Legal Note: Please don't read this if you are under the age of 18 years or the particular age of permission where ever you live. The story below is in all parts fictional. All portrayal of the Backstreet Boys and other persons mentioned is in no way based on fact. All other characters are completely fictional. All names, songs, events, company names and other licensed material remains so. Thank you.
Okay, so the installment's short. Sorry guys. I'm a summer slacker by nature. This installment has been written actually for a week and a half, but I was too lazy to fix it up until now. The doldrums of summer have set in, apparently.
Thanks to everybody who wrote in with comments...you guys know they mean a lot to me.
And thanks to DLS, everybody's fave editor, who made some sense out of this car wreck of a installment and is trying desperately to break me of my hyphen habit.
And also, a mention of Jeff (RCJ), who is still a spineless jellyfish when it comes to criticizing my stories, but we all love him for it, of course. Someone has to give me praise after D has finished ripped out my literary spleen as it were. ;P
So everybody enjoy, and e-mail bsbwriter@altavista.net with comments, critiques and suggestions.
until number 4,
Edan
What the hell was I supposed to do? Randall was sitting in the lobby ready to pounce and I was in no mood to see him. Time to gather the troops.
"Girls!" I called into the next room.
They opened the door questioningly. "Finally! Let's go!" Tiffany said. They dragged me to the elevator, at which point I stopped them.
"We can't use the elevator."
"Why not?" Stephanie asked suspiciously.
"Because," I said, hoping that answer would be good enough. A quick survey of both of their faces told me otherwise. "Because, remember that guy who was in my apartment with the roses yesterday?"
"Your boyfriend?" Stephanie asked.
"Yeah, my...what?" I asked, surprised.
"We knew the whole time," Tiffany said with a laugh.
"Then why....the bus depot...." I sighed, exasperated.
They both broke up laughing. "We're young, not stupid!" Stephanie said. "We just wanted to have some fun with you."
"Okay then," I said and shrugged, then remembered Randall was in the lobby waiting for me. "Here's the deal: Randall is waiting downstairs for me in the lobby. I don't want to see him. Do you mind if we..." I trailed off.
"Give him the slip?" Stephanie asked, finishing my sentence.
"Sure! He seemed like a big dork anyway." Tiffany said. The more I got to know these girls, the less I despised them.
We crept down the back stairs and out the backdoor of the hotel. The alley was deserted save a huge purple bus. Even the windows were painted. I was just thinking that it was probably the Boys' tour bus when a large man in security garb pushed us towards the street. "Nothing to see here, guys. Move along," he said, and we found ourselves on a street in downtown Albany.
"Can we get breakfast?" Stephanie asked.
"Sure," I nodded. We headed towards a diner down the street.
Being led to a table, we sat down in a big red vinyl booth. When the waitress gave us our menus, she asked, "You girls in town for the concert?"
"Yep!" Tiffany said.
"Second row seats!" Stephanie exclaimed.
"Really?" the waitress and I asked at the same time.
"You're two very lucky girls!" the waitress said. "Now let me know when you're ready to order," she said, and walked away.
"You never told me we had second row seats!" I said, panicked.
"You never asked," Tiffany replied coolly, taking a sip of water.
Even if the arena was pitch black, anyone on the stage would at least be able to see the first three, even five rows. That's only ten or so feet from the edge of the stage. From there, they would all be able to see us...particularly, Nick.
The waitress came back to take our orders and I realized I hadn't even looked at the menu. After Tiffany had ordered Belgian waffles and Stephanie got pancakes, she came to me. "And what about you this morning, sir?" she asked.
"Just coffee is good, thanks," I said.
"Is that all you're having?" the waitress asked.
"Uh, yeah," I said. "I don't have much of an appetite."
Soon, the orders came and I let the girls talk about the concert while I sipped my coffee and looked out the window, thinking about all the same things, over and over. Why was I having such a fixation over Nick? Why did I let it bother me so much? Where was all of this anxiety coming from? And what the hell was I going to do about Randall?
Stephanie pulled a magazine out of her bag and began to read out loud. "You wanna take this quiz, Tiff?"
"Um, yeah...what is it?" asked Tiffany.
"Its a BSB knowledge quiz. You take half and I take half and whoever gets the most points wins," Stephanie challenged.
"Wins what?"
