~ * ~ The Next Day ~ * ~
It was the day of the concert and the next day was the last day that the Boys would be there, and then the next morning they would be leaving. Leah knew that if Nick was going to leave on good terms with her, they'd have to make up pretty quickly. But Leah wasn't willing to apologize for something that she wasn't sorry for. She wasn't going to stop being friends with his friends just because he was "jealous of her time."
With a sigh Leah threw the remains of her chocolate chip muffin in one of the hotel lobby garbage cans. She was waiting for the Boys to come down so they could go to the arena for a sound check and rehearsal. But they were taking forever and after a while she lost her patience and headed up to their floor in the elevator. The seventeenth floor was for the Boys and anybody that was on the tour, only, and you couldn't take two steps from the elevator without a special VIP pass around your neck and not expect to get bombarded by a security guard who sent you back down, sometimes awfully frightened. It wasn't even one of the Boys' bodyguards ... the guy was provided by the hotel, and he was so cruel that he drove Leah crazy. She knew it was his job to be strict and not let anybody that shouldn't be there come up to the seventeenth floor ... but Leah was not going to take his rudeness this time. With a scowl on her face, she quickly flashed the VIP pass at him and continued to walk to Kevin's hotel room door. Normally she would go straight to Nick's, but she figured that wasn't such a great idea at the time.
"Kevin?? You guys comin'?" she asked through the door after knocking a few times. A gasp fell from her mouth as Nick answered the door in jeans and ... nothing else. She had to admit that he continued to become more and more ... beautiful ... as time went on. But still ... they were friends ... nothing more. "H-Hi."
"Hi," Nick mumbled, letting her in and walking away, into the suite's kitchen.
Leah groaned. He was such a pompous ass sometimes. A few minutes later all of the guys were ready and they all left together for the arena ... but Nick stayed far from Leah, and he kept his distance the entire day.
~ * ~ The Next Day ~ * ~
Brian fumbled with the decorations that he was trying to string around the room. It was the day of Leah's birthday, and all the guys, minus Nick, were at her house helping her and her family set up for the big bash. Leah was excited beyond belief, not only because it was her birthday, but because her five favorite guys were going to be there to celebrate with her. But Nick wasn't there yet and Leah was beginning to grow nervous. What if he was so mad at her that he was refusing to come to her party? She had been too frightened to ask the rest of the guys about it, when they had arrived without Nick.
Brian leaned over to Howie and whispered, thinking Leah couldn't hear him, "Nick's gonna regret not bein' here for her, man."
Leah's eyes widened and she couldn't help herself. She interrupted in a mortified shriek, "Nick's not coming to my party?!" He was her best friend and he wasn't coming because of one little fight?
"No, no!" Brian stepped down from the stepladder quickly and grabbed her shoulders, "No, he's coming. I just meant ... not here to help you decorate and stuff." He blushed at the fact that she had overheard him talking about the two of them behind their backs.
"Oh," Leah whispered and turned around, feeling tears coming to her eyes. She didn't know why it meant so much to her ... okay, she did -- she loved him, he was her best friend, like a brother to her even, and he didn't want to spend a special day with her because they had gotten into an argument ... over something incredibly juvenile ... or at least in her point of view. She realized at that moment as she left the room and the decorations behind and walked out onto the back porch that she may not have given Nick much of a chance to explain his side of it before she'd gone off on him that night. At the thought of not having listened to her best friend's feelings, she suddenly felt terrible. She would surely have to apologize when she saw him that night.
~ * ~
AJ danced his way over to Leah. Her far too huge living room had been turned into a club, it seemed. The music was loud, the bass was high, and the walls were shaking. They even had strobe lights along with the various colored ones. AJ grabbed Leah from the guy that she was dancing with. He had no idea who the guy was, and he was wondering if Leah did either ... there were tons of people there, but he was sure all of them were friends and family members. "Mind if I have this dance?" he grinned, not caring that the guy she had previously been dancing with seemed a little pissed.
Leah giggled and AJ began to wonder if she had drank too much, but she seemed quite sober and her breath smelled like nothing but Sprite. Good girl. "Yeah," she grinned, immediately taking him up on his offer. "You havin' fun, Aje?"
