Breanna and Brian arrived back at her house and ran into her room. "Oh, I forgot the boxes!" Brian realized, running back out of the house to the car. He came running back into the house, zooming past the living room where AJ, Howie, Kevin, Nick, Alexei, Eve, and Breanna's parents were sitting having a conversation.
"Hello to ya'll, too." Nick joked as he watched Brian run up the stairs. After an hour Breanna and Brian ran in and out of the house carrying the filled boxes to his car. After the last box was loaded Breanna ran back into the house, greeted everyone quickly, kissed Howie on the cheek and explained that she'd be back later. Breanna and Brian agreed to ship all of Thomas's new toys and clothes ahead to Orlando so everything would arrive by the time they all went back home. They finished shopping at 3:30 and barely had enough time to pack everything, seal the boxes, load them into the car, unload them, and get them into the post office. It was almost 5pm and the office was scheduled to close. Breanna and Brian ran into the post office with 6 filled boxes, taking three trips each. They lucked out. The post office closed five minutes after they left. They were both out of breath.
"We've been hauling ass all day! Let's go get somethin' to drink." Breanna complained. Brian nodded his head as they jumped back into his car.
"There's a Kelly's!" Breanna exclaimed.
"I have no idea what that is but okay." He agreed. Kelly's was similar to Starbucks but it wasn't as expensive and possibly better. Breanna ordered two Mocha Freeze's for the both of them. After half an hour of drinking espresso filled drinks, they decided to head home. "Hey Bree, maybe I'm just used to being paranoid, but, is that car following us?" Brian asked glancing into the rearview mirror.
"I'm not sure. It looks familiar. I swear I saw it at the post office but then again, a lot of people drive Ford Escorts." Breanna stated as she turned around in her seat to watch the car behind them. Ten minutes later they pulled up to Breanna's house. "Again, today was great! Thanks!" Brian said cheerfully. Breanna smiled in response before leaning over to give him a small kiss.
"You're welcome! We're going to have to do this more often." She stated. Breanna got out of the car and stood up to stretch. Brian saw Howie standing near the front door and put the car in park and got out to greet his friend. Howie walked out of the door towards his friend where they greeted each other with a hug. Howie and Brian chatted for a second as Breanna looked around to see if the other car was gone. It wasn't. It was across the street parked under a tree. The windows were tinted so she couldn't see who was inside if there was anyone at all. Howie noticed Breanna staring at the car and walked over to her, placing his arms around her waist and giving her a small kiss near her lips.
"mmmmm..." she sighed, breaking her attention away from the car.
"Oh geez, get a room!" Brian complained. "Well, I'm gonna go see Izabel and Thomas. I'll see ya at the airport tomorrow night!" Brian shouted as he got back into his car. Breanna and Howie waved goodbye to their friend and continued to embrace in the frontyard as the sun went down.
"So, how was your day?" Howie asked Breanna as they headed back into the house.
"Great! We had a nice lunch, shopped a little for nothing in particular and shopped a lot for Thomas." Howie smiled at the thought of his friend now becoming a father. It was nice to see everyone he was close to start to settle down. It gave him hope that he would be next.
"Nothing else exciting?" He asked. Breanna walked into the house without replying. She wanted to tell him about the car that followed them but figured it was nothing and Brian really was being paranoid.
"Nope, nothing else happened." Breanna replied as they made their way up the stairs to her room. "I'm so beat! I want to take a nap. Wake me at dinner time?" She asked.
"No." He stated, sitting on the edge of her bed as she changed into a pair of comfortable cotton shorts and a matching shirt.
"No?" Breanna asked in shock.
"Yup!"
"Okay, what is it? Yes or no?" she plopped down onto her bed looking around at the now empty room.
"No." He stated again.
"Oh, let's not play games!" She complained.
"I'm not. I'm tired, too. I wanted to take a nap with you so that means I can't wake you when it's dinner time." He smiled mischievously.
"I mean it, Howie. I'm taking a nap. No messing around." Breanna had a straight face on while Howie looked at her amused.
"Stop your bitching!" He complained as he snuggled down into the blankets. Breanna sat on her bed watching him. He closed his eyes and turned onto his side using the sheets to cover his body.
"You brat!" She scolded.
"You could join me if you'd like." He smiled, his eyes still closed. Breanna smiled at how funny Howie could be when he wasn't really thinking about anything. He was always thinking, always serious, but not quite as serious as Kevin, but close enough. Once in a while, more lately than ever before, Howie would stop thinking about everything important and just loosen up. Breanna usually took advantage of Howie when he was in that mood. Breanna stopped thinking and snuggled into his arms under the sheets.
