"Somebody turn off the light!" Nick whined, throwing the blanket over his head.
"You can't excape the evil rays of....the SUN!! Wuhahahahahahahahaaaaa!" AJ cried, pulling Nick's curtains open and sticking his head in, laughing evily.
"Nick! Get up Lazy!" I yelled. "Even Kevin is up!" Nick sat up and let his legs dangle over the small cubbies. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he squinted and looked over at us, yawning. Howie and I were sitting at the table with cups of hot chocolate. Emily, Kev, and Brock were sitting on the couch up against the side of the bus. Nicky lazily waved at us and stumbled into the bathroom.
"Still wishin' you were home, Nicky?" Emily called to him. A muffled "yes" coming from the bathroom answered her question. The tired 20-year-old walked out, his hair combed a little so it wasn't in such disarray.
Suddenly, the big slob let out an unexpected burp.
"What's next? Scratch your butt? Pick your nose? BOTH?" Em teased Nick. He snarled at her, said excuse me, then scooted over beside me at the table. I rubbed his back.
"Poor Nicky. When will you ever get used to tour life," I replied sympathetically. Nick smiled sleepily at me, then got back up to fix himself a bowl of cereal, even drinking the very last drop of milk.
"A little hungry there, eh, boy?" Howie asked. Nick looked up and smiled.
All of us were in our pajamas. Emily and I wore boxers and t-shirts and the guys were in nothing but their pajama bottoms (well, Nicky was wearing a white shirt because he was too embarassed of his stomach--it wasn't as buff as, say, Howie. And J had on a wife beater). Kevin whipped open the curtains and gazed out the window.
"We stopped moving," Kev bluntly stated. He stepped around everything and made his way to the driver to inquire about our stop. We sat for a few minutes, full of curiosity. Then, Kev popped back in. "Girls got lonely for ya, boys," he informed us. As if timing were planned, Amy and Amanda barged through the door behind him.
"Hey boys! Missed ya last night!" Amy cried, going over to her sleepy boyfriend. "Oh you poor baby! Were they picking on you??" she cooed. Nick smiled weakly. Amanda sat on Brian's knee and kissed his cheek. He returned the kiss.
"How long have you guys been up?" 'Manda wanted to know. She and Amy were dressed and ready for a day on the town. We were in pajamas with our hair either pulled back or fuzzy.
"Uh...it's 10:30 now. All of us got up about an hour ago, except for Nicko, who didn't get out of bed until 15 or 20 minutes ago," J told her, after grabbing my wrist to take a glance at the time on my watch.
"Boys, how DO you do it?" Amy cried, astonished.
"Well, it's really easy. You just go to bed late, wake up late, work your butt off, then go back to bed," Nick explained. Amy socked his arm, which Nick reacted to with a laugh. Kevin silently turned around and declared he was going to take a shower.
As soon as his cousin was gone, Brian looked at us and said, "Anybody notice a change in Kev's attitude? He's been acting a lot different lately."
"Sulky? Yeah," Howie answered. "He misses Danielle, doesn't he?"
"Betcha he does," J included. "Has he even called her since we left? I never see him on the phone or anything. He always sittin' in the back, watching those old Fred Astaire movies by himself."
"Yeah I know. I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to Dani since the day we left, but I know she was really gunna miss us. Especially since she's keeping Steph's house and they're plastered all over it," Amanda pointed out.
"Did you even talk to Kev about her after we left, Bri?" Howie wanted to know.
"No. He never wanted to, so I didn't," Brian informed us. We sat in silence for a few minutes, thinkin' about Kevin's strange behavior. Then he walked back in.
"Hey! Ya know what? We're not doing anything. Why don't we call Dani?" Emily asked.
"That is a great idea," Kevin perked up. He grabbed the phone and dialed my number.
"Hey! What's the story, morning glory?" Kev cried into the phone. Every person in the bus noticed his sudden change in attitude and tone of voice. "Yeah. Everyone's here. We're on the bus somewhere in Virginia. Ya miss us? Haha! True. She and I are huge picture fanatics. I don't know what to do with all my pictures, so I give them to Steph and she finds a place for them. Haha! Yeah I know. It's amazing. What? Yeah. She'd make a great one."
