CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Brian was speechless. He couldn't believe what just happened. He couldn't believe what he just said. He couldn't believe what Angela just said. He looked around the club to see everyone staring at him. On impulse, he turned to run after Angela, but was stopped. "Let me do it," Krista said. "She's not gonna want to see you right now." "Yeah. Good idea. I think I might have a way to get her to forgive me anyway." Krista ran to find her best friend. She knew this talk wasn't going to be pretty, but it had to be done. The parking lot was filled with cars; Angela could be anywhere. Krista decided to check Brian's jeep first. The most obvious spot. No luck. "OK," she thought. "Angela can't be too far. She doesn't know this area that well. If I was her, where would I hide?" She scanned the area around the club again. To the right of the club was the ocean. Even though Angela hated the ocean and the beach, Krista somehow had a feeling that her best friend would be there. Slowly, she followed the worn ground that led to the beach. Again, she scanned what she saw and found an outline of a person laying down in the sand. She made her way over, and sure enough, it was Angela. She had her coat behind her heed as a pillow and she was crying slow, painful tears. "It's pretty peaceful out here," she said as she sat down. "Yeah," Angela replied. "Nice night to come out and think by yourself." "Just cut to the chase," Angela interrupted. "OK then. Brian didn't mean what he said. You should have seen the look on his face when you ran out. He was just caught up in the moment. That's all." "That's all? How so I know he's not cheating on me? He may have said he loved me, but he called me by another girl's name," Angela felt her tears become more painful. "Come on Angela. He loves you. I think you slapped him in the face when you handed him the necklace. What possessed you to take it off anyway?" Krista wondered. "I think at that point I gave up all hope. Before we got back together, I had hoped that we would meet up again someday. It was like a symbol or something. But after tonight, the hope had died and the necklace went with it," Angela poured out. Krista studied her and knew she was lying. The way Angela was looking at her and the way she was choosing her words was not like her. "I don't believe you," Krista finally said. "And why not?" "You're just gonna throw this all away? You know you've wanted this forever. Here it is! You can't just sit here and tell me that you're gonna give it all up." "Maybe I am." "OK then. At least come back inside. It's cold out here," Krista shivered. "Yeah, I'm getting kinda cold. But this doesn't mean that I'm gonna talk to him." Krista rolled her eyes and helped Angela up. They slowly walked back to the club. The music and laughter of the kids having a good time could be heard from outside. Angela wanted to be carefree like those kids, but she was carrying too heavy of a heart to be in a light mood. Once they got back inside, they were blinded by a bright light. "This isn't good," Angela thought. The spotlight remained on both of them. "Which one of you is Angela?" the DJ roared into the microphone. Not sure what to expect, Angela slowly raised her hand. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. "Alrighty then!!" the DJ continued. "We have your boyfriend, Brian, here." "Ex-boyfriend," she thought. Brian peered around from behind the DJ to see Angela, who didn't look too happy. "He wants to apologize himself and then he has a little surprise for you." Angela looked to Krista for help, but she had backed off. Angela sighed as she realized she was alone on this one. "Angela," Brian said with the microphone as he started walking toward her. "I am begging for your forgiveness. I can't live without you. You're my world. You're my all." He stopped in front of her and dropped to his knees. She wanted so much to forgive him on the spot, but he was wrong and she was hurt. So she just didn't say anything. "Alright," he said, getting up. "Maybe this will change your mind." This was the DJ's cue to play their 'song.' KC and Jojo's "All My Life" filtered through the air. Memories of high school came flooding back to Angela. She was crushed though. He was trying so hard, and yet she wasn't sure if she wanted to forgive him. Brian extended his hand toward her for a dance. He beckoned for her to accept his apology and let everything be OK with this dance. "No!" she said suddenly. "No, I can't accept this apology. I'm sorry." Once again, she took off, but this time she started for home. Brian sank down to his knees where he stood and started crying, which was something Krista hadn't see him do in a long time. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN "Alright! Show's over! Everyone get back to dancing," Krista yelled to get everyone's attention off of Brian. "You gonna be OK Bri?" Nick asked his best friend. "I don't know," Brian replied, looking up at him. He saw such pain in Brian's eyes that he didn't know what to say. He looked over to Krista for help. "Brian, you've just got to give her some time. I'm sure you guys will get back together when-" "I'll get her back if it's the last thing I do," he interrupted. Nick and Krista looked at each other not knowing exactly what Brian meant by that. Meanwhile... Angela tried to remember something familiar. She was having a tough time remembering anything. "What was I thinking?" she asked herself. "I should have hid in the bathroom." It was getting foggy outside; A sure sign that a storm was coming in. Everything was distorted and even less familiar through the wet blanket. "I've got to start thinking before I do things," she scolded herself. Back at Orlando's Odyssey... "So, who wants to go look for her?" Krista asked, back at the table. "I'll do it," Nick volunteered. "She doesn't even know you that well," she replied, turning to him. "Well, you know that she's not gonna want to see Brian and she's not gonna want to hear it from you." "Good point, but she's still not going to listen to you. We need someone she knows but someone she'll listen to..." "What about Kevin?" Nick suggested. "Brian said they knew each other well." "Perfect. Give me his number and I'll call him." Nick gave her the number and she left to find a payphone. "Brian, how are you feeling?" Nick asked with concern. "OK," he lied. "Yeah Frick, I believe you man." Nick waited for Krista to get back, and didn't know what to do with his best friend. Krista came back about five minutes later. "Everything's good. Kev said he'd drive around and look for her." "I hope he finds her soon," Brian mumbled and put his head down on the table. At the same time.... Angela found herself in front of a pizzeria and now that she had down a bit, she realized she was hungry. She walked in and her stomach growled at the aroma. "Can I help you?" the kid behind the counter asked. "Yeah. Ummmmm, I'll have a slice of pepperoni pizza and a medium Coke for here." "Sure," the kid replied. When he came back, she paid him and tucked herself in a booth all the way in the back. She sighed and slowly began to eat her food. "Now what?" she asked herself thoughtfully. "I can't go home because of Krista. What about Nick's house... No. I can't." Angela turned her head and saw a cheap hotel across the street. "Hmmmm. Maybe I can stay there for the night." She quickly got up, On the road...... "She couldn't have gone too far," Kevin thought as he drove through the neighborhood. He was a little nervous, but excited to be seeing Angela again after all these years. These weren't exactly the circumstances that he wanted to be reuniting with her in, but he did want his cousin happy. He decided to park the car and go to a coupe of stores to see if anyone had seen her. "Have you seen a woman in her early twenties with brown hair and eyes come in here?" he asked the elderly lady behind the register in the After pausing to think for a moment, she finally said, "No sweetie. I'm afraid I haven't." "Thanks anyway," he replied as he left for the next store. Kevin made his way through a couple more stores and was ready to look somewhere else when he decided to make the pizzeria the last stop. "Can I help you?" the kid asked. "Yeah." And he went through the whole description again. "Did she look depressed, maybe like she was crying?" "Yeah!" Kevin replied. "If that's the girl you're looking for, then she wasn't in here too long ago. I think I saw her headed for the hotel across the street." "Thanks alot!" Kevin yelled a the kid as he ran out the door. At Orlando's Odyssey... Brian looked painfully at Krista. "What have I done? I've ruined everything." "No, you haven't. Please listen to me," she pleaded. "Angela just needs some time. She'll get over it." "I really don't want to lose her again." "I understand that. She'll realize that this was a big mistake and she overreacted." "Yeah, I hope you're right," Brian replied and put his head back on the table. Krista sighed and hoped that Kevin found Angela soon. At the hotel... "Here it is," Angela thought. "Room 347." Her room had two twin beds, a small bathroom, and a TV. The floor was a lime green color and the curtains were a hideous orange. The bedspreads were checkered with purple and blue. "Who designed this place?" she yawned. She felt a sudden wave of tiredness sweep over her. The colors on the bed didn't matter anymore, she just wanted to sleep. So in return, she laid down on the bed. And no sooner did her head hit the pillow, did she fall asleep. CHAPTER NINETEEN "Lady, can you please just give me the room number for Angela Connors?" Kevin was becoming very frustrated with the woman behind the front desk. "For the last time sir, I'm not allowed to release that information to you." "Isn't there anything I can do to see her please?" "Well, you can- Wait a minute! Aren't you from that new group the Backstreet Boys?" "Yes, I am. Why?" "Well, my daughter loves you guys and if you give me your autograph, I'll give you the info. Deal?" "Deal." He signed the paper that the lady shoved toward him and she gave him the room number. He then rolled his eyes at the lady and walked towards the elevator. Orlando's Odyssey "Do you think he found her yet?" Brian asked, his voice muffled by the table. "I don't know Brian," Krista replied. She hoped as much as Brian did that Kevin would find her soon; Brian almost sounded delirious. Suddenly, Brian's head popped up. "You know what?" The look in his eyes startled Krista and Nick because