Brian, Johnny, AJ, and Lucy waited patiently for their flight to start boarding that morning. Lucy sat across from the men diligently typing away on her Sidekick. AJ watched her silently, wondering what she could possibly be working on at this hour of the morning. He could barely even keep his eyes open, let alone work. She was dressed in jean capri pants, flip flops, a t-shirt that said "Miami" on the front, and her hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail.
"Whatcha workin' on?" he asked her quietly, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his thighs.
Lucy looked up startled, "Oh, uhm just checking what I worked on last night," she stated simply, focusing immediatley back on her Sidekick.
AJ nodded, smiling softly. She definitely was not a talker, and he was not used to women like that. He couldn't even remember a time when he met a woman and she didn't go on for hours about herself.
"Our jet is boarding," Johnny told them as he gathered his bags and started heading for the gates.
Brian checked his watch, sighing. "Where's the new girl, the writer? Wasn't she supposed to be here?" He hoped to God that he did not hire someone who wasn't even going to show up for the job.
Johnny checked his watch as well. "Yes, she was supposed to be here. But, we've really got to go. Hopefully she'll be able to get another flight out."
"Get your fucking dickbeaters off my shit!" a shrill voice came across the terminal, causing everyone within hearing distance to cringe.
Wincing at the string of curses that continued to be shouted, Brian reached for his cell phone, fumbling for the number to the writer's boss. Perhaps she had been delayed…
"Holy shit, if I'm going to work for the hotshits, they damn well better buy me some new luggage," a woman grumbled as she appeared, dragging her suitcase behind her. The small square case she toted in her left hand, held together by a length of duct tape, suddenly flew open, contents spilling across the floor. "Goddamnit!"
Forgetting his call, Brian shoved his phone away, already stooping down to scoop up the articles of makeup that rolled away from the woman as she dropped the case to the floor, grumbling a string of expletives that made his ears redden with embarrassment. When he straightened, holding out the items he'd gathered, he came face to face with her.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" she asked, snatching her things from his hand.
"Excuse me?" Brian managed; still shocked at the way she was speaking to him.
The woman huffed, snatching her belongings from his hands and stuffing them back in her bag. "You heard me. Please don't tell me you're the Angel I'm working for."
Brian looked over his shoulder to find AJ, Johnny, and Lucy just standing there watching this woman's actions wide eyed.
He sighed, and extended his hand to her, "Brian Littrell, and I take it you're Gabrielle Lewis."
Gabrielle rolled her eyes at his hand and walked towards the terminal, completely ignoring his kind gesture. Brian slowly let his hand fall to his side again, raising his eyebrows in disappointment before turning to follow the rest of the group.
"So this is the talent that Ron suggested?" he asked Johnny as he saw Gabrielle practically shove another passenger out of the way so she could push her way through.
"I'll find out…" Johnny immediately picked up his cell phone dialing Ron's number as they boarded the plane. Brian wondered how in the world he was supposed to write an inspiring album with the Wicked Witch of the West helping him with the lyrics. He heard Johnny arguing over the phone as they took their seats, Gabrielle sitting all the way in the back of the jet, headphones blaring with angry music.
"Ma'am I'm going to have to ask you to put that away until we are in the air, okay?" The stewardess politely asked when she saw Gabrielle's CD player.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Gabrielle sighed pulling her headphones off. "Could you be so kind as to get me an alcoholic beverage?" she asked, using her best fake polite voice. "Anything, as long as it's loaded—"
"Uhm, I'm sorry ma'am but we're not allowed to serve alcoholic beverages on this flight." The stewardess explained, visibly flustered by Gabrielle's actions as she hurriedly left to check on the other passengers.
Brian sighed as he sat next to Johnny, wondering how this could be happening to him. Johnny hung up the phone and looked exhaustedly at Brian, "Well here's the deal. Ron promises me she has great talent, which to tell you the truth, I find extremely hard to believe considering her lovely vocabulary. But, he asks if you will give her a chance. That's all he asks, and if you don't think you can do it then feel free to send her home right now."
