I considered myself a lucky guy, I really did.  For one thing, Colleen and Brian went at it all night and I'm just grateful I was in the spare bedroom instead of Brian's room… because I heard everything, and it got pretty wild in there.  I also considered myself a very unlucky guy.  Brian had to walk through the freaking door while I was about to score… life is so unfair in that respect.  I had gotten tired of playing with the lint hours ago… I wasn't even sure if the morning had arrived.  It was so dark and scary underneath here… God, I want my mom…

Colleen's View

"Brian, you awake?"

No response. 

"Thank the Lord," I muttered under my breath, as I tip-toed my way into the spare bedroom.  I had completely forgotten that Nick was in there.  Poor guy…

"Nick, you still in here?" I whispered, quietly closing the door behind me so Brian wouldn't wake up.

"No, I'm not in here Colleen," he mumbled sarcastically.  "Of course I'm here!  Where the hell do you think I could go?  I was stuck in here all night."

"I know, I know."

"You really should be sorry."  He slowly pulled himself out from underneath the bed, making dramatic groaning noises as if that was supposed to make me pity him. 

"Clearly this is all your fault, Nick."

"What?  How?" he asked, plopping himself down on the bed.

"You shouldn't have come over."

"Oh, give me a break!  You're gonna stand there and tell me you didn't want me last night?" he questioned, a look of disbelief on his adorable face.

"That's not the point…"

"Course it is," he argued. 

"Whether I wanted you or not doesn't matter.  What matters is that I'm dating your best friend."

"How does that matter?"

"Because I don't want to hurt him."

"You don't want to hurt him… but you will," he said, knowingly nodding his head.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's like this:  no one wants to hurt another person, unless they're some insane psycho-bitch.  But just because you don't want to hurt him, doesn't mean you won't."

I shook my head, not knowing exactly what to say.

"You know I'm right… ah, yes, Carter does it again."

"You know, you're really pissing me off with your stupid teachings," I snapped.

"Maybe I am… but you're pissing me off by denying the fact that you want me," he smirked.

"You better leave before Brian wakes up.  We're going to end this before it gets the chance to start.  Goodbye Nick, I'll see you around," I stated firmly, extending my hand for him to shake it.

"You've got to be kidding me," he laughed, grabbing my hand and pulling my body on top of his. 

"Let go of me," I muttered angrily, trying to escape from his strong grasp.

He pressed his lips to mine and, with that, released his grip on me.  I quickly jumped off of him, flashing him a dirty look as I motioned towards the door. 

"Leave."

"Ok, ok, I'm going."  He threw his hands up defensively, flashing me a cocky grin.  "Don't think you can get rid of me this easily though."  He blew me a kiss before walking out the door and heading down the stairs.  I watched through the upstairs window as he ran down the block. 

"Smart kid," I mumbled to myself, "he parked his car around the block."

Sophia's View

"So, you promise?"

"I dunno, Sophia.  I'd really like to know why."

"Kev, I just don't want word getting out that we're together," I lied, flashing him my sweetest smile.

"Alright, fine then," he finally agreed, pulling my body to his.  I ran my fingers over his bare chest, breathing a sigh of relief that he agreed to keep his pretty little mouth shut. 

"Spend the day with me," he murmured, brushing his lips across my neck.

"I can't Kevin, sorry.  I'm gonna be pretty busy today.  I have lots to do."

"It can wait, can't it?" he grinned.  "Me and the rest of the fellas have to fly to Chicago next week for some promotional junk… I'd like to spend as much time with you as possible."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up… the Backstreet Boys are going to Chicago next week?!"

"Yep.  Therefore, I need to savor these last few days…"

"How long are you guys going to be gone?"

"A week."

"Shit," I grumbled.

"I know exactly what you mean."

He thought he knew exactly what I meant, but he really had no idea.  I could care less if he was going away for a week.  The only thing that bothered me about this whole thing was that AJ would be gone too.  If both my sources of pleasure were gone, what the hell was I supposed to do with myself?

"Sophia, honey, your phone is ringing," Kevin said, lightly shaking me out of my daze.

"Hello?" I snapped.