"No Roman Hands or Russian Fingers, ya hear me?" She demanded. He lowered his hands to her inner thighs and caressed her softly causing Breanna to moan quietly.
"What were you saying?" He whispered into her ear.
"Hmmm?" She questioned as she enjoyed the feelings that he was causing.
"That's what I thought." Howie stated as he stopped touching Breanna and turned towards the opposite direction on his side.
"Hey!" She screamed.
"What? I'm just doing what you asked me." He stated innocently.
"You'll pay for that! ...Later! I'm too tired now." Howie laughed to himself before turning back over and pulling Breanna into his arms. They soon fell asleep. Breanna awoke to a ringing phone. She was far from pleased.
"What!" She growled answering the phone.
"Um, Bree?" AJ asked cautiously. Something was bothering him and Breanna could sense it. Breanna took in a deep breath before replying.
"Yes? What's wrong?" she whispered trying not to wake Howie in the process.
"Do you have cable in your room?"
"Yeah, why? What's up?" She asked again.
"Is Howie with you?"
"Yes, but you still didn't answer my first question. What about the cable?" Something wasn't right with the tone of AJs serious voice. He was normally hamming it up to get attention.
"Um, okay I'll just get down to the point. One of the entertainment channels on cable has you on it...and Brian. Kissing." AJ bluntly explained to Breanna over the phone. Breanna almost choked.
"What? That's ridiculous! Brian and I have nev...never done anything...oh shit!" Breanna exclaimed. Howie was awake listening to Breanna's half of the conversation with his eyes closed in mock sleep.
"What Bree?" AJ demanded.
"Brian and I went out to lunch and I gave him a peck like I always do. And at the mall. And in the car when he dropped me off...with another car following us all day. SHIT! Why didn't I figure that out? What else is being said and just be honest. Don't spare me." She said quietly.
"You know me, Bree. I wouldn't spare you. The truth is too important. Um, well, they said that you were cheating on Howie with Brian while Brian was involved with another local LA woman. And it was going to break the group up and break Howie's heart." AJ finished explaining.
"But I would never do that to him!" Breanna defended. "I know Bree, but they have video footage of you kissing Brian at lunch and at the mall and in his car like you said. Also, they have footage of you and Howie kissing in Vegas and in front of Brian after he dropped you off earlier today. It doesn't look good. But I know you and I know Brian. I believe you wouldn't do this but they used some pretty fancy camera effects to make the kisses between you and Brian seem a lot longer than they were." AJ hated having to break the news to Breanna but it was all part of the job of being a Backstreet girlfriend. Most of the girlfriends never stuck around because they couldn't handle the media. This would be a test for Breanna. Most likely from this point on, all the fans would look at her as a slut even after the story was proven false. AJ hated this with every ounce of his soul. Breanna was like a little sister and she was the one who brought happiness to his best friend. Howie deserved Breanna. "But it's not the end of the world!" AJ reminded himself. "Well, Bree, honestly there is one thing I am worried about." AJ stammered.
"And that would be?" She asked with slight resolution.
"When D finds out. His ex hurt him pretty bad that he's wary of women all together. This would, I don't know, it'd crush him. I'll do everything I can to prove to him that it's not true, but he's gonna find out very soon about this story. Want me to break it to him?" AJ asked.
"No, AJ. I'll tell him. It's better he finds out from me. I hope he understands. God damned media!" Breanna cursed. "No, god damned paparazzi" she exhaled. Howie was going crazy inside of his mind trying to figure out what was going on.
"Thanks, AJ! I love you and I owe you!"
"You're welcome, I love you, and you don't owe me anything but if you insist that you do, then just make D happy."
"You know I will." She replied unsure of what she would tell Howie.
"I know. Take care beautiful and good luck!"
"Thanks, I'll need it! buh-bye." Breanna hung up the phone and inhaled. She grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels until she reached the channel AJ had warned her about. They were rebroadcasting their entertainment news from earlier that evening and it just happened to be the one about Breanna and Brian. vHowie opened his eyes and looked at Breanna who was sitting up in bed with her chin resting on her knees. She was watching the TV on mute. He glanced at the TV and saw Breanna and Brian shopping at the mall. He couldn't believe that she was on TV already. "The press moved in quick this time" he thought to himself. He looked back to Breanna to see a tear streaming down her cheek. He glanced back at the TV and saw Breanna and Brian kissing in the mall, then the footage switched to Breanna and Brian kissing in his car that appeared to be parked in front of her house. Then he saw himself and Breanna kissing in front of Brian. He saw the words "The BSB Love Triangle" appear on the screen as the video cut to commercial. Breanna silently turned off the TV and looked up at the ceiling taking a deep breath. She turned to look at Howie sleep but he was awake, returning the gaze. Breanna let out a scared sigh.