Brian thought for a moment, looking over his shoulder at Gabrielle, who had suddenly fallen asleep in her seat. What kind of man would he be not to give someone a chance, even if she seemed to be the Devil herself? Maybe she did have great talent, and if she didn't then Johnny was right, all he would have to do was send her packing.
"Alright." He nodded. "I'll give her a chance."
Across the aisle from Brian and Johnny, Lucia idly fiddled with the seatbelt, glancing nervously at AJ as he scrolled through messages on his Sidekick. "Uhm, there's empty seats…" she trailed softly, unnerved at his obvious decision to stay by her side the entire day. She had barely had a moment free of him. Not that she minded. She just wasn't quite sure what his motives were.
Glancing up, AJ nodded. "I thought we could go over some things for the site… Only if you want to, though?"
"Oh..." she unconsciously swallowed hard. he last thing she was good at was socializing. She glanced out the window and back at him, "Yeah that should be fine."
"Great!" AJ smiled, reaching down below him to grab some paperwork out of his backpack. "So I was thinking, it be awesome if we had our music playing right when you entered the site, you know like so people get the feel of what we're about, maybe get to check out the album while they visit, and all that. And I was also…"
Lucia just sat there wide eyed; did this man ever stop talking? She had to admit, it was endearing that he was so excited about his ideas, but she was a little overwhelmed with his approach. She couldn't even remember the last time a man talked to her this much, even if it was about work.
"Are these bad ideas? Is that why you aren't saying anything?" he asked sitting back in his seat as the plane began to take off.
Lucy bit her lip, the speeding rush of the plane unsettling her stomach a little bit.
"Are you okay? You look pretty pale." He asked gently putting hand on her shoulder.
She looked out the window, seeing them rise further and further into the air. Not a good idea, that only scared her more. "I...don't...like planes," she said softly, holding her stomach.
"Oh...God, well, hold on..." He reached for the "barf bag" in the front pocket of his seat, opening it and handing it to her, "Hold on to this, just in case okay? You want some water? A mint? Some gum? A magazine? What do you need?"
Lucia just looked wide eyed at him. How was she supposed to answer him when she felt like she was going to see her breakfast again at any moment.
He reached into his backpack and grabbed a bottle of water, "Here, take a sip, it might help."
Lucia gently tried to push it away, "No thank you AJ really...I...I'm--" Before she could say another word there went everything she had eaten that morning, and not all of it made it inside of the bag.
"Is she okay?" Brian asked, leaning across the aisle as the stewardess rushed over to clean up the mess.
"I'm…fine," Lucia whispered, turning to bury her burning face in the cloth offered by the stewardess. Mortified, she sank lower in the seat, wishing the flight were over.
"Who the hell barfed? What's the matter, Empress? Can't hold your cookies?" Gabrielle snorted from her seat. When Brian glanced back to offer her a glare, she made a face. "Sweet fuck, that shit stinks!"
Brian sat back in his seat, trying to maintain his composure, and not throw himself at Gabrielle in an angry rage, maybe if he ignored her she would go away.
AJ looked down at his pants noticing some of the mess had...splattered. His heart softened when he saw her face buried. "Lucia its okay," he assured her as the stewardess handed him more paper towels. He gently tried to rub her back, startled when she quickly jerked away. "Lucia can you look at me?" he asked as he started wiping his pants with the towel. "You don't have to be embarrassed."
Lucia slowly pulled the towel away from her face, but wouldn't look at him. He saw there were tears falling down her cheeks. God, she seemed so fragile.
"Thank you," she whispered after a moment, still tense under the hand that rested on her back. She felt the gentle squeeze on her shoulder, biting down on her bottom lip when he pulled his hand away. Closing her eyes, she pressed the towel to her face.
*****
Blatantly ignoring the 'No Smoking' sign posted just above her head, Gabrielle leaned against the wall, angrily flicking her lighter. "Damn worthless piece of shit," she grumbled around the cigarette clenched between her lips. Glancing around, she rolled her eyes when she saw the blonde guy peeking out of a dressing room. No doubt waiting for a string of women to fawn all over him, she thought, finally succeeding in lighting the lighter. Inhaling deeply, she rested her head back, closing her eyes as she listened to the distant chant of the fans outside the arena.
