The Way You Said Hello ~ Chapter Twenty-Three

This was exactly what I had NOT been looking forward to while I was on vacation. I sat in microbiology class, not bored for once (what a nice change that would be!), but instead pulling my hair out with stress and worry.

"For tomorrow, everyone have chapters thirty and thirty-one read and be prepared for a test on them. You're dismissed."

I jumped out of my seat and practically ran for the door. I paused and waited for the stream of people to go by me so that I could walk out with Gillie and Eilene, who were also in my class. I found them, and we walked out the door together into the hallway, groaning about the work that needed to be done. However, we all stopped short when we heard a conversation going on behind us.

"Ugh…look, it's those girls that are dating the Backstreet Boys," I heard someone say in a whiny voice. I sneaked a quick glance and discovered that it was none other than Eliza, a constant source of trouble for me.

"Yeah. You know they're just with them for the money."

"Especially Becky. She's dating the freaky one. And I certainly can't understand what he sees in her." They laughed and turned away, and I couldn't hear what they were saying any longer. I felt hurt prick at my heart, but I kept my head held high and ignored every word they said. A look at Gillie and Eilene told me that they were attempting to do the same, though I saw the shimmer of tears in Gillian's blue eyes.

We had a ten minute break, so we decided to sit down at a picnic table in the central area of the campus. The January weather was a bit chilly, but the sunshine warmed us up as we sat outside and took a short rest from the rigors of high school.

"So, Gillie," I asked, leaning forward eagerly. "What's going on with you and Howie?"

Gillie lowered her eyes as she answered. "I did call him like you said, Becky, and we're going out this weekend." We made certain to keep our voices low as we talked, for we never knew who might be listening.

"Good girl," I smiled at her proudly. That's one mission accomplished, I thought to myself. Now we just have a few other couples to work on.

"Well, how are things going between you and AJ?" Gillie asked curiously, crossing her legs. Eilene was just sitting, staring off into space, lost deep in thought.

"Well…" I started. "Pretty good, I guess. I don't like to kiss and tell." I grinned and gave her that to think about. I glanced over at Eilene. "Hey! Earth to Eilene Loren Jones!" I yelled into her ear. "Come back to the mother ship!"

She broke out of her reverie and glared at me, running her fingers through her short, light brown hair. "Yes?" she snapped impatiently.

"Excuse me for interrupting you, your highness," I replied sarcastically. "What's up with you lately?"

Eilene sighed, her face suddenly forlorn. "I've been thinking about Brian for days," she said slowly, "and I don't know what to do. He's sweet, and hilarious, and adorable, and I just want to be with him. But he and Jenna are together, and…I don't ever want to come between him and the person he loves." Her voice was full of angst, and her dark green eyes would not meet mine as she spoke.

"I'm not so sure he loves her, Eilene," I told her gently. "I've told you this before. Just hang in there, okay?" I patted her on the arm and gave her a sympathetic smile.

The three of us sat in silence for our remaining five minutes, absently sipping our water, each of us lost in our own thoughts. As we sat in the open air, passersby blatantly stared at us, whispering among one another. All I could do was look the other way and pretend not to notice. I felt separated from the people I used to know.

The bell rang, and my friends and I got up to go our separate ways to the last class of the day. I headed to English class, clutching my literature book against my chest protectively. I walked alone through the hallways, keeping my head up high even though I was being treated so differently. I had never imagined that this brush with fame would affect my life so deeply.

I had learned that there were three types of people that were acting so strangely. Some people would just stare at me as I walked by. It was annoying, but they were essentially harmless. Other people would bitch at me and try to put me down because they were jealous. This was a bit more disturbing, but possible to ignore as well. The last group of people were the ones who decided that they were now my best friends just so that they could meet the Backstreet Boys. I tried to keep my distance from all of these people, because they were all fake in their own ways.

I trudged into English class and pulled out my notebook. As I sat in my seat, the constant stress and worry of a day at school rushed back into me. All thoughts of relationships and emotional problems and Backstreet Boys evaporated as I concentrated on the next term paper we would have due.

After class was over, I left the classroom and walked to my locker - alone, as usual these days. I gathered my things and prepared to go home. I was practically in a daze as I drove through the crowded streets, my mind wandering terribly. I pulled into my driveway and turned off the car, leaning my head back against the seat and sighing imperceptibly.

I got out of the car, slamming the door behind me and jangling my keys between my fingers. I unlocked the front door of the house and walked through, tossing my things down onto the couch when-

"BOO!" someone yelled, popping out from behind the couch and grabbing my waist from behind.

My heart leapt into my throat and I whirled around, all of my reflexes geared toward protecting myself. I threw a punch at the person, but he caught my fist before it connected with his face and leaned in to give me a long, scorching kiss. He pulled away finally, and I smiled.

"Sorry about that, AJ," I apologized.

He let go of my fist and grinned back at me. "Yeah, you were about to give me a black eye, and I have a photo shoot tomorrow!"

We both laughed, and I turned as we heard approaching footsteps. Nick, Brian, and Kevin emerged from the kitchen, all of them carrying various items of food that I recognized from my refrigerator.

"Go ahead, guys, help yourself to my food," I said sarcastically as they all ran up to me to give me a group hug. "How in the world did you get in here, anyway?" I asked, baffled.

"Well, we were originally gonna wait outside your front door, but we figured out that you left that sliding glass door in your room open, so we decided to surprise you," Brian explained as he took a handful of potato chips from Kevin.

"Where's Howie?" I asked as I helped myself to a few as well.

Kevin answered me. "He's out shopping…as usual. Even though he's so stingy with his money and probably won't buy a thing."