"I dunno. What'd you think?"
"I dunno."
"Wait...I have an idea!" Stephanie exclaimed in a tragically rehearsed voice, (despite all attempts to sound spur-of-the-moment). "What if...." another unconvincing pause, "If whoever wins gets to pick what seat they want at the concert."
"Um, okay," Tiffany said doubtfully, but not wanting to sound scared in any manner.
"Okay...first question: What member of the band is most likely to be found drawing your picture?"
"Easy! Nick," said Steff, triumphantly.
"Okay, next question: who currently plays keyboards on the Into the Millennium Tour?"
"Uh, Howie?"
"No, that'd be Kevin. But of course, you like Brian, so you wouldn't know that," Tiffany smirked.
I spaced as the girls finished the quiz, but of course, Stephanie won as she had planned. The girls finished eating, and the check came. As we paid up front, I asked, "What do you guys wanna do today? The concert doesn't start until seven...its only 9:30."
"Well, we were thinking we need some art supplies," Tiffany said as we left the diner.
"Art supplies?" I raised my eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know, for signs and stuff."
"Signs?"
"Yeah...for the concert."
"Uh, guys..." I said.
"What?" they asked at the same time with those huge, infamous puppy-dog eyes.
"Oh......" I broke down. I could not deny these girls their signs. "Never mind...so, did you have a particular place you wanted to go?" I sighed in defeat.
"Well, on the way to the mall yesterday, we saw an arts and crafts store," Stephanie said nonchalantly.
"Okay, if we get a cab, do you think you'll be able to guide us there?"
"Probably," she said.
We walked back to the hotel where there were a few cabs waiting to get fares. I was just asking one of the drivers if they knew of the arts and crafts store when I saw Randall exiting the lobby onto the street. "Duck!" I yelled. All three of us hid behind the cab. The driver looked at us oddly. "Get...into...the...cab..." I told the girls, as I very carefully opened the door. When we all were in safely, I yelled, "Drive, please!" and the car screeched off.
"You mind tell me what that was about?" the driver asked.
"Oh-" I stammered.
"Hey, its all right, I don't need to know the details. I just gotta know if the cops are gonna be following me cuz I got some crazy shithead motherfucker kidnapper in the back seat."
"Kidnapper?" I asked hoarsely.
"No, he was just running from a enraged lover," Stephanie said with a smile.
"Oh, boy, oh, boy, I wish I had the girls after me like that. Course, I'm not a young stud like yourself, mister, but I'm no slump either. Why I remember in the summer of `63 when..." the cab driver launched into a long anecdote.
While he was talking, I glared at Stephanie. "Enraged lover," I muttered. "Where'd you get that?"
"I saw it on Days," Stephanie said, obviously pleased with herself.
"Days?" I asked.
"Days of Our Lives,' the soap," she said in a `duh!' tone of voice.
"Oh, of course," I uttered under my breath. "Sir?" I asked, trying to get the driver's attention.
He was still talking, ".......course in those days, we didn't have to worry about what they call `sexually transmitted diseases,' nope, those were-"
"Sir!" I interrupted his colorful yarn.
"Oh, huh?" he was jerked back into the present.
"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but-"
"Please, call me Mitch."
"Okay, Mitch, I'm sorry to interrupt, but do you know where you're going?"
"I was gonna take you to Suzy Q's Arts and Crafts, that okay?"
I looked at the girls, and they nodded. "Yeah, that's fine, thanks."
"In fact," Mitch said, "Here we are now. Was a pleasure meeting you guys. Bye now!" I paid the fare and tipped him extra for the Randall fiasco.
We got out of the cab and waved goodbye. We were standing in the parking lot of Suzy Q's Arts and Crafts: `since 1965.' "Come on!" Tiffany said as she and Stephanie dragged me by the hand inside.
The art store in-doors was really nice, with sky-lights and a huge inventory. It was more for professional artists or art students, but had a few aisles of glitter and stuff for the younger kids. The girls ran through the aisles, their eyes lighting up. They piled up on colored tag board, (they decided that regular cardboard was too flimsy), glow-in-the-dark paint, stencils and glitter.
We were just heading towards the counter when a very large man came into the store. I watched as he conferred with one of the employees. Then, the employee cleared her throat. It was only us and one other woman in the store. It was after all, late-morning on a Tuesday, not exactly prime shopping hours.
