[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Rachel came back to the apartment after an exhausting time at volleyball practice. Kristin was sitting on the couch watching MTV. Rachel made a bee line to the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table. Her chest ached with tension. She reached for her inhaler and took a couple of puffs, hoping that would soothe the pain.

"Hey, Rach. How was practice?" she asked, not looking away from the TV.

"It. . .was. . .really. . .tough," Rachel said in between short breaths.

Kristin shut off the TV and looked over at her in concern. "Rach, you all right? You seem to be out of breath."

"No. . .I'm okay. I just. . .need to. . .sit down," she said as she took another puff of her inhaler.

Kristin walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. "Here, drink this."

"Thanks," Rachel said as she took little sips.

“Did you take your medication today?” she asked while staring at her with worry.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Rachel said as her breathing began to steady. “I’m okay.”

"Geez, girl, what did you do at practice?"

"It wasn't from. . .practice. It was from running. . .from the gym. . .back here," Rachel said as she continued to catch her breath.

"You ran all the way over here!?" Kristin said, raising her voice. "What the hell were you thinking!?"

"I needed to get into shape."

"Rach, you know what can happen if you overdo yourself. You're going to wind up back in the hospital like. . .like. . ." her voice faded.

"Like two years ago?" Rachel finished. Kristin nodded, close to tears. "Kris, I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to let a little heart condition stop me."

"Little heart condition? Rachel, you almost died. I don't want to lose my best friend. Just promise you'll be more careful and not do anything crazy like that again."

Rachel sighed. "I promise," she said softly, regaining her normal breathing speed. “Come on, let’s go get ready. We have a concert to go to!" Rachel said as she stood up and then suddenly became dizzy. "Whoa," she said while putting her hand on her head.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" Kristin asked with a look of worry.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a head rush," she lied.

"Okay, well I'm going to get ready," Kristin said, leaving the kitchen.

"Okay. . ." Rachel trailed off, her mind focused on what just happened. I never had that happen before, she thought. Feeling a slight pain in her chest, she sat back down. It's probably nothing. I better get ready for the concert. I'm sure everything is fine, she continued to think to herself then headed to the bathroom. Rachel got up and took a hot bath. She freshened up her make-up and fixed up her hair. When she was done she got out and let Kristin in. About an hour later, Rachel knocked on the bathroom door.

"Kristin, hurry up. We're gonna be late."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Kristin said as she opened the door. She looked at Rachel and asked, "Do I look okay?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, you look terrible," she said sarcastically.

"Well, I don't wanna look bad."

"You look fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Now, let’s go," she said as she drug Kristin out the door.

They hopped into Kristin's car and drove to the stadium where the concert was being held. Kristin parked her car and looked over at Rachel.

"You got the camera?"

Rachel held up the camera. "Check."

"Backstage passes?"

"Got em," she said as she put hers on and gave Kristin the other one.

"Tickets?"

Rachel's face went blank. "Oops!" she said.

"Rach, you didn't."

"I knew I was forgetting something."

Kristin glared at Rachel. "I am going to kill you."

Rachel laughed and help up the tickets. "Gotcha!" she shouted.

"That wasn't even funny. Don't ever do that to me again."

"Sorry, Kris, you're too easy."

“Karma’s a bitch, you know,” she said while getting out of the car. “Let’s go on inside.”

They walked up to the back gate and showed their backstage passes to the security guard. He let them in then Kristin and Rachel ran backstage. They were looking around for the dressing room when they ran into Nikki, who was walking down the hall. She smiled when she saw them.

"Hey, girls!" she said.

"Hey, Nikki," said Rachel.

"Where is everyone?"

"Amanda and the guys are in the dressing room. Come with me. I'll show you where it's at."

Rachel and Kristin followed Nikki to the dressing room. She knocked on the door and Aaron Carter answered the door.

"Hey, Nikki!" he said as he hugged her.

"How's it goin', bud?" Nikki asked him.

"I'm great and ready to perform," Aaron said while bouncing up and down.

Nikki laughed and walked into the room. "Hey, guys," she said as she timidly glanced at Howie who was still without a shirt.

“Hey, Nikki,” Amanda with a smile. “Come on in, girls.”

"Man, I'm pumped and ready to go!" A.J. shouted. Whoo!”

"Calm down, hon," Amanda said.

"Why don't you make me?" he said with a sly grin.

She laughed and kissed him on the lips. "Are you cool now?"

"I'm as cool as cucumber," he replied.

Brian looked over at Rachel, who was standing by the door. He walked over to her and grabbed her arm. "Come with me. I wanna talk to you." Rachel followed him outside. He leaned against the wall and looked her straight in the eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"You were crying last night. Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it?"

Rachel smiled. "That's really sweet that you're concerned, but I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm positive."

"I just hate to see you so upset. If there's any way I can help---"

Rachel cut him off with a kiss. "I'm fine."

Brian stood there in shock for a second then looked down into her eyes. "Okay. . .if you say so." Brian said suspiciously. "Let’s go back in the dressing room. I gotta finish getting ready."

