"Hey honey! How was your vacation?" Breanna's mom asked as Breanna stumbled into the door with her two suitcases, laptop, and backpack. She dropped everything in the doorway as she smiled at her mom. "Fun. Let me unpack. I have a lot to tell you and dad. I don't know how but...well, let me unpack." She stated as she dragged her suitcase behind her. Breanna's older brother Alexei dragged the other suitcase.
"So, how's it feel to be 21?" He asked her as they entered Breanna's room.
"Alex, it feels great!!!" She shouted as he closed the door behind them.
"Okay, spill it, Breen! You have that glow about you. I know you know about Christian's death. And supposedly you're all over the internet! All of my friends at school are emailing me saying they've seen your picture with some famous guy, singer, actor, dancer, whatever the hell he is." Alexei stated.
"What? Internet? How did they see me?" She asked doing her best to act like she didn't know anything.
"For a second, I would believe that you have no clue what I'm talking about. Fortunately for me, I am your older brother and I can read you like a book." He said. He wasn't angry. Alexei hardly ever got angry at Breanna. She was his little sister, his baby, even though she was barely 2 years younger than he was.
"Okay, I'll tell you everything." She stated as she unzipped her suitcase and pulled out some new dresses.
"Okay. I know you're going to tell mom and dad eventually but I want to understand everything you're going to say, everything! That way when they jump down your throat I can back you up." He said. She smiled at him.
"Thanks, Alex. I have a lot to tell you. You got a week to listen?" She asked laughing.
"Oh shit, Breen! What did you get yourself into while in Vegas? Where was Eve during all of this?" He asked laughing.
"Eve was doing the exact same thing, maybe *more*." Breanna said. Alexei was in shock.
"Oh God! You're lying!" He laughed at the thought of sweet, innocent Eve out-doing his bad-girl little sister.
"No, I'm not. Let me explain. I'll try to sum up a long story. Eve and I stopped at McDonalds on the way to Vegas. We saw some of the hottest guys we've ever seen there but that was the end of it. We talked about how hot they were, ya know, normal girl talk. But that was it cause we figured we'd never see them again. We were wrong. We got to the hotel and they were there! Lex, they were THERE!" Breanna repeated as her brother nodded. "They were also on our floor! Um...well, the one I flipped for at McDonald's felt the same for me. We became friends and quickly lovers. No sex, by the way. We want to wait." Breanna explained to Alexei as he nodded his head in approval. "Yes, I knew about Christian. Michael called and left a message. Howie, the guy I met, helped me through all of that. I realized that I was never in love with Christian. I just felt sorry for him." Breanna said unpacking a nice Versace dress.
"I always thought you felt little for him. Wow! Where'd you get that?" Alexei asked pointing to the dress.
"I'm not there yet." She stated.
"Okay, well go on. This sounds interesting." Alexei replied.
"Anyway, Eve fell in love with one of Howie's best friends, Kevin. AJ, the other friend was playing cupid for Howie and Kevin. AJ had his own girlfriend. Brian and Nick, the *other* friends had girlfriends back home." She kept explaining.
"Back home would be?" Alexei asked.
"Let me finish! Then ask as many questions as you'd like." She told him.
"So, I was with Howie and Eve was with Kevin. We didn't know anything about these guys. They were good looking, funny, sweet, caring, and they were all incredibly close with each other. Like brothers, almost. Eve and I got suspicious when we noticed that the guys were on a tight schedule, were secretive, and had bodyguards. For my birthday the guys invited me and Eve to a concert. We had the best seats. Front and Center. They told us they would be late so not to worry. We got to the concert and it was them performing! Basically I fell in love with Howie before I knew he was famous and he spoils me and loves me just as much." Breanna said smiling as she held out her wrist for her brother to see the bracelet.
"Okay..now I get to ask you a few things. Who is he, who are they? Where does he live? The dress?" Alexei asked as he hung up a few of her new outfits for her. Breanna laughed at his attempt to coordinate her outfits in the closet.
"Men!" Breanna thought as she answered her brothers questions. "He is part of the Backstreet Boys. He lives in Orlando, where Eve and I will be moving for school in May, and he took me shopping a few times." Breanna summed up everything. Alexei sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"I dunno about this, Breen."
"Please, just try to understand." Breanna stated as she hit play on her answering machine.
"Hey Breen, we just arrived in Orlando. I can't believe I miss you this much already. This is nuts, it's barely been a week. What are we doing." Howie said as he laughed. "Anyway, I just wanted to call and tell you that I love you, I miss you and I pray you arrive home safely. God, I miss you." He stated quietly. "I'll try your cellphone. I love you. Bye!" He said as he hung up. Breanna had tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Breen don't cry!" Alexei said as he got off the edge of her bed to hug her.
"I know. I just miss him." She said with a smile.
"I can see that and I can hear that in his voice. Considering I'm a man, I know what another man means when he talks to a woman and it's so obvious that you have him wrapped around your finger. I just want you to make choices in your life for you, not based on him or his life. Okay?" Alexei asked as he grabbed ahold of her shoulders, pushing his sister away from his chest so she could see his eyes. She nodded.
