+Intent19-21+

The next morning AJ and Win woke up to Dennis screaming. Apparently he’d gotten up early to talk to the drivers and then Steve told him about the piano.

“YOU DID WHAT!” AJ and Win both nearly jumped out of their skins when they heard him yell. Kevin’s head poked into the bus and he said,

“It’s okay, Jen told me, I’m going out to get a new one now. Hey Win, why don’t you come along, Tess and I could use the company.”

Win spent the morning shopping for a new piano with Kevin and his wife Tessa. Kevin as it turned out was not mad. He said that his insurance would pay for it, besides, he had been in the market for a new piano. Consequently they spent all morning scouring the city for piano stores. Win hadn’t planned on going shopping, but Kevin had insisted. AJ wanted to come along but Brian roped him into helping him talk Brianna down from one of her hysterics. They left before AJ could get away from Brian.

Kevin and Tessa were good company, but Win was still not sure why Kevin had invited her in the first place. She had no idea about pianos, she knew how to play a few things but she was far from experienced with them. But the reasoning behind the invite became quite clear very quickly.

Kevin’s fingers trailed across the top of a gigantic mahogany grand piano as he looked it over. He studied every inch of the wood, staring at it as if it would suddenly start talking to him and answer his questions. He sat down in front of it, lifting the cover off the keys and brushing his fingers over the top of them.

“So I see you and AJ have hit it off.” He said pressing down on a key. The piano sang out the note quietly before he lifted his finger off the key.

“Ah, so this was why you invited me along.” Win said nodding, stepping up to the side of the piano where Tessa was watching him.

“He really thinks you’re special Win.” Tessa replied looking at her.

“Yes, he does.” Kevin reiterated, pressing down another note.

“Kevin, what do you want?” Win asked.

“I just wanted to thank you is all.” He replied, his fingers falling into a gentle quiet rhythm on the piano’s keys.

“Thank me?”

“Yes. You’ve brought AJ back out of his shell. I must say that I had my doubts about touring again. I mean he’s not depressed, or as anxious as before, but he’s a lot quieter than he used to be.” Kevin replied, adding more notes to the music.

“How come?” Win asked.

“After his grandmother died, he’s never been the same. He is a bit better, but he’s still bitter, so sarcastic. He doesn’t really enjoy anything. He started warring those hats and sunglasses and he hasn’t come out from behind them since. That is until he met you.” He looked up at her and stopped playing the piano.

“He’s still hurting Win. You have something, that draws him out. He’s stopped sneering at everything. Occasionally I even see him smile.” Tessa said, also looking at her as well.

“Guys, he’s known me a grand total of a month. He can’t have changed that much just because of me.” Win said confused.

“That’s the amazing thing Win,” Kevin said shaking his head, “He’s had other girlfriends before, but he’s never acted this way, not since he came back.”

“So what did you want to say to me then?” Win asked.

“Don’t let him push you away, and don’t run the first time he makes a mistake. If he messes up just a little bit he’ll try to run.”

“So I take it, you’re okay with me going with him then?” Win asked, still unsure as to why Kevin and Tessa had brought this up.

“Of course, we’re just saying that we want you to know we are on your side. We all love AJ, especially Kevin, and we want what is best for him, and you are the best for him. We’re afraid he’ll go back to his old ways if he’s given a chance.”

“I’d know if he had.” Win replied quickly. Kevin’s eye brow raised.

“Addicts of a feather flock together,” Win smiled, “Three years solid, been clean for four.” Win replied answering their silence.

“Can I help you ladies and gentleman with anything?” a greasy haired salesman asked slinking out of the office.

“Ah yes,” Kevin said looking up at Win again, staring into her eyes, gazing so hard that she felt her eyes watering, “I’ll take this one.”

After dinner that evening the better part of the crew and all the Backstreet Boys crowded into small show room of the hotel. The band for karaoke night was setting up as Win and AJ took a seat at one of the front tables with Daemon, Nick and Howie. AJ picked up the song list laid on the table and looked it over.

“Ah, it’s pop night.” He said handing the paper to Daemon.

“You singing tonight?” Daemon asked him.

“I do it every other night, I’m tired.” AJ replied, “I’m just here to watch you make an idiot of yourself and hear Win sing.”

