Tour--Chapter Five and Six
Tour--Chapter Five
"..beep...beep...beep"
"urhgghhhh that clock..." It's 6:30 AM. I set my
clock to half an hour before everyone else is
supposed to get up so I can take a swim at the hotel
pool. I get put on my bathing suit, grab a towel
and make my way to the pool, down the stairs. The sun
has started to come out already and sunrise is almost
over, the pool is a bit chilly but it feels good
against the Florida heat. I check my watch and its
6:45. I get out, dry off and tie the towel around
me. I head back to my room. When I get out of the
elevator I find Kevin standing in front of me,
heading for his own room. "Good morning, went for a
swim huh, how's the water?" he asked me, he was all
sweaty, he obviously had just come from the gym.
"Not bad but now I'm cold cause I'm still wet". "So
we'll see you for breakfast in the lobby?" "I'll be
there in 20 minutes" I answered. We both went to our
own rooms. I showered and got dressed but had no
time to dry my hair so I just put on a toothed head
band and let it hang loose. I put on some lipstick
and mascara and headed for the lobby. I got down to
the breakfast room and they were all sitting there
except Nick. I said good morning and the boys all
stood up from their seats when I walked in the room
and waited for me to sit down before they sat again.
They are such gentlemen. I ordered a toasted bagel
with cream cheese, some OJ, and a bowl of fresh diced
fruit. AJ was eating eggs, pancakes, and sausage. I
grimaced at the smell. He laughed and said "You have
a weak stomach" "Everyone has a weak stomach
compared to you, you big lug. I can't see how your so
skinny and you eat all that junk man" retorted Howie
in jest. "Gotta keep up my energy, shows take so
much out of me" he replied. "On to lighter subjects
how did you sleep last night Erika?" interrupted
Brian. "Pretty well, obviously not as well as you
Brian. It took me a while to fall asleep". "yes,
last night took a lot out of me, I practically passed
out on the bus" " Yup Frick, me and Kev had to carry
you to the front door of the hotel before you woke
up, sort of at least" Nick Jested as he walked in to
the room from behind me. We all greeted him with a
good morning. "yah..but at least I woke up on time
Frick.." Brian snickered. nick grabbed a donut and a
glass of OJ from the counter behind our table. He
was wearing a white baggy tee and shorts. We ate and
talked meaningless chatter for the next ten minutes.
It seemed as though Kev and I were the only one
really awake. "I guess you went to the pool this
morning Erika?" Howie asked me in a really sweet
voice. "Yah, if I don't take a swim in the morning it
takes me forever to wake up. Could you guys just
call me ET please. Thats what all my friends call
me". "ET like the extra terrestrial? or like energetic
terrestrial?" Nick asked me "more like my initials"
"Sounds good to me ET" Brian said. He started making
goofball faces and we all laughed.
"All right guys its 7:45, we have to head for home in
20 minutes. We still have a 2 1/2 hour drive"
Mrs.Mclean said a few minutes later. We all finished
breakfast and headed to our rooms. In my room I
grabbed the bag I had brought with me from the bus
with last nights clothes and my bathing suit. I was
so glad that my room had a washer and dryer. I met
the guys 10 minutes later outside my room. They asked
me if I had forgotten anything I said no. We headed
down the hallway and into the elevator. We looked
like a posse from a sixties' movie. I was walking in
the middle of them. As we walked out the door towards
the bus a couple of girls recognized them and started
screaming and running towards them. They signed a
couple of autographs for them and I just stood by
Howie patiently waiting for them to finish. I knew
exactly how these girls felt. Unfortunately when
they screamed some other girls from the hotel heard
and came running. The guys spent 15 minutes patiently
signing autographs and posing for pictures. AJ
pulled me into a couple of them. He must have
noticed I was getting bored. The crowd of girls kept
getting bigger. The boys were like "were sorry but
we really have to go we are already late". A couple
of those girls pushed away from Nick's side when they
said that, he didn't want me to get separated. The
girls must have though I was his girlfriend or
something because they gave me some really evil looks
and weren't letting me get to the bus. Kevin and
Nick realized this so they plowed trough the girls to
where I was. They put their arms around me
protectively and said "Are you ready we can't stop
till we get to the bus". We pushed through the mass
together. If it hadn't been for the body guards and
the boys I wouldn't have made it to the bus. The
three of us and 2 body guards finally got into the
bus and sat down. The scene was almost as bad as the
previous night. I sat down at the table in the back
next to Brian and sighed with relief. "Scary isn't
it. We were completely shocked the first time that
happened. We shouldn't have stopped to sign
autographs" "It's OK, you know its just one more
experience to add to my list of new experiences that
I've had just in the last 24 hours. It's a bit scary
though". Kevin added " It got so bad in France once
that the fans completely blocked off an entire major
road. They had to call the police to move them. That
was when AJ got his necklace ripped off and we all
had our shirts ripped". The bus had pulled out of
the parking lot and there were still girls screaming
trying to run after the bus.
