With a large bouquet of two dozen cream-white roses, A.J trotted down the hospital to pick Amanda up. He had this irreplaceable smirk spread across his lips from the excitement. Everything that had gone wrong had vanished from his memory, and all that was now left on his mind was the woman he loved.
"Surprise!!!" he sang, barging into her room.
Amanda looked up in terror from her wheelchair. She didn't expect him to come so early.
He looked at her, then at the guy standing next to her. A.J fixed his posture and removed his shades so that he could take a better look at him. It wasn't a doctor, that was for sure. He tried not to be hostile towards him, but his attempt was an obvious failure because his features were ice cold.
"Kent, could you give us a minute?!" she murmured.
The man in torn jeans nodded and made his way to the door. A.J glared at him, and as he passed him, slightly nudged him with his shoulder. Kent pretended not to be bother by it, and left; leaving the two alone.
"Who's Kent?" he spewed, his name rolling off his tongue like poison.
Amanda sighed heavily. This was going to be more difficult than she feared. She smiled feebly
"Are those for me?" she asked, pointing at the roses still in A.J's hand.
"Yeah" he said emotionlessly, depositing them on the bed. He could feel the tension in the air, and it only made him increasingly worried.
"Alex... I need to talk to you"
Those words sent shivers up his spine. He took a seat on the bed so that he'd be facing her and blinked acknowledgingly.
She inhaled and began to play nervously with her pinkie ring. A smile crept up on her lips as the memory came back
"Remember when you gave this to me?" she questioned "It was on my twelfth Birthday. You won it for me at the fair. Remember?"
He nodded, still fearful about the purpose of this trip down memory lane.
"We've been friends for a long time. Long before we ever became, well, a couple." Pause.
"I wouldn't trade our friendship for the world. You mean more to me than you could ever imagine"
Tears slowly began to fill her eyes "That's why it's so hard for me" she sniffled, brushing the tear away "Alex- we, I can't be with you anymore".
A.J stared at her blankly, his heart feeling as though it was suffocating.
"What are you talking about?"
"A.J, I don't deserve you! I had a fucking overdose A.J!!! I've been on drugs for months and lied to you! A.J, I lied to you all the time. I felt horrible, but I couldn't help it. When I came to, you pretended like nothing happened. You just wanted to take it from where we left off. But Aje, something did happen!! I was addicted, and you acted like it didn't matter..."
"You wanna know why I acted like it didn't matter Amanda??" he yelled, finally loosing patience as he stood up angrily "Because I didn't know what to say. It's not every day that you're told that your girlfriend is a fucking drug addict! God Amanda, how could you do this to me? How could you do this to yourself?..."
She turned away as tears of shame continued to stream down her face.
But the battle to keep silent had finally taken its toll, and he just couldn't hold it back any longer "Was it boredom? Huh?! Was that it? Or was it the whole cliché collage life shit..."
"I'm so sorry" she wept.
"I would have been there for you Amanda" he said firmly, lowering his voice, yet still speaking loudly "Why can't you see that?"
The door opened, and Kent came through. Amanda looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy. A.J just kept his focus on her, a look of utter disappointment on his face.
"Ready to go?" Kent asked, walking up behind her wheelchair.
A.J simply shook his head "You know what?" he spat "Keep the flowers". And left.
**Meanwhile**
I woke up to a very unpleasant pocking sensation in my lower back. I grumbled as a stirred in the sofa bed. Ultimately, I surrendered to the discomfort and got up. I looked down bitterly at the evil mattress when I finally spotted the problem. A spring had punctured the sheet and had been jabbing at my butt all night. For some unknown reason, I found this hilarious and began to laugh. And laugh, and laugh...
Nick walked into the living room groggily wondering what the fuss was about.
"I-I don't know" I cackled as I continued to crack up. I was crying from the laughter it was so bad.
He eyed her oddly "You're scaring me"
I gasped, pretending as though he had hurt my feelings. "Fine then!" I joked, taking the pillow from my bed and swinging it at him.
"Oh no you did not" Nick said, yanking the pillow from her grasp and hitting her over the head with it.
I gasped again, this time for real. "I can't believe you just did that!" I blurted.
He just smiled wickedly and smacked me again with it.
