I woke up again in the morning. “Wake up,” Zac was singing in my ear.
“Go away,” I grumbled, pulling my blankets over my head.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Tay said sarcastically.
I jumped off my cot and started to jump up and down on the bed. “Today is concert day!”
“Yes!” Zac said, joining me on the bed.
“Nothing changes,” Tay sighed.
“Yes,” I stopped jumping, “Zac does.”
“What?” Zac asked.
“So, Ike, did you ever explain to Zac-”
Ike interrupted me, “Why don’t you put clothes on?” he asked me.
“Oh, I see, you’re embarrassed!” I laughed.
“No, I’m not,” Ike shook his head. “Come here, Zac,” he said. He whispered something in Zac’s ear.
The look on Zac’s face remained the same. “Ew, Robinson, you asked me that? You’re a pervert,” he said, mimicking an annoying little kid. He dodged into the bathroom to take a shower.
“You could even say she’s a hornball,” Tay teased.
“Shut up, Taylor,” I ran over to him and pinched him in the stomach.
“Ow!” he laughed.
“Okay, I have to go home. I’m going to get dressed. Should I come back here when I’m done?” I said, dodging Tay trying to pinch me.
“Yea, come back here as soon as you finish, I think we’re leaving at one o’clock.”
“Okay, I’ll hurry,” I slipped on my pants and said, “Um, where should I change into my shirt?”
“There,” Tay pointed to his parents’ bathroom.
“Okay.” I went ino the bathroom and got dressed quickly.
“I need money,” I exclaimed as I put on my socks.
“Here,” Ike frowned.
“I’ll pay you back, I promise,” I smiled as I sat down on the bed. I put on my shoes and everything and hurried down to the lobby. Vince wasn’t on duty yet. Thank God.
I ran outside, hurriedly zipping my jacket to shield the cold. I waved my hand in the air. It took me a couple tries, but I finally got a cab. I told the driver my address and she took me there. I tossed her twenty bucks and dashed inside.
When in the apartment, I yelled, “Hi Daddy!” and ran into the living room. I grabbed clothes and stuff and sped into the bathroom. I had only about an hour, maybe less, and I needed to take a shower and had to allow almost twenty minutes for the cab ride back.
When I turned on the water, I started to think. I knew there were still some things in my head I had to figure out. I tested the water and stepped under the warm stream. If I was going to have this weird “I love you but not in that way” relationship with Zac, I was going to need to think about some stuff. First of all, I painfully made myself realize something. I had a crush on Tay. It was pretty embarassing, but I had to admit it. When I was around him, I felt... different. At least, I think I felt different. I can’t compare it to the way I feel about Zac, because that’s just totally odd. I can’t compare it to the way I feel about Ike. I haven’t taken too much time getting to know him because sometimes I think he can see through the way I act. I’m afraid he’ll see that whole Zac thing. The best way I can qualify they way I feel about Tay is a crush. Well, that embarrassing truth out of the way, it came to my second question. If I was to ever, you know, go out with Tay (just thinking that made me feel weird) or anything, then what was I going to do about Zac? I couldn’t just keep on... kissing him. We couldn’t keep doing the same things we were doing. I was going to have to talk to Zac... uh oh... that would mean I’d have to tell him I had a crush on Tay. Oh, Tayler, what have you gotten yourself into? Why couldn’t I have just kept my lips to myself? I washed the shampoo out of my hair and finished my shower. As I dried off and pulled a wide-toothed comb through my hair, I looked at my watch. Almost 12:35. Oh, man. I quickly got dressed. “Daddy, I’ve gotta go back to the Hansons’ hotel, I’m going with them to a concert,” I yelled.
“All right, as long as you’re mother knows,” he said from the kitchen.
I put my shoes on in record time and zipped my coat as I dashed into the hall. “Daddy, I need money!” I realized, speeding back into the apartment.
“Here,” he handed me two twenty dollar bills.
“Thanks, I owe them for the cab,” I kissed his cheek and dashed into the elevator.
