"Steph you have a phone call!" Denise called from the side of the stage. She was holding up a cell phone. I jogged over and grabbed it from her. "It's Howie."
"Hey sweetie!" I greeted him.
"Hey girl. Tim said you wanted us to call before we left. We're leaving. Why did you need us to call?" Howie asked me.
"Do you guys have your ID or anything?" I wanted to know. There were a few seconds of silence.
"Oh crap! I left it on the bus! Now we'll never get through the guards!" Howie realized. "The only one with ID is Kevin and he won't be able to get the rest of us inside! Especially the girls!"
"That's why I wanted you to call. I'm gunna have Q go out there and stand by the gate so that when you guys come, he can tell the guard to let you in, okay?" I explained.
"Good idea. Thanks a lot hun. We'll see you in a few okay?" D replied.
"Okie dokie!"
"Love ya."
"Love ya too." I hung up the phone and handed it to Denise. She escorted me as I walked out of the stadium to find the boys' bodyguard.
Q was in the band bus, playing cards with Bubba. I crept up beside him and tugged on his ears. Q turned around and his grimace turned into a smile. He and I were good friends.
"What's up sweetcakes?" Q asked.
"The boys'll be here soon so we need you to go out and wait near the gate so you can get them and the girls inside. Please Q?" I begged. He got up and threw on his Backstreet tour jacket and laid down his hand of cards before Bubba.
"I suppose I could. Let's go Stepho," Q told me. I hugged him again and we walked out of the bus.
It was getting increasingly dark outside. I didn't even remember it being so dark, but I had completely missed the sunset because I was dancing in the stadium with the rest of the dancers. Using a flashlight he had, Q led me to the gate, where we stood and waited. Fifteen minutes later, the crew arrived. Q got them in with ease this time, and we all went straight to the buses.
"So, how was it after I left? What did you guys do?" I wanted to know once we had all sat down for a few minutes.
"Well, Tracy put Amy down for a nap in Jerald's room and the eleven of us sat around and talked about what's going on with each others' lives and stuff like that. Kevin got to see his other goddaughter, Madison. Madison is such a cutie! You should see her!" Manda explained.
"Kev is sooo good with little kids! You should see him!" Dani cried. I laughed.
"I do all the time. He loves them to death," I told her. Dani smiled. Amy and Emily had joined us in our bus for a little while, since it had been a long time since the five of us had a chance to sit down and talk.
"And we saw baby pictures. Oh my gosh, he was the cutest little kid. Kev got all mad too. He kept yelling at Ann to put them away but she wouldn't. She just kept saying 'I am the mother here!' And all the pictures! I just love that family soo much!" Dani continued.
Just then, the five guys came storming through the bus. We all looked up at them.
"They kicked us out!" Brian exclaimed.
"Yeah. They said they didn't like our stinky feet and Guido needs his space," Nick pouted. Guido was the stuffed goose that the band loved to torture. That poor thing was so brutally treated we were thinking about adopting him. Someone always had a stuffed animal on the bus. Denise travelled with one all the time and a few years ago the guys had adopted Barbara the sheep. Barbara got stolen by a fan, though, so they didn't have her anymore. We hadn't found another stuffed animal yet, but we were determined to rescue Guido.
"Hey baby! Long time no see!" AJ said, walking over to his Emily and giving her a hug. Nick reached over and kissed Amy. We noticed the situation and Dani motioned towards the stack of magazines on the table, signaling that the guys needed to tell their girlfriends about being known. AJ sighed, causing Emily to look at him worriedly.
"Girls, we need you to understand something right now. No matter what is out on the tabloids, never believe a word of it unless you heard it from our very own mouths," he began. Emily and Amy looked confused.
"The magazines have managed to find us together and there are now pictures of us in those teen magazines. The fans are going to know about you. They are going to try to make up lies about you. But you must understand that none of it is true if you are unfamiliar with it. Nor did we say anything about anything. Try not to let these tabloids get in the middle of our relationships. Please," Nick begged. Amy smiled.
"Of course we wouldn't," she whispered to him. Nicky reached over and embraced his girlfriend.
"Don't worry baby," Emily reassured AJ. He grinned and kissed her.
"Well, now that we got that over with, whaddya guys wanna do?" Brian asked.
"REST," Howie cried, falling on the couch beside me, then laying his head on my shoulder. I kissed his nose.
"Yeah me too. I am sooo exhausted from practice," Emily added.