"Okay, now with mom and dad." Alexei said with a laugh and sigh.
"Oh don't scare me! I have no clue *what* I'm going to tell them. Especially dad!" Breanna stated as Alexei laughed. After unpacking her suitcases she took out her laptop. "Wanna see a few pictures of us?" Breanna asked Alexei.
"Yeah! I wanna see who this man is. The guy who stole my sisters heart." Alexei teased.
"Geez, you're acting like I'm in love or something!" Breanna said smiling. Alexei only blew his hair out of his face while he rolled his eyes. "Hey ya know, you kinda look like Nick?" Breanna told her brother.
"Is Nick 23, tall, and blonde?" Alexei asked nudging his sister in the ribs as they sat on her bed waiting for the laptop to load.
"Haha! Well, tall and blonde but only 20." Breanna explained. After another few minutes Breanna signed onto the internet and checked her mail.
"200 messages, Breen?" Alexei asked in shock.
"Yeah, I'm guessing most of them are attachments. Photos of me and Howie that my friends have found all over the internet." She was right.
"Claire from one of my business classes has sent me 20 photos! I'll look at this one first." Breanna said clicking on the photo with the subject "This is absolutely adorable!" Breanna downloaded it as Alexei sighed with a smile on his face.
"Okay, I approve even though it's hard for me to say that. So, what are you going to tell mom and dad?"
"That's the hard part, Lex." She said as she signed off the internet.
"C'mon. I'll help you with them, k?" Alexei promised as he handed Breanna his hand to help her off the bed.
"Well, no matter what they say I'm gonna stay with him." She stated to Alexei as he nodded his head. His sister was one stubborn woman and he had to admit that any man who could handle her had to be a good guy. She was definitely not easy to deal with especially when she had her head set on something.
Breanna and Alexei walked into the living room where her parents were sitting on the couch discussing the war raging in Europe. "Hey mom...dad. I think Breanna has something to tell you." Alexei stated as he plopped down in the nearest lounge chair. Breanna walked over to the same chair and sat on the edge of the arm facing her parents.
"What's the story?" Her father asked smiling to his daughter.
"Well, I know what happened to Christian. I knew since I left for Las Vegas. It hurt for a day or two before I realized that I think I was never truly in love with him. Anyway, that's not what I have to talk to you about. Um...well, I'll just be honest. If you don't agree with me or are against this totally, I'm still going to do it. But, you already know that." Breanna stated as her parents nodded their head.
"You're stubborn." Her mom smiled.
"Yeah, I know. Okay, basically I met someone in Vegas. So did Eve. Actually, both guys are best friends. It's just a coincidence that they live in Orlando. Anyway, I'm in love with him. More than I ever felt for Christian and I just want you both to support me on this one." Breanna said with a shy smile. Her mom didn't say anything. She wore an expressionless mask.
"Well, we'd like to meet this young man." Her father stated.
"You will. He'll be flying out to visit me whenever he gets a break from the studio." She informed her parents.
"Studio? What does he do? What's his name? How old is he?" Her father asked.
"His name is Howie, he's a singer in a group and he's 26, almost 27." Breanna stated.
"A singer? Isn't that an unstable profession?" Her father asked concerned. Alexei laughed while Breanna elbowed him.
"No, well not for him anyway. He's very stable financially." Breanna informed her parents as Alexei got up to walk out of the living room.
"I'll be right back." He informed the room.
"Just to let you know, and I've had this discussion with Alexei already, I am not going to alter my life plans or choices just because of Howie. He wouldn't let me, anyway." Breanna stated as Alexei walked back into the room with Breanna's new Versace dress.
"Wow! Who's is that? You're not planning to dress in drag and walk down Third Street Promenade with the rest of the freaks, are you Lex?" Alexei's father asked laughing.
"No dad. That place is too high class. I was thinking of walking the Sunset Strip. It's lovely isn't it?" Alexei said placing the dress against his body and swaying around like he was a woman as Breanna laughed.
"That's a beautiful dress." Breanna's mom commented to her.
"Yes, and it has a beautiful price tag as well." Alexei added. "$3900!" He stated.
"Wow! So, did this new love buy this for you?" Her dad asked.
"Yes, but he picked it out while I was sleeping. Me, Eve, and the rest of our friends had a long night at the dance club. He woke up early and bought it for me as a surprise. I haven't had a chance to wear it yet." Breanna said smiling.
"So, he has money. He spoils you. He's successful. Great! Does he love you?" Her father asked.
"More than you know!" Alexei stated as he placed the dress on the couch arm.
"How would you know?" His mother asked.
"He left a message on Breanna's machine. I know the voice we men use when we're in love. And mom, he's got it *bad*." Alexei teased.
"So, you're happy? Even with Christian's death?" Breanna's mom asked.
"Yes mom. I'm having a harder time dealing with his fans but I've gotten used to it." She informed her parents as she got up to put the dress away.