In one swift move, I grabbed the other pillow from the bed and pounded it into his stomach.
"Bring it on!"
He hit me again, then me... We just kept hitting each other with the soft objects, laughing like hyenas as we did so.
It was indescribable how good it felt to just let loos. The feathers soon began to free themselves from the pillows, making a white fluffy mess all around us. A mischievously one flew up Nick's nose. He tried to blow it out. I cracked up even more when I heard the elephant sounds he was making as he tried to get it out. He sighed with relief when it came out. I took advantage of his moment of weakness and lunged the pillow at his head.
His eyes grew large as he started to topple "Whooooooaaaa...." he scram as he completely lost his balance. I chuckle; but then stopped when he seized my hand and pulled me down; colliding with the floor.
"Niiiiick" I squealed puffing the feathers away from my face.
He moaned a bit "Ohhh, shit! You're a hell of a lot heavier than you look"
I smacked him on the forehead as I got off of him. But before I could brush off, I felt a hand draw me back. He sat over me and began to tickle till I cried uncle.
After my breathing returned to normal, I looked up and accidentally met his eyes. Oddly enough, this was the first time I'd ever noticed how blue they were. 'Bluer than Brian's' I thought.
'Agh! Those eyes!' Nick groaned to himself. He could just get lost in them forever...
"Ok. Nick. Now it's my turn to freak me out" I joked, pushing myself up on my elbows "Get off!!"
He played along, reluctantly obeying.
After cleaning up the mess they had made, Nick asked her what she was going to wear to the party.
(Yes, Lyss called them about it.)
"Actually, I was thinking of maybe going as El Diablo" I said, making the little horns over my head and deepening my voice.
Nick smirked "Angel/ The Devil. I get it. Good one"
"What about you?" I queried.
"Bond" he answered slyly "James Bond."
I laughed "Ya. Ok"
"I'm serious" He pouted. "I am sexy"
I eyed him skeptically.
He gave me a hurt look and took me by the arm "C'mon!" he ordered "We're goin' costume shopping so you can see how much of a sexy bitch I am"
**Later**
"So what's the schedule?" Naila asked as she skillfully placed the dangly earring in her lob.
Kevin took a moment to admire her. She was dressed up as a cheerleader: sweater and a pleated skirt. It suited her perfectly. Then, she began to apply her make up.
"What are you doing?" Kevin objected as she dusted her face with some white powder.
"Baby, you didn't think I was just gonna be a regular ditz, did you?!" she asked; her chestnut eyes wide open with wonder.
He nodded his head vigorously.
She chuckled at his reaction. "Honey, I'm a dead cheerleader. Dead! See" she explained, now adding some black eye liner.
"Oh" he pouted "I kinda ruins the fantasy"
"We'll just see about that" she giggled.
"I like the way your mind works" he grinned. "As for the schedule; we meet Lyss and the others inside at 7:00 PM."
She puckered her lips, watching herself in the mirror, and smacked them "Alrighty. Let's go"
**Later That Day**
Alyssa smiled at her reflection. She had to admit: she looked fabulous!
She had decided to go as a French maid. The classic costume: Short-short black dress, white apron, little hat. Ok, so it wasn't exactly frightening, but it sure as hell would attracted the attention she'd been craving for.
Just as she reached for her purse, the door flew open, and A.J stormed in.
"Finally!" she exclaimed. He'd been gone all day "I thought you'd forgotten"
A.J looked her up and down. Damn did she look fine! Truthfully, he had forgotten until he saw her in her, ahum, outfit.
"Well don't just stand there..." she said, pushing him to the stairs "Get dressed!'
He whimpered all the way to his room. He was really not in the mood to go, and if he wasn't a man of his word, he probably would have backed out of it. How was he supposed to have a good time after what happened with Amanda. As he reached for his costume, the picture of Alyssa in that sexy dress reappeared in his mind. The girl had been there for him the whole time, and all he'd done for her was give her shit! She was a great person, and now, he was determined to give her an even greater time!
"I'll be down in a few..." he hollered, grabbing his costume from his closet.
**10 Minutes To 7 PM**
"Hey mystery lady, you've got something I like, tell me you're here to stay..." Brian sang as he drove down the street. He was on his way to pick up Kristy to go to the party. His good whim was unexpected, yet not regretted. For the first time in a long time, he was purely content.
