Universal City, California: September 2002

Melissa collapsed onto the floor of the dance studio. She�d been rehearsing all day, and she was exhausted. Her knee was throbbing; her tummy growling. Melissa was more than ready for the day to be over with.

�Okay, okay�� Wade relented. �I know I won�t be able to get anymore out of you today. At least not anything worthwhile. But I want you all here bright and early tomorrow. Eight A.M.- sharp. Got it?�

Melissa groaned. Rolling to her side, she glanced at the clock. It was five o�clock. Nick should be here any minute now. I hope he remembered everything I told him to bring. Melissa curled up into a ball on her side, content to catch a few Z�s before Nick arrived.

All around Melissa, the other dancers gathered up their belongings. Warm-up clothes, Gatorade bottles, and gym bags were scattered all over the studio. One by one, they left the studio; shouting random �goodbyes� as they departed. Only Wade stayed, as he carefully worked out the next day�s choreography.

Melissa heard feet entering the studio. They stopped directly in front of her head. �You alive down there?�

Melissa raised one of her arms above her head. �I don�t know. Do I still have a pulse?�

Laughing, Nick took a hold of Melissa�s hand. He helped her climb to her feet. As soon as Melissa reached a vertical position, she collapsed against Nick�s chest. He had to wrap his arms around her back, just to keep her from melting back into the floor.

�Oh, gross. You�re all sweaty.� Nick commented. He leaned his nose closer to Melissa�s body and took a whiff. �Eww! And smelly!�

That comment caught Melissa�s attention. If she had one pet peeve, it was body odor. She raised her left arm above her head and sniffed. �I am not smelly! I�ll have you know I lathered up on the Caribbean Cool deodorant!�

�I know you don�t smell,� Nick admitted. �I just didn�t want your sweaty body lying all over me.�

�Funny. It didn�t seem to bother you last night.� Said a smiling Melissa.

�I so did not need to hear that!� Wade said, from across the room. Melissa and Nick laughed.

Changing subjects, Melissa asked, �Did you bring me my clothes?�

In response, Nick held up a plastic Gap bag. During her mid-afternoon break, Melissa realized she hadn�t brought a change of clothes for the Carter�s house. She�d called Nick�s cell phone and requested he bring her something.

�Ooo, goody.� Melissa squealed. She opened the bag and fished through its contents. �Wow Nicky, I�m impressed. You put together a pretty nice outfit. I can�t believe you even grabbed me jewelry.�

Nick shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. �You know, accessories do make the outfit.�

�Phillip picked this out, didn�t he?� Melissa realized.

Nick nodded. �I figured you�d trust his judgement better then my own.�

�You�re right.� Melissa agreed. She pulled her sweaty *NSYNC crop top over her head, and tossed it on the floor. Then she wiggled her way into a purple tie-dyed T-shirt. Melissa stripped out of her warm-ups next, and into a pair of khaki cargo shorts. Her black dansneakers were discarded for a pair of purple Pumas. She then tossed her sweaty dance clothes into the Gap bag. �Okay, I�ll do the rest of the primping in the car. Let�s go.�

Melissa led Nick out of Moro Landis Millennium Dance Complex, towards the parking lot. She instantly recognized her brown Chevrolet truck. She�d leant it to Nick for the day to drive around. It was now parked in the handicapped spot. Melissa shook her head and Nick disapprovingly. �Nicky��

�I know, I know. I parked illegally. But I was just going to run in and get you.� Nick defended himself.

�You�re just lucky it didn�t get towed away. I don�t know what I�d do if I lost Butch.� Melissa spoke affectionately of her truck. �Butch,� as she so fondly called the car, was mammoth. It was the type of truck that was so wide it took up two parking spaces. As Melissa described it, Butch was �butt-brown�-colored, with a band or orange. A gun rack in the back and a �Made In Idaho� bumper sticker completed the theme. �Will you drive? I still have primping to do.�

Nick agreed, and headed to the driver�s side. He opened the door easily. Melissa never locked it. �Why should I?� Nick remembered her saying. �No one in their right mind would ever want to steal Butch.� As tall as he was, Nick still had to hop up to get into the monstrous truck. Once inside, he settled himself into the bench seat, which Melissa had hand-upholstered in a red, bandana-like material.

Once Melissa was seated next to Nick, he put the key in the ignition and was on his way. It was almost an hour drive to the Carter house. While Nick was busy navigating his way through traffic, Melissa was rummaging through her CD collection. She finally found a CD to her liking, and popped it into the discman. Guns �N Roses blared through the speakers.

�I have to listen to butt-rock when I�m in this car,� Melissa explained to Nick. �It makes me feel all powerful.�

�I�ll agree with you on that one,� Nick said happily. He loved the way he towered over all the other cars on the road. Driving along the California highway, windows rolled down and hair blowing in the wind. Life was definitely good.

��sweet child o�mine�� Melissa sang along in her off-key voice. She was carefully rummaging through the contents of the Gap bag, looking through what Phillip had packed her. She smiled when she discovered a bundle of sparkly purple bangle bracelets. Those were added to her forearms, while a braided purple leather anklet was fastened above her Pumas. It matched the braided leather belt her wore.

