“Oh my gosh. Ah, WHAT HAVE I DONE?!” I asked myself as I paced back and forth in my room. I chewed on my nails as I thought about Nick. “Noooo!!” I wimpered. I have NO idea why I kissed Brian. I mean, it just happened. Just like that. I dont know why I didnt pull away, but I dont know why I kept kissing him either. I mean, Nick!! He has been my fave Backstreet Boy FOREVER! And what is this with Brian?! Well, I have to admit, Brian IS a cutie and has been my 2nd fave BSB....Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
“Clarice! What are you doing here? Its getting really late...” I said as I opened the door wider for her.“Um..I just came to talk. I wanted to sort things out you know?” Clarice answered.
“Oh ok, sure! Come in!!” I said as I tried to clear some of my clothes off the floor. *I am a really messy girl* Clarice took a seat in my green blow up chair.“CLARICE!! Help me!! I dunno what to do!!!” I cried.
“Ah, Lucy, I dunno either!! But can we work something out first?” Clarice asked.“Sure...” I said. I was hoping Clarice really wanted to work this out and wasnt going to blow up at me....again.
“Um..well, I just want to say, that I am really happy for you and Nick. I mean, I dont know...like, I havent been really MAD at you entirely, just more dissapointed...I mean, you knew I liked Nick first, but I really thought you were out to take him away from me. I thought you were trying to backstab me, and take Nick for yourself. But, now, I realize that Nick really does like you. And not me....” Clarice said as I listened intently.“Clarice....I’m sorry, I have been really cold lately...and we havent been able to talk. I feel that it is my fault that I ruined our friendship. I mean, maybe if I had just stayed home...and not-” Clarice cut me off.
“But YOU HAD TO COME! I mean, you are my BEST FRIEND!! And you are the HUGEST BSB fan I know besides from myself!! Of course I would have called you up and asked you to come along!” Clarice replied.I sighed. “Look, Clarice, you have been such and AWESOME friend to me and you really dont deserve this. I-I’ll stay away from Nick.” I said.
“But it doesnt seem like you have him anymore Lucy.” Clarice said softly. With those words, I started to cry. Clarice reached over and put her arm around my shoulders. “It’s going to be ok Lucy. Dont worry. I will help you out.” Clarice said gently.I wiped away my tears. “What can you do Clarice? I mean, look at what has happened.” I said, choking back the sobs.
“Look, you really do like Nick dont you?” She asked.“Of course! I mean, I like him A LOT! But, I dont understand why I did that....why did I kiss Brian?” I wondered.
“Maybe it was cause at that time, you really needed comfort, and Nick wasnt there...and when Brian gave you his comfort....” she trailed off at the end. I gave Clarice a helpless look, and sighed once again. Clarice took a quick glance at her watch and she got up.
“I’m sorry Lucy, but I have to get to bed...its getting to be late...sorry. I hope we can talk more about this later though...ok?” Clarice asked.“Uh, yah, that will be fine. I am getting tired too...” I answered.
“You are going to be ok right?”“I hope so...I just hope Nick isnt that mad at me...” I said, while giving Clarice a weak smile.
“Dont think about it much.” Clarice said as she closed the door behind her.I let out one long sigh, and plopped down on my bed and dozed off.
“Hey! Pass the ball over here!” Brian yelled. The boys were having one of their basketball games outside. I sat on a chair, watching the boys. I guessed my glum look on my face was pretty noticable, because AJ came over and asked me what was wrong. He offered me a Coke.“No thanks.” I said as I looked away from AJ.
“Whats wrong girl? You dont look too happy.” I didnt say anything. AJ sighed.“Look, I heard about what happened last night. What was all that about anyways?” He asked.
“I dunno....I really dont know.” I said, running my hands through my hair. AJ saw the hurt, confusion and sadness in my face, that he took my hand.“Would you like me to talk to Brian and Nick about this?” He asked me.
I smiled weakly. “If you could, that would be great. I really like Nick, and I really do not want to ruin this thing me and him have going on. I mean, I really dont know why I even kissed Brian...”“Ok, I will do all that I can to patch things up between you and Nick. And I will get to the bottom of this with Brian. I mean, he should have known! Nick ALWAYS tells Brian things first....” I shrugged my shoulders and watched them play basketball. Right then, Clarice made a 3 point shot, and got it in!
