I'm Not Losing You
"Yeah, it's a long-running inside joke between all the old time fans." I said. Which was definitely true.
A Story of Dedication to Those I Love
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After about seven minutes, the surprise of surprises came. They actually opened the doors up on time. I was rather shocked. One by one we made our way through the door, into the roped off area to for what seemed to be a fairly organized line. By now it was about five minutes until two o'clock. I thought to myself, "Hey, maybe they'll even start on time!" And then I laughed because I knew it was a joke to think that. (Sorry guys, no offense!) But I got out my camera and loaded the film so I would be set to go.
The second hand on my watch ticked, and it seemed to be extremely loud and slow. But isn't that the way it goes when you're waiting for something?
The next thing I knew, it was 2:10. No surprise, Vi3 time was coming back again. All the fans were getting anxious. Suddenly one of the guards stood up on a chair to get our attention.
"Ladies, Ladies, listen up." It slowly quieted down. "We're going to be bringing out the group in just a few minutes, but we need to explain to you how this is going to work." The line quieted to a dull hum as they listened to what the guard had to say. "We're letting people go through one at a time. Vi3 will autograph a photo for you, and if you wish, you may get back in line and once everyone has gotten their autograph, those of you who got back in line can take a group photo with them. Just keep in mind that this all depends on the time that we have."
Well, it sounded like a good idea, and hopefully it would go that way. But who knows, right? I looked up to see who was around when all of a sudden I heard a bunch of screams. They swelled from one side of the line to the other. Vi3 was on their way to the table. The line was led, of course, by Erik. He was followed closely by Justin, then Jackie, and then Lucas. Of course they had a few security guards escorting them to the table. Their faces were glowing with excitement and they looked so happy to be back home. Everyone was shrieking and jumping up and down, full of excitement and nerves all at the same time. Some girls were even starting to cry. I couldn't help but smile and think about all the old-time fans doing the same thing. Pretty soon the screams died down and they started the whole deal. While I was waiting for my turn, I made eye contact with Erik. He gave me the "Hey What's Up" look. I returned it with the same look. Then I got an idea.
"Erik!" I yelled to get his attention again. He turned back around to see what was up. I motioned for him to come my way. He said to hold on just a second. He told security he'd be right back and headed of towards me, and I reached into my backpack to get my gifts.
"What's up?" He asked me.
"Ok, I have some gifts for them, but since its moving kind of fast up there, I don't think I'll have time to hand them to the guys, so can you just give these to the guys later?"
"Sure, no problem." He said as I got all three gifts out. "What did you get them?" He asked when he saw the necklace boxes.
"You don't want to know! You'll kill her!" Samantha chimed in and Erik laughed.
"Do you want to see one?" I asked. He said that he would like to. I opened one of the boxes up to show him. His eyes got really big and he looked from the necklace to my face, and back to the necklace and once again back to my face.
"Tell me those are not real." He looked astonished.
"Well I would tell you that, but it would be a lie."
"Oh my goodness. I can't give these to them. I think you need to give them these in person." He handed them back to me carefully, as if he were scared that they were going to break with the lightest touch.
"I would, but it's probably going to be a while until I see them again long enough to do that."
"Hmmm, hold on just a second!" He ran off quick and went straight to Justin. He whispered something in his ear; Justin nodded and said "Yeah, that's cool." Then Erik moved onto Jackie and apparently asked him the same thing because he responded the same way. Lucas did too. Erik walked away from them and to one of the security guards. I kept watching to see just what he was going. Erik said something to the guard, and then he pointed at me. The guard nodded and said,
"Alright, no problem." Erik thanked him and came back to me.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Alright, see that guy over there?" He pointed to the guard he was just talking to. "That's Randy. After this whole thing is over, find him. I really think you should give them those gifts yourself, so I'm going to let you."
"I see." I nodded.
"How many people came with you? Just Samantha?"
"Yep. Wait, so what am I finding Randy for?" I asked.
"Well, I asked the guys if they needed to be out of here right away and if they would have some time to do a little something around here and hang out for a bit, and they all said it was cool with them, so I asked Randy if he could take you back to give them your stuff, and he said it was fine, so he's going to bring you back after all this so you can give them your stuff."
"Oh, you didn't have to do that, but thank you so much!"
"Sure thing, but Shh. Keep this on the DL. Just you and Sam."
"Oh of course," I said. "Then I guess I should just keep it to myself because she has a big mouth." I giggled. He laughed too and then he proceeded to walk back to the table to pretend to have control over the situation.
"What did he just say?" Asked Samantha. "What's going on?"
"Ok, but you HAVE to keep this very quiet. No one can find out."
"Ok, what is it?"
"Just don't ditch me at all today. That guy over there," I said, pointing to Randy. "He's going to find us after it's all over and take us back so I can give the guys my gifts personally. Erik said that I should be there to see their reactions."
"You're serious?"
"Would I lie about something like that?"
"I guess not, AHHH!" She shook her hands in front of her face and did her jumping happy dance.
"Shh!" I reminded her.
