Chapter 6: In Sync With ‘N SYNC and Gettin’ Down with BSB.

"Guess who!" JC heard a voice say as two hands covered his eyes.

"Could that be my favorite girl on this tour?" he guessed with a smile.

The hands moved and Jane plopped down beside him on the couch in ‘N SYNC’s dressing room. JC had been catching up on his favorite hobby: sleeping.

He and Jane were very much alike in many ways but mostly in that they both loved to sleep and were very talkative. It may as well have been their love of talking that brought the two together. They could sit for hours and just talk about anything and everything under the sun. Often the other members of ‘N SYNC and Lavish had to hide the telephones in the buses to make sure that the two didn’t stay up all night talking to each other.

"You girls finished rehearsing already?" JC asked Jane.

"Yeah, and I’ve got absolutely awesome news!" Jane replied excitedly.

"Well, tell me before you have a heart-attack, girl!" JC laughed.

"OK! Tasha just got off the phone with Jive and, in two weeks in L.A., we’re going to shoot out first music video!" the words all came tumbling out of Jane’s mouth in an ecstatic flood, "It’s for "Come Back To Me"."

"That’s wonderful! Congratulations!" JC said and gave her a huge hug.

"This is gonna be so great! I still can’t believe it! I have to go and find Melissa! I’ll see you later, ‘kay?" Jane gave him a soft, gentle kiss on the lips and ran off to find her friend.

JC watched as she hurried out the door and then went back to dozing with a smile.

---

Meanwhile, Becky and Justin were in the cafeteria. "Thanks for taking me out for lunch, Justin." Becky said, "It was nice."

"It was even nicer with you there." he replied sweetly, touching her hand.

Becky smiled. Justin was an awesome guy and she really liked him. A lot! They had been on a few dates recently and she was growing to like him more and more. He was so sweet and polite and respectful and funny, not to mention very good-looking.

Little did Becky knew that she and Justin were practically on the same brainwave; he really, really liked her, too. But he wasn’t quite sure just how to actually tell her.

Maybe he should talk to the guys about this.

---

"You’re really sprung on sweet little Becky, aren’t ya, Curly?" Joey asked as he and his fellow ‘N SYNCers sat on their bus later that day.

Justin smiled broadly. "Yeah! I mean, I really do like her a lot, guys!" he replied earnestly.

"We know ya do, Justin." Lance told his friend.

"So what do you guys suggest I do about it?"

Chris, Joey, JC, and Lance thought for a while. "We really can’t tell ya, Justin." JC said, "This is something I think that you should work out on your own. Just follow your heart, man."

Justin nodded; that seemed like a good idea.

---

"And 5-6-7-8! Right, left, right, turn! 1-2-3 and 4! That’s it!" Fatima directed Lavish with a commanding voice.

The girls and Fatima had taken advantage of a few spare moments to run through their dance routines. As they all sat down to rest later, Melissa came up to Becky.

"So how are things going with you and Justin?" she asked, a teasing hint in her voice.

Becky smiled. "Well, we’ve been hanging out a lot together and talking and stuff, and I really like him. I think he likes me, too." she replied a little shyly. Becky was sweet that way.

"Of course he does!" Melissa told her friend with a grin.

The two talked for a little while more and then Becky got up from her seat. "I’m gonna go and change, OK?" she said and made her way back to the dressing room. When she got there, she found a single red rose with an envelope attached to it that was addressed to her.

She sat down with the rose in her lap and opened the envelope. Inside was a beautiful poem for her and it was signed "Affectionately, Justin." Becky never revealed to her friends what the poem said but always kept it close to her heart where Justin had also now found a very special place.

---

"Hold still, Mel!" Nick ordered with a smile.

Melissa chuckled and then became as still as a statue again, perched on a swing on the set of Lavish’s first video "Come Back To Me".

Nick had pleaded to sketch her likeness on the beautiful set which was made to look like an indoor garden where Melissa would portray one of the female characters in the video who was begging for her lost love to return to her.

