Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Alyssa shot up the stairs of the 20 story building two at a time until reaching the 9th floor. Only the slightest bit out of breath (after all, a show per night is a cardio exorcise in a league of its own) she flung the exit open and strutted down the corridor. She was still teeming with confidence after her brief argument with A.J. With trust on their side, nothing on earth could ever come between them.
Expecting to be alone at this time, she burst through the studio door and-
"Jesus!"
She had just come an inch from knocking Naila out cold. "Sorry" she apologized sheepishly.
Naila scowled, still gripping her chest.
"I didn't think anyone else would be in here this early…" said Alyssa, her eyes trailing Naila suspiciously.
"I couldn't sleep" she explained, rummaging through a cabinet "So I waited till 6:00 and rang Timmy…"
"Timmy?" Alyssa repeated neglectfully.
"One of our producers" she went on, waving her hand edgily "I wanted to get a move on this ASAP."
"And where is Timmy?" queried Alyssa at the clear absence of anyone else.
Snapping up a folder, Naila scurried away as she answered "I told him that he could take an hour off- to go home --- rest. I can handle it from here. It's not complicated, really."
This last remark came as no surprise to Alyssa, for Naila had always been the more technical one of the bunch. She did however marvel at her friend's seemingly normal behavior. In fact, this was the most normal (by Naila standards) that Alyssa had seen her act even prior to her break up with Kevin.
She raised a brow, watching as Naila pressed, then turned a few select knobs and…
"Not This Time 'Round" said Naila, as a catchy, poppy and somewhat familiar tune blasted through the speakers. "What do you think?" she inquired, lowering the volume so that she wouldn't have to raise her voice "Timmy and I spent the morning tweaking it…"
Alyssa's head started bobbing mildly to the beat "It's good"
Nodding in agreements, Naila shut the music and looked up at Alyssa. Her eyes were baggy and her face, blotchy. She looked as though she hadn't had a decent sleep in days. But in true Naila fashion, she overlooked the matter and pressed on to another topic. "So what's up?"
"Nothing" Alyssa answered, more or less truthfully. She didn't consider it appropriate to bring up the matter of her little squabble with A.J when it was Naila's shattered love-life that has provoked it. Instead, she took on a rather grim ora and took a seat on a stool opposite her. "What about you?" She asked bluntly "How are things?"
Naila shrugged as she pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. A fair few fallen strands had tangled themselves around her fingers, but she merely brushed them off as though it were routine. "I'd rather not talk about it" she muttered.
Alyssa frowned. "It'd be better for you if you did" she advised authoritatively "It's not wise to keep it all inside and…"
"Lyss" snapped Naila "For Christ's sakes, don't give me that 'you'll feel better once you talk about it' speech. I don't feel like addressing the issue, alright? So for once in your life, could you just let a person be and butt the hell out?!"
Alyssa gave a start and stared at Naila, who stared right back. She was a bit startled by her brutal response. "Sorry" she apologized meekly.
Getting to her feet, Naila made her way to the recording room behind the sound-proof glass and perused a few music sheets. She wasn't up to explaining herself, let alone to Lyss and her endless array of questions. The last thing she wanted on her mind at the moment was Kevin…
Meanwhile, Alyssa's thoughts were working furiously to unscramble themselves. It just wasn't in her nature to let things be.
She fixed Naila with the same intent look she always wore whenever she attempted to step in to shaky territory. Still in livid concentration, she watched Naila fan herself, before proceeding to remove her bulky cotton sweatshirt. But what she saw brought her back to reality in a flash.
Naila's collar bone was protruding trough her flesh like 2 oversized marbles. Her arms were nothing more than identical twigs tightly bound in skin. At the sight of them, Alyssa let out a horrified gasp which was muffled by the sound of someone entering the room.
"Good morning" chirped Kristy, obliviously trotting in on scene.
"Morning" greeted Naila, who had managed to slip on a loose, long sleeve top in the fraction of a second in which Alyssa had been distracted.
