That night we all went out to dinner at a quaint and expensive place out on the water. We discussed our plans for Christmas. It seemed that I was the only one not doing anything because I didn't really have the money to spend to see my parents and there was no way the Carter's were going to invite me until Nick straightened everything out.

~SATURDAY NIGHT~

"It's okay, don't worry, I'll see you on Tuesday," I pleaded as Nick was about to board the plane home. Christmas was the next day and we agreed not to buy each other anything.
"Are you sure, I hate leaving you alone on Christmas. My parents won't mind," he tried one last time.
"Go, I'll see you Tuesday in Toronto," I replied as I kissed him.

Christmas by myself wasn't that bad. Brian and Felicia called to wish me a great holiday. That night Nick called and we talked for hours. Even Howie, Kevin, and A.J. called.

~MONDAY NIGHT~

I was finishing my packing when the phone rang.
"Hello?" I asked cheerfully, looking forward to my trip.
"Kaitlyn, it's Amanda, Happy Holidays," she coldy said into the phone. "Thank you, you too," I replied as kindly as possible.
"We've decided that your two week suspension is plenty, so we want you to return to work around the eigthteenth of January," she replied dryly.
"Okay, thanks Amanda," I replied as I hung up.

~TUESDAY NIGHT - TORONTO~

There was a knock on my hotel room door. I was hoping it was Nick. It only had been a few days, but I missed him terribly.
"Coming!" I replied as set down my things, put on a smile and went to the door.
I opened it to see Brian standing there before me.
"Brian?" I started. "How are you?" I replied as we embraced. He hugged me tightly. Tighter than usual.
"Did you have a good Christmas?" he asked.

Since that day on the court in Central Park, Brian and I had been a bit more than uncomfortable around one another.
"Yeah it was okay, not too exciting," I replied.
"Felicia will be here in the morning. She had some loose ends to tie up with her new book deal."
"Oh, sorry, would you like to come in?" I asked as I opened the door for him to come in.
"Thanks. Uh, Nick will be here soon. His flight was delayed out of Tampa. I think there's some bad weather down that way. A.J. and Howie aren't in yet either. Just Kevin and I," he informed me.
I frowned, I'd been waiting to see Nick since the minute he left.
"Hey Kate, it's okay, we'll keep you company," he added as he smiled and sat down in the chair by the window.
I sat down in the chair across from him and looked out at the city.
"So when did you get in?" He asked, trying to make the silence less uncomfortable.
"Just about an hour ago. The airport's are packed," I continued the small talk.
"Did you hear about the MTV party we are attending?" He asked.
I shook my head.
"Well we're doing Letterman this week anyway since we're only in Ontario and since we'll be back in New York, MTV asked us to perform at their New Year's bash."
I smiled.
"Have you talked to everyone and got this PR thing situated?" he asked. "Yeah, a few of them picked me up from the airport and we talked about my duties the whole way here. I start work tomorrow," I proudly said.
We both nodded and stared out the window.
There was a sudden knock at my door. Anything to break the silence between us and the uncomfortable feeling was good for me.
"Hey Kev, come on in," I replied as I let him in.
"Hey cuz, you guys feel like dinner?" he offered.
We both agreed.


~THREE HOURS LATER~

We were returning from dinner, a bit tipsy from the alcohol we said we weren't going to consume. Brian and I dropped Kevin off at his room and stumbled down the hall laughing.
I opened the door to my room to see Nick sitting at the table, a shot glass in hand.
"Nick?!" I yelled, giggly.
He stood up and looked at Brian and I, studying us carefully.
"What happened to you two?" he asked, anger in his voice.
"Uh, what did we do Brian?" I stupidly asked, laughing.
"We went to dinner with Kev, yup!" Brian laughed as he turned around and left the hotel room.
"I've been waiting here for a while Kate," he replied giving me a hug.
"I'm sorry, we thought your plane would take longer," I tried to get myself together.
"Good night," he replied coldly as he crawled in the bed and turned around.

