"Ang you have to go," Katelin whined. "You can't leave me alone with Becca the Bitch all day. Please?"
"I don't know, Kate," Ang defended. "Brian's going to be there and I'm not sure I can deal with seeing him. He knows something's up and he's not going to leave me alone until he finds out what it is."
"So? Just ignore him," Katelin advised. "It's really easy to do. I did it to Nick before…" She trailed off, realizing that Ang had no idea about hers and Nick's little "affair."
"Before what, Kate?" Ang questioned, smirking. She knew exactly what had gone on last night. Katelin has a set of lungs on her and Ang was almost positive that the entire hotel had known.
"Nothing," Katelin mumbled, blushing.
"You think I don't know?" Ang asked. "Oh Nick! Oh Nick!"
"Shut up," Katelin laughed, pushing Ang back on to her bed.
"So, how long has this been going on?" Ang asked, seriously.
"Well, kind of since New York," Katelin replied. "That's when he told me he wanted me back but that's also when my dad threatened to throw him in jail if I got back together with him."
"What?!" Ang exclaimed.
"Yup," Katelin responded. "Apparantly, he did a little talk with Becca and she managed to convince him to keep Nick and I apart by threatening to press charges of statutory rape."
"What a bitch!" Ang cried. "So, you guys have been sleeping together ever since?"
"Well, no," Katelin smiled. "We only have a few times. The other night was the first time."
"Be careful, Kate," Ang warned. "Not only because of your dad but of the possibility of little Nicky Carters running around."
"I will, Angie," Katelin laughed, rolling her eyes. "Now are you coming or not?"
Ang sighed. "I guess so."
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
"We're here!" Nick called as everyone entered the Carter's huge house in the Hollywood Hills. Aaron and Angel came running into the foyer, arms outstretched. "NICK!"
"Hey guys," Nick smiled, picking Angel up. "I missed you. Where's everyone else?"
"They're outside," Aaron answered. "Come on!" The twins led the entire group out to the pool.
"Nicholas," Jane greeted, warmly, giving her eldest son a huge hug. She turned to Becca. "And you must be Becca. Nice to meet you, honey."
"You too, Mrs. Carter," Becca greeted, sweetly.
"Please, call me Jane," she instructed.
After all of the introductions were finished, the group dispersed around the pool deck. Brian and Nick were in the pool with Aaron, Angel, Leslie, Alyssa, and Steve. Brooke was talking to Howie and Becca. Katelin and Ang were in deep conversation with AJ and Q. Kevin was talking to Bob and BJ was flirting with Tyler.
"AJ!" Bob called about an hour and a half later. "There's someone at the front door for you."
Puzzled, AJ stood up and walked through the Carter's house. "What the hell are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, seeing his very pregnant girlfriend standing there with her hands on her hips.
"Keeping an eye on you," Krista spat. "Now where is everyone?"
AJ followed her as she marched triumphantly through the house. "How'd you get here?"
"I walked, AJ," she remarked, sarcastically. "How the hell do you think I got here?"
"You're not allowed to be flying," AJ told her.
"Krista!" Katelin exclaimed, running over to embrace her. "What are you doing here?"
Krista shrugged. "I was bored there by myself. I'd much rather hang out with you guys." She grabbed
Katelin's hand and pulled her into the house as if AJ wasn’t even standing there. "Now what's going on with you? You're positively glowing. Did something happen with Nick?" Neither one of them realized that Jane was standing in the other room, eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Well, a little," Katelin answered. "But you can't tell anyone. If Becca found out, we'd be dead."
"I swear, I won't," Krista promised. "So what happened?"
"We're kind of back together," Katelin explained. "Secretly at least."
"Why secretly?" Krista asked. "Why won't he just break up with Becca if he wants you?"
"Because Becca and my dad have a little arrangement," Katelin told her. "Nick and I get back together, Nick goes to jail for statutory rape."
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
"Hi Ang," Brian greeted, softly. "How are you?"
"Not now, Brian," Ang said. "I really can't deal with you right now."