"This is Mr. Tunney," the employee gestured to the large man. "He has just informed me that we have a few special customers coming into the store. He would very much appreciate it if you treated them normally as they do their shopping. As a gesture of appreciation, we at Suzy Q's will be giving a twenty-five percent discount. Thank you." Mr. Tunney went out the door, no doubt giving the okay to whoever it was.
"So who do you think it is?" Tiffany asked excitedly
"Use your brain, girl," Stephanie chided. "Who else would be in this loser town if not-"
"For a concert!" Tiffany caught on.
"Guys, do me a favor?" I asked hurriedly, as the entourage began to filter through Suzy Q's doors. They shrugged. "Do you mind if we don't leave just yet? I just want to look at some, uh..." I looked around quickly and saw a display in the back of the store. "Some, uh....brushes, okay?" They didn't need to know anymore than completely necessary.
"Absolutely. More time to stare!" Stephanie said, as she gawked at the door expectantly.
"Yeah, so..." I started, but was cut off. There, in the doorway, framed by sunlight and partially silhouetted was Nick. One look at him and everything fell into place.
I had a crush on Nick Carter.
I quickly looked down at the brushes as the girls moved to get a closer look. Behind Nick had been Brian. I busied myself, examining prices and sizes as the two moved down the next aisle over. I looked up carefully, watching the top of Nick's blonde head move down the aisle. And then, it was gone...he must have bent down to look at something.
I again studied the brushes, trying desperately to fade into the shelves. "Hey!" a voice said behind me. I froze. "Hey!" it said again when I didn't answer. I turned slowly. "Rhys?" I was paralyzed. This was not happening. I turned and verified what I thought was happening was in fact happening. The grossly coincidental attributes of the situation were not lost on me.
I prompted myself to put on a huge, friendly and shocked smile, and say enthusiastically, "Nick!"
"Rhys, man, I wasn't sure if that was you. I thought I made a huge fool outta myself. It's been so long! What are you doin' here?" Nick gushed. I wondered if he was really happy to see me or just overcompensating. He reached to shake my hand and then wrapped the other hand around me in a hug. I hugged back.
"Hey, guy, it has been a long time, hasn't it..." I said, flushed, running one hand through my hair while Tiffany and Stephanie suddenly appeared at my side.
"Hi!" both Stephanie and Tiffany said to Nick, giggling.
"How come you didn't tell us you knew NICK CARTER?" Stephanie exclaimed.
I shrugged. "It didn't seem like such a big deal...and I hadn't seen him in a long time. I wasn't sure he'd remember me."
Nick feigned hurt. "What?" he said, "Not remember Rhys? One of my best friends in the whole world? Never. I'm deeply hurt, man." He laughed. "And by the way, who are these two?" he asked, winking at Tiffany and Stephanie.
"This is Tiffany. She lives in the old neighborhood-her family moved in a few years after you guys moved out. And this is her friend Stephanie. I'm chaperoning these two girls on a road trip to see some silly concert. I forget the name of the band...." I said, scratching my head. I surprised myself with how cool I was playing it.
"Really, dude? Cool, cool. You got good seats? Cuz I think I could probably score some ticks, if you want them..."
"Nah, that's cool. These girls scored some second row seats."
"We're your biggest fans..." Tiffany said shyly. The mini-snobs had vanished and turned into pools of melting, blushing goo.
"Okay guys," Nick said, putting a hand on one shoulder of each of the girls, "tell ya what, since you're my biggest fans and all, you wanna come hang out at the hotel with us after the show?" The girls nodded furiously. "The hotel's at..."
"We, uh, actually know. In fact, we're staying there too," I said, embarrassed.
Nick seemed surprised. "Okay then," he said shrugging, "just call Suite 800 and the Security guys'll be expecting you." Nick looked at me for a moment, right into the eyes. Partially, it was unsettling, like he could see what was going on in my head. But also...it was damn sexy. "Okay, then, I gotta get to rehearsal, but Rhys, dude, it was great to see you. I'll see you girls tonight. Enjoy the concert!" he said, picking up few markers and brushing by me. As he passed, he whispered, "And it was really nice to see you." My ears turned red and remained so long after Nick, Brian and the security guards disappeared out the door.