Veronica made her way inside and shut and locked the door, slumping against it heavily. It’d been a long flight and it was good to be home again. She was assaulted with the familiar scent of home and also with the overwhelming sense of loneliness that had only just set in the moment she stepped foot back inside her apartment.

She slowly made her way into her bedroom and her gaze was instantly drawn to her picture of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys over the head of her bed. A sad smile crossed her lips as she walked over to her bed, setting her bags down and flopping down heavily on the mattress.

It’d been a long and short past seven days, so many thoughts were running through her head, but one thought in particular seemed to keep coming up.

She missed Nick.

The whole thing was still very surreal in her mind and it’d all started with a letter. Almost two years ago, she’d written a letter to Nick Carter, never expecting any kind of response, but she’d gotten one. They’d communicated back and forth for a while before meeting when Nick surprised her with a visit on the day before her birthday. What conspired then was nothing short of a miracle. Here it was over a year and half later and she still couldn’t believe it.

Somehow their friendship had evolved into something more, something deeper, who would’ve thought? She was nothing more than a fan, a fan whose letter managed to end up in the hands of it’s intended. Veronica had been very lucky and she knew it, what made the whole thing even more bizarre, was the fact that they were now dating. The whole thing was crazy and didn’t make sense and she was still expecting to wake up and find it all a dream, so far it hadn’t happened though.

Sitting up, she leaned over and grabbed her bag, hefting it onto the bed next to her, unzipping it, preparing to start unpacking. Sighing heavily, she stared down at the bag for a moment before zipping it back up and pushing it off the bed and down to the floor. She couldn’t believe she was acting this way, she knew she should unpack, but she was just too depressed. Standing, she made her way out of her room, grabbing her cordless phone from the charger and walking over to the couch, slumping down as she dialed.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mom.”

“Veronica! You’re back!”

“Yeah.”

“So how was it?”

“It was great, I had a good time.”

“You don’t sound like it,” her Mom said.

“No no, I did, really.”

“But?”

“But nothing.”

“C’mon Veronica, this is me you’re talking to, I can tell something’s up. Did…I mean, are you guys still friends?”

Veronica smiled a bit, “Kind of.”

“Kind of? What’s that mean?”

“Well if you all being a couple friends, then yeah, we’re still friends.”

“A couple? A couple…wait you mean a couple? You guys are dating, like as in a couple?”

She chuckled, “Well yeah, that’s what being a couple means Mom.”

“Wow, are you serious? Aww Veronica I’m so happy for you!” Ginnie exclaimed.

“Thanks Mom,” Veronica responded.

“Uh Veronica? What’s wrong? You should be excited, happy, this is Nick Carter we’re talking about here, you have pictures of the guy all over your room,” Ginnie announced.

“I am excited, trust me, stunned is more like it but…”

“Uh oh, but what?”

“It’s nothing really, it’s stupid.”

“But what?” Ginnie prompted again.

“I dunno, I…I miss him is all.”

“Aww Veronica, why is that stupid?”

“Because it’s only been a few hours! If I’m like this already, how am I gonna deal with this relationship? Before it was ok ya know? We were friends, I had no ties to him, no nothing. Now that we’re dating, it’s at this whole other level.”

“Veronica…”

“No, forget it, just forget I said anything. I’m not gonna be like that ya know? I’m not gonna be all clingy and calling every fifteen minutes. I’m a mature adult, I’ve got my own life just like he has his. I’ve got my job and things I can do, it’s cool.”

“Veronica really…”

“It’s cool Mom, it’s fine. I’m gonna have to suck it up, I knew about this when I agreed to start dating him, I’m not gonna make him feel guilty or cause strain on this relationship already, I’m not gonna sabotage this.”

“Veronica will you let me talk please? You’re not being immature by missing him already. This isn’t the typical relationship, he’s not an hour from you, he’s in an entirely different state. It’s not like you can see him whenever you want, besides, you guys just spent a week together, your relationship is new, you don’t have time to settle into it and get comfortable and you’re already apart. It’s not going to be easy, you have every right to miss him.”

She sighed, resting her head back on the couch.

“I know Mom, I know. It’s just, it hurts to miss him, I really don’t want to…I mean…ugh, forget it.”

“I get what you’re saying, it was like that sometimes with your Father too, when he was over the road.”

“How’d you do it?”

“I dunno, in the beginning it was hard, but after a while I got used to it, I had to. Then again he was home every weekend and it wasn’t so bad. I dunno what it’s going to be like for you, it could be months before you see him, but it’s like you said, you do things to keep yourself busy.”

“Yeah…”

“And it’s not like you can’t talk on the phone or email and whatever right?”

“True.”

“Right, you’ll be fine, it’ll just take some adjusting, finding what works for you both. You have to be patient.”

“I know.”

“And tell him you miss him, I’m sure he’d like to hear that.”

“No way Mom! He’ll think I’m trying to make him feel guilty.”

“For what?”

“For ya know…suggesting us start going out.”

“He suggested it?”

“Yeah, he told me that he loves me and…”

“Whoa wait, he loves you? He said he loves you?” Ginnie said excitedly.

“Yeah, a couple nights ago. He took me out on the beach and drew my picture and then he told me and said he wanted to date me,” Veronica smiled, remembering that night.

“Aww Veronica! That’s so romantic!”

“Mo-om!”

“It is! You’re the one that’s into those romance novels, you can’t tell me you didn’t love that.”

“I did, I mean, of course I did, it was beautiful.”

“I knew it,” Ginnie laughed.

“Anyways Mom, yeah, I mean I kinda put up a bit of a fight cause I was nervous and all, but finally we agreed. I just don’t want him to feel like I’m complaining and that me missing him is his fault.”

“Veronica it’s no one’s fault when we miss someone, well usually it’s not. This is not anyone’s fault. You two live far away from each other, it’s only normal that you’d miss him. Don’t you think he misses you?”

“Probably not, I was just with him for a week, he’s probably glad to get his home back and get time to himself.”

Although he’d said opposite before she’d left, even telling her he wanted her to stay.

“I highly doubt that,” Ginnie reasoned.

“I dunno, but in any case, I don’t want to find out. I’m gonna play this cool.”

“Be careful Veronica, doesn’t matter that he’s famous, he’s a guy with feelings. You’re in a relationship, you both need to commit the time and effort for it. Don’t be so blasé about it. If this long distance relationship is going to work, you’re going to have to keep in touch Veronica.”

