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Bianca stared at AJ with wide eyes as he removed the large diamond ring from the confines of its box. It was so incredibly stunning… words couldn't begin to describe its beauty. She watched silently as he slid the ring onto her finger; she could feel her hand shaking as he pushed it into place. Then slowly, she lifted her hand to admire the ring now adorning her finger.

There was a large, oval shaped center diamond with two pear shaped side stones set in platinum. She carefully slid the ring around on her finger as she admired how it seemed to sparkle even in the candle light. Oh my God… she thought suddenly as the realization of the situation hit her.

AJ swallowed the lump in his throat as he tried to read Bianca’s expression. She was looking at the diamond and hadn’t given him an answer; he was beginning to worry now. He was about to say something when she finally spoke.

“AJ,” her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible and he thought he had never loved his name so much. “I…I…”

Taking her hands in his, he smiled. “You know, I can’t stay down here forever.”

Bianca smiled and tried her hardest not to cry, but all of this was just too much. “I really don’t know what to say…”

“Well, for starters you could accept and say yes.”

“Oh, God!” she exclaimed when she realized he was waiting on her answer. His words ran through her mind once more.

We’ve known each other now for a while…and I know that we haven’t always gotten along, but you have to admit, there’s always been something between us. I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t and I’m glad of that. I do know one thing…you have changed my life more than I ever though possible. In the last five months I have realized how good it feels to truly love someone and I wanna spend the rest of my life waking up to that. I want to wake up every morning and see you smiling back at me…I wanna make love to you every night and know that this is how it will be forever,” he said, tears shining in his eyes. Looking down only to open the box, he held it up so Bianca could see. “Will you make me the happiest man on earth and say you’ll be my wife?

Looking into his soft brown eyes, Bianca realized how much she really loved him. She took a deep breath and looked down at the ring once more then placed her hand on the side of his face. Leaning forward, she kissed him softly on the lips. “Yes.”



**Two Days Later**

Kevin walked into the studio and was greeted by a smiling AJ. “What are you doing here so early?”

AJ laughed at the mock look of disbelief that washed over Kevin’s face. “What? Can’t a man just be happy to be alive and wanna get to work?”

“Sure…if he were a normal man, but we’re talking about you.”

“I resent that, Kev,” AJ feigned anger but then quickly grinned.

“Hey guys,” Brian greeted sitting down beside his cousin.

When AJ noticed the questioning glance he sighed. “Don’t start asking questions man…so what if I’m here early?”

Brian just shrugged. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to,” Kevin laughed.

“So, I heard you and Bianca are official,” Brian said with a Cheshire cat grin. “It’s about time, man.”

“Time for what?” Nick asked as he and Howie entered the studio.

“Oh, nothin’,” Brian said casually. “We’re just talking about how it’s weird that AJ was the first one here today.”

“Oh,” Nick said with sudden disinterest. “Okay, so let’s get this show on the road.

After a couple hours of writing and going over songs, the guys all sat down and looked over what they had done. It had been okay at first; they had been getting long great until Nick and AJ got into it. From there on, the bickering worsened and they were unable to get anything else done.

Kevin looked around at his band mates and scowled. “We did not come here to fight,” he looked at AJ then to Nick. “We’re supposed to be working. Now, I don’t know about you, but it’s awful hard to get anything done when two people are trying to kill each other.”

“Yeah, it is,” AJ nodded. “That’s why Nick needs a nap…maybe if he gets some beauty rest he won’t be so damn cranky.”

“Why don’t you just shut your damn mouth, AJ?” Nick yelled.

“Both of you shut up now!” Kevin’s voice boomed and they immediately did as they were told. “I am sick of this shit and it’s not gonna keep going on. Do you understand? Good,” he said when they both nodded. “Go get some lunch and then we’ll meet back here in an hour.”



“So, what’s up with you and Brianna?” AJ asked Kevin as they sat in a quaint little restaurant waiting for Bianca. “I figured she’d be here with you while we’re here.”

“Yeah, she was supposed to come, but she decided to stay home at the last minute,” Kevin took a sip of his soda and looked out the window.

“You okay, man? Things don’t seem quite right with you,” AJ stated as a waitress came to refill his glass.

“So you notice it, too, huh?”

“What do you mean?” AJ questioned and gave Kevin a quizzical glance.

“Well, she just gets mad at everything I do lately. We sit down to plan the wedding that is only six months away and nothing I say is right. Or I look at something that she likes and I just kinda shrug in agreement and she blows up. Everything I do is wrong and pisses her off.”

“That’s pretty screwed up. I thought Bree was cool about those things,” AJ mumbled.

“Yeah, well, I dunno what to do. I just wish we could sit down together for once and not fight about something.”

“Hey fellas,” Bianca’s voice suddenly entered the conversation and she leaned in to give AJ a quick kiss. Just as she was sitting down, Kevin grabbed her left hand as his jaw dropped.

