"...You really don't have to do this..." Cate said, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and looking out the window.

"I want to. You saved my ass back there. This is the least I can do. Besides, you're a really cool chick." Aaron said as he looked at her.

"...But what will your brother and his bandmates think?" she said, turning away from the window to look at him.

"I don't know. Don't worry about them, though. They probably aren't who you think they are." He replied.

"Thats just it. I don't know what to think. Its not like I care what other people think of me, I just don't want you getting shit from your brother because of me. I mean, you picked up some random girl from the street because you nearly ran her over and you narrowly avoided getting caught in a swarm of crazed fans." Cate explained. Aaron thought about what she had just said. He knew she had a point, Nick would be pissed. But there was something about this girl that he just couldn't let get away...

"What, you think I don't get chased all day? You'd be surprised what they try and do to get to me." Aaron said with a smile as he thought of some of the crazy things his fans did. "But I have to say, I've never gotten away from them like that. It was a first..."

"Um, thanks?" she said with an uncertain tone. Aaron really surprised her with that one... He seemed really down-to-earth despite all the fame he had. She didn't really know what to expect of him...

Aaron laughed. "You're welcome." He looked past her and out the window as the car began to slow down. "We're here. Looks like theres cameras, but don't worry, I know you can run fast."

"...And if we don't? Oh I can see it now, 'Aaron Carter Goes to Hotel with Mystery Girl'."

"Just put on that hat you had on and run. Thats all you gotta do." Aaron said as he put on a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap.

"Okay, if you're sure..." Cate said as she put her hat on and pulled it down as far as she could, then put the hood up on her hoodie. She undid her seatbelt and motioned to get the door. Just as she was about to open the door, the driver, who had gotten out of the car and walked over, opened it and she put her hand up to block the blinding flashes from the cameras. Aaron slid out right after her and the pair hurried as fast as they could to the door. Once inside, they walked to the elevators and waited. "So thats why celebs wear sunglasses..."

Aaron laughed. "Yeah, thats one reason. Not as many out there as I thought there would be, though..." They stepped into the elevator and it started to move once Aaron had pressed a button.

"You mean there are usually more cameras than that?" Cate asked, still slightly panting.

"There can be. You get used to them after a while." The elevator stopped and they stepped out. Cate followed closely behind Aaron as he led the way to the room. "Are you okay? You look like you're worried someones gonna jump out of one of the rooms and start snapping pictures of us." Aaron joked.

"You- You don't think they would, do you?" Cate inquired, sounding worried.

Aaron couldn't help but laugh. "Please tell me you're not serious. I was joking, Cate."

"I, um, I knew that. I'm okay, I'm just worried about getting in trouble." she said.

"I told you, don't worry, please." Aaron stopped walking and turned around to look her in her bluish-green eyes. "Please trust me, you have nothing to be worried about." She looked into his eyes. He was being sincere, she could see it. She nodded and he turned back around as they continued walking. Two minutes later, they stopped at a door, next to which a guard sat in a chair. As he saw them approach the door, he started to get up.

"Its okay, Mark," Aaron said to the guard, "Shes with me." The guard nodded and sat down.

Aaron knocked on the door and a few seconds later someone answered it.

"What took you so long?" Brian asked as he opened the door. Aaron walked in and motioned for Cate to follow him. Cate waved to the guard and slowly walked in the door behind Aaron, taking a quick look around at the humongous suite and the others in the room.

"...And who is she?" Nick asked, noticing Aaron had not entered the room alone.

"Oh, this is-" Aaron started.

"Cate. Cate Adams. Nice to meet you." she put her hand out to shake his, but Nick crossed his arms. "...Okay then, guess the feeling isn't mutual..." she pulled her hand back and put it in her pocket, then took off her hat with the other hand. Kevin and Alex, who had just walked in from another room, looked at Aaron and smiled.

"Hey Aaron," Kevin said as he and Alex examined Cate, who was looking extremely uncomforable, with their eyes.