"Ok, ok...I get to see my Jackie again!" She whispered, excitedly. Before we knew it, we were next in line, watching Colleen go through. She was shaking and smiling nervously, like she was almost scared. It wasn¡¦t a feeling that I knew, but one I understood. As she came up to Justin, her shaking got more visible and she could barely mutter out what her name was when he asked her.
"What¡¦s your name babe?" he asked.
"C-Col-Colleen."
"Colleen, I'm Justin. It's good to meet you." And he shook her hand. Tears started to swell in her eyes and run down her cheek. He was writing something on her photo, and then he looked up.
"Awe, sweetie, don't cry!"
"I-I'm just so happy to meet you. I absolutely love you guys." She stuttered.
"Awe, we love you too." He got up and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. That's the Justin I knew. Colleen walked away with her autograph in hand, still smiling. She rushed to get back in line for her group photo. I smiled. Not only because I was next in line, but because she was so happy to meet them. It made me feel good and I'm sure it made them feel even better. The guard turned to me and said,
"Well, your turn. Ready?"
"Of course. It's been too long." And I walked through. Lucas was first. He looked up at me and his eyes lit up.
"Well look who it is. What's up Mya?" He stood up to give me a hug like always. As usual, he looked and smelled great. He sat back down as I told him that I was doing fine and not too much was going on with me. He wrote a little something on my photo, signed it and passed it to Jackie.
I looked at Jackie, smiled and we both gave each other the silent "what's up" nod. He smiled and asked how I was doing. I told him that I was just fine. He stood up to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. As he sat back down, he continued to talk.
"It's good to see you sweetheart."
"Good to see you too." I replied. We carried on a small conversation while he wrote something on my photo and signed it.
"You'll be back to get a picture, right?" He asked.
"Yeah, of course." I grinned.
"Good. Good." He said, and he passed the photo to Justin. I slid my way over to him and smiled. He looked up at me with his brown eyes. They lit up and he grinned.
"Hey!!! What's up Mya?! How are you my hottie with a body?" He jumped up out of his chair and wrapped his arms around me for a hug and a sweet kiss on my right cheek.
"Hey hun. I'm doing great. I've missed you all so much!" Was my reply.
"Awe, well we've missed you too." He said with a genuine smile. He leaned over the photo so I couldn't see what he was writing. As he did so, we chatted a little about nothing. He then smiled at me, kind of deviously but yet so cute, and he slowly slid my photo towards me.
"Read it!" He said. I looked at him, then at the photo. I read what it was as I was walking back to the end of the line.
"To My Lover: Shhhh Let's keep that on the DL! You're my hottie with a body! Wink Wink!" Was what he had written. I turned back to look at him smiling and laughing a little bit. He looked straight back at me, waved and smiled back. Then he blew me a kiss just before I turned to walk back in line. What a dork.
As I was walking, I read what Jackie and Lucas had written. Lucas had written the usual "To Mya: <3 You Sweetie!" Jackie wrote, "Mya we've missed you! Muah!" God I love those guys. I stopped for a moment when I realized that I was supposed to wait for Samantha. Especially since she had my camera. She wasn't far behind and she caught up quickly. I looked her in the face with a big smile, and I said,
"You and your big mouth! Justin is such a dork!" Holding up the signed photo and laughing.
"What did I do?" She screeched.
I pointed to what Justin had written and said,
"Well, now I know that he knows!" She pulled the photo out of my hand and looked at it in amazement. She bust out laughing and said,
"See! I told you so!" I hit her in the arm and took my photo back. She was still laughing hysterically. Sure, I was smiling and giggling, but she was nearly on the floor she was laughing so hard. People were looking at us like we were crazy as we passed the line and made our way to the back of it. I could just imagine that Justin was watching that whole episode. And oh boy, let me tell you that if he was...oh my. I'm embarrassed.
The end was decently far back. And as more and more people came back, it kept getting longer and longer. I looked around at everyone in the line. I stopped scanning the line when I saw this one girl. She couldn't have been more than fourteen. She had on a Vi3 hat and t-shirt. She had short blonde hair and was with about three or four other girls. She stuck out to me because she was jumping up and down. She had one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen, and she hadn't even met them yet. I could only imagine how big it would be then. I kept watching her. I watched as she approached the guard to let her through. I watched how as she got closer and closer, her smile somehow got even bigger. It amazed me. Then all of a sudden, just as the guard was about to let her through, Lucas looked her straight in the eye. She froze, and her smile turned to a look of shock and dumbfounded ness. Then she started to cry. Not sobbing, but the "I don't know what else to do so I'll cry" type of crying. The kind where the tears just drip out of your eyes and you really don't know until you taste the salt rest in the corners of your mouth. She wiped away her tears quickly and attempted to smile again. She took a deep breath and went on in. I shook my head. It's funny how the simplest things to me can give other people such mood swings. But I guess that wasn't such a bad thing in this case. I saw her again as she was getting back in line. That smile was back again. Funny.
The long line really only served one good purpose. It gave me time to do my makeup a little bit better. (Yay!) Good thing for me, because you know how I am...yeah. It crept up slowly, but it stayed very organized and under control. This, in itself, was quite impressive. I'll bet Smurf was happy. No doubt.
