* Chapter 24 *
I sat back in my seat as the stewardess walked up to the people sitting in front of me and asked for their drink preference. It had only been an hour since we left the airport in Orlando meaning that we still had about six and a half hours left. I looked over at the bag Meg had given me that was sitting in the empty seat next to me and saw a light blue corner of the envelope from AJ’s present. I turned my attention back to the window, but after a few minutes the curiosity got the best of me. After pulling out the box and envelope from AJ and the small velvet box from Nick, I pulled out my tray and set them down before debating which to open first.
"Purple," I said pointing to AJ’s box. "Or Maroon?" I asked myself out loud while pointing to Nick’s box.
‘Maybe I need a second opinion’ I thought to myself as I stared at the boxes on my tray. The stewardess walked up to the seat that I was sitting in.
"Would you like a drink?" she asked sweetly.
"Yes, thank you. Water," I said with a smile before she walked off.
"Here you go," she said while handing me a small water bottle a few seconds later.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked before she turned to go.
"Sure."
"Which should I open first...the purple one or the maroon one?" I asked while pointing to each of them.
"My favorite color is red, so I’ll say maroon," she said happily.
"Ok...thanks," I replied before she went to help one of the other passengers.
I picked up the small maroon box that Nick had given to me such a short time ago at the rink. After rubbing the soft velvet with my right index finger for a few seconds I slowly opened the lid to reveal a silver ring sitting perfectly in the middle of the silk lined box. I pulled the ring out and looked at it carefully. It was a beautiful plain sterling silver band with the words ‘LH and NC = Friends Forever’ engraved in the inside. I pulled out a small piece of folded paper from the lid of the box and opened it.
‘Liz: I know that this week hasn’t exactly been the easiest for you, but I want you to know that we’ll always be friends, no matter what. I want to you always wear this ring and when you see it, remember that I’m thinking of you. Your friend always, Nick’
I held the ring in the palm of my right hand and looked at it for a few minutes before picking it up and sliding it on my fingers to see which one it fit the best. It was rather big, but it fit perfectly on my right index finger. After I slid it on, I held my hand up and admired the new ring and how it looked with the others I already had on. I slid the note back in the box before closing it and putting it back in the bag that sat beside me.
"Excuse me," I said to the stewardess that was walking by.
"Yes?" she said as she stopped momentarily.
"Can we use cell phones yet?" I asked.
"Yes you can," she replied with a smile as I reached for my backpack that was partially underneath my seat.
"Thanks."
As I rummaged through my backpack that was now on my lap, I kept wondering what was in AJ’s box. I eventually found my cell and pulled it out.
"Power," I said to myself in a silly voice as I hit the power button and waited for it to turn on.
’15 voice messages’ the small screen read when it was done checking the battery power and stuff.
"15 messages already?" I said, totally bewildered. "Geez Monkey!"
I dialed the number of my voicemail box and waited while it connected. I pressed the button and listened to the first few messages again. The first seven or eight messages were all ones that I’d heard before and saved, but I was still shocked that I had 7 new messages in less than two days.
‘Hey Liz. I made it home to SLC in one piece. I’ll be staying at your apartment for the next couple of days until I head back home to mom and dad’s. Hope you don’t mind! I’ll be gone by the time you get here, so call me when you get back...I wanna know details! Bye!’ I heard Court’s voice say.
It was obvious that she left this message a few days ago. I pushed the delete button and then waited for the next message to play.
‘Hi hun. Just wanted to let you know that we made it ok...we’re in Alaska at Grandma and Grandpa’s if you need anything. Love ya. Bye’
I pushed save after I heard the message from my mom. I put the phone back up to my ear and waited for the next message.
‘Liz?’ I heard Kev’s voice say. ‘We just saw you leave the hotel and I want to know what’s wrong...Is it something we did? Nick hasn’t said a word since you left this afternoon. Please let us know what’s up so we can help. Hopefully talk to you later’ he said before he hung up.
‘He must have called after they saw me leave the hotel with Meg’ I thought to myself, remembering that I didn’t listen to all of the messages that night.
‘Hey girlie. I haven’t talked to you for a while so I decided to call, but I guess you aren’t in right now,’ I heard Tina’s voice say (she’s another one of my sisters). ‘Call me when you get this message,’ she said happily before hanging up.
"That was weird," I said out loud to myself, knowing that Tina never ever called, even when she needed something desperately.
