Life After That (12 page)

"That's what I thought. But it looked like you were in shock for a moment there, I was worried."

"No, don't be. Making the Band! I'm gonna be working on Making the Band. That's just… great!" she had her 2 thumbs up. But she sure was uncomfortable with the news.

"Ok. Can you leave me your phone number so I can call you later? We don't have the tapes here yet, so we can't start working, but I'll call you as soon as I get the material and we can start working on that."

"Yes, sure." she got a paper and a pen from his desk, wrote down her numbers on it and handed it to Andrew "Here's my phone number and my cell number."

"Terrific. Then I guess this is it. Anything else you wanna ask?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Good. Then thanks a lot Kirstin. I'm sure it will be a pleasure working with you." he said giving out his hand. Kirstin shook it:

"You too. Bye."

"Bye."

And she was off of MTV.

When she was outside the building, she chose to go for a walk on the 5th Avenue. She wanted to think over about how things would be now she got that new job. First she was so happy to get that job, but now she wasn't so sure she wanted it anymore.

"Oh, it's gonna be terrible. I'm gonna watch hours and hours of video material with Ashley on it. How am I suppose to forget about him if I'm gonna see so much of him every day? Oh Lord and what if he's with somebody now and then I'm gonna have to watch him kiss this girl all the time. Why did you have to become famous Ashley, why? Why hadn't you just stayed there in Redding? If you had, things would be so much easier for me. I wouldn't have seen you again." But she knew Ashley wouldn't be just somebody when he'd get out of high school. During high school, he was part of the football team, he took drama and music classes. She already knew back then he would be really successful when he'd get older. At that moment, walking through that crowed sidewalk, she remembered clearly one of the conversations they had about it on her front yard, sitting on the swing, after one of his Friday night games.

FLASHBACK

"Ash, will you remember me when you are all big and famous?"

"Probably not." He answered all serious from his swing. She stopped swinging and exclaimed:

"Ashley!" She then gave him a little punch on his arm. He laughed and said:

"Of course I'll remember you K! You shouldn't even have to ask! How am I gonna forget my biggest fan? The one person who's at every play, performance and game I'm in! I think you've been in more stuff than my mom has!" He looked at Kirstin, who had a shy smile upon her face "I'm never gonna forget my Princess."

They just stayed there for a moment 'til she broke the silence:

"And I'm never gonna forget my Superman."

END OF FLASHBACK

"My Superman… His princess…" Kirstin said to thin air.

Ashley used to call her Princess because of the time she was helping him with his lines for this play he was on. He was a humble guy, declaring his love to this Princess, and Kirstin was reading the Princess' lines. She didn't remember the play too much; she just remembered that when they were done with the rehearsal, Ashley said she would be a great Princess because she had the looks, the kindness, all it takes to be a Princess. Kirstin, of course, got embarrassed by that comment and he, noticing that, decided to call her Princess from time to time just to annoy her. She never told him though that she did like it when he would call her that.

And she'd call Ashley Superman because he was a Superman fanatic every since he was a kid.

She just smiled remembering the great times they had together.

She then suddenly woke up from her thoughts to the sound of her cell phone ring.

"Hello?"

"Kirstin?" The voice on the other end asked.

"Yes…" she answered not recognizing the voice.

"Hey it's Andy."

"Oh, hey Andy."

"Listen, I just got a call from O-Town's management and they wanna discuss the editing. It has something to with the last season's editing, they were not happy about it so they wanted to arrange a meeting to talk about it." Kirstin just shook her head. She knew things would get more complicated "But they can't come to NY due to schedule problems so we are gonna have to go to Orlando."

"We are going to Orlando?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Tomorrow, at 1 p.m."

"And when are we coming back?"

"The day after."

"And this meeting… just the management team is gonna be there, right?"

"No, in fact, the boys asked to be part of it, so they will be there."

"Of course they did. Great!" Kirstin sarcastic said. 'Just what was missing' she thought.

"So, can you meet me here tomorrow by 10:30. So we can go to the airport?"

"Yes, sure, 10:30."

"Good. Then see you tomorrow."

"See ya."

The next day she was gonna meet Ashley again. 'How is he gonna feel about it? How am I gonna feel about it?' She wasn't sure.

ORLANDO, FL

Dan got off of the phone and went to the living room where the other 4 guys were playing videogame.

"Guys, that was Cronin on the phone. He wanted us to know that the meeting was arranged and they are coming tomorrow. The meeting is gonna be here at 8 p.m."

"Ok" the 4 said in a chorus.

NEW YORK – Kirstin's Loft

"No way! You're kidding me!" Grace was in shock by the news she got from her best friend.

