~~~~~~~~~~» Chrystal «~~~~~~~~~~

"We’ll see you there," I told Liz before Bri and I walked out to the door to the three-car garage where my car was parked.

Once we were in and buckled up, I pulled the car out of the garage and we were on our way. I smiled at Bri when he reached over and turned the radio on before he began singing along softly. When we reached the main street, I held my hand out and smiled when he set his hand in mine. He gave it a little squeeze as he set his other hand on top. It was nice to finally be alone for a little while...at least until we got to the club a little later where we’d be meeting everyone else. Everyone decided to go out on a boat earlier, which was fun. Liz called and rented a boat from a guy that Izzie knew, so we all went sailing and then stopped on a small island for a late lunch while Madi took a nap in the cabin. It was a nice peaceful way to spend the day and we all had a lot of fun while we relaxed on the beach afterwards. Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to head home. Liz called one of her favorite clubs in downtown Miami and had the owner (who was also a friend of hers) reserve the balcony level for her group which would consist of her dancers and singers, as well as Arti, Meg, AJ, and Bri. Destiny and Kyleigh volunteered to stay home and watch Madi, knowing that Liz would rather stay home with Madi...they knew that she needed a night for herself for once, since she hadn’t had one in a while and wouldn’t get one for a long time to come.

"Where are you taking me?" Bri asked with a silly smile.

"That’s a secret," I replied slyly.

His smile turned into a cute innocent face, as if trying to persuade me to tell him. I laughed before I turned my attention back to the road. I’d decided that since we hadn’t had much time to our selves, we were going to go out to dinner and then meet everyone else at the club when we were done. That would give us plenty of time to have a nice dinner and everyone else enough time to get ready or whatever they needed to do.

~~~~~~~~~~» AJ «~~~~~~~~~~

The second we walked in the door, the pulsating music welcomed us to come in further and unwind for the night. Lights and dancing people were the only thing in sight from the balcony where Liz led us, but from the entrance, you could see the fun and lively décor that went with the laid back environment. Colored lights and fogs of different colors brought the club to life. I watched as the crowd of people on the balcony mingled and happily lounged on couches and plush chairs. Liz was talking to the owner of the place, so I walked over to the edge of the balcony and watched the mob of dancing people below.

"Something to drink?" a voice asked nicely.

I turned a little and saw a woman standing near me. She was wearing a money belt thing around her waist, so I figured she worked there.

"Umm, no. Maybe later," I replied. "Thanks though."

"Lemme know if there’s anything I can get you," she said with a wink before she turned and walked away towards a Linni, Arti, and Meg.

After the glance in Liz’s direction told me that she was still busy, I turned back to the balcony and watched as more and more people filtered into the crowd from the door. After a little while, they stopped letting people in, though the place wasn’t quite full. It was probably better that way, since we were here. When a slow song came on over the speakers, I watched couples dance and sway to the music. ‘I wish things were back to the way they used to be’ I thought to myself as I watched one of Liz’s guy dancers walk onto the dance floor with one of her girl dancers to enjoy a dance together. The song was nearing the end when I felt a hand on my back.

"You should go down and dance..."

I turned my head a little and saw Liz standing next to me. Her soft voice could barely be heard over the loud club music. She slid her arm around my back and stood next to me as she too watched the crowd below dance to the music.

"I...uh...I’m just gonna watch for now," I replied quietly, watching her instead of the crowd below.

"K," she said as she reached over with her other hand and set it on my stomach before she looked up at my face. "Let me know if you need anything ok?"

"I will," I told her before I watched her let me go.

She slowly stepped away from me before she turned around and went over to join in the conversation that a bunch of her girls were having at one of the couches. I watched her for a second before I turned away and shut my eyes momentarily. I knew that this whole ‘baby’ thing was going to be hard for her and that she desperately missed her friend, but I knew she’d be able to handle it. She seemed so much more in a matured state of mind now than when I’d last had a real conversation with her more than eight months prior, which was probably a result of becoming a mother basically overnight. Her whole disposition was different. Her hair was no longer the bright purple color that it had been at the VMA’s, but back to it’s blond color, now cut into a conservative A-line cut just above her shoulders.

"Hey Boner."

Bri walked up to me and patted my shoulder. I sighed a little, not out of disappointment, but out of habit I guess. I looked up at Bri and saw him nod to a couple of empty chairs a few feet away. I nodded in agreement and followed him as he went and sat down in one. He must have caught the quick glance that I took of the couch where some of the girls were sitting and talking with Liz when he said something.