"Kev tell her we miss her!" Amy yelled.
"Everyone misses you. Yeah! Really! You're part of the Backstreet FAMILY, Dan. We all love you! Howie said he's gunna buy a Polaroid, so we'll be able to send you pictures. And I promise we'll write at every city we stop in. What? Haha! Yeah right. I'll try though. Okay. Talk to ya later. Bye," Kevin conversed, before hanging up the phone.
"Yeah. Um, Kev? I meant all of us!" Emily told him. The rest of us laughed.
"Oh really? Huh. I guess I, just, kinda forgot. Sorry 'bout that, guys," Kevin replied. He went back into the bathroom to put that crap in his hair. I followed Train back and, when he got out of the bathroom, took a shower.
When I got out of the bathroom, Nick was playing with Chache in the back room. I threw my pajamas in my cubby/bed and walked to the front of the bus. Amy and Amanda had left and taken Emily with them. AJ was on the ground, flipping through a magazine and petting Tyk, D was sitting on the couch, indulging himself in a book, and Brian and Kevin were involved in a game of Battleship. I sat down next to J and began to play around with Tyk. All of a sudden, Muchacho came running up to us. He leapt into my lap and made himself comfortable.
"Where'd the girls go?" I asked.
"Since the buses are--
"SUNK!!! HAHA! One more ship and I win!" Brock cut in from D's answer. He apologized and they continued their game.
"Since the buses are stopped for most of the day, Denise told the girls she'd take them shopping so they could see Richmond," Howie finished.
"When do we get to New York?" I continued to ask.
"I think we'll get there in a few days. Fatima's gunna fly down and meet us at the hotel once we get there," Kevin told me. I was still really bummed that I wasn't allowed to dance in a dozen of the first performances. I was instructed to be light on the muscle and gradually work it back into shape.
"Yeah, Mom and I are going shopping later if you wanna join Steph. We can look for some funky, colonial hats," J let me know. I chuckled and told him I'd definitely go.
Howie glaced out the window. We were in the back parking lot of a ritzy hotel. The other two buses were parked beside us. No one knew we were back there yet, so we all cherished the peaceful time. It had also begun to rain a little. The sky was gray and the weather looked really dreery. Nicky walked to the front of the bus, looking a little more put together. AJ got up and Nick sat down in his spot and grabbed the magazine.
"HA! I WON!! Beat THAT B-Rok!" Kevin suddenly burst out. Nick, D, and I shot our gazes toward the table to see a flustered Brian slamming his face into his palms. They cleaned up their game and stuffed it in a cupboard. Nick stood up and turned on the stereo above D's head. Babyface's voice came pouring out of the speakers.
"Kev, how late were you up last night?" Nick asked, popping his CD out and handing it to him. "Bone, can you get out my Journey Greatest Hits CD?" he called when we heard the bathroom door opening. J came out and threw Nick's CD case at him. Nicky opened it and took out Journey. He stuck it in the stereo and some Journey song enveloped the bus. I was so thankful that the boys I was living with until Christmas had good voices because if they didn't, I would most likely go insane.
AJ came back out to the front room, combing his hair. It was now just its natural brown. He had washed out the green.
"I believe it was Baz Luhrmann who said 'Don't mess too much with your hair. Or, by the time you are 40, you will look 85,' " I muttered. AJ playfully glared at me. I gave him a wicked smile. Then, he sat down in D's empty spot (Howie had gone to take a shower) and mussed up my hair. I grabbed his hand and threw it off.
"Hey Bri. Are you ever gunna get dressed?" Nick wanted to know, looking down at Tyk.
"No, I'm gunna sit here and wear my pajamas all day long. I like to do that," Brock sarcastically remarked. "Of course I'm getting dressed nimwad! I just like to stay in my pjs longer. Besides, Howie's faster than me." Right then, D came out, drying his hair. Brian hopped up and headed straight for the open bathroom door. By now, it was 11:45.
