10 Years Ago

“Best friends forever?” Aaron Carter opened his arms to his eight-year-old best friend, Shelby Erickson. She hiccuped back a sob and nodded as she ran into his arms. “Don’t cry, Shelly.”

“Don’t c-call me Shelly,” she cried into his shoulder as they both laughed. Everyone knew Shelby hated the nickname Shelly. Aaron just called her that to make her angry. “If I’m Shelly than you’re Airhead.” She joked.

“Hey! No fair,” Aaron pouted. He hated that nickname just as much as Shelby hated Shelly.

“Aaron, honey. We have to get going!” Aaron’s mom yelled from behind the two best friends. Their giggling subsided and Shelby’s eyes filled with tears.

“Goodbye,” she cried softly and pulled away from Aaron.

“Bye, Shell,” Aaron sighed and looked to see his mom waving from the street.

“Best friends forever!” Shelby yelled back, just before Aaron got into his car to leave. A smile formed over his lips and he blew her a kiss. She smiled and waved before her best friend pulled away, out of her life for nearly forever.

10 Years Later

“It’s not like I was expecting anything, anyway. It was only the first date,” I said into my cell phone that was placed between my shoulder and ear as I opened the door to my apartment.

“But still, that’s just the norm when it comes to dating! There’s always a goodnight kiss!” My best friend, Liberty James, Libby for short, yelled on the other end. “I can not believe him!”

“Libby, don’t worry about it,” I laughed as I hit the light switch. “It’s no big deal. I mean, the date wasn’t even amazing, anyway. It was just…okay.”

“Here you go again. You never can be satisfied, can you?” Libby sighed. I rolled my eyes. “Jeff is a great guy, Shell. You should seriously give him a chance.”

“I did! And he is a great guy! Just not the guy for me,” I shrugged it off. “But listen, I have to go. I have work tomorrow morning and then I have to finish packing up my things to move to North Carolina.” I sighed. Libby and I still hadn’t faced the truth – I was leaving in a week to go to school Wilmington, North Carolina. My mom was living there with her new husband, and I wanted to be closer to her.

“Please don’t bring that up,” Libby whined on the other end. “I’d really like to push it to the back of my mind for the moment, at least.”

“You’re going to have to understand sooner or later, preferably sooner. I am leaving in a week, you know,” I sighed as I opened the fridge to try and find something to scarf down for dinner. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” she muttered. I could tell she was disappointed I was leaving her. We had, originally, decided to go to the University of Central Florida together and survive together, but after my mom got remarried and moved to North Carolina, I decided I wanted to go up there and study psychology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

“Bye,” I said and hung up after she said ‘goodbye’. I sighed as I found a tub of leftover macaroni and cheese. I hit the ‘Play’ button on my answering machine on the counter and stuck the tub in the microwave to heat up.

“Hey Shelby, its mom. I just wanted to call and check on you, see how the packing was going. I talked to Richard and he agreed to drive down to Orlando next week and pick you up. Can all your things fit in his truck? Did you sell any of your furniture?” I had to laugh. My mom was always more prepared than I was. She knew exactly what needed to be done and when it needed to be done. “I found an apartment in Wilmington. You can look at it when you get here next week. I can’t wait to see you! Love you! Bye.”

“Hey Shelby, its dad. Just wanted to see how everything was going. Debbie and I are going to be passing through Orlando in a few days, and I wanted to see if I could help you with anything to get ready for your big move next week. I, also, wanted you to see Parker. He’s almost two now,” I smiled. Parker was my dad’s son. It was kind of awkward for me, at first. My dad married a woman fifteen years younger than him. My dad was forty-three and she was twenty-eight. Talk about weird family reunions and get-togethers. It’s even weirder having a half-brother sixteen years younger than me. But after a while, I got used to my dad’s wife, Leslie, and I love Parker. He’s adorable. “Well, call me when you get this. Love you. Bye.”

