Being In The Band
Being In The Band
©1999-2000
By Sarah
Chapter 16

        "She doesn’t, I'm telling you right now.  I spend so much time with her, but she doesn’t, she only sees me as a friend."
        "Its because she belongs with him."
        "I take it you heard about what happened between them?"
        "Yeah, Tommy told me the week after it happened.  No one else was supposed to know, and I don’t think anyone does."
        "I found out by accident, I overheard Mindi telling Tommy one day, he was beyond shocked, and I have to say that I don’t blame him."
        "But what about Nick?  Why is he so stubborn as to not pay any attention to her?"
        AJ sighed and ran his hands through his recently dyed red hair.  "Because he’s afraid of Carla, afraid of what she’ll say, what she’ll do if he breaks it off with her.  She isn’t afraid to go to the press and lie, she almost did it once, there’s no guarantee that she won’t again."
        "We did stop her that one time, but could she really bear with the thought that she turned his world upside down?"
        "Apparently so.  Brian, you know she has no heart, she’s only using Nick for the status and the money, Lizard would never do that."
        "Which is exactly why I want to get them together, but I don’t know how," Brian said, fiddling with his coffee cup in front of him.
        AJ sat down on the floor, frustratingly pounding his fist onto the concrete.  "I wish I knew also," he muttered.  As each day passed, Lizard was sinking further and further into an emotional abyss, with almost no hope of ever getting out.
        "How did they first get together?"  Brian asked quietly.
        "Brian, I’ve told you this story a million times already-"
        "Just tell me again, and don’t forget anything," Brian said.
        AJ sighed.  "After we’d all gone out, Lizard went to a supermarket and got ice cream and Butterfingers.  She went back to the hotel at about eleven or so and went up to her room.  She went inside and Nick came up, asking to use her phone to call someone because he’d locked himself out of his room.  She let him and started eating her ice cream and watching a movie.  Nick couldn’t get a hold of anyone because we were all out and the front desk wouldn’t give him another key.  It turned out that Liz’s favorite ice cream was also Nick’s and the two stayed together watching the movie and eating ice cream, and at one point, those candy bars.  They ended up talking after the movie about music and they found that they had a lot of common interests and everything.  A piece of sheet music fell out of her bag and he picked it up and wouldn’t give it back.  They started tickling each other and Nicky’s hands wandered and they backed away from each other.  He kissed her and then Mindi walked in and Nick said that she didn’t see anything," he explained.  He looked at Brian and saw a thoughtful look on his face.  "What are you thinking, Bri?"  He asked.
        Brian bit his lip.  "What would happen if we put them in that situation tonight?"  He asked.
        "I don’t know," AJ said slowly.  "What do you think would happen?"
        Brian looked at the floor, then at AJ.  "I think we should find out."
        AJ grinned, understanding his friend’s idea.  "Consider it done."

        "Mindi?"
        "Yeah?"
        "Where are my earrings?"
        Mindi came out of the bathroom and held out a pair of small silver hoops.  "These, you mean?"  She asked.
        "Yeah, thanks, I thought I’d lost them," Lizard said, taking them and putting them carefully in her jewelry box.  "So you’re all going to the jazz club?"
        "Yeah, are you sure you’ll be ok here by yourself?  You know that you can come, you just can’t drink," Mindi suggested.
        Lizard shook her head.  "No, that’s ok, really, I’ll be fine.  I think I’ll have a little more ice cream and Butterfingers and watch my sap story tonight," she said, pulling out a tape.
        "What’cha got?"  Mindi asked, taking the case.
        "Ever After.  I need a good sappy movie.  And maybe I’ll call home, see what’s up with everyone," Lizard said, sitting on her bed.
        "You sure?"
        "Yeah."
        Mindi sighed and picked up her purse, slinging it over her shoulder before grabbing her coat.  "All right.  Page us or call if you need to, ok?"  She said as she walked to the door.
        "I’ll be fine, Mindi, you can trust me," Lizard said as she pulled on her sneakers.
        "Ok.  We’ll be back around one or two.  Night, Liz," Mindi called as she closed the hotel room door behind her.  She turned towards the elevators and jumped as she bumped into someone.
        "Sheesh, AJ, give me a heart attack, why don’t you?"  She whispered.
        "Gladly, baby.  She’s in there?"  AJ replied.
        "Yeah, she’s getting ready to go out and get ice cream and her candy bars.  I swear, she eats all that junk and doesn’t gain an ounce," Mindi said enviously.
        "You’ve seen her out there before, you know she’s really active.  Besides, its what makes her Lizard," AJ said, leading Mindi to the elevators.  "So you’re for sure she’ll be staying?"
        "Yeah, she said she’s going to get her ice cream and then watch her movie, Ever After.  AJ, I'm really worried about this, what if it doesn’t work?"
        "Well, we’ll just have to hope it does," AJ said as they stepped in the elevator with everyone else.
        "It all good?"  Tommy asked.
        "So far.  Nick’s in the gym, he was playing some basketball last time I checked on him," Brian said.
        "How long ago was that?"  AJ asked.
        "About an hour ago.  He won’t be leaving for another half-hour or so," Brian explained.
        "Did you get it?"  Kevin asked.
        Brian smiled as he held up a card.  "Was easy, he left it with his bag in the locker room, it’s a wonder he didn’t keep it with him, he knows how easily he loses things."
        AJ laughed.  "Well, Nicky is going to think he’s losing his mind because right before he left, he made sure he had his key.  I guess we’ll just have to have a repeat of that night, now won’t we?"  He said sarcastically.
        "Practically.  He’s going to be experiencing some major déjà vu," Howie commented as they all got out of the elevator.
        Mindi sighed as she walked with AJ to the waiting cab.  "I just hope it all goes ok and she won’t get hurt," she said sadly.
        AJ put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug.  "I promise, by the time we get back tonight, Nick and Liz will be together and Carla will never be in his mind again," he assured her.  They all got in the cabs and left for the jazz club, all praying that their idea would work.

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