"Fans? Exactly how successful is he?" Her father asked.
"Dad, dad, dad." Alexei said sighing as he shook his head. "You'll be surprised. Their first US release sold more than 10 million albums in the US alone. Their second US CD sold over 500,000 copies in it's first day of release and it went on to break Billboards record of the most sold in one week!" Alexei stated as Breanna shot him a shocked look.
"You didn't know?" He asked her.
"No! How did you know?" She asked him.
"While you were gone having a good time I did a little research on your man." Alexei stated.
"I thought you didn't know anything." She said.
"I did. I just wanted to see if you would lie to me or not. Anyway, everything I found out was positive. The guy has a good reputation and he's the 'favorite' of the group in the eyes of most interviewers." Alexei was proud of the man his little sister had found.
"Well, I don't care what or who he is. I want to meet him. When is he coming to town?" Her father asked.
"I don't know. Before cousin Elena's birthday. She's a huge fan of his and he said he would sing to her at her birthday party." Breanna stated. Her father nodded his head. Breanna jumped up all of a sudden when she heard her phone ringing in her bedroom.
"That's Howie. I gotta go!" She said as she kissed her parents on the cheek and ran to her room.
"So, who is he?" Alexei's father asked.
"A Backstreet Boy. Dad, I know you consider her your little girl, the baby of the family but Breanna is finally a woman, I hate to admit. And it seems like she's found someone decent. Or at least from what I've observed. I think we should all just step aside and let her make her own decisions. If she goes head first into heartbreak then we'll be here for her. Let's just meet the guy before we give her any harsh criticism. Please, mom? Dad?" He asked as his parents nodded their heads. "And no 'I told you so'." He added.
"It's just hard to believe that she's more head over heels in love with this guy after one week than she ever was with any of her boyfriends, especially Christian." Alexei's mother said.
"Christian was a dud. He had so many problems and Breanna was hardly happy with him." Alexei stated.
"I don't know how she could flip for a guy this quickly." His dad added.
"Soulmates, dad. There is such a thing." Alexei stated as he left the room to go talk to Breanna. Breanna's door was cracked open and Alexei could hear everything that was being said.
"Have you talked to Kevin? I'm still worried about Eve. She's never given her heart to someone, at least not this soon. Yeah, I know you're right about that but you don't know Eve like I do. Okay, I'll just wait until she wants to talk. She's just so in love with him. I wish I could say that I was jealous but I'm kinda happy with what I have." She told Howie laughing. Alexei had never heard his sister so happy before. "So, what's up with you? Did Brian and Nick leave you a million messages?" Breanna asked as Alexei knocked on the door. "Come in!" Breanna said over the phone.
"They left me about 20." Howie stated as he smiled into the phone.
"20 phone messages in 4 days? What'd they do? Call you for every little problem?" She laughed.
"Basically! They mostly left lovey-dovey messages about you on the phone." He said cracking up.
"Oh I can't wait to hear what they said!" She laughed as Alexei sat on the bed. Breanna was laying on her stomach on the bed while Alexei rubbed her back.
"My brother's in the room with me rubbin' my back. I'm so sore from driving all day. Alexei defended you to my parents a few minutes ago." She explained.
"Hey, let me talk to him." Howie said. Breanna handed the phone to Alexei and both men hit it off instantly. They talked and joked on the phone for about an hour as Breanna laid on her stomach trying not to fall asleep considering she only slept for 2 hours the night before.
"Shit, man! She's got you whipped!" Alexei teased Howie.
"Yeah, and boy is she stubborn! I'm surprised I can handle her so well." Howie laughed.
"Oh don't I know it! Try putting up with her for 21 years straight." Alexei joked back.
"I feel for ya, man. I really do." Howie laughed.
"Oh hey man, I should hand the phone back to Breen. She's close to passing out. How much sleep did she get last night anyway?" Alexei asked.
"Less than two hours. We were up all night talking." He explained.
"'Talking'? Is that what you call it nowadays?" Alexei said cracking up as Breanna slept quietly on the bed.
"Haha, no man, we really talked." Howie defended himself.
"Oh Sleeping Beauty finally fell asleep. Want me to wake her so you can say goodbye?" Alexei asked.
"No, don't do that. I'll just let her sleep. I have to be up early tomorrow. We have to lay down some vocals in the studio and decide when we're heading to Sweden. We record between Sweden and Orlando." Howie explained.
"I know. I did a little research. I'm not going to lie. My sister means the world to me and when I got tons of email from friends saying that her picture was all over the internet with someone famous I got worried. I checked you and your bandmates out and I haven't found anything negative. I guess I could say I approve." Alexei told Howie.
"Thanks. She means more to me than any woman I've ever dated and it's still a little scary for me to think that we've barely known each other for a week. I can't imagine how much more I'm going to feel for her once we've been dating for a while." Howie explained.
"Soulmates, man. Soulmates." Alexei stated.
"Maybe you're right. I don't know if there is such a thing." Howie said laughing nervously.