I ran out onto the street with my hair dripping down my back. I waved my hand frantically in the air. There were no cabs in sight. I dashed down the street to the corner. I looked all around for a cab. Nothing. Of course. Shaking my head, I ran down the stairs into the subway. I paid my dollar and hopped on the train. I got off at the stop closest to the hotel, but I was a bunch of blocks away. I saw a pay phone and dialed information. I asked for the number for the hotel. Then, once I had it, I dialed it.
“Um, I need the Hansons’ room, room 213,” I said frantically. It was five minutes to one.
“I’m sorry, no one is here by that name,” the operator said.
“Yes, room 213, I was there last night.”
“I’m sorry,” the lady said. They must have used a different name so fans and people wouldn’t know what hotel they were at.
“No, you see, I need to talk to them,” I pleaded.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” she refused.
“Please? I know them, I just need to-”
She cut me off, “Ma’am, I’m afraid I can’t connect you.”
I hung up. It was three minutes to one. I ran to the curb and waved my hand in the air. A taxi drove up. I shouted out the name of the hotel as I entered. “Please hurry, I’m late,” I panted.
When we drove up to the hotel, I threw a ten in the cabbie’s face and dashed inside. I ran to the elevator and caught it. Vince was there. “Floor three,” I gasped.
“Okay,” he pressed the button.
“Did you happen to see if they left yet, Hanson, I mean?” I asked, leaning over to catch my breath.
“No, they haven’t come this way,” he shrugged.
“I’m late,” I whined. It was five after. I prayed they hadn’t left without me. When we reached the floor, I knocked furiously.
“Coming,” I heard Tay call. Thank goodness they were still there. “Oh, hey,” he said as he opened the door.
I was panting, “Oh, thank God!” I sighed.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, it took me longer than I expected to get ready, and then there weren’t any cabs, and I had to catch the subway, and then I tried to call the hotel to tell you I was on my way, but the lady wouldn’t connect me, and so then I had to get a cab,” I explained.
“Could you talk any faster?” he laughed.
“Probably. This is the way I get when I get nervous or excited,” I laughed at how I was still talking very quickly.
“That must be the New Yorker in you.”
“You bet,” I smiled.
“We’re going to the venue at one thirty,” Ike entered the room through the door that connected it to Mr. and Mrs. Hanson’s room.
“Hey, Ike,” I smiled. I was still talking quickly.
“Hi,” he said, going into the bathroom.
“I think I need a stoge,” I breathed deeply.
“You smoke?” Tay wrinkled his nose.
“No,” I laughed.
“Then why do you need a cigarette?” he asked.
“Oh, I was kidding, you know how when smokers get nervous they need a smoke? Well, I was just joking,” I knew I was rambling.
“Are you sure you don’t smoke?” he asked, looking at me try to take deep breaths. I was excited about the show, and I still had some nervousness left in me.
“Positive. I’ve never lit a match in my life, and I’m afraid of lighters,” I smiled. I sat down on the bed. Zac entered the room.
“Yo, what up, dawg?” I said.
“Did you just call me dawg?” he laughed.
“Yea,” I replied. Tay walked past me to rummage through a suitcase in the corner of the room.
“Okay, are we ready?” Mr. Hanson asked from the other room.
“Come on,” Ike came out of the bathroom and hit me on the shoulder. He led me into their parents’ room where we sat on the bed. Slowly but surely, Mack, Avie, Jessie, Zac, Mrs. Hanson and Zoe, and Tay entered the room.
Mr. Hanson clapped his hands, “All right, troops, let’s go. Van’s in the front.”
Everyone exited the room and went into the hallway. We filled the whole elevator. Vince smiled at me, but didn’t really look at me again. Fine with me. We were all just herded into the van. In the front seat was a driver. Then in the second row was Mr. Hanson, Mackie, and Jessie. The third row held Mrs. Hanson, Zoe (and her carseat), Avie, and Ike. In the last row, there was Tay, Zac and me. I was by the window.
“Hey, Tayler,” Mr. Hanson called from the front.
