"How do I look?" I asked, not expecting my best mate’s reaction to be very good. I always look crap in anything other than baggy jeans and baggy tops.
"You look really nice! Seriously, you look cool!" I raised my eyebrows at her. I was still trying to figure out how Emily had persuaded me into wearing a dress. I never wear dresses, not ever. In fact, the dress I was now wearing was the only one I owned!
"I don’t look as nice as you!" Emily always looked cool. She was wearing a short, white dress with Chinese writing on it. My dress was very long and blue. It was a denim style material, and had a flower embroidered onto the bottom of it, next to the slit that ran up my left leg and reached my knee.
"Holly, just get over it! You look great!" Emily and I were both feeling extremely excited. Emily had a new boyfriend, but basically all I knew about him was that his name was Brian. Emily hadn’t told me anything else, but she ‘knew’ I was gonna love Brian and his friends!
Emily had met this guy at an up-market London club, a couple of months ago. She’s just started working for a PR company, so she’s allowed into these sorts of places. But I’m not complaining…I often get invited along.
I gather Brian’s famous or rich or something…Emily’s always going to parties with him and his four mates. I mean, just the other week, she went to the LA premiere of Salute My Son (a war flick starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Seth Green, and Sarah Michelle Gellar). It was really high profile, and she even met Leo! But Emily has refused to tell me about what line of work Brian’s in. Although, she said she knows I will absolutely love him and his friends. Okay, whatever!
Oh, the year is currently 2001, and it’s early January. Brian’s birthday is quite soon, but the party we are going to is for one of Brian’s friends, who just turned 23. Emily is soon going to turn 19, but I was 19 back in November. I have no idea how old Brian is though. Man, Emily needs to give me some details!
"Em, c’mon, it’s about time you told me about Brian and his friends, and who’s birthday it is today." We were in a brand new Mercedes, being chauffeur-driven to the party, which was being held in London somewhere.
"Okay, okay. But you are gonna go completely outta your mind when I tell you!"
"Go on, then!"
"Okay. My boyfriend, Brian, is gonna be 26 exactly one month before I turn 19."
"Wow, he’s like, seven years older than you!"
"Age is not important, okay? Anyway, he’s a singer." As soon as she said that, something inside me clicked. Emily’s birthday was March 20th, so Brian’s birthday was February 20th. He was gonna be 26. And he was a singer. I knew immediately who he was.
"OH MY GOD!" I screamed. Emily grinned. I just happened to be a huge Backstreet Boys fan, and had been since I was 14. "Emily! Why in the hell didn’t you TELL me?! You know how much I love those guys!" Emily knew all too well that Backstreet Boys meant the world to me. "I mean, I knew it was AJ’s birthday today, but I never even thought of him when you said about a birthday party. Fucking hell! So tonight, I’m gonna meet the Backstreet Boys?!" I was almost throwing up, I was in shock so much. For the past 5 years I had been desperately trying to meet them. I had seen 12 live Backstreet Boys concerts and owned well over 60 CDs and tapes of theirs. I was going completely outta my mind, just as Emily had predicted.
"Pretty cool huh? I’ve been itching to tell you for the last couple of months, but I wanted to wait until I knew the relationship was gonna work out."
"I have been reading in various magazines for ages on ‘Brian’s mysterious new girlfriend’ and I never even thought of you!" "Well I didn’t hint at all. But you have to remember, Holly, you can’t tell anyone, okay? I mean, Miche and the others know, but no-one else. Got it?" "Of course I won’t tell anyone, who do you take me for?! Emily, you’ve been able to trust me for the last seven years, okay? I just can’t believe I’m meeting my idols…tonight! And I can’t believe you told the others before me!"
"I just wanted this to be a really huge surprise for you. I’m sorry! But anyway, I’ve told the Backstreet Boys all about you. They think you sound really cool, they really wanna meet you!"
"I can’t believe I’m gonna meet the Backstreet Boys…wearing a bloody dress! They’re gonna think I’m a girlie-girl, and that is so not me!" I’m quite tomboy-ish actually, always in baggy jeans or trousers and baggy tops and stuff. As I said before, I was wearing my one and only dress. "Are you sure this dress looks okay?"
