CHAPTER TEN

Another week had gone by since the 'strange happenings.' I threw them in the back of my mind, trying not to think anything of them. It was hard. I knew something had to be going on that Sean didn't want to tell me about, and that hurt. I thought we were close enough for just about anything. I guess I was wrong.

"Where are you?" Vic asked. "You’re so out of it today."

"I’m sorry. I’m just thinking," I said back. Vic had offered to take me shopping, to get my mind off of things. It obviously wasn't working.

"Summer! Ugh! Just forget about it, for a little while! Have a good time for once," Vic said huffily.

"Ok ok!" I screamed in defense. "Geez..bite my head off why dont you?" I laughed.

"I’m just sick of him getting to you! Let things be for a while, and stop worrying," she said maternally.

"Ok. I wont talk about him anymore, and I'll try not to think about him," I said as I looked at a beautiful gray cashmere sweater.

"Ok, good. That’s what I like to hear," she finished. "That’s a really pretty sweater, Sum."

"Yeah, I like," I said approvingly. I saw something else that caught my eye. "Look at these black pants!" I said excitedly.

"Summer! You have like 80 pairs of those at home!" Vic said, laughing.

"I know, but these look cuter!" I said in my defense.

Vic just shook her head and headed to the magazine rack. She started browsing through them when she came across something interesting. She seemed enthralled, and all wrapped up in the article.

"Whatcha looking at?" I asked curiously as I made my way over to the rack.

"OH NOTHING!" Vic said loudly. She grabbed my arm, hard.

"Look at those beautiful skirts!" she said as she dragged me towards the rack of clothing.

"What are you doing?" I said smiling, confusedly.

"Oh, nothing. I just saw those, uh, beautiful print skirts and I wanted to show you. I know how much you love them.." I cut her off.

"What the hell! Take a breather girl," I said to her. "You know I hate skirts anyways," I said, giving her a look. She hadn't taken a breath since she dragged me back away from the magazines.

"I was just excited, that’s all," she said. I gave her a weird look. "Do you wanna go get something to eat?" she suggested.

"Sure...." I said, wondering what was going on.

"Yes mom, I told you that already." I said to my mother. She had called me precisely on schedule, the 3rd of every month. Why the 3rd? I have no clue. But that’s when she called.

"Are you sure your ok over there? California is just a flight away from New York sweety," she said into the receiver.

"Yes, I’m fine mom," I said for the 9th time.

"Ok, good. So how’s school? Have a boyfriend?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact..." I started.

"Oh really! That’s so cute! I just have to meet him!" she said, seeming more excited than I was.

"I'm sure you will mom. When are you coming out?" I wondered.

"I’m not sure baby," she said slowly. "Me and daddy have plans for the holidays."

"You do?" I asked, already knowing, but humoring her.

"Yeah, the McKelloughs want us to come over for a week to their estate," she stated.

"That’s great mom," I said cheerfully. "Have fun."

"Will you be ok?" she asked paternally.

"Of course. My first Christmas alone," I said. "Well I wont be completely alone. I have Sean, and Victoria for company," I added.

"Well that’s great honey. I gotta get going now. I’ll call you soon baby."

"You too.."

"What’s up guys?" AJ McLean said to his 4 bandmates, Kevin, Nick, Howie, and Brian. "I got your call," he continued.

"We're all here to discuss our upcoming tour, and the gig at the Winter Fest this month," Kevin, the paternal one, explained. "You all ready to start?" he inquired. The boys all nodded. "According to schedule, the tour should kick off January 19th, which means we'll be leaving January 12th," he said.

"That early? Why are we leaving so early?" AJ inquired. He had a concerned look on his face.

"Why so worried, Bone?" Nick asked.

"Oh, I’m not worried, naww.." AJ went on. "Just wonderin."

"Well we have to be in New York by the time the first single hits the stores, which means we'll have to leave a little early," Kevin stated. He knew everything.

"Fine..its cool," AJ said, a slight hint of irritation in his voice. "What now about this winter fest gig?" he said, still sounding irritated.

"It's the week of December 17th through the 24th. You've got Christmas through New Years off, and then we start training for the new tour," Kevin stated again, like a recording.

"Dude.." AJ said again, sounding upset. When the other guys looked at him, he just shook his head, as if he was shaking them off. Howie eyed AJ, and wondered what was wrong..

Everything was going downhill. Slowly, but downhill. Sean and I weren't fighting, but things weren’t as wonderful as they had been. Vic had even been kinda distant with me, and it was driving me nuts. What was going on here?

My school work was showing my angst in my personal life, and I couldn't concentrate knowing that my life wasn't 'perfect' so to speak. Well, what was I going to do? Well, nothing. I wanted to believe that I was exaggerating the situation, and that nothing was going on. I guess we'll see.

The air was crisp and my hands were cold. As I sat on the park bench waiting for Sean, I rubbed them together. We were supposed to meet for a morning jog before class started. He was a little late as usual, but I was used to it.