"Hey Steph. Wanna go find a cafe in the hotel in about fifteen minutes, after our hair dries?" D offered.
"Sure Howie. Lemme just grab the blow drier and we can leave in a few minutes, okay?" I said, jumping up and going to a drawer under my bed. Howie threw his towel on Muchacho, who began to bark furiously and move around like some insane dog, making eveyone in the room laugh hysterically. AJ looked up at Kevin, who was sitting at the table still, writing something.
"Hey Train, whaddya writing?" J called.
"Umm....a letter to Danielle," Kevin mumbled, concentrating really hard on composing the letter. He stopped writing for a minute or so, thought, then began to write again. I went into the back room, plugged the blow drier in, and dried my hair. When my hair was all dry and perfectly curly, I unplugged the blow drier and stepped out of the room to put it away. I grabbed my red GAP anorak and looked over at D, who had pulled on a jacket and was standing by the door.
"Ready to go, sweetie?" he asked.
"Yup. Let's go. Bye guys!" I cried, as we walked out of the bus. AJ and Nick stuck on hats, jackets, and shoes and decided they wanted to go out to find some McDonald's. Kevin decided he needed some fresh air and grabbed the BSB dancers to go find a post office with him so he could mail his letter. As soon as Kev left, Brian came out of the shower.
"Hey guys! Whaddya wanna do now--" he began to call. "MAN! Why do I always get left behind?" Brian wondered out loud, throwing his arms up in the air.
"So, where to?" I asked Howie. We walked through the hotel lobby, him tugging me to go faster than I already was.
"Well, I think there's a little cafe somewhere around here. I just don't know where. Let me ask that bellhop," D told me. He let go of my hand and went to the young man to ask about the location of a cafe. The bellhop pointed him in the direction and he walked back to me. Grabbing my hand again, we made our way through the lobby at a rather fast pace.
The cafe was a small area roped off from the general lobby, with a bar on one wall. We got 'inside' and sat down at a little round table. A waiter sauntered over and placed menus in front of us. We looked through them, burying our heads in them so that no one would see us yet, if there just happened to be a rich fan nearby.
"Hey D. Doesn't this remind you of that scene in Grease where Sandy and Danny are trying to have privacy in the Frosty Palace?" I suddenly realized. Howie laughed and told me it did. Then, he grabbed both the menus and stood them up on the table and reached for my hand.
"I just want a little privacy for us, alright," Howie recited. I laughed. Just then, as if timing couldn't have been more perfect, Brock came over and snatched the menus off the table.
"How ya doin D?" he cried. "HA! Thought I'd find you guys here. Oh whoops! Was I interrupting something?" I playfully glared at Brian. "Everyone left me and my girlfriend is gone so I'm all alone."
"Well, I was planning on just having lunch with Steph, but if you want to join, you're quite welcome to," Howie D sighed.
"Oh naaah. That's okay. I'll just ask for directions to the nearest Micky D's. I'm sure Bone's found it by now," Bri informed us.
"See ya guys later okay?" We waved to Brock as he left. Then, the waiter came over to take our order. I couldn't resist and got a cheeseburger. Howie ordered a turkey sandwich. He had actually gotten into the habit of ordering for me. He knew I hated it, but it was the way he was brought up, so D felt inclined to do it. After the waiter left, we struck up a conversation again.
"I love being out on the road with 'Manda, Amy, and Em. They're so much fun to be with!" I cried.
"Yeah I know. The guys really enjoy their company now. Just imagine what would've happened if Amanda never met Brian. Everything would be so drastically different," Howie told me.
"I know. I miss my Mustang," I whined.
"You are the perfect Mustang person. You look so cute in that little car!" D complimented me. "I knew we had to buy it the second we pulled up and spotted it. It's the perfect Gilli car."
"Yeah. D-n-c-r-g-r-l. I like the license plate soo much!" I replied. Howie laughed.
"That was Kevin's idea. I wanted to do Gilli, but he thought Dancer Girl would be better," Howie explained. I nodded my head. Suddenly, our food was being placed in front of us. We dove in.
