| Chapter 24 It had been a couple of weeks since Leighanne had told Brian that it was over. Brian had since focused all his energy in finishing the album. All he had left to do was go in and sign some paperwork before they took it into production. Tara had noticed that Brian was hiding something from her, she didn't want to force him to talk about it, and he never seemed to want to. Howie was spending almost all his time with Kira now, they had become quite the couple. It was late, and everyone was in bed, Howie was still out with Kira. Tara awoke with a start. She decided to get up and get something to drink. She eased out from under Nick's arm and headed toward the back stairs. As she passed Brian's room she noticed he wasn't there. She continued on downstairs and into the kitchen. Brian was sitting at the table playing with his medicine bottles, completely lost in thought. "Brian, are you OK?" Tara asked walking over to the table and sitting down. He looked up at her, "No not really." She looked at him for a moment, "Brian, something's been bothering you for a long time now, please tell me what it is." "I've just been thinking about things," he said still playing with the bottles. Tara reached over and put her hands on his, "Tell me." "Just how my life has panned out, ya know. The choices I made, what I did with it, who I chose to spend it with, stuff like that," he said. Tara looked at him a little confused, "Are you regretting some of your choices?" He looked at her for a long time, "Some of them, yes," he finally answered. "Like what?" Tara asked. Brian looked down and took a deep breath, then looked back up at her, "Like not realizing my feelings for you a long time ago." Tara sat there in shock, not knowing what to say to that. "Brian, I ....," she started to say. "Didn't you ever wonder? I mean with the bond we have and all," Brian said. Tara looked deep into his eyes, "Since the day I met you." It was Brian's turn to be shocked, "You mean we've both felt this way all this time and never told each other?" Tara just nodded her head. They both sat there in an awkward silence, neither of them knowing what to say next. Brian reached over and pulled Tara's hair back. They stared into each other's eyes. Then they both leaned in and kissed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick woke up and reached over where Tara was suppose to be. She wasn't there. He sat up and looked around the room. He decided to get up and go downstairs. As he walked past Brian's room he notice the door was open, and he wasn't there. Wonder where they are? he thought as he headed downstairs. Nick rounded the corner into the kitchen just as Brian and Tara started to kiss. He was so in shock he didn't know what to do. He quickly stepped back around the corner so they wouldn't see him. God, Leighanne was right! I can't believe this, my best friend and my girlfriend! Nick turned to go back upstairs when something stopped him. * Gideon put his hand on Nick's chest and stopped him from leaving. "Gideon, are you sure?" Jade asked. "Yes, he needs to hear this, to understand," Gideon said. Gideon leaned over and whispered in Nick's ear, "Stay and listen." * Nick stood there for a moment, then he decided to stay and see exactly what was going on. He sat down at the end of the stairs out of sight. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Brian and Tara kissed they were flooded with emotion. They could each feel the other's wants and desires. It was the most incredible feeling. Finally Tara pushed Brian back. They both sat there almost breathless for a minute. "Brian, we can't do this," Tara finally said. Brian looked at her, "I'm sorry, I just ...... I don't know what I was thinking." Tara looked at him, "Brian, the reason I never told you is because I didn't want this to happen. I knew if it ever did there would be no stopping it." Brian looked at her a little confused, "What exactly just happened anyway? I mean that wasn't your normal kiss." Tara looked down, "It's because of the bond we share. It's almost like you merge into one soul, one being. That's why I never told you about my feelings. We both chose someone else to love, and I knew if this ever happened it would jeopardize our relationships." Brian sat there for a moment, "I'm sorry. I'm just so confused right now. I mean I still love Leighanne with all my heart, and then there's these feelings I have for you. How can you love two people so completely?" "I don't know, but I feel the same way about Nick. I never want him to think that because I couldn't have you that I chose him. I chose him first," Tara said. "What are we going to do?" Brian asked. Tara sat there for a long time thinking. "Brian, we can't persue this, ever. To many other people are involved, and I don't want to see them get hurt," she said. Brian nodded his head, "You're right. My relationship with Lee isn't that great right now, but Nick is my best friend, and I can't hurt him like that." They sat in silence for a few minutes. "Tara, we're OK right? I mean we aren't going to be awkward around each other now are we, cause I don't want that," Brian said. She smiled at him, "No, we know were we stand with each other, and that it can't be. There's no use in feeling awkward about it." Brian nodded his head. "I'm gonna go back to bed," Tara said standing up. "K, goodnight. And Tara?" Brian said. She turned around to face him, "Yeah?" "I'm glad we told each other," he said. She smiled, "Yeah, me too." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick got up and ran back upstairs. He flew into his room and got back in bed before Tara made her way back up. When she came in he pretended to be asleep. She crawled in bed, and soon he could tell she was asleep. Nick lay there for a long time thinking about what he heard. He wasn't angry like he thought he would be. Somehow he understood. They had denied their love for each other because they chose to love him and Leighanne more. If he wasn't so confused, that'd almost be darn romantic. He knew Brian and Tara well enough that he wasn't worried about anything happening between them. If they said it would never happen, it wouldn't. He knew now that it wasn't like Leighanne thought after all. Now he just had to decide what to do. Should he tell Tara that he heard everything, or should he just keep it to himself? Nick fell asleep still having not decided. Chapter 25 |