Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 00:51:48 EST From: Papito1465@aol.com Subject: Rob-Lance7 If you think that this story needs a little more spice or drama please let me know! Suggestions are more than welcome. Email me at Papito1465@aol.com. Also, I will be going through some account problems, meaning my screen name might be terminated for a short time. If you email me and it says that I don't have an account, just wait a day or two and try sending it again. XVI I picked up the phone and dialed the number to my parent's house. "Hello?" My mom said as she picked up the phone. "Hello mami?" I said speaking in Spanish. <"Rob! How are you? Did you get my message?"> <"Yeah, listen, how would you like to meet the group who I'm going on tour with, as well as my new boyfriend?"> <"Tonight!"> <"Ok, where?"> <"I was thinking maybe that I could bring them over and you could cook for them?"> <"Oh my god, ROB! Why do you do this to me?"> <"Please!!!! It would really mean a lot to me! Besides it'll give you a chance to get to know them before I leave!"> <"Ay! Alright fine!"> <"Thank you so much!"> <"What do you want me to cook?"> <"Well what were you cooking tonight?"> <"Arroz con salchicha and fried chicken."> <"Can you make a lot of it?"> <"I can make two pots, I just need to go to the store. How many are coming?"> <"Including me? Six maybe seven."> <"SEVEN???"> <"Please????? I love you!"> <"AY! Fine! At what time?"> <"We'll be there by 6:30 - 7:00."> <"Fine, then let me get started now!"> <"Ok, thank you so much mami! I love you!"> <"I love you too!"> "Bye!" "Bye." "So, what happened?" Lance asked. "Well, it's settled. We have to be there between 6:30 & 7." "Sounds good to me!" "You gonna come Jay?" "Uh. I don't know. I got homework plus I got school tomorrow." He said. "It's your choice!" "Ummm, nah I don't think so." "Come on man!" Justin said. "Nah, I can't! I have to study for a test." "Ok, suit yourself!" "Let's get out of here so we can go get ready." Chris said. "Yeah. Uhh...you guys go back to the hotel and be ready by 6. I'm gonna go drop Jay off at home and then go change. You don't have to dress too formal but don't dress too casual either!" "Well, let's go!" JC said as we all got up and left the gym. We got outside and the guys all said goodbye to Jay. "Later man! It was nice to meet you!" JC said. "Yeah, next time we'll kick your ass in ball!" Justin said. "How bout we all get together this weekend and do something before we leave?" Joey suggested. "Yeah, no doubt! Just tell Rob and he'll tell me!" Jay said. Jay got in the car and I went over to Lance. "I'm a little nervous!" he said. "Me too! You're the first guy I'm gonna bring home to meet!" "Oh great!" "Don't worry, they've know about me for a long time now! It'll be a little weird but, we'll get through it!" I said as I looked around to see if anyone was watching, "I wanna kiss you but I'm not sure if it's safe to do it in public like this!" "We'd better not! Not this close to the hotel anyway!" "This sucks! I guess this is how it's gonna always be huh?" "Yeah." "We'll manage!" "Yeah! I love you!" "I love you too!" I said as I got walked over to the door of the car, "I'll see you guys in a little while! Remember, by 6!" "Yeah, we know!" they all said. I got into the car and pulled off. I beeped the horn as I drove passed the guys. "You could've just dropped me off at the train you know!" Jay said. "I know, but I wanted to give you a ride! Besides, it'll give us a chance to talk!" "I thought you hated going to the neighborhood though!" "I do, but hey, I can't avoid it my whole life! It's part of who I am!" "So, you guys are really in love, huh?" "Yeah. I can't believe how fast too!" "How's it feel?" "What, being in love? You've been in love before!" "Yeah, but never with a guy! How's it feel?" "Just like being in love with a girl, only they have a few different body parts." "ILL!" "Shut up! So what about you? Any new women in your life?" "Nope, still single! I'm messing with this one girl though!" "Oh really?" "Yeah, her name is Gloria. She looks good!" "You gonna make it official?" "Nah, she already has a man!" "Watch, one of these days your ass is gonna get kicked from one of the guys whose girl you're fucking!" "Whatever!" "Damn! I haven't been back here in a while!" "Yeah I know! The guys were askin me about you!" "What did you tell them?" "I told them what you told me, that you gotta record deal. But I said that you were probably just kidding." "Shit! I