Boston : BSB-Style

"Come on you guys!"

Melissa sighed as her three best friends from school snickered. They had been driving for over an hour, and no matter how hard she tried or how much she pleaded with them, Emily, Sarah, and Carol refused to tell her where they were headed.

"Make sure that blindfold is on tight, Sarah," Emily said from the driver's seat. Sarah reached over and tugged on the scarf that covered Melissa's eyes. Carol, who was in the front seat turned and waved her hand in front of Melissa's face.

"I can't see anything at all!" Melissa complained and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Will you please tell me why I'm blindfolded? Does it have something to do with my birthday?"

Sarah shook her head, knowing full well that her friend couldn't see her. "It's our little secret." Melissa sighed again as the cell phone rang.

"Hello? Oh, hi! Yeah, we're almost there." Carol laughed. "What makes you think that she would be complaining? Okay. See you soon!"

"Who was that?" Melissa instantly regretted asking the question when Carol laughed again and informed her it was the Easter Bunny.

Some time later, the car stopped and Melissa was pulled out of the car. She could hear traffic and lots and lots of noise. Emily put a set of headphones on her head to block any other outside noise, and a very confused Melissa listened to the radio as they led her into the building.

Finally, she had enough. "That's it! First you made me sit blindfolded in that car for hours, then we walked forever, up some escalators, walked some more, and now we just got off an elevator! WHERE ON EARTH ARE WE!?!"

An unfamiliar voice laughed. "Okay, bring her on in here. You really kept her blindfolded the entire time?"

Sarah pushed Melissa through a doorway into a room. "Yeah, we thought it would be more fun this way."

"Okay, Emily, on the count of three, remove the blindfold. One, two, three!"

Melissa blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the light, and could only stare at the group of people singing "Happy Birthday" to her. Emily, Sarah, and Carol

were standing behind her. Jacquie and Faye were standing on the couch holding up a banner. Lexie and Nikki were standing in front of a large picture window.

When they finally finished the song, Melissa was in tears as she looked at all her friends gathered in the room. Faye yelled for a group hug and all seven friends surrounded the birthday girl.

"I knew this had something to do with my birthday!"

"Well, duh!" Nikki laughed as she hugged her. "Why else do you think we would be here?"

"Um, so where are we?" Melissa looked around the little room.

"You are standing in a luxury Skybox at The Fleet Center where in about fifteen minutes we will be watching the Boston Celtics play the Indiana Pacers!"

Nikki looked so excited about this game that Mel didn't have the heart to tell her that watching basketball wasn't her idea of a great birthday party. All the girls stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the court as three women sang the National Anthem. As the game began, they wandered in and out of the room eating, talking, and generally having fun.

"You said that this was a luxury skybox, Nikki?"

She nodded. "This is my uncle's box, but since I was coming into town, he said that we could use it."

"You have a very generous uncle."

Jacquie smiled. "Well, he really doesn't need it right now, right Tricks?" The other girl grinned and nodded.

Nikki's uncle's skybox certainly was luxurious. Complete with a bathroom and a kitchenette, the inner room featured a number of couches, an eating area, and had a television for viewing either the game or regular channels. The large picture window that Mel saw when she first entered had a door to one side and looked out over a balcony to the main floor below. The balcony had high sides for privacy and had tables and chairs so people could view the game in comfort.

Toward the end of the first quarter, the game was already intense. The Celtics were leading by only three points when the buzzer sounded. All the girls burst out laughing when they heard the male voices in the skybox next to them.

"I can't believe it! Did you see that shot? I could have made that one!" One guy claimed.

"Don't be so sure, I've seen you play before." Another one teased.

A third voice joined in. "Would you all just stop it! There's still three more quarters to go." And he was right. During one of the time-outs during the second quarter, Lexie pulled Melissa out onto the balcony.

"What are you doing? We were watching MTV!"

"Forget that. Look up there!" Lexie pointed to the large video screen hanging over the center of the court. The message read 'Happy 20th Birthday Melissa!' And then the cameras panned over the crowd up to their skybox as the announcer began speaking.