Kristy waved briskly at Alyssa, still beaming merrily. "I'm going to call Brice tonight" she announced "And I haven't received any anonymous notes or letters since we've been home"
Giving Kristy two thumbs-up, Naila discretely shot Alyssa a dubious glance. Although she had pretended not to, she had in fact noticed the way she was being studied by her friend, and it was rather unsettling. Praying for nothing short of a miracle, she hoped that something would come along to stray Lyss' attention. And, sure enough, her prayers were answered.
"So how's good ol' A.J?"
Both Naila and Alyssa's heads shot up at the enquiry: Alyssa scowling; Naila glowing.
"He's perfectly fine, all things considered" replied Alyssa in an unctuous sort of way "We had a minor discussion on the ride over, but I believe that our affairs are now in order."
Kristy snickered wryly "Discussion?" she cackled "You mean fight."
"Whatever. Arguing is our way of communicating" she stated indignantly.
"Honestly, I don't know how 2 individuals as bull-headed as yourselves manage to get along in the first place" laughed Kristy, quickly dodging a pen that Alyssa pelted at her.
Minutes later, Timmy the producer joined them, putting an abrupt halt to their infantile trickeries.
"Alright" he hollered "Time to get down to business."
**Midday**
Most unfortunately for Dayna, her scheme to snatch Howie was a far cry from going according to plan. Either Howie was stupid, she thought, or he truly didn’t have any interest in her. Naturally concluding that the former was the more logical explanation, she decided that all she needed to do was to push a little harder. There was no reason for Howie to deny her. Well, no good reason she thought again, for in Dayna’s book, the fact that Howie was still madly in love with Dawn was not a legitimate excuse. The time had come for drastic measures…
“Dayna… what are you doing?”
Glancing at the spot where he had just appeared, she sighed playfully and blew out her last match “Howie” she whined “I wanted to surprise you”
Howie examined the room more thoroughly, a mild feeling of discomfort forming in the pit of his stomach. His beautiful entertainment room, which had been so manly and tasteful only that morning, had now been mutated in to a tacky and frilly version of its former self. Vanilla, wild berry and other stomach-churning scented candles twinkled at him from every direction, while pink and lavender garlands adorned his rustic (and very masculine) walls. And… no, it couldn’t be?
“Is that?...”
“Uh huh” beamed Dayna, misinterpreting the horror-struck look on his face for amazement “I made a custom CD of all BSB ballads”
Suddenly feeling very ill, Howie winced with revulsion when the melody that was playing went from “I’ll Never Break Your Heart” to “Like a Child”.
“Uh, Dayna…” he didn’t even know where to begin.
“There’s no need to thank me, silly” she interrupted, completely misunderstanding the reason behind Howie’s speechlessness.
“You can say that again” he mumbled to himself.
Dayna flashed him an extremely self-satisfied grin before fastening her hands around his arm “Come now sweety” she cooed “I rented a few films for us to watch”
“I’m not so sure that’s the only thing you had in mind for us tonight” Howie told her blatantly as he was led to the love-seat.
Dayna merely giggled and slapped him playfully on the hand in response to his remark. Settling herself comfortably down on the couch, she patted the spot at her side. Positive that he’d one day live to regret it, Howie took the seat all the same.‘What have I gotten myself in to?’ he thought sullenly.
The minutes rolled by uninterrupted. At first, Howie found the weight of Dayna’s head on his shoulder extremely discomforting, but after a while, he hardly realized it was there any more. As a matter of fact, it felt quite good to have someone snuggling next to him again.
Dayna must have sensed him loosen up, because she soon took the liberty of placing her hand tenderly over his knee, which, to her surprise, he didn’t object to.
About half way through “Sleepless in Seattle” the phone on the coffee table rang. Howie gave a start and Dayna cursed angrily under her breath. “I’ll get it” she snapped, putting the portable to her ear “Hello?”
There was a brief pause at the other end, and then “Er, hi. Um, is Howie there?”