"You may want to put that out…" Lucia warned softly.
Lifting her head, Gabrielle glanced at the other woman, huffing out a cloud of smoke. "Look… What is it? Lucifer?" she asked with a sneer.
"Lucia…"
"What-the-fuck-ever. Look, I don't need a mother hen breathing down my neck, okay? I can take care of myself."
"Like you did at the airport?"
"Fuck off."
Lucia took a step back, clutching the expensive digital camera that AJ had trusted her with. She was on her way outside to take pictures of the fans waiting to get into the sound check. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she glanced around, wrinkling her nose as Gabrielle blew another plume of smoke in her face. The woman was evil, she decided, masking a cough behind her hand. When yet another cloud of smoke wafted in her direction, she lost her temper. "Whose dick did you suck to get this job?!" she blurted.
"Excuse me?" Gabrielle raised an eyebrow as pulled the cigarette slowly from her mouth. "Would you like to repeat that?"
"You heard me." Lucia said softly, her eyes serious. Who was this woman? And why did she think she could ruin everyone's time by being a complete bitch? There was no need for it, especially not when everyone had been nothing but nice to them.
Gabrielle threw her cigarette on the floor, stomping it out before looking at Lucia again. "So you do speak, and guess what? You might as well shut up 'cause it's annoying as hell."
Lucia shook her head. This wasn't the first time she was talked to like this. After a while she had just learned to ignore it. Suddenly, she remembered that night the man she once thought she loved threw her against a wall and told her she was worth nothing. Sighing, she started to walk outside.
"You're weak, you know that?" Gabrielle told her as she headed in the opposite direction, "Weak. As. Hell."
Stopping, Lucia turned to stare at her. "I may be weak, but at least I'm not a bitch," she said calmly. Her hands shook dangerously, and she held the camera to her chest.
"A bitch? I'm a bitch? You don't know shit about me!" Gabrielle hollered, whirling around to face her.
"Well, unless you're an angel in bitch's clothing, I've seen all I need to see—"
"Fuck you!"
Pursing her lips, Lucia glared at Gabrielle. "You're not my type!" she shouted.
Snorting, Gabrielle shook her head. "You may be weak as hell, but you're funny as shit…"
"I guess that's as close as I'll ever get to a compliment from you," Lucia muttered with a small smile.
"I'm Gabby, by the way."
"Lucia… But my friends call me Lucy," Lucia replied, stepping forward to offer her hand.
"So what's your deal here? Which one of the Backdoor Boys are you waiting on hand and foot?" Gabrielle asked, shaking her hand briefly.
"Neither… I'm the website correspondent. I'm on my way to take pictures of the fans outside… Want to join me? I can't wait to hear what delightful comments you'll have," Lucia mused as they headed for the exit.
"If one of them screams out that they want to marry the fat blonde guy, can I tell her I fucked him this morning and he was terrible?" Gabrielle asked with a wicked grin.
Lucia raised an eyebrow, "Whatever makes you happy. So, what's your deal here?" She asked mocking Gabrielle's tone.
Gabrielle smirked, following Lucia as she headed towards the mob of screaming fans outside, "You think they could shut up for three seconds," she muttered. "I'm writing songs I guess, for the Choir Angel. Should be hilarious considering I don't think I've ever stepped foot in a church."
Lucia started taking pictures of the fans, "Interesting, and they chose...you?"
Gabrielle crossed her arms, rolling her eyes as the fans screamed louder than ever as AJ appeared, protected by two bodyguards. "This is fucking ridiculous, might as well give him a throne and a crown the way these girls are worshiping him.'Oh AJ please take me off to your tour bus, make love to me, marry me! Ahh!!!' Bunch of bull shit!" she laughed.
Lucia just pushed Gabrielle's words out of her head as she snapped pictures of AJ posing with fans, his smile bright and genuine.
"Didn't I hear Choir Angel say AJ's helping you out?" Gabrielle asked as they walked along, keeping a distance from the throng of fans. She noticed Lucia's tentative smile as she watched the man.