"You know what, Ang?" Brian exploded. "Fine then. When you are finally ready to talk, don't count on me being there to listen." Ang watched, tears pooling in her eyes, as Brian stormed away from her.
"Why won't you just tell him?" AJ asked, sitting down next to her.
Ang wiped her eyes. "Because I'm afraid to see how he'll react. He already thinks I have alcohol problems."
"Ang, he loves you and he's worried about you," AJ told her. "He just wants to help. He's not going to judge you."
"Well, I don't want his damn help," Ang replied, standing up and walking away.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
"Nicholas, can I talk to you inside for a minute?" Jane asked from the back door.
Nick finished drying himself off and walked inside with his mother. "What's up mom?" he asked.
"Nothing really," she answered. "Becca seems like a really nice girl."
Nick's eyes widened. "What?"
"I said that Becca seems like a sweet girl," Jane replied.
"You actually like her?" Nick questioned.
"Of course I like her, Nick.” Jane nodded. “She's perfect for you." Although she actually did think Becca was good for Nick, she was doing this on purpose. She was deliberately trying to push Nick's buttons until he admitted that he had something going on with Katelin.
"Well, that's great mom," Nick gave in. "I think she is too."
"So, how has the tour been?" Jane asked. "Especially with your ex-girlfriend being on it?"
"It's been okay," Nick responded. "We try to steer clear of each other."
"Huh," Jane remarked. "How old is she again?"
Now, Nick knew something was up. Why was his mother so interested in knowing about Katelin? "She's sixteen," he answered. "Almost seventeen. Her birthday's in a couple of weeks."
Jane spun around and glared at him, "Exactly, Nick. She's sixteen. Do you realize what you're doing? You're blatantly breaking the law. Now you are going to stop seeing this girl. You belong with Becca. She's good for you."
"Good for me?!" Nick exploded. "She's blackmailing me, mom. How can that be good for me?"
"Mike Taylor has every right to press charges against you, Nick!" Jane yelled. "You're sleeping with his sixteen year old daughter!"
"But I love her, mom," Nick whined. "I can't believe you're defending what Becca and Mr. Taylor are doing. They're blackmailing me, mom. Just because I'm in love with Katelin."
"You are going to stop this little affair with this girl, Nick," Jane instructed. "Becca is good for you. You are going to stay together with her and stop seeing Katelin."
"I'm nineteen years old, mom," Nick snorted. "You can't tell me who I can and cannot date."
"If you keep this up you are cut off from this family," Jane warned. "You will not be allowed to see your brother and sisters. And if you end up in jail, Nick, we will not be there to bail you out."
"Um, excuse me," Katelin said quietly, noting the tension in the room but not knowing what it was all about. "Leslie is asking for you, Mrs. Carter."
Nick walked over and grabbed her hand. "Come on." He began pulling her towards the front of the house.
"What are you doing?" Katelin asked.
"We're leaving," Nick explained.
"Nickolas!" Jane called, running after them. "You come back here right now!"
"You are not going to run my life, mother!" Nick yelled. "I love her."
"Nick, shut up before everyone hears you!" Katelin cried. She glanced back to make sure that Becca wasn't hearing this. Thankfully, Becca was still goofing off with AJ and Brian in the pool.
"I don't care," Nick told her as he opened the front door. He pushed Katelin through the door in front of him and then walked over to the car. After opening the car door for her, he ran over to his side and climbed in.
"Nickolas, if you pull out of this driveway, that's it," Jane warned.
"I don't care anymore, mom!" Nick called through the open window. "I love her and dealing with any of this shit anymore!" He gunned the engine and proceeded to back out of the driveway, leaving Jane Carter staring wide-eyed at the retreating car.
“Yo Ang!” AJ called from the doorway. “Your cell phone’s ringing!”
Ang quickly dried herself off and ran to grab her phone. “Hello?” she asked into the receiver. There was silence on the other end. “Hello?!”
“I know what you did,” a female voice said from the other line.
Ang’s eyes widened in fear. “Excuse me?”
“I said, I know what you did.”
“What are you talking about? Who is this?”