"Really? I'm still pumped!" I said.
"Gilli, you're always pumped. All the hyperness that we once had has found its way to you," AJ joked.
"Nah. She's just always been this way. Always on the go. Gotta do everything...TWICE!" Howie sighed. "I don't know how I keep up with her sometimes."
"You're an old man, D," I teased. He chuckled.
"You're right. I am an old man. Then why am I stuck with you?" D looked up at me.
"Cuz you need a little excitement in your life...someone to keep you young!" I smiled at him.
"In that case you're just perfect aren't you?" We exchanged a kiss.
"Okay. I'm sorry but that still seems too weird for me," Nick commented as soon as Howie and I gave each other that kiss. "It's just not right! Gilli, you're just not supposed to be dating your best friend!" Everyone busted up. I reached behind me and threw a pillow at Nick, hitting him in the face.
"Let's all just go to sleep or watch a movie or something," Brian suggested.
"I say we get out That Thing You Do!" I exclaimed.
"Gilli Gilli Gilli...." Howie sighed. I looked at him. Emily reached over and got some popcorn out a cabinet and stuck it in the microwave as the rest of us herded into the back room. AJ stuck the movie in and turned on the TV.
"Ten people in this room...how fun..." Kevin sighed. He got comfortable on the couch and placed his arm around the top of the couch, where Dani was sitting. Nick and Amy sat on the couch beside Kevin and Nick put his arm around Amy, pulling her into his chest. Howie and I sat on pillows on the ground, beside Amanda and Brock, who were lying on their stomachs, beside each other. AJ sat at the edge of the couch and, when Em came in with the bowl of popcorn, she sat against of the couch in front of him and let him give her a massage during the movie. As the movie started, I began to sing the very first song.
"Steph, do us all a favor and don't recite all the lines!" Kevin told me. I looked up and smiled slyly at him. "I want to hear you answer me Steph. Come on, where's my 'yes sir'?" I didn't say anything. He raised one of his Groucho Marx eyebrows. I sighed deeply.
"I can't promise you anything! But I'll try to keep quiet," I compromised.
"And NO DANCING!" everyone yelled at me.
"Okay. I am sorry, but you're talking to Stephanie 'Dancer Girl' Jones. There is no way in HELL I am going to NOT dance. It's part of my soul, it's who I am and when I hear music I...'just can't make my feet behave!' " I quoted Grease. Two pillows came flying at my head. "OKAY OKAY! I'll shut up! But may I remind you that you haven't met my sister yet..."
"Stephanie, the movie is starting. SHUT UP!" Brian cried. I blushed and turned towards the screen to watch the movie.
"Uh guys, Chad fell down," I said with The Bass Player. "...and she realized there's strings coming out of them...they're puppets!...Marionettes. That's what they are..." I recited along with Lenny and Jimmy. "You're a jerk Ken....eat my shorts Ken..." I cried along with the Wonders' first fan, the guy from the "Aaron Burr" milk commercial.
Suddenly, a phone rang. AJ grabbed his cell and answered it.
"Oh hey Mom. Yeah we're just sitting here, watching a movie. Uh-huh. Yeah. Really? Were you able to? Oh wow that's great! When is it? November? Will we be down there at that time? Great. Okay. I'll let her know. Did you get enough tickets for everyone? Terrific. Yeah that's cool. Thanks Mom. Love ya! Bye." AJ set the cell down and Nick turned down the TV. "Mom found out that San Francisco is having Phantom of the Opera at its theater in November, when we're down in California. So she called and arranged tickets for us to go see a night showing at the theater. We're getting orchestra seating too!"
"That's sooo awesome J!" I cried. "I soo cannot wait! Oh my gosh! I haven't seen that musical in sooo long! I don't think I've ever seen it with you either, J!"
Bone and I both shared the same love for the play. It was our favorite amongst the many that we saw when we were down in New York and San Francisco. AJ and I had always wanted to go see the play together but we never had the chance to because I had plans on the day that he went to go see it a few years back. The guys always used to go see musicals. Howie, Kevin, and AJ at least. Nick and Brian were usually prone to staying in their hotel rooms and never leaving....modern day hermits was right! D, Kev, and J went clubbing whenever they could. They always went out together.
When I got old enough last year, I would go into those eighteen and older clubs and dance with the guys. Howie always drug me out on the floor...well, actually it was vice versa.
