Chapter
1
It
was back in May when I first found out about the reunion tour. It was my last day of classes before summer
break. I came back to my apartment
tired, but happy to be done with classes.
I had already had four years of college, and now I was in medical school
so that I could become a pediatrician, one of my lifelong dreams. But med school was tough work, and I needed
the break. Anyway, that afternoon, I let
myself into the apartment I lived in with my boyfriend, Josh, and flopped down
on the sofa, completely drained. I
turned on the TV and flipped to MTV. It
was almost three, and TRL was on. I
watched the number four video, and then it went on commercial break. After a
few commercials, MTV news came on. I
looked at the clock. Two fifty. Of course, ten to the hour, every hour. It never changed.
“Hi,
this is John Norris with an MTV news brief.
Good news for all you fans of the former Backstreet Boys. At a press conference Tuesday, the five
ex-Backstreeters, Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, and
Howie Dorough, announced that they are getting back together for a reunion
tour. When asked if they were planning
to stay together as a group and release more music together, Kevin replied,
‘We’re just going to wait and see how the tour goes before we make any
decisions like that.’ The reunion tour
will last for two months and travel to major cities in the U.S. and Canada. The tour will kick off on August 6th
in Orlando, Florida. Tickets go on sale
July nineteenth. That’s the news for
now. For other stories on Papa Roach and
Jessica Simpson, go to mtv.com. Tune in
for more news at ten to the hour, every hour, only on MTV. MTV News, you hear it… first.”
I
sat, barely able to contain my excitement.
My Boys were getting back together!!
I leapt up and began to dance around the room. I felt like a total teenybopper, but I was
too happy to care.
Once
I regained my composure, I hurried over to my computer and connected to the
internet. I had to tell Heidi the
awesome news. Heidi is a girl I met on
the internet when I was fifteen. I used
to write Backstreet Boys fan fiction, and I even had my own website. Heidi was also a fan fiction author, and she
had her own site. We started talking
over Instant Messenger and quickly became great friends. We even wrote some collaborated fanfics
together.
I
wrote fanfics all through high school, but it was at the end of my senior year
when the guys announced they were calling it quits. When that happened, I called it quits on my
own writing. I still loved doing it, but
it would never be the same. Also, I knew
it would be hard to maintain a website while I was in college. It had been hard enough as it was, for no one
even knew I had a site, not my parents, my friends from school, no one, except
for my little sister, Breanna. Even to
this day, no one knew, and I didn’t plan on telling them. Although I was proud of my stories, it would
be way too embarrassing to tell anyone I knew that I wrote them.
Heidi
had also quit writing, but we still talked online whenever we got the
chance. It had gotten very hard for us
to catch each other online lately though, between her job and my classes. Heidi was now twenty six, and she had a full
time job as a school secretary, leaving her little time to be online. And with my busy class schedule, I didn’t
have much internet time either. But now
that it was summer, I was finished with classes, and Heidi was also on summer
break, so I hoped we would be able to talk.
As
I logged onto Instant Messenger, I prayed that she would be on. I was almost ready to burst inside, and I
needed to tell someone the news. Feeling
in a Backstreet mood, I chose one of my older screen names and waited for my
buddy list to pop up. When it finally
did, I scanned the names that appeared on it.
I grinned when I saw that Heidi was on.
I immediately IMed her:
(AN: This is my real screen name, but the other one I made
up, in case Heidi didn’t want her real screen name online.)
RokofAges75:
Hey Heidi!! J
HokieChick03: Hey Julie!! J
HokieChick03: How come you’re on your old SN?
RokofAges75: just felt like it
RokofAges: Hey, guess what!
HokieChick03: What??
RokofAges75: Did you just see MTV news?
HokieChick03: No, why?
RokofAges75: Bsb are having a reunion tour!!!!! J J J J J J
HokieChick03: Omg, really?!?!? J J J J
RokofAges75: Yup J
HokieChick03: Awesome!!
RokofAges: I know, I want tickets so bad!!!
HokieChick03: Me too!! I’ve
never been to a Bsb concert before, and if I could get tickets I could actually
go for the first time ever!! J
RokofAges75: Tickets go on sale July 19th
HokieChick03: Awesome. Do you
know if they’re coming to Lexington?
The
Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky was the closest arena to the small town in
Virginia where Heidi lived.
RokofAges75: I don’t know, but
probably. I mean, it’s Bri and Kev’s
hometown.
HokieChick03: I hope they do!
RokofAges75: Me too
HokieChick03: Hey Julie, I just got the best idea!
RokofAges75: What??
HokieChick03: Do you think you could come to Lexington to go to a
concert?
Lexington
was almost an eight hour drive for me, but I would do anything to see the Boys
in concert.
RokofAges75: I don’t know,
probably. Why?
