Mascot

"So I moved. Not far really; only about 7 hours away from Montreal by car. But such a far distance in mind, you know?”

“Yeah. Orlando is a far way from Kentucky. Takes a lot of getting used to.”

“I’ll bet. Going from horse country to Mouse country,” she replied with a grin.

“Hey! Don’t knock the Mouse. He’s been good to me,” a different, deeper, voice chimed in.

“Sure thing ‘Aladdin.’ Don’t get your pantaloons in a twist,” a raspy voice mocked.

Emerald eyes flashed in anger. “Listen here, you stick figure! Just because the Mouse didn’t want you…”

“Did so! I just liked Nickelodeon better. Got to do my own shit rather that what they spoonfed me,” was the sharp retort.

“Will you two shut up? You all did great before Lou came along and I’m sure you’ll both do wonderful once we get our asses out of here. So fighting over rodents and slime isn’t worth it.”

Blue eyes turned to her and grinned comically. “Always the peacemaker, that man.” Then he glanced over to the others. “Now, hush! We were talking. And this is much more interesting than you all are.”

The other blond man snorted, but she noted that he leaned in a little closer so he could hear.

“It was a big step. But there really was little keeping me in Montreal. My parents were dead. My brother and sister had lives of their own. And there just wasn’t a job to be had. So I took the plunge and ended up here.”

“And it’s better here?”

“For the most part. I have a job. That certainly gives me a better sense of self-worth. I know all that stuff about how you should measure yourself by ‘who’ you are rather than ‘what’ you are, and all, but it does make you feel a whole hell of a lot better when you are a ‘what’ as well as a ‘who’.”

“Who are you? Who who… who who..” the raspy voice started to sing.

“Yo! Owl-boy! Shut up.”

“Jeez, Old Man. I’m not being an owl, I’m singing. Classic rock. “Who are you?” by The Who. What is your problem?”

“Not hick enough for him,” the youngest man chuckled. Then yelped as someone, it was too dark to tell who exactly, smacked him on the head. “Lemme alone! It’s not my fault Kevin is clueless when it comes to good music. Keeps playing all that Depeche Mode shit…”

She leaned over to Brian. “Can you hit him again? I like Depeche Mode.” She smiled in Kevin’s general direction but had no idea if he saw.

“Gentleman! The lady requests that we beat up Nick. Shall we?”

Nick squealed, “hey! That’s not what she said. Ow! You dumbass! Stop hitting me! AJ, I know that one was you. I’m gonna…”

Deb cracked up as she heard the ruckus. Damn she wished she could see it! But it was too dark in there to make out much. She knew it was Brian next to her; she could see that far just not any further. Their voices she could recognize – how could she not? She’d been a fan for too long. Speaking or singing they all had very distinctive voices: AJ’s rasp, Kevin’s deep sexy drawl, Nick’s youthful prattle, Howie’s soft voice, and Brian’s cheerful twangy patter.

Yep, stuck in an elevator with the Backstreet Boys. Did it get any better than this?

Her chuckles broke off suddenly and she started to hyperventilate again. Brian grasped her hand and stroked the back of it, trying to calm her.

“Another anxiety attack?” he murmured, ignoring Nick’s continuing cries for mercy.

She nodded, then realized that he probably couldn’t see her. “Yeah. I don’t know what it is. I’m not usually claustrophobic.”

“It’s probably the light, or lack there of. Just makes it all seem worse.” He swore under his breath as his reminder made her pant a bit more. “Come on, Deb. You’ve gone through a hell of a lot worse than this. You can handle it.”

“I could handle it better if they weren’t using up all the oxygen wrestling WaterBoy over there,” she wheezed.

“Hey! Dumbasses! Stop killing Nick, you’re scaring Deb.” He turned back to her. “You sure you don’t want to hit him once for luck?”

Deb chuckled huskily. “I think I’ll pass.”

“My hero!” Nick sighed as he sat up after the others had stopped pummeling him. “I could just kiss you.”

A second later there was a loud smacking noise and Howie shouted. “Moron! That was me, not her. Damn, Nicky, couldn’t the beard give it away?”

“But D, I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long….” Nick lisped back, then cackled.

“Why you…”

“Hey! Again with the scaring Deb,” Brian piped in. “Hush up Howie, you can get him later.”

There was some annoyed mumbling from where Howie sat, but AJ cut across it. “So Depeche Mode is okay… what else you like?”

“Looking for some validation, Johnny?” Deb wisecracked back, surprised at her temerity.

“R E S P E C T…. find out what it means to me,” he sang, mimicking Aretha Franklin’s voice.

“If he starts wearing pedal pushers I suggest you drop him from the group,” Deb whispered to Brian.

“Don’t worry; it’s Kevin we’d have to worry about. He needs to top that skirt thing,” Brian whispered back with a laugh.

“Hey! No luvey-doveys in the corner if I’m not getting some!” Nick called out.

“You just took some,” Howie sneered. “And if you ever come near me again with those lips….”