Each girl had her own set where she was depicted as mourning the loss of a dear love. Some big names studded the video. Among them was Cruel Intentions’ Ryan Phillipe, who had been asked to star as Melissa’s boyfriend.

Melissa swung her feet back and forth beneath the long skirt of her baby blue satin dress as Nick drew. "Are you done yet?" she asked.

Nick bit his bottom lip for a second. "Just about….done!" he announced. "What do you think?" He turned the sketch pad around to display his work. He had captured Melissa almost exactly.

"It may as well have been taken by a camera!" she said proudly and gave him a sweet kiss as a reward for his labor.

This was the last of two days of filming that the girls were doing. They all had to admit that taping a video was a lot of work but it was also tons of fun! Nick and Melissa walked off the set and found the others out getting lunch in the front of the studio.

"Where have you two been?" Kevin asked, looking up from his lunch at the two.

Melissa spun a dramatic ballerina turn. "Posing for Master da Vinci!" she answered Kev’s question.

Nick shook his head at his girlfriend. She had been unusually happy and good-humored lately. She couldn’t explain it; it was one of her better moods.

"Careful, Missy! Don’t jump around too much," Tasha cautioned with a smile, "Or you’ll ruin your elegant coiffure (hairstyle)! You still have the rest of your scene to shoot."

Melissa touched the pile of curls atop her head. Lisa Canning, the stylist for the video, had done a great job with her hair. The other girls had finished their scenes either the day before or earlier that morning. Melissa’s was the last to do and they would be finished.

The girls had had the privilege of working with such actors as Freddie Prinze, Jr., Ricky Martin, and Mark Wahlberg during this video shoot. Such big names in a music video was often unheard of but Nina wanted Lavish’s entrance into the music business to be a big deal. The girls were very grateful for all the trouble he had gone through. The video was also directed by a friend of the Backstreet Boys’, Mr. Billy Woodruff.

"Mich, did Billy say what time he wants me back on the set?" Melissa asked her friend who was placidly perched on AJ’s lap.

Michelle took AJ’s Phat Farm bucket hat and placed it on her own head as she looked at her watch. "Um, Billy said he wants you back at 1:30. It’s 12:40 now." she replied.

"OK!" Melissa nodded.

Nick looked around. "Where’s Jane?" he asked.

"Out with JC, where else?" Becky, who had just walked up, replied with a smile. "They went to check out the sights around LA."

Melissa smiled. Jane and JC were practically inseparable now. In fact, all of the couples on this tour were getting tighter and tighter. Jane and JC were indeed always together; Becky and Justin were hardly ever seen apart; AJ and Michelle practically shared the same life, they were so much alike; Melissa had to split her time between Nick and Aaron and often had to go into hiding just to get some time to herself; and Kev and Tasha were becoming very closely-knit. But, in spite of all the romances unfolding among them, everyone on the tour were all one big happy family.

Melissa laughed as AJ and Michelle clowned around. They really did practically share the same life; they were so much like each other. One night, a few weeks ago, AJ had challenged Michelle to an insult contest. The battle was fierce but Michelle eventually won the day. But this little venture had only heightened AJ’s interest in her; and he had continued to seek a relationship with Michelle, which wasn’t too awfully hard considering that she already liked him. Sure, they fought sometimes but it was never serious, and was mostly about stuff like clothes and fashion, about which Michelle had some very strong, and often humorous, views.

"I am sorry, but those outfits that the Dixie Chicks had on at the Grammy’s were complete and total rig-ups!" Michelle declared. "Rig-up" was a word created and coined by Michelle Taylor. It was her word for an absolute fashion "don’t"! She often saw lots of them, and she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind about them either. That’s just Michelle for ya!

Melissa thought back over the past two months of the tour. It had been absolutely awesome so far! But it had also been a lot of work. The girls had all learned that tour life is indeed busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy! Most mornings, they were up at the crack of dawn with rehearsals and promo interviews and Meet ‘N Greets and sound checks. Then there was the actual concert that night. Then, finally, they had to pack up and drive off to another city to do it all again. And there were still two months of the tour left!

