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Kt jumped out of Nick's Durango and walked up the sidewalk to Kevin's house. Courtney and Nick had given her a ride to Kevin's house because his car was in the shop; so they were going to use Howie's car. Kt knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Kevin answered.

"Hey Kt," he greeted her.

"Hey," she said kind of shyly.

"Come in," he said as he moved aside.

Kt walked into his house. "Your house is so big!" she exclaimed, "I love it."

"Thanks," he replied with a smile, "I just have to grab my wallet from upstairs. Howie and A.J. are in the living room, if you wanna go in there."

"Ok!" Kt turned and walked into a room where she found A.J. and Howie. "Hey guys," she said as she walked towards them and sat down.

"Hey," they replied.

"Um... A.J.," Kt started, "aren’t you supposed to be out with Char?"

"Key words there would be 'supposed to'," he told her.

"Why aren't you?" she asked.

"She called and said she didn't think it was a good idea that she and I got together or whatever," he explained.

"What?!" she exclaimed.

"You aren't the only one who's shocked," Howie told her.

"I don't get that girl at all," Kt told them, "she seemed to like you so much, A.J."

"I don't get her either," A.J. said sadly, "and I like her a lot, too."

At that moment, Kevin walked in. "Ready to go, Kt?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I'll see you guys later. I'll try to find out what's going on in Char's head for you, A.J."

"Thanks Kt," he said. Kt and Kevin left for their first date.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nick and Courtney walked out of the movie theater. "I gotta admit," Nick said, "for a chick flick, that was a good movie."

"That movie was really sad!" Courtney said.

"Well," Nick said, "I'm here to be the shoulder for you to cry on."

Courtney smiled at him. "That's why I like you, Nick. You are so sweet."

"Really?!" he said, "I thought you fell for my manly good looks."

Courtney laughed at his joke; "You just keep telling yourself that."

"What do you wanna do now?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure. How about you pick?"

"Alright..... How about a walk in the park?"

"Sounds good."

They reached Nick's Durango and got in. As Nick drove off, Courtney heard her cell phone ring. "Hello?" she asked.

"Courtney!" she heard Kt's voice, "We have a screwed up friend!"

"What did Char do to you this time?"

"No! She didn't do anything to me!"

"Then what happened?"

"She cancelled her date with A.J.!"

"What?! She didn't!" Nick looked over to Courtney, wondering what was wrong. They were just pulling into a parking lot by the park.

"Yeah, she did. Now A.J. is all sad about it."

"He really liked her, huh?"

"Yeah. He's at Kev's house with Howie. I feel bad for him."

"So do I, now. What do we do?"

"When you're done with your date, go to my house."

"Then what?"

"We're going to Char's so we can figure out what's going on in that head of hers."

"Okay. I'll see you then."

"Alright, see ya!"

"What's wrong?" Nick asked Courtney.

"Char cancelled her date with A.J.," she replied.

"No way! He was so happy he was going out with her. He's gonna be heartbroken."

"Yeah, I know."

"What are we gonna do?"

"I think Howie's taking care of A.J., but Kt and I are gonna go over to Char's later tonight after we meet up at Kt's house, so we can see what's going on."

"I can take you to Kt's after this, if you want."

"That'd be great. Thanks!" They got out of the car and walked hand in hand through the moonlit park.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Char sat on her black leather couch, surfing channels. "There is nothing on! she thought, "I guess that only calls for one thing... basketball!"

She got up and ran up her stairs. She changed into some shorts and a t-shirt, tied up her shoes, and ran back down the stairs. She walked to a closet that was full of sports equipment and grabbed her basketball out of her duffel bag. She then walked through her house and out her back door. There was a public basketball court at the back of her house on the other side of the fence. The court was empty. "Great!" she said to herself, "I can work on my shots!" She started shooting around and working on some new moves she had made up. After a while, she got bored playing by herself. "Who is there that would wanna play?" she thought. "Didn't Brian say he loved to play? I'll call him."

Char set her basketball down and ran back to her house. She looked at the list of phone numbers Fatima had given her. She scanned the list for Brian's name. After she found it, she grabbed her phone and dialed his number.

"Hello?" she heard a southern accent.

"Brian?" she asked.

"That would be me."

She laughed, "Hey, It's Char."

"Oh! What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was playing some ball and got bored playing by myself. So, I was just wondering if you wanted to play. I remembered you saying that you like to play."

"Yeah, I'll play with you. I never pass up a chance to play."

