The next morning Annabelle got up and had a bowl of cereal. While she 
was eating Drew came into the room. He poured himself some cereal and 
sat down across from Annabelle. Neither one looked at the other. They 
hadn't a clue about what to say to each other.

	Drew decided to break the silence as Annabelle put her bowl in 
the sink. "Anna, we really need to talk".

	"I know".

	"You're hurting about Justin, right?".

	"Yes, but mostly about Bella".

	"I understand".

	"Well, how would you feel if Nick had slept with GiGi, or me 
for that matter". Annabelle covered her mouth. 'I can't believe I said 
that', Annabelle screamed inside her head.

	"What's wrong, Anna?".

	"I can't tell you".

	"Why'd you cover your mouth?".

	"I can't tell you".

	"Why can't you tell me?".

	"Cuz Nick will most likely be mad". She covered her mouth 
again.

	"Anna, what's going on? Did...did...", Drew stuttered. He was 
having a problem bringing himself to say the words. "Did you sleep with 
Nick?". Annabelle only nodded. "When?".

	"I don't want to get into this now, Drew".

	"I certainly do".

	"Drew...", Annabelle said frustrated.

	"Damnit Anna! What are you trying to do? Use both Lachey 
brothers? Is that it? I can't believe this, Annabelle! Yesterday meant 
nothing to you?! How the hell could yesterday mean nothing to you?! 
Something so special...so sacred! For god sakes, Annabelle, you knew I 
loved you. But you still love Justin and he slept with your sister. 
Just like you slept with my brother. You're no better then he 
is".

	"Drew, what happened between me and Nick...happened before 
there were any "us" factors. Yeah, we were best friends, but nothing 
more. It was before you told me you love me. It was something that 
should have been a shared secret between me and Nick. Just like this 
thing between us". Drew felt very sad. Yesterday really meant nothing 
to her. "Nobody would have known about it if my dad hadn't read my 
diary".

	"Nick was the diary guy?".

	"Uh huh". Drew was getting frustrated with this conversation. 
He decided to say something mean and walk away.

	"So, you've broken Justin's heart and you've broken mine, 
what's next, Annabelle? Can you even think of anything more evil then 
that? Maybe you should go shoot some babies or something. Ya know, get 
your kicks somewhere else for once". Drew walked out of the room. He 
went back to his room. He could hear Annabelle crying, but he 

didn't care. He wanted her to be angry at herself. He wanted her to see 
the error of her ways and run to him. But the probability of that, he 
realized, was very slim.


A month later...


	Everybody had finally gone back to school. But not everybody 
was on speaking terms. Nick wasn't really speaking to anyone. After his 
classes he would go out and party all night. He'd come home just in 
time to shower, change and go to school. So, nobody saw him much.

	Since J didn't go to school he worked full time. He worked as a 
construction worker during the day and a cab driver during the night. 
He came home at dinner time before driving his cab. He didn't usually 
get home from the taxi driving until about three o'clock. Then he'd go 
to sleep and get up to go back to constructing stuff.

	Jeff had gone back to school. He was a senior, like Nick. When 
he didn't have classes he spent his time with Dee or at work. He worked 
as a waiter at a fancy restaurant.

	Drew was going to school and spending a lot of his time in his 
room (since Nick never seemed to be around) or at the library. He tried 
to make his troubled disappear by constantly studying.

	Annabelle was going to school. She also had a job as a mail 
girl in a small office down the street from the apartment. She spent 
the rest of her days chatting with whoever she could at the house. 
Except for Drew, who she hadn't talked to since the "morning 
after".

	Annabelle was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of 
coffee and reading her psychology book. Jeff walked in the room. He was 
wearing his waiters uniform.

	"Hey, Annabelle".

	"Hi, Jeff. Are you going to work?".

	"Yeah. How did you know?", Jeff asked with a smile.

	"Lucky guess".

	"Well, I'll be off now".

	"Okay. Have fun". Jeff left the apartment. Annabelle went back 
to her reading. She heard a floor board creak and looked up. Drew 
sauntered into the apartment. Annabelle's last class had been cancelled 
that day so she usually came home before Drew. He walked into the 
kitchen and was oblivious to Annabelle's presence.

	"Hi, Drew", she said timidly.

	"Hey, Anna", he said as he finally looked at her.

	"How have you been?".