"She’ll come around Bone," he said.

I sat down in the chair next to his and ran my hand through my hair.

"I just...I dunno..." I said with a sigh. "I know she’s holding back from me, but I don’t know why."

He gave me a small nod, as if telling me to keep talking.

"In the two years I’ve known her, she’s changed me for the better, but I’m afraid I’ve changed her for the worse," I said sadly. "I can’t live without her there for me...and it kills me to know that she knows how I feel, but is holding back for some reason. I know she’s afraid, but I don’t know of what. If she’d just let me in..."

I reached up and rubbed the sides of my face in frustration. Bri leaned a little closer to me.

"Just give her some time. She’ll come back, and when she does, she’ll need you there waiting for her with open arms," he said. "Right now she needs you as a friend...hold her, comfort her, show her that you care. She loves you. Don’t ever forget that."

He stood up and walked over to the small bar that was on the other side of the balcony near the couch where Liz and the girls had been sitting before. They weren’t there any more, so I figured they were down on the dance floor. Bri quickly drank his drink that he ordered before he went over to the stairs to the dance floor and disappeared down them. When a fast song came on over the speakers down below, I got up and went over to the balcony once again to watch the people dancing. I could tell that it was starting to get late, and since it was already late when we got here, we most likely wouldn’t be here for much longer. The crowd was gradually thinning out by the minute, but the dance floor was still full of people. The song was quickly over before another started playing. My eyes skimmed the dance floor until I saw the group of dancers that I recognized. They were dancing towards the middle of the floor, and when a few of the dancers started dancing a dance, the others gathered around them in a circle. Liz walked in and joined them as if it were choreographed that way. I listened to the beat of the well-known hip-pop song as I turned and made my way down the stairs to join the other onlookers of the circle.

After carefully making my way through the crowd to the middle of the dance floor, I stood in the front of the circle next to a girl (that I didn’t know) and Kyle, one of Liz’s dancers. Liz danced with Dalone while a few of her other dancers were also dancing around in the big circle.

At one point, Dalone began spinning Liz around before he stopped, did a few steps, and then spun her around the other way...sort of like ballroom, but a lot more modern with steps and moves here and there.

Just when I wasn’t expecting it, she spun around one too many times. Dalone accidentally let go of her hand and she went flying, smacking into me. Luckily, I kept my balance, keeping us both on our feet instead of falling to the floor.

"Oh my gosh! I’m sooo sorry!" she said after she pulled away a little.

"Are you alright?" I asked, brushing some hair out of her face.

She quickly straightened up and brushed her hair behind her ears.

"Yeah, I’m fine," she replied. "Are you ok?"

"I’m ok," I said as the song came to the end.

Everyone that was watching from the circle clapped and cheered for the dancers, but instantly broke apart when another fast song started playing...it was a nice bass-beat club version of ‘You Make Me Sick’ by Pink. When I saw that she was about to walk away, I took hold of her hand. She looked up at me with wondering eyes.

"Dance with me?"

"But...I..."

"Please?"

When she nodded a little after a few seconds, I gave her a small smile before I took hold of her other hand. I gently set her hands on my shoulders before I moved my hands down to her hips as we started moving together with the rhythm of the music. When she reached up with one hand and brushed her hair out of her eyes, I moved closer to her and wrapped one arm around her back with the other one still on her hip.

~~~~~~~~~~» Arti «~~~~~~~~~~

I followed Meg over to the edge of the balcony and watched the people dancing on the dance floor. The song had a nice thumpin’ bass beat and we watched some of the couples and people getting pretty frisky until the song ended and it was replaced with ‘Tell Me It’s Real’ by K-Ci and Jo Jo, an older slow song. I looked around the dance floor at the slowly diminishing crowd until I saw Liz and AJ. He wrapped his arms around her, setting one hand on her lower back while the other was wrapped around her upper back. She let one arm rest on his arm with her hand on his shoulder while her other hand sat on his neck. She laid her head on his shoulder, close to his ear so that her forehead touched his neck as they swayed together.

"They look so cute together," Meg said after a few seconds. "They’re so natural...it’s a given that they’re meant to be together."

I nodded, thinking the same thing. "I wonder if they’ll ever get back together."

"I don’t know, but it’d be a shame if they didn’t," Meg replied, looking over at me. "They’re too perfect for each other."

"She still loves him...I can tell every time I look into her eyes," I told her. "They seem close to getting back together, but things aren’t that simple."

"If they want it to happen, they’ll both work through this together," she added.

