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The next concert was another half a day away, so as soon as the concert, then the Meet and Greet, then the dodging of the hoards of screaming fans, was over, everyone boarded the bus again. Kendal was first, since the number of people fighting to get her autograph was relativly low. She changed quickly into a pair of gray sweat shorts and a long Tweety Bird tee that fell down past her knees. She collapsed on the couch in the TV room, with a comforter pulled around her, and her trusty book under her nose.

The Backstreet Boys' part of the concert was, she hated to admit, pretty damn good. It wasn't at all like she'd expected. Who would have guessed that they could put as much emotion into those songs of theirs as bands who actually wrote and produced their own? And, what's more, none of them were exactly hard on the eyes.

"Kendal?" A door in the front of the bus slammed open. "You in here?" There was another, more muffled comment, and then a resigned 'sorry' in a voice that sounded like Nick's. Kendal rolled her eyes.

"I'm back here." She called, and a few seconds later, Brian appeared at the door, followed by most of the rest of his band. Nick wasn't there. "You did awesome tonight, Kendal." He told her, and, before she could stop him, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She found herself hugging back.

"You didn't do nearly as badly as I expected." She said back, and they all laughed.

"Wow." AJ said, half-smiling at her. "High praise."

Kendal ignored him and went back to her book. "Hey, you mind if we join you in here?" Kevin asked.

She shook her head. "It's your bus."

"It's yours, too."

Kendal just shrugged. Someone flipped the TV on, and they settled on an old, black and white cowboy movie. It was one of the tackiest movies ever made, in Kendal's oppinion. They actually used the phrase, 'this town ain't big enough for the two of us'. She put her book down, and let herself get engrossed in the amazingly weak plot line, along with the rest of them.

The bus rattled along the highway deep into the night. Kendal and Brian sat up in the back room long after everyone else had gone to bed. "Kendal." Brian said suddenly, breaking the silence that had long ago falled between them. She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Why do you hate everyone?"

Her face clouded over, and Brian watched a medley of emotions pass across her features. Anger came first, trailed by more heartfelt anger, and then a touch of confusion, a tinge of standoffishness, and a state of deep though before she finally seemed to settle on snappishness. "I've never said to you that I hated anyone, Brian, much less everyone. You know, just because I'm not Little Miss Sunshine, doesn't mean that I hate everyone." She sighed, and her glare relaxed just a little. "I might not be like most of the people you're used to being with. But I don't take pain very well. And putting myself out there, letting myself get close to total strangers who've built up no trust with me whatsoever, that just doesn't appeal to me."

Brian looked at her, thoughfully, for a minute after she finished talking. She began to feel uncomfortable under his anylizing gaze, and she squirmed a little. "You don't hate us, then?"

Kendal shrugged. "I don't hate Howie and Kevin. I don't hate AJ, but I don't plan on getting to know AJ, either. I actually kind of like you. But, yes, I'll admit, I do not like Nick. I don't think I'd go so far as to say I hated him, but I dislike him with a very strong passion."

Brian smiled. "You kind of like me?"

Kendal shrugged. "I guess you could say that you're growing on me." She admitted.

"Well," Brian said, looking up into her eyes, "I guess you could say that you've grown on me, too. I have to admit that I rather like you, too."

"Well, good." Kendal said. Her voice was still void of any emotion. "Then it's settled. We can both stand each other's company. How quiant." She stood, and walked to the door of the room. "Good night, Brian." And she made her way to her bunk.

Brian watched her go. Though their conversation had been vague, he felt that he could read a little deeper into Kendal's implications that she'd wanted him to. She'd been hurt before, that much was obvious. And judging from the scene that took place the night before, it had probably been by an old boyfriend. No wonder she was wary of the guys. And, after all, they'd only known her for two days. Maybe if they all just gave her time, eventually, they could crack her shell.