"How long have you been awake?" She asked.
"Long enough." He stated seriously. Breanna felt her heart move into her throat.
"Howie, it wasn't..." Howie put a hand up as a gesture of silence.
"It wasn't like it looked, right? I know all about it, Breanna. I believe you over anyone. I don't believe the media at all, trust me! They've ruined plenty for me." Breanna looked at Howie in stunned silence.
"I really feel like I should be explaining this to you and begging for your forgiveness. I know I didn't do anything wrong but I feel guilty." Howie sat up in bed and took Breanna's hand in his.
"You don't have to feel guilty. This is your first time experiencing the real media. They're harsh, believe me." Howie smiled at Breanna as he spoke to her but Breanna couldn't look into his eyes.
"I just don't want to hurt you like your ex did. I know I did nothing wrong but I feel like I'm hurting you." Howie shook his head in response. He leaned over and kissed her cheek before pulling back to look into her eyes.
"Don't worry about this. You learn quick about how to protect yourself from the press. I'm surprised Brian didn't notice that car following you both." Howie scratched his head in thought.
"Actually he did but I told him it wasn't anything to worry about. Probably some fans following him. I bet he feels guilty, too. I hope Izabel believes him when he tries to explain this to her." Breanna was more worried about Brian than she was about herself. She had no reason to worry about herself because Howie believed her.
"If she doesn't believe him we'll make her believe him. Anyway, Brian is like my brother and he wouldn't do anything like that. Especially since he has Izabel back." Howie stated. Breanna sat next to Howie on her bed thinking about Brian and Izabel. She prayed in her mind that Izabel was as reasonable as the rest of the guys made her out to be.
"Hey?" Howie asked Breanna.
"Yeah?" She asked back.
"Nothing. Just making sure you're listening." Breanna smiled back at Howie as he leaned in for a soft kiss. After the kiss Breanna grinned to herself thinking about how hectic her life was turning out to be dating a BSB.
6 months passed for Eve and Breanna. Both girls were still dating their significant other and they were still living in the house that Breanna's cousin left for them. Kevin and Eve seemed the same but Breanna and Howie were closer than ever. Brian and Izabel were happily together and Brian was a part of Lil' Tommy's second birthday. Nick had a new girlfriend but she was very shy and could hardly be in the same room as the rest of the guys. AJ was still with Mya. Things with everyone were going smoothly. Nothing could be better!
The daily schedules for everyone was basically the same. The guys were in the studio all day and night long. Izabel took care of Thomas the entire day and Breanna and Eve went to school in the day and work at night. Breanna was an assistant for an executive at Zomba Records and Eve worked as an assistant for a Jive Records representative. Lita, Izabel's little sister moved back to LA after Izabel and Thomas had settled down in Orlando. Mya was hardly ever in town because she was touring with her group in Europe.
Everything was going perfectly for Breanna. She had Friday off of school and work and decided to surprise Howie in the studio. She entered the heavily secured building and flashed a smile and her security pass to a waiting guard. She pranced down the desolate hallway towards the private studio that was also guarded. It was a long hallway and Breanna was tired of walking. She had been running errands for herself, Eve, and the rest of the guys all day and she wanted a rest. "You're such a dumbass" she commented to herself for wearing new shoes that had not been broken in. Walking down the hallway, Breanna became bored and started singing to herself. Breanna was always making up little songs just for the hell of it to keep herself entertained. She started thinking of Howie and how much he had changed her life for the better in less than a year. The thoughts made her ecstatic and giddy. She started to sing the first song that her mind had made up louder and louder without realizing it as she passed studio after studio down the long hallway. She finally reached the guys studio but was surprised to see all five of them, two producers, and three engineers crammed into the doorway with either shocked faces or wide grins.
"What!?" she accused as she looked at each one of them.
"What was that?" Nick finally blurted out. All the guys gave him an annoyed look at the tone of his voice.
