Natalie bounced into the café for an early breakfast and looked around for anyone she knew. The only person she saw was Ally, who actually happened to be Nick’s ex-girlfriend. Nick had said something about her, but he hadn’t gone into much detail. Not that she thought it was her business, anyway, but she had to admit, she was curious. She strode over to where Ally was sitting. “Hi, do you mind if I sit down with you?”
“No, not at all. Go ahead,” Ally replied. “I was getting kind of lonely here, anyway.”
Natalie sat down in the chair and crossed her legs. “I can’t believe the tour is almost over,” she stated.
“I know. I’m going to miss it,” Ally exclaimed sincerely. “I haven’t been on tour in a couple years.”
“I understand you were on the Backstreet Boys tour,” Natalie mentioned casually. “Nick told me that.”
“Yeah, that was the last tour I’d been on. Before that, I was on the Your Fantasy tour. I dated Craig Miller,” Ally said, hoping Natalie would take her hint and change the subject. Talking about Craig was better than talking about Nick, at least with Nick’s current girlfriend.
Unfortunately, she didn’t. “Nick said you dated him, too. That’s kind of ironic, that you two would meet up again.”
“Yeah, it is. Small world, huh?”
“Do you mind if I ask why you broke up?”
Ally froze. She didn’t want to mess up their relationship, and she knew that might happen if she told Natalie the truth. Still, she couldn’t lie. “His psycho ex came along. They had broken up a year earlier, and she still thought they were dating, even though he told her they weren’t. She said that if he kissed her and said there was nothing there anymore, she would leave. Unfortunately, I walked in during that kiss. There was nothing there, and I should have taken him back, but before I realized that, I was on a plane to New York, starting a new life.”
“So the whole thing was really no one’s fault, well, besides the ex,” Natalie stated.
“Nope. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and I got the wrong ideas,” Ally said.
“I’m happy I’m with him. This is the first serious relationship I’ve had in a long time…well, really the first ever. None of my previous boyfriends have lasted over two months. Nick and I have been together for four months.”
“Well, congratulations,” Ally said with more enthusiasm than she actually felt.
“He’s something, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he certainly is.”
The two girls chatted over coffee and bagels, and then went back to their rooms. They were leaving for Boston in another hour, and they had to get ready.
The bus ride seemed longer than it was, and Ally spent almost the entire time staring at a blank page in her notebook. She had decided to start a journal, and this was the perfect time. Finally, she managed to catch a few of the thoughts floating in her mind and jotted them down.
‘I miss Nick more than I thought it was possible. It’s weird. I miss him even more now that he’s near me than I did when he was in Florida. I can’t handle having him in front of me without me being able to have him. Every day that I see him, my love for him grows and grows. Why did I ever let him go? Why didn’t I see how much he meant to me?’
It reminded her of that *Nsync song, “Drive Myself Crazy.” (Author’s Note: I don’t like them much, either, but that song has been going through my head all day, and it seemed to fit.) Without her even realizing it, the words escaped her lips, quietly at first, and then becoming louder. “I lie awake. I drive myself crazy, drive myself crazy, thinking of you. Made a mistake when I let you go, baby. I drive myself crazy, wanting you the way that I do.”
“Please, don’t sing, Ally,” Kristen said from her bunk.
“Thank you, Kristen. I really needed that right now,” Ally muttered bitterly under her breath. She should never have let him get away. He had definitely been a keeper.
Ally hauled her suitcase up to her room. It would have made more sense to leave it on the bus and just fill her backpack with things that she needed for tonight, since they were leaving in two days. Still, she didn’t feel like all that work. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was standing at the next door. She had to have a room next to them?
Nick and Natalie had their arms around each other in a passionate embrace. Ally cleared her throat loudly and stuck her keycard in the door. Natalie looked up and waved, but Nick just shifted uncomfortably and watched as his ex-girlfriend waved and slipped into her room.
This wasn’t going to be fun. They were in Boston for two days, and she was going to have to have the happy couple right next door the whole time. She could only pray that they wouldn’t do anything noisy while they were there.
The door opened and Celeste stepped in. “Hey, Ally, do you know who’s next door?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t miss them. They were all over each other in the hall when I came up here. It really pisses me off,” Ally muttered. “That could have been me, you know?”
“Have faith, Ally. Everything will straighten itself out for the better if you believe it will,” Celeste assured her.
“I wish I could believe that,” Ally said softly. “But lately I’m having a bit of trouble.”