Just then, I felt something heavy on my shoulder. I looked up to my right and found one, big, bare foot resting there. It belonged to Nick.
"Man! Now I KNOW why the band kicked you out of their bus! Nicky! Clean those feet or get some socks on! That smell is nauseating! And your feet are so disgusting!" I cried. Nick's foot did not move. So, I decided to take it to the next level. It worked. I tickled his feet and blew on them, causing him to squirm around and put his foot down.
"Okay. I know you guys are the youngest and all, but please stop making so much noise and moving around! We're watching a movie!" Kevin sternly replied, getting quite annoyed at our rudeness. Nick and I quickly apologized and got quiet. I continued to recite a few lines and sing/dance to the songs, but everyone managed to ignore me. It was late so, pretty soon, we were all asleep. The movie ended and Brian and I woke everyone up. Nick and AJ walked their girlfriends back to the dancers' bus and came back, then everyone crawled into their bunks and zonked out. The next morning we were going to be transferred to the hotel. (We had arrived in Kentucky a day early.)
The next day, I got up around 11:30 and met AJ in the front room of the bus. He was the only other one up. Chachi was in my bunk with me, so he mosied out with me and I gave him a bowl of dog food to chomp on.
"How's Emily? Will she be okay at taking over Niki's place?" he wanted to know.
"She's very nervous about being onstage in front of 60,000, but she's really comfortable dancing with the guys so I think it'll be a piece of cake once she gets onstage with you. Just smile at her and stuff while you're on the stage, performing. Ya know, like Howie does me," I informed him. AJ gave me his cute little half-grin and took a gulp of his orange juice. I poured myself some and sat down at the table before him. Just then, Tyke scurried out of Brian's bunk and met Chachi at the food bowl. Brian climbed out of his bunk and yawned, waving hi to us. We always stayed up late and woke up late. It was such a bad habit but it had become the way we lived our lives on the bus. As if hearing the thud from Brian, Nick soon joined the three of us and our morning o.j.
"Any of you guys know when we're getting our hotel rooms?" Nick wanted to know. "I'm sick of being scrunched up inside that bunk."
"We're going to be leaving in about an hour I think," I yawned sleepily. "But we have to take Dani back to the airport on the way there."
"Where is Danielle, by the way?" AJ asked me.
"I saw her in the back of the bus, talking to Kevin a few minutes ago, actually," Brian said. The three of us raised our eyebrows surprisingly. Just then, the two walked out of the back room.
"Well I guess it's settled then. I'll go on that double date with Tim tonight. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it," Kevin softly replied.
"Kevin, I just hope you're okay with it," Dani mumbled. She blushed, realizing what she had mistakenly let creep out of her mouth. Kevin didn't seem to notice it and picked up Tyke as he made himself comfortable on the couch up against the wall of the bus. Chachi leapt into Dani's lap as she sat down beside Kevin. "I can't believe I have to leave in a half hour. I don't want to! I wish I could stay with you guys soo bad..."
"OH! We gotta get Manda and Howie up!" I realized.
"What? Manda's up, Gilli," Manda sighed, walking out, sleepily, and sitting on Brian's open lap. Brian kissed her cheek.
"Okay. Guess I'll wake up D, then. Dani, can I borrow my dog for a second please?" I asked. Dani handed me Chachi and I went over to the bunks, where I stuck the dog on his rising and falling stomach.
Howie twitched a little, then woke up and cried out "Hey! There is a hairy thing on my stomach." Everyone laughed at his reaction. I reached in and picked the Muche back up and waited for Howie to get up. The only one fully clothed was Danielle. I gave Chachi back to her and sat back down beside my orange juice. As routine, everyone took their turns getting dressed.
When we got to the airport, we walked through it as anonymously as possible. Kevin and Dani walked ahead of everyone else, talking to each other while Kev carried her things. AJ parted a little from the rest of us so that if anyone noticed him they wouldn't notice the rest of us. Howie and Brian had Chachi and Tyke tucked inside their jackets, who were often used as diversions to people who might recognize us.
"Hey AJ, maybe you oughta try the Michael Jackson thing. Wear a mask over your face so no one can see that goatee!" Nick joked, causing us all to laugh. This time J was wearing a long sleeved shirt so that no one could see his tattooes. Nick, Brian, and Howie had their hair tucked into hats. I was wearing a fisherman hat that I pulled over my eyes a little, and Amanda stuck on some platforms and pulled her hair back in a tight ponytail. We were lucky this time, because no one seemed to notice we were there.