Tasha and Melissa had kept in touch with Nina all the while on the tour, discussing such business as the release dates for Lavish’s first single and debut CD. They were also discussing a promotional tour for the girls during the next twelve months. Being the most business-minded of the five girls, Tasha and Melissa were always attending to the corporate matters of the group. It was often a funny sight to see the two girls, the youngest and eldest of Lavish, seated at the table in the kitchen of the bus, with Tasha’s laptop in front of her and a notebook in front of Melissa as she talked on her cel-phone with Nina.

One day, they were having such a meeting. Tasha was checking the e-mail on her laptop and sending updates to the webmasters of their brand-new website while Melissa chatted on the phone with Nina.

"Girls, the video turned out absolutely awesome! You all did a great job!" she congratulated them.

"Thanks! It was really lots of fun! Thanks for all the work you put into it, Nina. That really meant a lot." Melissa replied.

"Anything for my girls!" Nina answered, "Where’s Tasha?"

"Oh, she’s sending updates to Jess and Alex for the website." said Melissa, glancing over at her friend.

"Missy, tell Nina that we have had 500 hits on our website already!" Tasha announced.

"Cool!" Melissa replied and relayed the good news to Nina.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed.

They chatted a while more and then Melissa hung up.

Tasha switched off her laptop and closed it with a sigh. "That’s done."

Melissa nodded and went to put her cel-phone away in her bag.

She heard noise coming from the entertainment room. She poked her head into the room where Justin and Becky were curled up, watching TV.

"Hey, guys!" she said brightly.

"Oh, hi, Melissa!" Becky greeted her friend, "What’s up?"

Melissa shrugged. "Nothin’ much! I just got off the phone with Nina. She’s really happy that things are going so well."

Justin smiled. "Yeah! You girls are setting up to make the biggest debut anyone’s ever seen." he commented.

Melissa’s mouth turned up in a small grin. "Well, I’ll leave you two alone now." she said and made her exit.

As the door closed behind her, Becky turned to Justin. "Did you mean what you said?" she asked.

"About what?"

"About us making the biggest debut ever?"

"Of course! You girls have a slammin’ album set up from what tracks you’ve let me hear; your performances rock; and your first video’s top of the line! All in all, I think you girls will do fine!" he replied sincerely, kissing her cheek.

Becky smiled quietly. Justin always knew how to reassure her. They had only been dating about a month but it seemed as if she had known him her whole life. She was just so comfortable around him; she felt as if they could talk about anything and everything. She always found a great conversational companion in Justin. He liked to talk about the deep things. They had often gotten in discussions about such things as love and relationships and life and God. They each had profound interest in what the other had to say. There was never a wasted word between them; and that was extremely assuring.

Meanwhile, outside, Lance was walking by the Backstreet Boys tour bus when he saw Melissa and Nick hanging out near it. They were talking together, quite oblivious to anything else around them.

Lance stopped for a moment and looked at them. Melissa was wearing the cutest baby blue tee and long blue skirt with white stripes, and her hair fell loosely about her shoulders, harnessed only by the white headband that she had on. She was smiling and laughing at something Nick had said; she was always prettiest when she was happy. Her eyes would just light up and her smile would be so bright that….Lance stopped himself. He had to stop doing this! He had to stop torturing himself! Melissa had made her decision and she had been totally honest with him. Surely that counted for something.

"But," Lance thought to himself solemnly as Nick wrapped his arms around Melissa in a huge hug, "Sometimes I wish she had lied to me and let me keep my dream." With one last look at the couple, he passed on without so much as a word.

Just then, he bumped into JC who was on his way back to their bus for his jacket. One look at Lance’s face and he knew that something was wrong. "Scoop, what’s wrong, man?" he asked.

Lance said nothing but glanced back at Nick and Melissa; JC nodded knowingly. "You want to talk about it, man?" he asked his friend.

Lance shrugged his shoulders. "What is there to talk about? I’m in love with her. End of story." he replied.

