He looked up and saw a girl, she had short blond hair barely pulled back in a ponytail and blue eyes that seemed to sparkle dressed in overalls and a red shirt and she helped him up and all he could word out was "Thanks."
"No problem, but hey your lip is bleeding you should get that checked out." she said as she pointed at his lip.
And all he could say once again was "Thanks"
And her getting pretty frustrated "Can all you say is thanks?"
"No"
She laughed a little and pulled a napkin out her pocket and handed it to him as she said "Thanks and no, cool words." he laughed just a little "And you laughed, we are getting somewhere." The bell ringed from inside "Come on you need to go see a nurse."
She held out her hand and he looked at her and then grabbed her hand and she laughed once again and pulled him inside the building.
His thoughts were broken when he heard their name being called over the microphone and the room erupted in screams and cheers and his girlfriend kissed him as she said "Go, you guys won."
He followed the other guys up onto the stage as they accepted their award and afterwards they walked off stage to the back and they were all cheering glad they had won as Brian asked "What's up with you?"
"Nothing, why do you ask?"
"You just seemed dazed or something I just asked."
They all noticed he had been acting strange lately but they brushed it off as him being himself, actually lately he'd really been thinking about his best and only friend from when he was a kid. He didn't know why but he really wanted to see her, he wanted to know how she was doing and if she ever made it.
He was in his bedroom laid across the bed bored out his mind when his pregnant mother walked into his room and he sat up "Honey, there is a little girl at the door for you."
He got up and ran downstairs and he saw her sitting on the couch, her short hair still in a ponytail dressed in a white shirt and blue jean shorts and when she saw him she jumped up and smiled and so did he confused as he asked "What are you doing here?"
"At school,you did not seem to have many friends."
"I have friends." he said quickly to defend himself.
She crossed her arms as she said "If you say so...so when you fell why didn't anyone come to your aid and why did everyone laugh and at lunch-"
"Okay, okay." he said rolling his eyes and turning from her.
"Yeah, that's what I thought so I was thinking maybe you want to hang out with me." she said once again crossing her arms.
"You're a chick, I don't play with dolls and wear makeup and-"
"See, I'm not that type of girl, you want to or not?"
He looked her over and saw maybe it wouldn't be so bad "Yeah I guess, What's your name?"
"Lisa and you're Nick I know, come on let's go." she walked out the door and he followed her. They were both walking and he wondered why she came over if she didn't have anything planned to do so he asked "Where are we going? We are just walking."
"I don't know. What do you want to do?"
"Whatever you usually do."
She stopped and so did he as she said "You can't handle me see...I play basketball and I'm going to be the first girl in the NBA."
He burst out laughing and he wouldn't stop and she got very angry and when he saw this he said still laughing "Yeah right, in your dreams."
"And what exactly do you plan to be?"
"A singer or actor whatever comes first."
She started laughing as he did her before, as she said "Yeah right, you couldn't sing a note if it came and slapped you on the forehead."
He stood directly infront of her "You couldn't make a shot if God picked you up and placed you in front of the hoop."
She pushed him away "I bet I can beat you."
"Try me."
They both went to the basketball court on the side of her house in the driveway and she tossed him the ball "First to 21 okay."
"Deal" he was pretty sure he would beat her but once they started playing he was getting mad cause that just wasn't the case. He had never seen a girl play like that before and he was holding his angry in until she started messing with him "I beat you 21 to 11 ha! ha! I won I won...loser I won!" she sang repeatedly and then he pushed her as he yelled "Shut up."
"You shut up, don't get mad cause I beat you, a girl beat you, ha! you-"
She had pushed him to far and before he knew it he had pushed her onto the ground face first, she sat up and touched her cheek which revealed bright red blood on her hand, she just looked up at him and got up and ran off.
He laughed to himself thinking about that not hearing his girlfriend on the couch next to him calling him until "Hey." he looked over at her "What's been up with you, you've been dazing off all week?"
"I've just been thinking, that's all." he said looking ahead at the TV screen before them.
"About what." she asked looking in the book that she was reading before.
He was getting pretty frustrated with all her questions as he said "Just, thinking okay."
"Just you've never really been a deep thinker." she said looking down in the book she was reading.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked looking over at her.
"Nothing, forget it." He watched her get up and walk off.
**********
Claudia was on the phone with Debra sitting by the pool playing with the dog when Claudia released a huge sigh saying "It's boring"
"I know, where is AJ and Alex?"
"Asleep"
"It's only 8 o' clock."
"I ask him to put her to bed and he ended up falling asleep."
Debra laughed as she said "Go wake them up then."
"If you saw how cute they looked you wouldn't be able to disturb them either."
"Well I have to start dinner."
"Okay, I'll call you later."
"Bye"
Claudia tossed the cordless phone over to the side as she grabbed the dog and she heard someone and turned to see AJ and Alex but her daughter was standing on her own as AJ said "Claudia call her, tell her to come to you ."
And she turned standing up "Come to mommy sweetheart, come to mommy." She laughed as Alex walked slowly taking her steps carefully and finally when she reached her she picked her up into her arms "She walked AJ, Did you see her? she walked."
She was so happy as she kissed her daughter and AJ picked her up out her arms and she tried to grab the phone only to fall in the pool backwards and she hit the water with a big splash which made the baby jump a little but then she laughed and started clapping and Claudia quite shocked stood up in the pool and AJ started laughing as he said "You made her laugh."
"But look at me, I fell in, I'm soaked."
"Well get out and dry off, we'll be in the kitchen eating ice cream."
He turned and walked off and she stood there with her jaw on the ground "But-what about me?" and she repeated that several times as she climbed out the pool and went inside.
************
Few days later the guys were on a photo shoot and when they finally got a break Nick went outside and Brian concerned about him followed as he said "Okay, what's been up with you?"
"I've just been thinking lately about Lisa."
"Lisa?" he asked confused trying to figure out if he had ever heard the name before.
"She was a girl I met when I was 11. She was my best friend and only friend right.....and when I turned 13 and got in the group we lost touch and now I've been thinking about her a lot."
"Why?"
"I don't know, I have no idea but I have to get in touch with her, I have to just know ..how's she's doing?"
"Well we'll work on that but, you are gonna have to cheer up Nick."
"You're going to help me find her, find Lisa." he said excitedly.
"Yeah if that.......if it's so serious and important to you."
"Good, yeah okay tomorrow okay."
************
Lisa had just got time off for the first time in a long time and had been looking for him that's why when his mother saw her standing at her door she had to make sure as she said "Oh my Goodness Lisa....i-it...is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me" she said happy to see the woman who was like a second mother to her.
"You sure have grown up." she said looking her over.
"Thank you I guess." she said hoping she meant it in a good way. She then laughed as she hugged his mother and she did her.
***********
The next day they had been searching all day and they seemed not to succeed. He went by her parents place right next door to his, but no one was home and he decided since he was in town he'd go visit his own parents as soon as he walked into the house his mother raced up to him "I've been trying to get in touch with you, Lisa came by looking for you."
"What?! you're kidding." He said and his mother could hear the excitement in his voice.
"Yeah, she left these tickets, guess what honey, she made it." he was shocked when his mother handed him the tickets to the WNBA game then he started to think back to when they were younger.