| Nick hung up his phone, and walked into his kitchen, where Aimee was seated at his table in a pair of his boxers and one of his wife beaters, sipping a Diet Coke. She smiled up at him, her face looking slightly shy. "Hey." "Hey." He sat down next to her, and smiled at her. "Brian just called." Aimee didn't say anything. "He said there was this ball that we have to go to for charity. So, I was thinking, as long as I don't, you know, have a date, maybe you could go with me?" Aimee looked up at him, surprised. "With you? What about Brian? And everyone else? I don't know if I'm ready to tell everyone about us yet." She said, a wave of guilt washing over her as she thought of John and Jennie. "So there's an 'us', now?" Nick asked, grinning at her. Aimee blushed. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I don't want people to know that we're. . . whatever we are." Nick nodded. "Don't worry, I get it. And, actually, it was Brian's idea to have you come to a ball. He said that the two of you were planning on going to a charity ball right before, uh, your relationship ended. So he said I could take you. To, you know, make up for it." Aimee thought about it for a minute. "Well, I guess. But, no offense or anything, is it okay if we tell everyone we're only friends? I mean, it might be kind of akward if we tell them the truth." "Yeah. I totally agree." Nick said. He was glad that Aimee hadn't wanted to tell people that they were involved. Not that he wasn't proud of her, just that Brian was in love with her. And that might sort of put a damper on their friendship if he found out that Nick was sleeping with the woman he loved. "So, when is this ball?" Aimee asked. "Tomorrow night." Nick told her. "And it's black tie. So you need something nice to wear." Aimee frowned. "Hmm, looks like I'll need to go shopping." She mused, twirling a peice of hair around her finger. She glanced at the microwave clock, and sighed. "I guess I should go. I'll see you later, okay?" She stood up to go, and Nick stood up, too. He leaned down an tentitivly kissed her. She kissed him back, but it was akward. It was odd kissing him when she wasn't caught up in the passion that usually surrounded her when she was with Nick. On the way home, she thought about what she was going to wear to the ball Nick had just invited her to. She had a few formal dresses, but she was tired of all of them. The problem was, she'd just spent her last pay check on buying herself a TV for her room. Maybe Ellen had something she could wear. But Ellen was a size bigger than she was. The only person who she could borrow clothes from was Jennie. And how was she supposed to face Jennie? Not only was she just coming home from the house of the man Jennie liked and Aimee was sleeping with, but John and Jennie were so close. . . She shook her head, and turned down the street leading to Jennie's house. She was her best friend. She was going to have to face her sometime. Aimee pulled into Jennie's driveway, and turned off her car. Jennie was sitting on her front porch with a glass of lemonade, and the newest issue of CosmoGirl. "Aimee!" Jennie called, waving at her. "I've missed you, baby! You haven't been answering your phone calls. I've been calling non-stop all day today! Where were you?" Aimee's cheeks burned, but she swallowed her guilt. "My mom and I went to see my aunt." She said, praying that Jennie wouldn't remember that her aunt had moved to Montana last year. "I missed you, too, though. But, actually, I came to ask for a favor." "Oh, ofcourse." Jennie said, sighing dramatically, and throwing her head back in mock-hurt. "No one loves Jennie. Everyone just uses poor, old, wonderful Jennie for favors. But nobody loves her. Aimee doesn't love her, Nick Carter doesn't love her-" "What?!" Jennie dropped her pose of mock-hurt, and looked at Aimee in surprise. "Well, it's no secret, darling. Nick Carter isn't exactly head over heels for me." She said, smiling. "That's not what I meant." Aimee tried to calm herself down, but it wasn't working. "What does he have to do with this? Why are you bringing him up?" "Chill, girl. It's not a big deal. I was just pointing out how many people didn't love me. . ." She looked at Aimee and shook her head. "Oh, forget it. I'm not sure wht you're all freaked out, but just forget it. What did you need?" Aimee took a few deep breaths. She'd been this close to spilling her secret. Shaking her head, and making sure a smile with firmly in place on her face, she grabbed Jennie's hand, and pulled her upstairs to her room. |