Important Authors Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in updating this. I was stuck on the chapter until this weekend, where I had a really good idea...to make this story part 3 of the Permanent Tracings series. It would definitely work, and although it won't be mysterious in the fact that you are guessing the Boy, there will be some suspense. So here is Chapter 2...of the third story of the series. And if you have not read the other two....it really isn't necessary....as I've tied in some stuff to catch people up. Thanks and please leave feedback!

Chapter Two

Just as he’d predicted, several feet of snow covered the ground when AJ woke up. He didn’t even have to get out of bed for him to be able to tell that much, for he felt it in the air all around him, coldness causing his body to shiver. God, how he hated the snow. And to make matters worse, he’d seen it coming and his dumb ass hadn’t even prepared for the blizzard. This just made his mood worse. He’d known what to expect days before the storm had even been caught by weathermen and it almost made it worse than everything being a total surprise.

Forcing himself to get out of bed, AJ slowly trudged over to the window to see for himself what had happened during the course of the night. AJ slowly pulled the shades open, peering out of the window. A loud groan of disgust escaped his lips.

“Fucking peachy.” he mumbled to himself.

This was just the perfect way to spend his few days of freedom before heading overseas for the second part of the tour. He wanted to enjoy himself, partaking in things he wouldn’t get the chance to do under usual circumstances. But no, that would make his life easy. Three feet of snow just had to fall overnight. Everything before him was a winder wonderland....gone wrong. Snow covered everything, even burying several things.

“Just had to go and buy a house here in New York...” he grumbled, knowing that the only reason he had was because a couple of the other Boys had homes up there, and they assumed it would be easier if they all had one house in the same State for certain instances so that they could take off together. Unfortunately, he’d been the only idiot to actually follow through. Kevin and Brian never had. At least there was still Nick and Howie, who also had houses in Florida and California. Kevin and Brian and flown back to their homes right after the meeting. He wished he had gone back to one of his others too. Apparently, New York was a bad choice, for in the winter.... “My life sucks!” AJ exclaimed in complete frustration as he whipped his body away from the window to get away from the repulsive site before him.

Deciding with nothing else to do that day, he might as well sleep in, AJ climbed back under the covers, cuddling up beneath them to stay warm. He closed his brown eyes, content and comfortable. He was only a few mere minutes away from drifting back in to a dreamland though when his phone rang, startling him. His eyes shot open as he moaned, deciding to ignore it. The ringing continued though.

“For the love of God!” AJ exclaimed, getting of bed in a fury, “What the fuck now?” on his way to the phone, he grumbled choice words the entire way there, cursing out whomever it was under his breath. He picked up the phone, answering with a not too kind “Hello?”

“AJ?” came about the last voice he wanted to hear. AJ automatically wondered if he’d done something wrong, “Were you still asleep? It is past noon.”

“Some people aren’t anal retentive and find it necessary to wake up at the ass crack of dawn every morning.” AJ smirked, knowing that Kevin would have nothing to say to that. He then asked, “What’s going on?” trying not to sound too irritated.

“Are you still in New York?”

“Um...yeah?”

“Shit...” he heard Kevin curse, “So are Nick and D...” his voice trailed off before saying, “How bad is it up there?”

“If I had parked my car outside, I would officially not be able to find it?” AJ put his response as a question to let Kevin decide for himself, “I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere today.”

Kevin sighed, “Well...if things don’t get better, we’re going to have to postpone things a little. If things are that bad, I don’t think planes will be taking off and landing there. Especially since more snow is headed your way. That will just cause a whole new skew of problems.”

AJ snorted. Of course there was, because mother nature hated him. It seemed wherever he was, the bad weather followed. Thunderstorms, hurricanes, blizzards, tornados. It never failed. He was a target for the worst of weather. AJ was convinced that he was jinxed in more areas than one, not even caring that he was feeling sorry for himself. It was a part of life. The way he saw it, people could live with it along with his bad mood.

“More snow...just what we need.” he said aloud, “Maybe the storm will miss us...” he said aloud before thinking to himself Wishful thinking.