She wanted to, she wanted to so bad, but it didn’t feel right.

“I know Mom. Look I’m gonna let you go, gotta pick up my mail and hop in the shower.”

“Alright, do you think you can come by this week?”

“Sure, I’ll give you a call in a couple of days and we can set something up.”

A short time later Veronica hung up, hurrying out of her apartment and over to her neighbors. After thanking the woman, she made her way back in, sifting through the large stack, throwing out the junk mail and setting the important things aside. She made her way to the bottom of the pile, stilling when she saw what looked like a letter for her. She tore the envelope open and pulled the sheet of paper out.

Veronica stared at the paper in awe, while she was hurt and disappointed, she also knew that Lynne was wrong. She was never the type to accept others opinions, and if people didn’t feel the same way she did, she tended to rebel and go on the immediate defensive. She should’ve expected this, but she hadn’t. She thought her and Lynne were close enough that she’d respect her feelings and choices.

Sighing, she slipped the note back into the envelope. As much as it hurt, she knew it was for the best.

Nick knocked on the door and then poked his head in.

“Aaron? You here man?” He called, making his way inside completely.

“Yeah, just a second!”

There was shuffling and then suddenly the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs.

“Nick, what’s up man?” Aaron called, as he gave him a quick hug.

“Nothin’, nothin’ just thought I’d come by and hang out for a bit,” Nick explained as they made their way out to the deck, stopping along the way to get a couple of drinks.

“You’re shittin’ me right? Since when do you just stop by?” Aaron grinned.

Nick shrugged, “Since now, is that so wrong? I can leave if you want.”

Aaron shook his head, “Nah man, it’s just…you never come by. Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, everything is fine…”

“You sure about that?”

“Mmmhmm, so what’s been going on? How’s the girls?”

“They’re alright, I spoke to Les yesterday, she’s doing alright, says Mom’s been getting on her case a bit, but that’s nothing new. Angel is gonna be moving in with her boyfriend…”

Nick raised an eyebrow, “Oh yeah?”

“Mmmhmm.”

“I met him once, he seems ok, you know anything about him?”

Aaron shrugged, “Not really, we haven’t really hung out, but Angel seems to really like him so whatever.”

“Not whatever man, you gotta look out for her, Les and BJ too. I’m gonna try and see if I can catch up with each of them this week. I tried to reach BJ on her cell but she didn’t answer, left a message.”

Aaron stared at Nick as if he’d grown a second head.

Nick looked at him and frowned, “What?”

“What has gotten into you man?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what’s gotten into you? Why the change? Don’t get me wrong it’s great and all, but when you came by last week, I thought it was just some passing thing like always, I wasn’t expecting you to actually follow through.”

And that was his eternal problem, no follow through. Of course when it came to his music it was all or nothing, usually all. But when it came to his personal life, more so his family, he always managed to screw up somehow.

Nick really had no one to blame but himself, he’d let it get this bad and now he was fighting against the ghost of himself to try to make things right. He never realized how much damage he’d done by simply not being there, he’d been like an ostrich with it’s head in the sand for so long. His blatant disregard for anyone or anything other than himself had risen to epic proportions at a point in his life when everything was starting to crumble around him and he didn’t care.

Then he’d gotten the letter that’d changed his life. He owed so much to that letter and the woman who wrote it.

“I know Aaron, I’m working on it, which is why I’m here now, I’ve told you this before. I want things to be better between us, all of us.”

Aaron nodded, “That’s cool.”

“Yeah.”

“So…where’s Veronica?”

His heart dropped, just thinking about her hurt, just thinking about the fact that she was back home hurt so much he could hardly breathe. It’d only been a few hours, but he missed her like crazy already.

Nick frowned, “She’s gone, left today actually.”

“Oh yeah? That sucks,” Aaron announced.

He nodded, yeah it did, it really sucked actually.

“So what was up with that? Where’d she come from anyway?”

“I met her through my fan club.”

“Oh, she on the staff?”

“Nah, she’s a fan and if you say anything I’ll beat your ass got it?” Nick warned, glaring at his brother.

Aaron blinked, “A fan? So what, are you two like a thing or something?”

“No we’re not a “thing”, she’s my girlfriend, not a thing.”

“You know what I meant asshole, and I didn‘t say she was a thing I asked if you two were a thing, a couple.” Aaron groaned, rolling his eyes.

“If you must know yes, we are a couple.”

“Seriously? Wow, she’s not your usual type,” Aaron pointed out.

“I know, but she’s not a typical girl either.”

Aaron nodded again, “That’s cool man, I liked her a lot.”

Nick raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

“Yeah, any girl who can kick your ass in Playstation has my instant respect,” Aaron winked.

“You’re a jackass.”

“I know. Oh, Mom’s been asking about you.”

Nick said nothing, just took another drink of his pop.

“You should talk to her ya know,” Aaron said.

“I will, just not right now. Besides, I‘m not so much concerned about what Mom and Dad do, whatever, I‘m more worried about you and the girls.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Why what? Why do I care? Shit Aaron, you’re my brother, they’re my sisters, how the fuck can I not care?”

Aaron just stared at him, and Nick knew exactly what he was thinking, he’d never really seemed to care before.

“I told you, I’ve changed, or I’m trying to ok? I’ve stopped running, stopped hiding.”

Aaron continued to stare at him.

“You gotta too man ok? I mean, seriously, this shit you’ve been pulling lately ain’t cute and it’s getting old fast. No more screwing around, you gotta get your shit together. I was thinking, me and you and girls, we should go into therapy,” Nick announced, taking another drink.

“Are you crazy? I ain’t going to therapy,” Aaron muttered.

“Maybe I am crazy, all I know is I got a lot of shit I need to get sorted out, we all do. Our family is a freakin’ insane Aaron, you realize that right? Everyone knows all our dirty laundry, aside from your tirades and me and BJ’s DUI’s and all that shit and then Mom blabbing and the whole divorce thing, we’re the poster family for therapy. We need to do something man, I want you with me on this,” Nick finished, looking over at him.

“Do you realize what people will say if they find out?”

“I don’t really give a fuck, fuck them, fuck all of them. This is us ok? We need to do this to get better, I’m sick of being some fuckin’ joke all the time, I’m better than someone’s punchline,” Nick fumed.

“I dunno man.”