“Shelby, it’s me…your old best friend?” I heard a nervous laugh. I frowned and glanced down at the answering machine. “Well, uh, I’m in town again. I was thinking we could go to dinner sometime or something. I miss you. How long has it been since I last saw you? I think it’s been about two years, right? Well, I’d really like to see you. I understand that you’re busy and all…but, call me, okay? My number’s (813) 291-0341. I’ll talk to you later, hopefully,” he said. “Bye.”

Wow. Aaron Carter called me. I hadn’t talked to him for a few months. When we last spoke I was hurt because Aaron called during his girlfriend’s birthday party. I admit, I was jealous. They were out having a good time and I was stuck at home watching Friend’s reruns with my mom. And the last time I physically saw him was almost two years ago for my sixteenth birthday party. He came into town to wish me a happy sweet sixteen. He was only in town for a day or two. Sure, I missed him, but he had changed a lot and I had changed, unfortunately in different directions.

But a part of me didn’t want to let go of Aaron, and I found myself dialing the number.

“Hello?” He answered.

Shit. I thought to myself. How big of a dumbass am I? I called and yet I wasn’t expecting him to answer? “A-Aaron? It’s me, Shelby.” I finally spat out.

“Shelby?” He exclaimed. “Oh my, gosh! Hi!” He sounded almost too excited to hear from me. “Wow, I haven’t talked to you in such a long time!”

“I know, it’s been a while,” I smiled at his enthusiasm. “How have you been?”

“Really busy, but good,” I could tell he was grinning from one ear to the next. “I was kind of bummed when I went to your old house to see you and your mom and found it deserted.”

“Oh wow, I must have forgotten to tell you,” I bit my bottom lip. “I’m living in Orlando now and my mom moved to Wilmington a few months ago. Remember I told you she got married to Richard?”

“Yeah, I remember that,” he replied.

“Well, his job took them to Wilmington, North Carolina. I’m, actually, moving up there next week to be closer to them,” I explained. I felt terrible for not telling him, but it wasn’t like we were talking once a week anymore. More like once every few months.

“Wow,” Aaron sighed. “I had no idea.” He almost sounded hurt.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…” I trailed off. I glanced around my bare apartment. It was lacking so much life and color. That was something Aaron always brought to my old house. I remember the time when we were four and we decided to finger paint my bedroom. That went over really well with my parents.

“Hey, it’s no big deal,” he tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. “On a brighter note, I’m in Tampa! I’m here for a week.”

“Wow, a break from the life from hell?” I joked.

“Actually, no. I’m stuck at home with my mom,” he laughed softly on the other end. I broke out into laughter. Aaron and his mom weren’t very close anymore. It was sad to see, to be honest. Growing up Miss. Jane – as I called her – was like a second mom to me, just like my mom was a second mom to Aaron.

“Wow, must be pretty harsh,” I sighed sarcastically.

“It really is,” he muttered. “That’s why I was calling you. I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out or something. Orlando’s not that far. Maybe an hour and a half from where I am.”

“Oh, I see. I’m the backup when your mom gets boring,” I said sarcastically. “I love you, too, Aaron.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Shelly,” he remarked. I tried not to laugh at his sorry attempt to throw a comeback in my face.

“Nice job, Carter. Going back to the maturity level of a ten-year-old, are we?” I laughed. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed talking to him. He always brought out a different side of me…a side of me that I liked.

“Who said I ever matured past ten?” He shot back, joking, obviously.

“Yeah, yeah,” I rolled my eyes. “So, what exactly did you have in mind for tonight?” I may as well do something with him. It’s not like there was anything else to do.

I sat at a table for two and watched nervously out the window at the beach. Aaron and I had decided to meet for dinner at a nice, but casual seafood restaurant called Shell’s in St. Petersburg. It was a long drive for me, but I didn’t have to get to work until 11:00 the next morning and I figured I hadn’t seen Aaron in a while and he was worth a night out. I didn’t understand why I was so nervous. Maybe because he was famous and probably had a million better things to be doing at this moment. I looked down at what I was wearing. Was I dressed appropriately? Was it too casual? Was it too much? I had decided on a white tank top that was trimmed with lace and black gaucho pants. I wore a pearl necklace from my mom with matching pearl earrings and short black heels.

