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Chapter 9

            As the girls started packing for the city they listened to Melina’s other favorite band, Linkin Park, for a change. They were getting excited especially when Heather logged into the Backstreet fanclub with an idea.

            “The fanclub store has everything that is being sold on tour. How about we get an idea of what we want before the concert?” Heather suggested.

            “That’s smart,” Kelshie commented, “Especially because we have gone overboard with some of the other shows we went to. Now we could see how much things cost and how much money we should each bring.”

            Jess started chuckling, “Remember at the Never Gone show in the city? We spent so much at the merchandise stand that we almost didn’t have enough money to get a bus back to Hermie’s house!”

            “How could I forget that?!” Heather chuckled, “We all started to panic but then I found a few extra bucks in my jacket pocket and we had just enough for the three of us to get back home.”

            “I already have all the things I want from the This Is Us tour,” Melina said.

            “But you have to get something to remember your first BSB concert in America!” Kelshie replied.

            Melina smiled, “That’s true! But I will always remember this concert because of all of you!”

            Jess and Heather Squared all breathed out, “Awe! You’re so sweet!”

            “So what’s online?” Jess asked.

            The girls browsed all the tour merchandise and debated how much money everyone should bring.

            “Remember we also have to bring enough to pay for the hotel room, food, and gas,” Heather reasoned.

            “Oh yeah how are we going to handle the hotel room and the food?” Kelshie asked.

            “We can all split it like we used to since we each paid for our own tickets,” Jess suggested.

            “Melina, would you mind splitting the expenses for the hotel and food also?” Heather questioned.

            “I have no problem with that. I brought enough money and you have been feeding and giving me a place to sleep for the past week and I’ll be happy to help with the hotel and food. I just need to convert some more of my money,” she answered.

            Heather nodded her head, “Ok. We’ll go to the bank before we hit the city. I have to get gas anyway.”

            Once the girls set up their plan for the morning they decided to go to bed early so they would be rested for the morning. They planned on leaving pretty early and nobody wanted to be cranky on account of not enough sleep.

            The girls woke up to Heather’s Ihome playing We’ve Got It Goin’ On and as they became aware of what day it was they started singing along. Heather kept playing the Backstreet’s Back album as she and her Backstreet Buds got ready for the day ahead of them. They all agreed that Backstreet in the morning was a great way to wake up.

            After taking Melina to the bank and filling up on gas, Heather pointed her car toward New York City.     

            “Hey Jess, can you hand Kelshie the GPS please? It’s in the seat pocket in front of you,” Heather said as she started to drive out of town.

            “Who nominated me to use the GPS?” Kelshie asked with a slight laugh in her voice as Jess handed it to her.

            Heather smiled, “I am driving and you are riding shot gun.”

            “So that means I’m automatically your co-pilot?”

            “Yup!”

            “Oh great… Why do you need this anyway? I thought you knew where you were going.”

            “I know the city pretty well but I’m not too sure where the hotel and concert hall are.”

            “Oh ok. Now how the hell do I work this thing and where is the address to the place?”

            “The hotel address is in the glove box. I think we should go there first to check in and drop off our bags and from there we can just walk the city, get something to eat, and when we get tired we can go back to the hotel. Also I’ll have a parking spot.”

            There was silence for a little until Kelshie screamed, “Ah! Hermie this isn’t working! I’m about to throw it out the window!  It’s not giving me New York City! It keeps giving me other parts of New Jersey! Urgh!”

            Jess and Melina’s eyes got wide while Heather chuckled then replied calmly, “Just press the refresh button on the top next to the power button then put in the address.”

            Kelshie followed her best friend’s directions and the GPS started working properly, “Sorry I threatened to throw this thing out the window.”

            Heather gave out a small laugh, “Its ok. So which BSB CD do you girls want to listen to?”

            “Never Gone,” Melina and Jess said at the same time then laughed at their perfect timing.

            Kelshie agreed and Heather asked her to load the CD into the player. As the trip continued the girls were having a blast singing along with their all time favorite singers and with each song they were getting more and more excited for the concert. The traffic got heavier as they got closer to the city so they listened to Unbreakable and just as Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon ended they pulled into the hotel’s parking lot.

