Angel Standing By
Chapter 4
~The next morning in Frankfurt~
"Brian, wake up."
"AJ, what in the world....."
"Remember, Claire arrives this morning! I need you to drive me to the airport."
"You know Bone, it's a good thing you share a room with me and not with Nick."
"Why is that?"
"Because, you kept talking in your sleep about how Claire is visiting!"
"I did not! Did I?"
"Yea, except I think this convo went a bit differently than the real one. You were trying to persuade her to go out with Nick!"
"No way! I haven't mentioned a thing to Claire about Nick. I'm just gonna set up the scenario, I'll let them take it from there!"
"Bone, you're acting as if they're two adults! Nick's only 17!"
"Yea, but the boy needs to get laid bad!"
"Alex!"
AJ regretted saying it right after he shut his mouth. He knew how Brian felt about premarital sex, and Nick was like Bri's little brother, so saying that around him was a big mistake. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Not only did he insult Nick, but he insulted his best friend. She wasn't the type to sleep around. As far as AJ knew, she was still a virgin.
"Glad to see you think so highly about two of your closest friends. Is that all Claire is? A good lay for Nick? From how you talk about her, she doesn't seem to be that type at all, and you sure as hell know that Nick's not that type either!"
AJ knew he had pissed Brian off majorly. "I said I was sorry! I had my head up my ass I guess. I wasn't thinking. I don't really have any good excuse for why I said it, so I might as well shut up right now."
"We have to get to the airport and back before Nick wakes up or the plan will be screwed," Brian said as he quickly walked past AJ, who slowly but surely followed close behind.
~At the airport~
Claire quietly sat in the airport in a chair right outside of the gate she came out of. AJ was always late no matter what the occasion was, so she knew this time wouldn't be any different. She just hoped that he would hurry this time. There she sat, surrounded by all these Germans, and she had no clue how to speak the language! She saw only a couple of people that looked remotely American. She had already been approached by two Germans, and she thought that they asked her the time, but she wasn't sure.
"Claire!"
"Brian?"
"How are you?" questioned Brian as he gave her a hug.
"I'm fine." The hug surprised Claire since all they shared during their other meeting was just a hello. She saw AJ standing behind him.
"Gee, Brian gives me a warmer welcome than a guy that I've known forever?" Claire smiled as she said this.
Brian slowly let go. He was still upset with what AJ had said. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.
"Hey girlie-girl," AJ said as he squeezed Claire tight.
She soon let go. "Where's the rest of the guys? You two the only ones who wanna see me?" she questioned with pouty lips.
"No, no! The others are sleeping. Actually, to be all honest, the others don't know you're coming." Brian couldn't help but grin and think about how happy his little bro was gonna be once he saw Claire. Even Brian had to admit that she had grown up a lot since the last they met. Her shoulder length brown hair had grown to her waist, she had grown at least a couple inches taller, and the rest of her female anatomy........let's just say that Brian thought she had developed quite nicely. He knew that Nick was gonna flip.
"They don't know? AJ, why didn't you tell them?"
"You'll see my dear. Now, come with us!"
The drive back to the hotel was a beautiful one. Claire was in awe by the sites she saw. Germany was lovely......who was she trying to kid? There was only one simple reason why she really wanted to be there...........Nick. The drive seemed to be taking forever.
~Back at the hotel~
"Nick," said a small voice. "Nickolas, wake up."
Nick was rudely awakened by a 10-year-old version of himself. "Aaron, go back to bed," Nick managed to slur out. He was still half asleep and when Aaron woke him up, he was right in the middle of a great dream.......a dream involving Claire and himself. True, he hadn't seen Claire in a couple of years, but he could just imagine what she would look like now.........just as pretty as the day he met her. She seemed to fill his thoughts more and more each day. He had no clue why, since the only word he ever said to her was hello. Maybe it was her smile. Maybe it was the way she spoke up into the microphone at the pep session. Maybe he was just nuts. He didn't know why he felt what he did, he just did. He loved the way he felt about Claire. What he didn't love was the fact that he had been so far away from her for so long. But that would all change soon. He'd be staying in Ruskin a lot more now that the band was going home, and Orlando was only about an hour away. Wait! Who was he kidding? Claire had probably grown into an incredible creature. He remembered AJ saying something about her modeling a couple of times.......of course she was a beautiful creature! He was sure she'd have a boyfriend! Why was he spending his time dreaming about a girl who he barely knew and who probably had a boyfriend?!?! Liking her went against everything he had spoken to reporters about concerning his love life. He was constantly saying how the inside was more important than outward looks........but that's actually all he knew of Claire. "Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!"
Aaron quickly bolted up in bed. "What?!?!"
Nick suddenly remembered that he wasn't alone in the room. "Nothing. I....uh....just had a bad dream." Nick had hoped he convinced his little brother.
"Oh, about what?"
"A shark, now go back to bed."
"I did go back to sleep, then I heard you scream.......and now I'm not tired anymore."
Nick turned over and rolled his eyes. He loved his brother dearly and was happy that he was on tour with him, but there were times when he just wished that he was alone. "Why don't you go get ready for the day, buddy."
"Okay! Wait, are you gonna push me out of the bathroom before I'm done getting ready? You always do that."
"No, Aaron," Nick sighed. "Just go get ready."
Nick thought that being by himself would help things. He began to go into deep thought again, but he was somewhat distracted by a noise outside of his door.............