The next morning, Brooklyn wakes up at six in the morning. She and Justin are supposed to be leaving about seven, so she decided to go get him up. She tiptoes into his room, and closes the door behind her. She looks over at his bed and sees his curly hair sticking up from underneath the comforter. Brooklyn sits down on the bed next to him. She pulls the comforter from over his face. Brooklyn just looks at him for a minute before speaking. “Justin...” She says. He moves a little bit. She shakes him gently. “Justin.” She says a little louder and more sternly.
“Hmm?” He asks.
“You need to get up.”
“Just five more minutes.” He says, turning away from her.
“I don’t think so. C’mon, we have to go get Carlos in an hour.” He opens his eyes, and turns back to her.
“Can’t you go by yourself?”
“Look, it’s not my fault you decided to go to sleep at four in the morning.”
“Yes it is. You were keeping me up all night with your talking. You need to get that fixed. I thought that would’ve worn off.”
“Shut up, and get up.” She says, and stands up. Brooklyn saunters over to the door and walks out. She stands right outside the door, and looks at her watch. “Ten...nine...eight...”
“Just five more minutes.” Justin says to himself, and starts to pull the comforter back over his head when Brooklyn opens the door. He quickly wraps himself up tightly in the comforter, and shuts his eyes tightly.
“I knew you were gonna do it!” She exclaims. She grabs a piece of the comforter and tries to pull it off of him. “Justin, get up!” She exclaims.
“Five more minutes! You kept me up all night!” He exclaims.
“We have to go soon! Get up!” She jumps on him, and tries to pull the comforter from his grasp. “Stop playing!”
“Stop talking in your sleep!” Justin suddenly rolls over to the edge of the bed, and Brooklyn goes flying off of him. She lands on the floor with a loud thud. Justin sits up quickly, and gets out of the comforter. “Are you okay?” He asks. Brooklyn is holding her hands up over her nose.
“I think your dresser broke my nose.” She says. He kneels down to where she is sitting.
“Lemme see.” He says, putting his hands on top of hers, and bringing her hands down. A smile is on her face.
“I knew that was gonna get you!” She exclaims, and tackles him. He falls backwards, and she sits on his stomach. “Now, get ready, we have to leave.” She stands up, and walks out of the room. Justin sits up, and watches her leave with a grin on his face.
“She’s back...”
Brooklyn walks over to the driver’s side of the car and gets in. Justin is messing with the radio stations. She starts the car and pulls out of the driveway. “Are you finished yet?” She asks Justin as he keeps messing with the radio. He stops on a station and sits back in the seat.
“Yeah.” Friends Forever by Vitamin C is on.
“I like this song.” She states, and starts singing along. “As we go on...we remember...all the times we had together...and as our lives change...come whatever...we will still be friends forever.” She sings. Justin looks over at her and smiles before turning back to look out of the window.
“How old is he?” He asks, after the song goes off, still looking out of the window.
“Who? Carlos?” Brooklyn asks, glancing at him, then turning back to the road.
“Yeah.”
“He’s seven years old.”
“What grade is he supposed to be going to?”
“He’s going to the second grade.” She answers. “By the way, are there any good elementary schools close to your house?”
“Um, there’s West Grove Elementary. That’s the closest one.”
“Good. I’m going to try and enroll Carlos into an elementary school, and when I get a job, I can keep the payments going.”
“Are you sure you can handle all of this?” Justin asks her. “I mean, you’re taking the roll of his mother, father, and his sister.”
“I’m going to sure as hell try to.” She says, a determined look on her face.
“You’re gonna let me help you, right?” She looks over at him.
“Justin, you and your family have done so much for me already. I don’t want you to have to pay for anything for me...”
“Brooke, you’re my best friend. I’m gonna do it whether you like it or not.”
“You don’t have- -”
“I want to, and I will. Anytime you need the help. You’re welcome, Brooke.”
“Thank you...Justin.” Brooklyn says. There is silence for a little while.
“I have a question...” Justin says.
Brooklyn looks over at him, “Hmm?”
“How did you find my house?”
“Oh, when I went to Mrs. Ross’s house, I went through her personal phone book, which is pretty bad, and I saw your address and stuff in Florida. Speaking of Mrs. Ross, I need to call her right now.” She picks up her cell phone, and dials the number. “Hello? Mrs. Ross?...Yeah, it’s me...is Carlos okay?...Good, Justin and I are on our way to pick him up now. Sorry for running out on you two that night...Well, we’ll see you when we get there...Okay, I will...Bye.” Brooklyn hangs up the phone.
“What’d she say?” Justin asks.
“She said that Carlos is fine, and she told me to tell you to take care of Carlos and I.”
“Well, she doesn’t have to worry at all.”
“What are you talking about? I can take care of myself! I’m a big girl!” Brooklyn jokes. She takes one hand off of the steering wheel and flexes.
“Oh yeah, you’re all buff, huh?” Justin says, squeezing her arm.
“Well, you know, I’ve been workin’ out.” Brooklyn jokes.