didn't want them to know!" "Why not?" "You know they're already jealous of me." "Oh yeah I forgot! My bad!" "It's ok. Who else did you tell?" "My sister, that's it." "Oh ok. Well, here we are..and there they are." I said as we pulled up to his building and saw "the guys" chillin on the stoop. All of them were there. We all grew up together and were really tight back in the day. But as all of us got older and I matured I realized that they weren't real friends and they were all fake. I was always the one that was left out of the group even when I was living there. I didn't realize this until I had moved and was in a neighborhood where there was no one there my age and forced to live in solitude. The group consisted of Jose, Dave, who everybody called D, Joe, Dre, and Sean. I knew Jose the longest; we lived in the same building and were friends since the age of 3 until I moved, then we just lost touch. We got out the car and they were surprised to see me. "Oh shit! My nigga Rob!" Jose said getting up to give me a pound. NOTE: *******(For those of you who don't know, a pound is a five.)******* "Sup kid!" I said. "Nothin yo, jus chillin!" "Sup guys!" "Sup!" they all said. "What you doin here?" D asked. "Droppin this kid off." "So, the big star decided to pay a little visit to the block!" Dre said in a jealous yet joking kind of way. "I ain't a star yet! Anyways, how could I forget y'all? I couldn't even if I tried!" "Been doin a good job so far! When was the last time you were down here?" Joe said. "That ain't my fault though! Y'all know I work!" "Whateva nigga!" Sean said. "What the deal man?" Jose asked. "What you mean?" I asked. "With the singing shit!" "Oh, well, I start recording next week." "What you gonna do?" "I wanna do it all, but for now they got me singing pop." "AAAAHHH! That shit is wack!" D said. "Whateva!" I said. Somehow whenever I went back to my old neighborhood I always reverted back to my old ghetto self. Everywhere else I was a normal human being, but once I stepped foot back in my old neighborhood I started talking slang and acting all ghetto. "Yo, I can't stay for long, I gotta go to my mom's house. Let me go in and say hi to your parents then I gotta be out!" I said turning to Jay. "Aight let's go!" Jay said as we walked passed the guys. We got in and the first person I was Jay's mom, Linda. "Oh my god! Rob! How have you been? Long time no see!" She said surprised to see me. "I'm good, how bout you?" "Good, good. How's your mom?" "She's good. A little back trouble but she's ok." "And you dad and brother?" "They're both good." "Oh that's good!" Just then Jay's older sister, Lisa walked in. "Oh my god! Rob! Can I get your autograph now, so I can say that I knew you before you were a big star?" She said laughing. I laughed and went over and hugged her. "AAAHH! Rob, hugged me!" she said as she pretended to faint. "What the hell is that all about?" Linda asked. "You don't know ma? Rob here's gonna be a big singing star!" "Oh really?" "Yeah, I got a record deal. I start recording next week, then when that's done I start touring with the band N SYNC." I said smiling. "OH my god! I love them!" Lisa said. "Didn't you two go see a concert of there's not too long ago?" Linda asked her kids. "No, we got tickets to their concert in March." Jay said. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" I said, "Maybe I'll be opening for them by then. If so, I can probably get you guys back stage!" "For real??" Lisa said in amazement. "Yeah, the guys like Jay. They would be happy to see him again!" "You met them???" "Yeah, today. We played basketball with them." Jay said. "Tell me everything!" she said dragging him into the other room. "Wait!" He said trying to get her off of him. "Nah, it's ok. Go! I gotta get going anyway!" I said. "Aight!" He said finally getting his sister off of him, "When will I see you again?" "This weekend I think. Didn't JC or somebody say something about meeting up with you again?" "I think so. Anyway, call me and let me know." "Aight! I'll call you. Bye all!" I said as he walked me to the door, "YO, thanks!" "For what?" "For always being there!" "Come on! You act like you're never gonna see me again!" "Look, I promise. Before I leave, just me and you are gonna go out and chill!" "Alright, now go! Get out of here! You got people waitin for you!" "Aight! Later!" I said giving him a pound and pulling him in to a hug. "Bye." I walked out the building and was greeted again by the guys. I really had to go and