Shining Star-CHAPTER THREE
"Adrianne's the youngest. So, Dad spoiled her more. Her & Dad were probably close than me or my brothers were to him. When he died, Adrianne was devastated. I mean, we all were, but she and my mom took it the hardest. Adrianne was so upset that she couldn't even go to the funeral. After that, she wouldn't stop crying. She would literally cry for days at a time. Adrianne also shut herself in her room all the time. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep. She became severally depressed. One time, she even tried to kill herself by jumping off the roof of our house."
Kevin stopped for a second and handed AJ a medicine bottle.
"Read what it says." Kevin ordered.
AJ looked at it and read-
Adrianne M. Richardson
Anti Depressants
Take 1 pill w/ water 3 times a day
Kevin continued, "Adrianne's been on that medication for 10 years. She went to counseling for about 2 years after our father’s death. I know I'm not Dad, but since he died, I've acted more like him towards Adrianne instead of just being her brother. So, that's why Brian and I ask you to be nice to her. That's also one of the main reasons I'm so protective of her. I never want her to get that upset again."
"I am so sorry." AJ said, with tears in his eyes, "I...I didn't know. God, I feel so bad.”
Kevin smiled faintly, "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.”
"You're right." replied AJ.
Kevin stood up, "I know I am. Now, I'm gonna go get Adrianne. I want you to apologize to her. But I'm warning you, if you ever make her cry again, I will make your life a living hell. Do you understand?”
"Yeah." AJ said.
Kevin began to walk out the door, but then he turned toward AJ and said, "Oh yeah, one more thing. About Adrianne's jacket, you know.... the one you ripped. That jacket was the last thing our father gave her before he died!!"
Kevin walked outside and went over to where Adrianne & Nick were.
Adrianne turned to face her brother, "Hi Kev,"
Kevin smiled, "Hi. Listen, you should go talk to AJ. He's got something he wants to say to you."
Adrianne got off the bench, "I don't wanna talk to him. Not after what he said."
"Trust me." Kevin said, "he won't say anything mean. And if he does, you tell me, ok?"
"Ok" Adrianne replied. She walked back into the building.
Adrianne carefully walked into the room. AJ was over by the CD player. But he quickly stood up when he saw Adrianne.
"Hi" he said, "I need to talk to you."
He took her aside and the two of them sat down. AJ spoke, "I am so sorry."
Adrianne was in disbelief, "Yeah right. You're not sorry. The only reason your apologizing is because my brother is making you."
"No, I mean it." AJ said as a small tear rolled down his cheek.
Adrianne was shocked. This was the first time she ad ever seen him show any type of emotion. AJ seemed to be the type of person who it took a lot to get them to cry. Maybe he really was sorry....
"Oh yeah, Kevin forgot to give you this back." AJ said, handing Adrianne her medication. Adrianne looked up at AJ scared, "Oh no! AJ, did Kevin tell you about......”
AJ nodded yes. Adrianne stood up and began to pace around the floor.
"Oh my god!" she said, "You weren't suppose to find out. Nobody was supposed to know except Kevin & Brian. Now that you know, you're probably gonna tell everyone. My life is ruined!” She started to cry.
AJ got up, "No it's not. I promise I won't tell anyone. I really am sorry Adrianne. I shouldn't have said that about your father. It was really stupid of me. When I get angry, I sometimes say things I don't mean."
It was then that Adrianne heard "My Way" by Usher playing on the stereo. She smiled.
"What?" AJ asked.
"I love that song." Adrianne said, "Usher is so cool."
"Yeah." AJ replied, "Remember when we all went to one of his concerts a couple of years ago?"
"Oh yeah!" Adrianne said, "That concert was amazing. I remember I screamed so loud that I couldn't talk for a week."
AJ laughed, "Yeah. Oh, another thing. About your jacket, I'm not that good at sewing, but I could have my mom fix it for you."
"You don't have to do that." Adrianne replied, "I can fix it myself."
Then, she chuckled slightly.
"What is it?" asked AJ.
"It's funny." Adrianne began, "Do you realize this is the first decent conversation we've had in 8 years?"
"I know." AJ answered, "It's really weird. I always thought you were a spoiled, mean, bitch. But, you're actually pretty cool.”