The plates were delicious. We wolfed them down and got out of the cafe as soon as possible. When we were leaving the hotel, we ran into Brian and Amanda.
"Found my girl!" Brock cried, squeezing her shoulders into him.
"Geez Brian, whadja do? Force her to eat lunch with you?" I remarked.
"YES!" Amanda answered.
"Where's everyone else?" Howie wanted to know.
"Nick and AJ are back in the bus and Kevin's listlessly running around with the girls, I think," Bri informed us. "We're gunna go to the cafe okay?"
"Okay. Have a good time trying to go unnoticed," Howie called as we parted. We waved to each other and D and I walked out of the hotel.
"So, Latin Lover, where to next?" I asked, teasingly using his nickname the guys gave him a while back. Howie looked at me with a shocked face. It had been a long time since he heard that name. The boys dropped it around '97 and he had completely forgotten about it.
"Wanna go into a few giftshops around here? I'm sure we can find some--" Howie began to tell me, before he was interrupted by a ringing cell phone. He flipped it open and answered it. It was AJ. "Your guardian is calling you back in. He wants to go hat-shopping with you," D told me. We changed directions and walked back to the buses.
AJ was waiting in our bus, his head resting on his fist while he sat at the table. Kevin was in the back, talking on the phone to Danielle again. Nick was in the girls' bus, hangin out with Amy.
"J, what's wrong?" I asked. He looked a little angry.
"Oh nothing. I've been waiting for Emily to come back and she hasn't yet. Kevin said she went out with the dancers and she knew I wanted to take her out to do a little shopping together before you and I took off," AJ explained. He heaved a loud sigh and stood up. "You don't mind my taking Steph do you, D?" Howie said no, so I grabbed my wallet and AJ and I ran out the door.
"Do you know where any hat stores would be?" I asked J.
"No, but we'll do some searching and find them. I think there's a shopping outlet down the road," Bone told me. We stuck our sunglasses and hats on in the sudden heat (the weather in VA sure was weird. One minute it was rainy and the next it was extremely humid and a little sunny), and walked on.
Within minutes, the two of us were rather near the shopping outlet J had informed me of. Within seconds of reaching the outlet, we encountered about 30 girls. AJ, the stupid boy who absolutely loved the attention, gladly signed autographs and posed for pictures and received random things that girls had just bought and decided he should have. J got everything from earrings to rings to t-shirts to stickers to even bows. He was quite overwhelmed by the gifts he received, when a kind little girl who was about five emptied out her shopping bag and handed it to him. J and I looked at each other and laughed. He thanked the girl and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then autographed the tag of her Beanie Baby. After we had gotten past the barricade of fans, J and I headed straight towards a sports store, looking for caps and hats of any kind.
We both found Virginia hats to buy as souvenirs for ourselves. He also found some jerseys Nick and Brian could appreciate and we bought them. Suddenly, AJ laid eyes on this gorgeous pool cue and couldn't let it go. It was made of purple marble and oak wood and came in two pieces. He twisted it together and rolled it around in his hands. The boy was completely in love with it. He had to buy it. I myself found a nice looking olive green one and bought it as well. Then, we left the sports outlet and made our way down the strip of busy stores.
As we were walking down the strip, we passed a pizza place and could hear singing leaking out the doors. J stopped abruptly and we snuck in. It was a karaoke party. Either that or else the pizza place had karaoke every day. We sat in the back and watched. When the teenage girl was finished, everyone clapped a little and she sat down. Then, three little girls who were probably around the ages of 8, 9, or 10, walked up to the stage upon being called and grabbed two microphones.
"And here we have 'em, folks, the Backstreet Girls!!!" the karaoke guy announced as he started the music to "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)." AJ and I looked at each other and silently busted up. We slapped our hands over our mouths and watched them. Then, J couldn't help it and let himself sing. He wasn't too loud, but he was loud and soulful enough for a few people to turn around and say "hey!"