“Yea?” Tay and I both replied.
“No, not my Taylor,” he called back.
“Yes?” I asked again.
“Don’t let me forget to give you your backstage pass.”
“Okay,” I answered.
The ride wasn’t too long, but the unloading was. I was the last one out. Finally, we were all walking down a dim, badly lit hallway. After a short walk, we arrived in I guess what they would call a “dressing room.” It was pretty much just a large room where everyone plopped down on a chair or couch.
“In a few minutes, after Dad talks to the guys,” Ike said, “we have to go set up.”
“Okay,” I nodded.
“You can hang out here or come with us, or both,” Tay explained.
“Okay” I repeated. In a few minutes, just as they had said, they left. I stayed in the room with Mrs. Hanson and the kids. “I’ll help baby-sit during the show if you want,” I said to her.
“Oh, that’s very generous of you, but I wouldn’t want you to miss any of the show,” she said, placing Zoe in her carseat on a table and opening a jar of baby food.
“It’s okay, I mean, I can watch for a little bit, but I can help give you a break. We’re good friends, right guys?” I asked Jessie and Avie.
“Yea, Mommy, we palyed dress up and tea party and we watched a movie,” Avie smiled.
“Wow, sound like fun,” Mrs. Hanson smiled.
After a little bit, Jessie said, “Wanna go see what my brothers are doing?”
“Sure,” I replied.
“Mommy, can I show Tayler what they’re doing?” she asked.
“All right, but don’t get in the way,” she replied.
Jessie said, “I think it’s this way,” she pointed down the hall.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I shrugged.
We walked down the long corridor. The music was getting louder and louder as we went, telling me we had chosen the right direction. Soon we reached a place where we had to turn a corner and enter through a stage door. Mr. Hanson was standing in the wings along with a couple other people (roadies or bodyguards or something). He waved.
“This is the stage,” Jessie explained. She had to shout over the music.
“Cool,” I smiled.
Tay stepped back from his keyboards and went over to some back up guy or something. On his way back to his place, he waved. Jess and I waved back. We stood there for a while, listening and watching.
“Wanna go back now?” Jessie asked after a bit.
“Sure,” I shrugged. I waved to Ike. He nodded.
On our walk back, Jessie asked, “Do you know how to multiply two numbers that have two digits?”
“Yes.”
“Could you help me with my homework? I got three problems,” she said.
“Sure.” We approached the door to the room and went in. I sat down on a couch while Jessie got her book. For a little while, Jessie and I did some lovely math problems. Then, she, Avie, and I played Go Fish and Crazy Eights. After that, Mackie and I played with his X-Men figures. Not long after, Ike, Tay, and Zac returned.
“Hello,” I said as they entered the room.
“Where’s Mom?” Zac wondered.
“She went to change Zoe,” Avie said.
“Robinson, you wanna meet Jay, Matt and Scott?” Ike asked.
“Who?” I wondered.
“They’re our back up,” Tay said, searching through a black bag and removing a bottle of water.
“Oh.”
“Come on,” Zac led me by my elbow into the hallway. Ike and Tay followed.
Sure enough, there were three guys, maybe Ike’s age or older, standing in the hall. Tay pointed to each of them, “Jay, Scott, Matt.”
“Hi,” I nodded and smiled almost shyly, putting my thumbs through the belt loops on my jeans.
“This is Robinson,” Zac said, showing me off like I was a prize on The Price Is Right.
“Hi,” they said in unison.
“What is she supposed to be?” one asked. I think it was Matt or Scott, but what do I know?
“What do you mean?” I asked, getting a little defensive.
“Did you win a contest or something?” another wondered.
“No, I’m...” I paused and looked at Ike, “I’m Ike’s girlfriend.”
“Really?” I think Jay asked that.
“Yea,” Ike put his arm on my shoulder. I put my arm around his waist.
“So like, you guys met in Oklahoma?”
“Yea,” Zac said.
“Good luck guys,” some stage manager or something said as he passed by. He paused to talk to them briefly.
