The rest of the week was spent with various activities. We all went horseback riding when Hannah and Lance made us. We went to the mall and went ice skating after Jenny and Brian convinced us to; Nick had fun trying to teach Julie to ice skate. We played laser tag. We saw two or three plays and movies.  We vowed to never let AJ and Howie near popcorn again. Now and then we'd see or hear from the body guards who I think were enjoying their time off.
        Soon it came time for the guys to leave; their week vacation was coming to an end. We drove them to the airport using our three cars. In the terminal, we found out that Lance's gate was somewhat a distance from the Boys' gate, so we parted ways with him...Hannah went with him to say goodbye.

        The two spotted his gate.  The boarding would start in a few minutes. Lance put down his bags, wrapped his arms around Hannah's waist, and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck. His forehead and nose touched her forehead and nose.
        "I'm gonna miss you," he whispered.
        "I'm gonna miss you more..." She tried to smile back.
        "I gave you my cell phone number...you can always call me, okay?"
        "Yeah...yeah..." she averted her eyes as if dreading something.
        "What?"
        "Nothing."
        "Tell me..."
        "Nothing."
        "Please."
         Hannah looked at him. "It's just that I've been thinking. You're going away, so now what? Yeah, I can call you on the cell phone, or at a hotel or something...big whoop. You're gonna be too busy for me and you know it..."
        "I'll never be too busy for you!"
        "Yes you will be. You have your billions of fans and a hectic schedule. Think realistically. I'll just be a speck in the back of your brain..."
        "Don't talk like that."
        "Lance, this week was really fun, I'll give it that--"
        "Don't say what I think you're saying..."
        "You're thinking correctly; I am...There's no point in us keeping whatever this is. It'll just cause us both hurt and unnecessary worry-- "
        "But there is nobody...but you...for me," Lance broke in with a cracked voice on the verge of tears. Hannah had tears in her eyes and shook her head.
        "You've known me for a week, Lance. A week. Seven days. What is that? Whatever you're feeling is just an infatuation, and a strong liking..." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him before he could speak. She broke away and put a finger on his lips to shush him. "This is not goodbye forever, okay? We're friends, we have been for this past week...only with something more. What's ending is not the friendship, just the little thing that tried to take it to the next level. That's what's ending...it's for the best," she whispered and hugged him. She let go and looked into his bewildered eyes. She wiped away a tear that had escaped from one of them. She got out of his embrace and slowly walked backwards for a moment, leaving him standing there,  as the boarding call began. He stood there with billions of things running through his head as different emotions pulled at his soul.  He looked at the gate and looked back at her. He didn't know what to do. Hannah tried to smile. "Goodbye for now Lance," she whispered as he was pushed towards the gate in the crowd. She turned and began to run. She heard him yell her name but she couldn't look back as tears began streaming down her face.