"There is. My parents are proof. They're perfect for each other in every way possible. What flaws my father has my mother makes up for with her strengths. The same for my mother." Alexei stated.
"I think my parents are the same way." Howie added.
"Well, man, it was nice talking to you." Alexei said.
"You too! Do me a favor and tell Breanna I love her and I'll call her around 9 or 10 tomorrow night?" Howie asked.
"Oh no problem! Talk to you later. G'nite!" Alexei said.
"Night, man." Howie added as they hung up the phone.
Alexei walked to Breanna's closet and pulled out a blanket. He laid it over he body and moved her hair out of her face. "G'nite sis. Howie loves you." Alexei said as he kissed her cheek. He turned out her light and left the room closing the door softly behind him.
Breanna and Eve met up the next day to hangout and just have fun. They went out shopping to various malls and to Breanna's favorite store, Armani Exchange. The girls decided not to discuss the guys too much because they wanted to just focus on being young and having fun. No boyfriend was going to tie them down. Breanna left her cellphone and pager at home. Eve was instructed to do the same. The first stop was the Sunset Strip on the Westside, West Hollywood. After rummaging around Armani Exchange they drove over to Virgin Megastore to check out the latest CDs. "I never bought this single cause I had a hard time finding it!" Eve said excitedly as she jumped up and down with the old Depeche Mode CD single for the song "Little 15" in her hands.
"I'll be over here." Breanna said pointing to the section of the store that carried the books. Even though they decided not to talk about the guys no one said anything about researching them. Breanna found an entire section on the Backstreet Boys. Most of the books were written for an obviously younger crowd. One book stuck out the most, the one Nick's mom wrote about him. Breanna grabbed it and quickly flipped through the pages. "He was so adorable!" Breanna said aloud. "I had no clue he was once an innocent little boy." She laughed.
"Nick Carter?" A girl around 16 asked.
"Um, yeah." Breanna said.
"He's so sweet and quiet and just, perfect!" The girl said dreamily. Breanna burst into laughter as Eve walked over to see what the discussion was about.
"You want an autograph?" Eve asked the girl. Obviously the girl didn't know who Breanna and Eve were. "Eve, she just said something funny. Nick, sweet, quiet, and perfect in the same sentence!" Breanna said giggling as she clutched the book in her hands. The young girl didn't know what was going on.
"Nick!?" Eve asked. "Well, yeah, he's sweet. That gift he stuck in my backpack last week was sweet. I don't know about perfect and quiet." Eve stated.
"Wha? You know Nick Carter?" The girl asked.
"Um, yeah, and, um, you don't know who we are...umm..." Eve was lost for words.
"We're friends of his. We hung out with him and the rest of the guys in Vegas. Before we left he stuck some BSB CDs in Eve's bag. Honestly, we had never heard their music before and we didn't even know they were famous until the invited us to one of their concerts." Breanna explained handing the book to Eve. "Eve, check out the photo section. He looks innocent." Breanna said smiling to Eve.
"So you know the rest of the guys?" The girl asked.
"Yes...I'm kinda involved with one of 'em. And so is she." Breanna said pointing to Eve who was having a good laugh over some of the photos of their friend.
"You're lying! Who?" She asked.
"Me, Howie. She's with Kevin." The young girl didn't really believe them.
"Eve, your cellphone! I told you to leave it at home. I didn't want to be bothered by the guys today." Breanna scolded Eve as she dug through her purse to grab her phone.
"Sorry! I couldn't miss his call." Eve said looking apologetic.
"Hello? Um, yeah. Hold on." Eve said handing the phone to Breanna. "Bree, it's Howie. He's been looking all over for you and figured he try my phone."
"Argh!" Breanna said under her breath taking the phone from Eve. Eve and the young girl started a short conversation until Breanna was off the phone with Howie. "Hey Hun!" Breanna greeted.
"Hi! I got a little worried when I couldn't get a hold of you." Howie quickly explained.
"It's okay but you're gonna have to let me do a few things on my own." She said laughing.
"Well, I needed to call you to tell you something and it's kind of important. The Firm wants to have a meeting with us this weekend. We're leaving for LA on Friday morning. Kevin and I were thinking of leaving Thursday so we could get in an extra day with you two. Maybe we'll leave Wednesday. That all depends on how things go in the studio." Howie explained.
"You're serious?" She asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I wouldn't lie about this. That would be cruel to you and to me." He said laughing.
"Why didn't Kevin call Eve first since this is her phone?" Breanna asked.
"I don't know. He should have told her something by now." He stated.
"No, he hasn't called her yet. He probably left a message on her machine." Breanna said.
"Yeah probably. Anyway, I gotta get back into the studio. I just wanted to tell you. I won't bother you until late tonight." He said laughing.
"You're not a bother. I love you." She explained.
"Even love gets on your nerves, Hun." He said cracking up.
"Yeah, okay. Anyway, wanna do me a favor for one minute? I'm in a music store and we ran into a fan who Eve is talking to right now. Wanna say "hi" for a minute?" Breanna asked.
