AJ walked though their big house and climbed the steps to the second floor. Gwen had to fly out that morning for a meeting in Chicago. He found himself in Gwen's drawing studio. He smiled at the messy papers and various fabrics scattered on the floor. He loved seeing Gwen sitting at her drawing table late at night with her hair up in a messy bun and her glasses on. He sat down on her stool and looked at the drawings on her board. He closed his eyes and pretended she was there.
"AJ, come here," Gwen said. AJ sat up from his recliner and paused the movie he was watching. "Come see what I've been working on for hours." AJ followed his wife upstairs and into her studio. She bit down on her bottom lip to hold in her excitement as she handed him a portfolio. He opened it and took out the drawings and studied them. He was breathless. They were of him in many different suits that fit his personality and style. He loved every inch of them.
"These are fantastic," AJ said, blown away by her talent.
"I call it the Johnny Line," she said.
"It's amazing...you're amazing," he smiled, kissing her. She giggled.
"You like them?" she asked.
"I love them," he said. She had designed his own Johnny No-Name clothing line.
He took out the familiar sketches and looked at them. He let out a sigh and put them back in her file cabinet. He reached out his hand and rubbed his thumb against a picture of the two of them that Gwen kept on her desk. He caressed her smiling face and felt his own lips smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Whittney, Aaron called," Judi told her daughter as she walked into the house. Whittney nodded and climbed the steps to her room. She threw down her book bag filled of books and sat on her bed. She had another horrible day at school. She was now a senior and counting down the days until she was out for good. It wasn't easy being the sister of Gwen McLean, the wife of a Backstreet Boy. And it wasn't any easier being the sister of the soon-to-be Ashleigh Carter. She continuously got teased by the guys and got mean looks from the girls. At first, she found herself the most popular girl in the school. But she realized how many of her so-called 'friends' were only her friends because of her sisters. She hated being in the shadows of her sisters spotlights. Of course she loved her sisters and she loved Nick and AJ. But Whittney wanted to be Whittney. Not Whittney Matthews, sister of Ashleigh Carter and Gwen McLean.
A couple months ago while she was visiting Ashleigh, she met Aaron, Nick's younger brother. She was a year and a half younger than her but she didn't care. He understood her. His singing career took a backseat after he started acting. But he was busy and always on the road. But he managed to call Whittney almost everyday. Aaron was the only person who knew how she felt about school. She considered Aaron to be her only true friend. She picked up her phone and dialed the all too familiar numbers to his cell phone.
~~~~~~~~~
Nick sat inside his Durango as he ran over the events of the day in his head. He sat in the parking lot of a McDonald's that was about five miles from Jada's apartment. The radio was on but he wasn't paying attention to it. He couldn't think. He didn't know what he was going to tell Ashleigh. He didn't know how to be a dad. He didn't know how he would tell the media. He didn't know how his fans would react. He was never so scared in his life. He didn't know where to go or what to do. He knew Ashleigh wouldn't let him into the house and he didn't want to drive all the way back to Tampa to not be able to get into their house. He picked up his cell and dialed AJ's number.
"Yo," AJ answered his phone.
"J, it's me," Nick said.
"Hey man, are you okay? You sound like shit," AJ said.
"I feel how I sound. Can I crash there tonight?" Nick asked.
"Sure. Gwen's in Chicago so I'm lonely," AJ said, laughing. But he stopped when he didn't hear Nick laugh. "Come on over." Nick hung up and turned his car engine on. He tuned in on the radio right when he heard:
"Now, here is your number one requested song of the night. These guys are about to release their sixth CD and this is the first single. Here is Backstreet Boys with "Let Me Love You" here on 96.5," Nick turned off the radio and drove in silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~
AJ opened the door for Nick and stood back as Nick walked in.
"You okay, dude?" AJ asked, noticing the somber look on Nick's face.
"I don't want to talk. I'm going to bed. Thanks for letting me stay here," Nick said.
"Did you and Ashleigh get in a fight?" he asked. Nick ignored AJ's question and walked upstairs. AJ was left puzzled when he heard the guest room door shut.
~~~~~~~~~~~
