When all four members of the pop punk band known as Fall Out Boy finished interacting with their fans and had finally made their way backstage it took everything in Ashley to keep her cool like she said she would. After all, Pete Wentz of fall out boy is standing RIGHT there in front of her. The sexy bass guitar player that she idolizes almost as much as Slash – almost. But she really tried her hardest, because the last thing she wants to do is go all star-struck on them, and be teased about it relentlessly for the next few days. Dakota however, was not having the same luck at keeping her cool. She slid down from Nick’s arms and ran right up to him.
“Hello Pete Wentz, I’m Dakota Ann” She introduced while holding her hand out to him for him to shake it. Pete chuckled amusedly and he knelt down to her height and shook hands with her.
“Well hi there miss Dakota Ann, you must be Nick Carter’s little girl…right?” He asked, and he looked around the room only to have his guess be confirmed. Dakota looked astonished and thrilled that a Fall Out Boy actually knew who she is and her little blue eyes went big and round.
“How did you knows that?” Nick laughed and walked up behind her and he squeezed her shoulders gently.
“Maybe he is just magic like that,” he teased, and he looked at Pete then grinning.
“Hey Pete, what’s up?”
“Hey,” Pete replied grinning, and Dakota looked up at Pete then, actually considering Nick’s joke.
“Are you?” Pete chuckled again.
“Well I don’t know about that, but I do know that I’ve seen you on television before. You were on the Ellen Show once.” Dakota beamed.
“Yes I was,” she answered proudly. “Buts Pete you have to meets my Ashee! She’s a big fan of yours and she’s been hoping to meets you all day,” Dakota insisted, while indicating toward Ashley. She was standing just a little behind Nick tending to Bella who she is holding with just her one arm and she just got her to calm down while AJ makes her a bottle for her. Ashley blushed at Dakota’s introduction, but she smiled nonetheless.
“Hello Ashley,” Pete greeted, smiling over at her kindly, as he can sense she’s a shy one. Plus, he’s heard all about her from the boys on the Ellen show, and from the media.
“Hi,” Ashley replied in a quiet tone, proving his suspicions correct. Nick gently took Bella from her.
“You’re Nick’s girlfriend right?” he asked, and Nick grinned proudly, and decided he likes this guy. He is secretly glad that this factor is being established right off.
“Yes, yes I am” Ashley answered and she reached out and shook his hand with her one good one.
“She’s always talkin’ abouts how great you plays the guitar,” Dakota announced and Ashley laughed a little.
“Thanks Dakota.”
“No problem Ashee,” Dakota replied dutifully and Pete smirked.
“Well, I’m glad you think so,” he replied sincerely. After talking for a little bit with Ashley, she was introduced to the rest of his band members, Andy, Joe, and Pat and they introduced themselves to the rest of the Backstreet Boys and kiddies. Ashley and Dakota got their pictures taken with Pete and the rest of the group, and they all signed Ashley’s cast. Pete even gave her one of his guitar picks signed. Then eventually Alicia Keys showed up and the little meet n’ greet started all over again, though Ashley isn’t really ‘a fan’ so to speak, but she is a very nice and talented person and she likes her well enough. Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, and much to Dakota’s surprise, N’SYNC showed up. Everything was all going fine after all of the introductions and stuff, and artists were running around getting ready for their performances when suddenly a loud piercing scream made everybody in the room freeze. All heads turned to look at Dakota, to see her standing next to Josh staring at the door with wide eyes, and her hand at her gaping mouth like she had just seen a ghost. Everybody followed her gaze then, and saw that Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, JC Chasez, and Joey Fatone were standing at the door.
“DADDY LOOK!!!! IT’S JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, IT’S JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!!!” She squealed, and she just stood there staring at him in shock. Joey smirked and nudged Justin in the side. Justin looked at him and Joey nodded toward the little girl in shock. Justin looked back at Dakota then, and he went over and knelt down in front of her.
“Hi there,” he told her sweetly, and in such a heart warming way that all Dakota could do was throw her arms about Justin and hug him, suddenly bursting into tears, feeling a mixture of shock and excitement. She had been dreaming her entire four years to meet Justin Timberlake. And though Nick swore up and down that he would never ever take her to meet him, there he was standing right in front of her. Nick scowled somewhat, but still couldn’t help but feel happy to be able to watch his little girl’s dream come true. He looked at Brian, the one he knows has everything to do with this surprise and found him standing there video recording the whole thing. Brian had arranged the whole thing. Brian made sure N’SYNC was coming to the event and informed Justin that he has to meet his niece. He knows he told him that, because he didn’t even seem too surprised when she freaked out. Brian was even prepared and had a video camera. It has to be all his doing. He is also the most supportive in her love for N’SYNC then anybody else.