"Oh, that. I know, I'm sorry. I'm really bad. No one said I could sing like you guys. If I could, I would have had a record contract a long time ago." Breanna joked to Nick.
"No, you misunderstood him." Brian smiled.
"Okay, well, could we talk about it later cause you're all blocking the door and I'm really tired of walking."
"Oh sorry." They all said in unison. The boys slowly walked back into the studio with Breanna following them. Howie quickly put an arm around her waist and gave her a peck on the cheek. She smiled looking into his warm but tired eyes.
"So, what song was that?" He finally managed to ask. Even though they had been together for nine months, she still seemed to take his breath away.
"What song? Oh the one I was singing? I have no clue. Maybe you could tell me what song it was." She teased.
"I don't know! I've never heard it before. That's why I was asking." He stated.
"No, I was kidding, Hun! It just came to mind. They all do. I get bored and start making up silly songs and music in my head. It keeps me from going insane." She explained as she glanced around the room. AJ was next to Kevin in the back of the studio going over the last verses of the song they would be recording later that night. Brian and Nick were wondering around the studio eating pizza and teasing each other. The engineers and producers had left the studio to go do producer/engineer things.
"You never told me you did that." Howie smiled. She had a lovely voice but Breanna was too insecure with her natural talent to notice.
"Did what?" She asked in a daze as she stared at the recording console.
"Sing. Wrote songs. Everything!" He explained.
"WHAT? Sing? No, I can't sing. Write songs? I don't write songs, I make them up off the top of my head, try to sing them, then I forget them. I never write them down." She told him. He shook his head in response.
"No, you have a great voice and that song had so much potential. You didn't forget the words yet, did you?" He asked. She shook her head in response.
"Give me five minutes and it'll be totally wiped away from my mind." She replied with sarcasm.
"No! Not yet!" Howie got up and ran around the studio looking for a pad of paper and a pen or two. When he finally found them he rushed back over to Breanna who was sitting on a piano bench and thrust the notepad onto her lap while handing her the pen.
"Write the song down." He insisted.
"What?" She thought he was crazy. She knew he loved her but she thought that he was blind and deaf because of love. She couldn't sing and her songs were terrible but Breanna didn't argue with Howie and wrote down everything that came to mind. After a while the rest of the song and the music that went with it were flowing out of her soul onto the paper. Fifteen minutes later she handed the notepad back to Howie.
"Music, too?" He asked in shock. "Yeah. That's something I picked up when I used to take piano lessons." She explained with a sheepish grin. She could see how proud Howie was of the song. He stood up and looked down at Breanna who had become abnormally shy and insecure. He grinned at how cute she looked and walked towards Kevin.
"Yo, Kev! Play this song for me if you can."
"I dunno, D. I'm not too good at reading music but I'll give it a go." Kevin said, standing up and walking towards the nearby keyboard. Howie grabbed Breanna by the hand and dragged her towards Kevin and the keyboard.
"Sing the song, babe." He urged.
"No, I...I can't. I'm not good. I just made it up because I was bored." She replied.
"I heard you. We all did. You can sing. And this song is really good." Howie tried to convince Breanna but realized that he was failing.
"Please?" Brian finally asked.
"Yeah, c'mon Bree! For me?" Nick gave Breanna the puppy dog eyes. She smacked him playfully on the cheek.
"And me?" AJ asked with a more convincing face.
"Yeah, c'mon Breanna. We all started somewhere and none of us were any good when we first learned how to sing." Kevin tried to help convince Breanna but she only laughed.
"Yeah, but you all started before you could walk!" She accused. Brian grinned sheepishly and nodded his head.
"Yeah, I admit I started young but c'mon. We're not going to love you any less if you sound like shit. We won't even tease you!" Breanna smiled at his attempt before she finally nodded her head in agreement. Howie and the rest of the guys cheered.
"Okay! Let's get down to business. Is this key okay?" Kevin asked Breanna as he played a few notes.
"That's fine." She smiled.
Five minutes after Kevin started to play, the song was over and Breanna was overwhelmed. "Did I finally get over my stage fright in five minutes?" She thought but she couldn't answer herself because she was sidetracked by the sound of clapping. The clapping didn't belong to the guys, it belonged to their producers and engineers. Their main producer, Max Martin smiled at Breanna and Kevin. They played beautifully for a song that seemed to be very raw.
"That sounds like a duet. It has two emotions going." He stated as Breanna nodded her head in agreement.
"I heard two voices but I only have one." She explained.