One girl shot her head around and glared at us. She transferred her glance back to the three little girls, then slowly turned her head back around (ya know, in an Exorcist-esque manner) and stared at AJ. Then she lipped that she was extremely sorry. Her cheeks were really red. J told her it was okay and he wasn't bothered by it.
"Ya know, this place is kinda cool, Gilli. We should come in tonight and do some karaoke ourselves," AJ whispered to me.
"That would be so much fun! We should go back and tell the guys, then we'll all make a trip down here tonight and put on a show!" I whispered back. Just then, the girls finished. J and I stood up and clapped, hollered, and whistled for the three girls. Luckily, they were the only ones who looked in the back to see who was making so much noise. They all gasped and ran over to us.
While the next song was beginning, the girls came over to our table and gawked at AJ.
"OH MY GOSH! YOU are, like, my FAVORITE Backstreet Boy!" one of the girls cried. "All of my friends call me Bone because I always act just like you!"
"Did you see us just perform? Everybody is our favorite song. We even know the WHOLE dance! By heart!" another one of the girls replied.
"Yeah! And we've taped every single show that you've been on! We know what you say by heart," the third girl exclaimed. AJ laughed lightheartedly. He took off his sunglasses and his huge fan gasped. I guess she liked his eyes or something.
"Do you know where Nick is?" the second girl asked.
"He's hanging out with a friend right now," I told her.
"Aren't you in that one video?" the first girl wanted to know, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Yeah. I also dance for the BSB," I informed her.
"I thought so. You're not his girlfriend are you?" the first girl asked desperately. I chuckled and told her no. She sighed.
"Can we have your autograph? PLEEEAAASSSEEE?" the third girl pleaded.
"Yeah sure. But we're leaving, so I can't stay long, okay?" AJ complied. He grabbed a few napkins and dug a pen out of his pocket (he always carried one, just in case). Then, he looked straight into the first girl's eyes, causing her to get really flustered and nervous.
"Uhhh...my name's Samantha," the girl told him. He wrote a quick note on her napkin. Something like 'Hey there Sam. You're a great imitator of me! Keep it up! Haha! Enjoy the music and KTBPA! AJ. Then, he reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. He dug out a small, individual picture of himself, autographed the back of it, then gave it to her, sticking his wallet back in the pocket. She nearly fainted.
"My name's Rachel!" the third girl called out. AJ took another napkin and signed on it 'Rachel, KTBPA! You're a great fan! Spread the cheer! AJ--the Bone Man.'
"My name is Hillary," the second girl informed him. J took the third napkin and began to write on it. 'Hey Hillary! I'm sorry I'm not Nick, but he's busy at the moment. Maybe you'll get to meet him sometime! KTBPA! Bone.' The three girls stared at their napkins and the picture for a few seconds, then AJ gave the three of them one big hug. They screamed and ran back to their table, in awe that AJ McLean had just given them the time of day. We left the pizza place without creating much more than a stir of the people around us.
"We are soooo doing that tonight! We gotta J! We just gotta!" I cried, once we began our journey home.
"I'll talk to Mom and see if she'll let us do it, okay?" AJ told me. I wrapped my arms around his right arm tightly and we continued walking. "What's with the hanging on me all of a sudden? You're not cheating on poor D with me are you???"
"What? Oh. I dunno. I'm your bodyguard," I joked. He looked down at me and laughed. I kept my grip on his arm.
"Hey tighten that grip any more and I'll be losing circulation Gilli!" J replied. I loosened my grip a little bit. The heat was still intense outside, but the skies had clouded up again, predicting another rainfall. We finally got to the buses and quickly climbed in, right as the first of the rain began to fall.
"Heeeeeeyyyyyy we're back!" I announced when I flung the door open. AJ walked in behind me. Every spot in the front of the bus was filled, so I went over and sat on Howie D. Bone found his girl and sauntered over to her.
"Hey sweetie," he cooed.
"Where were you all day today? I waited for you so we could go shopping like we'd planned, but you were gone!" Emily asked angrily.