"Sure. Put her on." Howie stated.
"How do you know it's a girl?" Breanna asked.
"Bree, most of them are." He said laughing again.
"Oh, okay. Hold on." Breanna said as she motioned for the girl to come over. Eve followed.
"What's your name?" Breanna asked the girl.
"Maria." The girl stated, cocking her head to the side not sure what was going on.
"Here's Maria, Howie." Breanna said into the phone. She handed the phone to the girl and explained that he was wanted back in the studio and could only say a quick hi. After a quick conversation Maria handed the phone back to Breanna with a large smile on her face.
"You made her day, possibly her entire year." Breanna told Howie.
"I'm really glad. I always feel better when I make someone happy." He stated.
"Good! Then you should be feeling pretty damn good all the time." She said in reference to herself.
"Should I? Hmmm...never thought about it like that before. Anyway, I really have to go and this is costing Eve money." Howie explained.
"Dang, you're right. Okay, I'll talk to you tonight. I love you. Bye!" Breanna said as she hung up the phone.
"Wow! That was really Howie D!" Maria said excitedly.
"Yup! Anyway, we gotta run. We have other places to be." Breanna stated as Eve handed her the book about Nick.
"You gonna buy that book?" Maria asked.
"No. I'll just grill Nick this weekend when I see him." Breanna said with a mischievous grin on her face.
"This weekend, Bree? You gonna fly to Orlando?" Eve asked.
"No, the guys are coming here. All of 'em! That's why Howie called me. He couldn't get ahold of me at home or on my cellphone or pager so he tried your cellphone. He said Kevin probably called your house and left a message." Breanna explained as Maria looked back and forth between both girls.
"Well, I'll let you two go. I gotta call my mom to have her pick me up. I just wanted to get the new BSB single that came out last week." Maria said.
"Where do you live?" Breanna asked Maria.
"Beverly Hills. About 5 blocks away." Maria explained.
"Well, how about we drop you off. I wanted to go to Rodeo Drive anyway. I wanna get Howie something from the Hugo Boss store." She said smiling to the young girl.
"Really? Sure!" Maria said excitedly. Eve gave Breanna a questioning look but only shrugged her shoulders when Breanna didn't say anything to her.
"Maria, don't buy that single unless you're dying to hear it now. I can get an autographed copy of it for you." Breanna said. It was odd having these connections now. But Breanna loved making these fans happy even if it was her boyfriend they were drooling over.
Howie and AJ went out clubbing like always. Kevin opted to stay home this time to talk to Eve. "Things haven't changed a bit." AJ mused over a beer as he stared at Howie across the club enjoying himself with a group of girls.
"Go join him! You like the ladies. Anyway, I'm gonna go. I have to practice a few new songs." Mya said to AJ pointedly as she got up and tugged on her mini skirt.
"Mmm...I kinda like what you're wearing. It would look wonderful on my floor in the morning." AJ said slyly.
"You're awful!" Mya said leaning over to give AJ a kiss before she left.
"No, just horny." AJ stated as she walked away.
"She's leaving?" An out-of-breath Howie asked as Mya walked out the door.
"Yeah. Practice. Something we should be doing." AJ stated as he took another swig of his beer.
"Hey sexy, wanna dance?" A tall, beautiful blonde asked Howie as she ran her long nailed fingers through his hair.
"Ah, the wicked witch *didn't* die!" AJ joked.
"Fuck off, AJ." The woman stated.
"Well, to answer your question, no I wouldn't like to dance. Not with you, anyway." Howie said slowly.
"You're loss. I'll be seeing you soon on my doorstep when you're begging for more. That prediction has never failed me in the past." The blonde answered.
"No, I was a fool back then. I think I'm smarter now." He told her as she leaned in closer to Howie, face-to-face.
"I somehow doubt that." She said tilting her head to the left, leaning in closer. Howie leaned in more. AJ's chin dropped as the whole scene unfolded before his face.
"Never doubt me." Howie replied as he stood up and backed away. "You always doubted me whenever it suited your needs. You used me. Not anymore." Howie said as he left.
"Back off, Helaina. He's taken and actually happy at the same time! Something you're not capable of making a man feel." AJ said as he got up to follow his friend out.
Breanna and Eve took Maria home and wrote down her address so they knew where to send or deliver the CD when the guys got into town. For the rest of the afternoon and early evening Breanna and Eve drove around town, flirted with some of the local hotties who passed in their Porsches and BMW's, and shopped around LA. Breanna stopped at the Hugo Boss store to buy Howie a shirt she had been eyeing for months. It was a navy blue button down shirt that didn't really button down until the middle of the breast area giving a good view of any mans chest. The sleeves were tailored well with creases in just the right spots. It had the trademark Hugo Boss emblem and looked extremely expensive. It was something she constantly told Eve would look good on any guy and she planned to buy one for her future boyfriend if it was still in style by the time she got one.
