STP

Special Delivery

        Sarah looked at the clock on Saturday afternoon as her boss, Linda, came out from the back.
        "Sarah, go, get home and start your vacation, I don't expect to see you back here until next Friday!" Linda exclaimed, shooing Sarah towards the door. Sarah smiled tiredly at the woman. "Thanks, Linda, see you in a few days!"
        She waved as she walked out of the door and around the corner towards her house. She arrived at her front door and noticed that her mother's car wasn't there.
        'That's strange, I thought she wasn't leaving until tomorrow?' Sarah asked herself as she unlocked the door. She hurried up the stairs and into her second story apartment and hit play on the answering machine.
        "Hey, Sarah, sweetie, its mom. I decided to start out today and beat the traffic up to Massachusetts. I love you honey, I'll see you in a week!"
        Sarah smiled and walked into the kitchen, looking for something for dinner. She found a banana and decided to munch on that while she decided what else to have. She walked back to her room as a message from Stephanie clicked off and a message from her friend Gen came on.
        "Sugar! Hey, chick, what are you doing giving your phone number out on the Internet? I mean, I know it helped me immensely since I lost your number, but I didn't recognize some of those names! And who's Brian? You never told me about a Brian! I gotta go, but call me at my dorm, love ya chick!"
        Sarah smiled, Gen was her friend from last year that graduated already and went to college in South Carolina. She and Gen were still very close and told each other near everything. Gen watched out for Sarah and Sarah watched out for Gen.
        Sarah turned on the radio as the machine clicked off and went to check her mail real quick. She read a few newsletters and glanced over the auctions on EBay, then logged off. She was just dilly-dallying in her room, reading a book, when the phone rang.
        "Sarah! What on earth are you thinking when you announce your phone number for the world to see?!?" Marissa exclaimed.
        "Hi to you too, Marissa, I was being truthful, I know everyone on that list, they either go with us to school or I went to school with them a while back," Sarah said.
        "What about Brian? You don't even know what the guy looks like and you give him your phone number? Are you insane?"
        "No, I trust Brian, he's not going to do anything out of the ordinary or extremely freaky like start to stalk me, Rissa, he's not like that. He's really sweet and really funny."
        "Sweet and funny my ass! Sarah, you just put yourself in danger!"
        "Marissa, calm down, nothing is going to happen. Look, I gotta go, I'm waiting for my mom to call and tell me that she got to my sister's college. She'll freak if I'm on the phone, she'll think the worst."
        "Ok, but Sarah, I'm warning you, if something bad happens, I don't want to be the one to say I told you so."
        "You won't have to Marissa, nothing bad is gonna happen. Bye."
        "Bye."
        Sarah hung up the phone and shook her head, going back to her book. 'Why is everyone so paranoid? Just because I'm the only one out of any of them that talks to Brian doesn't mean that he isn't trustworthy, he's the best, I practically trust him with my life.'
        Nearly four hours later, after Sarah had finished a majority of her book, she decided that she might want to check her mail. She logged onto AOL and found one message waiting for her, from Brian.
        "Dear Sarah. You've helped me tremendously over the past year and though I feel bad about it, I have to ask you the biggest favor on earth. Please be on tonight at one a.m., I'll explain then. Love, Brian."
        Sarah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and clicked out of the program. 'What's so important that it couldn't wait until the morning?' Sarah asked herself. She looked at the clock, ten-thirty.
        'I'll try to stay up, I hope I can,' she said to herself. She sat on the beanbags in the living room that served as furniture and channel surfed, something she rarely did. She never really watched TV, she didn't have the time. She watched a movie on TBS until about twelve, then watch a rerun of Saturday Night Live. Her eyes were threatening to close as she logged onto AOL at one o'clock.
        'This better be good,' Sarah thought, yawning. The welcome screen came up and immediately an IM popped up on the screen.
        'Sarah, thank you,' Brian wrote.
        'Brian, what on earth is wrong? You make it sound like life and death.'
        'In a way it is. I'm going to ask you to trust me and believe everything I'm about to tell you.'
        'Ok, I guess.'
        'All right, I guess I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Brian Littrell. Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys.'
