Title: Family Ties Author: Sorika e-mail: Webmaster@katlair.zzn.com Rating: PG13 (adult language, and scene in chapter 7) Archive: YES!!! Just tell me where, I'll give you a link back! :) Web page: www.geocities.com/Paris/Sorbonne/5647 Note: I have to thank my friend, Donny for telling me about fanfiction.net, the other place this story is.  I'm Sorika on this site, if you'd like to leave a formal review. Disclaimer: I am in no way connected with the BSB *whimpers* Oh! And to those of you that will flame me because of Brian and Leighanne, please don't. I'm happy for them and they're happy together. So, don't hate me for breaking them up! okies? ~*~*~ Chapter 2: Her Decision ~*~*~ When I finally saw light again, I was sitting in the school's small health wing. Madame, Nick and Brian were looking at me. Madame seemed furious. "Lizzie! Why didn't you tell me about Jackson? You should have told me ages ago!" "I'm sorry, Mom." I resorted to desperate measures to get her to stop yelling at me. "Jackson's my partner. I didn't want to have to train a new one." Madame's face had crumpled as soon as I called her Mom again. Brian butted in. "I'm sorry, Madame, but Nick and the rest of us were talking, and we wanted know if you'd let Lizzie come with us on tour. She's a great dancer, and Nick thinks it would be great for her to get to know some of her family." "That decision is not up to me. It's up to Lizzie. If she wants to go, it will be horrible to lose her, but she is an adult, and she can make that decision." I looked at Brian and Nick. On one hand, I wanted to get away from here, and all the memories of Jackson, but on the other, Madame was the only mother I'd ever known. And, I had just started college. But I really wanted to know what it was like to be part of a real family. Finally, I decided. "I want to go on the tour." It looked like Brian was happier than Nick, but Madame seemed heart-broken. I got up and went to the corner that she had retreated to. "I'll come back as soon as I can. I promise. And, I'll call as much as I can." My mother, the only one I knew looked at me, tears streaming down her face. She looked so small. I hugged her, and though the bruises all over me screamed with pain, I didn't pull back when she gave me a hug back that could have broken bones. She realized what she was doing to my bruises, and quickly released me. "Don't you let anyone else do this to you. You're better than this, and anyone that doesn't realize that isn't worth the dirt under your feet. Now, go upstairs and pack." ************************************************************************************* I packed the few personal things I had to bring with me into my duffel. I had no normal clothes, because I had always been at the studio. I had one outfit of street clothes. Nick looked at me as I came down the stairs, my duffel on my shoulder, and a tattered shoebox that housed everything I knew about my parents under one arm. "Do you need help with the rest of it?" He asked. "No. This is all I have. And, Nick? Would it be possible to stop by the mall on the way? These are all the street clothes I have." He looked at me, dumbfounded. "Yeah. You can get everything you want. I'll spend as much as you need." "Thanks, Nick, but I..." "Hey! What is family for? You need clothes, I've got more money than I know what to do with, let's compromise!" The look on his face made me laugh. "Ok, Nick, let's go." ************************************************************************************* AJ, Nick and I took the mall by storm. If I commented that I liked the outfit in the window, they'd walk in and insist that I try it on. Bone defiantly had more fashion sense in his pinkie than Nick and I put together. I lost count of the number of fans that came up, asking for their autograph. They were everywhere. The guys seemed startled when a small group of girls walked up, ignored them, and asked me for my autograph. Since they had already whipped out their pens, I just took Nick's and signed my name on the napkins they handed me. As the girls walked away, one turned around. "When's you're next performance?" I looked at her, tears already blurring my vision. "I'm not going to be in the next performance." They looked at me, shocked. "I'm going away for a while, because I have to go see my family. " "Oh. Well, have a good time! And please come back as soon as possible!" Nick took his pen back, and put it away. "I never knew I had fans." I looked up at him. "What a wonderful feeling! I mean, to know that someone appreciates your craft, no matter what it may be." AJ looked at me, and smiled. "It's intoxicating. That feeling never quite goes away." "Well, I think I've made a deep enough dent in your pockets, what do ya say we head back?" I'm not that much of a shopper, and I was tired. AJ wouldn't have it. "What? Head back already? We haven't even covered half the mall!" Nick smiled. "Bone's rules of shopping 1) Never go into a mall with no money. 2) Never go into a mall and not spend money, and 3) Never exit a mall without at least looking through the entire mall." "Damned straight. Now let's go." AJ took off again, weighed down by all the shopping bags. "AJ, please. I'm not used to walking all over a mall! I'm tired. Plus, my hip is starting to hurt again." As soon as I said this, Brian scooped me up, and caught up to Nick and AJ. "Brian! When did you get here?" "In enough time to save you from getting even more tired, and to stop your hip from hurting." He said, matter-of-factly. "B-Rok, you're gonna break a few hearts, carrying her around like that." Nick said, teasingly. "Oh well, if it gets in the tabloids, I guess Leighanne will think I'm already over her. Which is fine with me." But it wasn't I could see the hurt, and longing in his eyes. *********************************Later, on the bus************************************* "Ok, Lizzie you get the top or bottom spare, Nick, you get the on she doesn't take. Brian, You have top bunk, AJ, you get the bottom bunk of Bri. Howie, you get top bunk, and I'll have the bottom of you. Ok, no arguing." Kevin ordered, obviously, this was an ongoing debate. I started to climb into the top back bunk, but Nick stopped me. "Lizzie, Madame said to take it easy on that hip. You should sleep on the bottom bunk for now, but only until your hip stops bothering you. Then, you can have top bunk." I looked at Nick, about to say that my hip felt fine, but I just couldn't. He looked at me with so much concern that it blew me away. I had never seen that much concern focused on me before. I just looked away meekly, and said. " 'K. Nick, can I talk to you?" " Sure, what about?" I didn't know how to begin. "What's wrong with Brian? I mean, he doesn't seem to join in the conversation much, and then there's that thing he said in the mall." I said in a hushed voice. "Shh!! Lizzie! Come back here, into the TV room, and we'll talk. " He pulled me into a room with him. Once inside, he started talking. "Now, you didn't hear this from me, but Frick and his girlfriend just spilt up. She told him that the relationship wasn't working, and that she felt they should spilt up. Having a relationship on the road is pretty hard to keep up, I mean, since you never get to see each other, the relationship can really suffer. "Now, let's get back and go to bed. " "Yeah. Nick, thanks for inviting me... I'm already having a great time." ************************************************************************************* "Lizzie. Lizzie, come on, wake up and let's get inside to sleep on a real bed." I opened my eyes, and found Howie looking at me. "Come on, Lizabeth. We've already brought your stuff in." I hadn't even realized I'd gone to sleep. I was still in my jeans. I started to stand up, but my hip stopped me. "Ouch! Howie, get Nick, please." He ran off to get Nick. While he was gone, Brian came in. I was sitting on the side of the bed, doubled over in pain. My hip hurt so much, I went cross-eyed. Brian walked over to me. "Lizzie, you need to see someone about your hip. You may have something seriously wrong with it. Come on, I'll drive you." He picked me up; it seemed so effortless. I realized that he was the same person that picked me up in the studio. When he turned to carry me out of the bus, Nick walked in. "Lizzie, I'm taking you to the hospital about that hip." He said, while coming up the bus's steps. "Brian's already taking me. You stay here and we'll call as soon as we can." "Ok, Lizzie. I'll come with you, though. Is that ok?" He asked, walking outside to the car. I lay back in Brian's arms and attempted to get comfortable. "I don't really care, Nick."