The rain was dripping down on my umbrella. Soon, the thunder and lightning would come. The weather was perfect for a Friday the 13th.

Why is everything going wrong and down for me? I can't do the easiest things - like reaching school on time! "It's Jacks fault!" I screamed out to no one in particular as I walked down the street.

I didn't want to think about the blond Barbie wannabe that he was with last night. I almost didn't sleep at all last night, so I overslept and was late for school. The vice-principal wasn't happy about it and wrote me up for a week's detention!

I squeezed my umbrella handle tighter as I walked up the front steps to my house and opened the door...

"The vice-principal called..." My mom said, sitting on the couch as I walked in the door. "A week's detention?!!" She shrieked. "You know what that means?" Here it comes... "NO AARON CARTER CONCERT THIS WEEKEND!"

"You can't do that, Mom!!" I yelled back at her furiously. "Those tickets were expensive!"

She rolled her eyes. "Only $13."

"Yeah, well, that's a whole week of allowance plus." I kicked the wall angrily and ran outside, right smack into a very tall person.

My mouth dropped open.

I was totally shocked... I hadn't seen that tall, dark man in about a half year.

"Dad?" Finally the words came!

"Hey honey," he replied with a smile and gave me a big warm hug. Suddenly his face became very serious. "Just keep on doing what you was doing, I need to talk to your mother while you're gone." He said as he walked past me. I was totally confused. Usually he was so warm around me, and now he wants to talk to my witchy mother? Something was up. I had to get his attention somehow.

"Dad!" I blurted, running up to him.

"Not now honey, I gotta talk to your mom real bad." he replied, brushing past me again.

"I'm pregnant!" Now that shocked me. Not that it was true anyhow. At least I'd gotten his attention. Now his mouth dropped open and his eyes immediately went to my stomach. Oh crap. I hadn't expected him to actually believe me. "Dad, you've just been Punk'd." I said in an overly cheery voice.

Now he looked pissed. "That was not funny, do you hear me?"

"But Dad," I whined, wringing my hands in front of him, "I wanted to get your attention. We have to talk."

"Relax. We'll talk later." he smiled.

"I just hope that you and mom don't..." I couldn't finish my sentence.

"No fighting, I promise." he said and gave me a quick hug before he went into the house.

I slouched behind, finally going out the front door. What the heck was wrong with my dad? Wasn't he glad to see me? I rolled my eyes once more and started jogging towards Central Park, the only place to go for peace of mind... Not to mention, hot guys.

~Meanwhile~

*Third person POV for the moment*

"Hello? Anybody home?" Dad called. Mom almost dropped the glass she was holding at the sight of her husband.

"What do you want?" She asked. His smile was gone.

"I want to talk about Amy." he stated, slowly walking into the living room and sitting on the couch, keeping as much distance between himself and Mom as he could.

"What do you want to talk about?? Suddenly coming back into our lives just like that?" Mom said heatedly. "Her grades have been dropping, she's been less social... And do you care??"

"Honey, calm down. Let's just talk about it." Dad said slowly. "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, you know how things are with work and all the business trips I have go on to support this family."

Mom scoffed at the words "business trips". She knew what he was up to when he left.

"No! You say you love us but you don't show it. Our daughter needs a father in her life. Who is going to chase all the boys away that come knocking on the door? It won't be me. I really don't like this boy named Jack that she has been hanging around with." She scoweled when she mentioned Jack's name. "He's too... Shady, and cryptic... And - and he's involved in all sorts of offenses like vandalism, drug possesion, alcohol... And where were you? In Rome that's where. This boy is going to get her into the kind of trouble that could cost her her life!" Mom sighed. "She is only 16. She wants to go this concert but she wouldn't tell me who was going with her, who would bring her home..." Sharon was openly crying now and sunk to her knees. "I'm so scared that something will happen to her and I don't think I could live with that."

Steve knelt on the floor and comforted his wife. It was obvious that his leaving had left her emotionally unstable. He vowed as he embraced her that he would find a way to make it better. He looked around the place and made a decision: he had to get his family out of this enviroment. Luckly he had been relocated to California. That was clear across the U.S.. He'd made a deal with his superiors that relocation ment no more business trips. He was going to get his daughter away from Jack and his wife some help. He looked to his left and saw divorce papers on the table ready to be signed. It hurt that she wanted a divorce and that she and his daughter had been hurting so much and he hadn't even noticed. He vowed once again to change that once they moved to California.

Besides, he happened to know for a fact that this Aaron Carter person Amy wanted to see was having a concert in California in a few weeks and with the connections he had, he could get backstage passes. Amy would only have to wait a few weeks to see him. He had heard that this Carter guy had moved there as well. He bet that Amy would rather wait a few weeks to see him face to face rather than go to this concert here and see him through binoculars.

The one thing Steve didn't know was that their houses would be right across the street from each other.

"We're moving where??" I asked, my mouth gaping open is disbelief. Tell me I misheard him. Tell me he didn't just say what I think he said.

"California, honey," Dad said from the couch, "I'm being relocated."

"But why, Dad?" I stood there, staring at him. Did he even care that he was taking me away from the only home I knew? From Jack? From my friends?

"I know I haven't been around much lately, Amy, but if we make this move that'll change. I wanna be in your life again." He got up off the couch and walked over to me. I reluctantly gave him a hug.

I sighed, looking up at him from the floor. "But what about my concert??"

Dad smiled, looking over at Mom, who stood in the doorway to the kitchen and nodded. "About that, I have a surprise for you, honey. I hope it makes up for springing this on you so suddenly..."

~The Next Day~


"You can't move!" Jack exclaimed as he jumped up from his spot next to me on the bench. I can't say I didn't expect him to take the news like this. Jack had a short fuse. He ran a hand through his spiked-up, light brown hair.

"I have to, Jack, they're my parents." I responded calmly, hoping he wouldn't make a scene in the middle of Central Park. People were already staring at him as he paced back and forth in front of me, cursing.

"Damnit! This is bullshit!" he kicked some dirt on the ground in front of him in frustration. I got up from the bench and held his hand, rubbing it with my thumb. I hated it when he got violent around me.

"I have a two weeks before I move. Lets not waste it being pissed off, okay?" I looked into his green eyes, and kissed his cheek when he silently nodded. We then walked off and made our way to school. This was gonna be a fun day, I could already tell...

~Ten Minutes Later~

It was a short walk to school, but it was long enough to make me think... Did I really love Jack? Or did I just stick around because he was the only one that wanted me? I knew that he was going out and sleeping with other blond bitches... God I hated that he did that! He said only did it because I didn't want to sleep with him, but... How could he do that? He didn't love me!I stopped suddenly and let go of his hand just as we'd reached the front of our school.

"What the fuck are you doing, Amy?"

"I can't do this anymore." I stated, looking at the ground.

"First you say you're gonna move and that you love me and all that crap, and now you dont want to even touch me anymore?" Jack yelled, causing all the juniors and sophmores millling around to stare at us. I pulled Jack away to a secluded corner by the beech tree and stood him there, standing a few feet behind him just in case he had another fit.

"Jack...I'm sorry...I've -I've made a descision...We're breaking up." I held my breath as I looked into Jack's now dark eyes. Waiting. Scared.

"You bitch!" he screamed, lunging a hard fist towards my face. It almost hit me, but I got away. Now it was my turn to yell.

"You're calling me a bitch? The one that is a bitch and a whore is YOU!"

I could feel tears down my cheek and I didn't care.

"I loved you and was true to you and all I get back is you lying to me and going behind my back!! Not anymore, you are are just a liar and a player and I want you out of my life." I said as calmly as I could.

Before Jack could do anything, I was inside the school.

~Afterschool~

"Honey, what's wrong?" Mom asked once I'd stomped inside the door, still furious from my angry, and hopefully last, encounter with Jack at school.

"Why'd you care," I grumbled, rolling my eyes on my way to my room.

"What did you say??" Mom asked sharply.

"I said, 'why'd you care'?" I said louder. My anger needed to cool down, before I got in more trouble, before I did something wrong.

"Amy, please dont be a bitch. I know you and I have -"

"Why is everybody calling me a bitch?!" I screamed, running faster towards my room and slamming the door. I jumped onto the bed and tried to strangle the pillow and smother it with my tears, but it was no use. The pillow was stronger than I was.

I heard someone knock on my door, but I didn't want to answer. "Amy?" It was Dad. He walked into my room and sat down by the end of my bed.

I looked up at him, my eyes red from crying. "I don't want to talk." I said, more to the pillow then to Dad.

"I'm not here to talk" he answerd short. It was easier to talk to dad sometimes...

"Mom called me a bitch."

"You're not a easy crier, so I know thats not the problem." Dad gave me a caring look.

"Do you want me to report to the system about this Jack fellow?" Dad asked with a look of concern on his face. I felt bad for adding extra stress on him, even if he was the one who kept deserting our family. His hair was salt and peppered, there were worry creases behind his laugh lines...I felt bad.

"No, Dad... It's okay. It was nice talking to you, though." I attempted a feeble smile to assure him, but I could tell he didnt buy my bullshit.

"I've got an idea." he said suddenly after gazing at my stuffed teddy bear adorned bookcase. "What if we move right now, well, in a couple days, so you wont have to deal with this fellow? I'm sure I can rearrange the tickets and such."

I bit my lip from crying for happiness. Faster escape... But... "But what about Mom?"

"Don't worry about that Kiddo. I'll go talk to her, okay?" He got off the bed, making it rise up a little, and walked towards the door.

"Dad?" I asked. He stopped in the doorway. "I love you." I smiled.

"I love you too, Amy."


~Five Days Later~

As we walked out of the airport and searched for the rental car my dad's company had arranged for us, I looked at my new surroundings: open sky, palm trees... the air even smelled fresher. And of course, no Jack. I sighed. Toto, I don't think we're in New York anymore... I found myself thinking.

"Come on, honey!" My dad called from a few feet ahead of me, notcing that I'd stopped walking. I immediately snapped back to reality and caught up with my parents.

We finally found the car: A big, black truck. We loaded all of our suitcases into the back, and I managed to sit comfortably in the space that was left empty. I never realized how much stuff we had. Not to mention the stuff we had waiting for us at our new house...

Half an hour or so later, we pulled into the driveway of a large, tan house with red spanish tiles on the roof. This house had to be at least three times larger than our old place.

"This house is gonna make me a diva!" I joked. Dad just laughed.

I looked down and up the street. The houses were big, but there seemed to be no life in them. Maybe it was just early in the morning or something? I wasn't quite used to the time change.

"Dad, are we the only family here?"

He was silent for a moment, with the look in his eyes that told me that there was something, something like a hidden package. "Well, no... I mean, there's that house behind you."

I whirled around in a flash and stood in awe at what was in front of me. It was about the biggest house I'd ever seen, with black iron gates tailing all around the stucco and glass white house.

"Holy shit. Dad, who lives here?" I asked, turning back around. He wasn't there. Effin' hell. "Dad? Hello? Who lives here?"

I heard footsteps and heaved a sigh of relief. So my dad hadn't left me all alone.

"Well, hellooo neighbor." a young voice whistled. That wasn't my dad. Unless he'd bought a voice changer.

I turned around. My mouth dropped. In front of me stood a guy with short blond hair and dark brown eyes. He was wearing blue surfing shorts and black flipflops. He was really cute. Where the hell have I seen him before?

I snapped back to reality. "H-h-hi...."I stammered, still staring in his eyes.

"Hey!" He said with a bright smile, walking towards me and gripping my hands into a handshake. God, his hands were so warm and soft. "You must be my new neighbor right? Uhh, you're name is..." He consulted the back of his hand for a second before looking back up at me. "Steve?"

I giggled. "If you want..most people call me Amy."

"Nice to meet you! Do you need any help moving in?" he took a step back and looked around.

"Uhh..." My brain hadn't come back to reality yet -considering it wasn't even in the same time zone as me yet - so I couldn't think stright.

"Well, um, it looks like your dad could need some help with those boxes."

"What boxers? I mean, boxes?" I asked, blushing two shades pinker. He just laughed in a friendly way, making me swoon into mush inside of me.

"The boxes that your dad's trying to lug into the house." he pointed behind me, where indeed my poor father was struggling to lift up the gigantic boxes. I suspected the one he was currently fighting against was my box of clothes. I flinched, knowing he wasn't as much in shape as he used to before the accident he had a few years ago.

"Yeah. Let's go, I mean, if you don't have anything else to do." I looked at the ground, waiting anxiously for an answer.

"Of course, Miss Lovely," he smiled, picking up my hand and laying a small kiss on it before walking over to my dad and starting to help with the boxes. Miss Lovely?

I gazed at my box filled house. This was so amazing... yet so messy.

"So!" Dad's voice boomed out in the kitchen. I assumed he was talking to the blonde guy, unless he was having an affair with some imaginary friend. I walked closer, trying to move in a stealthy way.

"Do you like my daughter, son?" he asked.

I heard a nervous laugh. "She's really nice..very pretty."

"Oh really?" My dad said. I clapped my mouth over my mouth to try not and giggle over my dad's friendly sarcasm. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

I could hear in Dad's voice that he didn't totally trust him. I'd promised myself I'd never get involved with a guy like Jack again... "I would love to. If it's not to much trouble for you..."

"No problem, son, we just need to find the dinner table around here." Dad looked around and they both laughed.

I stoped myself from screaming. Hes really staying for dinner! I couldn't believe it! But what was this amazing guy's name? He never told me, but I swear he looked familiar... I looked in to the mirror that was beside me. "Oh my G- my hair looks like-" I whispered a bit too loud.

"Amy, are you there?" Dad called from the kitchen.

"I'm going to my room!" I called back. I started walking, until I remembered that I'd never been in this house before. "Uhh... Dad? Which room is my room?" I heard laughing in the kitchen and could feel my cheeks turning slightly red.


I finally found my room amongst the all the mess scattered in the hallway. Bless me, I've got the second floor. Darned Dad must've done that so he wouldnt have to excersise as much.

At first glance I thought my room was a beach, but then I realized what was going on. I had an ocean front room!! My bad, Dad, I tried to telepathically send my thought downstairs, I take back the darnedness I put on you.

I stepped in gingerly, careful not to step on the barefloor on my way to the full-glass wall. The place must've just been built, judging by the badly needed paint job and the sawdust littering the floor in little piles scattered around. I could see probably from here to Yugoslavia..wherever that was. Or at least from here to the beach, which was excellently planted just two blocks from here.

"Liking the place so far?"

I jumped at the sudden voice. What is it with dads always trying to scare their 17 year old daughters? I turned around with a smile on my face, and was surprised by who was before me. "You're not my dad..."

"I'm a bit too young for that aren't I?" the blonde guy(who I really wish I could remember, if I've seen him before) replied.

"Yeah" I giggled... How stupid am I right now? Before I mess up any more, maybe I should get his name...

"So what's your name?" I asked, a shy smile suddenly put on display on my face.

"Amy," he replied with a completely straight face.

"Really?" I asked incredulously. My mouth dropped open and I quickly closed it up. Oh, the things we could do with the same name together..Ohh, thinking wrong again.

"No," he chuckled as he too gingerly walked over the sawdust intruded floor, stopping beside me and the full length glass windows. "It's Aaron."

"Like as in run me an e-r-r-a-n-d?" I asked coyly, a smirk replacing my smile.

"No," he replied again, this time with a devious smirk on his gorgously tanned face. He put his long arm around my shoulder. In a brotherly way, I told myself.

"It's like A to the A to the R-O-N."

Oh. My- If there hadn't been glass between me and the balcony next to me I would have jumped.

"Hmm... I thought I'd seen you somewhere before." Was that the best thing I could think to say?! What the hell is wrong with me today?? "So... You wanna paint the walls?" I asked, "I mean, like maybe in a couple of days?" That's more like it!

"You took that pretty well, I half expected you to jump at me.." Aaron looked me in my eyes.

I nervosly laughed as I looked out at my balcony again. "What can I say, I'm not that kind of person." I looked back at Aaron; he was smiling, but he didn't look like he was all that happy...

"Aaron, what's wrong? I mean, I know I just met you, and I'd understand if you wouldn't want to pour all your worries out to a complete stranger, but is something wrong?" I asked slowly.

He broke his gaze away from my green eyes and shook his head just as slowly.

"Are you sure?" I probed. He shook his head. "Have a seat," I said in my best shrink voice. I gestured toward the floor than realized the exact situation we were having about the furniture. "Or just stand up."

He laughed and I felt kinda stupid again, and again I could feel my cheeks getting red.

"DINNER!" Dad yelled from downstairs. Thank God! Aaron looked relieved that he got out of telling me whatever he seemed to be hiding, at least for the moment.

He grasped my hand lightly and whispered into my ear. "C'mon. Let's go eat."

When we got downstairs, he smiled at my dad. "Hello again, Mr. Sean."

"No need to use the last name, just call me Steve." Dad smiled.

Then I saw my mom sitting at the small folding table. Please mom, don't make this a big scene... Aaron put out his hand for a handshake with my mom. "Hi, I'm Aaron."

"Sharon! Nice to meet you, Aaron. Hah, that rhymed!" Okay, this is officially embarrasing. "Have a seat Aaron."

"Well, you got this table set up fast." I said as Aaron and I sat down at the table. I felt like smacking my head two seconds after muttering that. How lame!!

"And the food is excellent." Aaron said, demonstrating by shoving a bite in his mouth and smiling. "Best pizza I've ever had."

"Uhh, Aaron, dear, that's from Domino's." Mom smiled. She's probably wondering if we got a smart neighbor or a not-so-smart one.

"Exactly." Aaron grinned.

"So, Aaron when can you help me paint my room?" I asked after a few minutes of semi-awkward silence.

"Oh, do your walls need painting?" Dad asked.

"No, Dad, I need painting." I said sarcastically. I turned to Aaron and was horrified to see a smirk on his face. "I mean, I didnt, I-."

"I know what you mean. Or what you don't mean." he laughed. My parents looked at each other with amused looks on their faces.

"Uhh well... Nice weather we have out here... A-anyone want more pizza?" I tried to change the subject.

"I'll take a slice..." Dad said, and I could tell he was holding back a laugh. I rolled my eyes as Aaron smirked on. I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, but how... hmm... Kiss it? I'll have to keep that idea in mind...



"That was an awesome dinner!" Aaron exclaimed quite loudly after dinner as we were walking towards his house. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he questioned mischeiveously, "It was so good that I had to tell the world."

I giggled as we stood on his doorstep. "Soo...."

"So I'll help you with the paint job, as long as you give me another type of job." he smirked. What was it with him and smirks?

"You are one dirty whore." I told him, loving how the porch light reflected off his bright eyes.

"What?" he asked with mock innocence, "You were thinking it!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at me. "That's not what I meant, anyhow."

"Then what did you mean?" I asked.

Aaron looked the other way, and I looked the same way. What did he mean? Did he have kissing on his mind too?

"Uhh...I actually don't know..." he laughed, nervosly playing with his hair.

It felt like we were standing there for an eternity. He looked like he was about to say something, but he got interrupted by a voice in the background...

"Amy!" My dad shouted, leaning out the front door, "You have to unpack your things!"

"I'm coming!" I was about to turn around and walk across the street when somthing grabbed my arm.

I turned around and looked at him... Aaron suddenly looked down, like he didn't know what to do next... I can't kiss him, it's to early! I haven't even known him for a day!

"I've gotta go," I said with a smile, "See you tomorrow." I totally suprised him with a hug.


At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to let go. It seemed to come as a little shock to him, but when I went to let go, he put his arms around me and pulled me close to his warm, soft body. I could stay like this forever.

"Thanks for today..." He whispered gently into my ear.

We both realized then how long we'd been hugging and let go. "I better get back there, or they'll wonder where I am."

"Yeah. You probably should." He said with a smile. I turned around when I got to my front door and waved goodbye to Aaron before I walked inside. I stood with my back against the door for a few moments before I was startled once again.

"Hes nice..." my dad said, smiling up at me from the box he was going through.

"You knew he lived here, didn't you?" I asked. He didn't need to say anything, the look on his face was answer enough. "Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, honey." Dad said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer to kiss the top of my head. I hate it when parents do that sometimes.

"See you in the morning, honey!" Mom called from the table as she put down a box ontop of it.

I walked up a few stairs and turned around. There was Dad, sitting at the table with Mom. They were happy. They hadn't been happy in a long time. Then again, neither had I. Not this happy. I turned back around and went upstairs, back to my empty bedroom. My empty, soon-to-be-painted-by-me-and-Aaron bedroom. When I walked inside, I automatically went to sit on my bed, forgetting that we hadn't moved it upstairs yet.

"OW!" I exclaimed.

"You okay up there, hon?" Dad called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah!" I stood up, dusting off my pants. "Goodnight!" I looked around and noticed a couple of blankets my parents must have put up here while I was walking Aaron home. I put the thickest one on the floor and leaned back on it, falling asleep moments after my head had hit the other folded blanket I was using as a makeshift pillow.

~The Next Morning~

I unpacked a box of my clothes and found a pair of old army green cargo shorts and a white tank top and got dressed as fast as I could. I zippered up my black hoodie from yesterday as I walked downstairs. My mom was smiling as she sat at the table.

"How was your night, honey?" she asked.

I yawned as I sat down across from her. "It was alright, even though I was still sleeping on the floor."

"Well, maybe Aaron could help you move in your furniture after you finish painting." She suggested. She must really like Aaron. She never wanted me to hang out with Jack... Jack. Hes the last person I want to think about right now. Hes 3,000 miles away, and thats where my memories of him are gonna stay.

"Speaking of Aaron," Dad said, walking in from the living room, "I just saw him outside."

I jumped up. "Really?"

"Yeah. He wanted me to let you know hes waiting outside for you."

I got up from the table, brushed off my pants, and hurried outside. "I'll see you guys later!!" I called back. My parents looked at each other and laughed.

"Hes better than Jack..." Dad commented.

"That he is. Shes never been so happy." Mom replied. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek "Thank you for doing this for us."

~Meanwhile~

When I got outside I looked around for Aaron, and found him sitting in his idling black Range Rover.

"Get in!" he yelled, motioning for me to come over with his hand. I walked over and stood by the driver's side window.

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked.

"We need to buy paint, don't we?" I nodded and walked around to the passenger's seat. He smiled at me as I fastened my seat belt and we drove off. "Your dad insisted on giving me cash to pay for it, though." he explained.

"That's just... typical him." I said smiling to hide my slight embarrassment.

"I don't mind." He said, smiling back. "We're almost there," he announced while turning left around the corner.

A few minutes later, we got out of the car. The sun was warm, and when my eyes saw the mall Aaron had taken me to, I was speechless. It was like 10 times the size of my house!

"Wow...But, weren't we out to get paint?" I asked.

"They have paint and stuff here. Plus, I thought maybe you'd want some new furniture. Like, a housewarming gift." Aaron said happily.

"I-I don't know what to say..."

"Take your time, it'll come to you. We can't stand here for ever you know. Come on, let's go inside."

"Good idea..." I trailed off as he took my hand and walked me inside. I would have walked on my own, but I was still a bit surprised at his offer.

~Inside the department store~

Immediately, my eyes landed on a beautiful wooden bed structure, polished and magnificent. "That is soooo pretty!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah," Aaron replied, looking at me with a glazed look in his eyes. I dismissed that weird little fact and continued awing over the crazy-awesome furniture.

"Oh my God, look at that one!" I shrieked, leading Aaron, well, more like dragging him, to this tall chestnut brown canopy bed. I bit my lip and tried to restrain from screaming in pleasure. No, that's not what I mean. It was just that the bed was so beautiful.

"What about that one?" Aaron suddenly suggested, pointing over to a small bed I'd missed in my deranged quest to peruse all the furniture in less than 5 minutes. I followed his fingers point and gasped. It was just a black metal frame, simple, and plain. But it was beautiful.

"God, Aaron, you have a good eye for beautiful stuff," I complimented as we jumped up on the bed, ignoring the no jumping on the bed sign propped up against the pillow.
He gave me a glazed look again, this time lingering on my face, and I shrugged. Were all teenage boys like this?

"Yeah. Maybe." he smirked, smoothing his white hands over the black bedspread that the sign claimed did not come with the purchase. "It's a big bed. Maybe if you buy it you could have some sleepovers or something."

I pouted. "Yeah. If I ever make some friends."

Aaron winked, his face turning deliciously adorable, more than it was before. "I'll be your buddy, and we can rock -"

I laughed. "Okay, dude, enough." I fingered the price tag attached to the sign and turned it over. The multiple numbers made me jump. "Damn. This is expensive. Remind me to get dad to come here and get me this, cos we left my bed home..from where we used to live."

His eyes twinkled, making me wonder what he was up to. In fact, I always wondered what he was up to. "Wait here." Aaron said excitedly as he hopped off the bed.

"O-kay.." I said, watching him closely.

Aaron went by to a man that worked here. What were they talking about?! While they were talking Aaron pointed at the bed and some other pieces of furniture that I had pointed out before. Finally came he back, but with an ear to ear smile.

"What did you to talk about?" I asked curiously, trying not to sound too anxious or suspicious.

"Ohh, nothing. So... What color do you want your room?" He asked, as we walked to the paint store. I think he cared more about changing the subject than he did about what color I wanted my room.

"Uhhh..." I looked deep into his eyes, wondering if I really was in a dream and almost answered brown. But that would be like living in a forest. "Uhm, like light pale green and really light gray. Why?"

He gave me another one of those looks, the ones I penned as his famous 'checking out my brain' looks. "Ehh, because we're gonna pick out colors for your room?"

"Oh. Yeah." I smiled nervously.

"So, after we get the painting done, do you want a tour? Maybe go down to the beach?" He raised his eyebrows up and down and glanced at me. I felt a tingling sensation in my stomache but composed myself. I knew what he was thinking, 'bikini or a wet t-shirt contest' or somthing like that. I knew because of the look in his eyes but I wanted to hear him say it.

"Why the beach?" I asked innocently while glancing at him.

As my eyes held his in a mini staring contest, he said, "Well, ya know...the sun, the water...okay, fine! You in a fine bikini!" he admitted, throwing his hands up in the air.

We enjoyed a moment of mutual silence, just thinking about who knows what, when he suddenly grabbed my hand. "Oh my God, I just remembered!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement. "I have to show you something!"

"What do you have to show me?" I asked confused as he dragged me along.

He dragged me across the hard, tiled blue floor before stopping in front of a large, and rather eye catching store front. He looked at me closely.

"Do you really want to know?" I nodded furiously. "This is what I want you to see." he said, pointing behind me.

I looked around then back at him. "There's nothing here." I told him once again very confused.

Standing in the middle of a sitting area with a fountain, I was very confused. The only store nearby was an electronics store, but that couldn't be where he was taking me. I don't need any of that. What I suspected he'd already gotten me was enough. I shook my head in disbelief as I looked at his face, his usual smiling, happy face...

"I got the feeling you were having a hard time, and one of those boxes your dad had me bring up to your room was filled with CDs, so..." he trailed off, his hands in his pockets as he turned towards the store.

"...So you thought you'd take me here? Aaron, thats-"

"Its something one friend wants to do for another. Consider me your first friend in your new hometown." I hugged him as we walked towards the store. As much as I wanted to refuse his offer, how could I resist that face?

"I already had." I smiled as he began speeding up his pace and again ended up dragging me behind him.

"Let the shopping begin!" Aaron smiled and let me go first into the store.

"Wait, first, I have to give you something." I grinned, pulling Aaron slowly by the collar so that we were face to face, up close and personal. I wiped my hands on the back of my pants and cocked my head at a 45 degree angle, anticipating the softness of his red lips. I giggled when Aaron's eyes opened wide at the prospect of getting a little something, and I gave him a teasingly light kiss on the lips.

"Damn," he smiled wide, exposing very cute teeth indeed. "Now I have to buy you the whole store just to pay you back!"

"I don't think my house is big enough for the whole store."

"Then you need a bigger house." Aaron replied with a grin.

"Where do I get a bigger house?" I asked coyly. "Does that include a bigger room with a massive plush bed?"

"I don't know, I'm not a pro in buying houses. So, let's get done here so we can get home." Aaron looked around for the stuff on the display closest to where we were momentarily standing. Back home? Oh yeah, we're gonna paint my room...

"Done here?" I asked, feigning cluelessness in my voice. "Who are we doing here?"

He laughed as we walked towards the back of the store, where there were sevreal aisles of CDs and DVDs. "You know what I mean." He began flipping through the DVDs and I playfully nudged him as I looked through the row next to the one he was looking in.


~At home later~

"My arms are gonna fall off!" I moaned as Aaron and I flopped through the doorway of my room.

"What are you complaining about? I have more bags than you!"

"Well I'm a lady." I showed him my lady-like pose. Aaron looked at me, and it like it was forever. I got nervous when he looked at me that way. But why?

"So true..." Aaron looked like he was in his own little world.

"Did you think I was a guy or something?" I asked, bending over to retrieve the paint brushes and paint, making sure I could tease Aaron with a nice view. "'Cause at first glance, I could so tell you were one." I grinned.

Aaron looked kinda shocked or out of right things to say as he stood there blushing for a moment. "J-just hand me that paint brush..." I handed him a light gray paint covered paintbrush, paint side first.

He smirked as he took the paintbrush and wiped it over my nose, covering it in gray paint. I made a shocked expression and pulled him to the ground, where I took the paintbrush from him and made the same mark on his nose. I smiled as I sat over him, looking into his eyes... until he leaned in and kissed me.

It took five seconds before I realized what was going on and pulled away.

Aaron was still on the floor. "What?"

I just turned around to the wall. "We - have a paint job to do..."

It was silent for the next 20 minutes, until I saw out of the corner of my eye Aaron making silly faces at me. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Finally, I was starting to think you weren't talking to me." he said.

"Why wouldn't I talk to you?" I giggled, slowly walking over to the wall where the job must be done.

"I dunno... 'cause you were like quiet after I kissed you." he said. I snuck a glance at his face. It was pink. Not really an attractive look, but whatever suits his body.

He moved away from the wall for a moment and walked over to my other side, beginning to paint that part of the wall, I'd assumed so we'd be done faster, but as he moved a little closer to me, I wondered...

"Ahhh!" I shrieked as Aaron flicked a whole brushful of gray paint on me. "What the hell was that for?"

Aaron smirked at me. "I just felt like it. What are you gonna do about, Little Missy?"

What was I going go do about it? I wrestled him to the ground, eeriely feeling a tad bit of deja vu. Looking into his eyes, I knew he wanted it to happen again. I smiled as I leaned in to kiss him, and instead swiped the paintbrush over his cheek.

"The heck, Amy?!?" Aaron exclaimed. Was he disappointed that I hadn't kissed him again, or mad because I painted his face to look like a wannabe Braveheart?

I chose to think the latter and laughed as I got up off of him once again. He wiped the bit of paint off of his mouth and pouted at me for a moment before resuming his painting. Why did I feel bad for not kissing him again?? Must've been the fact that Aaron's gray lips looked so inviting and delicious right now. "I should've picked a box to live in next time, so we wouldnt have so much to paint." I giggled as we finally stood back to admire our work.

"LOL," Aaron replied.

I shot him a bewildered look, "LOL?"

"Habit," he told me, sliding his arm around my waist and picking me, heading out of my room with alarming speed so that I thought I would've crashed.

"Hey, watch it!" I exclaimed, laughing.

He carried me back into my room, where he sat me down on the floor before turing around and picking up the paint brush.

After a few more minutes of silence, he finally spoke. "Am I that bad of a kisser?"

My head immeditately shot up. What the- "No, why?"

"Then why haven't you wanted to talk to me since?"

"I've been talking to you, Aaron."

"You get quiet when I mention kissing."

"I dunno," I shrugged.

He gave me another look, a look with an expression of being slightly hurt, and turned back to the wall.

I sighed. "Aaron, its not like that."

"Then what is it?" he asked, turning back around to face me. "Am I ugly or something?"

"I haven't known you that long..." Oops, not the best thing to say... "And... and..." Somebody save me!! "Well I was concentrating on getting the the job done..." Please don't let him be like Jack... UGH!!!! WHY did I have to think of Jack again?? I wish I could kick him in the balls.

"Fine." he said flatly. "Lets just get done." he turned away and moved as far away along the wall as he could and began to paint again.

I went to say something, but hesitated. Was I ready for this so soon after Jack? Could I handle it?

Yes, I can. "Aaron, please. I dont know what to say. I like you... But I'm just not ready for that yet."

Aaron was silent for a moment, and I cringed at all the mean things he could say, if he wanted. "Do you have another boyfriend?"

I wanted to tell him about Jack, but he could get it wrong... I began humming one of my favorite songs to myself. Music helped me relax, and I needed to calm down before I started to cry.

"Why are you singing about your old boyfriend? Am I that boring?" Aaron demanded.

"I knew you would get the wrong idea."

"How am I getting it wrong?" Aaron asked, shaking his hands in the air. "You won't tell me a thing!"

"No, Aaron... Its... He just-" I tried not to completely break down.

"He just what?? Hes better than me??"

"NO!" I exclaimed, sitting down on the floor. Aaron's expression grew softer as he sat down across from me.

"Amy..." he said quietly. Unable to stand it anymore, I broke down completely. He moved closer and held me in his arms as I cried. I finally calmed down enough to explain to him about Jack. Everything about Jack.

When I'd finished explaining, Aaron seemed to completely understand. "He is an ass." he said without looking at me. His eyes were fixed on the wall in front of him. I could barely see his face, mine was buried in his chest. "I'm sorry that you had to deal with him, Amy."

"I thought I loved him," I sobbed, burrowing my head deeper against Aaron's chest. "I dunno why..Maybe because I thought Jack would protect me. He always knew what to do. And controlled."

"You want to be controlled?" he asked.

"Not really... I was just scared I'd lose him. He was the only one who was willing to defend me."

"He's not anymore." he brushed away a hair from in front of my face. "I'll protect you, Amy. From him, from anyone. Anything."

I didn't have anything to say... I just wanted to sit beside him and feel his warm body. "Even a big fat monster rooster?" I finally asked softly. I nestled deeper, feeling fatigue hit my eyes after spending all that time sobbing. Crying had a thing of making me tired.

He laughed. "Yeah. That too."

"It's getting late!" Dad yelled up the stairs.

I felt a kiss on the top of my head. "I know, Dad! We're almost done!"

"Alright, let me know if you need anything." He frowned as he slowly got up to leave, making sure I was okay. As he walked to the door, I jumped up and ran over to him.

"Wait!" I called. He turned around and stopped. I pulled him down by the neck and kissed him.

"Nice try, but you still owe me a job." he smiled after we'd pulled away.

"Not 'til we finish painting." I commented. As I reluctantly let go, I couldn't stop looking at him. Particularly his eyes. It was like, he'd been waiting for this to happen forever, or at least since we met.

I walked after Aaron down the stairs to walk him to the door as Dad stopped me gave me an "I'll take it from here, you can go back now" kinda look.

I went back to my room to try to paint the last wall, all the while wondering why he'd wanted to walk Aaron to the door. I almost jumped as I heard a knock at the door. I looked over to see my dad standing there, leaning on the doorway.

"Thats wet paint, Dad." I told him. He stood up and saw white paint on his arm, but didn't bother trying to wipe it off.

"This is an old shirt." he replied, walking over and looking at the wall from the middle of the room. "Are you alright, honey? I thought I heard screaming and crying before."

"I'm fine, Dad, is that why you wanted to walk Aaron to the door?"

"I wanted to make sure he wasn't hurting you like J-"

"No, Dad." the only thing that could completely kill the happiness I was holding back would be to hear his name out loud. Again. "Actually, it was quite the opposite."

"You didn't-"

"No, Dad, nothing like that..." I said. I couldn't help but laugh. How could he even think that?

"Shes in love, Steve." my mom said from next to us, having walked in unnoticed.

"How can you tell?" he asked, confused.

"Its painted on her face." my mom said, beaming at me. Wow, she really did like Aaron more than J- the other guy who shall remain nameless for now. She wanted to kill me when she found out about him.

It was fine that they liked Aaron, but I didn't want them all over my love life, which was basically non-existent at the moment...

"Well honey, while we're talking about it.." Mom began.

"Before you say anything else, I just-" I started.

"We know you're a smart girl. We just want you to be careful, honey." Mom said. Why do parents always say that??

"I will be. Can we please change the subject?" I asked with a sigh.

"Why? Do you have anything to hide?" Dad quizzed.

My mouth dropped open, and I almost dropped the paint brush, too! "What could I possibly have to hide, Dad??"

"If you and Aaron just had been painting, you would be done by now." He stated.

"True..." Mom chimed.

"We were joking around! Nothing happened. Dad, I'd tell you if something happened that you would wanna know about." I exclaimed. What the hell was going on today? Was Mercury in retrograde or something?

"Well I hope so, you are always gonna be my baby girl." Dad smiled and looked like he was thinking back....

"Okay, well, it's late, and I wanna get some sleep..." I told them.
"Goodnight," Mom said after Dad said his goodnight and went downstairs.

"Goodnight, Mom." I said as I waved to her while she slowly walked out the door. I looked around my room. My not-completely-painted room. So much for sleeping in a bed tonight.

~The Next Morning~

My body was a bit stiff after a not-so-good night's sleep on the floor. I decided to finish painting right after breakfast. If I get done with the painting quickly, the paint will dry sooner, and I can get my bed sooner.

I found Mom and Dad sitting at the kitchen table when I went downstairs to make myself some cereal, jumping up as soon as I heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" I called from halfway down the hall. I jumped into Aaron's arms and hugged him as soon as I opened the door to find him standing there. "Hey!" I said as I hugged him. He kissed my cheek lightly. "Did my Dad say anything to you other than 'Goodnight, Aaron' last night when he walked you to the door?"

"You could put it that way, yes..." Aaron said, not looking me in the eyes.

"What did he say??" I asked demandingly. What was Dad's issue?? Doesn't he trust me??

"He asked me what happened upstairs, I told him nothing, he nodded and said 'Lets keep it that way, son' and patted me on the back before saying goodnight and closing the door."

I couldn't believe it! I gripped his hand tightly as we walked into the kitchen. I was pulled back a bit as Aaron stopped before we made it to the kitchen door.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"After last night, I was worried about you." I rubbed his hand with mine.

"Don't." I kissed him on the cheek. "I'm fine." I sighed. "I just can't believe my dad said that to you!"

He laughed. "Its alright, dads have said worse to me. And if he really had that big of an issue with us hanging out he wouldn't have let me back in your house."

Something he said made me stand up completely straight. "Aaron?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Are we still just 'hanging out'?" I asked. I wanted us to be more, but we'd only known each other for three days! Was that too soon? I didn't want it to be too soon.

"Would you rather we weren't?" he frowned. Did he take what I said the wrong way?

"I mean," I said, pulling him further back into the living room in the hopes that my parents weren't already listening, "I'd rather we were more."

His answer was simply to pull me close to him and press his lips to mine. I smiled as I pulled my face away from his, jumping when I heard a small laugh.

"I told you she was in love, Steve." My mother said, leaning on the wall, my father standing behind her. How much did they see? I tightened up as my dad walked over to us.

"You did, Sharon..." he said, turing his stern gaze to Aaron. Before Dad could say something that I might kill him for...

"Aaron, let's go upstaris, we got one last wall to paint..." I pulled him behind me out of the living room and up the stairs. I heard Mom's giggling from down stairs. "I'm really sorry about that!!" I said upstairs when I knew Dad and Mom could hear us.

He laughed as he re-opened a half-used paint can and poured a bit of paint into one of the trays. "Its okay, at least he didn't throw me out of your house."

I nodded, knowing he as right. I picked up a paintbrush and began helping him paint again. "You know, my mom must really like you."

"Like me?" he gave me a concerned look.

I giggled. "Not like that! I mean, she doesn't treat you the way she treated... you-know-who."

He looked a me for a moment, about to ask who "you-know-who" was supposed to be until he remembered. Then he smiled and kissed me on the cheek.

"Don't worry," he murmured against my cheek, "I won't let Lord Voldemort get you."

"Aaron!" I squealed playfully.

The rest of the morning seemed to fly past with such swiftness that I figured that it almost surpassed the fastness of light years.

"I can't believe we're done painting." Aaron sighed, walking over me with a fake limp one this leg with his hand over his heart. His heart, I smiled.

"You make it sound like we've been painting forever," I giggled, throwing my arms wide open.

"It has been forever, my love. But now we can be together!" he winked, jumping into my arms. I stumbled back against the thankfully dry door, trying to stable ourselves. Another deja vu. We ended up sprawled on the floor.

"What do you say we ditch your room and go find some lunch?" Aaron asked, hovering over me with a grin on his face.

I felt warm inside, and it wasn't because of the small space between us. Score on a date with a dreamy guy!

"Amy?"

"Yeah," I smiled, leaning up and kissing him lightly on the lips, "I'd love too."

"Great, then we should just get -"

"What's going on here?" a voice thundered from the doorway.

Oh crap.

"Amy, I heard someone falling?" Dad's voice said. Before we could react, Dad was in the room, staring at me and Aaron laying on the floor, with him ontop me. I have never had to get up from that position before... Dad had a homicidal look on his face.

"I... think I should go..." Aaron said quietly. He was about to lean over to give me a kiss on cheek but he stopped, when he saw the look on Dad's face. Aaron walked quickly by him and out of my room. A few seconds later we heard the front door open and close.

"Young lady..." Dad started with a sigh.

"Dad, please! I'm fine!" I yelled. This was getting stupid. What is his issue??

