[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Chapter 22.

Friday afternoon Natalie and Avery sat at work totally bored. It was a beautiful day, which meant it was so slow. Natalie only had one birthday party and they were pretty much the only kids in the building. They sat behind the front counter just talking. They didn’t look up when Steve walked in the door with the camera running. “So this is the infamous Kid Kingdom. Nice uniforms.” He said laughing.

“What are you doing her? I thought you weren’t supposed to be here for a few hours. We still have like an hour and a half left.” Avery said hiding her face from the camera.

“I took an early flight. I wanted to see you guys in action. Looks like you’re real busy.”

“You have to edit this. We look like crap.” Natalie said.

“Come on.” Steve begged. “It’s important. The people have to understand where you come from. The more normal you are the better. I was even hoping I could interview some of your friends.”

“What? No.” Avery said.

Just then Josh came up to the front. “Natalie your pizza’s are ready for the party.” He said and then stopped when he noticed the camera. “What the hell is this?” he asked.

“This is our friend Steve. He’s making a documentary.” Avery said.

Josh looked at the girls confused. “First Avery comes back with a boyfriend, then Natalie turns down Paul, and now you’re in a documentary? And what’s this about you going to New York next week? You guys are starting to freak me out. What happened to you last week?”

Josh stared at both the girls waiting for an explanation. Steve took a step back to get a better shot. He was loving this. “My pizza’s are ready.” Natalie said and walked away.

Josh looked as Avery. She shrugged. “What?”

“Avery!” he yelled still waiting for an explanation.

“Josh!” she yelled back.

“Wait a minute.” Steve said, “This is Josh? The Josh? As in the inspiration behind the café scene, Josh?”

Josh looked at Steve like he was crazy. “Am I glad to meet you.” Steve said to him, “If you give me an interview for my documentary, I’ll tell you exactly what happened to them last week. I’ll even show you some great video of it.”

Josh thought about it for a minute and then said, “Deal.”

“Oh no!” Avery said. “No way.”

She tried to stop them but Josh took Steve back into the office. She ran to the kitchen to tell Natalie what was going on but Natalie was already dishing out pizza to a group of hungry little partygoers.

She walked back up front and was trying to spy on Josh and Steve. Whatever Steve was saying, Josh seemed to think it was hilarious. As she was watching them Paul came through the front door. “Where’s Natalie?” he said startling Avery.

Avery glanced at the party room and then to the office. Josh and Steve were coming out the door. Avery panicked. She didn’t think it was a good idea for Steve to meet Paul. “Um, I don’t think now is a good time to talk to her.” She said to Paul.

“You’re the one who told me to come!” Paul replied.

“Yeah but, she’s not having a good day.”

Paul looked at the party room. Natalie was laughing with the little kids. She seemed to be in a good mood. “What’s going on?” Paul asked starting to think that something was up.

“Nothing! I just think you should come back later.”

Paul had had enough. He walked past the front counter. “What if I promise to make her call you after work?” She said as he walked in the direction of the kitchen.

“Paul!” Josh yelled across the room. “What are you doing here?”

Paul walked over to Josh, “I came to talk to Natalie.” He said and looked strangely at Steve.

“Hey!” Josh said, “You should interview him.”

Josh looked at Paul, “This is Steve. He’s a friend of Natalie and Avery’s. He’s using them as the subjects for this documentary he’s making. He wanted to talk to people who know them.” Josh looked back to Steve. “No one knows Natalie better than Paul. He’s in love with her. Just left his fiancée for her even.”

Paul wanted to kill Josh. He forced a smile into the camera. Natalie was headed back to the kitchen with empty pizza trays when she saw Steve, Paul, and Josh talking. Trying to not look too obvious she quickly put down her trays and went up to them. She glanced at Avery who shrugged helplessly. “Hey!” She said walking up to the guys, “What’s going on?”

“I’m doing an interview for Steve’s movie.” Josh said excitedly.

“You didn’t tell me this was the Josh.” Steve said.

Natalie forced an irritated smile. Paul looked at her so confused by it all. “What are you doing here?” she asked him.

“I was looking for you actually.” He said and then glanced back at the camera.

“Don’t mind me.” Steve said.

Natalie glared into the camera. “You know what?” she said to Paul, “Why don’t we go into the office.”

She grabbed his arm and headed for the office. Josh and Steve followed them. “Alone!” she said glaring into the camera again.

She and Paul went into the office and shut the door. “What’s all that about?” Paul asked.

“That’s just my friend Steve. He’s a little crazy. He thinks he’s making this big movie but it’s really not… um… You know what, it’s not important. I only have a few minutes before it’s cake time so, let’s talk.”