it was the exact opposite of what they were two minutes ago. "This isn't my fault. She's overreacting." Uh-oh, Nick thought. "Bri, come on man..." he started. "No," Brian interrupted. "I say one thing and she just can't put it behind me. I mean, this is a little ridiculous." "This isn't good," Nick whispered to Krista. At the hotel "347. This is it," Kevin thought to himself. He knocked on the door and prayed for the best. No answer. So he knocked again. On the other side of the door, Angela rolled over. She thought she was hearing things. But when Kevin knocked for a third time, she realized that somebody was really there. She got up to get the door. The deadbolt clicked as she opened the door the little bit that the chain would let her. Angela peered through the crack to see who interrupted her slumber. "Kevin?" she asked uncertainly. He smiled at her when he saw the happy look cross her face. She flung open the door and gave him a huge hug. "It's so good to see you again! How did you find me? And why are you here?" "One thing at a time," he laughed. "Let's go back in and we'll talk." They went in and sat on the beds. "Well, I found you by hunting in and out of stores until someone knew something. I just happened to stumble across the pizza place and the kid there told me. I then had to give an autograph to the lady at the desk for her daughter so she would give me your room number. I'm here because Krista called me and told me what happened." Kevin watched Angela's face darken. "I'm sorry Angela. But I had to come for him. Hey, on the plus side, I get to see your beautiful face again." She blushed and laughed at him. "Quite a story you have there." "Anyway, Brian is pretty upset and he really wanted to hear from you." "No. Not now," she shook her head. "I need some time to think." "How long are you gonna be here for?" he wanted to know. "Maybe overnight or a couple of days. I really don't know." "Alright," Kevin said. "At least I know you're OK and I can go back and tell everyone that. If you need anything, call me. Here's my cell phone number. It's always on." He gave a paper with his number on it. "Angela reached over and gave him a hug. "Thanks Kev. When all this blows over, we'll chill." "That sounds good. See you later," he replied and left. Angela sat on her bed and thought for a moment. She couldn't believe that they had actually sent someone out after her to make sure that she was alright. I'm a big girl now, she thought. But she was very happy to see Kevin again. That made her feel a bit better. But Brian... he was a different story. She wanted to feel bad, but couldn't. What he did to her really hurt. It was just the whole principle of the thing. She got up and went in the bathroom. Unsure of whether she wanted to see herself, she hesitated to turn on the light. She flickered it on anyway. Her reflection wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Besides her bangs needing to be fixed, her hair was alright otherwise. Her brown eyes were still somewhat blood shot from all the crying she had done. And her cheeks were tearstreaked and flushed. "Now what?" she thought. Orlando's Odyssey Kevin walked into the club to find Brian going off about something to Nick and Krista. "Now what's going on?" he wondered. "What happened? Where's Angela?" Krista asked, interrupting Brian. "Well," he started as he sat down. "It didn't take me too long to find her, it was getting her room number that was the problem." And he proceeded to tell the story. "In other words, she had no place to go, so she ran to a hotel," Brian concluded. "And you know that she's not gonna want to talk to anybody. She's good for keeping her problems to herself," Krista added. "What are you gonna do about it?" Nick asked. "Absolutely nothing," Brian said, standing up. "We know she's fine and when she's ready to come home and apologize for overreacting, we'll take it from there." He started to walk out. Krista, Nick, and Kevin all followed him. "I'll tell you this right now," Kevin said "They're both never wrong." CHAPTER TWENTY Brian couldn't take it anymore. He finally got out of bed and went to the kitchen for a Coke. Why he was losing sleep over this is what he couldn't understand. "I know that this part is her fault. I tried," he thought as he ran his hand through he hair. He didn't want to give in. He knew he tried. The way Angela was acting was a little out of line to him. There was no reason for her to run off like this. But there was one way that they could repair this. Maybe if he did, she would apologize herself. She just might understand. "Maybe I should tell her," he said to himself as he finished his Coke and went back to bed. The next day Krista laid in bed replaying last night in her head over and over again. She was definitely upset about Brian and Angela, but the part where Brian took her home was what made her night. Nick had walked her to the door. He whispered to her, "Next time, it'll be uneventful 'cause we'll be out on our own." "There's gonna be a next time," she thought excitedly. He then leaned in for a quick kiss and went back to the jeep. She's been on cloud nine ever since. As for Angela, Krista wasn't going to even try to talk to her. Krista never got anywhere trying to force her to talk. When