"You looked a little too-"

"'Too' what? Happy?" I exclaimed.

"AMY!" my mother shouted, having just walked into the room. "Don't interrupt your father!"

"But Mom, I'm sick of this! He didn't do anything to hurt me! Please, trust me!" I pleaded.

My father sighed as he looked around my room. "I trust you, Amy."

"Then why are you treating me like you don't??"

"What am I supposed to think when I hear crying and screaming? When it sounds like someone's beating someone else? I'm just trying to keep you safe." he explained. It made sense.

"Dad," I said, pausing to think carefully about what I wanted to say, "I know you're just trying to protect me. I just wish you'd give me a little credit! I'm not stupid."

He looked back at Mom for a moment before he walked over and hugged me. "Go find Aaron." he said, kissing my forehead. I made a mad dash for the stairs.

"Thanks, Dad! Bye! Bye, Mom!" I called as I skipped the last two steps and rushed out the door. I ran across the street, not paying attention to where I was going, until- thud. I ran into someone. But who?



"Whoa, wheres the fire?" the blonde guy asked, still reeling a bit from the impact. I looked him over for a moment: black cargo shorts, a blue short-sleeved shirt with some tattoo-looking design on it, and he looked a lot like Aaron.

"Sorry!" I said, putting my hands in my pockets and trying not to blush. "Is Aaron here?"

"I think so," he said, blue eyes gleaming, "His car is here. I'm Nick, by the way." he offered his hand to me.

"I'm Amy." I said, shaking his hand. "I'm your new neighbor, I live across the street."

"Oh! Welcome to the neighborhood." he said.

"I've been welcomed," I laughing, pointing to the blond male coming up behind him, "By your brother. Very friendly, he is."

Nick had an amused facial expression on his face as Aaron slid under his arm, and winked at me as he ruffled Aaron's hair. "Of course he is."

"Ready?" Aaron asked with a easy smile once he had escaped the evil grasps of his brother, "Lunch time."




"Doesn't it bother you?" I asked, nodding toward the man with the camera who was trying to blend in while sitting in his car. Kinda hard to blend in when you've got a big ol' camera lens sticking out of the window. Even harder not to notice when the camera is pointed at us.

"Sometimes," Aaron explained, "but I tend to ignore them. Especially when theres someone else I'd rather be paying attention to..." He laughed as I blushed. "Its true!"

"Why me? I mean, I'm not the most fascinating person in the world-"

"Yes you are. To me you are, at least." He sneakily slid his hand under mine and squeezed it. He put down his fork with his other hand and flashed a smile at the camera across the street before asking the waiter for the check. "What say we get out of here?" he asked, letting go of my hand to reach into his pocket. Hey, put that back!

I nodded and waved across the street quickly. Aaron and I both laughed as the photog waved back. When the waiter came back with the check, Aaron put down some cash and got up, taking me by the hand and leading me away from the table.


~Two hours later~

After finally finding my key to the house, we walked upstairs to my room. Something was going on here. Something seemed... different. I opened my room door and there it was: the bed I saw the other day with Aaron. I knew he was up to something! I knew it!!

"Aaron, what-" I began. In fact, I noticed two other things in my room that I'd pointed out to him, too, but it was the bed that kept my main focus.

"I hope you like it. I gave your Dad a heads up the other day that I bought it for you, but I wanted to keep it a surprise." He told me. Maybe thats why Dad was acting weird?

"I love it, but you didn't have to do that." I kissed him on the lips. He smirked and tackled me onto the bed, tickling me. At least now we had something soft to land on.

"So how long do I have to stay away from you while I'm in school and you're at work?" I asked, draping my arm around his shoulder as I gazed at my brand new computer. I couldn't believe he and my parents had actually bought that, along with the new bookcase filled with my favorite books.

"Well, baby, it depends how much I have to work."

I frowned. School. Please, God, please don't let this school suck as much as my old one. I kissed him on the cheek. "What am I gonna do all day stuck in school without you??"

"You'll be alright, I promise."

"I hope so..." I trailed off.

~Monday Morning~

"Are you ready for school yet Amy? For God's sake, its like you're getting ready for a ball!" Mom shouted up the stairs.

I rolled my eyes. I was nervous, and besides, I wanted to make a good expression.

"Well, its about time you've came down," my dad said teasingly, "I was about to leave without you and take your place at school."

I smacked his arm playfully. "Nightmarish, Dad."

"Come on, don't want you to be late." Mom said as Dad walked to the door. I followed behind him, still tugging at my clothes to make sure they looked just right. I was wearing a black tank top, camo-print jeans, and my black Converse sneakers. I smiled as I saw Aaron waving across the street and running over quickly.

"Hey!! Call me at lunch." he told me after kissing me on the cheek. I gave him a confused look.

"But Aaron, I told you that I-" I stopped as I felt something being slipped into my hand. A brand-new cellphone. I stopped the service on my phone before we moved, I didn't want someone calling and harassing me.

"Just take it. No arguments, please." he said. I looked at Dad, who simply smiled. What else was he up to that my parents were in on? I hope this is it. I kissed him on the cheek before I walked to the car.

"Fine!" I shouted, sticking my head out of the car. "I'll talk to you later!" I blew him a kiss goodbye as Dad pulled out of the driveway.

~Ten Minutes Later~

When Dad stopped the car, I could see that my new school, was much bigger than my old one.

"Wow." I breathed, looking at my mom in amazement.

"Yep. So scram before you come home whining that you got a detention for being late." he chuckled.

"I love you too, Dad." I joked.

All the kids looked rich and preppy, I noticed as I scrambled up the marble steps to the gigantic entry way. Some of them were even smirking at me. Must be because I'm the new kid.

I finally found my way to the main office, no thanks to any of my new "classmates". I walked inside and saw a fairly short woman with curly black hair pulled back in a bun standing behind a desk, glasses ontop of her head. I cleared my throat and her head immediately shot up.

"Can I help you?" she asked, looking up from the computer screen.

"Yeah, I'm new here, and today is my first day." I explained, walking up to the desk.

"Name, please." she requested, searching the top of her desk.

"Amy Sean." I answered.

"Yes, here we are. Sean, Amy." she said, opening up a file folder and pulling out a sheet of paper. "Your first class is American History, down the hall 3 three doors and to the left." she instructed me as she handed me the paper.

"Thanks." I replied as she pulled out a blue pad of paper and wrote something on it. "Give this late slip to Mr. Selmon." I assumed Mr. Selmon was the teacher, and confirmed it when I saw J. SELMON on my schedule under AM HISTORY.

I thanked her again before leaving the office and making my way as fast as possible to my class. Great, five minutes late to first period. Good impression. I opened the door to the classroom, and instantly knew all eyes were on me. How does Aaron handle being stared at all the time?

I was brought back to reality by the teacher, a tall, grey-haired man in brown slacks and a dark grey button-down shirt. He cleared his throat and I jumped a bit, causing a few isolated and yet stifled laughs.

"Can I help you, miss?" he asked. I shyly walked over and handed him the blue slip the secretary had given me. He scanned the note quickly, then flashed me a friendly look. "Class, this is Amy Sean. Amy, please take a seat over there." he announced, then pointed at a seat three rows back to the right. I nodded and took what felt like a "walk of shame" to my seat. I found myself sitting in front of a boy wearing baggy blue jeans and a red t-shirt, behind a preppy-looking girl in white shorts and a green and pink striped polo shirt whose purse I narrowly avoided tripping over on my way to my seat, and next to a girl wearing low-rise jeans and a white sleeveless shirt.

Mr. Selmon began talking about World War II or somthing like that while I sat nervously in my chair. I hadn't slept all night 'cause I was so anxious about starting at my new school. I suddenly heard someone giggling, and noticed a note being passed in the front row. I swear I heard whispering and saw pointing in my general direction.

"Doesn't she look like that girl in the magazines?" I heard someone ask.

What magazine? My train of thought was stopped when suddenly I felt a poke in my right leg. What the hell? Is it a tradition here to stab the new kid? I looked over and saw the girl next to me leaning over, a pencil in her hand.

"Here, you seem to be missing one." she explained. I smiled and took the pencil from her. "I'm Julie."

"I'm Amy."

"So I've heard." she whispered. "New in town, I take it?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just moved here a couple of days ago."

"Cool. Where from?"

"New Y-" I said, stopping mid-sentence. I felt a presence next to me, and turned to my left to see Mr. Selmon standing right beside my desk.

"Miss Sean," he said sternly, "I understand you're new here, but please, no socializing in class."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Selmon," I replied sweetly, "But I don't have a -" I started before he placed a book titled "Journey to Independence and Beyond - American History" in front of me. "-book. Thanks."

"Welcome. I'll give you some review work, and since you and Miss Thomas seem to want to talk, she can give you her notes to look over."

"Yes, Mr. Selmon." Julie and I said at almost exactly the same time.

"And Miss Thomas, since Miss Sean is gonna have the same classes as you, maybe you can be her guide?"

"Sure." Julie said, giving me a quick sideways glance and smiling.

~Fifteen Minutes Later~

Saved by the bell. Good show, even better when the bell really rings and you get to leave the classroom. I stood up and grabbed my new -- new to me, at least -- history book. Julie waited by the door and walked with me down the hallway.

"Um, now we have... Algebra?" I said, consulting my schedule. AP ALG.

"Yep! With Ms. Neil." she explained. I nodded. S. NEIL. Yep, Ms. Neil. Please be nice, please be nice...

"Yo!" Someone called from behind us. We turned around and saw a light brown-haired girl walking over to us. She was wearing loose-fitting blue jeans and a purple t-shirt.

"Gina!" Julie called, hugging the girl. I stood awkwardly as they greeted each other. "Oh! Gina, this is Amy. Amy, this is Gina."

"Hi," I said, shaking Gina's hand. We resumed walking, me between Gina and Julie.

"We all have Ms. Neil next." Julie explained.

"Cool!" Gina answered, looking back at me as we turned a corner in the hallway.

"So, Amy, where are you from? Mr. Selmon interrupted us." Julie asked.

"New York City." I simply answered.

"Awesome!" they both answered.

"Ahh, I guess... I sorta left there to get away from some stuff..." I confided as we jostled through the crowded hall. Julie shot me an inquiring look, but didnt push it, thank God.

"So what's Ms. Neil like?" I asked the two, moments before stepping into the doorway.

"Well..." Gina hesitated, shooting Julie a questioning glance. "You'll find out soon enough."

Indeed I did. At first glance I thought I'd seen a supermodel, rail thin, blond, with pouty pink lips. But then I halted, my gaze fixitated on her facial expression. It did not look like something Barney would welcome.

"Hi," I said timidly, thrusting a shaking hand at her. Good impression, good impression. She didn't return the gesture, so I rerouted it to scratch at my arm.

"Who are you?" she barked in a low, raspy tone. Supermodel voice, drill sergeant words.

"I'm Amy. I just moved here from -"

"Sit down behind Mel!" she commanded, already turning around to write her name in large letters on the green chalkboard. "In case all you nutsos forgot my name during your weekend, it's Ms. Neil, not Mrs. Neil, or Mizzus Neil. Ms. Neil."

Nutso. Perfect description of her. I shot a look at her left hand. No wonder she wasn't a Mrs.

Now who was Mel? I looked around for a moment before Julie faked a cough and pointed at the short-haired girl next to her. Smooth, Julie. I took my seat behind the girl and mouthed a thank you to Julie. I jumped moments later as a heavy-looking book was dropped loudly in front of me on the desk.

"I think you'll need this." Ms. Neil stated, turning on her heel and walking back to her desk. "Complete the assignment on the board. Silently!" she yelled, apparently addressing the pair of students in the front row that were whispering to each other. Oh yes, this was gonna be a fun class.

A closer inspection as I sat down next to the girl named Mel was that she didn't have short hair. In fact, her hair was long, and vibrantly red. Just pulled up in a ponytail. I cast a gaze around all the other girls in my class. All of them seemed to have their hair up in ponytails or buns. Probably a rule enfored by Ms. Big Deal. I shivered, subconsciously pulling my own hair up into a bun.

"Psst."

I looked around for who was addressing me. It was Whatsername - Mel.

I quickly looked around for Ms. Neil, for her evil eyes filled with an urge to randomly sack kids in detention, but thankfully she was busy perusing a long list on her desk. Probably a long list of homework assignments. Just great.

"Psst." Mel said again, poking me with a sharp object. A pencil. What the hell is it, poke me day?

I shot her a 'poke me one more time and I swear I'll stab you in the eye with that thing' look. Apparently subliminal stab threats didn't stop this girl. I pulled out a piece of paper from the one and only notebook I'd brought with me and wrote "Can I help you after class?" on it. I carefully tried to edge it to the end of my desk so she could read it. Looking up I noticed her scanning the paper, then nodding to me. Hmm, maybe I should give these girls more credit.

~Thirty-five minutes later~

The bell finally rang and Julie and Gina led me out to a courtyard I assumed was strategically placed to be accessible by most parts of the school. Seriously, how big is this place??

"Your locker is 738, right?" Gina asked. I nodded as I once again looked at my trusty schedule. That thing was saving my life today. She pointed next to me at a tall blue locker with a little silver plate mounted on it that read "738". After looking at all those numbers in what was the most BRUTAL math class ever, I didn't even notice. I saw Mel walking up to me out of the corner of my eye with two other girls: one I recognized as the girl I sat behind in Mr. Selmon's class. Small world for such a big school, huh?

"Hey! I couldn't find you after class." she said breathlessly as the girl I didn't regognize opened a locker behind them.

"Yeah, um.." I pulled on the door after dialing in my combination but the thing wouldnt budge. Damn it. "You know, new day. Just slipped my mind." That was the truth.

Her face slackened for a moment before brightening up. "No problem, dude. So, I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

"Yep. Moved - here - a - few - days - ago." I said as a struggled to open my locker door, finally getting it open with some help from Julie.

I nearly gasped at what I saw in the locker. Or rather, the tiny cubicle of a locker. The thing must have been built when people in school didnt have to carry 20 pounds of books. Mel saw the look on my face and laughed.

"Yeah, sorry about the locker situation. All the newbies get the rejected lockers 'cause we dont have nearly as much as we need."

"I'm sure I'll survive." I responded.

"You look familiar... Like I've seen you before..." she trailed off, looking me over.

"You're not famous, are you?" she asked suddenly, giving up on her quest to place me in her memory.

Oh shit. I quickly shook my head. "Not that I know of," I laughed, a shaky laugh, a sort of warning like to not get any ideas.

"Are you sure?" she asked again, reaching up into her mane of red hair and pulling out a black scrunchie.

She looked as if she was racking her brain to try and place me somewhere as her hair fell down to her shoulders. Something told me racking her brain wouldn't take her long.

"Oh! Now I remember!" she exclaimed. "You look like that girl I saw in US Weekly the other day. She was with Aaron Carter." I almost dropped my history book on my foot.

I grasped the heavy thing just in time, before it slipped out of my grasps, just like my reputation was bound to be once this get out.

I jumped forward to clasp my left hand on her mouth, signalling her to not shout by bringing my right index finger to my lips. She nodded, and I slowly let go.

"So you are her, huh?" she asked excitely, thankfully keeping her voice down.

I slowly nodded. Oh shit...

She gazed in admiration at me. "Wow," she breathed, "I can't believe I know the girl who is dating Aaron Carter! I can't wait to tell my family, and LD, and..."

While she was rambling whatever she was rambling, I was mentally stabbing myself for letting this happen. Not that it was my fault anyways. Wait. Rewind.

"What did you say?" I asked as calmly as I could. Best to keep her under control.

"That I was gonna post it on LD, Myspace, and -"

"No, the other thing." I told her, casually closing my locker door. Damn thing didnt shut, and I rammed my shoulder against it to make it click. Ouch.

"You're dating Aaron Carter!" she squealed. She seemed to remember my request to keep quiet just then, but she closed her mouth too late.

A bunch of sophmores were already looking at me.

"Oh fuck." I muttered.

"Are you, Amy?" Julie asked from behind me. I almost forgot she and Gina were there. Thank God Mel's friends walked away before she said anything about this. This day was going great.

"No, I'm not," I stuttered. But then Aaron's smiling face popped up into vision, the way he licked his lips before kissing me, the way his eyes smiled before he spread his lips. "I'm not," I assured them.

"Oh." Mel said, sounding disappointed. "But you do know him?"

"Would it matter if I didn't?" I asked, my mind racing. We were in a magazine?? I flashed back to the man in the car that day at lunch. Oh God. Mel frowned for a moment, unable to come up with a response. Do I smell wood burning? I sighed. "Hes my neighbor."

"Wow!" She said, managing to keep her voice quiet enough to not draw any attention over to us again. "Thats awesome!"

I sighed again. Now I probably looked like an old lady suffering from exhaustion with all this sighing. "So you're gonna be my friend just because I know Aaron Carter?" The smile on her face disappeared as shook her head, apparently searching for the words she probably thought I'd wanna hear. If thinking was breathing, this girl would be dead on the floor by now. "Listen, you seem nice, but if your only reason for talking to me was because you thought I'd help you meet Aaron, I'm sorry you wasted your time." I said. Just then, the bell rang. "I'll talk to you later, though, I hope." I said.

Her lip quivered and eyes widened, like she was about to cry. I tried to block my sympathy with a dam to hold it back, but it seemed to be on lock. "Look, I'm sorry." I added. "I just dont really need anything else to worry about okay? I was hoping that you'd want to be my friend for myself, but if you weren't, then I guess I'll see you in class." I turned on my heel and started walking away to my next class, Gym, when I heard clattered footsteps behind me.

I felt Julie tense up at my side. She really didn't like Mel. I wonder why...

I felt a hand on my shoulder that stopped me from moving ahead with Julie. I turned around to see Mel, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry. I got a little too excited and I guess I stopped thinking." Stopped? When did she start? "Maybe we could all sit together at lunch." She glanced past me at Julie, who nodded sweetly. Fake sweet, but sweet nonetheless. Julie pulled me with her by the hand as she continued down the hallway.

"I dont like her," Julie announced once we were in the Gym. "She's a weirdo."

I made a muffled noise in response. Don't say anything. "So, uh, where's the P.E. teacher?"

She gave me a look. "Dont avoid the subject. Don't hang out with her."

Well, excuse me, Queen Julie.

I stopped walking and waited before she turned around and realized that I'd stopped keeping stride with her.

"Amy?" she called, as if I were a puppy.

"What makes you think you can tell me who to hang out with?"

"I don't, I just-"

"Yeah, she made a bad impression, but until she gives me a really good reason not to, I don't see why I shouldn't give her a chance. Do you even know her? Well enough to decide you don't like her?" I added before Julie had the chance to answer.

"No, I guess not."

"Well, maybe you should try." I said softly. "Give her a chance. I know I'm going to."

~Afterschool~

I looked up overhead at the dim, blustery sky. Damn. I must have done something sinful in order to deserve a threat of thundershower. And yay for me. No ride. Dad must have been so wrapped up in his new job as a business accountant, that he forgot about me. Just effin great.

I finally made it to my house and plopped down on my bed as soon as I got up to my room. I groaned as I heard my phone ring. Too... tired... can't... reach phone... in pocket...

As the ringing stopped, I let out a deep breath. Whoever it was could leave a message, even though I could only think of about five people who knew I even had the darned thing: My mom, my dad, Aaron, Julie, and Gina.

I heard the front door open downstairs. "AMY!" my mom called.

"Yes?" I managed to call.

"Someone's on their way up to see you!"

"Okay!" I said. I jumped up as I saw Aaron at my door, looking at me as if I'd been gone for years.

"Hey! How was it?"

"I thought I'd never get out of there."

"That bad, huh?"

"I did manage to make a few friends..."

"Thats good."

"Yeah... I guess..." I trailed off.

"Whats wrong?" he frowned, searching my eyes for the hidden answer. Hadn't anyone told him we were all over the tabloids?

I pulled him onto the bed, letting him rub my hands for a moment before answering.

"Some girls saw my picture with you in the magazine."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, Amy, I didn't find out until after you'd left for school."

"Its okay..." I said, kissing him on the cheek. "I told them we weren't dating, though." I hung my head, not wanting to see his reaction.

"Its okay," he said, "Its none of their business anyway." he picked up my chin and kissed my lips. "Just please tell me they didn't treat you like a lepper."

"No, not at all. I actually had made 2 friends before anyone even mentioned you."

"Great!" He said.

"Yeah! They're cool."

"Gotta be to hang out with you..." He smiled. That smile!

"Forget about me. How was your day?" I asked, instantly warmed up just by Aaron's empowering presence. "Did you have fun?"

Aaron's face darkened a moment as he turned his head to look out at the pouring thunderstorm. He looked back at me to see if I'd noticed. I pretended I hadn't.

"Well..not really." he mumbled.

"Aaron, you're totally lying right now."

"Okay, fine." Aaron sighed, "My label dropped me."

I pulled him close into a tight hug and kissed his neck. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"Don't be. You had nothing to do with it." We sat for a few minutes, just hugging. I didn't know what to say, I still felt terrible that this happened to him. He was just telling me yesterday how much he loved his job. He didn't deserve this!

"You dont deserve this," I said abruptly.

He shot another look out the window, his cheeks flushing pink. "Well, baby, I think I kind of do."

My curiousity rose as did my eyebrows knitting togther. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've just been partying alot..and stuff." he said vaguely. "Before I met you, I mean."

I remembered hearing about that, but it hadn't stuck in my mind at the time. "But... partying is no reason to drop you..."

He released my hand and instead leaned closer to my face, staring me straight in the eye and biting his lips.

"They said my reputation was screwed and that they didnt want to have someone who's a whore."

We sat in silence for a few moments, and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "You're not a whore, thats bull." I said squeezing his hand. "I've seen people who act like whores, you're not one of them." He smiled at me.

"I love you, Amy." he kissed me on the lips.

Love? Did he just say love...But if we'd only known each other for four days..How many people did he say he loved before?

What could I say? I guess I loved him too... But was it only a guess?

"I love you too..." I said slowly, trailing off as he once again kissed me.

I heard the door squeak open and a little gasp. Forgot to lock the door again, damn it.

My mom leaned against the plain wide doorway, an amused expression on her face.

"You kids alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine..." I answered.

"Let me know if you need anything." She offered. I nodded and she got the hint and went downstairs, closing the door behind her.

"I dont think she likes me." Aaron whispered into my hair, pulling my backwards onto the bed.

"Of course not. She absolutely adores you." I praised, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is she the only one?" Aaron asked, a sad-puppy expression on his face. AWW! To Hell she is!!

"Yes." I teased. I felt a tingling inside of me as I rubbed his neck faster, as his smirk grew wider, his breaths faster.

"I don't believe you." he said. I stuck out my upper lip and pouted. He suddenly began tickling me. We laughed hysterically as we got into a tickle fight, letting all the crappy things that had happened to us vanish.

"I'm so gonna find your ticklish spot." I squealed in a burst of giggles. As promised, I did, right on his lean stomach.

Unfortunately for me, he found mine, too. We were laughing so hard that our faces were red before we called a truce.

"Okay, its a bit of distraction of you here." I teased, putting my arm playfully on Aaron's shoulder. "So do you mind shooing while I have to get it on with my homework?"

Aaron pouted, his eyes laughing into swirls of dark chocolate. "Why does the homework get to get it on with you?"

"Hmm... Because my parents will kill me if it doesn't?" I replied with a smile.

I almost let him stay when I saw him display another smirk on his face. "Fine, I'll go. Promise to call?"

"I promise." He walked backwards to the door, and I giggled a bit as he missed the door and backed into the wall instead.

"Aww," I purred in a low voice, "Did my little baby get hurt?"

He shot me a knowing look and grinned. "Oh baby. Dont you worry."

~Later~

The algebra homework left me wishing I'd actually paid more attention in class. I had no idea what radicals and all those terms meant. I wonder what would happen if I, oh, accidently dropped the text book in the fireplace?

I was just dwelling on the thought when I heard a soft tapping on my doorway, making me jump out of my reverie.

"Sorry! Are we bothering you?" A voice said timidly. We? Theres a 'we'?

"Um, no. Not at all. Come in." I said, thankful for any excuse not to do my math homework. I looked up at the door and there stood Julie and Gina.

I quickly shoved all of my paperwork into my desk and jumped up to begin picking up all the socks on my carpet. "Hey, guys!" I replied brightly, remembering to plaster a smile on my face.

"We called your house and your mom gave us your address." Julie explained.

"Stalking me, eh?" I laughed, patting the seat on the bed next to me.

I waited for their laughter to come, but it never came.

They walked over and sat up on the bed. "Yeah, you asked if we wanted to hang out, so we figured we'd come over. I hope its alright." Gina said.

I felt a tingling touch on my arm before answering, provoking me to look down. Oh crap. "Oh yeah," I told them, attempting to pull my blanket over my arm. "It's fine that you," Pull. "Came to hang," Pull harder. "With me. Thanks."

"You okay?" Julie asked, frowning.

"Yeah. Fine." I answered, still pulling.

"Are you sure?" Julie asked worriedly, "Cause you sure dont look okay."

"Positive." Pull, damnit, pull!

I saw Julie and Gina exchange confused looks.

Pull! What the hell is blocking me pull on this damned blanket? Oh. We're sitting on it. Just great. I quickly pulled my arm out from the blanket I'd tried oh so hard to cover with and put it behind my back.

"Amy," Gina said, poking me in the arm with a bony finger, "You know that we totally saw that hickey right?"

"I was hoping you hadn't." I admitted.

"Who's the other guilty party?" Julie asked, a smirk on her face.

"What do you mean?" I asked, shifting, a nervous smile on her face. I bit my lip and hoped that they hadn't seen the person who'd just left my house.

"Well, we know you didnt do that yourself -," Julie began.

"- 'Cause that's just wrong -," Gina continued.

"- So spill!" they said together in unision.

"Uh..." I trailed off. Should I tell them? What could I say? What would they say? UGH! "My neighbor," I reluctantly admitted.

They leaned closer in fascination, their dirty blonde and light brown hair almost clashing together in a fizzed out hurricane. "Ohhh. Was it that one blonde guy who just went across the street a few minutes ago?" Gina asked curiously.

"We only saw the back of his head, but we could tell it was like dirty blonde." Julie finished.

"Or like really really light brown." Gina added.

Christ, were they playing a 'twin thang' or what?

"Uh, yeah, thats him." I told them. It was like an interrogation! But, whos the bad cop and whos the good cop? Their sentences were so mixed together I almost didn't realize who said what. "So uh," I started slowly, hoping to veer them away from the topic, "Do you guys get the math homework?"

"Oh no, you won't get out of it that easily." Gina said. Damn!

"Come on, Amy!" Julie prodded.

"Its not anyone you know!" I reassured them while crossing my toes in my socks. At least, not personally.

"Please!" Julie begged, pouting his pink painted lips like a Boston Terrier. I was about to point out to her that it wouldnt work on me because I was straight, but thought better of it.

"He's a friend. Um...about 18, really sweet, and awesome." I told them, hoping it would fend off their hunger of my courter.

Apparently, I was wrong.

"Just a friend?" Gina asked suspiciously. "Not many friends give each other hickeys. Unless they're more than friends." Thank God, she finished her own sentence.

"Yeah, does he have a name?" Julie added.


"It's not important." I said.

"Yes it is!" Julie argued. "You wouldn't put up this much of a fight if he was really just a friend."

Again I paused. I'm busted. Then I realized something: Julie and Gina really were nice to me before anyone even mentioned Aaron. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to tell them. Then again, could I trust them not to tell? Oh man. Headache. Setting in.

"What's wrong?" Julie asked, frowning.

"Aaron," I mumbled incoherently.

"What?" Gina asked.

"Repeat that?" Julie requested no more than a second later.

"I said, 'Aaron.'" I repeated.

"Aaron?" Gina asked.

"Aaron's the neighbor who gave me the hickey."

"Aaron who?" Julie asked very curiously, with a big, knowing smile.

"Carter. Aaron Carter." I stated.

"Isn't that the guy Mel asked you about before?" Gina asked, and I nodded.

"Please don't go crazy and tell everyone you know... especially people at school, 'cause I don't want people being nice to me just because I'm with Aaron." I pleaded.

"Like Mel?" Julie asked. "I know you told me to give her a chance, and I will, but I don't think she would have given you the time of day if she didn't think you could introduce her to him."

"We don't care how famous he is, so you won't have to worry about us freaking out on you." Gina smiled. And I did all that worrying...

"You guys still have to swear you won't say anything. To anyone."

"Of course!" they said unamimously. Here we go with that again.

"What's he like?" Julie asked.

"Well... He's cute, funny, nice, honest, thoughtful..." I trailed off.

"Hmm... Sounds like a perfect guy!" Gina said in near-disbelief.

"Is there anyting bad about him at all?" Julie added.

"Yeah... But I think... I'm worried we might be moving too fast..." I mumbled.

"If hes going too fast for you, you should tell him." Gina advised. I nodded. But were we really going too fast? Maybe it was just love at first sight...

"It's not...going too fast. He wont rush me into anything I dont want to do, I just know it." I said uncertainly, biting my lip as I stared down at my new found friends matching purple toenail polish.

"Are you sure?" Julie ventured.

"Yeah..." I trailed off. Julie frowned and looked at Gina.

"If you're sure..." Gina said. "So, what math problem are you stuck on?"

I was thankful she decided to change the subject. "This one." I said, poking the math book with my finger.

"And that one too," I pointed to #24, "And that one..and the one on the right...um, basically the whole thing." I admitted sheepishly.

They shot me identical sympathetic looks. It scared me how alike they were.

"You didnt learn this stuff yet, huh?" Julie asked.

"Or were you just not paying attention?" Gina provided.

"Both," I laughed, triggering a chain reaction and making them laugh too.

~Later~

We'd been joking and laughing for almost two hours before my cellphone rang. Aaron. I picked it up flipped it open, looking at Gina and Julie, who sat in silence as they tried to listen in.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey!" Aaron said on the other end of the line. "Whats up?"

"Hey, Aaron," I replied as I continued to look at Julie and Gina, who seemed so intent on listening in. "Nothing, really."

The girls giggled incessantly when realization hit them.

"Doesnt sound like nothin." Aaron suggested. I imagined him smirking right now and almost dashed to my window to look across the street and check.

"Just hanging with the girls."

"The girls, huh?" Aaron asked playfully. "Can I watch?"

"Aaron!"

"What? I was kidding." He assured.

"Better be." I responded.

"So that means I'm not allowed to come over?" I could imagine him pouting at this very minute.

"I'd have to ask them if its okay."

"So ask." I put my hand over the phone and looked back at Julie and Gina.

"Do you guys mind if he comes over?" I asked. They looked at each other for a moment before looking back at me and nodding eagerly. I took my hand away from the mouthpiece. "Sure, come on over."

"I'll be right there!" he exclaimed. "Bye!"

I laughed as he hung up before I had the chance to say bye.

"Do we look okay?" Julie asked as she and Gina ran off to look into the new full length mirror that my parents had just bought me. So silver and shiny too.

"Not that we want to steal your boyfriend," Gina assured me as she ran her hand repeatedly through her gleaming hair.

"Dont worry, I know," I laughed.

DING DONG!

"I'll get it!" I shouted down the stairs before my parents even had a chance to tell him to go home. I wasn't sure if they'd like it if Aaron came over more than once each day, no matter how much they adored him. Supposedly.

We ran down the stairs and I pulled open the door. He stood there and smiled, still in the same baggy blue jeans and black t-shirt he was in before.

"Hey!" I said, jumping into his arms. I almost forgot we were being watched until Gina cleared her throat.

"Oh yeah, Aaron, this is Gino - I mean, Gina," I smiled, pointing out Gina. She smiled back. "And this is Julie," I introduced. Her eyes were wide with fascination. Okay. I had no idea Aaron was that fascinating.

"Nice to meet you..." he said, shaking hands with them.

"You too..." Julie said. She snapped out of that quick.

"So ladies," Aaron said in a low voice, shoving his hands in his pockets. "What shall we do first?" Did I detect a gleam in his eye? Naughty boy.

"Well, they were just finished helping me with my homework." I reported. "Why don't we go upstairs?" Aaron, Julie, and Gina nodded and we all headed upstairs: Gina and Julie first, me behind them, and Aaron behind me. Gee, I wonder why he offered to go up last? Then I felt a small slap on my butt. "Hey," I smiled at Aaron, who still had that malicious glint in his eye. "What was that for?"

"Oh nothing," Aaron said coyly.

My smile turned into a bit of a smirk and I continued up the stairs and walked into the room, where I saw Gina and Julie looking out at the beach from my balcony.

"You've got an amazing view!" Julie praised once she saw Aaron and I enter the room, Aaron's hand resting on my lower back. "But I'm guessing Aaron's got a better view!" she giggled.

"Mmhmm..." he trailed off. He blinked and shook his head, apparently realizing what he'd just said. "Oh, uh, I mean-"

"Save it, loverboy. That said it all." Gina said, laughing.

"No, foreals," Aaron laughed, his cheeks turning an adorable shade of red. "I was thinking of...buns. I mean, barbeques, cause I'm gonna have one and I was thinking of inviting y'all."

Quick save, but not fast enough.

Julie and Gina tried to contain their laughter as they nodded at me when I looked back at them. "Sure... why not?" I replied, giggling.

"Then we can have steaming hot, and incredibly sexy -"Aaron continued on in a delusioned, daydreamed voice. He probably doesnt even realized what he was saying, I thought amusedly.

"Hamburgers," I filled in for him.

"Hmm..." Julie said, "I don't think I've ever seen a 'sexy' hamburger before." Aaron's cheeks turned that same shade of red they were moments before.

"Hey, it sounds good to me!" Gina exclaimed.

"You know," I said smoothly, running my hair teasingly over Aaron's t-shirt adorned shoulder blades. "I wouldn't mind a sexy hamburger."

I looked at the girls and at Aaron's priceless face and burst into giggles. Seeing Gina and Julie's red faces added to the fire. No doubt my face was red from laughter too.

But not as red as Aaron's was, and he wasn't laughing.

"Uh, I better go help Nick get ready." he said, hugging my tightly for a moment. "I'll see you girls at 6?" he asked. We nodded as he backed away towards the door for the second time today, and once again hit the wall: this time on the other side of the door.

"I gotta do something about that door. It keeps moving..." I joked, making Aaron blush even more, if that was possible.

"I'll see you girls later..." he quickly walked out the door and down the stairs. Once he was safely out of earshot, we giggled so hard our faces were as red as his.

"He is just too cute!" Julie proclaimed, falling back on my bed.

"I know, Girlll, you are so lucky to have him!" Gina told me, going to sit at a wooden chair by my windowsill.

"I know..So what do you think," I asked suddenly, dropping the facetious act, just for the moment, "Do you think I should call him my boyfriend?"

They both nodded. "Girl, hes head over heels." Julie said.

"And so are you." Gina added. I smiled as I plopped down on the bed next to Julie.

"What are we gonna wear?" I asked.

"You, my friend," Gina said, getting up from the chair and walking to my closet, "Have got to wear something killer."

As she was rummaging around in my closet, Julie walked over to my drawer where I kept all my panties and suits.

"Forget that," she said, "Let's bring out the bathing suits!"

"Killer, not slutty," I laughed.

Triple laughter again.

"Hey guys," I called to attention after the fit subsided, "Do you think I should call Mel and ask her to come? I dont think Aaron would mind."

"I would." Julie said. I gave her a warning look, but she still continued. "Come on, Amy, how do we know shes not gonna try and steal him away from you?"

"Thats why we're gonna help her find an outfit to bring him to his knees." Gina said, looking back at me from the closet after hanging up a shirt she'd been looking at. "Its up to you, Amy, but I'd wait til next time. Make sure you know what shes up to."

"I dont know..." I wondered if she would really do anything to jepordize the party...or my relationship with Aaron. "I made it pretty clear that I wasn't going to be her friend if she just wanted to use me to get to Aaron."

They gave me a skeptical look.

"And you beleive her?" Julie asked.

"Well when you put it like that..." I sighed. "You're right, Gina, maybe I should wait until I know what her intentions are."

"Of course I'm right," Gina said, "I'm me!" And with that, along came the third wave of triple laughter. Hat trick!

~An Hour Later~

"Are you sure I look okay?" I asked nervously as I smoothed down the front of my slinky black frock. The 2 and a half inch heels made me nervous as hell, and the caffeine from the soda I'd drank earlier with the girls didnt help either.

"Amazing." Julie said.

I smiled as I knocked on the front door. Nick opened the door and looked us over.

"Nick, we meet again." I said.

"Yeah, and you're not colliding with me this time." He joked. "AARON!" he yelled back into the house, stepping aside to let us in. Aaron came in from the back door and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw me.

"Who are you?" he asked teasingly.

I playfully hit him in the arm.

"Way outta your league." Nick commented, prompting a glare from Aaron.

Aaron stared at me for a moment as I stood in front of him. I cleared my throat, and he looked back up at my eyes. "Come- Come on, everyone's in the backyard."

He and Nick led us to the backyard, where everyone indeed was. At least, it seemed like there were a lot of people there.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed surprisedly. "You must be very popular!" I let my gaze flow to all the expensively clad hipsters in their late teens and mid twenties. There was even a blonde girl wearing what I expected what was Vera Wang...at a barbeque!

"Baby," Aaron whispered into my ear, obviously forgetting all the added guests in the vicinity, including my friends, and kissed my ear sensually. "I'm a popstar."

"Aaron!" I smirked, playfully giving his bottom a small smack.

"Okay fine. They're mostly my brother's friends."

Just then, a guy about Aaron's height came over, his light-brown hair spiked up as he tugged on his gray t-shirt.

"Okay," he said, looking at Aaron, "Who is she," he motioned at me, "And please tell me shes not taken."

"I wish I could, man," Aaron replied as he put his arm around me, which I gently held, "But I'd be lying to you. Tony, this is Amy. Amy, this is Tony. Hes one of my best friends."

"Nice to meet you, Tony. These are my friends Julie and Gina." I said, pulling Julie up beside me by the arm. She, in turn, pulled Gina by the arm. He turned his gaze to Julie and looked her up and down, seemingly focused on her tight red tank top. No surprise what he was looking at. Or for...

"My, my... Today might be my lucky day after all..." Tony trailed off.

"Maybe..." Julie responded.

I just hope Gina and Julie don't do something stupid... I quickly let that thought esacpe my mind and smiled as I watched Tony attempt to flirt with Julie. Something told me she wasn't gonna let him fool her for a second.

"You're not 16, are you?" Tony asked in what he probably thought was a mature voice, "Cause you look old enough for me."

What a cheesy choice of words. I looked at Aaron and tried to stop the burst of laughter that was soon coming.

"Dude, we're only 18." Aaron stated.

"And we're all 17." I told Tony once I got my laughter under control.

"And youre very cheesy," I said, poking a finger at Tony's buffed chest. He blushed, his pink cheeks clashing weirdly with his light hair.

"Cheezy? Thanks..." he said, pretending to be insulted.

I lightly punched him on the arm under Aaron's watchful gaze. "Okay, fine. Deliciously cheesy, like, Cheetos or something."

He smiled at me flirtingly and Aaron must have noticed. "Okay, Mr. Deliciously Cheezy," he laughed, "You have a new pickup line, go try and use it." As he saw Tony look at Julie and begin to speak, he added "Somewhere else, dude. We'll see you later." Tony gave him a nod.

"'Kay, dude. See you ladies later." Tony gave a wink at Julie and Gina, who merely smiled back before he turned around and set his sights on a lovely blonde whos most prominent features sat on her chest. Her most expensive ones too, I bet. I'm sure Tony would find out for all of us later.

When Tony was finally out of sight, "So, do you ladies want something to eat or drink?" Aaron looked at us all.

"Sure." We said almost at the same time.

"Is fruit punch alright?" he asked. The three of us nodded. "Okay then, punch it is." Aaron said and walked over to the cooler.

After Aaron walked away, I turned to Julie and Gina. "What do you guys think of him?"

"Aaron? Or Tony?" Gina asked, sounding a bit disgusted as she mentioned Tony's name.

"I know what you think of Aaron, you told me that..." I said. "Julie, Tony seemed to like you."

"You think so?" She said, "I didn't believe him for a second."

"Me either." Gina added. "He seemed like the type of guy I'd like to-"

"Punch?" Aaron asked, holding two glasses in each hand.

"Yeah. Sure." Gina said, taking a glass and smiling at me and Julie as she took a sip, making us giggle.

"Sorry about Tony, hes harmless, though." Aaron explained.

"Hes more of a pain in the ass than any kinda threat." Nick added, standing near the grill while one of his friends flipped burgers.

"So, wanna dance?" Aaron asked me, putting down his glass on the table next to his brother.

"Sure!" I answered. Aaron happily took my glass and put it down next to his, then led me down the stairs of his deck and into a crowd of already dancing people.

As we danced closely to a slow song, I glanced over at the house. I saw Tony, once again, talking to Julie. Gina seemed annoyed, and her hands were balled up in fists. Nick happened to look back at us, and I gave him a warning look and nodded at Tony. He apparently got the hint and walked over to Tony, talking to him as they walked away.

"You alright?" Aaron asked.

I nodded as the music began to pick up a bit more. Thank God, something you can actually move to. Aaron kept doing silly dance moves and making me laugh. Another slow song came on, and an anxious feeling seemed to be swelling in the pit of my stomach as we danced closer than we had before.

"Uh, can I use your bathroom?" I asked Aaron.