"Here we go" he grinned, pulling into her driveway.
About a minute later, Kristy came trotting down the steps. Her jaw dropped when she saw Brian parked in his car; waving her over.
She walked over with her hands clasped over her mouth "Oh Bri, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot. I was just on my way over to my boyfriend's to surprise him!"
"I can't believe I forgot!" she repeated "I'm so, so sorry!!"
He forced a smile "Nah, don't worry about it. Hey, why don't you hop in; I'll give ya a lift"
"Really?!" she winced. When he nodded, her face lit up and she made her way to the passenger seat "Thanks so much!"
He asked where he lived, and off they were.
"Bri. Where's your costume?" she asked, observing his inappropriate jeans and T attire.
Brian looked at her wide eyed "Costume??"
"Yes" she answered "It's Halloween, hence the costume party."
"Oops!" he chuckled sheepishly "Good thing I'm not going after all"
Kristy gave him an intrigued look. "Why aren't you going?"
"Well if you're not going, there's not point in my being there"
She found that last remark quite confusing, but merely left it at that. It was nice enough of him to give her a lift, might aswell not play 20 questions with the fellow.
**At The Party**
Alyssa and A.J were the first among their friends to arrive at the party.
"Man... This place should have its own zip code" A.J awed as they made their way through the gates. Indeed, the place was enormous. Justin wasn't exactly renown for his low-budgeting skills.
"And these guys complained about being ripped off by Pearlman? What pussies!"
Just as he said that, some dude dressed as a farmer came up to them. It was J.C
"Glad you could make it" he greeted, taking Lyss' hand for a gentlemanly kiss. He then looked at A.J "So McLean, are the rest of the Brady's gonna make it for this shindig?"
A.J gave him a cocky look "Wouldn't miss it for the world"
J.C smiled at him. (Oh ya, these two were so friends.) "Okay Lyssie. Enough standing; let's go dancing"
Before she was whisked away, A.J reminded her about leaving early for the cottage. She didn't appear to be too pleased, but agreed anyway.
As one of the hostesses walked by, he grabbed a drink from her tray and sighed. "This is going to be a looooong night!" Moments later, he spoted a tall blond head navigating through the crowd. "Nicky boy" he smiled. He began to make his way towards him so that they could meet half way. The second they came face-to-face, their jaws dropped.
"Dude! No way!" Nick whined, as he looked at the costume his band mate was wearing in horror.
A.J returned the look "Man! How could you do this?" he whimpered "How could you come as a Man In Black"
"You're a man in black?" Nick choked "I'm James Bond"
I looked back and forth between the two and giggle "Stylish..."
They both shot me a horrible glare; so I immediately backed off.
Right then, I heard a voice calling us. It was Kevin. When he finally appeared infront of us, I burst out in laughter.
"Oh no!" he gasped "You guys also came as Neo... from the Matrix?"
Nick and A.J shook their heads in disgust "Nooooo!" Nick whined "I'm James Bond, and he's one of the Men In Black..."
Meanwhile, Naila and I were roaring with laughter. I think that all those years on tour buses together really stippled their creativity jean!
As the 3 bickering over which should go home and change, Dawn arrived.
"Three questions:" Naila warned "A) Where's Howie? , B) What are you? and
C) Please tell me Howie's not in a suite?"
Dawn didn't understand the last one quite yet, but made sure to answer the interrogation.
"Howie's mingling and will be here in a sec." she began "I'm Carrie on her prom night, and NO, he's not wearing a suite. And why, by the way, would he be wearing one?"
We simultaneously pointed at the 3 guys behind her; all in the same black and white costume. "Ohhh..." she laughed.
Right then, Howie appeared and looked at all of his friends with terror.
"Wha-wha-what the hell is this??" he yelled, placing himself between them "Some sort of conspiracy?"
The arguing ceased as soon as they saw Howie. They all cracked up
"D..." A.J laughed "Who are you supposed to be man?"
He placed his hands on his hips "Richard Simons" he declared, taking offense. After all, he had spent hours teasing his hair, finding his bro's old tight extra short electric blue shorts and flashy red shirt. And of course, with out forgetting the white sneakers with cheesy knee socks to complete the extra cheesy ensemble.