A couple of hours later, they reach Mrs. Ross’s house. Brooklyn looks over at the passenger side to see Justin just wake up. He had been taking a catnap. Mrs. Ross opens the door as Brooklyn and Justin are getting out of the car. Carlos comes running out of the house. “Brooke!” He exclaims, running into her arms.
“Hey Carlos!” Justin stands back a little and watch the two, smiling.
“Hey, Mrs. Ross.” Justin says to the woman, who had by now, made her way to the car.
“Hi, Justin!” She exclaims, walking around to where he is standing. She gives him a hug. “How have you been?”
“Fine, you?”
“Just fine.” Brooklyn and Carlos walk over.
“Thanks for watching him for me.” Brooklyn says, giving Mrs. Ross a hug.
“It was no problem. He is the sweetest little boy.” She says, then leans in to Brooklyn’s ear. “But he does kind of close off sometimes. He wouldn’t eat for a little while, and was very reserved, so watch out for that.” Mrs. Ross whispers, and Brooklyn nods.
“Get into the car, Carlos.” Brooklyn says, turning to the young boy, who was play fighting with Justin. “Well, once again, I want to thank you. We better get back to Orlando, though.”
“Okay, hun.” Mrs. Ross says. “Take care of yourself and your little brother.” She adds, then looks at Justin. “You hear that Justin? Take care of Brooklyn and Carlos.” Justin smiles and nods slightly before getting into the car.
“Bye Mrs. Ross.” Brooklyn says, giving her one more hug.
“Bye Brooklyn.”
Brooklyn gets back into the car, and turns to Carlos. “You got your seat belt on?” He nods. Then, Justin turns to him.
“Yeah, you know how she drives.” He jokes, and Carlos laughs a little.
“Do you have yours on, Justin?”
“Of course!” He exclaims, pulling the seat belt.
“Good, let’s roll, then.” She pulls out of the driveway, and starts back to Orlando.
“Where are we going?” Carlos asks after a little while.
“We’re going to Justin’s house in Orlando.” Brooklyn says, looking at him through the rear view mirror.
“Oh.” He says, and turns back to look out of the window.
“You okay back there?” Brooklyn asks him. He turns to her.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“You up for a snowball, then?” She’s asks Carlos, looking at him through the rear view mirror, a twinkle in her eyes. He smiles and nods his head.
“What about you? The snow ball stand is right up here.” Brooklyn asks Justin, lightly punching him in the thigh. Justin looks at her. “My treat.” She says, then pulls up to the stand. Brooklyn starts out of the car. “Aren’t you coming?” She asks Justin.
“I can’t.” He says, looking at the crowd in front of the snowball stand.
“What? Oh yeah, that’s right. You’re the big time superstar who’s recognized everywhere. What kind do you want?”
“Tutti Frutti.”
“Okay, c’mon Carlos.” Carlos and Brooklyn leave Justin sitting in the car, returning a few minutes later with the snowballs. “Here is your...Tutti Frutti.” I say, handing Justin the snowball. I put mine into the cup holder, and we start our way back to Justin’s home, hours away.
Hours Later...
Brooklyn pulls into the driveway of Justin’s home, and looks at the two other passengers in the car, both asleep. Brooklyn gets out of the car, and walks over to Justin’s side. She opens the door, and nudges him softly. He opens his eyes, and looks around before stretching and getting out of the car. Brooklyn picks Carlos up, or tries to. “Jeez, he’s heavy.” She says. Justin walks over to her, and yawns before taking Carlos from her, and bringing him into the house. “Hey, Aunt Lynn.” Brooklyn says as they walk through the living room.
“Hey. Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s asleep now, though.” Justin puts Carlos in his new temporary room, and he and Brooklyn go into his room. Justin falls back onto his bed, and Brooklyn sits down next to him. He pulls her down to lay next to him, then places his hands behind his head.
“So...” He says, looking over at his friend.
“So...” Brooklyn repeats.
“You okay?”
“Yeah...I’m fine.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah.” He gives her a playful smile.
“Is it sanitary enough in here for you?” He asks, and she rolls her eyes.
Flashback...
“Why won’t you come upstairs, Brooke?” Justin asks. The two of them are both nine years old.
“When was the last time you cleaned your room?” Brooklyn asks.
“Last week.”
“It’s not sanitary enough.”
“What?!? Not sanitary enough? Since when you use words like that?”
“I read, Mr. Illiterate.”
“Illiterate? Brooke, you’re scaring me.”
“So what, if I see it, I’m going to use it to my advantage.”
“You sound like a teenager.”
“That’s a good thing.”
End of Flashback...
“What can I say, Justin? I couldn’t help it, okay.” Brooklyn says, rolling over on her side.
“You were bragging about big words.”
“I was not!”
“You said I couldn’t read!”