“Woo hoo!! Yah Clarice!!” I yelled out. AJ cheered even louder than I did. Clarice blew AJ a kiss from where she was standing.“Hm...AJ, what was that?!” I asked him, shocked.
“What?” He answered.“Hehe, I noticed that you and Clarice have a little something going on....come, you can tell me.” I said, nudging AJ. He blushed and grinned like a little child.
“Well, I really like Clarice. And lately, we have started spending a lot more time together. And I really like spending time with her. She is very interesting and overall, a great person.”“Weeeellll.....are you going to ask her out?” I asked.
AJ grinned some more. “I would like to, but she seems to like Nick a lot. And I am not even sure if she will say yes....”“Look, AJ! She told me that yah, she does like Nick, but she doesnt want to ruin our friendship in anyway and she has accepted that Nick likes me.”
“Are you sure? I dunno.” he said unsure.“AJ, trust me. Go for it boy!!!” I said excitedly.
AJ looked at me and nodded his head. “I will, but not just yet. I want to make things perfect.” I smiled and looked back at the game.“Seems like she is having a lot of fun.” I thought to myself. I looked over at AJ. “Wow, it does seem like he really really does like Clarice.” His eyes were on her the whole time. I wasnt sure if Clarice liked AJ too, because she hasnt said a word to me about it. I looked back at Nick. He was tickling Clarice and didnt let her take the ball. The more I watched, the more angry I got. Well, Clarice was ALL OVER Nick. She would always stay by him and do things to him, though he didnt even have the ball.
“I thought she said she would help me. I didnt know her way of ‘helping’ me was to get Nick to like her...” I said to myself. I couldnt believe it. I thought me and Clarice had worked this out. I couldnt take it anymore. I grabbed my stuff and stormed back into the bus.I guess no one noticed that I had left because almost two hours later, the rest of them came back into the bus. I was flipping through the channels when Nick sat down beside me.
“You should have came out and played some ball with us! Clairce was playing so well!!” He said, taking a sip of his water.I gave him a dirty look and without a word, got up and left. “Lucy! Where are you going? Whats wrong?” He said, chasing after me.
I walked out of the bus into the warm summer heat. Nick came and grabbed my arm. “Lucy, you shouldnt be the one thats mad. It should be me. But I come in, and I try to talk to you and you give me this attitude?” Nick said. I whirled around.“Look, I am not mad at you. Well, sorta, but the one I am mad at is Clarice. I mean, last night, she said she would help me fix things with me and you. I guess her way of helping me out was way different than I thought.” I said, avoiding Nick’s gaze.
“Lucy, you dont need to work things out with me. Brian has already talked to me about this. He told me early this morning. He explained everything to me. I am not one bit mad at you. I really should have been there to comfort you. I knew you and Clarice were fighting, and in a way, it was my fault that this happened. Look, I dont blame you ok Lucy. I will still love you for who you are and I dont want to loose you. Not now.” Nick said sincerely.
I was in shock. I couldnt believe that he would forgive me. “I-I really dont know what to say.” I said, and right before I burst into tears, I jumped up and put my arms around his neck. He kissed me lightly on the forhead and stroked my hair, calming my tears. I gently pulled away and looked into Nick’s eyes. I smiled and he leaned towards me for a kiss. I kissed him lightly on his soft lips and I kissed his cheek. Nick put me back down, *I am very short* and he put his arm around my waist. Together, we walked back to the bus.Little did I know, Clarice was in the window, and she saw and heard EVERYTHING that happened with me and Nick outside. “I’ve GOT to get Nick.” Clarice said.
“What?” AJ said. He had just come into Clarice’s room. “What did you just say? Something about getting Nick?”“Oh uh...um..I have to get my cousin Rick a gift. Hehe.” Clarice said.
“Oh...ok” AJ said hesitantly. “Do you want to do something tonight?” AJ asked her.“Uh....not..really. I am going to be kinda busy tonight. Lots of things to do and finish up you know?” Clarice answered. AJ gave her a hurt look. “Uh, not that I wouldnt want to, but I got lots of stuff to finish...”
“Um..ok then.....” AJ said, trailing off. He silently wondered what Clarice had planned.