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Nick was so embarrassed that he had landed on her. Hell, he hadn’t just landed on her; he was sprawled out on top of her on the floor. He thought she must have realized their position at the same moment that he had, for her face had paled and she looked ready to scream bloody murder. God help him if one of the others happened to walk in.
And then Kevin happened to rush into the room, almost falling on top of them in his haste to get there. He had heard Jenny scream and whether she had gotten afraid of Nick again or not, he had hoped to get there in time to help. He held tight to the doorframe to steady himself, and then looked into the room to see the problem. When he saw Nick lying on her, he didn’t know what to think. He decided he was going to find out what happened, though.
“Nick! What are you doing?!”
Jenny jerked her head over at Kevin at the sound of his voice; her face showing her relief. That only made Kevin wonder even more. He hadn’t thought Nick was really up to anything, but why else would Jenny be so happy to see him there? Kevin decided to wait for his answer. Nick would explain; that is if the guy ever thought to turn his head so Kevin could see his face.
Nick was hesitant to acknowledge Kevin. He hadn’t meant to fall onto Jenny, but he knew how wrong it probably looked to someone who hadn’t seen the two of them fall. Jenny wasn’t helping, either. She didn’t seem inclined to explain what had happened. Slowly placing his hands on either side of her, Nick pushed himself up and off of Jenny and then leaned down to offer a hand to let her up. Jenny was still mortified from having been landed on, if her cheeks were any indication, and was in no mood to let Nick help her up. She rudely shoved his hand away and pulled herself off the floor on her own. Kevin noticed Nick’s new blush and started to get impatient. He wanted an answer now. He had thought he could wait for Nick to qualify what had happened, but he wanted to know NOW!
“Nick…?” Kevin took a breath. “Please tell me. What were you doing?” Jenny glanced at Kevin’s hard stare before Nick caught it. She blushed and frowned in worry at the same time. Before either of the men knew it, she was hiding herself from Kevin’s sight, using Nick as her barrier. Now Nick’s cheeks were burning an even brighter red, if that was possible.
“The bus startled us out of sleep. I…” Nick trailed off until he saw Kevin’s glare, and then decided he should finish. “…I fell ova and landed on’er. It was an accident! We didn’t eve’know what happed till after. Honest!” he rushed out before Kevin could become any more angered.
The explanation seemed to placate Kevin, especially when he noticed Jenny’s agreement with Nick. She had been nodding profusely to emphasize his words throughout the answer. Kevin had to be sure, though.
“So, Jenny. You screamed because…?”
“He landed on me. I was…shocked,” she admitted while wringing the back of Nick’s shirt with her hands in obvious nervousness. She didn’t notice what she was doing until Nick looked over his shoulder and gave her an odd expression. She immediately let go of his shirt and backed away. He shrugged in reply, and turned back to the door. Jenny followed his gaze. They were both surprised to realize Kevin had left.
“Listen, uh…I’m sorry. Really,” Nick uttered, still not wanting to look Jenny in the eyes. It was just as well. She was feeling extremely shy and unsure of herself at the moment. Looking around, Nick was desperately trying to think of something to say to her, but nothing came to mind. He couldn’t stand the silence at the moment, so full of tension. Luckily, Brian was his savior.
“Nick? Where is Jenny? And what are you doing back here? I just passed Kev and he had this wicked smile on his face…” Brian trailed off as he pulled open the curtain in the doorway and realized Jenny was in the room with Nick. “Hey Jenny. What’s up?”
Jenny immediately perked up when Brian addressed her. He was so easy to talk to and because he knew, she didn’t need to feel withdrawn from him. “Nothing, Brian.”
“Nothing, eh? Why was Kevin smilin’ then?” Jenny blushed and Brian looked at Nick. Nick was trying his hardest to pretend he wasn’t paying attention. His pale face was just as telling as Jenny’s red one. Brian decided that pestering Nick for answers would be better left for later, so he changed the subject. “You guys know we’re at the hotel? I came back here to wake you up if you weren’t already. Jenny, you best be getting your things together.”
Jenny nodded with a grin. Ever since Brian had entered, Nick noticed her lightened mood. A sudden burst of jealousy such as Nick had never known shot through him. The guy was still oblivious to his true feelings, though, making the jealousy all the more confusing to him. I have only known her for a day. Not counting that autograph session. What’s wrong with me? Nick wondered. What the hell is happenin’?!
Putting his thoughts and confusions aside, Nick helped Jenny lift her bags as Brian left, once again wondering what she could possibly be traveling with that would take six whole bags to pack it in. He didn’t even have that much stuff! “Yo, Jen? What ya got in dese?”
“Well, I have three weeks worth of clothing, actually that’s almost my whole wardrobe. I know I will be able to wash it, but I don’t wanna wear the same things all the time. I have a few books, movies, CDs-“
“What artists ya like?”
“I have TLC, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet, of course, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Westlife, Will Smith, Limp Bizkit, No Doubt, Toni Braxton, Jessica Simpson, Sisqó, some Christian stuff, Aaron Car…ter…” Jenny blushed at admitting she bought the music of Nick’s younger brother. Nick laughed. “Don’t laugh, please! Some of it’s cute! Though I must admit ‘My Internet Girl’ is too cheesy, and it reminds me too much of that one *NSYNC song."
“Ya don’t like *NSYNC?” Nick sounded shocked.
“No…why...?”
"Well, it’s just, I dunno. When I saw ya I just thought you’da liked *NSYNC, too. Many of our fans like ‘em, too…” Talking about *NSYNC was working Nick into a state. It would have been obvious to anyone how much he hated them. Jenny instinctively backed up. The action was done quite subconsciously, for no matter what her head was thinking, years of experience had taught her to protect herself. Nick noticed the action but also saw that her expression remained serene, and didn’t turn to panic. He thought, That’s an odd reaction. Not for the first time in the past day, he wondered why Jenny continued to show fear toward everyone. Why, the only people she didn’t seem afraid of were her friends.
“Well, I don’t like them. Their music is too electronic and annoying. When it comes to music by boy groups, I’m a sucker for the slow ballads. They are so sweet. It…” she was about to say that it almost made her believe some men were good, but caught herself in time, “…it is just so beautiful. *NSYNC has so many fast songs,” Jenny assured Nick of her loyalty to their music when he had stopped shaking his head at himself. Nick was instantly relieved. That’s an odd reaction, Jenny thought. Why would he care? Oh well, it doesn’t matter… Jenny shrugged it off, and after that, the two of them stayed in silence and continued to haul her luggage to the front of the bus where they could receive help from the others. There wasn’t any tension in the silence, this time, however. The two worked together in complete comfort.
Broken Promises