“Shell?” I heard a low voice behind me. I couldn’t help the butterflies in my stomach.

“Oh my, God! Aaron! Wow, it’s so awesome to see you,” I jumped up from my seat and hugged him tightly. “You look amazing.” I smiled. He had on a black button down shirt with khaki pants.

“So do you! I can’t believe it’s been almost two years!” He hugged me tightly. I pulled back slightly and smiled up at him. “I can’t believe you’re in college!”

“I know,” I laughed softly. “Neither can I.” We both took our seats, his across from mine. The butterflies were still fluttering about in my stomach. Why, though? I wasn’t quite sure myself.

“How’s school?” He tried to start conversation as we waited for the waiter or waitress to take our drink orders.

“It’s okay,” I shrugged. “You know I never really liked school in the first place. Procrastination happens to be my middle name,” I smiled and he laughed.

“But you always managed to do well in school,” he complimented me. “I’m proud of you for going to college in the first place.”

“Well, thank you,” I blushed. I hated having the attention thrown in my direction. “What about you? How’s the famous life?”

“My famous life or my brother’s?” He sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Nick and I love being there for him, but these days it seems like he’s the only famous Carter around.”

“Oh, shut up,” I rolled my eyes with a joking smile. “You’re the famous Aaron Carter. I bet you at least one person will recognize you tonight.”

“Ah, a bet?” He cocked an eyebrow in my direction.

“Yeah, a bet,” I nodded and folded my arms on the table. I leaned in closer to him. “If I win, and someone does recognize you…” I bit my bottom lip in concentration, trying to think of something that he would have to do for me. “You have to come with me to North Carolina. We’ll make a road trip out of it.” I knew it was a long shot and I wasn’t even sure how Aaron would take it. We hadn’t really seen each other in a while.

“And if I win?” Aaron squinted in my direction.

“You decide. What do you want from me?” I laughed softly, thinking of how that sounded.

He glanced around the practically empty restaurant and looked back in my direction. “If I win, then you come with me to California for a movie premiere.” He replied.

“But, school,” I looked back at him.

“Oh, so you aren’t so confident after I throw what I want down on the table,” he laughed. I bit my bottom lip once more as Aaron put his hand over the table for me to shake. “They do have these people called tutors, you know.”

I glanced down at his hand and then back up into his eyes. “Fine.” I muttered and shook his hand over the table. I watched as the waitress approached. “Hmm, she has to be in her early twenties. She’ll know who you are for sure.” I grinned mischievously. Aaron just shrugged.

“Hi, my name’s Maggie, I’ll be your server this evening,” she smiled at both of us. “Can I start you two off with some drinks?” She asked. I felt my jaw begin to drop. She didn’t recognize him? How could she not?

“Yeah, uh, I’ll just have a diet coke. Shelby, what’ll you have?” Aaron smirked in my direction.

“Uh, same for me,” I stammered out as my eyes darted back and forth between Aaron and the server. Why didn’t she recognize him? He was Aaron Carter for God’s sake!

“I’ll be right back with your drinks,” she smiled and walked away.

“Pack your bags,” Aaron chuckled across the table.

I shook my head with a smile playing on my lips. “The night’s not over yet.”

One Week Later

“Mom, it’s going to be a fun time for me to get away and spend some quality time with Aaron,” I explained as Aaron finished packing my bags on the tour bus.

“Shelby, you lost to a bet so you’re driving across country. You’re giving up school and moving up here, I know it,” she muttered.

“Mom, I am not,” I sighed. “I’m going to be taking my classes online. I already talked to the Dean and he said it was perfectly fine. And right when I get back, I’ll be in North Carolina. I swear.”

“You better be safe! And you better call every chance you get!” She exclaimed. I could tell she was crying. I knew I didn’t have time, or the patience, for this right now.

“I promise I will. Look, I have to go. I’ll call you when we get there,” I said as I glanced at Aaron and Nick laughing together about something. “I love you.”