"Thanks. Do you know where the court on Crescent Drive is?"

"Yes I do. I'll be there in about 10 minutes."

"Alright, I'll be waiting."

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

Char hung her phone back up and went upstairs to put her hair up. She went into her room and grabbed a scrunchie. She threw her hair up in a high ponytail and went back downstairs. She went back outside to the court. After shooting around a few times, she stopped when she heard a car pull up. She turned around to see Brian walking towards her. "Hey Brian," she greeted him.

"Hey Char."

"You ready to get your butt kicked?"

"No. It ain't gonna happen."

"Okay, let's play then."

They started their one-on-one game and 20 minutes later it was tied, 36-36.

"Next one to score wins," Brian said.

"Sounds good. Let's go."

They chased each other around the court for about another 3 minutes until Char took the ball and shot from half court.

WHOOSH

"Alright! Half Court!" Char did her little victory dance.

"You play hard, girl!" Brian said. "You are only the second girl who has ever beaten me."

"Really?" she replied, "Who was the first?"

"Nick," he smiled.

She laughed at him, "You wanna come inside for a drink?"

"That'd be great. Thanks!"

They grabbed their stuff and ran towards Char's house.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Turkeys, Cookies, and Flying Peanuts with Feelers?!" Brian laughed.

"Yeah! It sounds pretty stupid, but that's what we used to call each other," Char told him.

"So, who was what?"

"Kt was Turkey, Courtney was Cookie, and I was Peanut."

"Ya'll are strange!"

"You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

"Okay, now I'm scared."

"Ha Ha—Very funny!"

Brian glanced out of Char's window; "Whoa, look at this!"

"What?" she asked as she walked over and looked out. "Awesome!" she exclaimed. Both of them were now looking at the Northern Lights. "They are so pretty!" Char cried.

"You wanna get a better look?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. He grabbed her hand and led her back out to the basketball court.

"Stay here," he told her, "I'll be right back."

"Alright," she told him as she watched him run off to his BMW. "Sweet Wheels!" she thought. Char continued to look up at the sky until she heard Brian's voice.

"Okay, here we go," he said as he laid a blanket out in the middle of the court. "I got a blanket out of the car so we can lay down and watch them better."

Char smiled at the thought of him being so sweet. She watched him lay down on one side of the blanket. "Come watch with me," he told her as he patted his stomach. She walked over and laid her head down on his stomach.

"They're really pretty tonight," Char said.

"Kinda like you?" he said as a statement more than a question.

"Brian, I just got done playing basketball. I'm all gross and stuff."

"Girl, you didn't even break a sweat."

She giggled before saying, "Why are you being so sweet?"

"Me?! Sweet?! No!"

She laughed and started to say something but was interrupted by Brian. "What happened with you and A.J.?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened'?"

"I heard you were going out with him tonight."

"I was."

"Like I said, what happened?"

"I got a call from Fatima."

"And.....?"

"She had forgotten to tell us some rules and one of them was that we aren't allowed to date people we work with, so she didn't want us getting involved with you guys."

"So, then why are Courtney and Kt out with Nick and Kev?"

"I told them that I wouldn't let them drop Kevin and Nick like that."

"But you dropped A.J."

"Yeah."

"Why did you not let them do something, but then turned around and did it yourself?"

"I have never seen them so happy hanging out with a guy before. I wasn't gonna let them mess it up."

"Do you have any idea how happy A.J. was that you were going out with him?"

"Yeah, I heard all about it."

"Then why'd you do it?"

"I've seen how serious A.J. is about his work and I don't wanna screw it up for him by getting him in trouble."

"You're a special girl. You know that?"

"Huh? That was a complete change of subject."

"No. You thought of all those people before you thought of yourself and what you wanted."

"I did it because all those people are special to me."

"And you were saying I was the sweet one."

Char laughed; "Because you were the one being so sweet to me."

Brian didn't say anything. They now sat in silence. Char felt his arm wrap around her and his hand rest on her stomach. They laid that way for about 15 minutes and watched the Northern Lights disappear. They were now just looking at the stars. Char turned her head to look up at Brian. He must've felt her head turn because he spoke, "Don't worry," he said with his eyes still closed. "I'm not asleep. I'm just enjoying the moment."

Char turned her head back and laughed. "What moment?!" she thought.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, Mr. 'I'm-just-enjoying-the-moment'."

"That's it!" he exclaimed, and with the hand that was resting on her stomach he attacked her with tickles.

Char squealed in laughter, "Brian, Stop!"

