Nick shut the door and walked Katelin over to the bed as she sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her as they sat down. “Shh..Don’t listen to them.”
Katelin cried for a few more minutes and then looked up at Nick, her blue eyes brimming with tears. “Am I really like that, Nick?”
Nick felt awful, seeing the look on her face. She looked so innocent. So vulnerable. “No, of course not. If I felt like that, I wouldn’t be here with you right now.”
She looked down at their intertwined hands. “Why would he say such mean things to me? He must feel that way.”
“He probably is just mad that Ang is upset,” Nick said, rubbing her shoulders. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it. I don’t know why he said it.” He let her cry for a few more minutes. Soon, her sobs quieted down. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear.
Nick smiled. “No problem, baby.”
“I love you.” Nick’s eyes widened in surprise. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? Katelin’s hand flew to her mouth. “Ohmigod. I..” Nick cut her off by kissing her deeply. When he pulled away, he looked her straight in the eye. “I think I’m falling in love with you, too.” Katelin looked down at her hands, shyly. She, herself, couldn’t believe she said it either. It just kind of came out. She knew it was too soon to have these sort of feelings for him but she couldn’t help herself. He was exactly what she wanted.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Howie, Christine, Brooke, Kevin, and Aj all waited in the hall for Krista to come out so they could go to dinner. “Kris, come on, baby.” Aj tapped his foot impatiently. “I’m hungry.”
Krista came out in the hall with an angry look on her face and slammed the door. “Can you wait a minute? Jesus, I wasn’t ready yet. Keep your pants on.”
She sounded so angry that Aj cringed. “I…I’m sorry.” Her face never softened. She just stalked off to the elevators. Aj looked at the rest of the crew and shrugged. “I have no idea.”
They all made their way down to the dining room where Ang, Brian, Katelin, and Nick silently waited for them. Aj slid into his chair between Krista and Katelin. “Glad everyone’s in such a good mood tonight.” They all glared at him but didn’t say anything. Everyone was tired and had jet-lag, he assumed. He was in the mood to party but he didn’t think anyone else would go fo the idea. He decided to go for it anyway. “How about hitting the clubs later?” Everyone mumbled some sort of no, a few of them mixed in with some obscenities.
Krista was mad. “Can you ever think of anything besides clubbing or partying?”
“What the hell is your problem?” Aj threw his napkin down. “You’ve been nothing but a bitch for the last three days.”
Kevin cleared his throat. “Will you two keep it down? We’re in the middle of a restaurant.”
“No I will not calm down,” Aj glared at him. “I want to know what her fucking attitude is for.”
Krista pushed her chair away angrily, standing up. “Because all you do with your life is party. Well I’m sick of it. I’m pregnant and I’m fucking sick of your lifestyle.” She turned around and ran out of the restaurant towards the elevators. Everyone else, except Ang, sat there with a shocked expression on their faces, not knowing what to say. Aj finally found his voice. “Did she just say she was pregnant?” He asked, softly.
“Yeah she did,” Ang nodded. “Now don’t sit there like an dumb ass. Go after her.”
Aj just stared at her a second before running after his girlfriend. He caught up with her at the elevators “Stay away from me, McLean,” she warned him, quickly pressing the button. “I’m sorry it just came out like that but you made me angry. I don’t want your sympathy.”
“Sympathy?!” Aj jumped in the elevator behind her. “That’s my baby too!”
“Well you’ve made it clear to me that you’re not ready to settle down,” she yelled, tears forming in her eyes. “So you don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of it.”
“What do you mean ‘take care of it?” Aj’s jaw hit the floor. “Krista, what made you think I wouldn’t be happy about this?”
“I’m scared,” She whispered.
He cautiously stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. “So am I, honey. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want this.” He patted her stomach. “I want to do this. Especially with you.”
Krista looked up, tears of joy now freely flowing down her cheeks. “Really? You mean that?”
“Of course,” Aj grinned. “I love you.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you too.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The first show was the next night. Everyone was a little on edge, not necessarily because of the show, but they all had other things on their mind. Krista was nervous because she had yet to break the news of her pregnancy to her family and to Fatima. Aj was wondering how his fans would react, and, most importantly, how his mom was going to take the news. Brian was fighting a battle within himself about Leighanne and Ang. Ang and Katelin still weren't speaking to each other, causing friction between Brian and Nick. Ang couldn't figure out what else was bothering Brian. Katelin had just gotten word that her father was coming to visit in a couple of weeks and she wasn't sure how he was going to behave towards her new boyfriend. Kevin and Brooke were both just fed up with how childish every one was acting. Howie and Christine were the only ones who seemed to be genuinely happy.
While LFO was on the stage performing their set, Kevin called a meeting and everyone congregated in the green room. He waited until they all got comfortable before he started to speak. "Alright! Listen up! I want all of you to clear your heads for a few hours and concentrate just on the show. Does everyone understand that?" No one said anything for a minute. Kevin began to get impatient. "Would you all please must grow up?! I'm sick of this. The only two people in this room who have ANY right to not be 100% 'here' are Aj and Krista and I'm even asking them to please try and put it out of their minds for a few hours."
He paused again before singleing everyone out individually. "Brian, you're five years older than Nick. Think you can act it?" Brian's mouth dropped open as Kevin continued. "Ang, so Katelin told Nick about her mom and not you. Big deal. If anything, it's her loss. She sacrificed your advice for Nick's wonderful 'words of wisdom.'"
"Hey!” Nick's head shot up. “I resent that!"
"Think you guys can put it behind you?" Kevin ignored him.
Ang and Katelin shrugged. "I guess so." "Whatever."
"I'm sorry, Kate,” Ang apologized.
Katelin didn't respond at first and Nick elbowed her. "Me too." They stood up and hugged while everyone else smiled.
"Now, the rest of you,” Kevin finished up. “Think you can handle just focusing on the show?" Everyone nodded and mumbled some sort of "yes." Kevin smiled. "Good. Good luck everyone. You're dismissed."
"Thank you, Richardson, sir!" Katelin stood up and saluted him. Kevin glared at her.
Nick grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room. "Know when to quit, Kate."
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The show went great. No mistakes were made and the crowd was totally hyped. Afterwards, everyone went back to the hotel to sleep, seeing as they were all exhausted. When Brooke and Kevin reached their room, they noticed the little red light on their phone was blinking, indicating they had a message. Kevin picked it up and dialed the front desk while Brooke walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed. A few seconds later, she heard Kevin call to her. "Honey, there's something at the front desk for you!"
Brook had a confused look on her face as she emerged from the bathroom. "For me?"
Kevin nodded. "Do you want me to run down and pick it up?"
"No,” She shook her head. “That's okay. I'll be right back." She grabbed her key and made her way down to the lobby. "Something here for Brooke Alexander?" she asked, reaching the front desk.
"Yes,” The man smiled. “One second." He went into the back and came out holding a bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed red roses. "Here you are, Miss."
"Those are for me?" Brooke's eyes widened, a small smile forming on her face. The man pointed to the card and nodded. Brooke smiled as she opened the envelope. However, upon seeing the card, her face paled. Thought I'd never find you, huh? How would Kevin react when he finds out about your little secret?
"Brooke?” she heard Christine call her name. “What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Nothing,” she forced a smile on her face. “Just surprised, that's all."
Christine glanced at the roses in Brooke's hand. "Who are the flowers from? Secret boyfriend we don't know about?"
"No,” Brooke chuckled. “They're just from my father. He wanted to wish me luck."
"That's so sweet,” Christine smiled. They both made their way over to the elevators as the smile dropped right off Brooke's face. 'How the hell did he find me?'