"AJ, what's this all about? Why are we here?" Howie asked as he sat down on AJ's couch.
"Yeah, I mean it's unusual to call us all over here. What's the emergency?" Brian, who was stretched out in an arm chair, asked.
I stood in the middle of the living room and surveyed the other four Backstreet Boys. Kevin, Brian, and Howie were giving me questioning looks. Nick avoided my eyes.
AJ had called me earlier that week and had told me that EmmE was coming up that Friday. He had also told me that she might have found a way to switch us back. He told me to gather the Boys together and to call around five that afternoon. All the Boys were there, and it was five.
I took a deep breath and began my little speech. "I think you guys have noticed how weird I've been acting for the last couple of months," I began. The other four nodded.
"Well, I think I can finally give you an explanation," I continued. "You see, I'm not AJ."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not AJ. My name is Heather, and I'm an art major at Appalachian State University. Somehow, AJ and I switched bodies on our birthday," I said in one breath.
The other four looked at me, then burst out laughing. They laughed for a good five minutes before calming down.
"That's a good one, Bone. Now, really, why did you call us here?" Howie asked after he caught his breath.
"I'm telling the truth; that is the reason. A friend of mine named EmmE thinks that she can switch us back. I know you don't believe me, but I can prove it. Just let me dial this number, and I can show you." I turned on the speaker phone and dialed my apartment.
"EmmE, it's so good to see you again. How are you?" Sandee asked as she embraced EmmE.
"I'm good. How are you?" she asked. She was short, about 5'1", with long blonde hair and green eyes. She had on a Kentucky cap and was carrying a large brown book.
"So, what are you doing here?" Sandee asked as she stepped back out of the doorway to let EmmE and Amy through.
EmmE waved at Kasey, Peggy, Mark, and me as she walked into the living room. She found herself a spot on the couch and put the book on her lap. "Well, I wanted to see everyone, and Heather called me for a favor," she answered.
"Well, Heather asked us all to meet her today, so maybe she can explain herself," Sandee said as she sat down on her end of the couch. She then turned her attention to me. "Well, what's the emergency?"
I stood up to face them and took a deep breath. "Well, as you all know, I've been acting kind of strange lately. EmmE knows why, and she's been helping me find a way to stop it. I've been promising to tell you guys what's been going on, and now's the right time."
"Heather, what's going on?" Kasey asked, worried.
"Well, I'm not Heather. I'm AJ. The AJ; from the Backstreet Boys," I confessed.
Everyone burst out laughing. "Oh, that's a good one, Heather. I know you've wanted to be his sister, but actually being him? Oh, that's funny!" Sandee howled.
"Sister?" I shrugged off the thought. "It's true! Heather and I switched bodies a while ago. Now, hopefully, we can get it unswitched."
"You really believe this, don't you?" Peggy asked.
Right then, the phone rang. Five o'clock; right on time. I smiled. "Yes, I do, and here's my proof."
"Hello?" my voice picked up.
"AJ? Hey!" I said. "Everyone's here. Is everyone else gathered over there?"
"Heather, hey! Yeah, we're all here. Can I say hi to the guys?"
"Sure." I looked around at the other four.
"Hey, Brian, Kevin, Nick, and Howie. What's up?" AJ asked from the other end of the phone.
"We're good. You?" Howie asked, unsure.
"I'll be a lot better once I get my body back." The guys nervously chuckled.
It was now my turn. "Sandee, Kasey, Amy, EmmE, Peggy, Mark, hey! I miss y'all," I said.
"Uh, we miss you, too?" Kasey said it as more of a question than a statement.
"Okay," Sandee's voice came through the phone. "I suppose we'd better ask you a few questions to see if you're really heather. I'll go first. Explain 'Boof after midnight.'"
My face turned bright red. "Do you have to mention that in front of the Backstreet Boys?" I sighed. "Well, you guys have held that over me ever since it took me two days to figure out the connection between that phrase and 'Don't be no Cinderella.'" The guys began to roll with laughter, and I could hear AJ laughing on the other end.
Nick wiped a tear from his eye and sighed. "Okay, I guess it's our turn. AJ, what's your mom's nickname for you?" he asked.
