Chapter Two: Here We Go
All
you people
Can’t you see
Can’t you see
How your love’s affecting out reality
Every time we’re down you can make it right
That makes you larger than life
Brian, Nick and Rylee entered the restaurant several minutes after 7. Rylee had finally decided to wear a light blue sundress, and Nick was teasing her about taking so long to get ready. "You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were nervous about meeting these friends of ours."
Rylee groaned. Nick had also been teasing her during the ride to the restaurant about their "friends". "Can’t you just tell me who they are? Why is it such a big secret?"
"Because," Brian replied, as they followed the matire’d to a private room, "it’s so much more fun this way!" He chuckled in anticipation, knowing what Rylee’s reaction would be to their "surprise". He led the way into the room.
Rylee followed right behind him, and was immediately greeted by cries of her name. Three figures rushed at her and she was lifted off the ground and swung in a circle. As soon as she was set down by the first figure, the second figure picked her up and did exactly the same thing. She felt her feet touch the ground and a pair of arms reached out to catch her. She shook her head to rid herself of the dizziness, and looked up into Howie’s smiling face.
"You okay, Rylee?" he questioned.
Breathing a sigh of relief that she wasn’t going to be swung around again, she replied, "Thanks, Howie. How’ve you been?" After he answered her, telling her he was doing fine and that he was happy to see her again, she gave him a quick hug, then whirled around to face the two other figures whose greetings had sent her on a mini tilt-o-whirl. "Alexander James McLean and Kevin Scott Richardson! How many times do I have to tell you? No whirling before dinner!" she scolded them, her eyes flashing.
They both returned her angry gaze with innocent smiles. "We’re sorry!" they said in unison.
Rylee’s statement softened at their repentant little boy faces. "Well okay then," she continued using her best teacher voice. "As long as you’re sorry, I forgive you."
Both AJ’s and Kevin’s faces brightened as they rushed her again, this time to swallow her up in a giant hug. "Augh!" Rylee’s voice was muffled as she struggled to free herself. She heard laughter from the rest of the room, and remembered the "friends" that were dining with them. Suddenly nervous, she thought, "Great, they could be, like foreign dignitaries or something. "
Finally disentangling herself from AJ and Kevin, she turned to gaze around the rest of the room. Brian, Nick and Howie had already seated themselves at the large table and were talking with five other guys. Rylee breathed a sigh of relief, taking in the appearance of the guys. They were relatively young and dressed like normal guys. No Armani business suits in sight. All of a sudden, she got a better look at the guy with whom Nick was talking. She’d recognize that curly blond head anywhere. Nick was talking to the very casual looking, relaxed, boy wonder himself, Justin Timberlake. She was about to scream…or faint in shock…or swoon into a heap of teenybopper hormones. Then she got a grip on her shock and realized the irony of her feelings. Here she was, starting a two-month vacation with the Backstreet Boys, and she was about to freak out about seeing Justin Timberlake. Luckily, Rylee was very good at masking her emotions. Such ability was necessary if one was to be secretly in love with one’s best friend for years. But of course, it came in handy in other situations, such as that very moment. But Rylee managed a smile and pulled her gaze from Justin and Nick to see the other "friends". Seated to their right, Brian was engaged in a conversation with the one and only JC Chasez.
"Oh wow," she thought. "He looks even more amazing in person, if that’s possible." The three other guys were also seated around the table, joking and laughing with her friends. AJ and Kevin had also joined the guys at the table, leaving Rylee standing as she observed the room. "This is too weird" she said softly to herself.
At the sound of her voice, Brian realized she was still standing, and that he hadn’t introduced her. "Whoops," he thought to himself as he rose and walked over to her. Putting his arm around her waist, he called loudly to get the other guys’ attention. "Hey guys!"
They stopped their conversations and looked at Brian and the girl next to him.
As Brian introduced Rylee to the *N Sync guys, they were, for lack of a better word, checking her out.
JC’s eyes swept over the newcomer. Clad in a simple baby blue sundress, the girl had long shiny black hair and a smile on her face. Her brown eyes sparkled with happiness. She had an air of innocence that surrounded her. Not that she was a supermodel or anything, but instead she was rather ordinarily pretty. She looked normal, although she had two things going for her that caught his attention. First, her long, jet-black hair that hung straight down almost to her hips, each strand shining in the restaurant’s muted light. Second, the aforementioned "air of innocence" that brought out the protective side in anyone. She didn’t look completely helpless, but had a certain quality of purity. Perhaps it was due to the light, but standing next to Brian in the soft glow coming from the candles scattered around the room, she looked almost angelic.
"She looks like she’s about Justin’s age. Though I thought Nick said she was Brian’s best friend. I thought she would be older. Looks like she’s got Justin’s taste in clothing too." he thought wryly. "Good thing she didn’t freak out. What are you talking about, Josh? She’s the best friend of a Backstreet Boy. Of course she wouldn’t freak out."
