Chapter 22

"Katie?" Rachel entered Katie's room, but found it empty. "Hmm, I wonder where she went" She walked back to her room and laid down on her bed, planning on vegeing the rest of the day. She turned on the t.v and actually found an English channel that was playing reruns of Party of Five. She started watching when her doorknob began rattling incessantly. Rachel looked up frightened and ran over to the door. She looked through the peep hole, and saw Nick standing outside with a very scared look on his face. Rachel opened the door and Nick flew in and shut the door immediately behind him. He was breathing heavily.
"What's wrong?"
"Just wait and look"
Rachel peered her head out the door and a split second later a stream of teenage girls ran by. Rachel laughed and decided to help Nick and the other guys out.
"Hey girls!!" she shouted down the hall. When none of them stopped running around in search of their idols Rachel shouted some more. "Hey! I know where the Backstreet Boys are!!"
Every girl stopped dead in their tracks and you could have heard a pin drop.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!!" Nick hissed at her from behind the door. Rachel took no notice and continued. "I'm a member of their staff team, and they actually aren't in this hotel, they are in another one"
"Which one?" everybody screamed at the same time.
"The big one down the street"
Everybody looked confused at her very broad description. There had to be at least 3 other hotels around the one they were staying in, but they looked grateful for the tip and headed towards the elevators.
"Thanks. I'm surprised they believed you" Nick said, still trying to catch his breath.
"I'm surprised they understood what I was saying"
"Well they understand all of our songs, so I'm sure they understood you just fine"
"So what were you on your way to doing anyways?"
"I was just going to go to the vending machines to grab a snack, but other than that nothing right now"
"Wow when you guys take a day off you really mean it!"
"Well you ain't doin much either!"
"I know I know. Lauren went to her photo shoot, and I have no clue where Katie is"
"I think she went swimming with Brian"
"Oh. That's weird"
"Why?"
"I don't know, I just thought they didn't talk anymore"
"I have no clue. You know, I wouldn't normally do this, especially since you and AJ are kind of together, but do you wanna do something today? Since we're both not doing anything and stuff"
"Uh, yeah, sounds good, just let me go change"
"Alright"
"Oh, and Nick?..Me and AJ were never really together, and we still aren't so don't worry about that"
"Okay" Nick said looking surprised.
Rachel thought for a minute "Well just to be prepared, where are we going anyways?"
"Do you wanna.....go see if we can find a basketball court or something? Shoot some hoops?" Nick asked, pretending to shoot a basket.
"Sounds cool, you got a ball?"
"Yeah but it's back in my room"
"Alrighty" Rachel grabbed some baggy shorts and a T-shirt out of her suitcase and went to change in the bathroom. When she returned Nick was sitting on the bed watching the sports channel.
"Ready to go?" she called.
"Yeah" Nick switched off the t.v and joined her at the door "Hey, I like you're outfit" Nick commented. "Oh thanks" Rachel replied, looking down at her T-shirt that was bright green with a little Nike check near the collar. She also had on a pair of dark blue mesh shorts and her favorite Tommy Hilfiger running shoes. The two headed towards Nick's hotel room. He walked in, and she followed, almost tripping over different object scattered all over the floor.
"Uh, sorry about the mess. I didn't get the chance to clean it yet"
"Don't worry about it" Rachel laughed, as she watched Nick pick up some clothes and toss them on the bed.
"Now where the hell is that ball?" Nick grumbled. "Ahhh, here it is" he sighed, pulling it out from underneath a pile of clothes. "Ok let's go!" he shouted, and they left the safety of the hotel to try and find a basket ball court. As they were walking out the front doors of the lobby, they bumped into AJ who was carrying three big shopping bags.
”Hey Bone, where ya been?” Nick asked cheerfully.
”Well I have shopping bags in my arms, so that could only mean one thing, huh?” AJ said rudely. Seeing Nick with Rachel had put him in a bad mood for some reason.
”Right.”
Rachel just stood there, looking off into the distance not wanting to deal with AJ’s stare. Although he had sunglasses on she still knew he was looking at her.
”Hey Rachel” he said quietly and politely.
”Hi”
”What are you guys up to today?”
”Well we were both really bored, so we decided to try and find a basketball court” Nick answered for her.
