did Christina mean screaming?
"Nothing…" Theresa said, before Amy or Raquel could say anything.
"Well, sorry to just meet you and rush away but, we’ve got to get out and dance with the guys. Nice to meet you… What’s her name again?" Amy questioned, obviously trying to piss off the new comer.
"Stephanie. It was nice to meet you too, Amy." Stephanie smiled, extending a hand. Amy just ignored it and grabbed Raquel’s hand, pulling her away from the table.
"Well, they seemed…"
"Rude and bitchy!" Theresa finished for Stephanie, angry that no one would ever give the new one a chance. Theresa knew how Stephanie felt. She had been in the same spot no more than a month ago. She hated the fact that this shy little woman would wind up going through the same shit she had too until the guys offered her a choice. And oh boy, what a choice. Go through a humiliating initiation, or be treated like a reject until tour was over. She didn’t want this sweet girl to have to do that.
"Theresa, you okay?" Stephanie’s voice filtered through her thoughts.
"Yeah, I’m fine. Just wondering why they have to be such fucking bitches." She sighed, leading Stephanie to the food bar. They both got a small dinner and sat to talk and eat. They were chatting for a few hours before the conversation changed.
"Umm, Theresa, what happen to the other hair stylist? I mean, when I showed up Donna told the guys to behave better, what was that about?" Stephanie asked, taking a small bite of her hamburger. Theresa just took a sip of her iced tea and settled back in her chair.
"Well, umm, she started after I showed up and she didn’t get along with the guys very well. And she asked to leave." She explained, carefully leaving out most of the details.
"Well, I can see how it’s a little difficult to get along with them. Aj and Howie were the only ones even semi-nice to me. As for the others, I guess it just takes a while for them to warm up to people." She smiled softly, hoping eventually Green Eyes might be nicer to her.
"Kevin is the biggest ass hole of all." Theresa suddenly stated, as if reading Stephanie’s thoughts. "They all are. Just stick with me and you’ll be fine around here."
"What about what Christina said…"
"She’s just still mad that Kevin doesn’t want her anymore. She got a little too attached after a one night stand and he blew her off. I wish she’d leave." Theresa said viciously.
"She does seem a little hostile, but then they all did. I guess ‘cause I’m the new girl in school." Stephanie sighed, taking small sips from her drink.
"Yeah. So Steph, how old are you?" Theresa asked, trying to get away from the whole conversation.
"23, I was a hair dresser for a local barber shop before I actually got a real paying job."
"Cool, I’m 20. Uh oh…" Theresa was staring as the doors from the arena opened and the crowd of dancers and the Backtreet Boys entered to get some food and change. "Maybe we should get going… Did you get a hotel key yet?"
"Umm, they said I’d be sharing with you, but they never gave me a key. They were in too big of a hurry to get the guys ready." Stephanie turned in her chair to watch the sweaty people intrude the cafeteria.
"Well let’s go now. They are never in a good mood after a concert, they’re just horny as hell." Theresa grabbed her stuff and pitched it into the trash can next to the table. Stephanie followed and trailed after the blond back to their hair and make-up room. "Get your stuff together quickly and we can take a cab to the hotel."
Right as they got their things collected, the five men walked into the room. Nick was first to speak.
"Where are you two running away so fast?"
"Back to the hotel. We’re both really tired and since we share a room, we’re gonna grab a key for her." Theresa explained, ignoring the stares Aj was giving her. She both loved and hated them. But she loved him.
"What if we want you two to go out with us tonight? Maybe we can even convince Stephanie to join our ‘little’ circle. What do you think boys?" Kevin’s deep voice echoed through the room. A round of whistled agreements followed, causing Stephanie turn around.
"What circle?" She asked, arching an eyebrow slightly. Theresa sighed, angry at the guys for doing this to another one, but the circle would keep her from being hurt by the dancers. Much in the way she had before she was initiated.
"Oh, what Theresa hasn’t spilled every little detail. Well, maybe we’ll explain it to you some other time." Kevin stated, walking past her slowly, allowing a hand to drift teasingly across her breasts. Stephanie backed away instinctively, but he grabbed her arm roughly, so tight she could feel a bruise already swelling under his touch. "Don’t you dare, ever pull away from me, you hear me?" He shouted, jerking her up closer to his face.
"Of course I hear you, you’re shouting loud enough to wake the dead." Her voice was small and soft but strong in the same note. Theresa almost rushed forward before Kevin could slap her. But surprisingly enough, he laughed loudly.
"Brave little thing aren’t you, quite a little mouth too." He smirked, covering her mouth with his. She struggled futilely against it, trying to draw her mouth away from his. He released her mouth, then her arm and walked straight to the showers, stripping as he went. The rest of the gang followed, Brian and Nick snickering crudely as they passed while Howie disregarded her completely. Aj kept walking, only looking at her softly then continuing to the showers.
"Let’s get out of here now. Before they’re done." Theresa stated, tossing her black duffel bag over her shoulder and leading Stephanie out of the room and to the exit.
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