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All I Have To Give Chapter 3 �Blondie!� I called jogging over to him. He was shooting hoops and turned around when I said his name. I looked down at what I was wearing and hoped I could play well in it. I was wearing those shorts that look like boxers that were dark green and white, and a white T-shirt. I had on some Nike�s and my shoulder length light brown hair was in a ponytail. Nick was wearing some long shorts and a jersey, and Nike�s, his fave thing to play in. �Yo Brat, you ready to get your butt kicked?� he asked grinning. I matched his grin. �I would be ready if I was gonna get beat, you know I�m gonna demolish you.� He passed the ball to me and I caught it and made a run for the basket. I jumped up for a shot, but his hand was suddenly there and knocked the ball from my hands. He grabbed it and made a perfect lay-up. 2-0. �You suck,� I said when it went in. �Thanks,� he said happily as he passed the ball back to me. I started playing as hard as I could, and he saw the change in my game, so he got harder too. 30 minutes later we were both sweating like pigs and exhausted. We always played one game until whoever pooped out first. Then who was ahead of course won. I was pooped, but wasn�t giving up yet. Almost every time we played I gave up first, but I wanted to go longer this time. Right then the score was 22-18, his favor, but I could feel him wearing out, but I was wearing out too. When we had played for 45 minutes, I pooped out. I couldn�t take it anymore. We both played so hard in our games, they didn�t last really long like real basketball games. The score was 24-22, his favor, and he had beat me again. But, oh well, it had been fun. The whole time we had been shouting insults back and forth, and teasing each other good-naturedly, so I loved it. �Game over,� I sighed as I fell onto the floor panting. �Oh finally,� he exclaimed falling next to me. �I thought you would never say it! I was starting to get scared you�d beat me there for a little while.� I grinned. �Really? You thought I might have beat you?� To me, that was a big accomplishment and he knew it. He nodded and smiled. �Yup, you�re really good Shelby, I don�t know why you�ve never gone out for the school basketball team. You�d be awesome.� I shrugged and rolled onto my stomach and laid my head on my hands sideways so I could still look at him. �Well, you�re my favorite person to play against, well, you�re practically the only one I play against, and�I dunno. I just don�t want to.� �You�re decision, I�m not gonna make ya.� I smiled. �You always remind me why you�re my best friend even though you�re not here a lot.� He grinned at me and flicked his hair which was falling into his eyes and needed to be cut out of the way. �Well, you�ve always been my best friend, even more than the other guys, and you always will.� By the other guys he meant the rest of the BackStreet Boys. I had met them tons of times and was pretty good friends with them, though Nick and I had a special bond. His hair was falling in his eyes again and it got on my nerves so I moved it out of the way. �You need to get a haircut Boy,� I told him. �I know, I just never get around to it.� �I�ll do it!� I suddenly exclaimed. I loved doing people�s hair and was pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. He looked at me like I was nuts. �Are you crazy? No way, nuh-uh, I have lots of people look at me and I can�t wait until my hair grows more when you make a mistake.� I pretended to pout. �Don�t you trust your best friend?� �On everything but my hair, yes.� �Please? I do hair all the time! Who do you think colors my hair?� �A beautician?� �No! ME! I�ll be extra careful on you I promise! I know how pretty you have to look for you hormonal raging fans and media. Pleeeease?� I begged. I put on puppy dog eyes for good measure. �Well�.� �I�ll do good I promise. If I mess up you can cut a chunk away from my hair and take a picture of it and publish it in the New York Times!� I was doing some serious begging. �I guess�� he said slowly. �Yes!� I shrieked and hugged him. �You won�t regret this I promise!� I practically pulled him outta there and to his house, so we both had another workout that day. We were both panting by the time we pulled up to his gate. �Oops, I�didn�t mean�to run,� I panted as we leaned against the gate and held our aching sides and caught our breath. I took a deep breath. �Okay,� I went over, did the key pad number and we walked up his driveway. We walked in and only his mom was there. �Hey Jane!� I greeted happily. Jane was such a laid back mother and totally trusted her kids. She was so cool. My mom worked a lot to make end�s meat, so Jane was the mom who listened to everything and helped me with them. I still talked to my mom of course, but Jane had more time than my mom did. �Shelby!� she said back giving me a hug. �I haven�t seen you for awhile. How are you? How was basketball this morning? Did you beat Nick?� I laughed and looked at Nick who grinned and rolled his eyes. I giggled. �I�ve been good. Basketball was cool, as always, and no,� I made an over exaggerated sigh, �I didn�t beat Nick, but I gave him a run for his money!� �Sheesh! She kept going and going and going and going,� Nick said, �I thought she�d never poop out!� �What are you two up to now?� �I�m gonna cut Nick�s hair!� I said happily. �I do hair all the time,� I assured her. Just when I said that she looked comforted, but Nick got nervous all over again. �Shelby, I dunno if this is a good idea,� he stuttered but I grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs to the big bathroom. There were lights around this mirror so I had more light. There was also a really big counter, so ran and got scissors, filled a squirt bottle with water, a comb, a brush, a hairdryer, and a little mirror at Nick�s insistence. He demanded to see what I was doing. The first snip, he closed his eyes real tight and scrunched up his face and I think he may have even held his breath. When he heard the snip, he slowly opened one eye to see if any major damage showed already. I smiled at him in the mirror. �Relax.� He sat there watching every single snip I did until after awhile he calmed down a little bit and put the mirror down, though I could still feel him watching me intently as I was cutting. �Calm down, it�s fine,� I told him. �I can�t, this is my hair we�re talking about. You�re hair grows really fast, mine grows slower and slower every day.