*~*Childhood Friends*~*

As her plane landed in Orlando, she had finally realized she was home for a few days. Her parents had passed away about two months ago and she was home to finish up last minute stuff. Her brother and two sisters were already at the home finishing up last minute stuff. She hadn't been home since then and she had a feeling her life was going to change but didn't know how. When Taylor Sanford got off the plane her brother Roy was waiting for her and they hugged. " How are you?" he asked. " I'm doing okay. How long have you guys been here?" " About two weeks. But we understand that you couldn't make it until your finals were over." " I wanted to be here earlier." she said. " We understand. Are you ready?" " Yeah I am. Its just weird being home. I mean with everything going on and all." About two hours later they had arrived at the house and Roy noticed that there was an extra car there. " Who's here?" she asked. " I don't know. But we'll find out soon." he said while grabbing her bags from the trunk. Taylor and Roy had walked in the house and noticed that Holly and Kate were talking to someone in the kitchen. When they went into the kitchen the two had noticed it was Bob and Jane Carter with their kids Leslie, Angel and Aaron. Leslie was the first one to see Taylor and went up to hug her. " Tay, you are home." she said and hugged her. " Yeah I am for awhile. How are you?" " I'm doing great. We just got back from our tour." " Yeah I know. I was at your concert with my bestfriend and her daughter. You guys are great. It's nice seeing you Mr. & Mrs. Carter." she said. " It's great seeing you again." Jane said and hugged her. " We would've been here sooner but with the schedule and everything...." Bob said. " Mr. Carter we understand. It just happened so sudden. But the four of us were together thats what matters the most." " Would you guys like to stay for dinner?" Kate asked. " Actually we can't. Nick is coming home tonight from being overseas and we have this big dinner plan, BJ is coming in from LA, why don't you guys come over. Taylor just came home, I'm sure Beeg and Nick would love you see you again. How long has it been?" Jane asked. " Ohh god, I don't know. Almost five years close to six. I've been so busy with school and all. Its really up to them." Taylor asked them. " Sure why not. It would be great to see the old gang again." Roy said. " Okay, then it's settled, we'll see you guys around seven." Jane said and then they left.

Later that day Nick and BJ got home and noticed that their mom was cooking, Leslie, Aaron and Angel were upstairs and Bob was watching TV. " Mom, we're home." Nick yelled. " I'm in the kitchen." Jane said. " Hi dad." BJ said and hugged. " Hi sweetheart." he said and then the phone rang. " I'll get it." Nick yelled and answered it, " Hello." " Nick?" " Yeah! Who is this?" " Its Taylor Sanford. Can I speak to your mom?" " Taylor?" " Yeah, Taylor Sanford. We went to school together our parents are bestfriends." she said. " Ohh yeah! Let me get her." he handed the phone to his mom and went into the kitchen. " Who was that?" BJ asked. " It was Taylor Sanford, she's talking to mom. I didn't know she was back in town." he said. " Her parents died two months ago and the kids are back in town for awhile to finish up last minute things. She would've gotten here sooner but she had finals to finish up." Bob said. " Why is she calling here?" BJ asked. " Because mom invited their family over for dinner. That's why." their dad said and got up. While driving to the Carters, Kate had remembered something that happened. " Tay, do you remember the crush you had on Nick?" " Very funny, Kate. That was like 10 years ago and I got over it." she said and pulled up into the driveway. " Ohh yeah I remember that time." Roy said. " Okay, can we stop with memory lane." she said. " You remembered how to get to the house, that must say something. " Holly responded. " Ohh my god you have to be kidding me right. They lived right around the corner from us. How can I not remember." she said and rang the door bell.