“I just...” Brooklyn starts. “Are you sad?” She asks, looking over at Justin. He pokes out his lip, and gives her sad eyes. “Aw, I’m sorry.” She says, bringing her arms around him, and giving him a hug. “I didn’t mean it.” Justin sniffs playfully, then smiles at her. Brooklyn shakes her head, and rolls her eyes playfully before giggling a little, and falling back onto the pillow under her. As soon as she’s down, Justin takes his pillow, and smashes it into her face, holding it down. He hears Brooklyn’s muffled screams, and starts laughing. Brooklyn pushes Justin off of her, and jumps off the bed. “You...” She says, slowly making her way towards him. “You just never give up do you.”
Justin smiles proudly, and says, “Nope, nope, nope.” He raises his eyebrows at her. Brooklyn picks up a pillow. “Oh, I’m sensing a challenge!” Justin sings.
“You’re damn skippy, you are.” She says, an evil smile playing on her lips.
“Bring it on, girl!” Justin exclaims, raising his pillow.
“Oh, it’s on already.” She says, and smacks him with the pillow. Their friendship was finally back to normal.
One Month and a Half Later...
Everything has gotten itself in order...finally. Justin and the guys are on tour, Justin’s mom is working with the group she’s managing, Carlos is enrolled in West Grove Elementary, and he’s opened up somewhat, Brooklyn has found a job, it isn’t so big, but at least it’s money. Justin doesn’t know about her job, and the reason she hasn’t told him is because she doesn’t think he’d be too pleased to find out that she works at Hooters. “How was your day today, huh?” Brooklyn asks Carlos turning to the passenger seat. She had changed out of her work outfit because she didn’t want her little brother to see her like that.
“It was okay. I still don’t have many friends.” He says, sort of looking down.
“You have friends though, right?”
“Yeah! There’s Gregory, Andrew, Kevin...” Carlos says, drifting off.
“Well, it’s only the beginning of the year. You’ll meet new friends.” Carlos looks at his sister and gives her a small smile.
Later that Night at Justin’s House...
Ring! Ring! Ring! Brooklyn gets up and goes over to the phone. She had to stay home with Jonathan and Carlos, who were in the back playing video games. Lynn had taken Stephen with her. “Hello?...Hey Justin, what’s up?...You have something for me?...Really, any minute?...Wow, thanks!...What is it? You know, you can tell me a little somethin’ somethin’...Is it an early Christmas present?...Oh yeah, Christmas is about two and a half months away...No...” The doorbell rings. I’ll get it!” She yells to the boys in the back. “Is that it?” Brooklyn asks into the phone. “You know, I truly think you’re up to something. You haven’t even been gone two months, and you’re up to something.” Brooklyn says, grabbing the key, on her way to the front door. “Yeah right, Justin.” She opens the door. A man is standing there with a huge bouquet of white roses.
“Flowers for a Ms. Brooklyn Rodrigez.”
“That’s me.” Brooklyn says, still holding the phone to her ear. The man hands her the flowers. “Thanks.”
“I need you to sign this.” He says, holding out a clipboard. Brooklyn signs it and the man leaves.
“Are these from you?...Oh, they’re from Joey, huh?” The doorbell rings again, and Brooklyn turns around. She opens the door, and a guy is standing there with a huge gray teddy bear, with a balloon tied to it. She takes the stuff animal, and signs the clipboard yet again. “Is the teddy bear from you?...Aw, that’s a mean thing to say...yeah, I know...It’s from JC? Aw, that’s sweet...What’s this for anyway?...Okay, whatever...” The doorbell rings once more. “Okay, now it’s getting weird...” She opens the door. A guy hands her a poster-sized package and leaves. Brooklyn brings it into the living room and puts it down. She cuts open the cardboard to find a huge framed poster of Chris with a screaming face staring right back at her. At the bottom of the picture it says Hey Brooke, scared yet? “Lemme guess. Chris, right?...I should’ve known...” There’s a knock on the door. “Okay, Justin, I’m getting tired of opening this door now...” Brooklyn opens the door again. A pizza guy is standing there with five pizzas in his arms. “I didn’t order any pizza.” Brooklyn says to the guy.
“A Mr. Lance Bass ordered them, ma’am.” The guy says.
“Oh, how much will it cost?”
“It’s paid for, ma’am. Have a good night.”
Brooklyn takes the pizzas and closes the door. On top of one of the boxes it reads: I didn’t know what to get you so Justin told me to order pizza. What a retard. Brooklyn laughs. “Hello?...Justin?...Hello?...Hello?” She shrugs and hangs up the phone. Just as she was opening one of the boxes, she hears something from the front door. Brooklyn listens for the sound again, but hears nothing except the cartoons on the television. She shrugs, and goes back to opening the boxes. “Mmm...Extra cheese pizza. Thank you, Lance...and Justin too of course.” She hears the TV turn off, and turns around. “Carlos! Jonathan! Stop playing around, and turn the television back on!” She exclaims.
“We didn’t!” Brooklyn hears the two boys yell from the back. A little shaken up, she walks back into the living room and turns the television back on. When she gets back over to the pizzas, a slice is missing.
“It couldn’t have been the boys.” She says to herself. She was starting to get really creeped out. She turns around and screams, “OH MY GOD!”