"Yep, that's exactly how I reacted." Kirstin called to tell Grace about her meeting with Andrew. "But you know what? I don't care. I'm not worried anymore."

"You don't care? You are gonna see Ashley again! Hello? The guy who broke up with his girlfriend because of you and was devastated when he thought you had a boyfriend. He must be pissed at you!"

"We don't know that. We don't know if he broke up with his girlfriend because of me and he was not devastated when I told Tom was my boyfriend. He was mad. So... yeah, he is probably pissed at me."

"Well, who wouldn't?"

"Grace, I'm not worried. And I don't see why you should be."

"I'm not worried! It's just that… how can you not be worried about what's gonna happen?"

"G, you know how I believe in fate, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, I got to think about it after I got the news I was gonna work at 'Making the Band'. You know that I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. It's not just coincidence. So if this thing came up, it's because it had to happen. It was meant to happen. So let it happen! Let's see how that's gonna turn out."

"It's gonna be interesting."

"To say the least!" they both giggled. But Kirstin's was a nervous giggle "So, I have to go packing now but I'll call you when I get back."

"You better."

"Don't worry. I will. Good Night, G."

"G'Night K."

THE NEXT DAY AT THE AIRPORT

Kirstin and Andrew were already inside the place. They were fastening their seatbelts when Kirstin asked:

"So, where is this meeting gonna be?"

"At the band's house."

"Their house?"

"Yeah. They live together. Did you know that?" Kirstin nodded "Have you ever watched the show? Do you know the band?"

"A little" 'If he only knew' she thought "I've watched the show just a couple of times."

"Then you know them better than I do."

"But why is it gonna be at their house? Don't they have like an office or something?"

"I don't know why it's gonna be at their house. I didn't ask. I didn't think of it as a problem."

"Yeah, you are right."

"Kirstin, are you ok? Since yesterday, you've been acting kinda weird. Are you worried about something?"

"No, it's nothing, really." she wouldn't talk about it with a guy she just met.

"C'mon. I know it's something. Are you nervous about the job? Is that it?"

"Yes" she lied, hoping that way he would stop bothering her about it "It's my first time doing this, a meeting with important people I mean, and it's also my first time in Florida…"

"It's your first time in Florida?" Kirstin just nodded "Oh, you are gonna love it. It's hot, but it's beautiful."

"I bet it is."

ORLANDO, FL

"They're here!" Mike Cronin yelled on his way to get the door. Dan, Erik, Jacob, Trevor and Mike Morin were all sitting at the dinner table.

"Where's Ashley?" Morin asked.

"He was gonna take a shower, but that was like, 40 minutes ago. I'll get him." Erik informed going up to Ashley's room.

Kirstin and Andrew were greeted at the door by Mike Cronin, who led them to the dinning room. Kirstin felt butterflies on her stomach. She was nervous, sweating, she thought she would handle the situation better. She didn't say a thing when Andrew introduced her to Mike as his assistant, she just shook Mike's hand. Every step she would take, she would get more and more nervous. Finally they got to the dinner table. Ashley wasn't there. She felt relieved. Maybe he wasn't coming.

"Everybody, this is Andrew Jackson and his assistant, Kirstin Addams. They are gonna be editing your show." Cronin introduced them to the guys at the table.

"Hey, I'm Jacob." Jacob, who was sitting on the first chair at the opposite side as they were standing, got up and shook Kirstin's and Andrew's hand.

"Hi, I'm Dan." Dan, who was sitting beside Jacob, did the same.

"He! Trevor." Trevor, who was sitting on the first chair at the opposite side of Dan and Jacob, did as his other friends did.

"And I'm Mike Morin."

"So you are the one I spoke to on the phone?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, it was. Please, sit."

Kirstin sat beside Dan and Andrew sat on the chair in front of Kirstin, leaving an empty chair between him and Trevor.

"Thank you." Andrew was still doing all the talking "Isn't there 5 guys in the band?"

"Yeah." Jacob decided to speak "Ashley and Erik. Erik went upstairs to get Ashley. They will get here in a sec."

'So he is here' Kirstin thought. She felt like running, leaving everything behind. She was good at that. But she couldn't, mainly to the fact she felt her whole body was numb. She then heard a voice coming from behind, it made her heart beat rapidly.

"Hi. I'm sorry I'm late. I'm Ashley." he said giving his hand out to Andrew, not minding the girl that had her back to him.

"Hey Ashley. This is my assistant, Kirstin."

"Hey Kir…" Ashley stopped talking when he saw the too familiar face.