"Hole-in-one! Aw yeah baby!" Brock cried, pumping his arms up in the air. A few girls screamed. We all laughed. He signed a few autographs.
"Hey! No fair! You know how to play golf! That's an unfair advantage!" Amanda playfully whined.
"But he's BRIAN!" a fan screeched. We all rolled our eyes. Fans weren't a problem when they stood around and watched, occasionally asking for autographs. But when they involved themselves in our conversations...that was going too far. We all sighed heavily and ignored the shrill voice.
"My turn!" Amanda yelled. She put her light blue golf ball down and hit it on the putt-putt golf green. Another hole-in-one.
"Match made in heaven, huh babe?" Brock asked his girlfriend. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. A million cameras went off. Bri then lifted Amanda off the ground, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. The cameras flashed again.
"You're turn Steph!" Howie announced, pushing me towards the tip of the green. I set my green ball down and swung at it. The ball stopped a few inches short of the hole. I stepped up to the ball and lightly tapped it in the hole.
"Hole-in-two! Alright Gilligan! Woo hoo!" Brian said, clapping. He gave me a high-five. Howie went after me. Ironically enough, he too made it in two putts.
"Match made in heaven, huh babe?" D mimicked Brock. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me tight into him. Cameras went crazy. D gave me a quick kiss and a few girls started bawling.
"Okay. Ya know what? I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to be getting used to this and all, because I asked for it when we started dating, but Bri? Can't we at least have some privacy when we're out on a date?" Amanda whispered.
"Yeah, I know. It's usually not too bad, but geez! We're on a date!" I agreed. Brian realized that he, too, was getting a tad annoyed, and called the front office on his cell phone. Within minutes, Putt-Putt Golf was cleared out and we had the entire place to ourselves.
"Awww...now this is more like it!" Howie sighed. Brian gave Amanda a long awaited kiss. They opened their eyes and smiled at each other.
"That's more like it!" Brian repeated D's comment. 'Manda laughed. "Know how long I'd been waiting to do that, baby?"
"I can only guess, my dear," she answered back, winking at Brock. "Now. On to hole 2." We all marched to the second strip of green, balls and clubs in hand.
"So, how has the birthday girl's day been so far?" Howie asked between putts.
"Let's see...Breakfast in bed, courtesy of Brian. Flowers, courtesy of Brian. Walk on the beach, courtesy of Brian. Lunch, courtesy of Brian. A beautiful necklace, courtesy of Brian. More flowers, courtesy of Brian. Trip to where we first met, courtesy of Brian. Dinner, courtesy of Brian and Howie. And now putt-putt, courtesy of Brian. Hmmm...it's been so-so," Amanda teased, recounting her day. She looked at Brock, who's expression was more than she could bare, and began to laugh hysterically. She gave him a kiss, then grabbed his face with one hand and squeezed his cheeks together, shaking his head from side to side. "Now here is a face you can't resist!" Amanda let go of Brian's face and he immediately began to rub it, while D and I cracked up.
"Brian, look at those dimples. Now what would we do if we didn't have those dimples to look at before every concert?" Howie asked, pointing at me. My face brightened as I giggled bashfully.
"I dunno, man. I'd probably just look at these dimples," Brian answered, getting Amanda in a headlock. We were all laughing so hard I was in tears. Literally. We finished our round of golf in about two hours, then headed back to my house.
When we got to my house, it was pitch black outside. Howie and I climbed out of his car and waited for Brian and 'Manda to remove themselves from his Jeep. We met at the cement walkway and walked into my house. To explain the absence of yappy Muchacho, I told Amanda that he was at Brian's, "hangin' loose" with Tyk. She totally fell for it. We all walked into my living room and sat down to watch Grease. Slowly, one by one, everyone crept out of the hat room. They stood in front of the unlit hallway, unnoticed with their black clothes on.
Suddenly, the lights flicked on and "Happy Birthday" was being sung at a very high decibel rate for the human voice sans microphones. Amanda jumped with surprise. It had been pulled off perfectly! Howie and I hugged each other. It had worked flawlessly.
Everyone got the chance to wrap their arms around Amanda and say their hellos and Happy Birthdays. The cake was laid down on the table in the kitchen, where 'Manda blew out the candles and made her wish.
