Chapter 7 Wow I Have The Backstreet Boys As Good Luck Charms!

*****Kalie’s Point Of View*****

Mark carried me off the stage and into the audience to wait for the results of the competition. He sat me down on a chair and all of a sudden all my good luck charms rushed over to me. My parents and grandparents were the first to reach me with questions of how my ankle was feeling and comments of how proud they were of me. My siblings and their significant others were the next to crowd around me followed by my aunt, uncle and younger cousin. I kept hearing everyone who was surrounding me say that they had no doubt my team was going to win. I just sat there and crossed my fingers.

“Kalie!” I heard someone scream before I was ambushed from both my sides.

I looked at the people who were hugging me and smiled when I saw it was Michelle and Crystal.

“You did awesome out there Kayl!” Crystal nearly screamed.

“And girl you looked hot!” Michelle exclaimed.

I laughed, “Thanks. How do you think my team did? I’m tired of hearing about how well I did. How did my team do?”

“You guys were the best ones out there!” Chris said as he walked up behind Michelle.

“Yeah you had no competition out there at all,” Dan commented as he took a seat next to me. “You were the only real team on that floor.”

“Thanks guys. I’m still crossing my fingers though.”

“You don’t have to do that honey. You pretty much already won if you ask all of us who showed up to watch you.” I turned around to see Nick’s mom and his siblings standing behind me.

“Mama Carter! My other siblings! You guys came!”

“Of course we came sweet heart,” Mrs. Carter said as she hugged me. “We knew how big this was for you and Kasey and we felt really bad for not coming to the last one.”

“Oh it’s ok Mama Carter. Hey! It’s my little sibs!” I said excitedly when I saw BJ, Leslie, Angel and Aaron who were standing behind their mother.

“Hey Kalie!” they all exclaimed as they came closer to me to give me a hug.

“I missed you Kalie!” Aaron hugged me tightly.

“I missed you too bud! Thank you so much for coming you guys!”

“It’s no problem Kayl. We had to come to support our big sis!” Angel answered.

“Especially after Nick told us about you and Dylan,” BJ commented.

“Yeah Kay. I’m so sorry,” Leslie hugged me again.

“It’s ok Les. I’m so over him now. I don’t have to worry about that jerk anymore and you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Good for you Kalie. And of course we’re going to worry about you. You’re family and the Carters always worry about family. Oh and Papa Carter said he’s very sorry that he couldn’t make it but he’s visiting one of his good friends from high school,” Mrs. Carter said.

“Oh ok. I understand. I’ll have to go see him when he gets back.”

“Yeah I was just about to invite you to dinner while Nick was home. I’ll call you when Papa Carter gets back,” she answered.

The Carters pretty much adopted me when I was younger. My best friends and I were always at their house hanging with Nick. Also his parents and my parents got a long really well over time and were soon best friends as well so we were constantly being invited over for dinner or an outing on the Carter’s boat. BJ, Leslie, Angel and Aaron started calling me their sister and it stuck. I was so happy they showed up the last day of the competition.

“Where’s Nick?” I asked. “I saw him earlier but I have no idea where he went.”

“He’s right behind you,” he said making me jump because I wasn’t expecting to hear his voice.

“Hey! You scared me.”

“I’m sorry but look who I found.”

He stepped aside to reveal Brian, AJ, Howie and Kevin.

“Oh my gosh you guys made it! This is awesome! Wow I have the Backstreet Boys as good luck charms! Thank you so much for coming!” I hobbled over to each of them to give them a hug.

“It was our pleasure Kalie. You guys are awesome performers,” Kevin commented.

“Yeah we need you on tour with us,” Howie chuckled.

“How about you and your team become the new BSB dancers?” AJ asked with a smile.

“Oh say yes! Say yes!” Brian joked.

I giggled and replied, “I don’t know. I think our coach will be mad at us if we do go on tour with you guys.”

“Yeah Dia would have a hard time without her star pupils,” commented Nick.

Just then Dia came over to us and said hello to the Boys.