"If you would direct your attention to the video screens, folks, you can join us in wishing a very lucky lady a Happy 20th Birthday! Melissa, this birthday greeting is from your friends Emily, Sarah, Nikki, Faye, Lexie, and Jacquie. And of course, all of us here at Madison Square Gardens. And now back to the game!"

By the time an embarrassed Melissa waved into the cameras with the others in the background, Sarah started singing a very off-key rendition of 'Happy Birthday' and the rest quickly joined in.

"Happy Birthday Melissa!" The girls turned when the male voice from the next box called over.

"Thank you!" She called back right as someone began knocking on the door.

Jacquie ran to the answer it with Emily right on her heels. "Well, hello!"

"We thought it was you! Long time no see, eh girls?" They grinned at AJ McLean and Howie Dorough who stood just outside in the hall.

"What are you doing here?" Emily asked as they stepped back to let the boys in.

Howie shook his head. "We are doing a promo for some radio stations here in town, and one of them gave us tickets to this game. Nick and Brian are so excited because Larry Bird is coaching against his old team."

Jacquie's eyes twinkled. "Yeah, we know. Do you want to come and say hi to everyone?"

"Sure. We can surprise Melissa." Howie said.

"Yeah, just like we did for your other friend, right?" AJ asked.

"Yup, that was Faye, and she is here too. We all are." Emily pulled some sodas from the fridge.

AJ put his hand up to stop Howie from walking farther into the room. "Why don't we wait until the half is over, then the other guys can come over too."

Jacquie's grin grew bigger. "Yeah, that would be great. In fact, that would be perfect." The other three just looked at Jacquie questioningly, but the girl was too caught up in her plans. "Just come over right after the half ends, ok?"

The guys agreed, and headed back to their skybox. As Emily shut the door, she turned to face her friend. "What was that all about?" Jacquie grinned and filled her in on what she was thinking.

When the second quarter ended, the Pacers were leading by sixteen points. Nikki was talking on the phone when the knock came at the door. Puzzled, she looked from the phone to the door, and her confusion turned to shock when Emily opened the door and all five Backstreet Boys walked in.

"I'll see you soon." Nikki hung up the phone and grabbed Jacquie's arm as she was walking past. "Jaqs, what are THEY doing here?"

The now-redhead smiled. "They are they guys in the next skybox, and when we were all on the video screens, Howie and AJ remembered us from when we met them back in January. So they came over earlier and now they brought the rest of the guys to wish Mel a happy birthday." By the time Jacquie was done explaining, all the guys were in the room and talking with Emily and Sarah.

"Guys, you remember, Jacquie, and this is Nikki. I'll go get the others." Sarah brushed past the two girls as she headed out onto the balcony.

"But I don't wanna come inside. I want to watch the people!"

"Trust me, Mel. You wanna come inside." Sarah grinned. "All of you do."

Faye bounded inside and when she saw the guys hanging out, she called back out. "Yeah, Mel. You DEFINITELY wanna come inside." AJ and Brian heard her and grinned as they said hello.

Melissa finally came inside with Sarah and Lexie trailing behind. All the guys stood up and started singing 'Happy Birthday' to her while she stood there stunned. When they finished, all the girls applauded.

"You guys sounded MUCH better than we did. Ever think about doing this singing for a living?" Lexie slapped her hand over Jacquie's mouth.

"Don't mind her. She's a moron." Jacquie mumbled something that made Lexie turn a bright red and she removed her hand.

"At least she said it in English this time. How's your Spanish been lately?" AJ snickered as Jacquie tossed a pillow at him.

Introductions were made all around and within minutes, they were sitting around the room talking. When someone began knocking on the door, Nikki grinned and jumped out of her chair. Jacquie and Emily shared a conspiratorial grin as their friend raced for the door.

"How's my favorite niece?" Everyone could hear Nikki talking with a man who apparently was her uncle.

