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The rest of the week went pretty well, it was now Saturday afternoon. We got into an argument over my grades because I had failed a test, but other than that, it was a pretty smooth week. I was now on Christmas break. We actually got off on the 18th and didn’t go back until the 3rd of January! Needless to say, I am stoked!

“Come on Baylee! Howie is going to be here any minute. Help me get this house picked up,” Nick shouted up the stairs. “Don’t roll your eyes, just help. You know Howie is staying with us for the week and you also know what a clean freak he is!”

“Don’t remind me,” I chuckled at the thought of Howie’s severe obsessive compulsiveness. “Tell me again, why Leigh isn’t coming?” I asked as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

“She is spending time with her family. She told Howie that he should spend the holidays with the Backstreet family because he went with her last year,” he replied. I couldn’t help but smirk as I looked at my guardian’s appearance. His hair was stuck up in all directions and he had one leg of his sweat pants above his knee; he still had ketchup, from lunch, in one corner of his mouth and he had a frazzled look on his face. That is a classic vision of Nick…always in disarray.

“When is he going to be here?” I asked as I grabbed some of the clean laundry from his arms.

“I have to go pick him up at the airport in…” he trailed off looking at his watch. “OH SHIT! I’M LATE!”

“Classic. Howie is going to eat you for dinner,” I laughed with a roll of my eyes. “Aw man! You turned my socks pink again!” I held up a sock and scrunched my nose. “You better not come back unless you have some new socks for me!”

“Well if you would have helped me from the beginning, instead of leaving all the chores to me, then MAYBE this wouldn’t have happened!”

“I hate chores,” I groaned.

“So do I,” he furrowed his eyebrows. “Now, I have got to go get Howie. I will pick you up some socks on the way back but PLEASE try to do SOMETHING around here before we get back.”

“I’ll think about it…” I paused then shrugged giving him the answer, “it’s doubtful.”

“Rrrrr,” he growled at me as he sprinted out the door.

“Okay,” I started talking to myself as I looked at the pile of laundry in my arms. “It will take at least and hour and a half for him to get to the airport and pick up Howie. Knowing them, they will spend another hour in Wal-mart, plus another half hour to get back here. So that gives me about three hours to do something with this pig sty.” I looked around at the house. It was a MESS! Nick had spent most of the morning trying to clean but it didn’t look like anyone had touched it in over a month. “That gives me only one option…AJ.”

“Speak words,” AJ answered his phone.

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Well, howdy, Little B.”

“Can you come help me? Nick just left to pick up Howie and this house is still…well…”

“Trashed? Destroyed? You know, I heard something on the news about a natural disaster…I think they named it something like Nicklee…did you hear about that?” AJ chuckled at his own joke but I just groaned.

“He asked me to try and do something before they got back. I figured it would shock the pants off, both of them, if they walked in to see the place spotless. Plus, it would be another good way for me to try making it up to Nick for being a brat,” I explained quickly.

“Making it up to Nick, are we?” he questioned with a snicker.

“It’s been interesting, but I have really been trying. Failing my geometry test didn’t help the situation much, but other than that we have done pretty well the past few days. Oh hey, hold on there is someone at the door…”

“I’m very well aware of that,” AJ smirked as he pushed past me and slipped off his shoes. “Holy hell! This place has gone to the pits and I was just here three days ago!”

“I know. Nick fired that housekeeper over a month ago. I am surprised he kept up on it this long,” I smiled over at him.

“And, they are do back…when…exactly?” he asked hesitantly as he walked into the kitchen.

“He left at, about 2, so they should be here around 5 or so…Nick had to pick me up some socks. He turned mine pink,” I replied.

“Again? That man has turned more socks pink than everyone else in the world…COMBINED!” he shook his head with a sigh, “Let’s get to work,” he shook his head and shoved up his sleeves.

“I’ll brave the dishes and laundry, if you want to work on the living room and hallways,” I suggested.

“Sounds like a start. I should probably wear gloves,” he said sarcastically before laughing loudly and heading to the living room. I set to work on the mountain of dishes. After getting the first load in the dishwasher, I began to wash the rest by hand so they would get finished faster. AJ turned the stereo on and cranked the volume. I think we both got into the swing of things, before long, and were able to really get things done. Before I knew it, I was done with the kitchen; the floor included, and was tidying the dinning room.