"I don't know, can you?" he joked. I laughed and hit him in the arm lightly. "Of course. Just promise me you'll hurry back."

"I promise." I kissed him on the cheek and made my way back to his house.

"Hey!" Julie said as I walked by.

"Hey..." I said, turning around.

"Nick got rid of Tony for us." Gina reported.

"I know. I saw." I answered.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it just got kinda intense over there for a sec."

"Go back! He's waiting for you!" Julie urged. I looked over and saw him watching me, smiling. How could I just leave him over there like that? Just then, I saw a girl walk over to him, trying to get him to dance with her. I held my breath as he talked to her for a sec, but was relieved when he walked away. Why was I so worried? Oh yeah, because he was walking over here.

"I thought you hadda go to the bathroom." he said.

"I forgot to ask where it was." He led me down the hall, and stopped outside of one of the door.

"Its right here." he kissed me on the cheek. "I'll see you outside." he said before walking away. I smiled as I watched him walk away before going into the bathroom. Damn. Now I really need a cooldown.

I waited to he had walked outside again before I walked down the hall and in to the living room. What was that? I heard a sound coming from upstairs, so I decided to go upstairs and see where it was coming from. Aaron had mentioned taking care of his baby brother, Kanden, to me before, but I couldn't imagine he'd leave the baby all by himself.

I heard a male voice calming the baby down as I got closer to what I assumed was Kanden's room.

"Shh..." he said. "Don't cry Kanden, we're just gonna go on a little trip, you'll be home again soon and Angel think I'm a hero..." My whole body froze as I realized whose voice it was: Tony's. I need to find Aaron... But should I really leave Kanden alone with Tony any longer? "Come on, lets grab you a change of clothes and some diapers..." Tony said.

"Shit!" I whispered to myself. Then realizing Tony might have heard, prayed he hadn't.

"Who's there?" Damnit! I cursed myself for not being able to keep quiet and unnoticed. I quickly and quietly snuck into the closest room. Hopefully he'd think he was just hearing things and go away. Too much to ask. "What did you hear?" Tony demanded after he followed me into the room and saw me standing by the door.

"Nothing but the baby crying..."

"Bullshit! What did you hear??"

"I told you! Nothing!" he grabbed my arm.

"I don't believe you."

"Then don't believe me, but let me go!" I tried to get out of his grip.

"What the HELL is going on here??" someone said. I turned to look at the door and saw a tall girl with long, brown hair. It was Aaron's twin sister, Angel.

"Ang! Hey..." Tony said, letting me go. I backed away and sat down on the egde of the bed that I'd bumped into.

"What are you doing in here??" she quizzed.

"I - uh..." he trailed off, unable to think. He really is stupid.

Just then we heard the baby begin to cry. "Why's Kanden crying? Did you do something to him?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Get out of here, Tony. Go down to the party. Now." Angel ordered. He hung his head and slowly walked past her and out of the room.

"Hey!" she said, looking at me after making sure Tony went down the stairs. "I'm Angel."

"Hi," I responded. "I'm Amy."

"Ohhh, so you're Amy..." Angel said, smirking.

"You've heard of me?" Angel merely nodded.

"Are you girls talking about me?" Aaron asked, walking up from behind Angel. "Whats going on?"

"Nothing," I answered, "But apparently you've talked about me. Nothing bad, I hope."

"No! All good. Very good..." Angel assured me as she walked out of the room.

"How good is very good?" I asked, looking back at Aaron.

"Depends on how good 'Shes my girlfriend and I love her' is." He answered, kissing me lightly on the lips.

"Hey, PG in front of the little brother." Angel told him, Kanden giggling in her arms after having walked into his room and picked him up.

"That was PG, Ang." Aaron answered, walking over to his little brother. "Hey, K. Up from your nap already?"

"Someone woke him up." Angel reported. Aaron looked at me.

"Amy?" he asked.

"No... I think it was Tony. And I saw a bunch of his clothes on the floor."

"Tony said- he said something about Kanden going away for a while, then bringing him back and Angel thinking he was a hero. I think he was gonna-" I said, cut-off by Aaron.

"-I'll kill him." Aaron said.

"I came in here and saw him grabbing Amy by the arm." Angel added.

"Did he hurt you??" Aaron asked.

"No, I'm fine. Scared, but fine."

"Hes dead."

"Aaron, don't-" Angel said.

"No, Ang! This is the last straw!"

"At least talk to Nick before you do anything stupid."

Aaron nodded and walked out of the room.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Amy." Angel said. "Come on, lets go downstairs." I nodded and followed her back to the party.

Aaron walked over to Nick and whispered something in his ear. Nick looked pissed. They marched over to Tony and pulled him away from the tall blonde he was talking to. Aaron was asking him something, and apparently didn't like his answer, because he shoved him. In the meantime, I filled Julie and Gina in on what had happened upstairs, after introducing them to Angel. Nick grabbed Tony by the arm and dragged him inside.

"You bitch!" Tony yelled as Nick shoved him past me. "What the fuck did you tell them??"

Aaron came over and kissed me. "Don't pay any attention to him." he looked past me and at Angel. "We're gonna take care of this." The four of us nodded and quietly followed them to the living room, where we watched from behind the wall as Nick shoved Tony onto the couch.

Someone must have come in to use the bathroom and left the sliding glass back door open, because we couldn't really hear much of their conversation over the music. All I heard was something about me.

"Okay, let's go and end this party." Angel said. I nodded and she pulled me back to the backyard, and Julie and Gina followed close behind us.

"OKAY, PEOPLE!" Angel called, signaling to the person playing the music to shut it off. "PARTY'S OVER! LET'S GO!" She directed the crowd out of the house, and I helped her make sure everyone left.

As we stood in the frontyard watching everyone leave, Aaron came out and the first thing I noticed was the blood on his lip.

"Aaron!" I called, rushing over and holding his arm.

"I'm fine." he said. "Amy... Maybe you should-"

"We're gonna go." Julie and Gina said, at almost the same time. I nodded to them.

"I'll call you." I said. They nodded and left with everyone else.

"Aaron what happened in there?" I said in a worried voice, looking him in the eye.

"He said - He said you came onto him and I punched him. He hit back."

"Aaron, I-"

"I know its not true, thats why I punched him."

"He said the same thing about me." Angel told me. That a$shole.

"I better get back in there, I left Nick alone with him... I just didn't want you to leave." Aaron said, looking into my eyes.

I kissed his forehead. "I won't."

"Do you want me to wait somewhere?" I asked uncertainly. Awkward moment. I made the motion of starting to walk back across the street toward my house, but he grabbed my arm lightly.

"No, stay here," he pleaded, "I want something good to look forward to after I finish with the shithead." I nodded, kissing his cheek. Just then, we heard a scream. Aaron hurried inside, with Angel and I close behind him.

The first image that registered in my eyes was blood. Blood dripping from Nick's red lips, blood on Tony's black 'Gansta' shirt. Tony had Nick on the floor.

"Nick!" Angel screamed, trying to pry Tony's bulky body off of her brother, "Nick!"

I rushed over to help her, but he shoved both of us off of him.

"Don't touch them!" Nick hollared, managing to shove Tony off of him and against the wall.

Tony's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Nick's angry blue eyes, his breathing heavy and ragged. "Get the fuck off of me!" he exclaimed.

"Dont tell me what to do in my own house!" Nick yelled. I stepped back against the wall. It scared me how angry Nick had gotten in such a short period of time.

"Are you okay??" Aaron asked us. We nodded and he walked over to his brother, looking past him and at Tony. "I want you out of here. Out of my house, out of my life, out of California!" He hollared.

"Fine!" Tony yelled, spewing blood all over the wooden floor as he walked to the entryway to the living room stepping up to the raised floor area of the hall, "I dont want to see much of your trailer trash anyways!"

"Angel wasn't trailer trash twenty fucking minutes ago, Tony!" Nick called.

"Oh fuck you, Nick!" Tony yelled as he slammed the door shut, shaking the house ever so slightly. I cast a look at Aaron, who was staring at the door Tony had just exited with intense hatred in his eyes.

Nick placed a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from going after Tony. "Hes not worth it."

"Hes not?" Aaron yelled. "He tries to kidnap my brother, he tries to rough up my girlfriend, pound on my brother, throws my sister and my girlfriend across the room, and calls my family trailer trash!! And he was my best friend!! Thats not worth it??"

"Hes not worth going to jail over." Nick told him. Aaron looked to me, and I nodded in agreement, as did Angel.

"C'mon," I whispered, "Forget about that scumbag. We could go walking or whatever, or I could just leave so you can help Nick out with cleaning up. Whatever you want." He smiled and took my hand, leanding me out into the backyard, he kissed my cheek. "I love you, Amy."

"I love you too, Aaron. Maybe you should get cleaned up."

"Yeah," he laughed. We walked back inside, and I waited in the living room while he went to clean the blood off of his face.

'I thought I knew who you were
I see now you were a lesson to learn
And all I am to you now is a bridge that's been burned'

I fumbled around in my pocket, trying to retreive my phone before the caller hung up. They hadn't.

"Hello?" I asked tentatively.

"Amy?" a voice asked brightly. Mom.

"Hey, Mom." I said, remembering Tony didn't even have my number.

"I heard screaming across the street. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Mom, its fine."

"That's good," she said. A relieved tone took over her voice. "Amy, I'd like to talk to you when you get home, okay?"

"Is everything okay?" I asked. I wiped my sweaty palms across my jeans. This kind of drama belonged on LD, the site I frequented.

She hesitated. "No. Well... Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." she said finally. "Bye honey. See you at home."

"Okay Mom, bye." I said, clicking off the phone, feeling somewhat confused.

"I gotta go," I said, walking to the door. "I'm sorry, guys."

"Wait!" Nick said, causing me to stop. "Just wait til Aaron gets back." I nodded and walked back over. "Hey," he addressed me, rubbing his face with a blood stained towel. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"It's okay." I dismissed the fact that Nick had been .. fighting earlier.

"Hey, Aaron's here now." Nick told me, pointing over my shouder.

"Why does it matter that Aaron's here now?" Aaron asked, walking in.

"I've gotta go home..." I said.

"Is everything alright?"

"I don't know, thats why I have to go home." I kissed his cheek. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah... Be careful." I slowly walked out of the living room, looking back at the archway before walking out the front door.

I nearly panicked at the front door of my house, searching the floor of my porch for my keys. I could of sworn I'd brought them in my pocket when I'd left for the party...Unless I'd dropped them...What if Tony had gotten them?

"Amy?"

I looked up at the open doorway, where my mom was standing in. My heart leapt thankfully.

"Mom! I think I've lost my keys, and there was this dude-"

"Amy, just come inside." Mom said, moving aside to let me in.

"Thanks Mom," I grinned, "It's always nice to be invited into your own house."

She feebly smiled in return and gestured to our new dining room table and chairs. "Sit down,"

Oh crap.

"Amy, I want to talk to you about Aaron," she stated, sitting across from me on one of the chairs and folding her hands pristinely in her lap.

"What about him?" I asked curiously, "I thought you adored him."

"I do -- did -- until I went shopping for groceries and saw this." She said, picking up a magazine and handing it to me. I unfolded it and looked at the cover: It was Aaron, outside a club, a tall, skimpily-dressed blonde girl on his arm. He looked totally wasted. The headline read : "AARON'S WILD NIGHT"

My heart stopped beating briefly as I examined the tabloid from where I was sitting. I didnt want to grab it from her and appear as if I really was worried. I wasn't. It had to be from before we met.

"Mom, what day is that magazine dated?" I asked. Damn my voice for shaking like that.

"Three days ago."

3 days ago? Was that before we met?? "Oh." I said simply.

"I don't want you to get hurt, honey, and I like Aaron, but-"

"But instead of going by what you see you're gonna believe what you read?"

"I didn't say that, honey, but maybe you should talk to him about it before anything serious happens and you get hurt." That does it. I stood up and the table and leaned on it with my hands.

"Mom, I trust him. I love him! And hes treated me better in the past few days than Jack ever could have, and you know it." I grabbed the magazine off the table and turned around to walk out the door.

"Amy!" she yelled. I turned back around where I was, my right hand on my hip. "Just- Be careful."

"I always am." I said, trying to smile at my mom before turning back towards the door and walking out. I was gonna throw out the magazine, but not before I heard the truth. Heard what really happened. I looked across the street and saw that the lights were still on. Taking a deep breath, I walked across the street and knocked on the door, the magazine rolled up in my back pocket.

Nick answered the door when I knocked. "Hey, long time no see!" he laughed.

"Is Aaron still up?" I asked.

"Yeah," Nick answered, moving aside a bit. "Hes been waiting to hear from you since you left." I nodded as I walked in, trying to keep my hand in my back pocket to hide the magazine with my arm. I saw Aaron sitting in the living room, and he jumped up when he saw me.

"Hey, wanna take a walk with me?" I asked.

"Hey! Yeah, sure..." He said, walking with me to the door.

Once we were outside, I saw he was looking at me closely. "Is something wrong? You left so suddenly before." He asked as we walked down the street.

"Well," I said, slowly pulling the magazine out of my back pocket, "My mom was worried."

"Why? Because of the fighting before?" If only.

"No," I unrolled the magazine. "Because of this." I stopped walking and handed it to him. "She said it was dated three days ago." He stood there, silently scanning over the cover.

"Amy... this was taken days before I met you. Tabloids do this all the time." I looked him in the eyes. He wasn't lying. I knew it.

"I know... I just can't stand that my parents keep doing this. My mom likes you, I don't know what her problem is." I tried to contain my anger, remembering what had been going on that day, but I knew it showed. He hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead.

"I know... But trust me, I wouldn't hurt you like that."

"I know... I love you." I said.

"I love you too."

"I'm sorry, but I think I should go home. Its a school night and my parents are already worried about me after what happened earlier...

"Alright..." He kissed me lightly on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"See you tomorrow... I love you, too." I walked back to my house and went up to my room, avoiding my parents at all costs, my mind reeling from all the days events.

~The Next Morning~

"AMY! SCHOOL!" Dad called from the bottom of the stairs. I groaned as I walked down the stairs, my black messenger bag over my shoulder.

"I'm here, lets go..." I said. "Bye, Mom!" I shouted back from the front door.

~Ten Minutes Later~

"Hi Amy!" Mel greeted as soon as I walked up the front steps of the school, laden down with my new school books. I've got to get a new one before my old one rips like it did at my last school...

"Hi, uh, Mel," I said cautiously, slightly weirded out by how she had spotted me so quickly. Maybe she was waiting for me, or maybe she didnt have many other friends... "What's up?" I asked her as we walked towards my locker. She offered to take some books out of my backpack and carry them, and I gratefully complied.

Once we got to the lockers, I noticed Julie and Gina standing by mine. Aren't I Miss Popular today?

"Amy!" Julie called.

"We waited up for you to call back!" Gina said.

"What happened?" They asked in unison. Another day, another start. Mel cleared her throat.

"Sorry, Mel, didn't see you. Hey." Gina said with a nod.

"Its okay," Mel said, handing me my books as I opened my locker to put them away, "Hey."

"I just had a fight with my parents, guys, no big deal. I was tired and forgot to call before I went to bed." I explained. I didn't want to say much else in front of Mel. I wasn't sure if I could trust her completely yet. Julie elbowed Gina so she wouldn't say anything more about it.

"What's going on?" Mel asked, apparently noticing that there was somthing we weren't telling her. Thankfully, just then warning bell rung.

"See ya Mel, We have to go to class.." Julie said happily, and Gina, Julie, and I turned around and hurried off to class. "We were so saved back there. I have never liked that bell as much as I do now."


~Afterschool~


I sat outside the school waiting for Dad to come and get me, when suddenly I saw a car I had come to know so well. It was always parked across the street from my house, after all.

As Aaron's car pulled up, I smiled.

"Need a ride?" he asked, rolling down the window of his Black Range Rover.

"Got one! Dad's picking me up." He frowned.

"You sure?" He asked. "You could always call him and tell him you got a ride from someone else..."

"Fine, fine..." I said, laughing. "I'll call..." He suddenly had a big smile as I got into the car. I looked out the window and noticed someone familiar watching me as we pulled away... Mel.

Thank G-d she can't see whos driving. Even if she did, neighbors can give other neighbor's rides home, right? I tried to cover my face, but it didn't matter: I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that she saw me.

"Something wrong?" Aaron asked, noticing my behavior.

"Not really..." I replied. He gave me an unconvinced look. "Fine... Theres this girl I met yesterday, and I'm not sure if I can trust her."

"Why wouldn't you be able to trust her?"

"Because unlike Julie and Gina, who had no idea who you were, she knew."

"Ohh."

"She said she saw us together on the cover of US Weekly, from that day we had lunch together?" I paused, continuing after he nodded. "She started flipping out! Saying she couldn't wait to tell everyone she could think of that she knew 'the girl who was dating Aaron Carter'." I paused again. "I told her we weren't dating."

He nodded. "Oh." Aaron was silent after that. Had I said something wrong?

"Are you mad at me?" I finally asked.

"No!" he exclaimed, still keeping his eyes on the road. "Its none of her business that we're dating." He reached over and held my left hand with his right. "I think you did the right thing."

"So, you don't think I should trust her?" I asked as we sat in his car, which he'd parked in my driveway.

"I think she needs to earn your trust." He sighed as he held my hand. "You know, I don't care if the whole world knows that I love you, but if you don't trust her, you don't trust her."

I smiled as I leaned over and kissed him lightly before being rudely interrupted...

'Let me take you to another place
Where nothing ever seems to matter
Its just you and me
We can take flight like a thief in the night
Stolen moments with you'

"Go ahead..." he said with a sigh. I took my phone out of my pocket and answered it.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey!" Julie replied. Damnit, Julie!

"Whats up?"

"Nothing..." She didn't sound too sure it was nothing.

"Whats wrong?"

"Well... Just as we were leaving, Mel came up to us and told us she saw you leave in some mysterious car."

"Did she see who was driving?"

"Nope. She asked us if we knew whos car it was."

"We lied." Gina added from the background.

"Good. You do know it was Aaron's car, right?" I questioned.

"Of course! But I wasn't about to tell her that." Julie explained.

"Just making sure... But, um I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Wait!" Gina exclaimed, having apparently taken the phone from Julie. "You promise you're gonna remember to call us tonight? No matter how late it is?"

"Yes, Gina. I promise."

"Okay then! Have fun, and tell Aaron we said 'Hi'!"

"He said 'Hi'," I answered without even looking at him for a response. He was listening to the whole conversation. "Call you later. Bye." I finished, before hanging up. "Now where were we?" I asked, leaning in once again and kissing him.

"Amy!" My mom was waving frantically at us as she walked out the front door. "Amy, thank God you are all right!" she exclaimed once I had rolled down my window.

"Mom, Mom," I cited, grabbing her flailing arms and putting it down against the edge of the window, "What's wrong?"

"Your dad couldn't find you, and we started to panic and-"

"Wait!" I interrupted. "Didn't either of you get my message?" I asked.

"Message? What message?"

"I left a message for both of you saying I was getting a ride home from Aaron."

"We didn't get a message." she cried, trying to hide the tears coming out of her eyes. "I thought you said you didnt have a phone."

Oh yes. No wonder.

"You know he gave me one, Mom." I said, holding up my phone to show her. "I was on it yesterday right in front of you."

"Oh." She paused, before opening her mouth to speak-

Thud.

Oh my gaw.

"What was that?" Aaron asked uneasily after my heartbeat seceded back to it's prescribed place. I dreaded looking outside my window, around the car.

I leapt out of the car. Mom was on the ground, unconscious. "AARON, CALL 911!!" I yelled, checking to see if there was any blood on the ground. None. Thank G-d. I looked up at Aaron, who was standing by the back of the car, a paniced expression as he dialed the numbers and put the phone up to his ear.

"Yes, I need an ambulance." He said, trying to keep calm.

"What's happened sir?" I heard a curt male voice answer in the muffled receiving end. Aaron saw my facial expression and rubbed the back of my neck while still on the phone with the 911 operator, telling him what happened.

"An ambulance will be there momentarily."

All the screaming must have reached across the street, because I looked up and saw Angel running over.

"Amy!" Angel yelled, seeing me on the ground next to my mother. "What happened?"

"I don't know! We pulled into the driveway and she was crying because she didn't get my voicemail message. She said she didn't know I had a phone, but it was like she forgot or something. Next thing I knew she was on the ground!"

"Did you call the cops?" Angel asked, as we carefully moved my mothers body to the grass, where she wouldn't get run over. I dropped down next to her and moved my hand towards her chest. Slow heartbeat.

"Aaron's calling 911... Shes still got a heartbeat..." I said, trailing off. I looked up at Aaron, who was pacing back and forth in the driveway while he was on the phone with the dispatcher, stopping every few seconds to look over at me, Angel, and Mom. He finally hung up and walked over to us.

"They're on their way." He said, standing behind me and rubbing my back. I turned around to face him. "Can you call my Dad? His car's not here, hes probably looking for me or something."

"Sure, baby..." He said, leaning over and kissing my cheek before pulling out his phone again, this time standing nearby instead of walking to the driveway. My heart felt like it was gonna implode from beating so fast. "Your Dad is on his way back." Aaron said as he put his phone away. "I told him if we're not here we'll meet him at the hospital." I nodded silently as I watched Mom as close as possible.

Then, sirens. I looked up and saw an ambulance pull up, and two men jumped out.

"Is she bleeding?" one man asked urgently, checking for her pulse.

"No." I replied, moving out of their way. Aaron put his arm around my shoulders and rubbed my arm.

The other man put his ear to her mouth. Whats going on? "Get the backboard!" he called to the third man, who was walking over with a big, orange colored board. They rolled Mom onto her side and placed her on the board, and we followed them to be back of the ambulance. As we went to get inside, one of the men stopped us.

"Sorry, family only."

"I'm her daughter!" I shouted. They nodded to each other and let me in. "Can he come too? Please?" I pleaded. They once again exchanged glances and let Aaron come with me.

"I'll call you when we find out anything!" Aaron called to his sister, who nodded from behind the ambulance as the men closed the doors and we drove away.

Please, G-d, help my mom.


~Ten Minutes Later~

Aaron and I were sitting in the waiting room, and I had my head in my hands while he was rubbing my back. "I cant believe this is happening," I moaned as I sobbed quietly, not entirely reassured by Aaron's back rubbing, the florescent lights making me dizzy.

"Honey!" Dad called. I jumped up from my chair and hugged my dad tightly. "I was so scared when Aaron called me."

"They haven't told us anything, Dad..." I replied. He kissed the top of my head.

"It'll be okay, honey..." he assured.

"Do you think she'll make it?" I asked slowly, dreading the answer that I knew would tear up our lives if it were said..

"Don't think like that, of course she will" Dad tried his best to look like he was alright, but I could see in his eyes he was scared.

"I'll go call Nick and Angel..." Aaron said. Dad and I nodded and Aaron kissed my cheek before he walked away.

"He really a is good guy, isn't he." Dad said quietly, sitting next to me and pulling me close to him with his arm.

"Yeah." I answered, equally as quiet. When Aaron got back I tried to eat something, but I couldn't stop thinking about Mom...

I jumped up anxiously as a white uniformed doctor approached, carrying a heavy looking clipboard laden down with a jumble of papers. He had a grim expression on his face.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

Still with the grim expression. Couldn't he have looked cheerful, at least? Well, no, never mind. That would depress me probably even more.

"She's going to live. But we've found something." he said, and I could tell by by his voice, the sympathy in his eyes, just by his stance, that it wouldn't be something good.

"What?" I cried out, frustrated at what was happening. This was just too much!

"We think she may have some sort of tumor in her brain." he said quietly, gesturing that I take my seat again. A sign that this was not going to be short and sweet, or good, at that matter.

"Oh."

"Was she on any medicines?" he asked.

I nodded.

"What kind?" he probed.

"Some depression medicine."

"Why did she need it? Was it prescribed?"

I nodded again, tears prickling my eyes and sliding down my cheeks. "She had a breakdown before we moved here." I paused to wipe away the falling tears with the back of my hand. "It was prescribed."

"Do you think she may have been taking more than one anti-depressant? Or have been mixing in different kinds of medicines, perhaps over the counter ones?" His voice became softer, and he took a seat beside me, I guess trying to be more comforting. It wasn't really working.

I shrugged again, my shoulders shaking.

"I'll let you know when the test results get back." He replied, getting up from the chair and shaking my dad's hand before walking away.

"How did this happen? Why??" I said, trying not to cry. Aaron rubbed my back, and I wasn't looking at either of them, but I know he gave my dad a look.

"Honey, you should get something to eat." Dad said, holding my hand while Aaron rubbed my back while I silently nodded. "I'll go to the cafeteria."

As he walked off, I turned to Aaron and buried my face in his arms.

"Amy? Aaron?" I heard a voice ask. Looking up I saw Nick and Angel, frowning in worry.

"We're so sorry," they said in unision as they stooped down and alternately gave me a hug. "We didn't think it was that serious."

"Don't say its serious!" I cried out deliriously, then took a deep breath. "Dont say it's serious. If it's not...serious...than it'll get better."

I could see the worry on their faces as they exchanged looks with Aaron.

"The- the doctor said he'd be back when the test results came back." I said quitely.

"Did he say what they know so far?" Angel asked carefully.

I tried to form the words, but I couldn't. As I began to shake again, Aaron pulled me close and explained to his siblings what we knew.

And it's all my fault, I thought while sobbing into my hands.

"Amy. It's not," Angel said softly.

I looked at her, bewildered, until I realized I'd voiced my thoughts aloud.

"If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have been stressing out..." I trailed off.

"You can't control what other people do." Nick stated.

"But it's all my fault!" I screamed, jumping up out of my chair, stumbling over the shiny linolium, and running towards the nearest door around. The lights felt very dizzying, and the floor felted very slippery...

And oddly soft as I slid down to it.

As I opened my eyes, I found myself sitting in a chair in the hallway, Aaron, Angel, Nick, and Dad standing around me. Before I could say a word Aaron handed me a styrofoam cup with ice water in it.

"You passed out..." Aaron trailed off.

"Are you alright?" Dad asked, standing next to Aaron.

"I guess..." I replied after taking a few short sips of water.

"I'm sorry for anything I did," I took another sip, "You know, before I passed out."

Aaron's lips bestowed another kiss on my forehead, whispering, "It's okay, baby. Its okay."

I felt so glad that he was there. And the rest of them.

But the footsteps of the doctor coming almost killed all of my optimistic feelings.

"I think you should go home, Miss." he said curtly, but not really in a rude manner, "We'll call you when we get news."

"But-"

"Amy, we'll take you," Nick said softly as Aaron helped me up from my chair.



As I sat in the backseat of Nick's car on the way home, Angel beside me, I looked out the window. Why my mom? Why now? Why at all? Would it have been the same if we'd stayed home, at our old house? Would things have been different if I were with Jack, and not Aaron? It certainly wouldn't have been better if I was with Jack... Wait, what's the use of talking about all these buts?

"Mom's gonna be alright," I said suddenly to nobody in particular. A lie. Partly. I was talking to myself.

They gave me a peculiar look. Angel patted my hand. "What?"

"Mom's gonna be alright," I repeated, "I just know it. She's a fighter. She'll be okay, and she'll fly doing it." Aaron looked back at me and smiled. Yeah. Mom'll be okay. And so will I.

I looked up at my big, empty house as Nick pulled into my driveway. "I dont really wanna go home," I whispered to Angel. She looked back at me with sympathy in her eyes, and I felt so guilty. They were feeling sorry for me, when they should've been sorry for my mom.

Aaron twisted his neck from around the front seat. After he seemed to contemplate something that made his eyes troubled, he finally asked, "Where should we go?"

"How about the beach?" I suggested out loud. When Aaron and Angel both gave me quizzical looks, I explained, "We used to have family outings at the beach far away at our old house."

Nick backed out of my driveway as he chimed in agreement and we all headed for the beach.

I slowly got out of the car after we pulled up to the beach. When I finally stood up and looked at the waves, my phone rang.

'To say that you deserve this
And what kind of God would serve this
We will cure this dirty old disease
Well if you've gots the poison, I've gots the remedy'

I looked at it for a moment. It was Julie. I completely forgot about her and Gina.

"Hello?" I said, sniffling.

"Amy...Are you okay?" Julie asked when she realized I was upset. I heard Gina's voice murmur in the background.

"I've seen better days, I guess," I gazed out at Aaron slowly venturing closer out to the shore, and felt a numbness chiming in my stomach. Good, or bad, I have no idea. "But it's okay. I'm okay. My mom's gonna be okay."

"Whats wrong with your mom??" Julie asked. I also forgot neither of them knew about my mom. I slowly told Julie everything, trying as hard as I could not to cry. "Oh my God, Amy, I'm soo sorry. Where are you? Do you want us to come?"

"No, I'm okay, I'm with Aaron, Angel, and Nick."

"Oh." She said. "Are you gonna be at school tomorrow?"

School. I forgot about that too. "I don't know. I really hadn't thought about it, Julie..."

"Of course not. But you sound tired, Amy, you should get some rest."

I nodded, forgetting we were on the phone and she couldn't see me. "Yeah, I'll call you later. Bye."

"Bye!" Julie said, and I could hear Gina yell goodbye in the background before we hung up.

"Who was that?" Aaron breathed into my hair, suddenly by my side. I felt somewhat more reassured by his arms slinkishly wrapping around my waist, even though I was pretty much sure him hugging me wouldn't make my mom better. She was still going to be, anyways.

"Julie. And Gina."

"Those two twins?" he asked.

I giggled, my lips curving upwards slightly. "They're not twins, they're just freakishly alike."

"Damn." Aaron commented, "For once, I actually thought I got it right."

"I'm sure you will someday." I replied, looking out at the ocean.

"Come on," he said, pulling me towards the beach by the hand, "Lets take a walk."

He pulled my lightly towards the shore, with a sense of control that I didnt really mind. It wasn't control freakish. It was control because...that I had to find out.

But I liked it.

The wet sand surrounding the shore felt soft and pudgy beneath my feet, and I looked down to see the cool brownness of it oozing between my toes. I'd forgotten my shoes. So did Aaron, I noticed. I let out a laugh.

"Great minds think alike, huh?" I commented.

"Guess so," he said, looking out at the water as he pulled me closer to him.

"So what's next?" he asked softly. I liked the way his breath warmed my neck as he talked, and the way my head fit into his chest's mold. I liked how he acted, how he talked, how he walked, how he laughed. And let's not forget how absolutely gorgeous he is.

I giggled at my own chatising, my own inside rebellion.

"What's so funny?" Aaron asked in mock indignance, "Do I smell like poop or something? Cause I swear that I put almost half the bottle of spray in the hospitals bathroom, and it was -"

"No, it wasn't that," I smiled, breaking our tune of walking and turning to face him. "I was just listing all the amazing things about you, and I almost forgot just how amazingly beautiful you are."

He blushed, a small tinging pink running up his cheeks. "Weh-ell, who is the naughty girl here? I'm not even naked yet! Anyways, you're the beautiful one. Inside and out. You just haven't hung around me that much to know all of my mistakes."

"I've seen some mistakes. But I could look past 'em."

"I've seen a mistake in you too," he admitted.

I stopped smiling. "You did? What?"

"That you didnt let me meet you sooner."

I rolled my eyes. What a cheezy line. "I met you the day I moved here." He just smiled, apparently sticking to his original answer.

"Next time, babes, move here faster before I start to stalk you," he laughed.

"Next time?" I asked. Being stalked by him doesn't sound so bad, anyway.

"Yeah. I'm going to get your picture embedded in my pillowcase."

"So... you're a teenie now?" I said, smiling.

"Of course," he smiled.

"Teenie weenie," I declared, laughing as Aaron tried to chase me away. I stopped and looked at him. The sun was going down but still he was glowing...

"...Maybe we should go home." Nick suggested as he and Angel walked over to us. I frowned. I guess I had to go home sometime.

"I guess," I said softly, looking back at Aaron. He looked disappointed. "Let's go, Aaron."

He obeyed and we walked back together to Nick's truck, hand in hand, silently.

It wasn't until we were buckled in safe and sound, like good citizens, that he spoke again in a low whisper, cupping his hands around my ear. I was instantly aroused by the warm sensation of his breath against my sensitive skin.

Ahh, sad or not, I was still a stupid horny teenager.

"Listen," Aaron said, "I know youre sad and all, but I was wondering if you'd like to, you know, spend a night with my family. I mean, you can bring your dad too," he said quickly before I even protested. How did he read my mind. He was definitely a stalker. "But if you dont want to..."

I heard the words in my mind, but I just didn't know what to say. "Uh, I don't know... maybe you can... stay at our house?" It was Aaron's turn to not know what to say. "Its just that, the house is so big, and it would seem so empty if it just was me and my dad..."

I noticed him exchange a look with Nick, who seemed to smirk a bit. That look must run in the family.

"Sure... If your dad agrees to it." He replied, smiling at me as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed my dad's cell number.

"Dad?" I asked when the ringing stopped abruptly.

"Hi Amy..." He trailed off. "Is something wrong?" He sounded worried.

"Not really..." I answered.

"Have you heard anything about Mom yet?" I tried not to sound too worried.

I heard a sigh. "No, but they said shes still sleeping."

"Oh." I looked away from the window for a moment, and realized everyone in the car was silent. I guess they were trying to hear what we were saying.

"The doctors seem to be optimistic, honey." Dad said consolingly.

"Optimistic?" What the hell does that mean??

"She'll be alright, Amy. No one is gonna let anything happen to her."

"I hope not..." I trailed off. "Um, Dad?" I paused, waiting for a response.

"Yeah?"

"Can I, um, ask you something?" I cringed as I imagined his reaction.

"Sure, honey, what is it?"

"Well, Aaron, Angel, and Nick invited us to stay at their house tonight, and-"

"I'll think about it, honey." Dad interrupted. I was thankful that I didn't have to finish my question, but worried because he said he'd "think about it".

"That's not code for 'no', is it?"

"Amy, I'll think about it." He said. "I'll call you later. Get some rest."

I nodded. "Yeah. Talk to you later. Love you, Dad."

"Love you too, Amy. Bye." He said, followed by a click. I sighed as I hung up the phone.

Aaron looked at me curiously. "Well?"

"Uhhh." I tried to stall, to think up of a plausible answer.

"Tell me baby girl, cause I need to know." he sang out.

I gave in and laughed, sliding towards Aaron so that we were closer as we sat parked in his driveway, Nick with his door open.

"I didn't actually get to ask him the question....correctly." I admitted, looking down at my black Converse. I grinned as Aaron's white Nike nudged mine playfully. So he wasn't mad.

"Thats what I heard." he told me, finally resting his shoes on top of mine so that my Chuck's could suffocate.

Mofo.

"He'll think about it..." I said finally, looking up into Aaron's puppy dog eyes.

"You can hang here until he gets back." Nick offered. We all got out of the car, and Aaron and I stayed outside for a while. He was making silly faces at me, trying to get me to smile. I was trying not to, but he started tickling me and I burst out laughing. A few minutes of tickling later and Aaron started to play with my hair... He always did that when he wanted to make his move. Sure enough, the same minute as he was going for my neck, Nick came outside.

"Uh, hey, Nick!" I called out cheerfully after swiftly dodging Aaron's lips. Darn.

Nick had another smirk on his face. What was up with all these freakin' Carter men smirks? I had to figure it out later.

"Having fun?" he asked once he was in our vicinity.

"Doing what?" I asked innocently.

"Are you really gonna make him say it?" Angel asked, walking up behind him.

"No... and no." I said, looking at Nick as I answered his question, too. Hopefully that would end the smirking.

"Suuure..." He said, winking at Aaron and once again smirking. Seriously, what is it with all the smirking??

Aaron elbowed his brother and led me inside. As I looked at my phone to check the time, I stopped for a minute. I totally forgot.

"I need to call Julie and Gina." I said, flipping open my phone and dialing.

"Why?" Aaron asked.

"Uhhh..." Why did I need to call them again? Oh yeah. "I have to call them and tell them that it's alright."

He nodded and sat down on the black and probably scorching hot pavement, Indian style.

Ring. Ring. "Hello?" Julie asked cluelessly.

"Hey, it's Amy."

"Hey!" she exclaimed, her usual hyperness coming back to her. Doesn't she know how to read a caller ID? "Is everything okay?"

I sighed. What do I say?

"Yeah. I'm fine, I just wanted to tell you that I won't be in school tomorrow." I said as Aaron came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder.

"I totally understand." I guess Aaron got impatient waiting for me to get off the phone and decided to have some fun.

"Hey Julie?" I asked shakily as I felt Aaron kissing my bare shoulder and going up towards my neck.

"Yeah?"

"I-I gotta go." I told her as Aaron nibbled on my earlobe.

"Okay... I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye." I hung up and turned around in Aaron's arms to see him smirking at me.

"Finally! I was beginning to think you would never hang up." his arms were still around my waist and he was smirking at me and looking into my eyes.

"That wasn't nice." I mock scolded him, smiling as I brought my arms up around his neck.

He ignored my comment and looked into my eyes. "You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen." He told me.

"Right back at ya." I said smiling again and looking into his eyes.

He smirked again and leaned in for a kiss. It was amazing. I had never felt so alive. I realized then that I truly did love him. Not puppy love, but the full out head-over-heels-truly-and-deeply-crazy-and-madly Inlove with him. And that one kiss filled with passion beyond belief seemed to last forever.

When I finally came back from my own little episode of "Life on Cloud 9" I pulled away.

"Something wrong?" Aaron asked.

I sighed, "No, I just don't want to be alone..." I said and pulled him into a hug.

All the stress from the past couple of days seemed to come back all at once and pile itself into my chest. The anxiety was so bad that my chest physically hurt. But at the same time it felt empty. No! I thought to myself, You need to stop being so negative, this is one of the bad things that you get from Mom, being a pessimist in the worst of times. Some of the emptiness seemed to lift and I noticed that Aaron was still holding me tight. Then it all went away.

Just as I was starting to enjoy the moment my phone rang, it was my dad.

"Hey dad, how's everything going?"

"Your mom is still sleeping," he whispered. "I'm in the room with her now, she's got some color back and her breathing's back to normal."

I sighed with relief now. I not only got rid of the anxiety, but I felt hope. "That great," I said with a smile.

"But sweetheart, the tests still haven't come back yet..." now it was his turn to sigh. "I don't mean to sound so cruel, but I don't want you to think that everything is fine now, cause it isn't...listen, I'm deffinately going to be here all night," he sighed again, I was beginning think that my family sighs almost as much as the Carter's smirk. "I don't want you to stay home by yourself at a time like this...it's okay with me if you stay over Aaron's, let's just not tell your mother when she wakes up" he said and I could picture his worn smile.

I had to smile. I love my dad so much. And what I loved even more is that he said 'when she wakes up' not 'If'. "Thanks daddy, I love you."

"I love you too sweetie, so much. Just don't do anything a nun wouldn't do, okay?"

I laughed, "I don't know about that..."

"Okay well just keep it PG-10," he said making up some little kids' rating.

"PG-16," I negotiated.

"12," he said.

"14," I replied.

"Deal," he said with a light laugh.

I smiled. I don't know what I would do if Dad didn't keep as calm as he did in bad situations.

"Oh and I called the school already to let them know you won't be in. I'm sure you can have a friend get the assignments for you."

"Thanks dad," I yawned. "Look I'm really exhausted. I'm gonna' try and get some sleep. Goodnight, I love you daddy."

"Love you too honey," and with that we both hung up.

During all the conversation with my dad I didn't realise that I'd drifted away from Aaron, I looked at him and he looked so cute under the newly lit street light.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Well, it's really too soon to tell, but things are deffinately better." I said walking over to him and giving him a soft kiss.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he said tucking his nose in the nape of my neck.

I smiled. "My dad said that he'd be staying in the hospital all night and that he didn't want me to be alone right now."

He lifted his head from my shoulder and looked at me, "Does that mean?..."

"Yup, I'm sleeping over," I grinned and kissed him again.

We walked into his house holding hands. Then it hit me...would Aaron want me to sleep in his bed...with him?


"Hey, guys," Nick greeted us as we walked in.

"Hey, Amy's gonna be staying with us tonight, her dad called back and said it was alright."

"That's fine with me. If you need anything, Amy, just help yourself to whatever we have," he said looking at me.

"Okay, thanks," was all I could think to say. "Oh, I forgot to grab some stuff from my house before. I'll be right back."

"Want me to come?" Aaron asked.

"No, I'll be fine, I'm just going to get a few things," I said kissing him on the cheek.

I went across the street to my house and went in. Something didn't seem right, but I brushed it off. It was, after all, the first time I'd ever walked into the house alone and after dark, so obviously it was going to be a little spooky, right?

I went upstairs to get some stuff out of my room. I was in my walk in closet when I thought I heard footsteps coming into my room. Okay, just calm down, your just over reacting, no one's here... I got the few things I needed from my closet and rushed out of the room. My heart was pounding in my chest, my head was saying 'Everything's fine' while my instincts were saying 'Get out of there!! NOW!!!' I ran into the bathroom to get my toothbrush and I went down the stairs two at a time to get out of here as soon as possible. When I got to the front door I stopped in my tracks...it was open, but I didn't leave it that way.

Slowly it closed and I saw a man - no, a boy - in the shadows behind it.

"Long time no see, Amy," said the figure. My heart stopped and my hands and knees began to shake.

"What's the matter, didn't you miss me?" Tony said as he locked the front door and gave me one of the most evil grins I've ever seen in my life...

