Sleeping Beauty
SS by Amanda

“Ok, cut!  Ladies and gentleman, that’s a wrap,” I hear Wayne yell as we finish the final scene to my video.  Everyone around me is smiling and clapping as I grab my sweatshirt from the floor and throw it on.

As I move toward the awaiting car, I can feel the effects of the shoot.  We started two days ago and we were supposed to be finished by 6:00 last night and I was scheduled to board a plane immediately for Miami to do a radio interview this morning and my concert tonight. 

However, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that we needed her cooperation and virtually the entire day’s shoot was delayed due to torrential rain.  So, here I am, jumping into the car at 4:00 a.m. feeling like I’ve just completed an iron man competition on my way to the airport to fly to my interview that’s just three hours away.  Oh, the life of a pop star!  It’s so glamorous at times.

I stretch out in the back seat of the car and put my hands under my head.

“Get some sleep Brit, it’s gonna be a long day,” Fe says as she pats my arm from the seat in front of me.

I’ve been awake so long that my eyes hurt when I finally shut them.  I love hearing the murmur of the moving car as I start to drift to sleep.  Peace at last.

As I’m about to fall into a deep sleep, I feel the car jerk suddenly.

“Fuck,” Rob yells as he slams on the breaks and I begin to roll forward into the floor.  I catch myself with one arm as the car stops and I slowly rise up in the seat.

I feel the rush of cold air as Rob, Fe and Larry jump out of the car and stand looking at the passenger’s side of the car.  I still can’t tell if we’ve hit something or what.

I groggily slip unnoticed out of the car and stand back from the group.  I look at the car and see that the back passenger tire is blown.

I look around the virtually deserted freeway as Rob leans down and surveys the damage. 

“The tires gone and it looks like the axel is broke,” Rob says as he looks up at Larry, “We’re gonna have to call a tow truck.”

Great.  My day is starting off wonderfully.

“We need to call a cab or something too because we have to get Britney to the airport,” Fe says frantically.

I let out an ironic laugh and shake my head as I look back out at the freeway.

It’s about this time that someone finally notices that I’m not in the car. 

“Britney, get in the car until someone comes to get us,” Larry yells as he points to the car.

“Why?” I ask.

“Because all we need is to bring attention to ourselves with the world’s biggest pop star standing on the side of the freeway,” he yells as he looks at me, “Morning traffic will be starting soon and I don’t want people to see you.”

“Oh yeah, like having this big bus looking thing with tinted windows and a huge incredible hulk like man standing here doesn’t bring attention to us.”

“Britney, get in the car now,” Fe cuts in, “You need to get some sleep anyway before your interview.”

I know this is a fight I’m not going to win, so I stomp back into the car and lay back down in the seat. 

As I try to go back to sleep, I hear the group outside start to talk.  Uuuuugggghhhh!  How am I supposed to sleep like this!

I toss around to the other side and put my arm over my ear, but I can still hear them talking.

Oh my god, this is awful.  I’m so tired, but I can’t sleep.

“Could you please be quiet, I’m trying to sleep here,” I yell as I raise up quickly and look at them.

They nod their heads and I return to my previous position.  I close my eyes and I can feel my breathing start to slow as I begin to fall to sleep.  I’m somewhere between the stage of not being asleep but not being awake when I hear a car pull up.

“Brit, the cab’s here, let’s go,” Fe says softly as she puts her hand on my shoulder and shakes me.

That’s nice, I was just about ready to get some sleep!

As I climb back out of the car, I see the tow truck pull in.

Rob starts to unload the luggage and put it in the cab as I make my way into the back seat.  Fe and Larry jump in beside me and Rob gets into the front seat as we take off.

How cozy.  I can’t sleep like this.  Sandwiched between my manager and my assistant.

I sit in silence as we make the twenty minute ride to the airport.  As we arrive at the terminal, Rob latches onto my arm and begins to pull me to our destination as people stop and stare.  I’m sure they think I’m on drugs or something because I can only imagine what I look like at this moment.

I plop down in a chair as we finally make it to the terminal and Fe and Larry talk to the people at the desk.  Thank god they reserved a private jet so that I can actually get some sleep on the plane.