" Yeah" Adrianne said, "You're cool to I guess. But I still think you’re a freak!"
"Yeah" AJ said, "Everyone thinks that."
Adrianne & AJ practiced some more dance steps before heading out for the night.
"Are we riding back in you car?" Adrianne asked AJ as they walked outside.
"Actually," AJ said, "I thought maybe we could walk around a bit before we head back. It'll give us some time to talk. I mean, if that's ok with you."
"Sure" Adrianne answered.
As they walked down the street, they stopped by a small cafe. AJ ordered 2 hot chocolates. After he paid for them, he handed Adrianne a cup.
"Thanks" Adrianne sad, "You didn't have to do that. I could have paid for my own."
"I know, but I wanted to do something nice." AJ replied.
The two of them continued to walk.
"Hey AJ, can I ask you a question?" Adrianne asked, "If you don't wanna answer, I'll understand."
"I don't mind." AJ said, "Ask me whatever you want."
"Ok" Adrianne began, "Why are you so angry all the time? You always seem so.....distant. Why don't you ever open up to anyone?"
"I dunno." AJ sighed, "I'm angry at a lot of things. My father for example. He walked out on me when I was only 4."
Adrianne interrupted him, "At least your father is still alive!"
"I know" AJ said, "But he was never there for me. I don't know if I'll ever be close to him."
"Well," Adrianne replied, "You shouldn't let that get to you. You've got so many people that care about you."
"Like who?" AJ asked.
Adrianne said, "Your mom, your grandparents, the guys, the fans........"
"You??" AJ enquired.
Adrianne smiled, "Don't push it!"
The two laughed.
After about 20 more minutes of talking, Adrianne and AJ walked back to AJ's car. When they got back to the hotel, none of the other guys were there. Adrianne saw Marcus (one of their security guards) walk by.
"Hey Marcus! Where is everyone?" she asked.
"They all went to a club. I could take you there if you want." Marcus replied.
"No that's ok" Adrianne told him, "I'm kinda tired. I think I'm just gonna chill here."
Marcus said ok and walked away.
AJ asked Adrianne if she wanted to go watch TV in his room.
"Sure" Adrianne said.
Her and AJ walked up to his room. Like always, the room was a mess. Some of AJ's clothes layed scattered on the floor.
"Oh well" Adrianne thought. She sat in a chair, turned on the TV, and watched The Tom Green Show.
"I'm gonna go take a shower." AJ announced.
Adrianne nodded and then turned her attention back to the TV.
During the commercials, Adrianne noticed that a notebook was open on the bed. She reached over and got it. The notebook was filled with poems. Adrianne was amazed at how good they were. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened. Adrianne looked up and saw AJ wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Water was still dripping from his chest.
"Oh my god!" Adrianne exclaimed, "I'm sorry. I should leave."
She got up and headed toward the door.
"Wait!" AJ said, "Don't go. I was just getting my clothes. I'll be back out in a sec."
A minute late, AJ walked back out.....with clothes on!
"Ya know," Adrianne began, "Those poems are really good. I hope you don't mind that I read them."
"No, I don't mind." AJ answered.
Adrianne took the notebook and skimmed through it, "Some of these would make great songs. Have you ever shown them to the guys?"
"No" AJ said, "They'd probably think they're stupid."
Adrianne smiled, "No they wouldn't. I don't think they're stupid."
After the show went off, Adrianne and AJ continued to talk. By this time, it was about 3:30am. "I think I'm gonna go back to my room now." Adrianne said.
She was still half-asleep when she got up. She walked over towards the door, but tripped over one of AJ's shirts. Luckily, AJ caught Adrianne by the waist before she fell.
"Whoa. Are you ok?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine” Adrianne answered. AJ stared at her for a minute.
"Um.... AJ??" Adrianne said.
"Yeah?" AJ replied.
"You can let go of me now." she laughed.
AJ quickly let go.
"I'm sorry" he said.
"It's ok." Adrianne told him, "I'll see ya tomorrow." Adrianne quickly got into bed and tried to fall asleep. But she was interrupted when Kevin walked in.
"Hi" he said, "I hope I didn't wake you. I just wanted to stop by and ask how things went with AJ. Did he apologize?"
