Breanna and Howie spent the evening at her house talking about what was going to happen to her life if things went on as they were, and what might happen to their relationship. Breanna wore a satin nightgown that was too short for the cool November weather. Howie wore boxers and nothing more. They laid in bed together wrapped in each others arms. Breanna only had one fear and that was losing Howie. Her fear was his fear. Things were too perfect and fame had a very negative effect on many things he loved. He couldn't see life without her but he knew that asking her to marry him would scare her away. After a couple of hours Breanna finally fell asleep while Howie played with her hair. Since he had met her she hadn't gone to cut it off like she always told him she would. It was now passed her shoulders and very straight. He let out a quiet giggle at the thought of their children's hair. His was very curly and hers was very straight. He gave himself a quick mental kick for thinking of something like that. "We're not even married! I'm thinking like a school girl in love." He thought to himself. Finally he drifted off to sleep thinking of how his life had been blessed in the past year. When Howie awoke, it was to Breanna nudging him with the phone in her hand.
"Get up! It's for you!" He growled and told her to take a message.
"No, it's Brian. Answer it!" Finally Howie sat up in bed and took the phone from Breanna. She slithered back down under the sheets on her back, watching him talk on the phone.
"What's up, Bri?"
"Hey, not much. I just had an idea and thought I'd run it passed you. We're not sure what single to release, right? Why not just release One Time? It's the most anticipated song, anyway." Brian said into the phone. Howie didn't like that idea but knew that the other guys would vote 4 to 1.
"Why ask me? I have no choice in the matter. I'll get out voted." Brian laughed in agreement.
"Yeah, I know. Anyway, I'm taking Thomas to Sea World but I thought I'd tell you that we're going to release Breanna's song so you get to tell her." Howie groaned again.
"Alright, man. I'll tell her. Give me a call later and we'll figure everything out." After Howie hung up the phone Breanna sat up in bed and looked at him like she was expecting bad news.
"Well, it's not terrible news" He said with a nervous laugh.
"What is it?"
"We're releasing One Time first. I have no choice in the matter cause the rest of the guys agreed to it. And if we didn't agree to it, the record company would have released it anyway." Breanna rolled her eyes and laid back down in bed.
"It's 9am. I'm going back to sleep. Explain what all this means to me later, k?" Howie nodded his head and pulled Breanna into his arms before falling asleep.
The next few weeks were a big blur for Breanna. She didn't want people to know that Shy Rose and Breanna Winterson, Howie's girlfriend, were one and the same. Howie suggested colored contacts and a new clothing style. She was used to wearing trendy slightly conservative clothes but now she opted for a sporty style with a innocent girl kick. When she came home from her first photo shoot for Jive, Howie's chin dropped to the floor. This woman standing in front of him looked like a model. She had on loose fitting Nike pants and a black Nike sports bra with violet and pink butterflies sewn into it in various places. Her hair was piled on top of her head with little curls falling down the side of her face and her bangs were cut straight across. She took Howie's advice and wore green colored contacts. Breanna had her hair dyed a dark auburn red color with blond highlights and she now had bangs. She didn't want to look like herself because she wasn't ready for the new fame she knew was coming her way. She did photo shoots, video shoots, hours of dance rehearsals for the new song, and countless interviews. Each time she was "Shy Rose". Howie couldn't believe what has happening to Breanna. From just one song, she was in heavy demand. She was in as much demand as the Boys were but she wasn't even officially signed to a label. She wasn't even planning on it! Unfortunately her schedule hardly ever included the guys. They always interviewed them separately but photo shoots were always together. For some strange reason they always paired Breanna up with Brian or Nick in the shoots. Howie didn't seem to mind but in the back of his mind he knew that there would be problems in their relationship coming up soon. Stress levels were at an all time high. "Why can't they know that Shy Rose is Breanna, my girl?" He constantly thought to himself but every time he asked himself that question his conscious would kick him in the ass. "Do you know how selfish you sound? You were lucky! You became famous slowly, you had time to adjust. She's being thrown into this only because she was bored walking down the hallway visiting you!" The single was finally released to the radio stations and went to number one for airplay. The song was requested so many times on stations across the country that it set new records. It was finally released on MTV and was number one on TRL everyday until it was retired. When Jive finally released it as a single in the US, it went to number one the first week. By that time the guys were in Europe doing promotion for the new album with Breanna in tow. Breanna's world was spinning around her and she barely had enough energy to hold on to Howie. She only performed a few times but with interviews and photo shoots, Breanna had nothing in her. Her daily schedule was sleeping until 6am, at a studio for a photo shoot or a TV appearance by 8am, lunch, doing interviews for magazines, newspapers, TV, and radio for most of the day, dinner, concert rehearsal, meet and greets, a small mini concert, then back to bed. She saw Howie all the time but they never spent time alone unless it was when they were asleep in each others arms. The relationship wasn't falling apart much to rumors on the internet.
