Chapter 17
After convincing myself it was just a dream, I went back to bed and
thought. Kevin was so adorable and sweet. I hoped it would work out for him
and Elizabeth. Nick was so childish and cute. He would make a great ally in a
prank war from what I’d seen backstage last evening. Howie had actually gotten
me to calm down after being insulted. I’d have to keep in touch with him. It
would be good to have a calming influence around. Brian was well, Brian. He
was nice to Whitney and that was good enough for me. And last, and certainly
least was AJ. Why was he such a jerk? I pondered this for a few minutes
replaying our two encounters in my head. Maybe it was my fault. Maybe it
wasn’t. I definitely wasn’t in the mood to ponder it out any longer and I
allowed myself to fall back into a dreamless sleep.
I awoke before the alarm went off at 7:30 pm and looked around at the
empty apartment. I thought how the guys would be leaving soon and how I’d
better get up in case one of them showed up to say goodbye. I tried to mentally
call Whitney, but she was too far away and obviously didn’t want to
communicate with me at the moment.
I got up, showered, dressed, and made my bed by eight. I am anal about
the apartment being neat, so I clean everything. I decided it would be a good
time to work out. It always cleared my mind and I was still reeling from the
creepiness of the dream.
Halfway through my sit ups there was a knock at the door. I opened it
to find Kevin grinning sheepishly and holding a Polaroid out to me.
“I did it. I gave him the gum,” he said as I tried to focus my eyes on
the picture. Once I had gotten a good look at it I busted up. It was so funny I
had to sit down right there in the doorway not to collapse.
AJ’s face was red, veins in his neck looked ready to burst and above it
all he looked ready to kill whoever it was behind the camera. It must have been
Kevin because he had begun chuckling along with me.
“Dude. He almost killed me. I had to hold the camera above my head so
he didn’t break it. But I must say sometimes mischief is worth it.”
“That’s… great,” I said between gasps for air.
“Well,” he said suddenly serious, “I went on a date with Elizabeth and
we really hit it off. I think I’m going to take her to the MTV awards if you
don’t care.”
“Hey, I’m happy for ya. I actually think it’s a good idea. You knew
that Brian is taking Whitney right?”
“Yeah and I’m also to ask you if you’ll accompany Howie to the awards.
He and I were talking and he said it would be cool if you two could go as
friends. I promise AJ will sit at the other end of the row. He’s going to take
his mom as a date, so don’t worry about confrontation,” he ended, his eyes
pleading with me to go.
“Oh all right. I’ll go,” I sighed thinking about all the photographers.
“Great! I’ll tell Howie. Here’s my cell number,” he said abruptly
changing the subject and fishing in his pocket, “Call me OK?”
“Sure thing. And remember, stay out of trouble,” I said giving him a
hug. He pulled away reluctantly and walked down the stairs toward his waiting
limo. I hoped that he would call me and that things would work out for him and
Elizabeth. I just hoped.
Chapter 18
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