“Maybe...” Kevin’s voice trailed off. AJ knew that there was more coming. There was always more from a Kevin phone call. A lecture was always a possibility. Either that a fatherly type talk, “Well... I just wanted to make sure you got back okay last night. And be careful whatever you do, since I probably won’t talk to you again before we meet up.”

Ah, there it was. Kevin’s fatherly, worry-wart side. Even though the man pretended that the others were old enough to care for themselves, it never failed. He was always concerned, worrying about all of them in even the smallest of situations. It was a typical Kevin trait, but even though it annoyed AJ at times, he wouldn’t trade it in for anything. He even found himself smiling over it for the first time since he’d woken up.

“Yes, daddy, “AJ mocked, and he could almost see Kevin rolling his eyes, “Everything is good. I plan on just staying in all day. No worries.”

“Alright...well, I’ll see you in a few.”

“Yup. Laters.” AJ replied, hanging up the phone.

With a sigh, AJ shivered again, but was now fully awake. Deciding to just stay awake for the day, AJ headed down the stairs to make a cup of hot cocoa, various things on his mind, including the weather. He remembered a couple of years back when he’d been in Maine during a blizzard very similar to this. Way back before any of the most recent drama’s in the group had been discovered. In a few days, he hoped that he would be somewhere with better weather. The future had many unknowns in store for all of them though. Many, many unknowns, and not even AJ could see what was coming yet.
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“Hey, J...you okay?”

It was two days later....exactly when they were supposed to be leaving. The snow hadn’t stopped anything due to the fact that the roads had been plowed and salted, the second storm having died before it reached them, beating the hell out of Ohio. Kevin and Brian had flown up from Kentucky together to meet up with the others. From there, they were leaving as a group. All five were sitting in the plane waiting for it to take off, a small delay in order due to a child screaming near the front. The stewardesses were trying to calm it down before the trip began.

AJ looked over to Brian to see that he had concern written in his face. God, how he hated that look. He received it far too often. There was just something about it that made him feel like a complete helpless cause. He’d received the look from each member of the group at one point or another too. Ever since they’d joined together nearly thirteen years ago.

Not Really AJ thought, but what he said out loud was, “I’m fine.” forcing a smile that must have been convincing because the others had taken their attention off of him with the short, simple response.

The truth was, AJ was worried. The school shooting he had seen in his mind still had yet to occur. This scared him because he knew that it was coming. Any day now, the incident would be on the news and he would see for himself just how much damage had been done, and most importantly...where. If he knew that crucial fact all along, he knew he could possibly warn people over it. Then again, maybe the school would think that he was part of the crime and hold him responsible. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation.

With a sick feeling in his stomach, AJ looked out of the plane window. True, he wasn’t exactly a fan of flying, but that had nothing to do with the feeling this time. It was because he felt ill about all of the children and teachers whom were about to be killed, not even knowing what was coming. Only he knew. How many families would be destroyed? How many parents would lose their children. How many children would be left without parents, spouses without their significant other? It was unknown until the event happened.

The large jet started to lurch forward and AJ leaned back in his seat, taking in a few deep breaths to brace himself for takeoff. In roughly eight hours, he’d be in Europe, which was including the connecting flight . It would be a tight schedule, for they had exactly forty minutes to land, go through security all over again and find their next flight while at the same time going through mobs of fans, trying to sign a few autographs along the way. Only once had they missed a connecting flight, and boy had Kevin thrown an absolute fit. After that incident, they were all more aware of the time and making their plane on time. When Kevin was mad, it was in ones best interest to stay away until he calmed down.

“You sure you’re okay, AJ?”

This time, it was Kevin asking. AJ sighed. Was he really coming off as being that lost and out of it? He didn’t think that he was acting that out of the ordinary. Perhaps he was though. Maybe he was worse at hiding his troubled thoughts than he thought. He shrugged, trying to think of something to say.

“I’m just nervous about flying,” was the only lie he came up with.

“You’re always nervous about flying...and you’ve never acted this weird before.” Kevin pointed out, raising one of his bushy eyebrows.

“I feel sick?” AJ tried again, it sounding more like a question than a statement that was supposed to convince the others.

“Whatever...” Kevin muttered, turning back to his book.