Angela was ready to talk, Krista would be waiting. At the hotel... Angela was watching TV when she got another knock at her door. "Who's here now?" she asked herself. She quickly ran her brush through her hair and looked out the peephole to see who it was. "You've got to be kidding me," she thought. She wasn't in the mood for this. "What do you want Brian?" she yelled through the door. "I need to talk to you," he said from the other side, his voice lower. "If you're here to apologize, you can leave now." "I'm not here to do that. I just need to tell you something that I think you should know." "Alright. Fine." Angela opened the door and let him in. "Don't go any farther than here." She pointed to the doorstopper. "Well?" "I just wanted to tell you that the girl who's name I called you by, Leigh, was someone I was seeing when I met you again. I had been with her for a little while. But not anymore," he added quickly. "I found myself comparing her to you after a while and it just wasn't fair to her. She was a great person and all, but she just wasn't you. And I really have no idea why I'm here tell you this. It was just something I guess I felt I had to do." "Oh," she whispered. She felt too hurt and betrayed to say anything else at that moment. The tears wouldn't come. She was so emotionally drained that she was numb. "Get out," she said quietly, with no emotion. "Alright," Brian replied. That wasn't exactly the response he wanted. Guilt swept over him as he opened the door. He really didn't want to feel bad, like it was his fault that she was acting this way. But he couldn't help it. He cared too much for her. The door clicked shut and Angela just stood there. The words still sinking in. She suddenly felt restricted. Then she let out a breath. She had forgotten to breathe. No thoughts ran through her mind. She lost all motion. Time had slowed down to an almost standstill. Meanwhile... Brian walked out of the hotel and got into his jeep. "I give up," he said aloud to no one in particular. He knew he messed up the first time, but then Angela took it too far. This time though...... He knew he messed up again. Telling Angela about Leighanne was a definite mistake. But for some reason he just had to tell her. He wasn't sure why. He just did. CHAPTER TWENTY ONE "Nick, it's been three days! And Angela still hasn't come home! She hasn't called me. I have no idea if she's OK or anything," Krista said, very concerned on the phone. "I know. Brian talked to her two days ago though and said that she's fine. Just very upset." "Yeah, he told me all about it. But I think I'm gonna go see if I can persuade her to come home. We need to talk. Her and I." Krista glanced at her watch. "She should be up by now." "Alright. Just remember to choose your words carefully," he advised. "I know this girl like the back of my hand. I'll be fine. I'll let you know how it goes." "See you later." "Bye." At the hotel... "Come on now! You're punishing me for something I didn't do. Why don't you just come home? I'm not asking you to forgive him. Just some be with me. I miss you," Krista pleaded with her best friend. "I want to, but..." Angela trailed off. "But what?" "I don't know. I just... I just don't want to deal with him at home. I don't want to talk to him on the phone, I don't want him at the house, I don't even want to talk about him. What I'm trying to say is that I don't want to fall back in love with him. I'm so confused right now. I've been betrayed and I'm heart broken. I need some time and he needs to stay out of my life right now." "OK, OK. I can understand that. I'll do everything I can to make sure that you have no contact with him. OK?" Krista promised. "OK." "Will you come home now?" she begged. "Yeah sure. I'll go home," Angela smiled. That night... While Angela was in the shower, Krista called Brian to let him know what was going on. She had promised that she'd keep him informed. She wasn't sure why. "Maybe it's out of pity," she thought. That was really the only thing she could think of. "Basically, you're screwed," she put it bluntly. "You've always had a way with words Krista." "Thanks," she said proudly. "So does she even want to look at me?" he hoped. "Like I said, you're screwed. She wants nothing to do with you. She doesn't want you calling her and she doesn't want to see you at the house. I mean, I'm not even allowed to talk about you to her. If she catches me on the phone right now, I'm gonna be screwed." "Damnit," Brian muttered. "I guess I shouldn't have told her huh?" "Well, you could have just told her that you were sorry and that you really messed up," Krista said with a short laugh. "Oh and Angela running away to the hotel wasn't screwing up either? That was real mature." "I was just kidding. What do you want me to do about it?" "Forget about it. How are you and Nick?" Krista felt a smile creep up on her face. "Just fine. Actually, we're going out again tomorrow night. By ourselves this time." She emphasized the last sentence. "Hey now! Like I knew all that was going to happen." "So has he said anything about me?" she wanted to know. "Well," Brian started. "I don't think I should tell you." "Oh come on! I told you about Angela," Krista shot back. "Fine," he gave in. "We did talk once. I think two days