"I was sitting in this bus, waiting for you. Then D and Steph came back so I went with Steph cuz you weren't here yet and Kevin had told me you had gone out with the dancers. So I took Steph to the outlets. I had been waiting for you for a half hour and I got sick of waiting. I mean, you never called--look, I don't want to argue with you. Let's just make it up to each other and go somewhere together in the next city we stop in. But G and I have a special night planned for all of us," AJ called it quits. Emily stopped trying to argue.
"So what exactly are we gunna do tonight, huh?" Kevin asked. He had finally come out of the back room and the phone wasn't attached to his head in any way.
"KARAOKE BABY!!" J and I yelled at the same time.
"At a pizza place down by the outlets," AJ finished. Just then, Amanda and Brian walked in, giggling. Brock had his arm tightly wrapped around 'Manda's waist.
"Hey what's up?" Brian asked when he caught his breath.
"Nothin'. Hey 'Manda what's that?" I wanted to know, pointing to a fuzzy thing that she was gripping.
"This? Oh. Bri found it and said that I needed something warm and fuzzy to take the place of him at night and when we're on separate buses during the trip," Amanda explained, holding up a stuffed, brown bear. Emily, Amy, Nef, Tae, Niki, Kristin, and I all 'awwwed' over the teddy bear. 'Manda hugged it. "I named it Ace. After this little boy's favorite actor's most famous character."
"Okay. Where's everyone? Everyone here?" AJ broke in. Nick came out of the bathroom, scratching the back of his neck. "There you are. Frick and Frack, we found these jerseys that we thought you would like." He and I pulled the identical Richmond jerseys out of our bags and handed them to the boys. Nicky and Brock thanked us graciously.
"What else did you buy?" Howie asked me. I pulled out my VA cap and pool cue and showed them to everyone.
"Niiiiiicccceeee," Kevin said. He gestured for the cue stick, which I handed to him. Kevin examined it carefully. "This is really nice looking Steph. You didn't just totally blow your money on it did you?" That's the father figure for ya.
"Noooooo Kev. I didn't blow my money!" I exclaimed.
"Okay so anyways, Steph and I found this pizza place down the street with a karaoke machine. We think it would be totally fun if we all went down there tonight for dinner," J informed them. The girls all instantly got excited. We all loved to sing, though we couldn't to save our lives. "Well then, it's
5:30 now. You guys all wanna get ready and we'll meet between buses in a half hour?" Everone agreed and all the girls crowded through the door to go back to their bus while Bone called his mom to tell and invite her.
A half hour later, the 14 of us met out between the buses. Everything was damp, but it wasn't raining anymore. We made sure everyone was there and made our trip to the outlets. Reggie, Emo, Swoop, Sleepy, and Ro Ro were all invited but none of them wanted to join us. They usually kept away from our activities and did their own thing. And Denise had work to do, so she wasn't able to join us.
The boys adorned with hats and sunglasses, we all casually walked into the pizza place. Kristin and I went up to the karaoke deejay and got some sign-up sheets to sing. It was a Tuesday night, so not many people were inside and we were lucky enough to get to do any singing at all. Everyone grabbed a sign-up sheet and put what they wanted to sing on the paper. Then, Kristin recollected them and took them back up to the deejay. He looked at the list and his settle expression became very shocked. He chuckled to himself and placed the pieces of paper aside.
We had found a long table in the middle of the restaurant. It wasn't necessarily the most private place, but if girls were caring, they would see we were having a good time and wouldn't interrupt to get autographs. There were only a few families inside the place, eating dinner, and they would soon be gone because it was a school night. (It was only the first week of June.) Most of the people in the pizza place were friends who were laughing and talking over beers. The deejay continued to call up more people to sing. There were a lot of wrangler-wearing, beer-sipping cowboys in there, so there were also a lot of country songs being sung. Howie and Brian went to order our pizzas and drinks and came back to sit down right as Emily, Amy, Amanda and I were called up.
"Up next we have the....Hotter than Britney Spears group???" the deejay read. He looked up questioningly. Em, Amy, 'Manda, and I got up and everyone else at the table busted up. We walked to the stage and grabbed our mikes. Then the music came on.
