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Chapter 10: Unexpected Visitors

�Nicky, I�d appreciate it if you would GET OFF ME!� I screamed.

�I�m sorry Princess, but I�m not moving until you give me the phone,� Nick replied.

A week had passed and life on the bus was basically perfect. AJ and I and Nick and Kayla were all happy together. Howie had asked out Kassandra and they had been going out for a week now. Brian had yet to get the courage to ask out Juliet and Kevin was trying to help him with that.

�Kayla, will you tell your boyfriend to get off me!�

Kayla came running into the entertainment room to see what all the commotion was.

�Eve, Nick, what are you doing?� Kayla asked, bewildered.

�She won�t give me the phone,� Nick pouted.

�But I need to call Dan. It�s his birthday,� I whined.

�Oh my goodness! It�s July twenty-fourth already?� Kayla exclaimed. �Eve, I�ll distract him while you use the phone.�

At that, Kayla pulled Nick off me and kissed him.

I ran across the room and called my friend.

Suddenly Nick broke free from Kayla�s lips.

�As much as I love you, honey, I need that phone!� he said as he jumped across the room to grab the phone.

Quickly, I turned the phone off and tossed it to Kayla before Nick tackled me.

�No mercy!� Nick cried as he searched me for the phone.

�No phone,� I said waving my hands in his face. �You�re a little slow Nicky.�

Nick looked around confused. Kayla came up behind him and handed him the phone.

�Make it quick, we�re almost at the arena,� Kayla said.

With that we left Nick in the entertainment room and went to the front of the bus.

******At The Arena******

�I�m hungry!� Kassandra exclaimed as she jumped up from Howie�s side.

�You know what, so am I,� I said, realizing I hadn�t eaten anything all day.

�Me too,� Kayla and Juliet said in unison.

�We really need to stop doing that,� Juliet said.

�Yeah we do,� Kayla replied.

�Anyway, let�s go get something to eat,� Kassandra exclaimed.

�Okay. We�ll be right back,� I said, giving AJ a quick kiss.

�Bring us back something!� AJ called as we walked out the door.

************

�Wow, Jive really knows how to treat their clients,� I said when I saw the tables of food that had been set up for the Boys, the dancers and their opening acts.

Other then a few crew workers and a couple of dancers we were the only ones there. Three tables were set up with an assortment of food. There were fruits and vegetables on one, finger sandwiches and soups on another and desserts on the last.

�I don�t know what to get,� Kayla said.

�You should try the California soup,� Sheri, one of the dancers, said. �It�s really good.�

�You know what, I think I will,� Kayla said, going over to get a bowl.

I went and filled a bowl with fruit for myself then went and got some finger sandwiches for AJ.

�You guys ready?� I asked the girls, but they didn�t hear me. They were staring at something behind me. �Hello?� I waved my hand in front of their faces, but it barely phased them. They just pointed behind me.

Finally, I turned around to see what they were pointing at.

CRASH!

The plates I was holding hit the floor and smashed into a hundred pieces.

************

�What is taking them so long?� AJ asked, looking at his watch.

�Maybe they got lost,� Howie suggested.

�That or they�re very indecisive,� Nick joked.

�I�m going to go look for them,� AJ finally said.

�I�ll go with you,� Kevin said standing up.

�We�ll be back,� AJ said as he and Kevin walked out of the dressing room.

************

I stood there for a minute, my body paralyzed. I opened my mouth, but no sounds came out. Finally I regained some of my composure and managed to speak.

�Drew, what are you doing here?�

�I told you I wouldn�t give you up without a fight,� He declared. �I still love you and I know you still love me.�

�Of course I still love you. I never stopped loving you.�

�Then why can�t we be together? Like things used to be?� he questioned.

�Because things can never be like they used to be. Drew, you really hurt me and I don�t want to go through that again.�

�But this time will be different. I promise.�

I stood there staring into his pleading eyes. Seeing him there in front of me brought on a wave of emotions. Love, pain, sadness, heartache. It tore me apart inside. Tears welled up in my eyes.

�Drew, I�m seeing someone.�

�What? Who?� he exclaimed. A flash of anger passed through is eyes.
�His name�s AJ.�

�Is he one of those Backstreet bastards?� he questioned, his eyes hardening.

�Yes and don�t call him that,� I said, trying to defend my boyfriend.

Drew stared at me for a second. A look of disgust was on his face.

�Do you love him?�

�Drew, please don�t do this,� I pleaded. The tears now flowed down my cheeks.