	"Fine, thanks. You?".

	"Good, I guess. I'm pretty busy".

	"How are classes going?".

	"I haven't flunked out, yet".

	Drew cracked a smile. "I'm glad we're talking. It's been too 
long since we've last conversed".

	"I know. It was just all that...awkwardness. I'm really sorry 
about that day. I didn't mean to fuck with your emotions. I was being 
selfish. It's just...when I saw you in the pool...I...uh...I noticed 
the sexy man you really were". Annabelle blushed. "Look, I need to get 
out of here before I say way too much. See ya around, Drew". Annabelle 
smiled shyly, picked up her books, and walked into her bedroom.

	Drew poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. 
He took a sip. 'This isn't Anna's coffee', he thought. 'This is my 
coffee'. The signs added up to Drew. The way she ran off before she 
said to much, the way she blushed, the things she said, and the coffee. 
Maybe Annabelle wanted to be with Drew the way Drew had wanted with 
Annabelle. After that day Drew figured Annabelle was to hung up on 
Justin to consider himself. But now he saw a light of hope.

	Annabelle layed on her bed. She sighed contentedly. She was 
thinking of Drew, of course. 'Mmm, he's so yummy', Annabelle thought. 
'I haven't seen him in a month. Even though we live in the same 
apartment. I almost forgot how good he looks. I mean DAMN! I wanna be 
with him so badly. And it's not just in a physical sense. I miss being 
his friend'. Annabelle sighed again. She closed her eyes. 'A little nap 
before work never hurt'. Annabelle yawned before drifting to sleep.

	She had the same dream. The same recurring dream that had 
plagued her for weeks. It was a good dream, however...

	****Drew walked into the room wearing black dress pants, a 
white button down shirt, and a brown tie. He had a sports jacket swung 
over his shoulder and he was carrying a dark briefcase. He set the coat 
and the briefcase down on the living room couch. The room itself was 
well decorated and very homey.

	He walked up the stairs and entered a large master bedroom. 
Annabelle was laying on the bed, asleep. Drew approached the bed and 
sat beside the sleeping figure. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and 
then her mouth. Annabelle was awakened by the kiss. She wrapped her 
arms around his neck, without opening her eyes, and deepened the kiss. 
After a moment she removed her hands from his neck and placed them all 
over his body, as he did with his hands on her body.

	There was a little knock on the door. The two adults released 
each other as the door opened. A little girl, about five, bounded into 
the room. Her light brown pig tails bobbed up and down.

	"Daddy, you came home early!", she said excitedly. She ran over 
to Drew. He scooped her up and hugged her. She moved from his grasp and 
put her head on her mothers stomach.

	"Mommy, the baby kicked!". Annabelle smiled down on the little 
girl. She took Drew's hand while looking in his eyes. They both smiled 
the same jovial smile. Life was perfect.****


BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

	Annabelle whacked the alarm clock. It was set so she knew when 
she had to get ready for work. Annabelle yawned, stretched, and got out 
of bed. She smiled thinking back to the dream. Would life ever be that 
way for her and Drew? She supposed only time would tell.

	After work that day Annabelle went to the store. She bought 
some things including maxi pads. Her period should be rearing it's ugly 
head in the next few days.

	When Annabelle came home she checked the calander. It had been 
way over a month since her last period. Annabelle's thoughts drifted to 
that faithful day. Drew wasn't wearing a condom. This family thing with 
Drew could be starting out a lot sooner then she thought. Annabelle sat 
down at the kitchen table mindlessly staring into space. She didn't 
hear the door open as Jeff entered the apartment.

	"Hey, Annabelle", he said without noticing her absent stare. "I 
had the worst day at work. I feel so gritty, and ug greasy. This stupid 
little kid poured gravy down my pants while I wasn't looking. His 
father actually cheered him on. Can you believe that? I wanted to give 
him a piece of my mind, but my manager was watching. I value my job too 
much for that. All I want to do is take a shower and visit Dee. So, how 
was your day?". Annabelle continued to stare blankly. "Annabelle? 
Hello? Were you listening?". She snapped out of it.

	"Oh hey Jeff, what's up?".

	"I just told you what's up. Are you okay? You seemed kinda 
spacey".

	"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. I need to go to the store". Jeff 
looked at her bag.

	"Looks like you already went".

	"I forgot something".

