Chapter 13: Kicking Off The Tour
The next morning, Patrick awoke between two warm bodies.
As he opened his eyes, he turned to see Lance curled up on
his right side and Justin on his left. Patrick smiled and
got up, walking quietly into the bathroom to shower and get
ready for the day. As he emerged from the bathroom, Patrick
smiled as he saw Lance, propped up on one arm, playing with
Justin's hair and smiling as he looked down at the younger
boy.
"Awww.....that's so sweet! Where IS my camera?",
Patrick said softly as Lance looked over and grinned.
"Thank you, Patrick.", Lance said as he got off
the bed and hugged the other boy. "Thank you for loving
me enough to get me to love Justin."
"I love you both...and I wanna see you both happy, if
you truly love each other, you will be happy always.",
Patrick said as he hugged Lance, then kissed him lightly on
the lips.
"I'll always love you too!", Lance said softly
as a single tear fell down his cheek. "Remember that,
please!"
Patrick used his finger to wipe away the tear from Lance's
face. "I will."
Patrick and Lance woke up the rest of the guys and got them
showering as Patrick began to cook breakfast for the group.
After breakfast, the Backstreet Boys got a call from their
managers and immediately headed off to the arena for sound
checks and to get ready for their concert that night. Patrick
and Mike began to clean up the house and put things back in
order. Around 4 pm, the guys began to change and get ready
to go see their friends perform.
"It'll be interesting to be in the crowd, huh?",
Justin asked with a grin, "Maybe I should make up a poster
to hold up...something to make them laugh...like Kevin.....I
wanna have your baby!"
Patrick chuckled, "Well....I don't think that'll go
over with the press. I'll hold up the embarassing signage,
OK?"
The guys all giggled and got into Lance's UT and headed over
to the venue. Patrick decided to keep the hysterics to a minimum
by going to collect the tickets himself, letting the guys
pull on their disguises of baseball caps and shades while
they waited for him to return. Patrick picked up the envelope
that was waiting for him at the Will-Call window and laughed
as he read the note Kevin wrote in marker:
Patrick-
Come and see us backstage as soon
as you get here. It's cool....Security knows that you and
"you know who's" will be coming.
-Kev
A girl reading over his shoulder screamed suddenly and Patrick
turned to face her.
"OH MY GOD! YOU KNOW KEVIN?!?!", the girl screamed.
Patrick nodded nonchalantly.
"He and the guys came over to a barbecue party I had
yesterday at a friend's house. They're good people",Patrick
said with a grin then turned on his heel and went back to
the UTE.
The guys grinned as Patrick told them of the encounter as
he passed out the tickets and the backstage passes and then
followed Patrick to a less crowded entrance where he showed
the guard the note and everyone's passes. Two more guards
approached and took them backstage past the hordes of screaming
girls, who surprisingly, never guessed who the guys really
were. Patrick knocked on the door to the dressing room and
Kevin immediately opened it, pulling him inside and into a
big hug.
"Hey Patrick....guys!", the guys said in chorus.
Patrick sat down on the couch in the dressing room next to
Nick and Brian.
"So...are you all ready for this??", Patrick said,
grinning as he gestured to the dressing room and the venue.
"We better be!", Nick said, "We're glad you
are here for opening night of the tour....it makes it even
more awesome!"
Patrick smiled at Nick who immediately pulled him into another
hug.
After chatting for a half hour as they waited, Patrick got
up and announced that it was almost showtime and that they'd
better get to their seats.
As the guys followed the two guards to their seats, Patrick
was glad that it was so close to showtime as the lights had
been dimmed and no one noticed the NSYNC guys at all. The
seats were first row middle and Patrick smiled as he saw that
the first and second row had been reserved for safety's sake.
As they sat down, the lights went off almost completely and
the first song, Larger than Life began with the guys ascending
the stage from below. Patrick was stunned by the intricate
dance moves and the quality of their sound. As he looked over
at Justin and the other guys he saw them have the same look
of shock on their faces as well. Patrick smiled and leaned
over to Justin and Lance.
