[[ Friends Forever ]]

" I don't know what she thinks she's doing, but that woman is really getting on my nerves! " The daily complaining was something my mother had come to expect. My name is Nikki Marie Fowler. I'm seventeen years old and live in Jacksonville, Florida. Before you ask, yeah, I'm the one everyone talks about. Well, me and my three best friends. Together, we make up the singing group Strike 4.

The four of us have been best friends forever. Well, at least as long as we can remember. Since we were tiny, only about four, we've been best friends. Singing is something that we've dreamed about for the longest time. And finally it's coming true. About two years ago, we signed a recording contract with a professional label. Our first album was released about three months ago, and now the four of us were getting packed up to go on the road to tour. We were the opening act for the Backstreet Boys, who were our favorite group.

The complaining was something that was a normal part of my day. Our manager was, as usual, trying to get us to do something we didn't want to do. This time she wanted us to go on a late night television show to perform and do an interview. The problem was, the show is filmed at two in the morning. And that's when the four of us are sleeping soundly. All of our parents told her it wasn't going to happen, and she had come to us to ask us to ask our parents again. But I had told her no, that we weren't going to do it. She'd taken off to find another girl from the group.

Oh, yeah. The group. I bet you're wondering just who we really are. Well, honestly, we're just who they say we are. Harmony, AJ, Nikki, and Charisma. Four girls from Jacksonville, Florida who are on a wild rollercoaster ride and hanging on for dear life. It was all going so fast that we could barely keep up with even ourselves! Anyway, I'll explain some stuff about each of us.

Harmony's the oldest. She's eighteen, and is the peacemaker of the group. She keeps us all from killing each other. No, just kidding. She's like a big sister to all of us. Mostly she really just keeps us out of the real big trouble and helps us get into other minor things. One of our favorite things to do was to sit around the TV in the back of the bus, hours later than we were supposed to, watching music videos, movies, or playing video games.

AJ is the smart one. But I don't mean that in a bad way. What I mean by that is that she's the one with the biggest, coolest, smartest, and sometimes strangest ideas for our stuff. She came up with the idea for the album cover, and she's great at coming up with song titles. AJ, who's also seventeen, is probably my best friend in the group. We talk about anything and everything, no matter how perverse or insane.

Charisma... well, she's the crazy one. She's the youngest at sixteen. Together we get into the most trouble, I think. We're typical teenagers. We love to hang out the bus windows and wave at people, and yell at them if they don't look. Truck drivers find it very amusing when they drive by and there's two girls hanging out the window of a fancy bus going eighty miles an hour down the freeway. Every time we get a honk or wave from a passing driver, Charisma and I pull ourselves back in the bus and give each other high fives. AJ loves to join in this game, and we occupy hours of time just hanging out the windows waving at people.

And then there's me. How would I describe myself? Well, in one word... nuts! I'll do anything to get a laugh or at least get someone's attention. Whether it's dancing on top of equipment cases while watching the crew set up our stage, or running around the venues with AJ yelling out lines from hilarious movies, I always found something loud and distracting to do. But it's all for fun. We're really just normal, fun-loving teenagers, who got swept up into a big whirlwind.

That night we were supposed to be off. So our parents took us to McDonalds and then to a water park that was open late because it was a Friday night. The next night, we were supposed to do the first show of the tour with the Backstreet Boys. We hadn't actually met them yet, but I was really looking forward to the meeting, because they were, in my eyes, the most talented group out there. Plus I thought Nick was really cute.

When we arrived at the water park, things got chaotic. Several people recognized us, but we managed to get through the gate without being held up too badly. Our security guard grabbed ahold of my arm and pulled me along behind him when I turned to say hello to some people. " Hey! Wait a minute! " I exclaimed, pulling away and returning to the crowd. " Yeah, lay off it a minute, Jerry! " Harmony said, following me back over to the group of people.

A little while later, we made our way further into the park. AJ and I spotted a huge water slide. " Oooh! " I squealed happily, throwing my towel onto a chair and kicking off my sandals. The four of us took off running, ignoring our parents yelling at us to slow down. Charisma was first in line at the slide and we all went down at the same time, laughing and screaming the whole way.

Four hours later, we showed up back at the table, dripping wet and happily chattering. Our parents were sitting around the table talking about our careers. " What's up, ya'll? " I asked, sitting down and grabbing the can of Coke from in front of my mom. It was empty. " Damn! " I exclaimed. " Nikki! " my mother warned sharply. I wasn't supposed to use that kind of language unless I really had to. " Sorry, " I said meekly.

We left a little while later and headed back to our houses. We lived in four houses in a line on the same street. I went into my house and headed back to my room to find something to wear that night when we'd meet the Backstreet Boys. We were supposed to meet them at a restaurant where we'd have dinner together and talk about the tour. I couldn't wait. I went to my closet and looked through all of my clothes before deciding on a pair of black jean shorts and a white spaghetti strap tank top.

AJ came over a little while later, and we talked about what we were wearing. " I'm gonna wear some little black shorts and a green top. What about you? " she asked. " Black shorts and a white top, " I said.

" We should talk to Harmony and Charisma... you're wearing a tank top, right? " AJ asked. I nodded. " Well, then we should talk to Harmony and Charisma, and tell them to wear tank tops, too. Since we have white and green, we should get like blue and purple or something. No, we need more color. Red and blue, " she said.