"No, Nick. Oh, no! You're not going to make me answer that, are you? Do you know how embarrassing that is?" I could hear the horror in AJ's voice. Finally, he sighed and answered, "Sweet Cheeks."
"Sweet Cheeks?!" I heard Sandee holler in the background. "Oh, my God! How adorable!"
"Okay, one more question," Amy began. "What is the symbol for 'Slack Hard'?"
I laughed. "You raise your fist up to ear level and say, 'Slack Hard!'" I looked over at the guys to see them grinning.
"I like it," Brian commented.
"Okay, our turn," Howie said. "Bone, where's your birthmark?"
"You have a birthmark?" I asked.
"Yes, it's located on my hip. It's on the right side."
Curious, I pulled out the waist of my pants and underwear. I had never noticed before, but AJ did have a small birthmark there. "It's cute," I commented.
"Will you stop looking down my pants?!" AJ asked, flustered.
The two groups were silent for a few minutes. Finally, Kevin spoke up. "Well I honestly believe them. I mean, none of the fans know about AJ's nickname or birthmark."
The others nodded in agreement.
"So, now how do we get this fixed?" Howie asked.
I looked around the room. All of the color had drained from the faces of Sandee, Kasey, Amy, and Peggy. "Well, ladies, it's officially nice to meet you," I smiled.
A stunned silence passed over the group. After a few minutes, it was broken by the sound of Mark's booming laughter. Eventually, EmmE joined in.
"Oh, my God. You heard me say those things about…oh, my God! He's on the other end of that phone, isn't he?" Amy had turned beet red.
Peggy, too, was just as red. "You saw me in my polka-dot pants! You saw me without make-up! I shared a room with AJ McLean for God knows how long and didn't even know it!"
Kasey had her head in her hands. What did I say? Did I say anything stupid? Did I do anything stupid?" Suddenly, her head shot up, and her eyes were wide. "Oh, no! He watched All Access with us! He heard about my…oh, no!"
"You mean to tell me that Heather was the one stripping, and you were…you saw…I did…how long have you been Heather?" Sandee asked, looking directly at me.
"Since January 9th," I answered.
"Oh, no…All Access…you saw the smack down, the smooth sit down, EVERYTHING!?"
I nodded. Sandee buried her face in her hands.
"Are you guys alright?" I heard Heather ask through the phone.
"No," Sandee replied, still embarrassed.
"Well, don't feel bad," EmmE spoke up. "Heather probably saw the other four guys in their underwear or worse."
All of us heard the collective groan come through the speaker phone. Then we heard the sound of Heather laughing.
"Okay, sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up, fellas. Now, we have to get these two back into their bodies.," EmmE continued. She flipped her book open to a page she had bookmarked. I walked over to her, sat down, and peered over her shoulder. "Switching Bodies," it read at the top of the page.
"I'll start with how this could have happened. Once every hundred years or so, the planets and all this cosmic-type stuff seem to align. When that happens, weird things start to happen. This time around, everything aligned on your birthdays. Now, both of you must have been wishing you were someone else at the time. Were you?" EmmE looked up at me.
"Well, I was getting burned out from the tour. I suppose I could have wished," I admitted.
"And I was tired of school, and I was thinking of you at the time," Heather said.
"Because of that factor, and the fact that your birthdays are on the same exact day, right down to the year, somehow your souls left your bodies and landed in each other's body."
"Wow," Amy commented.
"That's all it took?" Brian asked.
"Well, another possibility with these two is that their souls could have been the same soul at one time. Somewhere in reincarnation, it split. They could be that connected."
"That's pretty freaky," I said.
"Yeah," Heather agreed.
"So, is there any way we can fix this?" Howie and Peggy asked at the same time.
EmmE smiled. "Yes, but either you guys would have to come here to Boone, or we would have to go there to Florida."
"We could probably get you plane tickets," Kevin suggested.
"And we have Spring Break coming up soon," Kasey added.
"Okay then, we're heading down to Florida!" Sandee grinned. She then turned to EmmE. "Please continue."