“Oh and are you waiting for me to make a fool out of myself as well?” Win asked.

“No, you said you could sing, I just want to hear you.” AJ replied, not looking at her, taking her hand in both of his.

“So what are you going to sing?” Nick asked eagerly.

“I don’t know, let me see the list,” Win said taking the list from AJ and looking it over. Her eyebrows furrowed and her nose twitched as her eyes traveled down the list.

“Well, aside from a couple of your songs that I am familiar with, I don’t know any of these songs, oh wait, Christina Aguilera, I know a few of hers. I guess I’ll do one of those.” Win said putting the list on the table. Howie, Nick and Daemon all snorted.

“You like Christina Aguilera songs?” Nick asked laughing.

“Yeah, the girl I shared a room with was always listening to her, it kinda gets ingrained in your brain.”

“That’s still too funny.” Howie replied.

“Hey, he who walks around singing the opening verse of Dirty Pop shouldn’t throw stones.” Win replied staring at Howie. He stopped laughing immediately. Nick and Daemon started laughing even harder.

“Check one, check one. All right ladies and gentlemen, welcome to open karaoke night here at Weston Hills. Just a few things before we begin, when you come up, just watch the bottom stair, it’s a bit tricky. Just let us know what song you’re gonna sing when you come up and have a good time.” Everyone applauded politely as the announcer finished his little speech.

“So, who will be first this evening?” he asked.

“Go on Win!” Nick said.

“No, I’m not going first. Make Daemon go.” Win said waving him away.

“Yeah, go on Win,” Daemon said.

“I’ll go!” Gina said standing up to a light applause.

“I thought you said you were going to sing.” Howie said looking across the table at her.

“I will, I just never go first, now shush!” Win replied motioning to the stage where Gina had taken her place. Gina wasn’t bad, she did a moderately good rendition of a Whitney Houston song and sat down to a tumultuous applause.

“All right, you’re second, go on Win.” Daemon said.

“Aw come on, have a couple more people go.” Win whined.

“Nope, your turn,” Nick declared standing up and pulling out her chair.

“Okay, fine.” Win replied shaking her head and standing up. She climbed the stairs to the stage, hesitated a moment then confidently strode over to the band and whispered to the band the song she wanted. She walked to the mike and waited for the music to start.

The room seemed to come alive as she began to sing. Her voice was nothing short of incredible. Her voice put Christina Aguilera to shame as she shattered her song with her experienced tone, and her unending range. Her voice was powerful, melodic and rich in sound and quality. Walk Away was her favorite song, she’d listened to it probably two hundred times and had memorized the words, the feelings, and the emotion needed to portray the song the right way.

When she was finished singing everyone in the room jumped to their feet, screaming, whistling and whooping. They were clapping so long that Win took a little bow and finally went back to her table.

All four of the guys at the table were staring at her with their mouths open.

“What?” she asked, they continued to stare at her.

“What!” she exclaimed again.

“Win, you were, incredible! Where did you learn to sing?” Daemon asked.

“Church choir, I thought I told you before.” She replied.

“You were better than, than, I don’t know, just about everyone in the music business.” Howie said still astonished.

“So I take it you all enjoyed it?” Win asked looking particularly at AJ.

“You said you sang so so, what the hell was that?” AJ asked.

“I’d call it down right unbelievable.” Nick replied shaking his head.

“That was a fantastic performance by our last singer, the applause was certainly merited. Now would anyone else like to take a try, although, it’s going to be pretty hard to follow that act.” The bandleader announced, gesturing to Win in the front row.

“Win really, you were amazing.” AJ whispered in her ear as Jenna, one of the dancers went up to sing.

“Thank you, I like when you sing a lot better though.” She replied.

A few songs later, the crowd was getting restless and not many people were volunteering to go up. It seemed Win had scared many people out of performing, she’d been so good that AJ kept pestering her to sing again for him.

“Oh come on ladies and gentlemen! No one else wants to give it a go! What about an encore from our lovely Christina singer, everyone, give her a round of applause.” The bandleader said, the spotlight flashing on Win. She grinned nervously as the people around her started to chant “Win! Win! Win!”

“All right, all right, I’ll go,” she laughed, standing up and climbing the stairs to the stage. She thought for a moment about what song to sing, then spoke to the bandleader.

