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GOTCHA! Chapter 1
So there I was, just sitting in my living room, watching Howie, AJ, Nick, Brian and Kevin shake their booties. For what seemed like the hundredth time in the last month. I had fought hard against becoming a Backstreet Boys fan. Back in my teenage days, I was devoted to the New Kids on the Block. I didn't want to lose that, nor did I want to live with a feeling of betrayal. However, the inevitable happened. I became a Backstreet Boys fan. And I love it. I listen to their music as much as I can, which is every day on the way to and from work, when I wash the dishes and clean the house. Anytime that I am not watching them, I am listening to them. I was, at this point, willing to do anything that they asked. Within reason of course. When I first became a fan, Nick was my favorite. But now, I would have to say that it is a toss up between Howie and AJ. Which for me is odd. Usually my tastes went for the blond hair, blue-eyed member of the group, Nick and Brian. But for now, Howie and AJ it was. Anyway, there I was watching them do their thing. AJ was giving me a guided tour of what happened behind the scenes when they filmed their video for Everybody (Backstreet's Back). They were doing a couple of other videos as well and it was when I saw Nick sleeping on the bus that I had a fantastic idea. I could make a video of them. Follow them around for a whole tour. Catch everything that all the female fans could want. I remember watching New Kids videos and wondering what really went on behind the scenes. But of course they would never show that. The record and management companies wanted you to think that everything was hunky dorey. This was my chance. True, I had no idea how to work a video camera. True, I had no connection with the Backstreet Boys. True, I had no idea how to even approach this. But if I didn't try I would never forgive myself. I grabbed a piece of paper and started to write. I figured that I would address the letter to AJ, he was at times the most outgoing and may be the one to talk everyone into it. I knew that it would go to a fan club first, unless I could get his actual home address. I went to work. I wanted this to go straight to him. Within a week I had hooked up with a girl on the internet that knew where he lived, she had been to his house on several occasions looking for him. She wrote me with the street address and I called information in Orlando and got the zip code. The day that I put that letter in the mail, I was very nervous and a little excited. The wait was on. Time dragged while I waited for a reply. I knew that it would take a while. Face it. These are busy guys. I continued my everyday routine, going to work, coming home, checking the mail to see if there was a response. It never occurred to me that AJ may be just a little too busy to sit down and write a response. One day, about two months after I had sent the letter, I was watching my soap opera and the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID, "Out of Area" glared at me. I wasn't in the mood to take any calls from some telemarketer. I let my answering machine do its thing. "Hey there, obviously I can't come to the phone right now. Leave your name, number and what you would like to chat with me about and I will call you back as soon as I can. Thanks. Wait for the beep!" I hated my answering machine. "Uhm ... Erin, this is AJ McLean. I received your letter and just wanted to discuss this a little further with you." AJ said. I grabbed the phone, in shock. He had called. They were considering it. "AJ, this is Erin. Sorry about the answering machine, I was just uhh ..." I couldn't tell him that I was screening my calls. "No problem. About your letter, I have discussed it with the guys and we are interested. It may be something to consider." He explained. AJ obviously couldn't see me, but I was jumping around my living room. I was ecstatic. I finally did something outrageous in my life and it may pay off. "That's great." Was all I could get out. "We have some questions though and we want to meet you face to face, just to make sure that you are ... uh ... normal." He continued. They wanted to meet me? Me? It had slipped my mind that I would actually have to meet them should I do this. "Uhm, yeah sure. When? Where? For how long?" I asked all at once. "Can you come out this weekend? We will be in Toronto. Plan to be with us for a couple of days." He said I suddenly wondered if I had enough money for a plane ticket to Toronto. Not to mention what it would cost me for the hotels. "Uhm ... I may have to think about that. Make sure that I can afford to fly out there and stay in the hotel. Can I give you a call back?" I questioned with a little hesitation. I didn't want him to think that I didn't want to do this after all. "Don't worry about that. We will have a ticket waiting for you at the airport. Your room will be covered and all that. There will be a limo waiting for you at the airport. I will get on the phone and make all the arrangements. I will call you back in a couple of hours. How does that sound?" AJ explained. This was unbelievable. Things like this never happened to me. Ever! "Sure that sounds like a great idea. I'll wait for your call. Bye." I finished and hung up.
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