Dayna’s blood went cold. Springing to her feet, she gestured for Howie not to pay attention and to continue with the movie. “2 seconds” she squeaked, sprinting out the door and down the hall till she reached the bedroom. Her heart hammering loudly, she glanced at the phone apprehensively before holding it up again.
“Who is this?” she demanded shortly.
“Dawn” the woman answered unmistakably “Whom am I speaking to?”
A wave of panic swept over Dayna; drowning all reasonable thought from her mind. “What do you want?” she asked aggressively.
“I don’t believe that concerns you” replied Dawn, aggravation apparent in her voice.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong!” Dayna told her crudely “I’m his girlfriend, and he told me that he wanted nothing to do with you any more. Don’t ever call here again”
And with that, she hung up. Staring vacantly at the wall, she waited for her actions to register in her brain. Then, she smiled. She might have single-handedly destroyed what little chance Howie had of salvaging his relationship, but with Dawn now permanently out of the picture, that only meant that she was next in line. Dayna floated back to the entertainment room on Cloud Nine.
“Who was it?” Howie enquired as she reappeared before him.
Dayna smiled “Just a fan. Don’t worry, she won’t bother us again”
“Don’t be so sure about that” Howie laughed “Our fans are very persistent”
“Trust me” proclaimed Dayna “I’ll make sure of it”
**Days Later**
I looked down in to the eyes of my opponent. I could tell by the way he leered at me that if I didn't choose wisely, I would soon find myself in grave peril.
And then I saw it. A look of triumph shone over me, and as though he could sense what was to come, his features recoiled and he suddenly appeared most unnerved.
I grinned immodestly as I lowered the bomb.
"Checkmate"
The man lying on his stomach across from me groaned miserably. "Aw man! I was hoping you wouldn't use your bishop. Any other player, and I would have won!"
"Don't be a soar loser, Ron" I playfully scolded my photographer "Besides, had you been helping your crew set up the shoot instead of dallying with the talent…"
"Zip it" went Ron.
"Mr Green, Mr Green!"
Ron growled. "These people are so incompetent" he told me in an undertone "I swear they still need their mums to tell them which shoe belongs on which foot. I'll be right back"
Suppressing a giggle, I nodded and watched him head to his employees. My last few days had been spent locked in a recording studio, finishing my album. The only reason I had managed to escape early this afternoon was because of a prescheduled photoshoot. Fortunately enough for me, the photographer that had been assigned to my case (Ron) was one of the coolest guys I'd ever met.
He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and winked good-naturedly before resuming his conversation with his co-workers.
"Everything's looking good so far" he told me, waving 4 or 5 freshly developed photographs in his hand "The first batch is perfect. The second backdrop should be ready soon enough"
"Great" I smiled, critically browsing the pictures he had taken of me.
As though reading my mind, Ron then said "You look very glamorous"
"It's all thanks to you" I beamed bashfully "Not just anyone can make me look like this."
Ron tutted. "No, love. You have poise, not to mention star quality. Not even I can capture that on film unless it's already there…" Raising his eyebrow, he nodded absentmindedly and was about to walk away again when he suddenly turned back.
"I almost forgot to ask… some of the crew and I are going out later for a bite to eat. Care to join?"
He said all this in an abnormally blasé manor, as though fearing appearing foolish if she declined.
"Sure!" I exclaimed, without hesitation "What time?"
"Be ready by 7:00. I'll meet you in the hotel lobby"
"Sure thing" I nodded.
Ron smiled "Cool., then walked away.
A minute later, I was whisked back to wardrobe and the rest of my day went on as scheduled.