"Hey guess what Amanda? You're now halfway to 50!" Nick cried.
"Oh thanks Nicky! I feel so young now!" Amanda replied, jokingly. Nick reached over and gave her another hug.
"Hey 'Manda!" a voice called over everyone. Amanda looked over and found Danielle.
"DANI! It's soo great to see you! Thanks soooo much for this you guys! I don't know what I would've done if I never met Brian," Amanda told us all.
"Well, you and I certainly wouldn't have been as happy as we are now, now would we?" Danielle answered. 'Manda smiled at her and gave her another hug.
"Most certainly not. Now, where are all the presents you guys are going to spoil me with, huh huh?" Amanda joked.
"You are the biggest spoiled brat, ya know that?" Brian replied, pulling his girlfriend into a hug.
"Yeah yeah Bri. You told me already. But hey! I enjoy being your spoiled brat. Especially cuz you got lots a mone-aaayyyy!!! Hey hey!" Amanda teased him. She kissed his cheek as everyone busted up.
"Amanda, I hate to break it to you, but we didn't get you anything for your birthday because we sorta forgot it was today," Amy informed her. Amanda looked at her best friend dumbfoundedly. Then Amy burst out into giggles. "HAHA! Just kiddin'!" Just then, Kevin came over to the table with an armful of presents. He set them on the table and Amanda walked over to them.
"Now this is more like it!" Amanda sarcastically remarked. Her humor fit perfectly with the rest of the gang's. We gathered around her and watched as she opened her presents one by one. Her favorite present was J's hat, of course. It was a pinstriped newsie hat. On it were colors that were well known in the candy world: bright orange, green, hot pink, purple, light blue, and flourescent yellow. She immediately placed it atop her head and began to model it for us while we took pictures of her. Then, the cake was dished out. It was delicious and mouth watering. Finally, Brian brought out another batch of flowers for his girlfriend.
"Ya know Bri, I think the girl has enough flowers as it is," Amy replied. "We have them all over our kitchen right now and there aren't enough vases to fit them all!"
"Then we'll just have to get you some, now won't we, sweetie?" Brian answered.
"Boy, if you don't stop spoiling me..." Amanda sighed, shaking her head. He laughed. We continued our little party well past midnight, until Howie kicked everyone out because I needed my rest. I was getting my cast off in three weeks, so he wanted me to be off my ankle more than usual, to make sure it was completely healed. I whined a lot, but eventually gave in because it wasn't worth arguing with someone as persistant as him.
Those three weeks went by so quickly. Before I knew it, the day I was scheduled to get my cast off had come and Howie was driving me to the doctor's office to have Nick's beautiful artwork sawed off for good. To tell you the truth, Nicky was more upset that his caricatures were going in the trash than he was happy that I was getting my cast off.
After I got the stinky thing off, Howie D and I met everyone at the mall. We all went shopping together for the first time. Being at the mall with all five of the guys was always a major crisis, but they insisted we go through with it to celebrate my cast removal.
The second we set foot in the mall, there were girls trailing. By the time we got to the first store, Nick had signed more than 20 pieces of paper. More than 50 girls had been seen taking pictures of us. Sometimes AJ and Emily would stop to pose for them. Then we would be on our way to hide out in a store.
The first store we went to was called Spencer's Gifts. Kevin and AJ found a few Backstreet Boys t-shirts and were holding them up to their chests. AJ walked up to the cash register and held the shirt in front of the cashier.
"Do you have these in larges?" he asked, curiously. The cashier looked at the shirt and got up without even looking at him. She walked over to the rack where the boys had found the shirts, but was stopped by Kevin, who was standing right in front of it. She looked up to say excuse me and jumped a few feet off the ground. Kevin, though he was usually not that way, started laughing hysterically with AJ. They put the shirts back and J muttered a "thank you" before walking away to check out the lava lamps.
Feeling she was obligated to say something, Amanda walked back to the poor cashier and said, "I'm sorry about those childish boys. Their level of maturity is....down there...." Then, she walked over to Brian, who was having a devilishly fun time squeezing the talking South Park dolls with Nick. Emily and Danielle were looking at the posters in the back of the store and went ga-ga over an *N SYNC poster. AJ walked over to them and saw what they were gawking at.