"Oh! Yeah… He's creative consultant. I guess he's supposed to make sure I don't screw up…"
"You should do him," Gabrielle pointed out casually, nudging Lucia lightly in the ribs.
"Excuse me?! I should what?" Lucia asked, eyes wide.
"Do him. Come on, he's not too bad to look at, and you can tell just by looking at him that he's good in bed. Not to mention, you're hot shit. Hell, you could have any guy you wanted…"
Lucia busied herself reviewing the pictures she had taken. Deciding there were enough to choose from for uploading later, she turned to go back inside, hoping Gabrielle couldn't see her red cheeks. "I don't want any guy… And I couldn't do AJ. Technically, he's my boss, and I'm sure he doesn't want me that way—"
"Which sure as hell explains why he's checking out your ass now," Gabrielle interrupted with a smirk. "Are you riding on his bus? I'm stuck with the Angel. He probably won't even let me have a cold beer."
"Yeah, I'm riding on his bus," Lucia said opening the door and holding it open for Gabrielle.
"Perfect! You should just pounce on his skinny ass!"
Lucia raised an eye brow as she started walking down the hall. "Yes, as the girl that puked on him. That's a great idea."
Gabrielle burst out laughing, "Oh yeah! Ha! I remember that now, priceless shit that was."
Lucia's cheeks reddened again, "Yeah it was really great." She walked into a room where she had set up her laptop, and gently laid the camera down on the desk. Gabrielle leaned against the wall and started to light up another cigarette.
"Oh get over it, its not like you killed the man." She laughed again, blowing a big cloud of cigarette smoke into the room.
Lucia waved her hand in front of her face, "Do you have to smoke twenty-four seven?"
Gabrielle shrugged, "Gives me something to do."
"Shouldn't you maybe get started on what you're getting paid to do?" Lucia asked sitting down in front of her computer.
"Eh, maybe later."
Rolling her eyes, Lucia uploaded the pictures to her computer, clicking the mouse hurriedly as she rotated and adjusted the tone of some. It occurred to her that Gabrielle was a slacker, and she wondered how she had managed to get the job as Brian's assistant, writer, whatever she was supposed to be doing.
The door burst open suddenly, causing both women to jump as Brian burst into the room, full of energy. "Hey, Lucy, I've got that write up on the Club you wanted—" he cut off, seeing the cigarette dangling from the corner of Gabrielle's mouth. "Put that thing out! Right now!" he demanded, eyes narrowing.
"Jesus Christ, it's just a—"
"Please?" Brian requested carefully as Lucia reached for the paper he held. He barely noticed, so irritated with Gabrielle he was dangerously close to sending her back to New York. "I don't mind that you're killing yourself, but my son's here, and I really don't like people smoking around him. Not to mention, it's not allowed—"
"You have a son?" Gabrielle interrupted, raising one brow as she dropped the cigarette to the floor, stomping it out with the toe of her sandal. "You mean to say your virginal tight ass loosened up long enough to procreate?"
"Do you always have something smart to say?" he asked, deciding not to tell her that his son was adopted, it wasn't her business anyway.
Gabrielle smiled. "Usually, so where is the little squirt?"
Brian raised an eyebrow. Never had a woman confused him so much as the one before him. One minute she was saying every curse word ever invented the next she was asking where his son was? How was he even going to begin to work with her? "He's playing with Kevin right now…"
Lucia noticed the strange exchange between the two of them. "I'd like to meet him sometime, what's his name?" Lucia offered to break the tension
Brian turned towards Lucia with a smile, "It's Baylee, and of course you can meet him. He's already quite the ladies' man. He's a little heartbreaker…"
Lucia smiled standing up. "Awe, well he sound's like a sweetheart."
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Just like his daddy right?" she asked sarcastically.
Brian didn't even look at her; instead he extended his hand to Lucia. "C'mon I'll introduce you."
Author's Chapter Notes:
Note: Leighanne doesn't exist in this universe. We couldn't bring ourselves to kill her, and we know that Brian would never get a divorce, so it was a mutual agreement to just? Not have her at all. Thanks :)