They went back inside and Brian went to the mirror to fix his hair. Rachel was standing next to him, admiring him as he observed his hair and face. She found herself fixated on his strong jaw line and piercing blue eyes. Her attention was quickly drawn to Kevin who was obviously having difficulties.

"Man look at my hair!" Kevin grumbled.

Rachel laughed. "What's wrong with it? It looks fine."

"No, it doesn't," Kevin said as she ran his fingers through his hair.

"Why are you so nervous?" Brian asked.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I am not nervous!" Kevin picked up his toothbrush and attempted to squeeze the toothpaste out, but it splattered all over the mirror.

Brian laughed at Kevin's mishap. "Not nervous, huh?"

Kevin glared at Brian. "Shut up, Frick!"

"Whoa chill out, cuz."

Kevin sighed. "Sorry, I guess I really am a little nervous."

"A little?"

"Hey, I said I was sorry."

"What have you got to be so nervous about?"

"Sarah," Kevin said while blushing.

"Who's Sarah?" Rachel asked.

"This girl I met," Kevin said self-consciously.

Brian beamed. "You met a girl? When was this?"

"I met her at the bookstore a couple of days ago."

"Kevin, you dog," Brian said as he punched Kevin on the shoulder.

"It's not like that," he explained. "She's got a boyfriend."

"I think you've let A.J. become an influence on you," Brian joked.

Kevin laughed. "No, I really like her and I want to get to know her. I figured then we can at least be friends."

"That's really cool, Cuz," Brian said.

"Hey, guys, let's go!" shouted Howie.

"It's party time!" A.J. said while bobbing up and down.

He gave Amanda a kiss, then headed out the door. Kevin followed close behind everyone else. Brian looked over at Rachel and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Rachel smiled and shyly followed him out the door. Everyone went in their own direction, the boys went to the stage, while the girls went down the hall to the side entrance of the arena. They took their seats in the front row and watched the guys perform. Rachel smiled widely as Brian waved to her and blew occasional kisses. As sweet as she thought it was, she couldn't help but notice that through out the whole show, Kevin kept looking down at the front row. Each time he looked, the more disappointed he looked The concert ended and the girls went back to the dressing room to see the guys. Rachel walked up to Brian and wrapped her arms around his waist. She tilted her head in Kevin's direction and Brian looked over at him. He was sitting on the couch with his face in his hands. Brian looked back at Rachel, and she motioned with her eyes to talk to him. Brian nodded and sat down next to him.

"Maybe something came up and she couldn't make it."

"No, I know what happened."

"What?"

"She stood me up."

"I'm sorry, Cuz," Brian said as he patted him on the back. "Are you gonna come to dinner with us?"

Kevin sighed. "No, I'm think I'm gonna have the limo take me on home."

"Are you sure?" Kevin got up and walked to the door.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he said as he left the room.

Brian looked at Rachel in bewilderment. She sat next to him and patted his leg.

"He'll be okay. Give him some time, " she assured.

"I hope so," he said softly. He linked his fingers with hers and kissed her gently on the lips. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Let's gather up the posse and get some food," he said with a smile.

Rachel smiled back and followed him out the door. Brian sweetly put his arm around her waist and guided her down the hallway. Rachel couldn't help but blush a little. She wished the walk would never end. She was comfortable in his embrace. As they walked, they came across Nikki and Howie talking to a couple of fans. Rachel quickly stepped to the side, hoping no one saw them so close together.

"Hey, guys!" Howie said with a smile. The two girls giggled as Brian approached them. "These two ladies would love for you to sign their poster."

Brian grinned and took the marker from Howie. "I‘d be happy to. Who do I make these out to?" he asked with a goofy grin.

"Tiffany and Nicole," said younger of the two.

"Tiffany....and....Nicole," Brian stated out loud as he began to sign the poster. "Keep on dreaming...and....reach...for the...stars," he continued as he scribbled his name on the poster. "There you go!"

"Thank you," the two girls said in unison. "Bye," they shyly said as they walked away.

Howie laughed. "They were too cute. They were too shy to come up to me and their mom was the one who got them over here."

"Cute," Brian said with a smile. "What are you two up to?"

"Thinking about going out to eat? You guys wanna join us?"

"Definitely, we're starving. We should find Nick and Kristin. They probably wanna come too," Brian said as he looked around. "Anyone seen them?"

"Look out!" shouted Rachel.

Brian whipped around and saw Nick charging at them on a skateboard. Kristin was running behind him, laughing hysterically. Nick stumbled forward and rolled on the ground as he slipped off the skateboard.

"You idiot," Brian said with a laugh and helped him up.

"That was fun! I wanna do it again," Nick exclaimed.

"Why don't you forget about the skateboard and come to dinner with us," Brian said.

"Even better idea," Nick said with a grin. "Let me grab my hat from the dressing room."

"Hurry up! We're hungry people here!" Howie joked.

"Not to worry! Be back in a flash!" Nick stated as he grabbed Kristin's hand and they both ran to the dressing room.