Everyone had woken up with stiff necks and sore backs. They looked over and saw Chris and Kristina still sleeping on the couch. Those two have been taking it the hardest for obvious reasons. The six of them went into the kitchen and made breakfast. Twenty minutes later, breakfast was cooked and Chris and Kristina had woken up and joined the others. They ate breakfast in silence. No one really knew what to say and if they did have something to say, they didn’t know how to start. Kristina couldn’t take the silence and started to speak.
“So…how bout them Yankees?” She said. Everyone laughed. She had so much of Audrey in her and it showed.
“Well I don’t know about them but…” Justin said sarcastically.
Conversation was still pretty light but what was said had its share of laughs.
“So we’re all set on this week? Kris, you know what to do after school?” Chris asked her.
“Yes, dad, I wait in the parking lot for my ride, which ever one of you five is free, you’ll be picking me up. I stay at Justin’s…yeah, yeah.” She said. “Ugh, and I wished for parents…it came true, one in the form of Audrey, the other one…Chris. Man!” >{? Everyone laughed. Kristina smiled, and it was a true smile, something they haven’t seen in days. “It’s good to see you smile again, Kris.” Justin said. They sat around talking about as much as they could. They decided to stay indoors and be with each other as much as possible. Chris said that they’d visit Audrey on their way to Justin’s house. Breakfast ended and the dishes were washed and put up. They all met back in the living room, something they’ve all been use to, and just sat there looking at each other.
“So were going to sit here all day having a staring contest?” Kristina asked.
“Well, no one’s really up to anything we had planned. It just doesn’t seem right to do things without…well you know.” Lance said.
“Yeah, true. It’s hard.” JC added in.
“Well we are going to have to try. I really haven’t seen the light of day and I need some fresh air before I really get crazy.” Kristina said.
“Okay, we’ll go out.” Chris said. “But the question is, what do we all want to do?”
Everyone sat there thinking about something they could all do to pass time until it was evening and they could visit Audrey. Justin’s eyes widened as he got an idea.
“Oh no, Justin’s thinking again!” Julie yelled.
“Hey! My last idea was good.” He said.
“Okay, so what have you thought of now?” She asked.
“Well I was thinking...”
“There’s that word again! The word thinking coming out of your mouth isn’t right, J.” Julie said.
“Ugh! Let me finish.”
“Go ahead!” Julie said smiling.
“As I was saying...maybe we could go up to the rooftop and have a little lunch up there. Then afterwards...”
“No, don’t think about afterwards.” Kristina interrupted. “Let’s just do one thing at a time and see who things work out.”
Everyone agreed and started to get ready. The guys let the girls take their showers first. They went into the kitchen making sandwiches and gathering up little snacks. The girls were ready a half-hour later and the guys went to take their own showers. The girls went into the closets to get some blankets out to lie on when they got outside. They put it besides the basket of food. The girls sat on the couch and Shelley soon eyes Joey’s video camera sticking out of his bag. She took it out and set it up for play. The first thing they saw was footage of the airport.
“I think I’d rather fast forward this.” Kristina said grabbing the remote. She stopped when the tape got to Disney World. There wasn’t much footage. The only thing he got was when they were all together talking and also during the fireworks show. Joey kept zooming towards Audrey and Chris.
“Look at those two...sooner or later we’ll be having little Chris and Audrey’s.” Joey said into the camera. The girls laughed as they heard Joey broadcasting.
The next thing they saw was their pillow fight with Audrey. “I didn’t know they got all of that.” Julie said.
They continued to watch and carefully began to pay attention to what the guys had been saying about them. The girls began to get emotional as they heard the guys say wonderful things about them.
“We truly are blessed to have these guys.” Kristina said. The next shot was of the guys cleaning. The video camera must have been recording still as they cleaned up their mess. They heard Lance’s comment and laughed.
“Yeah, we are blessed.” Julie said smiling. The guys came in and saw the girls watching the tape. They smiled as they saw the girls with smiles of their own. They sat with the girls and watched the rest of the tape. Everyone seemed to pay attention to Audrey. How she smiled into the camera and played along with it, pretending to be a star.
