"Brian?"
        "What?"
        "I know it might not be any of my business..."
        "But..."
        "But...Why are you taking sleeping pills?" Jenny whispered.
        Damn. Brian had hoped that she really hadn't heard his and Nick's conversation.
        "Why are you whispering?"
        "I'm not quite sure." More thunder. Jenny's hold on Brian tightened. "Well?"
        "Are you still afraid of thunder?"
        "Maybe..." Jenny stopped while Brian continued walking to the stairs. She yanked him back to her and squinted at him. "Why are you avoiding the question?"
        "What question?"
        "Brian..." Jenny whined. He sighed.
        "Simple."
        "What?"
        "People take sleeping pills because they can't sleep. Aren't you gonna be a doctor?" Brian pulled Jenny along.
        "Well...I just never knew you had a sleeping problem."
        "Neither did I," Brian sighed.
        "How long have you been on them?"
        "A year?"
        "Oh..."Jenny didn’t know what else to say. Something was nagging her. Did his sleeping problem have something to do with their breakup? Or was the time length just a coincidence?
        "Uh-huh..."
        "Let's leave Nick and Julie alone." Jenny and Brian reached the top of the stairs.
        "What?" Brian turned around to face Jenny.
        "Let's just leave them...They're probably making up anyway..." Jenny walked off.
        "How do you know that?" Brian ran after her.
        "It's a look they have when they look at each other." Jenny reached the doors of the balcony, Brian right behind her.
        "What look might that be?" Brian took her hand and whirled her around so that they were staring at each other.
        This one...Jenny breathed.

        "Are they coming to get us?"
        "I think they got side-tracked."
        "Depends on who was sent..."
        "Brian and Jenny, I think."
        "Definitely got side-tracked."
        "So we're okay?"
        "What makes you think we aren't?" Julie was rummaging around in a drawer for a flashlight.
        "Because I was an ass..."
        "Nick..." Julie turned around to nearly bump into him.
        "Sorry..."
        "It's okay," Julie smiled sweetly.
        "Why are you so good to me?"
        "Nick, stop beating yourself up."
        "I can't help it...If I wasn't so stupid we would've had one more year of happiness already." Nick plopped down on the bed.
        "No, Nick. You felt that you had to know if we were really meant to be something that lasted forever..." Julie sat down next to him and took his hands. "...and now--"
        "Now I know." Nick kissed her.