"You heard? You wrote that?" He asked in disbelief as Breanna nodded in agreement. Howie placed his arm protectively and adoringly around her waist.
"And she wrote the music, too, in less than 15 minutes." Max nodded his head.
"We must work on that...but later. First, we finish what we started." The guys nodded their heads and let out a few groans.
"Work on it? What?" Breanna asked Howie in confusion.
"He means what he says. If he says he's gonna work on it later, then he will." Breanna looked at Howie with a scared expression. "Relax, babe. I think things may change for you today . You just may be a song writer now." He smiled as he kissed her on the cheek before heading towards the recording booth for a few vocals. Breanna plopped into the closest chair in disbelief and exhaustion.
"What the hell have I gotten myself into now?" She asked herself before falling into a deep sleep.
Breanna awoke to a feeling of being nudged and a quiet giggle. Before she could open her eyes, she lunged her arm out and grabbed someone's ear. It was Brian's. "Get away from me before I rip it off" she growled.
"Ow! Let go!" Brian pleaded while Nick laughed behind him.
"Yo Bri, didn't I tell you never to wake her up? She's dangerous." Howie yelled from the back of the small studio.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry! Now let go!" Brian demanded. Breanna opened her eyes and smiled.
"I hope you learned your lesson." Brian stuck his tongue out at her in response.
"Anyway, I was wakin' you up to let you know that Max wants to talk to you." Breanna groaned.
"Oh what for? I don't know why he's bothering me." Breanna whined as she got out of the chair and walked towards Max. He was sitting in a chair talking to Kevin near the console.
"You wanted to see me?" Breanna asked Max in an ashamed voice. She felt like a little school girl getting caught by the principal for hiding a dead animal in the teachers desk.
"Hello Breanna! Yes, I wanted to see you. How are you, dear?" He asked. He could see that Breanna felt out of place.
"I'm fine. Okay, so what's up? What'd I do?" She finally got irritated with him though he had done nothing wrong.
"You didn't really do anything. I loved that song you wrote. So did the guys. I'll just be blunt with you. We want to use it as a bonus track on this record but there's a catch." Breanna didn't like the sound of his idea. What was the catch? Would she have to forfeit all legal rights to the song over to him and/or the Boys?
"And that would be?" Breanna finally asked. Max smiled at her. She was shy but she was also determined. Howie walked over to them and placed his arm around Breanna. Max noticed all tension and frustration leave her face.
"Howie seems to have an awesome affect on this young woman," Max thought to himself. She looked almost like a rose. A shy rose. Max smiled at that little nickname he had created for her.
"And what would that be?" Max repeated her question. "Well, the catch would be that Kevin would play the piano for the song, the guys would sing, and, well, you would as well." Breanna's chin dropped to the floor in shock.
"Me? Sing? On *their* CD?" Max nodded his head and smiled.
"Yes, my lil' Shy Rose. I want you to sing this song with them. After all, it is your song." Howie tightened his grip on Breanna's waist as he listened to Max.
"Shy Rose?" He thought to himself. Howie let out a slight laugh and Breanna looked up at him.
"What?" She asked.
"Shy Rose. He gave you a new nickname."
"So?" Breanna asked.
"Nothing. It's just perfect. I should have thought of it. Anyway, listen to Max, Hun. It's not a bad idea and I know the rest of the guys are up to it. I know I am." Breanna smiled and leaned her head back into his chest.
"I don't know about this. Give me some time to think about it." Max and Howie agreed.
"Well, while you're thinking about it, I want the guys and the band to learn the song. Even if you decide you don't want to sing it, can we still use it? We can use another singer. Maybe Shania Twain." Max was trying to use jealousy to get Breanna to agree.
"Yeah, go ahead. Learn the song. I still want to think about it."
Breanna finally walked away from the conversation and headed towards the door of the studio. "Where are you going?" Howie asked while trying to catch up to her.
"No where. I just need some air." Howie went to follow her but was pulled back by Kevin.
"Hey, give her some space. She'll be okay." Howie nodded his head with a small pout on his face. He knew his friend was right.
"She'll do it. I know she will." Brian said walking from up behind Howie and Kevin.
"It's not that. I'm worried this may be too much for her later. You know that that song is good. Hell, it's going to be huge if we decide to release it! But, that means we'll need someone to sing it with us when we perform it live." Howie was trying to explain to the guys that all the media exposure would later become too much for her to bear.
"So, D? She'll perform it with us. It's not like she's *not* attached to you at the hip and lip." Nick commented from across the studio where he was arguing with AJ about something that happened on tour the year before.