�That�s a cute outfit Phillip put together for ya,� Nick commented.

Melissa nodded, a happy smile on her face. �Yeah, it�s pretty cool to have a junior fashion designer for Tommy Hilfiger as a roommate.�

Nick knew he had to keep his eyes on the road, but he couldn�t help but glance over at Melissa from time to time. She retrieved a brush from her dance bag, and was busy coming through her mass of auburn curls. �They only grow hair like this in Texas.� Nick had remembered Melissa telling him that quite a lot when they were younger.

Once the snarls were combed out of her hair, Melissa worked diligently. She molded her hair into two, even braids. Then she tied a purple bandana on top of her head. Nick recognized the style. Whenever Melissa didn�t want to deal with her hair, she wore it in that way. She wore the style so often, in fact, Nick had begun to tell her she looked like the little girl on the Swiss Miss hot chocolate packages.

�Its Swiss Meliss!� Nick said, remembering his old nickname for Melissa.

She giggled. �I can�t believe you remember that! I don�t know why you thought I looked like the Swiss Miss girl�because I sure as hell don�t have blonde hair and blue eyes.�

�Who knows,� Nick laughed. �We were so little at the time.�

�You were little.� Melissa corrected. �That was back when I used to be tall.�

�That�s right,� Nick agreed. �Used to be, shorty. You stopped growing when we were- what, 12?�

�Eleven. I kept hoping I�d be 5�7,� but my head never moved past that 5�3� mark.�

�That�s okay,� Nick consoled Melissa. �5�7� is too tall. At 5�3,� you�re just perfect for me to rest my chin on your head. When you�re wearing your cowboy boots, that is.�

�Great,� Melissa rolled her eyes. �That�s been my greatest dream- to be Nick Carter�s leaning post. Get real, Nickers. I�m not one of your teenyboppers.�

�No, you reserve your teenybopper status for Britney Spears.� Nick noted.

�And what is wrong with Britney?� Melissa asked.

�She can�t sing,� Nick stated.

�True,� Melissa agreed. �But she�s a total sweetheart. And an amazing dancer.�

�And she�s hot,� Nick said, with a nod of his head. �Don�t get me wrong. It�s not that I don�t like Britney. She�s a cool gal. I just think there are other artists more deserving of your worship.�

�Let�s not even start this fight, okay?� Melissa asked. �Because I know we could end up arguing for hours about this, when its really so stupid.�

�Agreed.� Said Nick.

�Good. I�m glad we can agree on something.� Melissa pulled down her sun visor. A mirror was clipped to the back of it. She began to fasten gigantic silver hoops into her ears.

�Damn, those things are huge!� Nick gapped. �I bet you can fit your whole wrist into the hoop.�

�Let�s try,� Melissa suggested. Sure enough, her hand easily fit through the big hoops.

�You have tiny arms though,� Nick reasoned. �Scooch closer.�

Melissa followed Nick�s instructions. She unbuckled her seatbelt and moved into the middle seat. Her legs straddled the clutch. Nick removed one of his hands from the steering wheel. He took a hold of Melissa, wrapping his fingers around her upper arm. His middle finger and his thumb touched to form a circle. �Damn girl, you�re scrawny. You need to buff up.�

�I know,� Melissa groaned. If there was one thing she hated about her body, it was her wussy little arms. �I can do push-ups all day long, but it doesn�t seem to matter. I can�t grow any muscle up there.�

�Aww�there, there.� Consoled Nick. He placed Melissa�s head on his shoulder, and patted it affectionately. She curled her legs up beside her on the bench seat.

Melissa wrapped one of her arms around Nick�s inner thigh, until it came to a rest on the underside of his leg. She twirled some of his leg hair around her index finger. Feeling rather turned on, Nick stifled a groan.

�You�re such a tease,� Nick moaned. He was mustering up all his strength not to succumb to Melissa�s whims.

�Who? Me?� Melissa batted her eyelashes innocently. Relenting, she stopped playing with his leg hair. But her hand stayed put. Apologizing, she said, �I�m sorry. I had to distract myself. I�m actually getting a little anxious about the dinner.�

�Anxious?� Nick questioned, not quite understanding. �Why? It�s no big deal. These people are like a second family to you.�

�No, Nickers. They�re not,� said Melissa. �They were like a second family to me. But they haven�t been for years. I haven�t seen them since before you made it in the U.S. I just don�t know how to handle this situation.�

Nick took one of his hands off the steering wheel. He placed it on top of Melissa�s bandana-covered head. �Baby girl, don�t worry about it. My family is excited to see you again. I�ve been filling them in one what�s been going on, and they�re happy for us. Plus, you talk to BJ all the time.�

�I guess,� Melissa said reluctantly.

�No time for questioning,� said Nick. He turned the truck into a driveway. �Because we�re here.�

Nick turned off the car�s ignition. He leaned over and kissed Melissa affectionately on the cheek. She smiled warmly back at him, silently sending him a signal that she�d be �okay.� Together, they helped one another out of the car.

�Lissie!� called out a voice. Once Nick had successfully helped Melissa to the ground, she was instantly attacked by a hug.

