Twelve

"Kel come with meeeeeeeee!" AJ whined pulling at my hand.

"AJ nooooo," I whined back planting my feet and not moving.

"Why not?"

"Because I don’t belong there…"

"Bullshit. You know you’re always a part of the group."

I sighed and shook my head, "Not like this though…I’m a part of touring and shit, but not meetings."

"Kel," AJ sighed as he stood before me and looked down at me. "It’s a freakin half hour long meeting about stupid shit like tee shirts and tour books… please come with me."

"AJ…"

"KJ…" he laughed. I pouted and he smiled reaching for my camera which was sitting on the kitchen counter, "Come on…you can take candid pictures all the way there, during the meeting and everywhere else that we go after the meeting. When was the last time that you took true Backstreet pictures?"

"A long time ago…" I mumbled.

"Exactly… so come on."

Twenty minutes later I was standing beside AJ in an elevator going to the meeting with him. I snapped a picture of him watching the numbers flash above our heads and he smiled, "What do you do with all of the pictures you take of me?"

"I sell them on the Internet to psycho fans…"I teased and stepped out of the elevator as the doors opened. "Wait… don’t move…" AJ froze in his tracks and waited for me to take the picture. "Thanks…"

"No problem… but really, what do you do with them?"

I took AJ’s hand in mine as we walked the long hall through the building together, "Most of them I just keep in a big box and when I miss you I can dig through them. But I frame a lot of them… which you’ve seen on my walls and stuff."

"You should make a book… ‘My Freak AJ,’"he laughed.

"How about a Backstreet book? ‘The Five Biggest Pains In My Ass…" I smiled and he stuck his tongue out at me. "’Whom I Love Dearly…’ that is…"

"Mmm hmm… we’ve already got Andre doing another book for us thank you."

"Really?"

"Yeah… I told you that didn’t I?"

"Nope… once again you give me the shaft…" I sighed dramatically.

"Oh I’d like to give you a shaft…" AJ giggled.

"Oh you’re SICK!" I snorted and smacked him in the back of the head.

"You know you want me…" he grinned rubbing the back of his head slightly.

"Mmm hmm…" I mumbled. "Actually… THAT is what I want…" I stopped and pulled my camera up to my face again as I snapped a picture of Kevin deep in thought already sitting in the meeting room. He heard the click of my camera and looked up and smiled. I took another picture and walked into the room, "Hey stud muffin…"

"Hey sexy… come here…" he grinned and I sat in his lap. "How’s my girl?"

"Good…" I laughed as he tickled my waist. "Cut it out…" I smacked at his hands and kissed his cheek. "How’s the wifey?"

"Simply wonderful… How’s life living with Bone?"

"He’s a perv as usual… you should’ve heard what he just said to me…" I shook my head slowly. "He’s just nasty Kev…"

Kevin looked at AJ who’d sat down in a chair nearby and was listening to us, "You better be nice to her…"

"Or what?" AJ laughed.

"Or you’ll have to deal with my Kevy…" I grinned leaned my cheek against his, "Right Kev?"

"Exactly…"

AJ took my camera and aimed it at Kevin and I, we cheesed it up and AJ snapped the picture. "I’m showing that one to Kristen…"AJ laughed.

"Oh please… Kristen loves me…" I smiled and looked at Kevin. "Doesn’t she baby?"

"Very much so…" I looked at AJ and stuck my tongue out.

"Shouldn’t stick that thing out if you’re not planning on using it…" Nick said with a grin as he walked into the room.

I blushed and quickly put my tongue back into my mouth and got off of Kevin’s lap. AJ meanwhile snapped a picture of me, "You’re blushing Kel…"

"Shut up…" I groaned and took the camera back from him as I sat in the chair next to him.

"You’re SO blushing!" he giggled.

"Shut up AJ!"

"Y’all fight like a married couple I swear…"Brian twanged as he walked into the room.

I gave Brian my best pout, "He’s pickin’ on me Rok…"

Brian thwapped AJ on the back of the head as he walked behind AJ, "Cut it out Bone…"

I giggled as AJ whined, "Hey!"

"Love me…" I smiled.

"Yeah…" he pouted as he rubbed his head again.

"LOVE me!"

"Mmm hmm…"

I rolled my chair closer to his and twirled him to face me, "Love… me…" He stared at me with a look that screamed challenge and I lunged at him and held him in a head lock as everyone laughed. "Love me AJ…"

"Kel… Arg… Kel…" AJ groaned as I held him and he struggled against my hold.

"Say it…"

"Kel…"

"Not that…" I laughed.

"I love you…"

"Hmm? Didn’t hear you…" I giggled looking at Brian who was cracking up.

"I LOVE YOU!"

I let go of him and kissed his forehead before sitting back down, "Love you too baby…"

The whole room erupted into laughter and by the time Howie and Richard walked into the room we were all in tears. "Did we miss something?" Like school kids caught misbehaving in detention we all sat up straight and stopped laughing as much as possible. Howie sat down at the table opposite of me and I waved to him quietly. He chuckled and waved back.