”Oh” was all AJ could muster. “Well I guess I better let you guys go. Are you going to that club with Brian and Howie tonight Nick?”
”Oh that’s right, I completely forgot. Well we better get back around 5:30 at the latest," he said, directing his words towards Rachel.
"Fine with me”
”Are you coming with us?” Nick asked her.
”Well I wasn’t planning on doing anything tonight, but I guess so”
”Cool. Well we better go then, so we’ll have enough time to get ready. See ya Bone”
”Bye”
AJ watched as they walked out the revolving doors. He felt a pang of jealousy towards Nick as he saw Rachel laughing and punching him in the arm. When he got to his room he unpacked his bags and looked at his purchases. He had got a pair of shoes, a couple hats and five new shirts. He took out the last box from his bag and looked inside. There lay the necklace he had seen in an authentic jewelry store in downtown Milan. He had of course, gotten it for Rachel, and was waiting for the perfect chance to give it to her. The chain itself, which had tiny diamonds encrusted in it, was almost more beautiful than the little heart charm that was made of rubies. Looking at it reminded him of the first time he had taken her out, just the two of them. He had been wearing a black suit, and she had been wearing a red silk dress that went down to her ankles. The straps had been held on with little red jewels and there was a long slit going up the side of it. Her hair had been put up into a neat little do, and curls hung down by her face. The mental picture was giving AJ goosebumps. He couldn’t remember another time she had looked so perfect and fragile, except when she slept. He ached for her, and wished she was there with him, instead of out playing basket ball with Nick. He decided that sitting in his hotel room wallowing in his self-pity would do him no good, so he walked down to Howie’s room, and knocked on the door. Howie appeared in the doorway looking groggy and puffy eyed.
”Where you sleeping?”
”Yeah, kind of”
”Well wake up cuz I’m bored and there’s nothing to do”
”What do you want to do then?”
”I don’t know, I just said there’s nothing to do!”
”Well hold up, cuz I remember seeing a pool table down in the bar area, so we’ll go play a few games. Sound good?”
”Yeah, perfect”


”You know Kevin, I really shouldn’t eat this” Lauren said, staring down at her hot-dog as if it were a deadly snake. She had just finished her photo shoot, and her and Kevin were on their way to a park. They had stopped at a hot-dog stand on the way there.
”Oh its one measly hot-dog. Its not like it would hurt for you to gain some weight anyways. I swear every female in your family can’t be over 115 pounds”
”Wouldn’t you like to know”
Kevin smiled and took a bite out of his hot-dog, with everything on it. Lauren watched as he chewed and swallowed happily.
”What are really in hot-dogs anyways?”
”Noone knows. It’s one of the many wonders of the world”
”Well then I’ll pass”
”Come on Lauren, you have to have a hot-dog here! They are the best around”
”Oh alright! But if I throw up a lung, I’m blaming it on you” Lauren cautiously took a bite of the hot-dog, and chewed slowly. She had never had a hot-dog before and after hearing that, Kevin insisted that she ate one.
”Not bad”
”See I told you”
They finished their hot-dogs and walked towards the gates of the big green park in the middle of the busy city.
”So Lauren, tell me about the rest of your family, how you grew up. All I really know is you have a younger sister and a cousin.”
”Well on then whole I had a really wholesome childhood. I was born and grew up in Ontario, Canada. When I was 7 my mom was killed in a car accident. It was really hard on Rachel, because she was 5 and was still getting to know my mother in a way. My dad had wanted to move soon after her death, but I convinced him to stay until after I finished high-school. So when the time came for my family to move, I decided to stay where I was so I could attend college up there. I was 18 then, and I went to live with my grandparents for a couple months before school started. That’s why Rachel and I live in two different places. Probably if I had moved down to Cleveland, I would have been working somewhere around there. Anyways, I got my big break when I was discovered by some scout for Versacci. They signed me for a 2 year $250,000 contract, since I was still young at the time. My contract is now for another 6 years. In between modeling I attended my school. It was a big surprise when I was given the interior decorating company I own.”
”You were given the company?”