‘Liz. You’re on the plane on your way home now. You’ve been gone for almost an hour and I miss you so much,’ AJ’s voice said. ‘We all miss you. By the way, what happened when you left? You ran out of the room crying and you didn’t even look back. I know that something is wrong...call me so we can talk about it.’
He said his cell phone number so quickly that I had to replay the message just to make sure that I got the number right. I played with the scrap of paper with his cell number on it while I listened to the next message.
I could hear a lot of chaos and hollering in the background of the next message before a voice finally spoke up.
‘Liz...I know that I’m probably the last person you want to hear from right now, but I had to tell you that I loved having you here these last few days. Oh, and did you like the present? I had my mom pick it out, but the engraving was my idea!’ I heard Nick’s voice say as I looked at the ring on my index finger while he continued. ‘I really hope that we can still be friends...even if you don’t want anything more than that, I’d be more than glad to be friends with you.’
I could hear AC yelling ‘Eeewww!’ in the background before Nick went on.
‘We’re going on tour in less than a week and I know that everything will be hectic then, but I'll try to call you so we can talk. Well, I’ve got to go kill a certain blond kid’ I heard him say as Aaron yelled ‘Hey! I heard that!’ in the background. ‘Talk to you later’ he said before he finally hung up.
I pushed the save button before putting the phone back to my ear to listen to the last message.
‘Hey Els! I’ve got some really great news! The big-boss man finally decided that it was time for you to be given a promotion. Would you believe it if I told you that he’s giving you your own time slot? It’s not much, only a few hours everyday in the late morning before noon, but anything is better than nothing!’ Jay said with a little laugh. ‘See you when you get back to work’ he said happily before hanging up.
Jay is that DJ buddy of mine that I work with at the station. He was always looking out for me. ‘Oh my gosh! I get my own show!’ the realization of what Jay said started to sink in. ‘Well that news can wait, cause I’ve got a few calls to make’ I thought as I cut the connection with my voicemail box. I quickly dialed AJ’s cell number and waited while it connected and then rang. I thought that no one would answer after it rang like 11 times, until he picked up after the twelfth ring.
"Hello?" AJ said out of breath.
"Hey!"
"Liz?" he asked excitedly.
"Yeah. What took you so long to answer your phone?"
"We’re at a late practice and Fatima is yelling at us ‘cause we keep messing up on our dances," he said with a little laugh. "How’s the flight going?"
"The flight is great. I love first class," I said happily as I played with the ribbon on AJ’s package.
"Me too," he replied with a dreamy voice. "So, did you get my message?" he asked in a more serious tone.
"Yeah," I replied. "But that’s not why I called."
"Oh?"
"Yep," I said matter-of-factly. "I want a hint as to what you got me," I said slyly, still looking at the perfectly wrapped gift on the tray in front of me.
"A hint?" he asked.
"Yeah!"
"I can’t give you a hint."
"How come?"
"Cause you just have to open it...envelope first," he instructed as I picked up the envelope and held it in my hands.
"Who you talking to Bone?" I heard Kev ask in the background.
"Say ‘Hi’ to everyone for me," I said after hearing Kev’s question.
"I’m talking to Liz," AJ said to Kev. "She says to ‘Hi’ to everyone."
I could hear them all yell back when AJ held up the phone.
"No, you can’t have it!" AJ yelled as someone grabbed the phone away.
"Hey Liz!" Kev exclaimed. "Everything ok?"
"Yeah Kev! Everything’s fine."
"What happened earlier?" he asked in a whisper so that the others wouldn’t hear.
"Um...nothing."
"Cut the crap," he replied. "Tell me what happened."
"Fine. Nick kinda sorta....he....Ugh! He kissed me ok?" I finally said.
"And?"
"And I don’t like him like that. AJ’s the one who should’ve done the kissing," I said sheepishly.
"Oh," he said in an understanding voice. "See...I knew about you and AJ already, but the Nick thing is news to me."
"I sure hope the others aren’t listening," I said softly.
"Don’t worry. I’m in the hall right now," he reassured me.
"Good," I replied. "Don’t tell the other guys about the whole Nick situation ok? ‘Specially not AJ," I pleaded.
"I won’t."
"Thanks Kev."
"No problem," he said before I heard AJ open the door in the background and grab the phone back.
"What’d Kev want?" he asked.
"Nothing important. You know how he is," I joked.
"Yeah, I do."
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.
"AJ?"
"Hmm," he answered.
"Promise me something," I said anxiously.
"What?"
"Promise me that you’ll call me sometime at work and give me an interview for my new show," I exclaimed.
"You got a promotion huh?"