"Well Kellie… hello again," Richard cooed.

"Hi," I smiled giving Richard a wave. "I can leave if you need me to. AJ just thought that I could…"

"No… no problem. Stay, by all means…" he said with a huge grin that made me shiver. Nick let out a chuckle at the obvious flirting that Richard was pulling with me and I shot him a look across the table.

"Thanks…" I said quietly and fidgeted with my camera in my lap avoiding Nick’s obvious stare and Richard’s creepy looks. Richard began the meeting and I quickly became bored and looked around the room at the guys. They too looked bored and I was suddenly faced with numerous photo opportunities. Quietly getting up I moved around the room and started snapping pictures. The guys, used to my picture snapping, knew better than to look up at the camera but Richard stopped in mid sentence and looked up at me. "Oh…sorry…" I blushed. "I um… do you mind? I’m a ‘take pictures when I see them’ type of girl and I… I can sit down…"

"No you’re fine…" Richard smiled.

"She knows she’s fine…" Nick mumbled and smiled as he looked into his lap.

"What’s that Nick?" Richard asked as I glared at Nick.

"Nuthin…" Nick said and looked up at Richard who was clueless about anything going on. Richard continued the meeting and I stood motionless for a moment looking at Nick. Twice in less than a few minutes he’d embarrassed me, it wasn’t like him, and I didn’t like it. Struck by genius again though I started taking pictures again getting great shots of them pretending to pay attention to what Richard was saying.

Several minutes later though everyone, including me, paid attention as Richard spoke, "I do have some bad news though… Andre’s pulled out of doing the book. He’s decided that being away for a whole year on this tour is too much for him."

"You’re kidding…" Kevin said shocked.

"I wish that I were… but no," Richard sighed.

"So are we canceling the book?" Brian asked.

"Well we’re trying to avoid that… we’ve already penned a deal with the book company and they’re expecting a book at the end of this tour."

"But Andre and Kel are the only people who’ve ever been able to take good candid pictures of us," Brian said.

"How are we supposed to find someone who is good enough at such short notice? The tour is right around the corner."

"I know… we’ve already started looking for another photographer…" Richard said. "We’re looking through portfolios right now. Hopefully we’ll find someone good."

"What about Kel?" AJ asked looking up at me where I was standing behind Kevin.

"What about me?"

"You could do it… Brian said it a second ago. You and Andre are the only ones who we’ve trusted… you could tour with us and do the book."

"Age I…" I stuttered shaking my head and reaching out to hold the back of Kevin’s chair. "I…"

"You can do this Kel…" Howie said supportively. "We’ve all seen the pictures you’ve taken of us over the years and we all know…"

Richard chuckled interrupting Howie’s statement as he looked around the table, "Listen… Don’t take this the wrong way… I know you all are friends with Kellie, but we’re looking for a REAL photographer to do this book… not some girlfriend who snaps pictures as a hobby."

The room fell silent at Richard’s statement and my blood boiled as I looked at the older, balding, overweight man in a bad suit across the room from me. How dare he call me a girlfriend, and how dare he insult my abilities to do my job? "You know…" I sighed. "You don’t know me well enough to make an assumption like that…"

Richard squirmed slightly under my gaze and the guys watched, knowing better than to interfere, "Hey… sweetie don’t get me wrong…"

"Oh no…" Howie muttered under his breath.

"Sweetie? Excuse me, did you just call me SWEETIE?" I looked at Brian, "Did he call me Sweetie?"

"Yeah… yeah he did…" Brian answered as he visibly flinched waiting for my response.

"That’s strike two Dick… Your best bet would be to stop before you strike out…" I looked at AJ and shot him a look, "I’m going to wait in the hall before I embarrass someone."

I started across the room and put my hand on the door knob when I heard Nick speak up, "Kel wait…" I sighed and turned around to find him looking directly at me. He took a moment with his eyes fixed on mine before he looked at Richard, "You owe her an apology. She’s not a girlfriend, she’s our best friend. And she’s not just taking pictures for a hobby, she’s an artist. She’s an amazing photographer and if you give up the chance to get her in on this book, then you’re an idiot." Richard looked at Nick through narrowed eyes and opened his mouth but Nick silenced him by holding his hand up. "One more thing… she’s not your ‘sweetie.’ Now apologize to her…"

My heart was beating out of my chest as I watched Nick standing up for me and the rest of the room watched him intently. When Richard finally did look at me to speak I didn’t even look at him, I couldn’t tear my eyes from Nick’s. "I apologize Kellie… I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that. I’d love to see your portfolio if you’re interested in doing this job."

Tearing my eyes from Nick’s I looked at Richard and shook my head, "No thank you…" I looked at Nick once more quickly and then to AJ, "I’ll be in hall…"

"Kel stay…" he said reaching his hand out to me.

"I’ll be in the hall," I repeated quietly and stepped into the hall closing the door behind me.