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Chapter 3


Nick stood in Rachel’s small apartment looking at the photos of her and her son that hung on the walls. He smiled at how everything was so simple, so normal. It was an older apartment, typical of Los Angeles, but had plenty room enough for Rachel and her son. Despite it being in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, the apartment was full of small town charm. It had sort of a country feel to it, from the faded wood furniture all the way down to the old crotched blanket thrown over the back of the sofa. It wasn’t exactly his style, in fact it kind of reminded him of his grandma, but Nick loved being in a place that had not been affected by fame and fortune. He had become famous at a very young age, and sometimes had a hard time remembering what it was like to be an average person, and he figured maybe that was why he liked Rachel so much.

After a little more convincing on the walk to her apartment, Rachel agreed to go with Nick to the Awards and he waited anxiously as Rachel called a baby sitter. When she found one, Nick was overcome with relief and even a little bit of excitement. He was relieved because the stress of the evening was now gone, and he was excited to spend an evening with a girl who he didn’t have to worry about impressing. After all, Rachel had already seen him in one of his weakest moments, and, now that he had a date he knew he would be able to just relax and have fun. He was almost looking forward to the evening. Rachel smiled at him as she hung up the phone. “She’s on her way,” she shrugged, “so what now?”

Nick raised his eyebrows. “Melrose,” he grinned when Rachel frowned. “We have to find you an outfit.”

Nick called a cab and the two headed off to an area of Los Angeles that housed row after row of tiny shops run by local independent designers. Rachel followed Nick into one of the trendiest shops ever to exist, and frowned as she looked at a manikin dressed in a sequent covered wife beater and a skirt with holes cut into it. “Shouldn’t we be looking at gowns?” she asked Nick who was already talking to the manager of the shop.

Nick laughed, “It’s the American Music Awards, not the Oscars. You have to look like a rock star.”

Rachel looked skeptically at the manikin again, and before she knew it she had four sales people huddled around her with excited smiles on their faces. It was like a scene out of pretty woman, except for that whole hooker part, only it was the rushed version. Nick watched, totally amused, as Rachel changed into outfit after outfit.

Nick had a blast playing dress up for someone who actually had no idea what she was doing. He’d learned a few things from dating Paris Hilton for so long, but he always hated shopping with her. Paris was like a fashion nazi. There were rules and codes of conduct, and rule number one was that Nick was never allowed to have an opinion. Shopping was always so serious with Paris, but right now, with Rachel, it was just fun. Neither Nick nor Rachel had ever laughed so much for so long.

Finally they found the perfect outfit for Rachel, or so Nick thought anyway. Rachel felt a little silly, almost like she was dressed for a costume party, but it was fun to be doing something different, so she simply thanked all the salespeople who had helped her, as Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. She could barely keep up in the four-inch heels she was not used to wearing, as Nick pulled her down the street to the first salon he came to. She nearly fell as they walked up the steps and she and Nick burst into the door laughing like a couple of kids. At first, the salon manager frowned, but his snooty face lit up when he recognized Nick. “Mr. Carter,” he said, trying to cover the sound of surprise, “to what do we owe this honor?”

“The lady and I are really late and we have to be ready for the American Music Awards in…” Nick looked at his watch, “45 minutes. You think you can do it?”

The man smiled. “Mr. Carter you have come to the right place.”

As the man rolled up his sleeves, Rachel was shown to a chair, and the salon manager and another stylist stood on either side of her poking at her hair. “Any ideas of what you’d like?”

Rachel shrugged honestly clueless. Aside from throwing her hair up in clips, the most she ever did was blow it dry and give it a little flip. “What do you think?” she asked, glancing to Nick for advice.

Nick couldn’t help but feel a little proud that Rachel was asking for his help and he happily stepped between the two hair stylists. He smiled at Rachel in the mirror and then ran his fingers through her hair pulling it up off her face. “Something fun,” he suggested, “Maybe half up. Kinda messy. Funky. Let’s get a little crazy, but not in a scary Courtney Love kind of way.”

