The Cowboy Way Ch. 01

Chapter 1: How Britney Finally Released The Truth

Sometime in the near future

Darkness. Darkness was the only thing that welcomed the long procession of tour buses and tractor trailers that proceeded through the sleeping town of Cole, Colorado. Their headlights cut a swath of light that lead them to the outskirts of the bustling town and the beginnings of the Rocky Mountain wilderness the stretched through Colorado.

Just at the edge of said wilderness stood a newly erected stage, complete with orchestra pit, lighting arrangements and a control booth. Chain link fences divided the outlying areas into very specific and coordinated grids all designed for one thing, to put on a hell of a show.

The whole setup was a shake and bake operation designed for ease of installation and removal and had been set up to give a promotional concert for six thousand very lucky fans. In the works for three months, tickets had been available for two months and had been sold out for three weeks. As you probably already know when word gets out that a singer like Britney Spears is giving a promotional concert, which means free tickets, they don't last long.

The idea itself had been Britney's, well that's not entirely true, the location had been her idea. She was tired of everyone oohing and aahing over the east coast and the west coast, she wanted to do some thing in the west, with the Rocky Mountains as the backdrop. Despite a few nasty rumors about her, Britney really was, for lack of a better word a sweetheart, an incredibly gorgeous one, but still a sweetheart.

So as the caravan of vehicles pulled up to the complex and through a waiting gate into a secure area where they would be separated by a fifteen-foot high fence from the outside world, Britney smiled in satisfaction as she waited for the driver to open the door. When he did she was the first person out the door, followed closely by her manager and long time friend Chris Watkins, her dance choreographer Peter Neuman, and the special effects coordinator Jim Greene. Britney, however, paid no attention to them for the moment as she looked up at a sky she was completely unaccustomed to.

By her trade she was always in an area where there were so many lights, you were lucky to see a single star. But here, she had the entire Milky Way spread out before her eyes with not a single street light or haze of smog to obstruct the twinkling stars that were out there. The sound of metal banging and loud voices interrupted her as the rest of the stage crew began to unpack all the equipment and rush to begin setting up for the show on the following night. Soon the bass heavy rhythm of a song began to beat out of a portable stereo as the backup dancers began to warm up in order to go over their routine for an hour or so before calling it a night.

"Well, Britney, what do you think?" asked Chris, as he stepped up next to her, handing her a heavy sweatshirt to help with the chill of the mountain air.

She smiled as she took the sweatshirt and pulled it on, shaking out her long blonde hair in the process.

"I think it's perfect," she replied as she smoothed the fabric over her lithe upper body, ignoring the curves and swells that had become the wet dream of every straight male who has ever seen her.

Chris nodded his assent as he turned to look back at Jim and Peter. " What do you guys think?"

Jim nodded also. " With this kind of backdrop, no confined buildings and the type of crowd we're gonna get, we can really let loose with the pyro's and confetti bombs this time."

Britney shook her head. " You should have been a demolitions expert, you always love to blow shit up," she said, laughing.

Jim shrugged. " Just to make sure you make an entrance, babe."

Britney cocked an eyebrow. " Oh I can make an entrance all right," she said, slyly as she teasingly pulled up the bottom of her sweat shirt revealing her firm, tan stomach and twinkling diamond stud that pierced the skin of her belly button, then just as quickly yanked it back down, laughing.

Jim moaned. " Just be glad I'm married and love my wife," he said, laughing as well.

"I don't know what you two think is so great about this place," Peter cut in. " I just know we're going to be eaten alive by mosquitoes. I hope you brought bug repellent because you're little ass is going to get covered with bites," he said, fuming.

Britney rolled her eyes, this time for real. Peter was one of the best choreographers that ever came out of Hollywood. His talent was unmatched, he could take a boring, slow song and completely save it on the stage with his dance routines and often gymnastic moves. But like most talented male artists in his area he was gay, and he complained constantly, the only time he didn't, Britney had joked was when he slept.

"Well," Chris said after clearing his throat. " Maybe we should take a walk around the stage and see how it turned out," he suggested, as he began making his way back towards the gate leading into the backstage area.

