Chapter 41"You okay? You look a little out of it," Mandy said to Kristen on the tour bus.
"I'm just really tired that's all."
"Give me a break Kristen," Toni said. "Nick kept me up probably later than AJ kept you up last night and you don't see me moping around the bus."
"I've finally come to the conclusion that you have sex on your brain a lot don't you?" Mandy asked.
"Shoot, Kristen figured that out a long time ago. So did Nick," Toni said with a stupid smile on her face. "Now do you think there is any possible way to get the other bus to raise the curtains over the windows so we can look in when we drive by?"
"What I don't understand is why you just didn't meet Youngstown before you got on the bus," Mandy said confused.
"Now why would I want to do that?"
"So we wouldn't have had to hear you bitch and complain for the past hour," Kristen said with an attitdude.
"What is your problem today?" Toni asked.
"Uh I have a headache!" Kristen yelled as she started banging her head on the able.
"And you think banging your head on wood is going to to help how?"
"I don't know but enough of you two talking about stupid ass things. Mandy why aren't you at the back of the bus with Howie?" Kristen asked. Howie decided he would go on tour with the girls and would go back home if he had to do something with the Backstreet Boys.
"Because he's back there talking with Jasmine. I don't want to interrupt."
"You are so full of it! Why the hell don't you just go talk to him! The guy had enough guts to kiss you but yet you have no guts what-so-ever to even say hello to him."
"I don't want to hear it from you when you have your own issues to deal with, with AJ."
"Me and AJ don't have issues," Kristen said. "You have issues with Howie which is why you need to talk to him."
"Okay I'm just going to leave and let you two talk about your 'issues' with each other," Toni said going to the back of the bus where Howie and Jasmine were. "You two aren't arguing back here are you?"
"No, why?" Jasmine asked.
"Because Kristen and Mandy are arguing about their issues with AJ and Howie."
"Great, it's always comforting to know that I'm argued about," Howie said sarcastically.
"They've been like this all through rehearsals lately," Jasmine said getting up and going up to go talk to them shutting the door behind her.
"So you want to fill me in?" Howie asked Toni.
"Okay here's the deal. Kristen tells Mandy she needs to talk to you about her issue towards you or some shit like that and Mandy tells Kristen she has her own issues with AJ then Kristen basically says that's Mandy's issues are bigger than her's because she doesn't have any."
"Sure that makes no sense."
"Just out of curiousity are you sure you aren't going to lose your mind being around three girls all the time? Don't you think you're going to need a guy to talk to or something?"
"If I do there are three on the bus behind us so I wouldn't worry to much about it considering I'm not."
"Speaking of three guys being on the bus behind us....." Toni said with a smile on her face.
"No wonder Nick told me to watch out for you," Howie said shaking his head.
"What? Why would Nick tell you to watch out for me? Does he not trust me or something?"
"Toni calm down, he doesn't trust those three guys. He even gave me the third degree saying I'm supposed to watch out for you this week and not take you from him."
"Fine whatever. Now what is going on between you and Mandy?" Toni asked changing the subject.
"I kissed her after their concert at the House of Blues. She hasn't really talked to me since," Howie said simply.
"I'm sorry. But it seems like you and Jasmine are hitting it off well. You two have been back here by yourselves the whole time," Toni said with an evil grin.
"We are friends so get your mind out of the gutter."
"Hey a sick mind is a terrible thing to waste," Toni said as Kristen, Mandy, and Jasmine came to the back of the bus and sat down. "So did you two figure out who had bigger issues?" Toni asked in a smart ass way. Kristen and Mandy just glared at her without saying anything.
"Just a little piece of advice," Howie told them. "Don't take your problems out on your bandmates."
"We're not," Kristen said and Howie gave her a weird look. "Okay fine we were but what does it matter? Niether me or Mandy are taking each other seriously right?"
"Yeah. But if you think that the three of us are going to be on this bus for three straight months and not argue about something then you're out of your mind," Mandy said.
"Don't say the three of us. I'm the one in this group who will be staying neutral," Jasmine said and Kristen gave her a weird look. "What?"
"Nothing, what you said just made me think of something really weird," Kristen said looking right at Howie. About two hours later they arrived at the venue they would be performing at that night. Everyone got off the bus except for Toni so Kristen went back on to get her. "Are you coming in with us or not?"
"I can't do that Kristen."
"Why not?"
"Because Sammy is right outside the bus."
"Oh my God. We went through this same thing with Nick except you agrued your ass onto the bus but still stayed clear of Nick for a little while."
"So what's your point? I mean it's not like I'm going to fall in love with Sammy. He couldn't even compare to Nick."
"Then what is your problem about meeting him?"
"He's famous."
"Forget it, I'll solve this," Kristen said going off the bus. "Where's the guys from Youngstown?" Kristen asked Mandy.
"Over there. Howie's talking to them." Kristen followed Mandy's direction spotting them so she started walking over to them.
"Where's Toni? I thought she wanted to meet these guys?" Howie asked when Kristen approached him.
"Um yeah there's a little problem with that. Which one of you is Sammy?" Kristen asked looking at the three guys hoping they wouldn't find her stupid for asking.
"That'd be me, and you must be the beautiful girl from Love's Angels. Is it Kristen?" he asked holding out his hand.
"Yes it is and thank you for the compliment," she said and shook his hand. D.C. and Dallas introduced themselves to her since she didn't know whose names belonged to which guys and shook their hands. "Howie I need to talk to you a little later but right now I have to borrow Sammy from you guys," Kristen said grabbing his hand and beginning to pull him away.
"Wow Sammy already got himself a hot one," Dallas whispered to D.C. but Kristen still heard and she stopped and turned around.