"I didn't know you were doing charity work..." Alex commented. Nick tried to contain his laughter. Aaron glared at him and he grew silent.

"Oh yeah, like all the girls you'd bring back to your room were wonderful...," said Howie, who had just entered the room.

"At least this one is decent looking..." Nick commented, sitting on the couch while still keeping his eyes fixed on Cate.

"...This one?" Cate said.

"She speaks. Impressive." Kevin said.

"Aren't you supposed to be the nice one?" Cate asked in a somewhat mocking tone. Kevin gave her a smile and sat down next to Nick.

"You'll have to excuse my bandmates, they seem to have forgotten how to treat their fellow human beings. Its nice to meet you, Cate. I'm Brian." Brian said, holding out his hand to shake hers.

"Nice to meet you too, Brian. You didn't really need to say your name, I know who you all are. I'm not a teenie, I swear. You're just... hard to not hear about." she explained. "Anyway, at least their rudeness hasn't affected you." Cate replied, shaking Brian's hand.

"Yeah, great. I, for one, would like to know what the fuck is going on." Nick questioned.

"Yeah, Aaron, what happened?" Alex said.

"Gee, don't all jump down his throat at once, now..." Cate said sarcastically.

"Excuse me, I don't remember asking for your input." Nick retorted.

Cate went from uneasy to pissed off in a split second. "Okay, I think thats my cue. Aaron, it was fun for a while but now I think I better leave. Your buddies here have made it perfectly clear where they think my place is: on the other side of this door. Which is where I'll be. It was nice meeting you all. Have a nice life." Cate stated, grabbing Aaron's hand, shaking it, and walking towards the door. He jumped in front of her just as she was about to reach for the doorknob.

"You're not leaving." Aaron firmly stated.

"To hell I'm not! Majority rules, dude. Now move." Cate said, trying to make him step away so she could get the door open. Nick walked over and amusingly watched Cate trying to move his brother away from the door.

"Um, Cate?" Nick said, trying to get Cate's attenion, not to mention trying to make sure he'd remembered her name.

"Yes??!" Cate said as she turned her head to face Nick, frustrated.

"Theres something you should know about Aaron." he said.

"What? That he doesn't know what 'majority rules' means?" she asked. Nick and the others laughed.

"No, that he can be stubborn. Theres no making him budge when he doesn't want to. I meant that literally as well as figuratively." he explained. When he said this, Cate stopped. 'Hes more like me than I thought...'

"...Oh." she said, "Thanks for waiting til just then to tell me."

"Welcome. By the way, no one said you should leave." Nick commented.

"Didn't have to say it, you guys have a knack for making someone feel like they don't belong." Cate stated. "I wasn't including you two in that..." Cate added, looking at Brian and Aaron.

"Yeah, I know how to treat females. I have a wife. And a mom, too." Brian said. Aaron nodded in agreement.

"Me too. Not the wife part, though. I have sisters instead." he explained.

"Hey! I have the same sisters! And mom!" Nick exclaimed, upset.

"Then act like it!" said Cate.

"That'd be nice, for a change..." Brian dreamily said. Aaron spoke up in agreement. Howie and the others looked at each other. Alex walked over to Cate.

"Cate, I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I'm not a nice person. You wouldn't by any chance believe that I had a bad night?" Alex questioned.

"Couldn't be as bad as mine. Its okay, apology accepted, um..." Cate said, not sure what to call him by.

"You can call me Alex, or AJ, whichever."

"Okay, Alex."

"You're not the only one whos had a bad night, man." Aaron commented.

"Speaking of..." Nick trailed off.

"Yeah, what happened?" Howie asked, eager to hear the details.

"Well, it started out with me and the driver trying to avoid some teenies and cameras." Aaron began.

"Yeah... and how did Cate come into the picture?" Nick argued.

"Well, I was in a hurry, and I guess I didn't really look before I crossed the street, and..." Cate continued.

"...The car hit you??" Kevin asked.

"No, almost. Next thing I know theres a black Escalade nearly two inches away from me. That driver really hit those brakes."

