Three more days passed.They inched by incredibly slow.Each day the curiosity & excitement built inside of Lilah.Matt gave out very few hints of what he had planned,and when Thursday rolled around,Lilah was so excited to get out of school that for once she was able to completely ignore any type of torment or misery that was thrown her way.As soon as she got home,she dug through her makeup drawer that she hadn't dared touch in months.In fact,it had been so long since she found the guts to wear makeup that she almost forgot how to apply it! With a little work,she fixed her face with a little bit of blush & foundation,and not much else.She dug thru her piles of outfits to try & find something conversative,but pretty.She decided not to go the skirt route,but instead put on a pair of her best jeans,and a blue baby tshirt.She fixed her hair in a ponytail and even put on a pair of earrings,another thing she hadn't done in a while.
For once,being pretty didn't upset her.She was pleased with how she looked,and did a little twirl in her full length mirror.Her clock on her nightstand read a little past 3:00, and she decided to get going.She left a note for her mother,when she got home from her work at the police station,and closed the door behind her,heading off in the direction of Emily's house.Emily lived about 3 blocks from where Lilah lived,in a sprawling mansion.Her parents were important record company execs and had a great deal of involvement in what Order out Of Chaos had planned for Lilah.Her feet were kind of shaky as she approached the mansion.The gate was open for her and she sauntered up the brick pathway to the front door,ringing the doorbell,her fingers trembling as she did so. Matthew & Emily opened the door for her.The other four bandmates were seated on the plush leather living room couches,smiling.
"What's up?" Lilah asked.Matthew took her hand and began to lead her out to the patio.The rest of his band followed.
"Close your eyes."
Lilah did as he asked and allowed him to lead her outside.He sat her down in a chair and instructed her to keep her eyes closed for a few more moments,then gave her permission to open them.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The scream could've woken the dead."YOU FUCKING GOT ME THE FUCKING BACKSTREET BOYS!!!!!" she yelled.The smile on her face would be one of the brightest she had sported in the past few years.Her heart was heavy and she instinctively ran forward,throwing herself into the arms of whichever member happened to break her run.She grinned ear to ear as she saw Kevin's smiling face looking down at her.Those green eyes.She could've died on the spot.So warm,so loving,so beautiful.
She stayed in a hug with him for the longest time before she went around and hugged the other four bandmates.A tear of happiness slid down her cheek.
"Well,are you going to perform for me or not?" she laughed.
"Of course.Your friend's band is gonna back us.We'll sing you a little bit of I Want It That Way."
And sing they did.Kevin came up to Lilah a few times,getting down on his knees and holding her hand as he sang to her.At that moment,she was feeling very attracted to him.She wondered if Matt had already told him she was only 17,and she decided to find out.After they finished singing,the 11 of them sat around the pool & patio talking as a group.To her surprise,the five Backstreet Boys were 100% clueless to her age.
Even despite the fact that she once swore she would never use her older looks to her advantage,she threw her morals out of the window.She would do anything for a piece of that wonderful Kevin...ANYTHING.Including lying about her age.
"So how old is our birthday girl today?" AJ grinned.
Lilah saw Rick open his mouth to mutter "17",but she cut him off.
"24!" she interrupted him loudly.She saw the look of surprise & shock on OOOC's faces.When they tried to talk again,she interrupted them again.And kept doing it until they stopped.
"24?" the Backstreet Boys were a little surprised too.
"Yeah,24!" she gave a kind of fake grin.
Matt sighed in frustration.He was absolutely thrilled to see his friend so happy that he decided to let her have her fun and not say anything,and his other bandmates could see that thought in his eyes & mirrored it.He didn't figure that her or any of the Backstreet Boys would end up dating or anything.One little lie seemed so harmless..so innocent..but little did he know..