"Okay," Britney agreed, turning to follow him.

"Hey!" Jim yelled to them. They stopped and turned back to him. " Check it out, one of your fans has showed up early."

Britney looked past Jim across the field to the edge of the tree line that ran up into the mountains and marked the edge of the large field they stood in, but saw nothing. She walked over and stood next to Jim.

"Where?" she asked.

He raised his arm and pointed across the field and at that moment a movement caught Britney's eye. The form she saw immediately materialized into a horse and rider as they stepped out of the trees into the tall grass of the field.

"Oh my it's a fucking cowboy," Peter said, sarcastically. " I thought they were all dead or something."

Britney rolled her eyes at his comment and studied the man on the horse who could not have been more than a football field away. Not much was visible of him as he wore a long black coat, and a white cowboy hat that shielded his face from her gaze. He seemed completely sure of himself and it was obvious that he was watching them as the horse pranced nervously from the sound of the music, turning in tight circle in the process, but the rider's gaze never left them. And Britney was almost sure that he was looking directly at her.

She felt strange seeing him there like that. Britney knew that was a man, and in her imagination he must have been quite a man. But not seeing his face, or even a hint of it because of the dark made him seem more like a phantom. She shivered as she felt his unwavering gaze upon her, and suddenly she had an overwhelming urge to walk out there and see him.

Just as she was about to walk out there, she saw the horse wheel back in the direction it had come, rear up on its hind legs and then run back through the trees. Britney was stunned at the performance; she had never ridden a horse before so she was unaware of how to control one and wondered how anyone could do so.

Jim whistled. " I guess he wasn't a fan after all."

Britney realized she had been holding her breath the entire time and exhaled slowly.

"Come on you three, we better go take a look at the stage," Chris said, finally.

The first show went off the next night without a hitch. Jim had gone nuts with the pyrotechnics and lit up the entire night sky to the delight of the thousands in attendance. Peter's backup dancers had also performed flawlessly, accenting the entire night with their awe-inspiring dance routines. However, the entire audience was unwaveringly focused on Britney herself, everything else was just an extra.

Despite the chill in the mountain air, her routines had covered her body in a sheen of sweat that reflected the spotlight off her flawless body and caused her hair to become disheveled in a way that made her look like a wild sex goddess. Her voice rose and fell gloriously through the sound system of the arena, and hit notes that made hearts in the crowd flutter. Her outfits and hairdos made the girls in the crowd scream with envy and delight and caused the men to grimace as their crotches grew even tighter from the sight of her.

And behind the scenes was Chris, making sure everything went off without a hitch and everyone was where they were supposed to be. And once the lights went out the crowd was cheering with pure excitement, he was the first one Britney had gone to. He handed her a towel and a bottle of water as she smiled with delight and thanked him. He followed her down the stairs and out to her tour bus where she went inside to shower and get changed.

Chris stood in the doorway separating her room from the rest of the bus while she laid out a pair of sweatpants and a shirt to change into. His eyes roved over her sweat covered body, her tight stomach, spandex covered ass, sports bra encased breasts and flawless skin. Her face was still done up in makeup and looked just like it did in all his dreams, just like a cheap whore from Hollywood. Tonight was the night, he decided.

Britney looked up and met his eyes. " So how was it?" she asked, her voice still filled with energy from the show.

"It was fantastic," Chris said with a smile, as she stood and began to towel of sweat from her stomach, chest and neck.

Chris walked up to stand in front of her and she stopped drying herself as she looked up at him. She was only five foot four, and he was over six feet so she had to take step back, but he put his hands on her shoulders and stopped her. Britney was suddenly nervous.

"You know you mean the world to me, right, Brit?" he asked, his voice low, hoarse.

She nodded. " Yeah, I mean, I guess so."

"Good," he replied, his eyes roving up from her bare feet, over her body to her face. " Because there's something I want to discuss with you."

Britney suddenly felt herself shiver. " Chris, you're starting to scare me."

"Listen, I care for you a lot, and everytime I see you perform I get this feeling, you know. And I was thinking, since we're so close, maybe we should just start to have sex with each other," he stated, there he had said it, he knew she would flip for the idea and he smiled as he bent down to kiss her.