“ANYWAY,” Deb interrupted. “In answer to your question, I like all sorts of music. And yes, there is a reason I am at this hotel right now. One of my favourite groups are staying here.”

“And who might that be?” Kevin asked with a smile in his voice.

“Kentucky cousins and the Orlando crew,” Deb replied, saying the first thing that popped into her head OTHER than the Backstreet Boys.

Brian started to giggle and the others soon followed.

“Actually it’s the Orlando Crew and the Kentucky Cousins,” Howie pointed out. “They came along last.”

“Oops. My mistake,” Deb smirked. She turned towards where she knew AJ was sitting. “Feel validated now?”

“Yeah. You know me; need a little ego brush every few minutes.”

“And how!” Nick laughed.

“A hair brush would be good too,” said Howie.

“Drama queen,” Kevin snorted.

“Oh shut up Skirt Boy.”

“Leave it alone, Bone. We all know you were just pissed cos you didn’t get to wear ‘em.”

“See what I put up with? It’s like this all the time,” Brian sighed.

“Probably why you can put up with little Chihuahua yipping,” Deb replied. Damn she was getting mouthy, she thought. Normally she was a sit by the wall and watch, but not talk much, person. The dark may be scaring her but it was also helping her.

“Tyke and Litty are actually quite quiet,” Brian replied with a grin. “Grew up around these guys and couldn’t get a word in edgeways.”

“Too used to being stuffed in a bag and being told to be silent as we smuggle them on and off of planes, you mean,” Nick chuckled.

“That too.”

There was a moment or two of companionable silence.

“Okay, enough quiet. I wanna know more. Tell us more, Deb,” Kevin finally said, breaking the stillness.

“About what?”

“I dunno. About life. About your life. I’m sure that if you are a fan you probably know more about our lives than we do, but we don’t often get a chance to just sit and listen to someone else talk about their live. Tell us about what its like just being normal folk. Not in this crazy industry. Just normal stuff. It’s been so long since I was just me and not some pop star. Hell, Nick’s been in this since he was a kid. And AJ’s…”

“If you say that I’ve ever been normal I’m gonna box your ears, Richardson,” AJ growled.

“Don’t worry, Alex. If he told me you were normal I’d never believe it.”

“Merci, mon cheri,” Alex said as he rustled around until he found her other hand and raised it to his lips. Deb was very glad of the dark then, though she was sure that even if they couldn’t see it they could certainly feel her blush. “Sure hope that wasn’t D that time,” AJ smiled.

“What?” Howie asked not sure what was going on.

“Guess not,” AJ laughed.

“I think Bonedaddy was doing his flirt thing again,” Kevin said.

“Just as long as he doesn’t kiss me.” Howie replied wryly. “The freak’d probably use tongue.”

“You know, I am learning waaaay too much about all of you,” Deb pointed out.

“Yeah, so shut up Bone and let her talk,” Brian said. “So tell us, Deb. What’s it like being ordinary? I mean… not that you’re not…”

She laughed. “Don’t worry Brian. I know what you mean.” She thought for a moment. “In a way my life is very similar to yours.”

“Hunh?”

“Well, I work hard because I have to. In my case it’s for money to keep a roof over my head, food on the table and cover my expenses. And I suppose that is the same for you, though I think your expenses would be a lot different than mine.”

“I suppose that’s one way to look at it,” Howie noted.

“And just like you, I’m trying to make friends and find someone who loves me for who I am. You have a harder road to go down on that one, but I am sure in our own ways we all have trust issues and insecurities that we have to deal with.”

“For the most part,” she continued, “I don’t think we are all that different. Now, admittedly, posters of me aren’t up on the walls of girls – and women – the world over, and I don’t have men chasing me all over,” she leaned forward, glancing towards where she knew Howie was sitting, “at least not the way you do in this elevator, Howie.” She was rewarded with a comical growl.

“But really, I don’t have to have bodyguards or anything; I am responsible for my own safety.” She flashed back to how this all started. She’d run into the elevator at the last minute, trying to get up to her room so that she didn’t miss an important phone call, and hadn’t even noticed the people already inside. Just punched her floor number and stood there tapping her foot impatiently as the elevator climbed. Then jumping in horror as it suddenly stopped. She’d turned around quickly to see the others in the car but it was plunged into darkness. She hadn’t had a clue who was there, and was even more afraid as a result, until Brian had asked if she was okay.

“By the way, where are your bodyguards?” she asked. It was a big car, but if she doubted they were in here too.

“Ditched ‘em,” Nick snickered.

“Did not!” Brian retorted. “Just got in the elevator and it took off too quickly. They’re probably downstairs screaming blue murder.”

“Not Marcus. My man’s probably just chillin’” AJ mused.

“I’m surprised Carlos hasn’t attempted a single-handed rescue by now,” Howie said looking at Kevin. “Any excuse for that bodyguard of yours to flex those muscles….”

“Hey, Workout Man, you’re just jealous,” Kevin laughed.

