May 28th, 2001

The boys managed to vacate the rooms they were in without disturbing whom they were with. They all piled into the van that was sent to pick them up and sighed as they drove away from the house.

Kelly opened her eyes, rolled over and stared into the emptiness where Kevin had been. She could still smell him on her and she let out a long wistful sigh and got out of bed. She got dressed and started to make her way back to her room. "Morning Kelly!" Emily said rather abruptly. Kelly jumped and clutched her chest, "Jeez Emily you scared me. Oh, and good morning to you too!" Without uttering a word both girls knew what had happened to the other. They just smiled at one another and headed back to their rooms together. As they came closer, they both heard music blaring. "Laura's up." Kelly said laughing. Laura came bombing out of her room and almost ran into both of them, "Hey guys!! Beautiful morning isn't it? Or should I say afternoon?" They all giggled and hugged one another. "Is Kim up?" Emily asked. They all looked at Kim's door and saw it partially open. Kelly carefully peered in and saw no one. "Kim? Are you in here?" Kelly called out. She got no response. "Maybe she is running errands?" Laura said a bit concerned. "Yeah, maybe. I am going to take a shower, I'll see you guys in a few." Kelly said walking into her room. Kim stared at the ladder leading up into the attic and contemplated on whether or not to go up there. If Aj had been there, he probably would have not let her but she was curious and he never told her what happened. Kim heard a loud banging noise and ran out of the room to see what the commotion was about. She found herself in the kitchen and saw Felipe preparing a mix of some sort. "Felipe, what is that noise?" Kim asked. "OH! Madam, I am sorry. Daniel is out shooting this morning. The shots seem to resonate around the property. I am sure it will cease soon." Felipe replied not really affected by the sounds. Kim heard footsteps and assumed it was the girls. She saw Laura, Kelly and Emily saunter into the kitchen all with grins a mile wide. "Ok who killed the canary?" Kim asked slightly giggling. The girls just continued to stare and shrugged their shoulders. "Shall we go riding today?" Kelly asked the others. "That sounds wonderful, let's go. Kim you coming?" Laura asked. "No, unfortunately I am allergic to them. You guys have fun." Kim replied rather relieved that they were getting out of the house.

For the next few days the boys were hard at work in the studio. When they did arrive home they were tired and went straight to bed. The girls were a bit disappointed but they understood.

June 2nd, 2001

AT the studio

"So is everything in place?" Brian asked anxiously. "Yeah I think so. The girls are going to be so surprised. Well at least everyone except Kim, she had to know about it seeing we are doing it on the property. Oh, which reminds me. Aj, is there something going on with Kim, she seems sort of removed lately." Nick asked fidgeting with his hair. Aj slowly looked up at Nick, "Um, she's just got a lot of things on her mind." They all seemed to be pacified by Aj's answer and took a deep breath and headed back into the booth after hearing Max yell that the break was over.

AT the house

"Man I can't believe how quickly the time went by. I love it here so much, I don't want to leave." Kelly said sitting on her bed thumbing through a magazine. The girls were a bit depressed. They had been having so much fun in Sweden and even managed to take a train and do a little sight seeing but they didn't know where they really stood with the guys. Kelly was taking it the hardest. She was growing quite attached to Kevin and everytime she wanted to talk to him about where they stood she would clam up or he would have a call to make.

Kim had a connection to the house and did some researching about her family tree. What she came up with was rather disturbing and she kept it to herself. She wanted to talk to Aj about it, since he knew what had been going on but she felt it better to keep him out of it considering the pattern. It was one of , boy meets girl, boy marries girl, boy moves into house, boy dies and eventually girl dies. It was a pattern that had gone on for generations. There had been no more disturbances in the house and everything seemed normal. Kim had gone back up to the attic the day after her and Aj had been up there. She gazed at the portrait lovingly and even spoke to it hoping it would come to life again. When she heard the voice behind her and saw the woman appear she stood strong and faced her. "You will not have this necklace. It's mine. It was given to me for a reason and I fully intend to keep it. I will leave the house but I won't abandon it. I will come back seeing I have roots here. You can choose to stay in the house seeing that is always what you have wanted. All I ask of you is that you don't disturb anyone here." The woman spoke very few words but nodded in accordance of Kim's request and disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. Since that day the house was quiet and no longer seemed haunted. She began to put distance between her and Aj, she felt it necessary despite her deep feelings for him. The guys had approached her about the party. They were leaving on the 5th and the girls were leaving the day after. They wanted to use the grounds out back in the house and create a rather romantic feel. Felipe would take care of the food along with 4 assistants of his. 4 separate gazebos were constructed around a larger one that would hold the band. A temporary dance floor was erected for the after dinner activities. Howie and Claudia hadn't seen much of each other and opted not to be included. Max was throwing a small dinner party on the 4th, which everyone would be in attendance at.

June 3rd, 2001

"Ok guys 20 more minutes and I'll let you go. Just don't party to hard tonight. We still need to put the finishing touches on one more song tomorrow. Trust me it will be an early day so stop giving me those looks." Max said playfully teasing them.