“Ike?” I questioned.
“What?”
“I’m breaking up with you,” I said, taking my arm off him.
“What?” he said, momentarily forgetting our little charade.
“I’m having an affair with...” I paused to think, “Zac.” I walked around Tay and over to Zac and put my arm around him.
“Um,” Ike said, “Okay.”
“I thought you guys were for real about her and Ike,” Scott laughed.
“Ike, couldn’t you tell she and Zac had it going on?” Tay smiled at me, “There was this one time, on the second day we knew her, when I found her and Zac in this field. She was on top of-”
I let go of Zac and slapped my hand over Tay’s mouth, “He’s just being silly,” I smiled.
“You found her and Zac what?” I think it was Matt who asked surprisedly.
“Nothing,” I nodded.
“I know a few embarrassing things about you, too, Taylor," Zac said evilly, glaancing at me. "You always talk about-"
“Zac’s lying,” Tay laughed, embarassed.
“What's he talking about?" I wondered.
“Don't worry about it,” Tay glared at his brother.
“He always talks about-” Zac continued. Tay elbowed him in the stomach. “All right, all right,” Zac laughed.
“Once, Zac was playing tag with her,” Ike started to laugh, “And she was wearing these old jeans-”
I kicked him in the shin. “He’s so funny, right?” I looked around at everyone and laughed dryly.
“Do you guys ever finish anything you say?” Scott asked.
“Have you ever done anything but things you can use to embarass each other?” Matt asked.
“No,” I answered both questions.
“You all are nuts,” Jay shrugged and walked over to some person and started to talk to him.
“So, what do we do now?” I asked.
“We could always have sex,” Zac shrugged.
Matt and Scott stared at him. They said in unison, “What?”
“It was worth a try,” Zac shrugged.
“Not now, Zacky, maybe later,” I nudged him in the side.
“Please?” he begged.
“Take a cold shower,” Tay laughed.
“Actually, cold showers don’t help, they arouse you more,” I commented.
“And you would know?” Tay shot back.
“It was on Pop-Up Video,” I shrugged.
“Ike, Tay, Zac, come here,” their dad called.
“Be right back,” they said and walked away.
“So, what are you to them, really?” Matt wondered.
“Nothing, just friends,” I shrugged.
“Yea right,” Matt rolled his eyes.
“We are, really,” I laughed.
“So, you live in Oklahoma?” he asked. Scott, uninterested, went over by Jay.
“Yea, but I used to live here,” I said.
“That’s awesome.”
“Yea, I miss it. I wish Tay, Ike, and Zac were allowed to go places, I mean, alone. I wanted to take them to some of the clubs around here,” I frowned, “I really want to go to one, but I have no one to go with.” Suddenly, it was like LIGHTBULB. Ask Matt. He seems pretty nice, and he likes music...
“That’s too bad.”
“Hey, would you go with me?” I asked.
“Me?”
“Yea, you’re allowed to go places, right?”
“Yes.”
“After the show tonight, we can go for like, an hour or two,” I suggested.
“All right, that sounds cool,” he shrugged.
Tay, Ike, and Zac came over again. “Dad wants to know if you want anything to eat,” Zac said.
“Yes, I’m hungry,” I nodded.
“We’re going to go out someplace,” Ike told me.
“Okie dokie,” I said.
Everyone (not Jay, Matt, and Scott) gathered in the “dressing room.” After a few minutes, we loaded back into the van and went to a little hamburger type place not too far away. It was kinda funny, there were these body-guard type guys sitting at a table next to us. I don’t really like hamburgers much, and so I got a grilled cheese. Anyway, it took like a half an hour for us to get our food, a while to eat it, and then fifteen minutes to get the check, and a little bit to get back. When we got back to the venue, there was a pack of screaming girls outside. Great. We hopped out of the van. I was the last one out again. There were security gurads that cleared (kind of) a path for us to go through.
“Can’t go in,” one guard told me.
“But, I’m with them,” I pushed.
“I don’t think so,” he laughed.
“No really,” I got more violent.
