"That'll be $13.99. Would you like a bag?" Kara asked her customer.
"Yes please."
Jenny, who also worked at the record store with her best friends Kara and Alexis, was standing next to Kara. It wasn't very busy as usual, so Jenny decided she'd just help out Kara and Alexis who were both behind the cashier machines. She pulled out a blue plastic bag and tossed the CD inside before handing it the young lady at the other side of the counter while Kara dealt with the payment. Once the lady left the store, Kara turned to Jenny and Alexis and whispered, "Is it my imagination or is that the Backstreet Boys over there?"
Jenny and Alexis followed Kara's gaze. "Oh my God! I think it is them!" Jenny said softly.
"Okay, just act normal," Alexis said turning back to the cashier machine when an old man walked up.
Meanwhile AJ, Brian, and Nick were standing at the other end of the store, flipping through the CDs at the "New" section. AJ was looking around when someone caught his eye, Kara. He pushed his cowboy hat off of his eyes to get a better look. She was a beauty. Her brown hair was cut short, and her eyes were large and a liquid green. He imagined her in a bathing suit...she'd look voluptuous. AJ couldn't get over her.
Brian noticed AJ's sudden interest, and stepped up beside him. "You're so girl-crazy AJ!" he laughed. "Come on, go flirt with her!"
AJ hushed Brian. "Yo, Bri! This is different! Serioulsly, no one else comes close to her. This is real, man!"
Brian laughed. "Isn't that what you said last time and the time before that?"
"No, you don't understand! This time it's different! I know we were meant for each other!"
"Ditto."
"I swear, Rok, I'm not leaving until she knows how I feel about her."
"Alrighty. Whatever you do, don't make a fool of yourself Boner."
Jenny noticed AJ looking at Kara. "Hey Kara, I think AJ's diggin you!" she whispered.
Kara blushed slightly. She's always liked the Backstreet Boys and she wouldn't mind knowing they were showing interest in her too, but as much as she liked the guys...she has never even dreamed of hooking up with one of them because she had a little secret. A secret that Jenny and Alexis knew of. "Just don't look back," Kara said to Jenny while she pretended to work behind the counter just as AJ walked up.
Turning her attention to AJ, she said "Hi. Can I help you?"
Startled, AJ replied, "What?"
He was even cuter up-close. "Can I help you find anything?" she asked again.
"Oh, I'm just looking," he answered. He was actually nervous, and the rings on his fingers seemed to amuse him.
Jenny thought if he was really thinking what she thought he was thinking, then she should leave Kara and him alone. So, she made her way over to a busy Alexis and filled her in on what was happening.
AJ looked back at Kara who appeared to be nervous as well. She pretended not to know who he was, and decided to say something quick before the moment got any more awkward and uncomfortable. "So, what's your name?"
"AJ. AJ McLean," he answered her.
"Sounds familiar."
"Ever heard of the Backstreet Boys?"
"That's it, the Backstreet Boys! How could I forget? We sell a lot of your CD's here."
"Really? That's great. So, Kara?" AJ asked noticing her name-tag.
"Yeah."
"I don't mean to be too forward, but would you like to go out sometime?" he asked.
Kara stared at him for a moment. Her mind was going a hundred miles a minute. Her mouth worked faster than her brain, and all she could come up with is "I can't."
Not yet hopeless, AJ mumbled, "All right."
What should she say? Should she take it back? Should she tell him her little secret? No she couldn't do that. But she didn't want him to think she was not interested in him when she truly did feel something special for him. "I have a boyfriend," she lied.
"OK."
She didn't like how this was going. Trying to cheer him up, she said, "I'd really like to. You understand."
Sure, he understood. He understood his intense disappointment. He couldn't believe it. He hardly knew her, and he was never going to know her. "How long have you been together?"
"Two years. He's a great guy. You'd like him," she lied again.
"Would he like to go out with me?" AJ wondered sarcastically.
She laughed. "You crack me up."
"I'm just one big bundle of laughs," he frowned.
She quieted. "Thanks for asking. You're a nice guy, AJ."
Nice. He hated that word. He wasn't going to give up on her though. "Do you think we could just be friends then?"
"I guess," she flashed a smile.
"Cool. Can I call you sometime?"
"Yeah. I'll write down my number for you," she said searching for a piece of paper.
"Here, just write it on my hand. That way I won't lose it."
"OK," she said pulling out a pen from behind her ear, and scribbling her digits on the palm of his hand.
"Thanks! I gotta go now but I'll call you as soon as I can."
"Great. It was nice meeting you."
"You too, beautiful," he said walking away and blowing her a kiss.
Kara giggled to herself. AJ was definitely a flirt! Just then, Jenny and Alexis ran up to her side. "Well, what happened?" Alexis asked in anticipation.
"He's gonna call me but we're just friends. I told him I have a boyfriend."
"Kara! How could you?" Jenny was in shock. "He's the same guy a million girls wish for, and you blew it!"
"Jenny, it's AJ. He flirts with everyone!"
"Kara, I thought you liked him? That was the last thing I would have expected you to say!" Alexis said astounded.
"I know but..."
"But what?"
Kara looked at them as if they've just forgotten who she was. Jenny and Alexis shared something she didn't.
Realizing who they were talking to, they apologized. "Sorry, I forgot. This whole thing is still new to me. I mean you just told me a week ago, and it still hasn't sunk in," Jenny replied.
"But that's still not an exception! I mean, we're talking about AJ! THE AJ McLean! Hello?! You're not even going out with anyone yet. You just hurt his feelings! He was so into you! Could you be any more of a bitch?" Alexis argued.
Stunned at what Alexis just said, Kara shot back, "Excuse me! Who's the bitch?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you that...but geeze! To think, you could have introduced him to me if you didn't want to go out with him!" Alexis laughed.
Kara started to loosen up. "Well, he said he's gonna phone me...maybe a few dates won't hurt."
Jenny got excited. "Oh it won't! Trust me!"
Ain't Nothin But A Heartache
Backstreet Fanfiction