“Are you just gonna avoid him now?”
“No, Lori. I’m not gonna avoid him. I’m just gonna do everything in my power not to talk to him.”
Lori smiled, “you have to talk to him, Angie. But I gotta go now. I’ve got to meet Brian at the mall and I’ve only got an hour to get ready.”
“Later.”
Lori walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Angie walked to her room and changed clothes. Then she left the house to go to the hotel. She had to talk to Nick.
Nick finished cleaning Brian’s room and walked out, shouting a “Later” to Brian over his shoulder. He walked straight to Jane and Aaron’s room. He knocked on the door and Aaron answered.
“Are you up for some Nintendo?” he asked.
“Oh yeah!” Aaron shouted.
Angie sat in the back of the cab and wondered what she was going to say to Nick. She looked out of the window and saw 3Com stadium.
“Take me to 3Com instead.”
“Sure thing.”
“I can’t talk to him right now,” she thought.
She tried to tell herself that it was because she didn’t know how to let him down gently. But she knew deep down that it was because she wouldn’t be able to stand looking into his beautiful blue eyes and breaking both their hearts.
-----------------I HOUR LATER--------------
Kevin held Danica close, never wanting to let go of her again.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
Kevin reached for the phone, “We’re getting room service. There’s no way we’re leaving this room for at least 2 more hours.”
She smiled as he dialed the operator. When he ordered, he asked for three meals instead of just two. Danica was puzzled.
Kevin hung up the phone, “I’m having the food delivered to A.J. ’s room so we don’t have to get out of bed.”
He picked up the phone again and dialed A.J. ‘s room. He talked for a second and laughed, “No A.J., you can’t stay for lunch…You’ll understand when you bring the food.”
“He’s gonna be shocked a s hell.”
Kevin laughed softly and kissed her forehead, “I love you,” he said softly, “No, not you A.J.! T was talking to- Forget it!” He hung up the phone laughing.
Dani looked around for one of Kevin’s shirts. She reached for one that was close so she wouldn’t have to get out of bed. She slipped it on and rolled back over into Kevin’s arms.
Lori and Brian met in front of McDonald’s. They hugged and briefly kissed. They didn’t want to attract attention. As they ordered their meals, they each wondered if the other knew about Danica and Kevin and Angie and Nick. As they sat down, Lori thought of a way to ask without coming out and saying it.
“So, what did you do this morning?”
“Handed out advice to Kevin and Nick. What did you do?”
“Talked to Danica and Angie.”
They smiled and just knew what the other was thinking.
After they were through eating, Brian took Lori to a florist shop, but wouldn’t let her go in with him. When he came out, he had a dozen roses. All of them were red except one. There was one single white rose.
“Even though it’s a week early, happy one year anniversary.”
Lori started to cry. No one had ever done anything so nice for her.
“Happy anniversary, Brian.”
He took her to Sam Goody next. He walked her to the R&B section and picked up of the Brian McKnight cd.
“I never got the chance to buy it since the day we met. I guess now’s the perfect time since I’m with you.”
Lori started crying harder.
A.J. knocked on the door that connected his and Kevin’s rooms.
“Come in,” Kevin called while Danica pulled the covers over her head. He laughed.
“What’s so funny?” A.J. asked, not seeing Danica.
Kevin pointed at the blanket. A.J. was still puzzled. Kevin took the blanket off Danica’s head.
“Hi A.J.” she said, blushing.
“Uh, hi Dani, I’ll just…uh, I’m gonna…okay, bye now,” A.J. stammered.
“Relax, A.J. You’ve known Danica almost all of ya’lls entire life. You shouldn’t be uncomfortable around her.”
“Yeah but…” he trailed off, at a loss for words.
Dani laughed, “That’s okay, I’d freak out too if you and one of my best friends were in bed together.”
A.J. just shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m gonna g- Hey, isn’t that my shirt?”
Kevin looked down at Dani and smiled, “I think so.”
“You can have it, Dani. I wasn’t that fond of it anyway.”
“Thanks A.J.” she smiled, knowing that it was his favorite shirt.
“I’m going now.”
“Later!”
A.J. walked out the door, his face matching his hair color of the moment, berry red.
When the door closed, Danica looked up at Kevin (Can ya tell she’s shorter than him? She’s about 5’6”) and said, “I’m not hungry for food anymore.” She reached up and pulled him down to her again.
Howie crawled through the window, scraping his knee and made it to the van without being spotted by the huge crowd of fans. Eric followed him through the window. They climbed into the van and collapsed.
Howie pulled out his cell phone and called Fatima, wanting to cancel the afternoon’s practice. He was too tired to go to practice and to the movies with Nessa.