"You know it."
She laughed again and wrapped her arms around his neck as a slow song began to play. "I miss him, J."
"Huh?" She'd lost him with that one.
"He hasn't talked to me all night."
AJ suddenly realized she was talking about Nick. He didn't understand why his friend was being so dumb -- though he didn't really have the full story about their fight, so he was trying not to take sides ... but Leah seemed like a fair enough person. But since he hadn't talked to Nick about it yet he decided to give his friend the benefit of the doubt. "Leah ... why don't you try talking to him?"
Leah sighed, "I know, I know. I'm being petty. It's just ... what he said to me really frustrated me. I can be friends with you guys, right? Or anybody, for that matter."
"Yeah, Lee. I know we've all told you this ... but Nick is jealous. You two can't just let that get between your friendship. You guys have an awesome relationship. Don't let jealousy and miscommunication get in the middle of that."
"I know." Leah suddenly laughed, "Ever the counselor."
"You got it, babe. I'm excellent at it too, huh?"
She merely rolled her eyes.
~ * ~
Leah had managed to pull Nick outside onto the back porch, even if there wasn't much privacy out there either. There were loads of people outside too and everyone that passed them would wish her a happy birthday and give her hugs, which would interrupt their conversation.
"You're quite popular," Nick noted, looking at the crowd. "Most of these people from your school?"
Leah nodded, "I uh ... have a big school," she laughed, before deciding to get down to business, "Look, Nick ... I didn't come out here to discuss my school size. I came to apologize for the other night. I realized that I might not have given you a chance to really tell me what you're feeling. I'd like to give you that chance now if you'll let me."
Nick gazed down at her before a small smile began to grace his face, "I love you, Lee. I hope you know that. You're the best friend I could ever ask for and I'm sorry that I let this come between us, even if it was only for 2 days." He hoped that she didn't think he was professing the REAL kind of love that he felt for her, but he figured she was taking it as friendship love, which was good ... because he wasn't ready to tell her how deep his feelings for her really were. "I just ... I'm not here for long and I don't see you much. You know that if it were possible I would be with you every second of every day-"
"Even when you're going to the bathroom?" she grinned. "Or taking a pretty little thing upstairs with you?"
Nick cleared his throat and abruptly stopped the thought that if he had his way she would BE the pretty little thing going upstairs with him. "Hush, Lee. Anyway ... Since it's not possible for you to be with me that often, I just ... wanted to be with you as much as I could. I know it was stupid of me and you weren't trying to ignore me, I just freaked out. I'm sorry. Maybe I was having a sleep deficiency."
Leah smiled and without another word took his hand and led him back inside and straight to the dance floor.
~ * ~
Nick awoke the next morning in Leah's bed. Not in that way, of course! Leah was curled up on the other side of the mattress and everything felt so peaceful and surreal that Nick momentarily forgot how he'd woken up ... to AJ coming in and telling him to get his ass out of bed ... it was time for them to leave.
With a deep sigh Nick hauled himself from the warmth of the comforters and went into Leah's adjoining bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. When he was done he returned to her bed to say good-bye to her. He'd never felt so depressed about leaving somebody in his entire life. Nick rarely cried, and there were tears in his eyes as he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to Leah's forehead. He watched as her eyes immediately fluttered open.
Leah smiled, enjoying waking up to his baby blues. They were gorgeous, even if they looked incredibly sleepy. "You leaving?" her smile faded, once she realized that he looked anything but ecstatic. She immediately sat up and threw her arms around his neck, "I'll miss you, Nicky. I'll miss you a ton."
Nick, in turn, wrapped his arms around her petite body and held her against him firmly, "I'll miss you too, Lee."
"Call me?"
"Of course. Call me too."
"I will," she smiled sadly and pulled away, touching his face gently. "Love you, Nick."
"I love you too."
In one swift motion he'd placed a kiss on her cheek, stood, and walked out of her room. Leah was surprised when tears came to her eyes. She laid back down on her bed again, having said good-bye to the other guys the night before. She contemplated the time that she'd spent with them and found a tired smile coming to her face. What a stressful three days.
