Chapter 54:
Smile
Peter Swan sighed in exasperation as he
adjusted the setting on his camera. He looked through his lenses, then shook
his head. In all his professional years of photography, these four were the most
irritating, disagreeable group he had ever worked with. He could care less that
he was shooting the Backstreet Boys, he had shot other famous groups and
none had ever been this troublesome. I don't need this! Annoyed, he
glanced up from his camera, waving his hand. "Hey, you, yes you, blondie, move a little closer to tattoo man."
Nick glared back at him, pretended to move
over, then glared again. Peter bit his lip.
"Oookay…" he gripped his camera tighter, wishing he could just smash
it across the smart-ass's head. Finally finding a pose he thought satisfactory,
he snapped away until the tall blonde moved, unable to stay stationary.
Peter laid his camera down with
exaggerated care, his mouth puckering in a sour smile. I'll bill them double
he promised himself, as he walked over to the group. "Great shot!" he
lied. He rubbed his hands together, looking around his small studio. "Now,
where is the fifth guy, uh, the one who can sing?" He hoped that
pissed them off. It did. "How the hell should we know?" growled AJ.
"Yeah, are we done now?"
complained Nick, glancing at the studio clock.
Peter gave him an amazed look. "Uh,
you've only been here 20 minutes."
"So?"
"Soooo, a
photo shoot usually takes about four hours," Peter patiently explain, his
voice the condescending tone of a teacher to a six-year-old child. Nick caught
it, and smiled sweetly back.
"I'll give you another half hour,
then it's time for recess." His voice mimicked the tone of the
six-year-old and AJ and Howie snickered at Nick's sarcastic remark.
"That's it!" fumed Peter.
"I'm not going…" his voice cutting off as he heard the muted boom of
his studio door being closed. A young blond man entered, holding a small duffel
bag, a much larger man standing right behind him. Peter waved them in impatiently.
"Come on, come on, we haven't got all day, or so I'm told."
Brian walked slowly up to the
photographer, tossing his bag to the ground. Peter stared at him in
astonishment. "What's this?" he questioned, waving his hands wide.
"How am I suppose to work with this?" he shouted to the ceiling.
Peter touched Brian's clothing, gesturing to his broken wrist. "You're
still perspiring!" he shrieked, eyeing Brian's slicked back hair.
"Where did you just come from, the gym?"
Brian shrugged in reply, motioning toward
the front where the guys stood. "So where do you want me?"
"Where do I want you?" asked
Peter in disbelief. "How about what am I going to do with
you?" He thought furiously, an idea springing to mind. "Wait…wait
just a sec. Yeah. This should work!" Excited, he motioned to the other
guys. "Go to the bathroom. Get your hair wet. All of you!" He hummed
to himself, lost in thought. Yes, it could work. Maybe the grunge look could
come back. After all, most of the photos he had seen of them were too slick,
too polished. A sweaty Backstreet Boy…hmmm. It could have possibilities…
Howie, Nick, Kevin, and AJ reluctantly
trudged back from the bathroom, dripping, and shifted uncomfortably as Peter tossled their hair, trying to achieve the look he desired. Grabbing
Brian hurriedly, Peter unceremoniously pushed him next to Nick, causing a
collision.
"Jeez," commented Nick sourly.
"You stink."
"Its called exercise. You should try
it," Brian hissed through clenched teeth.
Peter grabbed Brian again, adjusting and
tilting Brian's position, then took another shot. Not satisfied, Peter reached
and pulled Brian out of the line up, tugging at the singer's shirt. Brian
stiffened noticeably, the look not lost on the other four. Placing Brian back
next to AJ, Peter felt the friction radiate through both Backstreet Boys. Good.
He didn't want togetherness, he wanted a look of anger, a look of contempt to
shine through for the camera. Whatever was going on between the group, it was
definitely going to show up on film. Excited, he clicked away, shooting from
every possible angle, hoping to catch the perfect shot. After a few moments he
put his camera down, frustrated. Something was not right. Everyone was set
correctly, except the small blond one. Irritated, Peter pulled Brian once more
away from the group, fussing with the singer's clothing, his posture, his hair;
touching and pulling, not noticing the disgust that was radiating from the
man's eyes.