"So what are the plans for today Mrs.Mclean?" asked
Nick. "Well by the time we get to Orlando it will be
11:AM. You guys can go home if you want or do
whatever. We have to meet at the studio tomorrow
morning at ten. We will pick up Aaron at the Studio
tomorrow. He'll tour with us till California. When
we separate you guys can contact me at my cell as
usual.." "ET we are going home today and hanging out
in Orlando. Do you want to join us?" Kevin asked me
" Sure I just don't want to be a burden since you'll
be with your families.." "Don't worry about it. We
are having a picnic on my beach for lunch and dinner
so we don't have to wear disguises. We really want
you to meet everybody...come on..come on say yes.."
was Nick's retort to my statement. He sat next to me
and started tugging at my shirt like a little kid.
"all right..ha ha ha.. all right I give in. It's a
picnic day today" I laughed in response. "Good cause
we weren't going to let you leave anyway.." said
Howie smiling.
We spent the next few minutes making plans. "do you
want to go shopping? I really need to and these guys
won't go with me because they want to wait till 'Mall
of America'?" "I'd love to AJ, there some stuff I
need to buy" I was going to go visit the Orlando mall
with AJ and his mom for a couple of hours. At 1PM we
would meet the guys and Nick and Howie's families at
the picnic, and then see from there.
"Now what was it that you said last night about your
artwork?" Brian asked me. "I was telling you guys
about my gallery opening 2 weeks ago" We talked for
an hour about my work. They were truly interested
and asked me tons of questions. Mrs Mclean asked me
if I'd ever designed clothing. I said yes , since I
had. She said she wanted me to meet with the boys
costume designer. They asked me to see some work. "
Let me see...have you guys seen my silver duffel bag,
I have pictures in there that I can show you and my
journal.." I stood on my knees on the couch and
looked in the over head compartment. Nick and AJ
looked for it too. "BINGO..I got it" Nick hollered
from the other end of the bus. "Catch" he tossed it
to me and I sat back down in my seat. I went through
it making sure not to make a mess. I could feel
everyone on the bus watching me and waiting. "Here we
go" I pulled out a photo book of 100 pictures and
handed them to Howie who was now, along with
everybody else, hovering over me. He took the book
and sat down in the couch to my right. Everyone sat
around the two of us. It took him ten minutes just
to get through the first five pictures. They made
compliments and I said thank you. As I was going
through an explanation of the second piece the driver
said that we were at the studio. Howie handed be the
photo book back and I promised we would finish
looking at them later. We unloaded ourselves from the
bus. Mrs.Mclean advised me to leave my luggage on the
bus but take my duffel bag and my purse and take my
photo book. At the studio the boys introduced me to
EVERYONE. The security guys that I hadn't met yet
were really nice. The band was really funny. On the
side I asked AJ why the guys and the band traveled in
different buses and he said so they wouldn't get on
each other's nerves. The boys were used to each
other's eccentrecies but the band wasn't. And he
said the boys liked to have some time with just them.
The studio was amazing. The waiting room had 27
platinum albums for the boys album 'Backstreet Boys',
and even more for all their other albums. They also
had six gold albums and a picture of the boys holding
each two Grammys. They showed me the recording studio
and Lou's office. We all talked for half an hour and
then we all took off. The boys each left in their own
cars that were parked in the back parking lot of the
studio. AJ promised the guys we'd meet him at his
house at 1. I got into AJ's car with his mom and I
sat in the back. We drove for about 20 minutes
before we got to the mall. AJ turned the radio on
and we jammed all the way over there. The windows
were tinted so we could see outside but people
couldn't see into the car well enough to recognize
him. At one point a remix of 'Everybody' came on the
radio and AJ sang his parts a-capella in the car
along with the radio. When we go to the mall's
parking lot AJ put on dark sunglasses and a different
baseball cap that covered almost half of his face.