"No one sees or hears about Breanna anymore. She's out of the picture. He's always with Shy Rose. That ho must have sent her packing" was posted on one of the newsgroups. Breanna wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. Howie thought it was disgusting. First they call Breanna a ho because she was dating Howie, now that Breanna is supposedly out of the picture, Shy Rose is the ho. Women were too complicated for him. He couldn't figure them out and he didn't want to try. Breanna and Howie were spending their first official day off together.
It was Christmas Eve and they were in Paris, the city of love. Breanna was sitting on their bed reading the BSB newsgroup and laughing at some of the posts when their phone rang. Brian was downstairs hanging out with AJ and decided to answer the phone to give Breanna and Howie their time alone. After the phone rang they heard Brian and AJ cheering.
"What's going on down there?" Howie yelled.
"JIVE!" Brian called out.
"What?" Howie was confused.
"Jive! On the phone. For Breanna." Brian screamed back.
"Oh, okay." Howie didn't like the sound of what he was hearing.
"Pick up the phone, it's for you." Howie said with little interest as he walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Breanna picked up the phone in a daze, trying to figure out why Howie looked a little distant.
"Hello?"
"Hello Breanna! It's Chris calling from Jive."
"Hi Chris! Merry Christmas! What can I do for you?" Breanna asked in her 'personality' voice.
"And Merry Christmas to you, too! We have a question for you that we'd rather ask in person but it's Christmas Eve and you guys are in the middle of a big tour so..."
"Okay? What is it?" Breanna asked beginning to become impatient. Chris cleared his throat before continuing.
"Well, I'll just get to the point. We want to sign you. Today." Breanna was taking a sip of water and almost choked when she heard what he had to say.
"WHAT? Sign? Me? Why?" Breanna was mostly afraid of losing Howie. She couldn't figure out why she was basing her life decisions on him when she swore up and down when she started dating him that she would never do so.
"Why, Breanna? Have you been on the internet lately? Or opened a magazine or turned on the radio or TV? You're the most popular unsigned artist out there!" He said enthusiastically.
"See? That's where I have a problem. The word artist. I'm not an artist. I'm a girl who made up a silly song walking down a hallway on the way to visit her boyfriend, the real artist in the picture. I'm only popular because I recorded that song with the Backstreet Boys. If there was no Backstreet Boys I would never have even made it this far. I know I'm going to fall right on my face if I sign with Jive and release something. I have no clue what I'd release anyway." Howie was in the bathroom listening to everything she was saying.
"Breanna, Max agreed to work with you. So did Mutt Lange. Do you know how many artists would give their right arm to work with Max and Mutt? Breanna, even if you do fall on your face, just give it a try. You'll never know until you try." Breanna didn't like what she was hearing but at the same time she loved it.
"I don't know. Let me think about it." They said their good byes and hung up. Breanna took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Hun, you can come out now." Breanna giggled. Howie walked out of the bathroom with a sheepish grin on his face. "We're not going to talk about it tonight. We're going to go to bed. And I don't feel like sleeping." Howie's eyes got wide and a sly smile crept across his face. He walked over to the door and opened it quickly.