About two minutes later, BJ answered the door and was surprised how much Taylor had changed. " BJ." she said. " Tay, welcome home." BJ said and hugged her and hugged the others. " It's great seeing you again." Holly said. " Come in. Mom and dad are in the kitchen, Leslie and Aaron are in by the pool, Angel is up in her room and Nick well he's just barely getting ready." " You would think with his busy schedule he would know how to get ready on time." Taylor said and everyone started to laugh. They all went out by the pool and BJ ran upstairs to get to Nick. She knocked on his door and he let her in. " What's the emergency?" he asked as he finished putting his shirt on. " How do you remember Taylor Sanford? The last time we saw eachother was almost six years right?" " Right. Last time I saw her she was alittle chubby, with glasses and braces and she had long hair. Why?" he asked as they walked down stairs and into the backyard. " Well thats why." she said and pointed to Taylor. Nick did noticed the difference in Taylor. She lost the weight, had shorter hair, no braces and was probably wearing contacts. She was wearing a summer dress that went just above her knees and it was baby blue. She was sitting at the table with his mom and Holly. " That's Taylor Sanford?" he asked her. " Yeah it is. What a difference six years make. Let's go talk to them before mom thinks we are rude." BJ said and walked towards the table. Nick slowly walked towards them and couldn't believe that it was Taylor standing in front of him. " Nick, look who's home." Bob said. " Hi! Taylor, its great seeing you again I mean after all these years." he said and hugged her. " Its great seeing you. " she said and smiled. " So what have you been up to?" Nick asked as they both walked off. " Well I am getting my degree in Writing at the Unversity of Arizona. I am interning with a radio station there in the early mornings. I live in a house with three other girls. Ohh and I saw you guys in Phoenix the last time you guys were there." she said. " Really, how come you didn't say hi or anything?" he asked. " I did. We were in the front row and I throw a beanie baby on stage. You grabbed it and smiled at us." " Ohh you mean the Pug beanie baby?" he asked. " Yeah, that was from me." she said and smiled at him. Throughout the whole night, Nick and Taylor would be off talking while the other were by the pool. " We should be going. We have to get up early and finish up the house." Roy said. " Yeah, Come on Tay. We need to get home because we have to be at the lawyers office by eight." Kate yelled. " Well we have to go. It's great seeing you again, Nick. Hey if you are ever in Arizona look me up." she said and hugged him.

Taylor was in her room typing her paper for her Writing class. Her roommate April was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She had went to answer it and found Nick Carter and AJ McLean at her door and she was surprised. " Oh my god! You are Nick Carter and AJ McLean." she said. " Yes we are." Nick said. " How can I help you? I mean what brings you by?" " Well I am a friend of Taylor Sanford, is she home?" he asked. " Yeah, let me go get her. Come on in. Do you want anything to drink?" " No. I'm fine. AJ?" " No, I'm fine too." " Okay. let me get her." April said and walked down to Taylor's room. Meanwhile in the living room Nick and AJ were sitting down and looking around. " You know since we came back on the road you have not once stopped talking about this person. She must've made a impression on you?" " Well lets just say when I last saw her before three months ago, she was chubby, wore glasses, had long hair and had braces. But I have to tell you six years makes alot of difference. She was the type that I won't want to be with, but now." Meanwhile April was knocking on Taylor's door and she asked her to come in. " Guess, who is here to see you?" she said. " Who?" Taylor asked as she was typing. " Nick Carter and AJ McLean. Why didn't you tell me that you were friends' with Nick?" " Why does it matter? I grew up with Nick Carter." she said and walked down the hallway. When she got to the living Nick was standing there with AJ. " I see that you made to Arizona. Isn't your concert in Phoenix?" she asked and hugged him. " Yeah, tomorrow night. But you said if I was ever in Arizona to look you up and I did. Tay, I would like you to meet AJ Mclean." he said and they shook hands. " Nice to meet you AJ. This is one of my roommates April." she said. " What are you up tonight?" Nick asked. " I have a class that ends at 730pm, I have to go to the library to finish up my research paper for Biology. Why what's up?" " Just wanted to know if you want to go out to dinner catch up on some old times." " Umm, sure. I'll just skip biology tonight, I didn't get any sleep because of this paper. Just give me about and hour or two and I'll be ready." " Okay, see you then. April, its nice meeting you." Nick said and they left.