"Yep! I get a few hours every day just before the lunch show. I’m so excited about it," I replied happily. "I mean, I’ve been on the air before and all, but I get my OWN show!"
"That’s great!" he said, joining me in my anxiousness.
"I know!"
"Listen, I have to go...Fatima’s yelling at me and giving me the evil eye," he said in a hurry. "I’ll call you tomorrow some time."
We said our good byes and hung up. I sat and stared at his present for like five minutes before finally opening the envelope that was in my hands. After pulling out a folded piece of paper, I put the envelope down and opened the paper.
‘Liz, I couldn’t sleep last night after I got home. I could still feel your soft skin against mine. I wish we had more time so we could get to know each other better, but life goes on. I wrote a poem for you...’ it read at the top and then continued with the poem.
"He wrote that for me?" I asked myself in disbelief. "That is so sweet!"
My eyes were tearing up as I picked up the box wrapped in light purple paper with white ribbon around it. I removed the ribbon, tore open the paper, and opened the box to find two things...a cassette tape and another plain white box. After looking at the tape that said ‘Liz’s Tape 2000 Mix’ on it for a few seconds, I turned my attention back to the little white box. I carefully pulled it out of the bigger box and opened it. After pulling out a few pieces of strategically placed tissue paper, I saw a cute little ‘Precious Moments’ figurine. It was a boy and a girl standing in a patch of flowers hugging sweetly.
"Aaawww! That is so adorable," I said while I pulled it out of the box and set it on the tray so I could see it better. "I wonder if his mom picked it out," I said sarcastically as I put it back in the small box and then placed the box in the bigger one.
After putting the box of stuff back into the bag on the other seat, I decided to see if I could take a nap. It was going to be a long flight and I knew I would have a severe case of jetlag if I didn’t get any sleep. I pulled out my Discman and popped in the CD that Bri gave me and leaned my head back before I finally dozed off with BSB blaring in my ears.
‘Where are you going?’ I called out to them as they continued walking away.
‘Wait! Don’t leave’ I screamed as they turned their heads and shook them at me in disgust.
‘What did I do wrong?’ I said out loud to myself as they all turned their heads back and kept walking.
‘You can’t let them leave...Tell them how you feel’ I heard a voice say loudly as if it were my conscience speaking to me.
‘Who are you and why are you doing this to me?’ I screamed with tears running down my face as the five of them kept walking down the dimly lit hallway.
‘YOU are the one hurting yourself. I’m only trying to help’ the voice boomed back.
Everything seemed to disappear as the guys turned to face me, now standing in a very well groomed backyard with a pool and garden full of flowers. It had recently rained, so everything was still a little wet.
‘What in the heck is going on?’ I asked confused as tears ran down my face.
‘They can’t hear me’ the voice said.
‘Don’t cry’ the tallest one with dark hair said in an almost annoyed voice as he slowly inched closer to where I was standing on a sidewalk made of red hexagon shaped bricks.
‘I hate it when you cry’ the short tattooed one said sadly as they got closer.
‘Come play with me’ the tall blond one said flirtatiously as he held a basketball in his arms.
‘Why are you here?’ the short one with a well-defined jaw asked with a glare.
‘Why are we here?’ the shortest one with brown curly hair said with even more anger than the last.
‘Did I bring you here?’ I asked in a pleading voice when they were about twenty feet from me.
‘No...I did. Tell them how you feel’ the thunderous voice demanded.
‘I...I...I can’t’ I yelped out as more tears fell and my knees went weak.
I looked at each of the guys standing so close with such anger, confusion, and agitation in their eyes as everything around me started to spin.
‘Help me’ I whimpered softly before everything went black and I fell to the ground with a thud.
‘Liz?’ I could hear one of them call out as I lay there on the ice-cold ground. ‘Liz? Liz come back! Liz!’
I couldn’t move my arms or legs as I lay there on the sidewalk. I could hear their footsteps coming closer and I tried to open my eyes, but it was as if my eyelids weighed a ton. I wanted to scream out for help, but my mouth remained shut. My body soon went cold from lying on the sidewalk that was clammy from it being damp.
‘Crap! She’s freezing’ said a worried voice as I felt a warm hand touch my arm.
‘Let’s get her inside’ one of the others said.
I felt my limp body being picked up in two strong arms as someone else put something over my lifeless body. ‘I’m so cold’ I thought to myself as I was being carried somewhere. Where are they taking me? What’s going on? I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but my body wasn’t functioning. My mind slipped in and out of consciousness as I was put down on a couch or something and covered with what seemed like 20 blankets.
‘Hmmmmm.’