        Sarah froze, her fingers posed over the keyboard. She started to laugh as she typed. 'Very funny, Brian, is that what you made me stay up for? For joking? I'm not in the mood, Brian, I'm very tired.'
        'No, Sarah, I'm not kidding. I need you to trust me, to believe me. I am Brian, the same one who sings all those songs everyday to all those people in the world.'
        'Yeah, and I'm related to the royal family.'
        'Well, then, Princess Sarah, or Duchess Sarah, whichever you prefer, where are your jewels?'
        'In the family vault. Look, Brian, if this even is Brian, I don't have time for these games.'
        'Ok, you want me to prove I'm Brian? Ok, I know that your b-day is July sixteenth and that it's coming up very soon. I know that your nickname from grade school is Little Howland because you're the little sister. I know that when you were in fourth grade, you tripped on the bleachers and gave yourself a black eye. I know that in work a few weeks ago, you put your foot in the icing bucket and ever since I've been calling you 'icing-foot Sarah'. And I know that you work in the Beach Plum ice cream store and your boss's name is Linda. I know so much about you, I'm amazed I can remember it all.'
        'Ok, now that I know you're the Brian I've been talking to for the last year, how can I believe that you're the Brian Littrell?'
        'You want to know facts? We're touring right now, just finished with our European tour for the year here in Germany last night. Nick is behind me on his bed, out like a light. Kevin is in his room next door, he's the one that got the single room on this stay. My cuz will be out until at least noon. On the other side of mine and Nick's room is Howie and AJ's room, where AJ is listening to one of his CDs and writing another poem or song and Howie is asleep, talking in his sleep again. You want more? My nicknames include Frick, B-Rok, Seaver, Squishyman, and my mom calls me her Baby Duck. Nick's are Frack, Kaos, Messy Marvin, and Nicky, which he hates should I go on with the rest of the guys?'
        'No, those are common knowledge.'
        'So what can I say to convince you?'
        Sarah tapped her nails on the keyboard in front of her, thinking hard of a question only the Brian Littrell would know. 'Ok, Mr. Littrell, at your NYC appearance in ninety-seven, when you were at Virgin Record Store, what was the radio station and DJ that hosted the event?'
        'Z100, that's frequency 100.3, and the DJ's name was Lisa Taylor, a blonde, curly-haired woman that wore black pants and a red shirt.'
        Sarah gasped, she went to that with her friend, and he was exactly right.
        'How did you'
        'How did I know that? I was there, I remember a lot about where I was. Everything kind of blurs together after a while, but when I am given specific dates and places, I can remember everything about it.'
        'OMG.'
        'You don't believe me still, do you?'
        'Oh, I believe you it's just that I'm a little on the shocked side.'
'Why?'
        'Well, think about it, Brian, for the last year, ever since I found your screen name, I've been talking to you, confessing things to you that I never have to anyone else. Hell, I even told you things that I wouldn't tell my best friends! I let you have insight on my life, I let you in my life and told you what kind of music I liked and who my favorite groups were.'
        'You like all kinds of music, and your favorite groups include Boys II Men, Smashmouth, Goo Goo Dolls, and us, the BSB.'
        'Why?'
        'Why what?'
        'Why did you lie to me?'
        'I didn't lie, I avoided the truth, I lied by omission. I never specifically denied that I was a Backstreet Boy, you never asked so I never denied it. I beat around the bush on numerous occasions, but I never lied.'
        'Ok, then what was this big favor you had to ask me and you made me stay up when I was totally exhausted for?'
        'I need you to just promise me that you trust me and that this doesn't change our friendship in any way.'
        'No, it doesn't. You aren't any different than you were a few days ago, a few weeks ago, a few months ago. You're still the same Brian, but now I can put the name to a face.'
        'Good, just promise me that you won't lose your trust in me.'
        'I promise.'
        'Good, I have to go now. I'm getting up early tomorrow.'
        'Ok, I guess, even though it's already seven-thirty over there.'
        'Oh, yeah, well, I have to get up in about six hours then. Good night, Sarah, love you.'
        'Love you too, Brian, good night.'
        Sarah logged off a few seconds after Brian, thoroughly confused. She went into her room and fell asleep, trying to not think. Back    Next