“Joey!” Elenore suddenly exclaimed, and she ran over and threw her arms about the red headed N’SYNC guy and he chuckled and hugged her back.
“Well hi there little one, what’s your name?”
“Elenore,” she answered. “Ellie for short.” When Dakota managed to calm down to the point where she was no longer crying, she looked up at Justin, her eyes all watery and he smiled at her some and brushed the tears away with his finger.
“How about an autograph?” he asked her and she nodded, sniffling and hiccuping a bit.
“Do you have anything special you want me to sign?” Dakota thought it over, and then suddenly realized she doesn’t have anything and she suddenly felt like crying all over again, but for a completely different reason. She didn’t know they were coming so she didn’t bring anything. She opened her mouth to reply when suddenly Brian spoke up behind her.
“Kota.” She turned and looked at him and saw him holding a video camera pointing at her and Justin in one hand, and her N’SYNC CD in his other, as well as her favorite Justin Timberlake Poster that she usually has hanging on her wall. Dakota smiled suddenly and he set the stuff on the ground and slid it over to her. She picked the CD and poster up and looked back at Justin smiling big and he chuckled.
“Alright!” he replied enthusiastically and he opened the permanent marker that was already in his hand and began signing the stuff, and eventually the rest of his group was joining in and eventually Josh, Spencer, Sarah, and Laila were joining in on the little kiddie meet n greet too. Ryan wasn’t too interested, he was more into Fall Out Boy, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears then anyone else. Soon enough it was time for the Jingle Ball to start and N’SYNC was going out first so Justin had to say his good byes for now. He closed the little meet n’ greet by kissing her on the cheek and then he stood up and walked off with Chris, Lance, Joey, and JC to get ready to go out onstage. Dakota who was standing there holding her treasures – her rolled up poster and her CD, went over and placed them next to Bella’s baby carrier where they would be safe and she ran over to Brian and threw her arms around him hugging him tightly. Brian smiled some and hugged her back affectionately, and he rubbed his hand over her back.
“I love you, Uncle Brian…thank you for making my dream come true,” she spoke into his chest.
“Me? Who says it was me?” he teased, pulling back a bit and giving her a goofy grin and she giggled a little.
“Because you had a camera…an’ my stuff for autographs…an’ you’re the only one that doesn’t mind me bein’ an N’SYNC fan…an’ cause you always have surprises.”
“You got me there,” he admitted.
“An’ I knew that N’SYNC wasn’t supposeds to be here. Daddy let me on his computer, an’ I checked. They weren’t planning’ on coming an’ they some how mysteriously did.” Brian chuckled.
“Nothing gets by you Dakota, does it?” Dakota shook her head and he kissed her cheek and pulled her close to him for another hug.
“I love you too sweetheart…and I feel honored to have been able to make your dream come true,” he insisted. Suddenly they heard the music to Bye, Bye, Bye begin. Dakota smiled up at him, causing Brian to smile back and he stood up with her and carried her to the doorway to the stage. When he got there he leaned up against the doorframe with her so she could see the performance and she rested her head against his shoulder and began to watch her first ever N’SYNC concert. Elenore went over and wrapped her arm around Brian’s leg and leaned against him so she could see out onstage too. Brian reached down and scooped her up in his arms too so that she and Dakota were each rested on either of his hips and both could watch their favorite boys.
“Is that the surprise you refused to tell me about earlier that he had up his sleeve?” he heard Ashley ask Nick suddenly, as the two of them sat on the couch, her holding Bella in her arms and him holding the bottle in her mouth.
“No…that one I didn’t even know about…” Nick replied, begrudgingly. “The other one that I do know about however, doesn’t come till later when we’re performing.” Riley who had been sitting there listening to them talk suddenly remembered what she was supposed to do then, and she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and walked into the bathroom shutting the door behind her. She dialed Brooke’s number and it rung a couple of times before she answered.
“Hey Ri…what’s up?” She asked as soon as she picked up.
“Not much, I’m just sitting here with the boys at the Jingle Ball.”
“How’s it going, have they performed yet?”
“No, not yet. Brian just surprised Kota with N’SYNC and they’re now on the stage.”
“Oh Nick must’ve loved that,” Brooke laughed.
“He’s not very thrilled by the whole thing, but he’s biting his tongue for Dakota’s benefit. He knows it meant a lot to her – I mean, she bursted into tears upon seeing Justin.”
“Aww…I wish I could have seen that.”
“Brian recorded it all on video. You can watch it when we get back.”