As Dani's plane got called a final time, Kevin dropped her things and pulled her into a tight hug. A little surprised by it, she quickly adjusted and wrapped her arms around him. When they let go of each other, the two had tears streaming down their cheeks. This only made Amanda cry. We each gave Danielle a hug and told her to call when she got home. Dani said a final goodbye, then turned and walked through the terminal. We all watched silently. As the plane took off, Kevin stood by the big window and watched it leave the runway. AJ and I walked up and stood on either side of him. I put my arm in his and rested my head against his shoulder to comfort my best friend. Behind us, Brian had his arms wrapped around a sobbing Amanda, and Howie was standing there, holding two chihuahuas. As soon as the plane was out of sight, we walked back to the bus, Howie and Brian tucking the dogs back into their jackets.
We got to the hotel a few minutes after departing from the airport. Surprisingly, only a few fans were there to see the boys. I guess the majority of them had left because we didn't arrive when they thought we would. The guys did a little autograph signing and we made our way up to the hotel rooms.
Shivani had arrived at around 10, while we were still asleep, and Denise and the dancers had gone to pick her up. The dancers and band were already up at the hotel, situated and just hanging around. As soon as we got to the restricted floor, we split up and found our rooms. Nick and Brian were staying in one room, Kevin and AJ in another, and Howie and I in a third one. We used to have our own rooms, but the travelling crew had grown so much this year that we thought it would be the best idea to save money and split rooms. It wasn't bad anyways. We weren't in our own rooms half the time. The girls were down the hall. Amanda and Amy shared a room next to Brian and Nick's, Emily and Denise split a room across the hall. Tae and Kristin were in a room down the hall, with Nef and Shivani next to them. The Backstreet guys were on the opposite side of the hall, sharing rooms with the band and each other. Every time we stayed in a hotel, the Backstreet Crew took up the entire hallway. Sometimes, we would all sit in the hall and play games, like rolling a ball to each other. If the ball hit the wall, that person who rolled it was out. We let the dogs roam up and down the floor. We visited other rooms to see who else was staying on the restricted floor with us. (And we often times met really famous people that we adored.) Sometimes we'd even do conga lines around the floor or down our hall. We had it all to ourselves so it wasn't as if we were being nuisances. Often times, the other celebrities on the floor would join us in our little parties.
"HELLO ALL!!!!" AJ shouted at the top of his lungs, as we made our way to our rooms. A door opened and a pillow went flying past AJ, hitting the wall and landing on the ground. Howie unlocked the door to our room and I placed Muchacho on the ground. Then, we walked in and threw ourselves on our beds, exhausted from carrying our luggage. It was about one o' clock. Just then, the phone rang.
"Hello this is the Pizzeria. Will you be ordering for here, to go, or take-out?" I answered it. There was a burst of laughter from the other side.
"Hmmm....take-out. I want an extra large, thick thick crust, everything on it, extra anchovies," Shivani played along.
"Disgusting!" I cried. Shivani laughed even more.
"I was just wondering if I'll be dancing tomorrow night or not," she told me.
"Oh. Emily's going to take your place for tomorrow night because you haven't had the time to rehearse anything with us," I explained.
"Okay! That's all I needed to know! Thanks Steph," Shivani replied, before hanging up the phone. I put the phone down and laid back down on my bed.
"So D, what do you want to do today?" I asked. Then I looked over at him. "HOWIE! Wake up! You sleep too much!" Howie woke up and lazily looked at me.
"Huh?"
"What do you want to do today?" I repeated myself.
"Sleep," D sighed, turning over on his side so that his back was facing me. I let him go, because I didn't want him to get mad at me.
"STEPHANIE! Wake up!!!" Howie yelled. I sleepily opened my eyes and yawned, rubbing them.
"What?" I answered him.
"Do you want to go see a movie tonight?" he wanted to know. I sat up and pulled my matted hair back.
"Uh sure. You can pick this time. Do you want to take anyone with us?"
"Well, Kevin is going on that double date with Tim. Brian and Amanda are going to see Brian's family. AJ and Emily are going to order room service and watch a movie in one of the rooms. I haven't asked Nick yet. Why don't you find Amy and ask her?" Howie explained. I ran my fingers through my hair to pull the tangles out and stood up.
