Chapter 13

Two years later

We moved out of our apartment and into a house. Our rooms were so much bigger. This time we actually had a kitchen, dining room, and front room. My room was directly across from Lauren's. And down the hall on Lauren's side, was Stacey's room. My entire room was covered with posters of Kevin and the Boys. I may be 25 years old, but that was my Kevin and I wanted everyone to know.

Then I discovered that they had other albums out. So I ordered as many as I could. Their new album, Millennium, had just come out. I was waiting in line at 12 am in the morning to be one of the first one's to buy it. I made Lauren and Stacey come along with me. Actually they wanted to come with me because they were a little obsessed with Howie and A.J..

As soon as we purchased our CDs, we took the CD cover out and commented on how sexy they looked. Then I remembered hearing on their interviews that Kevin and Brian had wrote a couple of songs on the album. So I looked to see which songs they had written. Then I read the thank you notes. And again I cried when I read Kevin's. It read: I dedicate Back To Your Heart to someone special that was once in my life. Pumpkin, I want to thank you for the inspiration to write this song. Love, Boo. Always and forever.

"Now why are you crying?" asked Stacey.

"He dedicated Back To Your Heart to me. He said I gave him the inspiration to write the song," I said, as the tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Oh, that's too romantic," Lauren said. "Now will you call him?"

"No, I can't. I'm too afraid," I said.

Both Lauren and Stacey sighed, while shaking their heads. When we got home I went in my room and immediately began to listen to the CD. The first song I listened to was Back To Your Heart. As soon as the song began to play I was in tears. It was the most beautiful song I had ever heard. There were no words to express how much it meant to me.

Lexington, Kentucky

"What's the matter, dear?" Ann asked.

"Oh, nothing," replied Kevin.

"Shouldn't you be happy? Your fourth album has come out and they're selling out fast," Ann said while smiling at her son.

"Thanks, Mom," Kevin said. Then he asked, "Do you think she read it?"

"I'm sure she has, dear," Ann said, reassuringly.

"What if she doesn't like it? Do you think she'll call? Maybe I shouldn't have dedicated it to her? Maybe she'll be mad at me?" Kevin said, thinking out loud.

"She could never be mad at you for writing from your heart. Now stop moping around here. Aren't you supposed to meet up with some of your friends?" Ann asked.

"Yeah, I guess I better get going," he said.

New York

The next couple of months were full of Backstreet Mania. They were on their world tour and soon they would be on their US tour. Everyone was preparing to buy tickets for the concert because the dates had just been announced.

It was August 14th, the day the tickets went on sale. Lauren, Stacey, and I got up early to stand in line. We brought bagels, Skip-Bo, and our CD players. We stood line for hours waiting for the tickets to go on sale. They finally passed out the lottery tickets. Then we had to wait another half an hour before they called the number.

They finally called out the number, 920210. I immediately burst into tears as I read my number, 920209. I was one number before it, which meant I was the very last person. I had absolutely no chance of getting tickets. I looked at Lauren's and Stacey's lottery tickets and their numbers were a little better, but not much.

Then we searched around for someone who would buy our tickets, but we had no luck. Everyone was already buying the maximum number of tickets for other people. So we found our closest place in line and stood there. We were about in the middle of the line when a lady came out and announced that the show was sold out. We picked up our things and got out of line. Then we quietly got into the car and left.

"Hey, I've got an idea! How about we go to the mall and spend some money? That always makes us feel better," Stacey said happily.

"No, thanks. You two can go shopping. I just want to go home and be by myself," I said, gloomily.

"Okay, if that's what you want," said Lauren.

They dropped me off at home and then they headed to the mall. I went into my room and turned on my Millennium CD. I went out into the kitchen and grabbed a Klondike Bar. Then I went back into my room and grabbed my bear and sat down on my bed. I was so disappointed that I wouldn't be able to see Kevin, I began to cry.

In the car

Lauren pulled out her cell phone and called Rick, her boss, while Stacey drove.

"Hi, Rick. This is Lauren. Did you get the tickets?"