"J, you should really try to do your hair like Chris. It would look soo good on you!" Em teased her boyfriend. He glared at her and walked away, shaking his head. It was an insult to that boy to be compared to an *N SYNCer. Emily ran up from behind him and wrapped her arms around him. Laughing, he turned around and hugged her.
"Uh, Kevin, are you sure Chris is the same age as you??" Danielle called out from her corner. He walked over and put his elbow on her shoulder.
"Ya know, sometimes I really wonder. Like, maybe he's actually 40 and he's trying to be younger but the youngest he can pass for is late 20's, so they chose 28 so they can be just like us..." Kevin told Dani. She looked at him and busted a gut. It was obvious she and Kev were becoming better friends now.
Howie was admiring the glow-in-the-dark and blacklight skull posters. I walked over and stood next to him.
"Ya know, I think one of these would look so good in the hat room. Like, on the ceiling of something. That would be sooo cool, wouldn't it?" he commented. I laughed. Suddenly, something told me to turn around. I did.
Nearly two dozen girls were standing at the door and windows, their faces smashed against the glass. A million little breath clouds spotted the windows. I tapped D on the shoulder and pointed to the entrance. He turned around and cracked up. The rest of the guys noticed the fans and they all began waving frantically at us. The five boys waved, and AJ held up the Backstreet Boys t-shirt he had found earlier and gave the fans a questioningly look. A few girls screamed. Before long, though, the ten of us were ushered out a back door.
"Whoa...I've never been through the back way of a mall. This is kinda cool!" Dani cried, as we made our way through the narrow hallway, in single file. Suddenly, singing could be heard from the back of the line. We all stopped and turned around.
"Oh baby baby....uh hi guys!" Emily stopped her rendition of "...Baby One More Time" and smiled at us bashfully. Amy started from where Em left off. Before long, all five of us girls were rocking out to the song we all had in our heads. When we were done singing and mimicking the dance, the guys clapped and cheered us.
"Uh, guys, where are we going?" Nick piped up. We had been walking for ten minutes and never stopped to actually leave the hallway.
"Uh...mm...I...I don't know Nick," Kevin answered him. "Ah. Here's a door. Let's see where it leads to," he replied when we came across the next door. Kev opened it a crack then slammed it shut. "Next door, I guess." He had opened a door to the Victoria's Secret dressing rooms. We all laughed when we caught a glimpse of his flushed face.
"Why don't we just stay back here? It's kinda nice," AJ suggested.
"J, I hope you're just teasing cuz you just about scared the hell out of me," I remarked. He squeezed my shoulders, laughing. I looked back and smiled at him.
We ended up breaking in through the Sam Goody. That couldn't have been more perfect. AJ raced over to the B section and found his CD. Then, he went up to the clerk and asked about it. I recognized the worker as the one we had bugged on my birthday and casually walked up behind J and threw my arm across his shoulder, giving the clerk a questioning look.
"YOU again. Who is this you have here? A brother of the Backstreet Boys? He sure looks like one," the clerk snapped when he saw me. My brow dropped and I look at him angrily.
"Hey! You be nice to the lady. You work here and you're supposed to treat customers with respect," AJ sternly told him. "And why are you so snotty about Backstreet? Backstreet's my favorite group. My favorite song is...I could tell when I stepped in the room, and I saw you standing there. And I thought by the way that you moved, couldn't help the way I stared....ya heard that song before?" The clerk's jaw dropped open and his eyes grew large, while his face soon became the color of a beet.
"Oh I'm awfully sorry...Mr...umm...Backstreet Boy. I didn't realize you were one of the group. My sister has that cd and she plays the song all the time. I'm extremely sorry miss for being rude. I won't do it anymore," the clerk suddenly cried.
"Apology accepted," J replied. Then, he motioned for the clerk to lean over the desk a little. "And...umm..the name's AJ. I suggest you read up on your bands sometime, that way you can answer the little girls' questions when they ask you," he whispered. J smiled wickedly at the clerk, grabbed the cd, and the two of us walked away, laughing to ourselves.
"J, you are so bad," I told him.
"ME? Hey. He recognized you, not me! And this coming from a guy who works around my face and music everyday!" Bone exclaimed.