"Thank God he did! That driver would have been in deep trouble, and I would have felt like shit if he'd hit you," Aaron said. "Anyway, when the driver made his sudden stop, I got out of the car to see if she was okay. Big mistake. Some fans must have been following in a cab or something and got out when they saw me. Next thing I knew there was like a huge swarm of them."

"Yeah, that was scary. Anyway, I knew that even if he made it back into that car, the car would never get anywhere. He told the driver to get out of there and I helped him lose the crowd." she told them.

Aaron agreed, "She knows her way around here. Since we didn't know where the driver went to meet us, we were looking for him. By then, everyone following us was too far behind to catch up."

"Helps when you point at an unsuspecting pedestrian and yell 'Look! There he goes!'. I just can't believe some of them really fell for it..." Cate pointed out.

"Me either, but it worked, thats all that matters..." Aaron said, still reminicing in recent events, "While we were looking for the car, I asked Cate where she was headed. She said she wasn't headed anywhere in particular, and just then we met up with the driver. It was like, a sign."

"Sign?" Alex inquired, "Of what?"

"That I was supposed to take her with me back here." he replied.


"Cate? Question." Brian requested.

"...Was that it?" she asked.

"No, this was: if you weren't headed anywhere in particular, why were you in such a hurry when you went to cross the street when Aaron's driver almost hit you?"

"Oh. Guess its my turn?" she sighed. "Well, let me start by saying that my home life is pretty much hell. No, worse than hell."

"Oh come on," Aaron said, "Your parents can't be that bad."

Cate looked away from all of them. "Well, I really wouldn't know."

"...What? Wh-Where are they?"

"Cemetary." She said flatly after a few moments. Years of answering that question hadn't made the answer any easier to say. "Well, I shouldn't say that," she continued, "'cause I really don't know that they were even buried. I always just assumed."

"...Oh. I'm so sorry, Cate." Aaron said apologetically, holding her hand and rubbing it with his thumb.

"I'm sorry too." Kevin added. The others followed suit.

"So am I," Brian chimed, "But that doesn't really answer my question."

"Oh, yeah, that. Well, I hate the woman they put me with -- the state I mean -- and I'm 17, so I really only had to stay a little longer, but shes such a bitch. Won't let me do anything, unless it involves cleaning. She blames everything on me, even if it wasn't my fault and she knows it wasn't. Then when the state comes to check up on how things are going shes the perfect mother, pleasant and nice, and the horns come back out once they leave. She treats me like I'm a freak just because I'm on medication. Anti-depressants, before you even ask." she took a deep breath to keep the cracking in her voice from getting worse.

"Wow. I'm sorry." Nick said.

"Yeah, that sucks." Howie said.

"Today I got home like three minutes late because I had to drop off some homework to a neighbor, and she threw a shit fit. Said that I'm not allowed to have friends. At all. That if she can't even stand me, why would anyone else? Tried to throw a punch at me when I said that she wasn't exactly the most fun to put up with." Cate said, rubbing her arm with the hand Aaron wasn't holding.

"...She punched you in the arm?" Kevin asked, noticing what she was doing.

"No, she went for my face, but I tried to block it with my arm."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so I packed up my clothes and my stuff, which there wasn't much of considering she only really buys stuff for her, she only buys me things when she feels like it, which isn't very often. Anyway, I packed up, and I left her a note, the contents of which I won't repeat, and I climbed out the window and left down the fire escape. Heard her screaming out my window from about a block away and then started running. Thats when I almost got personal with an Escalade."

"I'm NOT letting you go back there." Aaron said to Cate. She looked him in the eyes, tears coming down her cheeks. She hugged him and he rubbed her back. As he was calming her down, he looked around the room at the others. They gave each other confirming looks. Brian nodded and sat down on Cate's other side.

"We won't either." he said.

"Well, I do have to go back at least once. Well, more like want to." Cate said, sitting up. Brian handed her a box of tissues and she wiped the tears from her face.

"Why?" Kevin asked.