“Where’s your pass?”
“Oh, Mr. Hanson forgot to give it to me,” I said.
“Sure he did.”
“No, really,” I pushed.
“Look, miss, if you don’t stop pushing, you’re going to have to leave.”
The screaming got slightly quieter and then really loud. Tay (who had been the last one inside) had come back out. He went over to where the guard was hassling me.
“She needs a pass,” the guard insisted.
“Here,” Tay removed the tag from around his neck and slipped it over my head.
“Thanks,” I smiled at him. I turned to the guard and smirked. Tay grabbed me by the hand and pulled me through the crowd. Girls who were grabbing for him were hitting me. Calmly, he shook a couple hands and led me inside. He let go of my hand as his dad approached.
“Sorry about that,” Mr. Hanson handed me my own pass.
“It’s okay,” I shrugged.
As we walked back to the room, I took off the pass that Tay had given me, “Thanks a lot, Tay,” I handed it back to him.
“No problem,”he took it from my hand.
“That guard was being a butthole,” I grumbled. He laughed.
“So now what?” I asked.
“Well, the show’s in like, two and a half hours. We sit a round for a little bit, then we do stuff on stage, and then there’s a sound check, and then there’s the show,” he explained.
“Cool,” I replied.
“So, right now, we have nothing to do,” he said.
“Do you guys have a wardrobe rack?” I asked.
“Why?”
I just laughed innocently. “Can I see it?”
“See what?” Ike asked.
“Our wardrobe rack,” Tay said.
“Why?” Ike wondered.
“I wanna, please?” I said like a little kid.
“What?” Zac asked.
“She wants to see out clothes rack,” Ike said, shrugging.
“Sure,” Zac said, leading me into another room.
“Ooh, pretty,” I said, taking sifting through the clothes. “Can I pick out your outfits for tonight?”
“Okay,” Ike shrugged.
“Somebody wear this,” I said, taking a striped sweater off the rack. I went through the stuuf again. I pulled out more stuff for them to wear and arranged outfits (that were color-coordinated). “Now,” I ordered, “I know you want to wear these, so I’ll leave and you can get dressed.
“We’re so excited,” Zac laughed sarcastically.
They ushered me out the door. In the hallway, Matt passed by. “Hey, Matt,” I stopped him, “do you have a car?”
“Nope,” he frowned.
“We can take the subway and go to the Tunnel,” I suggested.
“That sounds cool,” he shrugged.
“Okay,” I smiled.
A few minutes later, they let me back in. “Hm, I’m pretty good at this,” I said looking them over.
“Don’t brag or anything,” Zac said.
“Shut up.”
“Guys,” their dad walked by the door, “Let’s go.”
They left the room to go do whatever. Before I went back to the other room, I sifted through their wardrobe again and changed from my shirt into a blue and tan shirt from the rack. It was a bit large, but whatever. I went back into the other room.
Jessie, Avie, and I played a little more cards and then I suggested that we go for a walk. “Okay,” Jessie shrugged. We all went for a walk down the corridor.
“So guys, what’s up?” I aksed.
“Nothing,” she replied.
“Do you like my shirt?” I asked.
“It looks like this one that Zac has,” Jessie said.
“That’s probably because it’s his,” I laughed.
“Really?”
“Yea, I picked out their clothes for today,” I laughed again.
“Oh.”
“So guys, do you like New York?” I asked.
“Yes,” the said in unison.
“Did you know I used to live here?” I inquired.
“Yes, my brothers told me,” Avie nodded.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes, they talk about you sometimes, you know,” Jessie said.
“They do?” I said, surprised.
“Yea,” Jess affirmed.
“What do they say?”
“Mostly Ike and Zac make fun of Tay.”
“Why do they make fun of him?” I asked. Hmm... and what did that have to do with me?
“Because he has a crush on you,” Avie said.
“Shh, you weren’t supposed to tell,” Jessie whispered.