“Wow we had the Backstreet Boys in the audience to cheer us on tonight! That’s awesome! And it was very nice to meet you guys.”

“It was nice to meet you too,” they all answered.

“Kalie I just wanted to tell you that they are asking all of the dancers to head out to the dance floor so they can give out the trophies.”

“Ok. I’ll be right out. I just gotta find Kasey.”

“Don’t have to I’m already here.” Again I wasn’t expecting him to say that so I jumped and my good luck charms chuckled.

“How’d you get here so quickly?”

“I knew you were going to call for me.”

“How’d you now I was going to call for you?”

“It’s called twin telepathy sis.”

“Oh yeah I forgot about that.”

“Come on sis lets go join our team. We can’t get our trophy without our captain.” Kasey picked me up and moved toward our team. He placed me down and the entire team engulfed me in the usual linked arm hug that we shared whenever we were waiting for results.

The judges took their time announcing which trophy went to which team, and my team mates and I were getting more and more anxious when third place was called and our name wasn’t.

Finally the head judge said, “This was a very close call but in the end the three of us unanimously decided that first place goes to…The Diangela Dancers!”

We all screamed and Dia rushed over to us with the first place trophy. She pasted the trophy around so each of us could get a chance to touch it, then she extended it to me and said, “You’re the captain of this team and you’re the one who danced on a hurt ankle. I already talked to the team and they want you to have this trophy!”

“Thank you!” I said as I started to tear. Once the trophy was in my hands Mark and Kasey hoisted me up on their shoulders. The rest of my team crowded around me again and we smiled for all the cameras that were looking to capture the memory of winning one of our biggest dance competitions.

After all the camera flashes ceased Mark and my brother placed me back on my feet. My good luck charms flood over to me and my brother and congratulated us and said how proud they were of us. Then someone tapped me on the shoulder so I spun around to a very unexpected surprise.     

“That was awesome Kalie!”

“Ryan! My god you made it!”

“Yes I did! Well I missed the first day but I was here all day Saturday and I was here to see you win tonight.”

“Thank you so much for coming!”

“You’re welcome Kalie I knew how much this meant to you.”

“I missed you Ryan and you look so good. I have to say it’s a lot better talking with you in person then talking to you on the phone.”

“I know and I’ve been trying to make time to come visit you but I’ve been so busy with school and my job. I’m lucky I got the time off to come here.”

Ryan and I started to talk more and more after my sweet 16 but we really got close during our junior year and were practically inseparable senior year, mainly because we were in all the same classes and clubs. Then when we went away to college we called each other every week and tried our hardest to make plans to meet each other someday but it never worked out. I told him about the competition but I doubted he would be able to make it but against the odds he showed up bringing the total number of good luck charms to 28, my lucky number.

****Nick’s Point Of View *****

That night my mom, Kalie’s family and I all chipped in to take her and Kasey out for a celebratory dinner to one of their favorite restaurants that was owned by a good friend of her family.

All thirty of us packed into the back room of Maggie’s Place and fought over the seats. Everyone wanted to sit next to Kalie but finally she sat between me and Ryan. In return Ryan started flirting with Kalie and she flirted right back. I tried not to let it get to me but it did. They were making each other laugh and complementing each other to the point where it got sickening and to the point where I felt that Kalie didn’t even acknowledge my presence beside her. I didn’t talk much during that dinner and I was happy when the check was paid. I nearly sprinted out of the restaurant.  

Michelle, Crystal, Dan, and Chris pulled me aside before I could get into my car. Crystal placed a hand on my shoulder and asked, “Are you ok bud?”

“Not really.”

“Why are you mad at Kalie?” Michelle asked.

“Who said I was mad at Kalie?”

“Dude you didn’t talk to her at all at dinner,” Dan commented.

“Ryan never gave me the chance. You saw how they were flirting,” my voice got a notch louder.

Chris stepped closer to me, “Dude, chill out. Are you really crushing on her that much that it’s bothering you that she’s flirting with another guy she liked in the past?”