"Yep. Three front row tickets and one backstage pass, as you requested."

"Oh, thank you so much. You're a saint. I owe you big time."

"I told you I had connections. Plus, it's for Janel, so I don't mind."

"Okay, now you have to promise not to tell her."

"I promise."

"Okay, good. We're on our way now to pick up the tickets."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye, Rick."

"So he got them?" asked Stacey excitedly.

"Yep, three tickets and one backstage pass, just for Janel," Lauren said, happily.

"She owes us big time. But she'll probably hate us for getting her backstage. She says she's not ready to see Kevin, but it's about time those two lovebirds got together again," Stacey said.

The girls picked up the tickets and then went to the mall. Once there, they bought everything they wanted. They were extremely happy, so they bought a little more than usual. Once they had gone over on their limit, they decided to head home.

"Janel, we're home! Where are you?" Lauren called out.

"I'm in my room watching t.v.!" I yelled.

They came in my room with bags in their hands. They had three bags in each hand and a couple more inside other bags.

"So did you spend enough money to make yourself feel better?" I asked while staring at their bags.

"I guess," Stacey said, happily.

"Oh yeah! And we also bought you a couple of things," Lauren said.

She pulled out a black skirt and a white button up shirt with three quarter sleeves. Then Stacey pulled out a navy blue tube top and khaki overalls.

"We thought you would look adorable in these. That and we hoped they would make you feel better," Stacey said.

"Thank guys. I'm going to go try them on," I said as I ran into the bathroom.

First I tried on the skirt and white shirt. Then I went out and modeled it for them.

"What do you think?" I asked as I turned around.

"Perfect. Just the way I thought it would look," replied Stacey.

"Yep," agreed Lauren.

"Kevin's going to drop dead when he sees her wearing that," whispered Stacey as I walked back into the bathroom.

Lauren smiled and said, "That's exactly why I picked it out."

The concert was in a couple of months. I tried not to think about it, but it wasn't exactly that easy. I tried to win tickets in every contest there was. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luck to win anything.

The day of the concert arrived and I was really depressed.

"Oh, come on Janel. Cheer up!" Stacey said, being perky as usual. "It's not the end of the world," she said as I was getting ready for work.

"I know, but it's the end of my world. I just wanted to see him in concert," I said.

"Why don't you just go to work and keep yourself busy. That should help you to keep your mind off of it," she said.

"Okay. I'll see you later," I said as I walked out the door.

Hotel Room

Knock! Knock!

"Kev, are you in here?" Brian called out.

"Yeah, cuz. Come on in," Kevin said.

"What are you doing?" asked Brian, as he looked at his cousin sitting on the couch staring at nothing.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking," said Kevin.

"About Janel, right?" Brian questioned.

"Why haven't I heard from her? She probably doesn't even know that I'm in a group. Or what if she's not out there?" Kevin suggested.

"Don't think like that Kev. I'm sure she's out there somewhere, just waiting to see you," Brian said.

Then Nick, Howie, and A.J. walked in.

"Hey guys, what's up?" A.J. asked.

"Oh, nothing. Train and I were just talking," Brian said.

"Oh. Well do you guys want to go play some basketball? Please, it'll be fun," begged Nick.

"Sure, let's go. I need to get out of this hotel room," Kevin said.

All five guys grabbed their disguises and headed out.

Janel's Work

"Hi, Janel. What's up?" asked Lauren with Stacey standing beside her.

"Nothing. Why are you two here?" I asked, worried.

It was only 4:30 and they worked until 6:00 p.m..

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Nothing is wrong. We just have plans for tonight and if we want to make it on time, you have to leave work now," Stacey explained.

"What plans? And I can't leave work right now," I said.

"Yes, you can. Rick already agreed to let you go early. Now shut your computer off, grab your purse and let's go," Lauren said.

I did as I was told and followed them. We got down to the parking lot and there was a limousine waiting for us. I got in and there were three outfits laying out. They had picked out my black skirt and white shirt for me.

"We picked up our clothes first before we came and got you," Stacey said.

"So where are we headed to now?" I asked.