Natalie and Paul sat down and started to talk. Josh, Avery and Steve watched from the front. Steve, as always, was running the camera. “Can anyone tell what they’re saying?” Steve said.

“It can’t be good.” Avery said, “He dumped his fiancée 2 days before the wedding because he’s in love with Natalie and she came back from vacation totally over him.”

Josh was confused. “She’s totally over him?”

“Yup.”

“No way.” Josh said laughing, “I’ll bet you five bucks they walk out of that room hooked up.”

Avery looked at Steve and then to Josh. “You’re on.”

“What are we looking at?” Said a voice behind them.

They were all so focused on Natalie and Paul that none of them looked to see who was there. “I’m about to win a bet.” Josh said.

“Natalie and Paul are having the talk. I got 5 on them hooking up. You want in?”

“Won’t happen.” Avery said.

“Hook up? Isn’t that the guy who got married last week?”

“Dude where have you been? There was no wedding.”

“No wedding?”

“Dumped Emily two days before the wedding. For Natalie! They’re totally hookin’ up.” Josh insisted.

Avery looked back at who was behind them. She froze at the sight of Brian. He was staring at Natalie through the glass. Then Natalie and Paul stood up and hugged. Natalie kissed him on the cheek. “See!” Josh yelled, “Hookin’ up! You owe me five bucks!”

Avery saw the look on Brian’s face. She felt sick. “They’re not hooking up.” Avery said to Brian. His eyes were fixed on the two in the office. Steve looked back and saw Brian standing there. He freaked out. “Dude, it’s not what it looks like.” He said.

Josh turned around, “What the- who are you?”

Avery elbowed Josh in the ribs really hard. “This is Brian.” Steve said.

“He’s a Backstreet Boy.” Avery explained.

“Another one?” Josh asked.

“He’s the one I was telling you about a minute ago.” Steve added.

“He’s also the reason that you owe me five bucks.” Avery said.

Brian just watched them all completely overwhelmed. “She’s just letting him down nicely.” Avery said to Brian.

“She kissed him. I saw it.” Josh argued.

“On the cheek.” Steve said worried.

“If they had hooked up they’d be in there making out right now.” Avery said.

Everyone looked back at the office. Natalie walked out the door headed straight for the kitchen. Paul slumped down into a chair. He looked heartbroken. Avery smiled and held out her hand. Josh reached into his pocket and slapped a five-dollar bill into the palm of Avery’s hand. “See.” She said proudly, “She’s completely over him.” She looked at Brian and smiled. “And you know that only happens when you’ve found somebody else.”

Brian smiled. Steve took his first breath in ten minutes and the color started to return to his face. Brian hugged Avery, “What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at some meeting today.”

“The meeting was yesterday. I thought I would come out before things get crazy with the promotional tour. It starts next week with the premiere of the video. That’s on Tuesday.”

“Yeah I know. Natalie and I are going to be in New York.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, somehow Mtv found out about our story and they want to interview us on TRL when they premiere the video.”

“Very cool.” Brian said.

He looked at Josh who looked a little confused still. “Hey man I’m Brian.” He said extending his hand.

“Josh.” Brian shook his hand and then looked at Avery. “Josh? As in…”

“Thee Josh. Yes.” Josh said finishing his sentence for him.

Brian looked at him curiously and them smiled. “Heard a lot about you.”

“So I’ve been told.” Josh said. He looked at Steve. “You want to finish telling me the story?” he asked.

Josh gave Steve a tour of the Kitchen and Steve told him the rest of the story while he made pizza. He was after all supposed to be working. Avery and Brian stood up front alone. Brian watched Natalie sing and play with the kids in the party room. She was laughing and having a great time. “She really does love this job, doesn’t she?” Brian said.

“For some insane reason that I don’t understand.” Avery replied. “I’m going to quit.” She explained when Brian gave her a funny look.

“Can I go talk to her?” He asked.

“I’d wait until she’s done in there. That is a room full of 11-year-old girls. You don’t want to end up like Nick, do you?

Just then the door to the office closed. Paul was walking toward the front doors. He stopped when he got to the front counter. “How are ya?” Avery said. Paul looked destroyed.

Without saying a word, Paul hugged Avery. Brian was trying not to stare but couldn’t help the awkward look on his face. Paul let go of Avery. “I’m sorry man,” He said to Brian, “You must be the new boyfriend I’ve been hearing about.”

Avery and Brian exchanged weird looks. “Don’t worry,” Paul continued, “I’m not trying to put the moves on your girlfriend. I’m Paul.”

Paul reached out to shake Brian’s hand. Avery was relieved to see that Paul thought Brian was her Boyfriend and not Natalie’s. Brian shook his hand. “Brian.” He said.