“Do whatever you wanna do Aaron ok? All I know is it’s time someone did something. I’m not gonna let Mom and Dad continue to do this to me. I’m sick of playing victim.”

Aaron was quiet for a long time.

“Alright, I’m in.”

Nick smiled, “Thanks man.”

She swirled the spoon around in the milk, staring at the little square as it grew soggier and soggier. She wouldn’t eat it now, she couldn’t and when her cereal turned soggy, it was her own fault though, she should be eating, but she didn’t have much of an appetite.

She had to stop this, it hadn’t even been a full day yet and she was already moping around. Sighing, Veronica set the bowl on the table in front of her, grabbing the remote and flipping through the stations. She slumped back on the couch, staring blankly at the screen, when her cell phone rang. Hurrying over to the table, she grabbed her phone, looking at the id quickly before flipping it open.

“Hello?”

“Hey girl!”

Veronica smiled, “Hey Laureen! How are you?”

“I’m doing alright, how bout you? Glad to be home?”

“Yeah, it’s always good to come home. I‘m glad you called though, I‘m lonely.”

“Aww, well I didn’t know if you’d wanna be bothered, I figured you wouldn’t answer the phone if you didn’t want to talk.”

“Of course I want to talk to you. I wish I could’ve hung out with you and Julie more while I was there.”

“Ha, I don’t think Nick would’ve allowed for that to happen,” Laureen laughed.

“Well you guys did come over and hang out and he was ok with it.”

“True, but he wasn’t going to blatantly come out and tell us not to come with you there.”

Veronica chuckled, “I guess not.”

“So, have you spoken to him yet?”

“Nah.”

“No? Really?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to play it cool ya know? Give him a chance to breathe, I don’t want to smother him.”

“Believe me, I don’t think that’d be a problem,” Laureen laughed.

“Why’s that?”

“Because, you’re probably the one person he’d want to smother him.”

“Nah, I don’t think so.”

“Trust me on this one Veronica, it’s true.”

She paused for a moment before blurting out, “Laureen, is it normal to miss someone after spending eight days straight with them?”

“Aww Veronica, it’s very normal.”

“I didn’t think it’d hurt this much, ugh.”

“Well sure, you guys just became a couple and you had to leave, it’s natural to miss him a lot Veronica.”

“I guess, I’ve been trying so hard to be mature and not clingy, but now that I’m here and he’s there…I just…”

“You just what?”

She bit her lip, wiping at her eyes suddenly, “I just wish I’d clung a little longer at the end.”

Sighing, he flipped his phone closed, slumping back on the couch. It’d been several hours since she’d left and still he hadn’t heard a word from her. He thought she would’ve called to let him know she’d arrived home safely, but so far nothing. He had to stop this, she was probably sick of him and needed time to think, still he just wanted to know that she was ok, that she’d arrived safely. That said though, he had to stop checking his phone every five minutes. Rubbing at his face in frustration, he flipped his phone open again and pressed a button before hitting send.

“Hello?”

“Brent it’s me, you busy?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick sipped at his beer before setting it down on the counter, turning to look at Brent.

“I didn’t think you’d be up to this, with Veronica leaving and all,” Brent announced, ordering another beer from the bartender.

He shrugged, “I had to get out of that house, I was going crazy. I kept checking my phone to see if she’d called and…I just needed to get away.”

Brent stared at him over his bottle just as a couple of their other friends made their way over to the bar. They all said their hellos to each other and Nick found while it was good to hang out with his friends, he was still thinking about Veronica. He just wished she would call, just to let him know she was home safe.

“Nick…where you at dude?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry man, was just thinking.”

“Some chick huh?” His friend Mark asked.

Nick stared at him a moment before replying.

“Yeah a girl, my girlfriend.”

Mark and his other friend Kyle looked at Nick, Brent just grinned.

“Your girlfriend? Didn’t know you were dating someone,” his other friend Kyle announced, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s because we only became official a few nights ago.”

“So wait, you two have been seeing each other?” Mark asked.

“Well kinda, we were friends first,” Nick explained.

“Ohh I get it, “friends”,” Kyle laughed, nudging Mark as they both started laughing.

“She was just a friend, don’t be a couple of pricks ok?” Nick muttered, turning so he was leaning against the bar, trying to block out the snickering of his friends.

“C’mon guys, knock it off ok? I’ve met her, she’s really nice, lay off,” Brent put in, glaring at Kyle and Mark.

“Hey, how come he got to meet her but we didn’t?” Kyle asked, pretending to pout.

“Gee, I wonder,” Nick sighed, rolling his eyes.

No, there were definitely some of his friends that he didn’t want Veronica to meet, but they were few. There were still a lot of people for her to meet, unfortunately they hadn’t had time while she was there, but that was mostly his fault, especially after they became official, he hadn’t wanted to let her out of his sight.

Frowning, he scanned the crowd, his gaze stopping on a familiar face.

“Fuck, guys I’ll be right back ok?” He announced suddenly, setting his bottle down on the counter.

“What’s wrong?” Brent asked.

“Nothing, I just gotta go to the bathroom, that’s all.”

They all stared at him and he turned quickly before coming to an abrupt stop, groaning inwardly.

“Well well, if it isn’t Nick Carter. Long time no see hmm?”

“Hey Celeste,” Nick sighed.

“Aww c’mon, is that any way to greet an old friend? Usually you have a much warmer reception for me than that,” Celeste grinned, sliding her arms around his waist before leaning in to kiss him, but he turned his head at the last minute and she ended up kissing his cheek.

Nick carefully extracted her arms from around his waist, “Sorry. It’s nice to see you, how you been?”

“I’ve been ok, great now that I see you. Hey Brent, Kyle…Mark.”

“That’s good, but hey, I’ll talk to ya later ok?”

“Now now, hang on, I wanted to talk to you. Do you have a moment?” Celeste smiled, slipping her hand into his and trying to pull him away.

He should’ve known coming here was a bad idea, there were too many women who came here that he used to “date”. This was how it usually went with Celeste, she’d tell him that there was something she wanted to talk about, he’d leave his friends there and the next thing they knew, they ended up in her car heading to her place.

“I don’t think so Celeste, I’m just hanging out with my friends here,” Nick explained, as he slid his hand from hers gently, looking over at Mark and Kyle who were staring at him as if he’d grown a second head.

Celeste blinked, “Are you serious?”

He nodded, “Yeah, sorry Celeste.”