So, Tay has a crush on me? I bet that Ike and Zac were just makinng fun of him. It’s not based on anything true, I’m sure. But then, there was that time that Mackie called me and he said that Zac had told him to call Tay’s girlfriend... But anyway, so we walked around for a while, and then I asked, “Do you guys want to go out into the theater?”
“We’re not supposed to bother them,” Jessie said.
“We won’t, we can walk around out there,” I said, opening a door that led to the seating area. For a while we walked around the entire place.
“Let’s go down there,” Avie suggested, pointing to the area in front of the stage.
“All right,” I shrugged.We trotted down the many flights of stairs. Finally, we got to the floor. There was a wide space open right in front of the stage. Zac, Tay, and Ike weren’t out on stage yet.
“Wanna see my cartwheel?” Jessie asked.
“Sure.”
She did a pretty good cartwheel. “Me next,” Avie said. She attempted to do a cartwheel.
“Nice job,” I smiled.
“You go now,” Jessie said.
“I don’t know if I can do one,” I admitted.
“Try it,” Avie prodded.
I tucked my shirt into my pants and tried a cartwheel. It pretty much was bad, but whatever.
“Not bad,” Jessie said.
After a few minutes of them attempting to teach me cartwheels, Ike, Tay, Zac, Matt, Scott, Jay, Mr. Hanson, and a whole bunch of other like, technical people came out onto stage. Jess, Avie, and I just watched for a few minutes while they got all their stuff rigged up. When they started to play, Avie covered her ears.
“Wanna go up there?” I asked, pointing to the balcony. She nodded. We all trudged back up the stairs and sat up in the front row of the balcony. It was slightly less loud up there.
“She doesn’t like when it’s that loud,” Jessie explained.We stayed up in the balcony for a while, dancing and singing to the songs they played. After a few minutes, in between the music, Tay said (in his microphone of course) “Hey guys, Dad says to get down from there.”
“Okay!” we yelled.
“I want to go back to Mommy,” Avie said.
Jessie and I brought Avie back to the dressing room. There, Jessie had an idea, “Let’s make some signs to hold up!”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“What should we write?” she asked.
“Umm... I don’t know,” I said.
“I think I’ll write ‘I love the Backstreet Boys’,” she giggled, “They don’t like it when I say that.”
“That’s a good idea,” I laughed.
“What about you?” she asked
“I don’t know, what do you think I should write?”
“How about ‘I love you too, Tay’?” she laughed.
“Shh...” I hushed her, “I don’t think I should write that.”
“How about ‘Give ME some Lovin,’” she suggested.
“Hmm... Maybe I should write something about Christmas?” I asked.
“That’s a good idea,” she nodded. She took out some markers and started to write. “Maybe you should write BOO!”
“Okay,” I laughed. It took us a little while because we colored in all the letters.
“You should write something nice, too,” Jessie said, looking at my big blue “Boo!”
“Good idea,” I said. I wrote “Here’s the Love” on the opposite side of the paper.
We walked back out to the seating area. We sttod in the front. For the first few songs we were quiet. After one or two, Jessie flashed her sign. They all shook their heads and rolled their eyes, but smiled. During their practice of “Where’s the Love” I flashed my sign in the air. Again they just shook their heads. After a few more songs (Jessie and I were dancing and twirling each other and screaming like regular fans) I turned my sign around to show the BOO!. Tay, who was singing at the time, started to laugh, but recovered quickly.
After yet another few songs, Jessie said, “We should throw something at them.”
“Okay, but after your dad leaves,” I replied.
In a few minutes, Ike said into the mic, “We’re going to go back now.”
“No, play one more!” we yelled.
“All right.” Their dad and some stage people left. “What do you want to hear?”
“Anything,” I yelled. So, they started to sing “Merry Christmas Baby.”
In the middle of the song, I took off my shoe and threw it onto the stage. They started laughing in the middle of the song and stopped playing. Zac dashed from behind his drums and picked it up.
“You’re bad!” Jessie laughed.
“Really?” Zac asked, nodding.
“Yea!” I affirmed.
“Well then, you don’t get your shoe back,” he teased.
