* * * Chapter 6 * * *

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Nick ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful as she slept like a baby on the soft bed in her room. Her hair cascaded down on the pillow around her head and it was so cute how she pulled the edge of the blanket up to her chin to keep warm. I reached out and stroked her hair a few times as the sunlight from the window made it shine like gold. She had been sleeping ever since we got home and we let her sleep because we knew she needed it. Her head was slightly turned to face me and a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. I knew that I shouldn’t do anything, but the temptation was so strong that I couldn’t help it. When I leaned over and lightly kissed her, I felt my whole body tingling at the touch of her lips against mine. They were sweet from the lip-gloss she was wearing and when she kissed back a little in her sleep, I pulled away and looked at her for a few more seconds. I felt like I was in heaven.

"Nick," mom called out from downstairs.

She had sent me up here five minutes ago to wake Liz up for dinner, but I was so mesmerized by her that I totally forgot what I’d come up here to do. She looked absolutely perfect lying there in front of me.

"I wish you were mine," I said softly to her sleeping body. "If he ever hurts you again, I’ll be here to pick you up and carry you on."

She stirred a little and I smiled to myself as she rolled over so she was facing me. I let her lay there for a few seconds before I tried to wake her. When I placed my hand on her upper arm and rubbed it a little, she slowly opened her eyes and gave me a tired smile.

"It’s time to eat," I said quietly.

"Ok," she replied before she sat up and peeled the blanket off.

"Feeling better?" I asked as I stood up from the bed.

"Yeah, thanks," she replied in almost a whisper as she stood up too.

She followed me down the stairs and into the dining room where mom and AC were already sitting and waiting for us.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Liz ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Hi," I said in a quiet voice with a smile as I sat down at the table next to Jane.

"Sleep ok?" she asked with a warm smile from her seat at the end of the table.

"Yeah. I feel much better," I replied as she looked at me.

I did feel a lot better than before and I’m almost positive that I looked a lot better. I could feel the color on cheeks again so I knew I wasn’t as pale as earlier. The food tasted wonderful and we made light conversation while we ate. When we were done, Nick and I excused ourselves and went downstairs into the large entertainment room. I sat down on one of the couches while Nick went over and sat down at his drum set. I watched him play for almost 45 minutes until Jane hollered down for him to stop playing because she was talking on the phone.

"Fine,’ he replied with a sigh.

He stood up and sat down on the other end of the couch that I was sitting on. I couldn’t help but stare at all the awards and things that hung on the walls. It was almost surreal that I was even here...going to be touring with THE biggest act in pop history. I broke my gaze at the wall when Nick stood up and walked over to the grand piano that sat in the corner behind the couch. He started rummaging through some papers that were sitting on the closed lid of the piano.

"Whatcha lookin’ at?" I asked as I stood up and walked over to where he was.

"Just some music that we’re supposed to look through for the new album that we’ll be working on when the tour’s over," he replied as he picked up a piece of paper and looked at it more carefully.

"Oh. Mind if I?" I asked while I pointed to the pile of sheet music that he’d already looked through.

"Naw, go ahead," he said as he set the sheet from his hands on the pile that I was pointing to and picked up a new paper to look at.

I picked up the pile and sat down on the piano bench to look over the sheets. Occasionally I would come across a song that would catch my eye so I played a few of the notes on the keys to give myself a better sense of the music. After about the fourth song, I found one that I really liked. I set the pile of music on the piano, but kept the music to the song that interested me on the piano stand so I could play through a little of it. I hummed the melody as I played through as much of the accompaniment that I could. The music was occupying all of my concentration so I didn’t notice when Nick walked up behind me and began singing the words as I played the music. I instantly sang the words too, not really realizing that I was singing. When I started singing the melody, he sang a harmony part that made the song sound even more appealing. After I finished playing, I looked up and saw Jane standing at the bottom of the stairs listening to the music that was coming from our direction.

"That was beautiful," she said with a smile. "Sing it again for me."

She walked across the room and stood on our side of the couch as she leaned on the back of it.

"Hold on...just a second," she said before she walked over to the stereo system that was in the corner opposite of the piano.

She played with the stereo for a few seconds before she turned back around.

"Ok. Go ahead," she said with a smile.

I played the music and we both sang along just as we had done before, but this time it sounded a little bit better because it was our second time singing it through. She thanked us when we were done before she took a tape out of the stereo and walked towards the stairs.

"Jive is going to looooove this!" she said happily before she rounded the corner and climbed the stairs.

"Ok...whatever that was..." I said with an unsure voice.

"I think I know what she’s up to," Nick replied before he went back to the music that he was looking at.

"I think I’m going to go upstairs and find something to do," I said as I stood up and pushed the piano bench back into its original position.

"Ok," Nick replied, keeping his eyes on the music before him.

When I got up to the top of the stairs, I could hear Jane talking excitedly on the phone in the front sitting area. I could hear what she was saying as I passed the room and headed up to the top floor to see what AC was doing.

"Oh my...Julia, it was perfect! You’ve got to hear this," Jane exclaimed into the phone. "You’ve got to sign this girl before someone else does!"

I laughed at her enthusiasm as I climbed the stairs and passed my room while I walked down the hallway.

"Hey blondie," I said to AC from his doorway. "Whatcha doin?"

"Workin’ on my N64 skills so I can beat Nilo," he replied with a huge grin. "Wanna play?"

"Sure!"

I joined him in his MarioKart game after he started it over. We had fun playing until it was time to go to bed.

"Good night," I said to AC when I stopped at the door and turned to face him.

"Night Liz," he replied with a smile before he stood up to get his pajamas.

I shut the door behind me as I walked out into the hallway. Just as I started walking towards my room, Nick came up the stairs and smiled happily at me before he disappeared into his room. ‘Wonder why everyone’s so happy all of a sudden?’ I wondered as I walked into my room and shut the door behind me. I changed into my pajamas and hopped into bed, wondering what tomorrow would bring.