“How’s the lighting, Joey?” She said. “Are you getting my good side?” She started to pose for the camera. Joey nodded his head moving the camera along with him. “Look at Chris...” Joey moved the camera to find Chris falling off the couch. Audrey ran over to help him up. She kissed him.
“Aw...look at the two loved birds.” JC said in the background. Chris and Audrey blushed and threw the pillow and JC hitting his bruised cheek.
“Ouch!” He yelled. Kristina walked into the camera’s view and babied JC.
“Poor JC. Did Chris throw the stupid pillow at you?”
JC played along and the next thing you know Audrey and Kristina was yelling at each other.
“Will you tell your man to stay away from JC. He’s so abusive!” Kristina yelled trying to keep her laughter contained.
“What? He’s the one who started it! You tell twig boy over there to butt out.” Audrey started backing away knowing Kristina would get crazy.
“Twig boy? Oh Audrey you’re dead!” Kristina started running after her. Joey tried his hardest to keep up but couldn’t. That’s when the camera stopped. The screen turned black leaving everyone hanging.
Kristina walked over to Joey and hugged him. “Thanks for taking all of that.”
“Don’t mention it.” He said kissing her forehead. It was time for lunch. They made it upstairs to the roof and set up the blankets. The warm winter sun cast its ray upon the rooftop. It was the perfect day to eat outside. From the roof, there was a beautiful view of the city of Orlando and of the ever present Atlantic Ocean.
Lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips and dip, and tons of soda. Joey even managed to squeeze in some left over pizza. They ate sharing tons of laughs and even some overly dramatic acting.
“J, you’re such a bad actor.” Kristina said in between bites of her food.
“No I’m not.” He said defending himself.
“Yes you are.” The guys joked around.
Justin frowned poorly. “See you can’t even pout right.” Julie said laughing her head off.
“Okay, enough!” Shelley said. “Stop making fun if my boyfriend!”
Justin smiled at the sound of that word. He kissed Shelley and fed her his last bite of food. “Only I can make fun of J like that!”
Everyone laughed and Justin started to tickle her. “Okay, okay I’m sorry!” She yelled into the Orlando air. Justin stopped tickling her and helped her sit up. JC and Kristina sat closely together talking about anything they could think of, something they did often. Kristina reached up from time to time to slowly caress JC’s bruise. It was leaving slowly and it made JC glad. It was a big annoyance, especially while sleeping. Any amount of pressure applied to it would cause pain for JC. JC loved the feeling of Kristina being so close, as did Kristina. They sat there in each other’s arms watching the clouds move over the city. Julie, Joey, and Lance were a sight to watch. They tired so hard not to eat the snacks and little junk foods they brought out. It just made them feel sick and reminisce about that one night they splurged on junk food. Justin and Kristina had fun with them stuffing food in their faces. They looked like they were going to throw up. Chris sat back and sighed at the sight of his seven crazy friends. As much fun as he was having, deep inside he wanted Audrey to be with them right now. He cleared his head just in time to dodge the flying food being thrown at him.
“What was that for?” He asked getting the chips out of his hair.
“We know what you were thinking about...now stop!” Kristina said. “We all want her with us, but let’s just enjoy this time while we can, okay?”
“Right...and how do you know I was think about that?” Chris asked.
“I’m psychic, okay!” Kristina said smiling.
“Okay.” Chris said throwing back some of the chips. They spent the next hour and a half sitting and talking.
**The Next Weekend**
It’s been a whole week and Audrey still wasn’t showing any signs of life. Kristina and Shelley went through a long week of school. Kristina had been staying at Justin’s house everyday after school. Lynn was away with a new group she’s managing so Kristina was more than welcome to stay the week. Julie was over with Lance staying at his house for the week. Since Audrey was in the hospital she really didn’t have a place to stay so Lance took her in with open arms. The week was pretty hectic with the guys. They were only in Orlando for three days that entire week and couldn’t dodge their schedule to stay. It was now a week later; the girls would be going back to school. The guys took them out to eat and were all going to rest a while before going to the hospital. It was around 2 PM when they all got back to the apartment. Someone had called and left a message while they were gone. Kristina clicked play and sat back hoping it wasn’t the doctor calling.
