Chapter 31

Chapter 31 - Have you seen Chelle?
By Chelle, Tess and Farah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~with the girls~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Shawn was that Kevin?” Carmen asked.
“Yeah it was. He and the guys are on their way back and we’re to keep them posted if we hear from Chelle” Shawn answered..
“I am curious as to why you didn’t mention that Chelle was seen with Jared?” Sherry questioned.
“Well…. I don’t want to speculate anything there. I am only guessing that is who she was with.”
“You know that is who she is with. What are you gonna do if Nick sees her with him?” Sherry asked as she began to pace the floor.
“If Chelle is with Jared, I can assure you….Nick has nothing to be worried about” Shawn replied.
“How can you be so sure? After all, they do have a past… a very long past” Tanya asked.
“Tanya, this is Chelle we’re talking about. Have you forgotten her anger towards Jared? If there is anyone I am worried about.. It might be Jared” Shawn said with a small laugh.
“well, I hope you’re right.” Sherry said then asked, “so…who is this Tess girl?”
“I don’t know….but I am guessing that she was who Chelle had a meeting with earlier” Tanya answered.
“Isn’t it kinda strange that all of this mess stirred up the same day Chelle has a meeting with her?” Sherry questioned looking at each of the girls. They all sat there with a questioning look.
“What are you saying Sherry? That Tess is the reason all the crazed fans are downstairs along with the reporters? Shawn asked. “That’s absurd. Coincidental maybe. But there’s no way she could’ve known the Backstreet Boys were here or have anything to do with the media getting wind of it. If there’s anyone I’d question, it’s that manager of theirs… Davy.”
“you know, I think you’re right Shawn. The guys have been here for a few days… a few people have recognized them…. But it is kind of odd that the fans and media all found out at the same time that they guys are here.” Tanya added in.
Carmen then said, “well regardless of how it happened, what the hell are we going to do? I don’t want to spend the rest of my vacation hiding in our room.”
“Good question. What are we going to do? And damn it.. Why isn’t Chelle here with us to figure this out?” Sherry cried out in frustration.
“Calm down you guys. First of all, Kevin did mention that he had an idea. So let’s wait till we hear from them” Shawn suggested.
“what if that manager guy intervenes and prevents them from helping us.. What then?” Sherry again questioned.
“well, if that does happen….we’ll think up another idea. By then, Chelle will be here.” Shawn said.
“Again, the voice of reason has spoken. Mama Shawn… you’re the best!” Carmen said with a laugh as she hugged her friend. The girls then tried to relax and joke around with each other as they patiently waited for the guys to arrive and for Chelle.

~~~in the lobby of the hotel w/ Mr. Roark and Tattoo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a few hours passed, the crowds finally diminished. Mr. Roark had his staff remove all visitors who were not staying at the hotel including the reporters in hopes to regain a peaceful atmosphere at the hotel.
“Boss, how did you do it? All of those people are finally gone.” Tattoo asked.
“Well my friend, I had to become a little more forceful than I would have liked…but we can’t allow our guests to become uncomfortable with this madness” Mr. Roark replied.
“Did you see Ms. Wilson a little while ago sir? I believe she was looking for you.” Tattoo again asked.
“Yes, I did. And she will be fine now. I am only sorry that I wasn’t there to help her out earlier. Now come my friend, we have a few more things to do. The Backstreet Boys should be arriving any moment and there is still much to do.” Mr. Roark suggested.
“yes boss. I hope things don’t get crazy again when they arrive” Tattoo said shaking his head as he followed behind Mr. Roark.