**Back To The Other Day: Later That Evening**
Lying spread-eagle on his bed, A.J's face contorted miserably. He was still mulling over what had occurred that morning…
His intentions, however ambiguous, had still been honorable. Yes, he had withheld information from his girlfriend, but no matter how he looked at it, he simply knew that there was no way in hell Alyssa would ever have allowed him to visit Amanda without the strictest supervision. He knew that Alyssa would never understand how much he needed to see Amanda again… How he needed closure. How important Amanda had once been to him… How important she still was to him…
Groaning at his ill fortune, he rolled to his side to brood some more. On top of the heap of trouble he'd be in if Alyssa ever found out about his scheduled visit to his ex's, there existed yet another reason for anxiety that had recently surfaced in his mind: Where was Amanda?
At the time, A.J had been so stunned by what the receptionist had told him, that he actually walked away without bothering to ask any questions. But now that he thought about it, he couldn't bring himself to come up with a single plausible reason for Amanda no longer being in university. "Sorry sir" the young woman had said "Lewis, Amanda is no longer registered at Florida State". A.J had replied with a mildly bemused "Oh", and left without another word. But why? Why? had she (as it appeared) dropt out? Studies had always been Amanda's number one priority. As it so happened, her remaining in college and then later, university, had always been a source of great discontent to A.J, who in the past had always badgered her to drop out so that she could be on the road with him year-round. "Alex" she would reply shrilly "I can't just depend on you all my life. I need an income of my own. Besides, I like school…" then followed by those never-ceasing arguments about their future, and what would become of their careers once they were married. Because they had of course planned to wed. The moment his schedule would clear up, they would elope! No press… no fans… no fellow Backstreet Boys to interfere… But those days were over. Gone was the friendship they'd cherished since childhood, and gone were the vows of eternal devotion they had once shared. Naturally, A.J he had put the past behind him, and was presently in love Alyssa. Still, one does not so easily forget their first love.
Now if only he knew where Amanda was…
The front door slammed with a light thud, announcing Alyssa's return.
"I'm in the bedroom!" A.J bellowed, forcing his voice to sound casual.
Alyssa's silhouetted appeared beside him momentarily, and from the corner of his eye he could tell that a massive grin was plastered across her face.
"Back so soon?"
"Aaah A.J" she squealed, throwing herself over him "I had the most amazing day! We had a new producer come in, and I'm telling you, this man was bloody brilliant!! I don't know how, but he and Naila managed to fine-tune 6 out of 13 songs on our album, and they're all about a billion times better than the original recording. Stupid Laur had to be away, so it was a little rough working around that, but-GAWD, I am telling you- our album is going to be incredible!"
Her mood had clearly improved since morning…
"Wow" went A.J, rather insincerely.
"You could be a little more enthusiastic about it, you know" frowned Alyssa, rolling over and turning her back to him.
"I'm just a little preoccupied…" A.J told her, tracing her arm with his finger as he lay beside her.
Alyssa turned around to face him; her emerald eyes large with intrigue "With what?"
"Nothing you should worry about." he cooed, leaning over her. "I love you" he added with a tender kiss.
Alyssa smiled bashfully. "Me too"
There was a brief pause in which she nestled her face in the crook of his neck. "So what are you preoccupied with, eh?" Alyssa pestered, as A.J readied to wrap her in his arms.
Letting out a deep throat howl, A.J pounced on her. "You're too nosy for your own good, you know that?" he growled, attacking her ruthlessly with his fingers as she shrieked with laughter.
"I'm… not…no-…nosy!" she protested, squirming like a worm underneath him, still in a fit.
A.J stopped abruptly and raised his eyebrows so high that they just about merged with his receding hairline. "Oh, I beg to differ. If you looked up the word 'nosy' in the dictionary, your picture would appear right next to the definition" he answered point-blankly.
Aghast, all Alyssa could do was open her mouth in mock appall.
Chuckling, A.J quickly covered his head as Alyssa smacked him.
"You lil' shit!" she cackled, whacking him repeatedly.
Snatching her wrist before she could strike him again, A.J pushed Alyssa away and jumped off the bed.
