I turned off the phone and went to the dryer and unloaded my laundry. I folded it, said goodnight to Howie and went back upstairs. When I got back to the room, it was completely dark. Hmm, that's funny, Brian was here just a minute ago when I called. I fumbled around looking for the light switch. When I heard a match struck, I looked over in the direction of the noise. The match was lighting a candle. As the candle began to glow I could see Brian sitting at the table. He blew out the match and put it on the table. He got up from the chair and walked towards me. On the way he switched on his CD player and Luther Vandross could be heard. He took the laundry bag from my hands and put it on the bed. He took both my hands and lead me to an open spot in the room. He put his arms around my waist and drew me close to him, I could smell his cologne and feel his breath on me. I put my arms around his neck and we slowly began to sway back and forth to the music. He looked down at me, through the low light I could see his eyes. He slowly brought his face to mine and brushed his lips against mine. The touch of his lips sent chills through my body. He touched his lips to mine again but this time setting there and kissing me. Eventually we stopped swaying and just continued to kiss. He lead me to the bed and we sat down. He slowly and gently kissed my neck and worked his way back up to my lips. We fell back onto the bed making out. He pulled away. The dim candlelight mad odd shadows on his face but I could see him smiling. "I love you." "I love you, too." He got up from the bed and walked over to the table and blew out the candle and shut off the music. I had fallen asleep when he returned. I felt him lay down next to me and cover me with a blanket. He put his arms around me and went to sleep.
I woke up and rubbed my eyes. I turned over in the bed. Brian wasn't there. I could hear him light humming coming from the bathroom. I pushed back the covers and changed into a pair of mesh shorts and a Mansfield University t-shirt. The bathroom door opened and Brian walked into the room. I was standing in front of the mirror fixing my hair. He was smiling and humming, he kissed me on the cheek as he walked to his suitcase. "Someone is in a good mood," I said still fixing my hair. He continued to hum as he got dressed. We packed up, took our suitcases down to the bus and climbed aboard. We headed back to my house.
We walked to my house and knocked on the door. My mom opened the door and let us in. We went into the kitchen and grabbed some breakfast. Since there wasn't enough room in the kitchen we went out on the deck to eat. "Mmm, home cooked food," sighed Nick. "Toast and coffee?" questioned my mom. We all nodded excitedly. She laughed. We ate and talked. I told my mom about the things that we had done and the places that we had been. My sister joined us out on the deck. "Dani, right?" asked AJ. Dani got a huge smile on her face. "Yeah," she said. "Never really got a chance to talk to anyone yesterday and the names got all mashed together. Since, Hopalong was in such a rush to get to the mall," he said gesturing in my direction. I threw the crust of my toast at him. "Senior in high school, huh?" asked Brian. "Yup." "Where do you want to go to college?" asked Kevin. "Well, I have a few to apply to, John Hopkins, Princeton, Harvard and Yale," she answered.
I became uncomfortable and got up and walked back into the house. I sat on the couch as I heard the screen door open and in walked Howie. He sat down next to me. "What's up?" he asked. "Nothin'." "You just don't get up and walk out for no reason. What's wrong?" he asked looking at me. "She's going to all those big name schools. I barely made it into a small state school." "And your jealous?" "No...yes...I dunno." He put his arm around my shoulder. "Just because she is going to a bigger school than you did doesn't make her any better. I mean obviously you had enough talent that our record company wanted your help. She maybe smart, but look at everything you have accomplished in the past week." I smiled at him. "Thank you. Now I know why they call you Sweet D." I gave him a hug and we walked back out onto the deck to join the others. I sat next to Brian. "Are you alright? I went to follow you, but Howie said he wanted to talk to you," he said to me. "I'm fine." Brian looked over at Howie. Howie mouthed the words, she's fine, and Brina nodded. He put his hand on mine. I looked at him and smiled and held his hand.