“Love you,” she cried. “Bye.” I said ‘bye’ and hung up with a sigh. I had to smile at the interactions going on between Nick and Aaron. Currently, Nick had Aaron in a headlock.

“Some things never change,” I laughed and folded my arms across my chest as I walked up to them.

“Hey Shelby,” Nick smiled and laughed at his younger brother.

“Let me go!” Aaron yelled and tried to punch Nick in the gut. He didn’t have much luck. Nick finally broke him free and enveloped me in a hug.

“So, you’re tagging along with the kid?” Nick laughed. I nodded and smiled. “Good luck. No one’s traveled with him in a long time. He can get kind of messy.”

“Oh, no worries. I’ll clean up after him,” I laughed and smiled at Aaron. He seemed to be blushing. “Well, are we ready to hit the road?” I asked and he nodded. Nick went in the tour bus behind ours. I walked on and smiled at how neat and tidy everything was.

“Uh, you can have this bunk right here, if you want,” Aaron pointed to a bunk bed on one side of the wall. “I’ll take this one right next to it.”

“Sounds good to me,” I smiled. I thought it might be awkward, but not this awkward. The bus got started and the driver let off the brake. My equilibrium wasn’t quite ready and I fell forward. I grabbed for anything in my reach, which happened to be Aaron. “S-Sorry.” I choked out, as he helped me find my balance and let go.

“It’s okay, you get used to it,” he shrugged and walked towards the couch. I frowned and he immediately spun back around, correcting what he was going to say. “Uh, I mean, not the falling girls…I don’t get used to that. I meant that you get used to the abrupt stopping and starting.” He tried to cover.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. I stole the remote from his grasp. “Abrupt? Using big words nowadays, Carter?” I laughed softly. I saw him give me the “evil eye”. I should have known what was coming next. His fingers found the sides of my stomach in a matter of seconds. “No! Stop!” I shrieked in a fit of laughter. “Stop!”

“Take it back!” He yelled, laughing at how hard I was laughing. I continued to squirm under his grasp. “Take it back, Shell. Or else the fingers will continue to work their magic!”

“Fine! Fine!” I surrendered. “I take it back!” I yelled, loud enough for the whole bus to hear. He smiled in victory and sat up, taking the remote back. “I didn’t want it anyway.” I joked. He shook his head and laughed and threw his arm over my shoulders.

Old habits never die. I snuggled into his shoulder and realized how good he smelled. What was I talking about? He was my best friend. It was too awkward to just sit there, so I stood up and walked into the bathroom. My stomach continued to flutter and I realized it had all started when Aaron started tickling me. What was happening? Good Lord, I was attracted to him.

How in the world could anyone ever sleep on a moving bus? I was never good with sleeping on moving vehicles anyway. This one seemed to have extra bumps – and it wasn’t very comfortable. I sighed and rolled over on my side facing the aisle way. I lit up my watch on my wrist and saw it was 1:45 in the morning. I rolled out of the bunk and opened the curtain to the living room area. “Everything okay?” The driver asked me as he saw me approach.

“Yeah, just can’t sleep,” I smiled back at him. I walked to the kitchenette area and put a mug of water in the microwave for a minute and fifty seconds. I found a packet of hot chocolate and opened it up. I watched out the window as the trees passed by. What in the world was I doing? Oh yeah, I was on a bus with a guy I hadn’t really spent time with in a few years and we were headed across the country.

“You wanna make me a cup?” I heard a raspy voice behind me. I jumped and turned around to see Aaron. His hair was matted down and I couldn’t help but notice how form fitting his white wife beater was and how fit he was. His plaid blue and gray pajama pants hung loosely off his hips, exposing his gray boxers just a little.

“Yeah, sure,” I caught my breath and turned back to the kitchenette.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he chuckled. “I couldn’t sleep. When I saw your bunk was empty, I decided to join you.” He explained. I smiled and put his mug into the microwave as mine was finished. I emptied the contents of the hot chocolate into my mug.

“Sorry, I’m just not used to sleeping on tour buses, I guess,” I said as I pulled out another package of hot chocolate for him. I never felt uncomfortable around Aaron, until now. I was constantly trying to think of something to say or what to do.

