Alright everyone, here we go again. This story is a complete work of fiction, and is not meant to imply anything about anyone. While some of the characters may be loosely based on real people that I know, none are meant to actually represent anyone, particularly any of the members of the Backstreet Boys. We may wish that they were gay, and maybe some of them even are, but I'm certainly not about to say that they are. :) If any of them happen to be reading this (hey, we can dream can't we?), feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think.
As usual, if you are offended or made uncomfortable by material concerning sexual relations between consenting adult men, lighten up or go somewhere else. Also, if it is in any way illegal for you to be reading this type of thing, please don't. Or do, just don't get caught.
This is my first time writing a story like this, and it's also my first time letting other people read anything that I've written, so I'd really appreciate any comments (good or bad) that any of you may have. If they're bad, please support your opinions so that I can improve. Drop me a line at DLS_stories@hotmail.com
Enjoy!
Brian & Me
PART II
by DLS
A lot can happen in a year, let me tell you. It had been eleven months since I had had the opportunity to meet the Backstreet Boys backstage at their concert in L.A. and in that time, my life had been pretty much turned completely upside down.
Once again I was standing in front of a mirror trying to get my hair to behave itself, and once again, I was very very nervous. I was going through it alone this time, though, because I was all the way across the country from Andrea's calming influence. I was at the end of my two-week stay in New York, with one final appearance to go before I could head home. The problem was, this was the biggest appearance I had. In a few minutes I was going to be meeting Rosie O'Donnell, and I was nervous as all hell about it.
I had finally finished my novel, and had been successful in getting someone to publish it. That had been nine months ago, and now I was busy doing interviews and promotions for the book. Called 'Blue Sky,' it had recently hit the best-seller lists, and as a result, my publishers were working me hard to get some promotion in for the Christmas rush. Normally, this would only have involved a few interviews for literary magazines and newspapers, and a few book signings, nothing too hard. Apparently, though, Rosie had read my book and loved it, and so she had asked me to do her show.
It hadn't even crossed my mind to turn her down. When Rosie calls, you listen. But the thought was certainly going through my head as I waited in the green room before the show. I finished playing with my hair and decided to sit down and try to relax. As I did so, and idea struck me. I pulled out my cell phone and gave Andrea a call.
"Hey you!" I said when she picked up. "What's shakin'?"
"Nate! What's going on? Where are you?"
"Well, at the moment I'm sitting in the green room at the Rosie O'Donnell show, waiting for it to start. Just thought I would call and see what was going on. You know, to pass a little time so I'm not just sitting around getting more nervous than I already am," I replied, standing up and making my way to the little table that had been set up with various foods.
"Oh, thanks for reminding me. I have to set a tape so I don't miss you. Mom and dad are going to watch too. They're really excited."
"Great. That's what I need. My entire family watching me make an idiot out of myself on national television," I laughed, selecting an orange and some strawberries and sitting back down on the couch.
"Aw, you'll do fine. You didn't have a problem letting the entire world read your book, did you? That's as much reflection of you as anything that will happen on the show. Maybe even more of one, actually."
"Yeah, but I didn't have to talk with the people who read it, and the huge cheque from the publishers helped some too," I said.
"Come on, just turn on the charm. You'll have Rosie eating out of the palm of your hand," she giggled. "Of course, you'll have to let her down easy afterward, I suppose."
"You're pretty funny for being such a loser," I laughed. Andrea had worked her usual magic. I wasn't anywhere near as nervous as I had been before calling her.
"You better watch what you say, pal. You've got to come back down here sooner or later."
"Speaking of which, I should be down to visit in...say three weeks. I leave New York in the morning, and then I want to spend some 'me' time at home. How's that sound?" This was another change that had taken place in my life. I had left L.A. after the book had been published and bought a house just outside of Toronto. While the sunshine and beaches of California had been wonderful, I just felt more at home in Toronto.
"Sounds great. I'll let mom and dad know when I call them tonight to talk about how foolish you look on TV," Andrea responded, laughing again.
"Oh you just do wonders for my ego, you know that?" I laughed with her. Just then the stage manager stuck his head in the doorway and motioned that he needed to talk to me. "Listen sweetie, I'm gonna have to let you go now. I have to finish getting ready to look foolish."
"Alright. I'll be watching. Break a leg, or a typing finger, or whatever writers need to break for good luck!"
"Will do. Talk to you later," I said, ending the call and turning to the stage manager. "Sorry about that, just needed a little moral support. Of course, given who I was talking to, it was more like immoral support."
The stage manager, who introduced himself as Steve, grinned and sat down beside me. "No problem. Now, here's how things are going to work. Rosie has a special surprise guest who will be coming on first. They'll come on, do their thing, and then she's going to be talking to you in the last third of the show. I'll send someone here to get you when it's time. While you're waiting, there is a TV in that cabinet over there so that you can watch the show. Got it?"