"Lance, man, you can’t keep his up! You’re letting it eat away at you. She was honest with you; she didn’t lead you on like some girls would have." JC pointed out.

"I know! But that only makes me love her more. What am I gonna do, JC? I can’t live like this!"

JC put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. "You’ve gotta let her go and accept her decision." he told the 20 year old young man, "Lance, she wants to keep you as a friend. That’s gotta count for something."

Lance looked seriously at his friend as his own thoughts came flooding back to him. He knew JC was right; he had to stop living in the past. Melissa was willing to be his friend. That was better than nothing. Lance nodded and JC smiled.

"It’ll be OK, man! Things always work out, you’ll see." JC said and walked off back to the bus while Lance continued on to the cafeteria with a new outlook on things.

Chapter 7: You’re the One I Want; You’re the One I Need!

"JC! Stop! I can’t take it! Stop!" Jane’s voice, laced with laughter, cried out Ninadly.

JC just laughed himself and continued to tickle her mercilessly. "Say it!" he demanded, "Say it!"

"OK! OK! I give up!" Jane finally conceded, tears running down her face.

True to his word, JC ceased tickling her and let her sit up on the couch.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You’re impossible, you know that?" she told him.

"And that’s why you love me!" he chuckled.

Jane put her arms around his neck with a smile. "Right. That’s why I love you." she agreed and kissed his lips sweetly.

JC pulled her close, lengthening the kiss. Jane was an awesome girl! He’d never met anyone so much like himself but so different at the same time. They complemented each other really well.

The other day, JC, along with the rest of ‘N SYNC, had been interviewed by a BOP reporter at the Firstar Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. That was the first time that JC and Justin had officially announced they had girlfriends. Of course, those girlfriends were Jane and Becky. Carrie, the reporter, had been fairly surprised, since the guys of ‘N SYNC had been single for most of the time that she known them.

JC and Just revealed no vital information about the girls, for they believed in protecting Jane and Becky’s privacy. All they did admit was that they were dating people who were in the performing industry. That was it.

Both Jane and Becky had been extremely touched that the guys had admitted publicly that they were involved. It was a big step for all of them.

When Becky asked Justin why he didn’t keep their relationship to himself, as most people would have done, he replied, "Why keep it a secret that I have the most amazing girlfriend in the entire world? That’s something I want to share with the whole universe! I love you, Rebekah."

At this, Becky started crying. She could tell that Justin meant it when he said he loved her, and that touched her beyond measure.

"I love you, too." she whispered and kissed him quietly.

---

Meanwhile, Nick and Melissa were sitting together in the BSB dressing room. The other guys had left to do various activities, leaving the two teenagers alone in the room. They sat together cozily on the couch and talked.

Melissa leaned back in Nick’s arms and looked up at him. His face was still and his eyes seemed to be focused on something very far away. "Nick, is something wrong?" she asked.

He snapped out of his trance and glanced down at her. "What? I’m sorry, Mel, did you say something?"

Melissa sat up on the couch. "Yes. I asked if you were OK." she replied.

Lowering his head, Nick ran his hand through his honey-golden hair and sighed.

Melissa placed her hand on his cheek and lifted his face so he was looking at her. "Baby, what’s wrong? You can tell me."

"I really don’t know, Melissa. It’s just that....I was kinda worried what will happen when I finally have to admit to the public that I have a girlfriend. I mean, I admire JC and Justin for doing what they did and I’m willing and ready to do the same, but I’m not willing to put you in a position where people can hurt you." he started to explain.

Melissa nodded, knowing what he meant. Nick was the most popular of the five guys and he was afraid of how the fans would accept this. When Brian had announced some months ago that he had a girlfriend, it had caused a general uproar in the BSB fan base. Most of the fans had come to accept it now and a lot of then even liked Leighanne but there were still some who had a mean attitude when it came to her.

Melissa knew that Nick was afraid that would happen with her. She smiled, touched that he thought so much of her well-being. "Nick, I know that it won’t go over well with your fans at first but I will try my very best to show them that I know and appreciate how lucky I am to have such a wonderful guy as you. I know you’re worried but it will work; we’ll make it work. Those girls out there, deep down, want what will make you happy and, if that’s me, I’m sure they will accept it. We just gotta have faith." she said, placing her hand over his reassuringly.