HokieChick03: What if we bought tickets together for the concert in
Lexington? We could see Bsb and each
other!!
Heidi
and I had known each other for eight years, and although we had sent each other
pictures of one another, we had never met in person. I knew my mom would have killed me if she
knew I was talking to people I didn’t know online, but I was an adult now, and
if I wanted to see Heidi in person, I would.
RokofAges75: That’s an awesome
idea!! If we could only get tickets.
HokieChick03: Let me take care
of getting the tickets. There’s a ticket
master place not far from here. I could
camp out there and be one of the first in line, and then we’d be sure to get
good seats next to each other.
RokofAges75: Omg, Heidi, this is
so awesome!!! But first we have to make
sure they’re going to have a concert in Lexington. I’ll go look and try to find a schedule.
HokieChick03: ok
I
decided the best place to go was mtv.com.
They were sure to have a tour schedule.
Sure enough, the story was one of the headlines, and when I clicked on
it, along with the story, was the tour schedule. I scanned the page, praying that there was
one in Lexington. Sure enough, there
was. August 15th. I glanced at my calendar quickly and saw that
it was a Saturday. Perfect.
RokofAges75: Heidi, there is one!!!
It’s on Sat. 8/15!! J
HokieChick03: Perfect!!!!! J
RokofAges75: Yeah, I know! As
long as we can get tickets, it’ll be awesome! J
HokieChick03: I’m sure I’ll be
able to get tickets. I’ll buy two and
then I’ll mail yours to you, ok?
RokofAges: ok J
RokofAges: thanks so much! J
HokieChick03: no problem J This will be my first concert, I’m so
excited! J
RokofAges75: Me too! And I can’t wait to meet you in person! J
HokieChick03: me neither *hug*
Suddenly,
I heard my boyfriend enter the house.
RokofAges75: Josh is home, I gtg
HokieChick03: Ok, talk to you later! J
RokofAges75: k, bye! J
HokieChick03: Bye!! J
I
signed off of IM just as Josh entered the room.
“Hey,
babe,” he said, smiling at me. “Who were
you talking to?”
“Heidi,”
I replied. He and my sister, Breanna,
were the only one who knew about Heidi.
“Cool,”
he said.
“Oh,
baby, guess what!” I cried happily.
“What?”
he asked.
“Bsb
are getting back together for a reunion tour, and Heidi is going to get tickets
for she and I to go to their concert together in Lexington in August!” I
gushed.
His
blue eyes widened. “Awesome,” he said,
grinning. He had never been too fond of
Bsb, but he knew how much I loved them, so he tolerated them.
I
returned his smile. “I know,” I said.
“What
are you going to tell your parents?” he asked.
“What
do you mean?” I asked.
“Well,
are you going to tell them about Heidi and everything?” he asked.
“No,
they don’t need to know that part,” I said.
“I’ll just tell them I got tickets online and that I’m going by myself.”
“You
think they’ll like the idea of you driving all the way to Kentucky?” he asked
incredulously.
“No,
but I’m twenty three, and I don’t care what they think. I’m going, and they can’t stop me,” I said
stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Maybe
I could go down with you,” Josh suggested.
“I mean, I wouldn’t go to the concert, but I could drive down with you
and make sure you find your way around okay and everything.”
I
smiled. “Aw, baby, you’re such a
sweetie,” I said, standing on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He blushed.
“Sure you can come with. I’d love
having you around.”
He
grinned. “Okay, sounds cool, babe,” he
replied. “I can just find a club or
something to hang in while you’re at the concert and then I can pick you up
when it’s over, and we can stay the night in a hotel. What day is it anyway?”
“August
fifteenth. It’s a Saturday,” I
replied.
“Cool. Then we can stay a couple days, and we won’t
even have to worry about classes or anything,” he said. He went to the same school as I did, but
being almost twenty four, he had just finished his second year of med
school.
“I
love you, Josh,” I said, wrapped my arms around him and kissed him
tenderly. His arms enveloped me, and he
kissed back.
“I
love you too, Jules,” he replied as we broke the kiss. I felt like the luckiest girl in the
world. Little did I know that in just a
few months, my luck would drastically change.
***
Less
than three months later, I found myself on my way to Lexington. Heidi had gotten two tickets for the concert
without any trouble and had mailed my ticket to me a few weeks before. She and I had decided to both drive to
Lexington on Friday night. We had called
the same hotel for reservations, and we thought it would be fun if we could meet
that night and then spend the day together Saturday before the concert. I could barely wait, not just to see the
concert, but to finally get to meet Heidi as well.
I
yawned and glanced down at the clock in the car. It was four fifteen in the afternoon, and I
had been driving for over two hours. We
were now less than two hours away from Lexington, and I could barely contain my
excitement.
From
the seat next to me, Josh saw me yawn.
“Do you want me to drive now, baby?” he asked.