        "Finally." Chin muttered.
        "What?"
        "One candle...fifty more to go," she sighed, holding up the candle that had taken her ten minutes to light.
        "Relax...it's just hard to light candles in the dark," AJ's match flared up as he lit another candle, "...I guess."
        "You suck." Chin pouted and plopped down on her bed.
        "What?" AJ grinned innocently. "Who would've thought you were twenty-two with that wonderful 'You suck' line?" He sat down beside her. Chin swatted him.
        "Yea, yea..." she mumbled and got up to attempt lighting another candle.
        "Need help?" AJ got up and lit the candle she was holding. She pouted again.
        "That's it. I give up." Chin started walking off.
        "Where you going?" AJ grabbed one nearby and ran after her.
        "In search of a flashlight," Chin grinned. AJ laughed and shook his head. Both stepped into the game room. "My...It is FREEZING!" Chin placed her candle on the pool table and ran to close the window.
        "Did it rain in here?" AJ placed his candle down just as a small gust of wind flew in.
        "I don't think so." Chin struggled with the window.
        "Need help?" AJ chuckled. Suddenly, another gust of wind, much stronger, carrying raindrops, flew through and blew out the candle lights, its strength also knocking over the lamp by the door, causing a huge CRASH. Chin jumped and clung to AJ.
        "What the hell," Chin breathed.
        "It's fine...It was only a lamp," AJ assured her.
        "It's not fine...I don't like the dark..." Chin grumbled.
        "I know..." AJ looked down at her. "I'm right here." And he was right there. Chin pulled away, blushing.
        Well that's one good reason it's dark...she sighed, hoping the heat would dissipate from her cheeks. "Sorry," she mumbled. AJ sighed as well.
        "No sweat." He started looking around for a flashlight. He turned every now and then to make sure Chin was okay. After a few minutes of searching around, something else caught AJ's eyes. A few shriveled up roses in a little box. AJ picked it up and gently touched the petals. He groaned. It reminded him of the day he and Chin had broken up...AJ glanced at Chin, who was ransacking through a drawer. What did I do?...
        "WHERE IS SHE?" AJ roared from the stairs.
        "She'll be here soon. Don't worry." Sarah crossed her fingers.
        "Age, just relax and calm down." Brian tried to pull AJ into the game room.
        "Relax? You want me to RELAX? IT'S OUR ANNIVERSARY AND SHE ISN'T EVEN HERE FOR IT!"  AJ yelled, pulled away from Brian, and stomped into the room himself.
        "AJ!" Nick yelled as he entered the room after Brian. "Weren't you the one who told me the other day how much you love her?"
        "...and how there was no doubt in your mind that you wanted to marry her?" Kevin closed the door behind him and Howie. AJ looked away. There had been no doubt, but that was before this morning. There was doubt...on her side.
        "That was before she decided to ruin my plans to propose..." he muttered softly, reaching his hand into his pocket, feeling the ring box that lay dormant in the folds of cloth.
        "I'm sure she has a reasonable explanation..." Howie assured AJ.
        He looked away. Chin had disappeared early in the morning and she'd been gone all day...what explanation could there have been? That she didn't love him anymore?         "Why is she so scared of me?"
        "What?" the four other Boys looked at AJ in surprise.
        "She's changed...you guys know that...Every time I...I...she just...she always jumps...and she's always paranoid..." AJ looked lost. "She refuses to say something is wrong...but I know there's something up..." AJ looked up at his band mates. "Do you know it's been almost six months since she last told me she loved me without her voice wavering or full of fear? I never did anything...never did anything to hurt her...Why? Why is she scared of me?" AJ collapsed into a beanbag chair.
        "Wow..." Nick breathed.
        "I didn't realize it was that bad," Brian muttered.
        "If she changed...Why'd you still want to marry her?" Howie questioned.
        "I was hoping it'd bring back the old Chin..." AJ sighed. "Not that that was the only reason why..." he corrected himself. "But...I don't know...I still love her...so much..."
        "She loves you too, Age," Kevin spoke up. "I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it."
        "Then why isn't she here?" AJ's voice sounded scared and hopeless.
        "She will be," Brian hoped.
        "HEY, CHIN! " Hannah's voice echoed throughout the house. The Boys turned to AJ. He was silent for a moment and then he stood up. Nick shot to the door.
        "Take it easy, AJ. You won't get anywhere by being mad..."
        "I haven't gotten anywhere in the past six months by being loving," AJ retorted and swung open the door. When he stepped out he saw Chin just enter her room and close the door. He grew angry thinking about where she could've been...Who she could've been with...Did she love someone else now?...Did she stop loving him? AJ stormed into Chin's room, swinging the door open. She jumped and turned around.
        "Alex--"
        "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" AJ's voice thundered throughout the house. Chin's eyes widened with fear and she backed up into her bed and sat down.
        "AJ..." Kevin was walking up with the other Boys to keep AJ from doing something he'd regret...but it was too late. AJ slammed the door shut and locked it. He then proceeded to the bathroom door and locked that as well.
        "Alex...What are you doing?" Chin was clinging to her pillow.
        "Say you love me," AJ demanded, walking towards her.
        "What?"