	Annabelle got up and left the apartment. She walked to the drug 
store and bought a pregnancy test. When she got home she pissed on the 
stick and waited. The test was positive. Annabelle started to cry. This 
wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. She bumped into someone as 
she exited the bathroom. It was Drew.

	"Anna, what's wrong?", he asked concerned.

	"Drew, I wanna be with you". She looked up at him teary-eyed. 
He hugged her tight while she cried on his shoulder. "I love you", 
Annabelle mumbled.

	"I love you too, Anna. Don't cry". Drew lifted her up and 
carried her into her room. He layed her on her bed. "You should go to 
sleep. I'll talk to you in the morning". Drew walked away from the 
bed.

	As he reached the door Annabelle spoke. "Wait. Drew, come 
here". Drew walked over to the bed and sat down. Annabelle sat up and 
kissed him passionately. She then started kissing his ear, his neck, 
his collarbone. Then she began the process of taking off his 
shirt.

	"Anna". He stopped her so he could look into her eyes. "Maybe 
we should take this slow".

	Annabelle pushed him down and sat straddled on top of him. 
"Fuck going slow", she said, fully removing his shirt and then her 
own.

	The next morning Annabelle woke up in the security of Drew's 
arms. A feeling that gave her chills. Drew moaned softly in his sleep. 
'He's so cute', Annabelle thought.

	Drew opened his eyes and smiled. He caught a whiff of 
Annabelle's hair and sighed.

	"Morning, Anna", Drew whispered.

	"Morning, Drewy". She looked into his eyes before kissing him 
softly. "I love waking up with you", she said peacefully.

	"Me too". He stroked her cheek. "I love you so much". A tear 
escaped Annabelle's eye. Drew wiped it away with his thumb.

	"I'm really happy". 'Happier then you were with Justin?'. Drew 
wanted to ask. He wondered if she still loved him. They went out for 
almost two years and it had only been about a month since their break 
up. Was she over him?

	Later that morning Drew took a shower. He had had a wonderful 
morning with Annabelle and was in an extremely good mood. So, he 
started singing.

	Nick dragged himself out of bed. It was a holiday, Labor day. 
Nobody had work and nobody had school. So, they had a band meeting. 
Jeff and J were already sitting on the couch.

	"It's good of you to finally join us, Nick", J said with a 
smirk.

	"Shut up, shithead", Nick grumbled as he took a seat on a 
chair.

	"We need to get to the business at hand, guys". Jeff made sure 
he had their attention before continuing. "We need another member. We 
don't have a band without at least another guy".

	The guys heard singing. It was the song "I'll Make Love To You" 
by Boyz 11(2) Men.

	"Is that Drew singing?", J asked.

	"I think so", Nick answered.

	"He's good".

	"I had no idea he could sing. All he ever talks about is being 
an EMT".

	"Let's vote on having Drew be our new member", Jeff said. "All 
those in favor say Aye".

	"Aye", Nick, J, and Jeff said in unison.

	"All those not in favor say Nay". There was silence. "Then it's 
settled. When he comes out of the bathroom we'll corner him".

	Five minutes later Drew came out of the bathroom in only a 
towel. The guys all jumped in front of him.

	"Hey, guys", Drew said. He tried to push through them but they 
wouldn't budge.

	"Hey, Drew", J said with a smile.

	"What's going on?", Drew asked.

	"Hey Drew, you wanna be in our band?", Nick asked 
nonchalantly.

	"I don't know". The three guys kneeled in front of him 
begging.

	"Please, Drew. We need a fourth member", Nick pleaded.

	"Yeah, and you have a kick ass voice. Come on, man", Jeff 
added.

	"Yeah, what they said", J agreed.

	"Sure, why not?", Drew replied.

	"Cool". The guys got up and sat back down on the furniture. 
Drew began to leave the room.

	"Where are you going? We need to make plans and set up gigs", 
Jeff said to Drew.

	"I wanna get dressed". The guys suddenly became aware that Drew 
was only in a towel.

	"Oh sorry, dude. We hadn't noticed", J said. Then Drew went to 
his room and changed. When he was done he went to Annabelle's room. She 
was sitting on her bed thinking.

	"Hey, baby", Drew said as he walked towards her.

	"Hiya, Drewy". She got up and kissed him. "I missed 
you".