"Oh baby baby," Emily started.
"How was I supposed to know," Amanda joined in. "That something wasn't right yeah. Oh baby baby..."
"I shouldn't have let you goooooo," Amy now sang with the two.
"And now you're out of sight yeah," I finished off the quartet. "Show me, how you want it to be. Tell me baby," (adding a little shimmy to that baby, like Britney did)
"cuz I need to know now, oh because--My loneliness is killing me."
"And I..." Amanda sang alone.
"I must confess I still believe," we all continued.
"Still believe," Amy and I echoed.
"When I'm not with you I lose my mind, give me a siiiiiiiiiiiggggnn...hit me baby one more time!!" we were having the times of our lives. The guys and dancers were laughing at us because we couldn't sing and we knew it. Kevin had gotten out his videocamera (as always. If that boy didn't have a videocamera, he had a photo-camera.) and was taping us. Amy, Emily, 'Manda, and I continued to sing and dance to the song, until it finished. Everyone in the place applauded us.
"Uhh...can I have a...uhh...'Brian Littrell' come to the stage please?" Brian gave 'Manda a kiss and took off his sunglasses and hat before walking up to the deejay. The deejay slightly recognized him and laughed lightheartedly. "Here's Brian singing 'Baby I Love Your Way.' " The lights dimmed and Brock began to belt it out, even using a Jamaican accent. At one point, he walked over to the table, grabbed 'Manda's hand, and took her on stage to sing to her. They were so cute together. Brian had her sitting on the stool that was placed on the stage for soloists who didn't want to stand, her hand in his, their eyes locked, and huge yet sweet smiles on their faces. I knew then that they couldn't possibly ever be separated. That would just be a crime.
The moment ended when the song did, and Brian held Amanda's hand as she walked down the stage's steps, after quickly running down them before her. Halfway down the steps, Amanda leaned over and kissed Brian's cheek. He blushed slightly as they continued their 'trek' back to the table, which was now covered with pizzas.
"Man, if you guys don't get married, I...I don't know what'd I'd do," Kristin mumbled, shaking her head.
"Get married? Girl, what on earth are you talking about???" Brock cried, a little bewildered. 'Manda's face flushed some.
"Kristin, we've been dating for, what, six months...." she reminded the dancer. Kristin laughed and told everyone to just forget what she had said. We ate our pizza while a few people went up and sang random songs and famous songs and annoying songs....the whole lot.
In the middle of a bite, I heard my name being called again.
"Stephanie and Amanda are up next, singing that new tune by the New Radicals..."Get What You Give!" the deejay announced. I gulped down my pizza and grabbed 'Manda's arm, pulling her onstage with me. We got the microphones and the music started. It felt like Laverne and Shirley. Our own song, singing it on stage, rockin out....totally Laverne and Shirley.
"You only get what you give....you're gunna get what you give....just don't be afraid to leeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaavvvvvveeeeeeeeeee! Health insurance rip-off lying, FDA big bankers buying, fake computer crashes dining, cloning while they're multiplying, fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson, Courtney Love, and Marilyn Manson. You're all fakes, run to your mansions. Come around we'll kick your ASS IN!!!!" the two of us sang. We kept turning to each other and making faces. I was having a blast and I could tell the feeling was mutual. It was great. We finished and sat down. She put her hand down beside me and I high-fived her. D and Brock gave us standing ovations. Right as we sat down, AJ was called up. The deejay studied J, looking for clues of how he happened to recognize him and Brian, because he couldn't figure it out. AJ decided to sing one of their songs, "If You Want It To Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)" for his Em. Emily knew it would be directed towards her because he always sang it to her. The rest of us all grooved to the song while J got Em up and dancing with him.
They finished and sat down.
Then, Kevin was called up a few songs later. He handed the videocamera to Nick and went up to sing his song, "I Can Love You Like That." When he was given the microphone, he said in his deepest, most...uhhh...sultry voice,
"This is for Dani." Then, he began to sing. I had never seen him like that. He was probably one of the most soulful singing men I had ever seen. His voice went gorgeously with the song. We all gave him a standing ovation when he finished. Right after that, Nick was told to come up and sing one of his favorite songs, "Open Arms" for Amy. By then, I had figured out the pattern and was just waiting to hear what D was going to sing to me. A few other people were called up after Nicky, including a little troop of young women who sang "Summer Lovin'." This totally excited me, and Howie and I sang it to each other.