was hoping that they wouldn't keep me there long. "Where you goin?" Joe asked me. "I'm goin back to my crib to get changed then I'm goin to my mom's house to eat." "Oh for real?" "Yeah, I really gotta go! Don't worry, you'll see me again before I leave!" I said now opening the door to my car. "Don't forget us!" Jose said. "I told you! Not even if I tried!" I got into the car and pulled off. Within a matter of 15-20 min I was back at my apt. I ran upstairs and quickly picked out something to wear. I took a quick shower and shaved. I got dressed and when I finished it was already 5:50. I ran out the door and into my car. Once I started driving to pick up the guys, I called my mom's house. The phone rang and my brother picked up. "Hello?" he said. "Ricky? What are you doing there?" I said. "Mom invited me over for dinner. When are you coming?" "I'm on my way to pick up the guys and then we're leaving for there." "What guys?" "They didn't tell you?" "Tell me what?" "About my record deal?" "You gotta record deal!?" "Yeah, they didn't tell you?" "I'm kidding, yeah they told me. But who are you bringing over?" "The guys!" "What guys?" "N SYNC." "Ugh! Them? Yeah right!" "For real!" "You're working with them? ILL! I hate them! Why couldn't you work with the BSB?" "Shut up ok?" "Whatever, you know I'm playing! Do they know that you have a crush on that guy?" "Who, Lance?" "I don't know his name! Yeah Lance I guess!" "Um..we're going out!" "WHAT?!!?" "Yup!" "ILL!" "Shut up!" "Whatever!" "Anyway! Put mom on!" "OK, hold on." Just as he said that I pulled up in front the hotel, I got out real quick and ran into the lobby. I saw the guys and said, "Yo, come on let's go!" and ran back to my car. Just as I got in my mom picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Mommy? It's me." I said as the guys got in the car. "Hey, what's up?" Lance said. "SHH!" I said. "What?" My mom said. "Oh, not you ma!" "Oh, ok!" "We're on the way, we're just leaving the hotel now!" I said as we pulled off. "OK, around what time will you get here?" "I don't know, depending on traffic, 6:45, 7 the latest." "Ok, I'll see you when you get here." "HI!" Chris yelled from the backseat as the rest of the guys laughed. My mom was laughing on the other end and said, "Hi! Tell them that I can't wait to meet them." "She says `Hi' and she `can't wait to meet you'." "Ok, I'll see you in a bit." "Bye!" "BYE!" the guys all yelled. "Haha, bye!" she said. "Love you!" I said. "Love you too, bye." "Bye!" I hung up the phone and smacked Chris with my free hand. We were all laughing and I noticed in the mirror what they were all wearing. "You all look nice!" "Thanks!" they said in return. "So do you!" Lance said grabbing my hand. "Hey, guys! Can you cut down on the sex in the car just a bit?" Chris said as the rest of them laughed. "Shut up ass! Don't be jealous just cause we're getting some and you ain't!" Lance said. "Yeah!" I said. We all laughed and were listening to the radio. They announced that thing again about how the guys were supposed to be on tomorrow night. "Oh cool! You're gonna be on the radio tomorrow?" I asked acting like I didn't know. "Yeah, matter of fact, the we, as well as, management want you to come with us. This way we can promote your new album and still chill." Joey said. "Oh for real? Cool!" I said smiling. "SO, you down?" Justin asked. "Yeah!" "We gotta be there by 5 and we leave there around 6 or so." JC said. "Ok, cool!" "We should be finished in the studio by then." "Yeah, there's only one more track we're gonna be doing with Tom. After that it's on to Orlando." Lance said. "Cool! Now I get to see your home turf!" "Yup, you get to meet my mom and brother!" Justin said. "Cool!" "What is that like your favorite word?" Lance asked. "Matter of fact!" "Are we almost there?" Joey asked. "Yeah, are we? I'm starving!" Chris said. "Yeah, almost." "ILL! Change this song quick! I hate this crap!" Justin said, "Put in on HOT 97!" NOTE: ************** HOT 97 is, the tri-state area's local Hip-hop and R&B station. Also, the radio station I made reference to before is Z100. The tri-state area's local radio station that plays "Today's best music".