”Well, yeah. I was interning there for 6 months. The President of the company was retiring and had heard my reputation as a business woman, and of my modeling career. He called me in his office one day and asked if I would be part owner and head of the company with his son. I immediately excepted and it worked out good for a while, until the son got tired of managing such a big job, and I was promoted to sole owner and CEO of the whole company.”
”Wow”
”I know. I’ve been working my ass off for two years now. Finally this year, I’m getting the break I deserve”
”What do you plan on doing with your breaks?”
”Try to find myself a decent man to keep me company”
”Have you found him yet?”
”Almost”
”Almost?”
”I’m getting close” she said with a giggle. “Now tell me about yourself Kevvy.”
”Maybe some other day”
”Oh come on...pleease...I wanna know about your family now! Besides, I’ve been running my mouth for ten minutes, you got stop me”
”Well there is more then one way to do that”
”Such as?”
”Me kissing you”
Lauren smiled wickedly. “You gotta catch me first!” she said, and ran off towards a row of bushes. Kevin followed and started looking for her as she ducked down behind the shrubbery. Lauren peeked through the leaves and watched for him, but squealed as he grabbed her waist and pushed her down onto the soft grass.
”Noone can save you now” he smirked.
”Not unless I scream" she laughed. She opened her lips to let out a yelp.
”Oh no you don’t” Kevin cried, and covered her mouth with his. After kissing for a while his hand began climb up her side under her shirt and her skin tingled as she felt his touch. She smiled to herself and nibbled on his ear while he kissed her neck. Lauren could feel that he wanted much more than she was letting him have, but she knew it wasn’t the right place for what he had in mind.
”Sweetie, don’t you think we should stop before we get to deep into this?”
”Uh uh” he said shaking his head from side to side.
”Well you know, I love how you’re making me feel right now, but we’re in a park silly. People could be watching.”
”I don’t care” he mumbled, and then lifted his head up and kissed her again on the lips. “But you’re right, maybe here isn’t the best place to uhh get down..get funky”
”You southern boys have the oddest ways of wording things”
Kevin laughed and picked himself up off the ground, holding out a hand to help Lauren up. “Come on we better get going before the park ranger gets suspicious.”
They walked hand in hand together back to the gates of the park. Noticing some teenage girls eyeing the couple across the street, Kevin put on a backwards cap and some sunglasses that had blue tinted lenses.
”Do you want to go out tonight with everybody else?” Kevin asked as they climbed into a cab.
”It’s up to you”
”Well it would be fun to go to a club and have some drinks, don’t ya think?”
”Absolutely”
”Then its a date” Kevin smiled at Lauren as she played with the silver thumb ring he always wore. “Right up here driver” he said, as they neared the front of the hotel.


Katie laughed as Brian told her stories about past tours. They were sitting outside in the hallway eating peanuts and chocolate bars from the minibar, since Brian was tired of being in the hotel room.
”I can’t believe you grinded with a 63 year old woman Brian, that’s so gross”
”Hey, she forced herself on me. Besides I was drunk, I couldn’t even tell the difference between her and Howie”
”Tsk, that’s so mean!”
”Oh we always kid with him about his long hair and big lips. He’s used to it. He always teases me about my nostrils”
”What’s wrong with you’re nostrils?”
”Look at them!” Brian exclaimed and tilted his head back. “They’re so huge”
”I think they’re sexy”
”Well thank you. They do have their advantages”
”Like what?”
”Like.....this” Brian said, and grabbed two large peanuts. He stuck one into the right nostril, and pressed the left one closed with his finger. He took a deep breath, and then blew the peanut out with full force.
Katie burst laughing and spit the water she was drinking all over the wall in the process.
”Aww, that’s sick” Brian exclaimed.
”Well you’re not much better with those noxious nostrils of yours”
”You’re just jealous because you’re nose isn’t as skilled as mine”
”Oh yeah!? I bet you I can shoot a peanut farther than you can!”
”Alright let’s see” Brian handed her the other peanut he was holding and Katie began putting it up her nose. She covered her other nostril, and blew as hard as she could, but the peanut didn’t budge. Brian rolled on the floor with laughter, and Katie blew again, but still it didn’t move. She tried a third time, but when the peanut didn’t come out, a look of fear washed over her face. “Brian, I think the peanut was too big for my nose and now its stuck”
Brian sat up and wiped the tears that had formed at the corner of his eyes, and looked at her. “Are you serious?”