"Howie Dorough? We've got Howie D here, singin' "Sherry!" Howie, come on down!" the deejay yelled through the mic, sounding like the guy from the Price is Right. I looked at D, confused. He gave me a mischievious smile and got up.
"Steeeeeeepppphhhhyy! Stephy baby! Steeeeeeepppphhhhyy! Stephy baby! Steeeeeeeeeeeeeephhy baby. Steeeeepppphhhhhhyyyyyy, can you come out tonight?" I cracked up. He certainly knew my personality more than anyone I knew...even myself! I laughed, watching my great boyfriend sing this song to me. I lip-synched it with him. When he was done, I wrapped my arms around him as he walked back to the table.
"That had to have been the best, most creative performance yet, D!" I told him.
"Hey! I know you well, don't I?" Howie asked me. I smiled at him, then we shared a sweet, short kiss. The pizza was almost gone, and what was left of it was cold. Yet, for some reason, we all still ate it. Nowhere near as good as NYPD pizza, but that was okay. The deejay took a short break, so we had the chance to start another conversation.
"When do we leave Richmond?" Niki wanted to know.
"Probably tomorrow morning. The bus drivers are resting so we won't leave until tomorrow, I know that for sure," Kevin informed us.
"I kinda like this place. It's nice and peaceful down here..." Nick replied.
"Yeah, for someone who sits around and plays video games all day..." AJ mumbled, jokingly.
"Hey! I DO do stuff. I get around," Nick snapped back.
"Yeah. Let's see...the bathroom, the bed, and the kitchen. You're a real adventurer Nintendo Nicky!" Brock retorted. Nick folded his arms across his chest angrily.
"Last call for Brian, AJ, Kevin, Nick, and Howie. Come on guys! You can't just leave now!" the deejay pleaded. The boys suddenly snapped to attention when they heard their names and got up to go to the stage. "Here is 'I Swear,' sung by...uhhh...the BSB I guess." The deejay had finally figured it out! The boys sang, each one looking directly at his girl. We were all touched by it, even the dancers.
"I wish I had a boyfriend like them. Too bad all the Boys are taken," Nef sighed. We all giggled lightly.
"Don't worry Nef. I'm sure they're attitudes will rub off on Ro Ro one day!" Niki teased. We continued to listen to them and lock eyes with our boyfriends. It was then that the four of us realized how lucky we truly were. Tears started streaming down Amanda's cheeks. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and gave her a hug. She put her hand on my arm and squeezed it. Then, she looked back at me and smiled. (Our chairs were all turned to face the stage, so we were at that angle where we could see each other's faces, but we were in front or behind each other.) The guys got done and came down to us, where we girlfriends enveloped them in hugs and kisses. Tae videotaped it, while the four other girls 'awwwwed' over us. While we were up, we were called to sing "As Long As You Love Me," so Tae handed Kev the camera and we all went back to the stage to sing my favorite song.
It was nearly 10:30 and we had all pretty much finished performing, but Amanda and Brian hadn't been called up for their duet. 'Manda had begged him to do it, so we couldn't leave until they got it done. At about quarter to 11, they were finally called up, as the closing song.
The two walked up to the stage, then Amanda sat on the stole with Brock next to her, and they began to sing "If I Ever Fall In Love..." They sounded so good together!
"Can you say 'duet on the next album'?" Nick whispered. All of us agreed.
"Might as well be singing 'I Wanna Grow Old With You'," AJ pointed out exactly what I had in mind.
"They'll get married, have ten kids, make a living in entertainment, and be the cutest couple of old geezers anyone has ever seen," Tae replied. We all laughed softly. The love in their eyes was so passionate that not one Backstreet Boy or Girl could figure out where it came from.