[[ Friends Forever ]]

I turned and rushed through the door of the BSB bus, hoping I could catch Nick. He was still standing there talking to Brian. " It's not your fault! " I cried, tears welling up in my eyes. " Yeah, it is. If I had pushed you out of the way, you would never have been hit, " he said. " It just hit my hand, that's all! If I hadn't stepped out in front of you, it would have hit your chest and killed you! " I argued. " Even so, you would have made it out of there unharmed, " Nick said. " Nick! Don't start this! If it had hit you and killed you, I would have gone up to the guy, taken his gun, and killed myself. I love you! " I sobbed.

Brian turned to go, knowing Nick and I needed to be alone. " Oh, Nikki... I love you, too. And that's why it's my fault. I shouldn't have let it happen. I should have pushed you away. You didn't have to get hurt, " Nick said. " I did it because I love you, Nick. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you, " I whispered.

" Please, Nikki. Don't. I know it was my fault, and no matter how hard you try to convince me that it's not, I'm not going to agree. If I had pushed you out of the way, this never would have happened, " he said.

" No... you want to know the truth? It's actually my fault! " I said, starting to cry again. " Don't even say that! You had nothing to do with it! " Nick said. " Yes, I did. If I hadn't come up and pissed that guy off, he would never have bothered me, and then I could have gone to get help and everyone would have made it out of this situation fine, " I sniffled. Nick held me tightly, and kissed the top of my head. " No, Nikki. It's not like that, " he said. " Look, Nick, if we're going to argue about this, why don't we just call it quits? It's ridiculous. If it's not my fault, then it's not either of our faults, " I said.

" No! We'll never call it quits! Ever! Don't say that! " Nick said. I looked up at him. He was crying, too. " Then tell me that you honestly believe it's not your fault, " I whispered. " It's not your fault... so who else is there to blame? " he asked. " The person who came up behind the gunman! If he hadn't come up and done that, the gun would not have gone off. He could have just called the police from a nearby phone, " I said, gulping for air.

" But... " Nick trailed off. " But nothing. It's not your fault. No one in the world blames you for this. And if anyone does, they better hope I don't find out. Because if I find out that someone blamed you for this, I'll find that gun and kill them, " I said. Nick smiled at me. " Thanks, Nikki. You don't know how much you mean to me, " he said. " Not half as much as you mean to me, " I whispered, kissing the tip of his nose.

Nick walked me back to the Strike 4 bus and made sure I was settled in my bunk comfortably.

" I'll see you tomorrow, " I said, gazing up at him. " Yes, you will, " he said, smiling at me. I giggled. He leaned over and kissed me goodnight. " 'Night, " I said. " Sweet dreams, " he said, squeezing my good hand. I smiled at him and he turned to go. " I love you, " I called after him. He turned and looked at me, then headed back over to my bunk.

" I love you, too. More than anything else in the world, " he said, kneeling beside my bunk and kissing my hand. I sat up. " Sit down here, " I said. He sat down beside me. " Nick, I love you so much. I don't ever want to lose you. Promise me that we'll always be together, " I whispered, gazing into his blue eyes. " I promise. No matter what, we'll always be together. I love you, Nikki, " he said, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close to him.

I leaned over on him and closed my eyes, sighing contentedly. Nick kissed the top of my head.

" Do you think LeAnn and Justin will want to stay with us? " I asked, out of the blue. " I don't know. They're your brother and sister. I've never met them, " Nick replied. " You'll adore them. I know you will. I hope they want to, " I said. " They will. If they love you as much as I do, they will, " Nick said.

I smiled. How had I gotten so lucky? " I feel so much better with you, " I whispered. " Huh? What do you mean? " Nick asked. " Just what I said. I feel so much better with you. You know, with you being here with me, " I tried to explain. Nick smiled at me. " Shh... yes, I know, " he said. I yawned. " Tired? " he asked.

" A little, " I replied. " I'll go, then, " he said, getting up. I held onto him. " No, don't, " I said.

" What do you want me to do? Stay here? " he asked. " Well... yeah, " I said. He smiled. " Okay, " he said, sitting back down. " Lay back, " I said, moving out of his way. He stretched out, and I curled up beside him. " There we go, " I whispered, looking into his eyes. He seemed a little surprised. " What's wrong? " I asked. " Nothing... you're not... trying to... " he trailed off.

I laughed. " Don't worry. I'm not, " I said. " Oh, okay. Just making sure, " he said. I sighed and closed my eyes. Nick sang to me, and in a little while, I was sleeping soundly. When he noticed I was asleep, he smiled. " Thank you, " he whispered, looking upward. Then he looked back at me. I was smiling in my sleep. He put his arm around me and soon was asleep, too.

When I woke up, it was still dark. I'm actually up early? I kidded myself. Nick was sound asleep beside me. I felt a throbbing in my hand and looked down. The sight of the bandage brought back everything that had happened. I groaned and pulled back the bandage to see if it was infected or something. My movement woke Nick. He looked at my hand and noticed me wincing in pain. " Do you want to go to the hospital and have that checked out? " he asked. I shook my head. " No. "

We got up and Nick followed me into the kitchen, where Charisma was standing at the sink.