“Kris, it’s me, Tania. How are you? Um…I’m bored here at home, I just thought I’d take you out and spend some time together. Call me later, okay.” She said.
Kristina sighed and was about to leave the room when the answering machine brought up another message.
“This message is for Kristina Ward...” It was Dr. Young. Kristina ran back to listen to the message. Everyone had gather around her after Kristina yelled for each of them. “I’m calling to ask that you come down to the hospital immediately, it is concerning Ms. Audrey.” He hung up.
Kristina was in a frantic search for any set of keys she could find. She spotted JC’s keys and snatched them.
“Grab her!” Chris yelled.
JC ran to the door and hurled Kristina over his shoulders. “JC put me down, I have to go...I have to...” She gave up. “Chris what are you doing?”
“I’m not letting you drive. We are all going to leave together.” Chris said.
“Please...hurry.” She said still hanging upside down. “JC, can you put me down... not that I really wouldn’t want to stare at your ass all day but please, blood is rushing to my head.”
He laughed and set her down on the couch. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I had my share of good views today. Thanks.” She said smiling. JC couldn’t resist smiling himself. Chris came back and the eight of them were ready to leave for the hospital. They got into the two cars and left the apartment. The closer they got, the more Kristina would fidget around in her seat. JC had to pin her down to keep her from moving. It was driving everyone in the car crazy. They finally reached the hospital and were met with Dr. Young.
“What’s wrong Dr. Young?” Kristina asked.
“Well...Kristina, how about you look for yourselves.” He directed them to her room. They walked in and she was gone.
“Where is she?” Chris asked nervously.
“Keep going...into the room.” He said. They turned the corner and saw Audrey sitting up on another bed.
“AUDREY!” Everyone yelled. Kristina ran to her bedside and jumped onto it hugging Audrey.
“Kris, let me go. Ah...help!” She said smiling. Her skin was still a little pale and she wasn’t as strong as she used to be. JC ran over and tried to peel off Kristina. Audrey said she was okay and hugged her back. She held her close like a mother would hold her daughter. Kristina began crying. “Oh, what’s wrong baby?” She asked.
“You didn’t leave me.” Kristina said looking into Audrey’s eyes.
“Oh, it’s not my time.” Audrey said. “I can’t leave you alone just yet. I love you, Kristina.”
“I love you too...mom.” She said softly. Audrey was in tears at the sound of that word. In her entire life of knowing Kristina, she has never heard her say the word mom, not even to her foster parents. Everyone heard Kristina also and left the room to give the two some time.
“I was so scared, I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Kristina said.
“It’s okay baby, it’s okay. I’m here now. I’ll do my best to get better and this time I’ll listen to any medical tips you have.” She said remembering Kristina hassling her for an inhaler.
“No one listens!” She joked. “What have the doctors said?”
“They said, I’m stuck here for the entire month to recuperate. If I don’t have any more attacks then I’m free to leave after a month. They’ve given me an inhaler so you won’t have to worry now. I’ll be fine.”
Kristina smiled and got up to get the others. Chris was the first one to come in. He sat on the bed with her and didn’t say a word. He leaned down and kissed her lips softly.
“I missed ya.” He said.
“I did too. I have something to tell you.” She said. “But not now...”
“Okay.” He said moving a strand of hair away from her face. He kissed her again and let the others say hello. Kristina watched as everyone told Audrey how much he or she all cared for her and how much they missed her. JC had her in his arms and she started crying.
“Hun, what’s wrong?” JC asked looking down at her.
“Nothing, I’m just very, very glad she’s okay.” She said wiping away her tears. Audrey saw her doing this and called her over.
“Hey you, don’t cry.” Audrey said.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it.” Kristina said.
