-make it alright-
-chapter twenty-seven-

�Am I late?� Nick asked, entering the hotel room. Sure enough, he was the last one to arrive. The four other Boys, their dates and the wardrobe stylists were already carefully picking through a selection of clothes. Nick and Melissa�s late entrance caused every head to swivel around.

�Yes, you�re late.� Kevin answered. He seemed a little stressed- or was it annoyed. Probably both. What else was new? Kevin took a shirt off its hanger and tossed it in Nick�s direction. �Try this one on?�

It was the first time Melissa had ever attended an award show with the Boys. She�d never sat in on one of their wardrobe fittings before, and it proved to be pretty interesting. Two racks of clothes had been brought into the room. With the help of their stylists, the Boys were trying on different possible outfits. All were in some state of half nudity, as they swapped clothes with one another and examined themselves in a mirror.

�If only I had a camera�Selling these pictures on e-bay would cover my student loans AND my retirement fund.� Melissa murmured out loud. Beside her, Kirsten laughed. The Boys� �significant others� had crowded together on a leather sofa, trying their best to stay out of the way. Melissa, Kirsten, Sarah and Howie�s sister, Pollyanna, were already dressed for the occasion and were waiting on their men. Leighanne was the only one not staying out of the way. She clung to Brian�s side, buttoning his shirts when needed. The sight caused Melissa to roll her eyes. The man is twenty-seven years old�you think he could get dressed without Leighanne.

Melissa watched as Leighanne stripped a shirt off of Brian. He stood bare-chested, waiting for his wife to pick out the next top. Catching sight of the large scar running across his chest caused Melissa to wince. She�d seen Brian without his shirt on before, so this was nothing new. But nevertheless, every time Melissa saw that scar, a horrible feeling caught the breath in her throat. It was a painful reminder of one of the stupidest mistakes she�d ever made in her life.

Brent told Melissa about Brian the day after prom, over breakfast at Denny�s. He would have mentioned it earlier, but Brent thought it would ruin Melissa�s prom. She�d started crying immediately, realizing what she�d done. How mean she�d been to Nick when he was in a time of need. He�d reached out to her, and she had shut him down.

She�d tried calling. Everyday for a month, she tirelessly called Nick. But it was no use. He was ignoring her calls. She understood, of course. Had she been in Nick�s position, she wouldn�t talk to herself either.

She was able to get though to Brian. She�d sent him flowers and a card. He�d called her right away. Brian thanked her for her generosity, excused her for not getting in contact with him earlier. He told her Nick was an idiot, and he�d do his best to get him to forgive Melissa. But she knew that it was hopeless.

Their friendship was lost forever. And it was all her fault. Her and her stupid stubbornness. She made a resolution that day to try and be more open-minded. It was the summer between high school and college. The last summer of her childhood. And it was the worst three months of her entire life. She stayed in bed whenever she wasn�t at dance. Crying whenever the Backstreet Boys were appeared on television or the radio. It was as if a part of her had died. And she couldn�t seem to get over it.

�You nervous about tonight?� Kirsten�s question shook Melissa out of her painful memories of the past.

Melissa shook her head away from the half-nude Brian and turned her attention to Kirsten. �Actually, I am. I�m afraid of what questions the reporters will ask, afraid of what the fans will think. Its pretty much the first real appearance Nick and I have made together. I just don�t know how people react. Its kinda unnerving.�

Kirsten couldn�t help but laugh. A confused look crossed Melissa�s face. I was being serious! What did I say that was so funny?

�Oh, honey�� Kirsten pulled Melissa into a hug. Her small hand reached out to stroke Melissa�s hair. �You�re so adorable. I was asking if you were nervous about your performance- and here you are freaking out about a little walk down the red carpet!�

�You were talking about the red carpet?� Melissa asked. When Kirsten nodded, both burst into giggles again. It was enough to cause the Boys� heads to turn around. To distract AJ from clothes was quite a difficult feat.

�What the hell is so funny?� It may have sounded angry coming out of his mouth, but Melissa knew AJ well enough to know that he was just curious.

�Girl talk, Aj. Girl talk.� Melissa said. Her laughing had subsided, and she and Kirsten were both wiping tears from their eyes. Collectively, the Boys all shook their heads before returning to the clothes.

It hadn�t been that funny of a misunderstandment. That�s just the way Melissa and Kirsten were when they got together- two giggly little schoolgirls. Though there was quite an age difference between the two, it didn�t seem to matter. Kirsten had originally taken Melissa under her wing when they met ten years before. Kirsten had been someone Melissa could look up to, a dancer she could ask for career advice OTHER then her mother. Kirsten had kept in contact with Melissa over the years, throughout the times when she�d broken up with Kevin, throughout the period where Nick and Melissa weren�t speaking. Their friendship was special, and meant a lot to both of them.