"I told you to wear a dress because I knew you’d look out of place if you didn’t wear one. All the other guests are gonna be all dressed up, okay? So you’re gonna look absolutely stunning. Holly, they’re gonna love you. I know it."
"Are you in love with Brian?" Emily’s eyes twinkled and I could see her smile.
"It’s only been a couple of months…but yeah, I think I’m in love with him." My eyes started to fill up a little.
"I’m so happy for you, Em!" A tear trickled down my cheek.
"Oh, Holly! Don’t cry!" We gave each other a hug, and for the next hour or so, we just talked about Brian and the others. I was so excited, I just couldn’t believe it. My best friend was dating a Backstreet Boy!!
"Ladies, we have arrived." The friendly chauffeur pulled the car up outside a huge building. We were somewhere pretty much in the centre of London, but I wasn’t sure where. The chauffeur got out and opened the door for us. We both got out and gazed around us. We could hear music booming from inside, but from by just looking at the building, you wouldn’t think there was a huge birthday bash for AJ of Backstreet Boys going on inside! Just then, a guy stepped outta the front doors and strolled over to us, smiling at Emily.
"Heya, Paul!" Emily called, and she gave the guy a hug. "Holly, this is Brian’s bodyguard, Paul. Paul, this is my best mate, Holly."
"Hi!" Was all I could manage! I was totally star-struck, even though we hadn’t actually met anyone famous yet!
"Pleasure to meet you." We shook hands, before Paul said something into his walkie-talkie. "Okay, guys, everyone’s ready for you!" I gave Emily a confused look, but she just shrugged and smiled. Emily was an old pro at dealing with the rich and famous, yet the only famous person I had ever met was Joshua Jackson…when I was 14! We entered the building, and I just gazed all around it. I was in absolute awe.
"Holly," Emily hissed. "Look like you know what you’re doing, act as if this is just another party."
"I’m about to meet the Backstreet Boys!" I squeaked. Paul turned and tried to hide a smile.
"She’s a big fan." Emily whispered to Paul. He just nodded and smiled.
"Emily, for God’s sake, Backstreet Boys are the one group of people I would kill to meet! My God, you must realise what this means to me!"
"Of course I realise what it means to you. But calm down, chill, it’s no big deal! They’re just a bunch of normal guys, okay? Relax, Holly."
"It’s easy for you to say." Emily just gave me a grin and we continued down the long hallway. Paul finally led us into a huge room, which was really, really loud, and had a live band on stage. It wasn’t the Backstreet Boys, obviously, it was just a band who’d been hired for a live gig.
"They’re just through there." Paul pointed to a room beyond the huge hall, and smiled at us. Then he left.
"Come on, Holly, this way!" Emily was really excited. She hadn’t seen Brian for a couple of weeks and she’d been really missing him. We walked quickly through the party room and to the room Paul had pointed out to us. It looked an awful lot quieter in there, and through the frosted glass, we could make out a handful of figures. Emily knocked confidently on the door, and it was opened by Q, the Backstreet Boys’ chief bodyguard.
"Emily, honey! Come on in, we’ve been expecting you!" We entered the room, and I felt my jaw drop as I gazed around. The only other people in the room were the Backstreet Boys and Howie’s girlfriend. Kevin’s girlfriend was back in Florida, and AJ and Nick didn’t have girlfriends. Emily shoved me sharply in the ribs, letting me know that I looked like a total idiot. I was just so star-struck. I could feel my eyes fill up…Backstreet Boys were my absolute idols, and my best friend in the whole world was dating one of them. I was just stunned, and I could feel myself shaking slightly.
"Emily!" Brian cried and ran over to us. He hugged her tightly and gave her a quick, gentle kiss on the lips. Emily blushed a little, but I could tell that she was over the moon to see him again.
"Hey, Bri, I’ve missed you!" Emily was grinning. I felt like a bit of a lemon, just standing next to my mate having a reunion with her boyfriend. After they’d hugged another time, Emily introduced me to all the guys. "Okay everyone, this is my best friend, Holly." They all smiled at me and Brian shook my hand.