Britney on the other hand had different plans. Her hand lashed out and she slapped him, hard. She took a step back, a fire in her eyes.

"What do you think I am?" she yelled. " A slut? Some cheap fucking whore whose pants you think you can just pull down and go to town with?"

Chris touched his burning cheek and looked at her. " But you act like that on the stage," he shot back.

"Jesus Christ, Chris! That's how I'm supposed to act on stage, that's what sells! That's what the record company wants everyone to think! But you, you've lived with me for almost two years, you know I'm not like that! Now get the fuck out of my room and don't bother me for the rest of the night," she ordered.

"But, Brit," he said, pleading.

"No!" she yelled. " Don't you dare Brit, me! Get out now, and don't ever mention this again. I'm going to seriously consider if I should even keep you as my friend, let alone my manager."

Chris proceeded to the door, and turned back to look at her just for a second.

"Now, god damn it!" she screamed.

Defeated, Chris left the room and Britney slammed the door closed behind him. She leaned against the door in disbelief. Not so much of Chris's implications and proposal but more of herself. Did she really come across like a complete whore? She didn't mean to, but she was a teen queen as her producers said, and she had an image to maintain.

Feeling suddenly, completely worn out, she decided not to shower, and simply pulled off her clothes, put on a t-shirt and got into bed. As she lay there she thought about how she should handle the situation with Chris, both as her friend and as her manager. She sighed in disbelief, she had never suspected him of harboring those feelings for her, and she wished she had seen it sooner.

Britney awoke early, feeling shitty from not having taken a shower. Rolling out of bed, she looked out through the window of the bus and saw the sky was overcast and gray. She decided that since it was early and everyone else was still asleep she should go for her morning run. If she waited then they would send a couple of security people after her and Britney hated that.

Ditching the T-shirt, she pulled a sports bra on, slithered into her spandex running pants, which stopped at mid-calf, then pulled on her socks and sneakers and grabbed her jacket. Easing open the door, so as not to wake Jim, Peter or especially Chris, she tiptoed through the front of the bus, pushed open the door and stepped outside. The chill air caused goosebumps to rise on her skin and she shivered as a blast of wind hit her, whipping her hair about her face.

Pulling on her jacket, she zipped it up and began to stretch casually against the side of the bus, then set off on a jog around the outer circle of the chain link fence surrounding the stage and spectator area. She moved gracefully through the trampled grass around the arena, her exertion in the high mountain air and the cold wind conspired to make her feel exhilarated and light on her feet. Spying a trail off to her right, leading into the woods, she turned off onto it and began to run up the mountain, through the trees.

She ran and ran and ran. Feeling her muscles push her up the slope, over rocks, across streams, and around the mountain. The solitude of the forest made her lose all sense of time and place, relaxing her constantly churning mind, relieving her of all the pressures that always seemed to threaten to crush her young heart. Suddenly, she stopped.

Breathing raggedly from the high altitude and exercise she placed her hands on her hips and looked around her. Not a sound reached her ears as she studied the forest around her. Then she realized she wasn't quite sure where she was, or more importantly how she got there.

Turning back the way she had come, she saw that the trail she had started out on was completely gone. With sweat beading on her forehead and rolling down her back, sending chills through her body, Britney began to head back in the direction she had come from. She walked for a long time, trying hard to remember how she had gotten to where she ended up, but finding no answer and before long she wandering aimlessly, and beginning to panic because she hopelessly lost.

The sound of water caught her ears and she headed towards it, feeling very thirsty. Breaking through the edge of the trees she found herself in a clearing with a lazily moving stream that had formed a deep, natural pool in the center of the meadow. The water was crystal clear, and Britney saw a fish darting around in its depths. Looking around, slowly, she didn't see another soul as far as she could see. But just before she went towards the water she saw a large field in the distance and in the center of it was the arena and the tour buses.

Britney smiled with relief, even though the field was several miles away, but at least she knew she could make it back, safely. Turning back to the water, she knelt down at its edge and studied the water. She was sure she could drink it, this area was, as far as she knew all still mother nature and there were no cities nearby to pollute anything. Using her hand to cup some water in, she tasted the water, and found it cold and tasting just like water.