“What, you’re too good for me suddenly?”

“No, I’m just not interested anymore.”

“C’mon Nick, you always say that, but we both know you never really mean it, especially…” she leaned in close suddenly, whispering in his ear “when we wake up together in bed the next morning.”

Nick closed his eyes in disgust, he was finally seeing how bad it’d all been, how bad he’d been. Pulling away a bit, he grabbed his beer, staring at her for a moment before smiling.

“Not this time,” he stated, taking a long drink.

“What the hell is your problem?” Celeste demanded.

“Nothing, I’m seeing someone.”

“So?”

“So, I’m not interested ok?”

“So “dating” someone has never stopped you before.”

“Yeah well I wasn’t dating the girl I am now,” Nick stated bluntly, staring at her.

Celeste smiled, laughing softly, “Ok, we’ll see.”

Nick watched as she turned and walked off, narrowing his eyes.

“What the fuck? What’s wrong with you man?” Kyle grated, smacking his shoulder.

“All of us here know you wanted a piece of that, you ALWAYS want a piece of that,” Mark cried.

Nick shook his head, setting his bottle back down, pulling his keys from his pocket, “Not this time. I’ll see ya Brent.”

They watched as Nick made his way through the crowd and out the door.

“So in the end I told him yes and that’s about it really,” Veronica finished as she followed Carla out of the kitchen.

“Wow, so you’re dating Nick Carter officially?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“I can’t believe it!”

“You and me both, it’s very surreal.”

“Veronica, Veronica the temps aren’t done, how come?” Shelly said suddenly, interrupting.

“I was working on the dishes, I lost track of time, sorry,” Veronica frowned.

“Well can you get them done now please? If Steve comes in for inspection and they’re not done, we’re gonna get fined,” Shelly sighed, rolling her eyes before turning and heading to her desk.

Veronica took a calming breath, smiling when Carla gave her a light pat on the shoulder.

“You go ahead, I’ll watch counter and call you if I need you.”

She nodded, grabbing the folder and thermometers. It was time for her to get a new job.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She circled another ad, scanning through the listings. She’d purchased a paper before leaving work and after a quick dinner and TV watching, she settled down at the table to look over the classifieds.

The excuses had worn thin, and even though the last time she’d put in her résumé’s to a few places and didn’t hear back, it didn’t mean she should stop trying. There had to be something better out there, a job she could be happy at, a job where she was paid what she was worth so she wouldn’t have to keep cutting corners. She circled a few more ads before closing the paper and then grabbing the notebook she’d brought from her room, proceeded to write rough draft of her résumé on paper before typing up, trying to get a feel of what would look most appealing to a company.

She was knee deep into her third attempt, when her cell phone rang. Scrambling for her purse, she pulled the phone out and looked at the id and was only a little disappointed. She flipped the phone open.

“Hello?”

“Hey you!”

Veronica smiled, “Hi James!”

“Hey, how’s it going? I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I didn’t know when you went home. Are you still in Florida?”

“Nope, just got home today actually.”

“Oh yeah? Glad to be home?”

“Sure, no place like home.”

“I hear ya. Did you have fun though?”

“I had a great time, it was really nice to hang out with Nick, he’s a special guy,” Veronica said, smiling.

“He sounds like he’s very important to you,” James said softly.

“Yeah, he is.”

“Well I’m glad to hear it.”

“So what’s up? How are you?”

“I’m doing alright, kind of anxious to come home though, I miss my family.”

“It’s gotta be rough. When do you come home?”

“That’s why I’m calling actually, I’ll be in next week. I wanted to know if you wanted to get together and have dinner, maybe go see a movie.

“Of course I do!”

“Great, just wanted to make sure we were still on for it.”

“Absolutely, I’m really looking forward to seeing you. I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since I saw you.”

“Yeah I know, it went kind of fast you know?”

“Yeah, but I’m glad you’ll be home to visit. I can’t remember what you told me last time but, how long will you be home?”

“Just a few days, I wanna get as much done as I can cause it’ll be a few months at least before I can visit again.”

“Aww well are you sure you want to get together at all then? I’m sure you’d like to spend as much time with your family as you can.”

“I do and I will, but I’d also like to see you too.”

Veronica could feel herself blushing.

“Aww you’re so sweet.”

James chuckled, “If you say so.”

“You know it’s true, c’mon.”

He chuckled again, “Well unfortunately I’ve gotta go.”

“Alright, well it was nice to hear from you.”

“You too. I’ll call you when I get in and we can set up a time and whatever.”

“Sounds good, see ya then.”

“See ya, bye Veronica.”

“Bye James,” Veronica flipped the phone closed and set it down, slumping back in the chair. Hearing from James had been great, but ultimately, it wasn’t him she was hoping it was when the phone rang.

Veronica was sure Nick wasn’t acting the same way. He’d probably had tons of long distance relationships and wasn’t giving this one a second though. He probably wasn’t waiting by the phone hoping she’d call. He was probably out there doing his thing, hanging out with his friends and going on with his life. She was trying, she was really trying, but it just felt like for as long at it took for them to get where they were now, she wasn’t able to properly enjoy it.

She needed to be distracted is all. Looking down at the paper, she picked up her pencil and continued to write.

“And we’re back with Jack and Linda in the morning, here at KISS 109.7, it is 9:30 Tuesday February 21st and we are live with the Backstreet Boys who have been kind enough to join us this morning. Thanks for coming so early in the morning you guys,” Jack smiled.

“Thanks for having us, and we want to say hello to all the fans listening,” Kevin stated.

“Our pleasure trust me. Now the guys are gonna be with us for a couple of hours today, hanging out and talking about their album and the tour that you guys just wrapped up last month I believe right?” Linda questioned.

“That’s right, we just wrapped up the North American leg and we’re kinda taking it easy. Everyone’s taking a little down time, working on some side projects and all before we head back in the studio in a couple of months,” Brian announced.

“Now I’d heard Brian, that you are going to be recording a solo album,” Jack questioned.

“That’s right, I’ve got a pop gospel album that I’m currently in the midst of recording. Now that we have a bit of time off, I’m gonna be focusing on getting that finished up and released.”

Nick listened as Brian spoke, or tried to rather, but he’d been having problems focusing anyway. He hardly got any sleep the night before and it was too early to be up and thinking. Besides he knew all this already, knew about Brian’s album and Kevin going back on Broadway and everything. He just didn’t want to be there, he wanted to be home in bed.