They all sat around talking to Audrey. The guys had to leave from more promotion so they couldn’t stay long. Dr. Young informed them that Audrey had to stay in the hospital for the next two weeks to get better. They just wanted to be sure she was better and to make sure she doesn’t have any more severe attacks. Julie, Shelley, and Kristina sat around with Audrey for the remainder of the night. Julie drove Shelley and Kristina to Justin’s house at around 10. Julie drove over to Lance’s.
“Hey, the guys are going to be home for their birthdays right?” Shelley asked.
“No, remember, they are going to be doing that Superbowl thing and then they are heading to California around the time of Justin’s birthday.” Kristina said.
“Do you think…” Shelley began.
“What?” Kristina asked.
“Nothing, forget it.”
“No really, what?”
“Do you think we could go surprise them over there?” Shelley said smiling.
“That would be…interesting.” Kristina said getting ideas in her head. “But we won’t be able to afford it. After the hospital bills, we don’t have much to spend.”
“Oh right.” Shelley reached over and started dialing the number for Audrey’s room. She told Audrey what she had conjured up and smiled once she hung up.
“What’s that look for?” Kristina asked puzzled.
“Audrey just gave me the okay to do this.”
“WHAT? But…Money…Problem…”
“Yeah, she said that Chris covered the hospital stuff and so we have the money to fly out to California. Audrey’s going to pay for all four of our tickets.”
Kristina started to freak out. “Oh my god!” She called Julie and told her the news.
Audrey was let out early and was home with Kristina, Shelley, and Julie. They hadn’t spoken to the guys in the past week and it was only a few days until Joey’s 23rd birthday. There was a little problem. Shelley’s parents wouldn’t let her leave. The girls weren’t going to leave without her so it caused major setbacks.
“I don’t understand…they let me do everything else, and when I want to surprise my own boyfriend, they won’t let me.” Shelley said. “I’m so sorry guys…”
**Friday, January 28, 2000**
“Happy Birthday, Joe.” The guys said. They were all in their hotel room, getting ready for the Superbowl taping. “Sorry we had to work today.” JC said
. “It’s cool. I mean, I’ll just make up for lost time during Superbowl and crash Justin’s party.”
“Hey man!” He said. “Too bad the girls couldn’t be here with us. It would have been a lot more special.
“Yeah true. But we can’t let the stop us from having a good time. They said they would call us Monday night during the party. So don’t worry guys.” Lance said.
Everyone agreed and chilled in their rooms the rest of the night. Tomorrow they would be with MTV for TRL Superbowl and then they fly out to California to tape the Snowed in Performance. Justin invited a few close friends and family over to Big Bear to spend his birthday. Nothing really big, just a gathering.
The tapings for the show were a breeze, now it was time to sit back and enjoy the party. Everyone invited came and the party was getting louder by the minute. There were two cakes, one for Joey and the other for Justin. It was a small gathering but the place seemed to be engrossed with excitement.
JC got a phone call and it seemed to draw everyone’s attention. He walked out of the room and answered his call.
“Hello...” He began. About ten minutes later he walked back to the party.
“Who was it?” Justin yelled over the music.
“No one...” He said smiling.
“Right...okay...” Justin said dancing along to the music. The party blared on into the night. The guys roamed around the room with the girls on their minds.
“I really wished we could have taken them all.” Joey said. “They would have had the time of their lives.”
“Yeah...but look at it this way...they aren’t just friends to us anymore, we think of them as family now, part of our big family.” Lance said.
“Well yeah…but gross, I don’t think Justin and Shelley or Chris and Audrey really think of each other as family.” Joey joked. “Shut up, you know what I was getting at.” Lance said.
“I wonder why they haven’t called us yet.” Chris asked getting into the conversation.
“I don’t know. JC got a call earlier but he just said it wasn’t anyone to worry about.” Justin said adding in.
“They’ll call, don’t worry. Why wouldn’t they not call?” Joey said.
“Yeah...” They all said.