Reassured, she bent her lips to the water and took a long pull. Sitting up she wiped her mouth with her hand and felt much better. Hearing a sound behind her, she turned just in time to see a flash of something then she was struck heavily from behind and launched into the water. The sudden shock of the cold water hitting her skin and being suddenly underwater stole the breath from her chest.
Struggling to right herself she kicked hard and broke through the surface of the water, sucking in a ragged breath. She swept her hair out of her eyes as she tread water, breathing heavily. Opening her eyes, she was shocked to see several men leering at her from shore. Turning around, she saw more men standing on the far shore, also laughing hysterically.

Britney's eyes went wide as she saw several of them holding a firearm of some sort or another. None of them seemed to be much older than their late twenties, and they all appeared to be dressed like they were on some kind of hunting excursion. Realizing her dilemma, Britney was deep in the mountains, no one knew where she was and there was no chance of escape.

"Well look at this boys," one of them said. He was on the shore she had originally been on. " Looks like we found us a genuine Britney Spears fan."

"How do you know that, Larry?" asked another man next to him.

"Well look at her she's wearing a jogging suit with them hot stretch pants. You know any other woman that would be out in these parts wearing something like that if there wasn't that concert going on?"

The other man nodded. " Yeah, I guess you're right."

The first man, Larry looked back at Britney as she moved downstream and managed to find the riverbed so she could stand up.

"How you doin' out there darlin'?" he asked as he moved down the chore to stand in front of her. " You must be cold, why don't you come out of there and I'll warm you up."

Britney shivered as she hugged herself, rubbing her shoulders, and shook her head, defiantly at the man.

He smiled back at her. " Aw, c'mon now honey, you can't stay out there forever. You'll catch your death of cold."

"That's your f-fault," Britney accused through chattering teeth.

The man laughed. " That was just a joke, sweetheart," he said, soothingly.

Britney's mind raced. She was cold and scared, and these men had nothing but evil on their minds. But he was right, she couldn't stay out here forever. Just as she was about to get out of the water one of the other men ran up to stand next to Larry and stared at Britney's face as her lips turned blue.

"Holy shit, Larry," he exclaimed. " That ain't a Britney Spears fan, that's Britney Spears."

Britney froze as Larry studied her with a renewed vigor, and the sound of the other men talking reached her ears.

"I'll be god damned, Junior. You're right," Larry said. " Well, Miss Spears, you gonna come out of there?"

Britney shook her head.

"Aw, come on, I promise we won't hurt you. We'll even help you get back to your friends in time for your concert tonight."

Britney was beyond thought; she was so cold. " Y-you p-p-promise?"

Larry nodded, and smiled.

Britney moved towards shore, her upper body clearing the surface of the water. As she stepped on shore, she felt all eyes sweeping over her body as she rubbed her arms and shivered from cold. She looked at Larry, whose eyes swept over her for a moment, before he grabbed her by the throat and forced her to the ground. Britney screamed in protest as Larry straddled her waist, using his weight to pin her on her back.

"Please," Britney pleaded. " Don't hurt me."

Larry smiled as he reached down and moved her hands away from her chest, pinning them above her head on the grass with one hand. With the other he unzipped her jacket, exposing her stomach and sports bra covered chest, her nipples poking against the fabric, standing out from the cold water.

"Oh, I won't hurt you, Britney. I wouldn't dream of it, you're gonna be begging me to keep fucking you. But some of the other boys might not be so nice."

Britney began to cry as Larry cupped her breast in his hand, squeezing her flesh roughly, kneading it like dough. She tried to struggle, but couldn't she was so lethargic from being in the water so long, her mind could hardly keep up with what was happening, let alone try to fight back.

Suddenly, the sound of a horse snorting caught everyone's attention. Larry sat up, releasing Britney's hands. He reached for his gun, laying on the ground nearby, and at that moment the crack of a rifle shattered the stillness and the gun bounced away with the sharp ring of a ricocheting bullet.