"Yeah, D! She'll be okay. It's not like anything bad's gonna happen to her. It's just a song! She'll get her 15 minutes of fame and she'll love every minute of it, especially since you'll be a huge part of it." AJ thought Breanna would love the attention as much as he did. It'd do her some good to get crazy and have a good time. Howie nodded his head but he was still worried. What if the fans hated her? That would be terrible but what would be worse? What if the fans loved her? Where that would lead was anyone's guess but none of the guys were thinking about that, none of them except Howie.
"No, it's not just a song. It could make or break us." He thought. With a small sigh he excused himself from the room for a walk and to find Breanna.
One month had passed since Max had heard Breanna's song and now they were actually recording it. "I'm tired! I don't want to do anymore." Breanna whined like a little kid into Howie's chest as he laughed quietly.
"Oh c'mon. We're almost done. Just two more hours and then we're done until tomorrow afternoon. I'll even let you sleep in tomorrow." He explained. She pulled away from his embrace and looked into his eyes.
"How the hell do you guys do this? It's so tiring." She complained.
"It's our life and I love it! This is what I love to do." She smiled at how much he loved his life and her.
"Okay, fine! Two more hours but I hate this song now. Every time I sing the chorus with you, somehow I forget the words. You're no good for me." She teased.
"Well, don't look at me when you sing. Do what Brian does. Close your eyes." Howie said as he placed his hand over her eyes. He pulled his hand away and her eyes were closed.
"Sleeping?" He teased.
"Yes. Now, don't wake me." She threatened.
"Oh how cute!" AJ shouted from the back of the studio while the rest of the guys snickered.
"Glad you think so." Breanna replied.
"If you're really that tired, you'd be in here recording your part of the song. The sooner it's done the sooner you're outta here." He added. Breanna's eyes grew large as she realized he was right.
"You're right AJ! For the first time ever, you're right!" AJ rolled his eyes.
"Just get yo ass in there!" He pointed to the booth.
"Okay, okay! Who'm I singin' with today?" she asked while walking towards the recording booth.
"Me and Brian." Nick smiled.
"Oh great! We're gettin' NOTHING done today." She teased.
"Hey I'm hurt!" Brian replied while placing his hands over his heart.
"I meant it as a compliment. You two are too much fun. AJ's too sexy, Kevin is just too hot to handle but Howie and Eve will kill me if I touch him, and Howie, well, alI I want to do is have sex with him in that booth. All of you are just too distracting." She teased. She reached the recording booth but noticed it was too quiet. When she turned around to look behind her she saw nothing but shocked faces.
"Howie, hun, pick your chin off the floor. And will the rest of you grow up? Did I say something *that* distracting?" AJ nodded his head with a smirk.
"Um, Bree, what exactly have you and D done in that booth besides sing?"
"Nothing!" Breanna and Howie answered together.
"Uh huh" the rest of the guys replied.
"Seriously! We haven't done anything." Howie tried to convince the rest of the guys.
"He's right. We haven't done anything....yet." Breanna added. "C'mon Nick! Bri! Let's hurry up so we can get outta here. I'm becoming claustrophobic in this booth!"
The recording went along as Breanna planned. She and Brian kept screwing up the verses and Nick forgot them all together. "Geez, man! You should know this song backwards!" Brian teased.
"Hey man! It's been a long day." Nick defended. Breanna felt sorry for Nick. He was in love with a girl that none of them knew. She was quiet, shy, and no one hardly ever saw her but she had her affect on Nick. He seemed less hyper, more attentive to the others, and just sweet and gentle.
"It's okay, Nick. It's been a long day for all of us." Breanna replied as she placed her small arm around his waist, giving him a friendly squeeze before tip-toeing to give him a kiss on the cheek. Nick looked down at her and picked her up for a hug.
"Thanks." He whispered.
"No problem." She replied in his ear.
"You're in love. I can see it written all over your face." Nick blushed and nodded his head.
"Happy?" Breanna asked.
"More than ever. I just wish that she...." but he trailed off.
"She'll come out of her shell. The important thing is that you both are happy." Nick nodded again.
"Okay Dr. Relationships, are you ready for the chorus?" Brian teased.
"Shuddup!" Nick and Breanna shouted as they laughed at Brian's shocked face.
"We're kidding, Brok. Yeah we're ready. And this time I promise not to fuck up the chorus. Just keep Howie away from me." Breanna laughed.