I tried to talk, but the sound was trapped in my throat. Instead, it sounded like more of a moan than anything.
‘Shhhh! I think she’s waking up’ one of them said to silence the others.
I slowly opened my mouth, but my eyes still wouldn’t move. After taking a slow and steady breath, I winced in pain as I let it out. I tried to say something again, but nothing came out. I moved my head a little and let out another moan in pain. I was stiff from being so cold and every move hurt.
‘Help’ I finally whispered barely loud enough for anyone to hear.
The room went silent as soon as they heard that.
‘So...cold...’ I mumbled softly as I shivered.
‘Nick...get some more blankets’ a deep voice said.
‘Nnnniiiicccckkkk’ I mumbled while shaking my head slowly.
‘Nick...wait. Come here’ the same deep voice said.
I shivered again as I took another slow breath.
‘Cold’ I whispered lightly while I let out the air in my lungs.
I shuddered when a warm hand touched my cold cheek.
‘You stay here with her and I’ll get some more blankets’ the deep voice said.
‘Ok’ I heard Nick reply.
‘Noooooo’ I said as I jerked my head away from the hand on my cheek.
‘Hnnmmmm’ I moaned again in pain from the sudden movement of my head.
‘It’s ok’ Nick said in a soothing voice as I opened my eyes a teeny bit.
The light hurt my eyes so I quickly shut them again. I could finally move my hands a little so I slowly brought them from underneath the blankets and covered my face with them. They were as cold as the rest of my body so I shivered again as they made contact with the skin on my face.
‘Um Kev? I don’t think the blankets are helping’ Nick called out when he saw me shiver again.
Silent tears started falling down my cheeks as I remembered what the voice had said. ‘You can’t let them leave...Tell them how you feel’ kept echoing in my mind.
‘I can’t! I just can’t’ I cried as I shook my head from side to side.
‘Can’t what?’ a raspy voice asked.
‘I can’t’ I said as more tears stung my eyes.
‘I don’t know AJ...she’s been saying that for like the last 30 seconds’ Nick answered.
‘AJ’ I said between sobs.
‘I’m right here’ I heard him say as his warm hand slowly rubbed my cold arm.
My hands were still covering my tear stained face as he leaned over and wrapped his arms around me.
‘I’m so cold’ I whispered as he held me in his arms.
‘I know’ he answered.
‘Help me’ I let out before I lost consciousness.
‘Dang it! She’s out again’ I heard him say as he began to pull the blankets off my already freezing body.
‘What are you doing?’ Howie asked.
‘Don’t ask...just get over here and help me’ he replied as he continued taking the blankets off.
I felt them pick me up and carry me into a different room before they put me down again. They set me so I was sitting up against something that supported my back. They pulled off my shoes, but left the rest of my clothes on.
‘Put in the plug and turn the hot water on’ AJ instructed while he held my limp hand in his.
I could hear the water running. It felt so good as it came in contact with my skin. It was hot, but not hot enough to burn my skin. My legs slowly felt better as the water covered them and continued on up the rest of my clothed body until I was up to my chest in hot water.
‘Liz?’
I couldn’t answer.
‘Liz...Wake up Liz’ AJ said as he squeezed my hand lightly.
I still couldn’t move as he brushed a piece of wet hair from my face.
‘Bri...get some towels’ I heard AJ say as he rubbed my arm again.
The hot water was helping me warm up a little as I sat there in the tub.
‘It’s working. She’s warming up’ AJ said to whomever else was in the room.
‘Where do you want them?’ Bri asked when he returned.
‘Spread one out of the floor and set the others over here’ he replied before turning the water off.
I sat there in the water for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was probably only about ten minutes.
‘Howie, you stay here and help me. The rest of you can go in the other room. We’ll take care of her’ I could hear AJ say to the others as someone pulled the plug and the water started flowing down the drain.
‘Hand me one of those towels’ AJ said when the water was all drained.
After he shifted me a little, I could feel a soft towel against my head as he gently dried my hair with it. They picked me up when he was done and set me on another towel that was spread out on the ground.
‘We have to dry her off before she gets cold again’ AJ said.