Nick smiled a little and took hold of her hand. "You are always so sure, Melissa." he commented.

"Now, Nick, you know that’s not true. I just have faith in your fans. They’re all sensible girls and ladies, and I know that they will be grown-up about this. They love you too much to make you upset."

Nick mulled the thought over in his mind. Then he smiled again. "How did I end up with such a wise and clever girl?" he asked Melissa, leaning forward.

"’Twas written in the stars." she replied with a smile of her own, and leaning forward herself, she gave him a huge hug.

"Are you sure?" Nick questioned as he stroked her dark hair.

"Yes," she answered. Something in her quickened as she thought, "I’m ready."

---

"NO! Get out of my face, you jerk!" Michelle’s angry screams could be heard all the way down the hall and brought the others running!

"What the...?!" Kevin ducked just in time as a vase flew over his head and smashed into the wall!

"Mich, you’re lucky that didn’t hit Kev!" AJ exclaimed.

Michelle’s dark eyes flashed fire. "You’re lucky that didn’t hit you like it was supposed to!" she growled, pointing to the shattered vase.

"What is going on here?" Melissa demanded, stepping past Kevin into the room. She was shocked to find broken glasses by the wall, couch cushions strewn all over the room, and a red mark on AJ’s face where Michelle had slapped him!

"Get him out of my sight before I kill him!" Michelle shouted, pointing at AJ.

"But, Mich, I...." he started but was cut short as she hurled his backpack at him.

"Get out! NOW!" she ordered furiously.

"Come on, Bone." Brian said and the guys led their friend out of the room.

Tasha shut the door behind them and the girls watched as Michelle paced the room like a caged animal; she was really angry.

"Are you gonna tell us what happened before you explode?" Jane questioned her best friend.

"That.....that no-good, two-timing, worthless jerk cheated on me!" Michelle blurted, enraged.

"What?!" The girls all looked at each other. It couldn’t be! AJ was loyal to a fault.

"What happened, Mich?" Becky asked, sitting Michelle down on the couch. The other girls joined them.

Suddenly, Michelle broke into a flood of angry tears. "He kissed Amanda!" she sobbed, "I saw them kissing in the parking lot earlier today. AJ said...."

---

"....I didn’t mean to! Manda just showed up today. She asked if it was truly over between us. I told her yes and then she asked if she could have one last kiss good-bye. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. I went to give her a little peck but she pulled me into it. I had forgotten what she kissed like, and I just lost it for a second." AJ explained to the guys in another room far down the hall.

"And Michelle saw you?" Howie guessed.

AJ nodded. "Aw, man! I’ve really done it now. I wish I could say I didn’t like that kiss but I did. I mean, Amanda and I were together for so long. But I really love Michelle. How could I have done this?" He hid his face in his hands in self-reproach. "She’ll never speak to me again."

The guys really didn’t know what to say; they had never dealt with something like this among them before.

---

"Mich, calm down." Melissa urged her friend who was crying almost hysterically.

Michelle just shook her head and cried all the harder. "How could he do this to me?!" she asked brokenly.

"I don’t know, sweetie. But I’m sure there was nothing in it." Tasha sympathetically tried to comfort the girl.

But, deep inside, she and the others were angry at AJ. They knew he could lose control sometimes but they couldn’t believe this.

For the rest of the afternoon, they tried to comfort Michelle; the guys did the same for AJ. But, needless to say, the concert that night didn’t really go all that well.

Becky and Jane told Justin and JC what had happened, and Joey tried to talk to Michelle because he and her were good friends. But even he did no good.

Because of the tension that had arisen between Lavish and the Backstreet Boys, the girls declared that none of the guys were allowed on their bus where the guys had always hung out. They were afraid of what might happen. Plus, the other girls were still angry at AJ, too.

Michelle was angry for days. Whenever you tried to say something about AJ, she would either give you the evil eye, the cold shoulder, or say cuttingly, "AJ who?"