"I guess I just have that face no one can forget!" I joked. Howie came up from behind me and gave me hug.
"You bet!" he said. I turned around and kissed his nose, then walked over to the cds and began to search for the ones I didn't already have.
Before long, nearly three dozen girls were wandering around inside Sam Goody. They were our spies. There were lines up to each boy because girls wanted autographs. Little kids between the age of 2 and 18 were filling up the store. AJ actually stuck on his sunglasses and turned his hat around just to get into his bad boy character that all the girls absolutely loved. A few lyrics from songs could be heard in different corners of the room. We girls sat around, going through the cds, answering questions every once in awhile. Soon, we had little girls clutching autographed cd covers and napkins, crowded around us, blurting out questions.
"I saw you at Putt-Putt Golf with Brian! Are you his girlfriend?" One girl asked Amanda. She blushed.
"Um no, she's just a really good friend of ours," I answered for my friend. She gave me a strange look and I whispered that I would explain it to her later.
"How do you know the Backstreet Boys? Aren't you their dancer?" another girl asked me.
"Yeah. I dance with them," I told her.
"But I saw you kissing Hooooowiieeee!" the girl replied. It was my turn to blush.
"I've known Howie D since I was younger than you are now and we're very close," I tried to explain. The girl rolled her eyes and walked away. One less nosy fan to deal with, I guessed. The girls spewed out some more questions, which we tried our best to answer, before we heard the boys' voices yelling that we had to leave because, according to J, "there was an interview we were scheduled for and we couldn't be late." A few fans began to cry because they didn't get autographs, but we couldn't stay much longer because the guys wanted to go home. They had had enough of the stardom.
As we walked out of the mall, the boys apologized to me.
"Hey look Steph, we're really sorry we couldn't do what we planned..." Kevin started.
"Kevy! I know you guys. I understand the circumstances!" I assured him. "I didn't want to do this in the first place because I knew it would happen, but you guys insisted. Some things will never change. Let's...go swimming instead. I've been waiting to do that and I can, now that I got my cast off. Oh yeah and Amanda? You shouldn't tell them you're his girlfriend cuz they can get pretty brutal and upset so it's better that they read it through tabloids and we put it off as much as possible." Amanda understood, and everyone agreed to my suggestion, so we all split so they could get their bathing suits and meet at my house.
Twenty minutes after D and I arrived at my house, everyone else began to show up. We all slipped into our bathing suits and trunks and headed for the backyard. Amy and Nick went to sit in a spa, while everyone else jumped in the pool.
"Who's up for Marco Polo?" Brian cried. Everyone put their hands up. "Okay. I'm it then!" He went underwater and began to count. We spread like startled fish. Brian came up, his eyes squeezed shut, and began to shout out "Marco." Hearing his girlfriend's voice shouting back "Polo," he raced straight for it. Before long, he caught Amanda. She began to scream and kicked away from him.
"HAHA! Too bad! I already caught you and you're it!!" he yelled. Just then, we all noticed a thin stream of water shooting across the pool. J had found my old Super Soakers and brought one out. Laughing, I got out of the pool and ran to get the other one I had. After filling it up in the garage, I quickly walked out and stood next to J and squirted everyone. Nick and Amy were so enthralled in each other that they didn't even notice. So I whispered something to AJ and we both turned to squirt the couple. Amy screeched and Nick jumped up. He was furious.
"Oh no Gilli! We're in big touble now!" Bone replied. We jumped in the pool, letting the Super Soakers sink to the bottom, and swam for our lives. Nick dove into the deep end and got a Super Soaker, then chased us with it. I swam into Howie's arms and J ducked behind Kevin.
"Hey Steph! No fair! You're a girl! You get to be protected!" AJ cried out, when Nick turned to face Kevin and him, armed with the gun. At the spur of the moment, Kev ducked underwater and Nick squirted J in the chest. AJ lunged passed Nick and towards the other Super Soaker. He went down to the bottom and got it, then went after Nick with it. They fought with each other, while everyone else tried to duck from the streams of water.