~THE NEXT DAY~

My head was pounding as I was on and off the cell phone they provided for me talking to the record company. I was in one of the hotel rooms with a few of the other PR directors as the guys went down to the arena to rehearse.
"No it's Letterman on the thirteenth!" I yelled for the hundredth time to the new girl at Jive Records. "Today is the twenty-eighth," I replied, annoyed.
"Yeah, we'll get back to you," I replied as I hit the "END" button.
"Hey Kate, it's four o'clock, get out of here! You've been here all day!"
Julia said as she passed by me. She had short red hair that was styled in no apparant direction.

~AT THE ARENA~

I sat in the seats and watched when Felicia came into the arena.
"Feel like we've been here before!" Felicia teased as I stood up to hug her. Nick looked on from the stage.
"Do you know what's up with him?" I asked her, nodding towards Nick.
"I heard that he and his mom got into a pretty big fight the night before he came here," she quietly replied as if they would hear her.
"Really? Cause he was really angry when we came home from dinner last night," I worriedly replied.
We watched the guys finish the last sound check and jump off the stage.
"I'm sorry," Nick said as he approached me.
"No I'm sorry, I should have been there when you got in," I smiled up at him.
"Well, I'll talk to you about it later, okay?" He said as he kissed me and walked off.

~MORNING OF NEW YEAR'S EVE~

It had been two days and things were back to normal between us, but he still hadn't told me what happened when he was at home. Nick was always greatly affected by the things his family said and did because he was so close to them, so I wondered what had been said over the Holiday.
"This place is so cool Brian's never brought me here before," Felicia replied as we looked around MTV Studios. They were rehearsing for the big bash that was taking place that night.
"I've been here before to report for the Times, but I've never really had a chance to sit and take it all in," I replied as I saw A.J. approach us.
"How's these two lovely ladies doing this morning?" A.J. asked as he pulled his glasses down to look at Felicia and I.
"Just fine, thank you for asking Alex," Felicia replied.
As Felicia and I talked with A.J. I glanced over to see Nick on his cell phone. He looked angry as he yelled into it repeatedly before slamming it shut and walking off.
"Will you excuse me?" I asked A.J. and Felicia as I followed Nick.
I peered around the corner to see Nick and Brian. Nick was yelling.
"No, she has some huge problem with it. And I guess Mandy called her and whined about this and that and now my mother actually, get this, feels sorry for her! Of all people! And it makes it worse because she still doesn't trust Kate and she knows Kate is on this two week trip with us," is all I heard him yell.
Mandy? Who was Mandy?
"Yo Kate, we've got to go get our hair and nails done, we're gonna be late, let's go," Felicia insisted as she pulled me through the crowd.

~THAT NIGHT~

I stood with my arm draped through Nick's as we mingled throughout the MTV party. My dress was long and red with sequence lining all the way through it. My hair was up with pieces falling down my back in curls. Felicia wore a knee-length black dress, revealing her cleavage well. Her hair was down and straight, curled under at the ends. All the guys wore semi-matching black tuxes.
"Are you nevous?" I asked Nick as the guys were called for sound check because they were next up.
"Not with you here. I love you," he replied as he kissed me gently and walked away.
Felicia and I stood off to the side and watched the boys perform their latest release. The ballad rang through the room as I heard Nick's voice carry above all the others and his eyes stare straight back at me. We smiled at each other.
After their performance it was hard to find them. They got hauled off to interviews as Felicia and I mingled.
"Let's find a bathroom," she said to me as we walked around the party.
"Okay," I agreed over the loud music.

~DOWNSTAIRS~

"No, I like the way that Brian makes his eyes big when he's trying to express what he's saying. All the girls fall for it," Felicia rambled on about their performance. We turned a corner in the studios. The walls were white and there was no one really in that part of the building because of the party upstairs.
"Well we either go left or right," Felicia replied.
"Okay, how about you go right and I go left and I'll call your cell phone if I find it," I replied as we both laughed. We'd had some alcohol to drink, so we were a bit gidgy.
I walked down the hall with my hands against the wall looking for the bathroom.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