Later that night Taylor was in her room trying to figure out what to wear, her friends came in and start look in her closet. She had decided to a summer dress that was black with some flower in print on it, her was done and she had light make up, meanwhile Nick was on his way to her house to pick her up. " I can't believe you know Nick Carter. How come you never told us?" " I didn't think it mattered. The last time I saw him was when we were still little. " " Taylor Sanford going out with at Backstreet Boy. You'll be over the internet." Heather said. " Shut up. We are just friends thats it, our parents were bestfriends." They were all in her room when the door bell rang and they knew it was Nick. " Promise me one thing." she said to them. " What's that?" " Don't scream or anything." " Okay we wont. I will get the door." Heather said. When heather opened the door she had found Nick with a dozen of red roses in his hands and a smile. " Hi, I'm here for Taylor Sanford." he said. " Come in. Tay is just finishing up.I'm Heather." " Hi! Heather. Hey, April." he said. " Hi Nick. This is our other roommate Renee." she said. " Hi Renee." Just as they were getting to know eachother Taylor had came out and loved what he was wearing. Nick was wearing black slacks, buttom up baby blue shirt, his hear was slicked back. When he saw Taylor he was speechless. " Wow, you look beautiful tonihgt. These are for you." he said and handed her the roses. " Thank you so much. Let me just put these in a vase." Tay said while smelling them. " Actually, Tay why I do that. You will be late for dinner." " Tay you won't be coming back until Friday?" Nick said. " What are you talking about?" she asked him. " Well, I was thinking since you don't have a class until Monday would you like to go on tour with me? I mean until Sunday night after the concert in Los Angeles, I have tickets for your friends to the concert in Phoenix and Los Angeles. After dinner they can follow us up to Phoenix. Get you girls out of Tucson for a change, besides doesn't Spring Break start Monday?" he asked them. " Yeah it does. But they were planning to go to Rocky Point?" she said to him. " Well we can change the plans, it is not everyday you go on tour with the Backstreet Boys." April said. The next morning Taylor was having breakfast downstairs when Billy and Nick joined her. " Good morning, Tay" Nick said. " Good morning." " Tay, this is Billy Edwards my bodyguard, he's going to be with you today while the guys and I are at the venue. What time is April and them suppose to be coming up here?" " I just called them, they are on their way. So give them another hour. " " Okay. cool. Well we got to go, see you later and Billy take care of her." he said and kissed her on the cheek.

Later that day at America West Arena the guys were in rehersals while the Kristin & Leighanne showed up, while Taylor and Amanda and her friends where at Arizona Mills Shopping. Amanda and Taylor were talking so Billy was behind them, April and her three other friends had Marcus with them. Fans were looking at them and Amanda stopped to take a pic with them. " Can, I take a picture with you?" a little girl said. " Umm, sure. " she said and stood next to her. Billy called Nick on his phone and reported what has happened. " Hello!" Nick answered. " Nick, its me. She's going to fit in perfectly." " Is she really? What's happening?" " She's taking a picture with a fan. They are going to love her." " That's great to hear.I'm going to talk to her before the concert. Did her friends show up?" " Yeah. They're right here."

Just then Tay's phone rang and she went to answr it, when she did it was her sister. " Hello!" " Tay, it's me Kate. Listen, Roy is in the hospital and it doesn't look good. He was involved in a hit and run. Can you come home?" she asked. " Yes, I will be gone on the next flight." she said and they both hung. Billy looked over at Tay and noticed someting was wrong because she was crying. " Tay, what's wrong?" Amanda asked. " That was my sister, my brother Roy is in the hospital and it doesn't look good. I'm going to take the next flight out. Sorry guys, but I have to be there. Roy might not make it through the night. Billy, do you mind?" she asked him. " No I don't. Come on let's go." They were back at the hotel and Taylor was packing, while she was packing, he had called Nick and Nick arrived just in time. There was a knock on the door and she let them in. " Hey, Billy called me to let me know. Everything is going to be okay. Give me a call when you hear anything. okay." he said and hugged her. " I will and Nick, thanks for everything." she said and kissed him on the cheek, but he turned and kissed her on the lips, " I got to go." she said and left.

About a week later Taylor was in still in Orlando and has been in contact with her professors to let them know what was going on. Her friends had came and visited her while she was done there. It was one night she fell asleep on the chair in her brothers room that Nick came in to see if she was okay. " Nick, what are you doing here?" Kate asked. " We have a few days off, after the concert tonight, I came here, the others are on their way to Orgeon. I hadn't heard from Tay since she left. How is everything?" " Okay, Roy is hanging on. Tay hasn't left his side. " " Where is she?" " In his room, sleeping." " Okay, I'm going home can you tell her that I came by?" " Sure.Wait, Nick you've fallen for you?" " Yes, I have. But I dont think she's ready to hand my schedule and right now I can just be her friend." " Just give her time, let her finish school and then tell her." Holly said. " I understand that. Well I think I'll just head to Oregon." he said and left. The next morning the doctor came and told them that Roy was out of the woods and would be okay. " Thank god. You scared us." she said. " Well that's what big brothers are for." he said and laughed.

