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***RECAP: She wanted to call Robert, but she thought somehow that would make things worse. "Why did I screw it up?" she asked herself, "why?"***
Lauren stepped out into the fresh Orlando air. It was a week into June, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. ‘I’m gonna miss this place,’ she thought to herself, as she hailed a cab on the street corner. She told the cabbie to take her to the closest mall....she really needed to take her mind elsewhere. She hadn’t really been out of her hotel in a while, so she was thankful for the fresh air. She was also extremely upset.
The open mall was packed with stores from the entrance to the exit. "This’ll be good for me,’ she reasoned to herself, ‘I need to get my mind off things for a while.’ She also hadn’t had time really to spend with herself since she arrived in Orlando.
*****************
"Where did AJ say to meet him?" asked Brian, as he quickly gave the area a once-over.
"He said by the food court," Kevin said, checking himself out in the window of Bloomingdales. "Dude!" exclaimed Howie, slapping him on the shoulder, "don’t look so damn full of yourself, man!"
"Yeah!" added Nick, "I thought we agreed not to come to the mall together?! Last time we were here there was chaos!"
"AJ needs some down time, guys," explained Brian, still looking for the food court, "we need to take his mind off things now."
"And now that Lauren seems to be a no-show," added Kevin, "I think he can readjust....it may take time, but he’ll do it."
Nick shrugged and frowned. He had tried calling Lauren at her hotel every day since she ran out of Kevin’s house the night she told everyone the truth, but he hadn’t gotten a hold of her. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he had to come to grips with the fact that she may have gone back to Toronto.
"Cheer up little buddy," Brian said softly, patting Nick on the back, "we all wish she was here....maybe it’s just for the better."
Nick swallowed a huge lump in his throat. "Hey, there’s AJ!" he said, pointing to the New York Fries stand. He stood there, looking cool and confident in his sunglasses and hat. A perfect disguise.
"Hey guys," AJ said, as the four guys approached him. "How are ya, dude?" asked Kevin, patting him on the back. "Good...good..." he replied, scanning the mall scene through his glasses. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a discussion about Lauren.
The five guys walked around for a bit, until three girls approached them from behind in the middle of the mall. "Oh my God! Are you guys the Backstreet Boys?!" girl one asked, excitedly.
They all nodded, and Brian smiled. "Yup, in the flesh!" he said in his crazy voice.
The girls quietly shrieked and asked for autographs.
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"Oh my God! EEEEEEE!"
Lauren heard a squeal from behind her. "What the...?" she said to herself, not even bothering to turn around, then thought, ‘there are some really weird people in this city!’
She took one step further, then heard some more commotion from behind her. "What is going on?....." she said, as she turned around. There, she saw a group of three girls standing face to face with Nick, Brian, Howie, Kevin and AJ.
"Oh shit!" she said out loud, as she turned abruptly around.
***********************
"That’s so cool that you guys all come to the mall together!" girl number three exclaimed, as the guys nodded. As much as they loved having fans, sometimes they got aggravated when they pried too much into their lives. Also, when they stuck around and never seemed to leave.
"Holy fuck!" Howie whispered, as the girls said their goodbyes and walked away, "is that Lauren?!"
Nick and Brian, who were within ear shot, glanced a couple feet ahead of them. "That’s her!" Nick exclaimed loudly, now getting the attention of Kevin and AJ. "That’s who?" AJ asked, trying to see what everyone was so excited about. "It’s......" Brian started, but caught himself before he said the name.
It was too late. AJ saw Lauren from the back, who was trying to make her way as quickly through the crowd as she could. "LAUREN!" Nick called out, not being able to help himself, "LAUREN!"
"What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!?" Kevin hissed loudly as he punched Nick in the shoulder, and as AJ just stood there, stunned. Nick shrugged sheepishly, then darted out of the group of boys to try to catch up with her.
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"Lauren! Hey Lauren, wait up!" she heard being called from behind her, but didn’t want to turn around. She knew it was Nick, but she didn’t want to face him. She didn’t want to succumb to everything she thought she had left behind.
"Lauren!" he exclaimed, finally catching up to her. She bit her lip as she turned and faced him. "Hey Nick," she said cooly, "how are you?"
Nick stood speechless. After two weeks of not seeing each other at all, all she could say was "What’s up’?!
He stood there, trying to get words out, but not knowing what to say, when Brian came up from behind Nick. "Hey there Lauren!" he said in cheery voice, "how are ya? It’s been a while, huh?!"
Lauren just nodded, glancing past the two boys to where Howie stood with Kevin and AJ. "I-I gotta go," she stammered, and quickly walked away.
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