"Come back here!" Alyssa cried, sprinting out of the room after him. Bounding down the stairs two at a time, she came to a skidding halt in the hallway leading to the living room. Attempting to block out the thumping of her heart that was pounding relentlessly in her ears, Alyssa strained her hearing in hopes of discovering his whereabouts. He must be hiding around here somewhere…
Just then, the phone rang.
Alyssa grunted.
"You can run, but you can't hide!" she shouted as she picked up the receiver.
"Hullo?"
"Hey there, sexy"
Alyssa's eyes went wide. Too afraid to speak his name aloud, she replied with a soft "Hey"
The voice laughed. "You do know who this is, don't you?"
Peeking cautiously over her shoulder, she scuttled in to a corner and balled herself around the phone before answered. "Yes, of course I know J.C"
J.C tried hard not to sound overly excited, but there was hardly anything that pleased him more than hearing Alyssa's voice. "How are things, babe?" he asked, smiling fondly in spite of himself.
"Fine, fine- listen, I can't talk long, I'm kinda in the middle of something" she said quietly. If ever A.J happened to hear who she was speaking to…
"Oh" said J.C, trying hard not to sound too disappointed "In that case, I'll get right to it. Justin- Well, you know how he is… He's throwing another one of his 'party's', and I was just wondering whether you'd like to come with?"
Alyssa hesitated. "Err, gee, I don't know…"
After all, she had just given A.J that huge spiel on trust earlier that morning. Wouldn't it be hypocritical of her to go behind his back so soon?
"Oh, come on!" pressed J.C "Just as friends. McLean's not the problem, is he? You're not going to let his jealousy keep you from your friends, are you? I thought you'd be stronger than that"
Alyssa frowned, and her mind changed completely. So what if J.C was a huge 'nay, nay' in A.J's book? J.C was her friend, and if A.J couldn't accept that, than tough!
"Count me in" she said bluntly, then hung up.
Turning round, she walked back towards the charger and put down the phone.
"Booh!"
Having completely forgotten about what she was doing prior to the phone call, Alyssa gave a start. A.J cackled maliciously. "Gotcha" he laughed, throwing his arms tightly around her.
"Certainly looks like it, doesn't it?" she retorted, almost coldly.
A.J didn't appear to have noticed her tone. "Who called?"
"It was---" but she cut herself off mid sentence. Was it really worth telling him? "It was a wrong number."
**Back in Philadelphia**
"It vos very nice vorking vit you today, Ree-chard"
"Really, it was my pleasure. And please, call me Rick"
"Ok, I vill Rich- oh, voops! I mean Reek."
Laurel glowered at the blonde barbie'esk model, as she and Rick giggle like two life-size tickle-me-Elmos.
"Now, now" came a voice so irritating that it literally made the hairs on Laurel's neck stand on end "No more teasing the talent tonight, Claudia. He has a long day ahead of him tomorrow, don't you Richard?"
Laurel glared at Jessica with mounting dislike. Due to the impromptu postponal of the shoot, Laurel had been forced to spend the remainder of the day in the company of over half a dozen back-up dancers and/or singers; each and every last one of which took advantage of their one-on-one time with a would-be celebrity by ogling and fawning over Rick so overtly that Laurel could be caught rolling her eyes virtually every five minutes. (or less)
Jessica placed her hand lightly over Rick's arm, laughing airily and making Rick's ears go slightly pink. Laurel tutted impatiently, checked her watch- then rolled her eyes yet again. Jessica, whose icy grey eyes were constantly on alert, noticed this and cast Laurel an extremely patronizing look.
"I suppose you're right" Rick finally said, managing to find his voice "I really should be getting some rest… Anyway, Laurel really looks like she needs sleep…"
Upon hearing this, Laurel's jaw fell, and all she could do to keep herself from socking him square in the nose was to bar her teeth and glare at him with narrowed eyes.
"Haff a vondarfool evening, Reek" smiled Claudia, throwing back her sheet of golden-white hair and leaning forward to place two rather sloppy kisses on either of his cheeks.