            Once Heather found a spot close to the lobby doors she called her friend Sue, “Hey Sue! We just found the perfect spot and we are heading inside now.”

            “Ok I’m at the front desk and I’ll check you guys in.”

            After they were checked in a bell hop helped them bring in their bags up to their room. They hung their dresses and picked where they were going to sleep then grabbed the map of the city Sue gave them and set out to show Melina around.

            The girls went everywhere their feet would carry them to. Where ever Melina wanted to go they tried their best to get there as long as it wasn’t too far. They walked through Time Square which was closed to traffic for the day so it was safe to walk in the street. Melina was ecstatic to finally be in New York City and she tried to take in all that she could.

            “Is anybody else hungry?” Kelshie asked.

            “I’m hungry also,” Melina replied.

            “Ditto,” Jess and Heather said simultaneously.  

            The four girls went to Bubba Gump’s to eat at and rest their feet for a little while.

            As they waited for their food they looked over the map and the route they had chosen to take.

            “We’re pretty much going in a big circle,” Kelshie realized.

            “And look we’re close to the M&M factory!” Jess exclaimed. “Let’s go there after lunch.”

            “And then after that we’ll have to go to the Hershey store,” Heather said. “That’s my favorite store.”

            “Then can we make our way back to the hotel?” Melina asked. “My feet are starting to hurt and I don’t want them really hurting tomorrow. We will be standing all day and then dancing afterward.”

            “That sounds good to me,” Heather replied. “We did do a lot of walking today and I really don’t want to be walking the city at night even if we are all together.”

            “Good idea,” Kelshie agreed, “I’m starting to get tired too.”

            “I’m all in for that idea too,” Jess said, “But after we go to the M&M Factory.”

            “Yes Jess after we eat,” Heather assured her.

            After they divided the check they walked across the street to the M&M Factory and then the Hershey store. They each got plenty of candy to pig out on once they got back to the hotel.

            On their way back to the hotel they passed a one man stand selling bags of snacks, New York “dirty water”  hot dogs, and popcorn. Heather stopped and looked at the popcorn buckets.

            “Blood sister, what are you looking at?” Melina stopped and went to her best friend’s side.

            “Those popcorn buckets look familiar.”

            “They’re popcorn buckets Hermie,” Kelshie said.

            “I know where I’ve seen them before!” Heather exclaimed. “Brian holds that bucket in the popcorn poster we all want to get!”

            Jess shook her head, “Of course you would recognize which popcorn bucket Brian holds in a poster.”

            “Let’s take four,” Kelshie said.

            “I can’t take four,” Heather said almost astonished.

            “You are such a goody-two-shoes!” Kelshie laughed, “Nobody is at the stand and the popcorn is all gone so there is no use for the buckets.”

            “I don’t know,” Heather hesitated, “Although that would be pretty funny and cool to get them signed.”

            “The theme of the tour is a night at the movies with Backstreet,” Melina commented.

            Jess chuckled, “Let’s just take them to get them signed,”

            Heather chipped in, “Ok let’s get them.”

            Everyone laughed until Jess asked, “Who is going to steal them?”

            “Not me!” Heather and Melina said together.

            “You chickens,” Kelshie scoffed, “I’ll do it.”

            She casually stepped away from her friends, walked up to the stand, and grabbed four unused popcorn buckets. “There, was that so hard?” she said with a tint of annoyance in her voice.

            Heather was a little shocked. She giggled, “I can’t believe you did that.”

            “I can’t believe you recognized the stupid popcorn bucket!” Kelshie exclaimed and everyone else cracked up.

            The girls flopped on the beds when they got back in the room.

            “I am so tired,” Jess said rather dramatically.

            “I’m wiped out,” Heather commented, “but I want to do something.”

            “I do too but I feel gross and sweaty,” Melina said.

            It was a hot August day and the girls toured the city for most of it. They all had gotten enough exercise for a few weeks that day.

            They took turns taking showers then Kelshie suggested they play the BSB game. They always played that game the day before a concert.

            The game finished in a winning tie between Melina and Jess. They were on fire that night! Kelshie came in a close second and shockingly Heather came in last.

            “What the hell happened Hermie?” Kelshie asked. “You have never come in last.”