"Goodnight, guys!" The rest of the guys said their good night greetings and kept on talking to each other. Howie became annoyed. "Good NIGHT, guys!" Brian took the hint.
"Um, alone time, guys. Let's get outta here."
"Thanks, Bri! See ya!" Howie shut the door and ran towards the bed and threw himself on top of it, landing on Breanna who giggled. "I love you."
The next day was Christmas, their last day off and they were still in Paris. "I wish we could be home right now but Paris will do" Breanna stated as she played with Howie's hair. They were cuddled up in bed as the fireplace warmed the room. It was dawn and the city was covered with the color of gray and blue. Unfortunately it was raining but Breanna and Howie didn't seem to notice.
"So, what are you going to do?" Howie asked Breanna. She looked at him with a confused face. "I mean, are you going to sign with Jive?" Breanna let out a sigh and shook her head.
"I don't know what to do. I never wanted to work in front of the microphone. I always wanted to work behind it."
"This is a chance in a lifetime. Who knows where this could take you. Maybe you could sell a few million albums and use the money from that to start your label." He suggested. Howie put away his selfish feelings about Breanna becoming famous. "If it was meant to be, it will work out in the end." He reminded himself. Breanna smiled at his suggestion and pondered the consequences.
"What will happen to us? I don't want to lose this. But if I sign with Jive then I'll have your schedule. I won't be around ever and when I am you probably won't be around. Our schedules will clash. What do I do?" She asked him.
"Sign with Jive. Live your life to the fullest and don't worry about me. We'll work things out. Just do this. This is an experience you'll learn from. It'll bring you joy and a lot of grief but in the end you'll only remember the good times." Breanna nodded her head in response. "So are you going to do it?" He asked as his eyes danced from the fires reflection. Breanna nodded her head slowly.
"I guess I am. But I don't want to be a solo artist. I want to be part of group."
"I don't think that's going to be possible."
"I know. How's it feel to want, right?" Breanna joked as Howie laughed at her.
"You're already famous. Now all you need to do is release an album and tour. Not too hard!" He stated.
"Will you help me with the album?" She asked. She was scared about recording without him by her side. Recording One Time was easy because he was there with her.
"If I can I'll help you. But I can't promise you anything." She frowned but understood what he meant. "C'mon! Let's go exchange gifts with everyone!" Howie dragged Breanna out of bed and led her to their walk-in closet.
"What'd you get everyone and when did you find the time?" She asked him. He shrugged his shoulders.
"When you would go to do a photo shoot or an interview I'd go out shopping with Q and Dan."
"Oh...me too." She smiled.
"I have two presents for you. The first one I'll give you here. The second one is hidden in Kevin's room." He smiled at her.
"Two presents? Can I guess what they are?" She asked with curiosity.
"I didn't just get you two, but these two are the most important and no, you can't guess what they are. Ha! " He told her. She stuck her tongue out at him. Howie bent down and grabbed her tongue between his lips and lightly sucked on it before opening his mouth more to give her a kiss. They kissed for what seemed like forever before they heard the phone ring.
"Ignore it!" He demanded.
"I can't! It might be Jive!" She ran out of the closet towards the phone and dove onto the bed to grab it before the person calling hung up.
"Merry Christmas!" Breanna greeted the caller.
"Hello Breanna! It's Chris again."
"Calling on Christmas? Don't you ever stop working?" She teased him.
"Sometimes. Actually I'm calling from home. I just wanted to know if you thought about our proposal." She sighed and looked up at Howie who stood across the room near the entrance of the closet. He motioned with his hand for her to tell him her decision.
"I've thought about it and Howie's been really supportive about it. He's actually encouraging me if you can believe that!" She stated in one breath.
"And what have you decided?" Chris coaxed.
"Um, I guess so. It *is* a once in a lifetime chance." She replied. Chris laughed with delight.
"Wonderful! We'll see you when you get to London, then! I'll be talking to you soon."
"Um, okay! Merry Christmas and thanks for everything, Chris!"
