About a month and a half had gone by and Kristen was slowly getting her life back in order. She started working at a music store a month earlier and was receiving fairly good pay. She had even gone to the college and signed up for a music class that lasted two hours Monday-Friday. Even though she was keeping herself pretty busy it didn't seem to keep her mind off of AJ. Her and TJ called each other frequently but Kristen never brought up the fact that she missed AJ. Although she missed him a lot she didn't want to be with him. The past month and a half for Toni had been a complete wreck. Nick had to start sending her money since her pay check couldn't cover the bills for the apartment. Nick tried to convince Toni to get rid of the apartment and move into his place but Toni refused. She knew that her and Kristen would be friends sooner or later and they would be living together again. Nick called Toni every day but she was never in a happy mood and it began to worry him. It was Valentine's Day which didn't make anything any easier for either one of them. Kristen got to work and saw a dozen red roses sitting on the front counter. "Who are these for?" Kristen asked.
"They're yours," Kara, another co-worker responded. "They were delivered this morning. Who are they from? I didn't want to be nosy and read the card."
"They are from TJ," Kristen said reading the card.
"Who is TJ?"
"You know Britney Spears's fine ass dancer?" Kristen ased as Kara nodded her head. "Well, he's TJ."
"Damn girl, how did you manage to date him?"
"I'm not dating him we're just friends," Kristen said picking the roses up and putting them in the back so they wouldn't get in the way.
"What did the card say about him sending you roses?" Kara asked being nosy but Kristen didn't really care.
"Nothing much. Just that he hopes that it being Valentine's Day will make me have a bigger heart and call AJ up and apologize."
"Oh.......who's AJ?"
"Ex," Kristen said simply.
"Would I know him?"
"Probably."
"Then do tell!"
"Uh....you know the Backstreet Boys?"
"Yeah," Kara began and then paused. "Oh my God! You went out with AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys!" she yelled when it hit her and a few people in the store turned to look at her. "How could you ever break up with him I would never do that! Oh my God he must be good in bed! Oh my God I bet he's the one who got you pregnant! Whoa! He has to be really good!" she yelled freaking out.
"Okay you know what, can you work the front of the store? I have a phone call to make," Kristen said walking to the back shaking her head as Kara was still freaking out. She picked up the phone and dialed TJ's cell phone number.
"Hello?" TJ asked on the fourth ring.
"Hey, thanks for the roses."
"You're welcome. You considering calling AJ?"
"I don't think so. Things are starting to calm down for me and I don't want to get all upset because of him."
"Kristen he's not the one who will upset you. You'll upset yourself so just remain calm."
"It's not going to happen."
"I guess I can't make you do anything. You doing anything special for Valentine's Day with a special someone you haven't told me about?" TJ asked.
"Yeah right, I only wish. Actually I have an audition at the college today to join a group called Mainstream."
"What kind of group is that?"
"It's just a singing and dancing group that consists of ten males and ten females. I'm hoping I'll make it."
"The auditions are today? That's a little odd."
"Well, I missed all the other audition dates. Listen, I better get back to work so I'll talk to you later."
"Alright, bye and good luck," TJ said as Kristen hung up the phone. Through out the rest of her day at work Kara was bugging the hell out of her about AJ and the rest of the Backstreet Boys and how she met them. Most of the time Kristen would try to just change the subject or ignore her. When she finally got off work she was thankful but wasn't looking forward to being bugged the next day. Kristen went back to AJ's place where she was still staying and grabbed some stuff for the audition and headed over to the auditorium at the college. She got there about fifteen minutes early so she had to wait until the girl singing before her was done. Kristen listened to her singing "Street Symphony" by Monica and thought she sounded great. When it was her turn to audition she was more nervous than before. She heard that there was at least a hundred people trying out for this every year and she worried if most of them sang as beautiful as the girl before her that she wouldn't have a chance of making it. She walked in and gave the three judges her audition application then went to the stereo and put in an instrumental version of Jessica Simpson's "I Wanna Love You Forever" then walked over to the microphone and got ready to sing:
You set my soul at ease
Chased darkness out of view
Left your desperate spell on me
Say you feel it to
I know you do
I've got so much more to give
This can't die, I yearn to live
Pour yourself all over me
And I'll cherish every night here on my knees
CHORUS
I wanna love you forever
And this is all I'm asking of you
10,000 lifetimes together
Is that so much for you to do?
Cuz from the moment that I saw your face
And felt the fire in your sweet embrace
I swear I knew.
I'm gonna love you forever
My mind fails to understand
What my heart tells me to do
And I give up all I have
Just to be with you and that would do
I've always been taught to win
And I never thought I'd fall
Be at the mercy of a man
I've never been
Now I only want to be right where you are.
CHORUS
In my life I never have I've learned that heaven never waits
Lets take this now before it's gone like yesterday
Cuz when I'm with you there's nowhere else
That I would ever wanna be no
I'm breathing for the next second I can feel you
Loving me ... I'm gonna love
CHORUS
FOREVER (OOH)
Kristen finished singing as the tape ended and she just watched as the three judges wrote stuff down. "Now we need you to sight read a song for us," one of the judges said handing her some sheet music. Kristen looked at the cover and saw that the song was "Yo Le Canto". "There is clapping you need to do in there so we can see if you can find the beats and try and do your best on the foreign language. It shouldn't too hard." Kristen set the music down on a music stand and began singing the song. When she was finished she knew she did terrible since she couldn't pronounce half of the words.
"Do you have a previous performance that you'd like us to view?" another judge asked. Kristen handed them a copy of her singing and dancing to Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" when she was in high school. She brought it will her because she heard if you had material for the judges to view then you would have a better chance of getting into Mainstream. Kristen handed them her tape and they said that they would view the tape and get back to her. On her way back to AJ's she thought about how harsh the judges would probably be just to join Mainstream. She pulled into AJ's drive way and saw that the lights were on in the living room which scared her since she remembered turning them off but wasn't sure if she remembered to lock the door. She went up to the front door and opened it shocked to see what was there. The entire living room was full of bouquets of all different types of flowers. Kristen walked through the living room looking at the flowers when she came to a very large bouquet with a card attached to it.
Dear Kristen,
It's Valentine's Day and I don't know if you're in a happy or depresive state of mood so I hope either way I've made your day with all the flowers you probably received. I just want you to know that while I've been on tour I haven't stopped thinking about you for even a second. I love you Kristen and I hope that some day soon you'll feel the same way about me.
Love always,
AJ
Kristen finished reading the card and then picked up the phone and dialed Howie's cell phone number. "Hey Howie," Kristen said when he picked up the phone.
"Hey Kristen, what's going on? I haven't talked to you in about a week or so."
"Nothing much besides the fact that I walk in AJ's house and there are flowers every where."
"Oh so I'm guessing you want to thank him. Hold on and I'll get him for you," Howie said sarcastically.
"Don't you dare. Why is he doing this Howie? It's been almost two months since we broke up. Why can't he just let it go?"
"I don't know probably for the same reason you won't let him go."
"I have let him go."
"No, you haven't. You still think about him all the time."
"No I...."
"Yes, you do," Howie said interuppting her. "Listen I'm going to have to talk to you later. Me, AJ, and Kevin are going to go out clubbing."
"Alright bye," Kristen said hanging up the phone. She turned out the lights then when she was walking to her room she passed by AJ's room then turned aroud and opened his door. She stood in the door way just looking at the room for a second before walking in. She opened AJ's closet and pulled out one of his large t-shirts then got undressed and put it on her. She pulled the blankets back on his bed and crawled underneath and fell asleep thinking about him.
