“Craig, you are going to be civil, right?” Ally asked cautiously as they walked to the gate. The day had come; they were leaving for the new tour, which started tomorrow.
“As civil as I can be to my competition,” Craig grumbled. “Why do I have to be here, Alexandra?”
“Because it would make us both look bad if you weren’t,” Ally replied, trying to conceal her annoyance.
When he saw her, Nick smiled welcomingly. “Hi, Ally, and you must be Craig.” He stuck his hand out, but Craig ignored it.
“Hello, Nick,” he mumbled. He quickly said hi to the other guys and pulled Ally away. “I have to get going, babe.”
Ally sighed unhappily. “I’ll miss you!”
“Yeah.” Craig caught Nick staring at them out of the corner of his eye. Why was Nick looking at HIS girlfriend? Quickly, he moved in and kissed her passionately. “Later, babe.” He began to walk away.
“I love you!” Ally called after him, her eyes filling with tears.
“Yeah, see you,” Craig replied.
Meanwhile, Brian and Kevin were observing the scene from several feet away. “There’s a relationship that won’t last long,” Kevin said.
“What makes you think that?” Brian replied. “I think they’re perfect for each other,” he added bitterly.
“She’s too clingy, too dependant, and he doesn’t give a damn about her,” Kevin explained. “I give it until the end of the tour, at most.”
“I have a really bad feeling about her,” Brian mumbled.
Kevin nodded in agreement. “She’s going to cause Nick a lot of pain.”
Chapter 5
Ally sighed loudly and put down her book, trying to get Nick to start a conversation and save her from her boredom. They were seated next to each other on the plane, and neither one had said a word for the first hour of the eight hour trip to Europe. Success! Nick looked up!
“I hate planes,” he stated.
“I hate traveling without anyone I know really well,” Ally replied.
“That’s no fun, either,” Nick said. “Are you from Florida?”
“Oh, no. I’m from Minneapolis. I moved to Florida because of my dancing. I would have gone to New York, but I hate the cold,” Ally answered. “Where are you from?”
“New York, but we moved to Florida when I was little. How did you get started in dancing?”
“I took lessons when I was a kid and I fell in love with it. Soon after I moved, I landed a job on the Your Fantasy tour as a dancer for the openers.”
“You met Craig then,” Nick stated, trying not to show his disdain.
“Yeah, and I guess we just clicked. I moved in with him, and I really love him,” Ally gushed. “I barely even know you and I’m telling you all about my love life. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay.” ‘How can she live with that chauvinistic asshole?’ Nick wondered. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No, I don’t. Well, I had a best friend who was like a sister, but we got into a huge argument a few weeks ago because she’s…she’s stupid,” Ally muttered, recalling the fight she and Jo had gotten into over Craig. She blocked out the fact that she knew Jo was probably right, but she didn’t have the nerve to confront her boyfriend about it. “Other than that, no. I have no siblings.”
“I have a brother and three sisters, all younger. Aaron, BJ, Leslie, and Angel,” Nick listed.
They talked for three more hours, but they realized sleep would be nice if they wanted to perform well. After Nick fell asleep, Ally found herself thinking about how much better of a boyfriend he’d be than Craig. ‘Just another crazy, twisted thought. I must be really tired…’ she decided as she fell asleep.
Chapter 6
Cautiously, Brian approached Nick. In the month since the tour began, Nick and Ally had gotten very close, and Brian was not happy about it. “Hey, Frack, can I talk to you?”
Nick switched the television off and looked up. “Yeah, sure. What’s up, bro?”
“It’s about Ally.”
Immediately, Nick perked up. “Yeah?”
“You guys are getting to be really good friends, you know?”
“Yeah, so what’s your point?”
Brian took a deep breath and spit it out. “I think you should quit hanging out with her.”
“What? Why?”
“Listen, Nick. I can see what’s going to happen here. You’re going to fall for her, but she loves Craig, and she’s going to break your heart.” He hesitated. “That, and she’s just a bitch.”
Nick took a deep breath, trying not to lose his temper. “That’s really not fair, Brian. Have you ever actually talked to her?”
“I’ve tried, but she won’t let me. She just ignores me or shrugs me off,” Brian answered.
“So she’s shy.”
“She isn’t shy, Nick. She’s just cold,” Brian corrected. “And you’re still going to get hurt sooner or later.”
“Hey, who even says I’m falling for her, Brian? Am I that obvious?” Nick blurted out. “I mean-what makes you think I like her?” Hopefully, Brian hadn’t noticed his mistake.
“That attempt at a cover didn’t really work. You like her, but she’s with Craig. You’d get your ass beat if you tried anything. Craig’s huge!”
“Whatever, man. I don’t like her like that. She’s just a friend,” Nick insisted. He turned on the television again, signaling that the conversation was over.
“Do you want to go clubbing with us?” Brian asked, grabbing his jacket.
“Nah, I’ll just chill here,” Nick replied.
“Okay, suit yourself. Later!”