"Unlike her, I treat human beings like human beings, no matter what, so I guess I just wanna say goodbye the right way. I also should make sure I got all my stuff and tell her that I'm going to make sure I'm not in her care anymore so she doesn't seem surprised when I tell the state EVERYTHING. I think this bruise on my arm should be more than enough to make the state agree with me." Cate said, rolling up her sleeve and revealing a large, dark bruise on her upper forearm. "If not, I can name a few neighbors who would be happy to tell the state what they've seen and heard."

"...I'm going with you when you go back." Aaron said.

"No way! I won't let you. She only took one shot at me, and this wasn't even really that hard considering how hard shes hit me before. I don't want you getting hurt." Cate said as she pulled her sleeve back down.

"...What if we all went? And Mark, that guard outside the-" Nick started.

"-Yeah, we've met. I couldn't let you all do that. Shes crazy. She really is. I don't want her to hurt any of you, if I knew that she hurt someone else because of me, I'd beat myself up."

"You never even told us her name..." Kevin questioned.

"Terra." Cate said, a disgusted look on her face.

"Well, once you take care of what you have to take care of, you can come with us. Even though we're together a lot, we could still use the company." Brian said, his hand on her shoulder. The other chimed in agreement. Cate looked around at the others in the room. When she looked at Aaron, she saw his smile, the happiness in his face, and she nodded. 'That smile...' she thought.

"Thanks, guys."

"Since you'll be joining us, we better let everyone know who needs to know." Alex said.

"Yeah, I have stuff to take care of, too." Howie said, "You're a cool person, Cate. I'm glad you're gonna be with us." He gave Cate a one-armed hug. "See you all later. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Howie." The others replied. Howie walked into one of the other rooms and closed the door.

"I think I'm gonna go too. I've gotta call Kristen. Goodnight everyone." Kevin said. He shook Cate's hand and went into another room, closing the door behind him.

"I know that I'm not tired. I was before, but now, not so much." said Alex.

"Well you don't have a wife and son waiting for your call. I hope I don't wake Baylee, though..." Brian said, looking at his watch. "Goodnight all, nice to have you for company, Cate."


As Alex came over to talk to Cate, Aaron walked over to his brother and sat down.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"No, Aaron. Why would I be mad at you?" Nick inquired.

"I don't know, I just wanted to know if you were mad." he looked over at Cate. "Shes cool, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is. I was mad at you for bringing her here until you told us what happened." He glanced sideways at his brother and saw him watching her closely. "I gotta tell ya, no girl has talked to me like that in a while."

"Yeah. But it was only because you were acting like you were better than her."

"I was not!" Nick argued.

"Were too!"

"I guess I kinda was, but what was I supposed to do? And don't act like you've never looked down on any girls I've brought back to my room with me at the end of the night, Aaron."

Aaron sighed. "She needs a family, maybe thats what she was treating us like. Like family. She talked to you and me the same way Angel, Les, and BJ do."

"She didn't treat you like you were family to her. You she treated like someone more like a boyfriend to her."

"What are you talking about?" Aaron asked.

"I saw the way you two looked at each other, the way you were rubbing her hand after she told us about her parents... And I've never really seen you jump in front of a door to keep someone from leaving, let alone a girl. Ever since she walked in the door you've been defending her, like she was your girlfriend."

"My girlfriend?"

"You were the first one to comfort her, she hugged you when she was crying and you rubbed her back, man. Aaron, don't make me go on, you know I'm right. You liked her the second you saw her, admit it. Even I saw it. I bet if you asked the other guys they'd agree."

"Okay, I'll admit it, I like her and I haven't even known her for three hours. But thats just it, I don't know her, but I feel like I know her." Aaron admitted. "Happy now? Think I'm crazy?"

"No, not really. I saw the way she looked into your eyes. If she doesn't like you back, then shes crazy. And a good actress, too." Just as Nick finished, Alex walked over.

"So, whats up?" he said.

"I think I'm gonna go talk to Cate. Aaron, why don't you tell Alex here what we were talking about? I'm sure he'd be happy to answer that question of yours." Nick suggested, getting up.