"Yeah, no problem. You gonna tell me who the surprise guest is?" I tried my best, most innocent-looking smile on him.
"Sorry, man, that's Top Secret. Rosie'd kick my ass if I told," he laughed again and got up from his seat. "Remember, I'll send someone in to get you. If you need to leave the room for some reason, say to use the washroom or something, let us know, so we can find you when it's time."
"I'll be here," I said as he walked back out into the hall, shutting the door behind him.
I laid back on the couch and closed my eyes, trying to maintain the calm that talking with Andrea had given me. A few minutes later, there was a small knock at the door. I opened my eyes and looked at the door. It was further than I felt like walking at the moment, so I just yelled for whoever it was to come in.
I sat bolt upright when Rosie herself walked through the doorway.
"Hey Nathaniel, nice to finally meet you! I'm so glad you decided to come!"
"Hey Ms. O'Donnell, I'm just flattered that you asked me," I said, getting up and shaking her hand.
"Please, call me Rosie. If you call me Ms. O'Donnell again, I'll have to kick your ass, and while the audience might like it, it's not the way that I wanted to start off our interview." Rosie laughed and took a seat next to me.
"Alright, Rosie it is then. I'm still trying to get over the fact that I'm actually here."
"You nervous?" she asked, grabbing my hand.
"I was, but I was just talking to a friend of mine, who assured me that I was going to make a fool of myself out there. Now I'm feeling quite a bit better."
"Sounds like quite the friendship you got going there," Rosie laughed. "Very supportive."
I suddenly had a brainstorm. Turning to face Rosie, I asked her if she could help me with a surprise for Andrea, in return for her being so supportive on the phone.
"Sure, anything to help. What do you want me to do?" I quickly outlined what I had in mind. As I told her what I wanted to do, a wide grin spread across her face. "You got it. That shouldn't be too hard to set up, and it'll be damn funny too. You do realise that Andrea is going to kill you when she gets her hands on you, don't you?"
"She wouldn't be Andrea if she didn't at least try to retaliate," I laughed.
Rosie laughed again. "Okay, now down to business. Is there anything specific that you want me to steer around in the interview? I know from first hand experience that there are some things that some people just don't want to talk about, and I don't believe in making them."
"Nothing I can think of, Rosie. My life's pretty much an open book, so to speak." I grinned. "Sorry, author joke."
"Okay then," she said with a small laugh. "If you're all set here, I'll go see what I can do about setting things up for you, and then I have to go and get ready myself," she said, standing.
"Thanks a lot, Rosie," I said, shaking her hand and walking her to the door.
"Don't mention it. Just promise me that you'll protect me if she comes after me!"
"You got it," I said. "By the way, can you tell me who this mystery person is?"
"Nope, sorry. If I told you, I'd have to kick my own ass!" she said with a grin.
I laughed as she shut the door behind her. I walked over to the cabinet set into the wall and rolled the front up. Inside was a colour TV set and a remote. I hit the power button and went back to sit on the couch. I didn't have too long to wait for the show to start, but by the time the opening sequence came on, I was nervous again, and there were no more strawberries left on the table.
I watched the opening of the show with little interest. I was concentrating on not screwing up when I actually got out onto the stage. I was having visions of tripping, or knocking something over, or inadvertently insulting someone or saying the wrong thing. With all this on my mind, I was startled when I heard my own name come across the TV.
"And also here today, a fantastic new author who recently released his first novel, which happens to be on the best-seller lists currently. I read this book in one evening it was so good. I just couldn't put it down. Excellent book, great young man...Nathaniel Healy will be joining us a little later. But first, we've got a special mystery guest segment coming up, so don't go away!" Rosie said, as she sent the show into its first commercial break.
'Wow, she really must have liked the book,' I thought to myself, starting in on the melon slices.
When the show started again, Rosie once again started hyping this special mystery guest.
"And now, without further ado, it's my pleasure to introduce...The Backstreet Boys!" she yelled, as the music to "Everybody..." started and the curtain began to open.
My heart leapt into my chest as the boys walked out onto the stage and sat down. I froze with a slice of melon half way to my mouth and then dropped it back onto the plate. My appetite was gone. It had taken a long time for me to get over the way Brian had reacted to me when I had met the boys almost a year before, and I had thought that I was over it. I thought I had come to a 'let bygones by bygones' place with the whole incident, but I had apparently been fooling myself.
As the boys started their interview with Rosie, the camera moved in for a close up on each of them. When the camera stopped on Brian, who was sitting closest to Rosie, he turned and smiled at America. The look of kindness and caring he gave was intense, but the only thing I saw was the way he had looked in that diner before rushing Nick out the door and leaving me there with a lukewarm cup of coffee. That blank stare, followed my anger, possibly even hatred. There were no traces of these things on his face now, but I saw them there nonetheless.
