"Like someone's drilling through my temple" Brian complained pressing his palm to
his forehead, his eyes sealed, trying in vain to chase away the nausea brought on by his
hangover.
"Here" Kristy smiled as she kneeled placing a cold compress on the back of his neck
"This should ease it a bit"
With much strength, he lifted his eyes to meet hers. He ponder a short while on what
shade they were: brown,blue or gold. What ever the case was, they were undoubtedly the
most mesmerizing pair he'd ever had the pleasure of gazing into.
Kristy suddenly felt quite uneasy, and stood up. "Better?" she queried, her voice cracking.
"Yes, thank you" Brian said graciously.
"I need to, um-" her eyes searched the room "Ice!" she exclaimed grabbing the bucket
"I'll get some more ice"
Brian watched with intrigued eyes as she bolted out the door in a flash.
Kristy rubbed her arms vigorously to rid herself of the goosebumps that had mysteriously
appeared on them.
"What just happened there?" she thought aloud, ducking her head into the ice-machine.
"Where?"
Kristy's head hit the panel roughly as she jumped "Ouch!!" she whimpered as the ice
she had accumulated splattered on the beige tailes.
"Wayda' go O Queen of Clumsiness" Alyssa curtsied with a chuckle.
"You can be so stupid sometimes!" Kristy said irritably, checking her head to see if she was
bleeding "Don't you know not to sneak up on people?"
Alyssa laughed "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya"
"You almost gave me a heart attack!" she whined pitching a cold cube at her.
Alyssa ducked and stuck out her tongue triumphantly as the frigid object crashed into the
wall.
"Missed me!" she teased, walking over to the machine to scoop some ice up in her bowl.
Turning back, a diabolic grin appeared on Lyss'. Casually, she crossed her friend and
pulled back her collar, letting two cubes drop in her shirt.
Kristy's eyes instantaneously flew open as the cold ice slid down her back, already
melting at the touch of her worm skin. "Aaaaaaaahlyssa!!!!" she squealed as she sprung
up, wiggling to get the chilly elements out of her tank top
"I'm not in the mood!!!!"
"Okay" Alyssa said sheepishly "Truce?!"
Kristy roughly shook her friends extended hand and proceeded to continue cleaning up
the mess around her.
"You know" Lyss laughed, helping her pal pick up the cubes and tossing them into her
bucket "Generally people don't use ice that's been on a germ infested floor"
"I'm not using them for my drinks stupid!" Kristy said with a hint of hopelessness in her
tone "They're for Brian. He's feeling kinda-"
She was cut off in mid-sentence "Brian?!" Alyssa said sharply "What are you doing with
Brian? How can you even talk to him after what he did?"
"You're being absolutely ridiculous" Kristy said, rolling her eyes, picking up the last ice
cube and standing to face her upset friend "He's not the only one at fault here"
Alyssa glared at her "How can you say that? Eli's our friend! That bastard had the guts to do something like this to her"
"Brian's our friend too!" Kristy rebutted "And Eli also made a mistake. You can't keep on
blaming others Lyss, she did wrong too. And you KNOW very well that Bri's one of the
sweetest guys on earth. He simply made an error in judgment"
"I can't believe you've got the audacity to defend him" Alyssa said arrogantly crossing her
arms over her chest.
Kristy sighed in desperation and started to make her way back to her room "Oh Lyss, get
over it, would ya?!" she yelled back.
**Same Time**
Kevin was still half asleep when he felt a soft hand creep its way past the rubber band that held his boxer. He reached out and grabbed it as a smile spread across his tired face
"You really shouldn't do that first thing in the mornin'" he growled tenderly kissing the
tips of her fingers.
Naila pouted and was soon lifted onto his stomach "And why not?" she purred, lowering
her lips, placing tinny butterfly kisses on her boyfriends neck.
"Mmmm" Kevin moaned, wrapping his muscular arms around her thin frame "You know
what I like"
Naila lifted herself, placing herself in a straddling position "Really baby?" she said sexily
biting her bottom lip, sliding her cold hands up and down Kevin's built bust.
"Oh yeah" Kevin groaned as she nibble and kissed away at his flesh, slowly grinding
herself against his suddenly very crowded boxers.
"Kevin..." Naila trailed as his smooth hands glided up under her night gown.
"Hum?" he responded, still more preoccupied with the physical action than her words.
Naila thought a bit. It would be a huge step for her to do this, but she knew she had to.
Taking a deep breath, she took his hands in hers and held then behind her back. Her
mouth neared his ear "I love you" she whispered sweetly.
