I was wakened the next morning at 5:30 am by a knock at the door. I lift my head, half asleep, thinking I heard something, when the door is knocked upon again. "Tanya? Are you awake?" Howie asks, through the door. "Yeah...Howie? What are you doing here, now?" I ask, while getting out of bed. "Can we come in?" "We? Who else is out there?" "All of us." Brian answers. "Should I wake Missy up?" I question, walking to the door. "No, let her sleep." Howie replies. I start to open the door, but shut it quickly. I am still in my PJs, which consists of a rather short sweat shirt, a little too short for five guys to see, when you've only known them for about a day. "Oh, sorry, I'm still in my pajamas." "Don't worry about it, unless all you're wearing is underwear, we won't think badly of you." AJ assures me. "Ok." I open the door and let them all in. "Why are you guys here so early?" I ask quietly, not to disturb Missy. "You might want to sit down." Nick says. "What's wrong?" I ask, taking a seat on my bed. "I guess, I'll explain." Kevin offers, "You know, yesterday, when you were on stage talking to us and the audience?" "Yes..." Who could forget? "Well, the audience, news crews, sponsors, and even our techies, they loved you. The sponsors thought we had planned it, so, they called Donna and Johnny up and told them you were so much fun. They thought it was new, fresh, and an original idea for a concert." "That's nice and all. But why did you come up here so early to tell me?" I, still, am not catching on. "Well, everyone loved you so much, Donna and Johnny thought you should go on tour with us, kind of being a..." I was speechless. I just looked at him, wide-eyed, unbelieving. I open my mouth, but there are no words. "Is that a yes?" Brian asks. "My...my, my, my mom. I've got to ask my mom." I stutter, picking up the phone and dial. "Hello?" My mother grumbles, as if she was asleep. "Mom...Oh my, I'm sorry!" "Tanya? Are you ok?" "Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't realize, it's like 3 over there. But I need to ask you something important." "Um hmm, go ahead." I repeat everything Kevin had just said, but added a "Can I?" There was a long pause. "Trial run-one month. I trust you not to do anything you will regret. But I need to talk to one of their managers before you leave." "Absolutely! Thank you so much Mom! I'll let you go back to sleep, I will call you later, ok? Love you!" "Love you, too, Tanya. Have fun!" I hang up and fall back on to my bed and close my eyes. Howie walks over to me and puts his face close to mine. "Are you ok?" I open my eyes and let out a short scream. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you were there." I apologize. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Missy stir and open her eyes. "Tanya? Am I dreaming or are the Backstreet Boys in my hotel room?" "They are absolutely here!" I jump off my bed and sit on hers. I review all the events that just took place, my words are coming a mile a minute, my hands flying all over the place. She just lies there taking it all in. When I finish, she stares at me. "Oh baby, no fair!" She smiles at me. "Tan, that is so awesome! You have to call me, like everyday!" "No doubt about it!" I assure her. "I'm sorry to say this, but Missy you will be flying home alone. Tanya has to go with us today, we're leaving." AJ confirms. "Oh no! I feel so bad, Missy!" I cry out. "Don't worry about it, I'll get the star treatment form the male stewards." She never takes things to seriously. "Well, we don't leave till 7:30, do you want to join us for breakfast and a quick game of B-ball?" B-Rok asks. "Sure." I agree. "Yes to breakfast, no to B-ball. It would be a little difficult hobbling around with this thing." She declines, mentioning her brace. "True. You can be a cheerleader!" He says, with another kick. "Well, we need to shower and such. You know us, females, always primping." Missy jokes. "You two are almost as bad as Howie!" Nick says, jumping away from Sweet D. Howie gives him an I'm-going-to-get-you look. I let them out and tell them we will meet them in the diner in a half an hour. We arrive downstairs to find the boys waiting right outside the elevators. "Hello boys." I greet them. "Bonjour Mesdames, est-ce que vous allez?" Brian asks us how we are feeling in French. Missy looks at him as if he's crazy. "Je vais tres bien, et vous?" I reply I'm fine and return the question. "Oh la la! Tu parles francais!" He explains (Oh my, you speak French!). "Oui, ou est-ce que tu as appris parler francais?" I ask him where he learned to speak French. He scratches his head. "I don't know that much. I just picked up a few phrases in Europe." He confessed. With that, Kevin and Nick offer me their arms. Not wanting to be picky, I hook my arm around