“Please,” I said, holding onto Jessie’s shoulder for balance so that I wouldn’t dirty my sock.
“Nope.”
“Come on, Zacky, I’ll be your best friend?” I pleaded.
“Too late,” he shrugged.
“How cute,” Ike teased.
“Make him give me my shoe back,” I begged Tay.
“Why should I?”
“If you do, I’ll love you forever,” I said.
“Well...”
“Please?”
“What will you do for me?” he asked.
“I’ll... kiss you,” I thought up the first thing that came to mind (funny how that’s the first thing that came to my mind...)
“Promise?” he asked.
“Yea, whatever, just get me my shoe.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said skeptically.
“Fine,” I threw my poster onto the floor and leapt up onto the stage and ran after Zac. I tackled him to the ground and managed to get my shoe back.
“Oh well, Tay, you lose,” I shrugged as I sat on the ground to pull on my shoe. “That was your big chance, you blew it, buddy.”
“She said you blew it,” Zac erupted into laughter.
“Shut up, you little...”
“Hornball,” Tay finished for me.
“Yea,” I nodded. Jessie climbed up on the stage, too.
We went backstage because people would be coming in soon. “Guys, they’ll let me just stand in the wings during the show?” I asked.
“As long as you wear your pass,” Tay lifted up my pass and waved it in front of my face.
“I will,” I took the pass from his hand.
In a few minutes, you could hear the screams starting to get louder and louder as the place filled up. It got so loud that we all retreated back to the dressing room. Ike, Tay, Zac, and all their back up people waited near the stage while Admiral Twin, the opening band, played like, four songs. Then, after the roadies change the instruments around, Ike, Tay, and Zac ran out onto the stage. The screams grew louder.
“Why don’t you guys go out there?” Mrs. Hanson asked. “If you girls wear your passes, you can stand in the wings. There’s some earplugs on the table over there,” she pointed.
“Okay,” I replied.
“I’ll come with you,” Jessie said.
“Avie do you want to come?” I asked.
“No thanks,” she shook her head.
“Mack?”
“Okay,” he hopped off the floor and went to get himself some earplugs. Mrs. Hanson helped him put them in his ears. Jessie handed me a little plastic bag with yellow ear plugs in it. I took them out and shoved them in my ears. Most of the sound was muffled.
Mack, Jess, and I went out into the hall. Even with earplugs in, it was loud. We followed our previous path to the stage and stood in the wings for a while. We couldn’t see much because there was this fat guy in the way. He was some kind of stage manager. After they played “Gimme Some Lovin’” the fat man moved.
“I can finally see,” I mumbled
“What?” Jessie yelled over the loudness.
I shook my head. It was next to impossible to communicate. It was hard to believe that the theater we had been dancing around in before could hold so many people. We watched and listened as they played “Where’s the Love” and “Merry Christmas Baby.” After that, Mack wandered a little closer to the stage (but stayed behind the wing). At the end of each song, Mack would step closer to the stage so he could peek out.
Jessie motioned toward him and stepped up there herself. She waved at me to join them, but I didn’t want to, what if one of the girls out there saw me? What if they were got jealous and started riots and... whoa, I’m crazy. I stepped up by Mack and Jess. Mack and I started to dance. He was too short, and so I picked him up. I balanced him on my hip and we danced some more. He waved to his brothers. Tay waved back (it was subtle though). I was afraid that our (or at least my) being there would mess them up. I took a few steps back behind the curtain.
Jessie waved her hand for me to go closer. I shook my head “no.” Mackie and I danced for a little longer. Then, he started to seem to get tired or something, he rested his head on my shoulder. Then I noticed him yawning. I tapped Jessie on the shoulder and pointed to Mack. I went back to where Mrs. Hanson was reading Avie a story.
“I think that Mackie had a little too much dancing,” I laughed as he yawned again. I placed him on the couch next to Mrs. Hanson and Avie.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come out there?” I asked Avie.
“Yes, I am,” she replied.
“Do you want to go watch?” I asked Mrs. Hanson.
