The guys were silent as they all got ready for the show. No one knew what to say to Nick. Everyone could tell that he was devastated. His eyes were red and swollen. He was mad at the world, but mostly at himself for being the one at fault for Katelin finding out. He didn’t regret making the bet. In fact, it was the best thing that happened to him. As much as he hated to admit it, that was the reason he started acting civil towards her. He thought back to the day when he had the barbecue at his house, when his parents were there. He remembered seeing Katelin sitting on the beach by herself. He had no intention of going down to talk to her, to find out what was wrong, until AJ reminded him that he would lose the bet if he didn’t start somewhere. But then he remembered that when he did start talking to her, AJ’s bet totally escaped his mind. He felt a genuine connection with her and that connection only got stronger as he spent more time with her. He fell and he fell hard. He had never been so completely in love with someone as he was with her. He knew the feeling was mutual just by the way she looked at him. Her eyes lit up every time that he was in sight. He knew how that felt. Whenever she was around, his day seemed so much brighter. And now he had lost it. He lost everything. Katelin was his world and, it seemed, as fast as she had come, she was gone.
Brian watched Nick out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t know what to do to make it any better. Nick screwed up and he screwed up bad. There was no denying that. Brian now realized that the best thing for everyone would’ve been if Nick had come clean to begin with, but how do you tell someone that? It seemed as though it would’ve been better left unsaid. No one ever even considered the fact that she might find out. Well, except Ang. But that was just a fleeting moment. He didn’t think anyone had even thought about it since then.
“You guys almost ready?” Howie asked, breaking the silence. They all mumbled some sort of yes. Howie was confused. He had met them at the arena and had no idea what had transpired at the hotel earlier. “What’s going on?” He questioned. “Why does everyone look so down?” Nick collapsed on the couch and buried his head in his hands, as the tears once again started to flow. Brian shook his head as if to say ‘not a good time.’ Howie nodded and went back to getting dressed. A few minutes later, they were all dressed and ready to go.
As they were filing out of the dressing room, AJ pulled Nick back. “I don’t really know what to say, Frack. I’m really sorry.”
Nick shook his head, sadly. “It’s not your fault, Bone. It’s no one’s fault but mine.” He turned and walked out of the room. As soon as he stepped out into the hallway, the door to the girl’s dressing room opened and he saw his girlfriend walk into the hall. She looked up and locked eyes with him. He could see the sadness. The moment was interrupted by a stagehand walking down the hallway. “Fifteen minutes, everyone!” Nick decided that this was a small window of opportunity and walked, determined, towards her. He grabbed her arm. “We need to talk.”
Katelin struggled to break free from his grasp as he dragged her into the empty green room. “Get off of me!” She yelled. “You’re hurting my arm!”
He loosened his grip as his face softened. “I’m sorry. Just please. Give me a chance to explain.” Katelin couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. “You already did that and, frankly, I don’t think I could handle hearing any more.”
“No,” Nick protested, shaking his head, frantically. “You don’t understand. You didn’t give me a chance earlier. I need to explain to you how I feel.”
“I don’t care how you feel!” She snapped. “Don’t you understand that? Why should I, Nick?! You never, for one second, considered my feelings. Why should I care about yours?!”
“Just listen to me!” He exclaimed. “Yes, I’ll admit it. The bet is probably reason that I started being nice to you in the first place. But you don’t understand, baby. Once I started talking to you, I felt like we connected. I fell in love, Kate. That wasn’t a lie. My feeling’s were always real. They still are. That day after you spent the night at my house I went straight to AJ’s. He was about to pay me the money but I told him I didn’t want it. That I was really starting to fall for you.”
He made a move towards her but she just stepped back. “And you think that this makes anything better?” She asked. “You just said it yourself that you would’ve never have even tried to be nice to me if you weren’t going to get anything from it. That makes this all a lie. Don’t you understand that?”
Nick stood there silently, the tears that had welled up in his eyes, falling down his face. His emotions mirrored her own and she couldn’t handle it anymore. She turned and ran out of the room as he fell down on the couch and started sobbing. Brian walked in a few minutes later. “We’re on in five, Frack. Let’s go.” Nick nodded and wiped his eyes as he followed Brian out of the room.
Despite everyone’s mood, the show went off without a hitch, except for a few missed steps by both Nick and Katelin. Nothing that was really noticeable though. As soon as the dancers got off stage, Ang thought it would be a good time to try and talk to her best friend. “Katelin!” She called as she followed her down the hall. Katelin ignored her and just kept walking. Ang ran faster and caught up to her and spun her around.
“What?” Katelin asked as she glared at her.
“I’m sorry, Katie. I screwed up. I know,” Ang explained as she tried to hug her.
Katelin pushed her away, roughly. “Don’t talk to me, Ang. As far as I’m concerned we are no longer friends.” She turned around and stormed into the dressing room, leaving Ang standing there by herself.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Krista knocked softly on Katelin’s door. Katelin got up and looked through the peephole. Satisfied that Nick, Ang, Brian, and AJ were no where in sight, she opened the door.
“Do you mind if I sleep in here with you tonight?” Krista asked. “I really don’t want to be around AJ.”
Katelin just nodded and moved out of the way so she could come in. “You don’t mind sharing the bed with a pregnant girl, do you?” Krista laughed, slightly, trying to lighten the mood. She noticed Katelin slightly smiling.
“There’s that smile everyone loves!” She exclaimed. Katelin sighed and sat down on the bed.
“How are you holding up?” Krista asked, softly. She noticed Katelin’s lower lip start to tremble and she sat down and put her arm around her.
Katelin took a deep breath. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning. My flight is at eleven. I need to leave here around eight. I’m going back to New York and going back to my life. No looking back. I already told Elise that I wasn’t coming back.”
Krista sighed, sadly, though she knew that it would come to this. “Do you want me to come to the airport with you?”
Kate looked up, her blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “Would you?”
“Of course I will,” Krista answered, as her own eyes welled up with tears. She leaned over and hugged the younger girl.
“I feel like a lost everything today,” Kate whispered. “I lost my boyfriend. I lost my job. I lost all of my new friends that I’d made on this tour. And I lost my best friend,” she added as she started to cry.
“Aw, Kate,” Krista said, her own tears spilling down her cheeks. “I’ll be your best friend.” She gently rocked her back and forth as they both cried.
An hour later, Krista heard a key in the lock. Knowing who it was, she glanced over at Kate, who had finally cried herself into a sound sleep. The door opened and a sullen Nick walked in the room. He stopped short when he saw Krista sitting on the bed, reading a magazine.
“What are you doing in here?” he asked, quietly, not wanting to wake Katelin.
“I’m sleeping in here,” she whispered. “Why? Did you think that you were?”
He shook his head sadly. “I’m sharing with AJ. I just came to get all of my stuff.” He walked around the room and got his luggage together, quietly. Finally, he was done and he glanced over at the bed. “She’s never going to forgive me, is she?” he whispered, sadly.
Krista slowly shook her head. “I don’t think so, Carter. You’ve really done it this time.” He walked over to the bed and lightly brushed Katelin’s blond hair away from her forehead. “I love you so much, Kate,” he whispered, starting to cry. “I wish there was something I could do to make this nightmare end. I’m so sorry.” He gently kissed her lips before grabbing his bags and walking out of the room and her life forever.