Time passed by about forty two times faster than my feet were moving. By 4:00, I was almost to where I wanted to be. Back at the beginning. There were four people left before I could go. I smiled at Colleen right before she took her place for a picture. She smiled back and raised her eyebrows with excitement. She took her place in between Justin and Jackie, with Lucas to the other side of Jackie. They leaned into her, smiled, and Erik took the picture. She gave them all a hug before she walked to Erik to get her camera. She got it back, said good-bye to the guys and walked outside to wait for them to go to the car...which they wouldn't do for a while. I waited patiently for the guys to finish up with the people in front of me.
As I approached the front of the line, I unconsciously started playing with my hair. I guess I was making sure it was just right. I let Sam go before me...more like she let herself go before me. She got between Justin and Jackie, and Erik snapped their picture. As she walked away, they looked up at me, and shifted positions for some reason. Justin put himself in between the other two, so now he was in the middle. He can be so weird sometimes...but we love him anyway. I handed Erik my camera, and I walked towards them. They all smiled as I came closer. I went to take my place in between Justin and Lucas, putting an arm behind each. Lucas put his hand on my back and Justin too. Meanwhile, Jackie leaned into the picture. We all looked up at the camera and smiled. Lucas held up his usual number 1, and Jackie held up Justin's "three finger deal" since he was on the end...obviously mocking Justin a little bit. I laughed a little bit. Erik snapped my picture and handed me back my camera. As he did, he reminded me quietly to stay close to Randy. I nodded and took my camera back.
As Sam and I started walking away, we saw Randy standing by the back wall. I walked up to him and introduced myself. He looked at me for a second, a bit confused, and then it clicked.
"Oh! Oh! I got it! And this must be your friend that's going with you, right?" I said yes. "Well alright. I guess just hang out here with me for a minute until this is over."
And so we did. We watched everyone else go through the line. Watched the newbies' faces and the originals' plain happiness. Eventually we saw the cutoff point nearing the front of the line. Randy told us to stay put while we waited for him to come back. He waked over to the guys, awaiting the end of the line so he could escort them back.
As the last girl got her picture taken, the employees of Tower Records were already taking down the table, removing the ropes from the line and taking all of it to the back. About 70 girls still remained inside, awaiting them to walk by so they could attempt to follow them. As the flash on the last camera went off and the girl said thank you, Lucas turned to the crowd that was still lingering, and smiled.
"Thank you all for coming out here! We love you all!"
"Yes, definitely, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!" Said Jackie. Justin finished up the thought with,
"We'll see you all very soon! I hope you all have tickets for our show coming up on January 4th! We better see you all there!"
Together they said thank you one more time. Then Erik got them together, security surrounded them and escorted them to the back. Girls were trying to push their way to them and follow them, but instead of acting like teenies, Sam and I stayed put. We waited for Randy to come back for us. The last security guard got through the door and shut it behind him. I thought to myself,
"I hope they don't forget about us!"
A minute or two passed, and the door started to open. There were still tons of girls hanging around waiting for them to leave, and they all screamed when the door opened. Randy came out the door and pushed his way through all of them and came straight to us. He looked at us and asked if we were ready. We nodded enthusiastically. He walked behind us and guided us back to where they were. We saw jealous girls looking at us; whispering to their friends and giving us dirty looks...as well as the finger. I could tell they were all thinking
"Where are they going? Why are they so special?" Some of the girls even had the guts to yell out, "Hey! That's not fair! What's this crap about?!" Randy opened the door for us and escorted us in. He stopped in front of us to make sure that they were ready.
"Got 'em." He said as he saw Erik.
"Well alright!" Erik said, motioning for us to come over to them. We approached them slowly; Randy waited by the door...just in case someone tried to come in. As we approached them once again, the smiles spread. Like some contagious disease, grins spread across my face, and then over to Sam's. From there I saw them appearing on Lucas, then Jackie, and then finally Justin. The distance between them and us was rapidly shrinking, and as I approached Lucas, we both outstretched our arms for yet another hug. I turned to Jackie, and the same thing happened. Finally I got to Justin. He smiled at me and gave me a big hug as well. I did the same.
"Did you enjoy yourselves today?" Erik asked. My response was obvious.
"Of course I did. Don't I always?"
"As long as certain people don't piss you off..." Sam commented. I rolled my eyes at the comment. The guys just laughed. "What?! It's true! Usually someone pisses you off, and you end up either totally bitchy or crying by the end of the show!" I shook my head even though I knew it was sometimes true. Ask anyone. I mean, it doesn't happen EVERY time, it's just happened a few times before. Quite a few. As I shook my head, I blushed a little. This was the last thing I wanted to be discussing.
"Well she's happy today, and that's all that matters." Said Lucas. I think he picked up on my desire to change the subject.
"Yeah but..." Sam tried again.
"AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS!" Lucas insisted again, shutting her up for the moment. He smiled, to show he was just playing and wasn't really yelling at her. We all smiled. Jackie looked at me and said,
"So, I hear you have some stuff for us? Is that right?"