both. Brian and Howie offer their arms to Missy, while AJ led the way to the diner. After breakfast, Brian jumps up. “Basketball!" "You're on!" I challenge him, getting out of my seat. "We'll meet you guys out there later. We need to digest." AJ says patting his stomach, and leaning back. Brian darts off, I chase him, with Nick following me. We go out to the back where there is a small court and hoop. Brian grabs the ball, dribbles and shoots. Swoosh! Of course, he makes it. "Now, how fair is this? I am up against two guys who are not only taller than me, but more than likely better than I am!" I whine. "Here, you can start with the ball." Brian offers me the ball. I take it and shoot. Right off the backboard, and through the hoop. "I think you are going to be just fine." Comments Nick. We play for awhile, but whenever I get the ball and set up to shoot, Brian runs up, tickles me, and grabs the ball. I need find a way to get it back. I've got it! When Brian sets up for a shot, I run up, and kiss him on the lips. He is so startled, I grab the ball, and make the shot! "Nick, grab her!" Nick runs up behind me and grabs my hands, pulling them behind my back. Brian steps in front of me. "No, no, this isn't fair!" I try to squirm away, but Nick is holding too tight. Brian starts to tickle me on my sides. I am laughing and wriggling around. I see Howie and Kevin walk through the door. "Help me!" I yell. "Boys, play nice." Kevin commands them. "Please...please, let me go." I breathe softly. Nick lets go and Brian stops tickling. "Are you ok?" Nick asks concerned. I run away. "Suckers!" I yell over my shoulder. I run and hide behind Kevin. "Well, Tan, we have to go now, you should go upstairs and get ready to go. Missy is already up there." Howie informs me. "Ok." I stick my tongue out at Nick and Brian and they chase me all the way to the elevators. Finally, after showering and packing, I'm ready to go. Missy and I make our way downstairs, me helping her with her bags. Donna, Johnny, and the rest of the gang are waiting for us in the lobby. "Well, Miss, I'm really happy I got to meet you. I wish you didn't have to leave, you two are great together." AJ states. "I know, you guys are so cool! Maybe I'll come out and chill with you on the road." She hints. All of the boys, hug and kiss her goodbye. I walk her out to the limo. "Well, Ms. Locks, I'm gonna miss you, a whole month. Do you think you are better than the rest of us Steling-ers?" "Never!" I gasp. "I'll miss you, too. I have your address so I can write and send pictures, I'll call you too, can you get everybody's addresses for me?" "Sure, anything for my soon-to-be famous buddy!" She kids as we hug. She gets into the limo, and she is off. I wave to her as far as I can see. Back inside the boys are chatting about their new addition. "This is going to be cool. Like a little sister-slash-best friend on the trip. Awesome." AJ says. "Yeah, I know! I was just thinking about that. But the cool thing is, she can help us with the fans point of view, likes-dislikes, that kind of stuff." Nick chimes in. "I never even thought about that." AJ confesses. Right then, I walk in to find all the guys staring at me. "What?" I ask. "Nothing." Nick replies, trying to act innocent. "No, what?" "Nothing at all." Brian joins in on the game. "I'm going to go crazy with you guys!" I say in frustration. "No, not just crazy. Crazy, beyond, and back. The rest of us have already done it." Kevin educates me. "Fabulous, dahling!" I say with a sweep of my hand. Putting my hand down, "Well, this is it." I walk over to get my bag, but Kevin picks it up before I have the chance and offers to carry it. Being the feminist I am, well, close enough, I decline the offer, but Kevin insists and won't give the bag to me. Brian lead the way to the bus, and as soon as I step on... "Tour for Tanya!" Nick yells, jumping on. He grabs my hand and drags me from room to room. He shows me 2 bedrooms, each containing a set of bunks and a single, a small kitchen, and where the Nintendo is held, of course. "Where would I be sleeping?" I question. "Well, Brian and I share, everyone thinks we would be too loud to bunk with, and Kev, D. and Alex are in the other room. But Donna said, if you didn't want to bunk with me and Frick, we had to switch." "Nah, that's fine, roomy." Just then, Brian, Howie, and AJ join us. "I just want to warn you about my tidiness, or rather, lack thereof." "Don't even worry about it. You're rooming with Nick, no one will even know your stuff is in there." AJ ensures me. With that, I then realize: "I don't have enough clothes for a month! I need to call my mom and tell her to send more." "Donna already took care of it. Your mom said your sister would pack for you, because, if she did, she said she would send