I’m looking out at nothing in particular when Fe comes and sits down next to me.

“We have a slight problem,” she says and I look up at her, “There is a problem with the plane and they don’t know how long it’s going to take to fix it.”

Of course, why not.  It’s just my luck.

I shake my head but say nothing as I return my gaze away from her. 

“Larry is on the phone to the radio station in Miami to see if you can do a phone interview instead,” she says softly.

“Ok,” Larry says as he comes toward me, “They’ve agreed to do a radio interview.  You’ve got 1 ½ hours to get some sleep.”

This will be ok.  I can sleep with a little now, do the interview and then sleep on the plane when it’s ready so that I will be 100% for the concert tonight.

As I lay down on the chairs trying to make myself comfortable I have a feeling of uneasiness settle over me.  I don’t know what it is.  I think it’s just because I’m tired and hungry. 

For the next hour and fifteen minutes I toss and turn continuously.  I feel like I’m so tired that I can’t sleep.  How logical is that.  I’m now at the point that I’m mad at myself for not sleeping and wasting this time that could help me tremendously.  But, I can’t figure out how to go to sleep.  I never thought there was a science to going to sleep.

“Brit, you better get up and get ready for your interview,” Fe says as I turn one more time.

I sit up on my elbows and shake my head in frustration.  This is going to be a long day.

I stand up and walk to a table that Larry has set up for me in the corner of the room.  Fe hands me a cappuccino as I set down. 

“Here, there getting ready to put you on the air,” Larry says as he hands me the cell phone and I yawn.

“Is this Britney?” I hear the DJ say as I put the phone to my ear.

“This is Britney,” I say with a slight smile.

“So I hear that you're stranded at an airport right now because of some airplane troubles?” he asks, “Where are you?”

“I’m in New York.  Actually just about everything has gone wrong today,” I say with a giggle, “My video shoot ran over, the tire on the car blew and I haven’t slept for basically two days.”

“You’re gonna make it here for your show tonight aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah.  I’ll be there,” I say as I shake my head yes.  I don’t know why I do that, it’s not like he can see me.

He continues on asking me questions about just about everything.  My new cd, my car, my image and of course, my breasts.  He’s getting a little pushy and I’m really tired.  I just want to end this thing now, but I know that he isn’t done.  He still hasn’t asked me anything about Justin yet and that is always a favorite topic of my interviews.

“Ok, Britney, I read in a magazine recently that you said that it’s really hard to wait to have sex since you and Justin are really close.”

Oh no.  Not this one.

“So, we’ve taken bets here and none of us think that you are actually a virgin,” he laughs, “I mean, come on, you are the girlfriend of the most wanted man in America and girls throw themselves at him every night.  You have to be doing something to keep that boy by your side.”

I laugh sarcastically and shake my head.  Thank god Fe and Larry can’t hear this.

“I don’t think Justin bases our relationship on sex,” I say, a little more rude than I anticipated.

“Come on Britney, tell us, I mean any girl would love to have your boy there so why doesn’t he walk away.  I mean you say that you haven’t slept with him but what’s keeping him happy?” he pushes.

I can feel my face getting red and I begin to shake my legs as I get angry.

“Just let me say this,” I say loudly, my anger getting the best of me, “I keep Justin satisfied.  I’m all that he needs.  He is a very happy man.”

Oh no.  I didn’t just say that. 

I put my head in my hand as I realize what I have just done.  I’ve pretty much just admitted to the world that I’m not a virgin.  Though I’ve actually only slept with Justin a couple of times, I’ve done other things with him as well.

“So, you’re saying you’re not a virgin,” he presses on.

My hands start to shake as I hear him.

“I’m sorry, my manager is telling me that it’s time to go.  Thanks for the interview,” I say quickly as I hang up the phone.

Fuck.  What is wrong with me.  Larry and Johnny are gonna kill me!

I put on my best fake smile and go back over to Larry, Fe and Rob. 

“When are we getting out of dodge?” I ask trying to avoid them asking me about the interview.

“Not soon enough it seems,” Fe says.

