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Sharon was dragged into the principal's office. They tried calling her mom but she was off on another one of her business trips.
"This kind of behavior will not be tolerated in this school, do you understand? This is your first day of school and here you are stinking drunk! Go home. You will be suspended for a week, and believe me, if you weren't new here we would throw you out in a second. We're giving you a chance. Go home and sober up." Richard Vernon, the head master, rudely dismissed Sharon from his office. She got up and left before she said anything she regretted.
At home, Sharon had nothing to do but think. She really needed Nick to comfort her right now but he was away. She glanced over at his house and sighed. She decided to take a walk down the beach. It was pretty empty, and the cool breeze blowing in was relaxing. How would she go three weeks in this horrible school and without Nick? She thought about what he had mentioned before, about having her move in with him after high school. At this point it didn't seem like such a bad idea.
*********3 Weeks Later
Nick was on flight 2881 coming from JFK Airport in New York to Tampa International Airport. It was scheduled to land at 8:01 p.m. He was anxious to see his girlfriend, but also worried. They hadn't talked much during these three weeks. Whenever he called her she seemed kind of distant. He knew that she was having a rough time at her new school, especially after she had gotten suspended, but she never went into detail about anything. He was wondering if she still had feelings for him or not.
"Hey Nick, are you all right?" Brian asked. The other guys were on the flight as well. Brian noticed that Nick looked a little pale and seemed distracted.
"I'm just worried about Sharon. We haven't talked much and it?s been three weeks. What if she's moved on?" Nick asked.
"Don't worry about it. Isn't she always kind of detached? If she doesn't usually show her emotions then all she's doing now is acting normal."
"I guess your right." Nick said. "Hey, I have a new girlfriend, too."
"Really? Dude, you never even told me" Nick was shocked.
"Well you were too hung up over Sharon to care about anything else. Her name is Catey. I met her while I was shopping in Orlando. She's great, you have to meet her sometime. How about a double date?"
"Uh, I don't know. Sharon isn't too friendly, especially toward other girls."
"But Catey's the sweetest person in the world, no one can dislike her. Come on, what do you say?" Brian was pleading with his eyes.
"Fine, I'll ask Sharon when she's free...if she's still talking to me that is." Nick said. Brian sighed and turned over to fall asleep. Nick kept worrying.
************2 Hours Later
The plane finally landed. As the boys were getting off, they could see a large group of girls holding signs. The signs read things like "I Love You, Nick!" or "AJ, Bone This!" The guys were shocked to see how their popularity had grown. Backstreet's Back had been getting tons of airplay lately, and was slowly crawling to the top of the charts. Things were finally starting to happen for them in the U.S. Luckily they had bodyguards with them to help them out with the girls, but all five of the guys insisted on staying for a while to sign autographs. Finally, they all went their separate ways. Nick had a limo to take him home. His house was just 30 minutes away. The other guys went back to Orlando.
When Nick got home, he glanced over at Sharon's house. His family wasn't around, so he decided to go visit her first thing. He rang the doorbell.
"Who is it?" Sharon asked. She had a feeling it was Nick.
"It's me, Nick." She opened the door. "Hey, what's up?" Nick went to hug her. He frantically searched her eyes for any signs of emotion. Before he could see anything, though, she stumbled nearly falling over.
"Whoa, steady there," nick said, helping her stand.
"What's up, babe? How were things in Boston and New York? Did you say hello to Jordan Knight for me?" Sharon asked. This confused Nick, but he didn't question her.
"Yeah I sure did. Here, let's get you upstairs." He could see that her mom wasn't home, but what else was new? She spent more of her time on business trips or with men than with her own daughter. How could she not notice that Sharon was drunk practically every day of her life? Nick helped Sharon lie down on her bed.
"So, how've you been?" he asked.
"Oh, you know me. Just doin the same old things."
"How's school going?" he asked.
"Well, seeing as I have that suspension on my permanent record, who knows if colleges will accept me after my junior year."
"But your grades are still great. You never know."
"Yeah let's just hope. This school sucks, they all hate me. But hey I'm glad your back...I really missed you," she said. Nick was surprised.