"Breanna, this time you all are singing it together. We’re gonna try and do something different. I want this song to have more of a live feel, like a concert. If we can get this right the first 5 times you won't have to do it again. But you still have a solo while the guys do the chorus." Max said into the booth.
"I know, Max. I'll do my best not to screw up the solo. I'll just close my eyes like Howie suggested." An hour later they were working on the chorus. No one had screwed up yet. During the last verse, Brian sang a small solo, followed by Nick, then Kevin, Howie, and finally AJ. When it was Breanna's turn Howie placed his hand on her waist. She looked up at him then back at the microphone. She closed her eyes and sang as loud as she could with all the emotion she could muster. All the guys were shocked and stopped singing, listening to Breanna. When she finally finished she noticed the rest of the guys weren't singing.
"Did I mess up?" She asked. Howie shook his head no in response.
"We did." Brian explained.
"GREAT!" Breanna was pissed. She wanted out of there.
"No, guys, it's okay." Max stated.
"We'll just use what we recorded the first time and edit it. Don't worry. I think we're done with this song for now." Breanna smiled and looked into Howie's eyes.
"So, what does this mean?" She asked.
"We are finished recording." She smiled.
"Okay! What's the downside?"
"Two weeks of vacation, 4 weeks of promotion and 4 weeks of rehearsal for the world tour, then more promotion, then the tour." He explained.
"What's that mean? I mean for us." She asked while exiting the recording booth to gather her belongings.
"Means we get to decide what songs we're gonna release and if we plan to release this song. If we do, you're doing a video and performing it live with us on TV and on the tour. As for us, nothing's changed."
By the time the song was completely finished it had been sent to everyone involved in the recording. Somehow a small clip of it ended up on the internet and the rumors started to fly. Breanna awoke to a phone call at 1am one night but Howie answered the phone instead since he was downstairs hanging out with Kevin and Eve. Breanna could hear everything that was being said.
"Hey man!" Howie answered. "Okay, I'm assuming she never told you anything, did she?" Breanna laughed when she thought about who could be calling. Only one name came to mind, Alexei. She heard footsteps running up the stairs and held her breath. She was trying to pretend she was asleep. "I know you're awake. You're never this still when you sleep alone." Breanna threw back the sheets and laughed.
"Okay you caught me. Alexei wants to talk to me, doesn't he?" Breanna questioned.
"How'd you know..."
"I could tell by everything you were saying on the other end." Breanna smiled. Howie handed her the cordless phone and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"You're so in trouble!" He sang out but he quickly shut up when Breanna kicked him.
"What'd I do this time?" She answered the phone.
"Breanna. When was the last time you checked your email or even *looked* on the internet?" Her brother questioned.
"Not in a long time. Why?" She asked innocently.
"Cut the crap. You know you're on the internet. You always are, but did you know your voice is?"
"WHAT?" She yelled.
"Yeah, some up and coming young singer recorded some amazing song with your friends. But, when I heard it, the "up-and-coming" voice matched yours. I don't think it's a coincidence."
"But no one knows it's me, right?" She was nervous because she and the guys agreed to not use her name. Not until she was ready. Instead, on the album, her name was listed as Shy Rose. The name Max had given her.
"No one knows it's you, Bree. It's Shy Rose. How'd they come up with that name?" Alexei laughed.
"Max Martin gave it to me." She laughed back.
"Boy is he mistaken!" Alexei teased.
"Hey!" Breanna said in an offended voice.
"I'm kidding Bree. Anyway, that's great, I'm happy for you. You're gonna be famous!" Alexei was trying to piss his sister off because he knew how much she hated being famous. She was well-known amongst some of the hardcore BSB fans but that was about it.
"Shuddup, Lex!" Breanna shouted.
"I'm kidding, Bree! But, hun it's true. That song is the most anticipated song on that CD!"
"I know." She agreed sadly.
"Anyway, I'm tired and I know you are so I'll let you go. I just wanted to tell you that I knew."
"Thanks, Lex. I love you! Goodnight." Breanna hung up the phone and looked at Howie.
"He knows." She stated.
"I know." He smiled at her.
"It's all over the internet, that song!" She whined.
"What's wrong with that?" He asked as he caressed her face.
"It's supposedly the most anticipated song!"
"But that's good!" He replied.
"You just need sleep. We'll talk about it in the morning." He explained as she laid back down.
"In the morning? You have a press conference." She reminded him.