“Why what’s wrong now?”  How could I think things were actually gonna get better.

“It looks like it’s gonna take longer than they anticipated.  Their gonna let us know something soon.”

I shake my head.  Great. 

I look at my watch and see that it is now just 9:00.  I want to call Justin and forewarn him about my little slip up but it’s too early.  He’s in Los Angeles and I know he’s not up yet.  I can feel my stomach start to rumble as I look around the room.

“Isn’t there somewhere to eat in this airport.  I’m starving,” I say.  I know that I will never be able to sleep if I’m hungry. 

“Yeah, you guys go on and eat and I will stay here,” Larry says as he throws me a baseball cap to put on.

Rob again moves beside me as we begin our journey through the hoards of people in the airport.  It’s funny, people have seen Rob so many times with me by now that they know who he is when they see him, therefore, a disguise is pretty much of no use.

We continue to get the normal stares as we head into a place called Sugar and Syrup and sit at a table in the corner.

Finally after about fifteen minutes, our waitress comes and takes our order.  She looks at me funny but never says anything.  Though I love fans more than anything, I really don’t want to deal with them right now.  I just want to eat and then go to sleep.

As I impatiently wait for my food, I see a girl approaching the table.  She looks like she’s 14 or 15.  When she finally reaches us I smile warmly at her. 

“Britney,” she laughs sarcastically, “I just wanted to tell you that you are nothing but a whore and Justin deserves better than you.”

My heart aches.  Though I try so hard to hide the fact that this kind of stuff bothers me, in all actuality, it hurts like hell.  I do have feelings.

I want so bad to say something to her, but I don’t have the time or the energy right now.  And of course, I’m sure the tabloids would have a field day with it.  So I sit here and look at her.

“Miss, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” Rob interjects as he rises from his chair and grabs her arm, taking her away from me.

“I’m sorry Brit.  Don’t let it bother you,” Fe says as I continue to stare after her.  I just shake my head and turn away, acting like I’m examining the picture on the wall.

I’m lost in another world by the time our food arrives.  Man, I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I could smell the aroma of my pancakes.

We start to eat in silence.  I pick up a packet of butter and flip my top pancake over to but the butter on it. 

“Oh my god,” I say as I look down and see a bug in my pancakes.

I throw the fork down and throw my hand over my mouth.  I think I’m gonna throw up.

Fe instantly grabs the plate and moves it away from my view.  The manager sees what is happening and comes over to talk to her.  I don’t pay attention to what they are saying.

“Britney, it’s ok, they said they would make you anything else you want,” she says softly.

“I don’t want anything.  I’m really not that hungry anymore,” I say in return. 

Oh, what a day!

“But Brit,” she pleads.

“It’s ok, Fe.  I’m not hungry,” I lie.  I am actually very hungry but the thought of eating after that makes me sick.

I sit with my head in my hands as Fe and Rob finish their breakfast and begin to talk.  The ringing of my cell phone jerks me out of my trance.  Please let this be Justin.  I really need him right now!

“Britney,” I hear Johnny say sternly, “What did you say in the interview this morning.”

Oh no.

“I’m sorry Johnny,” I say almost in tears, “It just slipped out.”

“Do you know that the media is gonna have a field day with this,” he asks, his voice full of concern.

“Yeah,” I shake my head, “Does Justin know yet.”

“I don’t know,” he replies.

“Well, don’t say anything else about it Brit.  I’ll try to run interference.”

“Thanks Johnny.”

I get up and start out the restaurant without acknowledging Fe and Rob. 

“I need to call Justin,” I say as they run in behind me.

I pick up my phone and dial the all too familiar number as I begin to bite my nails.  Pick up J!  I need you!

I let the phone ring about 10 times before I finally hang it up. He must not have his phone on because his voice mail isn’t picking up. Where is he?  What if he’s mad because of my slip up?  Oh god, what have I done?

“Bad news,” Larry says as we walk back into the room, “The plane’s not gonna be ready today, so I’ve booked us a flight for later on a commercial airline.  We leave in a few hours.  Brit, you need to get some rest because you have a show tonight.  They said we can continue to use this room if we want.”