"I’ve heard a lot about you," he told me. "I hear you’re a big fan?" I couldn’t speak, I just nodded, and started to cry a little. I was overcome with shock and delight! "Okay, I didn’t need to ask that question!" Brian laughed. I laughed a little and wiped my eyes with my hand. "Here, let me get you a tissue." Brian grabbed a tissue from a box on a coffee table and handed it to me.
"Thanks." I managed to whisper.
"No problem. Hey, guys, come and say hello properly to Em’s best mate." The others had kinda been in a conversation about something, and when we walked in, they hadn’t really taken much notice. Brian gestured for us to take a seat, Emily sitting next to him, of course. I wasn’t sure where to sit, so I just kinda hovered nervously.
"Holly, calm down. Just sit over there, next to AJ." Emily told me with a smile. I felt like a complete prat, but I couldn’t help it! I knew I was making a total idiot of myself, but there was just no way I could stop shaking! I gingerly sat down next to AJ on a soft, squishy sofa.
"Hi, I’m AJ." AJ grinned at me, and I shook his hand. I swallowed down a lump in my throat.
"Holly." I croaked. AJ smiled knowingly and gave me a gentle, quick hug. I was totally stunned, but I was on cloud nine. After I’d managed to weakly introduce myself to the other three guys and Howie’s girlfriend, Samantha (Sam), I relaxed a little and we eased into conversation.
"So, Holly, what do you do?" Kevin asked me.
"Sorry?" I asked him, confused. He just smiled at me.
"What do you do, like are you at school, are you working…?"
"Oh, I see! I’m at University right now."
"What are you studying?" Nick asked me.
"I’m doing English and American Studies. I’m at Hull University, but I have a week’s break at the moment."
"Hull’s up north, but it’s on the east coast." Emily added. She grinned at me…we were both having a great time!
"Emily’s told us that you’re not really into dresses and stuff." Howie remarked, smiling a little.
"She did?" I pretended to glare at Emily. "Ha ha, well, I’m kinda more into anything baggy, really. Jeans and sweaters and stuff. I just don’t really wear dresses or skirts or tight tops and stuff. So you’re honoured to catch me in a dress!" I joked. The others were all listening to me, and they put me at ease when they laughed too, and soon enough we were all joking and laughing. After about a half hour or so of just chatting, AJ said,
"Guys? I think it’s time we got this party started." He grinned at us…AJ’s a wild party animal! We all went out into the big room and looked around us. Then the others walked off into the party, although Brian and Emily disappeared somewhere (probably to reunite without the rest of us there!). I was once again left standing, looking like a lemon. Nick saw that I was alone and walked back over to me.
"Can I get you a drink?" he offered.
"Yeah, thanks."
"What’re you having, then?" He smiled at me.
"Um, just a diet coke, please."
"Don’t you drink?" I felt a little more uncomfortable…I hate being asked about alcohol. I’m really against it.
"No, I don’t. Soft drinks and orange juice serve me just fine."
"Hey, don’t get all mad about it!" Nick grinned, although I was still looking (and feeling) pretty uncomfortable. "I’m not into alcohol all that much myself. I mean, I like a beer every now and again, and at some parties I have wine, but that’s about it. I’m not exactly a heavy drinker. I mean, AJ can get really pissed when he wants to!" Nick laughed. I relaxed a bit, and while Nick went and got himself and me a drink, I looked at who was at the party. I immediately spotted two members of B*Witched, and I also saw several members of 5ive. It was so cool! And all the Backstreet Boys were really nice. I then noticed AJ, gulping down some beer and then dancing madly, much to the amusement of the crowd around him. He’d also donned a weird leopard-print hat, making him look pretty funky! "Ah, you noticed our wild AJ." Nick remarked as he handed me my diet coke. I realised that he was also drinking coke.