        "SAY YOU LOVE ME." His voice was cold. AJ was staring at Chin hard.
        "I...l-love...y-you..." Chin backed up until she felt the wall pressed up against her back.
        "Why can't you say that without fear?" AJ yelled. "Why? What have I done to you, Chin? I've done nothing but love you and care for you and yet for some reason you ran away, you disappeared, on our two-year anniversary?!"
        Chin was trying not to cry. She had only left to keep him safe...
        "Alex, I..."
        "What? 'Alex' WHAT?" AJ mocked. "Why can't you tell me anything anymore?"
        "AJ! Open the door!" Cathy yelled from outside the room.
        "Alex, I swear...I DO l-love y-you and I didn't mean to ruin anything...It's just...just..."
        "JUST WHAT?" AJ was furious. "Why can't you tell me anything anymore?" He hated seeing Chin cry, but he'd had enough.
        "AJ! Open the door, NOW," Jenny screamed.
        "Don't make us break it!" Nick yelled. AJ ignored the numerous shouts and threats and approached Chin.
        "Alex, please, don't...don't make this any harder than it has to be..." Chin's voice was quivering.
        "Make WHAT harder? Are you breaking up with me? Is THAT it? You run around doing who knows what on the day of our anniversary to finally show up to tell me we're OVER?!"
        "Alex--"
        "Don't, Chin. We're NOT over...Just tell me. Please..." his voice softened. "Tell me, Chin. Tell me what I did. What did I do to hurt you? To make you jump every time I just touch you? Do you have any idea how much that hurts me? Today was supposed to be OUR day." AJ's voice softened even more. The day I was to propose to you...          "The day I would give you twenty-four red roses. No white roses left. Twenty-four months...two years, Chin...we've had two wonderful years..." he whispered...but his anger couldn't subside for much longer. "I waited all day, Chin, ALL DAY...WHERE WERE YOU?" AJ growled, grabbing Chin's shoulders. Tears were streaming down her face.
        "Alex, I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Chin kept repeating the words but soon she couldn't hear herself or see him...her tears blurred her vision and she was starting to cough from crying so much.
        "AJ, get off of her..." Howie and Kevin yanked AJ away from Chin's shaking body The girls had grabbed a screwdriver and unlocked the door from the outside. Brian and Nick grabbed AJ and began to drag him outside. He was yelling and trying to fight off the two Boys holding him but failed to do so.
        "Chin? Chin, are you okay?" Words of concern swarmed all around her but Chin ignored them.
        It was over...It was finally over...The letters and phone calls would stop now...She had prevented anything from happening that day...The day that Rebecca said would be the worst day of Chin's life...Chin had driven all over town...Staying away from AJ as much as possible...the words over the phone repeating through her head..."If I can't have AJ, nobody will." ...Chin loved AJ with all of her heart...she couldn't lose him...not that way...but...I guess this is how it ends...More tears spilled onto Chin's cheeks.
        "Girls, let me try and talk to her okay?" Kevin reasoned. After putting up a bit of a fight, they nodded silently and trotted outside. Howie closed the door behind them.
        "Let me try as well..." he spoke softly. Kevin nodded in agreement. The girls didn't know...they didn't know about AJ's plan that day...and since Kevin and Howie did...they would be the ones trying to patch all this up...
        "Chin? What happened?" Kevin asked.
        "He'll never understand. He can't..."
        "Chin?"
        "Hmm?"
        "When were you planning to tell me?" Chin stopped cold. Something in AJ's voice...Did he know? Chin turned around.
        "Tell...you...what?" she asked slowly.
        "Nothing..." AJ sighed and turned back around. I'm not supposed to know...She'll kill Kevin for telling me...How much did he tell me anyway? He said that Chin was threatened...but not a lot of details...not even how much it hurt her to break up with me because letters and phone calls...did it even hurt?
        Chin watched AJ rummage around. He knows something...Someone told him...He knows...Chin took a deep breath. Where am I supposed to start...? She sat down in the beanbag that had been by her foot.
        "I was scared..." she whispered. AJ looked up from where he had been pretending to search for a flashlight.
        "And you hurt me by not telling me." AJ's voice was flat and stern.
        "AJ...I'm sorry...but you could've been hurt...physically hurt, had I been there and stayed with you that day," Chin sighed. AJ raised his eyebrow. He didn't know that. He hadn't known anybody's life was being threatened. AJ sat down beside Chin on the ground, not knowing what to say.
        "Kevin...he..." AJ sighed. "He told me a little about Rebecca...That she had been obsessed with me...and was threatening you...You could've told me, Chin..."
        "And then what?" Chin spoke quietly. "I broke it off so you wouldn't have gotten hurt. Telling you wouldn't have done anything...She prolly would've gotten even more possessive or whatever and actually gone through with her stupid threats...We couldn't have gone around hiding from her...I mean...she even found me in Paris..."
        "She what?"
        "She didn't stop, AJ. I don't know how much Kevin told you--" Chin took a deep breath.
        "He just wanted to explain to me why you thought the whole thing was your fault--"
        "Because Rebecca wouldn’t have tried to hit ME in the car...and she wouldn't have tried to get to ME by hurting Sarah in the hospital," Chin whispered. AJ pulled her close.
        "Don't think like that. Rebecca's dead. Sarah's fine and so are you."