            She shrugged, “My mind is just clouded right now.”

            “What’s wrong?” Melina questioned.

            “I’ve been thinking about Rich.”

            “Again?” Jess asked.

            “Still,” Heather sighed. “I had a dream about him last night.”

            “Tell us,” Melina probed.

            “Well we were all at the after party and were dancing together. It was pretty crowded so I’m not sure if it was the actual concert or the after party to be honest but I do know that there wasn’t a lot of room to move. We were having a really good time and then someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and there was a guy with a masquerade mask on. He asked, “You’re Heather, right?” I replied, “Yes but do I know you?” He smiled and said, “You’ve known me for a while.” He took off his mask and it was Rich. He smiled at me and then We’ve Got It Goin’ On woke me up.”

            “So you think he’s still alive?” Kelshie asked cautiously.

            “Yeah I do. The only other person I’ve told is Stephanie. I’ve always thought he was alive just never told anyone. I figured Rich had a good reason to disappear so I kept my thoughts to myself. I’ve been having a lot more dreams about him lately.”

            “Maybe you’ll find him soon,” Jess suggested.         

            “Please don’t get my hopes up like that.”

            “I’m sorry.”

            “It’s alright Jess. Is anybody else hungry for dinner?”

            The other girls raised their hands.

            “Let’s order room service because I don’t know about you guys but I don’t want to leave this room unless I absolutely have to.”

            Room service came just as Kelshie put in one of her favorite movies into the DVD player. She always brought a portion of her huge DVD collection when she was going to sleep over night no matter where she went.

            Heather answered the door with money in her hand “How much is it?”

            “It’s on the house miss,” the good looking worker said, “Sue has it covered.”

            “Oh ok then. I’ll have to call her and thank her. This is yours then,” she handed the worker a small tip.

            “Thank you miss,” he smiled gratefully.

            Once the door was closed Jess squealed, “Ooh he was cute!”

            “I knew you were going to say that,” Heather commented.

            As the night got longer Heather’s eye lids got heavier.

            “Hermie, you’re falling asleep,” Kelshie teased.

            “No shit Sherlock,” Heather sarcastically remarked. “You know I can’t stay up like you and Jess.”

            “I know.”

            “We need to set up our game plan before you go to sleep,” Jess said.

            “Game plan?” Melina was puzzled.

            “We always call dibs on which Boy is whose if we ever get to meet them and possibly get to know them a little bit better if you know what I mean,” Jess said with a wink.

            “Oh I get it,” Melina giggled.

            “Ok whose first to call dibs?” Kelshie asked.

            “Dibs on Nick!” Heather called without missing a beat using the last bit of energy she could wrangle up.

            “That was fast!” Melina’s eyes were wide with surprise.

            “Oh yeah Hermie doesn’t mess around when it comes to Nick Carter,” Kelshie informed.

            “Since you called Nick I’ll call AJ!”

            “Brian!” Kelshie and Jess screamed at the same time.

            Kelshie said quickly, “I’m getting him this time!”

            “No you had him last concert,” Jess argued. “Besides I tagged him as my property in every picture the three of us took of him that’s on Facebook.”

            “Fine you win…” Kelshie gave in, “This time. Just keep your eyes on him at all times because I might steal him from you.”

            Jess smiled widely, “Oh both of my eyes will be glued onto that sexy man!”

            Kelshie shrugged, “Eh at least Howie is hot too!”

            Melina was laughing as she said, “You girls are too funny!”

            Heather yawned loudly, “I’m going to bed. I set an alarm on my phone so we could get up and get ready at a reasonable time. I suggest you get some sleep also so you are not too cranky in the morning.” She gave a fake cough, “Jess.”

            “Yes ma’m Heather ma’m,” Kelshie and Jess saluted their sleepy friend.

            Heather smirked, rolled her eyes and shook her head.

            “I’m guessing you’re the leader of this group huh blood sis?” Melina grinned.

            “Good guess. Good night girlies. Have sweet dreams.”

            “Good night sis.”

            “Night Hermie,” Kelshie said.

            “Hope you dream of Mr. Carter tonight,” Jess joked.

            “I do too!” Heather smiled widely as she slipped under the covers.