I
nodded. “Sure, hun,” I replied. I stopped at a rest stop a few miles up the
road, and we switched places.
“Do
you want to stop and get a snack or anything?” Josh asked.
“Actually,
I’m not real hungry, but if you want something, go ahead,” I answered.
“No,
that’s okay,” he replied. “I’m fine, and
we’re eating when we get there, right?”
“Yup. I want to meet Heidi first, and then I
thought the three of us could go out to eat together, if she wants to. Is that okay with you?”
“Sure,”
he replied. I smiled and sat back
against the seat, as Josh started the engine and pulled back onto the
interstate.
***
Finally,
an hour and half later, we entered Lexington.
Between our maps and the road signs, Josh and I found our way through
the city and to the Holiday Inn that we were staying in. Josh dropped me off in front so I could go
check us in while he went to park the car.
A
few minutes later, I had the room key, and he was just entering the lobby,
carrying both our bags. We headed
upstairs to our room, 237. I knew that Heidi’s room was room 238, right
across the hall from us. I eyed the door
to her room as Josh unlocked the door to ours, but I didn’t knock. Instead, I followed Josh into our room. Josh threw down our bags and flopped down on
one of the two double beds.
“Well,
Julie, this is it,” he said. “We’re
here.” I grinned and leapt onto the bed
next to him.
“Yup,”
I said. “Well, what should we do?”
Josh
glanced at his watch. “Well, it’s almost
six. I say you better hurry up and go to
Heidi’s room so we can eat.” He grinned.
“Okay,”
I said, returning his smile.
“You
go on, and I’ll just chill here until dinner time,” he said.
“Okay. See you later then,” I replied and quickly
kissed his cheek before heading out the door.
I crossed the hall and stood before the door of Room 238. I raised my hand and knocked lightly on the
door.
Seconds
later, the door flung open, and I found myself looking into the face of
Heidi.
“Julie?”
she cried, breaking into a smile.
“Heidi!”
I exclaimed, grinning. We quickly hugged
each other.
“Come
on in,” she said, standing back so I could enter her room. “So how was your trip down here?”
“Great,”
I said. “It was long, but definitely
worth it.” We both smiled again.
“So,
are you hungry?” Heidi asked after awhile.
“Yeah,
I’m pretty hungry, and I know Josh probably is too,” I replied.
“Oh
yeah, I still have to meet Josh,” she said.
“Well,
why don’t you come back to our room, and you can meet him now,” I suggested.
“Okay,”
she replied. We headed back across the
hall to my room. Josh was sitting in a
chair, flipping through the TV channels.
“Josh,
this is Heidi,” I said to him, motioning to Heidi. “And Heidi, meet my boyfriend, Josh Benton.”
“Hey,
Heidi, nice to meet you,” Josh said, smiling at her and holding out his hand.
“Thanks,
you too,” Heidi replied and shook it.
“So,
guys, where should we go to eat?” I asked.
We all thought for a minute.
“Hey,
what about Long John Silver’s?” Heidi suggested.
I
grinned, for we were in Brian’s hometown, and Long John Silver’s was where he
had worked when he was sixteen. I wasn’t
big on seafood, but I figured they would have other stuff there.
“Sounds
great,” I replied.
“Yeah,
great,” Josh added.
“Okay,
cool,” Heidi said. “We have to find out
where one is first.” Josh pulled a phone
book out of the nightstand drawer and flipped through the yellow pages.
“There’s
six different Long John Silver’s in Lexington,” he finally announced.
“Oh.
Well, I guess we’ll just drive around and stop at the first one we come to,” I
said.
“Okay,
sounds good,” Heidi said.
“Do
you want to ride with us?” I asked her.
“Sure,”
she replied.
A
few minutes later, we were piling into Josh’s car. Josh handed me the keys and let Heidi ride in
front next to me. He sat in the
back. I started up the engine and pulled
onto the highway. I had no idea where I
was going, but I figured if I drove far enough down the road, we would be sure
to find a Long John Silver’s.
Sure
enough, there was one just a few blocks down the street from the hotel. We all went in. I had never eaten in a Long John Silver’s
before, since I didn’t like seafood much, but I ended up getting chicken
strips, and I liked them a lot.
After
we were done eating, it was after seven.
We all went back to the hotel, and the three of us hung around in our
hotel room for awhile. Finally, around
nine or ten, Heidi said goodnight and headed back to her own room.
I
was pretty tired after all that driving, and I knew I had a big day the next
day, so I told Josh I was ready for bed.
There were two double beds in the room, so we decided to be responsible
and sleep separately. We were both
virgins and planned on getting married before we lost our virginity to each
other.
We
lay in bed for awhile just watching TV.
Finally, I could barely keep my eyes open anymore, so we turned off the
TV and both fell asleep.
***