I have to get away!"Not really." I tried to stay calm. Then it hit me. There was another way out: the back door.

I ran for the back door as fast as I could, but Tony was at my heels. I knocked over a lamp I went by to try and stall him, but no good, he jumped over it.

When I finally got to the kitchen - where the back door was - I laughed at him silently in my head. All I have to do is make it outside and scream, then Aaron and Nick will hear me and kick the shit out of him. I turned the knob and pushed, but the door wouldn't budge. Oh my god, he must've blocked it from the outside! As soon as I finished my thought, Tony walked into the room.

"Come on, Amy, gimme a little credit here, do you really think I'd be that stupid?" he said as he twisted his face into a sick and menacing smile.

"So, you've gotten a little bit smarter... So what?" Think fast and smart.

As Tony looked at me, an evil smirk still painted on his face, I shuffled over so that my back was on the counter, I put the island that was in the middle of our kitchen between us so I'd have some time, even if only a few seconds, to think of something to do if he decided to attack.

I kept my eyes on him but with one hand reached below the counter and got out a small pan. I was thinking of getting a knife, but I knew that if it came down to it, I'd never be able to stab him with it.

"Aw, come on Amy, I just wanna talk," he said with his hands up in an 'I surrender' kind of way.

"Yeah right, and I'm the Queen of England," I spat back.

"Well in that case, may I have a word with her Majesty?"

"Piss off, asshole."

"Ouch, that hurt," he said with another evil grin, he was just toying with me. Trying to see how scared I got, but all he was doing was pissing me off more. Then, before I had time to think, he leapt over the counter and grabbed both of my arms, twisting them so I dropped the pan...I was completely defenseless... I couldn't use my hands or legs but I still had my head. Tony was half on the counter since he was trying to twist my hands and he couldn't move as long as I was fighting his grip.

Then it hit me. I let my legs give in and Tony fell forward, hitting his head on the counter behind us.

"AHH!!! YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!" he screamed.

I ran through the kitchen and through the rest of the house to the front door and unlocked it. But before I could get it completely open, Tony came running in, head bleeding really badly, and slammed me into the door.

If it doesn't work being smart, just do it the old fashioned way! After some struggle I finally pushed Tony away from me by kicking him where I knew it would hurt. He let out another yell, but this one was more strangled though. I couldn't help but laugh. Just then, the door burst open and knocked me over, and I screamed on impulse.

"Whats going on?! I heard yelling." Nick said. "What the fuck?! What the hell is that guy doing here??!"

"You tell me," I said slowly pushing the door closed and rubbing my forehead. "That really hurt!"

"Sorry," he said grinning. Aaron came charging through the door, causing it to hit me again.

"OW!!!!!" I screamed.

"What the...Amy!? What's Tony doing here!?"

I let out a frustrated groan, "I don't know! He just attacked me!" I went and grabbed my bag. "I'll be at your house, getting ice, you do whatever you want to that creep."

About twenty minutes later Nick and Aaron came walking into the house followed by two police officers, I had just gotten out of the shower and I was sitting on the couch with Angel and Kanden watching TV.

"Which one of you is Amy Sean?" said the first police officer.

I stood up and Officer #1, who introduced himself as Officer Derek Mason, asked me to step outside with them. Aaron tried to follow us but the second officer told him to stay in the house.

"You want to tell us what happened Ms. Sean?" said Officer Mason.

"I went home to get somethings so I could stay the night at my boyfriend's house. Because my mom is in the hospital and my dad's with her, so he said I could spend the night. I got all my stuff and went to the front door where he was waiting for me," I described the rest of the night to them and they thanked me and said that I wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

"We were informed that he's over eighteen so he's looking at at least 3 to 5 years in prison for breaking and entering, not to mention battery and assault," said Officer #2 (a.k.a. Officer Betty McLarren).

I went back into the house and sat on the couch, Angel must've gone to put Kanden to bed. Unlike the last time Nick and Aaron had a run in with Tony, there was no blood on them, except for a small spot on Nick's shirt that I suspected belong to Tony.

Aaron came over and sat next to me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"I should've come with you, I'm sorry that jackass hurt you."

"It's okay, I got him back this time," I said with a smile. I leaned in and gave him a kiss. "So, where am I sleeping."

"Night guys," Nick called from the stairs. "You two behave."

Aaron's cheecks turned an adorable shade of pink and he flipped off his brother. Nick just laughed and went upstairs, leaving us alone.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Aaron asked.

I nodded, "Yeah I'm exhausted."

"Okay come with me."

We went upstairs and I followed him into his room. "Do you mind if I sleep in here with you or would you rather I sleep on the couch?"

I looked at his king sized bed, "I think we can both fit," I said with a laugh. I was still trembling from my run in with Tony, I didn't want to be alone in the dark tonight.

Aaron smiled, "I'm just going to take a quick shower, I'll be right back."

He dissappeared into the hallway and I got changed into a pair of girls' boxer shorts and a tank top, crawled under the covers, and got comfortable. The pillows smelled like him and I began to doze off.

A little while later I was woken up by a light. I turned and looked up at Aaron coming in from his shower. He tip toed over to the bed and climbed in next to me getting as close as he could and wrapping his arms around my waist. He kissed the back of my neck softly and said "Good night, baby. I love you," and that's when I fell asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night as a thought crossed my mind. If Tony can come back, could Jack come for me?

"Mhm... wh... what?" Aaron replied sleepily. I guess I'd voiced my thought out loud.

"Well I was just thinking," I said quietly. "If Tony came back to hurt me, do you think jack might come too?"

"He better not, cuz I'll kick his ass," Aaron said laughing. "You're my girl, and I won't let anyone hurt you ever again, I promise."

I went back to sleep. The next morning I woke up and reached over to give Aaron a kiss, but he wasn't there. I yawned and stretched, I thought about changing before I went downstairs, but decided against it.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs I was greeted by the smell of... strawberry soap?! I walked to the kitchen and saw the floor overflowing with soap suds! Kanden sat in a high chair, giggling as the bubbles tickled his feet.

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

"This genius over here put hand soap in the dishwasher!!" Angel screamed, pointing to Aaron.

"What!? We were out of dishwasher soap!" he said defensively. I just started laughing.

"Well it seems like Kamden is enjoying it..." I said.
Kamden looked up at Aaron and smiled.

"See? Someone's benefitting from it." Aaron stated. Angel rolled her eyes. I got a mop from the kitchen closet and helped clean up.

Once all the suds were cleaned up, I went and sat outside by their pool, dipping my feet in. I had this nagging feeling about Jack, not that he was coming, but like I was gonna hear from him...

I didn't notice Nick come out and sat down beside me, looking out over the pool. "What's up?" he asked, noticing the somewhat troubled expression on my face.

"Oh, I don't know," I said looking down at my feet in the water.

"Somethings wrong, now you tell ol' Nicky what's wrong," he said pinching my cheeks like an old aunt would.

The gesture made me smile, but it didn't lift my mood. "I just have a bad feeling that Jack is going to make a 'surprise appearance' in my life, and I don't want that to happen."

"Hey, you know we got your back, so don't sweat it," he said giving me a pat on the back.

"I know, but you guys aren't going to be with me 24/7. And Jack's no idiot, he'll wait until I'm alone to talk to me." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, "I'm probably just overreacting, but I can't help but have a bad feeling."

"Sometimes bad feeling are just our mind's way of dealing with everything happening around us."

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

"By the way, did you lock my house last night after you left?" I asked him.

I began to panic as the smile was wiped from Nick's face, until he burst out laughing.

"Of course I did! I'm not a moron like my brother!" Nick said.

"You're a jerk." I said jokingly, giving him a shove. I guess I don't know my own strength, because Nick fell into the pool. Laughing hysterically, I screamed as he tried to knock me into the pool with him. "Cut it out, Nick!"

"Should I be worried?" Aaron asked after Nick managed to pull me into the pool.

"No, he tried to scare me-" I began.

"-And she called me a jerk and shoved me-" Nick interrupted.

"-After you called him a moron!" I exclaimed.

"Okay, okay," Aaron said, "Theres only one way to settle this."

As Nick and I exchanged looks, Aaron jumped into the pool, causing a big splash.

"Well have fun you two, I'm gonna go and check my mail." I said. I couldn't help laughing at the sight of Aaron and Nick, still fully clothed and now soaking wet, in the pool.

I went across the street and to the mailbox. Nothing but junk mail.

I put the mail back into the mailbox and went inside to get some dry clothes. Because of everything that happen the night before, I forgot to get a change of clothes.

I went up to my room and changed, I was drying my hair with a towel when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Amy?" said a male voice.

"Yes, who is this?"

"Amy, you can't recognize my voice, did you seriously forget about me that quickly?"

I froze and my heart beat sped up...I knew exactly who it was...Jack.... "Oh hey, sorry. I-it's j-just I haven't t-talked to you in a long t-time," I said in what sounded like an amazingly bad Porky Pig impression.

"Look, I just called to apologize for what happened the day you told me you were leave. I was totally hungover, and I wasn't thinking," he said.

"Okay, well, if that's all you called to say than goodbye," I went to hung up the phone but I heard him call, "Wait!"

"What?" I said tiredly into the reciever.

"You know what?...Never mind, I don't have to tell you right now."

"Tell me what?" I asked a little quicker than was neccissary. "What don't you need to tell me Jack!?"

"Oh nothing, I'm just sending you a little gift, it should be there in a day or two."

I let out a breath of relief, his idea of a gift was a pair of his old socks. So there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

"Oh okay, well you wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now would you?"

"No," he gave a little laugh. "No I wouldn't."

The next few days went by great. Aaron was away for a while doing some recording and stuff in Miami, Kanden had gone home with Bob and Ginger, and Angel went to Vegas with her friends for the week. The only bad thing was, I almost never saw my dad because he was always either with my mother or at work, but I did whatever I could for him, like doing house work, cutting the lawn, keeping our pool and jacuzzi clean... Stuff like that.

School was pretty uneventful, Homecoming was coming up and Julie got asked to go by this guy Steve who I guess is supposedly "Extremely Dreamy" or so says Julie. And Gina was going with her friend Dan.

I on the other hand decided not to go. I didn't like school dances, they were always filled with drunk kids, your feet always killed by the end of the night, you stand in line forever to take pictures that you just end up hating anyway, and to top it all off the food totally sucks.

I was home watching TV when the doorbell rang. I looked at the clock, 7:30. "Hmm...wonder who that could be."

I opened the door and Nick was standing there.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked him as I motioned for him to come inside.

"Nothing I was just completely bored out of my mind and was wondering if you wanted to go do something."

"Sounds good, what did you have in mind?"

"Anything, I just need to get my ass out of that house," he said with a smile. "How aboooouuuut dinner?"

My stomach grumbled at the thought of food, I laughed and said, "Sounds good let me go throw something on."

I got dressed, nothing special just sweat pants and a t-shirt, and went downstairs.

"Are you sure Aaron won't mind you taking his girlfriend out on a date?" I joked.

"He doesn't have much say now does he?" he said playing along.

We went to a popular pizza parlor in a small plaza. We ordered a HUGE pizza and where waiting for it to come when my cell rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey! It's Julie."

"I know who you are, what's going on?"

"Oh nothing, but we went to your house and some hot dude is waiting for you," she said sounding excited.

"Hot dude, eh? Doesn't sound like anyone I know."

"You're still out with Nick at the Pizza place right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Okay good, cuz that's where I told him you were."

"You did what!?" I said in an incredulous whisper. "You told some random guy at my doorstep where to find me!? What is wrong with you?!"

"Relax will you? He looked totally harmless."

"Yeah except for the black clothes, spiked studs, and metal chains!" I heard Gina yell in the background.

"W-What did you say he was wearing?"

"Goth, punk clothes, why?" said Julie.

"I gotta' go," I hung up and looked at Nick.

"What's wrong?" he asked worried.

"We need to leave...NOW," I said getting up.

He followed me to the counter where I cancelled our order.

We went out to the parking lot and just got up to Nick's car when someone called my name.

Nick and I turned around at the same time to see none other than Jack himself jogging towards us.

"Who's that guy?" Nick asked.

"Jack," was all I could say.

"Hey," he said when he finally caught up to us. "You surprised?"

"W-What!? This was the surprise!?" I asked.

"Yeah! Aren't you happy?" he asked.

"N-No! Jack, I've moved on! I have a boyfriend now."

"Who?!" He half-yelled.

"Me!" Nick said stepping in between Jack and me.

"Oh really?" Jack asked. Of all the things Jack was, idiot was not one of them. He could see a lie from a mile away, he was good enough at telling them to know when he heard one. "Then why don't you prove it!?"

I couldn't see Nick's face, but judging by the coy look on Jack's, he was taken by complete suprise.

"Fine," he said confidently. He turned around and gave me a truely apologetic look, but I understood. In order to get Jack away, we needed to convince him that Nick was my boyfriend, cuz like I said, Jack was no idiot, he wouldn't pick a fight with a guy easily twice the size of him.

Nick wrapped his arms around my waist and brought me in for a deep kiss. It lasted longer than I thought, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy every second of it. He pulled away, but I went in for one more peck on the lips. He gave a quick stunned look, but recovered.

Jack glared at us both, apparently, for the first time he had been fooled by a lie.

"Okay fine, I flew three thousand miles to see you and this is what I get!? You with another guy!?"

"Sorry sweetie," I said with a new found confidence. "Your little part in my life is long since over," I gave him a smile and a wave and got into Nick's car, Nick following my lead.

We drove off leaving Jack behind, something that I've needed to do for a really really long time.



The ride home was almost completely silent until Nick pulled onto our street when he asked, "What was that extra kiss for?"

"Huh, what?" I asked confused, I had been thinking about Jack and why he seemed to want me back so badly as to come 3000 miles to see me.

"That kiss, when I pulled away you kissed me again, what was that about?" he clarified.

"Oh....uhhh..." I couldn't tell him the truth, because the truth was that it was spontanious, I just did it without thinking. But it wasn't just something pointless, I had wanted to kiss him again. "Uh...just to..uh...make it that much more convincing."

"Oh...r-right, yeah, good idea." He pulled in front of my house and we just sat there for a minute.

I saw out of the corner of my eye that Nick turned his head to look at me, so I did the same. The moment was awkward, but not uncomfortable...if that makes any sense what so ever.

Nick tore his gaze from mine and looked forward. He gave a huge sigh and said (more to himself than to me) "This is so wrong! You're my little brother's girlfriend, for Christ's sake!"

"W-What?" I asked confused.

He lowered his voice to an ashamed whisper, "That kiss was just a pretend one for you...but it wasn't really for me."

I was floored, but still confused. "I don't quite understand...if you knew you liked me, then why'd you kiss me? Why not just pretend?"

"Well, for one he would've never been fooled by a fake kiss," he said, finally making eye contact with me agian. "And I didn't like you, I-I don't!" he looked at me and tried to explain it better, "What I mean is, I can't like you, you're Aaron's girlfriend! What kind of an older brother like's his younger brother's girlfriend?! I didn't really like you until that kiss, I don't know, there was just something about it..." he trailed off. "Look, I'll see you around, I need to get some sleep."

"I think that we should just forget about tonight and move on, it was obviously just a desperate attempt to get away from my psycho ex." I tried to reason.

"Thanks, but that excuse doesn't cut it for me," he said shaking his head. "I'll see you later, goodnight."

I got out of the car and he pulled into his driveway. I went inside before I saw him get out.

My dad was asleep on the couch, I felt so bad for him. He must be exhausted. I went over and draped a blanket over him and kissed his forhead. Then I went upstairs, took a shower, got on my PJs and went to bed. Thinking, not of my boyfriend, but of his brother...


The morning after I felt terrible. What have I done!? Where's Jack now? I walked in to the kitchen I saw Dad half dressed. He was just standing there, holding the phone smiling.

"...Dad?" I asked gently as I stepped into the kitchen.

"HAHA!" he suddenly yelled out, jumping on the table. Whats he so happy about?

Dad's face no longer showed signs of fatigue, worry, sadness even, as he stumbled along with his 80's dance moves on the table. He looked...happy.

I pulled him off the table quickly, before he hurt himself. "Dad, what's going on?"

He looked at me quizzically. "What do you mean, honey?"

"What do I mean, Dad? I come into the kitchen and find you scratching up our table with this big idiotic grin on your face. What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Your mother's coming home!" he replied giddily once he was seated on a chair.

I stood dumbfounded. "Wha-what?"

"They gave her something new, a risk, and it worked! She's better!" he shouted, jumping off the chair he was seated in seconds before.

"Dad, that's great!" I felt tears scorch the corners of my eyes, sliding down my face in smooth waterfalls. She's finally coming home. Treated.

He walked over and hugged me tightly. "Why don't you go tell Aaron the good news." he said after he let me go. I was so happy, but at the same time I still felt horrible about what happened last night.

The air was slightly muffled as I stepped out the door, whipping out my cell phone and dialing Aaron's numbers. Even though, technically, he was just across the street. It even seemed like some unknown Godly force had put the lid on a frying pan, blocking up all the oil trying to fly out.

"Hello?"

"Aaron, it's me."

"Who's me?" he asked coyly.

"Me, as in...you know, like, me." I told him, copying his tone. I walked down the smooth cobblestone, turning to walk towards the small park across from the bus stop. It was deserted, but I went anyways.

"I dont know a Me, and I dont talk to strangers, so I'm gonna hang up." He tried to make his voice sound manly and deep, but it came out sounding comedic.

"Aaron! It's Amy!" I laughed. My shoes roamed on independently.

"Oh Amy!" he too laughed, "I'd never have guessed it was you."

"Ugh!" I smiled to myself. "We're breaking up!"

Silence. Then, "Wh- what? Why?"

Silence, and more silence.

Finally, I gave in. "Just joking," I laughed again.

He let out a relieved sigh. "I actually thought you were serious."

"Haha, very funny."

"So what do I owe you the shock of my day and the pleasure of your voice?" he asked.

"I've got good news!"

"What?"

"Mom's coming home!"

"Mom's coming home?" he repeated. "But my mom's in Florida!"

I rolled my eyes knowingly. "My mom, Aaron. My mom."

"She's coming home?"

"Yes!!!! God you are blond!!"

"What makes you think that?" Aaron said sarcastically.

"So... Have you talked to Nick today?"

"Nope. I'm at the studio so I haven't called him yet today."

"Oh... Do you know where he is?"

"If he isn't at home, you should call him."

"Oh. Well, I saw the funniest thing today!"

"Oh? And what was that?"

"My dad, dancing on the kitchen table!"

"Was he wearing clothes?" he asked.

I nodded, then remembered that that I was alone.

I assumed it. "Yeah."

But then I saw somebody limping toward me about 20 yards away, wearing dirty and distressed clothes, his dark eyes on me. A stranger, and he didn't look harmless.

But I stood rooted to the spot. Those eyes looked familiar.

"Amy? You there?" Aaron chirped into the phone uneasily.

I nodded again. Then I shook my head. "I have to go, Aaron."

The man came closer. Nick.

"Amy." he said briefly. I looked him up and down; He was a mess.

"What happened?"

"I've been out and thinking about what happened."

"...All night?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"I haven't told Aaron yet" I busted out with a wave of worry. What would Aaron do when he found out? I'm sure he wouldnt be mad at Nick for the first kiss, since it was to make sure Jack didn't do something horrid, but he'd definitely be mad over the second kiss.

"Me neither," he admitted.

"I'm scared he's gonna hate me."

Nick cast me a look of regret, and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the park. "I'm scared he's gonna hate me too."

"He'll understand... I hope" I said quietly. "If we hadn't, I don't know what Jack would've done..."

"Do we have to tell him?"

"NICK!" I exclaimed, stopping where I was.

"Well... If we do tell him he could hate us both..." Nick paused. "If we don't tell him, it's like it never happened."

"I can't pretend that nothing happened." I looked down at my feet, and then back up at Nick.

"Why?"

"I love Aaron, and those kisses didn't mean anything to me, they where only to get rid of Jack. Keeping it from him would mean that something was there."

"I thought the first kiss was convincing enough..."

"Nick. Was me or you that lived in the crazy world of Jack?" Nick looked away. "Listen, go home, take a shower and go to bed. I'll talk to Aaron." What am I saying?? How am I going to tell Aaron that I'd kissed his brother??

Nick nodded and made his way back home. After he was a bit further down the street, I took out my cellphone and called my dad, telling him I was gonna go see Aaron at the recording studio. I made it back to the bus stop just in time to catch the bus I needed to take.

"Hey!" Aaron called when he saw me down the hall, rushing to meet me halfway. "Two surprises in one day!"

"Yeah... I'm full of those today." I said, once again looking at my shoes. Never had I seemed to find my footwear so fascinating.

"I was worried when you hung up all of a sudden like that." He said, kissing my forehead lightly. I shook my head as we walked back to the room he was recording in. "Did you get ahold of Nick?"

I looked up at the mention of his name. "Nick? Oh, yeah. Bumped into him outside."

"Hes been acting weird lately." Aaron stated simply, taking a sip of water from his water bottle.

"He- he has? Since when?" I was beginning to worry, and my heart was racing. Did he suspect something was going on?

"Since he broke up with his girlfriend."

My heartbeat began to slow down.

Wait, girlfriend? "When did that happen?"

"Two weeks ago. Hes been moping around and sulking ever since."

"I didn't even know he had a girlfriend."

Aaron laughed as he pushed his chair across the mixing board and typed something on the keyboard to the computer on the other side. "Yeah, they didn't exactly go out on the town a lot. It sucks though, he really cared about her." He took another sip of water.

"Wow..." I trailed off, trying not to sound as distracted as I was.

"But I'm glad you finally got him to go out last night. Me and him have been hanging out a lot at home, but its been tough for me to get him to leave the house." Then, he frowned. I guess my attempt to not look distracted didn't work out as well as my try at not sounding it. "Are you okay?"

"No. No, Aaron, I'm not. I need to tell you something, but I don't want to hurt you. I love you so much and I don't want to lose you." Now he was the one who looked like he was panicing.

"What happened last night, Amy? You can tell me." He reached over and grabbed my hand.

"Well, Jack showed up last night after me and Nick had dinner-"

"-He didn't try and hurt you, did he?"

"No, he didn't get the chance. I told him I was seeing someone else, and he asked me who it was. You weren't there, so Nick said it was him."

"Oh." He said, after I paused for a few moments to let it sink in before I went on.

"I knew Jack didn't believe him, so before I knew it Nick-" I sighed. Was I really gonna do this? What would he do? I didn't want him mad at Nick, but what else could we do? I wasn't gonna hide anything from Aaron.

"-Nick what?" He had a very serious look on his face. "Amy, what happened?"

"Nick and I kissed. It was just to get Jack to go away-" I stopped, standing up immediately after Aaron did.

"I understand." He said, he tone completely serious. I'd never heard him sound like that before. Except with Tony. And I wasn't gonna let this end the same way that did.

"You're not mad, are you? Aaron, if Jack wasn't standing right there, it wouldn't have happened. I swear."

"I'm not, and I know." He said, hugging me tightly. "I'm just thankful no one got hurt." Did no one get hurt? Aaron sounded pretty hurt to me. God, please don't let it end like this.

"You're mad, aren't you?" I asked quietly, biting my lip. Of course he was, I'd kissed his brother.

"No... I'm not," he told me. His eyes flickered unconvincingly as he looked at my face.

"Dont lie to me!" I said hysterically. Why was I making it such a big deal? He said he's not! But I knew the answer. He was hurt.

"Listen, Amy," he pulled my arm closer to him so that I looked him straight in the eye. Well, looked him up in the eye since he was about 3 inches taller. "I'm not lying."

"Aaron, you're lying," I accused him and grabbed my arm away. Why was I acting like this? What was wrong with me?

He let go slowly, another wave of emotion flashing through his eyes. "Amy...If I'm lying to you, then I guess I've been lying to you this whole time."

"What?" I stood shocked.

"If you dont believe me right now, I guess you never believed in me. I'm sorry Amy. I guess it can't work like this anymore."

And he walked away, leaving me alone in the hallway. I walked outside and saw the sky turning ten shades darker. Just like our relationship.

"Hey bro." Nick said from the couch as Aaron walked in. He gave him a nod in response and continued on into the kitchen. "Nothings up, thanks for asking." He said, leaning against the kitchen wall.

"No problem." Aaron replied coldly, opening up the fridge and taking out a soda, all while avoiding eye contact with his brother.

"What is your problem?" Nick asked.

"My problem? My brother kissed my girlfriend, thats what."

"She told you?" Nick asked, sounding a bit ashamed.

"My girlfriend, Nick?"

"I'm sorry, Aar, I-" Nick began.

"I mean, I know you're still upset about what happened with-"

"-Don't, say it." Nick said, anger rising at the mere thought of his brother dragging his ex into this.

"What else should I say? I wasn't really all that mad at either of you, until I had some time to think. I just wish Amy could have seen that."

"Yeah, you thinking is a rare sight." Nick said, trying to make a joke. Unfortunately, he was the only one who thought it was funny.

"No, I mean that I wasn't mad. She called me a liar, and I walked out." They stood in silence for a moment. "Just tell me honestly - do you wanna be with Amy?"

Nick sighed. He'd been thinking a lot about it since he last saw Amy. "No. I thought for a second I was, but I'm not. She loves you, man. I just wanted someone to finally feel like that for me, and not want some sort of outside benefit for themselves."

Aaron nodded silently as he took a sip of his soda. "Maybe you should have told that to Amy first." As he went to take another sip of his soda, he suddenly found it had disappeared from his hand. "What the f-"

"Go talk to her. Now." Nick demanded, interrupting his brother after grabbing his soda and pouring it down the sink drain.

"Why should I? I'm not gonna be called a liar."

"Do you ever listen? I just told you she fuckking loves you."

"And that means she can accuse me of lying to her?"

"No! How do you know thats what she really meant?" Nick pulled his brother down the hall by his sleeve. "Now go find Amy, apologize for walking out on her, and talk to her." Nick ordered, stopping at the front door. As Aaron opened his mouth to protest, Nick opened the door and shoved him outside. "And don't bother coming back home until you do."

Nick sighed as he closed the door. "What the hell was that all about?" Angel asked at the top of the stairs, Kanden in her arms.

"Nothing..." Nick trailed off, "Aaron's just fixing his own mess for once."

"Ugh!" Aaron groaned as soon as he regained his composure after being pushed out of his house by stupid Nick. Why should I apologize to Amy? She fucking called me a liar!

But were you lying? Consious Monk Aaron asked, suddenly appearing heavily on Aaron's downcast shoulder.

"Lying? I wasn't mad, for pirates sake!" A blond stranger walking by cast him a strange look. He lowered his voice. "I wasn't."

"You were," Monk Aaron said, walking around on his shoulder and looking him straight in the ear.

"Liar."

"Why would I be lying?" he said, shrugging. "I'm your conscious, and if I'm lying, that means youre lying to yourself."

"But I -" but he disappeared.


-------------------


"Hey Dad, bye Dad, see ya later Dad." I shouted over my shoulder as I ran up the stairs to my room. He looked at my retreating back, his mouth faltering for a question. Or answer.

The door slammed shut behind me as I sank defeatedly into my bed. Great. You're such an IDIOT, Amy! Why'd you have to go do that for?

"I don't know!" I moaned, talking to myself.

'I'm completely unconnected
Constantly rejected
Like everything I've ever loved is coming down
I'm drowning in emotion
In the middle of the ocean
Never knowing when it's over and I'm going down'

I ran to get my cell, flipping it open.

"Hello?"

"Amy?"

"Yeah, who's this?" I yawned involuntarily, and walked to go sit on my bed. Aaron's bed. My bed. Whatever. "Sorry."

"Silly, this is Mel, remember?"

"Oh."

"Is everything okay? I didn't see you at school today." She asked. Jeez, stalker?

"Yeah, my mom is really sick, so I didn't really feel like going to school today." Just like I don't feel like talking on the phone right now. Or talking in general.

"Thats horrible! I hope she feels better."

"Me too. My dad said shes coming home tomorrow."

"Well, thats gotta be good. Like I said, I hope she feels better."

"Thanks, I'll tell her that." I said, pausing. "Listen, I'm kinda tired. I've had a long day, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Bye." she said. Click. Ahh, silence. Now, back to kicking myself. Damn, I said as I heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" I asked, trying to sound as annoyed as possible.

"Dad." The person on the other side of the door announced.

"I'm really kinda tired, Dad, can we talk later?" I didn't wanna seem like I was blowing him off, but I really didn't want any outside human contact.

"Sure, honey, I'm downstairs if you need me." He said. Then I heard footsteps down the stairs. Again, silence. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, the "how-could-you-you-idiot" part.

Why'd I have to push him? 'Cause he would have gotten pissed and blown up at me soon, anyway. Maybe not, maybe he really wasn't mad, I told him how Jack was. It was still his brother. Whats that saying, "bros before hos"? How did I end up arguing with myself and since when am I a ho?

"I just wish he'd call." I said out loud. Right after I said that, my phone rang. "Hello?" I asked, sounding a bit too hopeful.

"Amy?" the male voice on the other end of the line answered. "Its Jack. Just listen to me."

"Go on..." I sighed.

"Okay. Well, as fucking pissed as I am that I wasted my time coming out here only to find out you have a new, older-than-you boyfriend, I just wanted to tell you why I came out here." he paused. "I'm still in love with you. It took seeing you kiss him to make me really realize that.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Jack. But I don't feel the same way about you anymore. If anything, seeing you again made me realize why I'm not in love with you anymore. Bye, Jack." I said, closing the lid on my phone and throwing it across the bed. I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry... Don't waste tears on Jack, its Aaron you should be crying over.

I don't know how long I was sitting there in silence, but it seemed like hours. Every once in a while I picked up my phone to make sure it was still on, and every time it was. It never rang. After a while I got up from my bed and looked out one of my windows at Aaron's house across the street. I saw Angel outside, holding Kanden. Nick was standing in the doorway, his phone to his ear. He looked a little worried. What was going on? Did he and Aaron get into a fight over what happened?

I squinted to see if I could tell what Nick was saying, until I realized I couldn't read lips. I guess Nick spotted me, because he hung up his phone and seemed to be walking across the street. To my house.

"AMY!" he shouted when he saw me walk out the door. "I was just coming over to talk to you. Have you seen Aaron?"

I shook my head. "No, should I have?"

He nodded, and looked back at Angel, who looked worried now, too. "I shoved him out the door and told him to go talk to you and apologize. Now I have no idea where he is." My mouth faltered for a few seconds as realization hit me. Aaron was... gone.

"You're serious?" My lips finally formed the words and left my lips, when I realized that was not the smart thing to say. Nick eyes bugged out on me, and he took a step forward, his face turning red.

"Why would I joke about this? Amy, you know I wouldn't. We get into fights - me and Aaron - all the time, but you know I love him. I'd never want anything bad to happen to him."

My hands automatically raised to my face, covering it, like they always did when I was distressed. "No, no, no!" I moaned, "This is all my fault."

Nick shook his head before doing double take, perusing my face more closely. "What did you do to him?" he asked suspiciously.

Then it hit me. Not literally, but a thought. "I didn't do anything to him. But I think I might know who would."

"Who?"

"Somebody who was jealous of our relationship, somebody who still loves me." I called over my shoulder as I rushed into the entryway of my house to grab my military green jacket.

"Amy, I told you, I don't -" Nick began, gesturing to himself. I ran towards him after locking the door behind me.

"Not you." I said. "Jack."



"Jack?" Nick shouted. "But Jack doesn't know about him. He thinks that you're my girlfriend... What the hell would he be doing with Aaron then?"

"Wait!" I exclaimed as we walked up Nick, Aaron, and Angel's driveway. "Those pictures of me and Aaron from US Weekly a while ago... I bet Jack found out about them." I hit my forehead as something else occurred to me. "Damnit! I should have known something was wrong when Jack called my cellphone! He doesn't have my number!"

"He called you? What did he say?" Nick said, pulling on my shoulder to stop me from hitting my forehead again.

"He was saying how he still loved me and all that stuff. I didn't even look at the Caller ID to see what number it was. I'm so stupid!"

"Don't beat youself up, Amy. Do you think he'd hurt Aaron?"

"What do you think?" I asked. "Hes jealous, hes pissed, and if he found Aaron-"

"Come on. We need to find him." Nick said, getting in the driver's seat as I opened the passenger door. "Angel, if he comes back here, call me." She nodded and walked inside as we pulled out of the driveway and sped down the street.

Moments later, I had an idea. "Jack didn't call from a blocked number." I stated, pulling out my phone and hitting redial.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. "Hellooo?" Jack answered.

"Jack! Where are you?"

"Oh, my hotel room..." He answered nonchalantly. Nick shot me a worried look as he saw my knuckles in a tight fist, turning whiter every second.

"Have you seen Aaron today?"

"Aaron? Who's Aaron?"

"Aaron!" I sighed. "Aaron Carter, you know who he is!"

"Yeah, I know him! But why the hell would I have seen him?"

"Dont screw around with me, Jack!" I yelled, all my built up frustration reaching it's boiling point.

"What? I've never screwed you Amy," Jack said lightly. Bad time for a joke.

I had to tell him. "Nick isn't my boyfriend: Aaron is." I confessed.

"Why'd you lie to me?" He sounded disappointed.

"Because its none of your damn business anymore!" I exclaimed. Jack isn't the only one who can spot a liar.

"I knew you were lying..." Jack trailed off. I could hear the smug smile on his face.

"What did you do to him, Jack?!"

"What makes you think I did something to him?"

"Because you always do stupid shit! What did you do?" No more bullshitting.

"Nothing baby," he said. I felt like reaching into the phone and twisting his neck around. "Nothing that we can't fix."

"Jack, I'm fucking serious. What. Did. You. Do. To. Aaron?" I took a few deep breaths as I struggled to remain calm. If that little bitch did anything bad to Aaron, I'm gonna... I'm gonna...

"Why dont you talk to him, Sweetie..." Still with that smug tone.

I waited anxiously while I heard the phone being shuffled around in the background, my heart beating to it's maximum extent.

"Amy?" A scared voice took over Jack's oily one, but it didn't calm me down any less.

"Aaron?"

"Yeah. Amy, what's going on?" he asked in a small voice.

"Where are you?" I asked, giving Nick a nervous sideways glance.

"I have no idea. I got tackled, and-"

"Okay, time's up!" Jack exclaimed, his voice returning just in time to keep Aaron from finishing his sentence. In the background I heard another familiar voice.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"That?" Jack said with a laugh. "A new friend. Old friend to you, though."

Tony.

"Do you know where Tony is?" I wrote on a piece of scratch paper I'd found in the visor and held up to Nick.

Nick nodded.

"Who!" I pressured. I knew he'd leave wherever he was if he knew we figured out where he was. But still, what the hell were they doing to Aaron? "Jack, please, dont hurt Aaron. I'm begging you." I pleaded. Nick stopped the car at the stoplight, watching me silently with a "What's going on?" look.

"Oops. I think I did it again." was his reply. I heard a voice yelling out in agony in the background and felt bile rising up my throat. "'Cause to lose all my senses, it's just so typically me. Oh baby baby..." Jack sang. Click.

I leaned over the side of car and threw up, the sourness of his voice seeming to push it's wretchness into me.

"I guess we're headed to Tony's place, then..." Nick trailed off, sounding uneasy.

"Yeah..." I answered, equally as uneasy. It was total silence in the car all the way to the dirty block Tony lived on. "No wonder he his the way he is... Sorry..." I added, realizing my comment was out of line.

As we walked along the hallway on Tony's floor in his apartment building, I saw rats and a few bugs scurrying around.

"This is it.." Nick leaned over and whispered to me when we got to his door.

We'd reached a door with the number "44" on it. Nick pounded on the door, and we heard a crashing sound.

"HOLD ON, I'M COMING!" A woman's voice shouted. We heard what I assumed was several locks being unlocked, and then the door opened.

A thin, tan woman answered the door. Her black hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and she leaned in the doorway, looking us over. "What d'you want?" she barked, apparently not too thrilled with our visit.

"Where's Tony?" Nick asked, confused, looking behind her to see if there was any sign of him.

"That jackass?" she said, taking a puff of the cigarette in her other hand, "Haven't seen him in days."

"Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting to show my intimidation. She looked like she could smell fear.

"No, I'm lyin'." She responded sarcastically.

"Do you know where we can find him?" Nick questioned.

"No, and if you see him, tell him he owes backrent and the landlord has his shit. Goodnight." She said, before slamming the door in our faces. Well, that was effective. I feel better already.

I sighed in frustration as I slammed the passenger's side door of Nick's black GMC Yukon Denali.

"Don't worry, we're gonna find Aaron." Nick said as he turned to comfort me. "Do you have any idea where Jack might have taken him?"

"I...I dont know." I said while deeply in thought.

I stared at my cellphone, wishing it would ring and the person on the other line would give me even the smallest hint as to where Jack and Tony might be keeping Aaron.

I looked out the window at the street. Why did I have to push him?

"Whats on your mind?" Nick asked, breaking the silence.

"What do you think?" I sighed. Hes worried, too. No need to snap at him. "Its my fault this is happening to Aaron. I kept pushing him."

"Amy, its not your fault." He said, looking at me at the next red light. "I was the one who set him off when I kicked him out of the house."

"But you wouldn't have had to do that if I hadn't done what I did."

"And you wouldn't have done that if we hadn't kissed. We could play the blame game all night. The bottom line is its not your fault Jack and Tony did this, I don't care what anyone says differently: including you."

We drove around all night looking for Aaron. I sighed, "This is hopeless! We'll never find him at this rate!"

"Don't say that! That kind of attitude isn't gonna' save Aaron!!" he said.

We sat in silence for a minute and both jumped when my cellphone began to ring.

"Hello?" I answered maybe a little too quickly.

"What's taking you so long baby?" said Jack's cool, yet evil, voice.

"I have no fucking clue where you are! That's what's taking so long!!!"

He laughed and said, "I figured you'd need a hint. Tell you what... I'll give you a little riddle as to where we are...

With a color the same
As Aaron's crimson tears,
Come sunrise, the ceiling will come down
After 14 businessless years..."

CLICK.

I just sat there for a minute completely dumbfounded. If there was one thing Jack loved, it was to see people scramble for an answer to one of his stupid riddles.

"What'd he say..."

"He gave me a clue about where he's keeping Aaron. But I have no idea what it means."

"Well, what's the clue?" Nick asked a little frustratedly.

I repeated the riddle and we sat for a moment racking our brains. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

My eyes went wide and Nick knew I figured it out. I looked at the clock on the radio it read 11:47.

"Nick, isn't there a 'Red Roof Inn' that's getting torn down today...?"

Without another word Nick stepped on the gas and we went speeding to the construction site.

When we finally got there we had to crawl through a hole in the fence and sneek by a trailer where we could hear several men talking in spanish and laughing loudly. Figuring they'd be absolutely no help to us, Nick and I went on into the building.

We walked into the main lobby through a broken front door. The inside of the building was covered in spray paint from kids probably trying to act cool or completing dares.

Just in front of us where three shadows, two tall and skinny, and one shorter, but still slightly slender.

Two flashlights went on revealing Tony and Jack standing and Aaron tied to an old arm chair.

"Amy, Nick!" Aaron called. "Thank God you're here!!"

"Hey bro, glad to see you're still in one piece."

"Aww, what a great reunion, sorry to have to break it up, but we didn't just jump Aaron and make you two come here for nothing," Tony said.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "You see after our little run in the other night, I admit, I believed you and was pretty pissed off."

"Until he saw me at the bus station reading that issue of US Weekly with you two on the cover." Tony finished, inquiring me and Aaron.

"I asked Tony, here, about the photos on the cover and we got to talking and eventually figured everything out."

"Don't even try it you assholes!" Aaron yelled. "Amy already told me about her and Nick's kiss, and I forgave her!"

Tony and Jack looked at eachother with matching grins. "Oh," said Tony. "They did, did they?"

Aaron paused for a second but said, "Yeah."

Now it was Jack's turn to speak, "And which kiss did you forgive her for...exactly."

My heart plumitted to my stomach... the second kiss.

"Wh-What do you mean which kiss? There was only one!" The last thing Aaron said was a little louder due to a bit of, what sounded like, desperation.

"Ohhh, no." Jack said. "Your sources are not the most reliable now are they?"

"There were, not one but, two kisses Aaron," Tony said. "The first was when Nick kissed Amy, in an attempt to get Jack away..."

"But the second," Jack finished. "Was when Amy kissed Nick because she couldn't get enough of her boyfriend's older brother!"

"LIARS!" Aaron screamed, his face red. "SHE'D NEVER DO THAT!! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT AMY!!"

"Oh really?" Jack asked with a smug grin. "Then maybe this month's issue of Teen People is lying too. Read it and weep Carter," he tossed a magazine into Aaron's lap and Tony began to read from his own copy.

"The article is dated last night," Tony said. "The title of the article is 'CARTER CONTROVERSY'. 'On July 7th 2006 Nick Carter (of the Backstreet Boys) and little brother Aaron's girlfriend, Amy Sean, were spotted walking out of a popular pizza parlor when confronted by an anonymous teenage male. After a short exchange of conversation Carter took Sean into a passionate kiss that lasted seconds. When all seemed to be done and over with Sean went back for a second taste of her beau's bro's lips...' There are even pictures on the left side." he stopped reading and tears were openly flowing down my cheeks.