“Hey Fatima. We’re on our way now.”
“Great. I’ve got a couple of ideas, so get ready for a good workout.”
“Hey, I was wondering if we could cut practice a little short today. I’m really tired and I’ve got-“
“-A date with Vanessa. I know. Eric already told me. I have a date too, so we’re only gonna practice for about an hour.”
“Thanks Fatima, you’re the best.”
“You think I’m doing this for you? Please. Greg is fine.”
Howie laughed, “Later Fatima.”
He ended the call and looked over at Eric, who just smiled, “What?”
“Nothing…It’s just that I’ve never seen you like this, Howie.”
“How am I acting any differently?”
“You’ve got this glow that I haven’t seen since…”
“Ashley?” Howie asked.
Eric nodded.
“It’s okay. You can say her name. I won’t get upset.”
“It’s the look in your eyes that I’m worried about. You know, Kev and Brian seem a lot happier since they started dating Dani and Lori. And Nick was positively glowing this morning. I wonder what’s up with him.”
“Yeah, I wonder…”
“Anyway, I think that Vanessa is good for you. She seems really nice.”
“Yeah, she’s awesome,” he said as he pulled out his cell phone again. He had to call Vanessa before practice.
"Vanessa? It’s Howie…”
Angie stood at the pitcher’s mound, thankful that the guard had remembered her from when she taken pictures of the San Fransisco 49ers and the Houston Astros, before she became the Backstreet Boys and Aaron Carter’s exclusive photographer. She walked down to home plate and stepped into the batter’s box, her favorite place to be. The only other place she felt so comfortable was behind the camera. She pulled out her cell phone to call Danica.
Dani’s cell phone rang as Kevin rolled her onto her back.
“Mother fucker!” she shouted.
“Ignore it.”
“I can’t. I have this feeling that it’s Angie or Lori. We all have this connection. We know when we need each other and I have this strange feeling that she needs me now,” she grabbed her phone, “Angie?”
“Hey.”
“You have really bad timing,” she said, breathless, “What’s up?”
“We’ve got to talk. It’s important.”
Dani was alarmed by the tone of her friend’s voice, “Where are you?”
“3Com.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she ended the call and gave Kevin a quick kiss, “I’ll be back later.”
“But-“
“I gotta go. Angie needs me.”
“All right, but you better hurry up so we can pick up where we left off.”
“Okay,” she grinned. She pulled on her jeans and one of Kevin’s tank tops, not able to find her shirt. She picked up her purse and said, “I love you,” before walking out the door.
Kevin collapsed on the bed, “I’m really not liking Angie right now,” he muttered.
The cab pulled up to the stadium and Angie climbed in.
“Where to?”
“Just drive,” Angie replied.
“No problem.”
“What’s wrong, Gidge?” (Gidge is a nickname for Angie.)
“I have to find a way to break whatever is going on between Nick and me and I have no idea how to do that. It’s driving me crazy!”
“I think you like him.”
‘Not possible, he’s not my type.”
“How? He’s tall, blonde, he’s got a beautiful voice, and he’s GORGEOUS!”
“I know, but he’s still not my type. He’s obnoxious, crazy, cocky as hell-“
“-And adorable! He’s perfect for you! Why don’t you go for it?”
“I dunno…” she trailed off, looking at the sky, “It’s going to rain.”
“Yeah.”
“Could you please take us to a park?” Angie asked the driver.
“Sure thing.”
Angie and Dani always played in the rain. It was kind of like a tradition for them. They climbed out of the cab, Angie paying the driver. They went out into the pouring rain, dancing and having fun. When the rain began to let up, they called another cab.
“6248 Jensen Drive, please,” Dani said as they slid into the cab.(That's Sandra's address)
Angie looked over at Dani and smiled.
“What?”
“I hope that Kevin doesn’t mind that you totally soaked his shirt.”
“How did you know it was Kevin’s shirt?”
“As I recall, you weren’t wearing a blue tank top this morning.”
Dani smiled. She looked up at the driver, who was staring at them in the rearview mirror. He quickly averted his eyes.
“Hey Angie,” she whispered, “I don’t think it was a very good idea to wear a white tee shirt and go play in the rain.”
“Huh?” she whispered back.
“The cab driver is staring at us.”
“How great of an idea is it to wear a low cut tank top?”
Dani just shrugged.
The cab driver took a look in the back seat again as the girls resumed their conversation. He didn’t notice the Ford Contour that was headed right for them. He turned his head just as the driver of the other car honked the horn. The cab driver turned the wheel, praying that they’d avoid a collision. By the time he’d turned the wheel, it was too late. The bystanders didn’t hear Dani and Angie’s screams. In one instant, their screams were silenced, and everything went black.