He stifled a yawn, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Now we’ve received hundreds of emails with questions for you guys, here’s one from Jamela from Hackensack New Jersey, she writes ‘Hey guys, I was just wondering do any of you plan on doing any acting in movies or in TV?’”

“Well Nick is the one who’s done majority of the acting here…” Brian chuckled.

“Yeah, well I don’t really have anything planned at this point. I’ve received a few scripts here and there, but nothing that’s really caught my eye,” Nick explained, stifling another yawn and taking another large gulp of coffee.

“There ya go Jamela. Ok, here’s another from Amanda from Bangor Maine, she writes “Hey guys! I was just wondering if AJ, Howie and Nick are single? Thanks and I love the new album!’”

Nick stilled, his gaze scanning the room nervously. Him and Veronica hadn’t discussed if they were ready to go public with their relationship, he didn’t care, but he didn’t want Veronica to feel blindsided by everything that followed.

“I’m currently single, working on my sobriety, I’m not really looking per say, but if I happen to meet someone then ya know,” AJ answered chuckling. “I’m trying to keep my life as simple as possible for a while.”

“Ok, Howie?” Linda asked. “Got anyone special you’re seeing?”

“Not right now no, but unlike AJ, I am looking, so if anyone out there is interested…” Howie laughed.

“Oh no, don’t say that, we’re gonna start getting calls and emails about it,” Linda chuckled.

“Ooops, sorry!” Howie laughed.

Nick shifted uncomfortably in his seat, it usually wasn’t such a big deal, but this time the situation had changed. They hadn’t been together but a couple of days, no where near enough time to work everything out.

“That just leaves you Nick. How bout it? You seeing anyone?”

He hesitated a split second, casting a quick glance at Kevin who in turn gave him a slight nod.

“I am currently dating.”

“Ok, so is that dating as in seeing someone or dating as in nothing committed and you’re still a single guy?” Jack prodded.

“I don’t know that I’d say I’m currently single…”

He was going to botch this up big time.

“So then, you’re dating as in you have a girlfriend.”

Nick smiled suddenly, “I’m dating.”

“Alright alright, sorry Amanda, I tried to get a clear answer for ya. So we have two definite singles and Nick is dating.”

He chuckled, “ Well Amanda asked if we were dating, and I did answer, I am dating.”

“True true,” Jack laughed.

Nick let out a breath, he’d barely got out of that one. It didn’t matter though, fans were gonna think what they wanted to, and he hadn’t flat out denied that he was single because it would’ve been a lie. He knew the truth would come out, but he also knew that he needed to speak to Veronica about it first. He’d call her that night he decided.

A couple of hours later, they made their way out the building and into the waiting van.

“So how come you didn’t say anything?” Kevin asked once they were all seated.

Nick shrugged, “I wanted to talk to Veronica. We haven’t really had the chance to go over everything. We only became official a few days ago and there’s still things that need to be ironed out. I didn’t want to just put it out there without her being aware of it first.”

“People are gonna be talking Nick, I get that you were trying to be elusive, but ya have to admit, it was a pretty thin response.”

Nick gave Kevin a bland look.

“It’s true Nick, you hesitated, fans are gonna jump all over that,” AJ grinned.

“I know I know, but I didn’t want to lie, I’m not ashamed or anything, I just don’t want to like…ya know…”

“Understandable, though it really isn’t anyone’s business,” Brian sighed.

“It’s not, and screw it, let everyone talk, I don’t care. I’m not gonna confirm anything without letting Veronica know and discussing it with her first.”

“Good idea Nick, wow, I’m glad you’re being mature about this,” Howie smiled.

“Gee, thanks Howie.”

“Well it’s just we all know you can be a bit reckless sometimes.”

“He’s got a point man,” AJ nodded.

“Whatever, I just wanna make sure she’s ready and prepared for what happens after. I don’t want to hide her, but her safety and peace of mind comes first,” Nick stated.

Kevin leaned over suddenly, wrapping an arm around him, “I’m proud of you Nick.”

Veronica flipped the booklet over and started at the top of the page. Since she’d been home which had only been a couple of hours, she’d been filling out job applications. With each one she grew more and more determined to find a job that would make her happy.

Sighing heavily, she set her pen down, stretching her fingers a bit when her cell phone rang. Not bothering to look at the id, she flipped the phone open.

“Hello?”

“Baby?”

Her eyes widened, her heart dropping.

“Nick!”

“Hey you!”

“Nick hi!”

Nick chuckled, she sounded happy to hear from him, although it seemed like she was trying to hide it.

“What’s up baby? How are things?”

She could barely catch her breath, “Things are alright, just getting back into the swing of things.”

“Well that’s good, I miss you though. I was hoping to hear from you yesterday, wanted to know that you got home safely.”

“Aww yeah I’m ok, I just wanted to ya know, give you time to breathe,” Veronica explained, blushing a bit.

“Sweetie that doesn’t matter, I can never seem to catch my breath when I’m around you anyway.”

She could feel her face burning, she stood quickly and made her way over to the couch, sitting.

“So what are you up to tonight?”

“Filling out job applications, trying desperately to get out of my current job. After being away for the week, coming back it’s like…I just can’t deal with it anymore. I’ve had enough you know?”

“I absolutely know what you mean, I’m so proud of you. I know how scary it is to start something new, but I’m confident you’ll find something fast,” Nick smiled, flopping back on his bed. Turning his head, he pushed his face into his pillow and swore he could catch a hint of her perfume that still lingered.

“It is, but I have to do it,” Veronica sighed.

“You’ll be fine baby, ya gotta think positive.”

“It’s hard, but I’m trying.”

“Well whenever you need a pick me up, call me baby and I’ll remind you how awesome you are,” Nick chuckled.

“Deal.”

“But hey, don’t let that be the only reason you call ok? Call so I can tell you how much I love and miss you ok? Call me often,” he said softly.

Veronica bit her lip, trying to keep herself from blurting out something that would embarrass them both.

“I will don’t worry, same goes for you too ya know.”

“Honey, you’ll be sick of me after a while.”

She shook her head, “Never.”

Nick closed his eyes, he hoped she’d never get sick of him. “Look Veronica, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”

She blinked, “Ok, what is it?”