Win’s performance was again, nothing short of incredible. Her voice seemed to get better with each word she sang. About half way through the song she removed the mike and walked down the stairs toward her table still singing. The spotlight followed her as she sat herself in AJ’s lap and finished the song, singing right to him.

Once she finished, she returned to the stage, placed the mike in the stand before returning to her seat.

“That was just something else.” Daemon said with his mouth agape. AJ was just sitting there, stock still, no expression on his face, but then again this was nothing new.

“That was certainly some performance.” AJ said after a moment.

“Why thank you gentlemen, thank you very much.”

That night after karaoke, AJ walked Win back to her room, but not before he asked her something. Pulling her close to him and putting his lips to her ear he whispered.

“Come stay the night with me.”

“Oh AJ,” Win replied in an exasperated tone.

“Come on, please.” He whispered again, clinging tighter to her.

“No AJ, not yet. I got to stop giving you ideas.” Win said shaking her head.

“That was really nice, you sitting in my lap.”

“I hope you enjoyed it, cause it ain’t gonna happen again for a while.”

“Come on, please, please. I’ve been good, I haven’t asked to kiss you for a whole day.”

“So you figure I’ll jump right in the sack with you, no away, go to bed. Good night.” Win replied, patting his forehead and slipping into her room. AJ walked slowly back to his room muttering,

“Damn, damn damn damn.”

Another month passed and Win found herself celebrating three months on tour and two months with AJ. What this month also meant that Brianna was due to give birth. Brian was on the edge of his seat, he was nervous all the time. Upon the arrival at every venue he found out the whereabouts of the nearest hospital and the quickest root to get there. Brianna’s hysterics had calmed, she no longer burst into tears at the drop of a hat. Now she usually sat back and dreamed up baby names while patting her stomach.

AJ was around Win constantly. She hardly knew a moment without work, or his arms around her, threatening to never let her go. The guys had noticed a dramatic change in him, he was his old self, joking around with the guys and the crew, laughing all the time, generous with everything he did and had. Even Brian who was having kittens over Brianna had commented to Win about AJ.

“I haven’t seen AJ and Nick get into a pretend fight since the Millennium tour.”

Not only was AJ happier, but his mood was contagious. Work was not work anymore, it was fun. AJ was constantly playing jokes on the crew, especially Gina, a very tall Jamaican woman who chased him around the stage after she found a life-like rubber snake in one of her toolboxes.

Despite all the efforts AJ had made, he still would not take the hats and glasses off. Win did not ask him anymore, she’d stopped after the one evening. It was now his choice when to stop hiding.

Since the Karaoke night, AJ as well as the rest of the crew were constantly begging her to sing for them. Win had always been a little shy of her talents, but slowly her inhibitions were melting away. Occasionally she’d sing a little something for them, Kevin playing at his new piano while the rest of the guys and crew gathered around to listen. Her voice always sounded best when she pulled out the long lilting notes from the songs. Daemon threatened constantly to turn her in to his boss and have her signed to the music label.

“Yeah right, that’ll happen the same time the hair grows back on your head.” Win had replied laughing.

“Win really, you could be a superstar, with that voice,” Howie remarked.

“Yeah, but you also have to be a show-off, beauty queen that’s willing to take your clothes off to get attention.”

“And who says you are not a beauty queen?” AJ asked coming up behind her, snaking his arms around her neck.

“I’m an average looking girl from Belltown, PA. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“You have star quality,” AJ replied.

“Oh please, I couldn’t deal with the life you have, scaled down of course.” Win replied.

“What do you mean ‘scaled down’?” Kevin asked.

“You guys have been doing this for what, over ten years? I’d never be this popular.”

“Oh yes you would.” AJ replied.

“Knock it off would you, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Win replied throwing AJ’s arms off of her neck and going back to work.

The constant attempts to make her believe that she could be a star were annoying. Sure she had a little bit of talent, but that had been for the church choir, the choir that had saved her life. There was no way she’d make it out in the real world of music. Besides, she didn’t want that much attention and she did not like performing in front of strangers. The guys, the crew, the parishioners on Sundays in church, maybe crowds in the hundred number, that was fine, but big strange crowds, forget it. Everyone bringing up that she could sing was irritating, and sometimes she would have liked to forget it.