"Merry Christmas, sweetheart! Bye!" Breanna hung up the phone and looked at Howie with a 'I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this' look. He shook his head and laughed while Breanna let out a sharp piercing scream as she ran towards him jumping into his arms. She giggled uncontrollably as he stroked her hair laughing at her. He remembered what it was like when Jive signed them.
"Okay, now for your gifts..."
Howie grabbed Breanna's hand and placed a small box in it as they sat on their hotel bed. The Christmas rain fell in the background and the fire still burned in the fireplace. Breanna glanced down at the box then back up at Howie. "Don't stare at it! Open it!" He stated with a cute smile on his face.
"Well, it's not an engagement ring, that's for sure!" She thought to herself. She knew it was too soon to become engaged. When she opened the box she let out a loud gasp.
"Ohmigod!" She said to herself.
"That was the exact reaction I was hoping for." Howie said proudly. "You like it?" He finally asked, unsure if she really liked it or not.
"Like it!? I love it!" She shouted, throwing her arms around him.
"I'm glad. It's a promise ring. As long as you wear this, I promise to never hurt you and to always make you happy." Breanna's eyes became large as she listened to what he had to say.
"But I didn't get you anything nearly as special as this." She felt bad but Howie smiled at her instead.
"You've given me everything I could ever want. You just don't realize it." She smiled back and took the ring out of the box. Howie took it out of her hand and placed it on her left ring finger. The ring was platinum with a heart shaped diamond.
"People are going to think this is an engagement ring." She teased him.
"Nah, if it was an engagement ring, it would be spectacular!" He smiled at her again.
"Okay, and now for your other gift..." Howie reached across the bed and grabbed the phone.
"Hey Kev, Breanna and I are on our way to your room. Have her gift ready, k?" Howie laughed into the phone.
They walked to Kevin's room, five doors away. When they entered the room everyone was there. Nick, his girlfriend Natasha, AJ, Mya, Brian, Izabel, Thomas, and Kevin who was beaming. "Hey Kevin! You look like your on Cloud Nine and Eve isn't even in town!" Breanna greeted Kevin with a kiss and hug.
"I know she's not here but it's Christmas! The rest of my family is here." He said pointing to everyone in the room. Breanna and Howie smiled, glancing around the room at everyone. When Breanna saw Natasha she screamed with glee and ran over to the shy girl to give her a hug.
"Oh my God! I've never meet you before! You're so beautiful!" Breanna stated as she hugged Natasha. Natasha was a little taken aback but when she saw the happy look in Nick's eyes she relaxed and returned the hug.
"Thank you." Natasha stated calmly. "You're Breanna I'm assuming." Everyone in the room laughed.
"Um, yeah. That's right, we've never really met. I'm his girl." Breanna said pointing to Howie. Natasha smiled at both of them. They made a striking couple.
After a few minutes of chatting Breanna looked around the room and noticed that there was a Christmas tree fully decorated but it didn't have a star yet. "Why no star?" She asked pointing to the tree. "We wanted to wait until everyone was here." Brian said smiling.
"Oh okay." Breanna wondered over to the tree looking around at all the gifts. "What are you looking for?" Howie laughed as the rest of the room conversed with each other. Kevin watched Breanna with a silly grin on his face.
"I'm looking for my gift. Where is it?" She pouted.
"In the bathroom." Howie and Kevin said together.
"The bathroom?" Breanna squeaked.
"Yes...go get it." Howie said ushering Breanna into the bathroom.
"Okay fine! I will." She teased him. Breanna walked into the bathroom and let out a scream and then a laugh. Howie and Kevin laughed. When Breanna emerged from the bathroom she tackled Howie to the floor. He laughed as she tickled him.
"Oh hey! That ring cut me!" He laughed. "Sorry, you should have bought a smaller diamond, then!" She laughed. Eve stood in the doorway laughing at the couple on the floor.
"I just love being a Christmas present." She commented aloud to no one in particular.
"Wait, wait, wait! Ring? Diamond? What?" Brian asked. Nick and AJ both looked at one another before looking down at Breanna and Howie who were still wrestling.
"Yeah, D! What ring?" Nick asked.