The two men nodded and immediately got to work while Nick was seated in another chair and had his hair done as well. As the salon manager was doing Rachel’s hair, he noticed the condition of her fingernails. With just a snap of his fingers Rachel had a manicure and a pedicure done as well. Once her hair was finished there was a lady waiting to do her makeup, and when they were all finished, Rachel looked in the mirror and found herself staring at a completely different person. She couldn’t believe the transformation.

The entire salon waited for her approval. Rachel turned around to look at Nick and he nodded in awe. He was quite impressed by the quick makeover because, more than just that it was a fun new look, Rachel seemed excited about it. There was a sparkle in her eyes that Nick hadn’t seen before. He could tell that at least a part of her liked it, and even if she never dressed that way again, she was having fun at the moment. Nick was relieved to see it and realized that she was not the only one having fun; he, himself, was having a blast.

The next stop was Nick’s house. The cab dropped them at the gate and Rachel didn’t have time to gawk at the glory of her surroundings because Nick pulled her across the lawn too fast. “We’re gonna be a little late,” he explained as he punched in the security code at his front door. “Sit tight and I’ll be right back. I just gotta change and then we can go.”

Rachel nodded and Nick flew up the stairs to his room thanking the lord that he’d picked out his outfit ahead of time for once. He was supposed to meet the guys in five minutes and he knew that with traffic he would be at least 15 minutes late. Nick knew that Kevin and Brian and possibly AJ would be grumpy when he didn’t show up on time. Normally he wouldn’t care, fifteen minutes was not the end of the world, and Kevin always scheduled things like half an hour early anyway, but, after what happened earlier, emotions were going to be running high, and Nick didn’t want to make matters worse. He was kind of excited for them to meet Rachel and wanted this evening to go well. Rachel was so completely opposite from Paris that he knew they were just going to love her and he hoped that would help to clear the air between them a little.

Twenty minutes later Nick was handing his keys over to the valet at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “The AMA’s are held here?” Rachel asked confused as Nick helped her from his car.

“Na, this is just where we’re meeting the others. We’re supposed to all show up together.”

“The others?”

“My band mates?” Nick stopped and gave Rachel a strange look. “I know you didn’t recognize me, but you have at least heard of the Backstreet Boys, right?”

“I am from planet Earth,” Rachel assured him sarcastically, “I just didn’t realize we’d be going with other people is all. Despite what it may seem like, I’m actually really shy.”

Nick realized for the first time all day how suddenly he’d thrown this calm, normal person into the middle of all his craziness and he felt bad. “I’m sorry,” he said as he quickly became self-conscious. “If this is too much for you I can always call you a cab and go stag, but I really think that you’ll have fun, and I’m sure the guys are gonna love you.”

“No, no. I said I would go. I’m sure it will be fun.”

Nick looked at her skeptically and she smiled. “I’m way too curious to see what kind of rumors I can get caught up in now anyway, I’ve never been in a tabloid before.”

“How about we tell people that you’re my long lost twin sister?” Nick suggested offering Rachel is arm.

Nick and Rachel walked into the hotel lobby arm in arm, laughing hysterically like old chums. You never would have guessed that they had only met a few short hours ago. They were having so much fun that they didn’t notice the others waiting for them. Brian had been nervously pacing the lobby and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of them. He was angry and relieved, but most of all, he was stunned, as were the rest of the party. They all stood there with confused looks and their mouths hanging open.

Nick and Rachel both stopped laughing when they saw the looks the others were giving them. Nick felt like he was back in grade school about to receive detention and Rachel nervously squeezed her hand around Nick’s arm. Nick leaned his head toward her and whispered, “Looks like I’m grounded,” in an attempt to make her more comfortable, but he became a little nervous when it didn’t work. “They’re just a bit surprised, but don’t worry, they’re going to love you.”

Nick turned his attention to the shocked group and proudly pushed Rachel in front of them. “Everyone, this is my friend Rachel. Rachel, this is everyone. I’m sorry we’re late, I-“

Nick didn’t get the chance to explain any further because he was cut off by AJ. “Where the hell have you been man?”

“You’ve been gone for nearly seven hours! Brian was about to call the police.” Brian’s wife, Leighanne, chimed in. “We’ve all been worried sick.”