After everyone finished eating we went back inside. "So you were in marching band?" asked Kevin pointing at the picture of me in my uniform. "Yup, for four years." With that my mom went over to the entertainment center. "No mom, leave the video in there." She pulled out a video from the end cabinet and pushed it into the VCR and turned on the TV. "This is Janice's senior year at Neshaminy High School," she said as the video began to play. I buried my head in Brian's arm. He put his arm around me. Everyone watched the video intently. They were quiet, except for the occasional, there she is and pointing to the screen by my mom. When the video was over I removed my head from Brian's shoulder. "You shouldn't be ashamed," said Howie who was sitting on the edge of the Laz-e-boy. "Oh, I'm not. I busted my butt for four years in that band. I'm extremely proud of what I have done. I've marched in the Miss America Parade and also in EPCOT center." "Wow, that's cool," said Kevin, with that all the photo albums came out.
"Uhh, what time do we have to be on the bus?" I asked looking at my watch. "Ten minutes ago," said Howie looking at his watch. We all jumped up. We thanked my mom and I hugged her. We started walking back to the bus. "Where's Kev?" asked Aaron looking around. We stopped Kevin wasn't with us and neither was Devon. We turned around and we could see Devon and Kevin in my front yard talking. "Kev, let's go!" yelled AJ. Kevin started running towards us bring Devon along behind him. We got to the bus and we got on. Kevin stood outsie talking to Devon. "Dude, we gotta go. We have to be in New York in 3 hours. Kiss your girlfriend good-bye and let's go," said AJ hanging out of the bus. Devon blushed as did Kevin. He said good-bye and kissed her. We pulled out of the parking lot. Kevin was sitting on the bench across from Brian, me and AJ. AJ started giggling uncontrolably. "Shut up," I hissed trying hard not to laugh. Brian took a pillow and threw it at AJ in hopes to shut him up. He missed AJ and hit me instead. "Hey!" I yelled. "Sorry," he said amidst laughs. By this time we all lost it and fell over laughing except for Kevin. "What's so funny?" he asked. Erika handed him her compact. "What's this for?" "Look in the mirror," laughed Nick. Kevin opened the compact and the rest of us lost control again and started laughing. Kevin discovered the lipstick marks that Devon had left when she kissed him. "Red is definately your color cuz," laughed Brian. We all laughed again.
By the time we settled down and were just talking we were passing under the Holland Tunnel. We pulled into the hotel and unloaded some luggage from under the bus. We got our keys and headed to our rooms. Everyone raced to the elevators but me and Denise. I just hobbled to the elevator. When we got to our rooms I plopped on the bed. I picked up some of the brochures off the table and started thumbing through them. Brian was over at the window opening the curtains that looked out over Central Park. I joined him. "Wow, the view is awesome from here," I said wrapping my arms around him and looking out the window. "So what's on the agenda for this evening?" "I think we are going down to the All-Star Cafe for dinner." "Oh, sounds good to me." "I guess I should get a shower." "Ok, I'm going to Nick and Erika's room. I'm in the mood to kick some serious butt on Mario Kart," he said with a grin. "Behave!" I laughed. He left, shutting the door behind him. I took my shower and changed.
I left our room and went to find Brian in Nick and Erika's room. I followed the sound of the cheering to their room. I opened the door and found Brian and Nick glued to the front of the television and Erika was sprawled out on the bed doing some work. I joined her on the bed. "Whatcha up to?" I asked sitting down on the bed. She looked up at me. "When I left school they said if I wanted to I could work on the stuff and mail it down to them. That way I can graduate on time." Erika turned back to the Biology books that were sprawled all over the bed. I turned to look at the guys were totally engrossed in the game. Brian had his back against the bed and Nick was next to him on his knees with his tongue hanging out. I put my arms on Brian's shoulder and kissed the top of his head. "Yesss!!!! Winner once again!" yelled Brian. Nick threw the controller on the floor in frustration. "No fair, she kissed you for good luck," he whined. "Oh yeah, well how about this for good luck," said Erika coming towards him. She pulled him close to her and started kissing him, he pulled her off the bed and onto the floor next to him. Brian started laughing. "What are you laughing at?" I asked. "Nothing." He pulled me off the bed onto the floor. I had my back on the floor and my legs sticking straight up. I was laughing as he leaned down, he softy kissed my lips. I put my hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer to me. I ran my fingers through his hair. The door opened and the four of us jumped.