“Who would’ve thought the perfect little Backstreet girlfriend would do something like this.” Before Ang could respond, the line went dead. She looked helplessly around the pool deck. Nick and Katelin were no where to be found. Q was talking to Howie and Kevin. Where was AJ? She spun around and spotted him looking at her intently from the doorway to the kitchen. Right then, AJ could tell something was wrong. He motioned for her to come inside where they could talk about it in private.
“What happened?” He asked as he closed the door to Mr. Carter’s study. “Who was on the phone? You look like you saw a ghost.”
“Someone knows,” Ang answered, her voice cracking. “Someone knows what happened. How the hell is that possible, AJ?”
“Who was it, Ang?” AJ questioned, concerned. “Did you recognize the voice?”
Ang shook her head. “No. It was a girl’s voice but they were using something to disguise it. I have no idea. How the hell would anyone know my number?”
“I don’t know, Ang,” AJ answered, honestly. “I have no idea what to do now. Let’s just see if it happens again. Next time someone calls, let me know. I’ll talk to Q and we’ll see what he wants to do.”
Ang nodded and then pulled AJ into a hug. “Thank you so much, AJ. I don’t know what I’d do without your support on this.”
“You should be leaning on your boyfriend, Ang,” AJ told her. “Not me.” Ang just looked down at the ground as AJ walked out of the study.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Where are we going, Nick?” Katelin asked as Nick sped down the streets of suburban Los Angeles. Nick just grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, not answering her question. “Damnit Nick!” She cried. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing? We’re dead!”
Nick continued to ignore her and pulled into a deserted parking lot. “What are we doing here?” Katelin questioned. Nick didn’t answer and pulled her in for a long kiss. When he pulled away, Katelin stared at him with questioning eyes. Nick sighed and leaned his head back on the seat, silent for a minute. “I’m sick of pretending, Kate,” he finally admitted. “I don’t want to have to worry about Becca or your dad or my mom. I just want to be with you.”
“Baby, you know I want that as much as you do,” Katelin told him. “But as much as we hate this, it’s the way it has to be.”
“Maybe we should just talk to your dad,” Nick suggested. “If we sat down and talked to him like two responsible adults, maybe he would change his mind.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try,” Katelin conceded. “But I have a feeling he’s not going to change his mind and that will probably make things even worse.” Nick sighed again but didn’t say anything. “I love you Nick,” she told him tearfully. “No matter what anyone says or does, nothing is ever going to change that.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Hi Jane,” Becca announced, strolling into the Carter’s living room. “Do you know where Nick disappeared to?”
“Uh…I sent him to the grocery store,” Jane stuttered. No matter how angry she was at her son at the moment, she wasn’t going to purposely get him in trouble.
Becca eyed her skeptically, not knowing whether or not to believe her. She hadn’t seen Katelin or Nick in quite awhile and a feeling in her gut told her that they were somewhere together. She was about to ask Mrs. Carter where Katelin was when they heard a car pull up in the driveway. Both Jane and Becca watched as Nick leaned over in his seat and gave Katelin a long, lingering kiss. Jane glanced over at Becca and saw that the girl was fuming. Before Jane got a chance to say anything, Becca stormed out the front door.
Katelin broke away from Nick and saw an enraged Becca standing in the driveway. Her eyes widened and she knew that this was it. She and Nick were dead. “Uh, Nick?” she said, tentatively, pointing towards Becca.
“Shit,” Nick mumbled, getting out of the car. “Well, now you know, Becca. And frankly, I don’t really give a damn. I didn’t feel like pretending anymore, anyway. I don’t love you. I never have. The only reason I give you the time of day is because you blackmailed me.” By now, they had drawn a crowd out front of the Carter house. Those who didn’t know about the blackmail all glared at Becca, shocked by what she had done.
“Q, I think it’s time to take Becca back to the hotel,” AJ suggested, quietly.
Q nodded and began walking towards Becca. “Don’t think that this is over,” she said, glaring at Katelin and Nick, while Q led her towards the van. “Don’t think that your father won’t find out, little girl. I will be on the phone with him as soon as I get back and you guys will both be screwed.” Q slammed the door the van and climbed in the driver’s seat, waving to everyone as they drove away.