�Mmph�hi, Beeg.� Melissa spat out. Her voice was a bit muffled due to BJ�s tight embrace. �A little happy to see me, ain�t ya?�

BJ took a step backwards, releasing Melissa from the hug. A large smile played across the pretty blonde girl�s face. BJ wrapped one arm around Melissa�s shoulders, and the other across her brothers. �I�m not happy to see you. I�m happy to see the two of you, together. I�ve been waiting a long time for this.�

Both Melissa and Nick blushed uncomfortably. It was the ultimate cliche in friendships-turned-relationships. How to create a smooth transition from being friends into being more then friends?

�Thanks for not putting any pressure on out new relationship or anything,� Nick said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and gave his little sister a noogie.

BJ weaseled out of her brother�s headlock. �Yeah, well, I�ve never been one for tact.�

�That�s for sure,� Melissa agreed. �Remember the time you described to Nick and Brent what I looked like naked?�

�Oh my God!� Exclaimed BJ. �Did I really do that?�

Melissa nodded. �That you did. I was traumatized. I refused to show my face around the boys for a week!�

�That�s awful!� BJ exclaimed. She pulled Melissa into a comforting hug. �I can�t believe I did that. How old was I?�

�I think I�d just turned 10,� Melissa said. She momentarily paused to gather her thoughts. I guess that means you were 8-ish.�

�Hmm�,� said BJ. �I guess I was still pretty little. I wonder why I can�t remember it?�

�The better question is,� Nick spoke up. �I wonder why I can�t remember it?!?! Damn, I should have taken notes!�

�Oh, eww!� Melissa explained. She pulled herself away from BJ and began to hit Nick roughly. �That�s so gross. I was just a little girl!�

Nick caught Melissa�s wrists in his hands, disabling her from continuing to attack him. �I was just kidding, baby girl.�

Melissa�s eyes locked with Nick�s as the two silently fought. Ever since they�d first become friends, the two had possessed this amazing ability to talk without talking. To the outsider, it was a little creepy.

Their silent conversation ended when each burst into a fit of laughter. Nick moved behind Melissa, wrapping his arms around her waist. He burrowed his head into the crevice of her neck and let out a large chuckle.

Nearby, BJ shuddered. �You two always weird me out. Come on- let�s go see if dinner�s ready.�

Melissa tried to follow BJ into the house, but it was rather difficult, since Nick was still attached to her. Eventually, they compromised. Melissa stood on Nick�s feet, while he walked for the both of them.

�So how are things going around the house?� Nick asked his sister.

Sighing, BJ rolled her eyes. She ran a hand throughout her long golden hair, �Not too well. Especially since everyone is off-tour�you, Aaron and Leslie. As big as this house is, its too small for all of us. We�re driving ourselves crazy.�

Nick�s voice got softer. You could almost hear how painful his family�s bickering was. �What about Mom and Dad? How are they getting along?�

�They avoid each other as much as possible. I think they�re both anxious for you to get out on the road again- so Dad�s out of the house, and out of Mom�s hair.� BJ explained sullenly. The threesome had come to a stop on the front porch- hovering before the threshold.

Melissa could sense BJ and Nick�s discomfort. Like any children, they fretted about their family problems. From what Melissa had gathered over the last few months, the Carter family had more then their fair share of dysfunction.

To ease Nick�s worrisome nature, Melissa rubbed his thigh affectionately. Her tough brought Nick back to reality. He shook his head and straightened himself out. �I�m starving. Let�s see what�s on the grill.�

Nick let Melissa squirm out of his grasp. Single-file, the threesome entered the Carter house: BJ, Nick and Melissa. The Carter�s had purchased the suburban LA home after Nick and Melissa had stopped talking, so this was her first venture inside.

The front hallway looked like it could have been out of any American home: lined with framed photos of family members. There was only one difference. Most American homes don�t include framed photos of family members posing next to Steven Tyler.

Fascinated, Melissa slowed down her pace, as she paused to look at each picture. Having dealt with Melissa�s obsession for famous people, Nick knew there�d be no tearing her away from the hallway. He kissed her affectionately on the cheek, near her ear. �I�m going to go say hi to the family. You take your time."

Melissa nodded, not taking her eyes off the wall. The photos filled her in on the five years she and Nick hadn�t talked. She watched the Carter�s grow up before her very eyes.

In the distance, Melissa could faintly hear the sounds of Nick reuniting with his family. Luckily, the Carter clan was so large, it�d take Nick awhile to greet each member. There�d be plenty of time before someone even noticed Melissa�s absence.

The photos were displayed chronologically, with the most recent by the door. As she walked closer to Nick�s voice, it was as if watching his life in rewind.

Just before joining the rest of the Carter�s, one photo caught her eye. She stopped in front of it.

Two happy looking kids smiled back at her. Nick and Melissa were sitting in the office of a South Carolina hotel. Looking at the picture, Melissa had to laugh. She hadn�t thought about that day in ages. But it reminded her of all the trouble and fun they�d had as children.

Please send me feedback! Or if you want to know when this site is updated, email me!!!

� 2000 [email protected]