� At the end, I couldn�t pass up the chance to give him a heart attack. I mean, it was the oldest trick on the book, but I take every chance I get. I took a snip of air near the back of his head, and widened my eyes. �Oops,� I said softly, but loud enough for him to hear. He froze. Then grabbed the mirror almost breaking it. �OOPS, WHAT�S OOPS MEAN? OOPS? WHERE�S OOPS?� he freaked out looked at every angle of his head that he could. �YOU OOPSED! LET ME SEE THE OOPS!� I was laughing so hard by now I was doubled over. �May I ask what�s so funny?� he asked calmly. �Shelby, we�re in a time of tragedy here!� I shook my head. �I couldn�t pass up the chance to make you freak out. Did you actually think I messed up?� He stopped and stared at me then grinned. �No oops! You didn�t oops! Oh thank you!� he hugged me really tight. �Nick,� I croaked. �Loosen the grip please, I can�t breathe.� He smiled at me when he let go. �Oops,� he said simply. I smacked him on the arm. He looked back at the mirror. �My head feels so light!� he said amazed. �Wow, it must have been a long time since you�re last hair cut if you�re that amazed at the feeling,� I joked. �Actually, it has,� he told me. I then sat him back down and blow-dried the hair that I had squirted and squirted with water until it was really wet. I parted it in the middle and brushed it like he usually did when he was in his free time and said, �Tada!� and pulled the towel off. He got up really close to the mirror and examined it for a minute or two then started shaking his head really fast and running his hands through his hair. When he stopped it all laid in the right places and looked exactly like it should. He grinned at when he saw my wide eyes in the mirror. �Cool, huh?� �I hate you,� I said sarcastically. We then cleaned up the bathroom then went in his room and played Nintendo for a few hours before we decided to go swimming. I had a few swimming suits I kept over there and I grabbed one and went and changed into one. I stuck my head in BJ�s room and asked her if she wanted to come swimming. She said yes and then I went to Leslie�s room, she also said yes. Nick went and asked the twins. They both came out a little later too. We all headed out and Nick and Aaron instantly jumped in the pool splashing us normal four. �Hey!� we all cried. I went over to the diving board and pretended to take my own sweet time until I saw Nick take his focus off me and I jumped as near him as I could. When I came up I felt his hands on my head pushing me back down. When I came up a second time, all of us were in the water. I splashed BJ, who splashed me, then she splashed Aaron, who splashed Nick, who splashed me again, then I splashed Leslie, who splashed Angel, then all of just suddenly started splashing whoever. That�s hard in the deep end where you can�t touch and you have to keep yourself afloat and splash. I saw BJ quietly getting out of the pool so I followed her. �What the heck are you doing?� I asked her. She jumped a little. She smiled at me. �Why splash when you�ve got a hose?� she asked with an evil grin. �You�re brilliant,� I told her. We unwound the hose and got it all hooked up and were standing on the edge of the pool before they noticed we were gone. Aaron turned around and his eyes got wide when he saw us standing there with a hose. He tapped Nick on the shoulder who turned around and did the same thing. Angel and Leslie saw us and, smart girls, swam away. �NOW!� BJ yelled and I turned on the hose and we squirted those two and listened to them scream and holler. We finally stopped a little later and they both glared at us. Leslie and Angel were cracking in the shallow end. �Hold on,� Nick said suddenly and hopped out of the pool and went inside. �Nickolas Gene Carter you�re mom�s gonna kill you if she finds you in the house wet like that!� I yelled after him. �Shut up!� I heard him yell back. A moment later I heard, �Nickolas Gene! Get out of this house with those wet clothes on!� �Just a sec Mom,� was Nick�s reply. He came out a little later with some balloons. �Yeah!� I exclaimed and we all ran and filled up a bag of balloons full of water. When they were all full, we all picked up a few and then started chucking them at each other. Now, Aaron who was smart, picked up the hose and started spraying us all. When it hit me I screamed. That water is cold! �Aaron Charles Carter!� I yelled. �What?� he yelled back. I ran around and tried to get in back of him. It didn�t work the first time, he heard me or something and turned around and sprayed me. But, the second time, I got back there and I picked him up and took him over to the pool. �You wouldn�t,� he said looking at me, even though his eyes clearly told me he clearly knew I would. �I wouldn�t would I? And why�s that?� �Because�you love me too much,� he said. By now everyone was standing where they were, watching. �Well, you�re right, I do love ya, but I still would!� I yelled the last part as I threw him in the pool. I was happily watching him fly into there when I felt someone pick me up and I soon joined Aaron. When I came up, BJ was in the water and Angel was coming. Nick was chasing Angel around the yard, but she was yelling and running as fast as she could away from him. When he finally caught her, she latched on to his neck and when he tried to throw her, she wouldn�t let go. So, he just jumped in with her and all. The rest of the afternoon we all swam and had water fights, played water games, had contests, all the normal stuff. Around 5:30 Jane came out and asked if I wanted to stay for dinner, I of course, said yes. Bob came out, I called hi to him and he fired up the grill and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. We all swam until he said they were ready and we all got out and wrapped in towels and sat around in a circle on the edge of the pool shivering and eating them. When we were done eating, we played around in the yard, tag, and when it got dark, hide-and-go-seek. Around 10:00 I decided to head home. �Bye everyone!� I called as I was walking out of the yard carrying my clothes. �BYE!� they all yelled back. �Talk to ya tomorrow!� Nick yelled after them. �I�ll call you!� I yelled to him. I was perfectly happy as I was walking home. The day had been really, really fun, swimming and hanging out in the yard. Saturdays were always great when Nick was home, I wished he was home more often. But, even when he was gone, I still went over there cause I loved it so much over there.Next: Chapter 4 |