It was obvious that the man wasn’t even going to try to talk it out of him. For that, AJ was grateful. It wasn’t like he would tell his friends anyways. What was he going to say? I’m psychic guys, and sometime soon, there is going to be a school shooting and kids are going to die. Right. Like he could really explain that. They would deem him psycho and send him in to the nearest local hospital for testing. Keeping the secret was hard, but it had to be done. It would be so easy if he could just tell them everything. They were his best friends. That’s what they were there for...to tell one another everything. This was something that he couldn’t though, and it sucked, torturing him on the inside. So many times, he’d wanted help with something he’d seen, thinking that he could possibly stop a few things from happening. That would involve telling people though. It was something that would freak them out and possibly make them stray away from him. He couldn’t stand that. Therefore, AJ kept it in and had a feeling that he would have to for all eternity.

“I can’t believe that we’re going from a foot and a half of snow to probably more snow...” Nick started to whine, “Part of touring is getting away from this shit...not going to more.”

AJ found himself snorting. Wasn’t that the truth. True, the snow had melted somewhat...about half of what accumulated was gone. Eighteen inches was s till too much for AJ’s liking. Two inches was pushing things. And now, they were going to be going to a place where it was likely that there would be more snow. Maybe not as much, but it would still be there. Ah, the joys of touring during the winter. Luckily, they were venturing to the colder areas first.

When screams entered AJ’s head, he closed his eyes to try and block out the sounds. This was another thing that happened to him. He’d hear things in his mind occasionally until the incident happened. The major vision happened first, and then little minor things swarmed through his head afterwards. He was used to it, but he’d never like it...

“I can’t believe that the tour is half over already...” Brian commented with a smile, “I’m just sorry for all of the trouble that I caused earlier.”

“It’s cool,” AJ smiled at his friend, “Everything is back on track now.”

And it was. At the beginning of the tour, Brian had collapsed on stage due to a problem with anorexia he’d faced. None of them had really seen it, because they’d all been so preoccupied over making sure that Howie was okay after a cutting incident a few years ago. Both men were doing fine now. Howie was in a healthy relationship with his former counselor, Stacie and things were going great. Brian was getting his life and health back on track and over the past two months, he’d gained ten pounds back. It was a slow process for both, but positive things were happening for both. They only could hope that it stayed that way.

Chapter Three

“Say Nick, what are you doing all the way over there by yourself?” Brian asked as he walked over to the blonde on the far left side of the stage.

Loud screams could be heard from every direction but suddenly all grew silent. Well, for the most part anyways. The audience that consisted of mostly girls were just waiting for Nick to respond to Brian’s question with something completely off the wall and crazy. Especially since he was holding a guitar, strumming it lazily as the others had been off elsewhere on the stage. It was only a matter of time by the infamous Carter grin he was giving the audience.

“I’m playing the guitar!” he exclaimed proudly.

Brian faked looking completely shocked, “No! Is that what that there’s called?” he couldn’t help but start laughing at is sarcasm and Nick’s cluelessness.

“Yep!”

“And may I ask why you’re playing the guitar?” Brian asked him as he shook his head in bewilderment.

“To keep the bugs away!” Nick replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world just as a fly and a few mosquitos flew in to few inches in front of Nick’s face

“I don’t think it’s working.” Brian replied with a laugh.

In fact, by this point, the entire audience was laughing. Contrary to much suspicion, the conversation had not been staged or scripted. It was a one of a kind performance or rather real life conversation about Nick’s weirdness. Nick was truly being his usual unique self with his own way of thinking. Even the blonde was laughing now, but it was obvious that he was confused and unsure of what he was even laughing at by the way his eyes were darting around nervously. He was still playing notes on his guitar though.

“Since Nick already has a guitar in his hands, we’re going to play a song from our new album,” Brian stated, “You might know the words. If you do, sing along. If you don’t...then that is okay too.” Brian drawled in his Southern accent.

The crowd cheered and screamed out their love for the Boys as Nick’s playing slowly turned in to the tunes of Climbing the Walls and Brian’s beautiful voice rang out. Their band played in the background giving the song sounds that their music had never sounded like live before. A few people sang along in the chorus, screaming out the lyrics along with Brian singing. Most of the audience however just listened and smiled, waving their hands in the dark sky. A few held lighters and a few held up their cell phones to make some light. Most swayed their hips to the music. It was obvious that all were having a great time.

