"Brian… what did you just do?" I questioned, my mouth open in shock.

"Called Nick.  He's coming over for dinner," he replied simply.

"Why?"

"Why?  Because he's my friend," he shrugged, not understanding the big deal.

"Shit," I mumbled, shaking my head.

"What's that?  Do you have a problem with Nick?"

"No," I lied.  "I thought you did."

"Yeah well we talked about that and everything's alright.  But Col if you have a problem with him then I guess I could call him back and tell him not to -"

"No!  No, don't be silly, Brian.  I don't have a problem with Nick."  I just have a problem keeping my eyes off him.

"Good, glad to hear it.  He's a good guy…"

"I'm sure he is," I sighed.  And he's probably even better in bed.

"Listen I'm gonna go shower and change.  He'll be here in a little while so listen for the bell."

I nodded absentmindedly as I watched him disappear upstairs.  The idea of having Nick over for dinner did excite me.  However, I was deathly afraid at what might happen between us in front of Brian.  I could no longer deny the fact that I was insanely attracted to Nick.  I'd done a good job of holding myself back from him… but I wasn't sure how long I would be able to manage…

Sophia's View

"Come on, Col, pick up the damn phone," I thought out loud, nervously twisting my hair around my index finger.

"Hello?"

"Oh, thank God you picked up!  I should've known you'd be at Brian's house.  I am in deep shit, Col.  And when I say deep shit, I really mean deep shit," I blurted, all in one breath.

"Sophia, sweetie, calm down and tell me what's going on."

"It's AJ… I think I'm in love with him!" I cried out, loathing the fact that I had said that out loud.

"Whoa, say that again?"

"Ugh, please don't make me say it again, Colleen!  What am I supposed to do?  I'm Sophia!  I'm a man-user!  I don't fall in love."  I was shaking uncontrollably at this point.

"Ok, first things first:  you have to calm down.  Everyone has the capacity to fall in love.  This isn't an abnormal thing, Sophia.  This is actually great news."

"Huh?  You've got to be freaking kidding me!  This is my worst nightmare.  I love AJ so much that I can't even take pleasure in Kevin.  I mean, I fucking can't take pleasure in Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys," I shouted.  "How could my game go so horribly wrong?  What did I do to deserve falling in love?"

"I'm happy for you.  We're getting older and it's time we start thinking about settling down with one guy.  Maybe you should take a break from your ranting and raving and stop to realize that you're in love.  It's a great feeling," she replied.  I could just picture her with that sweet smile on her face, acting like she's little Miss Know-It-All. 

"Oh get off it Col, you don't know what love is."

"Um, actually I think I do."

"So you mean to tell me that you're in love with Brian?"  I spat.

"Yeah, that's what I mean to tell you."

"Bull shit, Colleen, and you know it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she shot back, raising her voice.

"I think you're the one that needs the realization here.  If you were really in love with Brian, you would'nt be fantasizing about a certain Nick Carter."

"Why don't you shut the hell up Sophia.  You don't know how I feel."

"I don't have to know - you're as transparent as glass."

"Just because you're pissed off at yourself for falling in love with AJ, don't you dare go shouting your accusations at me!"

"I don't have time for this, Col.  You're full of shit and soon you're gonna realize that.  The stack of lies you've been telling yourself are all gonna come crashing down sooner than you think.  You are not better than me.  In fact, you're garbage.  You build yourself up as if you're some angel.  But you're no angel.  You act like I'm the only one who played games - well I'm sorry to disappoint you sweetie, but you played them too.  It's different with Nick and Brian though.  Brian has this crazy, fucked up idea that you're in love with him.  Sooner or later that poor guy is gonna realize that you're nothing but a cheap slut who was just looking for some sex.  I never thought I'd say this, but I feel bad for him.  This whole time he's been thinking that you wanna spend the rest of your life with him, when really the one you wanna be with is Nick.  And once you've gotten your fill of Nick, he'll be thrown in the brig too."

"How could you say that?! How could you be such a hypocrite?!  You've played the same games I have, Sophia."

"But at least I haven't lied to myself.  I accept the fact that I'm a ruthless bitch.  I can't change who I am and neither can you… so maybe you should stop trying.  Dump Brian and screw Nick.  You know that's what you wanna do.  Let the real Colleen shine through once again."

"Fuck you.  This is the real me."

"Uh huh."  With that, I hung up the phone. 

I probably didn't mean half the things I had just said to her, but I was so damn angry with myself.  How could I fall for AJ McLean? 

"You're slacking off, Sophia… can't let your guard down for a minute…"

Nick's View

I rang Brian's doorbell one last time, ready to leave if no one came to the door soon. 

"You invite me to dinner and then don't answer the door when I come."  Just as I said that, the door opened slowly.  Colleen was standing there, looking like she'd just seen a ghost or something. 

"Come in," she mumbled, walking away and disappearing into the house.  I quickly closed the front door and followed her into the kitchen.

"Where's Brian?" I asked casually, leaning against the counter.

"In the shower."

"What's wrong, Colleen?" I noticed her eyes were red with tears she was obviously fighting back.