Kevin moved his head abruptly, his lips meeting hers as their tongues mingled with each
other. Finally, he parted and looked up at her caramel eyes "I love you too" he said.
She let out a sigh of relief "You better!" she giggled before smashing her lips into his for
another fiery embrace.
**Later That Day**
Slowly sipping away at her black mocha coffe, her thumb turned the page as she
swallowed the hot fluid. So engrossed in her lecture, she almost failed to notice the man
taking a seat across from her. Almost...
"What do you want?" she said plainly, not even bothering to part from her page.
"Not much of a morning person now are we?!" the voice joked.
Alyssa finally looked up, trying as best she could to avoid making eye contact "Not today,
no"
"Care to share?" it rhymed poorly.
Things had sure changed between the two in the last 24 hours, that's for sure "Not really."
"Okey dokey"
She looked up and found him bucking his teeth and flaring his nostril "Would you mind
wiping that smirk off your face?" Alyssa said irritably.
"It's the Boner Look!" A.J said faking hostility "It's supposed to cheer people"
She rolled her eyes and shut her book, figuring that she wouldn't be left alone from this
point on. She still couldn't believe their relationship had so quickly returned to the way it
was prior to the whole Amanda incident. Amanda. Alyssa had nearly forgotten about her.
No one ever spoke about it.
"...weird huh?!"
Alyssa shook her head, coming back to earth as she realized that she'd blanked out on all
of what he'd just told her
"Um, yeah" she said uncertainly.
"What do you think it should have been?" A.J continued, oblivious to the fact that she had
no clue what he was talking about.
She scratched her head, "Well, see, umm" she began trying to buy herself some time. Her
eyes sparkled 'thank god' "Howie! Over here!!" she waved happy that she would be able
to pull herself out of it.
Howie casually walked over and sat down "Good morning" he smiled.
A.J eyed him whimsicaly "Uh-oh, I know that look D"
"What look?" Howie said cluelessly.
"The 'I just got laid' look!" A.J pointed out with out hesitation
Howie blushed "You can be a tad bit more discreet when you say things like that" he said
checking over his shoulder "It doesn't have to be public knowledge"
"Whatever" A.J chuckled. He looked across the table at Alyssa, who had already returned to her novel. She looked just as beautiful and mysterious as the first day they met in her
dressing room. Something about this girl just intrigued him to no end; and it drove him
wild. Had circumstances been different, he though, so would have been the outcome...
**Meanwhile**
"You moron!" Laurel shrieked as she hit the water.
Michael followed, jumping in next to her creating a wave in the pool "Don't be such a
baby!" he said watching her pout "I just made things easier for ya"
"But I didn't want to swim!" she retorted crawling out by the ledge "Now my hairs all
wet". Agh, why on earth was she dating such an idiot? God, how could she have lost her
virginity to...to... to HIM!
Michael watch his girlfriend storm off and felt a bit guilty. Things had been rocky
between the two for a while, and he had the feeling she wanted to break things off soon.
"Well I guess that I'm just not gonna let that happen" he thought as ideas began to brew in
his head. He could pull it off.
**That Evening**
I lay alone in my room staring vacantly off into space till my thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"It's open!" I hollered, too sluggish to budge.
I listened to the door open "Hope I'm not intruding" I heard him say as he quietly shut it
behind himself
"No, it's Ok Nick" I said rolling to my side as he took a seat on the carpeted floor next to
my bed "I was hoping for some company"
"I'm fucking bored!" Nick whined "I can't go out cause of, well..." he pointed at his
bruised face.
"Obviously!"
He continued "And everyone besides us is out. I think"
I sighed "I feel like shit!"
"Tell me about it" Nick chuckled right as the phone rang.
I smiled as I stood up, patting him playfully on his baseball cap as a reached for the
receiver.
"Hello?!" I answered
"Eli"
My eyes grew large "Brian?"
I could see Nick get up from the corner of my eye with a destrot expression.
"Yeah" he answered in a quick breath. He paused a short while. He missed her terribly
and felt such remorse for all the cruel words he had said- he'd been so foolish.
"God, I'm so sorry!"
My heart leaped into my throat "I'm sorry too Brian" I said overcome by emotion "I'm so,
so sorry"
"I didn't mean a word I said. I never meant to hurt you. God, I never wanted to cause you
any pain. I'm so sorry. I love you so much..." he rambled
Tears began to flood my eyes "I love you too Brian" I choked.
Nick tried to force a supportive smile on his face when Eli turned to him exhilarated. His
heart sank.
