Chp 16
Kevin sighed contently as he stared at the woman sleeping on his chest. The Boys had just gotten back from touring and everyone was at their own homes reposing. The months went by so fast. Even though Kevin and Staci were in different states most of the time, it didn't seem to affect their relationship. Of course they missed each other, but one phone call would immediately soothe the loneliness. Actually, the further they were from each other, the closer they'd feel. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder. How true. Kevin never knew he could grow to care so much for someone in such a short amount of time. He never believed in love at first sight. Love comes with time. But she had turned his whole world upside down. In a good way of course. She was everything he ever wanted in a woman and much more. She had it all…beauty, intelligence, kindness, humor, she was fun and outgoing when she needed to be and other times she was serious and responsible. She was patient and trusting. She understood the demands of his job and accepted him for who he was not what he was. And, she was trustworthy and loyal as well. If any guy approached her or sent her 'signals', she'd publicly display her affection for Kevin proudly to ward off any attempts of flirting or improper actions. And if the guy didn't get the picture, she'd tell him off. That was Kevin's favorite part. She was sassy and not to be messed with. Not to mention she was one hell of a lover!
Staci fluttered her eyes opened and ran her fingers down his smooth, rock-hard chest. He jumped a little and she giggled.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked him in a sugarcoated voice.
"You…and the past couple of months," he replied playing with the strands of her silky dark hair.
"Really? I dreamt about you."
"What did you dream?"
She smiled and then propped up, resting her chin on one hand while the other traced circles on his chest. "Well…it was the medieval times. I was a princess who was kidnapped by a dragon. Guess who was my knight in shining armor."
"Hmm…I'll have to think about that one."
"Sure you do. Anyway, you slayed the dragon and rescued me. You whisked me onto your mighty black steed and then we rode away into the sunset to live happily ever after."
"I don't think it's that far away from the truth. Except I'm the princess and you're my knight in shining armor. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For rescuing me."
"What did I rescue you from?"
"Loneliness. Since the first time I met you, I knew you were unique. You seemed like the total opposite from me. You were free-spirited, out going, and opened. Meanwhile, I was anal, uptight, and a grouch. You saved me from myself. You saved me from insanity. You returned fun and vivacity to my life. And for that, I will be eternally grateful."
Staci felt the tears starting to form in her eyes. "Kevin, you're going to make me cry! I should thank you for bringing such joy to my life and for loving me like no one's ever loved me before. And I mean in the romantic sense, not---well, actually that, too." She smirked. "You want to do it again?"
Kevin laughed. "I would love to except for the fact that I'm exhausted. You weren't kidding when you said nail digging, hair pulling, too much for screaming, pleasantly unbearable, action packed adventures were coming. Damn, they're here!"
"Hehe."
They lied naked in each other's arms, just enjoying the heat and love radiating from their bodies. After a few minutes of thinking how lucky they were to have each other, Staci broke the silence.
"Kevin, I had a dream yesterday as well. It was really different from the one I just had." A hint of uncertainty ringed in her voice. "It was about Elena."
"What happened?"
"It was in a church. She was walking down the aisle in a veil and a beautiful bride's gown. She was happy. I saw myself sitting on the pew with you. Everyone was there. I couldn't tell who the groom was until she was standing right beside him. That's when he turned around. It was AJ."
"That's a nice dream, why do you sound worried?"
"There's still more. When the priest asked if anyone objected to their marriage, Howie burst through the doors and claimed that he loved her. Everyone was shocked, but that's not the worst part. Suddenly, all the guests disappeared, including me and you. It was only the three of them. Elena looked from AJ to Howie and then back at AJ with pain and confusion written all over her face. It was like she couldn't make up her mind on who she really loved. Then unexpectedly, Nathan shows up! Just out of no where! Elena's just about ready to break down and cry! I felt so bad for her. The next thing I know, Nathan's screaming that he's the one she should marry because Howie and AJ are dead! I didn't understand that until the next part. Elena tells him no and that gets him so furious! I mean his eyes turn like red and his veins are popping out all over the place! He pulls out a gun from his jacket and screams that if he can't have her, no one can! He pulls the trigger and it hits Howie! But the weird thing is, it doesn't affect him! He just looks at Elena sadly, whispers good-bye, and then he fades away. And then, Nathan turns to Elena and AJ. He smiles at her and then aims the gun at AJ and then shoots him! He shot him like five times! It was so terrible! Nathan walks away laughing while AJ's bleeding in Elena's arms…"
Staci's voice started to quiver and her eyes watered over. "A-a-and, she's begging him not to leave her again. There was so much blood! It was everywhere! It was all over her hands, on the floor, it stained her beautiful gown, it was…" She started to sob. "H-he told her that he'd always love her and to never forget him, a-a-and then a single tear ran down his face, and then…h-he died. S-s-she just cried holding him…I woke up with tears streaming down my face. I-i-it was so sad, Kevin, it was so terrible. I-I-I couldn't believe it…"
Kevin surrounded her with his arms and tried to comfort her.