"Yeah” He did. Adrianne told him.
"That's good." Kevin replied, "What happened after that?"
Adrianne paused for a second, and then spoke, "Nothing really. We practiced some more and then we came back here. I was trying to get some sleep, but then you came in."
Kevin laughed, "I'm sorry. I'll go away now. Don't forget to pack your stuff. Our flight leaves at noon."
"I won't forget." Adrianne said , "Good night Kev."
Kevin suddenly got a sad look on his face, "Oh, what? You can't hug your big brother anymore?" Adrianne laughed and then hugged Kevin.
After Kevin left, Adrianne was about to put her head on the pillow, when there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"You favorite cousin!" said a familiar voice.
"Come on in Brian." Adrianne said.
"Are you decent?" Brian asked.
"Yes." Adrianne giggled.
Brian came in, "Hi Adrianne. Sorry if I interrupted you. I wanted to say goodnight before I went to bed myself. How was your day?"
Adrianne looked up at him, "You mean Kevin didn't tell you?"
Brain nodded no, "He never really said anything. Why? What happened?" Adrianne sighed, "AJ knows about me. He knows I'm on medication for depression."
Brian was shocked, "How did he find out? Did you tell him? Or did Kevin?"
"Kevin did." Adrianne told him. She also told Brian what AJ had said that night that had made her cry.
“Oh god." Brian said, looking like he was gonna cry, "I'm so sorry sweetie. All Kev told me was that you forgot to take your medication today." Brian then hugged his cousin.
"I'm fine Brian." Adrianne said, "Really. Everything's ok now. AJ apologized."
Brian stayed for about another minute. Adrianne was finally able to get some sleep.
**THE NEXT DAY-9: 30am**
AJ quietly snuck into AJ's room. The other guys were out running errands. He carefully walked over to Adrianne's bed and shook he gently.
"Hey, wake up." he said.
Adrianne opened her eyes. She was still half-asleep, so her vision was slightly blurry. All she saw was a guy’s face staring right at her. She screamed at the top of her lungs, grabbed a book off the nightstand, and began to hit the person in the head.
"Oww! Stop it Adrianne It's me, AJ."
Adrianne rubbed her eyes and then looked again. It really was AJ.
"Oh my god." she said, "I'm so sorry AJ. I hope I didn't hurt you. It's just so scary to wake up to someone staring at you."
"That's ok" AJ laughed, "I'm fine."
"What are you doing here?" Adrianne asked him.
"I brought you this." he said, handing her a CD.
She looked up, "What's this?”
"It's the rough copy of Usher's new CD." AJ explained, "I ran into him in the lobby just now. He's actually staying in the same hotel as us. Anyway, I told Usher you were a big fan and he told me to give this to you. Not too many people have it."
Adrianne was so amazed that AJ would do something this nice for her, "Thank you." she said to hi, "That was really sweet of you."
Adrianne got out of bed, I'm gonna go get dressed now. I'll see ya in a minute." She went in her suitcase and pulled out jeans and a black tank top, and then went in the bathroom.
AJ patiently waited until Adrianne came out. She went over to her suitcase and finished packing. Afterward, he and AJ sat on the couch and watched a movie. There was a bowl of popcorn n between them. Adrianne and AJ both reached in at the same time, causing their hands to brush against one another’s.
"Sorry" they both said. After the movie, AJ got up, "I guess I should finish packing. I'll see ya down in the lobby." He was about to walk out, but then he remembered something, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you. I showed my poems to the guys when they got back. You were right, they loved them."
"That's great!" Adrianne said, walking towards him, "I told you they would."
She hugged AJ. This was a suprize to both of them. They didn't let go of each other. Instead, they just stared into each other’s eyes.
At that moment, Adrianne didn't know what came over her. She grabbed AJ's face and kissed him. After about 10 seconds, AJ pulled away.
"Whoa!!! I though you hate me."
Adrianne just smiled.
"Well, can I ask you a question?" AJ asked.
Adrianne nodded yes.
AJ pulled her closer and said, "Is it ok if I kiss you back?”
"Yes." Adrianne said.
Adrianne and AJ kissed again. Their cheeks were pressed close together, both of them had tears streaming down their faces.
CHAPTER FOUR
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