As always, the European tour was more successful than the United States one. It was only the first night there and they could tell that this would be no different. Sure, they were popular in America and the fans whom were still around were amazing. Europe was completely different. Pop music had never really died there as it had in their home Country. They had more respect all around, as sad as it was. No matter where the group was though, the Boys all loved their fans the same.

“We’re going to go back to nearly a decade ago now and sing a few songs from the past.” AJ shouted out, “Speaking of the past, how many of you were here for the Black and Blue tour?” Nearly everybody in the audience screamed, the sound almost deafening, “That’s incredible! How about Millennium?” Slightly less screams were heard, but it was still phenomenal, “And last...how many of you were here for our debut Backstreets Back tour?” Again, every single person screamed. This caused the group to laugh.

“Well then some of you are liars!” Brian joked with a chuckle, “Because if you’re under the age of twelve, you weren’t even born yet. We’re flattered though.” The audience laughed, some of them caught red handed as quite a few who’d screamed out in response couldn’t have been any older than eight years old.

Slowly, the band started to play the opening notes of As Long As You Love Me, one of their first hits ever. Only seconds later did the singing start. The song was the same, but the voices were more matured. Still though, they were in harmony with one another, sounding completely amazing. It was proof that even a couple of years apart could not change them. They could take a decade off and still have their voices blend in a way that said that they were meant to be together as a group.

The song ended and the Boys all ran off stage for an outfit change as Don’t Want You Back played in the background to keep the audience entertained while they were away for a few minutes. The opening night in Europe was going great and nothing out of the ordinary had happened other than a few minor slip ups in a song or two. They really didn’t have any routine dances for this tour except for a couple of songs. Even then things had gone smoothly for the most part other than Nick tripping over his feet. He’d caught his balance quickly though, playing it off as if nothing had ever happened.

“Ready to go back out?” Kevin asked everybody as they were finishing putting their fresh clothes on and taking a few swigs of water to hydrate their sweaty bodies.

“Yep.” AJ replied for everybody, “Good to go.”

With perfect timing, they all ran back out on stage as the next song in their set came on, ready to take on the second part of the show.

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“What a night, huh?” Brian sighed as he fell back on to a large couch. He leaned back comfortably as AJ and Nick plopped down on both sides of him. Kevin and Howie took single seat reclining chairs, “I think things went well.”

“Well? They were great. Not even Nick fucked up this time!” AJ exclaimed with a laugh as Nick flipped him off. A smile was present on his face though, “But it is only the first show!” he was sure to point out.

“Haha,” Nick laughed sarcastically, “Funny. Remind me to laugh when you’re the first to mess up.”

“Ain’t gonna happen, little man.” AJ shook his head.

Kevin just rolled his eyes at the argument as he turned the TV on to drown out the fight he could feel coming on. Flipping to the local news station, the man put the remote down. Ever since they’d left home, he hadn’t had the chance to catch up with what was going on in the world, feeling deprived of the knowledge. There was so much that could have happened in such a short period of time.

The two younger members of the group continued to argue, their voices growing louder. It was obvious that AJ was getting pleasure out of purposely annoying Nick, the blonde letting his rival get under his skin a little too easily. Nick’s voice rang out defensively and slightly whiney. This caused AJ to pick at him even more with new blackmail, mocking him without any mercy what so ever.

“I am not an idiot!” Nick complained.

“I’m not an idiot!” AJ mimicked in a high pithed voice, causing Nick to pick up a pillow and smack AJ over the head with it. He missed Brian by merely an inch as his older friend ducked out of the way, “Real mature, Carter.”

Kevin just rolled his eyes and caught Howie doing the same with an amused smile on his face. Kevin grabbed the remote to turn the volume up even more. With all the bickering going on, he wasn’t catching a thing. This caused each pair of eyes to glare at the eldest member of the band, Kevin oblivious to it as he watched the TV intently.