“So…to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?” Brooke asked curiously.
“Where is Chris at? What is he up to?”
“He just got back from the movies with Jennifer and Morgan…and a couple of Morgan’s friends. I think he is in his room at the moment. Why?”
“Brian wants him to watch the concert.”
“You know that’s not going to be an easy thing to do…he is anti-Brian at the moment.”
“I know, but it’s important Brookie. Do whatever it takes okay? Invite all of the kids into a room and host a Jingle Ball Party…or something…”
“Why? What’s he up to?”
“I’m not allowed to say. Just get Chris in front of a TV as quickly as you can. The boys go on after Christina Aguilera and she’s right after N’SYNC.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’ll call you right before they go on and see if you’ve succeeded okay? And if not…well…then we’ll move into plan B – Josh.”
“He’s pretty Anti-Josh right now, as well” Brooke pointed out.
“Well, not so much anymore…he’s coming around. But anyway…I’m gonna let you go because you need to hurry.”
“Okay, bye.”
“Bye,” Riley replied, and she hung up the phone, opened the bathroom door and walked back into the other room.
~*~*~*~*~
When Brooke hung up her phone, she stuffed it in her pocket and looked at Peyton, whom she had been sitting in her office talking to for hours.
“What’s going on?” Peyton asked curiously.
“We need to figure out how to get Chris in front of a television to watch the boys perform on Jingle Ball fast. They’re two acts away before going on stage.”
“That’s not going to be easy,” Peyton stated the obvious, as she knows the situation going on between Chris and Josh.
“I know, but we need to try,” Brooke replied while getting up. She thought things through for a few moments.
“Go round up all of the children and as much adults as you can and bring them to the cafeteria – then get the adults to start busting out the snacks – we’re having a Jingle Ball Party. Be sure to tell them, they get to watch BSB perform on TV. That gets them moving everytime.”
“And what are you going to do?” Peyton asked curiously.
“Go find a way to coax Chris into joining the party and to get Steve.”
“Okay,” Peyton replied, and she hurried off to do her assignment while Brooke headed up the stairs deciding that would be the quickest way to go instead of the elevator. When she was up on the right floor she went down the hall to Chris’s bedroom and she poked her head in and found Chris sitting on the floor going through some old photos of him and Josh. Great. She thought. He’s thinking about him and everything. This is going to be complicated. Sighing softly, she pushed open the door and walked all the way into the room and Chris looked up at her, widened his eyes, and quickly shoved the memories under his bed and out of sight.
“Hi,” he greeted, trying to sound natural.
“Hey buddy, What’cha up to?”
“Nothing,” he answered quietly. Riley went over and sat down on the edge of the bed and Chris remained in his spot on the floor, hugging his legs to his chest and just staring at her curiously.
“Did you have fun with Jenn tonight?” Chris nodded.
“Yeah, it was great. The movie was awesome,” He smiled, making Brooke smile too.
“That’s good, I’m glad you had fun. She said you were real good the whole time and didn’t bully any of the girls. I’m proud of you.”
“Yeah, I was good,” he agreed, resting his chin on his knee. Brooke sat there quietly for a few moments, thinking about how she is going to go about this.
“Sooo…how about you come downstairs with me? We’re having a party – everybody, in the orphanage.” Chris raised his eyebrow.
“A party?” he asked confused. “What for?”
“Just for the fun of it…it’s almost Christmas you know.”
“Yeah…” Chris replied sullenly, not really looking forward to another Christmas without a family.
“And you shouldn’t have to be up here all by yourself while everybody is celebrating. Come join us.”
“Kay…” He replied and he got up standing. That was easy. Now all we need to do is not tell him what kind of party it is, until it’s too late for him to run. She thought, as she stood up too. Someone will have to hold him and make sure he doesn’t go anywhere, once he finds out.
“Come on, we have to go get Doctor J so he can help with the party,” she instructed, and she walked out of the room with Chris following at her heals, feeling too depressed to be celebrating anything. What kind of party is it when Josh isn’t even going to be there? He doesn’t care how angry he is supposed to be with Josh. He isn’t even that angry anymore…he just wants his best friend to come home. Why had he been so stupid and refused the invitation to go? Why?
~*~*~*~*~*~
When N’SYNC got done singing four songs, they told the fans they would be right back and went off stage for water break and such. Just before they were about to go back onstage, Nick got up from his spot next to Ashley after he got done feeding Bella and looked over at Justin.
“Hey Justin”
“What?” Justin asked, turning and looking at Nick patiently, as the feelings that Nick feels for him goes both ways.
“Come here a moment.”