A grin that did not reach her dull eyes appeared on Jessica's face as she watched Claudia retreat down the hallway. Once out of site, she turned to face Rick again. "I had a very, very er- pleasant day today" she told him huskily, biting her lip.
Tracing his chest playfully with her finger, she continued to speak to him in a coy undertone; Glancing up on occasion to throw Laurel fierce glares. After a few minutes of this, Laurel couldn't resist letting out a very loud and very rude yawn.
This seemed to have brought Rick back to reality. "Well--- goodnight then" he said promptly.
Jessica batted her lashes. "Night" she breathed, winking flirtatiously. She continued to stand in the doorframe, blinking benignly. She smiled at him; twisting a few locks round her finger and tittering suggestively.
She was obviously waiting for Rick to invite her in, but like any man, Rick couldn't take a hint unless it danced naked in front of him. And even so…
"Sleep well" he added cluelessly.
"Yeah…" drawled Jessica.
This was the final straw. "Oh, for the love of…" Laurel stalked to the door, then waved sarcastically at her. "Don't let it hit you on the way out!" she said lazily, shutting the door in Jessica's scandalized looking face.
With that, she turned on her heals and stared at Rick; mutiny glinting lividly in her eyes.
"Okay…" went Rick; a snooty grin curling at his lips. "I'll bite. What's wrong this time?"
"Were you born this thick?" barked Laurel, glaring at him- half exasperated; half outraged.
Rick couldn't help losing a bit of his cool. Where did she come off, speaking to him like that? He had just shared one of the best days of his life with her, and this is how she chose to repay him? By lecturing him?
"Now what's that supposed to mean?" he queried calmly.
Laurel's answer to this was to toss her hair over her shoulder and to speak a few lines that bore an uncanny resemblance to Claudia. "… And don't even get me started on that Jessica bitch!" she added spitefully, seeing the affronted look appear on his face.
Though thoroughly peeved, Rick chose to reply to this final remark in a would-be casual sort of way. "Green really isn't your color, Laur"
Laurel's eyes narrowed menacingly. "Rick, you prat, that's not the point!"
"Isn't it?" snapped Rick, not even bothering to keep his voice down this time. "This isn't the first time you've acted like this. What's it going to take to keep you from being jealous of my success?"
"Get off it" she barked, going red in the face now. "Not this jealousy crap again. If you can't see that the only reason those girls were swarming around you today was because you're famous, then I sure as hell won't make an effort to protect you from them. Jesus, the second you get the slightest bit of attention, your head inflates to the size of a weather balloon! So kindly allow me to take this opportunity not to care"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he yelled after her again, as she strode in to the bathroom; slamming the door behind herself. He stood there for a moment, desperately longing to grab some fragile object from the room and chuck it. But before he could so much as flex his fingers…
A scream powerful enough to wake the dead echoed through the room. Laurel fired out of the washroom like a speeding bullet.
Rick made a quick reach for her and managed to cease her by the arm before she could pass him. "What's wrong? What is it?" he demanded, his pulse racing savagely in his throat as his eyes flickered over the phone in case they needed to call security.
Her breath still ragged, she struggled to gulp in some air before she could speak. "Spi-" she panted "Hu-Huge; dis-disgusting- spider! In… in the tub!"
Rick stared. "A spider?" he finally repeated, all traces of panic having left
his voice.
"Yes!" she nodded fervently, brandishing her fist in his face "This big! Legs excluded."
Rick snickered, but quickly disguised it by coughing upon catching Laurel's scorning eye. "Sorry" he smiled, as she rily crossed her arms "But all that commotion over a measly spider?"
"Measly?" she gasped "Ok, why don't you go take a look-see for yourself then." She told him, jerking her head at the bathroom.
Doing just that, he walked idly through the open door. "I can't believe anyone would freak out over a tinny, little, punny spi--- iiiiii, holy shit!" he yelped, bounding out of the bathroom like gazelle "Did you see the size of that thing? Must have been" he brandished his fist in her face "This big! Legs excluded."