"Is it Dallas? Well your cute, really you are. But your looks aren't going to get you out of smart ass comments like that. I happen to be married so if I hear another comment like that I'll get my friend Toni to beat the shit out of you since I'm too nice to do it. Okay?" Kristen asked with a smile and Dallas just nodded his head and she walked away with Sammy again.
"Does she always act like that?" Dallas asked Howie.
"Only when something is bothering her. Lately she's had a mutlitple personality but she's a great person to be around. But you'll have to work on getting back on her good side again."
"How was I supposed to know she was married? I wouldn't have said a comment like that if I knew."
"I even knew she was married," D.C. said. "It was all over MTV, magazines, and news shows. She's married to that other Backstreet Boy....AJ isn't she?"
"Yeah that would be him."
"She must be a bad girl then, considering AJ is a huge rebel bad ass guy from what I heard," Dallas said with a smile as he looked over at Kristen who was talking to Sammy at the tour bus.
"No, she's not," Howie said upset with the comments he was making. "AJ's not either, at least not anymore. Being with her has changed him for the better but he can still turn pretty bad if he knew what you were saying," Howie said then walked away from them.
"You didn't exactly get in good with the group or the manager now did you?" D.C. asked sarcastically.
"Shut up D.C." he said hoping back on the tour bus.
"Okay, the reason why I needed to borrow you," Kristen began saying to Sammy. "My best friend, Toni, is on the bus right now and she won't come off because she's shy to meet you. The whole way here she wouldn't shut up about wanting to meet you and now she won't. So will you please do me a huge favor and just go on the bus and you talk to her so then she can't get out of meeting you?"
"Um, okay."
"Don't tell her I sent you on the bus though because then she would be pissed at me. So tell her Howie sent you or something like that."
"So you want me to use Howie as an excuse?"
"He won't care and if he does he'll get over it. Please I'm begging you because knowing her she is never going to leave that bus."
"You don't need to beg me I'll do it."
"Thank you so much," Kristen said beginning to walk away then turning back around. "One more thing, if your anything like your buddy over there, she has a very loving, very handsome, very popular, boyfriend just for the record," Kristen said with a smile then walked away. Sammy just laughed at her then got on the bus. He didn't see anyone on there but the door to the back of the bus was closed so he knocked on it then slowly opened it going inside.
"What the hell!" Toni yelled covering herself up since she was in the middle of changing clothes.
"Oh I am so sorry it's just Krist....er...Howie sent me to get you and...." Sammy said nervously.
"That's great now can you please get out!" Toni yelled and Sammy shut the door and left the bus. Toni hurried up and finished changing into a pair of shorts and a spaghetti strapped shirt then ran off the bus to find Kristen. "KRISTEN LEE BONNELL!" Toni yelled walking over to where she was standing with Howie, Mandy, and Jasmine.
"Hey Toni how's it going?" Kristen asked with a smile on her face. "And by the way the name is McLean now, not Bonnell."
"I don't care what your name is! If I want I will call you fuck face!"
"You don't need to have such a cow about it. You had to meet Sammy sometime."
"And thanks to you he met me when I was changing and had hardly any clothes on!" Toni yelled and Kristen and Mandy started busting up laughing. "You two will die for laughing. It's not funny!" Toni yelled getting closer to them and Kristen grabbed Howie and hid behind him while Mandy grabbed Jasmine and hid behind her. "You are so not going to get away with this!" Toni yelled trying to get Kristen but she was holding onto the back of Howie making sure Toni couldn't touch her.
"Toni calm down," Howie told her.
"How can I! A very hot guy just saw me with no clothes on!"
"I wouldn't worry about it," Jasmine said reasurringly. "Wearing a bra and underwear covers as much as a bikini does."
"Which I will only wear around Nick!"
"I didn't know!" Kristen yelled barely controlling her laughter. "I would have never sent him on the bus if I knew you were changing! How did you know it was me who sent him in the first place?"
"He got so nervous he started saying you told him but then he said Howie told him to," Toni said.
"What?" Howie asked turning around and looking at Kristen.
"I guess this would be my cue to leave now. Come on Mandy," Kristen said grabbing Mandy's hand as they ran away from the other three.
"Weren't those two just arguing not too long ago?" Howie asked confused.
"Yeah, they don't hate each other and know not to take each other seriously so it's all good," Jasmine said. Kristen and Mandy went up to the guys from Youngstown so they could meet Mandy and she could meet them.
"I'm sorry Sammy I had no idea that she would be changing," Kristen said after she introduced them to Mandy.
"Don't worry about it. Accidents happen."
"Good now I have to go talk to someone else now," Kristen said running off.
"Is she always so upbeat and full of energy?"
"Uh no. She was pretty down early and I think she took a bit of an overdose on her medication and is a little wired from it," Mandy said.
"What does she take medication for?"
"Don't worry about it. It's all a long story." Kristen ran up to Howie and pulled him away from Jasmine and Toni.
"What is it you want to talk to me about?" Howie asked her.
"Are you over Mandy?"
"Not really why do you ask?"
"Because I realized something on the bus earlier."
"Which would be...."
"You and Jasmine are exactly alike. You both always want to stay 'neutral' like she said you're business type people," Kristen explained.
"So you've noticed to?"
"Are you saying you like Jasmine now?"
"I don't know. Mandy is just being so complicated right now. And it doesn't matter if I have taken a liking in Jasmine or it's still Mandy. You need to stay out of it."
"Why?"
"So you won't be siding with one of your bandmates. Okay?"
"Uh fine."
"Good, now come on. Sound check was supposed to have started an hour ago we're running late." Everyone went inside the venue and started getting things together for the girls' first concert of their very first tour.