“Damn!”

“What?” Bianca asked as she felt a familiar blush creep onto her cheeks. “Never seen a diamond before?”

“Not on you,” he said letting go of her hand. “When exactly did this happen because I know it wasn’t there a few weeks ago.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I’ve been keeping up with your television appearances…give me some credit,” Kevin smiled. “Seriously, though, congratulations.”

“Thanks,” AJ and Bianca both said at the same time.

“Wow…I’m surprised I haven’t heard about this on TV or the radio,” Kevin laughed and smiled as the waitress returned with their food.

“Well, you’re really the first person to find out, other than our parents,” AJ said as he split his food with Bianca. “Today is the day it all comes out though.”

“Yep,” Bianca nodded and took a bite of the club sandwich. “I have a TRL appearance today and I’m not gonna be all flashy about the ring, but I mean, I’m sure someone will see it, ya know?”



“Okay, are we ready to give this another try?” Kevin asked as he looked around at his four band mates. He was greeted with a chorus of yeah's and sure's. “Good…let’s actually get something done this time.”

Sitting down at the table, they all looked at one another for a few minutes eventually becoming somewhat impatient.

“I vote for another break,” Nick said gazing around at the other guys.

“What…you didn’t have a long enough lunch?” AJ asked with a skeptical expression.

“We’re not gonna get anything accomplished like this,” Howie offered quietly. “I say Nick is right. Maybe we just need a little break to kinda sort ourselves out.”

“Okay, fine. Whatever,” Kevin said, obviously displeased by their lack of enthusiasm.

Walking over to the small television on the far side of the room, AJ turned it on and began to flip through the channels to see if he could find MTV. Surfing past the guide channel, he quickly went back and waited for the listing for MTV to scroll past. When he found the channel, he promptly changed it just as the show was coming back from a commercial break.

Hearing the cheers of the many loyal fans in Time Square, the other four eventually found their way over and sat in front of the TV with AJ. They were all equally surprised when the camera zoomed in on Carson—he was a rare sight on TRL these days.

“Someone important must be on today if Carson dropped his schedule to host,” Nick mumbled.

After a few quick witted jokes, Carson grinned in the camera. “Okay guys…our next guest has been out of the spotlight for a few months, but she’s coming back bigger than ever. Let’s give a warm welcome to Bianca Parker.”

Rolling his eyes, Nick abruptly stood up and walked back across the room to the table. Sitting in front of a blank piece of paper, he ignored Brian and Howie who were staring at him.

After a quick clip of the number five video on the countdown, Carson and Bianca were back in front of the camera.

“So, you seem to be living it up these days,” Carson said as the fans began to cheer. “You’re definitely doing great on the charts. What are your big plans for the summer?”

“Well, I’m gonna be rehearsing and preparing for my tour that will start near the end of August. I’m actually gonna be heading back into the studio pretty soon to work on my second album. I’ll be busy that’s for sure,” she smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

“That’s great. I know that your fans must be getting antsy waiting for the follow-up. Are we gonna be seeing anything other than singing from you? Cause rumor has it that you were in the talk for a movie deal…”

“Maybe sometime in the future, but no, sorry to disappoint you. No movies or television just yet. I wanna focus strictly on my music right now.”

“Well, are there any duets in store for you? With, oh I dunno…AJ McLean?” Carson prodded with a knowing grin.

Bianca smiled and was unable to keep herself from blushing. She covered her face with her hands and laughed lightly. “Okay, okay…you got me…”

“Hmmm…from the looks of things,” Carson motioned toward her hands, “it seems like you’ve already been working on one…”

Nick looked up from his piece of paper and glanced at the television. Bianca was still standing there, looking flushed. What are they talking about? Walking up behind the other guys, Nick tried to figure out what Carson meant.

“Well, actually,” Bianca’s voice tapered off as she fingered the ring on her left hand.

Nick watched in disbelief as he caught sight of the large diamond ring hugging her finger. A diamond…

“Looks like you’re gonna be breaking millions of hearts,” Carson said and lifted her hand to the camera. “You guys move fast…”

“Well, we’ve been seeing one another for a while now, but it’s just been out of the public because of our privacy,” her voice gave away her embarrassment. She had obviously not expected Carson to make such a big deal of the ring she was wearing. “It’s not that we were trying to hide it…we just knew that once the news got out our private life would be virtually non-existent. But I’m very happy.”

“Hey, I think it’s great,” Carson grinned and gave Bianca a hug. “Send AJ my regards.”

Walking to the TV, Nick turned it off and looked at the guys. Brian and Howie seemed quite surprised by the fact that AJ and Bianca were engaged, but Kevin didn’t seem fazed at all. And AJ…he was sitting there grinning from ear to ear.

“I think it’s time to try and get something done,” Nick mumbled.

“Oh, NOW he wants to work,” AJ mocked.

It was gonna be a long afternoon.