“Ah, that’s something you never really get used to. I guess it grows on you after a while, but it’s always nice to be back in my own bed,” he explained. God, his voice was just so sexy. Especially since it was raspy from just waking up.

I heard the microwave beep and I pulled his mug out. I dumped the contents of the packet in his mug and stirred it. I handed him a mug and sat next to him on the couch.

“You seem different,” he said, out of no where. I nearly choked on my hot chocolate.

“What do you mean, different?” I frowned and pulled my legs up under me on the couch to be more comfortable. I saw him shrug.

“I don’t know, you’ve changed,” he replied. I tried not to laugh at how vague he was being. “It’s just…you’re grown up.” He shrugged.

“No shit,” I laughed. “The last time you saw me I was sixteen. I’m almost eighteen now.”

“Yeah, I know, but its more than that,” he shrugged again and took a sip from his hot chocolate.

“You’ve changed quite a bit yourself,” I looked over in his direction. “You seem more mature, unless that’s just an act I’m seeing.” I laughed.

“Nah, I’m more mature,” he nodded his head in a cocky gesture.

“So much for being modest,” I laughed. He laughed too as we both took another sip of our hot chocolate. “It kind of sucks that you don’t come around much anymore.” I threw out there. May as well start conversation.

“If I remember correctly, the door swings both ways,” he shot back.

“Uh, not when my best friend is a famous pop star and travels twenty-four seven,” I said. It came off a little rude, but I needed to get my point across. “You just don’t seem to be there whenever I need you.” I shrugged. “But it’s no big deal. I understand.”

“Shelby,” he sighed. “I tried to be there. I wanted to, really, I did.” He tried to assure me. I knew he meant well, but Aaron was never good at keeping promises. “What did I miss? Fill me in now. That counts for something, doesn’t it?”

“I guess,” I shrugged. “Two years after I left, my dad moved out. I blamed him for a while, but then I found out my mom had an affair. I didn’t talk to her for three months.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you and her weren’t talking,” Aaron frowned.

“No one really knew. I didn’t talk to anyone for a while,” I looked down at the mug. I made circles around the rim. I wanted to say something like, I guess I was waiting for you to call.

“I’m really sorry, Shell,” Aaron put his hand on my knee trying to comfort me.

“It’s not your fault,” I shrugged him off. I took one more drink of my hot chocolate. “I think I’m going to try to get some sleep now.” He nodded and I put my mug in the sink. “Night.”

He sighed and smiled up at me. “Night, Shelby.”

My eyes slowly began to open as I felt the rumble of the highway below me. I pulled back the curtains a bit and saw the sun beginning to rise out my window. I smiled and crawled out of bed. It wasn’t like I was going to be able to fall back asleep now that I was awake, anyway. I went into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. I opened the blinds to the side where the sun was rising and snuggled back on the couch. I pulled a blanket up to my chest and rested my head on the back of the sofa. It was the perfect view.

“Morning,” I heard Aaron yawn from the bunk area.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” I whispered. “You should go back to sleep.”

“It’s cool,” Aaron shrugged and fell down on the couch next to me. He made a pillow out of my shoulder and squinted to look out the window. “Wow, so beautiful.” He muttered.

“I know, I love watching the sun rise--.” I began.

“I wasn’t talking about the sunrise,” he glanced up at me from my shoulder, his long blonde hair hiding his eyes.

“Ha, ha. Very funny,” I laughed and hit him with a pillow. “It’s six o’clock in the morning, Carter. The only thing beautiful at this moment is the sunrise.” I smiled, completely blowing off the idea that he gave me a compliment that made my heart soar. “But thank you.” I smiled down at him.

“You are beautiful, you know,” he mumbled and stood up to get some food out of a box he had stashed in the front. “You’re welcome.” He called back to me. As soon as he was out of sight behind the curtain in the front with the driver, I bit my bottom lip and tossed my head back on the couch. He had called me beautiful and meant it. I could see it in his eyes.

He had called me beautiful.