Just then Brian finished saying, "…so this is my Angel."
"Whoa, what did I miss?" JC thought again. "‘My Angel’? Alright so maybe I was wrong about that best friend thing! But I thought Nick said…Wait, okay now I’m talking to myself! Ah!" JC shook his head to clear his thoughts, and he realized the girl was taking Brian’s seat next to him. "Hi," he said, and suddenly realized to his chagrin that he didn’t catch her name.
Rylee smiled at JC, and thought that he seemed nice. Hopefully, he wouldn’t ruin her preconceived perception of him. "Hi" she responded softly, "It’s nice to meet you, finally."
"Finally?" JC echoed, confused.
Brian laughed from his seat on the girl’s other side. "Rylee’s a big fan of *N Sync" he explained.
"Rylee! Her name is Rylee." JC noted, relieved. "So, Rylee, thanks." Suddenly he had a interesting thought. Turning to Brian, he asked, "Hey Rok, how is it that your best friend is a fan of mine? I guess she just knows real talent when she sees it." He smiled innocently.
Brian gave him the same exact smile, and replied, "No, actually, I think she just felt sorry for you guys, since everyone already liked us, you needed to start your own fan base. She’s so helpful like that."
Rylee looked at both of the guys next to her and gave her own explanation. "Actually, the truth is, I only like either of you, because New Kids on the Block disappeared. No one can compare to Donnie Wahlburg!" She finished dramatically. They all laughed, and started to look over their menus.
Rylee was deciding between the lasagna and the fettuccini alfredo, when AJ’s voice interrupted her decision-making. "So Ry…" he asked, with a mischievous grin. "You read any good stories about me lately?"
Several of the guys looked puzzled as Rylee laughed and set down her menu. "What’s that, AJ?" Justin asked.
"Oh, Rylee likes to read fan fiction on the Internet." AJ explained.
"Oh yeah!" Nick remembered. "I forgot about that! So…" he said rubbing his hands together. "How many girls do I get with this month?"
Suddenly, AJ smacked him on the back of his head. "Down boy! We’re talking about me, remember?"
"Well," Rylee thought, cocking her head to one side. "I hate to break it to you, but Backstreet Boys fan fiction is kinda lacking in really good stories. They’re kinda like, ‘Skye went to a BSB concert, and she had front row tickets. She brought her 4 best friends with her. During the concert, she felt Nick singing to her the whole time. Luckily she had backstage passes. So she and her four friends went to met the boys. Nick came up to her and said, ‘Where have you been all my life?’ And they start kissing. Skye looked up and her four friends were matched up with a Backstreet Boy and they were all kissing. The End."
All they guys laughed at her animated expressions, and she, warming up to her subject, kept talking. "Now *N Sync fan fiction is awesome! I can’t even begin to describe it. There are ones that are so good, you would think the author knew you guys."
Justin chuckled and remarked, "So I guess that means *N Sync fans are smarter, more talented, and just generally better than BSB fans, kinda like the groups" He was rewarded with a smack on the back of his head by all five Backstreet guys. "OW! Man!" he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Rylee was the one that said it! I was just repeating what she said."
"Yeah," Rylee said, "but they can’t hit me."
"Are you sure about that Ry?" Nick questioned, raising an eyebrow.
She gave him an innocent little girl smile. "Yeah. Anyways, let me tell you about, like, the only good BSB story I’ve found."
Just then the waiter came to take their orders. When he left, Kevin said, "Okay, Ry, tell us the story."
"Oh right. Okay, it’s called ‘Where Can We Go From Here?’ And it starts out and Nick has pneumonia, but doesn’t tell anyone."
"Smart move, Nick." Justin commented, and was again rewarded with a smack on the back of his head. "OW! Would you please stop doing that?"
Rylee continued. "And they’re all on the tour bus after a concert, and Brian goes to talk to Nick to find out what’s wrong. And Nick snaps at him, like he was attacking his performance or something. He was like cussing him out."
"Rylee!" Brian exclaimed.
"What?" she challenged. "I didn’t say it was a perfect story. I just said it was good. Anyways! So Brian and Nick are arguing, and then Brian goes out into where the rest of you guys are, and Kevin goes back to try to talk to Nick. Oh, also, it’s really rainy, and it’s dark. And guess what happens?"
"They crash!" Joey exclaimed.
Rylee laughed at his outburst. "Right. Good job Joey!" She laughed again as Chris reached over a patted him on the head. "Yeah, so they get in an accident and Kevin and Nick are hurt the worst, because they were inside. So basically, it’s just a really sad story about how you guys recover. The girl that wrote it was really descriptive too."
"Aww, Did you cry, Rylee?" Nick asked.
Rylee ducked her head a little in embarrassment, "Yeah. But it was sad though," she said in her own defense. "I mean, imagining all those things happening to you guys was just too much," she shuddered.