"Oh, man!" said AJ covering his eyes. We all laughed as we got settled. I turned myself around so my back was against the bed and my feet were on the floor. Brian put his arm around me and I sunk down into him. "Yall need to get a room," said AJ. "Uh, Bone we have a room. You barged in on us, remember?" said Erika. She was leaning against Nick who had his arms around her waist, Nick continuted to kiss her neck gently. "Anyway, what's up?" asked Brian who was playing with my hand. "I just came in to say we are leaving in an half hour, so be ready. Meet us in the lobby," he said. He slowly turned and walked out the door, shutting it behind him. When the door shut we heard a banging against the wall. "That guy needs a girl," laughed Erika. We all laughed. "Now where were we?" asked Nick. "I think right about here," Erika replied kissing him. They fell back onto the floor kissing. I was cuddling with Brian. He leaned down and kissed my head. I looked up at him and smiled. He leaned and brushed his lips against mine. I reshifted myself, to lie flat on the floor pulling Brian into me. He looked me in the eye and brushed my hair out of my face. He kissed my neck softly. He softly kissed my lips and I pulled him closer. He pulled away and smiled. "We have to get ready," he said. "Oh, I don't want to. I want to stay like this forever," I whined wrapping my arms around him and kissing him, he pulled away. "I wish we could, but we have to get ready." He got up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Grr," I said getting up. I stood up and walked towards Brian. I put my arms around him. "I wish we could just stay like that all day." "Me too," he said kissing me. I pulled him closer and then he pulled away.
He walked over to Erika and Nick who were still totally engrossed with each other. I laughed, covering my face as Brian held a glass of water over them. Brian tipped the glass, pouring water onto both Nick and Erika. "Ahh!" they yelled in unison, pulling apart and sitting straight up. Nick looked up to see who had poured the water. He took his shirt and dried off his face. "You could of just told us it was time to go," whined Nick as he finished drying off his face. "Nah, this was the more entertaining way to do it," laughed Brian. I tossed Erika a towel so she could dry off. Nick and Erika got up off the floor and the four of us headed out towards the elevators. We took the elevator to the lobby where we met Kevin, Howie, AJ and Aaron. "Well it looks like the lovebirds decided to finally join us," said Howie with a smile. We all blushed. "Let's go," said Kevin. We all walked out the door and got in the van that was waiting for us. We climbed in and sat down. I sat next to Brian, who was sitting next to the window. I put my head on his shoulder and he smiled at me and put his arm around me. Everyone else was chatting about things but I wasn't really paying much attention.
We pulled up in front of the restaurant. Our bodyguards were already there and opened the doors for us. They had announced that the guys were coming so the sidewalks were jam packed with people. I got out of the van and waited for Brian. He got out and put his arm around me. There were cameras going off like crazy and the screaming was deafening. "Smile big," Brian whispered into my ear as we slowly made our way inside. We finally made it inside. There were fans inside but they weren't as bad as the ones outside. The hostess took us to a table and we sat down and started looking at the menus. "That wasn't too bad, now was it?" asked AJ reading his menu. "The things you go through to get food," laughed Erika. We all laughed. After I decided what I wanted I started to look around the restaurant. I looked towards the windows, where the fans were pressed against the glass. I looked at the fans and waved and they started going nuts again. Then I looked closer at one of the fans.