I lay there unconscious as they covered me with towels and began rubbing my arms and legs. When they were done and I was mostly dried off, they wrapped me up in a blanket and carried me into the other room. When I was laying on the couch again, they covered me with a few more blankets before joining in on the conversation that was already in progress. I slowly came to again. My heart pounded loudly as I turned my head slowly and let out a little yelp in pain. They must not have heard me because they continued talking loudly as I gathered my strength and sat up with my eyes still closed tightly to hide them from the brightness of the lights. I opened my eyes a little and let them adjust to the daylight as I pulled a blanket around my shoulders. I saw the guys sitting on the other side of the large room and I watched them as they all laughed at some funny comment Bri just said. ‘They look so happy’ I thought to myself as I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders. None of them noticed me sitting up and watching them enjoying each others company. After pulling my legs out from under the pile of blankets, I slowly stood up and walked over to the door that led to a hallway. I wrapped the blanket from my shoulders around the rest of my body as I walked down the hall and found a room that I assumed was the kitchen from the large Stainless Steel Island with pans and utensils hanging above it.
‘Now this is what I call a kitchen’ I quietly joked with myself as I shuffled over to a large fridge that sat in the corner and opened the door.
I looked over the contents and finally pulled out a bottle of water before shutting the door. There wasn’t a table anywhere, so I walked over to the counter that was on the far wall and hopped onto it before opening the water bottle that was in my hands. I took a long drink of the refreshing water and then put the cap back on.
‘Liz?!?’ someone hollered in the other room.
‘She’s not here’ the same voice said after a few seconds.
‘Tell them how you feel’ I heard the voice say again as footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.
I closed my eyes.
‘Liz?’
I looked up and saw Kev standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He didn’t see me sitting on the counter on the far side of the room, so he had no idea that I was in there. I turned my gaze to the floor by the counter.
‘I’m right here’ I said in a low whispered voice, hoping he wouldn’t hear me.
When I looked up again, I saw him quickly making his way to where I was sitting.
‘Shh’ I said as I put a finger on my lips so he would keep quiet.
‘What are you doing in here?’ he asked in a whisper when he stopped in front of me.
‘I didn’t want to bug you guys. You were all talking, so I decided to take a little walk’ I replied as I pulled the blanket closer around my body.
‘Oh’ was all he said.
‘Kev?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Please don’t hate me...’ I trailed off as I looked at the ground.
‘Hate you? Why would I hate you?’ he asked, totally surprised at what I just said.
‘I don’t know...Nevermind’ I replied as I hopped off the counter and turned towards the door.
He just stood there in shock as I walked out the door and down the hall.
‘There you are’ Bri said from one of the open doors in the hall as I kept on walking.
I went in an open door and turned on the light to see that I was in a bathroom. I left the door open a few inches as I sat down on the counter by the sink and opened the water bottle again. I took a drink as the door opened and Howie walked in. He shut the door before walking over to where I was.
‘Feeling better?’ he asked as he came closer.
‘No’ I replied as I jumped down and stood in front of him.
‘Is there anything I can do?’ he asked while I dropped the empty bottle in a garbage can.
‘No, but thanks for asking’ I said with a weak smile as I gave him a half hug and walked towards the door.
I walked out the door and into the hallway. I turned to my right and kept on walking until I was in the room with the couch where I was in the first place. I strolled over to the big overstuffed couch and sat down sideways with my head on the back cushion. After a few seconds I shut my eyes.
‘Hey there’ I heard a voice say from behind me.
I didn’t move from my position on the couch. When the person who was speaking sat down on the couch next to me, I opened my eyes.
‘Hi’ I said with absolutely no emotion.
‘You’re warm again’ he said as he reached out and touched my cheek with his hand.
‘Nick...don’t’ I said while I moved my face away from his hand.
He gave me a questioning look.
‘Nick, I don’t like you like that. I am so confused when it comes to you...I don’t like you like that ok?’
He nodded and sat in silence for a few seconds.
‘Can we still be friends?’ he asked.
‘Of course...just don’t try to hit on me or I’ll just brush you off completely’ I warned him as he stood up.
I watched as he walked out of the room before turning back to lay my head on the cushion. The room was silent as I sat there and listened to the noises coming from the various other rooms. My head was pounding with a massive headache and my arms were getting cold again, so I wrapped another blanket around my shoulders. I shivered when I felt a breeze as someone walked by and sat down next to me. When I didn’t open my eyes, the person leaned over and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.
‘Mmmmm’ I said as I inhaled some of the familiar cologne that lingered in the air.
‘You had me scared ya know?’ AJ asked.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bother you while you all were having a good time’ I explained as he slowly pulled away.
‘It’s ok. I’m glad to see that you are awake’ he said with a smile.
‘Mmm. I’m only halfway awake, my head is pounding, and I’m still a little cold’ I said before pulling the blankets closer around me.
‘Come with me.’