"First we are going to have dinner and then at 5:45 p.m. we have an appointment at Sally's. They're going to do our hair and make-up for us," Lauren explained.

"Okay," I said, curiously.

We arrived at the restaurant and we were immediately seated. We ordered and then I began to question them again.

"Where are we going? We're not going on blind dates tonight, are we? This is really sweet of you two, but it's not going to work," I said.

"What's not going to work?" asked Stacey innocently.

I gave them both a look that meant, don't play stupid.

"You're trying to get my mind off of Kevin and the concert. So instead of me staying home and moping around, we're doing something to keep me busy. Thanks, but no thanks. I just want to go home," I said.

"Oh, no you don't. We have plans and you can't back out of them. Believe me, you'll have fun. Now I don't want to hear another word about it," Stacey said.

"Fine then," I said, agreeing reluctantly.

The rest of dinner we just chit chatted about work and other fun stuff. After we finished eating we left for Sally's. They let us use their bathroom to change. Once I had changed, I began to feel better. I promised myself to try and have a good time tonight no matter what we were doing. We sat down in the chairs and closed our eyes. When we opened our eyes again, we looked like different women. That's when it hit me that I had grown up so much, since I had moved to New York. I felt like a different person as I stared into the mirror.

"So what do you ladies think?" asked the hair dresser.

"Perfect," we said in unison.

Then the three of us just sat there looking at each other in the mirrors.

"Okay, are we just going to sit here all night and look at ourselves or are we going to have some fun!" I said, excitedly.

Both Lauren and Stacey looked at me curiously.

"What? I changed my mind. I've decided that I just want to have fun tonight," I said.

"That's the right attitude!" Stacey said, happily.

We got up and walked out to our awaiting limousine. They kept me talking the entire ride, so I didn't notice where we were.

"Okay girls. We're here," said the driver.

I was the first to step out. Once I did I was shocked to see us standing in front of the concert arena. Little girls were running around with their Backstreet Boys T-shirts on.

"Surprise!" yelled Stacey and Lauren as they held my ticket and backstage pass in front of me.

"Oh my God!" I screamed. "How? When? But it sold out?" I asked shocked as I slowly took the tickets.

"We were actually kind of glad that we didn't get tickets. We had already made plans for Rick to get us three front row tickets and a backstage pass," Lauren explained.

"Only one backstage pass?" I questioned.

"Yes. One for you, and only you. It's about time you see Kevin again," Stacey said.

"No, I can't. I'm not ready," I said as I began to panic.

"Don't worry. All you have to do is let him know that you're here. You can give him your phone number and then leave, if you want to," Lauren said.

"Okay," I said as we went inside.

We went in and found our seats. I could feel the electricity flowing through the building. The lights went out and we stood up and began to scream. Smoke came out and then I saw them flying above us. Then they landed right in front of us. When I saw Kevin that close I began to cry tears of happiness. I couldn't believe he was that close to me.

The concert was extremely exciting. I kept my eyes on Kevin the whole entire time. I enjoyed the entire concert, but my favorite part was when Kevin came out of the center on the piano. I immediately recognized the song. He played a little bit of the beginning and then dedicated the song to me. I couldn't believe he actually dedicated it to me at the concert. I tried not to cry, but I couldn't help it.

When the concert was over Lauren, Stacey, and I followed a group of girls with backstage passes. Then we had to show the bodyguards our passes, if we wanted to get any further. I turned to my friends and gave them a big hug.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome," Lauren said.

"Now go in there and get your man!" Stacey yelled.

I laughed and then I showed the bodyguard my pass. He looked at it and then he let me through. I went back and there were five groups of girls hovering around each guy. My stomach was filled with butterflies. After standing there for a couple of minutes, I gathered up the nerve to walk over to where Kevin was.

The girls kept grabbing him and taking pictures of him. Then they wanted his autograph. All I wanted to do was give him my phone number and then leave. Finally he reached out his hand and I grabbed it. I pulled myself through the crowd. I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine. Then I placed the note in his hands. I let go and made my way through the crowd. Then I headed towards the exit.