"Aw, sweetie, why the attitude?" AJ's raspy voice shouted into the phone. 

"Oh, it's you," I replied, a huge smile spread across my face. 

"Yep, it's me.  Are you ready to have some fun?  We have one week until I'm off to Chicago and, hell, we need to enjoy ourselves!"

"Hold on a sec," I placed the phone down gently, turning towards Kevin's expectant face. 

"Who is that?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me. 

"It's my brother.  I'm gonna take this in the other room.  You better get yourself dressed," I whispered.

"Why are you whispering?"

I chose to ignore his question, and ran into the next room with the phone.

"Miss me?" I grinned, once Kevin was out of view.

"Course I did.  So, what are we doing today?"

"Why don't I come over to your place, and we'll take it from there," I suggested.

"Nah, I wanna actually do something."

"And sex isn't doing something?"

"Well, it is… I just feel like hanging out with you - get to know you better."

"Ugh, you suck.  Alright, we'll hang out," I mumbled reluctantly.

"Great.  I'll be at your place by 12:30," he said, before I was greeted with the sound of the dial tone.

I glanced over to the clock - 12:00. 

"Shit!  Kevin, my brother needs me to come see him right away… you're gonna have to leave!"

Brian's View

"Col, you been talking to yourself again?" I asked, sitting myself down at the kitchen table.

"No, I - uh - don't talk to myself," she stumbled with her words, a deep shade of red invading her face. 

"I know that, baby.  I was just playing around.  I could've sworn I heard you talking to someone earlier this morning, that's all.  I must've been dreaming."

"Must've been," she shot back, quickly turning away from my glance.

"You ok?  You seem tense," I questioned, grabbing her by the waist and sitting her on my lap.

"I'm fine, Bri… just tired."

"You don't regret last night do you.  Because I - "

"No," she interrupted.  "I don't regret it at all," she assured me, leaning in to give me a kiss. 

"Good, because I know I don't."

"I'm gonna go shower.  I'll be down in a little while."

"Alright," I replied, watching her disappear up the stairs.  Something was definitely going on with her…

AJ's View

I skipped up Sophia's front stoop happily, giving the door two quick knocks.

"Hi," she smiled, opening the door after about 5 minutes. 

"Hey, am I too early or something?"

"Nah, it's exactly 12:30… I thought you'd be late."

"Me? Late? Well, normally I would be, but since we're dealing with you I have to be right on time," I grinned.

"Of course.  Come on in."

"Gracias senorita," I replied, walking in.  "Nice house you got here," I mumbled, surveying her elaborately decorated home. 

"Thanks.  So… you wanna go?"

"Why the rush?" I asked, meeting her gaze and noticing that she was nervously glancing at something on the other side of the room. 

"Well, I don't wanna hang around here all day.  Let's go get some lunch."

"Alright.  How does McDonald's sound?" I quickly shrugged off the feeling that she was hiding something from me, and motioned for her to grab hold of my hand.

"Sounds good to me."

Colleen's View

I had been trying to avoid Brian all day.  He knew something was wrong, but he was so sweet and mellow that he wouldn't dare push me to tell him.  So far I had successfully gone without having to kiss him or talk to him.  At first, I had taken a shower.  Then, I was watching my 'favorite show'.  After that, I was reading the latest issue of People magazine.  Now, there was nothing left for me to do but go into the kitchen and eat lunch with him.

"Col, sit your pretty butt down. I'm about to make you the best lunch you're ever gonna have," he laughed, grabbing me out of my thoughts and leading me to a chair. 

"We have an amazing assortment of cold cuts here today… and they are:  bologna, American cheese, Swiss cheese, salami, turkey, and ham.  We also have an assortment of rolls, ranging from seeded to non-seeded.  Our beverage for this afternoon will be a nice tall glass of Coke.  Side dishes include:  pickles, chips, pretzels, and popcorn.  Please place your order, madam."

I burst out with hysterical laughter as his little skit came to an end. 

"Is something wrong, miss?" he asked, barely able to keep a straight face.

"Oh, no sir.  Nothing at all." 

Brian was the nicest guy.  Whoever didn't fall in love with him after experiencing who he really was… I'd call them crazy.