~~~~~~~~~~» AJ «~~~~~~~~~~

When I began to rub my hand up and down her back like old times, Liz lifted her head and pulled closer to me as if not wanting to let me go. She gently leaned her head against mine as she lifted her hand that was on my neck and lightly ran her fingers through the hair behind my ear.

"I’m sorry," I whispered, knowing that she’d be able to hear me since her ear was next to my lips. "I shouldn’t have come here..."

When she didn’t say anything in response, I continued.

"I...just...I needed to see you," I added.

She let her fingers wonder to the back of my neck before she gently pulled my head closer to her.

"I was expecting it, but I’m relieved you came to find me," she whispered back in a low voice that made me tremble a little. "Just promise me that you won’t tell anyone about Madi...no one knows about her."

She pulled away and looked me in the eye. I nodded a little when I saw the worried look in her eyes.

"I haven’t even told my parents...and besides you and the other three, no one outside of my crew knows," she added. "I’d like to keep it that way for a while, so please don’t tell the other guys."

"I promise," I whispered with a nod.

She wrapped her arms around me once again as the song continued playing.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You’re welcome," I whispered back.

Another slow song came on over the speakers and I was surprised when she didn’t let me go, but held onto me as the song began to play. She laid her head on my shoulder again as we slowly danced to the music.

When I heard Liz’s quiet sniffles, I realized that she was silently crying. She pulled her hand away from my neck and wiped her eyes with her head still on my shoulder. I rubbed her back a little since it was the only thing that I could think of to help calm her down.

"This was Rachel’s favorite song," she whispered suddenly in a voice that was barely audible. "I miss her so much..."

She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug, so I did the same to her, enveloping her in a warm hug as she quietly cried in my embrace.

Even as the music changed to a fast song, she stayed engulfed in my embrace. It was only when I pulled away a little that she looked up at me as she wiped her eyes.

"Come on..." I told her as I took her hand in mine and led her to the stairs.

When I saw that Bri and Chrys were just starting to walk up the stairs to the balcony, I hurried over to them before they got much further.

"We’re gonna go," I whispered to them as I motioned to Liz as she sadly walked to the private entrance/exit door.

"Is she ok?" Chrys asked.

"That last song made her realize that Rachel really isn’t coming back...it was her favorite song," I explained. "She’s just not used to her being gone yet."

"Let us know if there’s anything we can do, ok?" Bri asked.

"I will," I replied before I turned and walked over to where Liz was just about to walk out the door.

Even though she was wearing a long sleeved shirt and long pants, I could tell that she wasn’t very warm. The second we stepped out into the cool Florida air, she shivered harshly, though I didn’t know if it was from the cold or because she’d been crying. I quickly took my leather jacket off and draped it around her shoulders as we walked to her car. Earlier she’d suggested that I rode with her, since there was no sense in driving two cars when we only needed to drive one. After we stopped at her car, I quickly walked in front of her and rubbed her arms a little while she hugged her arms to her chest. She looked at the ground until I reached out and pulled her to me in a warm hug. She nestled her head against my chest, finding comfort from the embrace.

"Thanks for being here," she whispered.

"I’ll always be here when you need me," I replied. "I love you."

~~~~~~~~~~» Early The Next Morning «~~~~~~~~~~

4:57 was what the digital clock read when I quickly glanced up to check the time. The house was quiet, except for the sounds of people sleeping and clocks ticking on the walls. There weren’t any lights on, but with the small nightlight by Madi’s crib on, there was just enough light to see exactly what I wanted to. As I leaned over the edge of the bed, I reached out and gently touched Liz’s cheek with my hand. She was asleep, and she slept like an angel. I hated doing this to her, but it was the way it had to happen. She was close enough to the edge near me that I leaned over a little more and gently kissed her forehead before I slowly stood up, making sure she stayed asleep. I soundlessly walked around the bed to the other side and placed a small box and an envelope on the unused pillow before I turned and left her room. I picked up my duffel bag that had my clothes in it from the floor and slung it over my shoulder as I walked to the stairs. I’d slept in Chrystal’s room for the night. Chrystal slept on the couch in Tina’s room so Bri and I could share her room. Bri slept like a baby, so I had no problems gathering my things into my bag.

"I love you..." I whispered out loud one last before I walked out the door and shut it behind me.

Chapter 19

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