"You didn’t have to drink non-alcoholic drinks just ‘cos I’m drinking them. I don’t care if you have alcoholic drinks…"
"Hey, don’t flatter yourself! I’m not drinking a soft drink ‘cos of you, you know. I just fancied a coke."
"Man, I was only saying."
"Yeah, well next time, don’t."
"Who put you in such a bad mood?" I asked Nick. I was surprised at myself…I had swooned over Nick for years, yet I was insulting him!
"I’m not in a bad mood!" Nick exclaimed, glaring at me.
"Ya think?!"
"Like I care what you think, fuck you." And with that, he walked off.
"Someone got outta the wrong side of the bed this morning." I muttered to myself.
I spent the next hour sitting all by myself at a table, sipping my original diet coke and nibbling on carrot sticks and tortilla chips. After a while, the music changed from pumping, up-tempo pop tracks, to slow romantic tracks. Brian was with Nick and Emily and they’d wandered over to my table. They didn’t sit down, they just hovered next to me. Nick was ignoring me - so I ignored him back.
"Okay, we’re gonna go and slow-dance," Brian told me. "So you’ve gotta get on the dance floor too, Holly."
"I don’t think so. Besides, who would I dance with?!" Brian looked all around him and realised the same thing I had. Everyone had a partner of some description!
"Um…uh…" Brian thought for a while. Then his face lit up and he grinned. "Nick." Nick snapped to attention, and my eyes opened wide.
"No way." I said immediately.
"You think no way?! I think absolutely no way ever!"
"Man, I said one little thing to you, you get all stressed about it, and now you’re trying to out-do me with the ‘no way’ line. You’re so pathetic!"
"I can’t believe I’m hearing this!" Nick exclaimed, obviously feeling very insulted. "Just ‘cos you think you’re ‘little miss purity’ doesn’t mean that people can’t drink both alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks."
"I didn’t say that people couldn’t do that. I was just making a simple remark on how you were also having a soft drink and how you didn’t have to just ‘cos of me. But you totally lose it!"
"Man, you have no idea…" But Brian interrupted Nick before he could say anything else.
"Wo, hold it! What the hell is going on?!" He looked really confused, but Emily looked annoyed. She was mouthing something to me, but I wasn’t sure what she was trying to say.
"We just had a little disagreement, that’s all." I told Bri, calmly.
"You mean you got all high and mighty…"
"Nick! Shut up for a second!" Brian cried, interrupting him a second time. "You two, this is meant to be a party, c’mon! Relax, enjoy yourselves…and dance with each other!"
"NO!" we cried in unison, both glaring at each other.
"Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you’re gonna have to. Magazines are here taking pictures, and they’re gonna think it’s a little strange if there’s a Backstreet Boy and a girl sitting on opposite sides of the room, seeing who can throw the best glare, okay?" We continued to glare at each other. Then I looked over at Emily and worked out what she was trying to say.
"You’re gonna spoil mine and Brian’s evening!" she was mouthing. I felt guilty, as she was right. All she wanted to do was be with Brian, and I was stopping her. I mouthed back,
"Sorry, mate." And she just nodded and smiled.
"So? Are you two gonna dance together? Just a few dances, and when you see the other couples start to stop and sit down, then you two can too. Okay?" We both sighed, still glaring at each other.
"I’m sure I’ll survive." Nick told Brian. "Oh, but bro’, could you do me a favour?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Watch my alcohol consumption for me, I don’t wanna become an overnight alcoholic…"
"Shut up, you idiot. Come on." I grabbed Nick’s arm and practically dragged him to the dance floor.
We looked pretty stupid, just standing opposite each other. All the other couples were dancing fairly closely, but we didn’t particularly want to do that. Suddenly, Emily walked up behind me and whispered in my ear, "Holly, for God’s sake, just dance with him!" Then she shoved me closer to Nick and we were standing a bit closer. I gave her a sarcastic smile as she walked past me and back to Brian.
"I don’t particularly wanna do this, okay?" Nick told me. "But if we’re gonna have to dance for some stupid magazine pictures, then we may as well make ourselves look half-decent and dance properly."