About two weeks later, Tay was in her room trying to concentrate on her paper but couldn't. Her phone rang and her answering machine picked up. " I'm not home right now, but if you would like to leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can thanks." " Tay, it's Nick. I was wondering how your brother is doing, Well I guess you aren't home again. I'll get back to you later." She looked at her answering machine and erased the message. Just then there was a knock on the door and it was Heather. " Tay, Nick is on the phone. He wants to talk to you." " Tell him, I'm not home. After you do, I really need to talk to you. Actually to all of you." she said. " Okay. Let me get everyone." A few minutes later everyone had gathered in living room and wanted to know what was going on. " Tay, what's up? Why are you avoiding Nick?" Renee asked. " Because, I've fallen head over heels for him and I can't stand it. He kissed me when I left for Florida. " " WHAT??" Heather said. " You've been avoiding him this whole time. Why?" " Because I can't compete with the other girls in his life. I mean look he was dating someone for three years and another one for a few months." " Okay, if you had the chance to date him, to be with him. Would you?" April asked. " Yes, but I don't think its the right time."

Meanwhile in New York, Nick was trying to figure out why Taylor had stopped returning his calls. He was in his hotel room, when AJ came in. " What's up man?" " Nothing, we wanted to know whats up with you. You haven't been the same since we left Oregon." " I guess I just have alot on my mind." " Okay, just wanted to know. I'm going to go now. See you later." AJ said and left. He knocked on Brian's door and told them what was wrong. " I know what's wrong." " What is it?" " It's Taylor Sanford. I know what to do." Later that evening AJ had called April up to set something up. " How is she?" AJ asked. " Okay. So we will meet you guys up in Phoenix on Sunday, hopefully they will get together then. See you at The Ritz, lucky you guys are coming back." she said. " Ohh no kidding. See you then." they both hung up. April went into the living where the other girls were and Tay was in her room studying. " So we are all set. AJ and other have booked us a room at the Ritz. I will just tell her that my parents are letting us stay there for the weekend, then on after the concert we'll distract her and Leigh, Kris and Amanda will get the dining room set up. Hopefully this will work."

On Sunday afternoon the girls had driven up to Phoenix and checked into the Ritz Carlton and went to the concert. The girls were in the front row and AJ looked into the audience and saw them. Taylor was sitting and laughing and talking. " Hey Fatima, can we change More Than That?" he asked. " How do you want to change it?" " Well do you see that girl in the front?" " Yeah!" " That is Taylor Sanford." " Ohh the girl. I see what you are getting at." About an hour later the guys came out and started to sing, " Everyone." When Nick came on stage and started to sing, Taylor smiled and had a good feeling inside. Nick looked down and smiled back. During the concert, Taylor was up and having fun. The other guys went over to their side and smiled and shook hands. Then it was time for More Than That to come on and everyone except Nick and Taylor. " Okay, we are going to be doing this part differently. We are going to randomly pick people from the audience to help with this song. Umm, Rok who do you think we should get? I mean there is five of us?" AJ asked. " Well lets pick these five girls in the front." he said. The cameras were on Taylor, April, Heather, Renee and their friend Stephanie. The person to lead the group of girls was April. " What are your names?" AJ asked. " My name is April, this is Heather, Renee, Stephanie and Taylor." " Hi, girls. Which one do I want?" AJ asked. " Why don't you take April, Heather and Rok, Renee and Kev, I will take Stephanie and Nicky and Taylor." Howie said. " Okay. Now girls what you need to do is sit down on these stools and we'll just sing to you. The song we will singing is More Than That." Nick took Taylor's hand and led her to the stool at the same time she looked at him and got lost in his big blue eyes. When the song began, everyone was looking at Tay and noticed that she was beginning to cry while Nick took his hand , wiped the tear and kissed her on the forehead. She looked at him and smiled. When it came to his part, she had noticed how much emotions he had. " Baby, you deserve much better,whats the use in holding on, don't you see it now or never, cause I just can't be friends,baby knowing in the end..."

When the song ended the five girls got a rose and Tay smiled at Nick and went off stage. They had waited outside of the buses, because Marcus had seen them. Taylor was smiling and was dreaming about the way Nick sang to her and held her hand. They had came out and everyone stopped as Nick walked towards Taylor. " Listen, I know this is such a big surprise on you, believe me it was the same for me. But there is something you need to know. Tay, you left a impression on me.When I saw you again at home I couldn't help but fall in love with you. What I am saying is this. I know you are in school, trying to finish your degree and all but when you aren't doing anything like the summer or Spring Break, I would really like to get to know you. So I'm asking you this. I mean we know eachother and all, but how about we get reaccquainted?" he asked her while holding her hand. " I don't know what to say. But I like you to, Nick and I would love to get to know you to. Yes, I would love to get reaccquainted with you again." she said and smiled. " Well in that case, I think we need to seal it with a kiss." he said and leaned forward to kiss her.