�But seriously,� Kirsten advised Melissa, after they�d calmed down. �You shouldn�t be worried about the red carpet. It may be nerve-racking, but it�s not as horrible as you seem to think. You�ll do fine.�

�I hope so.�

�So what�s Britney doing this year?� Kirsten asked curiously. �That girl never ceases to amaze me with her performances.�

Melissa shook her head, a small smile across her lips. �Nope. Not telling. You�re going to have to wait and see. But don�t worry, it won�t disappoint you.�

�I�m just surprised she�s performing again.� Kirsten commented. �What has it been? Four, five years straight of performances at the VMAs.�

�Four years,� Melissa corrected. �In �99 she did the whole high school like performance with *NSYNC. Remember they had lockers and school desks and stuff?�

Kirsten nodded. Melissa continued on. She was always happy to offer info on any of her favorite MMC alums. �2000 was the strip tease. 2001 was the snakes- and now this year makes four consecutive performances.�

�Well I�m not going to object. You�re obviously an expert.�

�Attention, attention,� The stylist announced to the room. �I think we�ve found our look.�

The boys stood together in a line, wearing their just-chosen outfits. Feeling in a silly mood, they strutted back and forth like models. Howie took off their jackets and swung them over their shoulder. Brian paced back and forth with a sassy walk. AJ and Nick were doing the Madonna �Vogue� thing- hitting various poses. And Kevin played Vanna White, carefully showcasing their most eye-catching pieces.

For such a popular group, they sure act like a bunch of geeks was Melissa�s first thought. But before she had the chance to voice that opinion, she was distracted by their outfits. Although they weren�t dressed identically, the Boys� outfits definitely had similar themes running throughout. Each boy wore at least one piece of leather matched with a cashmere top or bottom to soften up the look. They were dressed from head-to-toe in one solid color, all in the beige-tan-brown family. The group looked harmonious in D & G, and it was pleasing to the eye.

Nick especially. He�d always been a bit self-conscious, and the stylists must have picked up on that. Although it was a particularly hot Indian Summer, it didn�t stop Nick from wearing his typical several layers of clothes. Starting from the bottom, there was a button-down shirt made of raw silk in camel. Its collar peeked out over the next layer, a cashmere v-neck sweater that was one shade darker. A collarless jacket of the same color was worn on top, and hit at his hip. Thank God the jacket was short. Normally Nick was dressed in duster coats that covered up his finest asset. His butt.

And what a fine butt that was. The short jacket gave way for direct attention to his ass. His leather pants fit snugly at the top, giving way to a straight leg. I think I�ll be walking slightly BEHIND Nick tonight. Melissa smirked with the thought.

She made her way across the room towards him All the time, their eyes remained locked, neither able to tear their stare away from the other. Her arms wrapped around the middle of his back, at the bottom of his ribcage. He too encircled his arms around her. His forearms rested on her hips, hands just barely touching the small of her back. He leaned his head down to nibble on her earlobe, in between her industrial piercing and the large gold hoop she wore.

�You look amazing,� he whispered into her ear. She loved it when he did that.

�You�ve already seen me wearing this, sugar. You helped me get dressed.� Melissa reminded him.

�Well, I�m ready to help you get undressed.� He said it soft enough for no one else to hear. But the tone in which he spoke was enough to make Melissa�s knees buckle. It was a half-moan, half-growl and unbelievably sexy.

�I�d have to say the same to you,� Melissa purred back in her best interpretation of Nick�s voice. For added effect, she reached down and grabbed his leather-clad butt.

That came as a surprise, to Nick at least. He gave a small yelp, as he leapt away from Melissa. She began giggling. �I�m sorry sugar. But seeing you in leather pants got me going. I just couldn�t help myself.�

Nick�s pitiful sound was enough to catch Brian�s attention. Watching the young couple interact, he made a funny realization. �Y�all look like a Reese�s Peanut Butter Cup.�

Everyone focused his or her attention on Nick and Melissa�s outfits. With her dressed in dark brown and he in a camel-color, they did indeed look like chocolate and peanut butter.

�You think I had planned that out ahead of time,� The stylist mentioned. �You�ll look adorable together on the red carpet.�

�Speaking of which�� Ever the worry-wart, Kevin glanced at his wristwatch. �The limos should be here by now. We better head downstairs.�

And so the hustle and bustle began. The ladies ran for their purses, AJ ran for his sunglasses. Nick and Melissa left the room hand-in-hand. His thumb absent-mindedly massaged circles into the back of her hand.

�Can you believe it Liss?� He asked her. She looked up at him. His blonde hair was short and spiky, just the way she liked it best. His blue eyes seemed brighter that usual, staring at her with anxiousness.

�Believe what, sugar?� She asked. With her free hand, she reached up and fixed the collar of his shirt. Force of habit.

They�d fallen behind the rest of the group by several paces. They�d isolated themselves into their own little world, once again. Somehow, that always seemed to happen.

�We�ve finally made it. We�re both going to the Video Music Awards tonight to be recognized as performers. And we�re doing it together. God, growing up, did you ever think something like this would ever happen?� Nick was bursting with good intentions and sincerity. He smiled in a way that could only be possible if he were one hundred percent earnest. It warmed Melissa�s heart to see him so pleased.

Melissa squeezed Nick�s hand a little tighter. She smiled up at him, �Like you said, I�m just glad we�re finally here together.�

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