Larger than Life

Larger than Life

1.- Management

"I don't think this is such a good idea." Brian said, eyeing the offices of their new manager. "Are you sure this is the place?"

"It's the address Jhonny gave us." Kevin answered, lifting an eyebrow. Outside, it was a small building with a lot of graffiti in one wall. Freelance was in a small office in the first floor, sharing space with a hairdresser. A lot of women and men were inside the shop, which meant that business was good, at least for someone. A couple of giggling, green haired girls had come out, asked for their autographs, and left quickly.

Inside, it was even more depressing. The secretary, a petite blonde named Meredith, ushered them into the main office without much of a glance to the empty waiting room, assuring them that Mr. Bass would be with them in a second. The main office was Spartan. A desk, a couch, a few chairs. A Computer that had seen better days. No paintings, no posters, no view.

"Let's get out of here. Even Lou can't be this bad." AJ said, walking to the door. But just when he was going to open it, it opened by itself, and a young blonde man came in, hurriedly.

"Sorry for the wait…" The man said, with a deep bass voice that contrasted with his child-like face. "But the highway is packed and…"

"Look, kid," Kevin said, tiredly. "We're done here. Tell Mr. Bass that if he doesn't has the time to meet us personally, we don't have time to loose with some office boy. No…"

"I am Mr. Bass." The 'kid's eyes narrowed. "James Lance Bass, head and founder of Freelance. And yes, I am aware I look young, but that is because I am young. At 19, I'm the younger manager in the business." When his words were meet by stunned silence, Bass shook his head and sat on his desk. "I'll keep this short, Mr. Richardson. Mr. Wright explained to me what your problem is. Way I see it, this could end up beneficiating both parties. You would get a manager who doesn't keep your money, I would get a good client. I cannot offer you Transcon commodities, but I can offer you my 100% for the sake of the group. And I won't work for Jive, I work for you. If something is not approved by you, it doesn't get done. Period. But I would need your trust in my experience. If you can't give me that, then I'm sorry to have made you waste your time."

The group watched in silence as the green eyed man held a stare contest with Kevin. Finally, it was Howie who broke the uncomfortable silence, offering Bass his hand.

"Mr. Bass? I think we can do that."

"Then, Mr. Dorough," Bass said, accepting the handshake with a smile. "My friends call me Lance."

* * *

2.- Songwriting.

"What is this?" Kevin asked, looking at the papers that Lance had handed him just before returning his attention to the computer.

"The songs you have right now." The young manager answered. "Those are twenty two. Pick six. We'll add those to the ones you and the group have written to make the new album."

"You haven't even heard our songs." Kevin growled.

" It's your album, and your style. And unless one of each three words in the lyrics is fuck, I think your songs should be on the album." In the week that they had been with Freelance, he had tried to find a flaw on Lance. Any flaw. But, so far, he hadn't. Lance Bass was everything he advertised and more. And he trusted their judgment.

"There's one problem, though…" Kevin admitted, wondering how Lance was going to react.

"You don't have music to go with the lyrics, I can arrange a meeting with the writers."

Kevin blinked, confused. Lance hadn't even looked up from the papers he was studying to hire a band named 24/7 for the Backstreet Boys's next tour, and had known exactly what Kevin needed.

And exactly two days later, they were meeting with Joshua Chazes, the composer of their favorite song of the new set, Larger than Life.

Joshua, or JC as he insisted to be called from the moment when AJ opened his mouth to greet him, was a thin, scrawny man with a long blonde-brown mane. He wore a small goatte and three earrings in one ear. He also was wearing the most ugly t-shirt any of the Backs had ever seen, and a pair of slacks that had the Venus of Boticelli printed on one leg.

"So… Is this supposed to be a slow or a fast song?" He was asking Brian, not noticing or caring about the stares the others were sending his way.

"A slow one." Brian answered, fingering the lyrics for 'The Perfect Fan' nervously. He wanted the song to be great, he wanted the song to be a success, and most importantly, he didn't want a reject punk to break it apart. And he didn't care how good 'Larger than Life' was.

"Cool. You need a couple of those, to keep balance." JC agreed, playing a couple of notes, treading them and seeing Brian's face as he did. "If not, when the tour comes, you'll drop dead on stage."

"You a choreographer too?" Nick asked, bemused.

"Nah. That's Justin, my boyfriend." JC laughed, and suddenly, the notes were no longer just a string of unconnected sounds. It was the Mickey Mouse club theme. "I used to be on that show, you know? Before I really got in music. We were together in a couple of numbers, and he taught me all about holding my breath and resting. So, I try to put a slow place in all of my songs, so the singers can rest… when they're dancing. Even so, you cannot keep more than five of those fast songs in a set without getting tired."