I shake my head and lay down on a couch on the other side of the room.

As I lay my head down, my mind is racing.  I have a million thoughts going through my head.  I keep reliving that interview and thinking about what I could have said at the time but didn’t.  I worry about where Justin is and what he’s thinking about my comment.  I wonder how I’m ever gonna be able to do this concert tonight.  I can’t sleep because I keep thinking too much. 

I lay there for what seems like 10 minutes but was actually three hours before I finally begin to will myself to sleep. 

“Brit wake up, it’s time to board the plane,” Larry says as I rise up and hit my head on the arm of the couch.  My head is killing me!  I feel like someone has took a baseball bat to my head.

Everyone thinks I’m crazy when I say that I can’t sleep too close to the headboard on a bed because it gives me a headache, but it has happened again, only this time with a couch.

I have to pull myself together.  It’s now 2:30 and I have to be onstage at 8:30 tonight.  I still have only slept for 1 hour.

I rub my temples with one hand as Rob escorts me through the airport.  I pull out my cell phone and attempt to all Justin again as we walk.  Still no answer, but the voice mail does come on this time.

“J, it’s me.  I’m getting ready to fly to Miami.  Please call me later baby.  I need to talk to you.  I love you.”

As I click the phone off, we head into the terminal and onto the plane.  Finally, I’m gonna get out of this city.  I sit in the seat and lay my head back with my eyes closed. 

We sit patiently for about 20 minutes before the pilot finally comes on the air.

“I’m sorry passengers.  It seems there is some bad weather approaching us and we are not able to take off at this time.  We want everyone to remain on the plane and we will take off as soon as we can.”

I throw my hands up in frustration. 

“Well isn’t that fucking great!” I say to no one in particular.

“Britney Jean!” Fe says as she slaps my knee.

This is turning into the worst day of my life.  I’m tired.  I’m hungry.  I’m grouchy.  All I want right now is for Justin to be here with his arms wrapped around me assuring me that everything is gonna be alright.

But he’s not and I don’t even know when I will see him again.

We sit on the plane for two hours.  Two hours!!!!  And I still haven’t been able to sleep.  There’s too much going on around me.  My whole body feels weak now and my head is still pounding.

Larry has convinced the stewardess to let him into the terminal so he can use his cell phone to call Miami.  I’m sure that him and Johnny are frantic right now.

Larry finally boards the plane as the pilot announces that we are leaving.

FINALLY!

I decide to try to make the best of the situation as I lay may head onto Rob’s arm and try to sleep.  Again, I have trouble actually falling asleep.  But eventually the soothing sound of the airplane puts me into a state of peace. 

But not for long.  As I finally get a few minutes of sleep the plane lands in Miami.

By the time we make it through the mobs of people in the airport and into the car that Johnny has waiting for me it’s almost 8:00, thirty minutes to show time.  I can see that Johnny and Larry have this planned out.  They know that getting to the arena is going to be horrible because of traffic so they’ve arranged police escorts. 

“The media is all over your interview this morning,” Fe says as I look out the window as the sun goes down over Miami. 

“Oh.  I really didn’t mean to say it,” I say as I turn my eyes to her.

“It’s ok Brit.  I know you’ve had a bad day, we’ll deal with it tomorrow,” she says sympathetically, “Here, Johnny sent you some food.”

I grab the box as she hands it to me.  Thank god, now I can at least get some energy.

I eat the pasta that Johnny has sent me quickly and grab a bottle of Gatorade from the bag.  I’m feeling a bit rejuvenated but I’m still unbelievably tired.

For the first time today I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I let out a soft laugh.  Wow!  If the tabloids could see me now.  My hair is a mess, my eyes are red, my makeup is messed up.  I look awful!

As we make it closer to the arena, I take out my cell phone and see that Justin still hasn’t returned my call.  My heart aches.  I miss him so much.

I continue to stare at the phone as Rob grabs my arm and pulls me out of the car in front of the arena back entrance.

Wade meets me at the car and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

“How you feelin pretty lady,” he says as he looks at me and laughs.

“About as good as I look,” I say.

He laughs at my comments and begins to give me information about the show as we head into the dressing room.