"Why did you come here?" Nick demanded.
Mandy stared up at him.
"Because I haven't seen you in a while," her long dirty-blonde hair touching her waist as her long white gown hugged her body perfectly.
"Please just go," Nick insisted.
"No, it's been a long time and I've missed you Nick," she pleaded, grabbing onto his shirt.
"Mandy -" he started.
"Don't tell me there's someone else," she spit, getting angry now. She pushed him up against the white walls of the hallway.
Nick nodded. He gave into her power.
"She's really special Mandy and we're through, we've been through for years, come on, please leave," Nick pleaded.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

Brian was coming down the other side of the hall looking for Felicia when he turned the corner and saw Nick and Mandy in the middle of the hall.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

"Don't worry, I can make you forget her," she spat as Mandy thrust her lips into Nick's.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

I turned the corner.
Was that Nick? Who was that long haired girl and why was she kissing him? I started to panick. I looked past them and saw Brian on the otherside of the long hallway. He caught my eyes and his mouth fell open.
I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak.
I turned around and ran.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

Brian bolted down the opposite hallway, running as quick as he could.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

"Get off me!" Nick yelled as he lightly pushed Mandy away.
"You know you can't resist me, you never could," she confidently replied.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

I ran out of the hallway, out the door and down the street. It was only two blocks to the hotel.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

Brian ran as quick as he could down the stairs of the studios and out the door, just to see Kate turn the corner and head back to the hotel.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

Felicia came walking out of the bathroom and tried dialing Kate's cell phone. No answer.
She ran right into Mandy and Nick who were arguing in the hall.
"What the hell is SHE doing here!?" Felicia yelled.
"She's leaving," Nick coldly replied as he grabbed Felicia's arm and walked with her back to the party.
"Where's Kate?" Felicia asked as they made their way up the stairs.
"I dunno she was with you," Nick replied, irritated by Mandy's appearance.
"No, she went down that hall to go find the bathroom," Felicia replied.
Nick's face turned white.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

I was right in front of the hotel when I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me around. I was startled as I spun around.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

"Shit," Nick mumbled as he promised Felicia he would be right back. He left the studios and walked back to the hotel quickly.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

Tears streamed down my face as I looked up at Brian. We were speechless for moments as the steam rose from the sewers below us. The street light was going in and out and the cold air pierced my skin.
"Brian, who's that girl, why was he kissing her?" I pleaded, my voice choked up with emotion.
"Kate, calm down, that was Mandy, Nick's ex-girlfriend. She's been giving him some trouble lately and -"
"And so he kisses her!?" I yelled, my nose getting stuffy. He put his hands on my shoulders.
"She's very persuasive and she goes for what she wants Kate, I'm sure there's a good explanation for this," Brian tried to stick up for Nick.
"There isn't Brian! Don't you understand, you saw it too! He didn't pull away from her, he wanted to kiss her back," I moaned as the tears flowed even more rapidly from my face. Brian came in and embraced me tightly I gave into his arms and sobbed on his shoulder.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

"Kaylee, yo, it think it might have worked!" Mandy whined into the phone.
"Did he kiss you?" Kaylee asked.
"No, I kissed him and I think she saw, but Brian saw too I think," Mandy replied devishly.
"Good, keep stirring up some stuff, you can pick up the money at my apartment tomorrow morning, here's the address..." Kaylee smirked into the phone.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

Nick turned the first block and headed for the second one. What was he going to tell Kate if she saw? She never even knew Mandy exsisted. Besides, what happened between them was more than an accident, Mandy kissed him.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

Brian released me and put his jacket around my arms as I shivered. He moved his arms up and down my shoulders trying to warm me up. We looked at each other for a long moment. Our faces were only inches apart. Tears still streamed down my cheeks as I stared back into his caring blue eyes.
"It was probably her fault Kate," Brian whispered.
"A kiss takes two people Brian and a kiss like that isn't an accident," I mumbled.
"Sometimes it just happens," he replied as his face got closer to mine. I searched his eyes and saw a warm glow in them.
"It just happens," I replied as I leaned further into him. Our noses were almost touching as we both breathed quietly in the dark.

~AT THE SAME TIME~

Nick turned the corner and stepped down onto the street. When he got closer he saw what he thought was Kate and Brian. What were they doing?

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