“ Well today I had a radio interview, and you know they always ask the same questions. Anyway, they asked me Howie and AJ if we were seeing anyone. I didn’t really give any kind of confirmation because I hadn’t talked to you yet. What it comes down to is if you’re ready to go public about us? I wanted to make sure before anything was said that we both agreed that we were ready, that you were ready for it,” Nick explained.

“Oh wow…”

“Yeah, I know it’s a little scary. I mean, I’d never give your name out or anything, it’d just basically be a confirmation,” Nick rushed on. “Look I don’t have to say anything ok? I don’t mind, I mean, it’s not like I don’t wanna acknowledge us, but if it’ll be easier for you, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make you comfortable.”

“Thank you Nick, I appreciate that,” Veronica replied softly.

“It’s just…the moment we come out, everything is going to change. I won’t say your name, but that doesn’t mean it won’t come out, someone will find out some how and suddenly things that no one knew about you will surface,” Nick sighed. He hated this, he hated what it always did to his girlfriends. Some could handle it better than others and some just cracked under the constant scrutiny. He hoped Veronica was ready.

“I know Nick, trust me I do. It’s going to come out sooner or later, and it’ll just sound better coming from you anyway instead of some tabloid. It’s ok, I’m ready.”

He hesitated a moment, “Are you sure? If you need more time it’s fine. I mean, we only started going out a couple of days ago, if you need time Veronica, seriously it’s ok.”

She nodded even though he couldn’t see her, “I know, it’s ok. I’m ready Nick.”

He didn’t know what to say, part of him couldn’t help but feel she wasn’t ready but thought it was what she thought he wanted her to say.

“Alright then, if the question comes up again, I’ll confirm,” he said quietly.

“Sounds good.”

“Ok baby, I hate to do this but I gotta go, gonna try to get some rest.”

“Me too actually, thanks for calling Nick. You don’t know how good it was to hear your voice when I answered my phone,” Veronica whispered.

Nick groaned inwardly, yes he did.

“Believe me I do, I was going through withdrawals.”

Veronica laughed suddenly, “I’m sure you were.”

“You’re addicting ya know baby.”

“Mmmhmm. Get some sleep Carter.”

“I’ll try, it’s hard to sleep alone when you’ve had your girlfriend by your side for the last few days,” he said softly.

“Yeah, I know,” she heard herself admit.

“I’ll talk to ya soon Veronica, I love you.”

She swallowed hard, “I love you too Nick. Night.”

“Night.”

She flipped the phone closed and rested her head back, closing her eyes.

Everything was going to change.

“So have you heard from James recently?” Carla asked, as she sliced cheese for wafer.

“Yeah he called me two nights ago, he’s coming home next week and we’re gonna go out for dinner and a movie,” Veronica smiled. She was looking forward to it, she was really anxious to hear how everything was going for him.

“Yeah, I heard from him yesterday and he was telling me he was coming home.”

“It’ll be nice to see him again, I really miss him.”

“See, if you’d said something to him earlier, you could be waiting for your boyfriend to come home,” Carla winked.

Veronica chuckled, “It’s ok though.”

“Mmmhmm. How’s the job search going?”

“Pretty good, I’ve got a phone interview tonight when I get home from work, so hopefully that’ll go well. I gotta get out of here,” she sighed, pulling her gloves off and tossing them in the garbage.

“I hear you, me too. I’m gonna start looking myself, this just isn’t paying bills,” Carla frowned. “Anyway, how are things going with Nick? Have you spoken to him recently?”

Her face lit up suddenly, “Yup, he called me last night actually and we spoke for a little while.”

“Finally, how’d he sound? I mean, did he seem upset that you hadn’t called or anything?”

“Mmm, not really, he seemed really happy to talk to me though; he did say he was hoping that I’d called.”

“See, you should’ve called him sooner,” Carla scolded, grabbing a cloth and starting to wipe a slicer down.

“I know, I just don’t want to screw this up, I know I’m gonna mess up some how and do something wrong and make him pissed at me,” Veronica frowned, slumping back against the counter.

“Veronica you can’t go through this relationship always worried about making him mad, what kind of relationship is that gonna be?”

She nodded, Carla was right she knew, but she couldn’t help it. Nick wasn’t just some guy, he was famous, and he was a celebrity. Pretty soon everyone was gonna know he was dating someone and she doubted highly that she’d be spared the criticism once fans found out who she was. No relationship was perfect, but she felt an uncommon pressure to be better, to be stronger.

“Look, all I’m saying is that you can’t constantly walk around on eggshells. He’s a guy Veronica, just a guy. You’re in a relationship; the fact that he’s famous doesn’t make that any different in that sense. Ok, so you’ve got some…different circumstances, but still a relationship needs to be ya know, supported and all that. You gotta treat him like you would any other boyfriend. You have to keep communication open, especially since you guys are so far from each other.”

Veronica looked over at Carla and nodded.

“Ya know, you should be telling him all this honestly, he’s the one you’ve gotta go to with problems with your relationship girl, not that I mind you talking to me. But don’t let all this stuff accumulate and then the next thing you know…” Carla stopped, frowning.

“Yeah, I know, I don’t want that to happen, trust me.”

“Think of it like this, you guys spoke all the time before becoming an official couple right?”

“Right.”

“Ok, so just pretend you’re only friends still…just ya know, on another level of friendship…a very friendly friendship,” Carla wiggled her eyebrows.

“Carla!”

“What?! Seriously Veronica, I want this to work. I’ve never seen you so happy; I want you to stay this way.”

“Thanks Carla, I promise I’ll try my best.”

And she would.

“That’s it for today Nick, I’ll see you next week.”

“Thanks, see ya,” Nick called, making his way out of the office.

Somehow Nick had managed to get his first appointment with his therapist in the same week and had just completed his first meeting. It was easier to talk than he’d been expecting. It felt good to talk to someone who was unbiased and would give him advice straight up.

He made his way out of the building and over to his car, sliding in. Making a quick decision, he pulled out of parking lot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So wow, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?”

Nick rolled his eyes, “I just wanted to chill.”

“Relax Nick, I’m just teasing,” Brian grinned.

Nick watched as Baylee toddled around with his toy trucks, bringing one over and handing it to him. Nick took the truck with a smile, setting it on the table in front of him and rolling it back and forth.

“Seriously Nick, what’s up? You alright?”

He sighed heavily and slumped back against the couch.

“Yeah I’m alright, just, I miss Veronica is all.”