He got up and grabbed my hand to help me off the couch. I followed him down the hallway and into a bedroom with a huge bed on one side and a bedroom set on the other. He let go of my hand before walking over to the bed and pulling the blankets and sheets back.
‘I want you to come and lay down for a while’ he instructed as I slowly walked over to where he was standing by the bed.
I climbed on the tall bed and lay down with the blankets still wrapped tightly around my body. When I was lying with my head comfortably on the down pillow, he gently pulled the sheet and blankets over me. He began singing as he turned off the light and sat down in a chair that was next to the bed. I closed my eyes and listened to him singing softly. After a few minutes of listening to his soothing voice, I dozed off.
I opened my eyes suddenly when someone tapped me on my shoulder. After seeing that it was the stewardess, I turned off the music and took my headphones off.
"Sorry to bug you ma’am, but your cell phone is ringing," she said politely.
"Thanks," I said while picking up my phone from the tray.
I pulled out the antenna and pushed the send button.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hi Liz."
"Yes, that’s me," I said, kind of confused at who would be calling.
"I know it’s you," the happy voice said. "It’s AC!"
"Oh hey Airboy," I replied. "What’s up?"
"Not much. I’m bored cause Nick and B-Rok are playing N64 and they won’t let me play with them," he said. "So I decided to call you. By the way, how did you know my nickname?"
"I work at a radio station...I hear about stuff like that."
"You work at a radio station? I didn’t know that," he said happily.
"Well now you do," I replied with a little laugh. "I actually found out a few hours ago that I get to have my own show now."
"That’s so cool!"
I could hear Brian shouting joyfully in the background.
"Go B-Rok! Go B-Rok!" AC hollered to Bri before he turned his attention back to the phone. "Nick’s the bomb!" he said with a hysterical laugh.
"Huh? Did Nick win?"
I was totally confused at that point.
"No. Bri’s winning. Nick’s the bomb...literally," he replied in-between laughs.
"Let me guess? Mario Kart?" I asked after I put ‘N64’ and ‘the bomb’ together.
"Yep," he replied as Nick let out a girly ‘No!’ scream in the background.
"You’re such a sore loser," I heard Bri say.
AC and I laughed at Bri’s last comment.
"What’s so funny?" Nick asked as he got closer to the phone on the other end.
"Nothing!" AC squealed.
"Who are you talking to anyway?" Nick asked as he got even closer to the phone.
"A friend," AC in a hurry.
I let out a little chuckle as AC started screaming his head off.
"Stop tickling me!" he screamed while he dropped the phone.
"Fine," Nick said as someone picked up the phone from the floor.
I didn’t know who had picked up the phone on the other end of the line, so I just stayed quiet until someone said something.
"Hello?" Nick said into the phone.
"Hi," I replied as calmly as I could, hoping that he wouldn’t recognize my voice.
"How did Airboy get your number?" he asked.
I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was confused at how his little brother could call me, but he couldn’t seem to ever get a hold of me.
"I...Uh...I gave it to him the other day," I said in a hushed voice.
"Oh," he replied in a whisper. "Listen, I’m sorry for kissing you at the rink earlier. I don’t know what came over me."
There was an awkward silence.
"Nick?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks for the ring," I said. "It means a lot to me that we’re still friends," I continued, making sure to emphasize the word ‘friends’.
"Your welcome," he said.
"So, you had your mom pick it out?" I asked sarcastically to lift the mood a little.
"Yeah," he said with a little laugh.
"Mister king of pop music that makes ten year olds scream and faint at the flash of a smile couldn’t pick out one little ring?" I teased.
"Well ya know...I had to get my ‘people’ to handle it for me," he said in a voice to try and make him sound important.
"Ah, I see. Your ‘people’ had to handle it for you," I said with a laugh.
"Are you wearing it?"
"Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?"
"Just checking...I didn’t know if you like hated me or whatnot."
"No Nicky, I don’t hate ya."
"Please don’t call me Nicky," he pleaded.
"Why not?"
"Nicky...Nicky...Nicky..." I heard AC and Bri scream in the background, taunting him.
"That’s why."
"Ok then...How ‘bout Gene?"
"Why that?" he wanted to know.
"Don’t know...nevermind though...it’s too weird," I replied.
"Ok," he said like he was unsure of what I was talking about.
"I can’t think of a good name right now, so I’ll just call ya Nilo."
"What kind of name is that?"
"I happen to like it...and besides, it’s only temporary," I said sweetly.
"Uh...sure," he said before someone took the phone away from him.
"I’m back," AC blurted into the phone.