Was it really that obvious that I was crushing on her? I didn’t want it to show. I didn’t want my best friends, especially Crystal and Michelle, to know because I knew they would go back to Kalie and tell her and things would become awkward between her and I. That was the last thing I wanted to happen.

“No,” I said defiantly, “I’m not crushing on her. It’s just that they were flirting so much that she forgot I was sitting right next to her. I mean I haven’t gotten the chance to really talk to her while I’ve been home and when I was right there she and Ryan decide to flirt the whole night.”

“Maybe you should tell her,” Michelle said calmly.

“Tell her what?”

“Tell her that you felt ignored tonight. She needs to know so she won’t let it happen again,” Crystal answered.

“Yeah knowing Kalie she won’t let it happen again unless she doesn’t know about it,” Dan said.

“But how do I tell her?”

“Just pull her aside tonight and tell her straight up ‘I felt like you didn’t know I was there’,” Chris answered.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get her away from Ryan I mean look at them.” I pointed toward Ryan who was carrying Kalie to her sister’s car. He said something to her and made her laugh. My face started to feel hot and I had the strong feeling that it should’ve been me who made her laugh not that James Dean wanna be.

“He won’t be at Kalie’s house tonight. I know that for a fact,” Michelle said grabbing my attention again.

“Just tell her before we go to bed tonight,” Dan shrugged.

“Alright I will.”

“Are you sure you’re not crushing on her Carter?” Chris asked.

I nearly screamed when I answered, “Yes! I’m not crushing on her! I just felt left out tonight that’s all!”

“Ok dude I was just making sure. You don’t have to blow your top.”

I took my friends’ advice and pulled Kalie aside just before she and the girls went up to bed.

“Is something wrong Nick?”

I let out a sigh and glanced at her, “Did you know I was sitting next to you tonight?”

“Of course I did. I sat there purposely Nick so I could be next to you and Ryan.”

“Well tonight I felt like you didn’t even know I was there because you and Ryan had each others’ ears all night. I don’t think you said a word to me at all.”

“I’m so sorry Nick. It’s just that he and I haven’t seen each other since the Disney trip and it was really good to see him tonight. The both of us are so busy that we never get to see each other. We have tried to get together but our plans seem to always fall apart.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry if you felt ignored Nick. I know you and we don’t see enough of each other either and I promise you that all next week will be devoted to just me and you. We can do all the things we used to before you became a Backstreet Boy. And I promise I won’t push you away ever again. You’re not mad at me are you? We cool?”

“Of course we’re cool. I can’t be mad at my best friend now can I?”

She smiled at me then hugged me. “Good night Nick. I’ll see you in the morning and we’ll make plans for tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me Kayl. Good night.”

“And don’t ask if I need help getting up stairs because Kim has it covered.”

“Alright Kay.”

I watched Kim help her hobble up the stairs and smirked at her hard headedness. She’ll never change, I thought to myself.

The following morning I woke up to a loud thud and Kalie’s voice hissing, “Shit!”

I flew out of bed and jumped over Dan who was sleeping on the floor and dashed toward the stairs. I looked over the banister and found Kalie lying on the ground at the bottom of them. I ran down and knelt at her side.

“What happened?!”

“I missed the second to last step.”

“Can you get up?”

“I don’t think so. Nick can you take me to my doctor? I think I re-sprained my ankle.”

“We’ll go right now. Are your siblings home?”

“They left for work already and they won’t be home until after class. I’ll tell Kasey to call them. Just get me into a chair please and then go tell Kasey you’re taking me to the doctor.”

“Alright Kay. Here we go,” I got to my feet and grabbed a hold of her wrists. I pulled her up onto her good leg and helped her into a chair.

I bounded back up the stairs to wake up Kasey. He was so tired that his reaction was very delayed when I said through the door, “It’s Nick. I’m taking Kalie to the doctor because she fell down the stairs and hurt her ankle again. She wants you to tell your parents.”  

“Ok,” he responded sleepily.

As I started down the stairs again Kasey burst open his door and exclaimed, “Kalie fell?! I’ll go tell mom and dad and I’ll go start the car.”