Laurel considered him with the utmost contempt. "Well, well, well" she declared, "How the mighty have fallen."
"Shuddup!" exclaimed Rick, blushing furiously out of embarrassment.
But shutting up was the furthest thing from Laurel's mind. "Aww, Mr hot-shot isn't afraid of an 'ickle spidey, are we Ricky-pooh?"
"Of course not" bellowed Rick, his forehead creasing with anger.
"Then go in there and kill it. Come on. I dare you"
Rick clenched his fists "Fine" he replied coolly. Straightening his posture, he marched stalwart back in to the bathroom, only to reemerge a minute later, holding a balled-up tissue firmly in his hand "Ha!" he exclaimed, looking as pompous and arrogant as ever before.
"Well done" drawled Laurel, watching him cross the room to the wastebasket. She was about to open her mouth with yet another smart-alec remark, but Rick spoke first.
"Truth or dare?"
Laurel shot him a bewildered look "Huh?"
"Truth or dare" he repeated plainly. "You dared me to squash that spider, so now it's your turn. Go on."
"You've got to be kidding me?" Laurel laughed, hardly believing her ears. "What are we, like 2?"
"Well if you're too yellow to play…" Rick shrugged.
Laurel's lips pursed. She studied him a moment, then crossed her arms compliantly over her chest "Truth" she muttered.
"Right" nodded Rick, cracking a quirky grin. "Let's see now…"
**That Afternoon**
"I can't wait for you to come down here" whined Kristy, twirling the telephone wire around her finger "I miss you so much"
"I miss you too" replied Brice, for what surely must have been the tenth time since he'd picked up the phone 5 minutes ago. "So tell me more about those anonymous letters you've been getting". The instance where Kristy had previously found one, Brice had been rushed off the premises by security, and they hadn't had the opportunity to discuss the matter since.
Kristy gave an involuntary shudder at the mere mention of those notes. "They've stopped" she sighed "For now".
"You sure it's a stalker, though?" he went on "Couldn't they have just come from a fan?"
"I dunno" she admitted. The thought had crossed her mind before. Maybe she had overreacted. Maybe it was just an eccentric fan. "You're probably right" she confessed "I think that I freaked out, that's all. Security didn't think much of it either."
"What made you think this 'fan' was a stalker in the first place?"
"Too many after school specials" Kristy chuckled lightheartedly "Honestly, I dunno. It all started around the time we met. In the beginning it didn't even register that something unusual was up, ya know? But after a while it started to get creepy. Whoever was sending those flowers had managed to sneak in to, like, 6 of my hotel rooms unnoticed. Security is no laughing matter when you're a pop star. Not that consider myself a star" she quickly corrected "But ya know. It started to rouse suspicion that this person could go unnoticed for so long."
"I see" remarked Brice on cue. "Not to belittle your instincts, but I think you're right about overreacting. It doesn't sound like anything you should be worrying about. Although" he continued "You have a lot more fans than you think, Kristy. You are a pop star. Lots of people would go to great lengths to get near you. However, believe me when I say that those notes were from a harmless admirer."
Kristy giggled, feeling oddly comforted by his words "Oh yeah?" she smiled "What makes you so sure?"
"I just do" Brice replied cagily.
"If you say so" laughed Kristy.
There was sudden ring at the door.
She groaned "Now who could that be?"
Bounding down the staircase, phone still in hand, she marched to the front door and casually threw it open.
A short, stump and balding man stood before her: a bouquet of Carnations in his right hand, and extended note in the other.
"Delivery for Miss Brun" he announced.
Kristy fixed the envelope with great trepidation.
"Brice… I'll call you back"
Dismissing the phone, she snatched the note and accepted her flowers. Quickly tearing open the envelope, her eyes scanned the sheet then shot back up. "Who sent this?" she demanded.
The messenger shrugged "Sorry Miss."
Horror struck, Kristy peered down at the note clutched firmly between her trembling fingers and mutely uttered the single word printed upon it: "Soon"