        "We should tell ghost stories or something..."
        "WHAT?" Sarah exclaimed.
        "We're in the dark...and well...ghost stories are just a necessity with the dark," Kevin explained.
        "Well...You know I hate scary stuff," Sarah sighed. Kevin realized that she had watched a scary movie a few days ago. Her memory was getting better..."But we can vote on it the second everyone returns." Sarah glanced at her watch as she lit it up with the Indiglo button.
        "If they ever do come back." Kevin snorted, making Sarah laugh.
        "Leave them alone, they're all in looove," she crooned as she plopped down on the couch. Kevin sighed and shook his head, laughing a bit. A thought flashed across his mind--would that "they're" ever change to "we're"...? He silently cursed himself for such wishful thinking... "So, what are we gonna to till they return?" Sarah asked. Before Kevin could respond, the flashlight went out.

        Jenny sighed as she opened the door to the balcony. Brian was being silly again...
        "I am NOT!"
        "Whoops...Did I say that out loud?" Jenny giggled.
        "Yes!" Brian stressed.
        "Oh well...It's the truth." She stepped out.
        "What are you doing?" Brian yelped, pulling her back in.
        "It stopped raining." She held out a hand to test. "Okay...Maybe there are a FEW droplets...but it's not a freaking STORM anymore."
        "Jenny?"
        "Yes, mister?" she replied. Brian chuckled. It was good to be okay with her again.
        Why do I have to always ruin things? Brian sighed and took a deep breath. "What happened between us?"
        "What?" Jenny whirled around. That was the last thing she had expected to come from his mouth.

        "I'm sorry, Chin. I didn't know...I...What...How did you get through this?" AJ wiped away a tear that had fallen down her cheek.
        "I burned the letters. I switched phone numbers a lot...Cried on poor Kev's shoulder countless times," Chin shrugged. "And...I got to know the bartender at the club nearby very well," she half-joked.
        "How well?" AJ raised his eyebrows.
        "He knew Kevin's phone number," Chin sighed and buried her head in her hands.
        "Chin..." AJ breathed. She turned to alcohol for comfort? My Chin? AJ shook his head. Not 'mine' anymore..."No wonder Kevin said he couldn't handle this alone..."
        "Yeah. He was glad as hell that I was fired. Turns out she somehow got me fired and they want me back, but I'm gonna stay here for a good amount of time..." Chin attempted to smile. "I didn't know Nick and Brian knew until that day that, um...Rebecca paid us a little visit? He had told them so they could watch out for me and be there for me while he was in Paris since I was back home..."
        "I didn't know until then..."
        "I'm sorry, AJ. I...I don't know how many times I can say it to let you know. Even before we were together we were best friends...and I told you everything." Chin looked up at AJ. "I know we got back to speaking terms over the summer, and I'm so glad we were able to talk comfortably again...but that old openness is not there," Chin sighed. "I miss that."
        "Yeah...I do too."

        "HELL YEA!" Cathy shouted. She finally found her flashlight.
        "I guess you found your buried treasure?" Howie joked.
        "FOUND CANDLES!" Hannah bounced into the room with Lance following.
        "Umm...Matches?" Lance asked.
        "It's okay..." Cathy held up the flashlight. "Got the flashlight. Don't need no stinkin' matches." Click...
        "If I'm not mistaken...That's not working." Lance laughed.
        "Shut up!" Cathy pouted. Click. Click. Click. Click. CLIck. CLICk. CLICK. "Dammit!" She chucked the useless object onto her bed. Hannah laughed.
        "Well...Where are the matches?" Howie asked.
        "Umm..." Hannah and Cathy exchanged glances.
        "THIS HOUSE IS USELESS!" Lance and Howie cried.

        Julie and Nick were laughing after hearing Lance and Howie's outburst.
        "Failure to find light." Julie snuggled closer to Nick.
        "Well, they should be more like us." Nick's arms tightened around her.
        "Mm-hmm."
        "Enjoy the dark for as long as it will last." Nick leaned his forehead against Julie's.
        "Mm-hmm," she smiled.
        "That all you gonna be saying?" Nick frowned.
        "Mm-hmm." Julie kissed Nick, who grinned in return.
        "Do you love me?"
        "Mm-hmm." Another kiss.
        "Are we on a bed?"
        "Mm-hmm." Kiss.
        "Am I the sexiest guy you have ever laid eyes on?"
        "What?"
        "I'm not?" Nick pouted.
        "Nick, that was just LAME." Julie got up from the bed.
        "What?" Nick whined.
        "You ruined the moment, Nicky...C'mon, let's go find the others..." Julie grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room.