Meanwhile, AJ was miserable! Each night, he would mask his pain and go out on stage; but, the minute the performance was over, he sank right back into a state of depression. Michelle was his life; he loved her! But he understood where she was coming from and would gladly have moved Heaven and Earth for her if it was possible.

Michelle acted as if he didn’t even exist anymore. Whenever she saw him coming, she would head off in the opposite direction; she hadn’t spoken his name in days. It was tearing him up inside.

One day, Nick found AJ crying out by the tour bus.

"Bone, man, you OK?" he asked, sitting down next to his friend.

"No, man! I’m dyin’ without Michelle! I miss her so much!" AJ moaned sadly, wiping his cheeks.

"I know ya do, AJ." Nick said gently.

"I just wish I could go back and change things. If it wasn’t for my stupidity, none of this would have happened! I never should have agreed to that kiss!" AJ continued his self-reproach angrily. Two large tears spilled over onto his cheeks again. "I love her, Nick! I want her. I need her!"

Nick nodded; he knew that this declaration came straight from AJ’s heart.

Little did either of them know that Michelle had heard every word. She had been coming around the tour bus and, just as she was about to turn the corner, she happened on Nick and AJ’s conversation.

Normally, she would have put as much distance as she could between her and AJ but something told her to stay and listen.

When she heard AJ say he loved her, all her anger melted away and her heart ached afresh. Honestly, she felt so incomplete, her arms and heart so empty, without AJ. She loved him, she really did, but her trust in him had been broken, her faith shaken; and that was something that was very hard to get back.

Almost in tears, Michelle fled from the tour bus before the guys heard her.

For a long time, she sat alone on the highest level of the arena where they were play the following night. Up there, she did a lot of thinking and even more crying. It was a whole two hours before the other girls found her.

"Mich, are you OK?" Melissa asked, coming up the steps to the level.

Michelle said nothing but shook her head pathetically. The girls sat beside and around their friend, very concerned for her.

Michelle’s face was tear-streaked and her eyes red from crying.

"Is it about AJ?" Becky questioned gently.

Mich nodded. "I still love him," she admitted, "But I’m so afraid that I can’t trust him again, I..." She couldn’t go on.

"Michelle, I gotta be honest with ya. AJ is simply miserable without you. He’s a walking, broken, bleeding heart. He never smiles or laughs anymore, and he’s constantly beating himself up for what he’s done." Jane told her best friend slowly, "He’s genuinely sorry and would like another chance."

Michelle looked from Jane to each one of the other girls, reading their faces. She knew they were telling the truth; they never lied to her.

Suddenly, she shocked them all by smiling a little and saying, "Could you please tell AJ that I want, no, I would like to talk to him?"

Soon, AJ and Michelle were shut up together in the BSB bus where they talked for several hours. No one ever knew exactly what was said in there but, when they finally emerged, they told the others that they had agreed to give it another try.

"But we’re gonna take it a bit slower this time." Michelle said.

"Trust is a hard thing to rebuild but I will try, with every fiber of my being, to restore your faith in me! I swear it to you, Michelle!" AJ got on his knees and made this vow before the entire crew, sealing it with a kiss to her hands.

Michelle said nothing but just smiled; that gave AJ the answer and hope he was looking for.

Chapter 8: The Special Times

"Once we were lovers, just lovers we were. Oh, what a lie! And once we were dreamers, just dreamers we were, both you and I." Kevin softly crooned the lyrics of "10,000 Promises" as he played away on the keyboards.

Tasha smiled quietly as she lay her head on his shoulder while he played; this was her favorite song.

Soon, Kevin concluded the song and sweetly kissed her forehead. Tasha raised her head and gazed into his beautiful green eyes. She loved him so much!

Not a word was said between the two as Kevin gently drew her close to him and kissed her lips softly. Tasha melted against him; she loved to feel his strong arms around her. It was with him that she felt completely and totally safe.