"No way! You're cute when you laugh, so I wanna make you laugh."

"Char replied in between fits of laughter, "Well, you are cute when you're asleep. Why couldn't you have stayed that way!"

He kept on tickling her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kt and Courtney pulled into Char's driveway. They walked up to her door and knocked. They got no answer. "That's weird," Kt said, "no one's home, but all the lights are on inside."

"That could only mean two things," Courtney said. "That she is in her pool, or she is on the court."

The two girls walked around the house. "Okay," Kt said, "she is definitely back here because I can hear her. But why is she screaming?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Brian!" Char cried, "Please don't!"

"Now, how does that Titanic movie go?" he started, "You jump, I jump, remember?" He held her over the pool and dropped her in.

"Brian!" Char yelled as she treaded water. "In the movie 'you jump, I jump' was a promise!"

"Oh yeah. And the cute guys never break their promises." Brian pulled off his shirt and jumped in.

Char's stomach flipped when she saw his washboard stomach. "Holy Monkeys!" she thought, "He's kinda hot!" Her thoughts were disturbed when she heard two new voices.

"Char!" Kt yelled, "what the hell are you doing?!"

"Yeah!" Courtney added, "and why is Brian here and taking off his clothes?!"

Char and Brian snapped their heads around to see a very angry Kt and Courtney coming towards them. "What's wrong with them?" Brian asked Char.

"I dunno," Char replied quietly.

"Well?!" said Kt angrily.

"What are you talking about?!" Char exclaimed.

"You know what we're talking about!" Courtney threw back.

"Uh..." Char said, "No, I don't."

"You won't hang out with A.J.," Kt started, "but you'll hang out with Brian?!"

"That's not what it's like!" Char said. "I got bored playing by myself and I remembered him saying he liked to play, so I asked him if he wanted to!"

"Yeah, sure," Kt said back. "That's why you're wearing a white shirt that is now all wet and I suppose it's just a coincidence that he took his shirt off."

"I looked up to you, Char," Courtney spoke up. "I thought you were better than that."

"Let's go, Cookie," Kt told her.

They turned to leave. Char jumped out of her pool. "You two are making way too much out of this!" Char pleaded.

"We're not the ones who said that we'd go out with one guy, but cancelled to be with one of his friends," Kt snapped.

Kt and Courtney left. Char stood there in shock as she watched her friends leave. When she heard their car drive off, she turned around and looked at Brian, who was still in the pool.

"Char..." he started. He watched as she ran into her house in tears.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Char sat Indian-style in the middle of her bed in tears. She had changed into some dry clothes. She could hear footsteps coming up the stairs, but paid no attention until she heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she said quietly.

"I would," came Brian's voice, "but I'm kinda wet."

"Oh yeah," Char thought. She got up and walked to the door. She opened it and laughed at what she saw.

"Now I no longer think you're laughing with me," Brian said, "I think you're laughing at me."

"I think you're right," she said. "Come on; Alex left some clothes here last time he came to visit. They should fit you."

"Alright," he replied. "I'm sorry for dragging water through your house."

"Don't worry about it. It's just water. I don't care." She reached into her closet and pulled out some khakis and a black wifebeater.

"The guy has good taste," Brian said as he took the clothes. "Thanks."

"Yep," she said. "You can change in here and I'm gonna go across the hall and play Playstation."

"I'll be there in a jiffy," he told her.

"What?!"

"Don't ask," he laughed.

Char laughed to herself as she walked across the hall to the guest room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Alright!" Char yelled, "I finally landed that stalefish!"

"A what?!" she heard Brian enter the room.

She glanced over at him and had to do a double-take. She dropped her controller. "Um..." Char started, "a stalefish. I'm playing my favorite game. It's snowboarding." She regained her concentration. "Don't think about him that way, Char!" she thought, "You just got into a fight with your best friends about this. You like A.J.!"

"You wanna play?" she asked him.

"Sure," he replied. "But I don't think I'll be very good at this game."

"That's okay. I'll show you some tricks."

"Sounds good." Brian picked up the extra controller.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Maybe we shouldn't have got so worked up about that," Courtney said.

"About what?" Kt asked. They were driving to Kevin's house. He asked them to come over because A.J. was still upset over the whole cancellation thing between him and Char.

"Maybe we should've heard what Char and Brian had to say before flipping out and leaving."

"Maybe we should've. But she shouldn't have been hanging out with him when she was supposed to be hanging out with A.J."

"Yeah. We acted like we were her mom or something."