Brian gave him a small smile, “You really care about her huh?”

“I love her man, she’s all I think about. I want everything to be right, I want to be able to be with her, I don’t want her to be worried about anything.”

“But she is.”

“Yeah, I mean, she hesitated so much before. She’s so worried about what others will think and how people are going to treat me.”

“Why? Because she’s fan?”

“That and well…she’s got this idea in her head from her Dad, that we won’t work because she’s under the impression that she’s not what society says is acceptable for me to date,” Nick frowned.

“Huh?”

“Ya know, she’s not tall and…and…ugh I don’t wanna say it, it’s just so utterly stupid.”

“Oooh I get it now,” Brian nodded.

“People are gonna talk, I know it. Fans are gonna find out and they’re gonna be brutal Brian, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to protect her from that,” Nick whispered.

“Nick you and I both know you can’t, none of us can. We can tell our wives and girlfriends to avoid the websites and everything else, but it doesn’t matter. People are going to say what they want to and ultimately achieve their goal, which is to hurt the intended victim.”

“But I don’t want her to be hurt, I don’t want her to regret doing this, I don’t want her to regret us, I love her.”

“Aww Nick I know you do man, but Veronica is also going to have to realize and understand what’s going to happen the minute word gets out. Have you guys talked about that?”

“Yeah, last night actually. We agreed to go public, she says fans would rather hear it from me than have rumors spread, I’m guessing she’s right cause she is a fan. She says she’s ready but…I know she’s scared and I’m scared for her. She’s got all these things about herself and I’m afraid of what this might do to her.”

Brian frowned.

“Am I being selfish? Asking her to do all this because I want to be with her?”

“Nah you’re not being selfish Nick, it’s not selfish to want to be with your girlfriend.”

“Yeah, but at what cost?”

“You just have to be careful, more careful than usual. Your relationship as a whole isn’t usual, and from what you’re saying about Veronica, you’ve got to be even more cautious.”

Nick sighed, “I hope I wasn’t wrong in doing this.”

“Nick you have every right to be happy, you have every right to date and be with the woman you love. Don’t let society or fans keep you from being happy.”

He nodded, “I hope Veronica’s ready.”

“Just be there for her Nick.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

Chapter 10

“Thank you,” she smiled and pressed the button, tossing the phone down. The interview had gone well, she was scheduled for the final face to face interview for next week. She couldn’t believe it, it was actually happening. Hopefully with this last interview, she would be able to leave her current job and go onto something she that she would actually enjoy.

Looking over, she grabbed her cell phone from off of her nightstand and flipped it open, hesitating a moment before pressing a button.

Veronica smiled at the new message, waited for the beep and left a quick message before hanging up. For some reason she just couldn’t get past the feeling that whenever she called him she felt like she was being clingy. Maybe she shouldn’t have left a message. Sighing, she stood and headed over to her computer and logged in. A few minutes later she checked her mail and then headed over to some of her regular stops. Not really thinking about what she was doing, she logged into one of the BSB forums she belonged to, scanning through a few different areas. She clicked on the individual threads for each of the guys, looking through at the various threads started. She stopped on Nicks, and was scanning through, when she noticed a new thread titled “Nick’s Girlfriend?”

Swallowing hard, she clicked on the topic and waited for the thread to load, when it did, she found that there were already ten pages of comments. She knew better to look, of course she did, but she couldn’t help it. Looking through, most of them were comments stating that he was most likely seeing someone, but just didn’t want admit it. There were also various comments about him being seen out with a number of different women at clubs and the such. Veronica had to smile, it was exactly as she’d expected.

That said though, she knew it was just the beginning, once he came clean on everything, that’s when it’d all start. The thought of it made her slightly queasy. Signing out and then logging off, she started to get ready for bed, her thoughts still consumed with what she saw on the forum, when her cell phone went off.

She grabbed her phone, flipping it open.

“Hello?”

“Hey you.”

She smiled, “Hey Nick.”

“Hey sweetie, how’s it going? How was your day? Sorry I missed your call, I had a therapy session today and I forgot to turn the volume back up and then I went to visit Brian and I just now checked my messages.”

“It’s no problem, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Today was pretty good, I had my phone interview and I have a face to face interview next week, so that’s great.”

“Congrats baby!”

“Thanks,” she chuckled.

“You’ll do fine, I know it, nothing to worry about.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.”

“Sheesh.”

“Anyway, I have to say I’m glad that you called, I’ve been wanting to hear your voice.”

“Same here, I miss you a lot ya know.”

Nick smiled, “I miss you too babygirl. So tell me, what else do you have planned for next week besides the interview?”

“Hmm, well James is coming in. We’re supposed to be going out for dinner and a movie to catch up.”

Nick blinked, he’d forgotten about that. Groaning inwardly, he tried to stop the butterflies that were now swimming around in his stomach. It was unreasonable for him to be nervous, but he couldn’t help it.

“Ohh that’s right, excited?”

“Yeah I am, it’ll be nice to see him again and see how he is.”

Nick frowned, “Yeah.”

“Well baby, I better go, I gotta finished getting ready for bed.”

“Aww.”

“I’m sorry sweetie, I’d stay up if I could, but I’m exhausted,” Veronica sighed, rubbing at her forehead.

“I know, I just wish we could talk longer, I wish I’d called earlier.”

“Aww don’t worry about it Nick, it’s cool. We can hopefully talk longer over the weekend.”

“But like…don’t wait till then to call again,” Nick said suddenly.

Veronica chuckled, “I won’t I promise.”

“Ok good. Alright, I’ll talk to ya soon baby.”

“Ok, I love you, night.”

“Love you too, night.”

Veronica flipped the phone closed and set it down next to her bed. She quickly changed and slipped under the covers. As much as she didn’t want to keep thinking about the forum, she couldn’t help it. She truly hoped she was as ready as she thought she was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick flipped his phone closed and slumped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was too hard being so far away from her. These short calls weren’t enough for him, he wanted badly to go and see her, but he knew it’d be too soon for her and he didn’t want to overwhelm her, plus all this crap with James was bothering him more than he liked.

He trusted Veronica, but he also knew how she felt about James. Still she’d chosen to be with him, but Nick couldn’t help but wonder, if there had been a chance that James wanted to be with her too, would she have still said yes?

Sighing, he closed his eyes, he didn’t want to think about it anymore, didn’t want to think about what he would’ve done if she’d told him no and meant it.

