"Hey Liz...we’re gonna be leaving now," Nikki called to me from the front of the bus when she saw me through the open door to the bunks. "Izzie’s going to be following the bus in the car just in case..."

"Ok," I replied.

Once the dancers and Nikki were off the bus and we were on our way, I plopped down in my bunk on the now empty bus. The only other person on the bus was Charlie, our driver. Izzie was following the bus in a car...that was part of the procedure, in case anything went wrong...or in case there was a huge mob of fans or anything like that. After lying there for a little while, I was really bored so I decided to call Meg.

~~~~~~~~~~» Meg «~~~~~~~~~~

My phone started ringing so I paused the movie that Howie and I were watching and hopped up to get it.

"Yello."

"Hey Meggers!"

"Liz!! What’s up?" I asked when I realized who it was.

"Aw, not much. I’m on the bus by myself ‘cause the dancers went to Katie’s parent’s house before they meet us at the hotel," she replied with a small sigh. "But it’s all good...I like time by myself every once in a while."

"So where are you headed right now?" I asked her while I gave Howie a smile.

He smiled back.

"We’re just entering the city limits right now on I-90. *pause* Man...this traffic isn’t too bad...prolly ‘cause it’s only three o’clock though," Liz said.

"Yeah...wait ‘til rush hour and I guarantee you’d have a different opinion," I said with a laugh.

I instantly stopped laughing when I heard tires squealing on the other end of the line.

"Liz? Are you ok?" I asked. "Liz...LIZ!?"

The line went dead.

"We’re sorry...the number you have dialed has been temporarily disconnected. Please hang up and try again..."

"Howie...something’s not right," I said as I turned the phone off and turned to face him with a worried look on my face.

~~~~~~~~~~» At The Same Time «~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~» AJ «~~~~~~~~~~

"Yo dude...wanna shoot some hoops?" I asked Nick.

We were watching some stupid show on TV and I was bored of that so I decided to find something else to do. I felt a whole lot better that we talked and got through the whole thing because I realized that Liz was right...we had been through so much together and it would be completely stupid if we just stopped our friendship right there like that.

I got kinda scared when he didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look up at me so I went over and sat down next to him. When he saw that I was sitting next to him, he looked over at me and sighed. Without warning, he stood up and walked over to the phone. He picked it up and dialed a number. After a few seconds, he hastily pushed the off button and put the phone back.

"NOOOOOO!!!!" he screamed.

His voice was full of pain, and before I knew it, he fell to the floor and started bawling uncontrollably.

"What’s wrong Kaos?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"I told her...I told her not to do it..." he whispered through his tears.

He looked up at me.

"Why didn’t she listen?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, completely confused about what he was talking about.

He didn’t answer. I watched him stand up, wipe his eyes dry, and then grab his jacket.

"Get your keys and pack a bag. We’ve got to go to Chicago," he said before he walked out the door.

Once Nick was out the door, I practically ran up the stairs to my room, threw some clothes into a bag, and grabbed my cell phone before I locked the house and met Nick at his Durango. When I opened the door and jumped into the front seat, he turned on the engine and quickly pulled out of the driveway.

"I called Kev and told him that we were flying to Chicago right away," he said after a few minutes of silence.

"Nick...what’s going on?"

He didn’t say anything as he continued driving towards the airport.

"Please...tell me..."

I sat there and waited for his answer. I didn’t expect it when he reached up to his face with his right hand...he wiped away a few stray tears. When my cell phone rang, I jumped in surprise and then reached over the seat to get it from my bag that was sitting on the middle bench.

"Hello."

"May I please speak with Mr. McLean?" a deep authoritative voice asked.

"This is him," I replied.

"Mr. McLean...I’m so sorry," the voice said. "There has been a very serious accident on the outskirts of Chicago on I-90..."

I gasped.

"Miss Liz’s bus was involved in the accident," the voice continued. "I found your number on her cell phone and she’s told me about you numerous times so that is why I’m calling you."

My mind was reeling with all kinds of thoughts.

"Please excuse me...my name is Izzie, Liz’s personal bodyguard," he said after I didn’t answer.

"Oh no...NO...please tell me she’s ok..." I pleaded.

Nick looked over at me and when he saw the worried look on my face, he reached over and patted my shoulder a few times to let me know that he was there to support me.

© Liz Holder 2000