"It's ok, it's ok. It was just a dream. It doesn't mean anything. Shhh, it's ok…" he murmured soothingly while gently stroking her hair.
She sniffed and wiped her tears away with the back of her hands and gazed at Kevin with her glistening eyes. "I-I-I know, but I don't understand why it had to end like that. Why couldn't they be happy?"
Kevin didn't know how to answer her. He looked out his window and at the clear night sky and sighed.
"I don't know, Staci," he whispered. "I don't know."
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Elena let out an exasperated sigh. Her mother had just called and almost every conversation they had, she had to mention marriage and her lack of. It wasn't fun.
"Mom, I know how old I am! It's not my fault I can't find the right person! Look, I don't know if it's Nathan! We've only gone out for two months!" Her mother continued to nag her and Elena rolled her eyes in response. "It was different with him…I can't explain it, but why did you bring it up? There's nothing I can do about that. When it's the right time, it will happen. Until then, I have to wait patiently…"
The doorbell rang throughout the house.
"Oh! Mom, I have to go now. Someone rang the doorbell. Ok? Yes, Mom. Ok, Mom. Sure, Mom. Bye, Mom." She hung up the phone and let out a groan. Then she plodded to the door. She opened it and gasped pleasantly surprised. AJ smiled back clad in baggy blue jeans, a yellow football jersey, black shades, and a black baseball cap.
"What's up, girl? You look shocked to see me."
She laughed and then hugged him. "I am! What are you doing here?"
"What, I can't drop by to see my friend?"
"Of course you can! I meant, I thought you were on t---shit!" She smacked her own forehead and simpered sheepishly. "I forgot you guys came home yesterday! I'm sorry! I was just so busy lately, it slipped my mind and oh, I feel so bad! Just hit me."
"What?" he laughed.
"Hit me. I feel so bad! Come on, do it! I deserve it!"
"How about you invite me in and we call it even?"
"Oh like duh! What, you're a vampire now? Come in, you dork!"
She stepped aside and let him enter her home. When she wasn't looking, AJ glanced at her and smirked. She had big grey sweat pants and a white baby-T. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and her bare toes stuck out from under the wide bottoms of her pants. She caught him staring.
"What? Do I look that terrible? Sorry, you kind of caught me off-guard there, buddy."
"You look really cute dressed down. I want to fold you up, stick you in my pocket, and carry you home with me."
She chuckled and then gave him a playful punch in the arm. "I'm not that limber. Hey, take off your hat. I wanna see what color your hair is now.
"Nah, you don't want to see it, trust me. It looks bad."
"Well, that's a first! AJ McLean is dissatisfied with his hair! What's this?!"
"Haha, you're very funny."
"I know." She looked at him adoringly and that's when she just noticed the drastic differences in his appearance from the last time she had seen him in person. He was always naturally thin, but his clothes hung off his body almost exaggeratedly. He seemed almost emaciated. A sudden gust of wind could blow him away. And the coloration of his face was noticeably much paler than his natural tan. "AJ, are you ok?" she asked concerned.
He looked at her confused. "Yeah, why?"
"Because you look…" She thought hard about how to say it not wanting to offend him "Different."
AJ gave her a half smile. "Well, that's the polite way of putting it. I just got over the flu. That's why I look 'different,' " he replied mocking her.
"Oh." They stood in silence for a moment, but then Elena remembered something. "So…you came to say good-bye?"