I barely paid any attention to what they were talking about. Something about a series of concerts in New York and the tour they were currently working on. Most of this just washed over me with little impact. I was too caught up in trying to get over the fact that they were actually here, in the same studio, and that there was a pretty good chance that I would run into them during the course of the show.
At that thought, I said a silent prayer to whatever deities may have been listening to please make them leave the stage before I went on. I wasn't sure I could handle an interview knowing that Brian was sitting a few feet away from me thinking about how disgusting I was. I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to say hello to the rest of the boys, but there was no telling what Brian had told them about me. Nick had been pretty cool, but we hadn't really had much time to get to know each other.
I almost screamed when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I had been so intently watching the screen that I hadn't noticed the stage hand enter the room, or heard her call my name several times.
"Sorry!" she said, removing her hand from my shoulder. "I called you but you didn't seem to hear me. It's time to get out there and get you ready to go on."
"Oh, okay. Can you tell me if the Backstreet Boys are going to be staying out there during my interview, or do they have to leave?" I asked hopefully.
"I really couldn't say. Steve may know, but he's gone up into the booth, so I guess you'll have to wait and see if they're there when you get there. Sorry."
"No problem," I said, hoping that I wasn't lying.
Before long, I was standing off to the side of the studio looking out onto the set for the show. I could see the boys and the back of Rosie's head as she talked to them, but I was pretty sure that with the lights and everything, they couldn't see me.
"So, thanks you guys for coming and visiting. It's always a pleasure to see you. Great album, and good luck on tour," Rosie said, holding the CD out to the camera so that America knew what it was looking for when it went music shopping.
"Thanks Rosie!" they all said in unison.
"Now are you guys going to stick around and meet my next guest, or do you have to get going?"
"Unfortunately, Rosie, we've gotta hit the road. Our management has set up a couple of meetings for this morning before we have to go practise for the concert tomorrow night," Kevin answered for the group.
"Oh, that's too bad. I'm sure that you would have liked my next guest. He's written an incredible book." Rosie turned to face the camera again. "Nathaniel Healy, coming up right after the break!"
As the show went into another commercial break, I noticed Brian and Nick looking at each other, as if they were asking each other if they were hearing what they thought they were hearing. They both looked over toward where I was standing, but with the lights shining on them and not me, I was just a blurred outline. Nick seemed concerned, and leaned over and whispered something to Brian, who just nodded and continued to stare in my direction, as though he could part the darkness.
The stage manager came out onto the set and escorted the boys back to their dressing room. Thankfully, they didn't have to pass me to get there. I again said a silent prayer, this time one of thanks, to whatever deity had seen fit to help me.
When the show came back from its break, Rosie once again told the audience how much she had enjoyed my book. She held her copy up, and then introduced me.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Nathaniel Healy." She gestured toward me and I felt the stage hand who had brought me from the green room give me a slight push from behind.
I walked out onto the set with a smile, waving at the audience as I went. In the excitement and confusion of seeing the boys again, I had completely forgotten about my nervousness. I made it over to Rosie's desk, and she stood up and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then motioned for me to sit down.
"First of all, is it Nathaniel or Nathan?" she asked as I sat.
"Actually Rosie, I prefer Nate," I replied.
"Okay, Nate then. So how are you doing now? You were a little nervous when we talked backstage."
"I'm doing pretty well right now, Rosie. This is the first big television interview I've been asked to do, so I'm a little wary."
"Well, I'll try to take it easy on you," she laughed, picking up the cue cards with her questions written on them. "Let me just start by telling you that I absolutely loved your book. Couldn't put it down."
"Thanks a lot, that's really good to hear. This is what I've dreamed of for so long, it's a little hard to believe that it's really happening." I was grinning like a fool, and I knew it, but I was apparently powerless to stop it.
"Now, for those who haven't read it, would you like to tell them what it's about?" Rosie asked.
"Sure. Well, first of all, it's called 'Blue Sky,' and it's about a convict who turns his life around while he is in prison, and the image that he keeps in front of him is that of walking free under a cobalt blue sky. It's a bit more involved than that, but I don't want to give too much away. Basically, it's about his attempt to straighten himself out, and how it all works out for him. I really enjoyed writing it, and it's nice to see that people apparently enjoy reading it as well."
"Well, I certainly did, and if the best-seller lists are any indication, I'm not the only one. Now, this is your first novel, right?"
"Yeah. I've been working on it off and on since university. About a year and a half ago, I picked up what I had written of the story and went through it again, getting rid of what I didn't like and really working on it in earnest. I wound up throwing out half of it, but what I kept I really liked, and it became sort of the backbone for the rest of the story. I finished it shortly before Christmas last year."