you all the clothes you wouldn't wear." Howie joked. “It's true, she probably would." "Anyway, we go shopping enough, you wouldn't have to worry about wearing the same outfit twice." AJ enlightens me with that piece of information. "I like the sound of that." I say, raising my eyebrow. Donna pops her head in the room, obviously looking for us, with Kevin following. "Hello boys. Tanya, hi, I'm Donna, their manager." She takes my hand and shakes it. "Have these guys been polite, or have they been acting like themselves?" I had to laugh at that. "No, they've been polite...for the most part." "Well, good. I just got off the phone with your mother, she filled me in on you basics, allergies, favorite food, and your strange obsession with cheese." She gives me a funny look and I laugh. I explain my mom thinks I have this weird obsession with cheese, because I will spontaneously cry out "I love cheese!" "Ok, now we'll be prepared. Well, we will be leaving shortly, so make sure you have everything you need." With that, she leaves me to fend for myself. "So..." I try to break the silence, realizing, this is technically my first time alone with all the guys. "Where are we headed today?" "Well, we are headed to LA, but we have a few days off. So, we'll be chillin', resting, shopping, you know." "Cool, I get down time and I haven't even done anything yet." We spend the rest of the day talking, getting to know each other, playing cards, and doing improv games. Which was so much fun, Brian, Nick, and I were just being crazy, of course. Howie and AJ were really good, they had fun with it. Kevin surprised me. I always thought of him as the mature, responsible one, but he really got into it and had fun. Around 8, the boys have to drop by a music store, for a short meet 'n' greet. They return around 11, to find me asleep on the couch. So, Kevin picks me up, without bothering to wake me, and carries me to my bed. "So, what do you guys think about Tanya?" Nick asks as Kevin returns. "She's a little bit of all of us, you know." Kev responds. "Yeah, but she's special. She's so cute." AJ interjects. "I just hope all our fans like her as much as we do. I would hate to give this all to her, then have to take it all back." Howie confesses. Which all of them agree to. "Well, we have time off, we might as well get some sleep tonight." Kevin suggests. They all tumble off to bed, Brian and Nick, being as quiet as possible, not wanting to disturb me from my slumber. The next morning, I am the first one to wake on our bus, but find Donna seated at the table, looking over some papers. "Good morning." I greet her, while trying to tie my robe. "You're up early, the rest of them won't be up for another hour or so." "That's good, I wanted to make breakfast." I open the small refrigerator to find it void of food. "Ew...do you think we could drop by the nearest grocery store?" I ask. "I'll ask Barry, the driver, if we can make a quick pit stop." Twenty minutes later, Donna and I are preparing a breakfast for eight. I wanted to make breakfast for the drivers, and band members, along with the boys, me, Donna and Johnny. But she talked me out of it, considering, it was only me and her, and eight people was a lot already, so I promised the rest I would make them breakfast later in the week. After everything was ready she told me to go wake the boys. I enter Howie, AJ, and Kevin's room and shout, "Food!" AJ jumps up. “What?" "Food." He looked around, confused, but jumped out of his top bunk, wearing boxers and a tee shirt. I guess Howie and Kevin need a little more effort. So, I walk over to Howie's bed and shake him gently. "Howie...Howie...breakfast." He mumbles something and opens his eyes, looking startled. "Morning." He smiles at me. "Good morning, breakfast time." "Really? I usually sleep through breakfast time." "Well get up, Donna and I worked out butts off." "Ok, ok, I'm up, I'm up." He grumbled, while sitting up. "You are going to have fun waking Kev up, he could sleep through World War III. "Great." I kneel down beside his bed. "Kevvy Kev, wake up," I shake him gently, he mumbles something and turns over, facing me. He looks so peaceful. "Wake up, breakfast is waiting." I say a little louder. He opens one eye, then the other. He stares at me for a second, then grabs me and gives me a big bear hug. "Well, good morning to you, too." "Morning." He says with a grin. "What was that for?" "I love to give hugs." He answers simply. "Well, get up, breakfast is waiting." I hit him, playful. "Mmmm, food." I get up and run to the other bedroom, where the sleeping Brian and Nick are waiting. "Wake up, food's awaiting!" I shout. Both Brian and Nick jump. "Huh? What?" "Breakfast, get out of bed you lazy bums." "Food? Breakfast? Don't tease us so early." Nick mumbles as his