Chapter Seven: Just.A.Matter.Of.Time

    (the next morning)
    Brian slowly lay down on his back on the bed. He had woken up, made the bed, and had planned to join us to have breakfast in the kitchen. But he couldn't.
    He had to think.
    He closed his eyes as he heard the springs creak a bit. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was thinking about Cindy. Rather, he was thinking about the date. About how thoughts of Jenny kept surfacing. Those eyes. They were Jenny's, not Cindy's. No. What was he thinking? How could Cindy's eyes be someone else's? It was just a stupid thought. He blinked and shook his head.
    Jenny walked by the room on her way to breakfast. She didn't know that he wasn't in the kitchen with the rest of us till she saw him as she passed his half-open door. She backed up a few steps and peeked in. He looked so sad, or confused at least.
    "Hey, mister...you okay?"
    "Huh?" Brian turned his head to the side and saw Jenny in the doorway.
    "Are you alright?" Jenny walked in. "No breakfast?" She sat down beside him on the bed. He noticed the concern in her eyes as she looked down at him. Those eyes...
    "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, lil' missy...I'll have some later. Why?" Brian smiled and tried to forget his thoughts.
    "Just checkin'." Jenny returned the smile. They looked at each other for awhile; Jenny lost in thought, and Brian lost in her eyes..."Brian?"
    "Yeah?" Brian snapped out of his trance and sat up. What's wrong with me?
    "Are you sure you're okay?" Jenny placed a hand on his shoulder.
    "Yeah, I'll be fine..." He smiled warmly.
    "Well...If you decide you need to talk...I'm right here."
    "You're the sweetest." He gave her a hug. Jenny tried to hold back her sigh and shut her eyes tight as she rested her cheek on his shoulder.
    "JENNYYYYYYYY!" both heard Cathy call her from the kitchen. "I'M GONNA EAT YOUR FOOD!!!!"
Brian let go and tried not to watch her as she left the room.
    His thoughts returned to Cindy. He couldn't do it anymore. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to be with her in the first place. And he convinced himself that it had nothing to do with Jenny...nothing whatsoever. He didn't want to hurt Cindy, but he didn't want to lead her on. There was nothing there, really. No spark. No huge interest. Nothing...
    He picked up the phone and dialed.
    "Cinds...?"
 

    "Hey, move, you big oaf." I nudged Kevin aside, looking for the tennis ball I had just seen on the ground a minute ago.
    "Me? Big? Oaf?"
    "Yes, you. Gimme the ball." I reached for it, noticing that he had it. I had been cleaning up the backyard, picking up odds and ends - mostly Kezia, Roky, and Darwin's things...like the tennis ball Kevin insisted on possessing at the moment.
    "No." He pulled it away.
    "Children, children," we heard Cathy. Howie was behind her, with Kezia on a leash.
    "Didn't that dog already get a walk today, with Roky?" I asked.
    "Yeah...so? She's a big girl, she needs her exercise." Cathy smiled as Kezia took off back into the house, probably heading for the front door...with Howie holding on for dear life.
    "Can you take Darwin with you, then?" I asked. Cathy shrugged.
    "Sure, I don't see why not...it'll give Howie some time to learn how to walk with Kezia," she grinned, and ran inside to get my dog and his leash. She returned with my beagle, whose tail was wagging happily. "Hey," Cathy almost whispered, and beckoned me forward. I chucked an old torn up soccer at unsuspecting Kevin. I walked over to Cathy as an "OOF" was heard in the background.
    "Yeah?" I played along, whispering back.
    "What we gonna do about Chin?"
    "What do you mean?"
    "Her birthday!"
    "OH! Yeah...umm..."
    "Ummm?"
    "I'm bad at ideas!"
    "No, you're not! Why do you think I'm asking you?" Kat swatted me.
    "Owch...um...I dunno...I'll think about it...why are we whispering?"
    "I dunno...maybe Chin might come out?" Cathy smiled.
    "She isn't in the house. Anyways...can I tell Kev?"
    "Yeah...now I'd better go...Kezia might have dragged D to the next city...if the front door was open, that is..." She ran off with Darwin.
    "Gimme the ball." I turned around. Kevin was sprawled on the ground, soccer ball in his lap, tennis ball in hand, trying to make me feel bad for chucking it at him.
    "Demanding as usual, huh?"
    "Funny...Look," I walked over, and grabbed the soccer ball, "We have to think of something for Chin's birthday."
    "When is it?" He got up.
    "September..."
    "Isn't it August now?"
    "Yes, genius, but this month is almost over, and you'll be leaving before her birthday."
    "Oh." He pretended to pout.
    "Don't give me that - you're probably happy to leave."
    "HEY! Don't say that!"
    "I just did!"
 