"What do you mean?"
"Aren't you going to Ireland?"
"Oh. Umm, about that…I thought about it long and hard and decided to not go. I realized it was stupid."
"Don't think I'm not happy that you reconsidered, but why?"
"Well, let's put it this way. I'd be in the middle of nowhere. No one's around and no one would know I was there. Even the fact that Ireland is very far away. I could like die and no one would've noticed."
"You've got a point there if you were planning on dying."
"Oh, I'm not. Not anytime soon, anyway, but you never know."
"That's true. Ok, enough talking about death. You're not going. That's great! So, what's up?"
"Umm, are you busy today? Because I was wondering if you'd like to go to the mall or something. But if you have something to do, I'll understand."
Elena frowned. "Actually, I was supposed to meet up with Nathan for lunch today…"
"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know. I guess I'll go now. See ya later." He turned to leave. But Elena, noticing the sadness in his voice, grabbed his arm before he left out the door. "But I could cancel it. It seems like I spend too much time with him. Besides, we've only got three months until you're off again."
"You don't have to. I don't want to be responsible for anything. Love comes before friendship. We could just do it another day. After all, we do have three months.
"Yeah that's just three months from touring. You still have photo shoots, interviews, TV appearances, press conferences, rehearsals, more recording…need I go on? I'll just call him and say I can't make it today."
"Elena---"
"You're not getting out of this one, McLean. You're stuck with me today. I'm sorry if that disappoints you." She made her way over to the phone and dialed Nathan's number. His machine picked up. "Hey, sugar. It's Elena here. I'm sorry to inform you that I won't be able to make it later today for our lunch date. Something important came up. I hope you're not too mad. Bye."
"Are you sure he won't mind? I don't want him hunting me down later on."
"Nah. Besides, my life does not revolve around him. It revolves around you," she smirked.
"Oh, don't I feel special."
"You should. You can just sit in the living room while I go upstairs and slip into something more decent. And help yourself to the refrigerator. You need it."
"Gee, thanks."
"No problem."
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"Noooooo," AJ groaned as Elena dragged him towards Claire's in the mall. "I don't want to go in there!"
"Too bad because you're going." He lowered his cap and stuck his hands into his pockets. It's a good thing his tattoos were covered up. He stopped at the entrance, resisting to go in. Elena had to pull him by the arm. "Come on! I want you to see all the cute little stuff they have in here!"
"Why should I care what they have in here?! It's all girl stuff! Aren't you a little old to be shopping here?"
"It's not for me, you tart! My niece's tenth birthday is coming up and she knows that means more Backstreet stuff from Aunt Eelie. I'm her supplier and YOU are going to help me pick something out since you're an expert in all things Backstreet."
"Do you mind keeping it down? I don't want to get mobbed."
"Don't worry, I'll protect you."
"Yeah right."
They walked towards all the racks containing the pop music merchandise. Elena picked up the You Drive Me Crazy Britney Spears Barbie doll. "Well, it isn't so far from the truth, anatomically speaking."
"Of course not. They're both fake."
She slapped him on the arm. "When are you making your own dolls? I can just see it now…a Ken doll with blue hair, a 69 on its stomach, and a drawn on goatee. I don't care how old I am, I'd certainly get it."
"That will NEVER happen."
"You never know. If you guys do eventually come out with miniature plastic versions of yourselves, make sure they have built in underwear. Some of your fans are, umm, too overly obsessed, if you get my drift."
"Ewwwwww."
"Oh look, a calendar! It's a new one. I don't think she has this one yet." She flipped through the pictures and grinned. "Damn you guys are sexy. If you weren't my friends, I'd do you all," she teased.
AJ's eyes widened. "All at once?"
She laughed. "I don't think Nathan would be too happy about it, so don't get any ideas."
"Hey, you said it, not me. Who's her favorite?"
"My niece likes Nick."
AJ rolled his eyes. "Of course. Everyone likes the cute, young blonde one."
"Well, think of it this way. While all the thirteen year-olds are running after Nick and Brian, you and Kevin get all the toothsome older women."
"Yes, but that's not that much better. I had a 48 year old mother of two grab my ass once during a meet-and-greet."
"Hahaha."