He was appalled by their laughter "Hey! At least I was original!" he protested.
**~~**
"I'll be right back. I'm just gonna get a drink" Alyssa said to J.C after being introduced to Justin.
J.C watched as she disappeared into the celebrity filled crowd "So" he smiled, now facing his friend "Watcha think? Pretty hot, huh?!"
"Ya whatever." Justin shrugged, standing on his tip toes to get a better view of what he was looking at "Man, check out those Backstreet shits. They're all in the same fucking getup! What fags!" He then noticed something. Well, more like someone "Hellowww..." he trailed pulling his band mate by the arm "Who the hell's that fine lookin' mama sita?"
J.C had no clue, but had to agree the girl was beautiful.
When Alyssa came back, she stuck her neck out to find out who the boys were gawking at. It was easy to tell since Justin's finger was pointing directly at her. She laughed "Don't even think about it buddy!" she warned "That's Felicity, and I sure as hell won't let a creep like you get near her"
Justin turned to face her "We'll just see about that..."
**~~**
After the laughter had settled down, I noticed some person maneuvering towards us.
"Oh Howie!" I giggled "I’m so sorry! Looks like someone else stole your idea. Check out that guy coming our way" I said, gesturing the other Richard Simons at the party.
They all turned to see what other person could be as dumb as Howie, and, to his dismay, and the others chortle, it was not another Richard Simons wannabe.
"Eli!" he moaned "That's not funny"
I watched the others crack up and wondered what the whole fuss was about. I mean, it was comical to see yet another man in the same costume, but there wasn't that much to it. I gave them all the 'I don't get it' look.
"Eli..." A.J was in hysterics "That's Justin from nsync... His hair is always like that"
"No way!" I gasped "He looks like a human chia-pet"
When they arrived, Alyssa took her friends into a worm embrace "Having fun?" she asked.
Kevin, A.J and Nick exchanged glances. This was just peachy. "Ok. That's it!" Kevin declared "I'm going home to change" took Naila by the wrist and off they were.
Just as soon as I freed myself from Alyssa's grip, I felt a hand come around my waste and pull me in. 'Oh my god' I panicked 'It's the chia pet'
With one of those grins that would melt thousands of teenaged girls hearts, Justin 'introduced' himself
"Hey sweet thang; are your parents bakers?"
My brow arched. What the hell kind of question was that? "No" I answered hesitantly. Somehow I could sense I wouldn't be appreciating what was coming up.
With his free hand, he reached around " 'Cuz baby" then grabbing her ass, went on "Your buns are hot!"
That must have been the worst pick up line I'd heard in my life! I almost pitied the poor sap.
I rolled my eyes and pushed away. I went to join the others.
Justin couldn't believe he'd been blown off like that. This never, ever happened to him! He felt a hand on his shoulder and spun around.
"Rejection sucks; don't it?" J.C mocked.
Justin simply huffed and in search of his next target.
**~~**
"Where's Laurel?" Nick asked A.J not even realizing that her absence had been plaguing him.
Although Alyssa wasn't the one being questioned about it, it reminder her of what she wanted to tell him.
"Nick!" she yelled, signaling for him to fallow her.
"What?" he queried.
She smacked him hard on the arm "You stupid little shit! I heard what you did to Laur" she accused "How could you say something like that to a little girl? Do you have any idea how much it hurt? Especially coming from you"
"I didn't do jack shit to her!" he said in his defense
"Look" Alyssa finally said as she calmed down "I'm not supposed to tell you this. I'm not even supposed to know..." She watched his face turn to worry "Laurel had sex twice with Michael; the second, well, you know about. But the first time was because of you"
Nick shook his head "Me?!"
"Yeah..." she continued "You told her that she didn't have the guts to do it! So the only reason she lost her virginity was to prove herself to you. She bawled her eyes out from regret afterwards."
All of a sudden, Nick felt himself bombarded by guilt. "Where is she now?" he asked quietly.
"Her high school's having a Halloween party. She's there"
He asked her what high school she attended. Alyssa promptly answer. Without another word to her, he walked away and took Eli by the arm "I need to take care of some business. Will you come with me?"
He looked like he needed me, so I accepted. We went to his car, and off we were.