"Question?" Alex asked Aaron. Nick turned around and laughed as he walked over to Cate, who was tending to her bruise.

"That looks like it really hurts." Nick said as he moved her sweatshirt aside and sat down in its place.

"Nah, after a while it doesn't hurt as much. Terra can hit pretty hard, but this time I guess she really wasn't trying." Cate said, slightly wincing as she ran her hand over her bruise. "It should go away after a while."

"So, how long do you think it'll take for you to take care of what you have to do?"

"Not long. Hopefully when they see this bruise, they'll let me leave as my own guardian. If not, I'll have them call one of my neighbors while I wait til they have what they need. I just hope they won't need Terra..."

"Well if you want, I doubt that Mark would mind going there with you. We have some interviews tomorrow, otherwise I'd say we might go with you if you needed help."

"Thanks, Nick. You're all really cool guys, not like that whole snobby celebrity stereotype."

"Yeah, I bet you think one of us is cooler than the rest..." Nick said as he stretched his arms out and placed them behind his neck.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play around, Cate. I can tell you like my brother. I saw it in your eyes... It seemed like it was love at first sight..."

"Okay, Nick. No need to go into sappy details."

"Hey, I got into more when I tried to get Aaron to admit it..."

"What? Aaron said what?" she sat up slightly when he said this.

"Well, I pointed out that I saw how you two seemed to act around each other, and..."

"And?"

"And why do you suddenly seem so intent on hearing what I have to say?" he smirked.

"B-Because, I want to know what he said."

"Well, all I'll say is that you and him seem to get along better than any other girl I've ever seen him with. I mean, you opened up to him the day, er well, night you met him. You don't act like your shit doesn't stink. Not to mention you helped him get out of what I bet was a pretty tight situation, even after he almost ran you over."

"Okay, I get it, you want me to talk to him about it."

"No, I'm just telling you what I know, thats all."

"Gonna go back and report to him later?"

"Thats for me to know and you to find out..."

"Gee, thanks."

"Welcome."

"No prob."

"So... do you have feelings for my brother? I swear I just want to know."

"Well, hes certainly not who I thought he'd be, and I'd be lying if I said that when I first saw him I didn't feel something. I had a good feeling about him the second he got out of the car to help me up..."

"Ooohh. I get what you're saying, I think."

"Like, when we were walking down the hall on the way here, I was a little freaked from all the cameras-"

"Oh, you get used to it."

"So I've heard," she said with a frown. "Anyway, I was a little freaked out about that, and I was worried about you guys getting pissed at me and Aaron and making me go home, and when I told Aaron about being worried about getting in trouble, he stopped right where he was and looked me in the eyes, and I could tell he wasn't lying to me. In fact, I think hes probably the first guy to ever look at me like that..."

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me that you've never had a boyfriend?"

"Your words, not mine."

"You're kidding."

"I kid you not. I mean, I've hung out with guys before, but nothing really romantic. But you know how some guys are, they hang out with a girl once and even if nothing happens, they talk shit..."

"Ohh. I still don't see how you could have gone 17 years and not had a boyfriend, not even once!"

"Easy when you don't stay in one place long enough."

"I know what its like to travel a lot."

"But you were traveling and meeting people who liked you, not moving around because you were hated every place you went."

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"So why do you find it hard to believe?"

"I mean, when you walked in the door, I thought maybe, for like a split second, like before you'd said or done anything, that-"

"That I was a slut? Just hanging out with your brother to makeout or something?"

"More 'or something' than 'makeout', but yeah. Kinda. I mean, Cate, you're a, a-"

"Sounds like, looks like..."

"Looks good. Don't get me wrong, I mean, Cate, you're pretty. And too young for me, so don't get the wrong idea here." Nick laughed. "Are you blushing?" Nick asked, seeing the color red Cate's cheeks turned after he complimented her.

"Nick, had your brother said anything to me or acted in any way sexual towards me, he would have walked in that door alone and with a red mark across his face."