"Well, there's a spell in here. All of us would have to form a circle around heather and AJ, so the souls won't get lost, and I'd say the spell. Then they'd kiss."
"Yes, I am. You're not jealous, are you, Nick?" EmmE smiled.
"Umm…well…no," he slowly admitted.
EmmE giggled a little, then continued. "That's it, so I guess we'll see you guys in two weeks then, right?"
"I guess so," Kevin answered.
"Wait! I have one more question," Sandee announced. "The other night I was cleaning Heath-AJ's-busted lip…"
"What? You've ruined another part of my body?! How did that happen?" Heather yelled.
"We'll tell you when we get there. Anyway, I looked at her-him?-and noticed that her-his?-eyes were brown. Does that make any sense?"
"Yeah, the same thing happened to me with AJ-I mean, Heather. It was right after he-she?-wrecked the Expedition," Nick said.
"She did what?! Heather, I'm gonna kill you!" I screamed.
EmmE looked down in her book. "It says here that in some circumstances true love can see the soul inside," she said.
"Really?" Sandee asked at the same time Nick asked, "Are you serious?"
"How come AJ's mom didn't see me?" Heather questioned.
"Maybe she didn't look into your eyes, or maybe she did and just didn't say anything," EmmE suggested.
"Well, we have to go. We have another interview tonight. See you in two weeks, and hang in there, Bone," Kevin said.
I looked at Sandee and smiled. "I'll be alright."
"Heather, take care of yourself, and we miss you," Sandee said.
"I miss you, too."
With that, we hung up. We all sat around the living room and looked at each other. I don't think anyone knew what to say.
"Well, you have now seen all of our imperfections and embarrassing moments. What do you think of this group of obsessed fans?" Amy finally asked.
"That's my cue to leave. Once they start talking about you guys, I go into my room. AJ, man, it was nice meeting you," Mark said as he stood up. He shook my hand, then walked into his room, shutting the door behind him.
I turned my attention to the girls. Five expectant faces looked at me. "I like you. Despite the obsession, you're fun. While you look at us as the Backstreet Boys, you also realize that we're human. I heard you cracking on Kevin's eyebrows the other day. You guys are great."
All five smiled. "At least you don't think we're stupid," Kasey said.
"No, I think you're hilarious. The guys are going to love you. I love you," I said, returning their smiles.
"Well, we'd better get going. EmmE and I have got some catching up to do. See y'all tomorrow," Amy said as she stood up.
EmmE, too, stood up. "AJ, it was nice meeting you. And it'll be even better once you're back in your own body."
"You're telling me," I grinned.
"Wait, guys! Can you give me a lift back to my dorm?" Kasey asked as she stood up.
"Sure, come on," Amy said.
She waved goodbye to everyone, then headed for the door followed by EmmE and Amy. They opened it and left.
"I'm going to study. I'll see y'all later," Peggy said. She stood up and walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
That left Sandee and me. She looked over at me. "About the love part, did you mean that?" she asked quietly.
"Yes. This is going to sound cheesy, but I've loved you ever since the day I first saw you."
All she did was smile; her dimples showing. "Thanks."
We spent the rest of the time talking about the trip to Florida and finding a way to keep in touch. And maybe even start a relationship.
After the phone call ended, the guys, except for Nick, stood up to leave. I led them to the door and said goodbye. They left, and I closed the door. I walked back into the living room to find Nick still sitting on the couch. He looked up at me when I walked in.
"Heather, can I ask you something?" It had taken him a minute, but I think he was becoming more comfortable calling me Heather.
"Sure," I said as I sat down next to him.
"I know you like us as the Backstreet Boys, but what do you think of me personally? I've probably acted like a spoiled little kid around you sometimes." He looked away.
I touched his chin and turned his face towards me. Our eyes met. "When I only knew you as a picture, a face on a video, and a voice on a CD, I thought you were adorable. You make mistakes like I do. But now that I've gotten to know you and seen the real you, I think I love you. You're even more wonderful to me."
He smiled and took my hand. "I can tell you're not going to be another Missy. When you get your body back, I think we'll be able to make this work."
"Really?" I returned his smile.
"Really."
We sat there and made plans for after the switch.