�Do you love him!?� he demanded.

�I can�t answer that,� I said, realizing I wasn�t sure of the strength of my feelings for AJ.

�Can�t you see then Eve,� he said, grabbing my arms. �We�re meant to be together.�

�Drew, let me go.�

�Not till you realize it�s fate, you and me,� he said, his grip tightening.

�You�re hurting me. Let go!� The tears started flowing faster.

Drew just stood there, his grip growing tighter and tighter.

�Drew, please,� I pleaded.

�Hey! Let her go!� AJ screamed as he and Kevin ran over to my side.

Drew pushed me aside and spun around to face AJ. I ran, sobbing into Kevin�s arms.

�Shh, it�ll be alright,� He crooned, rubbing my back.

Kayla, Kassandra and Juliet came running over and surrounded me.

�Who the hell do you think you are?!� AJ demanded.

�You must be AJ,� Drew said in a voice so calm it was eerie.

�Yes I am, now who the fuck are you?�

�I�m the man that Eve really loves.�

�What?� AJ asked, a bit taken aback by Drews statement.

�If you thought she loved you, you�re sadly mistaken.�

�Drew, stop it!� I cried. I tried running over, but Kevin held me back.

Drew just ignored me and kept going. �Eve belongs with one person and that person is me.�

�I do not belong with you, Drew. I will never belong with you. I want you out of my life," I said, my tone icy.

�You stupid bitch, you don�t know what you want!� he screamed at me.

If there was one button to push on AJ, that was it. Without warning AJ�s right fist collided with Drew�s nose. Before he had a chance to respond, AJ was on top of him, throwing punches left and right. Somehow Drew broke free and he managed to punch AJ in his right eye.

�Stop it!� I cried, breaking free from Kevin and running over to AJ. �AJ, let him go!� I pleaded, pulling him off Drew.

AJ listened to me and stood up. His eye was starting to swell. Drew�s nose was bleeding and he had scratches from AJ�s rings.

�Drew, I want you to leave and I never, ever want to see you again,� I said.
Drew looked stunned. �You don�t mean that.�

�Yes, I do,� I grabbed AJ�s hand and looked over at Kevin and the girls. �Let�s go.�

I walked off leaving behind Drew and any residual feelings I had for him.

******That Night******

�Why did she never tell me this?� AJ asked.

�I don�t know man,� Nick said. He had just finished telling AJ the story about what happened between Drew and I.

I had gone and locked myself in the entertainment room. I even skipped the concert saying I needed to think.

�She�s been through so much. I wish she would talk to me,� AJ said, glancing back at the closed door to the entertainment room. �She�s been in there all day.� He sat staring at the door before he made a decision to move. �I think I�ll go see if she�ll talk to me.�

�It�s worth a shot,� Nick replied, watching AJ retreat to the back of the bus.

************

Why did he have to come back? Why now? Why when my life was finally making sense? A million thoughts raced through my head.

I sat in the middle of the entertainment room replaying the days events in my mind.

�Do you love him?� Drew demanded.

Do I love him?

The question haunted me. My feelings for AJ are definitely strong, but is it love?

�Aghhh,� I groaned in frustration.

Knock, Knock!!

The pounding on the door broke my thoughts.

�Come in,� I called out.

The door opened and AJ walked in. The sight of him put tears in my eyes. I never meant to hurt him, but with what happened how could I not have hurt him? With that I started crying. The thought that I had hurt him set me off. I care about him too much to see him in pain.

That�s when it hit me. I do love him. I got up and threw my arms around him.

�I�m so sorry,� I sobbed.

�Sorry for what?� he asked, still holding me in his arms.

�For not telling you about Drew, for causing you any pain, for having you get punched for me. I didn�t deserve it.�

�It�s okay sweetie. Nick explained everything to me,� he said as he wiped tears off of my face.

�I don�t deserve you.�

�Of course you do,� he said, kissing my forehead. �I�m going to bed. It�s been a long day.�

He kissed me once more before going to his bunk.

I stood there for a minute before I went to my bunk to change. After I changed I laid down and tried to sleep.

For an hour I laid there, but I just couldn�t fall asleep. I got out of my bunk and walked over to AJ�s. A few seconds after I knocked he pulled back the curtain to the bunk.

�Mind if I sleep here?�

He just smiled and moved over. I crawled in next to him and he put his arms around me. In seconds I was asleep in the security of his embrace.