********* "There ain't nothing on!" Lance said. "I'm gonna play a CD. It's one of my favorite artists!" I said picking up the remote for the CD player. "Who?" Chris asked. "You'll see. Hmm, this one. Yeah this one's one of my favorites." I said as the music to "I just wanna be with you" started to play. "Oh no! This one?" Joey asked. "What? I love this song!" "We need to rehearse it anyway!" JC said. "Well not now!" I said, "I wanna sing it!! You can sing back up!" "Scuse us!" Lance said. We started to laugh. I finally started to sing the song and my favorite part came up. After I sang it I said, "I love that part!!" "Yeah, me too! That's my favorite part of the song." Justin said. "Only cause you sing it!" "Nah, for real!" "I kidding, calm down!" The song finished and the next song started to play just as we pulled up to my parent's house. "Well, here we are!" I said. "Damn! That's my favorite song too!" Joey said. "We'll listen to it on the way back. Are y'all ready?" "Ready as we'll ever be!" Lance said looking a little nervous. "We gotta get into the house quick, there are some people that are fans of yours around here. We don't want all hell to break loose so let's go!" I said as we got out of the car. XV I knocked on the door and my mom answered it. "Hey! Finally!" she said as she hugged and kissed me. "Hi! Yeah, there was a little traffic. Where is everybody?" I said as I walked in the door with the guys behind me. "Ricky's right there watching TV," she said pointing to the couch, "and your father's in the basement. So, you must be the guys! I've heard a lot about you!" "Mom, this is Joey, Justin, Chris, JC, and Lance! Guys, this is my mom." "Nice to meet you!" they all said. "Nice to meet you too! This is my other son, Rob's brother Ricky." "Sup!" he said getting up from the couch. They all shook hands as my mom called my father up from the basement. He came up and my mom introduced them. "This is my husband Rob's father, Robert." "Nice to meet you!" My dad said as he shook their hands. "Nice to meet you!" They all said. "Hey buddy!" my dad said coming over to me giving me a hug and kiss. "So, this is Lance huh?" my mom said with a smile. "Yup!" I said. "Hello!" he said nervously. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you..yet!" She said as she laughed. We all sat down in the living room except for my mom. "Dinner's almost ready, just give me another 15min or so." "No problem!" I said. "I hope you guys are hungry! We gonna have a feast!" My dad said joining us in the living room, "So, Rob. Tell us, what's the whole thing with the record deal about?" "Well, I am signed to BMG records and have the same management as the guys here. I am supposed to put out at least 4 albums until by year 2005. Then my contract will go under re-negotiation. I also get to produce some of it. I've already helped produce a couple of tracks on their new album. As for touring and stuff I'll be touring with them. I leave here next week, I think wed. or thurs." "Wednesday" JC said. "Yeah Wednesday." I continued, "I start recording either tomorrow or Monday. Then, it's off to Orlando to record some more tracks and get some stuff settled down there. Once these guys start touring, I'll either be with them most of the time or in the studio." "Whoa! That sounds great! See! I always told you that you would make it!" my dad said patting me on the leg. "Dinner's ready!" my mom said from the kitchen. We all walked in the dining room and took seats as follows. My dad was at the head of the table, I was to the right of him, then next to me was Lance, next to him was Joey, then JC, then my mother at the other end of the table. To the right of her was, Ricky, then Chris, then Justin. We managed to fit all of us around the table. Then my father said grace. "Dear lord, thank you for this food we are about to eat. We would also like to thank you for making my son's dream of becoming a singer come true. We would also like to give thanks to these fine young men for helping him along the way and looking out for him. We thank you for protecting all of us and once again thank you for all that you have given us. Amen." "Amen!" we all said and started to dig in. "Now, who wants some chicken?" My dad said. "Just pass it around the table. Eat all you want, there's plenty more!" My mom said as she placed some rice on her plate. "What kind of rice is that?" Lance asked me quietly. "It's called, Arroz con salchicha. IT's yello rice with vienna sausages. It's really good!" The food got passed around and we all started to eat. "So, how long have you guys been together?" My mom asked. "Only a few days." I said. "Not you! The group!" she said. "Oh, sorry." "Well, in the US we've only been out for like a year or so. But we first started in Europe about 2 years ago." JC said. "What was that like?" My