Xanda and Susan arrived at the grocery store and watched as some construction workers worked on the roof of the building.

"What I wouldn't give to have a piece of ass like that." Susan laughed.

"You have Howie! Last time I checked he was all man." Xanda laughed as she climbed out of her car.

"Not lately! Last time I got any of his ass it was over a month ago. The tour weighed him down so much and now he's leaving to LA to start working on a new movie. And last night, I mean, early this morning when he got back from the studio we were THIS close to gettin' busy when some chick called to have him go pick up Kevin and AJ's drunken asses down at the bar." Susan complained as they walked into the bar.

"I see AJ's back to drinking." Xanda mumbled.

"Actually, he hardly drinks. I think this is the first time he's been drunk since...well, since..." Susan stopped talking when she saw the look on Xanda's face.

"All I want is an apology." She muttered as she walked on past Susan into the store.

****

Nick paced around Brian's house waiting for Brian to finish mowing his lawn.

"Ya know, you COULD help me out here!" Brian yelled from the frontyard.

"I'm allergic to freshly cut grass." Nick explained from the frontdoor. Brian sighed before flipping Nick off.

"I'll dust your living room!" Nick offered before he slammed the frontdoor knowing that Brian had already dusted his house. Nick padded over to the couch and plopped down before grabbing his phone. He settled in and flipped on the TV waiting for Keely to call him like she had promised. Their relationship had taken on more of a friendship than an actual romance. Nick didn't like the idea but figured that he would be able to win Keely over eventually if he stopped trying so hard. When the phone rang he jumped and thought for a moment about where he was. Nick shook his head to get back into reality and placed the phone against his ear.

"House O' Single Backstreet Boys! Buy one and get free oral sex without pushing our head down south!" Nick sang.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I have the wrong number. I was looking for a man, not a boy." Keely smoothly replied.

"Oh that was just low!" Nick laughed.

"You left that one wide open, Carter." Keely pointed out with a giggle.

"I did, didn't I? But you know what I'd like to leave wide open...?"

"Don't go there, Carter!" Keely quickly interrupted.

"I know, I won't. Chill, woman!" Nick laughed.

****

"Have you talked to AJ since?" Susan questioned as she and Xanda walked up and down the isles tossing junk food into the cart.

"No, he tried to call me right after everything went down but he broke down before he could explain anything. Of course I broke down first. I know he feels bad but that doesn't change what happened." Xanda said as she looked at the cookies in front of her. "Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies?" She questioned.

"Toss 'em in!" Susan replied. "So, you went from being hurt because he cheated on you to being hurt because he hasn't apologized? I don't get you, girl!"

"I don't understand myself, either. And either does AJ or anyone else for that matter. Maybe I should have gotten some therapy after the childhood I had then maybe I wouldn't have gotten involved with John or AJ. Then again, maybe it's just the fact that AJ is the keeper of my secrets. He knows everything and I mean everything! I guess I'm expecting him to spill what he knows to everyoe and that scares me." Xanda said.

"You mean like when you're a kid in high school and you have a best friend and you tell them everything then when you have a huge fight that friend tells all your secrets to the entire school?" Susan asked as she continued to toss candy and cookies into the cart.

"That's exactly what I mean. ...oh, marshmellow cream!" Xanda exclaimed as she tossed the jar in the cart.

"Xanda, this isn't high school anymore. Whatever you've told him stays with him. He owes you that much." Susan pointed out as she grimmaced at the things Xanda was tossing into the cart.

"Oh, this discussion is getting depressing!" Xanda yelled as she hopped on the edge of the back of the cart and rode down the isle.

"Oh, that's cute!" Susan laughed.

"Hop in!" Xanda smiled as Susan climbed into the front of the cart.

****

"So? What's new?" Keely asked as she tried to change the subject.

"What's new? Well, Brian said 'good morning' to Xanda today and World War III didn't errupt!" Nick stated.

"Well, that's a start. Now let's see if he can work his way up to 'what's up' or 'how are you.'" Keely laughed.

"He's trying, he's trying! He feels bad for being such a prick to her but you gotta admit, she hasn't exactly been nice to him." Nick pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, I know but he started it! I mean, she started it but he made it worse." Keely defended.

"They both started it and hopefully they'll be able to call a truce sometime in the next few months. I'd hate to be enemies with my neighbors." Nick said mostly to himself as he watched Brian chatting with the neighbor across the street drenched in sweat from doing yard work.

"Nick, you ARE enemies with your neighbors. They're tired of all the teeny boppers ruining their landscaping and they're even more tired of the media who camps outside your house every time you're caught in some tabloid scandal." Keely laughed.

"Hey, I was only in TWO tabloid scandals." Nick pointed out.

"Two tabloid scandals too many!" Keely sang as she laughed.

"Yeah, but that hooker incident was fake!" Nick tried to defend.

"And what about you and those two girls in the hotel pool? Was that fake?" Keely held her breath waiting for an answer but she knew about what had happened and she thought it was hilarious.

"Hey, I didn't know they were underage! And no one has any proof that it actually happened." Nick yelled out.

"They could have done DNA testing from the used condoms they found floating in the pool and linked you to the scene of the crime." Keely said as she burst into giggles.

"You're a bitch!" Nick laughed back.