"Fine, no problem." I glared at Nick as I put my right arm around his waist and my left arm on his shoulder. He did pretty much the same thing, and we started to dance. But from Emily’s glares I could tell that we still looked stupid. "Nick," I hissed. "Emily keeps glaring at me. That means we must look ridiculous." We were holding each other at arm’s length, and compared to the other couples, we did look pretty odd.
"It’s not my fault!" Nick hissed angrily back.
"I never said it was! But Em thinks that if we don’t co-operate with each other then we’re gonna spoil her and Brian’s reunion thing." We were whispering as we ‘danced’. We were barely swaying to the music!
"Oh, well I don’t wanna ruin anything for Brian and Emily…they’re a real good couple."
"Yeah, I know."
"Okay then, we’ll dance a few dances properly, but then when the other couples sit back down, we will too."
"Of course." I replied.
"And I’m gonna sit on the other side of the room from you."
"Well I’ll already be sitting on the other side from you." I replied. We glared at each other a last time before Nick begrudgingly pulled me closer. I put my arms around his shoulders and he put his arms around my waist. We started to dance properly to the music, and I could see Emily grin at me and give me a thumbs-up sign. I smiled a forced-smile back at her.
After about eight songs, some couples started sitting down. "Yes!" Nick hissed. "They’re sitting down!"
"Well I’ll see ya around then, Nick!" I pulled away from him abruptly and we quickly stood further apart. We exchanged sarcastic smiles before walking off in separate directions to sit down. After a while, Em came and sat down with me, and Bri went and sat down with Nick.
"Holly, don’t look so angry and bored! As Brian said, magazines are taking photos all the time."
"Are there gonna be any photos of you and Brian together, in any of the mags?"
"Well, three magazines were invited along…but Brian and Howie specifically asked for no photos of their girlfriends to be published."
"That’s good, then." Emily looked up then and smiled. I looked to see what she was smiling at, and it was Brian of course. But he was with Nick.
"We decided to join you!" Brian said, brightly.
"No problem." I replied, smiling at him. I threw Nick a glare, and he was giving me evils.
"I was just telling Holly about the magazines and which photos they’re allowed to print."
"Oh, yeah. Well they all wanted pictures of you and Sam in the mags, but of course we refused. I’ve said that they can interview you later, but with your permission. Is that okay?"
"Sure, I can do that!" Emily and Brian exchanged loved-up grins, while Nick and I were still glaring at each other.
"I kinda noticed a photographer taking a picture of you two, guys." Brian looked as if he was bracing himself for our reaction.
"What?!" Nick cried. Brian was right to brace himself! "Oh, man, all the fans are gonna think I’m dating her! Shit, that’s so annoying!" Nick was truly mad, but I wasn’t exactly feeling terribly pleased about the whole thing myself.
"Yeah, but what about me?! Everyone’s gonna recognise me…after all, the magazines are published in UK. And then it’s gonna be so hard convincing people that I’m not dating Nick! The camera does lie sometimes, but they won’t think that."
"Brian, can you remember which photographer it was?" Emily asked him.
"No, I’m sorry. I have no idea."
"Okay, there’s only one thing we can do, then." Nick declared.
"Huh?" I was confused.
"Come on!" He grabbed my arm and tugged me toward a whole group of magazine-type people. I looked back around at Emily and Brian, protesting, but they were just laughing.
"Nick, where the hell are we going?!"
"Just shut up and let me do the talking."
"Don’t even think about it!" I replied adamantly, as Nick and I finally arrived at where all the mag people were standing.
"Nick! Hi, what can we do for you?" One of the interview people who knew Nick, asked him.
"I just wanna say to whichever photographer that took a picture of me dancing with her, oh and this is off the record, that I hate her and she’s not my girlfriend." I was deeply insulted! Not really, I was just annoyed at how blunt Nick had been about ‘her’.
"He’s an arrogant pig and I hate him back!" Nick just glared at me and I glared back.
"Children, children!" Kevin came over to sort it out. He was trying not to laugh, as Nick and I probably looked really stupid, telling magazines how much we despised each other.
"So you two aren’t dating, then?" One photographer asked us.