dad asked. "It was fun! We went to a lot of beautiful and interesting places. But we're glad we've finally made it in the States!" Justin said. "You look familiar!" My dad said pointing to JC. "I do?" he asked. "Yeah, where have I seen you before?" "The Mickey Mouse Club." I said. "OH yeah! That's right! You used to watch that show all the time! I remember you always saying that you wanted to try out for it!" I started to blush a little and they all laughed. "So, anyway can you pass the soda please?" I said trying to change the subject. "Do you guys know the BSB?" my brother asked. "Yeah, we hang out with them every once and a while." Joey said. "Cool!" "So where are you guys staying?" my mom asked. "The Plaza." JC said. "That's a beautiful hotel!" my dad said. "So, Lance, tell me how did you and my son meet?" My mom asked. I was waiting for this to happen. I knew Lance was really nervous and because of that wasn't saying much during dinner. I knew my mom was gonna ask him something like that in order to get him to talk. "Well the other day, I went to the movies and was mobbed by some fans. It got so bad that I ran into the bathroom to try and get away from them but was trapped. I kind of got pushed though the door and fell on the floor of the bathroom. Rob was there and he helped me up. He also recognized me and offered to help me get out of there. He did then we hung out the rest of the day and just hit it off. We really have a lot in common. I introduced him to the guys, they invited him to come along with us to the recording studio and it was there where he managed to impress Tom, our producer, with his knowledge of music. So much so that Tom talked to some people from our management team and they decided to sign him." "We always knew that he would make it someday!" My dad said proudly. "Have you told your tio?" my mom asked. ****NOTE: Tio, means uncle in Spanish***** "Oh man! I totally forgot! I'll call him later when I get home." I said slapping my forehead. "How long will you be on tour?" "Well, I'm doing this tour with them and also the summer tour." "Then what?" "I don't know. Whatever they have me do. Whether it be stay with the guys, or do publicity. I don't know. We'll see when it gets here." "Are you just going to be singing pop?" My dad asked. "For now, yeah. I would like to do a few Spanish songs and well as R&B. I don't want to limit myself just to pop. Hopefully, when I am in the business a while, they'll let me. What I also wanna do is in a few years, open my own label. If they let me I'll do all kinds of music, not just one. "What about the producing?" Ricky asked. " Well, I have already co-produced a couple of the tracks on their album. Once we start recording my album, they said that I could produce or at least co-produce most of the songs." "Wow!" My mom said. "So, who else is going to be on the tour with you guys?" Ricky asked. "Well, for the summer tour, as far as we know now, it will be, Five and Rob. They might add Jordan Knight to it as well. Five and Jordan Knight are the opening acts. Rob is co-headlining with us. It's not gonna be your typical concert where you have the opening acts then the one major band. We'll be alternating between songs, this way, we all get to have a break in between songs and it will make for a better show considering we'll be featured on some of his songs and he is already featured and will be in more of our songs. As for this tour, opening for us will be Tatyana Ali, and I think we even have Sugar Hill Gang too!" JC said. "I used to love them! They had the very first rap song you know! I had the album!" My dad said. "Yeah, so do I." Chris said. "You collect records?" "Yeah, I actually prefer them sometimes to CD's." "Yeah, there's nothing like the sound of record. It's warmer than CD's." "Yup!" I couldn't help but laugh a little under my breath. It was cute! They were bonding. We were all finished with dinner and my father said, "Alright, you guys wash the dishes!" "Ok!" they said. "No, he's just joking!" My mom said as she started gathering the plates up. "It's ok, we'd love to help!" Justin said. "Yeah, it's the least we can do!" JC said. "Yeah, let this be our way of thanking you for cooking us that delicious meal!" Lance said. "You've already thanked me by making my son happy!" "Let'em do it Luz!" my dad said from the living room. "Ok, if you really want to!" I tried to sneak out of the kitchen when Lance grabbed me and said, "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" "Who, me?" "Yeah