It was nearing 10:30. The party had started at 8:00. The crowd was still liven up and dancing like crazy. It was definitely a party to remember. There was a loud bang outside. The music died down and every started to look towards the door. Confused looks formed on each person’s face. The doors flew open and a strong gust on wind blew through the room. Four figures walked in and dropped their luggage. The five guys had gathered around each other and started talking amongst themselves. The bright light from the cars was making it harder to make out the four figures standing in the doorway.
“Wasuuuuuuuuuuuuuup California!” One of them said.
The guys looked at each other and smiled. They knew who was there. The lights were turned on and standing at the doorway were Shelley, Kristina, Julie, and Audrey. The guys ran up to them and grabbed them in a big group hug. Everyone at the party sighed and smiled and soon the music was revved up again blasting through the speakers.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN AND JOEY!” The four of them all said.
“What are you doing here?” Justin asked spinning Shelley around in his arms.
“SURPRISE!” They all said again.
“I guess...what... I mean how...” Justin stuttered.
“It was all Shelley!” Kristina said embracing JC. “She thought it’d be fun to surprise you and we did. We had the money and we all left. We almost had to smuggle Shelley over here, but Audrey managed to talk her parents into letting her go.”
Chris walked over to Audrey and kissed her passionately. “I’m so glad you are here.”
“Me too.” Audrey said. “We’re only staying for a few days though. The girls have to go to school ya know. They have midterms at the end of this week. We leave Wednesday night.”
“Okay, don’t talk about leaving, we’re all here and that’s all we need to think about now.” Joey said. “This is going to be a blast!”
They all returned to the party and danced the night away. Chris took Audrey out on the balcony upstairs. The stars were shining bright and the moon was glistening in the illuminating sky. Chris watched as Audrey went to the railing and leaned over to breathe in the fresh mountain air. The light from the moon made her features show just as beautiful as the first day they met. Her hair flowing through the small breeze and the twinkle in her eyes as she looked up at the stars. Audrey looked over and smiled. She walked over to him and sat with him on the long chair in the corner. They wrapped their arms around each other and watch the night go by.
“Audrey, there’s something I want to say and this is the perfect time and place.” Chris said. Audrey turned around and took his hands in hers. “I’ve been wanting to tell you...”
“Yes, Chris?”
“I...I...” He began to slow down. “I... love... you.”
Audrey looked into his deep brown eyes and a tear slowly fell down her cheek. “Chris, you don’t know how much that means to me...Those words are so special and they mean a great deal to...”
“No, stop right there...I know I just made a fool out of myself.” He said walking away.
“No, Chris, wait!” She said grabbing his arm and turning him around. “You don’t understand...”
“What’s there to understand, you don’t love me the way I love you...you were just about to say it.” Chris said, his emotions flying everywhere.
The group had come out to see what was happening. The guests have left and they wondered where the two ended up. They stopped when they got to the door to the balcony and just watched.
“No, you don’t understand. You didn’t let me finish.”
“What were you going to say? That it isn’t the right time? It is.... I know it is, because these feelings I have for you are there and I wanted to let the world know that I love you Audrey...I love you!” More tears streamed down his face as he saw Audrey staring at him, not saying a word.
Audrey smiled and wiped some tears away. “Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick, stop being stubborn and just listen to me.” He nodded his head and took his hands in hers. “I love you. It didn’t take me long to realize this. You mean everything to me and have treated me the way every girl deserves to be treated, with love. You never once doubted my abilities in this world and you helped me through everything, sickness...and to my family, with Kristina. Not a day goes by that I thank god for letting me be such a klutzy driver. If I hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have met you. You make my life worth while...like I have done something to make someone proud of me. You showed me what real love is like. I know we’ve only been together for a little under a month but these feelings have been with me since the day in the park. I would never trade my life with anyone else’s. You are my life. I love you, Chris, I love you.”
Chris heard the innocence and warmth in her voice. They still hadn’t noticed that the other seven were watching everything. Kristina sighed as she led everyone back inside. Chris swept away a few fallen strands of hair covering Audrey’s face. He leaned down and kissed her.
“Audrey, you are my soul...”
To Be Continued…