”Uhuh” she nodded solemnly.
”Well trying pushing it out” Brian explained.
So Katie pushed from the top of her nose, and tried forcing it out, but it only seemed to make it worse. “Brian what if it never comes out?” she said, getting more scared.
”Don’t worry, if it doesn’t come out than we’ll take you to the hospital, and you can get a doctor to pull it out”
So Katie tried for 10 more minutes to try and remove the peanut. But when it still didn’t move, and she was almost in tears, Brian smiled and helped her up. “Come on, I’ll escort you to the emergency room my lady”
”Oh Brian! I’m so humiliated!” Katie said, tears pouring out of her eyes.
”Aww don’t worry about it, it could have happened to anyone” he said hugging her tightly. He kissed the end of her nose and smiled again, “Come on, we’ll be back in like half an hour” Brian quickly picked up their mess and put it into his room. He also put a cap on and turned the lip down over his face.
Katie wiped her eyes and sniffled through her one free nostril as they climbed into the limo. “Thank god there are tinted windows in this thing” she said, “Otherwise everybody would see me and my peanut”
”Don’t think about it. Just relax and it will be out of your nose soon”
Brian had called the hospital ahead and a doctor was waiting for them in one of the rooms. She smiled at them as Katie slumped in one of the chairs, and Brian squeezed her hand for support.
”Ok, how are we today?” the doctor asked with a heavy Italian accent.
”Good” Brian said cheerfully.
”You’re not the one with the peanut up your nose” Katie mumbled.
The doctor didn’t hear this so she proceeded to ask her what the problem was.
”She has a peanut stuck in her nose” Brian answered.
The doctor looked slightly confused, “A tea cup?”
”No peanut” Katie grumbled.
”I sorry, I not understand what you say”
”I have a peanut stuck up my nose!!!” Katie said loudly. Brian laughed as he saw the look on Katie’s face.
”Oh, I see, I see now. Well I need to get some...how you say...pliers? to get your peanut out”
”Pliers?” Katie repeated in horror.
”Yes” the doctor said cheerfully. “Be right back” The doctor turned and left the room to go and get some pliers.
Katie started crying again and buried her face in Brian’s shoulder.
”Why are you crying?” Brian laughed.
”Well first cuz a doctor who can barely speak English is going to use pliers on my nose, and two because I’m completely ruining your day off”
”No you’re not!! I’m having fun”
“I’m sure all of this is really amusing for you”
”Hey now I didn’t mean it like that. I had lots of fun, especially back in the pool, and I don’t mind being here with you either”
”Thank-you” Katie sniffled and smiled up at him. She rubbed her nose gently and looked up at the clock. They had already been there 10 minutes, and the peanut was still in her nose. Katie felt a tingling in her nose and all of a sudden she sneezed. The peanut flew out of her nose and ‘pinged’ as it hit a metal tray near the sink.
”Whoa” Brian said in surprise.
Katie burst out laughing, and Brian jumped out of his chair and walked over to where the peanut had landed. “I can’t believe you shot it that far”
”I’m just glad its out” Katie sighed. "Now I’m going to have to try and beat you” Brian said, reaching to pick up the peanut.
”Brian no!!” Katie cried and ran towards him.
”I know I know, I was just joking around” he said, pulling her towards him. As she was about to reach up and kiss him, the doctor returned with a monster pair of pliers in her hands. “All ready?” she asked shrilly.
”Uhh we won’t be needing those any more” Brian said, pointing towards the peanut.
”Oh” the doctor responded, her face dropping, and now looking very disappointed.
”So will you just send the bill to my hotel room?” Brian asked the doctor.
”No way am I letting you pay the bill” Katie said poking him in the stomach.
”Ehh, der is no charge for you two, since da young lady removed it herself”
”Oh good. Thanks. Well bye” Katie said. She grabbed Brian by the hand and out of the door and back outside where the limo was waiting for them.
”That doctor looked a little to eager to use those pliers” Katie said suspiciously
“You’re so paranoid”
“Didn’t you see the look in her eye?”
”Katie just shut up” Brian cried, and moved in to kiss her softly.

Chapter 23
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A Story is a Wish your Heart Makes