"He better not have done anything," Kevin grumbled as he rounded the corner. Not paying attention to where he was going, he collided with someone who seemed to be in just as big of a hurry. "Sorry," Kevin said glancing up. "AJ?"

"Kev," AJ said grinning. "I was just coming to get you. Lori's safe and sound in ya'll's room."

Kevin smiled in relief. "Thanks for taking care of her," he said placing his hand on AJ's shoulder.

AJ shrugged. "It's okay. Sorry it had to happen though. I know you were worried."

Kevin nodded. "It's all good. I just hope the storm didn't damage too much."

AJ looked up at him, glad he had on his dark glasses. The surprise in his eyes would have given his secret away. "Wha-whaddya mean?"

"We DO have a show tonite," Kevin reminded him.

"Oh. Yeah," AJ said chuckling. "I'm starving. Gotta go eat. I'll talk to you later," he said waving and walking off.

"All yours," Rebecca said walking out of the bathroom. She was patting her hair dry with a towel, so she didn't notice Howie staring at her. Realizing the TV had stopped its endless surfing, she looked up. "What?" Looking down she asked. "Did I leave my robe untied?"

"No," Howie said shaking his head. "But I'd like to untie it," he muttered as he gathered his things. "I'm going to take a shower now," he said walking past her. "The laptop is ready for ya."

"Thanks," Rebecca said making a face at his back in her confusion at his odd behavior. Setting down on his bed, she typed in the address to her email server. Logging in, she quickly scanned her messages. She then typed in an address and started composing a letter to her best friend.

Hey there, How are you? Thought I'd leave you a note letting you know how AWESOME things are going. And you'll never BELIEVE who I'm rooming with. None other than THE Howard Dorough!! Yeahyeah go ahead and laugh, but it's true. I didn't have a reservation and the desk guy was making a scene, then all of a sudden HE was there. Signed me in and here I am. The show last night ROCKED. Then we got stuck in the lounge all night because of this HUGE storm. I fell asleep in Howie's arms (how cool is that?) I think I'm falling for him. And not just because he's HOWIE DOROUGH. Sigh. There is only one problem. I think him and Alesha are involved. Which is TERRIBLE. She had Nick. What does she need Howie for? Sighsigh. Oh well. Gotta go. Talk to you later. Bec

She hit the send button and sighed. She logged out and closed the Internet window. Underneath was something Howie had been writing. She only saw part of it before turning the computer off.

…I'm so conflicted. There are so many reasons NOT too. But everytime she gets close, all I can think about is holding her, kissing her…how do I tell her without complicating things?…

Rebecca sighed. "Why can't I have him? What makes HER so special," she grumbled.

"Shunned for Nintendo," Alesha complained.

"Huh?" Nick asked, his eyes glued to the TV.

Alesha picked up a shirt that was laying on the bed. She balled it up and threw it at him. Looking down, she quickly went back to writing her review of last nights show. "DAMMIT!! Look what you did!" he cried as Mario fell off his block into the abyss of MarioWorld. "Mariokiller," he pouted at her.

"Moi?" she asked innocently glancing up from her computer.

"What'cha writing?" he asked scooting up the bed and laying his head on her shoulder.

"A concert review," she replied shuffling through some Polaroid's she'd snapped.

"Anything about me?" he asked smiling up at her sweetly.

"Ungh," she made a face at him. "No." She glanced sideways at him. "I did however write a really long paragraph or two about your dancer Reggie or whatever his name is."

"NOTHING about me?" he whined trying to read the screen. "Writing about Reg, but not me. How wrong is that?"

"Wait," she said quickly typing something in. "There ya go," she said turning the computer slightly so he could see.

"AND NICK, THE BLONDE WONDER HIMSELF, LOOKED LIKE ONE OF THOSE POLYGON CHARACTERS FROM THOSE SILLY VIDEO GAMES HE PLAYS. HAIR STICKING UP IN SPIKES, CLOTHES LOOKING LIKE SOMEONE FORGOT HOW TO DRAW, AND MOVING AS SLUGGISH AS A GAMEBOY WITH LOW BATTERIES, HE DID HIS BEST TO DAZZLE THE CROWD."

Nick read the passage aloud. "Hey! You make me sound like a first generation Nintendo," he pouted.

Alesha laughed. "But aren't you the one who keeps saying that the ORIGINAL NES is and always will be the best?"

A grin slowly replaced the scowl on his face. "Oh yeah," he said. "But…could ya, like…not put that in there?" he asked pointing at the screen.

Smiling, Alesha nodded. "Not what I REALLY wrote anyway," she said hi-lighting the paragraph and hitting the delete key.

Lori made her way over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Oh. Hi Lori. Didn't expect you there."

"Umm…kay. It IS my room, who's this?" Lori asked sitting down on the bed.

"Oh, heh, this is Carrie. Is Kevin around?"

"Carrie? AJ's Carrie?" Lori asked, a strange look crossing her face.

"Ummm, yeah. That would be me."

"Hmm. No, he's…" Lori turned as the door opened. "Actually, he's right here. Hold on a sec." She handed him the phone as Kevin kissed her softly. "It's Carrie."

"Carrie?" he asked confused. Lori shrugged and walked back in the restroom. "What?" she heard him ask. "No, I can't. >pausepause< I don't know. Have you talked to AJ? >pause< He doesn't know you're here? >pausepause< What time?" Lori shut the door and started picking up her stuff. Something fell out of her jeans pocket. Puzzled at the folded piece of paper, she picked it up. Opening it, her heart started racing as she read the words scribbled on it.

Lost and lonely
Not a trace of light
Seeking a refuge
In the stormy night
I call your name
My arms reach out
You turn to me
Eyes so full of doubt

I'll never hurt you, you'll never cry
I'll never lie to you, never say goodbye
Open your heart, look in my eyes
Don't be afraid, you'll find forever inside.

Aimlessly searching
It took many years
Broken hearts and promises
I've cried many tears
Then I met you
And from that first look
You and me together
The last chapter in the book

I'll never hurt you, you'll never cry
I'll never lie to you, never say goodbye
Open your heart, look in my eyes
Don't be afraid, you'll find forever inside

Take my hand, put your fears aside
Trust in my love come along for the ride
Follow your heart to mine
Find forever inside

I'll never hurt you, you'll never cry
I'll never lie to you, never say goodbye
Open your heart, look in my eyes
Don't be afraid, you'll find forever inside

("Forever Inside" ©2000 A. Blacketer)

Chapter 53: Snapshots...

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