I dont know why I even showed up at the set time when I knew he wouldn't be there until a good 15 minutes after. I checked my watch. 5:15. After another 10 minutes, I knew he'd be showing up soon, and he did.

"Sorry babe. I got caught up in tra-" I cut him off.

"Dont worry. I’m used to it anyways," I said smiling.

"I guess that’s a good thing," he said with a lopsided grin. "Shall we?" he said, motioning over to the track.

"No, you need to stretch," I said maternally. He gave me a look, and I shot one back at him. He agreed and started stretching. I looked up at the dark sky as I pulled gently on my hamstring. It was so beautiful up there, up above the ocean.

It was still pretty dark, but light enough to see. I could hear the waves pummeling the rocks down below our little track, and it was very relaxing. Took my mind off of things for a while, although Sean’s presence was a constant reminder. We finished stretching and began to jog slowly. It was dead quiet as we ran along the stretch of beach, and I could tell that was bothering Sean.

"You’re talkative today," Sean said smiling, as we began.

"I've just got a lot on my mind," I said in response. I could feel his eyes still on me, and I met his gaze. He looked away.

"Like what?" he said after a few seconds.

"Nothing in particular," I said. "Just a few things."

"Oh ok," he said distantly. "Anything in particular?" he said, obviously trying to get me to talk about something.

I sighed. "No, I’m just in a mood. I’m sorry," I said while taking a breath. I tried my best to look perky as I ran, tired as ever. I smiled at him, and wondered when I would confront him. I just didn't want to make a big deal over something that wasn't really an issue. Things are complicated enough as it is, I convinced myself.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I failed to notice that Sean was gone. ‘Where did he go off to?’ I thought to myself. I stopped in my tracks, and did a full 360. I didn't see him.

"Sean?" I yelled across the empty beach. No response. "He better not be messing with me." I thought out loud as I paraded the beach, searching. It was still pretty dark, but I could tell the sun would be rising soon. I couldn't see him anywhere.

"BOO!" Sean yelled. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and covered my eyes.

"Guess who?" he said playfully.

"A dead man?" I said in return.

"Nope. The luckiest man alive," he said while turning me around. He looked me straight in the eyes and gave me a big hug and wrapped his large arms around me. I smiled shyly, and looked to the soft, shimmery sand. He took hold of my chin and lifted it up towards his, so we could make eye contact.

"That’s better," he said smiling. I smiled and nodded.

He propped his chin atop my head, and embraced me tighter and tighter. There we stood, for quite sometime, just holding eachother tightly. He turned me around again gently, and grabbed hold of my hand.

"Shall we?" he said gesturing to the sand.

I nodded in approval. We walked off of the running path and down the hill leading to the beach. We walked for a little while, and then we sat down right there in the sand, and admired the ocean from afar. It was beautiful. I laid back and got comfortable to gaze. Sean laid back as well. There was a brief silence.

"Its beautiful, isn't it?" I finally said.

"Mmm hmm," was the reply.

He scooted over to lie closer to me. He leaned up right next to me and I laid my head down on his chest. I could hear his heart beating. The rhythmic sound seemed to coincide with the drumming of the ocean on the rocks. As we lay in perfect silence, I started to drift off. My brains been working overtime lately.

Before I knew it, I was out...

I walked through the aisles aimlessly, looking for anything that I felt belonged in my fridge. "Chex, Fruit Loops, or Lucky Charms?" I asked myself silently.

I turned the corner of aisle 8, the cereal aisle, and onto aisle 9, which apparently was the magazine and book section. I pushed the cart over to the magazines and stopped to browse through Cosmo, my favorite magazine. I flipped through quickly, not really looking for anything in particular. I liked the issue, and threw it into my cart. Something in the corner of the stand caught my eye. It was on the cover of a teeny bopper mag, but even I had to admit that the guy was hot. I was about to pick it up when I got rammed by something, hard. I turned to see a cute little blonde boy with what I assumed was his mothers shopping cart.

"That’s pretty dangerous, little man," I said while patting the child’s head.

"I sowwy.." he said sweetly with a look of intimidation on his face. His bright blue eyes shone in the artificial supermarket light.

"Dont be sorry cutie. Its alright," I said smiling. He grinned at me and ran back to his mommy, looking back once or twice. What a cutie.

I continued on with my shopping, and was drawn once again to the magazine with the cutie. Wow, was he hot. He looked familiar, but I knew I would never know the likes of someone like this. Especially on a teeny bopper magazine. HA!

"Hey Vic!" I said excitedly.

"Oh, SUMMER, hi," she said strangely. She seemed to emphasize my name. I heard a muffled sound in the background. What was going on?

"Whats goin on?" I asked ritualistically.

"Um, nothing," Vic said, sounding preoccupied.

"Are you busy? I can call back later.." I offered.

"No, no. Well, actually, yeah. Can you call me back in a few?" she said softly.

"No problem," I said. It actually was. What was going on?

"Ok, great. Later," she said as she hung up.

Chapter 11
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