"WHAT?" Josh screamed, nearly making the dishes in the bus's sink fall from their precarious stack.
"I'm going out with Justin to dinner tonight," April said sweetly, hoping against hope that she sounded normal. "Can I borrow our jersey?"
"Our jersey?" Josh asked, suddenly calm. "You're going on a date with Justin Timberlake of the famous bubblegum-pop boyband *N Sync and you want to wear a jersey with my lowly name on it?"
He was being sarcastic, but April ignored the sarcasm.
"Of course, baby," April said soothingly as she rubbed lotion onto her bare, tan legs. "Why wouldn't I?" She grinned, a devilish thought running through her head. "I want the whole wide world to know who's gonna show me how to really get boy cooties."
Josh turned and studied her, his face unreadable.
"Joshy, why are you looking at me that way?" April asked, not looking up as she swiped a nail-polish remover soaked cotton ball across her toenails.
, My Princess," Josh said. "What are you staring at me like that for?" He countered quielty before exiting the bus, leaving April to her thoughts.
"I'm trying to figure me out through you," April said to the space Josh had occupied.
"Well, good luck," Josh's voice answered. "Because I can't understand you, either."
April heard the bus stairs squeak as Josh hefted himself off of them, and then heard his footsteps walk away.
"God, you're confusing," She said, frustrated, to a framed picture of the two of them on the counter. There was one beside it of Kelsy and her dancer, Aaron. "Why isn't your life this confusing?" She asked Kelsy's picture.
"Because I'm not the hot babe every fine guy in the world falls in love with. I'm the ugly one that's just there to make you more beautiful," Kelsy's voice replied from the doorway.
"God, I hate myself," April said, still rolling the nail polish.
Kelsy held out her hand and April handed over the nail polish. Kelsy sat on the other end of the couch April was stretched out on and began to paint her toes the way she knew she wanted them.
"Tell me what's confusing you," Kelsy said calmly.
"Josh," April said bluntly. "I mean, what is with that boy? He's like my best friend, we're cool and all, then today at the studio he busts out with 'I'll show you how to really get boy cooties'? And then he totally starts tripping out on me about going out with Justin to a club after the show tonight. Why? It's not like he's ever cared about my social life before. Never had a problem with me going out with you, or other friends."
"None of them were Justin," Kelsy said soothingly.
"So he's got a problem with Justin?"
Kelsy was quiet a minute. That one kind of stumped her. She couldn't quite tell if Josh just hated Justin, or really loved April.
"So, that's it," April mused. "Josh hates Justin."
"No, I don't know if Josh hates Justin," Kelsy said slowly. "But I think I know what Josh's problem is."
"What?" April asked.
"He loves you," Kelsy said.
"Sure," April shrugged. "I love him, too, you know that."
"No," Kelsy shook her head as she blew on April's toenails. She looked up at April, her face serious for a change. "He loves you."
"He loves me not," April sang, mixing up the words to Dream's "He Loves Me {He Loves You Not}".
"No, he loves you!"
Those words hit April like a ton of bricks.