“Seeing anything good, Kevin?” AJ teased, deciding to pick on Kevin now instead of Nick. Nick had suffered enough.

“Not that I know of, because some of you keep rudely interrupting.” Kevin muttered without drawing his attention away from the screen.

This only caused everyone to snicker harder. Riling up Kevin was always fun. Especially since it was so easy to do. One thing about Kevin was that he did know how to have a good time. It wasn’t that. It was more of the fact that he tried hard not to have a good time. The man was too serious for his own good and twelve years since their start and he was still taking on the caretaker and fatherly role. Everybody agreed that since they were all grown now, all of their lives would be easier of Kevin would allow himself to lighten up. Even just a little...

Giving Kevin the silence he wanted, the others decided to watch the news program with him. Nick started to yawn in boredom in the first minute, already bored with the program. He kept looking at Kevin as he bit his lip, contemplating whether or not he should make a run for it to his room to whip out his game system to entertain him. He decided against it when he figured that there was no way around Kevin without being noticed and lectured like he was five instead of twenty-five. So instead of doing what he wanted, he just sat back and tried to at least act like he was paying attention along with the others.

The next news story caught everybody’s attention however, including Nick. Each man sat on the edge of his seat, listening intently to what the British newswoman was saying, her accent thick, her eyes serious. In the background, there were people clinging to one another crying. Adults held on to adults, adults to children, children to children. It was all the same though. They were upset. Something horrific had happened.

Earlier this afternoon, just as school was about to let out, a school shooting occurred in Denmark. The shooter, a young man by the name of Harry Portsman, was an eighth grader at the school. He shot several of his classmates, injuring fifteen and killing ten, which included two teachers before turning the gun on himself. When asked by those who were unharmed, they said that Harry was a quite kid who was picked on a lot, but they never thought that he would do something so drastic. Services for those who’ve lost their lives will be held on Tuesday at five. Please keep the family and friends of the victims in your hearts at this difficult time.

“Oh my God...” AJ let his voice trail off as his eyes widened in fear, his stomach feeling sick and in knots. He’d recognized the one girl in the background...the one in his vision who had begged not to be killed and the shooter had left her be. She had been standing staring blankly in to space in a state of shock, eyes glazed over. She had looked the same though. The outcome of the shooting though. That was what had really shook AJ because it was much worse than what he’d thought it would be. If he’d only seen where it was, he could have prevented it. He could have saved all of those lives. He felt so guilty as he put his head in his hands, shaking it, “Oh God...”

“Awful, isn’t it?” Brian agreed, not knowing why AJ was so upset. None of them knew, “I can’t believe that somebody would do something so horrible.”

“Yeah..” AJ muttered. He lifted his head up and stared blankly at the TV screen which had already turned to another story.

‘What’s wrong, J?” Howie asked, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

AJ just shrugged, I pretty much have. Was what he thought as the others went on to watch the TV, already forgetting about the incident. Like all the others though, AJ never would forget.

Chapter Four

As AJ lay in bed that night trying to fall asleep, he had one thing on his mind and one thing only. As he stared up at the ceiling, the news report on the shooting just hours before was still haunted him, making it near impossibly for him to get any real rest. He felt on edge and almost guilty in some way. As if he’d caused this horrific event to happen. Maybe there had been some sort of sign in his vision that would have told him where it was going to happen that he’d looked past. What if he could have gone to that school before it had happened and found the kid responsible, talking him out of it. After all, in his vision, he’d had a clear view of the criminal. So many ‘what if’s’ were running through his mind, but in the end, AJ came to realize that nothing he did could have stopped it, because like every other vision, the precise location was not clear. Even if it had been, it was very possibly that his own life would have been taken. As much as it saddened AJ to think of how upset his own friends and family would have been, he’d have much rather have that happen then all of the kids who’d died.

Ten children killed. AJ swallowed back some tears, wondering how the parents were doing. The siblings, grandparents. Then there were the two teachers. Were they married and have children of their own? How many had left loved ones behind as they went off to Heaven on an unexpected day. Chances were, they were having an even harder time sleeping than he was. Chances were, the families wouldn’t be getting a good nights rest for a long while. Though he wasn’t a father yet himself, AJ didn’t know if he could live with losing a child. It would be the single most devastating thing in the entire world. He felt that no parent should have to get word that their kid had died. Especially at such a young age.

