Kristy Royal pushed an empty cardboard box aside and pulled the fridge door open. "Honey Garlic Ham and a half bottle of Ruby Red Ocean Spray." she groaned. "This calls for a shopping trip." Kristy put Felix into the box-filled room next to the kitchen and closed the door; her cat was very fond of destroying papers that littered the counter. Kristy grabbed her keys off the table, pulled on a pair white sneakers, and donned her favorite Ray-Bans. Kristy jumped into her Chevy Malibu Convertible and turned the radio on. "Back At One" by Brian McKnight came through the speakers, and Kristy backed the car onto the road, and looked back at her brand new West Tampa home to make sure the garage door had closed. It had, and she sped off towards the entrance to the free way.

A short while later....

Kristy pushed the shopping cart towards her car, and was about to unlock it when she spotted an all to familiar guy walking towards the store, a long sleeve shirt covering the many tattoo's that covered his arms. She jogged away, leaving the trunk open, chasing the guy. Kristy grabbed his shoulder, and the guy turned around quickly. "AJ?!?!" Kristy asked, eye's wide with excitement.

"Kristy?!" he gasped, shocked.

"Oh, shit, it's you!" Kristy shrieked, hugging him tightly.

He grabbed the lithe frame, and hugged her. "Holy crap, I haven't seen you in a loooong time! What are you doing here?"

"I live down here now" Kristy told him happily, thrilled to see her long-time friend once again.

"Really?" AJ asked in a goofy voice. "I never thought you'd leave Toronto"

She shrugged, walking back to her car with AJ in close pursuit. "Too many people were finding my parent's house and privacy went way down. The record company moved the studio's to Orlando, and this way I won't have to fly every time I've gotta record something new, which is often. Plus, I'm 19 so I can live by myself, and I've made a little cash, so I can afford it. No one knows I'm down here yet except for my parents." Kristy glanced up to see AJ pointing towards himself. "And you" she finished with a laugh. "And you are planning on keeping it a secret, because you know the hell of living in the public eye"

"You can't expect me not to tell Kevin. If anyone must know, it should be Kevin. He's always saying 'I wonder what my little sis is doing right now' " he teased. "He still calls you little sis after all this time"

"Eh, what can I say?" Kristy smiled.

"Eh?" AJ asked playfully. "You're still stuck on the eh? phase...jeez, I would expect better Kris!"

Kristy smiled. "It's so great to see you again, it really is. God, it's been like, what, two years since that tour?" AJ nodded, and Kristy sighed in awe. "I was so innocent then" she commented. AJ looked over at Kristy, who avoided his glance. They both knew there was a double meaning behind that statement.

"So how are things going, are you okay now?" he carefully skirted around the edges, not wanting to broach the subject directly.

Kristy picked the bag of cans up and loaded them into her truck. "Fine, why wouldn't they be?"

"You know and I know those weren't the things I was talking about" AJ pointed out, and Kristy scowled.

"What are you doing tonight?" she changed the subject. "Wanna come to my house and catch up on things?"

AJ backed off, knowing that when Kristy was ready she'd talk. "Sure. Uh, where are you living?"

"Just follow my car, you can get groceries later" Kristy said with her usual charm.

After a brief set of instructions incase he lost her in traffic, they retreated to their separate cars and headed for Kristy's.