"More exact, what *type* of ring?" AJ asked.
"Relax guys! It's a promise ring." Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"This year has been too hectic. I don't think I could handle a wedding, too." Brian stated. Everyone laughed and Izabel tossed a pillow at him.
"Mommy, you mean." Thomas shouted. Brian picked up Thomas and looked at Izabel.
"Yeah mommy. You're mean! Daddy's a good boy and mommy's mean, right?" Brian asked Thomas. He nodded his head.
"Mommy scare Santa." Everyone looked at Thomas and burst into laughter. He was going to grow up to be just like Brian.
"Well, maybe we should tell them?" Howie asked Breanna loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Tell us what? Just promise me you're not announcing a pregnancy, a wedding, or a break-up." Nick stated.
"No, it's not that!" Breanna smiled at Nick. He relaxed a little bit and laughed at how concerned he was.
"Okay, what's the announcement?" Kevin asked. By that time everyone was staring at Howie and Breanna. He took her hand when he saw how nervous she was. Eve never knew Breanna to be nervous but this year was taking it's toll on her.
"As of this morning, Breanna is signed with Jive." The room was quiet for a split second before it errupted into hollers, yells, cheers, and whistles. Everyone was excited for Breanna. Brian picked her up and spun her around.
"I've been writing a lot of songs lately. If you want, I'll work on a few of them with you." Breanna smiled and accepted his offer.
"Oh you have no idea what that means to me." He kissed her cheek and smiled back at her.
"What's family for, anyway?" She punched him lightly in the arm as he laughed at her.
"Bree mean, too. Girls mean." Thomas stated. Breanna giggled and lowered herself to be eye level with Thomas.
"Geez, for a two year old you have a lot to say. You're gonna have a big mouth like your daddy." Thomas looked at her and smiled. She grabbed him and picked him up for a hug as she spun him around like Brian had done to her a few minutes before. Breanna handed Thomas back to Izabel.
"You have your hands full."
"Oh I know it!" Izabel laughed.
"I mean, you have to deal with TWO children!"
"Hey I heard that! I'm hurt!" Brian yelled out. Breanna looked around the room to make sure Thomas wasn't watching them before she flipped Brian off. Brian picked Breanna up and tossed her over his shoulder.
"BRIAN! PUT ME DOWN!" Breanna yelled as the rest of the room laughed.
"Okay, get this rockstar out of here." Brian shouted handing Breanna over to Howie. The room was in high spirits as everyone opened presents. Thomas got the most gifts but that was to be expected. He was the easiest to shop for and the easiest to please. When everyone was finished opening their gifts the girls quickly helped clear away the mess that was left behind as the guys left with their bodyguards to go pick up some food that the caterers had left for Christmas. After Christmas dinner was over, everyone sang Christmas carols and played games. Of course Howie video taped the entire scene focusing most of the attention on Breanna who was very lively that day.
By 8 o'clock Eve and Kevin stood up near the mantle of the fireplace, champagne glasses in hand. "Sorry Bri, you're out of luck this year." Eve stated. Brian looked at her quizzically.
"We have an announcement." Kevin stated. He held up Eve's left hand and smiled at the room.
"We're getting married."
"That's no surprise!" AJ shouted. The room laughed.
"Yeah, it'd be more of a surprise if Breanna and Howie announced an engagement. We knew you two would be engaged by the end of the year." Brian laughed.
"I win!" Nick shouted out of nowhere.
"You win? How?" AJ asked.
"I said by Christmas day. You all said by New Years, so I win!" Nick replied.
"Win? What'd you win?" Kevin asked with a laugh.
"I won $500, man! Pay up guys! And I don't accept personal checks." Nick laughed. Howie, AJ, and Brian groaned.
"Ah man! We actually have to pay you?" Brian complained as Nick nodded his head.
When everything was over, Breanna and Howie made their exit. "We have to be up early tomorrow so we're gonna go try to sleep." Breanna stated as everyone shouted "Uh-huh" and "yeah, right".
"Honestly, I'm exhausted! I have no idea what he plans to do but whatever it is, it won't involve me."