“Dude you can’t go to the doc’s office in only your boxers.”

He looked down at his boxers then ran back into his room to throw on a shirt and sweats. Then he rushed into the room his parents were sleeping in. Moments later Mrs. Smith rushed out of her room fully dressed and said, “Nick thank you for waking up Kasey and you can stay here if you want. Mr. Smith and myself can handle this.”

“OK.” I went back to Kalie and said, “You’re Mom and Dad are going to take you.”

“Oh ok. I promise that when I get back we’ll spend the rest of the day together. I know we can have a movie marathon or a Whose Line Is It Anyway Fest.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Kalie came back with her ankle wrapped up but thankfully it was nothing more than a bruise. She told me she had to stay off of it for six weeks but as long as she kept her ankle wrapped up she was mobile. So that week we hung out together just the two of us like she promised. We had movie marathons, days where we just went walking around the neighborhood we grew up in and the different parks we used to play in, and we went out on my boat a few times when the weather and water were perfect. It was one of the best weeks of my life and I didn’t want it to end. But like all good things it ended the next week when my manager called me and the Boys back into the studio. But I’ll never forget the last night Kalie and I had alone together.

I had taken her out on my boat for the entire day. We talked, looked over our old year books and scrap books, and all in all enjoyed our last uninterrupted day together. By the time the sunset neither of us wanted to drive home so we decided to stay on the boat.

“Where do you want to sleep? We can stay out here on the deck or in the cabin in one of the bunks.”

She looked up at the stars and grinned, “How about we sleep under the stars tonight? It’s too gorgeous out here to sleep inside.”

“Alright. I’ll go get blankets and sleeping bags from below deck because the temperature is going to drop quickly out here.”

“Ok take your time.”

When I came back with the blankets and sleeping bags, Kalie was sitting with her knees tucked into her chest and was gazing up at the stars. I had to stop and just look at her for a minute. She looked so beautiful in the starlight and again I swore I saw angel wings sprouting from her back. I walked up to her slowly and handed her the bedding.

We set up our sleeping places and got comfortable under our blankets. We stared at the stars for a while picking out what constellations we knew and making up our own. We used to do that a lot when we were kids and we always came up with funny stories about our new constellations.

I was lying on my back with my arms crossed under my head. Kalie was trying to roll up her sweat jacket into a pillow but I could see she was uncomfortable.

“If you want, you can lay your head on my shoulder,” I offered.

She looked at me in disbelieve, “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Lay your head on my shoulder. I won’t mind.”

“Wouldn’t that be awkward though?”

“What do mean?”

“I mean that’s usually how a couple would sleep out here under the stars. We’re not dating Nick,” she looked at me with her eyebrow raised and her usual “this is not going to end well” look.

I chuckled, “I know we’re not but how long have we known each other? And besides you have fallen asleep on Michelle and Crystal before. And didn’t you always nap on Chris and Dan at the lunch table?”

“Well those situations are different. Mich and Tally are like sisters to me and Dan and Chris were the closest ones to me at the lunch table. But tonight,” she looked back at the night sky, “Tonight is different… very different.”

“But how is it different? We’ve slept out here before together.”

“But Nick we weren’t all alone the other times. Your family was with us and I would always sleep next to your sisters. This night is for a couple. It’s actually romantic out here and we’re just friends Kaos.”

“I know we are. And because you are my friend, correction best friend, I’m offering my shoulder to you so you can be comfortable.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

“My pleas…” I caught myself, “You’re welcome.”

She gently rested her head on my shoulder and now that she was that close to me the sweet scent of her perfume wafted up to my nose. It was a mixture of mandarin oranges and jasmine mixing with the smell of her coconut shampoo. For all I knew I could have stayed like that forever.

“Kalie…” I whispered then waited for an answer but one never came. I looked down at her and noticed the slight smirk across her lips as she slept. I wondered what she was dreaming about. Maybe she was dreaming of us. I know I dreamed of what we could be while I slept that night.