“Me too Tattoo. Me too” Mr. Roark answered as he and Tattoo disappeared behind a door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~still in the lobby~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tess tried to wait by her phone to hear from Chelle but found it very hard to be patient. She decided to take her chances back in the lobby in hopes of speaking with the hotel manager. “Oh my god, I hope Chelle is alright” Tess said to herself. As she got off the elevator, Tess was stunned to see the crowds gone. “well, thank you for small favors” she said under her breath. Tess walked up to the front desk and asked the clerk to speak to the hotel manager. “I’m sorry miss but he’s not available at this time. Is there something I can help you with” “well, I am looking for my friend, Chelle Wilson” “I’m sorry miss but I just started my shift. I am afraid I would not be able to help you.” the clerk answered back. Frustrated, Tess sighed out loud. “Do you mind if I use your phone for a sec?” “no ma’ am not at all” The clerk said handing her the phone. As Tess began dialing the phone number to Chelle’s suite again, loud screams were heard behind her as the front doors of the lobby opened. She placed the phone back down as she turned to see what the commotion was, “What the hell?” Her questions were quickly answered when she saw Howie and AJ enter the lobby. “Well, look who’s here. If it isn’t Tess in person.” AJ said out loud as he walked up to her. “Give me a hug girl” Tess smiled at the sight of AJ. She always got along great with him. “AJ, oh my god. It’s great to see you!” “Hey there Tess!” Howie said behind AJ. “Hey Howie!” As the old friends quickly exchanged hugs, the doors opened again. “Oh my god, what a racket. I can’t say I haven’t missed losing my hearing.” Brian said with a laugh as he, Kevin and Nick walked in along with the security guards. When Brian spotted Tess the smile on his face disappeared. “Well, I knew I sensed trouble. But now I see trouble” Kevin looked at him. "What do you mean?" Brian pointed in Tess' direction. "Don't you think all this hysteria was created by her?" Kevin shook his head. "I don't think so Brian. That‘s ridiculous. There‘s no way Tess could have known that we were here. Hey Tess." "Yeah well, a jealous ex girlfriend could want to sabotage the new relationship." Brian smirked. “Hello there guys. It's nice to see you too Brian." ” Tess said as Howie released her from his embrace. Davy slowly followed the boys and stood behind them unnoticed. He remained quiet as he saw the tension and heard the comments between Brian and Tess. He was stunned that he didn’t recognize Tess from the night before. "Oh so this is that Tess. Kevin's ex girlfriend Tess." He arched an eyebrow. “I can’t believe Brian actually thinks that Tess would stir such a ruckus with the press.. Hmmm…I think I need to spend a little more time with Ms. Dayne. She might be of some use to me after all”. "Tess!?!?! Have you seen Chelle? Do you know where she could’ve gone to?? Did you find her??" Nick fired one question after the other. “No I'm sorry Nick, I haven’t seen her. I spoke with her friends but they haven’t seen her either. I was hoping to hear something by now.” Tess answered looking between Nick, Brian and Kevin. Nick walked past Tess mumbling “I’ve got to find her.” “So, exactly how is it you know Chelle?” Brian questioned with an indifferent tone in his voice. “Nevermind that now….I think the issue is where’s Chelle? We need to help Nick find her? Maybe Mr. Roark can help us?” Kevin interrupted. Tess said a silent ‘thank you’ in her mind. The last thing she was prepared for was another battle with Brian. Unfortunately, some things haven’t changed. Brian still held a grudge towards Tess. According to Brian, she was the cause for the cousins being at odds with each other. In the end, Brian was left picking up the pieces of Kevin’s shattered heart. No matter what was said, Kevin would always defend her like he was doing now. Tess knew it would take a while before Brian would forgive her. “Kevin, the clerk just told me that Mr. Roark is not available right now.” “Well, maybe not for you….”Brian blurted out as he walked back up to the clerk. Brian along with Howie started talking with the clerk to see what they could find out. However, they were not able to obtain any more information than what Tess had found out. Screams were heard from the other side of the lobby as a few fans spotted them. “Oh no…not again.” Tess complained. “Hey you’re an old pro at this Tess” AJ teased. “Obviously not or I would’ve never lost Chelle earlier” “God, I just can’t do nothing. Guys she's alone. She can’t be missing. You guys I’ve got to do something. I have got to find Chelle!” Nick whined. Kevin caught hold of Nick's shoulders and shook him. "Nick calm down. She's gonna be fine." “Calm down Nicky, we’re all going to find her” Tess comforted. Mr. Roark noticed the Backstreet Boys in the lobby. He noticed their manager standing behind the group as if he were eaves dropping on their conversation. “Mr. Johnson?” Mr. Roark called out getting everyone’s attention. “Mr. Roark? I didn’t see you there. I’ve been looking for you.” Davy replied. As Mr. Roark approached the group, AJ leaned over to Howie and asked, “did you know Davy was behind us? Wonder how long he was standing there?” “Dunno, but he’s really getting on my nerves.” Howie whispered back. “Mr. Johnson, we received a call from Billy. He