Just then, their food arrived. As she dug into her food, she reflected over her first meeting with *N Sync. They all seemed nice, like she imagined. Not as hyper as they were on TV or in concert, but very much normal guys. They laughed and joked and made fun of each other. It was nice to watch, and Rylee immediately felt as ease with them. Seated between JC and Brian, she was very content. She smiled as she listened to Chris tell a story about Justin on their last tour.
"... then, right as he walked around the corner, Lance and Joey poured a huge bucket of ice and water on him. Needless to say, the girl was NOT impressed!"
The room erupted into laughter, minus Justin and Nick. "Okay, it’s not that funny guys." Justin said, as he and Nick leaned back and folded their arms across their chests.
"Wait, a sec. Nick, why do you care so much?" Rylee wondered.
Nick just mumbled something incoherently, so Lance answered for him. "Where do you think we got the idea?"
Brian and AJ exchanged high fives across the table. "Yes! We are the masters!" AJ said proudly.
"Yep!" Brian voiced. "That was a true moment of genius, if I do say so myself!"
They all laughed, as Justin and Nick pouted. Rylee also noted that both groups picked on Nick and Justin a lot. As the night wore one, she found that the *N Sync guys were really easy to talk to and a lot like her boys. She had the opportunity to talk to each one, and before long she felt like she had known them for years. She enjoyed Chris’ unending sarcasm, which often was fueled and in turn fueled her own. His personality was so animated, that he didn’t seem to be the oldest member of *N Sync. Not to say he was immature, of course. After discovering that Rylee’s intended major was in psychology, they carried a long conversation about different theories , which made everyone else groan. Joey was also fun to talk to. But unlike Chris’ underlying sarcasm, his blunt wit and comments kept everyone laughing. Lance, of course was the true southern gentleman, not unlike Howie in fact. They were the calm ones, the sweet ones. Of course that didn’t stop Lance from throwing his own barbs at Justin and Nick.
Then of course there was Justin, the curly-headed, baby blue loving, boy wonder. To Rylee’s surprised, he was calmer in person. Well, at least calmer compared to Chris. He complemented Rylee’s baby blue dress, and was also very sweet. He took all the digs all other nine guys put on him good naturedly, and returned them with many of his own. He and Nick picked on each other a lot, but then stuck together defending themselves against everyone else. Justin also had this amazing charisma that put everyone else at ease.
Last, but certainly not least, was JC. Of all the guys, he was the one who most intrigued Rylee. He had a raw masculine attraction about him, not to mention a smile that lit up the room. Every single reason Rylee had ever had for liking JC came flooding back to her in huge, living color. He had a quick laugh, which he displayed many times during the night. His personality was so much like Brian’s, she was almost certain, aside from all feelings of loyalty, had there been no Brian, she would have been all over him, figuratively peaking of course. Rylee looked forward to getting to know all 5 of them better, as well as spending quality time with her boys. This was gonna be fun.
(Author's Note: There really is a story titled "Where Can We Go From Here" Check it out at Where Can We Go From Here. Check out the rest of The Perfect Fans Site while you're there!)
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"So kiddies, what are we all up to now?" AJ asked at the end of the night. "Any body up for some clubbin’?" He was immediately answered by 3 "yes’", 5 "I guess’", and 1 "I’m a little tired". Brian and Nick opted for staying with Rylee.
Everyone stood up and were saying goodbye, when Howie asked suddenly, "So, we’ll see you at the party tomorrow, Ry?"
"What party?" Rylee asked surprised.
"Oh there’s this big end of the season Jive party tomorrow night. Black-tie and everything." Brian answered breezily. "But I didn’t think you’d want to go."
"Oh, okay." Rylee was a little disappointed but hid it. The other guys were surprised at Brian’s answer, until he suddenly started laughing.
"I’m just kidding with you, Angel. You’re coming with me." Brian laughed, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
The rest of the guys laughed at the evil look Rylee was giving Brian, when Nick interrupted.
"Actually, you’re coming with me. Cuz, Brian’s gotta drop Tyke off at Leighanne’s."
"Okay sure." Rylee smiled. "So, ‘black-tie’ huh? That could be a problem. Since somebody didn’t tell me about this before! Well, at the risk of sounding like a spoiled princess, I don’t have anything to wear."
Brian smiled apologetically, "I’ll take you shopping tomorrow, Angel."
"Me too, Rylee." Nick added.
"Anyone else want to come?" Brian questioned, but every one else was busy, except for Justin and JC.
Hugs were exchanged all around as, the group parted ways. Walking back to Brian’s car, Rylee laughed, "Your bodyguards are gonna be thrilled tomorrow. All four of you in one mall, at one time, together? And me right in the middle of it!" She shook her head in mock disappointment.
"Hush child, you know you love it!" Nick responded.
And Rylee smiled, because she did.
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