Jacquie leaned over Lexie to whisper to AJ and Howie. "Just look at Nick and Brian!" The guys looked at her strangely, but turned to see their friends' expressions when Nikki brought her uncle into the room.

Nick was the first to notice him. His jaw just dropped and he started hitting Brian's arm to get his attention. When Brian swung his head around to glare at his friend, Nick could only stare straight ahead. AJ and Howie started snickering when Brian's face mirrored his best friend's, but their amusement turned to surprise when they too noticed the newcomer. Kevin, who was in the kitchenette, saw Nikki walk past with her uncle and with a similar expression, followed them into the main room.

Nikki laughed. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my uncle."

"You're Larry Bird!" Nick stammered before Nikki could finish the introductions.

"Yes, I am. And you are the Backstreet Boys." The legendary basketball player grinned as Brian's jaw dropped even farther.

"You know who we are?"

"Yes, thanks to Nikki and her friends, I do." He looked around the room and when his gaze landed on Jacquie, he started chuckling. "Nice color this time, Jacquie."

"Thanks! Nikki helped me with it last night." She ran her hand over her red hair. "The offer still stands, you know."

"Um, thanks anyway, but I kind of like my hair as it is."

Kevin was the first to get over his shock and started talking with Larry. The group joined in and five minutes later, Larry's pager went off and he stood up.

"I hate to cut this short, but I have a game to get to." Everyone said their good-byes and Nikki walked him to the door.

"Wow! I can't believe that I just talked to THE Larry Bird!" Brian sank back in his chair with his hand over his eyes.

Nick was staring at his hand. "I shook his hand. I shook LARRY BIRD'S HAND!!! I am never washing this again!"

The girls all started laughing at that. "You sound like one of your teenybopper fans!" Faye shrieked. The guys joined in laughing, and Nick sheepishly did too.

When the buzzer sounded signaling the start of the third quarter, the guys stood up. "We'd like to stay and watch the game from here, but there isn't enough space for all of us here," Kevin said.

"Plus we have to leave right after the game is over, and our security will probably already have a fit because we didn't stay in our skybox the entire time," Brian explained.

Understanding, the girls said good-bye and after a few pictures and more birthday wishes for Melissa, the guys left.

"I'm exhausted!" Sarah flopped on the couch.

"I know what you mean! I feel like I just played that entire basketball game," Lexie slumped down next to her.

Melissa just sat in her chair. "This was too weird running into the Backstreet Boys again! What kind of coincidence was that?"

"And how come you never told us your uncle was Larry Bird, Tricks?" Faye popped the tab on her soda.

"That was my other surprise for you all. I didn't know for sure if he could come up, but since his team is winning, he managed to slip out for a few minutes. And why do you think they call me Little Bird?" Nikki grinned as she headed out to watch the rest of the game.

The game was a close one and the Indiana Pacers eventually won by two points in overtime. Tired after their exciting evening, they started cleaning the skybox before heading back to the hotel where they were staying for the night.

Faye walked past the front door and noticed two envelopes on the floor. "Hey guys! Someone left us a note!" The other girls gathered around the youngest girl. "This one is for Nikki," she handed it to her. "And this one doesn't have a name on it."

"Well, open it, then!" Needing no further encouragement, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper.

"Who's your note from?"

"Oh, just my uncle. Saying goodbye."

It was after midnight when the seven girls got to the hotel. Melissa, Sarah, Carol, and Emily were in one room, and Nikki, Faye, and Jacquie were in the one next door. When Faye was in the bathroom, Jacquie turned to her friend.

"Okay, tell me the truth. Your uncle didn't write that note, did he?"

Nikki wouldn't look her in the eye. "Of course he did."

"When did he have the time? He was coaching the game the entire time!"

"Okay, I don't really want to tell everyone just yet, but you're right. It wasn't from my uncle." Nikki pulled the note out of her jeans pockets.

"So who wrote it?"

"Howie." Her smile grew even wider as she folded the note back up and slid it in her pocket. "And he asked me to call him sometime."

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