you! You're gonna wash and we're gonna dry!" My parents started laughing when they heard this. "You tell him!" My mom said. "Fine! Don't worry you'll get yours!" I said as I turned on the water. I started to wash and like promised they dried the dishes. I told them just to stack them on the counter and that I would put them away. The complied and within a half-hour we were done. I put all the dishes away and we went into the living room and sat down. "So, you guys want a tour of the house?" I asked. "Sure!" they said. "Ok, let's go upstairs." We went upstairs and I showed them the rooms. "This used to be my room, but now it's used as the guest room. This used to be Ricky's room, now it's used for storage. This is my parents room and now let's go down to the basement." We walked downstairs and I showed them the basement. "Well, this is it! We used to have the computer down here. Now they use it for mostly parties and to hang out." I said as my mom came down. "Who wants to see pictures of Rob when he was younger?" She asked going into the pantry and pulling out some photo albums. "Oh, cool!" Lance said. "NO! Come on mom!" I said "I wouldn't be your mother if I didn't embarrass in front of your friends. Come on, let's go to the living room." She said. We all went upstairs and started to look at the pictures. We got through three photo-albums and two home videos. I was so embarrassed! She always did this whenever I brought home someone to meet them. The guys got a kick out of it though, especially, Lance! He kept laughing at me and making fun of me! "Oh, don't worry! You just wait till later! You're gonna get yours!" I said softly. Chris heard me and said, "Oh, don't worry! His mom does the same thing! She even breaks out the ones of him in the tub when he was a baby!" "Oh really! I can't wait to meet her then!" I said. "Speaking of which! Where are those pictures Rob?" my mom asked me. "Oh, I got rid of those a long time ago! You can embarrass me all you want, but that's where I draw the line!" We all laughed. "All mom's do this! It's in the handbook." Justin said, "Wait till you meet my mom next week! She'll do the same thing!" "Mine too when you meet her!" JC said. "Same here!" Joey said. "Me too!" Chris said. "I guess they lose their membership card if they don't do it!" I said. "Yup, remember the last girl I brought home? Mom did the same thing then too!" Ricky said. "Yeah, but your stuff is not as bad as mine! They don't have you on ape doing a Michael Jackson impression!" I said as the guys busted out laughing. "True!" "You're even worse! You show these tapes to every girl you go out with! Then, every time they see me they say the same thing `Oh you were so cute!' and then you always say `Yeah, what happened?' All the time!" The guys were just bawling! I could swear the all had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. "Oh, now I can't wait till I see all of y'all pictures!" I said standing up, "I'm gonna make sure that I get my revenge! Well, it's getting late! We gotta be in the studio tomorrow." I said looking at the clock. "It's not late!" my mom said. "It's almost 11." "Oh my god! That went by fast!" "I know! Don't worry, before I leave we'll all go out to dinner, Lances treat!" I said pointing to him. "Excuse me?" He said. "You know I'm kidding." "Mmm hmm!" "Well, I'm sorry to see you have to go!" My mom said getting up to send us off. "Yeah, I was having fun!" my dad said. "Yeah, me too! Even though you guys are not the BSB" Ricky said. "What is it with you and your obsession with the BSB?" I asked as we all laughed. "Rick, you staying here tonight right?" my mom asked. "Yeah." "Well, I'll call you in a couple of days ok?" I said putting on my coat. "Ok. It was nice meeting all of you! I look forward to doing this again!" She said as she gave a kiss to all of them. "Yeah, we'll see you soon!" My dad said as he shook their hands. "Later fellas!" My brother said as he gave them all a pound. "Bye!" They all said as they walked out the door. "I'll call you ok?" I said as I gave my parents both a kiss and a hug, "Later bro!" "Bye!" They said as they watched us walk out the door. As they were waiting by my car, one of my neighbors pulled up and noticed them. "OH MY GOD! N SYNC!!! AHHHHHH!" she screamed. "SSHHHHHH! You'll wake up the whole block!" I said. She ran over and the guys gave her an autograph and took a picture with her. They said goodbye and we all got in the car and left. To be continued...