Soon, they pulled apart and Tasha sighed as she gazed at Kev. "I can’t believe the tour is over in three days." she said, leaning against him.

"I know! It’s amazing how fast the time flies but, in a way, I’m happy it’s almost over. I’m tired." Kevin replied. Tour life really took its toll on him.

Tasha nodded; it was tiring being on tour for four months. But, soon it would be over and they would be with their families again.

The couple soon got up and walked outside to get some air. There they saw Nick and Melissa and Michelle and AJ talking.

"Hey, Train! Hey, Nikita!" AJ called out to his friends. "Nikita" was Tasha’s nickname because she loved to watch the television show "La Femme Nikita"; it was one of her favorites.

"Hey, Bone!" Tasha replied with a smile.

"Hey, guys, pass the word around. My hotel room on Thursday night after the closing concert, OK?" Kevin told the group.

"OK, Kev! But why?" Nick asked.

Kevin smiled. "You’ll see. It’s just a little something to celebrate an awesome tour." was his answer.

Three days later, the National Car Rental Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL was rockin’! It was the closing concert of the Generation X-cellent tour and anything went! Melissa and the other girls switched the AJ’s outfit for one number. He was in a hurry and didn’t stop to think until he was back out on stage in a completely different outfit than the other Boys!! Playing it off, he just smiled, commented something about this is what happens when you get dressed in the dark, and performed. But later, he caught up to the girls and gave them all a good-natured thrashing for their trouble.

Later in the show, JC and Justin pulled Joey’s chair out from under him as they were singing "For the Girl Who Has Everything"! Poor Joey fell flat on his derrière in front of everybody! While the other struggled to keep from howling out loud, Joey just sat there, smiled, and sang the rest of the song.

The crowd roared with laughter at the bands’ antics!

When Aaron was singing "I’m Gonna Miss You Forever", all five members of Lavish came out and tormented him with kisses. Melissa was the last one, but Aaron cut the last note of the song short and took off after her across the stage. He tackled her to the ground and gave her a HUGE kiss right back!

But, in spite of all the pranks and antics, the show went really well. Back at the hotel, when everyone had showered and stuff, the whole crew gathered in Kevin’s room for his surprise.

When they had all found seats, Kev popped a video into the VCR and pressed "Play". Soon, the group was looking a home video that he had made during the tour. There were shots of Lavish’s first performance, their numerous trips to malls and theme parks, Howie and JC’s birthday party, Melissa and Aaron playing video games, the whole gang hanging out, and even a few shots of some of the couples sharing a smooch here or a hug there. The music that played in the background of the video was Celine Dion’s "These Are the Special Times." When the video was done, most of the group was in tears.

"This has been an awesome tour, guys!" Brian commented with a broad smile.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, we’ve all had fun."

"We made new friends!" Aaron chimed in as he hugged Melissa, who smiled.

"And found new loves." JC agreed, planting a quiet kiss on Jane’s lips.

"I’ve had the best time of my life!" Becky exclaimed.

"Me, too!" put in AJ.

"Let’s always remember this tour and how close we became." Howie said.

"Always," Nick murmured, touching Melissa’s hair.

"Hey, guys! I have an idea!" said Joey.

"What?" asked Michelle.

"Let’s add another three months onto the tour and do this all over again!" he replied with a laugh.

"Joey!!!" His suggestion was met with a hail of pillows and cushions.

Tasha smiled. "But this truly has been a great four months!"

"Let’s sing one last song before we part ways." proposed Justin.

"Good idea! What can we sing?" Lance wondered.

"How about Boys II Men’s "End of the Road"? That seems to fit." offered Nick.

"Yeah. Good choice, Frack!" Brian said, patting his friend on the back.

He and JC set the pitches and they started with the chorus. "Although we’ve come to the end of the road, still I can’t let go! It’s so natural! You belong to me! I belong to you!"

The sixteen voices blended beautifully and filled the room as they sang their last song together. As the curtain fell on those four wonderful months, they all knew that they’d never forget the friendships forged, the paths walked, the loves found, and the commitments made. This tour would always hold the music of their hearts.

The End