"Oh my gosh!" I gasped. "What?" asked Brian looking at me and then following my eyes to see what I was looking at. The others looked to see what I was looking at. "Honey, what's wrong?" "I can't believe he found me," I whispered to no one in particular, with that I got up and ran to the ladies room. "Janice, wait!" yelled Brian following me. I ran into the room and shut the door behind me. "Janice, please come out and tell me what is wrong," Brian pleaded through the door. I sighed with tears coming down my cheeks looking at the floor. I leaned against the door and slide down till I was sitting on the cold linoleum. I put my face in my hands, ignoring Brian's pleas. Why is he following me? I thought, what does he want from me? Then I remembered one of our last arguments. "No guy will ever love you and I will personally see to it," he hissed in my face. He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. A knock on the door brought me back to reality. "Janice, it's Erika. Can I come in?" I slowly stood up and cracked the door to make sure it was just her. "Brian went back to the table, it's just me." I looked past her to the table and saw Brian with his head in his hands.
I looked at the floor and opened the door to allow Erika in. I walked over to the sinks. I looked at my tear-streaked face in the mirror and shut my eyes. Erika walked over towards me and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Wanna tell me what that was all about?" I looked in the mirror at her. I sighed and looked down. "About three years ago I was dating a guy named Matt. He was kind, sweet, and I loved him. We dated for a few months and things went sour. He began beating me and telling me I was worthless. Most of the time he was drunk, and the next morning he would call to apologize. I always let him back. After awhile I broke it off, he moved to the west coast and I never heard or saw him again. Till today, the last thing he said to me was no guy will ever love me. I didn't know what he meant by that." I turned to face Erika. "I don't know what he has planned but it can't be good. And now that I'm seeing Brian, I'm just putting him in danger." The tears started running down my face. Erika hugged me. "You're safe with us. We have seven bodyguards, one is your own personal guard. You are totally safe, nothing can happen to you and I'm sure Brian won't let anything happen to you." I looked at her, she smiled. "Now what do you say we wash your face and go back out there?" I nodded. I splashed some cold water on my face and dried it off. I turned around and let out a long sigh. "Thank you," I said giving Erika a hug. "Come on Butthead," she laughed. "Ok, Beavis." We laughed and walked out of the restroom.
"Janice!" Brian said running up to me. He put hi arms around me and held me tight. "Are you ok?" He put both his hands on my face looking into my eyes. "I'm fine." "Are you sure?" "Sweetheart, I'm fine," I said grabbing both of his hands. He smiled and kissed my forehead. He took my hand and we sat back down at the table. He put his arm around my shoulder and I leaned against him. I looked over at the window and saw Matt. He gave me an evil smile and blew me a kiss. I shut my eyes while a cold chill ran up my spine. I sat striaght up in bed gasping for air. Brian sat up and turned on the light. "Honey, what's wrong?" he asked wiping the hair out of my face that had become plastered to my face from the sweat. "Brian, don't leave me, promise me, you won't leave me," I cried falling into him. "Shh, no I won't leave you. I'm right here." He fell back into the bed running his fingers through my hair till I fell back asleep. What did she see tonight that could of done this to her? It's killing me to see her like this, he thought to himself. He sighed, leaned over and shut off the light. "No, get away from me!" I yelled in my sleep. He drew me closer knowing I wasn't yelling at him. He soon fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up early. I got out of bed and got in the shower. I got out, got dressed and went back into the room. Brian was laying on bed staring at the ceiling. "I'm going to get some breakfast," I said "Ok." "See ya later." "Bye." I shut the door. He continued to stare at the ceiling. He rolled over and picked up the phone and dialed Erika and Nick's room. "Nick, is Erika up yet? Ok, when she wakes up tell her to call me. I want to know what's wrong with Janice. Alright, see ya later." He hung up the phone. He stared at the ring on his finger and began to twist it around his finger. "Thank you," I said as the waitress placed my food in front of me. I was staring out the window just watching the people walking along the street. I started twisiting the ring on my finger. I looked at the ring, Janke and Brok 2gether 4ever.