along with the rest of your security team will be here in a little while.” Mr. Roark then looked over at the boys and said, “till then I suggest you guys stay put in your suite. The fans outside have not disappeared completely so you guys need to be safe. Especially with the knowledge that you are back at the hotel. We are going to do our very best to keep things in order here but we need your cooperation also.” “Mr. Roark, have you seen Chelle? No one has seen her.” Kevin asked. Nick along with the rest of the group crowded around Mr. Roark to find out what he knew. “Yes, I have seen her and she is safe. She had a friend help her out of the crowds earlier but I do believe she is back upstairs.” Mr. Roark announced. Nick along with the others all sighed in relief. “well, I am going upstairs to see her.” Nick said making his way towards the elevators. “Hang on a sec, we’re going with you” AJ said as he and Howie followed Nick to the elevators. “guys, don’t forget the security guards” Kevin said out loud. “yes, DAD!” the three said with a laugh as they waited for the security to follow them. Once the elevator doors closed, Davy yelled out “wait a sec, I don’t think it’s a good idea you guys going to the girls’ room right now…at least not till our security team gets here.” “well, if you have the guts to tell Nick he can’t see his girl…go right ahead.” Kevin said with a laugh. He knew Davy’s reply would be no way. One thing he hated to deal with was Nick’s temper. “fine then, but this time..how about you tell me where you guys are going to be. I will have your things sent over to their suite..since it’s obvious that you’re not using your suite any more.” Davy suggested. He knew he was going to get an earful from management..but once again, the guys have put him in a position he couldn’t refuse. Kevin placed his arm around Davy and said, “Now, that’s the Davy we all know and love”. Kevin handed a piece of paper to Davy that had the girls’ room number on it. “Alright, well..you guys better get out of the open. I will have Billy and the guys meet you in the morning. Promise me no more disappearing tricks? You guys accomplished a lot today and we don’t want to get away from that great vibe you’re on.” Davy commented. “We’ll be ready and waiting. Good night Davy” Kevin waved as he, Brian and Tess headed towards the elevator. “I hope you guys don’t mind me tagging along. I would like to see Chelle before I go to bed.” Tess said once elevator doors closed. “Uh, Tess. I am not sure that is a good idea.” Brian replied, “if Nick got in there before we did, I can assure you…those two will want some alone time. Besides, um…. There are the other girls to factor also”. “Look, I don't want to intrude or anything.. But I would like to talk to Chelle if that’s alright. We are friends too and after what happened in the lobby, I would just feel more comfortable seeing her for myself.” Tess insisted. “Of course, Tess. I don’t think anyone will mind if you join us for a sec.” Kevin said looking over at Brian. He knew Brian didn’t like Tess, but there was no need for being rude. “Great. Thanks Kev. I promise to only be a minute.” Tess replied with a small smile.

~~~~~~~~~in the girls’ suite~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Oh geez, all this waiting around is driving me nuts. Carmen said out loud “I am going to clobber Chelle for scaring us like this.”
“I can’t believe she hasn’t even called yet? That is so unlike her.” Shawn said as she walked over toward the balcony to join Tanya.
“Shawn, what if things didn’t go well between her and Jared. That could only put more stress on her?” Tanya asked as Shawn sat down.
“I didn’t think of that. Oh god. What if ……” Shawn started to say but was interrupted when the front door of their suite flew open. This caused all the girls to jump. Both Tanya and Shawn rejoined the girls in the living room as they all greeted Nick, AJ and Howie.
“Hey guys! Where’s Brian and Kevin?” Sherry asked.
“They will be here in a sec?” AJ said as he walked over to Carmen and hugged her tight.
Howie walked over to Tanya, “are you alright. I am sorry for all the problems you girls had”
Nick walked past the group and went straight for Chelle’s room. He assumed that was where she was when he didn’t see her with the others. When Shawn saw Nick heading for Chelle’s room, she panicked. What was she going to say? She looked over to Tanya in hopes of a suggestion.
Nick quickly noticed that Chelle’s room was empty. “Uh, where’s Chelle? Mr. Roark said she was here?”
“She’s not here?” Howie asked looking at the others.
“He did? When did he say that?” Shawn quickly asked..
“just a few minutes ago in the lobby.” Nick said then began to pace the room. “have you girls seen her?”
“Sorry Nick, but we haven’t. We’ve been waiting here in hopes to get a call or something.” Carmen replied.
“Wait a sec, why would Mr. Roark tell you he saw Chelle going back to her room? Unless he saw her?” Shawn questioned.
“I don’t know. Hang on a sec, I am going to call and find out” AJ said as he walked over towards the phone. He could tell something else was going on but wasn’t sure what.
“Maybe he saw her going with…..” Sherry added in but was interrupted by Carmen, “That girl Tess”. Carmen then gave a warning look to Sherry that didn’t go unnoticed by the guys.
“No, we saw Tess downstairs. And she hasn’t seen Chelle either” Howie answered.
“what are you girls not saying? Do you know something else?” Nick asked.
