Wade awoke that morning with a very heavy sigh. The last thing he wanted to do was go to the WEG Compound and have to deal with the feud. He wanted to stay under his covers and not deal with it anymore but he liked his job too much to give it up. He liked and respected *NSYNC as well. They were a great bunch of guys, very nice, hardworking when need be, and very selfless. Many times they included him on their nights out but, lately, their good qualities have been overshadowed by their fighting with the Backstreet Boys.
Wade made a scoffing sound while rubbing his eyes. He’s read many interviews that they’ve done where they said that there was no feud. Was that just a bunch of malarkey or was that just something their PR team told them to say? On some days he wanted to thank Britney for introducing him to the band. If it weren’t for the VMA’s that they did with the mash up of their hit singles he wouldn’t have gotten a great job as their lead tour choreographer. But he wouldn’t have to deal with the daily headaches either.
The pros outweighed the cons and the next thing Wade knew he was driving himself to the compound, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He took sips from his Starbucks coffee every now and then but didn’t exceed the few sips. He’d start to get jittery. He didn’t want to get in a wreck on the way to work.
He turned into the large parking lot of the WEG Compound and sighed with relief when he saw only one other car there. At least he’d get a few more minutes of silence to get his thoughts straight and on the workout.
He greeted Johnny on the way to the dance studio with a small wave. He pushed open the door to the dance studio, which was the last door down a hallway from the living room and nodded at Fatima who was already there, sitting on the couch and reading a book.
“You’re here early,” Wade noted.
“So are you,” Fatima replied without looking up from her book.
“Yeah, I wanted to get in early so I could get some peace and quiet.”
“You too, eh?” Now Fatima looked up from her book and smiled at him.
Wade nodded and gave a one-shoulder shrug. “JC’s notoriously late. This means that the bands will have to stick around each other longer than they’d want to. Without having anything to do, they will start ragging on each other. It’s only a matter of who’s awake and who’s not.”
“Their argument is juvenile,” Fatima commented, marking her spot and closing her book.
“Didn’t they say in interviews that there wasn’t a feud or something?”
“There wasn’t before. Before they didn’t have to do anything together. They could easily complain without the other group listening. At least, that’s what AJ and Nick did all of the time.”
“Justin too,” Wade agreed. “At least, from when I first met the guys that’s all he’s been doing. He’s calling your guys pussies.”
“And he’s calling your guys clones,” Fatima contributed. “What ever happened to doing it for the music? I’m sure there’s more than enough room for them. I mean, you don’t see us fighting with each other. There’s more than enough room for choreographers. I don’t understand why they can’t get along.”
“If anyone got along I figured it’d be Nick and Justin,” Wade said.
“Because they’re the youngest?”
“That.” Wade nodded. “And because they both love basketball and they both like playing video games. They’re more alike than they think.” He paused. “Which I think is the problem. I don’t think the band is the problem. I think it’s the people—the critics—not taking the time to see the bands apart. Who can blame them, with each of them being so similar.”
“You’re right,” Fatima agreed. “JC and Kevin are a lot alike because they’re the serious ones.”
“And the perfectionists, right,” Wade agreed. “If they’d take the time to talk to each other I’m sure they’d actually be friends.”
“That won’t work. Nicky’s the most stubborn person on the planet. If he doesn’t get his way that’s it,” Fatima sighed. “Sometimes it’s an endearing quality but not when he’s whining about it.” She sighed. “So it seems that the only way they’d get along is if they convinced the press that they’re different.”
“It seems so.” Wade crossed his arms over his chest. “But people’s opinions are set in stone and are hard to change.”
“It’s the reason why I suggested this tour,” Fatima said. Wade lifted his eyebrows. “They’re going to be stuck on a bus with each other for who knows how long. Tight quarters and short fuses should get them talking to each other so we can get down to this feud once and for all. They have to realize sooner or later that their fans will start to emulate them and that won’t be good, sales wise.”
“So…either they get along…or watch their hopes and dreams come crashing down?”
“Exactly.”
