~* Chapter Two *~

    April dug her teeth into her bottom lip as she thought of a way to 
approach Brandon about her situation. Beside  her, Brandon was smiling, 
completely unaware of what April was about to lay on him.
    “Brandon...” she began, hesitating. She bit her lip and sighed. She 
gently took his hand in hers and squeezed it as the words came tumbling out 
in a rush. “I think we need to break up. It’s not the same anymore. I still 
love you, but it’s different now. I can’t explain it.”
    Brandon looked down at her, his facial expression mirroring the shock in 
his dark gray eyes. 
    April rushed on. “I’m sorry, Brandon, just know that I still love you. 
Just not in the same way.”
    “But...why?” Brandon could only let out. 
    “Because...” April dug her teeth into her bottom lip and frowned. “I 
just don’t love you that way anymore.” She struggled to keep herself hard as 
Brandon’s gray eyes filled with sudden tears. “Don’t be like that,” her 
voice came out taut and rough. “We can still be friends.”
    “But April-” Brandon’s voice caught. Finally he added in a low
whimper, 
“I love you.”
    “I love you, too,” April sighed. “But...it can’t be.”
    “No,” Brandon suddenly said, getting to his feet. His face flushed with 
his anger. “You just don’t want it to be. Admit it.”
    “No, Brandon, that’s not true. I-” 
    “Just...just...” Brandon let out a sound of frustration from his throat. 
“Forget this, I’m out of here.” With that, he turned his back and walked 
away from the park, his long legs striding down the street...away from her. 
    April sat there on the bench, a little surprised that she and Brandon had 
finally come to an end, and yet, a little relieved all the same. 
    She stood up and sighed heavily before turning and heading towards her 
home, a mere two blocks away. As she walked, thoughts of Brandon and her 
through the year that they’ve been together flitted through her mind.
    She and Brandon had met about a year earlier at her best friend, Heather 
Brockman’s party. In fact, Brandon was Heather’s cousin and was introduced 
to each other by her. April had been talking to another one of her friends 
when Heather came up and tapped her on the shoulder, Brandon in tow.
    “April, meet my cousin, Brandon Moreno. Brandon, this is her. Happy 
now?” Heather, always the blunt one, turned and smiled at her cousin who’s 
face flushed brightly red from embarrassment.
    April laughed. “Hi, Brandon.”
    “Hey,” Brandon gave her an easy smile, which had turned butterflies over 
in her stomach. Lately, however, the butterflies were gone and nothing but 
emptiness filled her whenever she was with Brandon. April sighed.
    "Hey April," a cheery voice called out to her.
    April glanced up and found Howie just coming out of the house, waving a 
hand at her. She  flashed a smile at him. "Hey Howie. Where are you off to?"
    "Picking up Claudia," he replied, pausing at the car door to glance at 
her.
    "Big date?"
    "Nah, just a regular everyday outing with her," Howie shrugged 
nonchalantly.
    April grinned. "Ahh, big date then."
    Howie laughed. "All right, I'll see you later when I get home." He opened 
his car door and climbed in, giving April a smile and a quick wave.
    "Details!"
    He nodded as he turned the engine on and backed slowly out of the 
driveway. April stood at the front door for a few minutes before heading back 
inside the house where she met complete silence. She furrowed her eyebrows a 
little and slowly closed the door behind her.
    Where are the guys? She thought to herself as she slid her shoes off and 
placed them by the door. She glanced around. 
    Suddenly, the door to the kitchen opened and out walked Nick, a small 
frown on his face.
    "Hi Nick," she greeted, then stopped short as Nick gave a tiny yelp and 
whirled around, his hand to his heart. 
    "April!" he cried, his eyebrows nearly flying off his head at the sight 
of her. "What are you doing here?"
    "I live here, Nick," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing 
here?"
    "Oh, I...um..I," Nick stammered. "I live here too, jeez, you scared me."
    She broke into a grin. "Sorry."
    Nick gazed at her for a moment, a strange look on his face.
    "What is it?" she asked, catching his look. 
    "Nothing," he murmured, shaking his head. He followed April to the couch 
where he sat a comfortable distance away from her. "So..." He shifted a 
little and looked over at her. "Where's Brandon? Wasn't he with you about 
half an hour ago?"
    He watched as a flicker of emotion crossed over her delicate features 
before she cleared her throat and answered in a soft voice, "Yeah, I broke up 
with him at the park, and he went home..."
    "Oh, I'm...I'm sorry," Nick softly said, scooting over to her.
    "It's all right," April nodded as she gently smiled up at him. "I just 
lost my feelings for him, and well, I couldn't just keep hiding how I felt. 
He had a right to know."
    "Oh...yeah," Nick looked away, her words reminding him of what he had to 
tell her. "I know what you mean..."
    The silence between them stretched on as each thought about what to say. 
April slightly frowned at the unusual tension between them, something she 
never experienced.
    She then made the mistake of looking up at Nick at that exact moment, for 
when she did, she met Nick's dark blue eyes, and in them, she found an 
expression she couldn't read, but knew she was familiar with. She couldn't 
place her finger on the emotion, but somehow, her heart gave a little thud.
    The tiny sparkle which was enveloping Nick's eyes suddenly disappeared at 
the knowledge that she had caught him looking. Embarrassed, Nick turned pink 
and looked away.
    "Hey, what's wrong?" April asked, reached up and grabbing his chin in her 
hand and forcing him to look at her.
    "Nothing," Nick replied, giving her a tiny grin. 
    "Yeah...right," April rolled her eyes.
    "Dum-de-dum-dum-DUM!"
    "Shut up!"
    "What'd I do?"
    "You're being annoying."
    "Is that a surprise?"
    "Will you-argh!"
    "All right, all right, keep your panties on." A soft snicker followed 
that statement, which was followed by a loud thud and a sharp cry. "Ow, 
dammit, Kevin!"
    Nick and April both scooted away from each other as the sound of AJ 
McLean and Kevin Richardson at their front door met their ears.
    "You guys," a soft feminine voice cried in irritation. "I swear, you guys 
are 5 years old!"
    The sound of the door being unlocked filled the air, and Nick and April 
diverted their attention to the door, watching as the handle turned. The door 
was suddenly flung open and in stumbled Kristine Richardson, Kevin's wife. 
She shot them a warm smile when she spotted them on the couch. "Hi you two, 
what are you doing?"
    "Just having a conversation," April smiled.
    AJ popped in behind her and grinned. "Hey April."
    "Hi April," Kevin greeted her, walking in behind AJ and shoving him 
forward. "Keep moving."
    "Pushy, pushy," AJ tsked-tsked and with one quick grin at the two on the 
couch, he bounded up the stairs towards his room.
    "There are times when I want to pretend I don't know that boy," Kevin 
remarked, watching AJ run upstairs. His wife turned to him and warmly smiled.
    "You already do."