Nick frowned, would it have killed them to say hello? Nick was embarrassed at his friends’ rude behavior and his temper flared the instant he felt their disappointment. “Well I’m fine, and we’re late, so can the lectures wait until we’re at least in the car?” he snapped.

Nick headed toward the front door of the hotel. As the doorman held open the door, Nick turned back around. He smiled at Rachel and said, “You coming?”

The stunned looks of Nick’s band mates had not faded. All eyes turned to Rachel. She forced a smile and nervously waved, but they all just stared as she caught up with Nick. “I’m sorry,” Nick said holding out his arm again. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper there. No more pouting, I promise.”

Rachel looked at him skeptically then smiled. “Better not. I didn’t get all hot to spend the evening with a Mr. Grumpy-pants. If I wanted to do that, I could have just stayed home with Spencer.”

Nick laughed and helped Rachel into a waiting limo. “You’re right about one thing, you do look hot,” he replied, and the two were all smiles again.

The other four Backstreet Boys and their respective dates soon joined them in the limo. Kevin’s wife Kristen sat down next to Rachel and smiled as she held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Kristen,” she said as friendly as anyone could be.

Nick could tell Rachel was relieved by the warm reception as she shook Kristen’s hand. For once Nick was glad that the guys all had dates tonight because women were always better at keeping things peaceful. Kristen leaned close to Rachel and whispered, “You have to excuse them. Sometimes they spend a little too much time together.”

Nick wanted to give Kristen a dirty look, but her comment was meant to make Rachel comfortable so he let it go and just shrugged. It was true anyway. Rachel saw the shrug and smirked. “I guess seven hours apart wasn’t quite long enough this time,” she said and the two girls giggled. “Thanks,” she continued, “I haven’t felt that awkward in quite a while.”

Kristen flashed another comforting smile and the chauffeur shut the door. Everybody was in. Once the car started to move Kevin decided to be the brave one and break the silence. He looked at Rachel and said, “Forgive me but I have to ask your name again.”

“I’m Rachel.”

Nick watched Rachel carefully. She was smiling, but that sparkle he’d seen earlier was gone. Now she looked nervous and her smile was a little forced. Nick laced his fingers through hers when he found he was just as unsure of himself as she seemed to be, and glanced at the faces of his friends. Every one of them, though they didn’t have the guts to ask, was wondering who this girl was and where he’d found her. Nick thought about telling them, but then decided that they didn’t deserve to know. It may have been a little immature on his part, but the guys weren’t exactly acting their age at the moment either.

It was Brian’s look that proved to be the most upsetting. He wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was staring at Rachel, and the look on his face wasn’t exactly friendly. Nick sent him an icy glare, but he didn’t stop scowling until his wife gently nudged him and whispered something in his ear.

The group managed to fall into a casual conversation and although they were all being polite, there was an obvious tension in the air, and Nick was sure that their kindness was all an act. He was upset that they were all mad at him. He had a right to date, or not date, whoever he wanted. In his eyes, they had no right to be upset with him. If anything it should be the other way around, but the guys were angry, all of them, and Brian was beyond that; he was down right pissed off. His little hurt act was enough to make Nick sick, but most of all, Nick felt awful that Rachel now had to feel the effects of a past argument.

So many bitter feelings were now weighing on Nick’s heart and he was disappointed that the happy, stress-free mood Rachel created for him that day, was all the sudden gone. It was sad that seeing the four men, who were the closest thing to family he had, could make him feel so inadequate. Every time he was with them the feelings got worse and worse, but today Rachel had taken those feelings away. She’d made him feel good about himself for a few hours, and as he stared into faces of anger and disappointment, he clung desperately to Rachel’s hand trying to feel the goodness he already knew was in her heart.

When the limo stopped the Backstreet Boys stepped out one by one greeting the media frenzy instantly. Nick and Rachel were the last ones out of the limo. Before he stepped out of the car, Nick turned to Rachel and said, “You look great and you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want, so just relax and have a good time,” Rachel nodded and took a deep breath. “Oh, and smile your ass off,” Nick laughed as he helped her from the car.