Flight To Paradise
Flight To Paradise
Sequel to Special Delivery
©1999-2000
By Sarah
Chapter 17
    "How much longer?"
    "About an hour."
    "Can we go set it up yet?"
    "No, Aaron, go play somewhere and stop bugging me!"  Nick exclaimed.
    Sarah watched as Aaron ran out of the room and grabbed his sister's hand, pulling her with him.  "Come on, Angel, Nick's being a meanie!"  Aaron yelled, directing the last word at his older brother.
    "Honestly, Nick, you didn't have to say that to him that way," Sarah said.
    "Yes I did, he knows how to read a clock or his watch, he doesn't have to constantly ask me what time it is," Nick said exasperatedly.
    "Nick, he just wants to spend time with you, and if asking questions is what it takes for you two to be around each other, than that's what he'll do. Just try to look at it from his point of view, you two have barely seen each
other for the last few months, you both being on tour and everything.  Spend some time with him, just be around him, he practically idolizes you, just let him hang around and answer his questions with patience," Sarah said, keeping her patience with Nick.
    "How do you do that?"  AJ asked her.
    "Do what?"
    "How do you analyze everything about a person in just a few seconds?"  AJ asked, sitting back in his seat on the couch.
    Sarah shrugged as well as she could, given her position.  She and Brian were sitting on the floor, he was against the side of the recliner Kevin was in and Sarah was lying with her head in his lap.  "I don't know, I guess I
just look at it from both angles and figure out what each person is really looking for."
    "Nah, you're just smart," Brian said, leaning down and kissing her forehead.
    "Nah, I'm just observant," Sarah said, impersonating his tone.  She smiled up at him and placed her hand a top of his, where it was positioned on her stomach.  She intertwined her fingers with his, squeezing lightly.
    "Ok, ok, you two, stop acting like that," Nick said.
    "Stop acting like what?"  Brian and Sarah asked.  She looked up at him and laughed with him.
    "We have got to stop doing that," she said.
    "Ditto," Brian replied, smoothing back her hair.
    "Nick!  Get in here, now!"
    Sarah jumped at the voice and looked over at Nick as his face turned bright red and all the guys started laughing at him.
    "Was that your mother?"  Sarah asked.
    Nick nodded as he stood up.  "Yeah, I'm in trouble," he said as he walked out. "Coming, Ma," he called, walking towards the kitchen.
    Sarah chuckled and laid her head back on Brian's lap, closing her eyes.  She and the guys were all at Nick's house for a New Years Party.  Matt was there also, he disappeared somewhere with BJ when they got there.  Sarah and Brian hadn't been separated since their conversation in her bedroom.  She'd come with him to the party, not really telling her mother who he was.
    'Oh well, if she doesn't figure it out soon, I'll tell her,' Sarah thought, relaxing under Brian's touch.  He smoothed her hair back gently, humming quietly, barely being heard over the music and chatter around them. She sighed, relaxing even further, almost wanting to go to sleep.
    "Hey, baby, don't go to sleep on me, here," Brian whispered in her ear.
    Sarah smiled and opened her eyes, looking up into Brian's warm blue eyes. "I won't, but I find it funny that I was just thinking that I might, this is so relaxing," she said.
    "You were just thinking about it?"
    "Yeah, you make me feel so relaxed and comfortable and safe, I feel like I can go to sleep right here."
    "Don't, we only have an hour left, then we have another hour to party, then we can drop, ok?"
    Sarah nodded and reached up, kissing him lightly.  "Ok."
    Brian smiled at her and bent his head down, kissing her back.
    "Ok, love birds, let's go, get up, no more of that tonight until the ball drops," Kevin said, hitting Sarah's head lightly.
    Sarah broke apart from Brian and looked at Kevin, slightly annoyed.  "Beg pardon?"  She asked.
    "Beg pardon?"  AJ mimicked.  "Come on, girl, you're getting up and coming with me, you and Brian are being kept apart for the next hour and we're going to see if you two can survive without the other to breath," he said, grabbing Sarah's hands and pulling her up on her feet.
    "Wait, Brian, what are they doing?"  Sarah asked, trying to wretch out of AJ and Howie's grasps.
    "I don't know, guys, what are you doing?"  Brian asked, struggling similarly against Kevin.
    "We're kidnapping the two of you and keeping you apart.  Think of it as a game of capture the flag, with you and Sarah as the flags," Kevin explained, dragging his cousin towards the hall.
    "Wait, no, Sarah, come on!"  Brian said, battling.
    Sarah fought against AJ and Howie, but didn't succeed.  They were too strong for her.  She watched as Kevin dragged Brian out of the room and outside.
    "Let... me... go!"  Sarah exclaimed, finally getting her arms out of their grasps.  She ran out of the room and was met by Nick.
    "Whoa, no running in the house," Nick said, catching her.
    "Let me go!"  Sarah repeated, trying to make him let go of her wrist.
    "No, Nick, operation separation has been deployed, hold her!"  AJ exclaimed, jumping over the couch and darting forward.
    Sarah struggled against Nick until AJ stopped her and hauled her over his shoulder.
    "Ahh!  AJ, put me down!"  Sarah yelled, kicking her legs.  She knew he couldn't've been that strong, she wasn't all that light.
    "Stop kicking and I will," AJ said, walking over to the couch.  He dropped her on the couch and she immediately tried to get up and run, but Nick held her to the couch.