	"Ditto. Anna, are we a couple now? Do you wanna be my 
girlfriend?".

	"Yes and yes". They both smiled before kissing again.

	"I'm glad. Guess what just happened to me?".

	"You came in my room and asked me to be your girlfriend?".

	"No. Well, yes that too. The guys just asked me to be in their 
band".

	"That's wonderful!".

	"Thanks".

	"Shouldn't you guys be talking or something?".

	"Yes, but I had to get dressed. I had just come out of the 
shower".

	"Oh. I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat". The two walked 
out of Annabelle's room hand in hand.

	"Hey guys, what's with the hand holding?", Jeff asked the 
pair.

	"We're going out", Drew said proudly. He snuck a smile at 
Annabelle.

	"Cool", Nick said with a smile.

	"Yeah", J agreed.

	Drew and Annabelle walked into the kitchen and made 
toast.

	Twenty minutes later the guys were deep into the meeting. 
Annabelle sat next to Drew, observing.

	"I can get Friday off. Tony can ride my cab", J said.

	"Me too. As long as Carl takes my shift like he promised", Jeff 
added.

	"Nick and I don't have jobs", Drew said with a smile.

	"Great! I'll call Pierre back", J said while picking up the 
phone.

	"...Bonjour Pierre. Comment ca va?...ca va bien, merci...c'est 
tres bien!...zut! Mercredi? Non, c'est Vendredi...pas 
possible...".

	"What the fuck is he saying?", Annabelle asked.

	"I don't know. It's French", Drew answered.

	"Well duh". He lightly elbowed her. They smiled before 
kissing.

	"Oui! Merci beaucoup!...et toi...oui...oui...".

	"Tell him 'Fubar, tu poisson' ", Drew suggested. It was the 
only French thing he knew. J waved a hand at him to shut up.

	"...aur revior, Pierre", J said finishing the conversation. 
"Why would I tell him that Drew?". Drew shrugged. "You said 'fuck you, 
you fish' ". Drew blushed.

	"I didn't know what it meant".

	"So, what did he say?", Jeff asked.

	"Well, he said at first that the gig was for Wednesday, but I 
told him it was Friday. So, he asked if I could change it to Wednesday. 
I said it wasn't possible. So he fixed it eventually and we're on". The 
guys all high fived.

	"This is great!", Drew said. "How many weeks away?".

	"One", Nick answered.

	"One? This Friday? I hafta learn the songs in five days? This 
is impossible!".

	"Dude, it's okay. You only need to learn three songs by Friday. 
Plus an encore. Ya know if they like us", J reasoned.

	"That's four songs!".

	"Five, actually". Drew put his head in his hands. Annabelle 
pulled him near and wrapped her arms around him.

	"It'll be okay, sweetheart", she said seriously. "I believe in 
you". He looked up with a smile. Then he kissed her. It deepened.

	"Um...guys...Hey...guys...Drew...Annabelle...Yo!", Jeff yelled. 
They broke apart.

	"What?", they asked in unison.

	"Spare us". Annabelle blushed.

	"Sorry". Drew took Annabelle's hand. They smiled at each other 
and stared into each others eyes. Annabell placed her hand on Drew's 
cheek. They leaned in.

	"If you guys need to do that you have your own rooms. Wait, 
check that. Go to Annie's room. I gotta share a room with Drew", Nick 
said with a smirk.

	"Fine, we know when we're unwanted. Let's go, Drew", Annabelle 
said with a smile. They went into Annabelle's room.

	"Those two are really friendly, huh?", J observed.

	"Well, duh! Dude, don't you know what happened before?", Nick 
asked.

	"No, nobody would tell me".

	"Annabelle and Drew fucked. Justin walked in. There was a fight 
and Annabelle found out Justin was fucking her twin sister, Annabella. 
So, she kicked him out".

	"Whoa! I never knew...Annabelle's parents weren't very 
creative".

	"Huh?".

	"Annabelle and Annabella".

	"Oh, I get it".

	Annabelle and Drew were sitting no her bed making out. 
Annabelle stopped Drew.

	"We should go out tonight".

	"You mean as an official date?".

	"Yep. Nothing fancy. I just wanna be with you". Drew 
smiled.

	"Okay, baby. I'd love to". Annabelle smiled and the two 
continued their kissing.


TO BE CONTINUED...