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Bitch, slut, home-wrecker, whore, mistress, adulterer; those were only some of the terms that had been launched in my direction during what was probably the longest VIP check-in experience of my life. The list didn’t even include the things that I had been called in French. I was secretly glad that I had given up trying to learn the language at the end of ninth grade, because I was pretty sure that I would have felt even worse if I had known what some of the words meant.

“How are you holding up?” Jason asked as we reconvened at the entrance to the general admission section of the Bell Centre.

“I’ve definitely been better.” I conceded. “I’m not surprised, though. The response to that video has been disastrous. Does anybody know why it’s taking Cassandra so long to put together a press release?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Jason grumbled. “I asked her about it this morning and she practically bit my head off. Meanwhile, I’ve got to be on the forum practically 24/7 to delete all of the shit. The fans are clamouring for the guys to comment. Cass has got to get a statement together. This is brutal!”

“She’s usually on top of things ...” I trailed off as venue security began leading the platinum VIP holders towards the stage.

Jason and I stepped back into the shadows at the foot of the stage as the crowd filed in. My goal was to remain as inconspicuous as possible until it was time to organize people for pictures. Despite our efforts to stay out of the way, I could still see the fans staring at me and whispering as they walked past. Although most of them gave me death stares, several offered sympathetic smiles, and a couple even gave me the thumbs up. I had almost managed to completely disengage myself from the fans when a full bottle of water sailed in-between me and Jason and brought me harshly back to reality.

“Bitch! I can’t believe that you have the nerve to show your face!”

Although I was clearly the intended target, the girl’s aim was off and the bottle narrowly missed smacking Jason square in the face. Both of us jumped back against the metal guardrail as Q came barrelling out of the darkness. He swung himself off of the stage in one easy movement and hopped the barricade that separated the fans from the front of the stage. Girls squealed in surprise as he pushed past them. Finding his target, he wrapped his meaty palm around the upper arm of a heavier set blonde girl in the third row.

“You’re out!” He growled, jerking her roughly towards the exit.

“You can’t throw her out!” A slimmer dark-haired girl, who I presumed to be the blonde’s friend, exclaimed forcefully. “That little slut deserves everything that she has coming to her!”

“You’re out, too!” Q roared, securing his other hand around the brunette’s arm. “Anyone else feel like coming to their defence?”

The rest of the fans shook their heads in unison and girls quickly shuffled out of the way as Q dragged the two women away from the group. I could see them twisting against his grip, but he didn’t let up as he shoved them both up the stairs that ran through the first section of reserved seating. Their profanity echoed through the practically empty stadium as Q guided them through the exit.

“I think this is a good time to point out that we will not tolerate any kind of negative behaviour, especially if it is directed towards a member of our staff.” Howie’s stern voice reverberated through the venue as he addressed the crowd.

I had been so busy watching the situation with Q that I had failed to notice that the boys had taken the stage.

The fans all turned their attention to Howie as he continued. “Our staff members are what make all of this possible. When you disrespect them, you’re disrespecting the five of us.”

“You’re just saying that because she’s involved with Brian.” A tiny brunette in the front row challenged. She shot me a determined glance as she spoke. “She should have thought about what people were going to say BEFORE she destroyed his marriage.”

“What’s your name?” Howie asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Sarah.”

“Well, Sarah, do you usually think before you open your mouth?” Howie challenged.

“Y-yes.” Sarah stuttered; all of her earlier confidence had clearly vanished.

“Really? Because if you did, you would have realized that you’re in no place to comment about a situation that you know absolutely nothing about.” Howie shot back amidst gasps of surprise from the fans.

“I assumed ... I mean ... she posted that video ... she’s the one who wanted everyone to know that she and Brian are together ... she’s obviously proud of what she did ...”

The poor girl sounded close to tears as she tried to justify herself, and I actually found myself feeling bad for her. True, she had called me a home-wrecker, but I could only imagine how horrible she felt being chewed out by a member of the band that she idolized.

“Assumptions are what lead people to speak out of turn.” Howie snapped. “We would appreciate it if you all kept your assumptions to yourself. This is obviously a difficult time for Brian and we don’t need any more negativity. We’re getting enough of that from the media ...”

Howie was on a roll. I could see that Kevin had his eyes closed and was likely, once again, counting to ten in his head in an effort to calm himself down. Brian was staring at Howie in silent disbelief, and Nick and AJ were shooting frantic looks at each other.

“Thanks, Howie!” AJ boomed, jumping in before Howie could continue. “Why don’t we take a question? Who has something that they would like to ask?”

“What’s he doing?” Jason gasped. “They’re supposed to take questions after the acoustic set. I haven’t screened anyone yet.” He looked around frantically for a way to interject himself into the crowd, but AJ was too far ahead of him.

A girl with wild black curls quickly raised her hand and AJ pointed gratefully at her. “What’s your question, sweetheart?”

“It’s actually for Kevin.” The girl clarified. “Kevin, in the video, it sounds like you’re blaming Nick and AJ for the fact that the group declined in popularity. You pretty much said that their addiction problems ruined your reputation, your career. Is that the real reason that you left the group?”

Kevin opened his eyes and looked at the young woman in astonishment. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. So, he just continued to stare at her with a blank look on his face.

“This was probably a bad choice.” AJ cut in frantically. “I think we’re just gonna sing now...”

“I take back the comment that I made in Ottawa.” Jason muttered as the boys scurried over to their instruments. “THIS is officially the worst VIP experience in Backstreet history.”