"Stop that!" Brian snapped, a
shudder of revulsion sweeping through him, barely able to tolerate the
photographer's constant touching. "Don't."
"Hmmm?"
Peter raked his hand through Brian's hair,
not listening.
"I said quit it." A fine sheen
of sweat shone on Brian's forehead and it had nothing to do with his recent
workout.
Peter frowned at Brian's cut lip, touching
it lightly, wondering how to cover it up. A firm hand wrapped around the
photographer's wrist, wrenching it away.
"What part of stop don't you
understand?" Brian snarled, his anger rising.
"Yes, yes! That's it! Hold it, hold
that look!" Peter lunged for his camera, clicking furiously in Brian's
face. Brian ripped the camera out of the startled photographer's hand and with
a mighty heave smashed it against the floor.
"Take a picture of that, you
freak!"
Shattered pieces flew everywhere and Peter
looked down at his ruined camera in shock, then at the wild-eyed Backstreet Boy
shaking before him. "My camera! You're going to pay for that! You've
ruined it!"
Brian smiled nastily. "Good!" He
walked over to the lighting equipment, a fiendish look in his eyes.
"Charge me for this!" He kicked the heavy equipment over, the
super-heated bulbs exploding on impact.
"Oh my God!" screamed Peter,
covering his head to protect himself. Nick, AJ, Howie, and Kevin scattered,
trying to dodge the flying shards of glass.
"Brian!" shouted Kevin, trying
to weave his way over to stop his obviously insane cousin from smashing another
object. "Stop!" He signaled to the other three guys for help.
The sickening crash of another expensive
piece of equipment came a second later. Peter moaned and Brian gave him a feral
grin, managing to send one last thing into oblivion before Xavier wrapped his
arm around the singer's waist and yanked him forcibly away. Brian struggled
fiercely in the bodyguard's tight grip, kicking violently.
Careful to keep away from Brian's wild
kicks, AJ and Nick came over. Xavier held on calmly, holding the thrashing
Backstreet Boy firmly in his arms until Brian stopped, exhausted from his
struggle.
Howie, Kevin, and Peter edged closer,
eyeing Brian warily. Howie glanced at Xavier and Xavier nodded his approval,
releasing the panting singer from his grip. Peter moved in suddenly, grabbing
Brian by the shirt. "You little punk! I'm going to sue you!"
As tired as Brian was, his strength flared
anew. He shoved Peter, causing the photographer to stumble, Nick and AJ
catching him before he fell. Brian ducked from Xavier's outstretched hand,
coming up to the photographer. "I told you to stop. You didn't listen. You
got what you deserved, you little faggot!"
Wisely, Nick and AJ held onto Peter, who
screamed with rage. "Faggot?" He eyed Brian's gaunt appearance.
"You look like a walking ad for queers! No wonder your girlfriend
dumped you!"
All four Backstreet Boys sucked in their
breath at Peter's statement, ill at ease. The media had gone crazy with
speculation over Leighanne's breakup with Brian; Brian had been tight-lipped,
even with the guys, saying only it had been an amicable split. From the
bitterness in his eyes, they had delicately avoided the subject.
Brian lunged for Peter, his path blocked
by Xavier's quick movement. The bodyguard grabbed Brian firmly by the
shoulders, then turned to the guys. "Time to go," he advised. Nick
and AJ hurried to get their gear, shoving Kevin's and Howie's at them as they
left the studio. All six listened to Peter's rantings as he hounded them down
the hallway, yelling threats of lawsuits as the singers entered the elevator.
The doors closed with an electronic swoosh, and Nick raised his eyebrows,
shaking his head.
"Well, I must say that was the most
unusual photo shoot I ever experienced. How about you, Brian?"
Brian kept his head bowed, not rising to
Nick's bait. His whole body trembled, caused by a mixture of mental and
physical exhaustion. Howie nudged Nick, giving him a not-so-subtle frown, but
Nick wasn't done quite yet.
He turned to the bodyguard, ignoring
Brian. "Say Xavier, what's up with all this gay talk Brian was yelling
about to the photographer?"
Brian brought his head up slowly, his eyes
glittering with an intense anger.
Xavier shrugged nonchalantly. "Beats
me."
***