Before long, Amanda, Brian, Danielle, Kevin, Emily, Amy, Howie, and I were all sitting on the steps, watching this crazy duel between the two youngest Backstreet Boys. The fight lasted until both of the water tanks emptied on the Super Soakers. The boys then threw them down to the bottom of the pool (such thoughtful fellas) and swam over to us, exhausted from the fight. AJ sat next to Emily, and Nick next to Amy.
"Wanna shoot some billiards?" I asked AJ.
"Only if you're up for it," he said. We got out, I wrapped a towel around my waist, and walked over to the pool table, which had been moved back out to the back patio. Everyone in the pool continued their game of Marco Polo while J and I concentrated on our own pool game.
We didn't even notice that the strangled cries and calls of "Marco" "Polo" had seized and now everything was quiet. Suddenly, water balloons were bombarding AJ and me. Worried about the pool table, we both ran to the small patch of grass and grabbed the water hose. Kevin, Emily, Amy, Howie, Nick, Amanda, Brian, and Danielle were armed with water balloons and AJ and I had a water hose. It didn't make much sense and we obviously weren't going to hold them back much, so we made for the pool. There, J and I grabbed the Super Soakers, filled their tanks with water, and fired at our enemies. A mad war of two to eight. Luckily, they all ran out of water balloons quickly and we still had a huge pool full of water to refill our guns with. The opposing side surrendered and AJ and I claimed the victory. By then, everyone was completely out of breath and tired, so we retreated to the grass area in the corner and laid out our towels to dry off. We worked on our tans and talked until the sun went down.
"So, guys, when does the tour start?" Amanda wanted to know. I gasped. I hadn't even begun to get ready, I had no housekeeper, I hadn't called my parents or the studio I worked and danced for, and we were leaving for the tour...
"In two weeks actually," Brian told his girlfriend. She got all excited. So did Emily and Amy. Danielle was a little less thrilled. She didn't know that her best friends would be leaving her all alone, let alone the real reason why she would need to replace Amanda.
"Umm...Amanda, please tell me why I have to take your place for awhile?" Dani spoke up. Amanda gasped. She still hadn't told Danielle.
"Well, Bri invited me on the tour and....I'm going to be their publicist with AJ's mom while we tour," 'Manda explained, her eyes dropping so she wouldn't have to see the look on her best friend's face. Danielle took a deep breath to hold back her tears and sat in silence.
"But hey! You know we'll call you everyday and write you all the time and dedicate nearly every performance to you!" I tried to make things better. Danielle broke a little smile.
"Ya know what, I should be going. I have to work tomorrow and it's almost
9:30," she said in barely a whisper. Kevin stood up and walked Danielle into the house. We saw him give her a hug and watch as she walked out the front door to go home. He walked back outside, grabbed his towel and sunglasses, and said he should be going too.
"Poor Kevin. I mean, it really hurts him to see Danielle that way," Brock replied, once the two had left. Amanda began to cry. Brian pressed her head to his chest and stroked her hair. "It's okay. She'll be alright."
"No she won't. I'm her best friend and I'm leaving her to spend the time with my boyfriend. I'm not supposed to be choosing a guy over a friend. That's not the way it's supposed to be. But I don't want to leave you because I'm afraid it won't be the same after you come back," Amanda sobbed.
Amy rubbed her back and told her, "You can call her everyday. You can write and send pictures. But you do realize that this boy will go insane if he doesn't have you on tour with him? She can stay with Howie's family while we're gone. She can housesit for Stephanie. Amanda, you know it would kill you more to be here instead of on the tour. And she's your friend. You won't lose her while we're gone."
"Ya know, maybe we'd better go home," Brian decided. He helped Amanda up, gathered their things, said goodbye, and walked her out through the side gate.
That left Emily, AJ, Amy, Nick, Howie, and me. AJ dove back into the pool to get the Super Soakers and stuck them back in the garage. Howie and I pulled the cover over the pool table while Nick wound up the hose and Emily and Amy picked up pieces of water balloons so my dog wouldn't try to eat them, with the help of the lights from the back patio and the pool.
One by one, the rest of the party left. I was very excited about starting the tour, but the more I thought about Danielle, the less eager I was for the tour to begin. It would kill us all, especially Kevin, who was enjoying her friendship even though they couldn't have a relationship, to not have the concluding member of the Backstreet Clan with us.