"Hey QT! So, what’d ya want to talk about anyway?"
"I dunno. I called cause I couldn’t think of anything else to do."
"Well tell Nilo and B-Rok to be nice to you or I’ll have to show ‘em who’s boss," I joked.
"Liz says to tell Nilo and B-Rok to be nice to me or she’ll have to show ‘em who’s the boss," he relayed my message.
That sent both Nick and Bri into another fit of laughs.
"Who’s Nilo anyway?" he asked.
"The goofball you call your big brother," I laughed.
"Why do ya call him that?"
"Don’t ask...it’s only temporary until I find a more suitable nickname," I replied.
"Oh, ok. I’ll help you find a suitable one then," he said in an evil voice.
"Ok," I replied in the same tone.
"Do you mind if I start calling him that?" he asked. "I wanna see if he actually responds to it."
"Sure, but only call him that everyone once in a while...I don’t want him to get too used to it or anything," I said sarcastically as I saw the stewardess walking down the aisle, taking orders for what people wanted to eat for their onboard meal.
"Hey Liz?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"I just wanted to tell you that I’m glad you’re Nick...I mean Nilo’s friend," he said with a little giggle. "And I’ll write you a letter like everyday ‘til I get to visit."
"Cool! I love getting mail," I said. "Hey Airboy...as always, it was a pleasure talking to you, but the stewardess is coming around for orders so I have to go."
"Ok. Bye," he replied happily.
"Bye!" I said before hanging up my phone just as the stewardess walked up to my seat.
I told her that I only wanted a salad with ranch dressing and a water before she turned to get my food. I picked at my food for a few minutes, thinking about the dream that I had a little while ago. After I was done eating and the stewardesses came to pick up the garbage, they announced that there would be movie starting in approximately 10 minutes. I pulled out a camera catalog from my backpack and flipped through it, looking for enlarger filters until they announced that the movie would be starting. When I heard the announcement, I stuffed the catalog back in my bag and got comfortable in my seat for the show. ‘I love this movie!’ I thought to myself as ‘She’s All That’ began playing. Watching this movie with Freddie Prinze made me think of Meg. After seeing up to the part where Laney and Zak go to the big party, I fell into a light sleep.
I opened my eyes and realized that I was on the bed, but instead of being under the covers, I was lying on top of the neatly made bed with AJ’s arms wrapped loosely around my body. I turned to face him and watched him sleep peacefully for a few minutes before I put my hand up to his face and began rubbing his soft cheek with the back of my fingers. He stirred a little, but stayed asleep as I stroked his hair back and played with it in-between my fingertips.
‘You are so cute when you sleep’ I whispered to him as he slept.
When he didn’t answer, I stared at his face for a few more seconds before moving closer to his resting body. I wanted to stay in his arms forever, but I knew that I wouldn’t be permitted to. I looked at his face again and my eyes finally rested on his lips. I moved my head up and let my lips press against his gently. My eyes were closed momentarily, so I didn’t see when he moved a little. I almost had a heart attack when he kissed me back. I pulled away after a few seconds, only to see him lying there staring at me.
‘Man...I wish I could wake up like that more often’ he said with a smile as I rested my head on his arm.
‘Mmmm’ I replied, still caught up in the moment.
‘Can I have another?’ he teased after we slowly sat up.
‘Of course’ I replied happily.
This time he made the first move by quickly pressing his lips to mine with more affection than the first. His hands twisted my hair playfully while my hands were wrapped around his neck. We finally had to pull away to take a breather.
‘AJ McLean you are a naughty boy’ I teased as I got off the bed and stood in amazement when I saw that I was wearing a midnight blue formal gown and AJ was wearing a black tux.
‘Hey, you aren’t so bad yourself’ he said with a sly smile as he climbed off the bed and stood in front of me.
‘Why are we dressed like this?’ I asked as he took my hands in his.
‘I don’t know. I don’t care either’ he said before he leaned in for another kiss.
When we were only millimeters from our lips touching, the door flew open and in walked the other four guys followed by Meg. The guys were dressed in the same tux that AJ was, except they all had different colored vests on. Meg was wearing a long purple fitted gown with her hair up in little ringlets.
‘Come on you two. We have to get going or we’ll be late’ Kev said as the others rushed out the door.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked as AJ grabbed my hand and led me to the door.
He only gave me a shrug as we walked down the hall and out the front door to where a limo was waiting. Kev was the last one in. When the door was shut behind him, he gave AJ and I looks that said ‘don’t ask me...I’m not telling’ before he turned his gaze back to the window.
