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***RECAP: 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.***
"LAUREN!" Nick called out, as Lauren tried to walk as quickly as she could away from the boys, "LAUREN! WAIT UP!"
"Brian!" Nick whined, hitting him on the shoulder, "she’s not listening! She’s not coming back! Brian, do something!"
Brian sighed, and thought what an ass he was about to make of himself. "You owe me big time for this," he muttered, thinking about how much easier it would be for AJ if he just let her go.
He broke into a sprint to try and catch up. "Yo, Lauren! Hold up there...please, just wait up!" he called, as people in the mall turned to stare at the ruckus he was causing. He finally caught up to her. "Damn," he said, catching his breath, "you sure can walk!"
Lauren didn’t say anything. She was just afraid that if she spoke, she would start to cry. "Just talk to me for a minute, ‘kay?" Brian asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Lauren nodded. "Laur," he began, "I know things got kinda screwed up and everything at Kevin’s house, but I really think you need to talk to him..."
"Brian," she interrupted with a shaky voice, "he doesn’t want anything to do with me....he made that perfectly clear when he watched me walk out the door...I think we should just stay apart."
"You see that boy over there?" he asked, indiscreetly pointing to AJ. Lauren nodded again. "That boy is your brother for crying out loud, and he feels the same way as you do....he thinks you have something against him and he’s scared."
"I-I just don’t know if I can."
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"I can’t believe it," AJ muttered to Howie and Kevin standing beside him, "I can’t believe she has the fucking NERVE to show up here!"
"Oh for fuck sakes!" Howie said, throwing up his hands, "I’ve had enough of this shit, all right?! It’s a MALL for crying out loud....a public area! I think that you two need to just talk already, because I can’t stand you like this!"
"It’s not that easy, D," AJ said calmly, staring at his sister, standing about 20 yards ahead of him, "she came into my life, I fell for her, and she told me she’s my sister....that’s a fucking shitload to take all at one time."
"Do it, Bone," Kevin said sternly, "trust me....it’s the best thing you can do."
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"Lauren, there are five guys that really care about you....present company included! There’s a reason we wanted to hang out with you and stuff......we all care about you," Brian said in his most convincing tone of voice. "That’s nice of you to say," replied Lauren, "but I don’t need you to feed my ego...."
Lauren was now aware that someone other than Brian and herself was standing beside them. She turned around and came face to face with AJ.
She looked at him, not knowing what to say or do. "Yo Rok, do ya think maybe we could have a minute?" AJ said softly. Brian nodded, and walked back to where Nick was now standing with Howie and Kevin. "What’s goin’ on?" asked Howie, once the four were together. "Yeah, what’s she doing?" asked Nick nervously.
"She’s talking with AJ I think," Brian said, "but I think we better keep a close eye on them......I don’t want any physical fighting going on here!"
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Both Lauren and AJ stood in complete silence for almost thirty seconds....silence, that is, except for the bustle of the crowd at the mall. "Well," AJ began, "I......there’s just so much I have to say and I don’t know where to begin."
"I think I can begin," Lauren said, trying not to let her insecurity get in the way, "I basically messed up your entire life by dropping this...this..BOMB on you so suddenly, and there’s really no way I can fix it.....it’d have been better if I had just stayed in Toronto and minded my own damn business....that’s why I’m scheduled to go back to Toronto in three days."
AJ didn’t know what to do or say, so he just nodded....she had basically summed up how he felt, minus the "going back to Toronto" part. He wasn’t sure how to react to that at all.
Lauren watched AJ nod, and had to blink back the tears that formed in her eyes. A part of her had expected AJ to tell her that everything that had happened was in the past, and that they should get on with their future, but he agreed with her. It broke her heart.
"It’s been a rough week," was all AJ could say.
Lauren nodded, trying desperately to hide the tears. "So, I guess I’ll see you around," Lauren said tearfully, "and I’m sorry." With that, she spun around and walked away quickly.
AJ stood there and watched her walk away. Part of him wanted to call her name, but he couldn’t even open his mouth. Eventually, she disappeared into the crowd.
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