“Ok, work you’re magic,” he says to Karen, my makeup artist, as I sit down and he heads out the door.

I look around the room frantically searching for the familiar reassurance that Justin always sends me before my show, but I see nothing.

“Did I get any flowers tonight,” I ask and Karen shakes her head no.

“Brit, you know that he’s probably just busy,” Fe says as she sees me put my head down and tears form in my eyes.

I shake my head yes and force a fake smile trying to convince her and me that I’m ok.  I’m now convinced that he’s mad at me because of my comment.  He always sends me pink roses before my show.  Always. 

I run into the bathroom and change into my concert getup as Karen finishes with my hair and makeup.  As I come out of the door, Wade places the headset onto me and walks with me to the stage. 

“Take a deep breath and put all the bad things from this day behind you and concentrate on those people out there who love you,” he whispers to me, “And after you get done, there will be a nice warm bed waiting for you.  I promise you that everything will be fine.”

I smile brightly at his comment.

“That’s what I want to see,” he says as I get to cue to go onstage.

For the next 1 ½ hours, I work my ass off onstage, but this isn’t the best concert I’ve ever done.  My mike didn’t work right when I went out, I slipped once and fell on the ramp and I sprained my ankle slightly on one of the dance moves. 

As I limp off the stage after my final number, I feel like I’m gonna collapse.  My head aches, my body is so week, my ankle hurts.  This has been the worst day of my life.

I tear the headset off of my head as I burst through the dressing room door.  As the door closes, I fall back against it and close my eyes.  All of a sudden a strange feeling of calmness comes over me.  I open my eyes and see a pink long stem rose being held in front of me.

My heart races as I feel his presence.  I look over quickly and see Justin holding his arms out for me.  I smile slightly and fall into his arms. 

He holds me tight as all of my pent up emotions come out and I begin to cry into his chest.

“It’s ok baby,” he whispers to me as he kisses the top of my head, “I’m here.”

“But I thought that you had important work to do in Los Angeles with the guys,” I say as I pull back and look into his eyes.

“Nothing, Britney, nothing is as important to me as you are.  Wade called me and told me everything that was going wrong today, so I knew that I had to be with you.”

“I love you so much,” I cry as I pull him against me again.

“I love you too pinky,” he says.

“I’m sorry about the interview,” I say softly as I lay my head back on his chest, “I was so scared that you were mad at me.”

“Mad at you?  Baby, I would never be mad at you for telling the truth,” he says as he pulls me away from his chest and forces my eyes to his, “Don’t worry about the interview.  I don’t care if you tell the whole fucking world that we slept together.  We’re in love and that’s all that matters.”

I shake my head and Justin grabs my bag off of the table.

“Now, let’s get on the bus and get you into bed,” he says as he grabs my hand and leads me out the door.

“See Brit, I told you everything would be fine,” Wade yells as he sees us walk out.

“Thanks Wade,” I say as I smile back at him.

Justin wraps his arm around me and pulls me close against him as we walk toward my bus.  I’ve never wanted to be on that bus so bad in my life.

“I love you baby,” Justin whispers as he kisses the side of my head. 

Who would have known that those four little words could make the events of the entire day disappear. 

As he holds me close in his arms I realize that maybe the bad things that happened today were worth going through to get to this.

He takes my hand and leads me onto the bus and to my bedroom in the back.  I walk into the bathroom and shed my clothes, throwing on his Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt that I use to sleep in.

When I go back into the bedroom he has pulled the comforter back and motions for me to get in.  As I slip into the warmth of the bed, he pulls the comforter up around me and lightly kisses my cheek.

I hear him take his clothes off and get into the bed beside me.

He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him.  For the first time today, I don’t have the madness going on around me preventing me from sleeping.  He has brought peace and security to my life.

I’m almost asleep when I hear him start to whisper, thinking I’m already asleep.

“One day, Pinky, I’m gonna make you my wife and when I do, I promise you that all of your days will be filled with happiness.  I’ll make sure of it.  Rest now my Sleeping Beauty.”

I smile slightly into his chest as I feel the warmth of his arms around me.