She decided to get her niece the calendar, a photo album, a Brian and Nick necklace, and a pack of stickers. "If this doesn't hold her until Christmas, we're all doomed."
"Wow, she must be a BIG fan. Doe she know you know us?"
"No. I don't see her very often. I try not to tell too many people because then I'll be the one getting mobbed."
She paid for everything and then they left the store and wandered the mall with no certain destination.
After four hours of lolling and forgetting about the outside world, it was time to return to reality. For the first time in his life, AJ walked out of the mall empty handed while Elena had purchased three bags full of merchandise from various stores.
"Damn woman, spend enough money yet?"
"What are you talking about? You insisted on buying me half of this stuff!"
"So?"
"I'm surprised, how come you didn't get anything?"
"I've got so much shit, I don't even know where to put it!"
"That's never stopped you before!"
"Yes well, I've learned. People grow. Things change."
Upon arriving at her house, Elena invited him inside again.
"Nah, it's ok. I gotta jet. I had a lot of fun today. Thanks."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. You need help with your bags?"
"No, I've got it. Thanks, anyway."
"Anytime."
"Ok, well thanks for everything. I'll call you some other time and maybe we can get together again if our busy lives permit." She hugged him and then kissed him on the cheek. "Say hi to the rest of the guys for me. I'll call them when I can."
"Sure will."
"Bye, sweetie."
"Bye, Eelie."
She got out of his Ford Expedition and waved good-bye as he drove away. 'He's so cute. I love that kid to death,' she thought to herself smiling. As soon as she walked into her house, she felt a pair of arms surround her. She shrieked as her assailant switched on the light.
"Oh my God! Nathan! You scared me half to death! What were you doing sitting here in the dark?! Planning to give me this heart attack?!"
"Sorry," he replied without emotion not taking his eyes off her. She gently pushed passed him and put her bags down. She could still feel his eyes on her. Vexed, she spun around.
"What?"
"What?"
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Does it bother you?"
"Actually it does."
"What's wrong with you?"
"What?"
"Why are you so mad at me?"
"I'm not mad at you."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"Is it because I scared you?"
"Nathan, I'm not mad at you."
"Yes you are."
She was getting tired of this. "Ok fine. I don't like getting scared. You could've warned me that you were here, you know."
"I think that's not the only reason."
"What?"
"Where did you go today?"
"The mall."
"With who?"
"A friend."
"Which friend?"
"Why does it matter?"
"Why don't you want to tell me?"
"Why do you want to know?"
Nathan narrowed his eyes and he felt his blood pressure rise. "Why did you cancel our date? Why did you feel AJ was more important than me?"
"How did you know I was with AJ?"
"I saw you from the window."
Elena's jaw dropped to the ground. "You were spying on me?!"
"No! I was just looking out the window! Why did you go with him instead of me?! I'm your boyfriend!"
"He's my friend! I don't get to spend much time with him! I see you everyday!"
"Is that a bad thing?!"
"No, but I need some freedom! My whole life does not revolve around you whether you believe it or not!"
"You kissed him!"
"What?!"
"I saw you! You kissed him!"
"Yes on the cheek!"
"Are you blind, Elena?! Can't you see that he likes you more than just as a friend?! He wants to steal you away from me! And I think he's succeeding!"
"What?! Where the hell are you coming up with this shit?! We're just friends! BEST friends in fact and I love him as a friend and I don't need YOUR permission to hang out with him!"
Nathan paced back and forth. It made Elena very nervous and angry. No, scratch that. She was already nervous and angry. She was afraid she' do something drastic to him if he opened his mouth again. His pacing just irritated her. Nathan looked into her eyes. The fire almost scorched his soul. He diverted his eyes to her hands that were curled up into fists.
"Why are you holding on to the past, Elena?"
Elena wrinkled her brow in confusion. "What?"
"You're still wearing the ring. Why?"
She looked down at her hand and raised it up splaying it over her heart. "I don't know. He wanted me to have it. That was his last wish and I've had it put away for so long."
"Do you still love him?"
Elena turned away from him. She didn't say a word. Nathan also remained silent. No words were needed to know the truth. A few moments later, Nathan walked out of the door, leaving Elena alone in the dark.
Chp 17
Chp 15
