Kristy tossed AJ the house keys, and grabbed the grocery bags out of the trunk. He looked at the key ring, and grinned. There was a Backstreet Boys key chain, and a photo of Kristy, Brian, and Kevin at the CN Tower in Toronto along with all the keys. He unlocked the door, and Kristy followed him in. "Woah" he breathed. "This is one huge house!"

Kristy laughed softly. "Yeah, and all the boxes make it even better, don't they?" Kristy lead him through the house, and released Oscar, whom AJ promptly picked up and cuddled. They went past the living room, which had a tv, some pillows covered in a blanket that served as a couch, and an empty pizza box on the floor.

"Nice furniture" he teased.

Kristy set her bags down, and shuffled through until she found a bag of milk and some oreos. "Drink?" she offered, and AJ nodded.

Drinks poured, groceries put away, they went back to the living room and reclined among the pillows and blankets. "So what's changed about you?" he asked curiously. "Since the last time we talked, I mean"

Kristy thought for a few seconds. "I'm a lot more street-wise, I guess you could say. I graduated last year, I got to go back to Myer's* as an honorary graduate, and participate in the grad ceremony, which was nice. Little bit of normality in a really un-normal life. Hmm, what else has changed about me?" She paused, and took a sip of milk. "I'm a lot more, uh, like I know what I want now, I don't conform to other people's opinions I guess you could say. I dunno, what seems different about me?"

"You're much more mature." AJ complimented, and Kristy smiled half-heartedly.

"What's changed with the guys?" she asked softly, the most curious about one guy in particular.

"Brian's still going out with LeighAnne, it's been a little under two years. Uh, Kevin is still Kevin, the guy who makes sure everything runs smoothly. Me and Howie still shop whenever possible." AJ told her, purposely ignoring Nick. "That's about everything."

Kristy looked up. "What about Nick?" she was almost inaudible.

"Nick?" AJ pretended to be surprised. "He's much quieter than he used to be. He started going out with Lisa a little while after you left. Um, dated her for long time. About a year and a half ... well, it's not that long, but for someone his age it is. She left him, he kinda returned to his shell the way he was when I first met him. What else do you wanna know?"

"Everything" Kristy thought remorsefully, but said nothing.

"You know he misses you" AJ told her.

Kristy smiled faintly. "Sure. He misses me like he misses a blister" She realized how obvious the fact that she missed Nick was, and bristled, not wanting AJ to go tell Nick that 'Kristy was still hung up on him'. "Why are you telling me this anyway? Do you think I care? He is the past, Nick was just another jerk who thought that I'd be a good fuck."

AJ knitted his brow in surprise. "He really does care, and no matter how hard you try and front it, I can tell you do too. Don't even think that bitching will cover it up Kristy, because six months with you let me in on the real you....the REAL you. The one that you hide because something happened to the real you, and it hurt," he stopped for a second to let his words sink in, and Kristy stared past him into thedistance. "That memory will always hurt Kristy, but if you don't try and make it better it'll only get worse."

"No, I don't care about him anymore." she gulped. "I've moved on, if Nick hasn't, well that's his problem."

"Oh, Kristy, don't avoid this. You've got to try and talk to him atleast."

She was silent, and AJ knew he'd struck a nerve. "So what is everyone doing this weekend?" she changed the subject.

He knew better than to persue the subject; when Kristy got really mad it was a health hazard to be within arms distance. "Kevin's in Lexington visiting family, with Julia. Um, other than that I think everyone is relaxing. This tour has been a lot easier ... well, not easier, but more relaxed, so when we get time off it's more of a break, not a "Ohmigod, I'm so tired I want to sleep for the whole time" break.

Kristy brightened. "All of you can help me unpack!"

"Sure" AJ agreed.

She perked up, thinking of how nice it would be to have some furniture in the house. Right now the only furniture-like things were the two mattressess and a clock in her bedroom, and the pillows in the living room.

AJ, however, had other reasons to look forward to helping Kristy unpack. It meant that she and Nick would have to talk. It was inevitable. 'Perfect' he grinned to himself, tons of cheesy love songs coming into his head. 'They'll be floating up the river of love in no time' The next day....

Nick pulled the pillow over his head and tried to block out the persistant ringing. Finally the answering machine beside his bed picked up.

"Hey, I'm home right now, so leave me a message and I'll call ya when I go out" it said, then there was a long beep.

AJ's sarcastic laughing came through the line. "Nice message Nick, very amusing. Pick up the phone, I know you're right there..." silence "Pick up. Niiiccckkk, pick up the phone. Fine. Be like that. But listen. I was at the grocery store, and you'll never guess who I ran into ... Kristy! Kristy's back in town, she lives down here now, she wants us to help her unpack everyth--"

Nick grabbed the phone quickly. "Bone?" he panted. "She's back?"

"Hello to you too" AJ teased. "Yeah, she's back. This is your chance buddy, this is what you've waited for. You always said that if only you could fix what you did, well now you can fix it."