"Hey, D! You give her a ring and she gives you the cold shoulder?" AJ teased. Howie laughed at the room.
"It's a sacred holiday and you're all talking about sex? C'mon guys!" Howie shouted pretending to be offended. He couldn't surpress the cheesy smile from his face.
"Let's go!" Breanna stated as she grabbed at his collar to drag him back to their room.
"Night all! See ya tomorrow!" Breanna shouted as she closed the door behind her back.
"This was one of the best Christmas's I've ever had!" Breanna stated as they entered their hotel room.
"I know. Me too! And best of all, I spent it with you." He whispered kissing her softly. She returned the kiss with more passion. They stood in the living room kissing as they undressed each other slowly.
"You know what I said in the room a minute ago? I didn't mean it." Breanna said out of breath.
"I know." He replied as he picked her up to carry her upstairs. They made love for the rest of the night and part of the early morning.
Howie and Breanna celebrated their one year anniversary and her 22nd birthday by sleeping. The week before was the official kick off of the European tour. Eve and Kevin were busy in their hotel room making wedding plans. Brian and Izabel stayed in their room telling Tommy bedtime stories with little success. Tommy was still hard to put to bed at night. Nick and Natasha were no where to be seen but everyone assumed they were in their room trying to be alone and AJ and Mya were out clubbing. Everyone was happy but tired.
Whenever Breanna wasn't giving an interview or practicing for a show she was hidden away in some studio trying to lay down vocals for her debut album. She had written 13 songs, Brian had given her 3 songs that he had written and Kevin was helping co-produce as much as he could with the limited amount of time they had. As soon as Breanna was done touring with the guys she would be heading into the studio with Max and Mutt to finish up whatever wasn't completed on the road. Howie explained to her that she would soon go out around the world promoting the album and follow the promotion with a tour. While she was on tour the guys would probably be back in the studio recording another album. When the guys went out touring for that album she would be back in the studio. Breanna wanted to have her schedule in sync with Howie's but that wouldn't be possible. The guys shared producers with Breanna and Max didn't have time to produce two albums at once. Breanna was crushed but Howie did his best to show her the bright side of things. They planned to take their vacations together and Breanna agreed to move into Howie's house with him once the tour was over. At least when she went back into the studio it would be in Orlando.
"Do you realize that we won't be back in Orlando until October?" Breanna asked Howie one night after a show. He plopped down onto their bed and laughed.
"Does it matter? Soon you're going to be so busy you won't care what city you're in, as long as you get to sleep." She laughed at him with a twinkle in her eye.
"What? What are you thinking?" He asked her.
"Nothing. I remember trying to comprehend how famous you guys were last year and here I am with my own fair share of fame. Life's bizarre." She laughed.
"C'mon. Let's get some sleep. We have to be up at 5 tomorrow morning." Howie quickly fell asleep but Breanna laid in bed trying to think of what a normal life felt like and how she took it for granted. She missed her mother and father and especially her brother Alexei. If he had been traveling with them he would know what to say to make it all better. Instead, Alexei was back in Santa Monica partying with his friends and going to school. Being normal. Taking it for granted. She longed for her life back but she knew that wouldn't be happening any time soon. Fame was good to her so far but she felt like her life would spin out of control in the next year causing her and Howie to go their separate ways. Breanna felt tears sliding down her face as she stared out the window at the moon. "What do I do now?" She questioned God or whoever was in control of the universe. "This is something most people would give their lives for but I don't want it. What's wrong with me? All I want is him." She whispered. Howie woke up and listened to her cry. "I can't handle this. How does he do it? He has the guys for support but I'm going alone. I have no one to help me or support me. I'm not going to have anyone by my side once this tour is over. What do I do?" She tried not to sob but it was difficult. Howie slowly place his arm around her waist and pulled her towards his body. She turned around and buried her face into his chest as she sobbed herself to sleep. By the time she had calmed down it was 2 in the morning. Howie laid awake the rest of the night stroking her hair thinking about everything. Things seemed some simple. Breanna would sing and go on tour and make a lot of money and get a lot of attention. But it was a lot more complicated than that. Breanna would be doing all of this alone as a solo artist. She never had training before and she never even wanted any of it but it was thrown at her. She accepted it just because Howie encouraged her. He felt guilty but at the same time he knew that no one on Earth would pass up an opportunity like that. He finally fell asleep but 30 minutes later AJ came running up the stairs pounding on their bedroom door.