"Yeah, that’s right, we do. Oh well, we’ll just have to deal with this later." He tucked Breanna in and went back downstairs to finish chatting with Eve and Kevin. When Howie reached the last few steps he looked towards Kevin and Eve who were on the couch in a heavy make-out session.
"Oh c’mon! Get a room! This isn’t fair! My girl’s upstairs asleep so I’m not going to get anything." Howie joked.
"Oh sorry, man. Got carried away I guess." Kevin apologized.
"Naw, it’s okay. Me and Bree would probably be doing the same thing if we were left alone for a few minutes."
"Well, anyway, we better get going. We have that thing in the morning." Kevin said slowly in deep thought.
"I know. Breanna’s nervous about it." Howie explained as Eve and Kevin nodded their heads.
"Well, hopefully things will work out for the best tomorrow." Eve stated.
"Yeah, they will. She’s just…" Howie drifted off.
"Yeah, I know how she is." Eve smiled.
"Goodnight, D!" Kevin said hugging his friend.
"See ya later!" Howie replied returning the hug. Eve gave Howie a quick hug and whispered
"She’ll be okay." into his ear.
It had been barely three weeks since the song had been finished recording and the guys were out doing promotional appearances for the upcoming new album. At a press hearing they were questioned about the songs and most notably, one particular song. After 10 minutes of basic questions that the guys were used to being asked one journalists looked directly towards Howie. "Howie, what about the bonus track? Could you tell us a little bit about it?" Howie swallowed and smiled.
"Sure! It was written by a close friend of ours and we loved it the moment we heard it but she had no intentions of ever recording it or even having anyone record it, period. But, we convinced her to let us use it which wasn't hard. The hard part was convincing her to sing it with us. That took us a couple of weeks of begging and pleading but once she agreed everything went smoothly. We don't normally do duets but something about this song, I don't know how to explain it. It's my favorite track on the new album." Howie said beaming.
"Who is this young lady?" Another journalist asked.
"We call her Shy Rose because that's what she is. Max Martin said she looked like a little rose. When we caught her singing this song she was really shy about it. So, that's what Max calls her and the name has stuck ever since." Brian explained.
"What's her real name?" The same journalist asked.
"That's confidential. She doesn't want that info to get out." Kevin defended. Nick spoke up as well and Howie swallowed hard thinking that Nick’s inexperience and immaturity would give Breanna away but Nick surprised Howie and everyone else.
"Shy Rose is a great friend of ours, almost like a little sister and we’re really protective of her. She’s a very talented woman but we never knew she was musically talented. When we found out how great she really was she became very withdrawn ‘cause she was afraid of her life becoming like ours. We have no privacy and we can’t do anything normal. She didn’t want that to happen so we swore that we wouldn’t give away her real identity. If we do release this song, we’re gonna have her sing it with us and do the video and promotion that goes along with it but it’ll be on a different level. No one’s gonna know her real name or anything about her unless she wants to give out that information. You can keep pressing us for stuff about her but we’re not going to say anything. She’s too important to us." When Nick was finished saying his part the rest of the guys nodded their head in agreement.
"She’s a talented friend and this is just something she did for us. She was being a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Let’s leave it at that unless she wants to come forward and volunteer information about herself." AJ added.
"Could you at least give us her age?" One reporter shouted. The guys quickly looked towards Howie. He shrugged his shoulders in response.
"She’s in her twenties." He stated.
"Why did they all look to you, Howie?" Another reporter asked.
"Um, I was the one who introduced her to the guys. We met a while ago and we’re the best of friends." Howie knew that excuse wouldn’t work but for some reason it did. The reporters moved on and started asking other questions about the new album and how their lives had changed.
"Are any of you dating?"
"I’m seeing someone. We’ve been together for almost a year." Howie volunteered.
"What is her name?" a very verbal reporter in the front row asked. Howie made a mental note to avoid that reporter in the future.
"Her name is Breanna." Kevin could see Howie was starting to sweat some of the questions.
"I’m seeing someone named Eve. She just happens to be best friends with Breanna." Brian looked around and decided to answer the question as well.
"I’m seeing a woman by the name of Izabel."
"I’m with Mya Marson, still!" AJ added as the reporters laughed. Everyone knew the couple’s history. After a few seconds of laughing all eyes were on Nick, the most popular Backstreet.
"I’m seeing someone very important to me but that’s
all I
can say. I won’t answer any more questions about her. This is the only
part
of my life that seems normal and I’d like to keep it that way." Nick
stated
in a threatening voice.
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