"Hey Amy! Howie and I are going to a movie. Wanna come? You and Nick, I mean?" I greeted as the door opened and my addressee stood in front of me. Amy said hi and let me in, just as Amanda and Brian were getting ready to leave. "Aww they match!" I cried. "With those countrygirl jeans on, you'll be accepted into that family as if you were a piece of cheesecake!"
"And you know how much my family loves cheesecake," Brian replied.
"You betcha!" I said. But I noticed something was missing from Manda's outfit. "Wait! Don't move Manda! I have the perfect thing to top off your outfit!" I dodged out of the room and into my own. I flung open my suitcase and dug through until I found my old, blue Kentucky 'K' hat. Then, I ran back into Amy and Amanda's room and placed the hat on Amanda's head. She busted up. "There. Now leave and have a good time and make that lasting impression on the Littrell family!" I called as the couple walked out of the hotel room, laughing.
"Gilli, you and your hats," Amanda sighed as they disappeared out of the room.
"You know it baby!" I cried as they turned down the hall. Then, I looked at Amy. "Now. About the movie."
"Like I said, it sounds like fun. Just let me put on a different shirt and let Nick know, and we'll go and find one," Amy told me. I said bye and walked back into my room, where D was waiting for me.
"Well, what are we doing?" he asked me.
"Goin' to see that movie! Did you get directions from Kevin?" I wanted to know.
"Yeah. And I rented a car from the hotel to drive over there. The show starts in a half hour so if we leave in ten minutes we'll make it." As if timing were planned, Amy and Nick popped up at our open door. They walked in, all ready to go.
"Tyke's in our room, if you want to stick Chache in there with him," Nick informed us. I picked up my dog and handed him to Nick, who went back to his room and stuck the dogs together. We could hear him instructing the dogs, "Now don't kill each other while we're gone. You'll make a mess," from down the hall. When Nick came back, the four of us left.
We managed to get to the theater in time to sneak into the movie without being seen. We felt like a bunch of 12-year-olds, giggling as we made our way to the front and ducking whenever we passed in front of someone. We got to the very front row and sat down. The movie was an action one so...we sat and waited for something to almost jump out of the screen at us.
When the movie was over, we waited until everyone had cleared the theater room before we made our getaway. Nick had on a hat for a basketball team that he absolutely hated and Howie had loosely pulled back his hair instead of slicking it back like he usually did. This helped them go unrecognized by most people. The movie ended around 10:00 and we decided to go straight to the hotel once it was over because the concert was the next day and we needed the extra rest.
Up at the hotel, it was "Porter Choo" time. (That's the name the guys had come up with for the 'roll the ball' game.) We interrupted it by walking in the middle, causing all of the players to yell at us. The dogs were barking like crazy inside Nick and Brian's room, and Denise had just come out to tell the crew to shut up because they were getting rather rowdy. The thing was, Lila McCann and her crew were on the same floor and they were all out there too, playing Porter Choo. Lila was playing a fair that weekend so she was hanging out with the crew members from both bands, having the time of her life. I went up and said hi to her and shook her hand. I was always a big fan of hers, as was Amanda, and it was so neat to get the chance to meet her.
Lila was the sweetest thing, too. As soon as Nick opened the door to his room, Chachi and Tyke ran out, chasing after the ball. I managed to grab Chache and let Lila pet him. She thought the dogs were the most adorable things she had ever seen. I said good night to everyone and was about to step over Guy and into my dressing room when I spotted Kevin walking towards us. I immediately stopped and walked over to him
"Hey Kev, how did it go?" I asked him.
"I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but could you leave me alone for a little while please, Gilli?" Kevin said, looking me straight in the eyes with his crystal clear, green eyes.
"Oh yeah sure. I was just about to go to bed anyways," I told him.
"Thanks," Kevin smiled.
"No prob. Get some sleep now Train," I instructed. Kevin softly laughed as he walked over to his door and saw Lila sitting in front of it. She instantly got up and held out her hand. Kevin grinned and introduced himself, shaking her hand. The second his door shut, Lila looked over at me.
"Does he have a girlfriend?" she wanted to know.
"Lila, hun. He's nine years older than you and he's in the middle of a tour," I pointed out.
"Oh I don't care. He sure is cute!" I laughed at her reaction. I said good night once more and shut the door behind me after stepping over Guy.
Once in my room, I zonked out. Too tired to speak, too tired to get undressed, too tired to even get under the covers. I just threw myself on my bed and went to sleep.