"Hey AJ, where've you been?"
AJ jumped and turned around to find Howie and the other guys sitting on the couch and various chairs around the room.
"I was over at Joey's, I didn't know I would be staying so late." AJ answered plopping down on his bed.
"Oh yeah, before I forget, AJ, Cheri called." Nick said, looking up from his game boy.
AJ groaned and buried his face in a pillow.
"So, did you and Joey have fun tonight?" Kevin asked, trying to get the subject of Cheri out of AJ's mind.
AJ sat up again and smiled, "Yeah, she took me too this really great play called Ragtime, then we went back to her place and I helped her rehearse for her audition for West Side Story tomorrow." He answered.
"Did Cammie go with you?" Howie questioned.
"No she didn't, wait, how do you know who Cammie is?" AJ asked slightly confused.
"Kev told me about her." Howie simply replied.
"Oh, Ok." AJ said, "I think I'm going to go get some sleep, night guys."
All the guys called their goodnights to AJ as he plopped down on his bed and immediately fell asleep.
~ That morning in the apartment ~
"Joe! Wake up sleepy head!" Cammie yelled walking into Joey's room.
"Huh?" Joey mumbled sleepily sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"Get up! It's 2:00 in the afternoon!" Cammie said pulling on Joey's arm.
"WHAT?!" Cried Joey hoping out of bed.
She ran out of her room and looked at the clock. Cammie was right. Joey groaned and shook her head.
"Good morning sleepy head." Came a deep voice from behind her. Joey turned around slowly and her eyes lit up when she saw who it was.
"AJ! What are you doing here?" She cried running over to him and throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him.
"I came to see you silly, and I must say I was kind of shocked when I got here to find that you were still asleep." AJ said smiling at her.
"I must have been really tired." Joey replied, smiling back. Then she got a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
"Oh god! I'm a mess, I look awful, I'll be right back." She cried turning and starting to walk away from him, but he caught her arm.
"You look wonderful, you always look wonderful." He whispered pulling her close to him and he lightly kissed her lips.
Joey blushed and kissed the tip of his nose, "You're so sweet AJ, thank you, now I'm going to go get dressed. I'll be right back." She said before quickly jogging into her room and shutting the door.
"So AJ, you really like Joey huh?" Cammie asked as soon as Joey's door shut.
AJ smiled, "Yeah I do." He replied.
"That's good, but just let me say one thing." Cammie took a few steps toward him while saying this.
"Ok, go ahead." AJ prompted.
"IF YOU HURT HER IN ANYWAY, SHAPE OR FORM I WILL KILL YOU!!!" Cammie shouted in his face.
AJ jumped back a little shocked but soon smiled again. "Cammie, I don't think I could hurt her if I wanted to, I care about her too much."
"Ok just checking!" Cammie chirped and smiled.
"So when is Joey's audition?" AJ asked sitting down on a chair.
"Tomorrow, she's really nervous about it." Cammie replied sitting in the chair next to him.
"She didn't seem nervous when we rehearsed last night." AJ said turning towards her.
"Well she is, and she'll be even more nervous when she finds out that there are going to be scouts from 3 other shows there too." Cammie mumbled looking at her hands.
"What shows?" AJ asked curiously.
"Cats, Lion King and Guys and Dolls." Cammie answered as Joey came out of her room in faded jeans and a tank top, humming "I could not ask for more" by Edwin McCain.
"What about Guys and dolls?" she asked, sitting on the other side of AJ.
"Oh nothing, I was just telling AJ some of your favorite plays." Cammie said quickly.
"Oh, ok." Joey replied suspiciously.
"So Joey, what are we doing today?" AJ asked turning to her and smiling.
"You are going back to your hotel and I'm going to practice." Joey answered patting his shoulder.
"Can't I stay and help you?" AJ questioned with sad eyes.
"The last time you tried to help me I ended up rolling on the floor laughing." She replied with a small smile.
"It's just that I'm not going to be here for very much longer and I really want to get to know you better, I want to know everything there is to know about you." He said looking into her eyes.
Joey froze. "Wait, when are you leaving? She asked quietly looking down at her hands.
"Tuesday." AJ replied just as softly.
Joey felt her heart sink. 'Why did I let myself feel anything for him, I should have known he would be leaving soon' She thought.
"That's only five days away, I'm sure there's a lot of things in New York that you still haven't seen, you'd better get going." Joey said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She got up and opened the door.
"But Joey, I want to stay here with you." AJ stated, getting up and standing beside her.
"Just go. I have an audition soon. Have a good time in New York while you're here." She said coldly, her voice shaking. She gently pushed him through the doorway and shut the door.
AJ closed his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. Sadly he walked downstairs and out of the building.
Joey sank to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