"NO!" we replied in unison. I folded my arms across my chest and turned my back to Nick. He did the same thing…we must’ve looked absolutely ridiculous! Some of the magazine people were trying not to laugh at us.
"I just don’t want any of you getting the wrong idea." Nick defended himself. "Our fans would think I was dating someone…her, and that’s totally untrue."
"He’s right…I wouldn’t date him in a million years."
"You wouldn’t date me in a million years?! Honey, I wouldn’t date you ever. You’re an obnoxious little…" But Kevin interrupted him before he could make a complete prat of himself and say some very bad words.
"Okay, you two, cool it. And for all of you who heard that," Kevin was talking to the mag people. "That was strictly off the record, and if any of you publish even the slightest bit of that conversation, we will sue you!" The mag people knew that Kevin was joking, but they all agreed anyhow not to put any of our ‘conversation’ in their mag.
Nick, Kevin, and I separated ourselves from the group of mag people, and talked quietly.
"You two, why the hell do you suddenly hate each other?!" He was really confused about it.
"It wasn’t sudden." I muttered.
"Holly just has one of those personalities."
"Yeah, right. Nick’s just an idiot with an insecurity complex, that he has to take out on others." We glared at each other, trying to throw the best insult, but Kevin once more stopped us.
"Hey, this is AJ’s birthday, okay? Relax! If you’re gonna argue the whole time, then just stay away from each other."
"It’s not so easy." I said. They both raised their eyebrows at me. "And don’t even think about flattering yourself Nick, I don’t find you irresistible." I turned to face Kevin. "It’s just ‘cos my best friend is dating his best friend. I’ll really upset Emily if I abandon her and don’t make an ‘effort’ with Nick."
"Some effort." Nick muttered.
"Yeah, well ditto." I snapped back. "I’m not gonna upset my best friend, and if that means I have to hang around him, then so be it."
"Well I don’t wanna upset Brian, either."
"But you’re just gonna end up upsetting them both if you continue to argue in front of them. If you’re gonna insult each other, do it away from the couple, okay?"
"Yes." We agreed, and Nick and I exchanged yet more sarcastic smiles. Me and Nick walked back over to the table, and saw that Brian and Emily were making out. We both groaned, turned, and sighed. Without realising it, we’d both walked over to the food table, and were standing next to each other. "Quit following me!" Nick exclaimed.
"What?! I’m not following you, you’re following me!"
"Hardly!" Nick retorted.
"Well you can’t seriously think that I’d wanna follow you!"
"You look like you’re pretty desperate for a guy, and I’m single and close to your age…"
"The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind! You have such an ego!" I was laughing at Nick’s total arrogance. "I can’t believe it! If you walk around thinking that every girl who’s single just wants to throw herself at you, then it’s not surprising you don’t have a girlfriend!" I shook my head in amazement and continued to laugh.
"You fucking bitch!" Nick cried loudly. A lot of people turned around to stare at him, and raised their eyebrows. Nick realised that he’d said that a bit too loudly, but he ignored all the stares and continued to insult me…quietly. "All I was saying, is that you seem to be following me and, well, let’s be honest, you really aren’t girlfriend material for any guy, so I thought that you might be making a move. It’s a simple assumption."
"Assumption would be right! I really can’t believe you’d think that! Man, I am not desperate for a boyfriend! You seem pretty desperate for a girlfriend though, immediately thinking that I’m just itching to jump you!"
"I’m not desperate! I could get a girlfriend anytime I wanted to."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really." Nick gave me a ‘so there!’ look.
"If you can get a girlfriend anytime you want to…why are you still single?" Nick shifted his weight from his right foot to his left foot uncomfortably. I could almost see his brain working, trying to come up with a good come-back. He opened his mouth to say something, but I got there first. "Basically Nick, you’re a walking contradiction!" And with that, I walked away. I went to a totally different table, where AJ was sitting on his own. He was pissed…and I mean really pissed. "Happy birthday, AJ." I told him.
"Thanks." he slurred.
"You having a good time?"