Aaron looked up at me with the pain that only betrayal brings in his eyes. "Please...just say it's not true..." he said desperatly. "Just say that they're lying, that everyone is lying and I'll believe you and we can just forget about everything..." a tear escaped one of his eyes.

All I could do was continue to cry and look down at my feet.

Tony pretended to look at an imaginary watch, "Well, look at the time. We have places to be," he untied Aaron and started backing up to where Jack was dissappearing to. "We'll catch you guys later."

The gesture that Tony made, made me remember that the building was to be torn down at sunrise. I looked up at the sky and noticed that it was getting lighter. I switched my glance from Nick to Aaron. Nick looked ashamed and Aaron looked depleated.

There was a huge BOOM that jolted us back to earth and we all ran for the door, making it out just in time for the east wing (opposite of where we were) to come crashing down.

We snuck out of the wreck sight and when we were a good distance away from the fence Aaron turned around and looked from me to Nick and back again.

The pain in his eyes and voice matched eachother, both close to unbearable, "How could you...both of you!" he yelled at us. "First you kiss my girlfriend," he said to Nick. "And you both said it was nothing. Then, I find out that there was a second kiss, where you kiss my brother!!" he said with the last sentence directed at me.

"I'm so sorry, I have nothing to say other than it was a spontaneous thing and that I didn't want it to mean anything," I said, not taking my eyes off the ground.

"'I didn't mean it' isn't going to cut it here Amy...I wish it could but it just won't." Tears kept coming and they wouldn't stop for anything. "I can't be with you anymore Amy... I just can't do it."

He walked to Nick's car and climbed into the passenger's seat.

"C'mon, I'll give you a lift home." Nick said taking a step towards the car.

"No. I need some fresh air," I said in a solemn tone and turned my back on Nick to begin my four mile walk home, alone, just like I was before...

"Amy!" Nick jogged up behind me before I even ventured 3 steps, "I'm so sorry I got you into this predicament."

I shook my head sadly, "Nick, it's not you, okay? The first kiss was to shake off Jack, but then I went for the second kiss and I didn't mean it... Just try and make Aaron understand, okay?"

His blue eyes seemed to wash out at what I said, and his arms made to reach for my face, abruptly stopping midway. "Oh...sure."

Nick was brought out of his gaze by a car horn honking.

"COME ON, WE NEED TO GET HOME!" Aaron yelled. I squinted to look at the side mirror on the car for a glimpse of him, but I all I could see was the headrest on the passenger's side, until a caught a bit of a sideways look from him. Once he realized I was looking at him, he quickly turned away. I tried to hold back my emotions as the image of his bruised face and the hurt in his eyes stuck in my mind.

Nick reached into his pocket. "At least let me give you cash for a cab to get home..."

"No. I'll find my way." I stated. He frowned and turned back towards the car, looking back one last time before he walked away. I bit my lip as I watched the car drive away.

It was three minutes before I realized no change of heart was happening in that car and walked along the same road.

~Forty Minutes Later~

As I walked along the streets, still in my clothes from yesterday, I realized something.

"Mom." I whispered as the thought smacked me upside my head that my mother was coming home from the hospital today, and so was my dad. I began walking a little faster as I tried to navigate my way home. I was so tired.

'You never know what you have
Till it's gone
Treated you wrong
For-'

My heart skipped a beat and I quickly flipped open my phone to answer the call.

"Amy?" A voice asked. Damn. Not who I expected. "Amy, are you there?"

"Yeah, Julie, I'm here." I looked at the ground.

"Are you okay? You sound worn-out." Gee, that transparent? I did walk two and a half miles.

"I am... I'm-I'm on a walk right now."

"Oh. I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" I could hear her smirking over the phone.

I cringed. I forgot she had no idea what had happened since yesterday afternoon. I envied her so much at that moment. "No, not at all. Can I call you later?" I couldn't tell her what had happened, I didn't have the time and I barely wanted to admit it to myself.

"Sure. Talk to you later."

"Yeah, bye." I closed my phone, and was tempted to turn it off.

Looking around, I realized exactly where I wanted to go.

I sighed as I looked back at my phone. I wouldn't call me if I were him, either. No matter what my brother tried to say to me.

Realizing I was right, as much as I didn't want to be, I continued walking as I put my phone back into my pocket. Thankfully, my destination wasn't far from here.



~Fifteen Minutes Later~

As I pulled off my sneakers and held them in my right hand, I made my way to the deserted beach and sat down close to the waves, letting them hit my feet gently. As I stared at the water, I wished I could swim away in it and never look back. I racked my brain for a reason why I'd regret it, and I couldn't find one.

Once everyone heard what had happened, and especially that it was all my fault, living on land really didn't seem like much of an option. I looked down at my phone and realized it would be a few hours before my parents would be home, I could still beat them there.

As I walked down the road away from the beach a while later, tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered how happy my previous visit to that beach had ended.



~Twenty-Five Minutes Later~

My head was starting to hurt as all my thoughts raced through my head while I walked along the streets of what was nearing to be my neighborhood. I could just imagine what I looked like to other people: Messy, dirty clothes; my hair was a mess and my skin was dirty, too; and my eyes were red from the crying I had been - and still was - doing. I must have looked crazy.

The longer I walked, the dumber I felt. How could I even think of leaving my parents, and my new friends? I sighed with relief as I finally saw my house in the distance. I found myself jogging to reach my house, and slowing down when I was about three houses away.

Finally making it to my house, I looked across the street and was thankful to see Nick's car in the driveway. I saw three figures in the living room: Nick, Aaron, and Angel. I couldn't tell much else, but I didn't need to see them to know they were all probably upset. My spying skills need work, though, because Nick, noticing someone was looking in his living room window, walked over and paused when he saw it was me. I could have sworn I'd seen a bit of a thankful smile on his face before he glanced behind him and closed the drapes.

Looking at the empty space in my own driveway usually occupied by my dad's car, I realized that I was still alone. I pulled my keys from my pocket and slowly opened the front door, looking inside before walking in to make sure there were no unexpected visitors again. I slowly walked around my house, making sure I was alone(even though I honestly didn't want to be), before I walked upstairs and fell face first onto my bed, sobbing.

I was too tired even to sleep. I couldn't, not with everything that had happened and all the thoughts I still had piled up in my head. Among the many were thoughts about why Jack had done what he did. He could have killed Aaron, but he didn't. If all he wanted was to get me back I know thats what he would have done. No, Jack knows his problem isn't with Aaron. Its with me. But my question still remains: What does Jack want from me?

"Well, whatever it is," I sniffed into the pillow, my voice muffled by it's soft satin sheets, "I can't give it to him."

"No."

What? I couldn't have said that. Adrenaline rushed through my whole body as my back tensed. "What?" I asked, mainly to myself, mainly to see if I wasn't crazy... That somebody was here.

"I said 'no'."

I didnt dare open my eyes for fear of what I would ultimately see. I won't look. I don't have to look.

Apparently, I didnt have a choice as I felt a pair of firm hands sidle around my legs and pulled me off the bed.

My eyes latched shut.

Even that didn't really help or provide me any sense of security as I felt a large amount of pressure hover over me, closing in so fast that it seemed that friction wouldn't even begin to describe what I felt as something - somebody - pressed me harder against the ground.

"Open your eyes. You've always had pretty eyes." My captive's breath smelt wretched and horrid, like something I've never smelled mixed with beer.

I obeyed and opened my eyes, but I hadn't needed to. I could've recognized that voice anywhere.

"Ja-Jack!" I squeaked. Damn it, Amy. Try not to sound so scared!

"Of course, baby. Of course. Now what say we have a little fun."

"No, Jack, don't please, you can't -."

But he didn't listen.

"Come on, Amy!" Jack taunted as he took off his shirt.

"Get AWAY from me!" I yelled, trying to shove him off.

"NO!" he tried to pull my shirt off, but couldn't while I was fighting him. Instead, he ended up ripping it down the middle. I felt exposed, vulnerable, and I knew I was in danger. I wondered who would hear me, and I screamed as loud as I could... "Don't try and scream for help, Amy, no ones here..." he tried to unzip my pants while I tried even more to fight him off, "Its just you and me..."

Tears flowed down my face as I realized I couldn't get away...




~Meanwhile~

Aaron sat on the couch with his little brother, watching him play, when Nick came into the living room, a worried expression on his face.

"Something's up at Amy's house..." Nick trailed off, looking back through doorway he'd just entered through.

"Alright, then," Aaron said, not looking away from his smiling baby brother, "Go over there, see if she needs help, and if not feel free to make out with her again-"

"Drop it, Aaron, I didn't make out with her-"

"You would have!" he exclaimed, still trying not to scare his little brother, but finally looking up at his older brother. He sighed. "Besides, she kissed you the second time."

"That doesn't change what she told you yesterday."

"To Hell it doesn't! She lied to me about the kiss, how am I supposed to know that she didn't lie about her feelings? I can't trust her." Just then, Angel rushed into the room.

"Guys, you won't believe what I just saw outside."

Nick glanced back at Aaron, then turned back to Angel. "Try us."

"Tony. In his car. Then some other guy got out and went into Amy's house, and he drove off."

"Oh shit." Nick said, walking past his sister.

"Where are you going?" Aaron called back.

"She might need help, Aaron. Maybe you don't care about her anymore, but shes been a good friend to me." He stated, then looked at his sister. "You coming?"

She nodded, and the duo looked at Aaron. "Don't try and guilt trip me, Nick." Aaron replied.

"I'm not making you feel guilty," Nick said as he and Angel made their way to the front door. "You are!" he called back as they closed the door behind them and ran across the street.

Aaron picked up his brother and walked to the living room window just in time to see his siblings walk through Amy's front door. Looking down at his little brother, he sighed and walked back to the couch.



"Amy?" Nick called. No answer.

He opened the door and stepped in.

"Jack! Get away!" I screamed grabbing a stuffed animal off my floor and hitting him in the head with it.

Nick came charging into my room with Angel in tow.

"Not you again," he said when he saw Jack on top of my half-naked self.

Nick came over and picked up Jack with little effort and tossed him across the room.

"I told you to stay AWAY from Amy!!" Nick yelled.

"Tough words coming from someone who isn't her boyfriend," he said with a smug grin.

"I don't give a damn if she's my girlfriend or not, I told you to stay the hell away from her." Nick walked over to Jack and picked him up by the collar, dragging him out my door and down the stairs.

Angel came over to me and draped my blanket over my shoulders, "Are you okay?" I shook my head and continued to cry, something that I had to admit I was beginning to grow tired of. I leaned over and grabbed my hoodie from the open side of my closet. I just wanted to cover myself up. Zippering up my pants, which Jack had finally - and forcefully - undone, I tried to keep calm. Why I wanted to be calm at a time like this, I have no idea. "C'mon, let's go," Angel said softly as she took my hand and led me to the bathroom. Loud punches and groans were left behind me as I sauntered behind her, but I ignored it.

Why should I care anymore? Aaron hated me, Jack is crazy, and life was just...

The door snapped shut. Angel looked at me with sympathy in her brown eyes.

"I can't believe what a bitch Jack is - was to you. I'm so sorry we didn't come sooner."

"It's not," I sniffed loudly with my hoodie half on, "your fault. You couldn't have known... and anyways, I wouldn't have expected you guys to come... since you know, Aaron hates me and all..."

"You think we wouldn't have come because our brother hates you?"

I nodded.

The next thing I knew, Angel had her long arms around me, wrapping me in not only a hug, but a barrier from the monstrosities of the world. At least for the moment.

"Aaron hating you or not, Nick and I will always be your friends. Well, I will." she whispered into my ear, softly rubbing my back to calm my sudden hiccups.

We stood in the bathroom hugging for a few minutes before Nick came in and finally broke the silence. "Please tell me we got here in time to stop him."

As I shook my head slowly, tears came down my face once again. "Two minutes earlier and you would have."

Angel rubbed my back as she looked up at her brother. They nodded to each other and helped me downstairs as I looked around at my empty house. My mom was coming home soon, and now she'd have to go back to the same place she just left.

When we got outside, Nick turned back to me and Angel, who was helping me stand up. With everything that had happened since yesterday, I was lucky to be able to breathe, let alone stand up. "I'm gonna get the car, you two stay here." We nodded as we watched him run across the street and into his house.


"Whats going on?" Aaron asked, still on the couch with Kanden.

"Not that it matters much to you, but Jack-" He paused, unable to say what Jack had done. "-He attacked Amy. Shes weak and shes hurt, and Angel and I are gonna get her some help."

At a loss for words, Aaron simply nodded. Was he really being that heartless?

~Forty Minutes Later~

I was laying there in a hospital bed, and suddenly felt even more exposed than I had in my bedroom. Nick and Angel were with me almost the whole time, I guess they wanted to make sure I was okay and that Jack wouldn't find me again. When we got to the hospital, Angel called the police and told them what had happened, so not only were we waiting for the doctor's test results to come back, we were waiting for a police officer to file a report.

All I could think about was the last time I was here. Mom was in the bed, and I was outside worrying about her. I wondered if anyone told my parents what had happened. They didn't even know Jack was out here.

"My parents, did you tell them?" I finally asked.

Nick shook his head. "I don't know their number. I told Aaron to let them know when they got home."

"What did he say when you told him?"

"Nothing. Just nodded." Nick sighed. "Hes been acting like a jerk since he got home. He won't listen to anyone."

"He'll come around, Amy," Angel consoled, "He needs to cool down."

"I wouldn't blame him if he never did." I said, looking at the IV tube in the back of my hand. "Everything that's happened to him - to all of us - is my fault."

"Thats not true!" Nick exclaimed.

"Yeah, you didn't turn Tony into an obsessed moron." Angel stated.

"And its not your fault he met your psychotic ex."

"Maybe it is. If I had just told Jack when he first called that I was seeing someone, then maybe he wouldn't have come out here. We wouldn't have kissed, and none of this would have happened."

"Don't do this to yourself, Amy," Angel started.

"He would have come out here and found you eventually." Nick finished.

I tried to search my mind, but they were right. Jack was gonna do what he was gonna do, and nothing I did could have stopped him. He was gonna find out, and he was gonna find me.

"I just wish I could have done something to stop all this from happening." I said, trying not to cry for the thousandth time in the past 2 days.

"Me too." Nick added.

"Me three." Angel added. "Why don't you try and get some sleep?"

I shook my head. "No, I wanna be awake when the cops get here."

Angel nodded, and Nick got up from his seat near the window. "I'm gonna see if maybe I can find your parents before they leave."

We both nodded, and I watched Nick as he left the room.

"I'm sorry about all of this, Amy." Angel said. "Its not fair that all of this happened to you."

"Don't be sorry, Angel." I said with a sniffle.

The few minutes of silence that followed were broken by the sound of my parents rushing into my hospital room.

"AMY!" my mother exclaimed, hurrying over and hugging me tightly.

"Honey, what happened??" my dad asked.

"It was Jack, he-"

"Jack?" my parents said. And at the same time, too.

"Yeah, he 'surprised' me by coming out here, and after a series of dramatic events, he attacked Aaron and later he broke into the house and he- he-"

"I'll kill him." My dad said. I'd never heard him this angry.

"Can I help?" Nick offered. I could tell remembering everything that had happened was pissing him off, too.

My dad shot him an angry look, "This is not a game to playing around with, son."

"I'm not playing around!" Nick shot back indignantly, "I seriously want to kill him!"

"There's no need to kill him," I cut in softly, "The police are out looking for- well, getting him right now."

"Hopefully he'll go to prison." Angel said, getting up so my mom could sit down.

"Thank you, um-" My mom stopped short. I completely forgot my mom had never met Angel or Nick.

"Angel. I'm Aaron's twin sister."

"And I'm his older brother, Nick." Nick added.

"Nice to meet you... Speaking of, where is Aaron? Is he alright?" Mom asked. Angel, Nick, and I looked at each other for a moment, before Nick spoke.

"Hes not seriously hurt." Liar. "Jack didn't really get the chance to hurt him too badly," Oh didn't he? "But hes at home with our little brother, resting." One out of three ain't bad.

"Oh," my Mom looked confused and glanced at me, but I kept my expression blank. No need to tell her which apple had fallen and rotted.

"Is he coming later?" she asked.

I shrugged.

"Ahem."

A salt and peppered haired doctor stepped into the room, his presence ordering all eyes and attention on him.

"Will everybody please evacuate the room -yes, her family too- we need to perform some tests on her just to make sure she hasn't contracted a disease."

My mom looked positively alarmed at this bit of information, and was at a loss for words. My father filled in for her. "Diesese? Amy, what happened? Jack didn't -"

His sentence laid incomplete as the doctor ushered him out with the rest of the group, pulling on latex gloves onto his hands as he did so.

Snap, snap!

"I'll tell you later," I called back.

If I could...

~Ten Minutes Later~

My mom was the first one into the room, and she once again pulled me into a tight hug.

"We told them what we saw, Amy." Nick explained.

"So he-" Dad asked. I could tell he didn't wanna say it. I don't blame him, I couldn't say it either. All I did was nod. Dad grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "I'm so sorry, honey."

"It's okay." I mumbled. Liar, liar! "I'm okay anyways." Pants on fire!

My mom smoothed down the hair on my forehead, and I suddenly realized that it was soaking wet. It was raining outside, it wasn't raining in here... Sweat? Maybe from exhasution? Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

"You guys should go home." I said, looking at my parents. "Mom, you need rest."

"I'll be fine, honey." Mom replied.

"No, Mom, you should go home and rest."

She sighed. I wasn't gonna give up on this argument. The last thing my mom needed was stress. "Fine." She kissed my forehead before getting up from the chair.

"We'll be back later." Dad reported, also kissing my forehead before walking over to Mom.

"I can drive her home." Nick offered. My dad nodded and shook hands with him.

"Thank you. Both." He said, looking at Angel, too.

"Bye." I said as they walked to the door.

"Bye, honey." Mom said before walking out.

"We love you." Dad said before following her out of the room.

I relaxed a bit after my parents left. I didn't want them to know the whole story, I didn't know what they'd do. What they'd say.

"You guys don't have to stay here with me, you know." I said to Angel and Nick. G-d, I sounded so ungrateful. "I mean, I'm really glad that you guys are helping me and staying by me," Without Aaron. "But I dont want you guys to think that I'm making you stay here."

"Amy, girl, you should know by now that we're your friends, that's what we do." Angel smiled.

Friends? I wonder where Julie and everybody else were...Oh yeah, school probably. Or what time was it anyways?

"Anyways, you're gorgeous. I love having a free show of watching you lay on the bed, alone, with only a hospital gown on..." Nick smirked as he list all the positions, I mean, attributes his 'free show' had.

Angel nudged him in the ribs. Quite hard, by the sound of Nick's deep groan. "Nick!"

"Watch it sister. I'm getting old here, and you breaking my poor bones here ain't gonna help." Nick grinned at me. "Anyways, I was just kidding."

"You're not old." I mean, I'm 17, 9 years younger, and we still kissed.

"Sure."

I couldn't help but grin back. But then I let my smile drop. Was I flirting with him? No, you're not Amy. You're not! You have a boyfriend. Or do you?

"I'm going to get some drinks." Angel announced. She must have caught on to Nick's and my playful banter. "You guys want anything?"

I shook my head, and Nick followed suit.

She shot Nick a warning look, and just before the door shut behind her, I heard her mutter a 'be good' warning to us.

I nestled back further into the soft -but not as soft as my sheets- covers of the hospital bed, ready for a little rest before...

"Amy?"

I opened one eye groggily. Great Nick, just when I start to have my first great sleep in how long? Grrr. "Yeah?"

"So what's going on with you and Aaron?"

My other eye unlatched open. "What do you mean?"

"Are you guys still together?"

How am I supposed to know?

"I don't know." I lay contemplating the thought for a moment before saying, "He's pretty mad at me." So? "I don't think he wants to... be with me anymore..."

"So Amy..." Nick looked self consciously at his shoes. I glanced down at his shoes too, and could not find anything the least bit interesting about them. "If you and Aaron aren't together anymore..I mean, if you're ever not with Aaron anymore...Would you give me a chance to go out with you?"

I closed my eyes for a moment while mentally searching for a knife to stab myself for not steering the conversation away from this predicament. "Nick, I told you...jerk!" I exclaimed as I saw the smile on his face. Give me a heart attack, why don't you. Well, I guess it wouldn't be too bad. I mean, we are in a hospital.

"I already told you," Nick said, laughing, "I know how you feel about my brother. I thought I felt that way, I don't. It was just nice to see you smiling again."

The smile wiped from my face as I tried not to think about Aaron and how I felt about him. "I should have known when you asked me what was going on with me and him. I haven't spoken to him since you left the hotel."

He frowned. "Yeah, I know. I tried to talk to him, but hes just as mad at me as he is at you."

"Nick, you're his brother." I explained. "He'll forgive you. Its him forgiving me I'm not too sure will happen anytime soon."

"How would you know? You don't have any brothers. You've never seen Aaron pissed. When he's pissed, it takes alot to make him like you again." Nick explained.

"Thanks alot Nick," I said sarcastically.

He opened his mouth to retort when the door swung open again, Angel walking in carrying not a drink, but a tan white hand. Well, attached to somebody behind the door.

Saved by the swinging door.

"That doesn't look like a drink, Ang." Nick said, turning around in the chair.

"'Cause its not. I found something else that might make us all feel better." Angel explained. She seemed to be having trouble pulling the mystery person into the room. But, if I hadn't seen him with my own eyes, I don't think I would have believed he was really there.

"Hey." Aaron said simply, apparently having given up on fighting his sister.

"Shes in a hospital bed and all you can say is 'hey'?!?" Angel exclaimed.

"Hi?" He asked, turning back to face his sister, apparently irritated at her.

"How'd you drive over to your house so fast?" I asked, directing my question to Angel since Aaron's back didn't look like it had any magical powers of talking.

"I didn't have to," she answered, trying to turn her brother around to face me. "He was wandering around the parking lot."

"Was not!" He argued. "I was driving around nearby, and she called me screaming to get down here."

"It doesn't matter," Nick said, raising his hand to silence his brother, "You showed up."

"I was on my way here, though." he explained. I knew he was being defensive, I just couldn't tell if it was because he really wanted to be there and didn't want to admit it, or because he really didn't want to be there and was trying to behave himself. Either way, I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.

"For what?" Nick probed.

"Tosheishamywashaiightshorsnot." Aaron mumbled.

"What? I can't hear you Aaron, I think I have alot of bullshit behavior in my ear." Nick interrupted.

"I wanted to see if Amy was alright or not, okay?"

"I'm fine." I stated. Why couldn't I be asleep right now?

"No thanks to you." Angel added. Aaron crossed his arms, an annoyed expression on his face. "If you're gonna be pissy with us, why are you here?"

"I just told you, to see if she was okay." Aaron replied. "What happened, anyway?"

The three of us looked at each other, unsure if we should tell him what had happened.

"What's going on?"

"Wh-what?" I said. "Oh, he attacked me. He broke into the house and attacked me in my room." Should I really be lying to him again? In for a penny, in for a pound. Besides, he doesn't seem to care all that much right now, anyway. "And stuff happened." I added, suddenly as pessimistic as he was. And why should I tell him when he was acting like he had severe bf-itis?

"Like?" He looked down on me, his brown eyes expecting.

"Nothing that you would care about." Angel interjected from her seat beside me, before I could open my mouth and answer.

"I'm SICK of you all telling me I don't care!" He exclaimed. He sat down in the chair farthest away from me. That shows concern, alright. "If I didn't care, I wouldn't be here."

"If you didn't feel guilty, you wouldn't be here." Nick stated. Aaron frowned as he got up from the chair and walked to the window.

"Guilty??" Aaron asked incredulously. "You both lie to me, I find out from two insane morons who kick my ass 'til I bleed, and I'm supposed to feel guilty??"

"Aaron, shut up." Angel said.

"No, I won't shut up! Yeah, I feel bad for making Amy walk home, but why should I feel bad for anything else that's happened??"

"Because Jack raped me, okay???" I finally said, tears flowing down my face. "Jack raped me, Aaron, so pardon me if I don't have any sympathy for you."

Aaron stood there, looking around at the three of us, his mouth gaping open. Angel rubbed my arm, looking up at her brother with an angry scowl, which seemed to sum up her current feelings towards her brother. I watched him with weary eyes as he stared out the window, silence banqeuting our room like an unwanted burden. Suddenly, he whirled around, his face troubled. "Why am I always the one who fucks up? Why is it me?"

My mouth seemed unable to form any words. What? Huh?

"What do you mean Aaron?" I finally got out.

He turned on me, and I noticed that his eyes were glassy.

Great. I knew I was always the big bad wolf.

"What I mean is, something happens and its all my fault. You kiss Nick - it's all my fault. You get into the hospital - it's all my fault. Why me?" Tears ran freely down his cheeks now, only adding to my guilt.

"Aaron... It's not your fault." I said softly. My voice broke as I saw how anguished he was.

"All I wanted was you. But then this happened." He turned and started for the door. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Stop." I said. "If anyone's to blame, its me." I blinked again, letting the tears that were blurring my vision flow down my face again. "I could have stopped this all before it happened."

"Don't blame yourself." Nick and Angel said at the same time, looking at each other afterwards.

"You wouldn't have been in danger if I'd let you get a ride with us." He said, turning around.

"No, no one would have been in danger if I'd been honest with Jack when he first called and made him stay away." I replied.

"That wouldn't have mattered if I'd gone out with you and Nick that night he showed up."

"Can I point out that this is the third time we've had this conversation?" Nick interjected. "The point is, it happened, and it wasn't anyone's fault."

"So can you two just make up and move on already??" Angel asked, apparently weary from the ping-pong version of the blame game we were playing.

Aaron smiled as he looked at me and sat down in the chair next to me that Angel had vacated. "I don't know. I'm still a bit bothered by what Tony and Jack t-"

"But you're forgetting something." I interrupted.

"What?" he asked. I reached for his hand and held it tightly as I looked into his eyes.

"I love you." I said, tears in my eyes. Didn't I just stop crying?

Aaron stopped, and stared at me for a good minute before he let his guard down. His shoulders were shaking as he walked toward me, and his waterfall tears resumed their work.

"Amy," he whispered, hugging my so tight that I felt like the tubes and such they'd put on me would burst and explode all over him. But I wasn't complaining. Aaron's back.

"Aaron, I'm so sorry...I've missed you tons..."

"I'm sorry, too..." he replied, kissing my neck. I missed that soo much.

"Can we just get back together?" I asked, sniffling. He pulled back from our embrace and nodded, a big smile on his face.

"You guys, I dont think that the hospital dudes allow patients to screw on their expensive beds," Nick said loudly.

Aaron and I shot Nick identical looks of danger, and he smirked, leaving the room with Angel in tow.

"Amy, I can't tell you how sorry I am that I wasn't there for you." Aaron said, rubbing my hand.

I bit my lip and smiled. I mean, c'mon. Aaron, my first ever REAL love crying, rubbing my hands. Face it, we're all hopeless romantics. "Aaron...I'm sorry I got you into this too."

"But Amy, I'm sorry, alot more sorry." Aaron contradicted playfully.

"Look, are we gonna spend the whole hospital time until they get the results back arguing about who's more sorry?" I demanded.

Aaron grinned and his hand moved on to caress my hair. "Well, we could, or we could - wait, what results?"

"I think the doctor called it a-" I hesitated. Why'd they have to call it that? "Rape Kit. To see if Jack passed on anything to me."

Aaron frowned, and cringed at the r-word. "Oh." Aaron slowly sat down in the chair, still holding my hand. I knew how he felt: for a moment there, I'd completely forgotten what was going on, too.

Aaron sighed and stood up from his seat. "I can't believe I was such an ass. I could've helped you if I hadn't been so stubborn. And now you might be sick." He walked over to the window and sighed as he looked out of it.

"Stop it, there's no way you-or anyone- could've known that Jack was going to attack a second time in my house."

"Still, if I hadn't be so goddamn ridiculous I would have been with you when he tried."

"Okay you know what? We're not going to talk about what's happened for the past few days. We're changing the subject completely," I said folding my arms over my chest. "Soooo, how 'bout them Red Sox?"

Aaron laughed and walked back over to me. He sat next to me on the bed and leaned in for a kiss.

"You do know that I would have probably been knockin' at your door even if you didn't get hurt right?" He said putting his forehead against mine.

"I had a hunch," I said with a grin.

Then someone came through the door in a white lab coat. "Are you Amy Sean?"

"Yes, that's me," I said, my heart rate speeding up.

"I have good news, and bad news, which would you like first?"

"Um, bad, cause it comes first in the alphabet." I said after a moment's thought.

"The bad news is that most of your test results aren't back yet."

I heaved a sigh of relief. "And the good news?"

"The good news is that they mangaged to get us one of the tests back, and its one of the major ones. I didn't want you to worry more than you had to."

"Which one came back?"

The doctor cleared his throat. "The uh... the pregnancy test."

I looked at Aaron, who looked as nervous as the doctor did. He was squeezing my hand so tightly I thought it was gonna turn blue. "...And?" I said after a few moments of excruciating and awkward silence.

"Its negative." He said, looking down at the file folder in his hands. "You're not pregnant, Miss Sean."

Just then, a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. I didn't care right then that I might still be sick, I wasn't gonna be a mother. Not yet, at least.

"I'll let you know when the other results come back." The doctor said, closing the folder.

"Thank you, doctor." I said, trying to contain my happiness until he left the room. Once he walked out the door, I let the big smile I'd been trying to hide show for everyone to see. "Thank G-d!" I said.

"You said it..." Aaron said, kissing my cheek. "I was gonna kill Jack if it was positive."

As we were celebrating, Nick and Angel came back in. "We just saw the doctor walk away, what happened??" Angel asked.

I looked at Aaron and could tell by the sinister look on his face that it was time to give Nick some payback.

"The doctor came with some results," Aaron said solemnly, careful to avoid eye contact with Nick.

"And what? What did it say?" Nick pressured, anxiety rising through the tips of his messy blonde hair.

Remember what you learned in Drama class, Amy. I turned on the waterworks. "I'm...pregnant!"

"Oh my God..." Angel said, sitting down in the nearest chair.

"Amy..." Nick said, a look of complete shock across his face, "I'm so sorry. I- I thought... I thought we got there in time..."

I clapped my hands against my wet face and pretended to sob into it noisely while I tried to stifle a smile. "I know you did!" Teardrop. "But it's all that bitch's fault. I hate Jack!"

"Me too..." Nick said. Angel chimed in agreement.

"Okay..." I said, holding back a big laugh. "I'm not a mom," I grinned. "But we're not sure about anything else... those tests haven't come back yet."

"Yeah, but one good test is better than none," Angel said.

"True," I agreed.

I yawned, with everything that had been happening lately, I hadn't gotten sny sleep.

"We should leave you to rest," Nick said.

"Yeah you've been through a hell of a lot in the past few days," Angel chimed in.

"I'll see you later, baby," Aaron added, kissing me on the cheek.

"Okay, don't forget to call me later, you can probably get the room number from the front desk."

They walked out of the room from oldest to youngest, before he closed the door Aaron turned around and mouthed 'I love you' to me one last time. For now, everything was going okay.

~Three Hours Later~

When I woke up I was still sore from my tumble with Jack. I touched my head where it had hit my bureau and had to be stitched.

A nurse came through the door with a new bag of medicine for my IV.

"Oh hi honey," she said in a cheerful voice. "The doctor has gotten three more tests back."

"Really?" I asked hopefully. "Do you have the results?"

"Uh yes, hold on one minute," she hooked up the medicine. "This'll make you sleepy, so you won't wake up in the middle of the night. Now let's see, the test results... Oh yes, here we are... Uh... Negative for HIV, negative for herpes, but..." she paused and shook her head. "Positive for Gonorrea... I'm so sorry honey."

My heart fell into my stomach. "It can be treated, right?"

"Oh yeah," she said with a definite nod. "It's one of the easier diseases to treat."

"Thank God," I said to myself with a sigh of relief.

"Is it completely cureable?" I asked. Please be completely cureable...

"Yes. You'll be on antibiotics for a while, but it'll clear up completely." The nurse reported, walking towards the door. Thank you God.

"Like, how long? Am I able to come in contact with anybody?" I realized my voice was becoming more shrill and more shrill by the moment. "Am I able to at least kiss my boyfriend?"

"No sexual contact." The nurse stated. "Kissing should be fine."

"Can I use the phone?" I asked as the nurse headed for the doorway once more.

She nodded and slid the phone closer to me on the nightstand. "Thank you, again." I said.

"You're welcome. Sweet dreams..." She trailed off, leaving the room.

I picked up the phone, put it on my lap, and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Mom? Dad? It's me, Amy."

"Amy?" My dad sounded relieved as hell that I was calling him, like it showed that I was still alive. Of course I'm alive. I won't die just cause Jack...

"Yeah. Your only daughter remember? Unless, you know, there's something that you're hiding, cause I remember, I remember," I smiled to myself as I knew I was rambling, but I had to get him off of his stressed out kick before I gave him the bad news, "that I saw a pair of girl clothes in your dresser, which was like, too small for mom, and I know that youre not having an affair, so that got me thinking about if you cross-"

Finally, he let out a laugh. "Glad to know that your sense of humor is still intact."

"Yeah..." I said with a nervous laugh.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Not really..." I trailed off. "But I got some of my test results back."

I could hear him holding his breath. "And?"

"I'm not pregnant." I stated. I heard a sigh on the other end. "And, I don't have HIV or herpes."

"Thank G-d."

"But..." I cringed.

"But what? Amy, what else?"

"I tested positive for Gonorrhea." I said, trying to hold back tears.

"Oh honey..."

"But its cureable. They're gonna put me on antibiotics, and the nurse said it should clear up completely after that."

"Well, thats good."

"If I ever get my hands on Jack-"

"You're in good company. Nick and Aaron wanna kill him, too. So does Angel."

"Well, honey, I was gonna say I was gonna cut off his -"

"Dad!"

"Just to make sure he doesn't do this to other girls!" Dad argued.

"Suuure, thats why." I said.

"How's Mom?" I asked, changing the subject. Already way too awkward for my liking. I didn't really prefer talking about male... body parts with my father, if you get my drift.

"She's fine." He said quickly. Quickly enough to be unconvincing.

"Are you sure? Can I talk to her?"

After momentarily silence, my dad finally answered. "Uh, sure, honey. Just try to break the news gently, okay?"

"Okay..." How does one break news like this gently?

"Amy?" Mom asked. She sounded so tired.

"Hey, mom!" I said in my cheeriest voice.

"I'm so glad you're okay." I heard her sniff in the background, suddenly feeling bad for trying to fake my way out of this one.

"I dont know how to tell you this...easily."

"Amy, what's wrong?"

"They told me I was positive for Gonnorrhea." I braced myself for her reply. Sobs carried over onto my end of the line and I felt increasingly sorry for Mom. Why did this have to happen to her? If only I'd been a good girl and stayed at home all day and knitted or something...Yeah right...I'll become a nun then.

"But it's curable, Mom, it's curable!"

"I always knew that boy would hurt you like this one day..." she said, sniffling. "I always knew you'd end up in the hospital because of him!" I heard my dad calming her down in the background. "I'm so sorry this happened, honey. At least they can cure you, though."

"Yeah... I'm sorry, Mom."

"Jack's the one who should be sorry. You just get some rest, you've had a tough time lately."

"I will, Mom." I sniffled. Enough crying already! I feel like I'm stuck in a Lifetime movie! "You get some rest, too. Don't worry so much about me."

"Its my job, Amy. Love you."

"You too. Bye."

"Bye." Click.

Now, one last person I need to call. For now.

I dialed Aaron's number.

"Hello? This is A to the A to the R-O-N."

I giggled at Aaron's cheerful banter, feeling my stress slide away. At least for the moment. Damn, was I glad to have his funky white boy back.

"Hey Aaron, it's me, Amy." Pointing out the obvious, but then again, Aaron sometimes needs explaining to.

"Hey, Amy, this is John Lennon."

"I thought he was dead. And didn't you just say that you were Aaron?"

"Uhh....I was pretending?" I imagined the silly expression he must've had on his face at this exact moment, so different from the sullen behavior Angel had told me he'd been inhabiting.

"Okay, sure, sure." I took a deep breath and prepared to tell him what was really going on, my real reason for calling him.

"So how are you, babes? They gonna let you out of that place soon or what?"

"Aaron, they said...they said that I tested positive for Gonnorrhea..but, but they said that it's curable with antibiotics." All my words came out in a rush, I realized stupidly. Hopefully I wouldn't have to repeat them again.

"You..what? No, Amy, you can't, you can't." A loud shuffling conveyed through the line towards me, a sound that translated him wiping his face, a sound of his happiness draining faster than poop down the toilet.

Too much information, Miss Sean.

"Aaron, it's okay. It's treatable. I mean, we can still do stuff together. We can talk, we can play, we can kiss...just no sexual contact."

"This isn't fair!" He exclaimed. I heard another shuffling, and it sounded like he threw the phone in the dryer or something.

"Amy? What happened?" Angel asked. I guess it was just a game of Pass the Phone.

"I- The tests came back, and I have Gonhorrea." I answered.

"Oh my God, Amy, I'm so sorry." Angel said.

"It's okay," I said lightly, "It's curable. Hey, can you do me a favor?"

"Anything, you name it."

"Stick a bone into Aaron's pants, he seems like he's a ... bit disappointed," I giggled, "that his spell will be dryer than the Sahara Desert now."

"Um... Amy? Are you okay?"

"I'm really tired... I think the nurse said she gave me something to help me sleep..." I said wearily. Wow, was I tired.

"Ohhh," Angel said with a laugh. "Go to sleep. We'll see you soon."

"Alright... Bye."

"Bye." Click again.

I laid the phone back in it's plastic cradle, ignoring all the demands going through my mind: Must call... whoever.

But then again, I didn't really need anybody knowing about it. Well, I could tell Julie and them later.

"Alright, Amy?" The voluptuous blond nurse called out from her office.

"Yeah. I'm just gonna think about some stuff...and some more stuff..." I called back.

But I fell asleep in the process.


Before I knew it, I'd woken up suddenly, breathing heavily. If I jumped up any faster, the tubes still in my arms would have ripped out.

"Are you okay?" Someone asked. I was still too groggy to tell who.

"What? Where am I?" Temporarily memory loss overcame me as I opened my eyes to complete darkness, the only source of light coming from the slit under the door.

"You're at the hospital." He laughed, a friendly laugh.

But who the fuck is it?!

"Amy, honey, are you okay?" I finally recognized the voice: Dad's.

"Yeah...I-I should be fine," I held my head in a vain attempt to make the room stop spinning. "I need to use the bathroom."

I heard my dad say something but I couldn't make it out. Before I knew it he got up and left.

Thinking he had just gone to get a drink or something, I pushed off my covers so I could go to the bathroom. I put my feet on the floor, using my bed to steady my weak legs. I remeber thinking that I should press the nurse call button for help, but the bathroom was only a few feet away, I could make it.

I took a step, pulling the stand that was hold my IV medicine behind me, and still leaning mostly against my bed. I took another step, and another. I got to the end of my bed and stopped for a second to catch my breath, this was hard work.

I took the first step away from my bed, and felt okay. So I dared a second, and a third. By the forth step my breath got shorter and I was beginning to feel dizzy again.

Suddenly I felt unbelievably light headed and the room began to spin out of control. Behind me I heard someone yell my name, or at least, I think it was my name, then I began to fall and everything went dark...

"Shes awake!" I once again heard a mystery voice exclaim.

"Thank G-d!" Said another one. Everything was really blurry right now, and my arm really, really hurt.

"Fuck," I mumbled.

"Oh yeah, she's awake, alright. She's talking normally now."

"Ow," I half mumbled, have spoke. "Wh-What happened?" I asked trying to open one eye.

"You collapsed," mystery voice #1 said.

"Amy, why did you move I told you I was going to get a nurse to help you," Voice #2 (my dad) said.

"Oh, I didn't hear you...which was probably a good indication that I needed help..." I smiled at my own stupidity.

"It's not funny, you could've gotten hurt," a female voice that I suspected was Angel's, said. Looking down at my left arm, I saw a huge, bloody scrape, and felt a bandage on my forhead. "You fell pretty hard." the female voice - which I could safely say was Angel's now - stated.

"Not to mention how badly you scared us." My dad said.

"So what happened?" I asked, gazing at all of the familiar faces around my small hospital bed. All familiar faces... Okay, damnit, where the hell was Aaron this time?

"You fell on your way to the bathroom," Duh. "And landed on your arm." Dad started.

"Then you hit your head on the floor." Nick finished. "We got here in time to help put you up on the bed."

"Where's-" I started while still looking around, but I was cut-off.

"-Looking for me?" Aaron asked, smiling as he walked over and sat by my side. "Sorry, baby." He kissed my cheek.

"Oh, hey there you are," I said with a smile. "My head hurts."

"I would imagine it would, you smacked it pretty well," my dad said.

There was a minute of silence and I broke it by saying, "...I still have to pee." Everyone laughed.

"Can you wait for me to get a nurse this time?" Dad asked, walking to the door. I nodded, and he walked out of the room.

"So, guess what baby?" Aaron asked, planting a kiss on my lips again, obviously oblivious to my dad's eyes burning a hole into the back of his Abercrombie shirt.

"What?" I asked him with a smirk towards my dad, who walked out once the nurse was at my side.

"I'll tell you when you get back." Aaron said as the nurse gently helped me out of the bed and walked me to the bathroom.

~Four Minutes Later~

I walked out of the bathroom, and just as slowly made my way back to the bed.

