Nick Carter drove his Dodge Durango into the school parking lot and honked the horn. He saw Ananda sitting on the front steps. She waved to him and he got out of his truck and started towards her. Then Nick noticed the people she sat with. There were two girls, one with blue hair and the other with a shocking platinum blond color and dark roots. The blondie and two of the guys looked like goth Marilyn-Manson types. This was not the same crowd Ananda had been hanging with last year. There she was looking cute and one-hundred- percent preppy in khakis and a white 3/4 sleeve shirt, and looking totally out-of-place. The blue girl was even wearing a dog collar. Nick frowned and quickened his pace.
Ananda rose to meet him. "Hey babe."
Nick brushed his lips across hers quickly. "Hey. You know what, I don't think I've met your friends."
Ananda gave him a Look. "No, I don't think you have. This is Stacy, Craig, Joe, Dalila, and Domingo. You guys this is Nick."
Nick thought he saw Domingo give him a dirty look as he shook hands with everybody. Then he turned back to his girlfriend. "You ready to go?"
"Yep. See you guys later." Ananda smiled and took Nick's hand and the two walked back to the Durango. Nick got in and slammed the door. He knew if she didn't watch it, Ananda was going to get into some deep trouble. Almost as soon as her door was closed, he began yelling. "Who are those people? Does Brian know about them?"
Ananda sighed and her shoulders slumped noticably. She had known this was coming the moment she saw Nick's car pull up. "They're my friends. And no, Brian doesn't know about them and he doesn't need to either."
"I think he does need to! Do you have any idea what kind of stuff people like that can get you in? Those were probably the ones Leighanne saw at the court yesterday, huh?"
"Don't you dare tell him Nick! And so what if they are?"
"So what if they are? What do you mean, so what if they are? They're dangerous, Ananda! You have a really good life ahead of you and you better not throw it away over something as simple as this!"
"Listen, Nickolas. Just because they're like that it doesn't mean I am!"
"How can I be sure of that?"
"Because you should trust me Nick, that's why!" Ananda shouted. A tear slid from the corner of her eye and she wiped it away quickly.
But Nick had already seen it. He knew how emotional fighting made his girlfreind and a wave of guilt washed over him. He pulled over onto the shoulder of the road and reached for her hand. "Look baby I'm sorry. I just worry about you is all. People like that are trouble and I don't want you getting hurt."
Ananda shook her head as another tear slid down her cheek. "I won't Nick. Listen to you. As if you've been around much longer than I have. There's only a four-year difference you know, I'm not stupid enough to put myself in harm's way."
She didn't know how wrong she really was.