"...Oh. So I should tell him you said 'no'?" Nick asked with a big smirk on his face.

"Very funny. You were kidding, right?"

"If I wasn't kidding, believe me, you would have known."

"Good, because the answer is 'no'. If he was only hanging out with me because he thought he was gettin' some, then he'd really be like any other guy I've hung out with. Isn't thats why guys talk shit on girls? Because they either get some or they don't?"

"Only the morons, and my brother isn't like that. Not with you."

"Are you saying he has been before?"

"No, but he can be pretty stupid sometimes."

"I'll remember that."

"Okay."

"Alrighty then."

A few seconds later they both started to laugh.

"Why are we laughing?" Cate asked.

"I," Nick said, "have no idea." The laughter died down a few seconds later. Nick stood up and stretched again. "Nice talking to you, Cate."

"Yeah, nice talking to you too, Nick." Nick walked over to where Alex and Aaron were sitting and talking, and joined in their conversation. Cate watched as he got up and walked away. She waited til he sat down to walk by them and sit at the window and look at the view of the city, then she went back to tending to her bruise. 'Well, so much for that whole 'sneak on a Greyhound bus' idea. These guys really aren't what I would have expected. Especially Aaron, I never would have expected him to be the way he is. Guess he proved me wrong, hes so much more... laid back than I expected. And when he was comforting me... Wow, I must really be into him, I've barely stopped thinking about him since I saw him... Nick's pretty perceptive. I guess it was love at first sight... but how to tell him how I feel...'

~Meanwhile...~

"So?" Aaron asked after she'd walked past him and sat at the window, a smile coming across his face. As he watched her look out the window, his eyes began to wander.

"I'm not telling, I promised I wouldn't." Nick smiled as he and Alex also looked at her as she walked past.

"Aaron," Alex said in a paternal tone, "Tell me I didn't just see you looking where I think I saw you looking."

"Maybe, maybe not..." he trailed off.

"Well, I'm hoping I didn't just see you looking at the part of Cate I think I saw you looking at." Alex specified.

"Ohh, you think he was looking at her-" Nick began.

"I admit it, I was. Not my fault, I'm only human..." Aaron confessed.

"About that... you can forget about it, bro. Shes not gonna." Nick said, reminded of a certain part of his conversation with Cate.

"What do you mean I can forget about it? And shes not gonna what?" Aaron said, as if geniunely confused as to what Nick was saying, although he had enough of an idea.

Alex laughed. "I think, he means that shes not gonna do the nasty with you..."

"I know what he meant, I'm not stupid." he responded.

"Yeah, she was talking about how a lot of guys shes known were dogs, and I told her that you weren't like that. She said she would have slapped you if you'd hit on her."

"Go Cate!" Alex exclaimed enthusiastically, but not loud enough for her to hear. "Well, I'm gonna call it a night, boys." he yawned. "See you in the morning, Cate!" he called to her("'Night, Alex!" she replied.).

"Well, for the record, I wasn't gonna hit on her."

"Are you saying you'd take no for an answer?" Nick said in a playfully shocked tone, getting up. Aaron nodded, apparently unable to speak as he stared at Cate once again. "Good, because she told me thats what she'd say." Nick stuck his tounge out at his brother and hit the bill of Aaron's cap downward so that the cap fell off of his head. "Why not go talk to her? I think she'd like to hear how you feel from you. Besides, you're alone. And knowing how shes not gonna do anything with you no matter how much you try and get her to..."

"I won't, Nick. But I will try to talk to her once you get lost." Aaron laughed.

"Okay, alright, I can take a hint..." Nick replied, "Goodnight, Cate! Remember what we talked about!" he hollared so she could hear, but quietly enough so as not to wake or disturb the others.

"Goodnight, Nick!," she said, also loud enough for him to hear but quiet enough to keep from disturbing anyone. She looked at Aaron and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't forget!" she answered, not taking her eyes off of Aaron, who had gotten up to give Nick a hug. When he saw her looking, she looked away from him and back out the window. He smiled again and walked over to her.