"So..." I said, looking at Aaron as he held my hand, "Whats the news?"

"Well, the record label called..." Aaron trailed off, looking back at his also grinning brother and sister.

"And..." I said, urging him to continue his sentence.

He grinned at me.

"Tell me, or I swear I wont kiss you for a week!"

"They want me back for at least two more albums," he said with a huge grin.

"OH MY G-D!!!" I yelled practically jumping into his arms.

...Which I would have done, but my arm still hurt and I still had tubes in it. "Thats great, baby!" I exclaimed.

"That's all I get? A 'that's great baby'? I thought I was more important than that!" Aaron joked playfully.

"You got an 'Oh my God', too, ya know..." I pointed out.

"I think we should 'celebrate' when you get better," he said with a wink.

"Just make sure you give us a heads up, so we can get the hell out of the house," Nick teased.

"Don't worry, Nick," I said, "We can't anyway. I'll be on antibiotics for a while to clear up the gonhorrea." If Jack values his life, not to mention his limbs, he'll stay away from all of us. Now I want a piece of the ass-kicking action.

"Right," Nick said, the smile wiping from his face, "Sorry, Amy."

I kept smiling, even though I still kinda felt like crying. "Its okay."

"Its okay, but you guys can all go home and do whatever you need to do, cause I've got a date with a check up from the doctor." I tried to keep my voice optimistic, but I couldn't help but envy how they were all able to walk around and do stuff, and not be tied down to a hospital bed.

"You sure?" Aaron asked. I nodded. He kissed me on the cheek, and he, Nick, and Angel waved goodbye as they filed out of the room.

"Mom, Dad, you guys don't have to stay here all day, either." I assured them, noticing that they were staring at me with glassy expressions. "I mean, I don't all of us to starve cause we don't have any money cause nobody goes to work anymore."

My dad grinned feebly. Good ol' dad.

My mother came forward and sat in one of the chairs beside the bed, crossing her legs as she looked at me.

Oh crap. I recognize that look. The Talk is coming.

"Honey. Let's talk about Aaron."

"Do we have to?" I asked sheepishly.

"Yes, Amy," Mom answered, "I don't want you getting hurt like this again."

"Aaron wouldn't do that!"

"I know you think so now, honey, but-"

"Amy, we just don't want to see you end up in a complicated situation like you did with Jack. We don't want to see you being pressured to do something you don't want to do yet." Dad explained.

"I know this already," I said, pausing to calm myself down, "And I trust Aaron, more than I ever could have trusted Jack. He wouldn't hurt me the way Jack has, and he doesn't seem like hes gonna be rushing me into anything I don't wanna do anytime soon." I sighed. "Listen, I'm 17. I know whats right and whats wrong. I'll be careful, okay?"

My parents nodded, and my mom kissed my forehead before getting up from the chair. Dad leaned over and kissed my forehead, too. "We'll be back later." Dad reported. I gave him a nod and he and mom said goodbye and left.

My head fell back onto the pillow, the soft and glorious pillow. Finally, peace and quiet! And at least my mom hadn't given me the... sex talk. I shuddered just thinking about it.

Hearing that conversation once in my lifetime is enough for me. I yawned as my eyelids felt heavy again and I drifted off into blissful, glorious sleep...




"Time to rise and shine, honey!" a cheerful voice called out after what seemed like just minutes of sublime sleep. The sounds of curtains scratching against the top railing reached my ears, and I stupidly opened my eyes. Bad choice. Instant blindness.

"Agh!" I exclaimed, putting my hand to my eyes.

"Sorry," the light-haired nurse said, "Let me fix that for you." She pulled the blinds on the window shut. "Better?"

"Much. Thanks."

"The doctor's waiting outside to check up on you, I'll send him in."

"Okay." I replied.

The doctor walked in and he had a smile on his face. "Good morning Amy," he said holding out a hand to shake.

"Good morning, Doctor." I repiled, shaking his hand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Not bad," I said. "My head hurts a bit, but I can't complain."

"That's good," he said. "Well I have some good news. You're all set to go home anytime your ready."

"Really!?" I said excitedly. "That's great!"

"Just make sure you get a parent to sign you out at the front desk," he took out a pen and notepad and began to scribble something down. "This is your prescription for the antibiotic you need," he tore off a piece of small, blue paper and handed it to me, I couldn't make heads or tails of what it said. "Take two tablets a day for six days, after breakfast and before bed. Just make sure that you don't take it on an empty stomach."

He shook my hand again and walked out the door.

As soon as he left, I reached for the phone and called my Dad.

"Hello?" my dad answered.

"Hey dad!" I said in a happier voice than usual.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?"

"I'm good, I just talked to the doctor and he said I could go home today!"

"That's great!" he said. "Do you need me to come pick you up?"

"Yeah, you need to sign me out, then we need to go get my perscription filled."

"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes," he said. "Love you, honey. Bye."

"Bye Daddy," I said, then hung up.

I was about to call Aaron, but decided I'd surprise him instead.

~Forty-five minutes later~

I couldn't believe how long it takes to fill a prescription! But, we were finally on the way home, and I couldn't wait to surprise Aaron. We finally reached our block, and as we pulled up to our house I tried to see if Aaron was home.

My smile grew larger as I saw his car in the driveway. I almostm opened the door before the car even stopped, but not wanting to go back to the hospital, I waited til Dad's keys were out of the ignition before running across the street and knocking on Aaron's door.

"JUST A MINUTE!" Aaron called. Then, the sound of a lock unlocking, and finally the doorknob turning. "AMY!" He screamed, hugging me so tightly he lifted me off the ground.

"They let me go this morning..." I said.

"Look whos back." I heard someone say. Looking up, I saw Nick standing in the living room, leaning on the doorway.

"Hey, Nick." I replied. He walked over and gave me a one-armed hug.

"Amy! You're back!" Angel exclaimed from the top of the stairs, running down to give me a hug. Geez, this family hugs as much as they smirk.

"We would have come to get you, why didn't you call?" Aaron asked, coming from behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I needed a parent to sign me out." I explained. "Besides, I wanted to surprise you." I turned back and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love my surprise." he whispered in my ear, making me giggle.

"Okay, lovebirds, save it til next week." Nick said, sounding damn near paternal.

"Well, for at least six days. Thats how long I'm on the antibiotics." I corrected.

"Six days!!" Aaron exclaimed, "Good Lord, what will I do with myself?"

"Oh please, I think you'll survive," Angel said, rolling her eyes.

"Hardly," he mumbled, half under his breath.

"I have to go see my mom, then I want to go lay down for a bit," I said to Aaron more than the other two. "You can come if you want."

"Uh... sure, I just gotta' finish doing something and I'll be over okay?"

"Yep, see you soon." I went up on tip toe to give him a kiss on the cheek. Then I started across the street to my house.

"Hey mom," I said when I walked into the living room, where she was laying on the couch, coffee in hand.

"Hi sweetie!" she half squealed. "I'm so glad you're home!"

"I was only gone for a day and a half," I said with a smile.

"Still," she said holding out her hands for a hug.

I abliged and sat by her feet at the end of the couch. "You don't mind if Aaron comes over for a bit do you? We just got out of a really bad fight and I haven't gotten to spend any time with him."

"A fight? Why? What happened?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.

I quickly explained the whole thing to her (leaving out the part about the abandoned hotel and just saying that they somehow got Aaron's number and called his cell) and when I finished she looked overwhelmed.

"Wow, when I was a teenager, drama was when the guy you liked made out with another girl... They sure have kicked it up a few notches since I was young..." I let out a little laugh as she rubbed her forehead. "So, Nick kissed you to get Jack away... and then you kissed him a second time?"

I sighed, "Yes mom, that's what I said."

"Oh boy, you really got yourself into a fine mess," she said. "I'm just glad you worked everything out."

"I didn't work anything out, Aaron decided to forgive me, and I'm lucky he did."

We sat there for a little while watching 'The Price is Right' when the doorbell rang.

"That's him," I said getting up. "We'll be in my room. I need to lay down."

"Okay honey, be good."

"We will," I promised.

I went and opened the door, Aaron was standing there with smile.

"Hey baby!" he said.

"Someone's a little overhappy..." I said with a playful smile.

"I'm just glad you're home." I stepped aside to let him in.

We went up to my room and I made him wait outside the door so I could change into my PJ's, Aaron had conveniently changed into a pair of comfortable shorts and t-shirt himself.

We layed down on my bed and cuddled for a bit in silence. I was in complete bliss. Aaron then broke the silence by asking...

"Do you know what happens when I eat cheese?"

I turned my head towards him, giving him a sidelongs glance. "What? I mean, um, no."

"Well, it's only when I eat it alone, but when I do, I eat a whole bunch of it, like all the slices in the package, and then I fart." He turned and returned me the glance.

"You're weird," I giggled.

"I know," he grinned, "But I have to confess to you something."

I gave him another look, curiousity getting the better of me. Is this talk of cheese and farting leading to something bad? Oh shut up, Amy, you're so paranoid.

"What?" I asked cautiously.

"I just ate a lot of cheese."

"Then you can go home, cuz I'd like to rest without being suffocated by my boyfriend's farts."

"I was just kidding!!" he said as I started to push him off the bed. He quickly shuffled under the covers and wrapped his arms around my waist. He tucked his nose into the back of my neck. "Your hair smells good..."


~Later~

'Just the way she smiles,
Can cure an aching heart
Or seemingly the worst diseases
She's always my first to dial
When I'm down
for all the right reasons...'

I woke up to the sound of somebody singing.

I looked up and saw Aaron sitting with one arm around me and the other holding my hand. He was stroking the back of it with a thumb and the singing had come from him.

"Is that one of your new songs?" I asked tiredly.

"Huh...eh...what?" he sounded nervous.

"That song you were singing, is it one of the new ones?"

"Uh...yeah, I wrote it not to long ago."

"I like it," I said sitting up to snuggle closer to his chest.

"Good, cuz it's for you," he kissed my forehead.

"Amy, honey?" my dad said knocking on the door. He walked in and froze when he saw me and Aaron in my bed. "Wh-Whats going on in here?" he asked. Well, as long as he wasn't running downstairs to grab a shotgun, he couldn't be too mad.

"Nothing, Dad." I said, throwing off my blanket so he could see we were both fully-clothed. "I swear."

"Good, lets keep it that way." he said, clearing his throat. "I have some good news for you. Both of you."

I sat up and pulled the covers back over myself. "What is it?"

"Well, a detective at the police station just called."

"And?"

"They think they've tracked down Jack and Tony."

A wave of relief came over me. "That's great!" I said, settling back into my bed.

"You can say that again," my dad agreed. "I have to take your mother to get a few things at the market, I'd prefer you two not be in the house alone."

"Oh, well Amy can come to my house if that okay," Aaron said, sounding hopeful.

My dad thought about it for a second, then said "Well as long as your brother is home, I don't mind, but we'll have to check with her mother just in case."

"Mom won't mind." I said to Aaron.

"I'd like to leave soon so, if it's not too much trouble, could you get dressed and go now?"

"Okay dad," I said.

"Thanks honey." He walked out my door and downstairs.

Aaron went ahead of me, back to his house so my parents could leave right away. I got dressed, trying to make my hair look at least half way decent, and headed out the door and across the street. I was feeling much better since I first came home and felt like going for a swim, which is why I put on my bathing suit under my clothes.

I knocked on the door and was suprised to see a very frustrated-looking Nick answer the door. "Hey, Amy." Geez, what crawled up his- "Aaron's upstairs." He pointed to the stairs, as if I'd never be able to find them on my own, them being right there and all, and walked back into the living room, where I saw a woman with light-brown hair sitting on the couch. She looked like she was pretty upset about something.

"Thanks... Is everything ok-" I started, before he interrupted me.

"Its fine, Amy." he sighed. "I'll see you later." he turned around and walked back to the living room without even giving me a chance to reply.

"O-kay..." I trailed off as I walked upstairs. "Aaron?" I asked to an empty hallway. That was effective.

Then, a door opened on the right, and Aaron poked his head out. "In here." I walked into a room not much bigger than mine. Instruments were scattered everywhere, and Aaron was sitting on the edge of a big, four-poster bed, while Angel sat on a small couch playing with a couple of small dogs.

"I just wanna apologize for anything you might have witnessed downstairs." Aaron started.

"Nick's ex girlfriend decided to make an unexpected visit." Angel finished.

"Sounds like fun," I muttered.

Angel looked up from the small chihuahua she was playing with and gave me a grim smile. "You got that right. Apparently, she's trying to convince Nick to get back together with her, and Nick obviously doesn't want to. And you'll never guess what she said."

"What?" I asked curiously. I walked over to Aaron's bed, plopping my very tired butt onto his luxuriously comfortable bed. Aaron looked deliriously happy at that aspect, and I gave him a smack on the arm to let him know where we stood. But then I gave him a small kiss just because he was so damn cute.

"He said she was pregnant. Can you believe that?" Aaron answered.

Geez, they sounded like Julie and Gina. "Is she pregnant?"

"Doubt it," Angel said in an annoyed tone. "She'll mooch off of him for a month or two, make up some lame story about how she 'tragically lost the bundle of joy' and leave."

"And Nick can't refuse her, because then she'll go to the press," I completed after putting two and two together.

Aaron and Angel both nodded.

I sat there for a minute trying to think of a way to get him out of this. Then it hit me...

"Hold on a sec..." I said with a mischevious grin.

"What are you up to?" Aaron asked curiously.

"I'm gonna help Nick out, God knows I own him one," I whipped out my cell, and - finding Julie's number in my phone book - decided it was time to put my recources to good use.

Ring. Ring. "Hello?" Julie's familiar - and still overly perky - voice answered.

"Hey, Julez, are you busy?" I prayed that she wasn't. Please, please, please!

"Oh my God! Amy! Hi!!" she said exstaticly. "I haven't talked to you in forever! Of course I'm not busy!"

"It's been two days," I said with a grin. "Listen, I don't have time to explain, but I need a HUGE favor."

"Anything girl, you know I got your back."

I could hear Gina in the background telling Julie to say hi to me for her. I ignored the comotion and went on with my explination, "I need you to call Paulo."

"That actor guy my mom's dating?"

"That's the one," I comfirmed.

"Why?"

"Just tell him that he's got his first live performance, and it's a biggie."

"Uh... Okay, uh... I need time, place, and detail of the role..."

I gave her Nick's address and told her to have him here by six o'clock. I also gave her exactly what Paulo would need to know for his big role as Doctor Palliotta.


~ 5:15 ~


"Okay so here's what's going to happen," I sat down in front of Aaron and Angel to explain my ingenious plot. "I'm going to pretend to black out and you have to call 'My doctor-"

"That Paulo Polliota guy right?" Aaron asked.

"Right. Anyway, he's gonna come in a couple minutes after I wake up, and declare that I just need to lay down. If Nick's ex - Kerry did you say her name was? - is as much of a brown noser as you say, then she'll be all over me asking if I'm alright and if I need anything and all that, for one reason: she thinks Nick likes me."

"Wait-what!?" Aaron exclaimed.

"Think about it Aaron," I began. "Why do you think she's even here?" When I saw the blank expression on his face I countinued, "When she saw the article in that magazine talking about mine and Nick's 'fling' she saw her window of opportunity closing, and now that it's plain to see that you and I have made amends, she'll be the first to hop aboard the 'moochy ho' express."

"Ohhhh," Aaron and Angel echoed.

"So anyway, while she's all 'worried' about me I'll say something like 'No, you should really take it easy, what with the baby and all' then 'Dr. Palliotta' will come in and ask her all sorts of questions about pregnancy complications, symptoms, and stuff like that, stuff that she'll never be able to know even if she did get pregnant."

"But how is that dude supposed to know all that?" Angel asked.

"Why do you think I gave him all day to research the part, I'm paying him extra for the short term notice."

"No, I'll pay him," Aaron said. "I'm not gonna' let you pay for my family's problems."

"We'll settle that later, right now we have to get ready for the show."


Six o'clock came around and Paulo called my cell to tell me he was there and in position. I watched Aaron walk down the stairs going to get me a glass of water. He was out of my sight when Nick stopped him, "What are you doing?" he asked coldly.

"Amy's not feeling well, I'm getting her some asprin and a glass of water," he explained.

"She okay?" Nick asked, his mood momentarily lifted due to his awarness of my condition.

"Yeah I'm sure she-" that was my cue I let myself fall down half the steps, being sure to fall with 'dramatic accuracy' as my half insane excuse for a drama teacher used to say(that was when you fell in such a way that you'd be sore, but not hurt after the fall). I landed perfectly at the bottom of the stairs.

"AMY!" Nick and Aaron yelled at the same time. I had to admit, Aaron's acting wasn't half bad.

The rest of the plan went smoothly, Angel came down all worried and called "my Doctor" and we were just waiting for him to show up.

Paulo came in right on time and impressed everyone with his medical knowledge. He was much better than I expected. And sure enough Kerry started to act all motherly towards me, asking if I needed a drink, some food, a blanket...

I replied with, "Don't even think about it, I should be the one helping you. What with the baby and all."

Genuine worry replaced the fake on her face at the mention of pregnancy in front of what she thought was a real doctor. And as if it couldn't have gotten better Paulo asked "Pregnant? Really? How long are you into term?"

"Two and a half months," Angel answered for her. "That's what you said right?"

"Oh no, no, no, no, no," Paulo said with a laugh. "There no way you could be almost three months in."

"No she is," Aaron said. "She told us about ten times."

"Well," she said nervously. "I have been able to hide it well."

"Ahh, yes. Women, they're amazing," he said with a smile. He then went off on an amazing rant of questions and inquiries about a pregnancy and how the mother should feel, not to mention a gruesome part about diseases and infections that have been linked to child birth and pregnancy, this boy definitely did his homework.

When he was finally done Kerry looked like a cow staring at an oncoming train. "Uh..wh-what?"

"You mean you didn't know about the risks of infection during pregnancy? But that's common knowledge for any pregnant woman!"

She shook her head in confusion. "Y-You know what..." she said finally coming out of the shock of some of the graphic detail he'd just described. "Maybe I better try that pregnancy test again...I mean, it could've been wrong, you know how unreliable generic brands can be...I'll uh....talk to you later Nick," she got her purse and all but sprinted for the door. I couldn't help laughing at her.

"You're welcome!" I said happily, all but leaping off the couch once Kerry was out of sight.

Nick was lost. "What?"

"I'm fine." I paused, he still looked lost. "Fake fall."

"Fake doctor." Paulo added, holding out his hand. Nick shook it, still completely confused. Do I really have to spell it out for him?

Aaron and Angel beat me to it. "We knew Kerry was lying to you." Angel started.

"Again," Aaron added. "So we decided to save you the trouble of putting up with her for four more months, and call her out now."

"Like I said, you're welcome." I finished. Finally, some signs of recognition.

"Thanks... I owe you guys." Nick said.

"Actually... Someone really does owe me." Paulo chimed causing us all to laugh.

I payed Paulo so that he could leave and we all sat on the couch to watch some TV.

"How the hell did you come up with a plan like that in such a short time?" Aaron asked me.

"I have no clue, I'm just that good I guess," grinning I snatched the remote from his hand and put on MTV.

"That was all you Amy?" Nick asked. "I seriously owe you."

"No you don't," I said. "You helped me out with my ex, so I was just returning the favor."

Nick laughed. "All I had to do was kiss you, you had to hire a professional actor, and by the looks of that wad of money you handed him, NOT a cheap one, and fall down the stairs."

"Ah details, who needs 'em."

I cuddled up next to Aaron and we all relaxed and watched TV thankful that - for now - there was no drama in our lives.

~An Hour and a Half later~

"Don't wake her up!!" I slowly lifted my eyelids a centimeter to figure out who the douche was who was making all this racket was.

Ah, Aaron.

"Why not? She has to go before Mom gets here!" I swirled my eye to the left, seeing that Nick was also in the room.

"But she looks so cute sleeping..." Aaron pouted, giving Nick the puppy dog face.

Never mind, Aaron's not a douche, and neither is Nick, but - HEY!! That look is reserved for me and me only!!!

"I know she does," Nick glanced over at me, and I quickly shut my eyes to all but a tiny sliver.

Aaron gave him a look.

"I mean, in a... good way - no, friendly way - no... Never mind!!" Nick scurried over to the door and stuck his head out into the hallway, as if to check if anybody was eavesdropping. He returned into the room with a relieved expression.

"Is she here yet?" Aaron asked anxiously.

Who? Today?! Was I supposed to leave??

Nick shook his head.

"When did she say she was going to be here, again?" Aaron asked, checking to see if I was awake. I again shut my eyes to a sliver.

"I don't know, but she should be here soon, which is why Amy has to leave... NOW." Nick's tone was stern, he really wanted me gone. I then stirred as if I'd just woken up.

"Damnit Nick," Aaron said. "Now she's awake."

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked. "What's going on?"

"Um, nothing." Nick said quickly. Liar!

I turned my gaze to Aaron, silently asking him for the TRUTH. I have other ways, Nick.

"Well, my mom is coming." Aaron admitted.

"And she wants me gone or something?" I asked.

He nodded. "It's not that she doesn't like you in particular, cause she's never even met you." No kidding, Einstein. "It's just that you're a girl." Another amazing discovery. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Oh." I tried to look out the living room window and at my house to see if there were any lights on. "I don't know if my parents are home yet..."

"Look, you don't have to leave just because my mom's coming," Aaron said, obviously changing his view on the matter. "Just be prepared to be...'unliked'."

"What do you mean 'unliked'?" I asked with slight suspision

"Well, our mom tends to not really like our girlfriends too much..." Nick said refering to himself and his brother. Wow, these geniuses are on a roll today.

"She more like hates them..." Aaron corrected.

Then, I realized she had even more of a reason to not like me. "...Does she know about the kiss?" I finally asked. They looked at each other, apparently having the same reaction I did when I realized it.

"I hope not, but I don't think so..." Aaron trailed off, his arm around my shoulders. "Just, don't be nervous. I'll try and talk to her later."

"Try?" I asked.

"She might not listen to what any of us tell her about you." Nick explained. Thats great.

"Whens she coming?" I asked.

Aaron and Nick shared another brother's-only glance, "Um....."

Ding-dong!

"Like right now," Aaron finally quipped, dashing to his closet and pulling out everything. Nick rushed out of the room, presumably doing the same.

No duh, I couldn't have figured that out myself, could I?

"What are you doing? I hope you're trying not to go greet your mom naked at the door." I stretched my arms over my head, yawning leisurely.

"I want to look nice for my Mom so she won't chew me out for another thing." he answered.

"Look, if I'm just gonna be 'another thing' that your mom will get mad at you for, then I'll just leave." I said getting up and walking to the door.

"No!" he jumped in front of me before I got to the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"Well it definitely sounded like you did," I said turning my gaze to the window.

He let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Baby, I'm sorry. You know I love you, it's just... sometimes it can be really hard to stay on my mom's good side. The littlest thing can make her go nuts. And if she doesn't like you... then this night will be Hell." he looked at me and when he saw the look on my face he added, "But if you're not here, it'll be even worse."

I couldn't help but smile at his attempt to keep me from getting upset. I leaned in for a quick kiss and said, "Then don't worry, I'll be so good, Mother Teresa'll have nothin' on me."

Aaron laughed and kissed me back. When he pulled away there was a series of loud thuds coming from the front door.

"You make yourself look pretty," I said to Aaron. "I'll get the door."

"I don't think that's a very good idea..." he said nerviously.

"Relax," I said patting him on the back as I walked passed him and out the door. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

I went down the stairs and to the front door. Opening it I put my biggest - and cutest - smile on and greeted her. "Hello, Mrs. Carter!"

At least, I hoped it was Mrs. Carter. If it weren't... Well then I'd rather wish it was.

A woman with shoulder length blonde hair and a tight smile glowered at me. "It's Ms. Spaulding, excuse me."

Nice move, Sean. First thing outta your mouth and you've already offended her.

"May I help you?" I blurted out in what I hope was compensation.

I figured it was the wrong thing to say when the glower turned into a glare.

"I'm here to see my son." She looked me over. "And you are?"

"I'm Aaron's girl - I mean, friend that's a girl. Who's also his neighbor."

Her expression softend to a dismayed glance and she "Hmphed" me. I mean come on! I think I'm worth a little more than a "Hmph" but oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

Aaron walked down the stairs, looking amazingly handsome I might add, and smiled at his mother. "Hi mom," he said hopping down the last two steps and walking over to give her a hug. "How are you?"

"How do you think I am?" she said as if it were obvious.

"Right, sorry..." was all he could say.

"So how are things going?" Ms. Cart - I mean, Spaulding asked, following her youngest son into the living room and inviting her to a giant armchair. I lingered near the doorway, just in case.

I didn't want to do anything stupid that would, say, send in my life's resignation.

"Um, good, good." Aaron grinned, and I nearly giggled at how good he was at bullshitting. Yes, yes, being kidnapped was nothing. So was your girlfriend ending up in the hospital.

"Where is your brother and sisters?" Ms. Spaulding asked, looking around the spacious living room. "They are still living here, right?"

"Well...Nick's upstairs still getting ready, Angel's gone shopping, but for Leslie and B.J....Well.."

"'Well'?" she asked in a bitchy tone that made me want to slap her. "'Well' what?"

"Are Leslie and B.J. here or not?" She twisted her head to again glare at me, as if pinning the blame on me.

What? Wanna take this outside? I wanted to ask. But instead I remained silent.

"No. They're not." Aaron said out flatly.

His mom's eyes widened. "Why not? They're supposed to be filming the reality show with you!"

"They are! It's just that B.J. got called in for a cooking competition and Leslie went with her for moral support. The rest of us wanted to go, but the producers said that some of us had to stay. They're still being filmed though. Anyways, the whole things only a week, they'll be back in a few days. Mom," he whined, "Don't give me that look."

"What look?" A husky voice traveled from halfway up the stairs.

Nick came down the stairs, also looking good.

Then I realized that no one was with Kanden. I signaled to Aaron that I was going upstairs and I made my leave as quick as I could.

When I got to the top of the stairs I heard Ms. Spaulding ask - in one of the most unfriendly tones I've ever heard, "Who the hell is that little witch?"

"What little witch?" Aaron asked innocently.

"I dont see a little witch anywhere," Nick chimed in.

"That girl! The one who claimed to be your so-called neighbor and friend." Ms. Spaulding shot out, nodding towards up the upstairs, where I was concealed in the shadows. Well, thank you very much.

"Oh!" Nick said brightly. "She's Aaron's girl - ow!" Aaron had nudged him very hard in the ribs, Nick's face turning fuschia red.

"She's my friend, Ma! A friend who just so happens to be a girl!" Aaron claimed, shooting me a discreet look to go take care of Kanden.

I'd chime in with a haven't you people ever heard of, closing the Goddamned door?

I went into the baby's room, where he was in his crib, still sleeping. Sitting down on a toy chest in one corner I kinda resented Kanden for not having to put up with the drama that is life. I sat there for a minute singing Nickelback's "Someday" in my head.

I got up from my seat and walked over to sit in the window sill. I looked out onto the California Sunset and realised that it was everything I'd ever heard of it being.

I was brought back to reality by the sound of Kanden crying. I got up as quick as I could and went over to him.

"Shhh," I cooed to the baby. "Don't cry, it's alright I got you."

He stopped crying but continued to squirm uncomfortably. Wonderful, first I get greeted by one of the rudest mothers ever, now I get to change a diaper...could this day get any better? I thought sarcastically.

A small thunder exaulted from Kanden's diaper.

Of course...

I wrinkled my nose and gave Kanden The Look. "Sorry kid, I don't think your scent can outwin Paris Hilton's."

His dark eyes welled up with theatric effects. He burst out crying.

"No, no, no. I didn't mean that. I was just kidding." I told him, picking him up and trying to ignore the smell. He gave a contented smile as I carried him to the bathroom, bathing him in the Carter's humongous marble bath tub.

"You like that, dont you?" I asked kindly to the little toddler.

"What in the name are you doing to Aaron's little brother?" Somebody shrieked out from behind me.

Of course, life could be better, too...

I turned around and Ms. Bitc- I mean, Spaulding was standing there with a horrified look on her face, I turned back to Kanden immediately.

It's this weird new thing called 'a bath'. You should really try it. I wanted to say. Instead I settled for, "It was time for his bath, but I didn't want to inturrupt you, Nick and Aaron. So I figured I'd give him one myself. I've done it before with Angel." I made sure not to take my eyes off the baby so that she couldn't try to call me a 'reckless endangerment to the baby' or something.

"You've done it before with Angel? Whoa!" Aaron whistled, but instantly back down after being shot with his mother's glare.

"Not like that," I refrained from calling him a sicko. "I mean, I've given Kanden a bath with Angel before. I mean, he didn't take a bath with Angel, but -"

"Enough." Ms. Spaulding commanded. "Just leave."

I sat there shocked. Did she just tell me to leave?!

"Hello? Am I speaking Chinese or something? I said GO!" she stepped aside and pointed to the door. "Aaron, take the baby."

I got up off my knees and wrapped Kanden in a towel before handing him to Aaron. I was nothing short of mortified. I was being kicked out of Nick's house by his mother. And my boyfriend hadn't said two words on my behalf.

Embarrassed and pissed off I crossed the street to my house. My parents were home and I went inside to see if I could use the car.

My dad must've thought me and Aaron got into a bad fight - which hadn't happened yet but I could tell it would soon - because he gave me the keys with little more than "be safe".

I went out to the car and jammed the keys into the ignition. I put my seatbelt on and sped off, Papa Roach's "Last Resort" blaring on the stereo.

I jumped onto the highway and was doing at least 20mph over the speed limit. I was finally past my breaking point. After every little frustrating thing that happened to me over the past couple of weeks, every little bit of anger just welled up inside me, like filling a balloon with air, just waiting for it to burst. And it finally did.

It was like I just relived every aggrivation that had ever happened to me all in a matter of two minutes. A car horn brought me back to my senses and I realised I was going close to 90mph in a 65mph zone.

I slowed down as fast as I could - without causing an accident - and got off the highway at the closest exit. It was late and dark now, so downtown - where the exit led - was packed with the party crowd.

I took out my cell and called Gina.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey it's me."

"Oh hey, what's up?"

"Nothing really, hey listen do you want to go to a club tonight?"

"Is that seriously a question!? Of course!" She asked Julie if she wanted to go, but she refused, claiming that she 'didn't like those dingy clubs'. "Which one?" Gina asked into the receiver.

"Meet me at Ultra, I here it's easy to get into."

"Okay, I'll be there in ten."

We hung up and I found a parking spot. Screw Aaron! I said to myself. I don't need him or Nick! Tonight, I'm going to forget all about the damn Carters and have fun.

What - what am I saying? Its not their fault their mom is a bitch. I'm mad at her, not them. I don't wanna end up doing something I'll regret.

I picked up my phone again and dialed. Again.

"Hello?" Gina answered again. "We're still getting ready."

"Well stop. I changed my mind."

"What?"

"I don't want to go out, I hope its okay." I sighed. "I think a girls night in will do me some good."

"Sure." She said. "We can catch up on whats been going on with you!"

~An Hour and a Half Later~

As we sat on Gina's bed, I told them everything, from the kiss, to Jack and Tony kidnapping Aaron, to the gonhorrea. Not to mention, the recent Ms. Spaulding incident which led me here.

"And all this happened since the other day?" Julie asked, amazed. I nodded.

"Okay, enough drama talk, lets watch a movie!" Gina turned on her TV and DVD player and the movie started.


~An hour later~

'Luke, I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.'

'What does that make you to me?'

'ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!'

I was laughing so hard, I was crying for the bazillionth time in the last few days. A movie like "Spaceballs" can do that to you.

After the movie we were all laughing our asses off.

"[Dark Helmet]'Well what about him?'" Gina quoted. "[Col. Sanders] 'He's an Asshole too, sir.'
[D.H.]'How many Assholes do we have on this ship??'
[Entire ship]'YO SIR!'
[D.H.]'I knew it, I'm surrounded by Assholes.'"

We all started laughing again. This is exactly what I needed, it's a good thing I got over my anger, but I was still a bit mad at Nick for letting his mother do that to me in his own house...and at the same time I couldn't blame him or Aaron for not standing up to her...she was one scary mom.

'That I don't know what I'm doing anymore
I'm feeling like a little girl
Caught up in emotions
I'm out of control
Isn't it obvious?'

I heard my cell ringing (though just barely) over our laughing. Signaling Gina and Julie to keep it down I answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Amy! Thank God you're okay!!" It was Aaron.

"Let me guess, your mom is gone," For some reason I was still a little mad at him.

"Yeah..." he sounded ashamed. He paused for a minute as if trying to figure out what to say. Then he started ranting "I've been trying to call you for the past two hours, but you haven't answered any of my calls. I must've left you like fifty messages. I've been worried sick, I heard someone pull out of your driveway and I looked out the window and saw you speeding down the street so I called your house your dad said you weren't home and he thought we got into a fight, and he had no idea where you were. Your mom is worried too. I was trying to think of where you'd be, I tried to call Gina and Julie but they didn't answer either. So I thought you must be at a club with them and I was trying not to think of what you'd be doing at the club but I did anyway and I-"

"Aaron!" I inturrupted. "Breathe!" I heard him take a deep breath and I continued. "We didn't go to a club. I wanted to at first, but I changed my mind," I heard him let out a sigh before going on, "I've been at Gina's house in the basement, Julie's here, too, and we've been watching a really funny movie and talking and stuff, I couldn't hear my phone."

We sat there for another few seconds before he said, "Amy...I'm really sorry about my mom. She's never really liked my girlfriends but this is the first time she's ever been all out rude to one," he had adopted the ashamed tone once again and I could picture him running his fingers through his hair, trying to think of what to say. "I was a total ass...I should've been by you, but I just sat there and let her talk about you and insult you and embarass you...I'm so sorry. But if it helps, I started getting really edgy after about an hour of calling and you not picking up, and then my mom called you something and I just totally flipped on her. I just started yelling at her to stop talking crap about you and that you were my girlfriend and-"

"BREATHE!" I reminded him again. "Look, I'm sorry I worried you. I'm going to head home now. Just come on over when you see my car, if not, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"No, I'll wait."

"Okay I'll see you soon then, love you bye." I hung up and got out my parents' keys. I said bye to the girls, and started the drive home.

~Ten Minutes Later~

As I pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, I saw Aaron standing on my doorstep, a big bunch of flowers in his hand.

"Flowers mean 'I'm sorry', right?" he asked, handing them to me.

"I have no idea..." I looked at the colorful bunch, "But they're beautiful." I kissed him on the cheek. "You didn't have to do this."

"Yeah I did," he said looking at the ground. "I'm really sorry."

"Now that you've apologized for the thousandth time, it's my turn to say sorry."

"You have no reason to be sorry."

He put a confused look on his face and I explained, "I didn't peel out of my drive way because I don't know how to drive. I knew you'd hear it and would get worried. That's why I did it...and when I had first wanted to go to the club...I wasn't exactly planning on 'being good.'"

His expression went from soft to a bit grim. "So if you had gone to the club, you would've..." he trailed, probably wanting me finish the sentence.

I sat down on my front step and said, "If I had gone to the club I probably would've had a few drinks and grinded with a bunch of guys. But I would've never cheated, no matter how pissed off I was."

Relief washed over his face, "That's good to hear." He sat down next to me and took my hand in his. Looking up at the sky he sighed. "Mom's really pissed at me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." he kissed my cheek and squeezed my hand. "Its not your fault. I wasn't gonna let her keep insulting you, I shouldn't have let her start in the first place. I wasn't gonna lose you because of her."

The light next to our front door went on and my dad opened the door.

"There you are," he said. "We've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry I didn't call or pick up my phone. I was at Gina's and we were watching a movie."

He nodded and saw that Aaron and I were holding hands. "Everything alright now?" he asked.

I looked at Aaron and smiled, "Yeah, never better, Dad."

"Good." Dad replied. "By the way, are you planning on going to school tomorrow?"

School. Duh. Completely forgot again. "I don't know..."

"You don't have to, you've had a lot going on these past few days." Dad added.

"I'll let you know later, okay?" I told him. He nodded and walked back inside the house. "So..."

"So..." Aaron repeated.

"Your mom's not coming back tomorrow?" Please say no, please say no...

"I doubt it..." He sighed again. "I think Nick said something to her about going out to surprise BJ and Leslie after I blew up at her. I wasn't listening at that point."

"Oh. Sorry." He smiled and kissed my lips.

"We need to stop apologizing so much..." I nodded in agreement, and we both started laughing.

We sat there for a little longer, still hand in hand. I didn't want to go, but if I did decide to go to school tomorrow, I needed to get some sleep.

"Aar, I gotta' get to bed," I said regretfully.

"Oh, right," he said getting up and stepping off the step. "Uh..I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Definately," I said with a smile. I walked over to him and he just kinda' stared at me. So I whispered, leaning in to get right next to his ear, "This is the part where you kiss me goodnight."

I backed away and he shuddered. "Okay, goodnight," he gave me a quick peck on the cheek and turned around to walk back to his house. What the hell? I watched him quickly walk back to his house and he started jogging when he got to his lawn.

I went back into my house feeling a bit dejected. I wonder what that was all about. I said goodnight to my parents and when upstairs to sleep. Maybe I should go to school tomorrow, I thought. So I set my alarm to its usual time and got in my PJ's. I wonder how much I've missed.

~At School the Following Morning~

I saw Julie and Gina standing around my locker and quickly approached them. "Hey," I greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Not much." Julie answered, hitching her backpack higher up.

"Just waiting for you." Gina continued, "What's up with you?"

I shrugged, opening my locker and depositing most of my heavy textbooks in. Julie gave me a look after I slammed the door shut again.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

I looked at both of them through tired eyes. I hadn't been able to get much sleep yesterday. The loud noise made by some band down the street didn't help much either.

"Have you guys talked to Aaron lately?" I finally asked.

They looked at each other again. "Noooo..." Gina finally said.

"Why would we?" Julie started walking with Gina to class, and I jogged to catch up.

"So what's up?" Gina asked. "Trouble in paradise?"

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "We were talking last night and everything was fine. Then when I told him I had to get to bed, he practically dashed for his house," I sighed, frustrated.

"Well, maybe he just had to pee....REALLY BAD," Julie said, trying to make me feel better.

I gave a very dry laugh, "Maybe." But something in me hightly doubts that.

"C'mon," Julie and Gina called, grabbing my hand on each side. "First period teacher's gonna be a real bitch if we don't get there in time."

With a laugh, I raced with them to class.

~Afterschool~

What a day. Between the awkward stares and the whispers in the halls, I'm more than happy to be home. I got out of Dad's car and looked across the street to see if Aaron was home. No one was in the living room, and Nick's car wasn't in the driveway. I hope everything's okay...

Just in case, I better call Aaron. I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed his number as I walked up to my room.

Ring. Ring. "Hello?" Aaron answered.

"Hey baby!" I said cheerfully. "Feeling better?"

"Than what?" he laughed.

"Than last night."

"Oh uh, yeah," he answered. "Sorry about running off like that."

"I thought we agreed that we needed to stop apologizing."

It was meant to be a joke, but he didn't laugh. After a minute of silence I realised it was probably because he wasn't paying attention.

"Listen, I have homework," I lied. "I just wanted to see if you were feeling better. I guess I'll catch you later."

"Mmhm, yeah. Bye," he hung up.

"What is going on with him?" I asked myself, burying my face in my pillows.

My dreams entwined themselves with real life happenings, from the experience with Jack and Tony, to my fight with Aaron...

I woke up and looked at my clock, it read 6:24 in bright red numbers.

My stomach growled and I went downstairs to see if my parents were cooking anything. All there was was a note from my Dad.

---

Mom and I went out for dinner. We were going to invite you to come along, but we decided you needed your sleep. Call my work cell if you need anything.

Love,
Dad

---

Why is everyone leaving me alone lately? It's like I have some disease or something... Oh yeah, I sorta do.

I glanced all around me, wondering what to do. Of course I could just go downstairs and rummage for something edible to eat, but I didn't really want to eat alone. I could just do homework or something and wait until somebody comes over here, but come on. Homework?!

A sharp tapping against my window, like the sound of pebbles being thrown at it, broke into my thoughts. My body tensed up, still remembering the week's past events.

What now?

I went to the window and looked out. The boy standing on the ground was handsome, he looked familiar, but I couldn't place a name or where I'd seen him before.

I opened the window and popped my head out, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm Kyle, I sit in front of you in Algebra," That's right, he's the smart guy in math! "Uh... I'm friends with Julie. She gave me your address."

"Oh right," I had no idea Julie knew him! "Just let me come down stairs, meet me at the front door."

I opened the door and just like I asked, he was standing there. "Come on in," I greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go grab a bite to eat?" he asked in an adorable tone, he had really nice hair too, which was always a plus.

"Uh, sure, I was actually just thinking about eating," I said with a smile. "Let's go." After writing a note for my parents, I threw on some shoes, grabbed my wallet and we were out the door.

"So, how did you come upon trying to break my window at 6:30 in the evening?" I asked as we walked. According to him, the place we were eating at - Black Rabbit - was only a couple of blocks away, so we decided to walk it.

He blushed, his cheeks turning pink. "Well, I, uh, see you at school, but you never talk to me, and I thought it'd be nice if we could and you know, eat."

I grinned. "Eating's good."

He laughed nervously, "Yeah, very good."

"Are we meeting anybody there?" I asked.