Nick looked over at Katelin. She looked scared to death. He glanced helplessly at his mother, hoping that she wouldn’t turn on him now. Jane walked over to Katelin and wrapped an arm around her, leading her into the house. “It’s gonna be okay, honey,” she whispered, soothingly, trying to calm Katelin down.
Nick followed, solemnly, behind them. “You don’t understand my father,” Katelin hiccuped. “He’s not going to pretend this never happened.” She looked up at Nick, her blue eyes bright with tears. “I’m so sorry. I never should’ve let this happen. This is all my fault.”
Nick walked over and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault that we love each other. And we’ll make your father understand that.”
Katelin nodded, wiping her eyes. “Well, we have a little time. He’s in Europe with Adrienne until the end of the tour. There’s no way she’s going to get in touch with him until then. He won't be back until my birthday and that’s the night of our last show.”
“Well, look on the bright side,” Nick began. “Until then, we won’t have to pretend anymore.”
“Yes, I need to speak with Mr. Taylor, please,” Becca said into her cell phone. “It’s very important.”
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Taylor is out of the country for a few weeks,” his secretary answered. “May I take a message?”
“Is there any way I can get in touch with him? Like I said, it’s very important.”
“Mr. Taylor is vacationing in Europe with his fiancée. He is not to be bothered. May I have your name please?”
“My name is Becca Gibson,” Becca answered. “I’m calling in reference to his daughter.”
“Katelin? Is she alright?”
“She’s not hurt or anything. But it’s important that I speak with him.”
“Well, I’ll let him know but you probably won’t hear from him until he returns in about two weeks.” Becca finished up the call and then threw her cell phone across the room, letting out a frustrated scream in the process.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Who is it?” Brooke called in response to the knock on her door. When no one answered, she walked over to the door and opened it up. “What do you want, Kevin?”
“I want you to come with me,” Kevin answered, pulling on her hand.
“Where are we going?” Brooke asked, as Kevin led her towards the elevator.
“You’ll see,” Kevin replied. The elevator stopped on the top floor and Kevin led her through the door at the end of the hall and out on to the roof. Brooke gasped as she looked around. Soft music playing. A candle-lit table in the middle. “I know we already ate,” Kevin explained. “But I thought you might like dessert.” He led her over to the table where dessert was waiting. “I know how much you love hot fudge sundaes.”
“Yeah,” Brooke breathed, not knowing what else to say. Kevin helped her sit down and then took a seat across from her. Brooke glanced up at him. “Why are you doing all of this?”
“It’s all for you,” he responded.
“I know, but why?” she asked again.
“Because you’re special, Brooke,” Kevin answered. “I made the stupidest mistake two and half months ago when I let you go. I might have waited too long but I was hoping to give it another shot.”
He looked up at her with imploring eyes and there was no way that Brooke could say no to him. Slowly, she nodded. “Okay. I’ll give you another chance.”
Kevin leaned across the table and gave her a long, lingering kiss. “I love you, Brooke Alexander,” he said, when he pulled away.
“I love you too, Kevin Richardson.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Is everything set for tomorrow?” Paul asked Christine as he sat down on the porch with her. Christine nodded, in a daze. “Are you doing okay?”
“Yeah,” Christine answered, staring down at her engagement ring.
“When are you going back to Florida?” Paul questioned.
“I don’t know.” Christine sighed. “Howie’s going to be home soon. Christmas is coming. I have a wedding to plan. I have no idea what I’m going to do.”
“You’re going to leave your mother alone?” Paul asked, his eyes wide. “How can you do that Christine? Her husband just died. She needs you.”
“She has Melissa here,” Christine said, referring to her older sister.
“Melissa has her own family to deal with,” Paul explained. “And your mother needs both of her girls around to help her get through this.” He shook his head at her, disapprovingly. “How could you be so selfish, Christine? What happened to the caring, giving girl I used to know? What has Florida done to you?”
“I can’t deal with this right now,” Christine said, standing up. “I think you should go home.”
Paul stood up and pulled her into his embrace. “I’m not trying to upset you, honey. Just think about what I said.”