" Morning, " I said. She looked up and blinked, wondering where Nick had come from. " When did he get here? " she asked. " About ten thirty last night, " I said. She looked at me in surprise. " Huh? What do you mean? Did you spend the night, Nick? " she asked him. He nodded. " Where did you sleep? There's only four bunks back there, " she said. " With me, " I answered for Nick.

Harmony wandered in. I turned around at the sound of footsteps. She looked at me, then at Nick, then at Charisma. " What's going on? " she asked. We all shrugged. I wouldn't look at her. We were still angry at each other. " You guys need to make up. It's getting to be ridiculous, " Charisma said. " I think so, too, " Harmony said. I looked at her in surprise. " Nikki, I'm sorry about getting mad at you the other day. I just wanted to get into the bathroom and get ready before my nintieth birthday, " she said.

" I... I'm sorry, too, Harmony. I didn't mean to blow up at you like that. I was aggrivated because you were rushing me and you know how much I hate being rushed, " I said. We hugged each other and everyone started clapping. Amanda appeared out of nowhere. Our manager was there, and couldn't help smiling.

" So, who spent the night here last night? " our manager, Miranda, asked. We all looked at her.

" What? " I asked. " Didn't Charisma say something about someone spending the night last night? " she asked. We all shook our heads. " You're hearing things, Randi, " Amanda said. Randi shook her head and sighed, then got off the bus again. We all burst out laughing. " Why didn't you say anything? " Nick asked when he'd stopped laughing. " She would have kicked me out, " I said, giggling.

" Nick spent the night last night? Really? " Amanda asked when we knew Randi was out of earshot. I giggled. " Well... " I trailed off. " You bad girl! " Harmony said. I looked at her innocently. " We didn't do anything, " I said. Everyone looked at Nick. " What? " he asked, throwing his hands in the air. " How'd it happen? " Harmony asked me, grinning. " Nothing happened! " I exclaimed.

" Sure... I bet nothing happened, huh, Amanda? " Charisma said. " Honestly! " I said. The others teased Nick and I relentlessly. " Stop it! Nothing happened! I swear! " I cried. " Okay, " Harmony said, not seeming to believe me. I gave up on them and took hold of Nick's hand. " Come on, " I said, practically dragging him to the door.

I was about to open the door when I realized the bus was moving. Since a couple minutes after Randi had left, we'd been moving. " Oh, great. Trapped with mental cases, " I muttered. Nick laughed. " Oh, come on. They're just teasing you, " he said. " Oh, well. It's annoying, " I said. We went back to the little living room ( or so it was called... it wasn't really big enough to be called anything ) and sat down on the couch. Just then my cell phone rang.

" Hello? " I answered it. " Hey, Nikki! " LeAnn's voice came over the phone. " Hi, LeAnn! " I said excitedly. Nick smiled at me. " Guess what? " LeAnn asked. " Did mom say it was okay? " I asked.

" Yeah! We're coming to stay with you and Nick! " she exclaimed happily. " Alright! " I whooped, almost dropping the phone. We all started laughing. I let LeAnn talk to Nick for a little while, then told her we'd be in Jacksonville in a week to pick them up. " Make sure you're ready to go! " I said excitedly.

" I will! And I'll make sure Justin's set, too. Is there anything in your old room that you want me to bring? " she asked. " Umm... not that I can think of, but I'll go in the house when we're there, and see, " I said. " Yay! I can't believe it! " LeAnn exclaimed. " Isn't it great? " I asked happily. " Hey, mom wants to talk to you, " she said. " Okay, put her on the phone, " I said.

" Nikki... I have a question, " mom said when she'd picked up the phone. " What would that be? " I asked. " How do you plan on getting these kids educated? " she asked. " Oh, that's not a problem. Tutors are easy to get, " I said. " A tutor? On the road? " she asked. " Yeah. I had one last year, remember? " I asked. I'd graduated that May with a private tutor to do my schooling. " Okay, but that means they have to do their work every day, and even if they're sick in bed, they still need to study, " mom said.

I laughed. " Don't worry, mom. Everything will be fine, " I said. " I sure hope you know what you're getting into, " mom warned. " Would you like to talk to Nick? " I asked exasperatedly. " Yes, " mom said. I handed him the phone. " She's probably going to bug you, just be prepared to have questions fired at you, " I said with a grin. He took the phone. " Hello? "

A little while later, he hung up and grinned at me. " We're set! " he said. I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. " It's gonna be great, " I said. " Hey, and then we'll have some general idea of what it's like to have kids, too, " Nick said. I giggled. " Even if they're not technically ours... you know what would trip me out? " I asked. Nick looked at me expectantly. " If people thought they were actually our kids. That would be hilarious... LeAnn's only three years younger than me, and Justin's only four years younger than me, " I said.

Nick and I laughed, and I leaned my head on his chest. I listened to his heartbeat and closed my eyes. Within a few minutes, I was asleep again. Nick didn't move. He stayed there the whole time, just so he wouldn't disturb me.