I left the guys to amuse themselves for a few minutes as I went to my bedroom. I walked through the door, and AJ followed me in there. "Not this time, babe," I said, pushing him out. "I need to change my clothes."

He gave me his pouting face as I shut the door on him. I quickly shed my long black skirt and white three-quarter sleeve shirt, changing into blue jean shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I also put my long brown hair up into a ponytail. Finally I wandered out into the kitchen and sat down at the table, pulling out my microbiology book so that I could start with my studying. I really needed to get some work done, though that was doubtful with these goofballs here at my house.

I glanced at the guys, who were sitting on the couch watching TV. Nick was in control of the remote, and at the moment he was flipping through the channels aimlessly. He stopped for a second on a nature show that was featuring two mating tigers.

"Look, Becky!" he called to me from the other room. "It's you and AJ!" At this comment, Brian and Kevin nearly died laughing. AJ just glared at Nick, but I could tell he was about to bust out laughing as well.

I ran into the room and jumped on top of Nick, trying to wrestle the remote control away from him. "Nick, give me that now," I growled. "This is not funny!" I yelled, slapping his arm. Finally I grabbed the remote away from him and changed the channel as fast as I could.

"Come on, Becky, I was watching that," Nick whined, his blond hair falling into his eyes.

I sighed. "Look, Nick. I have a Nintendo 64. Can't that keep you amused?"

"Yes!" he shouted, jumping to his feet. "Do you have Mario Kart?" I hooked it up for him so that he could play while I got back to work. As I walked back into the kitchen, I heard him screaming comments at the N64.

"Oh, no, I don't think so!" he yelled at the screen. "You are not gonna beat me. No way. I am the master of this game. Ahhh! Get out of my way now, you idiot!! Shit, it's that Toad thing. You will never beat me!! Ha ha ha…" I rolled my eyes just listening to Nick blabber on at the TV screen. "Oh, so now it's Princess trying to beat me. You just think you're all that and a bag of chips, don't ya? Well let me tell you something, my girl Ryan could kick your ass any day." I heard Brian chuckle after that one, and even I had to smile.

I sat down at the table and opened my book again, trying to ignore Nick's monologue going on in the next room. AJ wandered in and sat across from me, a mischievous look on his face. Whenever my face was buried in the book reading, he made a funny face at me. But when I'd look up, he would go back to normal and pretend that he wasn't doing anything. I smirked to myself, glad for the small distraction. It lifted my stressed mood, at least a little.

Kevin and Brian were lounging on my couch, going through my CD collection and making comments. I couldn't really hear what they were saying, though, as Nick was still babbling on incoherently and drowning everyone else out.

Finally I got through the chapters I had needed to read, and I stretched my arms above my head. It was time for a break, so I went into the next room and joined the rest of the guys, who were still just hanging out.

"You know, for being famous and important and all, you guys have WAY too much spare time to be hanging at my place," I commented as I sat down next to Brian.

"Well, we were in the studio all morning, so we just needed a break," Kevin said, setting my CD case aside. "Your house is really only about forty-five minutes from our place, which isn't that bad, really."

"What did you do this morning in the studio?" I asked, shifting so that I was sitting cross-legged on the couch.

"Tried out a few new songs, did some backup on old ones, the usual," Brian said casually. "It's fun coming over to your place to hang out. Jenna never…" He paused, and his face fell. I took this as my opportunity to drop a few hints.

"How ARE things with you and Jenna, Brian?" I prodded gently. His sharp blue eyes were clouded as they met mine. They told me the truth: that it was over between them.

"Not great," he said glumly. I gave him a meaningful look, but decided to change the subject so I wouldn't upset him.

Kevin took this as a chance to tell us something. "Well, Anne and I are now a couple," he announced proudly. AJ and I shot a look like…yeah, we already knew that! Kevin continued speaking: "But, AJ, what's up with your cousin Eva?"

AJ looked startled. "What do you mean?"

"She called me yesterday," Kevin explained. "She was acting really weird. Wanting to know if I had a girlfriend and everything. I mean, I told her I was with Anne, but she didn't seem to care. I must have forgotten to tell you about it sooner, man."

AJ informed Kevin about what had happened at my house the other day when Eva showed up at our informal pool party. While that was going on, I excused myself so that I could get back to work.

"I've gotta get back to work, guys. Our last microbiology test was a killer. The only people who actually passed that thing were Eilene and I." At the mention of Eilene's name, Brian's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Well looky here, someone's got a crush," Nick teased from his position in front of the television.

"Aw guys, can't ya just leave a fella alone?" Brian drawled in his thick country accent. He was grinning, however, so we knew that he didn't really mind.

"Well guys, Becky needs to get back to work," AJ said, standing up. "Let's get outta here."

The guys all got up, and I showed them to the front door, holding it open for them. They filed past me one by one on their way out, starting with Kevin.

"Listen, Kevin, if you hear any more from Eva…let AJ or I know. We need to hear about that, because something fishy's going on there," I told him concernedly.

"Of course," Kevin said, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek on his way out the door.

Brian also gave me a big hug on his way out, whispering in my ear, "You're right, you know, about Eilene. I like her." I gave him a knowing smile and winked as he walked through the door. As Nick walked past me, I punched him in the stomach, grinning smugly. Finally AJ walked out and stopped to give me a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Bye, guys!" I yelled after them as they got into AJ's Expedition. They pulled out of the driveway and were on their way, leaving me to get back to work and the world I knew. It was sad to see them leave, but at least we had a great afternoon together. I hoped there would be many more days spent like this…but in the back of my mind something was telling me that maybe this was not to last. I chose to ignore it for now.

~

Continue to chapter twenty-four

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