It was around 2pm when I woke up again. I walked quietly from my room to the kitchen. As I went past I glanced into the living room. Brian was still asleep.

I got myself a bowl of Froot Loops and sat down at my kitchen table. Just as I was finished the bowl, I heard Brian yawn, and then he appeared in the doorway.

"Good morning." I looked at the clock on the stove. "Afternoon, whatever." Brian yawned again and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked at the cereal box.

"Froot Loops?" He sat down at the table. "Mind?"

"Nope." I got up to hand him a bowl and spoon. "I needed a sugar fix this morning."

"That I understand. Haven't had these in a long time." We didn't talk anymore until he was finished. Then he looked at me. "I should leave. You've probably got things to do." I almost laughed at him.

"You know, Brian, you are SUCH a nuisance! Why don't you just get out?" I couldn't hold back the sarcasm. "Please, you are totally welcome to stay. It's been kind of boring around here without Roz."

"You sure I'm not in your space?"

"Do you really think that I would send you away? We can find something to do. Movies, whatever. I'll even make dinner. Although my cooking skills are kinda limited." I looked at him kind of skeptical.

"You managed the Froot Loops alright." I rolled my eyes, and playfully hit him on the arm.

"I'm not THAT bad."

Brian stayed and we watched movies, and generally hung out. At around 7, the phone rang and I asked Brian to answer it because I was busy trying not to make a mess of dinner. I heard him say �hello' and then he walked into the kitchen with the phone in his hand.

"It's Bunny?" I squealed and shoved the spoon that I had been stirring with into Brian's hand as I grabbed the phone from him.

"JACKIE!!!! Oh my god!" Brian looked stunned at my excitement. He didn't realize he had just answered a phone call from my best friend, who I hadn't heard from in months. "What's up??" I couldn't contain my excitement. But Jackie's tone was not what I expected.

"Who exactly was that answering your phone. There are things you haven't told me!" I knew she was only joking, but sometimes I resented her questions anyway. It's not like I talked to her everyday, like we used to.

"You would NEVER in a million years believe who that was." I glanced over at Brian who was trying to pretend he wasn't listening. "But go ahead, try and guess. Think back about, um... 4 or 5 years ago. One of my obsessions, or so you said. But you were just as nuts as me, you just wouldn't admit it." I wanted to just tell her, but I knew she'd never believe me anyway.

"I've got two choices. Alex Gonzalez, but I wasn't as nuts as you." She paused as if to think. "BACKSTREET BOYS! I'm gonna believe you got one of the Backstreet Boys in your apartment. AND that he's answering the phone for you?" I giggled. How was I ever gonna make her believe this?

"Fine, Jacks, you don't wanna believe me. Great. I was lying anyway." I knew she'd start rethinking her position when I gave up so easily.

"Oh yeah, so which one is it? AJ, I suppose, since you were in love with him." She giggled. If only she could have seen the look on my face, as I motioned for Brian to come over to the speaker phone. I quietly pushed the button to switch it on.

"Nope, try again, Jacks." I motioned for Brian to be quiet. I heard Jackie groan on the other end of the phone.

"No more guessing." She paused waiting for me to speak. "Fine then, Kevin. You liked him too." I felt myself blush a little bit, and then motioned for Brian to talk.

"Nope, you got one more try," Brian said, trying to disguise his accent without much success. "Ugh. Another clue. Who ya got in there?" Jackie begged.

"Every little thing that you have said and done," Brian never got to finish the line. I heard Jackie start to hum the rest of the song, as she pictured which one of them sang it.

"It's Brian. Isn't it? It is Brian! Wait! What is Brian doing in your apartment? Why didn't you tell me you knew him?" I waited for her to take a breath, otherwise I knew I'd never get a word in edgewise. I heard Brian snickering beside me, as I switched back to the hand held phone.

I spent the next hour telling Jackie all about how I met Kevin and then Brian and then Howie, and AJ, and finally Nick.

"I can't believe you met them. Even �owie?" I giggled at the way she still said "Howie." I swear she liked him best just because his name was fun for her to say. "Have you massacred one of their songs from them yet?" I groaned. We used to sing to the CDs in the car, horribly, and we knew it.

"Nope, waiting for you to come visit, so you can help me with the hatchet job."

"Oooo, I wanna come visit. Can I meet them?" I laughed at the way she always tried to get her wants ahead of everything else.

"Sure, you come here to visit me, just to meet them. I feel so used." Jackie giggled. "Besides, you haven't been able to come visit yet. You're MUCH to busy."

"I know, I am. But you have to call me more. Tell me everything." I heard someone scream in the background. "Uh oh. Looks like trouble. I gotta go. I'm looking after Jessie." I had to think for a minute before I remembered Jessie was her friend Jen's daughter.

"Call me again, sometime before next year this time, okay?"

"Uh hm. Say goodbye to Bri-I-ian." She extended his name to emphasize it. "Bye."

By the time I had hung up the phone, the dinner I had been cooking was long since ruined. I laughed as I saw Brian standing over it with his nose turned up. "Okay, back up plan. Pizza." I turned to look at him.

"Let me guess. Cheese pizza." He nodded and I handed him the phone. "There's the phone, call away."