After a quick lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe at the Universal City Walk, the girls decided to go to the beach to just chill out on the cool sand and watch the waves. They talked about their budding relationships and all the future problems that were bound to come their way with their famous boyfriends. The girls agreed that they loved Howie and Kevin too much to give up on their relationships but they also agreed that they would try not to let people know who they were dating. "We'll just tell people we're dating nice guys and leave it at that. If they want to ask questions we don't have to answer. If the guys need us as dates for award shows or anything of the sort, we'll just dress up, change our hair, and makeup and no one we know will really recognize us. Well, none of our friends normally watch those shows on TV but ya never know." Eve said planning out their way to hide the truth of who their boyfriends were.
"At one point everyone's going to find out. We'll just try to hide as much as possible. Maria was the last fan we'll admit to anything." Breanna added. With that agreement the girls decided to go home. "We have school tomorrow!" Breanna wailed as they walked back to the car.
"Shut up! I don't want to know." Eve smiled back.
"I have to get all my crap together for tomorrow so I guess we should head on back home." Breanna said as they climbed into the car.
"And I think I have a few messages to check not to mention a phone call I know I should be getting sometime soon!" Eve said laughing.
"And if he doesn't call his ass is grass?" Breanna asked playfully.
"Damn straight!" Eve said as both girls laughed.
"Hey D, wait up! It's barely 10 o'clock!" AJ yelled to Howie as he walked quickly to his car.
"You're right. We should have been practicing instead of clubbing." Howie said as he dug his hand into his back pocket looking for his keys.
"This isn't about clubbing or practicing, D. It's about Helaina." AJ stated as Howie dropped his keys in frustration.
"I don't really want to talk about her. I finally found someone who likes me for me. Not someone who wants to use and abuse me because of who I am and what I do or what's written in my check book." Howie said as he accepted his keys back from AJ. Howie opened the car door and unlocked the passenger side so AJ could hop in.
"Okay, then what's the problem, D? Helaina was and *is* a first class, grade A bitch. Plain and simple. The only thing she has going for her is her body, tits, and face. You're with Breanna. A goddess in the disguise as the beautiful girl next door. Helaina screwed you over and Breanna only screws you." AJ stated. Howie looked down smiling uncomfortably, shifting gears into reverse. "Well, you've almost screwed her. Any way you look at it, you my friend, have had the last laugh. Ignore Helaina and move on with your life. You spent over a year on her and what did you get out of it? You spent over $200,000 on clothes, cars, jewelry, and anything her heart desired and what did she do for you? Slept with all of the tour crew. Wonderful, D!" AJ said sarcastically as Howie sped off towards the freeway. "Hmmm...ya wanna see what this American sports car is made of tonight, eh D?" AJ said kidding.
"No. I'm just thinking. I think better when I drive." Howie stated as he stepped on the gas. AJ leaned over to look at the speedometer that read 115 MPH.
"You must be thinking *a lot*." AJ said sarcastically, nervously settling into his seat checking to make sure his seat belt was tight.
"Sorry, AJ. I just get angry whenever she's around. She used me and everyone told me what should have been plain to see. What the hell was I thinking?" Howie asked as he stepped on the brake to slow down out of consideration for his very nervous friend.
"Obviously with the wrong head." AJ stated, a little more comfortable. "Ah, 95 miles per hour. I feel much safer now!" AJ stated as Howie grinned. "What I'm saying D is that you have the perfect girl who never asks for anything except for you to be there for her. Helaina is just a pain in your ass. She used you. That makes you angry but now there's nothing you can do about it. You didn't have her sign any legal papers stating that she had to give everything back when you two broke up. Now she's out of your life for the most part. Yeah, sure, she'll pop up in your social life once in a while but that's it." AJ explained.
"I know you're right. I'm just worried about Breanna finding out about her." Howie explained. "I'm afraid she's gonna get the feeling that I still *have* feelings for Helaina. The only feelings I have for that girl could be compared to hate." Howie stated.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, D. You know we'll all back you up. Most likely Helaina won't show her damn face again." AJ said coldly.
"Man, you sound like you hate her more than me!" Howie laughed.
"D, you have a big heart. You find it impossible to hate people. That's not a problem for me." AJ said looking straight ahead.
"So where to?" Howie asked.
"Now I'm kinda tired. We have to be in the studio at 8am so let's just find a party close by with some beautiful ladies!" AJ yelled happily.
"Man, how can you flirt with other girls when you have Mya?" Howie asked in disbelief.
"Easy. I don't go home with any of 'em. I just flirt. You *can* still flirt, D. I saw you tonight." AJ said as he pointed at Howie childishly. Just then both guys pulled into a filled parking lot near an expensive house. All of a sudden a very drunk Brian flew down the front steps of his house to greet the guys at the door. Howie laughed at Brian and AJ's accusation.
"Damn, you caught me! Don't tell Breanna!" AJ only laughed.
"Man, that girl wouldn't care. She can flirt with the best of 'em, trust me!" AJ stated with a knowing look.