"Uh... No. I thought it would be nicer if it was just the two of us... I could call a few people though, if you want."

"Nah, it's cool," I said smiling to myself at how adorable this guy was. "I was just wondering."

We walked in silence for a bit before I asked, "So how is this place, the Black Rabbit right?"

"Uh yeah, it's great. One of my favorite restaurants."

"So what kind of resturaunt is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, is it like Italian food or a bar and grill or fast food, you know, what type of restaurant is it?"

"Um, it's kinda a 21 and under club, but at the back there's a place like a restaurant, that like serves, like, fries and steak and stuff." he turned even pinker.

My curiousity rose as I surveyed Kyle's apparel: Abercrombie blue striped button up and faded demin jeans. His blonde hair and big, bright, blue eyes had added into the adorable appeal. I wouldn't have thought that he'd go clubbing, much less take me there for dinner. He looked the type to ask a girl out for study sessions at the zoo.

"Oh, cool," I said. He was at least six or seven inches taller than me, about Aaron's height, and he had a nice build.

I must've been staring because he turned bright red when he noticed where my attetion was, my body responded by turning my cheeks their own shade of pink.

We came up to a building, "This is it," he said. "Do you want to dance or eat first?"

"Uh, let's dance," I smiled at him and, for once, he didn't blush, he just smiled back.

Leading me into the building with a warm hand, we flashed our ID's to the bouncer, and started to dance to a remix of "Graduation Day" by Head Automatica, which was playing on full blast.

We danced for a while. Every type of song imaginable was played, fast, slow, and everything in between. My cell rang a few times, but I ignored it. It's rude to answer your phone when you're dancing with someone...isn't it?

It felt strange, dancing with somebody I'd barely even spoken too, but it felt kind of nice.

But like most nice stuff and people, it had to end.

I really had to go pee.

"Hey," I shouted to be heard above "Shake Ya Tailfeather", "I gotta go use the bathroom!"

He nodded, pointing in the direction of my right. "I'll go get a table for food!" He pointed to the back, where I guess the restaurant was located.

As I was sitting in the bathroom stall...

'My heart is beating from me
I am standing all alone
Please call me only if you are coming home'

My cell phone rang again, it's vibrating nearly making it fall out of my pants into the toilet bowl. God forbid that would happen.

"Hello?" I mumbled gruffly.

"Amy? Where are you, I've been looking for you." Aaron's voice showed a mixture of anxiety and disapproval.

"Um, I'm out with a friend," I said.

"Julie or Gina?" he asked.

"Actually, it's this one guy from my Algebra class."

"A...guy?" he asked.

"Yeah a guy! His name's Kyle, he stopped by my house earlier and asked if I wanted to grab a bite at this place called the Black Rabbit-"

"You went to the Black Rabbit with another guy?!"

The accusing tone in his voice was starting to tick me off. "Yeah, and is there anything wrong with that?"

Silence on the other end, then, "Amy. I thought we were .. you know."

"We are! Kyle's just a friend, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I gotta go... I'll talk to you later."

I went up to the sink to wash my hands and said, "Fine! So do I, Kyle's probably waiting for me to get back so we can order." I snapped my phone shut, pissed off that Aaron would jump to conclusions like that.

I went to the resturaunt and found Kyle sitting alone in a booth. I thought about sitting next to him, but decided that I'd stick to across.

"What wrong?" he asked when he saw the aggrivation in my face.

"Nothing, I just got an aggravating phone call."

"Who from?"

"Um, my boyfriend." I decided on going right out and being almost. Leading him on was not going to turn out good.

I reached over the table and tapped his hand, "Kyle. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lead you on."

"No, no you didn't," he said trying his best to keep cool. "Uh, is he back from your home town?"

"No, he was the first person I met when we moved here. He's my neighbor."

A smile cracked on his face, "Oh well, then I had a disadvantage."

I laughed, and nodded.

"I'm just curious, if you had met us both at the same time-or around the same time anyway-would you still have picked him? Or do you think I'd've had a shot?"

"Well, first impression, would go to him. But you take the cake on first date, I really like this place." He grinned, obviously happy with my answer.

"Are you two ready to order?" A waitress asked, getting out her notepad.

"Um, I dont really know anything here," I grinned sheepishly.

"I can order for you if you want." Kyle returned my grin when I nodded.

As he told her our orders, I happened to glance through the door connecting the restaurant to the club.

Oh shit.Aaron.

Son of a pirate, I was so gonna get it.

Kyle was talking about the new movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean", oblivious to my new... situation.

Aaron, wearing a dark hoodie and khaki cargo pants, casually strolled in, as if he didn't know exactly where I was. As much as I loved him, I knew that if his bullshit were food, he'd be able to wipe out a quarter of world hunger.

Out of the corner of my eye, while keeping my face towards Kyle, I saw him fake surprise at finding me there, waving and walking towards us.

"Amy! Hey."

Aaron spotted us through one of the windows that seperated the dance floor from the resteraunt. He made his way across the dance floor, smiling at a couple of girls as he passed them, I pretended not to notice.

"...Amy?"

"Huh? What?" I snapped back to what was going on. "Sorry," I said giving him an apologetic look.

"It's okay," he said.

"He's here," I said looking down at the menu in front of me.

"Who?"

"My boyfriend, Aaron."

"Ooh, where is he?"

"Out there on the dance floor."

Kyle didn't say anything, probably because he was trying to look for Aaron. "What's he look like, there are a lot of guys out there."

"He's blond, dark hoodie, cargo pants."

Kyle was quiet again. "Uh...Amy, I don't see anyone like that."

I looked out again and he was gone. "Where'd he-"

Someone cleared their throat at the aisle end of our table. We both turned our heads to see Aaron standing there with both hands in his pockets and his hood up so you couldn't quite see his eyes. I buried my face in my hands. Here we go.

"So you think it's fun to go sneakin' around with other guys' girlfriends huh, Kyle?" he said, spitting Kyle's name.

"Whoa, wait a minute, when I asked Amy out, she never told me she had a boyfriend."

Aaron turned his glare on me, "You didn't?" he sounded mad now. "Why the hell not?"

"Because I thought that it was possible to have guy friends too, but apparently not!" I slid off the booth chair and turned to Kyle. "I'm sorry he ruined our night. Do you think I could get a rain check?"

He looked at Aaron and then back to me, "Definately."

"Thanks Kyle," I gave him a quick hug before adding, "I'll make sure the waitress cancels our order."

I could tell Aaron didn't like the rain check idea, but I was glad Kyle was willing to give me another shot at being his friend, even after leading him on.

After I found our waitress and cancelled our order I walked out of the resturaunt and straight through the dance floor, ignoring a few cat calls.

When I got outside and started walking home I heard someone shouting after me. I turned around to see Kyle running in my direction.

He caught up to me and said, "Is he always like that?"

I smiled, "No, but then again, I've never really done anything with any other guy, except his brother," when I saw the look on his face I quickly added, "In terms of hanging out."

We both laughed and kept walking. A black SUV sped by us, Nick's.

"What've I done.." I said, meaning it to be more to myself then Kyle.

"Look, that guy can't tell you who to hang with and who not. You did the right thing, and he knows it, that's why he's mad."

"Thanks," I said stopping and giving him a FRIENDLY hug.

"Hey, that's what friend's are for," he said returning my hug.

We walked to my house and he came with me to the door, leaning on the jam as I tried to find my house key. He was probably closer than necessary, but I wasn't about to say anything. Chances were that Aaron was watching us like a hawk and he deserved a little anxiety after the stunt he pulled tonight.

I found my key and opened the door. Then I got a great idea.

"Hey! Just because Aaron ruined our night out, doesn't mean we can't have a night in. You wanna' watch a movie?"

"As tempting as that offer is, I can't. I really need to get home."

"Oh, okay. Another time then."

"It's not that I don't want to, but I have to be home by eight to watch my little brother."

"Aww how old?"

"Seven."

"How adorable!" I said, I loved little kids.

"Maybe you could help me watch him sometime, I'm sure he'd love you."

"Oh I don't know, I'd have to ask my Warden," I said laughing at the semi-unfair reference to Aaron.

He laughed, "Oh, of course. Wouldn't want to get in trouble."

"No definately not."

We laughed together for a second and he looked at his watch, "Well it's been fun, but I seriously need to get home."

"Okay I'll see you later."

"Bye," I watched as he ran down the steps.

I closed the door aa he disappeared from my view from the dorrstep. My parents still weren't home yet, they'd probably gone shopping. They usually did that after they went out to dinner.

I sat down and turned on the TV. Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I called.

Aaron walked in. He looked upset, confused, and frustrated. I noticed it was the same expression I wore at school this morning.

"Amy..." he sat down next to me and took my hand.

I looked at him, in his eyes, and saw a look I didn't like. "What's going on?" I asked.

"I just want to know who the hell that guy is and what happened at the club."

I sighed, it wouldn't hurt to let him in on what's going on. "His name is Kyle Shepard. He sits in front of me in Algebra and he's really smart and really nice-"

"And really good looking," Aaron added, in more of a jealous way than anything else.

"Yeah, but he's got nothing on you," I said, kissing his cheek. "All we did was dance, nothing dirty, just friends dancing, that's all."

"Good," he said giving my hand a squeeze. "I'm-"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence with 'sorry'!" I yelled playfully.

He smiled and looked down at his lap. "I was gonna' say 'I'm too sexy for my shirt,'" he took off his hoodie and tossed it aside, revealing nothing but skin. My pulse quickened.

"Oh really," I said.

"Yeah," he moved in closer, making me lay down on the couch. "And I think you are too," he started unbuttoning my shirt - even though it was only a Polo and the bottons didn't even go half way down the shirt.

He crawled on top of me and gave me a deep kiss. Reaching down he started to take off my shirt, but I stopped him.

"We can't do that now, remember?" I whispered.

He sighed, obviously he hadn't remembered, "What the hell! I freakin' hate that guy." he kissed my neck, then my cheek, and then went back to my lips. "We can still do this right?"

"Yeah," I said going back for another kiss.

We were at the making out point when I heard a car door slam. "What was that?" I asked him.

"Nothing, baby," he said, going in for more.

I pushed him off, "Shit! My parents! Hurry upstairs!"

We bolted upstairs as fast as we could to hide Aaron.

"Amy! We're home!" My dad called. "Hey...who's sweatshirt is this?"

"Aaron's!" I called, walking downstairs. My dad raised his eyebrows at me. "He let me borrow it." I continued.

"Oh." Dad said. "How was your night?"

I shrugged. "Alright. I pretty much just slept."

"Have you eaten?" I shook my head.

"Thank goodness for doggie bags, then!" Mom interjected, carrying a white plastic bag with what I assumed was leftover food. I grabbed the bag and started walking upstairs.

"Thaks! I'm gonna eat in my room! Goodnight!" I called as I kept walking. "Finally!" I sighed as I leaned against the back of my door.

"Whats that?" Aaron asked, nodding at the bag.

"Dinner." I answered simply.

"Oh. Wanna take a break?"

I nodded as I sat down on my bed and opened the bag. Italian! But damn, I need a fork... "I'll be right back, I forgot a fork..." I trailed off. I hurried downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a fork unnoticed, then quietly headed back upstairs.

'Oh, my beating heart wants you
And my empty arms need you
Don't you go, please stay
And never try to send me away'

"Amy?" Aaron asked as I walked back in. "Your phone is singing."

I got onto my bed and picked up my blinking and um, singing phone. "Hello?"

"Amy! Hey!" Julie said.

"Hey!" I greeted, balancing the phone on my shoulder as I ripped open the package of semi-cold pasta. "What's up?"

"Uh, I dont know. What's up with you?"

"Um..." Wow, thats quite a loaded question. "I was just about to eat my dinner..."

"Oh, I won't keep you busy, then! See you tomorrow!" Click. Just as I was about to apologize.

"Who was that?" Aaron asked, digging into the plastic tray of pasta with bare hands. I smacked him playfully and handed him a fork. He made a face at me, sticking his tongue out. Haha, I love that tongue!

"Guess."

"Kyle?" Aaron made a face when he said his name, but was it out of disgust or jealousy? Neither of which he had any reason or right to feel towards Kyle?

"Nope!" I smiled, watching him try to think of who else would be calling me. "It was Julie." I laughed.

"What did she want?" Aaron asked, his mouth full of pasta.

"Nothing, she just called." I answered, digging into the pasta with my fork.

"For no reason?" Aaron's face was apparent with amusement. "Interesting."

I smacked him playfully again. "You are SO sick!"

"Why am I sick?" he said, confused.

"Ugh..." I rolled my eyes. "I'm too hungry to explain." Digging my fork into the leftovers, I paused before putting the fork in my mouth. Unlike my boyfriend, I don't talk with my mouth full of food. "Um, Aaron... One more thing."

"Yeah?" He answered, not even looking up at me as he ate my dinner. Hey, isn't there food at your house??

"My parents don't know you're here." Not that its a big deal, I just want him to know...

"Haha, I hope not," Aaron said. "Otherwise you be in a lot of trouble."

He stuffed another fork full of food into his mouth. "When they go to sleep, which will probably be soon, you can sneak back to your house."

"Aww, do I have to?"

"Yes, you have to. You can't stay here all night. If they saw us together in the morning or saw you or whatever, I'd get in a lot of trouble. It's not that I don't want you to stay over for the night, it just that you can't. Maybe sometime Julie or Gina could cover for you and you could spend the night at my place," he said putting aside the now empty leftover tray.

He leaned in and kissed me, I kissed back, and pretty soon we were back to what we'd been up to downstairs. Until someone knocked on the door...

We released our grasps on each other, but not soon enough.

"Aaron?" My Dad's incredulous voice broke through the air. Nick and Mom were behind him, watching us curiously.

"Uh, hi?" Aaron shrugged meetly, practically throwing me across the bed. Dude, I know that we didn't want them to see us groping each other, but its a little late for that.

"What are you doing?" my dad asked accusingly, pointing at both of us in general.

"Uh, we were just eating." I pointed to the empty tray of food carelessly thrown to the ground in our mad snogging frenzy.

My mom giggled, "It looked like you had finished eating and decided to move on to another activity."

I laughed nervously and whispered to Aaron, "I think that's your cue to leave..."

"Yeah, I do too.." he got up and slinked past my dad, blowing me a kiss goodnight from behind his back. My mom stiffled another laugh.

"Goodnight, Aaron!" Dad called. "And I noticed that!" he added.

"Goodnight, Mr. Sean!" I heard Aaron shout. Nick laughed as he stood in the doorway.

"Goodnight, I'll see you all tomorrow." He said, waving to me as he followed his brother out of the house.

"Remember what we talked about, honey." Mom said. I nodded, and she dragged Dad out of my room before he could say another word.

That was close...

~The Next Morning~

I woke up and found my mom sitting on the edge of my bed. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

"Mornin'..." I yawned.

"Uh... can I help you?" I asked her trying not to sound too rude.

"Uh, no, I'm fine," she said brightly, obviously missing my sarcasm.

"So I'm guessing you just like smushing your daughter's legs at..." I squinted at my nightstand clock through bleary eyes, "6:45 in the morning, huh?"

"Well, I was coming in to wake you up. I was assuming you were planning on going to school today."

"Well, I kinda had a hard day yesterday..." That was an understatement. I was about ready to punch the next person who looked at me and whispered something. I didn't even want to know what everyone had heard, I really didn't care. I can only imagine this is only a percentage of what Aaron, Nick, and their sisters had to deal with all the time.

"So you don't want to go?" Mom asked. I nodded. "Okay... I'll call the school. See if your friends can pick up your work again, okay?" I nodded again, and she left my room.

Once she was out of my vicinity, I let my head drop down onto the soft cushiony folds of my pillow, sighing. I really have to go to school sometime, or else I'm gonna be like the worst student of the year.

A small thud sounded against my window, followed by another, and another. Not again, I groaned as I crawled off my bed and walked over to the window.

"You're gonna break my window!" I yelled, wrenching the darned thing up and sticking my head out of it.

A small pebble hit me square on the forehead.

"Sorry!" The guilty party shouted. I looked down and Kyle was standing there. "Thought you'd need a ride to school."

"Thanks, but I'm not going today." I replied.

"Oh..." He frowned. "Well, I hope you feel better."

"Thanks! See you around." He smiled and waved goodbye as he walked away.

Kyle, Kyle, Kyle. I quickly glanced out the window to see if Aaron was anywhere near the windows or front yard, but the house was seemingly empty.

"Kyle! Wait!" I called after him, he stopped mid-step and came back.

"Maybe I will go in, now that I'm up I mean," he gave me a coy look before I went to get dressed.

Phew! This kid doesn't get it does he? I'm taken. Case closed. Then again, he doesn't seem to care about that... or does he? As I got dressed, I thought about it. Things were finally good again for me, did I really wanna risk it?

"Actually," I called out the window to him, "I'm starting to feel sick again. Sorry... Maybe tomorrow."

He grinned, "Okay. See ya later, Alligator."

I left the window and cruised back to my safest place to...sleep: My bed.

But then a thought hit me.

What the fuck? Alligator? Who says that?

Before I closed my eyes and went back to sleep, I called Julie an asked her to pick up my work for me if she could.

"Sure! Feel better, Amy." She replied.

"Thanks. I will. Bye." Click.

Aaron walked over to me across the red aisle of Target, dressed up in fancy black and white apparel, and stooping before me.

"Amy, will you marry me?"

I woke up shivering, yet I was covered in sweat. What was that? Breathing fast, I tried to recover the meaning of that dream. What did it mean? Don't these kinds of dreams mean the opposite of what they look like? I think my brain is moving a little too fast, here... I'm 17!

Maybe I just need some breakfast, I thought to myself as I went downstairs. When I got into the kitchen poured myself a bowl of Reese's Puffs. Mmmm.

'Oh I can't wait to get next to you
Oh I just can't leave you alone
Boy you stay inside my mind ain't no denyin' that'

My phone rang just as I sat down to eat. Damn.

"Hey!" Aaron said on the other end of the line.

"Hey what's up?"

"Nothing, I guess you aren't going to school?"

"Not today."

"Awesome, you should come over then."

"Don't you have work to do today?"

"Nah, I can take the day off when I want to." Liar, I can hear him smirking from over the phone.

"Oh?" I said coyly, spooning the cereal quickly into my mouth.

"Yeeppppp," Aaron drawled out in a very long, long syllable. I smiled as I walked upstairs, where I shrugged on my Taking Back Sunday hoodie. Well, I need sunshine, I told myself guiltily. "Soo, how about it? You can come over, we'll pop in a movie and promptly ignore it while trying to top last night."

"You do remember I have 3 days left to go on my antibiotics, right?" I asked as I walked out my front door.

"Yeah, I know, I'm counting down the days," he said with a sigh.

I kinda' felt bad, but at the same time a little nervous...he was taking things pretty fast...

"Aaron," I said, walking across the street - of course after looking left and right - and standing on the doorstep. "I have something to tell you."

Aaron opened the door right one cue, took my hand, leading me into the living room.

"What?"

"I'm sorta a virgin. Not counting what happened with Jack." I confessed.

"Oh." He said. Oh? That’s it? That’s all? Oh?

"My point...I have zero experience...none, nada," I said as we went over to the couch. Wait a minute! The couch !?

"I understand..." he replied, kissing my cheek.

"So, um, what do you usually do on days off?" I asked.

"I like to bang!" Aaron cried melodramatically.

"Aaron!" I said reproachfully, playfully hitting his arm again.

"You know I was joking baby. I'm all eyes for you." He kissed my cheek again.

That made me thinking about his fans... most of them girls...

"Aaron..?"

"Mm hmm..?"

"How many of your fans are girls?"

"Probably like ninety-seven percent. Why?"

"Oh...uh, just wondering." I stared at my lap, not wanting to make eye contact with him.

"Why are you staring at my lap?" Aaron asked, smirking.

I threw another punch at him, laughing. "Gosh, you better watch your mouth!"

"I don't want to..!" he sounded like a child that did want to do what he was told.

"I'm not gonna ask you what you want, because I want to watch the movie" I said in the same childish way as he had said it

We decided to watch Wedding Crashers. Aaron put in the movie and came to sit close to me.

His arm felt warm and a bit shaky as he laid it over my shoulder, but I dismissed it as we watched Owen act crazy on the TV screen.

But halfway through the movie, it was still shaky, if not more.

"Aaron, you okay?" I asked.

He raised his eyebrows. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, you're just sorta shaky."

"It's nothing," he dismissed it evasively. "I'm just a bit sick."

He doesn't look sick, I though to myself. "What’s wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You said you where sick…"

"It's nothing," he said again, but I didn't buy it.

Even as we continued watching the movie, his arms became shakier and shakier, his breathing shallowly constricting, until I grabbed the remote and switched the TV off, turning to Aaron.

"Aaron, what's wrong? Do you need some water, or medicine or something?" I grabbed his hand and looked into his brown eyes. Even they became lighter.

"It's nothing," he slurred. He became paler.

"I'm gonna go call Nick," I said, rushing upstairs to go find him.

I found Nick in his room, watching TV.

"Nick something’s wrong with Aaron!" I said, getting scared.

He turned off the TV and hopped out of his bed, "What is it?"

"I don't know, but he's getting really really pale."

Nick just ran past me and down to the living room.

Once we got downstairs, Aaron was slumping over on the couch. Nick sat on the couch and looked at him, his eyes were half closed.

"Aaron... Sit up." Nick tried to help him steady himself, but it didn't work.

"I'm-I'm..." Aaron trailed off.

"You're what!?" Nick half yelled, obviously scared.

"I'm...I'm...." was all he said.

"That's it, Amy, call 911," Nick ordered. "Tell them to send a rescue."

"I'm FINE!" Aaron forced out. "I'm just hot."

That didn't surprise me seeing as how he looked like a giant tomato.

"That’s all, you're hot." Nick stated. "Right. Amy, just to be sure, call for an ambulance."

"Already calling..." I trailed off, my phone to my ear.

"Don't..." Aaron said. "I'm fine, seriously."

"Will ya stop sayin' that?!?" Nick exclaimed. "You're obviously not fine!"

AT THE HOSPITAL

"Those white walls are going to drive me crazy!!" I cried to nick.

"I hear ya," Nick said as he sat down beside me.

Nick and I sat there for a little while. Just waiting.

"I hope he's okay," I said, worried.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, maybe it was just a fever. I just didn't want to take any chances." He looked at me and sighed. "Try not to worry so much," he started rubbing my back, trying to get me to calm down, which I appreciated very much.

"Thanks Nick."

"I got here as soon as I saw the note." Angel said, out of breath after running down the hallway. "What happened?"

"He started shaking and sweating," I started.

"And he said he was feeling hot, so I told Amy to call an ambulance. I wasn't gonna take any chances." Nick finished.

"He’s been in there twenty minutes." I added. I moved over to let Angel sit down next to her brother.

"So, they haven't told you anything?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. Nothing. Damn it."

I fell silent, and the door across from us burst open, a doctor, dressed in all white, came out wearing a worried expression.

Something is wrong with Aaron, was my first thought

"Mr. Carter?" he looked at Nick.

“Yeah, um I'm his older brother," Nick stood up from the chair.

"It seems that Aaron has contracted some type of virus. We won't know exactly what it is until we get the test results back from our labs."

"How long will that take?"

"Unfortunately I'm not sure. It could take anywhere from an hour to three days," the doctor said, shaking his head.

"Well, how bad does it look?" Angel asked, her voice was shaking.

"Well, he doesn't look bad right now, we were able to stabilize the symptoms with some anti-biotics. For now anyway."

Angel nodded, now she was going a little pale. I can't imagine how she feels right now. I thought to myself. I can barely stand it myself and I haven't even been with Aaron for a month yet. Angel's spent her whole life with him. They've gone through everything together-including being born!

I put an arm around her, just to show her she wasn't alone in this. She leaned on my shoulder as a stray tear fell from one of her saturated eyes.

"What do you think's going on?" she asked tearfully.

"I dont know." I answered truthfully. What was going on?!

"You and Aaron didn't...you know, did you?" she suddenly asked after silently sobbing onto my flooded sweater.

"No....we just -" A frightening possibility raced through my mind, and I grabbed the bottom of the hospital chair for support.

"Just what?"

"Kissed...You dont think that would have anything to do with it, do you?"

"It couldn't have been," I said-admittedly more for my own benefit than Nick or Angel's. "I mean, in health they always say that kissing can't make you catch anything...besides Mono anyway..." They both glanced at me and I quickly added, "Which I do not have!"

I took my arm off of Angel's shoulder and Nick put his around mine. "Everything’s gonna' be okay," he said quietly, giving my shoulders a squeeze.

"I hope so," Angel and I chorused.

A nurse came through a pair of swinging doors to our sides and came up to us. "Are you the party waiting on a Mr. Aaron Carter?"

We all stood up immediately, "Yes we are," Nick said.

"Well, he's asleep right now, but you're free to go in and see him."

"Which room is his?" Angel asked.

"Room A 147. Just through those doors and to your right."

"Thank you," she said and led the way-pretty quickly-to his room, scanning every door on the right.

We finally got to his room and we walked in. He looked so peaceful sleeping. Nick and Angel took the two chairs and crowded the available side of his bed (the other side had his IV stand, TV tray, and a little draw, probably meant for long time residents) so I just stood back and let them have time with their younger brother. About ten minutes went by and everything was fine...until she came.

Mrs. Spaulding came charging through the door. "Where's my little boy!" she said, shattering the nice silence we had going on. Her expression went from half fake concern to hate when she saw me. "What are you doing here?"

"I just-" I attempted to explain, though I don't know why.

"I don't care, just leave," she waved a hand at me and turned her back.

"Please, Mrs. Spaulding, I'll be quiet-"

"Why is it so Goddamn hard to ever get you to just leave!? I swear I may as well be speaking to a wall. It's probably your fault he's here in the first place," she mumbled something about me being a 'filthy' something or other.

"Mom-stop!" Nick said standing up. "That's not fair; she deserves to be here, just as much as you or me. If she hadn't been with Aaron-"

"AH HA!" She exclaimed, was she always this loud? "See?! She must've done something!"

Aaron began to stir and his mom rushed toward me and actually pushed me out the door. I stood there for a minute just crying. How can one person hurt me this much? Oh wait, Jack can do it too. I walked out of the hospital and took out my cell phone.

"Hey, Julie...I need a ride."

"Why? Where are you? Is everything okay?" She quizzed.

"Because my ride here can't take me home, the hospital, and no..." By the time I got to "no", I was sobbing. I sat myself down in one of the chairs we'd been sitting in before.

"Excuse me..." A girl with blonde hair asked me as she walked up to me slowly. "Can you help me? I'm looking for someone."

"I don't work here, sorry..." I trailed off, sniffling.

"What?" I half-heard Julie ask while I ignored her for a moment.

"Well, maybe you've seen her - my mom - blonde hair, black jacket, really upset-"

"Les!" Another blonde girl called out as she rushed over to us. "Where'd Mom go?"

"Wait, Leslie?" I sat up straighter suddenly. "Are you Bobbie Jean?" I asked the other girl.

They both nodded. "Yeah..." Leslie said suspiciously.

"I'm Amy. Aaron's-" I paused. Should I really say it? Ugh, forget Ms. Spaulding. "I'm Aaron's girlfriend. He’s right this way..." I got up and started leading them down the hall, forgetting about Julie. "I'll call you back, Julez..."

I closed my phone and opened Aaron's room door for them, letting them walk in while I held it open. "They were looking for you guys, so I figured I'd help them out. I'll see you guys when you get home, I guess..." I said, looking at Nick and Angel and avoiding eye contact with their mom.

"Don't count on it!" Ms. Spaulding shouted back at me after I'd already walked away from the door.

"Mom! Stop! I mean it!" Nick exclaimed.

"She seemed nice, Mom..." I heard Leslie say. At least I made a good first impression on someone...

I dialed Julie’s number once again and waited for her to answer.

"Hey. Again."

"Hey yourself... What was that about?" Julie asked.

"Aaron's sisters, the ones I hadn't met..." I trailed off, once again sitting in the chair in the hall.

"What about them?"

"They were the ones I was talking to, I just met them, they were looking for him..."

"Wait, back-up a second. Aaron's in the hospital?!??" I explained everything that happened today, forgetting she wasn't there to see it all firsthand. "Oh my G- I'll be right there to get you." Click.

As I got up from the chair and began to walk to the front of the building, someone grabbed my shoulder and tried to turn me around. "Wait!" the mystery person exclaimed as I turned around.

I looked up and saw Nick with a sad expression on his face when he said, "Amy, I can't tell you how sorry I am..."

"Don't be sorry Nick, it's not your fault she, for some unknown reason, hates my guts...God knows you did more to help me out than Aaron when she and I first met," I half-joked, trying to wipe the sad look off his face, it was adorable and kind of sexy... Oh no! Not this again! My shoulder angel said. You are NOT going to start that, no way, nuh uh, no how!

I'm not trying to! I retorted mentally.

Girl, have you LOOKED at that boy lately?! The shoulder devil said as it too popped up. He is pretty hot.

He's our boyfriend's BROTHER! The Angel said half screaming...man I seriously need to get help...

I must've been staring at him because Nick said, "Uh...Amy...are you okay?"

"Huh, oh what?" I said snapping back to reality. "Yeah I was just um...thinking."

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh...I'd be lying if I said 'yes,'" I said with a grin.

He let out a sigh and smiled, "You're really somethin' else, you know that? Anyway, Aaron's up...well sort of, he still really groggy. But he keeps asking for you. Mom tried to tell him that you'd left cuz you got bored-"

"WHAT!?" I accidentally yelled, and was reminded by several nurses to keep it down. "Sorry," I whispered to them.

"She tried to tell him that, but Angel actually stood up and told Aaron the truth. He can obviously understand us, cuz he asked my mom to leave."

"He did?" I asked.

"Yup, and that's when he started telling us to find you, when I told him you were probably gone by now, he begged me to check just in case. So uh...here I am."

I picked up my phone and called Julie back, "Sorry Julez, I don't need a ride after all."

"Okay, keep me updated."

"Yeah, bye." Click. "Come on, lets go." I said to Nick as we walked back down the hall.

"Hey..." Aaron said wearily as we walked in the room.

"Hey." I replied.

"I'm glad you came back..."

"So am I."

I went in and stood behind the chair that Angel was sitting in. Aaron lifted his hand, tiredly, and reached toward me. It took a second and a nudge from Nick, for me to realize what he wanted. When I finally did I took his hand.

"Uh...can you guys give us a second alone?" Aaron asked in barely a whisper.

They all nodded and left the room. "Amy, I'm sorry..."

"What did we say about saying sorry?" I said, smiling. "And you have nothing to be sorry for, you're sick and you didn't know your mom would do what she did." I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"She’s going home now... We won't have to worry about her harassing you anymore."

"Well, that's good to hear," I said. "Did you ever get a chance to ask her why she hates me so much?"

"I did, but all she said was 'because she's a witch that just wants you for you're money,' but I know that's not true," he said giving my hand a light squeeze.

"How are you feeling now?"

"A little better, thanks to the medicine, but I feel like I just ran a 10k or something...I'm totally drained."

"Can I get you anything?" I asked.

"No I want you to stay right where you are."

Nick poked his head in the room. "Can we come back in?"

I nodded and he opened the door, letting his sisters in before him. I guess chivalry isn't dead.

We sat there for a couple of minutes. Nick had gotten comfortable sitting on the floor with his back up against the wall. BJ and Leslie were both standing, and Angel and I had the chairs.

The door opened and a doctor came in holding a clip board, "Good news," he said. "The virus that Aaron has isn't a serious one so long as you get help in time. He'll be weak for a while and need antibiotics, but he'll be just fine in a week or two. However, just to be safe, we'd like to keep him here overnight."

Nick had stood up when the doctor walked in the room, he went over to shake the man's hand and said, "Thanks Doctor."

"You're welcome." He said, before leaving the room.

"I have to stay in the hospital." Aaron pouted, speaking to nobody in particular. "By myself. Alone. In a square room."

"Well, technically it's sorta rectangular shaped," I pointed out, teasing him.

He gave me another pout. I walked over to him and kissed his forehead, almost shivering at how warm it still was. "But then you'll be better."

"Sure, sure," Aaron rolled his eyes playfully. "Whatever."

I saw from the corner of my eye that his sisters were smirking at each other, and once again, I thought.

What was it with these Carter smirks? Was it hereditary or something?

We sat around, all of us, just talking until around 8 when Aaron's nurse came in and told us that visiting hours were over. She said that ONE person could stay a bit longer with Aaron. A unanimous vote decided that Angel would be the one to stay.

BJ, Leslie, Nick and I said our goodbyes and walked to our respective cars. Nick started his SUV and we began the short trip home to continue a very VERY long day.

"Thanks for the ride, Nick," I smiled when Nick stopped the car with ease and let me out.

Nick blushed.

“Hey Amy!" he called when I was half way up my front walkway.

"Yeah?"

"You wanna' come over and watch a movie. And I don't know about you, but I'm starving, we can order some pizza," he said sounding almost...hopeful?

"Uhh...Yeah sure, that sounds great!" I said. "But I have to take a shower first."

"Oh yeah, same here. I'll call you okay?"

"Okay, it's a date," I said with a wink. Nick blush deepened and he quickly pulled into his driveway.

*After Shower*

I pulled on my favorite band t-shirt, one of The White Stripes, and proceeded to zip up my pants and walk to the bathroom.

What to put on, what to put on?

I surprised even myself at thinking such a thing? Why would I even have to worry about that? Nick's Aaron's brother, for Pete Wentz sake. But I want to look nice! I thought indignantly.

I put on an outfit that was comfortable, but still looked good. It was a pair of flare bottom jeans with a black t-shirt that had a Superman logo on it and it complemented all the right spots.

I'd just finished drying my hair when my cell rang, "Hello?"

"Hey," Nick said.

"Hey!" I said excitedly.

"I'm out of the shower, so you can come over whenever."

"Okay I'll be right there," I said. "What movie are we watching?"

"You can decide when you get here."

"Okay be over in a sec. Love ya sweets," I said in a voice that resembled my Aunt Marge's.

Whatever Nick was drinking he promptly spat out, "Wh-What!?" I could picture his bright red face.

"I'm just messin' with you!" I said laughing. "I'll see you in a minute."

"Oh," he said, sounding relieved. "That's good. See you there."

I smiled and clicked off the phone, making sure everything in the house was all fit to leave before walking out the door to Nick's house.

I knocked on the door nonchalantly.

Nick opened the door 1 second later, leaving me suspicious that he had been waiting right inside the doorway on the inside.

I looked at him and gasped.

Oh my fucking damn shity-assed-make-me-hate-you gosh. Nick was shirtless. And looked good.

Nick caught me staring at him and looked down, blushing. "Oops. I guess I forgot to put on my shirt in my hurry."

I blushed even deeper, partly ashamed at what I was thinking. "Um, yeah. Sorry about that."

"No worries," Nick said as he retreated back into the house. I followed him silently screaming at myself for agreeing to come over. "I'm gonna' go grab a shirt, why don't you pick out a movie?"

"Sure," I said. He smiled (Damn him!! ) and ran upstairs. I went over to the movie rack and looked at the selection.

Hmmmm....let's see. The Notebook, White Chicks, Closer, Wedding Crashers, The Fog, Sixth Sense, American Pies 1 and 2, American Wedding, Starsky and Hutch, The Dukes of Hazard, OH! Final Destination 3!! I haven't seen that yet!

I took FD3 from the rack and sat on the couch. I waited for another minute before calling to Nick, "Are you sure that all you're doing is getting a shirt?"

Seconds later he came down the stairs two at a time. He hopped over the back of the couch, landing almost on top of me.

"Whadya' pick?" he asked cheerfully. He took the movie, "Good choice."

"Did you call in the pizzas yet?"

"Sure did. They should be here soon. Do you wanna' wait for the food, or start the movie now."

"Uh...would you mind waiting? I haven't seen that one yet and I don't feel like pausing it to have to get pizzas."

"Yeah that's fine with me," he said. "Soo, what do you want to do for the neeext..." he took a quick glance at his watch and finished, "twenty minutes?"

"I don't know, but I need something to keep me awake," I said, trying (without success) to stifle a yawn.

"Well, I just dumped the last of the coffee, and we're out of soda..." he got up and went over to the fridge. “So basically we have. Milk, water, beer or vodka."

"Ah, what the hell, get me a beer."

He gasped, "But you have to drive home!" he joked.

"Don't worry, you can be my designated driver," I replied grinning.

"Oh heeeelll no!" he grabbed two Bud Light's from the fridge, opening both and brought them over. "For you," he said handing me a bottle.

"Thank you kind sir," I said with a fake British accent.

"A toast," he said raising his beer. "To us. Friends till the end."

"I'll drink to that," I said tapping his bottle with mine.

After drinking three or four bottles, I was as drunk as the Santa in the mall at Christmas time.

Your walls are really shiny," I pointed out, grinning amusedly.

Nick gave me a strange look. "Are you drunk?"

"No, I'm with the funk!" I shouted, slapping him playfully in the air.

"Okaayy," Nick said, grabbing the beer from out of my hands, "I'm going to get you water so we can sober you up."

He came back with the water and sat down next to me. "Here," he said. "Drink this."

I took a few sips of the water and put it down on the table. I turned to face Nick, "You look so sexy in that shirt you picked out and the cargo shorts you're wearing," I thought to myself...or so I thought.

His eyes went wide, "Wh-Wh-What?"

Suddenly I just got this wild urge to kiss him. I leaned closer and pushed him into the couch cushion. Straddling his legs I leaned in and kissed him. Nick's eyes opened wide as I continued what I was doing. And he contributed back. Things heated up a bit and Nick ended up on top of me, just like Aaron. Nick getting a shirt was pointless, because it was on the floor now anyway.

The doorbell rang and Nick jumped so high, he fell off the couch. I giggled as he went to answer the door.

"That'll be $10.45," a guy said. Nick handed him a twenty and shut the door.

He dropped the pizza on the coffee table in front of us and we went back to what we were doing. In the back of my mind, I seriously knew I shouldn't be doing this. This was wrong. This was bad. This was Aaron's friggin' brother!

I pulled him off of me, despite my body telling me not to. "Nick. I can't do this. This is wrong."

He looked at me with sad eyes. "I know," he said in an ashamed voice. "But all this time, ever since that kiss..." he trailed off.

"'Ever since the kiss...' what?" I pressed.

"I just... haven't been able to stop thinking about it... About you..." he shook his head in dissappointment. "I'm such a goddamn ass."

"No you're not," I sat up and put a reassuring hand on his back. "The same thing's been happening to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, out of like 8 dreams I've had since then, one was about him, and the other seven..." I let his imagination finish what I couldn't quite admit. "But I love him...and now..." a tear came out of no where and fell from my suddenly moist eye. "I've done the worst thing I could possibly do." He gave me a hug and I hugged him back. Why is my life so damn complicated?! "And this whole cycle's gonna just go over again," I voiced, letting go.

Nick nodded. "I know what you mean. Damn, Amy, but I dont know what to do. You're my little bro's girlfriend. I love Aaron to death, but I'm starting to think that I love you too."

I looked down at my black flats, mixed emotions running through me. "I know. I love Aaron more than I've ever loved a guy more in my life, but then... There's you... And I keep thinking about you."

"Amy, I -" Nick started, but was interrupted by the noise of a key straddling the lock of the front door.

"Oh fuck," he mumbled. He made to jump up and go somewhere, preferably far away, but the person at the door was in the room before he could do so.

Oh fuck, I thought, copying Nick's exact words. Ms. Spaulding.

"You!" she snarled, pointing a dangerously sharp pink nail and finger at me, "You! You whore, I knew it!"

I bit my lip as she came closer. Her eyes darted from Nick to me, back to Nick. I suddenly realized that I was shirtless too, my skimpy black bathing suit top totally conspicious.

"Mom, don't-" Nick began, but was interrupted.

"No, you shut the hell up!" Ms. Spaulding snapped, now extricating her finger from my direction and pointing it at her oldest son. "I can't believe you would betray your brother like that. I expected better than that."

"Mom. What are you talking about?" Nick demanded, a drop of sweat forming on his upper lip.

"Don't play dumb with me!" she shouted, now stomping her foot and advancing even closer to me. "I saw you out there from the window, I stood there for a good twenty minutes, I saw you!"

Oh shit. "You don't understand..." I trailed off.

"Oh, I understand perfectly!" She exclaimed.

"No, Mom, no you don't." Nick said angrily.

Ms. Spaulding was near hysterics now, and each second passed with her almost running towards me. I stood stock still, shocked at being, dare I say, caught, and still inwardly feeling ashamed.

Grabbing her advantage, she grabbed my hair and looked around for a weapon to use on me. Her eyes fell on the remote.

"MOM! Let her go." Nick was trying to stay calm. Moments later, Leslie and BJ appeared in the doorway.

"Mom?" Leslie asked, more out of confusion than because she didn't recognize her own mother. "Whats going on?"

"I caught them!" Ms. Spaulding exclaimed.

"Please, Mom," BJ started, walking towards her mother.

"You didn't see what I've seen going on here!" She sounded like a raving lunatic. None of us noticed what Nick was doing.

"Ang?" Nick asked the person on the other end of his phone call.

"What are you doing?" Ms. Spauling asked her oldest son.

"Don't worry about it." Nick stated. "I'm taking care of this." Nick walked out of the room, and Ms. Spaulding let go of me as she followed Nick out of the room. "NO! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU THINK YOU SAW, BUT I'M SICK OF YOU TREATING AMY LIKE THIS!"