        "So..." Kevin muttered in the darkness.
        "The flashlight doesn't work?' Sarah offered.
        "I think we established that," Kevin smiled.
        "Sorry, just trying to fill up the silence and reply to you," she shrugged, picking at her cast.
        "Where are the animals?" Kevin asked, trying to find a subject.
        "I think they all congregated in the downstairs guestroom. Afraid of the noise, and all."
        Silence settled again.
 
        "It's just...I..." Jenny sighed. This was getting difficult.
        "I'm sorry." Brian sat down next to Jenny.
        "What?" She looked up surprise.
        "I'm sorry...I should've been more understanding...You were right...I reached my dreams already...and you were trying to...I should have been more...I should've thought about your side." Brian took Jenny's hand in his.
        Such an angel...Is he the sweetest thing on earth or what? She attacked him with a hug. "I'm sorry, too..." she whispered into his ear. "I should've listened to you and we could've figured out a way for my dreams to come true and still be together."
        Brian wrapped his arms tightly around Jenny's waist. How good this felt...This moment...He wanted to freeze it for all eternity...
        The lights flickered back on.
        At that moment, Brian hated electricity.

        "Yay!" Hannah jumped up and down.
        "You were saying?" Cathy grinned at Lance and Howie. "Useless house, eh?"
        "It is," Lance insisted.
        "Hey, guys..." Julie and Nick joined them.
        "Are you back together?" Hannah squealed. Julie and Nick both looked at her in surprise, then sheepishly nodded.
        "I'm so happy for you guys!" Cathy and Hannah hugged them both.
        "That was so old news..." Lance rolled his eyes.
        "Seriously..." Howie added. The two walked off to be tackled by their girlfriends seconds later.

        "You guys are horrible," Sarah sighed.
        "What?" AJ yelped.
        "Everyone was supposed to meet in here...Or did ya'll forget?" Kevin crossed his arms across his chest.
        "We forgot..." Chin smiled innocently.
        "Sure..." Kevin narrowed his eyes.
        "I second that, " Brian and Jenny joined the crew in the family room.
        "Second what?" Sarah smiled.
        "We forgot...You know me...Bad memory." Brian winked and slipped his arm around Jenny. Sarah rolled her eyes at them.
        "Whatever." Kevin chucked a pillow at Brian.
        "Don't start something you can't finish, Richardson." Jenny warned him.
        "Oh, I'm scared, little one." Kevin joked.
        "You'd better be!" Cathy popped up.
        "We could take you, Kevin," Hannah added, appearing with Lance, Howie, Nick, and Julie.
        "You could tackle me, too..." Sarah laughed at her.
        "That was so in November! Let it go!" Hannah pretended to cry. Everyone suddenly realized Sarah had remembered something recent and snapped their attention to her.
        "Do you remember our last football game?" Howie raised his eyebrows. Everyone was huddled around her. She looked at them like they were insane.
        "Of course I do. It wasn't an eternity ago, was it?" They all looked at each other. She was getting better..."Girls beat the boys," Sarah giggled. The guys moaned.
        "Let it go..." they whined.
        "Never!" Cathy plopped down on Sarah's lap.
        "I think we should have a rematch." Nick sat on the other couch.
        "So we can kick your butts for a second time?" Jenny snorted.
        "You would hurt your dear boyfriends?" Brian batted his eyelashes at Jenny. It seemed almost not to be a habit now...it just seemed right...but was it still "pretend"?
        "Oh please..." Julie laughed.
        "Would you guys hurt your dear girlfriends?" Hannah cooed.
        "Whatever." Lance chucked a pillow at her.
        "Bass, this is WAR!" Hannah grabbed the closest pillow and chucked at back at Lance, who ducked and let it hit AJ.
        "Oh, you want some of this?!" AJ exclaimed.
        "Not really." Hannah crinkled her nose as everyone laughed.
        "Oh YEAH?" AJ grabbed the nearest couch cushion and hurdled it at Hannah's head. Hell broke loose as everyone dove for their own ammunition.
        Sarah grinned as she watched her friends have a pillow fight...something about it rang a bell but she just shrugged it off.
        Something was different now though...she could tell...something had changed. She wasn't sure what it was...But she knew deep inside...it was easier to breathe now...the air wasn't so thick.
        Tension. There was no tension...Wait, was there tension in the first place?
        "Stop thinking so deeply and join..." a low whisper came from next to her. Kevin.
        "What are you talking about?" Sarah giggled and smacked him with a pillow.
        "Ohh, you're getting it!"

>>Chapter Seven...part one