"They're pretty awesome, huh?", Patrick said facetiously.
"Wow...yeah!", Justin said, "I've never been
in the audience before. Was our concert like this?"
"Yeah....more so", Patrick smiled, "especially
when you dedicated that song to me."
Justin looked over at Patrick and squeezed his hand.
Patrick smiled and turned his attention back to the stage,
marveling at the amazing spectacle. Near the end of the show,
the guys started to slow the pace down a little, singing some
of their slower ballads. After singing, "As Long As You
Love Me", Nick began to talk up the crowd.
"Hello Orlando!! WHOOOOOO!", Nick yelled, "How
are we doing? Are you all having a good time?!"
The crowd response was deafening and Nick smiled and continued,
"We're gonna sing you a new song but we all decided we
wanted to dedicate it to someone we all have gotten to know
recently and who we asked to be here tonight."
Patrick looked up and saw Kevin and Brian squatting above
him and smiled. They held out their hands and grabbed Patrick,
pulling him up onto the stage.
Nick continued, "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is our friend
Patrick. We got the chance this week to meet and spend some
time with him while he visited some friends in Orlando. Patrick
is the bravest person we know. He was diagnosed with AIDS
and was given a few months to live....that was 5 months ago.
He inspires us to really live life to the fullest each day.
He's quickly become one of our closest friends and we care
about him a great deal. Patrick, I hope this song gives you
a glimpse of how much you mean to us."
Patrick smiled and looked around at the guys who had all
gathered around him, and they began to sing:
Show Me The Meaning Of Being
Lonely
So many words for the broken heart
Its hard to see in a crimson love
So hard to breathe Walk with me, and maybe
Nights of light so soon become
Wild and free I can feel the sun
Your every wish will be done They tell me...
Show me the meaning of being lonely
Is this the feeling I need to walk with
Tell me why I can't be there where you are
There's something missing in my heart
Life goes on as it never ends
Eyes of stone observe the trends
They never say forever gaze
Guilty roads to an endless love
There's no control Are you with me now
Your every wish will be done They tell me
Show me the meaning of being lonely
Is this the feeling I need to walk with
Tell me why I can't be there where you are
There's something missing in my heart
There's nowhere to run I have no
place to go
Surrender my heart, body and soul
How can it be you're asking me to feel
Things you never show
You are missing in my heart
Tell me why can't I be there where you are
Show me the meaning of being lonely
Is this the feeling I need to walk with
Tell me why I can't be there where you are
There's something missing in my....heart
Tears streamed down Patrick's face as the guys sang the last
note of the song. This one had been his favorite song on the
Millennium album and he was honored that they would sing it
for him. As the final note died and the crowd's deafening
roar began, the guys circled Patrick into a group hug. Nick
and Brian led him back to the side of the stage and helped
him back down. As Patrick looked at all his friends, he noticed
tears in all of their eyes, he realized that his life did
make a difference. Patrick sat back in his seat and silently
watched the rest of the concert.
The ride back to Justin's house was full of conversations,
mainly comments here or there about the concert. Patrick sat
quietly in the passenger seat, lost in thought. As Patrick
changed into his sleeping clothes, Justin and Lance knocked
on the door and entered the bedroom. Patrick sighed and pulled
his shirt on, then turned to face his two friends.
"Are you OK?", Lance asked. "You haven't spoken
since the concert...and we're kinda concerned."
"I'm fine", Patrick said, "I just didn't expect
anything like what happened to happen...it kinda hit me hard."
"Oh", Justin replied, "Did you wanna talk
about it?"
Patrick sat down on the bed, sighing as he patted the mattress,
indicating Justin and Lance to sit beside him.
"Kevin, Chris, Howie and I had a long talk last night...",
Patrick began, "and...and we kinda hit on the whole issue
of death. I realized as I talked to them...that I am scared
of dying, of just being gone...of losing all of you. I had
thought I had come to grips with it months ago, but I was
just overwhelmed by it last night...I'm really shaken up now."
"You'll never lose us.", Lance said as a tear fell
down his cheek.
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