"Is this seat taken?" I looked up and saw Howie. "No," I said smiling. "Don't mind if I join you, do you?" he asked sitting down. "No, I can use some company," I said picking up my fork and beginning to eat my breakfast. The waitress came back and took Howie's order. "Sleep well last night?" he asked taking a sip of his coffee. "Could have been better," I said taking a bite out of my bagel. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you see last night that scared you like that?" I looked up and saw the sincerity in his eyes. I wiped my mouth with the napkin. "An ex-boyfriend," I answered softly. "Oh." The waitress brought Howie his meal. "Thank you," he said looking at the waitress. He turned back to me. "Do you want to tell me about?" I began to tell him the story.
"Hello?" Brian said answering the phone, pulling the towel around his waist. "Hey Bri, it's Erika. You called?" "Yeah," he said walking over to his suitcase and pulling out his boxers and some clothes. "You talked to Janice last night, right?" "Yeah." "Well, what did she see?" "Three years ago she had an abusive boyfriend by the name of Matt. She split with him but he promised her that no guy would ever love her again. He moved to the west coast and she never heard from him again...." "Until last night at the restaurant," I finished staring down at my plate. Howie just sat there staring at me. "I never could understand how someone could hit someone like that," he said picking up his coffee to take another sip. "Yeah, well I never thought something like that could happen to me." "Hey!" I looked towards the voice and saw AJ coming towards us. "Morning Bone," I said finishing the rest of my bagel. "And how is everyone this beautiful morning?" he asked as he sat down next to me with this goofy grin on his face. I couldn't help but laugh. Howie started laughing. "Fine thanks," answered Howie. AJ ordered his breakfast and we just chatted.
"She had nightmares all night. I've never seen her like this Erika and it was scaring me," Brian said into the phone while nervously running his fingers through his hair. "Don't let her know you know. Let her tell you. It might help her if she's the one that tells you." "Ok, I'm going to finish getting read and then I'm going to go downstairs and get some breakfast. I'll talk to ya later." "See ya." He hung up the phone and let out a dep sigh. "Janice, I wasn't there then but I'm here now," he said aloud to himself. A tear ran down his cheek. he brushed it away and finished dressing. "So what time do we have to be at Radio City?" asked AJ. "I think around noon," I answered as I finished my third cup of coffee. The waitress came by with a fresh pot and refilled my cup. We continued to talk and the others slowly joined us. Brian walked over to the table. "Hey honey," he said coming towards me and kissing my forehead. "Hey." He sat down next to me. We talked and finished eating. I got up from my chair. "I'm going back up to the room to get some work done," I said pushing in my chair. Nick got up from his chair. "I'll go with you. I have to call my mom," Nick said walking towards me. "Ok. I'll see you," I said putting my hand on Brian's shoulder.
Nick and I walked across the lobby to the elevator. I went to my room, Nick stayed with me to make sure I got in alright. "Do you want to come in?" I asked. "Sure," he answered as I pushed the door open. I walked into the room and flipped the light switch on. "Want something to drink?" I asked walking over to the fridge. "I'll have a Pepsi if you have it," he said sitting down on the bed. I grabbed two Pepsis out of the fridge. I handed him one and sat down on the other bed facing him. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked taking a sip from the can. "Sure." "What did you see last night that scared you like that? I've never seen you like that before." I took another sip of my soda and looked at him. I ran my finger around the rim of the can, biting my lip I looked down. I shut my eyes, a vision of the evil smile tha Matt had given me lurked behind my eyes. I opened them and looked at Nick who was patiently waiting for an answer.
"About three years ago I was dating Matt. And to make a long story short, he was very abusive to me. He moved away but he promised that no man would ever love me again. He was on the sidewalk last night pressed up against the glass." The tears began to slowly fall down my face. Nick got up and sat next to me putting his arm around me. I sobbed into his chest. "Shhh, we are all here and we will never let anything happen to you." I pulled my head away from his chest and looked at him. He stared at me, he slowly moved his face towards mine. I turned my head. "Nick, you better go," I said softly. "Uh, yeah," he said getting up and walking out of the room. He shut the door. Nick leaned against the door and let out a deep sigh. What was that, he thought to himself. No, Erika is your girlfriend and Brian is you best friend and Janice is your best friend's girlfriend. "Hey Frack," said Brian coming down the hallway. "I thought you had to call you mom." "Um, I was just making sure Janice got to her room alright," Nick answered. "Oh ok. Thanks, buddy," Brian said with a smile. "Sure, no problem. Uh, I guess I'll go call my mom now. See ya at the sound check," Nick said leaving and heading towards his room.