Nick's head swirled with thoughts, and he collapsed back into the pillows happily. "I need a plan" he told AJ. "A good plan. One that will make her listen to me, one that will sweep Kristy off her feet. You have to help me." Nick said firmly. He opened his mouth to continue when a beep interrupted his thoughts. "Hang on a sec Alex, there's a beep."

"Sure" AJ replied easily, and Nick switched to the other line.

" 'Llo?" He was excited now, and his voice came out in a semi-high squeak.

Brian's laugh resounded through the phone. "What the hell was that?" he chuckled.

Nick cleared his throat and inhaled deeply. "You will never believe what a great day this has been so far ... all five minutes of it!" The speed at which he was speaking increased, the more excited he got. "God, Brian this is amazing. She's back. Kristy is back. AJ just told me. He met up with her yesterday while grocery shopping"

"That's great buddy, wha-" Brian tried to get a word in edgewise, but Nick plowed on.

"She wants all of us to help her unpack. She wants us to come over to her house on Saturday and help her unpack. I'm going to see her on Saturday. THIS Saturday. Holy crap, I'm, I've gotta get ready, I need a plan, I-"

"Will you calm down?" Brian asked, laughing. "You sound like a teenybopper, all breathy and nervous. 'Ohmigod, is my hair okay? Does my Kristy Royal tee-shirt look okay with the Kristy Royal necklace' " Brian teased, and Nick pouted into the phone.

"AJ's on the other line, I'll be right back" Nick growled, annoyed. He switched lines again, returning to AJ. "Hey, it was just Brian on the other line."

AJ smiled. From the tone of Nick's voice, Brian had been bugging him. "I should probably go any way, me and Amanda are headed for the mall. Catch ya later Nick, work on your plan buddy"

Nick said goodbye, and when he got back to the other line he heard some strange noises. Listening closely, he grinned.

"Le-LeighAnne" Nick heard Brian say. "Stop, stop stop. Nick - is - still - on - the - phone ... he - will - hear - this"

"Too late" Nick said smugly. "Hey Leigh-Leigh!" he shouted at the top of his lungs into the phone, and waited a couple seconds.

"Hi Nicky!" she shouted back. "Bri, gimme the phone for a second." There was a shuffling as he handed her the reciever, then LeighAnne came on. "So you heard?" she asked.

"Yup! Brian isn't do good at keeping quiet."

"I hear Kristy is back, and you're going to see her this Saturday." LeighAnne said with a grin, knowing how much this pleased Nick.

"I most definately am." He nodded, even though they couldn't see him. "And I'm gonna make her listen to me, and I'm going to apoligize for what happened, and I'm going to do everything in my power to get us back together because I lost her once, and it's not gonna happen again."

LeighAnne laughed. "Thats quite a resolution, are you sure you can do it?"

"I'm positive" Nick affirmed. ~*~*~*~*~ It was late Saturday afternoon. Everybody was at Kristy's house, and it was mostly unpacked. Well, furniture was mostly unpacked, and as part of Nick's plan, the stereo had been set up almost immeadiately when they'd arrived that morning, and had been blasting songs ever since. Another part of Nick's plan: for him to not show up until late in the afternoon. He called Brian's cell phone from the next street over, double checking to make sure everything was ready. This had to be perfect, it absolutely had to be.

"Nick?" Brian's voice was hushed.

"Yeah, dude you better be ready cause I'm like two minutes away from her house, and if you make me wait any longer I'll back out" Nick was a little excited, a lot nervous.

"Everything is ready, I'll get Kristy set up and you can come on in" Brian smiled, knowing how important this was for his friend. They exchanged goodbyes, and Brian shoved the cell into his pocket. Howie rounded the corner, and Brian nodded slightly. "Here goes the biggest moment of Nick's life." he whispered, and they went their seperate ways. Brian searched out Kristy, and grabbed her wrist. "You should relax, you look beat" he lied.

Kristy raised an eyebrow. "Uh, kay..." she was slightly confused by Brian's sudden shift in behavior, and just leaned against the wall. "There, I'm relaxed" she shrugged. "Ooo, I feel much better, thank you for your care Brian."

He rolled his eyes, and laughed. "Don't get smart you, I know where you live. Go sit down in that room by the patio doors, whatever room it will be. The one with the doors out to the pool."

Kristy laughed. "The TV room?" she asked, and Brian nodded. He followed her down, and watched Kristy's everymove with great care. "D'ya mind telling me what makes you so interested in me? LeighAnne might get a little jealous if you're not careful" Kristy teased him.

Brian shrugged it off, smiling half heartedly, and payed close attention as Kristy sat down. She raised an eyebrow, and shook her head. Brian jogged out of the room and grabbed his phone. He speed dialed Nick, and brushed off his pants. "Here we go... " Brian thought, feeling as though he was more nervous than Nick himself.

~*~*~*~*~

So much for the break I took, cause it is now OVER!! Today, Dec. 25, I posted the next chapter in the Nick/Kristy series!!