falls back on his bed. "I'm not. French toast, bacon, eggs, juice, coffee and milk. Even real fruit!" "Na huh!" Brian doesn't believe me, either. "Fine, I'll just let the others have your share." I start to walk off, and they both jump out of bed and chase after me. When everyone is full, and after a few gasps, thank yous, and many laughs. AJ hints "I think its time to purchase new apparel?" So, we stop by the nearest mall, where I am informed on how the shopping trip will happen. "The group is split into 2 groups, with you, it will be three for three, each group will be followed by a bodyguard..." I interrupt Lonnie's procedures, "Wait, you want me to shop with two guys, not a good idea, that will take twice as long, considering the fact, I shop at completely different stores as they do. Why don't I go by myself, I'm not known at all, yet, I can go without a bodyguard. Then, we can meet somewhere in a couple hours." "You're right. This will be one of you last normal shopping trips, I think that would be fair. How's this, we all meet in Woodward and Lothrop's formal wear department at..." "Why formal wear?" "Didn't anyone tell you?" He looks puzzled as I shake my head. "You are going to the MTV Music Awards in about a week, they thought you should have a new dress." "What? Really?" "Yes, I'm surprised they didn't tell you." "They probably forgot knowing them." A few hours later, I am sitting in Woodie's, waiting for everyone. Ten minutes pass...fifteen. I look at my watch, where is everyone? I hear their voices, coming closer. "Tanya! Sorry we're late, some fans found us, so we had to do our meet 'n' greets." Apologized Howie. "That's ok, as long as you weren't ditching me for a younger woman." I joked, putting an arm around his waist, protectively. "Well, there was a pretty adorable 5 year old out there..." He said rubbing his chin in thought. I hit him playfully, my face in a look of utter surprise. "You guys are all too crazy." Johnny said shaking his head. We all laugh. "So," I say, dropping my arm, and placing it on my hip, "you guys never told me I was going to the Music Awards with you." "Oh, we must have forgotten. Well, we were going to buy you a dress on our own, but being guys, and not knowing your size, we figured it would be safer if you picked it out, and we can just sit here and tell you how beautiful you look." Kevin explained, smiling. "Or stupid." I chime in. At seven dresses down, and one to go, I was getting very discouraged. So far, the dresses have not fit, looked funny, or made me look weird. Shopping can be a very tedious thing. "Last one." I state while exiting my the dressing rooms. I, personally, thought this dress looked nice compared to the others. This dress had a tight sky-blue halter bodice, and a flowing white skirt. I felt like I was Cinderella in this dress. I walk out to the boys, mouths agape. AJ lets out a soft whistle. "Wow..Tanya...You look like..." Nick stumbles over his words. "A princess." Howie observes. "This dress was made for you, dear." Donna comments. Kevin gets up and hugs me. "You really like hugs, don't you?" "I just had to hug the next Ms. America." Kevin explained. "I guess this is the dress." I check out the price tag. "$200! There is no way I could afford this." "Don't worry about it, we'll get it." AJ offers. "No, its too much, I'm not going to let you buy it for me." "If you think about it, that's only $40 a guy, don't worry about it." Kevin does the math. "No, thank you, but no. I'll just find something else." I reject the offer one last time and turn back into the dressing rooms. "Here, Lonnie," Kev says handing $40 to his bodyguard, "Lon, will you do us a huge favor?" "Sure. No problem." He accepts his mission. All of the Backstreet Boys follow suit, and hand Lonnie $40. He places the money in his pocket as I emerge. "Well, thanks anyway. Lets go." I say while handing the dress over to the salesperson. An hour later, I am in my room, removing tags, and sales stickers from my new clothes, when the boys enter with a dry cleaning bag. "Hey." I greet them, "What's in the bag?" Brian hands it to me and tells me to open it. I open it, and there is the dress. I look up, stunned...astonished....miffed. "In many countries, it is very rude to not except gifts." "But, I, Brian, I...I can't." "Very rude." He insists. I give each of the boys a hug. I linger on Kevin, the last one to get a hug. "I guess this means I have to go the Awards then, huh?" I ask, pushing my famous "Locks" out of my face. "You better believe it, who else would be my date?" AJ responds. "What are you talking about, man? She's mine." Brian argues. "I don't think so, she's my date." Howie joins in. "Boys, boys, there is enough of me to go around, I can be all of your dates." I say, with a flip of my hair.