“Yo, BayBay?” AJ questioned as he came into the dinning room to find me washing the large windows.

“Yeah, JayJay?” I asked as I turned long enough to give him a quick glance.

“I’m glad you called me. You are makin’ me proud today,” he smiled before ruffling my curls.

“Whatever dude. Save all that mushy crap for your woman.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I finished the windows. I wiped off the table and chairs before heading to start folding the laundry. AJ was now vacuuming the upstairs hallway. He had finished the living room and den and he had gotten all of the downstairs carpet vacuumed. It was now quarter after 4 and we only had 45 minutes or so to get done what we could.

“Hey, BayBay? I’m getting a bottle of water, you want one?” he asked as I folded the last of Nick’s shirts.

“Oh my gosh, YES!” I answered dramatically as I headed up to put the laundry away. AJ met me in my room with the bottles of water.

“Well, at least, the downstairs is spotless,” AJ sighed as he leaned in the doorway, watching me clean my room.

“Yep. My room is almost done and then I am going to get the room, down the hall, all set up for Howie,” I told him as I grabbed the vacuum to put the finishing touch on my room.

“Alright, I’ll head down and get started on it,” he turned and headed down to the guest room that Howie liked the most. Howie has stayed with us a couple times when he has visited. He lives out in New Mexico, now. They move a lot but I’m not really sure why. I don’t think I could remember all the places they have lived. Nick says that he and Leigh haven’t found the right spot where they want to settle down. Of course, that makes NO sense to me, but whatever.

“I’m done,” I said as I entered the guest room where AJ was tidying.

“Cool, so am I. I got everything set up just how he likes it. Get it? How he…Howie…how he?” his shoulders shook as he laughed.

“Lame, JayJay…lame,” I rolled my eyes. “HEY! Let’s order pizza and have it delivered! Nick and Howie should be here in 15 minutes, give or take,” I smiled widely at the thought. That was one thing that had rubbed off on me…Nick’s love for pizza.

“Good plan,” he stuck his tongue out at me and ruffled my hair on his way by. That was one of the annoying habits that EVERYONE in the Backstreet family seemed to have: ruffling up my curls. What is with that? I know they used to do it to Howie, but now, I am the ruffled curls target. How messed up is that? I’ll never understand the obsession they all have with curls.

“I think they are here, either that, or it only took 10 minutes for them to cook and deliver our pizza,” AJ said as he peeked out of the window.

“Quick, turn out the lights and let’s hide!”

“We have taught you well!” AJ teased as he hit the lights and we scampered in separate directions.

“Look, Howie, please forgive me for the mess, okay? We have had a lot of…things happening…lately,” I could hear Nick apologizing as he opened the door.

“I would expect nothing less from you, Nicky,” Howie laughed.

“Yeah well…it’s REALLY bad this time,” Nick moaned as he felt around for the switch. Turning the lights on he slipped off his shoes. Howie kicked his off too, and then they both froze.

“Oh yeah, Nick…it’s just plain awful. You can’t even walk in here!” Howie retorted sarcastically and I could just barely see him give Nick a really funny look.

“But…but…I…I don’t…” Nick stumbled over his words as they walked into the foyer. AJ and I quietly crept for our hiding spots…I was in the closet that was in the entryway and AJ was in the living room.

“HOOOWIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” we both screamed at the top of our lungs, causing both him and Nick to jump about 10 feet…then we tackled Howie to the ground and I messed up his hair.

“Aaaaw get off me, ya freaks!” Howie chuckled as he tried to fight us off.

“We missed you!” AJ smiled widely.

“Yeah, we missed you!” Our tackle turned into a big group hug before AJ helped him to his feet.

“The house looks great, Baylee,” Nick said softly after AJ, Howie, and I were all back on our feet.

“AJ came in as reinforcement,” I gave Nick a lopsided grin. “AND we ordered PIZZA!” I squealed as the delivery guy approached the house. AJ tossed the guy his money and I grabbed the pizza. We helped Howie take his bags upstairs and then the four of us sat down for an action flick and pizza. Ah, it was nice to have a guy’s nice with no females and no fighting! Plus, I knew Nick was pleased that I had managed to get the house spotless, with AJ’s help. Oh, and Nick’s room was the exception…there isn’t enough money in the UNIVERSE to get me to even attempt cleaning that room!