" How about we tell them to wear black or red, and I'll wear the purple one I have. Then we'll have purple, black, red, and green. Hmm... nah, those colors wouldn't go together. How about red, blue, white, and black? " I suggested. AJ nodded. " Perfect. I'll do red. You take white. Harmony's got a blue one, and I think Charisma's got a black one. In fact, I'm sure she does, " she said. I called Harmony and Charisma and told them the plan.

That night around six o'clock, we left for the restaurant. When we arrived, I saw a limo pulling up. Wow! Good timing, or what? I thought. We stopped at the door and I climbed out of my Mustang. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Brian Littrell standing beside the limo. Then Nick got out, and I did a double take. Suddenly I felt nervous. What if he thinks I'm weird? I thought. We went into the restaurant and waited for the guys to come in.

When they walked through the door, the butterflies in my stomach grew worse. In a few moments, I'd find out something that would hugely affect the next ten or so months of my life- these were the sweetest guys we'd ever know.

I sat down next to AJ when the waitress showed us to our table. A large room in the back area of the restaurant had been reserved by our record company ( we were signed to the same one as the Backstreet Boys ). Looking over the menu, I barely noticed when Nick sat down across from me. " Hey, Nikki, " he said. I looked up in surprise. " Oh! Hi, Nick! " I said, knowing my face was turning pink. He grinned. " How are you? " he asked. " Great! What about you? " We chattered for a while and then went back to looking at our menus.

After everyone had ordered their dinner, introductions started. Brian smiled at me. " Hi, Nikki! I'm Brian, " he said. I grinned. " Hey! How are you? " I asked. " Great. And you? " he asked. " Pretty good! I'm so excited about the tour! You guys are a big influence on us, really! We love your music so much! " I exclaimed. Brian smiled. " Thanks! I'll be honest with you, I haven't really heard a lot of ya'lls music, but I have heard a few songs, like four or five, and they're great! " he said. I blushed. " Thanks... we love doing music. We try our best, " I said.

By the time everyone was done eating, we were all talking like we'd known each other for a while now. " Once when I was seven, my mom walked in the room and caught me, Harmony, Charisma, and AJ all up on the bed singing into hairbrushes and dancing around. I think that's when she realized we loved singing so much. I mean, everywhere we went, we were singing. Walking down the aisles in the grocery store, people would stop and watch us singing and playing around while one of our parents was shopping. It was hilarious, " I said to Nick.

He laughed. " My mom once caught me up on a tree stump in the back yard singing my heart out to the flowers when I was like five or six, " he said. I giggled. We chattered happily for a while until Harmony's mom decided it was getting to be time to go to the hotel. " We've had a busy day today. We spent half the day at the water park, " she pointed out. Charisma yawned. Everyone at the table laughed. " See? " my mom said.

When I was in bed, I layed there looking around my moonlit room. I'd had the same room since I was ten. It was basically my living place. It was also a disaster area. My mom was forever nagging at me to clean it, but I never felt like it. Soon I got really tired, and drifted off to sleep.

" Hi, Nikki. " I looked up into the face of Nick. He smiled at me. " Hi, Nick... where am I? " I asked.

" Holiday Inn, Orlando, " Nick replied. " Umm... why? " I asked. He laughed. " We're doing a show here! It's morning! Get up, we're going to breakfast, " he said. " Hold up. What time is it? " I asked. " Seven thirty, " he replied. I groaned. " Gimme another hour, " I muttered, rolling back over. Nick laughed. " C'mon. Get up, " he said, gently shaking me.

" I'm not hungry, " I said through my pillow. " C'mon, Nikki, " he said, sitting down on the bed. I rolled over. " It's time to get up. Just go with us, " he said. " No. I'm tired, " I said stubbornly. What are you thinking? Get up and go with him, you idiot! I thought. But I didn't want to get up. I just looked at Nick.

" Please? " he asked. I made a face. " Do I have to? " I asked. He nodded. " Why? " I asked. He just looked at me. I looked back expectantly.

" C'mon, just get up and go. It'll be fun, " he said. " I want to sleep, " I whined. " Do it for me, okay? " he asked. " But I'm tired! " I protested. " Please? You can go right back to sleep when we get back, " he said. I groaned and sat up. Nick grinned. " That's more like it. Hurry up, before we're late, " he said, getting up and turning for the door. He turned back, though, leaned over, and kissed me. Then I woke up for real.

" Damn it! " I muttered. It was only a dream. I got up and went to my closet. " Shorts... shirt... " I mumbled, taking each thing I wanted from its hanger. Then I went into the bathroom to take a shower.

" Ouch! " I screeched when I turned the water on. A blast of steaming water rushed from the faucet and splattered on my arm. Someone knocked on the door. " What's wrong? " my mom's voice traveled through the door. " The water's hotter than hell! " I exclaimed.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, I went into the kitchen to find something for breakfast.

" Eat a good breakfast, Nikki. You've got a big day ahead of you, " my mom said. I plopped down in a chair.

" Yeah, yeah. I hear ya, " I muttered, then took the glass of milk she handed me. I drank about half of it down and set it in front of me. " Big day is an understatement. I'm excited, though. Opening for the Backstreet Boys... wow! " I exclaimed, shivering at the thought.

We went down to the coliseum a little while later for a rehearsal. That night we'd go onstage around eight and perform six songs, then there'd be a twenty minute break, then the Backstreet Boys would go onstage. I couldn't wait to get up on that sta ge and perform with my three best friends. It was going to be the biggest night of my life.