"I want to see you" Brian said, him too overjoyed "I need to hold you in my arms again"
I looked at Nick once more as Brian's words echoed in my head. His distended face
marked with purplish blemishes had suddenly taken on a role far more significant than
any of us had ever suspected. They had become a sign. A sign that something had gone
wrong. Very, very wrong. I knew that I'd been naive in the past, but I'd be an absolute fool
if I chose to disregard what I knew would be right.
"Brian... I can't"
Silence. "What?"
Nick looked down at me, intrigue splattered all over his facade.
"I'm sorry Brian" I said, clutching onto my locket as my eyes searched the ceiling for
some sort of emotional strength "I can't be with you any more"
I could hear him begin to weep "What are you talking about?" he questioned in shock "I
love you"
"And I love you too" I added, as worm tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Then why can't you be with me?" he cried
I inhaled sharply "Because I-I can't" I stuttered heavingly.
"I don't understand" I heard him say in tears "We love each other! I need you. Please, I'm
so sorry for what I did. I need you in my life"
"No, it's not only about that" I said shaking my head, trying to clear my thoughts "It's
about trust. I'm afraid that I won't ever be able to trust you again Brian. I need to be able
to trust you, but I can't"
"Believe me!" he cried "Trust me!"
My whole body tensed "But can you trust me?"
He hesitated long enough for me to know the answer.
"But I need you!" he pleaded.
"Goodbye Brian" I said as let go of the phone.
I looked at Nick once again, my vision blurred from tears. "It's over" I cried, collapsing
into his arms.
Nick held her tightly against his chest in a trivial attempt to comfort her. He knew he
should be saying something. Anything. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Running his long trembling finders through her thick mane, he finally spoke: "It's all
over" was all he could manage to say as the sobs continued to racket through her body.
"It's all over" he repeated, this time to himself as it all began to sink in.
****
"Michael, this is hard for me to do, but I think that we should see other people. No, it's not you, it's me and... agh" Laurel moaned pulling her hair by it's roots.
"Okay, I'm gonna try this again" she said with determination as she wiped her nose.
She'd been rehearsing her brake up with Michael infront of the mirror for already two
hours. Her reflection constantly teased her, it seemed. Mocking the way she planned on
ending her very first serious relationship. She never imagined it could be so damn
difficult.
Taking one final look at herself, she took in a deep breath and opened the door. It was
now or never...
"Michael we need to talk it's very important" she said in a rapid breath
"and... whoa!" she exclaimed as took in her surroundings.
Her jaw dropped to the floor "omigod"
"You like?" Michael grinned, as he blew out the match that had lit the final candle.
Laurel's eyes were still fixated on the bouquet of peach roses that stood majestically in a
tall glass vase vase in the corner of the dimnly lit room
"This-this is, wow Mike" was all she was able to say.
Michael smiled proudly "Yeah" he said, as he too took some time to observe the room he
had spent a half hour preparing. He'd placed sented candles on various surfaces; dispersed
multicolored rose petals all across the room with out failing to add at least a dozen peach
ones in a vase since he knew they were her favorites, prepared (ahum, ordered) a fancy
candle lit supper, and to top it all of, had soft music playing in the background.
"You hate this song" Laurel chuckled, as her ears finally cough on to the familiar melody
of Christina Aguilera's 'Blessed'.
Michael's nose scrunched "I know" he admitted as he tried to block it out "But you seem
to like it, so whatever"
Placing his hands in his pockets, he realized for the first time in what a vulnerable
position he had placed himself by letting his emotions show by doing something
romantic. He'd never been the type. Then again, he'd never been the type to have a steady
girlfriend either. Bang and Bye, remember?
"What did you want to tell me?" he asked, returning to reality, his voice a little throaty.
Laurel was still blown away with all that he had just done for her. Maybe he wasn't the
such a selfish pig after all. Should she give him a second chance?
She bit her lip. "Uh, nothing" she lied.
Michael smiled with a relieved sigh "Dig in!" he said pushing Laurel to the small table.
Ok, so maybe he hadn't turned into a complete gentlemen, but heck, it was still a clear
improvement.
"How did you get wine?" Laurel queried as he pored her a glass.
"Oh, I asked Annie" he said "She kinda helped me out"
She nodded.
"Lucky for us you were in the bathroom so long" he laughed "I don't even wanna know
what went on in there"
She blushed "I think you're right"
After they had finished their meal, Michael stood up to get the desert which sat nicely in a
ribbon tied white box on the counter. After placing it on a fancy dish, he turned around
only to be met by a pair of soft, vanilla flavored lips.
With her left hand, Laurel removed the cake from Michael and set it back down, not once
parting from her kiss. She'd been so wrong about him. Stumbling backwards, she
managed to lead him to the bed and push him down by the shoulders.