“Damn, that man is hard to get in touch with when you need him” AJ yelled out as he slammed the phone down. He then looked back at the other girls, “yeah.. What are you girls not saying…cuz we have a problem if no one has seen Chelle”
Shawn sighed. She was afraid that something was wrong. Therefore, she had to tell the truth. She only hoped that Nick would not over react. She said a silent prayer hoping that chelle would walk through their door and soon. “Earlier when Tess called and told us what happened in the lobby.. We all panicked.. So we called Mr. Roark… He saw Chelle but only from a distance. Then he asked another worker who saw Chelle being carried out by one of the hotel guests…he claims that this person knew Chelle.”
“WHAT?” Both AJ and Howie said in unison.
“Jared. Right?” Nick said as walked over towards the door. He wasn’t sure what to think. “Shawn? Please be straight with me? What do you think is going on? And where do you think Chelle is?”
“Nick, when you guys left earlier… Chelle was angry at us” Shawn explained, “you remember the conversation we were having with her when you guys left?”
Nick nodded.
Shawn then continued, “well, she felt pressured by all of us…and left. I guess somewhere along the way she ran into Tess. Then the madness downstairs happened. If Jared saw Chelle in the middle of the crowds, I am sure he was only trying to help her. What I am worried about now is…Chelle. Jared can barely say anything to her without upsetting her and well… there’s no telling where she is now.”
After hearing Shawn explain, Nick walked out of the room without another word said.
“SHIT! “ Carmen yelled as she ran to go help Nick find Chelle. “Way to go Shawn.” When Carmen opened the door, there stood Kevin, Brian and some other woman. Carmen looked past the three in hopes of stopping Nick. She swore again when she saw that he was already gone.
“Carmen, what are you doing?” Kevin asked as he walked in the suite. He walked over and quickly kissed Shawn.
“did you guys just see Nick?” Carmen asked ignoring Kevin’s question.
“No we didn’t.” Brian replied.
“why?” The strange woman asked. She looked at the girls and realized they had no idea who she was. “Sorry, I'm Tess”.
“Hello Tess.” Tanya greeted “I’m Tanya” One by one the girls quickly made an introduction.
Brian rolled his eyes and said, “ok, now that you all know each other… what about Nick?”
“Chelle’s not here and he just ran out the door. But I am not so sure if he’s mad or looking for her?” Sherry answered.
“Mad? Why would Nick be mad? What did we miss?” Kevin asked as he looked confused.
“When Tess told us she was separated from Chelle in the lobby we panicked. Mr. Roark then told us that one of his workers saw someone help Chelle. Well, that someone was Jared.” Shawn explained.
“Shit.” Tess, Brian and Kevin said at the same time.
“Well, my guess would be he’s mad. If she’s still with her ex.” Kevin announced.
“That just doesn’t make any sense to me. She hates Jared. So Nick has nothing to worry about from Jared. Especially from what she told me earlier.” Tess said then stopped when she realized she broke her friend’s confidence.
“That’s what I‘ve been saying to the girls here” Shawn paused for a moment then looked back at Tess, “wait a sec.. What did she tell you?”
“yeah. What did she tell you earlier Tess?” AJ asked.
“Oh geez, I don’t think I was suppose to tell anyone this.” Tess said softly.
“Well, it’s too late now. Looks like she picked the wrong person to confide in.” Brian mumbled.
“Brian!?!” Kevin warned.
“I guess you guys had a little tiff earlier about her future plans. Well, when I found her she was really upset.. So we went for a walk along the beach. That walk did her a lot of good, because she told me she had decided.”
“Yeah? What was that?” The girls all said at once.
“Nick. Plan and simple. She loves Nick.” Tess said out loud.
“Awww” the girls all cooed.
“Oh not again. Yuck, women.” Brian fussed. Sherry just laughed at Brian’s reaction and kissed him.
“Well, normally I would suggest us looking for the two..but I guess Nick needs to do this alone” Howie recommended.
“yeah, I agree there. They just need to sort this out with each other. And I am sure they will.” Carmen agreed.
“Ok, so now that is settled. What are we going to do about the problem at hand? The mob downstairs?” Tanya asked.
“Well, we were discussing this back at the studio. And if you girls don’t mind. We’d like to stay here with you.” Kevin said then continued, “Our bodyguards should be here in a little while and they will be here to help us out.”
“you guys want to stay here with us? Wow, that is great! We were sulking earlier. We were trying to convince ourselves that this was the end of our fun.” Shawn admitted.
Kevin placed his arms around Shawn, “No, we didn’t want any of this to end. And I told you we’d think of something.” He then leaned down and kissed Shawn forgetting the others in the room.
“hmm um” Howie cleared his throat “Kev..what about Davy? Is he going to agree to all of this?”
Kevin looked back over at the others, “Yeah, he is…”
“How’d you do that?” AJ questioned.
