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Chapter Forty-Three
Point of View: Kayla

I pulled over the second I was certain I was out of eye and ear shot of Nick, around the corner, blocked by the wall that surrounded his house, and covered my eyes with my hands. "Ohhh my God, oh my God," I whispered, trying to get my heart to stop slamming so hard in my chest, I took deep breaths. I just sang Beautiful Stranger to Nick-fucking-Carter and he liked it. I sang Beautiful Stranger to Nick-fucking-Carter and meant every word of it. I just sang to Nick-fucking-Carter. I almost kissed Nick-fucking-Carter. My head kept spinning like that, reminding me of elements of the thirty minutes that I'd spent with him in his driveway. His face when he saw me, his slip-up. He said my name instead of Krystal's. "Oh my God," I muttered.

Zoe was gonna slaughter me.



When I got to the theater, I parked my car on the side of the road right in front of the entrance. I normally didn't drive there because I hated leaving the car on that sketchy street, I was always afraid I'd come out and find it stripped for parts or something, but I'd wanted to bring Nick a smile and a coffee, so I was going to chance it. I stuck quarters into the meter and ran inside, just in time for the rehearsal to start.

"Oh how lovely, our star decided to show up," called the lazy voice of the director.

"Sorry," I cried, running onto the stage and tossing my bag on the floor as I went, "I got lost in traffic." I ran to Leon's side and grabbed his hands, my hands shaking. He pulled me into a kiss and stuck his tongue in my mouth, I pulled away quickly and flushed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Leon demanded at my unusual reaction to his affections.

"Nothing," I answered, smiling sweetly.

Leon glared at me, but didn't speak again until we were rehearsing and his line came up. In fact, lines were the only things he said to me for the rest of the day, and when the rehearsal was over, he took off before we could talk again. I wasn't sure if I was upset or relieved that I didn't have to talk to him immediately. After all, I wasn't positive that anything would come out of Nick and I, and I didn't want to lose Leon over nothing...



That night, when Zoe came home, I had cleaned the entire house. I even mopped the floors and used wax on the hardwood. I made dinner. Everything was ready for her to just come in and relax. She looked around the room, eyebrows raised. "What's going on here?" she asked.

"Hmm?" I asked, stirring the corn chowder I'd made, "What do you mean?" I flipped the grilled ham and cheese sandwiches over.

Zoe ticked items off on her fingers, "You cleaned, you waxed the floor, you're cooking dinner, and I asked for none of this. What happened?"

I laughed, "Can't I just do something nice for my favorite Aunt?" I asked sweetly, batting my eyes.

"No," Zoe answered, "You can't. What's going on?" She thought about it. Then understanding dawned on her face. "This is about Nick Carter, isn't it?" she asked.

I could feel my face flush. My one curse - I blushed when I was nervous. Actually, I blushed over everything. I hated that about my cheeks. They didn't know how to stay pale. "No," I lied.

Zoe snorted, "It is. This is over Nick Carter. Kayla, I am not inviting that kid here for dinner, I don't care what's wrong in his life. I don't want you getting attached to him in any shape, way, or form. He's bad news. I'm not saying he's bad, persey, I think the guy means well, but I don't want you getting any funny little ideas in your head. Besides," she added, "You have Leon, remember him?"

"Yeah," I said, relaxing - for a moment I thought she knew about the trip I'd made over there and my heart had nearly failed me. But this was as good an excuse as any, and not really completely lying... "I just thought with all the bad he's got happening with Krystal that maybe..." I shrugged, "Nevermind. You're right, I'm sorry Aunt Zoe."

"I like it when you want something, though," Zoe said, looking at the empty sink basin, devoid of dishes of any sort. "It makes the place look great."