“Why yes, Mr. Body Beautiful, Mr. Sexiest Pop Star, that’s what he is. He’s jealous,” Brian teased.

“Well, at least they aren’t here. Taking up more space… taking all the air…” Deb said, starting to shake again.

“It’s okay, Debbie,” Nick said sympathetically. “If they were here we’d tell them not to breathe.”

The utter ridiculousness of that made Deb start to giggle. And Nick’s “what I say?” comment just made it worse. Soon they were all laughing uproariously.

And it all stopped quickly as the car suddenly shifted. The lights came on, blinding them momentarily. They gazed at each other, blinking in the unexpected glare, mouths hanging open. The car jerked again and all eyes stared at the roof, then back and forth to each other.

In a typical “girl” moment, all Deb could think about was that her hair was a mess, she was wearing little makeup, her dress wasn’t flattering, and she wished she weighed less. Her hand crept up, trying to brush some of her red locks back into some semblance of control. Howie’d obviously seen her because he smiled and winked at her. She blushed to a colour that was almost indistinguishable from that of her hair.

“Can I stop acting all tough and get really scared now?” Nick whined anxiously.

“Me first,” AJ growled nervously.

“Are we safer on the floor or standing?” Brian asked, looking over at Kevin.

“How the hell should I know? I’ve never been stuck in an elevator before,” he replied a tinge of worry in his voice.

“Up in the air on a string above screaming fans, yes. In an elevator, no,” AJ joked.

“Shut up, Bone,” Kevin barked.

“You shut up, Kevin,” Deb snarled back. The others looked at her in amazement. “Well, at least he’s trying to lighten the mood and not make us all scared-er,” she said, smiling at AJ.

He grinned back and leaned forward giving her a kiss on the cheek this time. Then leaned forward more and whispered in her ear. “There’s no such word as scared-er.”

She rolled her eyes. “I changed my mind. Yell at him all you want Kevin.”

“Time for my kiss now?” Nick asked mischievously. He leaned forward too, as Howie leaned back as far out of his way as he could. He pecked Deb on the other cheek, then sat back. He looked around at the others. “What? Do you really think I want my last kiss to be Howie? Sheesh, guys,” he chuckled.

“Last kiss…” Deb murmured fearfully, glancing up. She vaguely heard Howie calling Nick a dumbass, but ignored it as she focused on the roof of the car. She gave a little shriek as it suddenly jolted again. The others tried to stifle their own cries of panic, but not very well.

“Okay, as the Old Man isn’t coming up with any suggestions, I have one,” Brian said with a crack in his voice. “I say we pick a corner and all get really close together. We’ll try and keep us all safe.”

“What if we chose the wrong corner?” AJ asked.

“Don’t worry. We won’t let you chose,” Howie said with as much lightheartedness as he could muster. Which wasn’t a lot.

“Oh jeez,” Kevin sighed. He closed his eyes and spun his arm around, finally pointing in one direction. “That corner.”

They all shuffled over, putting Deb in the middle for her safety at Brian and Howie’s insistence. They had just arranged themselves when the elevator shook again.

“If we die in here I am going to haunt you for a long, long time, Train,” AJ growled.

“Can’t haunt the dead, dumbass,” Nick said. Though it came out more as “dumbasssssssssssssssssssssssssss” as the elevator suddenly plummeted.

Deb choked back a sob, and then another, before she grasped that the car wasn’t going as fast as it had… in fact it was slowing down. The others had obviously come to the same realization. They started to raise their heads slowly, and Nick finally choked off his words. AJ’s teeth stopped shaking and Howie stopped praying fervently.

They just looked at each other in astonishment as the car slowed to a normal stop and the doors finally opened. Carlos peeked his head in then laughed with relief. Marcus also looked in, then leaned against the doorframe, looking at them in their little huddle. “Damn, AJ. Even when you get yourself in trouble, you always seem to find a pretty girl to share it with,” he chuckled.

Deb blushed again. “Umm, guys. I think that’s our cue to get up.”

“Nope,” Nick replied, snuggling closer. “Too scary. Only safe here with you.”

Kevin nodded. “You kept us calm. Probably would have killed each other up there if you hadn’t been there.”

Deb rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. Who was hyperventilating?” She shoved Brian gently and he got up. Howie also climbed to his feet, offering his hand to help her up.

“True, but we all wanted to,” AJ said as he bounded to his feet, then looked sheepish as the car jumped a little.

“Yeah, we have to SET trends, not copy them,” Brian said with a grin.

Howie shook his head and winked at her. “Better give it up. We aren’t letting you get away; you’re our mascot, now.”

Deb laughed again as she exited the car, her hand still in Howie’s.

“Hey, Kev.” Nick leaned over to the older man. “Are we allowed to kiss the mascot whenever we get scared? Cos I get scared an awful lot, you know.”

AJ smacked him upside the head as he walked out of the elevator. “Do that and you’ll end up scaring her, you dumbass.”

Mascot: Year 2