There was silence after he explained that. A silence only broken when Nick finally found the words to express his thoughts.

"So, you're gay? Cool."

* * *

3.- Choreography.

AJ looked for one last time at his hair in the big mirror and sighed. He disliked the way it looked, too short, too brown, too common. He needed to do something about it.

But first, he had to go and deal with Chasez' boyfriend, Mr. Boy Dance Wonder himself, Justin Timberlake.

It hadn't been long after they finished the arrangements for the songs that Lance had called them with bad news. Fatima Robinson had signed with O-Town, and was doing the choreographies for Pearlman's new band. So it was out of the question to keep her.

As efficient as ever, Lance had had seven names for them to pick their new team of choreographers. Among those, Kevin and AJ had recognized and choose Wade Robson, Britney Spears' main choreographer, but Brian had also seen JC's boyfriend. And since Brian had seemed to take a liking to JC, he and Howie had voted for Justin Timberlake's addition to the team.

And just like JC and Lance, Justin was excellent on what he did. His routines were full of life, full of energy. And also, incredibly tiring. They couldn't go one day without ending up in absolute pain, trying to learn the routines that seemed to get more and more complicated.

Not that Timberlake cared. He only kept on drilling, as if his 18- year old body never tired. Kevin liked his dedication. Howie and Brian were amazed to see how well Justin's choreographies fitted JC's melodies perfectly. AJ couldn't stand the kid's star attitude… And Nick was afraid of the dancer.

It seemed that they couldn't do three steps without Nick messing up one. And Justin didn't took that silent. He would rant and rave about why Nick couldn't put more effort, about why Nick couldn't try and work harder, about why Nick was just a fat, lazy bum who had everything handed to him in a silver platter.

AJ hated when that happened, and couldn't believe that an easy going man like JC had anything to do with Justin 'I'm so fucking brilliant you go blind when you see me' Timberlake.

But he couldn't deny that Justin was good. And the routines were as good, or better, than Fatima's steps. Sure, a lot harder to learn, but better.

Which meant that their new tour was going to make every single one of their detractors shut up.

And just for that, he could bear with Justin's attitude one day more.