"you know..I gotta be incognito if we want to do any
shopping" I chuckled but realized how true that was
remembering the morning's incident. We wondered
through the mall, he on my right his mom on my left.
First we went to Wet Seal and I bought a t-shirt,
tank-top, new scrunchy, and a bottle of blue glitter
body gel. He bought a flannel and a hat. The cashier
seemed to have recognized AJ but wasn't sure so she
didn't say anything. We wondered around the mall for
another hour. We both bought another couple of things
and his mom bough a new pair of shoes. At 12:30 we
took off for the pic nic. At the gate of the island
AJ had to show the guard a pass signed by Nick so we
could get in. We got to Nick's house. WE all got out
and walked to the backyard. At the back of the house
was a huge pool. The back of the house overlooked an
incredibly beautiful lake.
Nick ran up to greet us. He introduced me to
everyone that I had not met yet. His parents were
sooo nice. His older sisters weren't there though.
He introduced me to Aaron, Angel, and B.J. Angel
looked so much like Aaron. His mom Jane was really
pretty. Howie's parent's were really nice too. The
guys were all huddled around Nick's dad and the
grill. He was cooking burgers and hot dogs.
Everyone was in their bathing suits. The boat was
docked and there was a tube on the back.
Tour--Chapter Six
Bob (Nicks dad) asked me how I wanted my burger. I
told him well done. He handed me a burger and Nick
took it out of my hand and said "now I'm going to
make you a traditional Backstreet Boy burger" He
smiled devilishly and I was dreading what he would do
to my burger. He put on it, ketchup, mustard,
lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. He handed it back to
me and I took a bite, it was actually really good..a
little hard to chew cause it was huge and my mouth
isn't as big as the guys'. " I like it" "good, now
you are officially one of us" he said smiling with
pleasure. Within the time it took me to finish that
one burger, the guys had eaten three a piece, they
basically inhaled food. I spent some time talking to
Nick's and Howie's moms. They were so nice to me. We
talked about school, art (Nick's mom knew a lot about
art), how much guys can be a pain in the rear
sometimes. Basically we had fun and I think they
licked me. They started telling me really cute and
funny stories about when the boys were little, like
the one time Nick was 1 and he got up on the stage in
his dad's club, he was in his diaper, and he started
dancing. I started to laugh, and suddenly I felt two
hands on my shoulders. I turned around and there was
Nick "Aww ... mom, not with the baby stories.. you'll
bore her to death plus we are going tubing...-he looked
down at me-wanna come?" " yah I'd love to I just have
to put my bathing suit on, unlike last time.." we
both started laughing. Mrs. Carter showed be the
little pool house and I changed to my bathing suit.
We all went on the boat, me the guys, Aaron and
Nick's siblings and dog, and Bob. We spent 2 hours
tubing on the lake. At one point me and Aaron were on
the tube together and Bob decided, after the guys
suggested it, that it would be hilarious to make us
fly into the water, so he made a really sharp turn.
Me and Aaron weren't expecting it and next thing we
knew we were in the water spitting out lake water.
The rest of them on the boat were laughing so hard
they might have had a heart attack. Me and Aaron
vowed that before the end of the tour we would get
them back REALLY good. We eventually went back to the
pic nic, we were all physically exhausted but we
wanted to do more stuff. We decided to go see a
movie. After we all showered (individually in
different bathrooms) and changed into dry clothes we
looked in the paper and decided to go see the latest
'Alien' movie. Me, Aaron, the guys, and Angel piled
into the car and headed for downtown Tampa, since we
were at Nick's house it was closer. Even to the
movies the guys had to wear some kind of disguise,
me, Aaron, and Angel didn't so we teased the the
whole time about it. Basically in the last 48 hours I
hadn't had a single sad or depressed moment, I was
constantly laughing. Before the movie even started we
had a popcorn and gummy bear fight in the movie
theater during the previews. Me and Howie left to get
more. This time we ate it, some still got on the
floor though. The movie was pretty good, but two
hours later we all regretted having chosen it because
that's the only thing Nick talked about for hours.