"Man, this party…" He paused to think of the word. "…rocks!" he exclaimed with a grin.
"Glad you’re enjoying it." I left him alone then, sensing that he was gonna puke and crash any minute! Emily had bought AJ a joint gift from us…which was a good idea, seeing as I didn’t know who’s birthday party it was until just over an hour before we arrived! I’m not sure what she got him, but AJ was obviously in no condition to complain about any of his presents!
I approached Brian and Emily’s table, and saw that they were just talking and laughing, and that it was okay for me to join them.
"Hey, Holly. Where’s Nick?" Brian asked me with a smile.
"I don’t know." I told him honestly. "And I don’t care much either." I muttered under my breath. "Are you two having a good time?"
"Yeah, it’s great." Emily told me, giving Brian a gentle hug. I smiled at them, they were a really sweet couple.
"I ‘spoke’ to AJ just now!" I grinned.
"Well that’s one better than me," Brian remarked. "I haven’t been able to hold a conversation with him for the last thirty minutes!" We laughed - AJ had gotten himself totally pissed, and I think he’d forgotten the party was actually being held for him!
"He was pretty out of it, but he said that the party rocks! Can he even tell?!"
Just then, Nick walked over to the table. We glared at each other, but then I noticed Emily sighing and looking a bit annoyed. I gave Nick a meaningful look, and we stopped glaring at each other. "Are you enjoying the party, Holly?" Nick asked me through gritted teeth.
"Yes, very much so thank you. And you?" We exchanged forced-smiles.
"I think it’s great." Nick replied.
"Care for a dance?" Brian got up and held his hand out to Emily.
"Sure." Emily told Brian, grinning at him. They went off and danced ‘closely’. Nick and I were left alone again. Great.
While Bri and Emily danced, Nick and I sat in silence. That was pretty much it for the rest of the evening, although Brian did dance with me for a while and Em danced with Nick. "Why are you two arguing so much? Can’t you just forget it and shake hands?" Bri asked me.
"He’s just so up himself!" I exclaimed. "I have never met someone as arrogant as Nick. The guy’s a total idiot."
"Give him a chance, Holly, please. For Emily."
"Well I love you guys, I have done for five years! I just didn’t realise that one of you - Nick, would be quite so different to how I’d imagined him. In magazines he was always so friendly and easy-going, but in person he’s up-tight and arrogant."
"He’s not really like that - he’s just not really into the whole party scene. Neither am I really, we just don’t socialise as much as the others. I like to just chill with Emily, and Nick likes to just chill with Nintendo." Brian said Nintendo as if it was the name of Nick’s girlfriend. I had to laugh, and Bri did too. "Besides, you’re gonna have to get along if you’re coming with us."
"What?! Coming with you…when?!"
"Emily told me that you wanted to tour with us when she did."
"Well I’d love to, but Emily hasn’t said anything to me about it!"
"She said you were gonna take one year out of Uni to come on tour with us…I got the impression that she’d told you."
"Nope, she hadn’t said anything! But you can take this as an official yes…if that’s okay with you."
"Of course! If you come with us, Em will be even happier, which can only be a good thing." Brian smiled at me.
"Well I’m sure Nick will be over the moon!" I told Bri sarcastically.
"He’ll have to just live with it then, won’t he? ‘Cos Em wants you to come…and the rest of us all do…so Nick’s kinda out-numbered.
"Thank you, Brian."
"No problem."
Emily was sorry she hadn’t told me, but also really pleased that I was gonna go with her. My University said that taking a year out was fine, although I’d subsequently be leaving University a year after everyone else. But that didn’t bother me one bit!
The Backstreet Boys would be touring America from January 13th through to mid-March. Then they’d tour Europe from May through to June, and Asia and South America and Australia from July through to October. It’d be a long haul, but worth it. I’d get to travel and wouldn’t have to pay for anything - Emily was gonna be hired as the BSB’s PR person, and I was gonna help her. I’d get paid a lot less than her, but seeing as travel expenses and accommodation and most food were already paid for, the only thing I’d need money for is personal items and some food.
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Chapter Two