For the next several months both relationships flourished. Breanna and Howie built an actual friendship with each other. They would talk on the phone for hours each night about everything and anything. They talked about their pasts, their families, friends, and what they wanted for the future. It wasn't unusual for Howie and Breanna to be on the phone *and* on the internet at the same time playing around. They were known to Instant Message each other on AOL with silly little lovey dovey messages while being on the phone with each other talking about something completely different. They had many inside jokes and felt extremely comfortable around each other. Once in a while Breanna loved to make Howie uncomfortable about silly little things like the discussion of "woman issues". She loved to tell him when she was PMS'ing because his reply was either 1) "that's more information than I needed to know" or 2) "How about them Dodgers?"
He and Breanna were always laughing with each other. A few times Breanna actually fell off the bed from laughing at Howie when he told her stories about the guys.
Eve and Kevin however, were more quiet. Breanna and Howie knew little to none about that relationship other than things were going very well. Howie and Kevin flew out to LA on the weekends as much as possible and the girls tried to keep a low profile when they were out in public with their boyfriends. Howie was constantly surprising Breanna by sending her roses, chocolates, and outfits from the little boutique in Orlando that he loved. Breanna would phone him just to tell him to stop sending chocolate or she would become too fat to fit into the new clothes he sent her. His reply was always the same, "I'll love you no matter how fat you become." During the weeks before finals at school, contact with Howie was slim to none. Breanna couldn't explain to him in enough detail that she was honestly studying 24/7. She didn't have time for talking on the phone, traveling or entertaining company. Eve on the other hand dropped two classes, both unimportant classes on Fridays, so she could spend more time with Kevin. Eve was far from vain but she truly believed that Kevin was "the one" and his earnings were enough for the both of them. If Eve dropped out of school she would be okay with Kevin by her side. Breanna was a little bit more realistic. She had seen enough love, hope, romance, pain, and heartbreak to know that this love could deteriorate at any given moment. She wanted what she considered a "back-up plan" ready just in case things with Howie didn't work out. After all, it had only been two months.
With two week left before finals Breanna gave up her social and shopping time to spend with her nose in the books. Whenever Eve called she would just say "I'll call you back." and hang up. The same thing happened when Howie called except he would get an additional three words from her, "I love you". By the end of the night, Breanna would become delirious with text book information circulating in her head that she fell asleep forgetting to call Eve and Howie back. He started to become worried about Breanna and their relationship. Even though Breanna and he hadn't seen or really talked to each other in the past two weeks he was starting to doubt if she still felt the same way about him. Instead of calling her to discuss this (he knew she would hang up without allowing him to get a word out) he decided to fly out to LA and surprise her. He informed Eve of his plan and she agreed to meet him at the airport but he was on his own from that point on. She had seen Breanna pissed off only a few times and she had no intentions of seeing her pissed again. Howie arrived in LA on a Friday evening with Kevin in tow (of course). He explained to Eve that he just wanted to drop by her house and see how she was and to meet her parents. Even though he had been to LA to see Breanna many times he had never met her parents. She was always fearful they wouldn't approve of him or his career and she couldn't stand the thought of the two most important people in her life not approving of Howie.
"So, Eve? What's up with you and Kevin? You two are really secretive about your little love affair." Howie teased as Eve merged onto the 405 freeway.
"There's nothing to talk about. We're the same as you and Breanna except you two have bigger mouths." She smiled into her rearview mirror at Howie.
"No, big mouth was left at home." Kevin said with a slight laugh.
"No shit! AJ has the biggest mouth known to man!" Howie said laughing.
"I'm kinda glad he does have a big mouth." Eve said glancing sideways at Kevin who returned the glance. "You should be, too!" She said to Howie who could only nod his head.
For the rest of the ride to Breanna's no one said much except for the occasional small talk about certain landmarks. "I've talked to Breanna's parents this morning, D. They can't wait to meet you." Eve said as she exited the freeway.
"Yeah, me too." He mumbled staring out the window.
"Hey D, don't look so worried. They're cool people. You and Alexei are already buds. He's quick to defend you whenever they say anything." Eve stated. Howie glanced up quickly. "No, they haven't actually *said* anything but he's still quick to defend his sisters judgement." She said trying to reassure him.
"It's not them I'm worried about. It's Breanna." He said quietly.
"D, I wouldn't worry. She's so headstrong. When it comes to school she spends all of her time trying to prove that she's better academically than anyone else. These are the last finals until we head off to graduate school. These classes count big time. She has harder classes than I do because she thought she could handle 20 units. Now she's paying for it by spending all of her time studying. She's gonna be kicking herself in the ass later if she doesn't make herself sick first." Eve rambled on. After a few more minutes they arrived at Breanna's house. Alexei was quick to jump out of the door and run over to see Eve.
"Hey girl!" He said giving her a large hug while an overprotective Kevin watched on.
"Better watch it, Lex! My bodyguard will kick your ass if you hug me any tighter." Eve joked as she pointed to Kevin who was visibly more relieved after Alexei stopped hugging Eve. "Hey man, whassup?" Alexei greeted Kevin as he, Kevin, and Eve walked to the back of her car to get Howie's luggage out. Howie had just stepped out of the car to stretch before Alexei walked over to him.