“I’m gonna go.” Paul said to Avery, “You were right. It wasn’t a good time to talk to her. I’ll see you later. Congrats on the whole boyfriend thing.”

“Thanks.” Avery said.

She smiled and Paul left. Once he was gone Avery looked at Brian, “That could have been a lot more awkward.”

“The poor guy looks crushed.” Brian said.

“He’ll get over it.” Avery said, “The guy was engaged to someone else last week.”

Brian looked at Natalie again. The little girls had disappeared from the party room and Natalie was clearing paper plates. She was now alone. Avery watched the dreamy look appear on Brian’s face as he watched her. “I think it’s safe now.” She said. “You can go talk to her now.”

Brian sighed. “Maybe I should wait.” He said. Avery looked at him confused.

“Wait for what?” she asked.

“Well I have a surprise for her.”

“What kind of surprise?”

“You’ll see.” Brian said with a wicked grin. He was definitely up to something. “Just, don’t tell her I was here.” Brian said. “I want to surprise her all at once.”

Avery nodded. She looked in the Kitchen. “Better duck then,” she said to Brian. “Looks like she’s headed this way.”

Brian ducked behind the counter. Natalie walked up to Avery. “That’s it. I quit. BYU here I come.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Avery said unconvincingly.

“I don’t think I’m his favorite princess anymore.” Natalie replied, “How did he look? Did he say anything on the way out?”

“He didn’t look any different than you did two weeks ago. Serves him right if you ask me.”

“Avery! Be nice! He really didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You’re right. I should be nicer to the guy. He did just earn me 5 bucks. You should have seen the look on Josh’s face. Classic! He really thought you guys were going to end up happily ever after.”

Natalie sighed. “So did I. Do you think I did the right thing?”

“What?” Avery asked nervously. She glanced down at Brian. “Of coarse you did. Remember that part about Brian being absolutely perfect for you? You said yourself you were completely over Paul.”

“But I loved him for so long. I’ve only known Brian for like two weeks. I’m going crazy. I mean he says all these incredible things and then I don’t hear from him at all. Nick calls you like every five minutes. I just said no to PAUL! What if I did that and Brian never calls. What if I never see him again?”

Avery glanced down at Brian and they exchanged looks. Natalie was so stressed. She threw her head down on the counter burying her face in her arms. Avery stepped in front of her so that she wouldn’t see Brian if she looked up. “Look,” she said trying to be encouraging. “You’ve known Paul for how long and nothing has ever come of it. Why do you think that is? You and Brian, on the other hand, spend one week together and you’re practically engaged. And, according to the press, Nick and me are engaged. I mean what were the chances that we would go on vacation and both fall in love?”

“None.” Natalie said remembering the letter Brian had written her. “It’s like it was fate.”

Natalie picked herself up off the counter and faded into a daydream. “You’re right.” She said, “I did the right thing.”

Avery glanced down at Brian again. He smiled. “Don’t worry about Brian. I’m sure you’ll see him again.”

Natalie went to finish cleaning up after her party. “Hey,” Avery yelled after her, “You’re not gonna quit.”

The girls laughed. Natalie went back to her party and Avery looked down at Brian. “Coast is clear.” She said.

Brian stood up. “You’re both off in an hour right?”

Avery looked at her watch, “42 minutes.” She replied. “Why?” she asked again hoping he would tell her what the surprise was but Brian wouldn’t tell her what he was going to do. He simply said that she had to get Natalie to go with her to the movies after work and no matter what they needed to see the 4:30 showing of Gone in 60 seconds at the Canton Cinema. Avery looked at him like he was crazy. “Steve knows all about it. He’ll help you get her there.” Brian said and left the building. Avery watched him leave. She was dying to know what he was up to. She ran to talk to Steve but he was no more help that Brian was.

Avery had no idea how she was going to convince Natalie to go see that movie with her and didn’t know how to explain why it had to be that one at that time. She sat up front thinking of ways to do it until Steve and Josh joined her. Natalie punched out and joined them up front. “So,” she said to Steve. “What do you want to do first?”

Steve smiled. “I was just talking to Josh and I was thinking of taking a break from the video and going to see the movie Gone in 60 Seconds.”

Natalie looked strangely at him. “OK?” she said.

“Josh was just telling me about it and it sounds awesome. We already looked it up and there’s a 4:30 showing at the theater down the street.”

Natalie looked at Avery. She shrugged. “I kind of wanted to see that movie. Now is as good a time as any,” she said.

“It’ll be fun.” Josh said.