"We're late! Get up! Let's go! You have 20 minutes!"
"God, last year’s tour wasn't this grooling! Hell, even the Millennium tour before that wasn't this hard." Howie mumbled to himself. He let Breanna sleep in as he ran around the room packing whatever they forgot to pack the night before.
Brian slowly walked up the stairs with a magazine rolled up in his hands. He had a stern look on his face and his lips formed a perfect line. He slightly knocked on Howie's door as he walked in. "She still asleep?" He whispered.
"Yeah, she had a really rough night. This is getting to her. I'm just going to let her sleep and carry her out to the bus if I have to." Howie stated, staring down at Breanna as she slept. Brian nodded his head looking at Breanna before turning his attention back to Howie. "What's that?" Howie asked, motioning to the magazine in Brian's hand.
"Maybe I should explain this to you downstairs or should I wait until we're on the bus?" Howie knew that it was probably a tabloid but the look on Brian's face sent a shiver down his spine.
"Yeah, tell me later. I don't think I want to know right now." Brian turned around and walked back down the stairs.
"Ten minutes, D!" He reminded Howie. One of the bodyguards walked into their room and took their luggage downstairs.
"She better wake up! We're leaving in 5 minutes." He commented. Howie nodded his head as he continued to stare at Breanna.
"Did I do the right thing by encouraging her to sign a record deal? I thought I was trying not to be selfish but maybe I was wrong." He thought to himself.
Howie woke Breanna up with a kiss. "Hun, put your Nike pants and jacket on. I'll go grab your shoes and then we have to leave. You can sleep on the bus." Breanna sat up in bed and yawned.
"Okay." She shuffled over to her favorite black Nike outfit and put her pants and jacket on. Howie threw her pajamas into his backpack as he placed her shoes in front of her. She stepped into her shoes and walked over to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Howie watched her as she absent mindedly did everything. He found her Nike hat and sunglasses and handed them to her before they left the hotel room. As a rule, they never showed affection in public. Instead, they walked out of the elevator one behind the other towards the tour bus. Once inside the bus Breanna made her way to her bunk and crawled in. She was out like a light as Nick giggled.
"She must have gotten NO sleep!" He shot at Howie who nodded his head.
"She's stressed out. She cries herself to sleep and there's nothing I can do about it." He hesitated to explain any more but Nick took the hint and didn't probe further. Brian walked to the back of the bus where Nick and Howie were talking and sat down.
"What is it?" Nick asked. Brian pulled the rolled up magazine out of his jacket and tossed it in front of Nick and Howie. Nick grabbed it and read the front page. It was a tabloid like Howie originally thought but it had two pictures he wished to never see again. Brian's ex, Rachel was on the cover with Howie's ex, Helaina. Nick's stomach jumped into his throat as he handed the magazine to Howie. With one look at the cover Howie dropped the magazine and stood up, pacing around the room running his hands through his hair.
"What did it say?" He questioned quietly. The magazine was written in German but he knew Brian had it translated.
"It talked about us, and them." Brian mumbled.
"What exactly did it say?"
"Helaina told them how Breanna took you away from her and how she is using you to create a career for herself. It also talks about Helaina being pregnant but you demanded that she get an abortion because a baby would be a burden on your career." Howie exhaled deeply and shook his head.
"That's not how it happened! I never demanded she get an abortion. She threatened she would if I didn't play by her rules." He was becoming hysterical.
"What? What are you talking about? She was pregnant?" Brian asked with large eyes. Howie nodded his head slowly.
"The only person who knows about the pregnancy is Breanna." He mentioned quietly. Nick's jaw dropped to the floor. "What did Rachel say?" Howie asked. Brian looked down and sighed.