    "I need to ride a horse," Hannah muttered through the phone, one hand fiddling with the necklace around her neck.
    "That was random. Why this sudden urge?" Jenny laughed.
    "Jenny, who are you talking to, here?"
    "Miss Horse Lover."
    "Exactly. I needn't have reasons for my randomness when it comes to that species." In a thoughtful tone, pretending to buff her nails on her shirt, even though Jenny couldn't see, she added, "Or for any bouts of randomness, for that matter."
    "Nice excuse."
    "I'd like to think so."
    "Anyway, I dunno where Chin is, but Sarah and Kev mentioned that Kat reminded them about her birthday. What do we do? The guys are gonna be gone by then, so it has to be something soon."
    "What's this? I heard Chin's name," AJ joked, standing in the doorway.
    "Where is she?" Jenny asked him.
    "She went to get some stuff at the store...Don't ask me...girl stuff..." AJ shrugged.
    "Good, she's out, we can talk about this..." Jenny beckoned AJ closer. AJ gave her a look. "Hannah's on the phone, and you're here, so it's a good time to talk."
    "Ah, I see. Ask Hannah how her photography's going, by the way."
    "Splendid," Hannah laughed; she had heard him tell Jenny to ask her.
    "Splendid, " Jenny told AJ.
    "Now...I think all you guys need, is, huh, I dunno..." Hannah began.
    "Good one, Hannah," Jenny stated. AJ raised an eyebrow at her. "She's showing off her party-planning skills superbly," Jenny explained.
    "Hey! I resent that...Crap, I gotta go...You guys talk it out, and keep it a secret. You'd better call me and tell me about it, too!...BYE!" Hannah hung up the phone. Jenny clicked it off on her end.
    "Looks like it's up to us," Jenny sighed. AJ smiled.
    "Is that a bad thing...?"
 

    "Well, Kat's got us worried," I sighed, plopping down on the couch. Kevin followed. Julie and Nick were on the loveseat, watching TV.
    "What do you mean?" Julie asked.
    "She mentioned Chin's birthday...what are we going to do?"
    "Why is it such a problem?" Nick asked.
    "Cuz we're going to be gone for it," Kevin replied.
    "Oh."
    "And she's the surprise party queen..." I muttered.
    "Huh?" both boys were confused.
    "She used to love to set up surprise birthday parties," Julie explained.
    "I think I only did two; one for her and one for Julie...but Chin did all the rest."
    "So why don't we do that for her?" Nick asked.
    "But would she expect it?" Kevin added. "Will she see it coming and pretend to not know about it?"
    "That's the thing..." I muttered.
 