"That's great. Do you have another one on the go at the moment?"
"Actually, yes. Right now I'm sort of sifting through different ideas, trying to get the feel for them. I should be starting work on it full time in a month or so. Right after my vacation." I smiled at Rosie. This was the set-up we had decided on for my little surprise.
"Vacation?" she asked innocently.
"Yeah. I moved back to Toronto from L.A. several months ago, and I really miss my friends down there. So, after I take a quick trip back north to relax for a little while, I'm going to head down there for a vacation and to see my friends and family."
"Any friends in particular you're looking forward to seeing?" Rosie asked. She was good.
"Oh yeah, my friend Andrea. She's great. I can't wait to see her." I responded with a smile.
"Isn't she the one that told you that you were going to make a fool out of yourself out here today?"
"That's her. That's Andrea's version of support," I laughed. "She really is more like a sister than a friend, and you know how siblings are."
"Well, I think we should just give Andrea a call and let her know that you're handling yourself just fine. What do you think?" Rosie asked, turning in her seat and moving a phone into the view of the cameras.
The audience clapped and yelled their approval as Rosie picked up the receiver. They quieted as she placed her finger to her lips and began to dial the number that I had given her. I knew that Andrea would be at work at this time of the day, and so I had given Rosie her office number. It was a good thing that the show was being taped for air the next day, because there was no telling what kind of language Rosie was bound to get from Andrea. I smiled to myself at the thought of Andrea cursing in front of Rosie's TV audience.
The overhead speakers cut in and we could hear the call as it went through and began ringing. The secretary answered and Rosie asked to be connected to Andrea. I could hardly contain my laughter when Andrea got on the line.
"Hello?" she said over the speakers.
"Hello, is this Andrea?" Rosie asked.
"Yes it is," Andrea responded.
"The same Andrea who told their best friend in the world that he was going to embarrass himself in front of millions of viewers on my show this morning?"
"Oh my God! Is this who I think it is?" Andrew practically screamed.
"Well, that all depends on who you think it is, I guess. Hi Andrea, it's Rosie O'Donnell calling. We were in the middle of Nate's interview when I we thought we'd call you and let you know that he's doing just fine." Rosie laughed into the phone.
"Can Nate hear me right now?"
"Honey, half of the country can hear you right now," I said, finally breaking my silence with a laugh.
"Oh you are so dead when I get hold of you. I'm so embarrassed!" Andrea wailed.
"Alright Andrea, we should get back to the interview. I'm gonna let you go now. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me and my nation-wide audience," Rosie said. I burst out laughing as soon as she had hung up the phone.
"Oh, she really is going to kill me, you know."
"Well then," Rosie said with a devious grin. "We might as well make it worth it." She grabbed the phone again and began dialling. The overhead speakers came on again, and I heard the secretary at Andrea's office pick up.
"Hello?"
"Hello, this is Rosie O'Donnell calling from New York, who am I speaking to?"
"Uh, Stacy," she responded, sounding a bit overwhelmed.
"Okay, great Stacy. I need a favour. Could you please make sure that everyone in your office watched my show tomorrow? Everyone but Andrea, actually. It's kind of a surprise." Rosie could hardly contain her laughter, and I was having the same problem.
"Yeah, sure. So everyone but Andrea gets to know about this?"
"That's right. Thanks a lot Stacy. I hate to go, but I'm kinda in the middle of an interview at the moment," Rosie said. She exchanged a few more pleasantries with Stacy before finally hanging up. The audience immediately broke into a round of applause and laughter. Rosie turned to me again.
"Well, what do you think?" she asked.
"I think I'll try and stay on your good side. If that's what you do to people you like, I don't want to see what you do to an enemy," I laughed.
Rosie laughed along with me for a moment, before she noticed one of the stage hands waving a sign at her. "Oh, I guess we're out of time, Nate. Thanks again for coming and talking with us. You'll have to come back as soon as your next book hits the shelves. Will you sign my copy of 'Blue Sky' before you go?"
"Sure thing, Rosie," I said, taking the pen from her and signing her book as she announced the guest for the next show.
After the show ended, I was ushered back toward the green room again. I was counting my blessings. I had managed not to make a fool of myself in the interview, got the last laugh on Andrea, and best of all, I had avoided any contact with the Backstreet Boys. I was still thinking of this when I opened the door to the green room and walked in. Just as the door shut behind me, I realised that I wasn't the only person in the room. Before I could look up, a voice froze me in my tracks.
"Hello Nate," Brian said.
To be continued...
Okay, that's it for this part. Please let me know what you think, and whether I should keep going with this story. I've gotten a couple of responses, and they're pretty positive, but everyone's opinion is welcome and wanted. As I said before, I'm kind of fond of the story, but I'm a bit biased. :) Email me at DLS_stories@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading! :)