I woke up the next morning to what I thought was the phone ringing. When I grabbed the telephone beside my bed, I realized the sound was coming only from the living room. Then I remembered Brian had stayed on the couch again, and it was probably his cell phone. I glanced at my alarm clock. 8:24. I groaned and closed my eyes. But I knew I wasn't going to fall back to sleep. I decided to get up, and go to the kitchen for breakfast.

As I walked to the kitchen, I could hear Brian talking on his cell phone. I figured that's what the ringing must have been. I tried not to listen, but I couldn't help overhearing some things in the quiet apartment. It didn't sound like a happy conversation.

I didn't hear anything for a moment, and then I jumped when I turned around to find Brian in the doorway.

"You are WAY too quiet. Don't do that!" I said, gasping in surprise.

"Same to you. Sorry if the phone woke you." I shrugged to signify it wasn't a big deal.

"Mind if I ask who it was? You seemed kind of upset." Brian looked at the floor.

"Someone I didn't want to talk to. But I do want to talk to you. I'm glad you're up." He sounded more serious than I'd ever seen him. It took him a minute before he spoke, and then he was very quiet and unsure of himself. "I wanted to ask you yesterday, and the day before. I just, didn't know. And then after we talked, I didn't know how you'd answer. I didn't know whether I should bother." I wondered if I knew what he was going to say, but I didn't want to make any assumptions. Better to let him say it himself.

"Brian, you know after the last couple days, you could ask me almost anything."

As I finished my sentence I heard the front door open and Roz call out "Lexi! I'm ba-a-ack!" When she turned the corner into the kitchen, she stopped dead. I wasn't sure why at first, and then I realized the time, and who else was standing in the kitchen. I tried to pretend that there was nothing unusual.

"Rozzie!" I gave her a hug. "How's Meg doing?" I could tell Roz was still looking over my shoulder at Brian.

"She's good. Better anyway. I have a lot to tell you." She glanced behind her at Nick in the doorway and then at Brian. "Later." While Roz was talking I noticed Nick give Brian a look that I was sure meant he was making assumptions about the situation.

"Hey Nick. How'd you get along with the Murphy's?"

"Treated me like a long lost son." I laughed.

"Probably because they heard so much about you a few years ago." I felt Roz punch my arm. "OW! It's true!" I rubbed my arm. "I'm gonna have a bruise." I could hear the laughter in Nick's voice as he made his exit.

"I gotta go. I just wanted to make sure that Roz was back here safe."

"Thanks for going with her Nick. See ya soon, eh?" He nodded and made the �call me' motion to Brian before Roz ducked around the corner to the door with him.

"Interesting," I mumbled quietly enough that they couldn't hear me.

"Very," Brian agreed. "I should go to. You and Roz can talk." I nodded.

"Okay."

"I was gonna ask you, if you wanted to go out sometime. A date." Somehow I had known that was going to be his question.

"Bri, I will go out with you any time. But, not on a date. Not until I know you're past Leigh Anne. It's not fair to you or me that way, okay?" I almost regretted saying it as I looked in his eyes. "Friends. For now, anyway?" He nodded and swallowed.

"Okay. I'll call?"

"You better." I smiled at him and he surprised me by leaning to kiss me. I stood quiet, stunned for a moment, thinking I was stupid to have turned him down. I blinked to bring myself back to reality just as I heard Roz shut the apartment door.

Brian said calmly, "I'll talk to you. Soon." Then to Roz, "Glad your sister's better. And you got home safe." Before I had regained my composure, he was gone.

The door was barely shut when Roz started the interrogation. "Okay, what's the deal? Did he stay here? I know, it's none of my business. But did he?" I sighed. Where did I start?

"Yes, he stayed. But," I put my hand up to silence her, "he stayed on the couch, Roz. Can we start with how your trip went?" She didn't look too impressed with being put off, but she knew not to push the subject. And I still needed time to figure out what had happened for myself.

We talked for a while about Meg and the rest of Roz's family, and how her mom wouldn't let Nick do anything; it was really funny. Eventually, she got around to telling me how Nick had admitted that he liked her a few days earlier, and how close they had gotten during the trip.

"I knew he liked you. So, are you, like, going out?" I did my valley girl speech as a way of humoring her on with the story.

"Stop!" She paused and I made a motion with my hand as if she should continue. "Not really going out. He says he doesn't want to do that to me, with touring and stuff. I guess I get it. It makes sense I mean." She didn't sound convinced.

"Well, we did talk about stuff like that years ago. It would be kind of hard. But it depends on the situation." I made a mental note to warn Nick not to hurt my girl. Or maybe I'd get Brian to issue the warning. I almost laughed out loud at my including Brian in my plan. Roz brought me back to our conversation.

"Okay, your turn. Why did Brian stay here?" How I wished there was some way around this conversation. I sighed, then I told her the whole story. How Kevin and Brian �dragged' me out on Friday, the conversation Brian and I had afterwards, hanging out on Saturday. Everything except him asking me out and the kiss. I couldn't part with those details yet. And I didn't know exactly how she'd react; Brian had been her first favorite. I heard Roz heave a heavy sigh, and knew I had said enough. "Poor B. Are you sure he's okay?" It was my perfect opportunity to mention the other details. I took a breath. And then I only nodded. I couldn't tell her. I didn't really believe it myself.

"Yeah, Roz. He's ... just fine."

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