With a sigh, AJ turned to his side, tucking his arm under his pillow. He closes his eyes, hoping that he could actually drift in to a peaceful sleep. He tried to shut out the mind numbing images from his head, but even so, the last thing he remembered before finally losing himself into a dreamland was still thinking about all of the lives lost.

Even though he was asleep however, it wasn’t long before the thoughts preoccupied his mind. Nightmares about the events surrounded him, only this time it wasn’t the actual shooting, but after the shooting. It all seemed so real as once again, he put himself in the middle of it but the kids could see him this time, pointing accusing fingers at him.

“You let us die.” one young boy stated, his body visible yet transparent. It was obvious that he was a ghost, the spirit of one of the unlucky.

“You knew...you didn’t save us. Why didn’t you save us?” an accusatory small girl cried, coming in to view behind the boy.

AJ’s eye widened in shock, not knowing what to say. He backed up as the two children followed him, glaring at him in anger. Suddenly, more of them appeared, including the two teachers. Some of them were crying. Most though had hatred in their features, all looking ready to attack him for not doing something about it.

“I’m sorry...I...I...didn’t know where to find you, or else I would have stopped it.” he cried out

“You knew all along...” another girl said, “You could have tried harder.”

“Because of you, we’ve all left families behind. Because of you, my son and husband are left alone.” the female teacher stated. She was young, being no older than twenty-five. Chances were, she’d been a newlywed and her son was a newborn. This made AJ feel even worse as his already guilty conscious became stronger, “You killed us.”

“No...no, I didn’t.” AJ tried as he continued to back away from the angry spirits who kept coming after him.

“You might as well have.” the first boy growled, “You let Harry carry through.”

“I didn’t know where you were...” AJ tried again, “I wanted to...I’m sorry..” he stuttered, feeling as if he were suffocating due to the air around him growing thick.

“You deserve this...not us.” yet another boy spoke up, “You should be in our place. We were all only eleven or twelve. We had our whole lives ahead of us.”

“I...I...” AJ gulped, not knowing what to say because they were right. There was nothing he could say. Right when he was about to reply though, all of the kid stopped, their eyes wide in fear. They turned and ran in every direction screaming out before disappearing in to thin air. AJ rose an eyebrow in confusion, but he felt that something wasn’t right. His heart thudded in anticipation as he turned around, finding himself face to face with Harry Portsman. He had an evil grin on his face as AJ caught a glimpse of shining silver coming up at him. He tried to scream, but the sound was drown out by the sound of a gun shot as he was struck...

AJ woke up with a start, flying in to a sitting position. His breathing was heavy and he was in a cold sweat, the sheets soaked around him. He looked around frantically, realizing that it had all been just a bad dream. None of it had happened. It had seemed so real though. The kids blaming him for killing them. As it was, he already felt accountable for Harry’s actions. Maybe he could have stopped it.

Swallowing hard, AJ’s heavy breathing slowly started to calm down, but his skin still felt clammy to the touch. In reality, there was really no way that the kids could come back and blame him. He figured that the nightmare was just because of what he’d been thinking as he fell in to a sleep. The vision had become reality. All he could really do was try and get on with his own life and not let it affect him because soon, another vision would come and then he’d have that burden to carry as well. After all, it was never long before he’d have another vision. All he could really do was wait until it happened.

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Howie smiled as he looked over at Stacie while she took a swing of her mini golf putter. It was one of the rare nights that they had off, so Howie had decided to take his girlfriend out while she was in town. He had flown her out two days before with pre-set arrangements for her to take five days off of work so that they could spend time together. After all, Howie had missed Stacie like crazy. Ever since he’d confessed his feelings for her, their relationship had slowly developed and their feelings for one another kept growing every day. In fact, ever since Stacie had entered his life on a more romantic level, he honestly was happier than he’d been in a long time. A very long time. Although if he hadn’t had to go through the bad time in his life, injuring himself, then he would have never met this incredible woman. It proved the saying true that before things got better, they had to get worse first.