“No, it’s all right, just go out there and have fun,” she smiled.
I obeyed. In just a few minutes, they had to come off the stage because the crew was rearranging to the acoustic set.
“Hey,” Tay said breathlessly gulping water.
“Hi,” I smiled. “You guys are kicking butt,” I yelled, attempting to let him hear me.
“Thanks,” he said, gasping.
I smiled at him. Some stage guy called to them in a loud whisper.
“Gotta go,” he said, putting his water down on a stool.
“See ya.”
He winked at me and then ran out on stage. The screaming was even louder.
Jessie tugged on my arm and pulled my into the hallway. “I have to go to the bathroom,” she yelled.
“Okay.”
We found our way to the ladies room, following the signs we saw on the way. After we went to the bathroom and washed our hands, I was fixing my ponytail when Jessie spoke up, “Did you see Tay wink at you?”
I smiled and tried to cover it up, “Yea.” Jessie smiled at my blushing. “Let’s go,” I shook my head at her.We went out by the wings again and watched for a few more songs.
After “Mmmbop” Jessie asked (actually yelled), “Can we go back?”
“Sure.”
We went back to the dressing room. There, she, Avie, and I looked through Mrs. Hanson’s Macy’s catalog and talked about what we want for Christmas.
“Tay, would you mind watching them for a sec while I take Mack to the bathroom?” Mrs. Hanson asked.
“Sure,” I said.
While she was gone, Matt came into the room. “Hi,” he breathed deeply. He searched through a bag in the corner and emerged with a bottle of water.
“Hi,” I replied. “I’m going to take the subway home and get dressed, and then I’ll come back for you at the hotel, and then we can leave.”
“Okay,” he agreed.
“I should probably be back by... What time is it now?”
“Twenty to ten,” he glanced at his watch.
“Wow, okay, I’ll be back at the hotel by ten thirty or quarter to eleven,” I shrugged.
“All right,” he agreed, smiling.
“What up dawwwwg?” Zac yelled, entering the room.
I turned around. “Hey!” I smiled.
“You guys were awesome,” I patted Ike on the back. He was all sweaty. “Ew! Why is my hand all wet?” I whined.
“Becuase I’m sweating,” he laughed.
“Ew,” I wiped my hand on Tay’s arm and exclaimed, “Ew, you’re all slimy, too!’
“Yea,” he laughed.
“Well, that’s just...” I wiped my hand on the towel Ike had gotten out of his bag, “That’s nasty.”
“You know what else is nasty?” Zac asked.
“What?”
“THAT!” he exclaimed, splashing the last of his water all over my shirt, soaking it. He laughed devilishly.
I looked at the big wet stain on the shirt and bent over laughing. “You idiot!” I gasped.
“What?”
“You idiot...” I repeated, laughing so hard I thought I’d fall over.
“What?” he asked, a little more angrily.
“This is your shirt! I took it from the...” I couldn’t even talk I was laughing so hard.
Ike, Tay, Matt, Avie, and Jessie erupted into laughter. “Zac, you’re silly!” Avie giggled.
I exited the room and went in by the wardrobe rack. I picked my shirt up off the floor and quickly changed. I went back into the dressing room and tossed the wet shirt at Zac, wiping tears from laughing so hard. “Okay, guys,” I heaved a sigh, “I’m going to take the subway home.”
“You’re not coming back to the hotel with us?” Zac pouted.
“Um, well, I’ve gotta get changed...” I glanced at Matt, “Maybe I’ll see you later.”
“Changed for what?” Ike asked.
“Um, I have a... an engagement later...”
“A what?” Tay wondered.
“I have to go,” I gathered my coat. “See you guys later,” and I added, “Call me if you need to, you’ve got the number.” I went out the door and left through the back of the venue. I pushed my way through a troop of girls and jogged down to the subway. I paid the dollar for the train and hopped on. While riding, I tried to figure out what I’d brought to wear. All of a sudden, I realized I was at my stop. I ran off the train and walked the block and a half to Daddy’s apartment.
