~~~the next day~~~
Gwen woke up and snuggled next to AJ. They had fallen asleep in his home theatre after they put in Blade at 4:00AM. They were still in their clothes from the night before. AJ started stirring and woke up.
"Morning Baby," he yawned.
"More like good afternoon," Gwen said, kissing him. She went to get up to shower but AJ pulled her back down.
"And where do you think you are going?" he asked. She laughed and they kissed.
"This place is a wreck,'' she said.
"I know, Janie is coming over at 2," AJ said about his maid.
"Okay...what are you doing today?" she asked. He groaned.
"I have to go to a tour planning meeting at 2:30," he grumbled as he tried to wake up. Gwen looked at her watch.
"Well, it's 21:45 and I'm going shopping with Illianna at 2," she said. He groaned.
"Without me?!" he whined.
"You are so grumpy in the morning," she said. She stood up and pulled him up.
"If you go to Nordstrom, my personal shopper's name is Julia. Just go to the front desk and ask for Julia and she'll take care of everything," AJ said, as they walked upstairs hand in hand.
"You have a personal shopper?!" she cried. She started laughing and saw AJ's seriousness look.
"I told ya baby, shopping is my thing," he said. She laughed and they walked into his room. She took out clean clothes and showered while AJ got a few extra minutes of sleep. She came out dressed and ready and saw AJ sound asleep. She laughed quietly and grabbed his wallet. She leaned over him and whispered in his ear, "I'm leaving baby..." he nodded and mumbled "okay."
"I have your wallet," she whispered.
"Mmm...okay.." he mumbled in his sleep. She smiled and looked at her watch as she walked out into the hall. "Three...two..." she counted.
"Hold up!" AJ said as he burst through the door. Gwen burst out laughing.
"You little sneak!" AJ laughed as he grabbed Gwen's waist. She screamed and surrendered.
"Okay!!" she cried as he tickled her. "I knew that'd wake ya up," she smiled as she dropped his wallet into his hand. He reached in and pulled out his credit card.
"Here," AJ said. Gwen looked at him.
"Babe, I don't need money," she said. "I was just kidding."
"I know but I want you to take it. You know how I spoil you," AJ said, smiling. Gwen sighed.
"What do you want?" she asked. AJ gasped playfully.
"What?! Can't I let the love of my life go shopping without her having to buy me anything?!" AJ joked.
"Never. Do you want those leather pants I almost got you at Christmas?" she asked. He laughed.
"You know me too well," he kissed her nose. "And feel free to treat yourself to anything your little heart desires," he said, wrapping her into a hug. The doorbell rang and AJ kissed her.
"It's Illie," Gwen said, between kisses.
"Let her wait," AJ said, kissing her. Gwen laughed and pulled away.
"Sorry babe. I'll be back later. Have a fun meeting and take a shower before you go," Gwen said, grabbing her purse.
"Yes mom," AJ said. Gwen ran down the stairs and opened the door.
"Ready?" Illie asked.
"Yep. Bye babe! Love you!" she called out.
"Bye! Love you too! Bye Illie!" AJ cried from upstairs. And with that, the girls left for the mall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nick grumbled and looked at his clock. It read 2:00. He had a terrible hangover from the night before. He didn't know why he drank so much but he was definitely feeling the consequences. Nick has been depressed from his recent break up with his girlfriend and last night let it loose. After seeing all the other guys have wonderful girls to kiss at mid-night, Nick went a little too wild on the Champaign. He now had a pounding headache and grumbled as he rolled over. He tried to go back to sleep but remembered he had something important to do. But he couldn't remember what it was. Suddenly, the phone rang and Nick screamed.
"AUGH!! When did that get so DAMN LOUD?!" he screamed as he searched for his phone. He found it and clicked 'talk.'
"What?" he asked.
"Hey man, you okay?" Howie said on the other line.
"Oh, hey D," Nick said, sitting back on his bed.
"I called to see if you're okay. You were out of it last night," Howie said.
"I guess I was," Nick said. "How did I even get home?"
"I brought you...your car is still at AJ's," Howie told him. "I called seeing if you need a ride to the meeting?"
"Meeting?" Nick asked. Then he remembered. "Aw shit! I forgot. Yeah, I do. Can you pick me up?" Nick asked.
"Sure. See ya soon," Howie said as they hung up. Nick smacked his forehead and got up to get dressed. He had to get Mandy off his mind and meet someone else. He needed to find the one for him.
~~later at the mall~~
"You mean you didn't know he has a personal shopper?!" Illianna asked, as she and Gwen walked through the huge mall.
"No," Gwen laughed, "but I can't say I'm surprised."
"That boy is nuts...he's lucky to have you," Illie said as they walked in Nordstrom.
"Really?" Gwen asked. Illie turned and looked at Gwen.
"Yes...you completely changed him! Before you, he'd drink his nights away and shit," Illie said. "Now he respects himself and you. He's done a 180."
"This whole thing is so new to me," Gwen said.
"What? Dating a celebrity?"
"No...dating in general. In high school, I never really had a lot of boyfriends. My younger sister always brought home the guys," Gwen told her. They decided on getting ice cream so they picked up all their bags and walked toward the food court. Gwen felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see two teenaged girls.
"Uh...hi," one stuttered.
"Hello..." Gwen said.
"Are you AJ McLean's girlfriend?" the other asked. Gwen looked at Illie and she nodded.
"Yes...I am," Gwen said.
"Wow! We saw you guys together at the super market yesterday. Can I have your autograph?" they squealed.
"Uh...sure," Gwen said. She had never been asked for her autograph and felt weird since she wasn't famous.
"Thanks! Oh yeah, can you give this to Nick?" one girl said, handing her a piece of folded paper.
"Sure," Gwen smiled. The girls thanked her and ran off excitedly.
"Wow...that was weird," Gwen said, as they continued walking.
"Get used to it. They will follow you everywhere now that they know," Illie said.
"Really?" Gwen asked.
"Fan can be brutal sometimes. They almost broke up Leighanne and Brian," Illie informed her.
"No way," Gwen said, in disbelief.
"Yeah, there were like 70 anti-Leighanne sites on the web," Illie said.
"Wow...I hope that doesn't happen to me," Gwen said.
"Nah don't worry. You did the right thing. Just be friendly...not too nice. Leighanne and Brian were in the middle of this big fight and she was out shopping with her mom. A fan went up to her and asked for an autograph and she went nuts," Illie explained.
"Damn," Gwen said. They got ice cream and sat down in the food court.
"So, how many sisters do you have?" Illie asked.
"Four younger. Ashleigh, Whittney, Olivia and Madaline," she said.
"Damn girl. How old are they?" she asked. Before Gwen could answer, her cell rang. She searched in her bag and pulled it out.
"Its probably AJ asking if I got his pants," she said, flipping it open. "Hello?.......Ashleigh?! Are you okay?!....what happened??" Gwen asked. Illie could hear Gwen's panic and gave her a questioning look. "Oh my god...okay...okay....are you sure you're okay?.....I understand...I'm not leaving until Friday......yeah, that's okay. Book your flight and call me back," she said as she hung up.
"What?!" Illie asked, dying to know what happened. Gwen sighed.
"That was my sister. She got in a huge fight with our parents and she wants to fly out here," Gwen said.
"What happened?" Illie asked. Gwen looked at her and she knew she could trust her.
"Well...it started back when Ashleigh met this guy named Cole..."