“Aw man...two inches from the hole!” Stacie suddenly exclaimed in frustration, ‘The damn hole moved.”

Howie chuckled lightly at her spunk, loving her personality. Almost everything was taken lightly with her, and her humor was strongly in tact. He pulled her in to his side as together, they walked down the small green to where both of their balls laid, Stacie’s closer by several feet. She went first, knocking it in with ease with the slightest tap.

“Alright!” she cried out triumphantly, “Two points!”

“Good job, sweetheart.” Howie congratulated her as he took his own turn, missing yet again. He went for another try, knocking it in finally, “Three for me.” He picked up both balls, his eyes catching hers as he handed the blue ball back to her. With the woman around, it was hard to concentrate on anything. She preoccupied his mind almost constantly and when they were together, it was as if everything he did was just not paid much attention to, because that would mean attention was taken away from her, “Are you having fun?”

‘It was my idea, wasn’t it?” she laughed

‘Well...yes.” Howie admitted, “Just making sure.”

Stacie leaned in and kissed Howie on the lips, taking him by surprise with her public displays of affection. He accepted the kiss graciously, it tasting like honey. He wanted all the world to see it, every man seeing what a wonderful woman he’d gotten. Somebody who looked past his past problems. Somebody who accepted him for who he was. Every man should be jealous that he had Stacie and they didn’t. He was actually slightly disappointed that the mini golf course was slow that day because it meant less people seeing them together. It was something he wanted to shout out to the world.

“I’ve having a great time.” Stacie assured him, “Just glad I get to see you again. It’s been way too lonely without you...” she bit her lip, it obvious that something was on her mind. That she had something she wanted to share with him, but didn’t know how to.

“What is it?” Howie asked her, suddenly worried that she was going to break up with him. His insecurities surfaced almost immediately again.

“Well...” her voice trailed off, a small smile forming on her soft lips, “I hope you’re happy about this, but I’ll be spending a lot longer here than just a few more days.” Howie looked at her in confusion, “I decided to resign from being a therapist a couple of months ago. My last appointment was right before I came here...my office sold and was finalized this-morning.”

Howie looked at her with a blank face, not knowing how to reply. He wondered if he’d heard her right, because the woman loved helping people and talking to them. Being a therapist was practically her life. It had been her dream job for many years and she’d pretty much just given it up without any thought at all. And for him. He didn’t know what to think of it, almost feeling guilty. No, he did feel guilty.

“Aren’t you happy about this?” she asked him when she got no reply.

“I am...but Stacie...you loved that job. You...I don’t want you to change your life around for me...”

“It’s too hard being away from you all of the time,” she argued, “Trust me, I put a lot of thought in to this. Months of thought. In the end though, I realized that I can live without being a psychologist. I can find a job on the road doing something to pay my bills at home. It’s not every day that I find somebody like you though. I love you more than anything, Howie. I couldn’t concentrate on my patients anyways because my mind was always on you. I want to be with you, simple as that.”

Howie just looked at her for a moment as he ran some fingers through his mass of brown curls. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was thrilled, but stunned because nobody had ever really cared so much about him. In past relationships, he’d nearly had to pull teeth to get the girl to come out for a single day. Their schedules had always been too ‘busy’ to fit him in to it, unable to get a day off or rearrange some things so that their relationship could carry on and he could see them. Then here was Stacie, who’d up and quit her job, leaving behind a life to make sure that they stayed on strong terms. It was mind boggling, but in a good way.

“You’re amazing.” Howie told her, smiling as he tucked a strand of her honey blonde hair behind her ear, “Absolutely amazing,”

“So you’re happy?” she asked nervously, hoping that her surprise was as good of a thing as she’d hoped for.

“Thrilled.” he promised, kissing her again, not even noticing a small line forming behind them, waiting for their turn on the hole number eleven. He pulled back though, needing to ask her something just to put his worried mind at ease, “Do you regret your decision yet?”

Stacie shook her head, “Not in a million years...and I don’t think I ever will.”

Fireworks exploded all around Howie upon hearing her saying these words. It was as if a deal had been sealed and for once, he was one hundred percent positive that everything would be okay for the first time in years.