~*~*~*(Meanwhile, back at the Boys' gate)*~*~*~
        "You will call us, right?" Kevin questioned me.
        "No, we'll just completely forget about you guys!" I joked.
        "Just what I thought," he smiled, gave me a bear hug goodbye, and left for the gate, having already said goodbye to everyone else.
        "So, Kat, I guess this is goodbye," Howie said.
        "Good riddance, you Backstreet Boy!" Cathy laughed and gave him a hug. He then finished saying bye to everyone else and followed Kevin's path. Chin and AJ were bickering good-naturedly.
        "Who am I gonna fight with now that you're leaving?" Chin laughed.
        "Just call and scream on the phone, man!" AJ grinned and Chin giggled.
        "Bye, Alex," she gave him a hug.
        "I thought we went over that."
        "Over what?"
        "I'm AJ."
        "So? You're still Alex!" She grinned and pinched his cheek.
        "I'll just have to teach you a lesson later!" He gave her an evil grin, before moving on to say goodbye to everyone else. "Now who am I gonna get punched by?" he laughed as he hugged Jenny.
        "I think I'll just call and let one of the guys take my place for awhile...maybe Kevin," Jenny joked.
        "Damn, that's gonna hurt...I bet Bri would take over though," AJ grinned and gave her a wink before he left. Brian came up to her holding Roky. He had finished with his other goodbyes.
        "Forgot someone," he smiled.
        "Aww thanks for holding him. I'm surprised they let him in the airport."
        "No prob," Brian replied handing the puppy back to Jenny.  She cuddled it.
        "This week was amazing," she sighed.
        "Yeah...you're gonna keep me up to date with Roky's new life, right?" he asked.
        "Of course, silly! He's your dog too."
        "Well you did buy him."
        "But he was you birthday present."
        "So? I think he likes you anyway," she grinned as Roky attacked Brian's face with licks.
        "Tyke's gonna be mA-ad!" Brian laughed and hugged her. Roky made an "oof" sound as he was squashed between them.
        "Aw, you squashed Roky!" Jenny laughed. Brian knelt so he was face to face with the puppy.
        "I'm sorry, Roky," he said and patted the puppy's head. Roky gave a small bark and licked him.
        "I think he forgives you," Jenny smiled.
        "You too, mister!" she yelled to  him as she watched him walk through the gate.
        Nick and Julie were in their own little world. They were standing in an embrace; Julie's head was on Nick's chest and his head was on top of hers. They stood in silence for while.
        "I'll call you every day...if not that, at least once a week..." Nick said quietly.
        "You don't have to do that."
        "But I want to."
        "...Aren't you glad Jenny made Sarah run off for some money in the arcade? I do remember you were a little pissed that you didn't finish your game..." Julie lightly laughed.
        "Yeah...I remember your face when you realized who it was."
        "Liar!...I remember YOUR face when you realized we weren't gonna flip out cuz we met you guys."
        "Aw shucks. You got me."
        "Of course...Nick?"
        "Hmmm?"
        "What about the fans?"
        "Umm..."
        "I mean, what are we?"
        "What would you like us to be?" he grinned.
        "Oh...I dunno..."
        "Julie...?"
        "Y-yes?"
        "Will you be my girlfriend?"
        "YES!" She hugged him tighter and Nick laughed. "Nick...?" she said as she pulled away.
        "Yeah?
        "What are you going to tell them? The fans?"
        "I dunno...I've been trying not to think of it."
        "But you'll have to deal with it."
        "Yeah...but when it comes up, I'll deal with it, k? Let's not worry about it now," he said and kissed her. They broke apart as the boarding call began ringing through the gate area.
        "Bye," Julie whispered.
        "Bye," Nick kissed her on the nose, picked up his bags, and walked to the gate. Before he went in, he turned as if on cue; Julie blew him a kiss...he pretended to catch it.
        The five of us stood dumbly at the window, searching for the Boys' heads in the windows of the plane. We saw AJ and Brian wave frantically before the plane pulled away.  As soon as the plane was out of view, we turned to leave the gate area. A frantic Hannah ran into me.
        "What's the matter Hannah!?" Julie asked in a worried tone as I tried to keep Hannah standing.
        "I...told...him..." she said between sobs.
        "Who...?" Chin asked.
        "Lance..."
        "Told him what?" Jenny asked.
        "That...we...were...over..." Hannah pulled me into a hug and cried even harder.
        "WHY!?" Cathy asked.
        "I...don't...know..." she sobbed.
        "Hannah, just call him then!" I urged.
        "I ...can't...I told him...it was for the best...to end whatever we had...cuz it wouldn't work...I told him we still had our friendship...and it wasn't bye forever...and then...then....I ran away..." she cried. She held onto me for support as we walked to the exit to get to the parking lot. She was a mess.
        "Oh Hannah..." I said trying to calm her down.
        "Let's go home," Cathy suggested as she and Julie headed to their car.
        "Jenny, go with Chin, I'll drive Hannah home," I said. Jenny nodded as I helped Hannah into our car.
        "It was for the best...it was for the best...it was for the best..." she mumbled, trying to convince herself. She stared out of the window the whole ride home.
 

*Chapter 24 ~ Phone Bills*
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