The guys had jokingly told him to stop or they would
jump him. An hour later in the parking lot of the
restaurant they all jumped on him. Everyone in the
families and the rest of us went to dinner at this
Italian restaurant. We were all so exhausted it was
a pretty uneventful, except for when half of the
female staff came over one by one and asked for
autographs, and quiet dinner. The guys didn't feel
like spending their only night off for the next 2
months together so we split up. Brian, Howie, AJ, and
Kevin wanted to go clubbing but me and Nick were too
exhausted from the boat. The guys went clubbing and
me ,Aaron and Nick went back to Nick's house with his
parents and sisters. It was 9:30 PM when we got there
so we decided to have desert in the living room. I
spent half the night playing with the dog.
Unfortunately I'm allergic to cats so his mom was
nice enough to keep it in the kitchen. The four of
us played video games for another hour and a half or
so. We were playing Super Mario Cart. Me and Angel
against Nick and Aaron. We beat them twice. During
the third game we all fell asleep in front of the TV
in the living room, sitting on the floor leaning
against the couch. Nick's mom woke us up at around
midnight when she noticed the game running by itself
and no loud laughing coming from the living room.
Nick and Aaron walked to their rooms like zombies,
and so did Angel and I. Angel was nice enough to
share her room with me. I understood why Nick loved
his family so much. Angel and I woke up at 7:30 AM,
before anyone else, or so we thought. We made the
whole family breakfast. I made cappucinos, the
Italian way, for everyone, we made toast and fruit
salad for everyone. We didn't even have to wake them
up, the smell of the coffee and toast brought them
like flies to honey.
Nick and Aaron looked absolutely exhausted.
Everyone was dressed for breakfast and no one was
wearing their pajamas-darn I thought- but Nick did
look pretty good in khaki shorts and a white tee.
"Boy whatever the too of you made sure smells good,
it woke me right up" Bob said examining breakfast and
taking really long sniffs at the smell of coffee.
"You guys did this?" was Jane astonished and pleased
question. Angel and I looked at each other
knowingly,turned to the four of them standing at the
entrance to the kitchen and bowed saying in an
English accent trying not to laugh "Your breakfast is
served...". "You really shouldn't have.." was Jane's
reply, " I wanted to" I said "All of you have been so
nice to me that I just wanted to say thanks the best
way I knew how....now sit down or the coffee and toast
will get cold" I replied. Angel and I had already
had the same breakfast so we stood watching as they
ate. The Carter's kitchen is incredible, its an eat
in kitchen and it has everything you could possibly
think of to cook any meal. There was complete silence
as they ate. "sooo... mom what do you think?" Angel
asked eager to hear a pleased answer. "You guys
..humph...humph..are the best breakfast..hmph
cooks.." Aaron said while he was trying to wash a
piece of toast down with coffee. We all laughed. "This
is really incredible..I never knew coffee and toast
could taste this good.." was Bob's comment. "Old
family tradition" I answered as my face beamed with
appreciation. "nick you haven't said a word in the
last 20 minutes, is something wrong?" Jane asked Nick
as she looked at him across the table. He had
scarfed down four pieces of toast and was almost
finished with his coffee. " I know but this is
really good mom, just trying to get it in so I can
remember it in four weeks when all we've had is dry
donuts and luke warm coffee for breakfast.." Nick
said smiling finishing a last bite of toast. "
Speaking of which is there any more..?" Nick asked.
"Seriously Nick your such a pig.." Angel said half
laughing. He and Bob handed me their cups and I made
them more coffee. Twenty minutes later we all cleaned
up the kitchen and it was already 8:45 AM. We all
changed into more human clothes and hung out in the
back yard by the water.