"What happened?" BJ asked. I guess we were going with the "it never happened" thing. Ms. Spaulding's attempt to bludgeon me to death had actually helped sober me up.

"She barged in here calling me a whore and raving about how she'd caught us." I explained.

Nick stormed back into the room, phone still up to his ear. "All of your kids should get to hear how crazy you sound right now."

"I know what I saw!" Ms. Spaulding insisted.

"Apparently not!" Nick retorted. "Hold on." He put his hand up to silence his mother, and was listening intently to the happenings on the other end of the line. Pressing a button on his phone, he took it away from his ear and we could all now hear what was going on. Thank goodness for speakerphones.

"Mom?" Aaron said. We could all hear he was tired, and I knew this was the last thing he needed right now.

"Aaron, honey, go back to sleep." His mother told him.

"I'd love to, but I can't until I know you're gonna leave my girlfriend alone."

"But Aaron-"

"But nothing!" I could hear Angel telling him to calm down. "I'm sick and tired of you doing this all the time. Now you're trying to drag Nick down, too? I can't take it anymore." He paused to take a deep breath. "I don't care what the others decide to do, I want you to leave me and my girlfriend alone. I love ya, Mom, but I have to do this."

As she looked around, she noticed all of her children giving her the same confused and disappointed expression. "Fine. I've only wanted whats best for you kids. I love you all." She said, making sure not to look at me until she'd reached the doorway, then giving me the meanest look I'd ever seen anyone give anyone else ever in my life. I sighed with relief as I heard the door slam loudly behind her and watched her drive away quickly in her car.

"Amy, I'm sorry you had to be around for this." Aaron said, still on the phone. ("Me too!" I heard Angel chime.) "I love you."

"I love you, too." I said, hoping he heard me.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." He said. I could hear his smile.

"Goodnight, Aaron!" Leslie called. We all chimed in to say goodnight to Aaron and Angel before Nick hung up.

"Well," BJ said, stretching her arms, "I've had quite a day, so I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight everyone."

"Me too." Leslie added. "Goodnight." Nick and I nodded to them, and they walked upstairs.

"I should go." I said.

"If you want..." Nick trailed off.

"Nick, I know a lot has happened over the past few days, but really, you're one of my best friends and you're my boyfriend's brother. I appreciate what you've done for me and I'm glad we're friends. I hope you feel the same way."

"I do... I don't know what came over me."

I looked across the street and saw that my parents had shut off the lights in the living room. "I should go home, its been a crazy day." I hugged Nick. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I was relieved as I walked out of Aaron's house that I wouldn't have to worry about his mother coming between us anymore. Or his brother.


~At Home~

I lay in bed, desparately trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't; My mind was buzzing with humiliation, with being ashamed of myself, of being terrified for Aaron would do when he found out. Again.

I sat up from bed and grabbed the nearest object, throwing it hard against the wall in my frustration. Why do I have to be the cheating, scummy girlfriend! Why couldn't I be faithful? I love Aaron... What is wrong with me?

A light tapping sounded at the door, and I held my breath, hoping nobody would come in. I didn't really want to talk to anybody right now. The tapping occured again, and again, and finally when I couldn't take the incessant noise, I gave in. "Come in."

"Hey, Honey." Mom said, walking in and sitting on the very edge of my bed.

"Hey Mom," I said, doing absolutely nothing to let out the obvious stress in my loud sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"Stuff. Things. Life." I replied, grabbing the pillow behind my butt and smothering my head with it, as if to smother life itself.

"What happened?" she asked.

So I told her everything. Well, except what happened with Nick.

"Oh, honey, it'll be okay." She gave me a hug.

"I know..."

"When you see Aaron tomorrow, tell him I hope he gets better soon." she said as she got off the bed.

"I will. Thanks, Mom."

"I love you, honey."

"Love you too." She smiled at me as she closed the door.

I sat in bed for a few more minutes, thinking about everything that had happened today. Then, I realized something:

I only end up feeling that way about Nick when something bad happens! First, my mom gets sick and I kiss him, now Aaron's sick! Wow, lots of sickness lately. Lets hope that ends soon. I felt better having had my revelation, and felt myself drift off to sleep...

~At School the Next Day~

I walked up through the glass doors of my school and instantly perked up at seeing Julie and Gina in the hallway, reading some magazine. They'll make me feel better somehow.

"Gina, Julie! Hey!" I called, jogging over to them. I stopped dead at the disgusted looks they gave me, the way they walked the opposite way away from me. What the fuck?

The same thing happened the whole day during school, people giving me dirty looks, saying things like, "Eww, get away from me whore" "Slut" "Gross", and going out of their way to avoid me.

Again. What the fuck?

I was relieved when we finally reached AP Chemistry, the last class of the day before lunch. Everybody was acting so strange today. So weird.

But Ms. Rinkla just HAD to ruin it, didn't she?

"Lab partners today! Pair up! In ten, nine, eight, seven..." she announced, counting down the seconds. Anyone left over, got to work with her.

And nobody wanted that.

As I predicted, nobody rushed over to me, not that I expected them to, but nobody even looked at me. I was going to be stuck with Ms. Rinkas. Great.

"Hey," somebody spoke up behind me. I ignored whoever it was, they were probably just talking to somebody else or going to make some snide remark about my infedelity.

"Hey," the voice came again. I turned around and was almost estatic when it was Kyle. He couldn't be mean to me, right?

"Wanna be partners?" he asked, grinning a shy smile.

I instantly accepted.

We set to working on how to construct a something or other, chatting quietly about school, the weather, food....

"Kyle? Can I ask you a question that you can answer honestly?" I asked after we finished making the concoction and had already made the lab write up early.

He nodded.

"Do you know what's going on today? Everybody's all being so...." I trailed off, thinking for the right word.

"Different towards you?" he filled in.

I nodded.

He gave me a sympathetic look, then pulled out a magazine out of his backpack, a Star magazine.

"Local Teen Playing Carter Boys - Both of Them!" it read, plastering a picture of me walking yesterday with Nick, and a picture of Aaron and I playfully canoodling the other day.

I let out a loud groan. Great.

"Is it true?" he asked. "Not that I really care."

"They don't know what they're talking about. The picture of me and Nick was of us walking to his car in the parking lot of a hospital! Someone we know was sick and we went to see him. I'm with Aaron."

He looked me straight in the eye with his serious blue ones. "Are you sure."

I dont know what made me do it, but I sorta stuttered out my answer. "Yes, I - I'm sh...sure."

He looked me over for a second, then smiled. "I believe you." he sighed. "But, why were you kissing his brother the other day?"

Ugh!! When will everybody forget about that? "My psychotic ex came into town, he pretended to be my boyfriend so my ex would leave me alone, but he didn't buy it, so Nick kissed me..."

"So there's a lot of stuff going on." Kyle gave me another sympathetic look, which was starting to annoy me even though I knew he was trying to be all nice about it.

"Anyways," I drawled, trying to change the subject. "Any lucky ladies in your life right now?"

He blushed.

"Theres one I like..."

"Do I know her?"

"I think so."

"Oh really..."

"Shes in a few of my classes..."

"Hmm..." I pretended to be thinking. "Kyle, I told you, I have-"

"-I know. I was talking about Julie."

"Ohhh," I said with a smile. Then I sang, "You got the hots for Julie."

"Shh!" he put up one finger to his lips. "Not so loud!"

I grinned, coming up with a plan. He suddenly went a little pale and asked, "Why do I not like that look in your eyes?"

"What's not to like?" I said, still smiling. "This smile is the first step to you getting a great girl."

"Amy, please don't. You know how shy I am around most girls." he pleaded, an adorable pout on his lips.

I just gave him a coy smile. "Don't you worry about it."

"Not to be mean, but she was avoiding you like the Plague today." Kyle pointed out. Please don't compare me to the Plague...

"I know." I sighed. "I'll try and call her later."

"If you talk to her, please don't tell her what I told you..." he pleaded.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." For now...

"So buddy, what are you going to do lunch?" I asked, tipping my chair back casually.

"Eat. Why?"

"I dont want to make you feel like a last resort, cause you really were my friend before, but like everybody hates me right now, and I was wondering if I could eat with you."

"You sure you wouldn't rather eat alone? I mean, everyone already thinks you cheated on your boyfriend, wouldn't being seen alone with another guy only make it worse?"

I thought about it. "Well...how can it get much worse?"

"It can." He breathed a wistful sigh. "Trust me"

Curiousity killed the elephant.

"I guess you're right..." I glanced up for a moment and looked at Julie, who must have caught my reflection in a test tube or something cause she gave me a quick - and disgusted - look back.

"It'll blow over. I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right..."

And so I ate my lunch alone, in the library, with only the mousy haired librarian's eyes boring into my back for company. Whoop-dee-doo.

~After Lunch~

I tried as hard as I could to bury my face in my locker while grabbing the books I was gonna need. I jumped as my phone rang.

'Where there's smoke you'll find a mirror
It's over-rated
I've watched it fade
So please don't give in
Don't forget what you believe in
It's over-rated'

"Hello?"

"Hey..." Aaron said.

"Hey!" I said. "Feeling better?"

"A bit... how about you?"

"I was, until I got to school..."

"Why, what happened?"

"Everyone's treating me like a lepper or something." I tried to keep my voice down, I didn't need anyone hearing my conversation. I closed my locker and found a private spot under some trees. I looked around to make sure no one was hiding anywhere: I was alone. "Kyle's the only one who'll talk to me - hes not interested in me, by the way - and he showed me a copy of Star magazine, accusing me of playing you and Nick."

"Oh." I raised my eyebrows at his answer; His tone sounded too hollow for my liking. "When's school going to let out?" he asked abruptly.

"I have one more class to go." I answered truthfully.

"Are you going to come visit me? I get out today."

"Of course I will, baby," I said.

"That's good," he said.

"Uh-huh," I agreed absentmindedly.

"Uh...are you busy? Cause you sound a little... occupied..."

"Huh? Oh, what? Sorry," I said. "A whole group of people just walked by... I didn't know looks could be that mean... Or scary..."

"I wish I could be there with you."

"Its okay, I'll have my dad drive me over to see you when he picks me up."

"Alright. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye." Click. I sighed as I walked back to the heavily populated area, where I was apparently un-popular. I looked at the time on my cell, and started to walk a little faster to make sure I got to my last class on time.

~Afterschool~

"Thanks Dad, you know, for picking me up." I gave a half-smile to my dad as I belted myself into the car. "I really appreciate it."

Truth was, I was sort of dreading it. I didnt trust myself.

He gave me a smile back, but his was tinged with worry. "It's no problem, Amy."

I smiled back, before settling back into the cushion of the car's seat, hoping for a good nap, hopefully one lacking in dreams of people calling me a "God damned whore."

"Amy." my dad suddenly said, turning on 5th street. "Can we talk?"

"Sure Dad," I said, slightly uncomfortable. Did he know?

"I know these past few days have been hard for you." Dad said as he kept his eyes on the road. I nodded self-consciously.

"I just wanted you to know your mother and I are here for you no matter what." I nodded again. "I assume you wanted to go visit Aaron?" Another nod. Dad smiled as he made a right turn.

"I like that bloke," he said after a moment.

I gave him a look. Bloke? "Bloke?" I asked.

Dad laughed. "What, not cool?"

I shook my head. "No. Not cool." We pulled into the parking lot and Dad stopped in front of the entrance to the hospital.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Nah, I'll go home with Aaron."

"See you later, honey." Dad said, rolling down the passenger's side window after I'd gotten out of the car and waving goodbye to me as he watched me walk inside. What, like I was gonna run off somewhere else or something?

I looked around as I walked down the hall towards Aaron's room. I'll be all too happy to never have to come here again.

"Amy!" Aaron cried once seeing me enter the doorway, sitting up immediately in bed. I giggled at the disarray of his hair.

"Hey..." I leaned over and kissed his cheek. I looked up when I heard giggling: it was Angel and Leslie.

"Thats the happiest he's been all day!" Angel said.

"Except when he heard he was gonna get to go home today." Leslie added.

"That's right!" Aaron chimed in, "I'm going home!"

"Was this place really that bad that you wanted to go home so badly?" I asked.

"Well, the place wasn't that bad...I guess, but," Aaron gave me a grin and started singing:

"Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home"

I kissed his cheek. "Now you know how I felt the other day when I left this place."

"Of course I do," he replied cheekily. I swatted him playfully again.

Just then, the doctor came in. "Well, you seem to be in good spirits." he said.

"Of course," Aaron replied with yet another wide grin, wrapping his arm around my waist as best as he could while still on his bed. I stiffened. "I'm going home!"

"So I've been told." The doctor joked. "I'll just need to do a quick check-up, then you'll be good to go."

"Aww man. I hate check ups."

"I just need to make sure you're still alright to go home." The doctor insisted, as I got up from my seat next to Aaron and left the room slowly with his sisters.

"So Amy, you glad Aaron's coming home?" Angel asked with a smirk once we were outside Aaron's room. I looked at her, to see if she had already mentioned anything to Aaron. What would she go for? Blood or friendship?

"Of - of course I am!"

"Me too. I'm glad we're finnaly getting away from this place."

"Yeah. I hope it sticks this time."

"Any plans of what you're gonna do with Loverboy once he gets out of this place?" she asked. I tried to summon up the powers to make her smirk vanish, but came up blank.

Darn. "Not really..." I looked back at his room door, hoping any second the doctor would walk out, tell us Aaron was fine, and let us take him home.

"Aaron's fine!" the elder doctor announced, stepping out of the hospital room.

Whoa. That was fast. I smiled and rushed in to Aarons room. When he's out of the hospital, there is a big chance that he will find out about me and Nick... Shut up! I told myself. Play it cool.

"I'm glad you're okay." I kissed his forehead.

"Yeah. It's not that bad anyways. It's better than having an accident surfing, ya know? Sharks don't like me." He gave me a distinctive look. "Ya know?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

"You do?" his face lighted up quizically. "Well, tell me about it girlfriend!"

I laughed. "Well, not really, but you know what I mean."

He frowned. "Oh, I was hoping to hear an exciting story."

"Darn it. I'm a bad girlfriend, aren't I?" The words formed and popped out of my mouth before I realized it, and I tried to not smack myself on the head.

"No." Aaron smiled gratefully back up at me. "You're the best girlfriend. Ever."

"I'm not too sure about that..." I trailed off.

"Why not?"

"My recent history hasn't exactly made me seem like a good girlfriend..."

"The past is in the past, Amy." He squeezed my hand. "I love you, and I know you love me. Thats all we need."

~Back at Home later~

"Mom!" I bellowed up the stairs. "What in the world are you doing?"

"Just putting away some laundry, honey." she walked down the stairs. "So, Aaron's home now?"

"Yep." I tossed my bag onto the couch. "I'm gonna head back over there, I just wanted to let you know where I was."

"Okay, honey." Mom said as I walked out the door and across the street.



Ding Dong!

"Who is iittt?" somebody on the other side of the door asked in a sing-song voice.

High pitched, but then again, the whole family could probably do that tone.

"It's George Bush."

Silence.

"Really?"

My jaw nearly dropped open at the person's convincingly dumstruck tone.

"No. It's Amy."

Aaron opened the door. "Much better."

"You should be resting."

"I was waiting for you."

"Why?" I raised my eyebrows suggestively.

"So I can beat your ass at video games!" he shouted gleefully, grabbing my hand and leading me towards his room.

What fun. At least we'll both be distracated.

"So, how are Julie and Gina?" Aaron asked, keeping his eyes on the TV screen.

"I wouldn't know, they're not talking to me."

He paused the game. "What? Why not?"

"I told you, everyone at school read that article. The one that said that I was playing you and Nick."

He frowned. "But they're your friends, they should've talked to you about it..."

"I know, you should be telling them, not me..."

"Well...maybe I'll talk to them later," he said hesitantly, snatching his eyes off the screen and glancing at me.

I was reluctant. "Well, maybe..."

"Whassa matter? You don't want me to talk to them or something?" he asked. Damn him, he just killed my ninja turtle.

"I kinda do...but then they're gonna think that I made you do it, or I can't handle it myself...."

"Amy, baby, they're your friends...or should be anyways. Don't worry about it, mkay?"

"Okay," I agreed half-heartedly.

Damn him again. He blasted my turtle to eternal darkness.

~Ten Minutes later~

Moments after my victorious rematch, my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Kyle said. "Whats up?"

"Hey Kyle. Nothing, hanging out with Aaron."

"Sounds cool." Aaron gave me a warning look.

"Can you hold on a sec, Kyle?"

"Sure."

I put my hand over the phone. "He doesn't like me, Aaron, I told you."

"How do you know?" Aaron asked.

I sighed. "Swear you won't say anything?"

"Who am I gonna tell??"

"He told me he likes Julie."

"Oh. Sorry."

I took my hand away from the phone. "Sorry about that."

"You haven't talked to Julie, have you?"

I frowned. "No, why?"

"No reason."

"Kyle..."

"Okay, she called me up, and she was mad. Wouldn't say why. Maybe because I was talking to you today?"

"What?" I felt my face flush. "Why would she get mad? You have the liberty to talk to anybody you want!" I didn't mean to raise my voice's decibel level, but it came out that way anyway.

"Sorry..I didn't mean to make you mad..." he said timidly.

I took a deep breath. "No, I'm not mad at you..."

"Good." I heard a sigh. "I'm sorry this is happening to you."

"I'm sorry it is, too."

"I'll talk to you later, kay? My mom is soooo making me do the laundry right now." He clicked off.

I smiled, thinking about him doing laundry.

"What are you smiling about?" Aaron asked curiously. His face was all sweaty and flushed, his hair matted. If I'd known he'd look that way after every time I win him at video games, I would of played...

"I wonder what it would look like if you did laundry." I commented.

"Oh?" Aaron looked amused.

"Yeah."

"I'll show you," he gave me a sly smile and led me into the laundry room.

I smiled as I watched him folding clothes ontop of the dryer. But I looked up when I heard the door open. I saw Angel come down the stairs, and she seemed surprised.

"Oh my God, he must be sick! He's doing chores! I'm gonna get a camera..." she joked, laughing as she walked upstairs.

"Grrr." Aaron growled at his twin's retreating back. "I'm doing this for you, babes."

"Aww..." I stepped over the laundry baskets on the floor and sat on top of the dryer, laying a kiss on his forehead.

"How're you feeling?" I asked.

He squinted his eye for a second. "Um...good!"

"Lets go, you've proven your point." As we walked upstairs, we were met by Angel, who was standing at the door with a camera.

"Damn! Too late..." She walked away, looking discouraged, even though I could swear I heard her giggle...

"Whatever Carter!" he called back.

We walked into his room. Cluttered, messy, and distracting is what I would call it. Definitely.

I had to step over at least 6 different piles just to go sit down on his bed. Ah...I love you, bed...

"So what do you want to do?" Aaron asked, sitting down beside me.

"Don't you need to rest?" I asked, avoiding his question with a question of my own.

"I already did for all those days at the hospital!"

"Wasn't that like, only a couple days?" I teased.

"Yeah, well...Let's play a game!" Aaron bounced off the bed and started rummaging around in his gigantic closet in the adjoining room. I was amazed - and slightly appalled - at how much energy he had.

"Another game?"

"Yeah, I wanna beat your ass again." He looked up from his quest and gave me a smirk.

I made a face at him playfully. "Now what is it with you and beating my ass?"

He slapped a thinking look on his face. "Well, if you really wanna know..."

"I think I get the idea."

"No really, I'd be happy to show you."

"No really, its okay. Besides, you can't yet remember?"

He frowned. Again. "Yeah, I remember." He went back to digging through his closet.

"You're not mad, are you?" I asked.

Hmm... Watching Aaron from behind while he digs through his closet isn't that bad a view.

"Nope," He said, still digging. He looked up after a few moments of silence. "Enjoying your view?" I nodded. He sighed as he stood up and sat on the bed empty-handed. "We could always just play another video game."

"Sounds good to me."

~Ten Minutes Later~

He was still sweating. I gave up on my conquest to win him on the game since he was so obviously going to win, with his Viper 3 laps in front of mine. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He said, smirking. "Beating you at video games takes a lot out of me, believe it or not. I know it doesn't seem like it, but-" His sentence was cut short by my lips pressed against his.

"I love you." I said once I pulled away.

"I love you too..." he trailed off. "And that was nice..." He kissed me again.

I went to rest one hand on his chest and noticed his shirt was soaked, I pulled away and reached up to touch his forehead, he was burning up. "Aaron, why don't you go lie down, I'll get you a cool face cloth and something to bring down that fever."

"Yes mother," he said jokingly.

I smacked him lightly in the shoulder and went down the hall and into their main bathroom to look for the things I needed. I went into the medicine cabinet and looked for some kind of fever reducer. Just then I remember that he was on antibiotics, so I went downstairs and read the label. Take two tablets twice daily. I took two tablets and grabbed a face cloth and soaked it with cold water.

I went back into Aaron's room and saw that he had fallen asleep on his bed. Oh god, I thought to myself. What if he blacked out again? I went over to him as calmly as I could and ran my hand through his damp hair. "Aar?" I asked worriedly.

He groaned and opened his eyes, "Hey baby, do you have that face cloth?"

I gave a mental sigh of relief, "Yeah, here it is," I folded the cloth in half and put it across his forehead. "That better?"

"Not really," he said. He sat up and took his shirt off, he reached for his fly, but hesitated. "You don't mind do you? I mean, I have boxers on, it's just too hot for pants..."

"No go ahead." He took off his jeans and tossed them, along with his shirt, to the ground. I helped him sit up and he took the medicine. "Go back to sleep okay. Call me when you wake up." I stood up, but Aaron grabbed my hand.

"No..." he said. He sounded really tired and weak. "Theres something I need to tell you." Oh God.

"What is it?" I asked. This can't be good.

"I'm sorry, Amy, I should have told you sooner..."

"Told me what?" He began to fall asleep again. "Aaron... What should you have told me sooner?"

He stopped abruptly and ran his clammy fingertips over my cheeks. "I don't want to tell you...But I know I have to. I just have to."

I was getting holy worried now. What was he going to tell me? Was it something really bad? Involving his health?

"Aaron, please tell me, you're really worrying me now." I pleaded.

"That girl..."

"What girl?"

"When I went out that night after we met. The night your mom found out I went out?"

Oh yeah... "Okay, what about it?"

"The girl they saw me with..." he sounded really tired. "I hooked up with her. I'm sorry."

I nearly flinched in reply, but stopped short as the blood drained from my face.

"You did?" I asked shallowly.

He nodded, sweat pouring from his forehead. "Amy, please. We just met, I didn't know we'd have anything serious...Don't get mad, please..."

"I- I'm not mad." Liar, liar, pants on fire... "I should go, you need to rest..."

"No, stay here with me..."

"I have homework to do," I said, getting up from the bed, "Get some sleep..."

He grabbed my arm impulsively, the warm wetness of it suddenly giving me the heeby jeebies. "Aaron...I have to go," I said again, gesturing to his medicine as I pried his fingers off of me. "Take your medicine. You have to get better soon so you can ... do stuff."

"Amy, please," he begged, sitting up on his bed. His face was red with sweat. Or was it tears?

"Aaron, I can't. I know that if I stay...I'm just going to get guiltier and guiltier for what I did..." I spoke more to myself than to him, voicing my inward fears.

"Why should you be guilty? I'm the one who was bad. Bad, bad, bad!" Aaron chatised himself.

"Because I did something bad too."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, confusion heavy in his face.

I sighed as tears escaped my eyes, If you tell him what happened, it's over!! My inner self scolded. Do you really want to lose him?! "You had every right to hook up with that girl," I whispered, keeping my eyes on the floor. "We had just met and were barely even friends yet...but what I did was inexcusable..."

"I still have no idea what you're-"

"I came over here the night you were admitted into the hospital. Nick and I were just gonna watch a movie and eat some pizza like normal friends do," by now I was sobbing and it took me a minute to get the last part out. "B-but then I had a few beers and he and I..." I cut myself off with a series of sobs, sinking to my knees. "Your mom wasn't lying," I said when I had calmed down a bit. "Neither were the papers..." My eyes were still focused on the floor. I couldn't even look up at him, I was so afraid of what his expression would be. Betrayal? Hatred? Or worse, sorrow?

"Oh."

I looked up to see him bring his hands to his face, wiping away the sweat embracing his face. Hiding the disappointment.

"Aaron," I wanted to move over to the bed, but part of me also wanted to run away from this room and pretended that we never came to this conversation, that all the drama hadn't happened. "I'm sorry."

"You lied straight to my face..." he said with painfully obvious disappointment.

"I know, I'm sorry," I said followed by another sob. "I'd do anything to take it all back."

He squeezed his eyes shut as I wistfully gazed at him through glazed eyes. As if to forget it all happened, I thought melodramatically. Maybe to forget me.

"Just leave. I need time to think," Aaron said finally, his eyes still shut. "Please."

I didn't need the extra please to make me feel guiltier. I ran out of the house, tears blinding my vision.

I ran up to my room making sure to say a cheerful "Hey mom, hey dad," to my parents so they wouldn't catch on that something was wrong. I collapsed on my pillow and quiety cried for the better part of an hour. Finally the silence was broken by my cell phone ringing.

'Maybe I'll forgive you
Maybe you'll try
We should be happy together forever
You and I'

"Hey," Kyle said after I picked up.

"I'm not in a talking mood right now Kyle..." I said.

"Why what's wrong?"

I told him what had happened, everything that had happened. When I was finished he said, "Wait, so you did cheat on Aaron with Nick?!"

"Yeah, I did..." my voice was so soft, due to the shame and guilt I felt, that I could barely hear it.

"Oh," he said softly. Disappointedly. Disgustedly? No...

"What am I going to do!?" I asked myself more than I asked him.

"You apologize yet?" he asked.

"Yeah." I turned on my side so that my front vision was facing Aaron's house. A light was turned on in the upstairs bedroom - Aaron's bedroom.

"Did you tell Aaron why you cheated on him."

I shook my head.

"Amy?"

"No," I said.

"Well, why did you?"

"That's just it, I don't know...I'd love to blame it on the alcohol, but that's no excuse."

"Well, I hate to say it, but it sounds like all you can do is wait for him to figure things out on his own."

"Yeah, listen, I'm gonna' go for a walk, to clear my head. I can't stand being cooped up inside. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, see ya," we both hung up and I grabbed a sweatshirt out of my closet. It was drizzling when I was walking home and I expected it to be a steady rainfall by now. Sure enough, I was right.

I walked all the way to the end of my street and hopped a fence. After walking through a little bit of woods I came to another road. I took that road all the way to a little strip of beach, where I saw some kids were having a party.

I sat on a huge peice of driftwood that had been swept in by the tide. After about ten minutes a guy came over and offered me a small bottle of Grape Smirnoff, I knew I shouldn't have, but I accepted the drink, wanting nothing more than to just make all the stress go away.

I finished off the bottle about an hour or so later and started my walk home. I took a scenic route so I could be sure my parents were asleep and they would ask where I was and who I was with. Once I got to my street, still about 200 yards from my house and Aaron's, I looked and saw that Aaron's light was no longer on, and Nick's car was gone as well.

I walked into my house and got a pen and a piece of paper to write my parents a note.

I'm staying at a friend's house for the night. Call my cell if you need me.

Love you,
Amy

I got a backpack with a change of clothes and headed back out the door. I took out my cell and punched in Gina's number, Please don't be mad at me!! I said to myself.

"Yeah?" she said tonelessly. Great... she's still mad.

"Hey," I said, my fatique finally catching up with me. "I really need a place to stay tonight..."

"And?"

I didn't know what to say, I was embarassed and ashamed. "Nevermind," I said. "Sorry I called so late."

I went to hang up the phone before I heard a "Amy, Wait!" coming from the reciever.

"What Gina?! Can't you see that I feel like for what I did!? I had been drinking, there have been weird feelings between me and Nick from the start and what I did was just plain stupid!"

"Where are you?"

"My house."

"Wait there, I'll be there in a minute, then you have a LOT of explaining to do."

"Thank you," I said wearily. "Thank you so much."

"Sure. Be there in the front of the house when I get there. Bye."

"Bye."

She pulled up in her little Volkswagen Jetta and told me to hop in. I threw my backpack in the back and sat next to her in the passenger's seat.

"So, why don't you explain to me what exactly is going on," she said.

And that's exactly what I did. I spilled my guts out completely, I even cried when I got to the part when I told Aaron what had happened.

We pulled up in front of her house and she looked at me, "Wow, you are in way over your head this time, hun. But why don't we try to forget all that and pig out on pizza, ben and jerry's, and oreo's."

I smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever. "That sounds like the best idea I've heard all day."

"Well, duh, it's my idea," she joked.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, my friend was back.

~Later~

"So you and Julie were really mad at me, huh?" I asked, opening the pint of ice cream Gina handed me from her freezer.

She shrugged. "I think it was more like... disappointed."

"I don't blame you, I don't know what came over me."

"Well, I was talking to Julie and she brought up a very good point."

"And that was?"

"You're only a woman!" she said, half yelling. "Lord knows, if we had been in your position we'd've done the same thing! I mean, we can't exactly blame you, those boys are gorgeous."

I laughed, it wasn't til just then that I realized how much I missed Julie and Gina. "Yeah, but that doesn't justify what I did..." I dug my spoon into the perfection that was Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey. Yum.

"I don't know why I was being such a bitch though." Gina continued on, taking out a Cookies and Cream one for herself. "I guess it was because, I dont know... You were out there getting attention from these popstars... I guess I was just afraid of losing you. Well, that was half of it. Like i said, I was disappointed. I thought you'd be faithful, and I couldn't believe you'd do such a thing."

"I always thought that after my time with what's-his-face, I'd never cheat... But I guess I was wrong. I mean, it's just, when you talk about cheating it's easy to say 'I'll never do it', but when you're about to do it, saying no isn't as easy..." I took a bog spoonful and put it in my mouth.

Gina nodded as we sat down on her couch. "I get it." she dug her spoon into her ice cream.

I stuck mine in my ice cream again, but then let my head fall sideways onto the pillow. "I don't know what to do, Gina. I know I love him, but everything keeps getting in our way."

Gina sighed. "I hope everything turns out okay." She put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth and grabbed the TV remote. "Lets get our minds off of this and watch some movies."

We watched two movies - Happy Gilmore and Along Came Polly - before we were both too tired to even get off the couch.

When I woke up the next morning, Gina was still asleep and her parents had left for work. Silently thanking God it was Saturday, I walked upstairs and got ready for a shower.

When I got out Gina was awake and sitting on the couch. "Morning," I said sitting on their love seat.

"Mornin'," she half groaned half yawned.

I picked up my cell to see if I had missed any calls and it was dead. "Hey Gina, do you still have the same cell phone charger as me?"

"Yeah it's upstairs, why?"

"My cell's dead, mind if I use it?"

"No, go ahead, it's upstairs in my room; on my desk."

I went upstairs and found the charger. After I plugged it in, and waited about an hour for my stupid phone to turn on, I checked my missed calls. "Five?" I said to myself.

The first two were both my mom, just wondering who's house I was at and when I'd be home. The third was Aaron, he said the horrible words 'we need to talk' and left it at that. Fourth was my dad, wondering if I wanted to go out for dinner tonight because my mom had a late meeting. And the fifth was, once again, Aaron this time he sounded a little more anxious, but I didn't think anything of it.

I went downstairs and Gina told me she had her guitar lesson to go to, she offered to let me stay while she was gone, but I said I needed to get home anyway.

She dropped me off on her way to her lesson and I trudged in the door, the few hours of sleep that I had were taking their toll and I was exhausted.

I collapsed on the couch and lay there for a few minutes. Then there was a knock on the door and I slowly got up to see who it was...

Aaron.

"Hey..." I trailed off, leaning in the doorway and yawning.

"Long night?" he asked, sounding damn near suspicious.

"Yeah. I was at Gina's."

"Oh."

I stood up, suddenly remembering we were standing at my front door. "Come in..." I moved aside to let him in, and he walked over and sat down on the couch. I followed him and sat down on the opposite side, trying to keep distance. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen.

After a few moments of silence, interrupted only by me yawning, I finally spoke.

"I got your messages, what did you want to talk to me about?"

He sat up a bit and sighed. "I've been thinking..."

"...Which is something I know you can do..." I tried to make him smile, and got a small grin out of it. "..Sorry. Continue."

"I really don't want us to break up..." he started.

So let's not... I thought pathetically.

"...but I just don't think I can trust you..."

"I understand." I said quietly. "I wish I could take it all back." He simply nodded. I can't stand all the silence! Say something, Aaron!

"I wish none of it had happened, too." Okay, I was hoping for something a little more than that.

"So... What now?" I finally asked. Well he apparently wasn't gonna ask...

"I don't know..." he replied. "Thats why I wanted to talk to you."

"Well its not up to me, is it?" I sighed. "You know how I feel about you; you know I love you, and I never meant to put you through this. This is your decision now, you know where I stand."

"Yeah...but Amy, it's hard, ya know? I really love you, more than I've ever loved a girlfriend, but part of me wants to hate you for being so bad, so cruel, and I don't know what to do." His head fell back on the couch and I almost looked down just so I wouldn't have to see him so distressed.

I nodded in response instead.

"So what do you want to do, then? I swear I won't get mad if you just forget everything between us and pretend we never met, and just pretend that we're just...neighbors." Not really...

"Will you please stop acting like that'd be such an easy thing for me to do!!?" he sat up and said. I gave him a 'scolded puppy' look and he said, "I'd never be able to just forget about us. And if I tried to 'just forget' I'd never be able to so much as look at you without wanting to beat myself sensless for letting you go!"

"Then what?" I stood up and walked to the window, the bright window, with the bright sunshine shining through it like nothing could go wrong. "Then what?"

"Do you think it's easy for me too?" I continued on when he didn't reply, tears forming in the corner of my eyes. I wiped them away and tried to focus on a dalmation sniffing our fire hydrant instead. "I know I did the worst thing you can do in a relationship with somebody you love...But it's not easy for me too! Okay?"

I turned back to him; tears enveloped his face. "I'm sorry."

"Don't..." I began, frustrated. "Say that. You have no reason to be sorry, you aren't the bad guy here, Aaron, I am." I continued to cry as I took a seat in an arm chair on the opposite side of the room from him. I don't even deserve to sit on the same couch as him... I thought to myself, making even more tears fall. He looked at me silently, and I almost looked away until I saw a small imprint of a smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

"It's not funny!" I chatised him self-consciously, wiping away my wet, salty tears.

"I'm sor- I mean, it's just that you're crying, and I don't know... There's just something about the way you look..."

That just made me cry more. I just admitted that I'm a horrible person and I'm feeling more and more guilty by the second and he's laughing about the way I look?!

"Just go home," I said in between sobs. "Go home, forget we ever happened, and get on with your life." I got up and ran upstairs to my bedroom. I slammed the door and fell onto my bed, sobbing so much I could hardly get a breath in.

Seconds later, I heard loud footsteps running up, and the sound of my door creaking open. I looked up between bleary eyes and saw Aaron, a guilty expression on his face.

"Come to laugh at me more?" I leered.

His expression changed at the tone of my voice... "No, Amy, I didn't mean it like that okay? It's just that the way you were crying... Made you look kind of sexy, but in a weird way."

"Great," I muttered darkly, "Just great. Thanks for that, jerk."

His face looked crestfallen at my accusation. "Sorry..."

"Urg!" I fell back upon the soft folds of my bed and patted the seat beside me. He obeyed and lay down beside me. "Okay. Sorry. But that doesn't answer the question."

"I don't know."

"That's good," I rolled my eyes at the ceiling.

"It's kind of funny how we're so stressed out by this little situation," Aaron remarked from beside me. I turned my head so that we were face to face, our cheeks flat against the smooth blanket.

"What is now, Carter?" I sighed.

"I'm just trying to make you laugh. Even if we do have to deal with this kind of problem, we shouldn't do it all depressed. Anyways, when did you start calling me Carter?"

"When I finally felt like it. Gosh!" I huffed in my best Napolean Dynamite voice. "Freakin' idiot!"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Gosh! Whatever!"

He leaned in and gave me a kiss, which I happily returned.

When he pulled away his face was serious. He let out a sigh and said, "I've tried to put off asking you this, but I can't anymore..."

I gave him a confused look, "What are you talking about?"

He sat up and ran his fingures through his hair. I also sat up and took his hand in mine...he was trembling.

"Aaron, what's wrong?" I asked, worried his answer was something bad.

"I have to know... Exactly how far did you and Nick get?" he tried to not make eye contact with me, but couldn't keep it up. When our eyes did meet his were scared, but why?

"What do you mean...?" I asked, seriously not knowing what he meant.

"Sex, Amy!! Did you and Nick have sex?!" he yelled, his voice getting caught on the last word.

What do I say!? Of course we didn't have sex, but it wasn't for lack of trying... If their mom hadn't barged in when she did, who knows what would've happened... I hated the idea of hurting him with those words, but I wasn't going to lie to him anymore. As hurtful as the truth was, I knew he'd appreciate it more than a lie.

I must've thought to myself for a bit too long because when I snapped back, Aaron was walking away saying, "How could I be so stupid?! Of course they slept together! How could they not?!"

"Aaron, stop!" I ordered, my confidence coming back.

He turned to face me, his eyes unreadable, but whatever he was thinking about, it wasn't good.

"We never had sex," I finally said.

His expression softened for a second, but then got cold and unreadable again, and in an equally cold voice, he said, "How do I know this isn't another lie?"

"Aaron, look at me!!" I yelled. "I've lost EVERYTHING because of my stupid lying!! I lost my dignity, my pride....." something caught in my throat before I could force out the last part of my sentence, "...I lost you."

I turned and sank back on my bed, feeling deflated as a popped balloon. "Look, don't believe me if you don't want. Nick and I never, EVER had sex. It's up to you if you want to believe me or not."

He ran his fingers through his matted blond hair again, sighing. "Amy, look, okay. I overreacted again. I'm sorry. I believe you."

I nodded numbly. When we were going to get to the point without any more arguements?

He came and sat back down beside me. "This isn't working out the way I planned it..." he mumbled.

"No shit, Aaron. When I first asked you to help paint my room, I didn't think this would ever happen."

"Please don't get mad," he said. He cupped my cheek with his hand and turned my head to face him. "I love you. And we WILL get through this," he gave me a deep kiss.

I looked at my clock after Aaron pulled away, it was only noon, it seemed much later than that. He followed my gaze and also looked at the clock.

"What time do you're parents get home?"

"Not till six or seven, why?"

All he had to do was look at me, and I knew exactly what he had in mind. Aaron kissed me again, this time deeper and more passionately. Before long we had gotten to the point that Nick and I had left off on.

Aaron was shirtless and he was working on getting his pants off without having to interrupt what we were doing. Once that was done, we got my clothes off. Our lips only separated when we needed to take a breath...

"Are you sure you want this?" Aaron gasped, looking down at our uncovered bodies.

I nodded, caught up in the moment, before plunging back up to Aaron's waiting lips. I let Aaron's tongue ravish my own with intense force, while I thought about it deeper.

Is it really wise to do this so soon after we had just fought? I closed my eyes and waited for a few moments as Aaron ran his hands so luxuriously over my body, before going back into thought. But I love him, I thought as I mirrored his touches. I reached up and slid my finger through his, now sweaty, hair. I really do want this, I decided silently. But wait, had we covered all the bases? Door locked? Yeah. Alarm on - just in case we need a second destraction for the first of my parents that came home? Yeah. Condom? NO!

"Aaron wait!" I managed to squeak.

"What?" he asked practically jumping off of me. "What's wrong?"

I reached into my dresser and pulled out a little foil wrapped condom, I'd kept a few of them in my drawer ever since Aaron and I had gotten caught a week or so before.

He took it from me and looked at me, uncertainty heavy in his face. "Amy, are you one hundred percent positive that this is what you want...?"

"Yeah," I said, panting. "I'm sure."

~Later~

"You keep condoms handy in your room?" He teased, his eyes twinkling as he now rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Aaron," I rolled my eyes knowingly. "Sure, whatever."

He brought his head back up so that his lips were just half an inch away from my own. "What if you get pregnant?" he whispered.

I hadn't thought of that. Or the illness I'd had not too long ago; luckily I'd finished the antibiotics. "That's why we use condoms," I said closing the gap.

He pulled away, "But what if it breaks?"

"I don't know..." I said. "Do you think like that about every girl before you sleep with them?"

"No," he said. "But then again, I've never cared about a girl, before, like I care about you..." He ran a hand across my cheek. I held his hand and kissed it.

"But what if?" He whispered again, his dark brown eyes rich in the dim light of my room. I looked over to my window to make sure that my windows weren't open. After all, I'd rather not see our butts on the National Enquirer.

I kissed him, and he responded by kissing back, our tounges wrestled for a bit before the kisses got deeper and deeper. More and more passionate. And before I knew it, he was inside me...

~Later~

Aaron smiled at me as we lay next to each other. I leaned over and kissed his cheek, letting my head rest under his chin. "How do you feel?" he smiled and climbed halfway on top of me.

"...Tired," I said, laughing. I let out a huge sigh, "But fine... What time is it?"

"Uh..one of."

"One of what?"

"One of those times when you need a watch!" he said and started laughing.

"How do you still have so much energy?"

"It's called stamina, baby. And it's one thing, you'll find out, that I have a LOT of!" he regained his position on top of me and I thought, Good lord! Again!?!