"Hey man, how are you?" Howie greeted Alexei with a his hand held out. Alexei lightly gripped his hand while pulling Howie in for a light "man hug".
"She's in her room...studying." Alexei explained. "You go on in. My mom's making dinner. She'll probably make you set the table." Alexei said laughing. Howie nodded and walked into the house with his suitcase and backpack. Kevin, Eve, and Alexei stayed outside talking for another 15 minutes while Howie meet Breanna's parents. He hit it off with her father instantly. Her father approved. He was a nice successful man who seemed to treat his daughter well. Howie was probably one of the first boyfriends that her father liked. Breanna would have loved to see this only she was still in her room clueless that Howie was even in the same State. It wasn't long before Breanna's mother approved as well. It was an hour after Howie arrived before her parents and Alexei started talking to him about Breanna.
"She's had her nose glued to those books for the past month. But for the past two weeks she's always in her room. The only time we see her is when she rolls out of bed to go to school only to be more bombarded with homework, term papers, and whatever else she's been given. That's a major reason she's not working during Finals. School's been tough but it's because she's wanted it that way." Her father said with a sigh. He was worried about her as well.
"That's why I came. We used to talk all the time on the phone. For the past two weeks we haven't really said anything to each other." He explained.
"Well, dinner's almost ready so why don't you go drag her in here, Howie?" Her mother asked. He nodded his head while Alexei directed Howie to Breanna's room.
"I'll see ya in a bit!" Alexei whispered, patting Howie on the back as he walked out of the hallway towards the dining room.
Howie tapped on Breanna's door but there was no answer. He tapped a little harder but he still didn't hear anything. Without giving it much thought he opened her door and walked in. He closed the door behind him before he took a good look inside. When he turned around he found Breanna on her bed, surrounded by books, notes, pens, highlighters, and index cards. She was in the very center asleep. He lightly nudged her but she didn't budge. He shook her a little bit harder but she didn't wake up. He sighed looking at her. "Plan B?" He said to himself laughing as he leaned over and kissed her lightly on the mouth. She moaned quietly and turned from her back onto her side. "Breanna?" He questioned her. Her eyes flew open in amazement while looking around. When she saw Howie hovering above her she sat up quickly and stared at him. She was obviously frightened and half asleep. "What's wrong?" He asked her with a small smile. After a few seconds of staring at his face she grabbed him and pulled him down onto the bed and kissed him as hard as she could. After a few minutes of kissing she pulled away looking into his eyes with tears streaming down her face. He knew she was stressed, sleep deprived, and lonely without him. He sat up on the bed, pulled her onto his lap and just held her until she stopped crying. Almost half an hour went by before they exchanged any words. "I'm sorry" were the only words she could mumbled into his chest.
"For what? For being swamped with homework? It's not your fault." He tried to comfort her.
"I ignored you. I should have taken breaks with you or just done something with you. I would probably be less stressed out." She explained to him. He laughed and held her tighter.
"Well, next semester will be different. I'll be around you to make sure you don't over do it. Hun, you are so stressed and you lost a lot of weight! I bet you haven't been eating the chocolate I've sent you and you probably don't fit into any of the clothes I've bought you." He said to her concerned.
"Well, the clothes are almost 4 sizes too big now but I've been eating the chocolate. That's where I get the caffeine from, well that and sodas." She said in a joking voice.
"Breen, I'm not joking. Do you know how sick you're gonna make yourself?" He asked her in a louder voice. She nodded her head.
"But I have so much to learn and I don't think I'm going to pass any of my classes. I can't afford to sleep or play or doing anything right now. Not until the end of next week and even then I have to pack up cause we're moving." She explained.
"No, you don't have to pack. I'm hiring someone to help you with all of that. All you have to do is figure out what you want to take and what you want to leave, if you want to leave anything at all." He stated firmly.
"I don't know..." she said.
"You may not know, but I do. That's what we're going to do next week. Now, about this week?" He questioned her.
"I have to study." He said.
"Yeah, I figured that much. Tomorrow you are taking the entire day off to rest. Actually starting now you are taking most of the weekend off to rest. And on Sunday all you're gonna do is go over your notes and organize all of this crap. I'll help you with everything. I *do* remember what it's like to be in college." He said smiling at her.
"But this is different. This is a lot harder.." she began but he silenced her with a kiss.
"You're studying business? Well, that's my entire life. I'll help you. Now...we're expected for dinner." He told her as he pushed her off his lap onto the bed. He stood up and held out his hand to help her up.
"You met my parents?" She asked once she realized that Howie had to actually go through them to get to her, especially her bedroom.
"Yes, now c'mon. They're gonna wonder what we're doing." He said laughing.
"Whatever you two are
doing, I'm
happy." Breanna's father said to himself as he walked quickly down the
hallway after he finished listening in on their conversation.
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