At 9:30 we packed our bags into Nick's car and
headed for the studio. It was still pretty early so
we made a pit stop at the beach. It was beautiful,
the sun in the velvety blue sky with a light cool
breeze moving the fluffy white clouds towards the
east. We didn't have much time left so we went to the
studio. When we got there AJ and his mom, Brian, and
Kevin were already there along with the band and
everyone else. Everything had already been lugged
onto the buses. Just then Howie pulled up with his
parents and all of his stuff. By now it was 11 and
everything was in the bus including all of Aaron's
things also. We said goodbye to everyone and I
thanked Mr. and Mrs. Carter several times for their
kindness and hospitality " It was no problem dear, we
loved having you over, come back any time you want.",
" We would love to have you over for breakfast
again.." Bob laughed and me and all the Carters
laughed , everyone else looked at us as if we were
nuts. "Oh man I forgot to call, I promised I would
call before we left Orlando..darn.." I said to my
self in a low voice when I realized that we were
about to leave and I hadn't called my mom yet, I had
promised I would call before leaving the State. Mrs.
Mclean overheard me and said "..don't worry you can
use my cell to call her from the bus, you can use it
any time you want to talk to your family..tell you
what I'll get you your own..." before I could thank
her and object she had gone into the studio and
brought back a cell and handed it to me. I smiled her
my thanxs. There was another round of hugs and
good byes, including one between me and the Carters
again. WE got on the bus and waved from the rolled
down windows. I remembered Jane having told me that
she or Bob usually traveled with Nick and Aaron but
since Mrs. Mclean would be traveling on this tour
they would meet up with us in 2 weeks.
We pulled out of the parking lot and 10 minutes
later we were finally settled down for the 3 hour
drive. I went to the far end of the bus and pulled
out my new cell. I hesitated at first but then
decided to go for it. I dialed my home phone because
I knew my parents would be home waiting for me to
call. The guys were all sitting at the front
chatting with the driver. Kevin, Brian, AJ, and
Howie looked exhausted and I could tell they had
been out clubbing all night. They must have noticed
that I wasn't there because slowly they all ended up
sitting around me watching me talk to my mom. Aaron
had been the first to notice and he sat in front of
me and as I listened to the phone ring was telling me
of how he misses his parents when he's on tour. I
thought to myself that he was one of the sweetest
boys, and part of it must have been from hanging out
with those five big sweeties over there. My mom
picked up the phone and we said hi, I looked up
feeling eyes watching me, and I found myself looking
at Howie and Brian, the other three were next to me
and Kev was behind me :whhaatt...?" I said laughing "
no scusa niente, si sto bene.." I said to my mom in
Italian realizing she had heard me. I talked to her
for about 6 more minutes and I promised I'd call her
back before the next show. I hung up and asked the
guys again laughing "whaat..what happeened...?".
"nothing, we were just intrigued when we heard you
speak in Italian.." Kevin said "why?" I asked
bewildered. "Cause we never thought you did. how dod
you know it?"," I speak it at home every day..." and
so I went into my 5 minute shpeel of all the languages
I speak. "Very cool.." was Nick's comment and the
rest of them agreed. "You know when we were in Italy
for the San remo song festival 2 years ago they
taught us some Italian to say, but we had no idea
what we were saying.." Howie said " We could have
been insulting them and we wouldn't have known till
it was too late.." Brian said laughing.We all chimed
in to his contagious laugh. "I could teach you guys
if you want.. then you would know what you are saying
when you go back.." I said smiling. So we agreed that
I would teach them a new phrase or couple of words
every day. It was one O'clock and we were starving so
AJ pulled out some juices turkey sandwiches from the
fridge and gave them out to everyone. After lunch the
guys decided to practice for about an hour and a
half, Aaron joined them in their a-capella
harmonization. I curled up in a corner of the couch
and listened quietly. Today's choices for practice
were again up to me so I asked them to sing 'I Swear'
by All 4 One, the song has a lot of sentimental value
for me. The were more than happy to oblige. Then they
sang 'Like A Child', 'Christmass Time'(we laughed at
that one since it was the middle of the summer),
"10,000 Promises", "Everybody" "I'll Never break Your
Heart", "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss", and a few
others including "On Bended Knee"," The End of The
Road", and "Waters Run Dry" by Boyz II Men, and a
couple of Aaron's songs.
I was in complete and utter heaven. The guys all
crashed down on the couches and drank tons of OJ and
fruit juice. "So where are we going next?" I asked
when they regained their voice. "First, we have to do
an autograph session this afternoon just outside
Tallahassee at a bookstore, then we have at the
children's hospital near the FSU campus, then we hit
the hotel(for you guys who don't know that's Florida
State University right on the line between Florida
and Georgia).
Read on!