    "Yo, man, what's up with you?" AJ asked as he walked into the room. Brian was still on his bed.
    "Nothing..."
    "Oh, don't give me that, Rok," AJ sat down beside him.
    "Give you what?"
    "The 'nothing' thing."
    "I can if I want to."
    "No you can't, man."
    "Do you really want to know?"
    "No, of course I don't. I just love buggin' the hell out of ya..." Aj joked. Brian barely smiled. "C'mon, spit it out, bro."
    "I broke up with Cindy." Brian stared up at the ceiling.
    "Aw, man, why? I'm sorry...You okay?"
    "Yea, I'm fine...it's was just, I dunno."
    "Not 'the one', huh?"
    "I...I guess not," Brian sighed. That was the reason, right? "Chin's birthday is coming up, you know," he changed the subject.
    "Yeah...What should we do?"
    "Who knows. Whatever it is, we gotta do soon, before we leave n' all."
    "Mm-hmm," AJ thought. What could he do for Chin? "Bri, what do you think?" AJ looked at his friend. Brian raised an eyebrow. Why did AJ sound so worried? Oh. It was Chin they were talking about.
    "I...I dunno. I mean, what do you want to do?...Are you ever going to tell her?" Brian was afraid to ask.
    "Don't plan on it."
    "AJ!"
    "BRIAN!"
    "Ugh. You're no help."
    "But you're trying to help ME, here."
    "Well...you're no help in helping me help you!"
    "That made no sense whatsoever."
    "Just forget it. Look - it all depends on what you plan to do, you know? What kind of present you get her...either it's a present from a friend, or from a-"
    "I'll go for the former."
    "AJ!"
    "Why you yellin' at me?" AJ exclaimed. Brian sighed.
    "So then what do you want to get her?"
    "I thought that's where you come in..."
    "Right. Um..."
    "Hey, remember how you got Roky for Jen?"
    "Yeah..."
    "That was a friendship present, right?"
    "Of course, doofus...what else would it be?" Brian laughed...uneasily. "What, do you still like her or something?"
    "What?"
    "Nevermind."
    "No, what do you mean?"
    "Remember how you and Howie liked her when we first met the girls?"
    "Oh...yeah. Well I don't anymore. I dunno, it was fun bothering her. She's just my buddy now."
    "Good."
    "What do you mean by 'good'?" AJ asked. Brian wondered the same thing. It had just slipped out.
    "Nothing..."
    "That was like me asking you if you still liked Julie!"
    "We're friends."
    "Bingo."
    "Anyways...sidetracked. What are you getting Chin?"
    "They need a cat in this house. Sarah once said she loved cats...so why do they have dogs?"
    "Good point. But this isn't for Sarah."
    "Still. Um...it's something useful, you know? Nobody will hate it, or anything...."
    "I guess."
    "Then I'll get her a kitten. It's settled."
    "How cute. AJ's getting Chin a kitten."
    "Shut up."
    "Make me."
    "I WILL!" AJ lunged at Brian, and they got into a wrestling match. The noise eventually drew everyone's attention in the house.
    "Ahem," Kevin coughed. He, Nick, Julie, Jenny, and I were now standing in the doorway, watching the scene. "Ahem," he cleared his throat again. Brian and AJ looked up, and broke apart.
    "I think the boys got bored..." I commented.
    "Did not!" AJ and Brian returned.
    "Did too," Jenny whispered, so they couldn't hear. Julie cracked up.
    "Was Frick fighting without me?" Nick snickered.
    "Oh, does Blondie wanna fight?!" we heard AJ ask.
    Before Nick could answer, both AJ and Brian had the blond boy off the ground, and were whizzing him out of the room, past the rest of us.
    "Heelllpp meeeee!" Nick played along...but the guys didn't let go.  They headed down the stairs.
    "Hey, you been putting on some weight there, buddy?" Brian snickered.
    "JUULIIIIIIEEEE!!!" Nick wailed.
    "Aww, he's calling his woman!" AJ laughed as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The rest of us had been thinking like Nick - that Brian and AJ would put him down when they left the room. When they didn't stop, we ran out to the balcony - we knew where this was going. Julie laughed when she heard Nick calling her. The dogs were a bit curious when they saw two members of the BSB show up in the backyard holding a third, and kept getting underfoot.
    "YOU GUYS ARE GONNA DROP ME?!?!?!"
    "Where's the trust, man?" Brian laughed, almost tripping over Roky.
    "Hey, guys - do Nicky's feet smell?" Julie called from the balcony. Brian pretended to sniff, and made a face.
    "Come to think of it - yes, they do..."
    "JULIE!!!!!!!" Nick screamed, not believing that she had given AJ and Brian the idea...
    "BATH TIME FOR THE BABY!!!!!" the two yelled, hurdling the 19-year-old into the pool. The dogs got wet by the splash and started barking. Nick came up sputtering, blond hair in his eyes. The crowd on the balcony, and the two attackers, were laughing hysterically.
    "Remind me to keep my mouth shut next time."
    "Now THAT will be easy to do, Nick," Julie laughed.
 
 

Chapter Eight: Face.The.Truth
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