Chapter 11

Veronica hurried in, tracking wet snow through the kitchen as she reached out to grab the ringing phone.

“Hello?”

“Veronica? It’s James, I didn’t catch you at a bad time did I?”

She smiled slumping down in one of the chairs at the table, struggling to pull her boots off.

“Nah, I just got in, I heard the phone ringing.”

“Sorry, I would’ve called your cell, but I figured you were either still in work or driving and…well that’s not really any reason to not call your cell…I guess I don’t really have a good reason,” he laughed.

Veronica chuckled, “It’s ok, you can call me at home anytime. So what’s up?”

“Oh nothing, just getting packed, getting ready to leave in a couple of days.”

“So looking forward to seeing your family and coming home?” Veronica asked as she stood and carried her boots out of the apartment and to the shoe tray outside of the door before walking back into the kitchen and wiping up the now melted snow with some paper towel.

“Absolutely, the closer it’s getting, the more anxious I’m getting. I really miss my family and I’m really excited to see you.”

“Aww you’re so sweet James, I‘m excited to see you too, lookin‘ all buff and stuff,” she giggled.

“Oh sure,” James laughed.

“You know it’s true, don’t be all humble.”

“Yeah yeah, anyway…we’re still on for dinner and a movie right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Great. Unfortunately, I gotta go. But I’ll be there on Monday and I’ll give you a call and we can pick a movie and whatever.”

“Ok, talk to ya then.”

“Bye Veronica.”

She pressed the button and set the phone down on the table, walking back over to the door and grabbed her purse, pulling her cell phone out, flipping it open and pressing a speed dial button.

“Hello?”

Her face lit up.

“I can’t believe I got a hold of you!”

“Sweetie, hey!

“Hey you, what’s up?”

“Oh nothing really, resting, thinking of you. You must’ve known cause you called.”

She blushed, “Nah, I was missing you and so…”

“Aww Veronica,” Nick said softly.

“That wasn’t to make you feel guilty or anything, just ya know, I miss you…a lot.”

He frowned, “I miss you too Veronica, I swear I’m working on it, I’m gonna come see you soon I promise.”

“No no, it’s fine, no rush or anything.”

“There is a rush, a huge rush, I miss my babygirl.”

“Aww, it’ll just be that much nicer when we do see each other,” she sighed, walking over to the couch and flopping down.

“I guess, I just wish it was now.”

“Me too.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment before Nick spoke.

“Tomorrow me and AJ have a phone interview on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show.”

She blinked, “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, I just…I wanted you to know that I may be asked if I’m dating or not, Ryan’s known for that kind of thing. I wanted to make sure that…ya know. I mean, everything is gonna change if…”

Veronica slowly closed her eyes, “I’m ready Carter.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

She opened her eyes.

Was she really ready?

Chapter 12

“So what are your plans now guys? You’re done touring for a while, are you going to be going right back into the studio to start a new album?” Ryan asked.

Nick scooted forward on the couch, moving in closer towards the speaker on the phone. His stomach had been in knots all night and now the time had come. He and AJ sat around a speakerphone at Jive giving the a radio interview with Ryan Seacrest. Granted Ryan hadn’t asked yet but he knew it would be coming. Funny any other time before he never worried about what he was going to say and how he was going to say it, but now he’d gone over the dialogue in his head a million times it seemed.

“Not right into the album, we all have our own individual projects we’re gonna be working on for a bit. I’m gonna be continuing to work on my sobriety of course and Brian’s in the midst of still working on his solo album and Howie and Kevin have some things they’re gonna be doing too so,” AJ answered.

“What about you Nick? You gonna be working on another solo album?”

Nick shrugged even though he couldn’t see him, “I’m not sure yet. Part of me wants to, but I’m still trying to decide. I’m actually hoping to do a little more acting.”

“That’s right, you’ve already done movie and a TV show. Had any other offers come in?”

“A couple, haven’t really had the time to look into them, but now that the tour is over, I’m gonna be focusing more on some of my other options, so we’ll see.”

“That’s cool. So guys what’s been going on romantically? AJ, you seeing anyone?”

AJ chuckled, “Nah, not right now. Just kinda playin’ it by ear ya know? If it happens that’s great and if not that’s ok too. Like I said, I’m working on staying sober and I really need to put all my focus there for now.”

“I understand, that’s what’s important that’s for sure. What about you Nick? You were recently asked if you were seeing someone and you’d said you’d been dating, any change where that’s concerned? No one special lady in your life?” Ryan questioned.

Nick gave AJ a meaningful look and then looked back at the phone.

“Actually I am seeing someone.”

“Oh yeah? Now is this something that happened since you were asked before or…?”

“Nah, just wasn’t quite ready to come out and say anything at that point.”

“Really…is it Britney Spears?”

Nicks eyes widened and he looked over at AJ who was smirking at him.

“Huh?”

“Britney Spears, I‘d just read something a week or so ago that stated that you two were seen leaving a club together.” Ryan laughed.

“Nah, it’s not Britney, I don‘t know what it is, but everyone wants to put us together and I rarely ever see her,” Nick groaned, rolling his eyes. “We’re not even friends, more like acquaintances really.”

“Ok, so you are seeing someone, not Britney. How long have you been seeing this girl?”

Nick swallowed, shifting a bit on the couch.

“Well we’ve been friends for a while, we just actually started dating recently.”

“Wow, so this is still fairly new in the couple title huh?”

“Yeah you could say that.”

“Alright, well thanks for calling in guys. We hope to see you here in LA soon, you’ll have to stop by the studio and hang out with everyone.”

Nick listened as AJ answered the question, they said their goodbyes and he slumped back on the couch, rubbing at his eyes.

“Nick, relax man, it’s over.”

Nick opened an eye, looking at AJ.

“Ok, so it’s just starting, but you were vague.”

“AJ you and I both know that means shit. Something will come up, someone will try to prove I’m still somehow dating Britney, I really wish people would fuckin’ stop that.”

AJ grinned, “I don’t know what the fascination is with you hooking up with Britney is man, you shoulda just done it once.”

“Nah man.”

“It’ll be ok Nick, really.”

Nick shook his head, they both knew better. It was really just a matter of days before the rumors started, fans would find out. Some of his so called “friends” would talk to reporters and magazines swearing they knew who the girl was.

What’d he just gotten Veronica into?