Kelly, Laura and Emily were fit to be tied. There was a large black curtain that extended high up preventing them from seeing what was being done out back. There were a few people guarding the area so that they wouldn't have a peek. "Ladies, I have some boxes for you." Hans announced smiling. They're eyes widened seeing the black velvet boxes with red bows in his arms. "You must open them in your rooms. You are to be down here at 6:00 sharp. If you come down earlier you will be shuttled back up to your rooms. These are the instructions I have been given." Hans said making sure they understood. Hans was left holding Kim's box and held it out when he saw her enter the room, "Miss, this is yours." Kim looked at the girls perplexed, "This is?" Kelly shrugged her shoulders, "I am assuming a piece of clothing. But I could be wrong. We are being banned to our rooms till 6pm." Kim looked at Hans and smiled, "Ok, well I guess we better get going up there seeing we only have 2 hours till we have to be back down here."

The guys arrived home shortly before 5pm and rushed up to their rooms to make themselves presentable for the evenings festivities. Kevin knocked on each of their doors, "Come on we have to get downstairs." Kevin was dressed in black trousers and a navy blue silk shirt with a black blazer. Brian came out of his room in a dark brown suit ensemble. Nick walked out in black pants and a hunter green shirt with his jacket in his hand. Aj was the last to stumble out of his room. He wore black leather pants with a white shirt and had a matching leather jacket in hand. "I am so hungry, I hope the girls aren't late." Nick said rubbing his loudly grumbling stomach.

Kim opened the box and saw a black leather skirt and a deep purple silk shirt that plunged at the neckline and was rather clingy to her body. She pulled out a pair of black 4-inch heels and smiled knowing they would look perfect with the outfit.

Kelly was twirling in her sleek black dress that plunged in the back and had a slight slit in front. She pinned up her hair and let a few strands drop around her face and finished putting the touches on her makeup when she heard Laura and Emily walk into her room. "Kelly are you ready?" Laura asked nervously. "Yeah, I'll be out in a second." Kelly responded. Laura wore a hunter green tight baby doll dress and Emily had on a cream colored dress that went down to her ankles and had a slit that went half way up her thigh. Kim strolled into Kelly's room, "Wow, don't we look dressed to kill." Laura and Emily turned around and saw what Kim was wearing. "Definitely Aj's style." Laura said giggling. Kelly came out of the bathroom straightening out her dress, "Wow!" The girls all hugged together and began to make they're way downstairs. Laura stopped halfway down the stairs, "I am so nervous." Emily turned to Laura, "It's going to be ok, let's go we have 1 minute till 6 and I don't want to get scolded for being late."

They all heard the guys talking in the living room and hesitated before walking in. When they entered the room they knew they made some sort of impression hearing the long sighs and seeing the smiles across they're faces. Kevin spoke up first, "Ladies, would you do us the honor of accompanying us this way please?" Each went and linked their arms in each of the guys and watched as the large black drape fell and revealed what was behind it leaving the girls to gasp in delight.

The girls saw the individual gazebos dimly lit. The surrounding trees were strung with lights giving off a soft glow on the red carpet that lined the way to where they would eat and dance for the night. The place looked truly beautiful and the guys were pleased that they had done so well. "You like?" Nick whispered in Laura's ear. Laura merely nodded her head and smiled at him as she walked along side him. They were each led to their own little gazebo and were seated. Each assistant carefully lay a napkin on the girl's laps and quickly disappeared to bring the salad's out. Brian handed Emily a rose. "Where did this come from?" Emily asked. "Hmm, a little birdie carried it over." Brian said grinning. Emily and Brian just sat and chatted. They just enjoyed each other. Laura's emotions were a bit more unpredictable. She loved being with Nick and cherished every moment but when she thought of what might happen after they left the house and returned to school she knew a look of sadness came over her face. "Baby why are you looking that way?" Nick asked caressing Laura's cheek. "Nick I can't help but think of what may happen. I am sorry." Laura said trying to hold back her tears. Laura tried to just have a good time but the thoughts remained in back of her head. Kelly on the other hand couldn't seem to get a grip on her emotions. Kevin was being nonchalant about them leaving. Maybe he was used to leaving people but she wasn't. She had grown attached and didn't like the way he was treating the whole situation. Kim and Aj seemed to be getting along fine. In the end they all managed to enjoy the evening.

June 5th, 2001

The girls exchanged numbers and addresses with each of the guys. The van was loaded with their luggage and ready to go. Emily was the first to start the good-byes. "You take care now and don't get into too much trouble." She said as she hugged him and kissed him goodbye. Kim and Aj were hugging and managing a few giggles in between the light sobs. "You need anything you just call me ok?" Aj said kissing her on the forehead. Kelly was afraid to even go near Kevin. She felt if she held him that she wouldn't let go. Kevin slowly walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "You'll always be in my heart no matter what happens." Kelly pulled away and wiped the tears from her face and pushed him towards the van. Nick and Laura were left standing there not knowing what to do. "I'll call you, just don't you worry." Nick said kissed her one last time before he jumped into the van. They watched as the van pulled away and looked at each other and walked into the house in silence. They all seemed to mope around the house that day and start to pack. They had an early flight the next morning and were dreading the early wakeup call.

June 6th, 2001

Kim was taking a different flight seeing she was going back to San Francisco. She made the good-byes short for she knew she would see them soon or talk to them. "Kim thanks so much for letting us stay there. It was awesome." Kelly said hugging her. Kim waved to them as she walked down the connection to the plane and wiped the tears from her eyes. She had learned so much from this trip and knew it would have an impact on her for life.

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