Nick set beside the front door
awaiting BJ's return. Finally, the door opened. "Angel!"
Nick said.
"Where's BJ?"
The preteen shut the door. "She dropped me off, and drove over to Jaime's."
"Oh."
"What's wrong, Nick?"
"Nothing. Did you have a fun time?"
"Yeah." She reached into her shopping bag. "Here, I got you this."
She handed him a small Precious Moments figurine. It was a little blonde-haired boy with bright blue eyes dressed up as an angel. He read the card aloud. "To: Nick From: A real-life Angel" He laughed. "Thanks, I needed that."
"Why?"
"BJ and I had a big fight, Aaron's still zonked from last night and Leslie's sick."
"It'll all pass." Angel assured him.
Nick pulled her onto his lap. "May I ask you a question?"
"Uh-huh."
"Why didn't you change like the others?"
"That's an easy question. I don't care about being famous like all of you. BJ gets mad because she tries very hard to be different. And not like you. She's real independent. As for Aaron, he wants to be just like you, so when something goes wrong he's just really sad. Then there's Leslie. Leslie's really sick right now. She's fighting to please everybody and make them proud. I'll just be happy when she stops comparing herself."
Nick hugged her with all his
might. Angel knew so much, and had filled any emptiness he had
in his heart.