“It’s simple… I just told him if he didn’t agree, he’d have to tell Nick that he couldn’t spend any more time with Chelle.” Kevin said with a laugh. The others laughed as well. “What was more surprising is that he’s now trying to be cool. He is going to have our things sent over in the morning.”
“Ok, now I am gonna have to sit down.” Brian said with a gesture.
As Tess laughed with the others, she realized that it was time for her to go back to her own room. Seeing Kevin with Shawn was more uncomfortable than she imagined. “well, I better get going. Please tell Chelle that I was looking for her also.”
“We’ll do that. Thanks Tess for your help. I am glad you were able to talk with her earlier” Shawn called out.
“me too. She’s been there for me many times.” Tess looked back and waved goodbye to the group walking out the door.
When the door closed behind her, AJ asked “Hey guys, was it me or did she look different? really thin? Like she was sick or something?”
The others looked at AJ. Carmen then asked, “You know Tess? How do you know her?”
Realizing the can of worms he just opened up, AJ remained silent. Kevin looked over at AJ giving him the eat shit look, “Tess and I use to be involved many years ago. Then she got married and now she's divorced. I was stunned to see her and just as surprised to learn that she knew Chelle.”
“I still think she had some involvement with the press finding out our whereabouts” Brian said shaking his head.
“Brian, will you stop with that already. There’s no way she could have known we were here.” Kevin fussed back.
“Brian, why would you say that about Tess? She seems nice. Besides if you want to point the finger at anyone ..I’d start with that manager of yours. He just gives me the creeps” Shawn replied.
Kevin never once even thought about Davy. He thought to himself, “that is something Davy would do.”

Howie glanced over at Kevin and noticed his mind was elsewhere, “Hey Kev? What do you think about that? Davy?”
“Actually, that was what I was thinking about. I wouldn’t put it past him to create a diversion for his benefit and at our expense.” Kevin answered back.
“We’ll have to keep a closer watch on him” Howie suggested.
“well, I don’t know about you guys.. But this has been a LONG day…so, I am going to bed.” Shawn said as she stood up and stretched. The others agreed, the craziness of the day, finally catching up to them. They paired up and each couple disappeared into the girls' rooms.

~~~~~~~~~with Nick~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hearing the names 'Chelle and Jared' together was all Nick needed to hear to make his stomach twist into knots. 'Shit where am I going?' he asked himself as he found he was outside his suite. He unlocked the door, leaning against it as he closed it. He closed his eyes and sighed, wishing he knew what Chelle wanted. He heard Carmen call his name and ignored her, wanting only to disappear into his room, to try to clear his head. Today's events had confused him in more ways than one. As he crossed the room to his bedroom, he realized that every time he and Chelle were together, things were idyllic....perfect....but when they weren't......Well everything fell apart. Like now. She was off somewhere with her ex...and he was here, feeling....Hell he didn't know what he was feeling. He was angry, angry that she had spent so much time with Jared. And hurt, he suddenly realized as a wet tear slid down his cheek. And disappointed that he hadn't been able to be her knight in shining armour.....to be the one to save her from the mass of fans that had accumulated in the lobby. 'Damn...I am an emotional wreck,' he thought. 'I need sleep.' 'Damn, I wish she was here....' he thought. 'We just need to be together...'Sighing, Nick pushed the door open and as his gaze rested on the bed, he felt a rush of joy through his heart. There, lying on the bed, sound asleep, with her hand curled under her head, was Chelle. Nick quickly rushed to her side. Careful not to wake her, he lightly brushed his lips on her cheek and said a silent prayer thankful that he’d found Chelle. As Nick’s lips touched Chelle’s cheek, she woke up from her slumber. Chelle's eyes fluttered open and she reached a hand up to cup his cheek. "What took you so long, Nick?" she asked softly, tears pooling in her eyes. "Oh Chelle......I am so sorry that you had to go through all this mess. The fans, the media....I should've been there to protect you." "You're here now....that's all that matters. I can deal with the fans, the media...anything I have to if that's what it takes to be with you." "What? Do you mean...." Nick asked looking into Chelle’s eyes. "Nick, I love you...I want to be with you. I want to go home to Florida with you.....that is if you still want me....." "Do I still want you? How can you ask that? I love you Chelle.....Hell yeah, I want you to come to Florida!" “I love you Nick” Chelle moaned into Nick’s mouth. “Oooh, you know what I just realized?” Nick asked between kisses. “what’s that?” Chelle said looking up at Nick. “We’re alone….all alone…we can be as loud as we want” Nick said with an evil grin. “Hmmmmm, so you ready for Hula lesson #25?” chelle replied with a giggle.. “ALOHA BABY!”