~* Chapter One *~

    Nick Carter gritted his teeth as he watched April Marshalls from his 
bedroom window. The pain was killing him inside. 
    He’d been in love with April for over two years and yet, she never 
acknowledged how he felt. He sighed. Maybe it was because they’ve been best 
friends for so long, she never thought he’d feel that way for her.
    Walking hand in hand with Brandon Moreno, April was a picture of 
perfection. As she turned to smile up at Brandon, Nick could just see her 
light violet eyes sparkling, the dimples in her cheeks deepening as she 
smiled, her soft pink lips stretching across her mouth. 
    Nick leaned his forehead against the cold surface of the window and 
watched until April and Brandon disappeared around the corner. 
    He turned and sighed heavily again. He needed to talk to someone. Howie 
was the only one home. Maybe I’ll go talk to him, Nick thought, heading 
across the hall to the bathroom door.
    “Howie!” he shouted. “Open up!”
    “Wait!” Howie Dorough yelled through the other side of the door. “Give 
me a second.”
    “I don’t have a second! Open up the damn door!” Nick pounded his fist
on 
the door. There was momentary silence before the door was flung open to 
reveal Howie standing there, a towel wrapped around his hips, his long black 
hair dripping wet, freshly out of the shower. 
    He glowered at Nick. “I was in the shower. Do you have any patience?”
    “I need to talk to you,” Nick simply replied. “About April.”
    Howie sighed. “What is it?” He leaned against the doorway and crossed 
his arms on his chest, waiting for Nick to reply to his question.
    “Okay...well....” Nick stammered. “You know April, right?”
    “No, Nick, I don’t. She’s only your best friend in the world, but I
have 
no clue who she is.”
    “Okay, so you know who she is...?”
    Howie rolled his eyes. “Good Lord, you are so blonde! How do you live 
with yourself?”
    “It’s tough, I tell you,” Nick joked, his humor coming back to him.
    Howie punched Nick on the arm. “Will you get on with it? I’m getting 
ready to go on a date with Claudia.”
    Nick rubbed his arm and glared at Howie for a moment before continuing. 
“Well...I’m...sort of...in love with her.” He was silent as he waited for 
Howie to respond. He was sure he’d be surprise.
    Howie continued to stare at him. When Nick said nothing else, Howie 
spoke. “That’s it?”
    Nick frowned. “Well, yeah, what else would it be?”
    “I don’t know, but that’s nothing new, Nick. Everyone knows you’ve
been 
in love with April for a while,” Howie replied, rolling his eyes. He brushed 
past the astonished looking Nick down the hall towards his bedroom.
    “What do you mean?” Nick trailed along behind him.
    “Come on, Nick,” Howie replied. “April’s been with us for over two 
years, did you think none of us would notice that you’ve been in love with 
her? AJ in particular, has been very observant, considering he and April are 
cousins.”
    Nick was silent as he thought of this. He was about to step into Howie’s 
room behind him when Howie held up his hand, stopping Nick from coming 
further.
    “This is where the conversation stops, Nick,” Howie said, raising an 
eyebrow. “I need to get ready. I’m picking Claudia up at her house in half 
an hour. Go bug someone else.”
    “But...but..” Nick protested.
    “Later,” Howie waved him away before closing the door in his face.
    As the door closed, Nick frowned thoughtfully. “I need to talk to 
someone,” he murmured softly, running an agitated hand through his mussed 
blonde hair.
    Suddenly, as if an answer to his prayer, the front door opened and 
slammed, followed by the soft chuckle of a deep voice. Nick’s dark blue  eyes 
lit up. Immediately, he turned and tore down the stairs.
    “Brian!” he screamed, nearly stumbling over the bottom steps in his 
haste to reach his best friend. 
    Brian Littrell looked up startled, beside him, his wife, Leighanne lifted 
astonished eyes to his face. “We’re happy to see you too, Nick,” Brian jo
ked, smiling in amusement as Nick approached them, face flushed, 
breathing ragged.
    “Brian,” Nick wheezed. “I need to talk to you.”
    Brian’s face scrunched up to one of confusion. “Okay...” 
    “Hi Leighanne, bye Leighanne,” Nick said in a hurry as he grabbed 
Brian’s wrist and dragged him to the kitchen.
    “Uh, hello,” Leighanne called, her voice laced with humor as she watched 
them rush to the kitchen, Brian trying to slow down his friend.
    “Okay, what was that all about?” Brian demanded as they entered the k
itchen. As they sat at the kitchen table, Brian studied Nick’s frustrated 
expression. “What’s wrong?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.
    “It’s about April,” Nick replied, turning sad eyes over to his friend.
    “What’s up? You guys got into a fight?” Brian asked. 
    “No, no it’s not that,” Nick shook his head, propping his chin in his 
hand as he thought hard. “It’s just that...” Nick trailed off and looked
up 
at Brian. “I’m so in love with her and I can’t do anything about it.”
    Brian was taken back by the anger and frustration in his voice. He sought 
for the words to comfort him but couldn’t find any. He said the only thing 
that came to mind at the moment. “Why don’t you just tell her?”
    Nick’s head shot up as he glared at his friend. “In case you’re 
forgetting, she has a boyfriend?”
    “Yeah, but...” Brian struggled to find the right words. “It won’t
hurt 
to let her know how you feel about her. I mean, if you were in her position, 
and she was in love with you, wouldn’t you want to know anyway?”
    Nick thought about this. “Yes...”
    “Well there you go,” Brian cried triumphantly. “So tell her.”
    “But...I...well...” Nick sighed. “Okay.”
    “Don’t worry, Nick,” Brian said, clapping him on the shoulder as he 
stood up. “Now excuse me, gotta get Leighanne into the den so we can be 
alone.” He rolled his eyes as Nick broke into a grin. “Gutter mind.”