‘You really don’t know where we’re going?’ I leaned over and whispered in AJ’s ear.
‘That tickles’ he said with a little laugh.
‘Sorry!’ I replied with an innocent smile.
‘It’s ok. And no, I don’t know where we are going’ he whispered back as I laid my head on his shoulder.
I sat there with my head on his shoulder until the limo finally came to a stop. I watched lazily as the others got out and then waited for AJ and I to get out.
‘Come on Liz...we have to get out now’ AJ said as I continued to lay on his shoulder with my eyes closed.
I didn’t move.
‘Liz? Come on Liz’ he said with panic raising in his voice.
I took a deep breath of his cologne as I sat still.
‘Are you awake? Liz? Liz!?!’
‘I’m going...I’m going already’ I said quietly as I sat up and moved towards the door.
‘Don’t scare me like that’ he said, obviously terrified.
I stepped out of the limo slowly and waited on the sidewalk for him.
‘Don’t do that again. I thought you passed out like before’ he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a quick hug.
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you’ I apologized as we followed the others to the front doors of a huge elegant looking building.
‘After you’ he said when we got up to the doors that the doormen held open for us.
‘Thanks’ I replied before walking in the door.
My ears heard music playing as our group walked up about 25 steps and down a short hallway before coming to a balcony with steps going down either side. ‘This looks like the castle in the Swan Princess’ I thought to myself while looking over the edge of the balcony to the dance floor below.
‘This is like the Prom that I never went to’ I mumbled out loud with a small laugh.
‘You never went to Prom?’ AJ asked as if he was astonished.
‘Nope...neither of them’ I said, not breaking my gaze out at the dance floor below.
‘Let’s go dance’ I heard AJ say before he grabbed my arm gently and pulled me over to the steps on the right side.
The others were already down on the dance floor dancing the night away as we reached the bottom step. He led me to the dance floor as ‘Walk Me Home’ by Mandy Moore came on over the speakers. I put my arms around his neck as he wrapped his snugly around my waist. We danced with our heads against one another’s for a little bit until he pulled his head back to look at me. He didn’t say anything as he leaned forward and moved his lips to mine. He kissed me tenderly as we slowly swayed along with the music. We stopped dancing to the song after a few seconds, but continued with our little make-out session as the song kept playing and couples danced around us. We stopped as the song faded into a new one and the surrounding couples split to find different partners.
‘Mmmm’ I said, closing my eyes as we stood there with our foreheads touching.
‘I love doing that’ he said as he pulled me a little closer so that I was leaning my head on his shoulder.
It seemed as if we were the only ones there. Wait! ‘We are the only ones here’ I said to myself after I opened my eyes and saw that we were standing in the same well-groomed garden as before. The stars were shining brightly down on us as we stood on the red-bricked path that led from the pool and garden to the door of the house. ‘This is WAY weird’ I thought as AJ pulled away a little and kissed me gently on the cheek before moving his lips to mine again. I closed my eyes as he kissed me passionately for a few seconds. I kept my eyes closed even after he pulled away. ‘His kisses are heavenly’ I smiled to myself as he kissed me on the forehead and let me go.
‘Where are you going?’ I asked after opening my eyes to see him standing with the door open.
He didn’t answer. I watched him disappear into the house as my eyes began tearing.
‘Why is this happening to me?’ I asked myself out loud.
‘Why is what happening?’
‘Huh?’ I asked as I turned around to see Nick standing a few feet behind me.
‘I said...Why is what happening?’ he repeated.
‘All of this...I don’t understand’ I said as tears started falling down my cheeks.
I turned my back to him so that he wouldn’t see me crying.
‘Ya know...it’s ok to cry’ he said while I felt his hand on my shoulder.
I shrugged his hand off and walked towards a gate in the fence on the other side of the large pool.
‘I’m sorry. I have to go’ I said after taking a few steps and turning my head to face him.
I turned back to face the gate and took a few more steps before my legs went numb. My left knee gave out and I let out a small cry as I collapsed to the ground.
‘Whoa! Liz? Are you ok? Liz!’ I could hear Nick scream before my head hit the cement on the side of the pool.
I could feel his arms shaking me lightly as I lay there unconscious.
"This is your captain speaking. We are experiencing light turbulence as we approach Salt Lake International Airport. At this time we ask that you turn off all small electronic devices and fasten your seatbelts. We hope you had an enjoyable flight and as always, thank you for flying with Delta Airlines," I heard the captain say over the intercom after my eyes jolted open during the bumpy ride.