    "You two watch her, I'll go see if Kev needs any help with Frick," Nick said, waiting until Howie and AJ had sat down on either side of Sarah and took hold of her arms.  He ran out of the room and out the front door as Leslie came in the room.
    "Umm, why is Sarah being held down by two guys and her boyfriend not in the room?"  She asked to no one in particular.
    "Its called operation separation, we're trying to keep Sarah and Brian apart for one hour and see what it does to them, then they gotta find each other before the ball drops or they don't see each other until tomorrow," AJ
explained.
    "Hey, you never said anything about that!"  Sarah said, struggling against him.
    "I know, you never asked, and I just thought of it.  I think it's a pretty good idea, don't you, D?"  AJ said.
    "Definitely, Bone, one of your better ones," Howie said.
    Sarah looked back and forth between the two guys, then looked up at Leslie.  "Lez, chica, you gotta get me out of here!"  She said.
    Leslie held up her hands.  "Don't look at me, I can't do anything. Sorry, Sarah," she said as she walked out of the room.
    Sarah looked around the room and a pained look came over her face.  "Come on, guys, let me go, please?"  She begged.
    "Nope, we have to do this," Howie said.
    "That's right, you two are so inseparable, it makes me sick," AJ said.
    "Come on, please?"  Sarah said.  She was starting to whine, and whenever she whined, she always got her way, no one could stand the way she whined.
    "Please?"  Sarah whined.
    "No," AJ said.
    "Ple-ease?"
    "No!"
    "AJ, come on, please?  Please, please, with sugar on top?"
    "No, no, and no.  The answer is no, Sarah, get used to it.  And stop whining."
    Sarah looked at AJ, making tears spring into her eyes.  "Please, AJ, let me go," she whispered.
    AJ seemed to soften momentarily, but Howie must've hit his arm because his expression changed back to where it was.  "No, and stop giving me those looks, you're making me feel bad," he said, shaking his finger at Sarah.
    "Well you should!"  Sarah said, crossing her arms and pulling her knees to her chest.  Howie and AJ both let go of her, but didn't move.  She hugged her knees and looked straight forward at the Christmas tree still set up, a
pout on her face.  She thought to herself for a few moments, then thought of something.
    "Aaron!"  She yelled.  AJ covered his ears and winced.
    "Jeez, girl, you've got one set of lungs," he said.
    "Thank you," Sarah said politely.  "AARON!"  She yelled again, even louder.
    "What?!"  Aaron said, running into the room.
    Sarah looked at him and gestured to Howie and AJ.  "They won't let me go and see Brian," she said, letting whine seep in her voice.
    "Why not?"
    "Because they're mean."
    "That's not right, come on, Sarah," Aaron said, walking over and taking her hand.  He led her out of the room and Sarah thought she was home free until she felt AJ grab her from behind.
    "Hold it, you aren't going anywhere," he said.
    "Lemme go!"  Sarah exclaimed, squirming in his arms.
    "AJ, let her go!"  Aaron said, letting go of Sarah's hand involuntarily. He started hitting AJ's arms, trying to pry them off of Sarah.
    "Hold it, AC, what do you think you're doing?"  Nick asked, rushing into the room and picking up his little brother.
    "Trying to help Sarah, why are you guys doing this to her and Brian?"  Aaron asked, his hands dropping to the floor as Nick turned him upside down.
    "Because we want to see if they can survive a simple hour without each other, which apparently they can't.  But we're gonna keep them apart anyway, we'll see what'll happen in an hour," Nick said, carrying Aaron back into the
living room. Sarah stopped struggling against AJ and walked back to the couch with him, curling back up in her spot and pouting again.
    "Can I leave the room, at least?"  Aaron asked as his brother put him in the armchair.
    "Don't see why not as long as you don't try anything like that again," AJ said.
    "And you don't go and tattle on us," Nick jumped in.
    Aaron nodded.  "Ok, ok, I promise, now let my arm go," he said, wrenching his arm away from his brother.  He walked out of the room and back the way he'd come before.
    'And you don't go and tattle on us,' Sarah repeated in her head.  If she could just tell Jane, Nick's mom, she'd stop them and make them let her go. When she'd finally met Nick's mother, she insisted that Sarah call her Jane
instead of Mrs. Carter.  Sarah didn't mind, she liked Jane, she thought she was cool.
    "Jane!"  Sarah yelled.
    "What are you doing?"  AJ asked, looking at her.
    "Jane!"  Sarah yelled again, ignoring AJ.  "Jane, help me, the guys ha-"
    AJ covered her mouth with his hand and shushed her.  "Quiet!  You're gonna ruin it all!"
    'That's the point, duh,' Sarah thought, trying to move AJ's hand away from her mouth.  She finally stopped struggling and sighed, leaning back against the couch and looking down.  She was quiet and AJ finally moved his
hand, slowly and cautiously, ready to cover her mouth again.
    "Sarah?  Is there something wrong?"  Jane called from the kitchen.
    Sarah opened her mouth to answer, but received a look from AJ.  "No, nevermind," Sarah called back, looking at AJ as she answered.  She looked back down at the floor, studying the decorative carpet under the coffee
table.  She sighed again and hugged her knees to her chest.  She could almost feel Brian's arms around her, like they were the other night, the arms that she felt safe and comfortable in.  She closed her eyes, imagining the feel of him near her.

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