After she finished with her part of the stage set up she went back to the hotel to eat lunch. She was just thinking of taking lunch in her room to avoid the guys when they came traipsing in the dining room. She now had no choice, once they saw her she’d have to sit down and eat with them.

As she predicted the group came over at sat down around her. The group consisted of AJ, Daemon, Brian and Brianna, Kevin and Tessa, Nick, Jen, Taylor and Howie. Win tried to act like nothing was wrong, but she was just a little too visibly upset.

“You okay beautiful?” AJ asked concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She replied unconvincingly.

“So, where is everybody going for their two week break?” Daemon asked sitting down at the table. Planned in the eight month US tour was a two-week break to accompany the delivery of Brianna and Brian’s baby. After two weeks, Brian was expected back on tour, another separation that he was not looking forward to. The break came up in two weeks, and Win was not looking forward to it.

Aside from the fact that she really didn’t have any family, she had no place to live, and no money to afford a place of her own. She had no one she could bum a room from for two weeks, and the cost of a hotel for two weeks would be outrageous. She’d have to go back to Pennsylvania and find her group of friends who had formed sort of community of homeless girls who all had jobs and kicked in money once in a while to get a hotel room.

“I’m going to visit my parents in LA,” Nick said immediately.

“My girl in Reno,” Howie replied.

“Kevin and I are going on our second honeymoon, we’re going to New York City.” Tessa said.

“Me, got a big ole family reunion down in Louisiana, whole extended line coming from both my mom and pop’s sides.” Daemon said with his mouth full.

“We’ve got an engagement party at my mom’s house in Kentucky.” Taylor said.

“You know where we’ll be,” Brianna smiled, patting her stomach, Brian looked sick.

“What about you AJ?” Kevin asked.

“I’m hoping to take Win to meet my mom.” Win nearly choked on her piece of cucumber.

“What?” she asked when she could breathe again.

“Yeah, I want you to come meet my mom. Would you?” he asked, looking at her with his sunglass covered eyes.

“AJ, I don’t think that, now really, that’s not really appropriate, is it?” she asked looking away, being startled at being asked something like this out of the blue and in front of so many people.

“You got other plans Win, where were you staying? You got an apartment somewhere?” Daemon asked.

“I don’t have anything anywhere.” She said in a small voice.

“Well where did you live before you came here?” he asked again.

“Pennsylvania.”

“Oh really, what part?” Daemon asked.

“Around Belltown area.”

“I have a cousin over there, you met him, name’s Alan Brickman.”

“No, never met him.”

“Nice area though, what street did you live on?” Daemon continued.

“None in particular.”

“What does that mean?” Daemon asked stupidly.

“Man, does she have to spell it out for you?” AJ asked. Daemon looked at him, still not figuring out what he was trying to say. Win put a hand on AJ’s arm and said,

“It’s okay, you don’t have to lie for me. I’ve been homeless for the past seven years Daemon.”

“Oh you mean like drifting, you must have some interesting stories to tell.” Daemon replied.

“No Daemon, not drifting, just homeless.” Win replied, determined not to look at him.

“Oh come on, nothing?”

“No Daemon, nothing.”

“Didn’t you want to go to college?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah, did you just go out onto the road, were your parents okay with what you did?” Nick asked. Questions were flying from all directions at her. Finally she got fed up and slammed her hand down on the table.

“To answer all your prying and nosing questions. I was an orphan, I’ve never had parents, I was out on the street when I was eighteen. For the first three years I used every drug I could find attempting to forget who and where I was. After I got clean I got two jobs, one as a dishwasher, another as a cashier. I’ve never been able to afford a place to live. I got together with four other girls that I used to live with in the orphanage and we banded together. One person would stand guard while the others slept. We slept in dumpsters, alleyways, under bridges, cars. When we could afford it, we stayed a night or two in the hotel. If you want stories I could tell you about the time Melody was bitten by a rabid dog, or when we were robbed at gun point and all our belongings stolen, or how we nearly froze to death every winter, trying to afford coats and shoes.” Win stared down into her lap as she spoke, feeling the eyes pressing in on her bowed head. When she finished speaking she looked up and saw their astonished faces.

“I don’t need your pity.” She said simply, without anger and resentment in her tone, actions or facial expressions, but they were still surprised when she stood up and walked out of the dining room.