"She knows about Thomas. She told them that I had a son with another girl who I had a one night stand with and that I dumped Rachel because of Izabel. That bitch even said his full legal name and Izabel's name!" Brian punched his left hand with his right one as he sat on the couch contemplating everything.
"What do we do now?" Nick asked quietly.
"We deny everything." Kevin stated as he walked into the room. He already knew what happened because a fan had given him the tabloid when she met him in the lobby of the hotel.
"But Bri, you wanted people to find out about Thomas sometime soon. Why not set everyone straight about what really happened between you and Rachel." Nick suggested. Brian shook his head.
"I don't know. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do." Howie was still pacing around.
"What do I do? I didn't think Helaina would be a problem."
"I have an idea. I don't know if you'll go for it, or if Breanna will for that matter, but it's worth a shot." Nick said.
"What is it?" Brian asked. AJ walked into the room fully aware of what was going on, and sat down on the floor to listen to the guys.
"Tell the press that you and Breanna broke up because she couldn't handle your touring schedule. Then tell them that you and 'Shy Rose' are dating." Howie sat down to think about what his friend suggested.
"I'll have to talk to Breanna about this." He muttered, barely audible.
"It's not such a bad idea. But, I'm not sure how she's going to feel about it. This means she has to pretend that Breanna is a whole other person." He stated.
"Well, she's doing that now, D." AJ spoke up.
"I know." Howie was worried about the tabloids and how much worse they could affect Breanna. She was doing a good job portraying 'Shy Rose' but he knew that the stress that went along with the job was getting to her.
"Wait, don't we have a PR firm?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, of course! Don't you know?" Brian yelled out, staring at Nick like he was from Mars for not knowing.
"No, I *know* we have a PR firm. I'm just saying why don't we let them take care of this bullshit. That's why we pay them. If we tried to handle this ourselves, we'd be doin' a lot of 'open mouth, insert foot' kinda things." Everyone looked at Nick before laughing. Howie threw a pillow at Nick but he caught it and tossed it back.
"Nick, when did you grow up?" Kevin asked, smiling at his friend.
Before Breanna even woke up the guys had called their management and PR firm to explain their situation with the tabloid. Howie came clean about Helaina with the rest of the group and Brian told management and the PR firm that he wanted to come clean with the fans about Thomas and Izabel. By the time Breanna woke up, the PR firm was working on damage control. The mood on the bus was very serious. Nick stayed in his bunk listening to his CDs, Brian slept, AJ talked on the phone with Mya, Kevin searched the internet for anything about their situation, and Howie watched Breanna sleep. All the girlfriends were on another bus following closely behind. Normally the guys would split up. Half of them would be in one bus with their girl while the other half would be on the other bus but Brian asked all the guys to be on one bus that day.
"Why are all the guys together?" Breanna asked as she sat up in bed. Howie smiled sadly at her. He looked as if someone died and he was in charge of breaking the news. "What? What is it?" She asked hurriedly.
"It's nothing. Just some tabloids got out of hand, only this time they hit close to the truth."
"Helaina?" Breanna asked. That was one word she hated. It was worse than any swear word ever created as far as she was concerned. Howie nodded his head as he continued to look into Breanna's eyes. Her eyes narrowed as she turned her head to look out the window at the cars passing by. "What else?" She asked slowly.
"Rachel told the press about Thomas and Izabel." This time Breanna blew up.
"WHAT? What the fuck are you
talking
about? I can't believe this! I can't deal with this! How the hell am I
supposed to do what you're doing and the fame that comes with it if I
can't
even deal with your fame?" She started to cry while Howie rocked her in
his
arms. Brian came rushing over upon hearing Breanna's screams. She
pulled out
of Howie's arms and looked at Brian. "You two have the shittiest
judgement
when it comes to people! I can't believe you two would date such
horrible
people. Why did you even let them get close?" Breanna was hysterical.
She was
finally having the breakdown that Howie had feared would come soon. He
just
didn't expect it to come that quick.
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