ago. He thinks you're cute. Which I do not see." "I heard that!" she interrupted. Brian laughed at her. "And he can't wait for tomorrow night. How's that?" "Perfect!" She felt her smile get bigger. Just then she heard the bathroom door open. "I gotta go now! Bye!" "Bye," Brian said to nobody as Krista hung up the phone. "Who were you talking to?" Angela asked as she plopped down onto Krista's bed. "Nick," she replied. "Oh. Well, I'm going to bed now. I need to sleep in my own bed. I'll talk to you in the morning." Angela leaned over and gave Krista a hug. Then she left for bed. Krista turned her head the other direction and looked out the window. Her smile fell and guilt swept over her. She had just lied to her 'bestest' friend in the whole world. "Not good," she thought. But she almost felt bad for Brian because he meant well. And Angela, well, she ran away from it. Krista wanted to see everyone happy. So she promised Brian she'd tell him all she could. She laid down on her bed and prayed that Angela wouldn't find out. She'd tell her. Eventually. But for now, she would try and silently patch things up. Angela and Brian were meant to be together and the only thing that's preventing them from it was her stubbornness. CHAPTER TWENTY TWO Krista was flipping through the radio stations in Nick's car when she heard 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.' "You don't mind, do you?" "No," he smiled. "I love Nirvana." Krista was liking him more and more. They had a lot in common and they clicked well together. "Why couldn't I find a guy like this back in Kentucky?" she asked herself. Nick had parked the car right by an entrance to the beach. Little did Krista know that Nick had taken her to the western side of Florida. "Where are we?" she asked. "I drove you to the Gulf of Mexico. I thought we could get to know each other better here," he explained as he looked out over the water. "It's beautiful," she sighed. Krista took off her shoes and headed for the water. Nick watched her for a minute before heading down there himself. "Sorry I didn't cook you a dinner or anything fancy," he mumbled, knowing that Brian always outdid him in the romance department. "That's OK," she assured him. "I'd take this over a dinner any day." Nick gave her a half smile and felt better knowing that. They both sat down in the white sand, not knowing really where to begin. "Tell me what you were like in high school," he said. "I played clarinet in the marching band and concert band, I sang in choir, and was in the school musicals. I chilled with my friends and I guess had an average high school career. What about you?" "I never went to high school," he started. "I became a Backstreet Boy when I was 13. I mean, I wouldn't trade it for the world, but I missed out on all the things like everyday classes, dances, the prom, and things like that. When I look at it though, I realize how lucky I am to have this opportunity even if it did mean giving up high school." "Wow! And with all that you had to give up your privacy and grow up so fast, right?" "Yeah," he looked at her. "But it was all worth it." "I bet it is." "Did you really sing in the choir?" he suddenly asked. "Yeah, why?" Krista said slowly. "You just don't seem like you would," Nick stated. "Oh, but I so did!!" "I know what you're up to; you're just saying all that stuff to impress me, aren't you?" he said with a mischievous grin on his face. "You figured me out! I'm so shallow that I have to pretend to have things in common with a Backstreet Boy just so he'll like me!" "I knew it! I'm good!" Nick laughed. "Yeah, you are," she said a little bit quieter and more serious. He stopped laughing. "You really think so?" "Yeah. I feel like I've known you my whole life." Krista found herself leaning in. "I think you're amazing," he whispered as their lips touched. Krista could feel her heart melt and scream for more as the sparks flew between them. She never wanted this kiss to end. They ended up pulling away at the same time, coming up for air. "Magical, wasn't it?" she whispered. He nodded and they both went in for some more. They both fell backward into the sand, never breaking their kiss. The moon was shining over them, giving them the slight light they needed. And the stars sparkled, happy for the couple in the sand. Krista loved how his lips were soft, yet they knew how to make her feel good. She could smell his cologne faintly as he broke away and kissed her neck. He found one of her sweet spots. The chills Nick left going up and down her body were something she had never felt before. She knew that this was going to be something special. The feelings she was getting for him were way beyond anything she had ever felt before. Nick came up again and looked deep into her eyes. He was feeling something for Krista that he had never experienced before either. She looked as far into his soul as possible before pulling him in for another kiss. They finally broke away for the last time. Nick went to sit up, but Krista pulled him back down. She moved closer to him and laid her head on his chest. They laid together in contentment for what seemed like forever. "Nick?" "Yeah?" "Do you believe in love at first sight?" she asked. "I didn't until I met you." BACK NEXT |
| Once And again |