	Larger than Life 1.- Management "I don't think this is such a good idea." Brian said, eyeing the offices of their new manager. "Are you sure this is the place?" "It's the address Jhonny gave us." Kevin answered, lifting an eyebrow. Outside, it was a small building with a lot of graffiti in one wall. Freelance was in a small office in the first floor, sharing space with a hairdresser. A lot of women and men were inside the shop, which meant that business was good, at least for someone. A couple of giggling, green haired girls had come out, asked for their autographs, and left quickly. Inside, it was even more depressing. The secretary, a petite blonde named Meredith, ushered them into the main office without much of a glance to the empty waiting room, assuring them that Mr. Bass would be with them in a second. The main office was Spartan. A desk, a couch, a few chairs. A Computer that had seen better days. No paintings, no posters, no view. "Let's get out of here. Even Lou can't be this bad." AJ said, walking to the door. But just when he was going to open it, it opened by itself, and a young blonde man came in, hurriedly. "Sorry for the wait…" The man said, with a deep bass voice that contrasted with his child-like face. "But the highway is packed and…" "Look, kid," Kevin said, tiredly. "We're done here. Tell Mr. Bass that if he doesn't has the time to meet us personally, we don't have time to loose with some office boy. No…" "I am Mr. Bass." The 'kid's eyes narrowed. "James Lance Bass, head and founder of Freelance. And yes, I am aware I look young, but that is because I am young. At 19, I'm the younger manager in the business." When his words were meet by stunned silence, Bass shook his head and sat on his desk. "I'll keep this short, Mr. Richardson. Mr. Wright explained to me what your problem is. Way I see it, this could end up beneficiating both parties. You would get a manager who doesn't keep your money, I would get a good client. I cannot offer you Transcon commodities, but I can offer you my 100% for the sake of the group. And I won't work for Jive, I work for you. If something is not approved by you, it doesn't get done. Period. But I would need your trust in my experience. If you can't give me that, then I'm sorry to have made you waste your time." The group watched in silence as the green eyed man held a stare contest with Kevin. Finally, it was Howie who broke the uncomfortable silence, offering Bass his hand. "Mr. Bass? I think we can do that." "Then, Mr. Dorough," Bass said, accepting the handshake with a smile. "My friends call me Lance." * * * 2.- Songwriting. "What is this?" Kevin asked, looking at the papers that Lance had handed him just before returning his attention to the computer. "The songs you have right now." The young manager answered. "Those are twenty two. Pick six. We'll add those to the ones you and the group have written to make the new album." "You haven't even heard our songs." Kevin growled. " It's your album, and your style. And unless one of each three words in the lyrics is fuck, I think your songs should be on the album." In the week that they had been with Freelance, he had tried to find a flaw on Lance. Any flaw. But, so far, he hadn't. Lance Bass was everything he advertised and more. And he trusted their judgment. "There's one problem, though…" Kevin admitted, wondering how Lance was going to react. "You don't have music to go with the lyrics, I can arrange a meeting with the writers." Kevin blinked, confused. Lance hadn't even looked up from the papers he was studying to hire a band named 24/7 for the Backstreet Boys's next tour, and had known exactly what Kevin needed. And exactly two days later, they were meeting with Joshua Chazes, the composer of their favorite song of the new set, Larger than Life. Joshua, or JC as he insisted to be called from the moment when AJ opened his mouth to greet him, was a thin, scrawny man with a long blonde-brown mane. He wore a small goatte and three earrings in one ear. He also was wearing the most ugly t-shirt any of the Backs had ever seen, and a pair of slacks that had the Venus of Boticelli printed on one leg. "So… Is this supposed to be a slow or a fast song?" He was asking Brian, not noticing or caring about the stares the others were sending his way. "A slow one." Brian answered, fingering the lyrics for 'The Perfect Fan' nervously. He wanted the song to be great, he wanted the song to be a success, and most importantly, he didn't want a reject punk to break it apart. And he didn't care how good 'Larger than Life' was. "Cool. You need a couple of those, to keep balance." JC agreed, playing a couple of notes, treading them and seeing Brian's face as he did. "If not, when the tour comes, you'll drop dead on stage." "You a choreographer too?" Nick asked, bemused. "Nah. That's Justin, my boyfriend." JC laughed, and suddenly, the notes were no longer just a string of unconnected sounds. It was the Mickey Mouse club theme. "I used to be on that show, you know? Before I really got in music. We were together in a couple of numbers, and he taught me all about holding my breath and resting. So, I try to put a slow place in all of my songs, so the singers can rest… when they're dancing. Even so, you cannot keep more than five of those fast songs in a set without getting tired." There was silence after he explained that. A silence only broken when Nick finally found the words to express his thoughts. "So, you're gay? Cool." * * * 3.- Choreography. AJ looked for one last time at his hair in the big mirror and sighed. He disliked the way it looked, too short, too brown, too common. He needed to do something about it. But first, he had to go and deal with Chasez' boyfriend, Mr. Boy Dance Wonder himself, Justin Timberlake. It hadn't been long after they finished the arrangements for the songs that Lance had called them with bad news. Fatima Robinson had signed with O-Town, and was doing the choreographies for Pearlman's new band. So it was out of the question to keep her. As efficient as ever, Lance had had seven names for them to pick their new team of choreographers. Among those, Kevin and AJ had recognized and choose Wade Robson, Britney Spears' main choreographer, but Brian had also seen JC's boyfriend. And since Brian had seemed to take a liking to JC, he and Howie had voted for Justin Timberlake's addition to the team. And just like JC and Lance, Justin was excellent on what he did. His routines were full of life, full of energy. And also, incredibly tiring. They couldn't go one day without ending up in absolute pain, trying to learn the routines that seemed to get more and more complicated. Not that Timberlake cared. He only kept on drilling, as if his 18- year old body never tired. Kevin liked his dedication. Howie and Brian were amazed to see how well Justin's choreographies fitted JC's melodies perfectly. AJ couldn't stand the kid's star attitude… And Nick was afraid of the dancer. It seemed that they couldn't do three steps without Nick messing up one. And Justin didn't took that silent. He would rant and rave about why Nick couldn't put more effort, about why Nick couldn't try and work harder, about why Nick was just a fat, lazy bum who had everything handed to him in a silver platter. AJ hated when that happened, and couldn't believe that an easy going man like JC had anything to do with Justin 'I'm so fucking brilliant you go blind when you see me' Timberlake. But he couldn't deny that Justin was good. And the routines were as good, or better, than Fatima's steps. Sure, a lot harder to learn, but better. Which meant that their new tour was going to make every single one of their detractors shut up. And just for that, he could bear with Justin's attitude one day more.
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