The door opened and I jumped up. "Oh, it's just you," I said. "What's that suppose to mean?" Brian asked coming towards me wrapping his arms around me. "Nothing," I said looking him in the eyes and running my hand through his hair. "Did you finish doing whatever you were doing?" "Yeah," I answered, slightly distracted. "Brian, can we talk?" "Sure." I took both of his hands and lead him to the bed where we sat down. "What is it?" "Brian, my past is coming back to haunt me. And I'm scared that it's going to go after you," I told Brian the whole story. When I was done I began to cry. "Oh sweetheart," he said putting his arms around me. "Nothing is going to happen to me or you. I promise you that." He ran his fingers through my hair as I sobbed into his chest. He kissed my head and lightly rocked me back and forth. I pulled my head away from his chest and looked him. He brushed my tears away from my cheeks and lightly rubbed my lips with his finger. He leaned forward and kissed me. "Everything will be fine. I promise you. Ok?" "Ok," I replied smiling. "Brian, I love you." "I love you,too."
"Yeah, he's fine," Nick said into the phone. "He's been quiet lately." Erika came into the room. "Well I gotta run. I'll make sure Aaron calls either tonight or tomorrow. Love ya, too. Bye." Erika sat down next to him on the bed. "How's everything at the Carter household?" she asked. "Fine," he sighed. "Just fine?" she asked. "Yeah." "Are you ok?" she asked pushing the wisp of hair out of his face. "Huh? Yeah I'm fine." Nick was deep in thought, thinking about the close call in Janice's room earlier that day. "Honey?" asked Erika bringing Nick back to reality. "I'm sorry," he said looking at her. He took her chin into his hand and smiled, pulling her lips to his. He lightly brushed his lips against hers. He pulled her closer and kissed her, running his fingers through her hair.
Just then there was a knock at the door. Erika pulled away. "They can wait," he said pulling her back. "I'll be right back," she said kissing him and going to answer the door. It was Kevin. "Hey Kev, sup?" "Time to go," he said into the room. He turned and went down the hall to get everyone else. Erika shut the door and went back to Nick. Nick pulled her onto the bed. "Nick Carter!" she laughed as he kissed her neck. "Come on we have to go," she said pulling away and pulling Nick up with her. "Brian I have to answer the door," I said as Brian kissed my neck. "Sweetheart come on," I laughed pushing him off of me. I hobbled over to the door and saw Kevin on the other side and opened it. "Hey Janke, tell Brian we are getting ready to leave soon." "Ok." I shut the door and hobbled back to Brian. "Did anyone tell you, you look cute when you hobble?" he asked giving me a sly smile. "No," I said coming towards him. I sat down next to him. He pushed me back and kissed me. He kissed my neck softlu working his way to my ear. "Come on, we have to get ready to go." "I don't want to," he pouted. I laughed. "Too bad. Come on, yall are just doing a sound check and then we have the rest of the night to ourselves." A grin spread across his face. "You have a dirty mind, sir. Now come on," I said pulling him off the bed.
I grabbed the room key and shoved Brian out the door. After I locked the door we walked to the elevator. We got on, we were the only ones on the elevator. He turned to me and pressed me up against the wall of the elevator and kissed me long and hard. Then the elevator stopped and an elderly couple got on. I looked past Brian and pulled away from his kiss when I saw the couple. "Young people in love," sighed the elderly woman. "Are you two newlyweds?" she asked. I looked at Brian. "No ma'am," he said with a smile. "Not yet," he as he placed his arm around my shoulder. I looked at him and he smiled at me. The elevator stopped and we got off walking into the lobby. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Why is that Janice Memory with her new pretty boy boyfriend?" At the sound of the voice I froze.