"I missed you a lot, too." He leaned over and gave her a kiss.
"Do you want to sleep over tonight? My Mom won't be home for a week."
Nick took this opportunity to mention the double date with Brian to her.
"Yeah I'd love to sleep over. Listen, I was talking to Brian and he was telling me about this new girlfriend that he has. Her name is Catey and she's real sweet and nice."
"Uh huh..." Sharon didn't like the sound of this.
"Well, he wanted to know if we would go on a double date with them. What do you think? Just lunch or dinner or something." Nick patiently waited for her answer.
"I guess...it?s the least I could do...if Brian REALLY wants us to meet this girl of his. Fine." Sharon reluctantly agreed. Nick hoped she would remember this when she sobered up.
***********2 Nights Later
Nick and Sharon entered The Palm restaurant. "Damn it, they're late. Why did I let you talk me into this? I don't even remember agreeing to it." Sharon said.
"Just calm down, they'll be here any minute." The waiter showed Nick and Sharon to their table.
"We've been waiting half an hour already." Sharon complained. Nick looked at his watch and sighed. It had only been 2 minutes. After what seemed like an eternity, Brian walked in with a gorgeous girl who could have been a super model. She was about 5'8" with long brown hair. She was extremely thin and had a beautiful face. Sharon didn't like her as soon as she saw her. She hated competition. Brian spotted Nick and Sharon and went up to their table.
"Nick, Sharon this is Catey."
"Hi Catey, nice to meet you," said Nick as he went to shake her hand. Sharon said nothing.
"Well, uh, we may as well sit down here. Have you guys ordered yet?" Brian asked. He immediately noticed the tension between the two girls. Nick did, too.
"How about a drink? Brian, you're 21, right?" Sharon asked. Nick shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Yeah...sure." Brian and Sharon ordered drinks. Her fake ID was always accepted. By the time Brian was done with his first drink, she had already started on her fourth. Nick was tempted to pull her aside and say something, but she would only cause a scene.
"So Sharon," Catey said, trying to spark up a conversation, "How are you liking Florida?"
"I hate it. Whose bright idea was it to build houses and buildings over swamps? It's too humid and the bugs can kill a person." Brian smiled and nodded.
"I know what you mean," said Catey. "Once, my puppy died from over heating. We found him curled up on our lawn one morning."
"Awwwww." cooed Nick and Brian. Sharon wanted to puke. The waiter brought their food to the table.
"Excuse me for a moment." Sharon said. She walked to the bathroom to touch up her make-up. It was hard to do while drunk, but she tried anyway. She had to get away from the horrible dinner date. Just as she was thinking this, Catey walked into the bathroom. She smiled hello.
"So...Catey...what do you do for a living?"
"Well, my Dad got me a job at his business, but I also like to model."
"Interesting. What, did your Mom marry Mr. Rogers or something?" Sharon scoffed. Catey finished applying her make-up and turned to Sharon.
"You listen to me, whatever idea you have about me is wrong, dead wrong. If you think you can walk all over me, think again. I can tear you apart if you don't watch out, you lush." Catey left the bathroom before Sharon could reply.
"Oh hell no, HELL no! Who the fuck does she think she is?!" Sharon thought to herself in the bathroom. She stormed back to the table.
"Hey, we were just finishing up our meals." Nick said. Sharon glared at Catey. Catey smiled back. The check finally came. Sharon was dying to get out of there. Nick pulled out his money clip to take care of his and Sharon's fares. Sharon almost fell over when she saw the many 100 dollar bills he had. She choked on her drink.
"Babe, are you all right?" Nick asked.
"What's the matter, got a frog in your throat?" asked Catey. Sharon looked at her for a second before taking the remainder of her drink and splashing it in Catey's face.
"Bitch I will fucking stomp you. Come on, let's go! You're not so tough like you were in the bathroom all of a sudden. What's wrong???" Sharon screamed. Nick buried his face in his hands and waited for it all to be over. Brian frantically tried to calm Sharon down, but before Sharon could do anything more, they were all asked to leave the restaurant. Nick and Sharon drove home in silence.
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