Everyone was glad to see that Natalie didn’t need much convincing. They went to the theater. Steve insisted on buying the tickets. The girls stood back looking at the marquee while Steve was at the ticket window. “That’s odd.” Natalie said, “It doesn’t list a 4:30 showing.”

Avery looked up at the sign nervously. “That is weird.” She said.

Steve and Josh came back with tickets in hand. “Shall we?” he asked.

It wasn’t hard to find seats considering they were the only four people in the theater. They all settled into their seats and the theater went dark. The screen came to life. Right away the girls could tell that something was going on. There were no previews just numbers on the screen counting down from 10. When it reached 1, the screen went dark and the sweet sound of the Backstreet Boys filled the theater. Natalie and Avery exchanged confused and excited looks and then they looked at Steve. He smiled and Pointed to the screen. The girls looked up to see Jerry waving into the camera. The girls squealed with delight as they realized they were about to watch a movie from their vacation. The girls watched excitedly for 20 minutes as the weeks’ events replayed. There were laughs and tears from both of them. They were so into the movie that they didn’t notice the occasional looks and comments from Josh. He couldn’t believe some of the things he was seeing. Natalie was so surprised to see the footage of her and Brian watching the basketball game. She smiled and remembered the picture in her photo album. Then she thought of the letter that Brian had written. Then she watched as her and Brian had to kiss take after take. She waited for the last kiss but it wasn’t there. Then, one of the last things in the movie was the final cut of the music video staring the girls. They couldn’t believe it! It looked so good. Like a real music video except they were watching themselves. It was so weird. They loved it so much! Then at the end of the video is where the kiss between Natalie and Brian was. Avery and Josh both stared. The video ended and the screen went dark again. Natalie and Avery looked at Steve. He pointed back at the screen. “There’s more?” Avery asked.

The screen came to life again. This time they were watching a slide show. They had seen most of the pictures before in their photo albums that Kevin and James had made for them but the song that was playing was a song they had never heard before. They both realized it right away. They looked at each other. It was Brian singing. The girls hardly noticed the pictures on display. They listened carefully to the words. The song was called “It Must Have Been Fate”. The song was about a girl who came into this world with only one purpose in life - to be with this guy. It talked about how the guy was dying until he met the girl. It was the sweetest most beautiful song Natalie had ever heard. She wondered why she had never heard it before. The beginning of the last verse caught the girls’ attention. They looked at each other as the last verse talked about how even though he’d only known her for a week he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. The pictures stopped on the same picture of Natalie and Brian that was in Natalie’s photo album. The chorus repeated again and as it did the girls heard singing behind them. Natalie turned around to see Brian kneeling behind her. He was singing along with the song. Instantly, tears filled Natalie’s eyes. Avery, Steve and Josh weren’t surprised to see him but Natalie was so shocked she felt weak. It was a good thing she was sitting down. She wanted to leap into his arms but she was afraid to stand up. Brian got up and hopped over the seats. He knelt down in front of Natalie. Avery and Josh watched curiously. Natalie just stared at Brian still in shock. He smiled at her, took her hand in his and said, “That song is called ‘It Must Have Been Fate’. I wrote it about you. It just sort of came to me as I sat in the hospital waiting for Nick.”

More tears fell down Natalie’s cheek. “I hated saying goodbye to you. I realized when you left the hotel that day that I just can’t live without you. I need you.”

Brian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “I told you I will do what ever it takes to keep you in my life. I refuse to say goodbye.”

Natalie, Avery and Josh watched in total shock as he popped open the box to reveal a ring. “I know it sounds crazy but I want you to be my wife.”

All eyes turned to Natalie but she didn’t notice the stares. She looked at Brian. He seemed to have a look of nervous desperation behind the excitement in his eyes. His hands were starting to tremble. Millions of emotions pounded in Natalie’s heart and millions more thoughts ran through her head. However, through all the noise one thought stood out above all the rest. The word yes repeated over and over in her brain.

Natalie had no idea how long she sat there. No one said a word. Finally she caught up with the moment. She looked at the ring and then to Brian. He held his breath waiting for her to say something. “I must be crazy.” She said and leaned forward to kiss Brian.

Brian slipped the ring on her finger and they kissed again. After that, they smiled at each other and then Natalie laughed. She turned to Avery who was still sitting there in shock. “I’m getting married!” she said.

The girls gave each other a hug and giggled giddy with excitement. Brian stood up and Natalie jumped to her feet leaping into his arms. Everyone else stood up as they kissed again. After the congratulations they all made a plan. Natalie and Brian were going to go out for a while and Steve, Avery and Josh ended up watching the movie they said they were hear to see. The plan was to meet in the morning where they would film what Steve needed for his documentary.