Michael stared at her wide eyed as she fumbled with the buttons of her satin blouse.
"Are you Ok?" he asked, watching attentively as the last button undid itself.
She winked "I'm just great Mike" she said, jerking of her top and dismissing it to the
floor, exposing her firm flesh and blue lace bra.
"I just... want... to thank... you... for... everything" she said between kisses as she leaned
over him.
Lifting his shirt over his head, she agresively flung it across the room. She began to nibble and suck at the tender skin on his neck all the while managing to unbuckle his belt and unzip
his pants. She managed to get up, and with one strong tug, pulled off his jeans along with his
boxers in one shot.
"We don't need that" she purred.
As Michael's hands began to roam her body, she remembered to what this had led to last
time: Pain, heartache and regret. 'But last time isn't this time' she thought. Last time she'd
done this in an attempt to prove herself to Nick, but this time it was out of her own sheer
will.
And when that not so foreign sensation of her boyfriend thrusting into her returned, she
knew that there would be no remorse. With all her inner turmoil now settled, her head shot
back and she let herself be brought into pure ecstasy.
**A Little Later**
"Lyss?"
"Hum?"
"Are you feeling just as crappie as I am?"
Alyssa looked up at the people around her. Naila snuggling
on Kevin's lap and Howie whispering sweet (or at least
that's what she suspected) words into Dawn's ear, only
causing her to giggle like a school girl.
Resting her cheek on her hand, she sighed heavily "Yeah..."
"Well at least I'm not the only one" Kristy grumbled, letting
herself slouch in her seat, crossing her arms in desperation
over her chest.
When they arrived back at the hotel, the couples were the
first to bolt of into their rooms.
"Wonder what they're looking forward to" Alyssa joked.
"You know something?" Kristy began as she and her friend
made their way back to their own rooms "I'm really starting
to miss Rick a lot"
Alyssa smiled, supportively placing an arm around her
friends neck. This was the first time Kristy had actually
spoken about her boyfriend since they'd been on tour. She
usually kept these things to herself "I know honey. I'm sure
he misses you too. When did you last talk to him?"
Kristy bit her lip and closed her eyes to keep from shedding
any tears. It was so difficult for her "Long enough. When I
call, he's never there. Always out or something."
She breathed in deeply "I'm worried that he might, you know,
be seeing someone else" Kristy admitted.
"Come now, you know that's not true" Alyssa comforted as she
arrived at her door step "The boys mad about you"
Kristy nodded "I guess you're right" she said, still seeming
unsettled.
"You know I am!" Alyssa grinned, slapping her playfully on
her arm.
"Yeah, well, goodnight" she said waving back feebly at
Alyssa as she slowly dragged her feet back to her own room
at the end of the hall.
Alyssa played mindlessly with her keys as she watched her
friends silhouette disappear. She'd never known Kristy to be
anything but happy, and to see her so low made her feel
somewhat guilty for not being able to do anything to help
her.
About to put her key in the door, she took one nervous step
back as she saw it open by itself.
"Nick!?" she shrieked.
Placing a finger over his lips, he quietly closed it behind
himself "Shhhh" he said, signaling her to move away from the
door.
"What were you doing in there?" she asked, her pulse still
settling.
"They broke up" was what he answered.
Alyssa's brow hooked "Who broke what?"
"They broke up!" Nick repeated a bit louder "Eli and Brian
broke up"
"No way!" Alyssa gasped, just as soon covering her mouth
with her hands.
Nick simply nodded.
****
Kristy once again looked up from her seat at Brian, who'd
been sitting in the dark on her bed ever since she'd arrived.
"How could she do this?" he asked no one in particular,
still starring into the void of his pasty hands. "We've been through so much together"
Kristy still didn't know what to tell him. What could she
possibly do or say to help?
"I messed up" he confessed softly, now beginning to tremble
"I screwed up everything"
"You'll be Ok"
For the first time, Brian's eyes shifted from where they had
been glued since he'd gotten off the phone "No" he said
liking his dry lips "I won't. I love her"
"Sure you will" Kristy smiled as she gently approached him
"And I know you love her but..."
"But what?" Brian interrupted searching her eyes for an
explanation.
Kristy sat there in silence for a moment, her soul being
penetrated by his watch "I don't know" she finally said, turning her head as not to face him "I only know that it's gonna be Ok- that you'll be Ok"
"And how do you know?" Brian asked, his voice as insecure as
a lost childs.
She placed her hand on his leg, blinking several times at
the sight of his pained expression "I just do".