“I’m about to –“
“-Just for a moment,” Nick interrupted, looking at Justin with an ‘I don’t want to talk to you either, but do it for the kid’ kind of look. Justin groaned and went over to Nick, standing in front of him.
“Yes Carter?” Nick looked over at Dakota, and saw that she was busy talking animatedly to Joey so he looked back at Justin and whispered quietly, incase part of her was still listening.
“Dakota’s favorite song of yours is God Must’ve Spent A little more time on you. I sing it to her occasionally before she goes to bed…it makes her happy. I think it would really make her day if you sang it to her though.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Justin replied civilly. “I will take it into consideration.”
“Don’t take your hatred toward me out on her,” Nick warned. “Or you and I will make headlines tomorrow and you’ll have a very pretty black eye.” Justin gave Nick a dark look, and then he turned and walked away, his face lightening as he has to go out onstage, and he rounded up his bandmates and told them it was time and they went back out there. Nick scowled and sat back down next to Ashley again, and she linked her one good arm around his.
“Relax honey…he’s just acting out around you. You’ve seen the adoration he has for Kota in his eyes, he’s not going to let her down.”
“Well, you read people better then I do…” Nick sighed, calming down some, as he knows she’s most likely right. He looked over at Brian, who had scooped Dakota and Elenore back up and brought them back over to the door, and Sarah was standing over there with him too. They performed the song No Strings Attached and then afterward, Justin began speaking to his fans.
“All right everybody, I would like to take this time to dedicate the next song to a very special person that we have backstage tonight,” he began. He turned and looked back at the doorway then. Brian grinned a little and knelt down so Dakota and Elenore were standing in front of him with his arms wrapped around them and Dakota was listening anxiously, hanging onto Justin’s every word and wondering just exactly who the lucky fan is. He smiled at her some and motioned her to come out onstage with his finger, and she gaped at him in shock, before looking next to her at Elenore thinking maybe he was talking to her.
“I’m talking about you Miss Dakota Ann,” he told her after chuckling a little. “Get on out here you silly goose”
“Go Kota, before I takes your spot!” Elenore urged, feeling extremely excited for her best friend and Brian gave her a light nudge out onto the stage and she ran on out there to her favorite person in the whole world after her daddy and Brian. Almost every single girl in the audience erupted in ‘awes’ and screams upon seeing Dakota, treating her as if she were an actual celebrity, as they all know who she is. When she reached Justin he knelt down and wrapped his arm around her and he grinned.
“Right. So now that my new special buddy is here…we would like to dedicate this next song to her – a little birdie told me that it just happens to be her favorite. God Must’ve Spent A Little More Time On You.” He announced, and just as he did, the music began and Dakota just stared at him in utter shock, feeling so overcome with emotion that she could just cry – again.
Tell me can this be real?
How can I put into words what I feel?
My life was complete
I thought I was whole
Why do I feel like I'm losing control?
Never thought that love could feel like this
And you changed my world with just one kiss…
Justin began singing, and he placed his forefinger and thumb to her chin, titled it back and bent down and kissed her cheek. Dakota’s eyes filled up with tears then, as she smiled up at him some. That did it. That alone, sent her emotions into a frenzy.
There's an angel
It's a miracle…
He added, and then the whole group broke out into song. Joey walked over and took Elenore and Sarah’s hands each into his own, and he guided them out onto the stage with him, the two of them earning just as much attention from the fans as Dakota had.
Peaceful and deep
Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep
When I look into your eyes
I know that it's true,
God must have spent a little more time on you….
The group harmonized, and JC knelt down and gently took Sarah and placed her upon his knee as he took over his solo.
You are the one that surpasses them all
More precious than any diamond or pearl
They broke the mold when you came in this world
And I'm trying hard to figure out
Just how I ever did without…
He placed his finger to her chin and tilted her had back so she is looking up at him as she sat there smiling at him shyly.
The heart of a child
That's deep inside
Makes me purified…
Peaceful and deep
Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep
When I look into your eyes
I know that it’s true
God must have spent a little more time on you…
The group chimed in, Joey standing with Elenore’s hand in his and he is twirling her around and dancing with her like she is a ballerina and her soft giggles could be heard over the music.
And you changed my world with just one kiss
Justin took over, and instead of him kissing her, Dakota stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek and his mouth dropped in mock shock making her giggle, and the fans swoon.
There's an angel
It's a miracle…
Chris and Lance then joined Justin’s side for the last bit of the song so that Dakota was standing between all of them.
Peaceful and deep
Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep
When I look into your eyes
I know that it’s true,
God must have spent a little more time on you
God must have spent a little more time...
On you