Kt laughed, "Thinking about it now... Char would never do that to a guy."

"Well, rehearsal tomorrow should be interesting." They pulled into Kevin's driveway.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Sweet!" Brian said. He had gotten down most of the tricks Char had taught him. After a few more minutes, they got tired of playing and turned it off. Char looked at the clock and saw that it read 12:20 am.

"No wonder I'm tired," she said as she leaned back on the back of the couch next to Brian.

"Don't forget we have rehearsal tomorrow," he reminded her.

"Oh joy," she sighed as she rested her head on Brian's shoulder. "Should be lots of fun."

"Everything will be alright," he told her as he brought one of his arms behind her. "I don't know how things with Courtney and Kt will go, but I am pretty sure A.J. will wanna talk to you. And if all else fails, I'm here for you."

"Thanks Bri," she said quietly, "That means a lot to me."

He looked down at her and watched as she played with a cord on the pants he was wearing. "Having fun?" he asked her.

"I always play with this cord when Alex wears these pants," she explained. "I miss him, and especially his hugs."

"Do you see him often?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"I'm sorry. Where does he live?"

"South Carolina."

"That's pretty far."

"Yeah, but I talk to him a lot."

"Not the same, huh?"

"Nope. He was always there when I need someone to hold me. He was like my brother. I remember one time when me, Courtney, and Kt got in a huge fight and none of us would talk to each other and he stayed with me all night and never let me go."

"Sounds like your perfect guy."

"No, he's not for me."

"I'm sure you'll know when the right guy comes along."

"Yeah, that's what I think."

"I'll never be good enough for her," Brian thought, "I definitely can't pull anything unexpected on her tonight. Oh, but I want to so bad!"

Char noticed the serious look on his face. "Whatcha thinking about, Bri?"

"I wanna give you something, but I'm not gonna because I don't think this is the right time."

Char sat straight up and said excitedly, "Come on, Bri! Show me!"

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"It wouldn't be right."

"I'm sure it's fine. Now, show me or I might never talk to you again."

"If I show you, you gotta swear to me that you won't get mad or freak out, okay?"

"Yes, now come on, show me!"

"Alright... close your eyes."

"Huh?"

"If you want me to show you, you gotta close your eyes."

"Uh-huh..." Char said as she closed her eyes.

"Here goes nothing," Brian thought as he leaned in closer to her and rested his lips on hers. Startled at first, Char didn't do anything, but then started to kiss him back. "No! I can't do this!" She pulled back.

"I can't do it, Bri."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done it."

"Don't be sorry. But I think it would be best if you left."

"Yeah, I think so too." Brian got up, then helped Char up. She walked out of the room and down the stairs with him right behind her. She started to open the door but he stopped her.

"Wait," he said, "I'm sorry for what just happened."

"I said don't worry about it."

"Well, if it doesn't bother you, then promise me nothing has changed between us and you won't be all weird around me tomorrow."

"Alright."

"No. It's not alright. I need you to promise me."

"Okay, I promise."

"Thank you," he said as he took one of her hands in his.

Char stood up on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. She ran her hand down his cheek before she said, "Now go."

He opened the door. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

"Bye Brian."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"A.J., I have no idea what's going on in that girls' head," Kt stated. Her and Courtney were sitting in Kevin's living room with A.J., Howie, and of course, Kevin.

After thinking about it, Courtney spoke up, "Kt, what if she did it for the same reason we were gonna do it?"

"Huh?!" Kevin asked, "You two were gonna do it?"

"Yeah," Courtney replied, "but Char refused to let us do it."

"We didn't want to screw up you guys' careers," Kt continued. "We got the call from Fatima about not being able to get involved with you guys."

Howie, A.J., and Kevin were shocked. "That was really sweet of you girls," Howie said.

"Yeah," Kevin continued. "At least that goes to show that they aren't going out with us because of what our job is."

"I can't believe she did that so my career wouldn't be endangered," A.J. said slowly. "I hafta call her."

"No, don't!" Kt and Courtney jumped in unison.

"Why not?" A.J. asked.

"It's a long story," Kt explained. "Just don't call her."

"Can I talk to her tomorrow at rehearsal?" he asked.

"Yeah," Courtney answered, "that would be better."

She and Kt glanced at each other with a 'that-was-close' look. Even though they were mad at Char, they still felt the need to watch out for her. "That would've been really bad if A.J. called and Brian was there still," Kt thought. "Tomorrow is gonna be very interesting."