"It's nothing.  You wouldn't understand."

"Try me.  Much to your surprise, I'm actually a  good listener."

"It's not a big deal," she murmured.

"If you're on the verge of tears than it must be a big deal."

"It's really nothing - I had a fight with Sophia, that's all."

"Can I ask what the fight was about?"

"No," she snapped, losing the battle with her tears as drops streamed down her face.

"Alright, well judging by the fact that you're crying… I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say that this fight between you and Sophia was pretty serious."

She nodded her head slowly, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Listen, I don't think I'm going to be able to guess what you two fought about so why don't you just give little Nicky a break and tell him what happened."

"Ok," she said, wiping her eyes yet again.

"Step into my office," I grinned, gesturing for her to take a seat at the kitchen table.  "And here's a tissue.  It's weird… people seem to prefer using tissues rather than their sleeves to wipe their face."

She gave me a small smile before taking a seat next to me at the table.

"So spill the beans, Col.  I'm very curious."

"Nick, why do you like me?" she questioned, raising her eyes to meet my gaze.

"That's what you fought about?" I replied, arching my eyebrows in confusion.

"Answer the question," she said, seriously.

"Um, ok," I shifted uncomfortably.  "Well you're gorgeous, for one thing.  And, uh, you're hard to get.  I'm always up for a challenge, ya know?  I like you as a person.  And I like your smile…," I continued, staring unflinchingly into her hazel eyes.  "You're someone I could see myself with… in more ways than one," I laughed.

"Stop.  Just stop," she blurted out, tears streaming down her face again.

"But, you asked me.  I was just - "

"I know, I know that.  You don't know me, Nick.  You don't know me at all.  You only know a very small part… a part that doesn't even exist."

"What're you talking about?" I asked, completely perplexed.

Colleen's View

"Before I met Brian, I was a complete game player.  Sophia and I were the queens of one-night-stands.  I've broken so many hearts, you have absolutely no idea.  And then I met Brian.  He changed me… or at least I thought he did.  But then I talked to Sophia earlier and she made me think differently of myself.  She basically told me that I'll never change, and that I should stop pretending that I have…"

"Why are you caring so much about what Sophia says?  If you know in your heart that you've changed, then you probably have," he replied, soothingly running his index finger over the top of my hand. 

"But you don't understand.  I've worked this game of using men for so long, maybe she's right.  Maybe I haven't changed.  Maybe I hated myself for what I was doing and so I tried to change… but who can tell if the change I set out to accomplish actually was achieved?"

"Let me ask you something, Col… do you think you've changed?"

"Honestly, yes."

"Then you have," he stated firmly.  He looked deep into my eyes as if trying to let me know that he was on my side.

"I was looking forward to you coming to dinner tonight.  You wanna know why?  Because I like you.  You're charming and adorable and if you had made one more pass at me, I think I would've given in.  It proves that even though I claim to love Brian, I would've thrown that all away to 'experience' you, as you like to put it."

He smiled shyly.  "But do you love Brian?"

I hesitated a moment, before nodding my head, "No."

"No?"

"How could I love him when I'm so attracted to you?"

"Col, don't you see?  What you just said, it shows that you've changed.  You're a good person, Colleen.  Don't let Sophia or anyone else convince you otherwise.  And who gives a shit about what other people think of you?  All you need to worry about is that I think you're amazing."

"Oh, everything's going to be fine then," I giggled.

"You completely calmed me down, Nick.  Thank you."

"Hey, I meant everything I said.  Forget about your past, and live for the present."

He took his hand in mine and I couldn't keep myself from getting lost in his blue eyes.  They seemed to go on forever… endlessly blue like the ocean. 

"So, I gotta be a bit of a dick here… what made you decide to like me?" He finally asked, breaking the comfortable silence. 

"Ugh, I knew that was coming."

"Yep, so this better be good."

"Well, the way you kept pursuing me… it ticked me off at first.  But the more you tried, the more I started to enjoy it."

"Hmm, so the Carter charm got you good, eh?"

"Don't push it, Nick."

"Right," he laughed.  "What about Brian?" he asked, his voice suddenly taking on a more serious tone.

"I don't know… let's just get through this dinner, alright?  No flirting, no touching, no suggestive looks.  Got it?"

"Yes, sir," he smirked.

Brian's View

I made my way into the kitchen, frowning slightly at the scene before me:  Colleen and Nick were sitting a little too close for comfort, deep in conversation.

"Ahem," I spoke up, clearing my throat.

"Hey Bri," Nick shot up, running over to shake my hand.  "How's it going?"

"Why so hyper, Nick?" I asked, wondering why he was so eager to shake my hand.

"Just looking forward to your cooking."

"Cooking? Ha, funny dude.  We're ordering Chinese."

"Right, well, that's what I meant.  I'm looking forward to your amazing ability to order Chinese food."

I laughed, looking over to Colleen.  She looked lost in some other world, completely zoned out from what was going on.  It was now, more than ever, that the uneasy feeling in my stomach told me that something was going on between those two.