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Sorry it took so long for an update. Special thanks to Anastacia and Ayleen for the reviews. Because of you, I decided to continue with this! It meant a lot to me to hear your feedback! Thanks again!

Chapter Nine

Adonica, Alaura, Dulcia and Howie began walking away from the group and to the exit of the ride when they saw people beginning to walk down the stairs and out of Speed-Demon. All four’s hearts were hammered in their chests. They weren’t sure what the chances were of Brian and A.J. being on the ride that had gone down, but the timing was too close to take any chances on letting it go.

“Maybe they’re still stuck in line somewhere,” Alaura said, trying to calm everyone’s nerves.

Adonica had since begun to bite her nails, something that she only did when she was terribly nervous.

“But wouldn’t they have left the ride already?” Howie asked, “I’ve been near by and if it just happened, one of us would have seen them leave.”

Howie’s negativity brought all of the fear back to the girls that had left them temporarily. They wanted to know where their two friends were and if they were okay. The four friends stood by the exit not moving an inch as a new group of people rushed down the stairs. They all carefully looked at each individual face to see if any were who they were looking for.

“I don’t see either of them,” Alaura stated, “And there is nobody else coming out of it.”

Adonica began gnawing at her nails furiously. The two men had been friends of hers for years now. She didn’t want anything bad to have happened to them. They were all extremely close, the guys and the dancers…especially her and her best friends. The other dancers basically just did their job and didn’t have an outside friendship with the guys. Adonica was startled when she felt arms going around the back of her. She jumped and whipped around. Rich was standing there, along with Devin and Brad.

“What’s going on?” he asked her.

“One of the trains derailed,” she explained.

“Woah, that sucks,” Devin said, grabbing Alaura’s hand. “What’s that got to do with you all though?”

Dulcia shook her head, walking over to Brad. The guys of LFO weren’t quite understanding the seriousness of it. She wondered if all guys were completely unintelligent.

“Everything,” she explained, “Brian and A.J. were on there. They were due to get on right when it happened.”

Dulcia and her friends could see fear fill the three guy’s eyes, but it quickly vanished. She could tell that they really weren’t worried.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Brad shrugged, “I mean, the chances are slim to none that something happened to them.”

“Then why aren’t they coming down, oh smart one?” Dulcia asked bitterly, “I mean, everybody else pretty much has.”

“Maybe they got off and none of ya’ll saw it,” Rich reasoned, “It’s entirely possible, ya know.”

The three girls grunted in disgust. If the LFO guys were as close to the Boys as they were, then maybe they’d understand why they were so worried. Adonica was disgusted with all three men for just nodding off the situation as if it were extremely insignificant and like they couldn’t care less.

“Damnit,” Howie muttered, and then asked, “Where the hell are they?”

He wasn’t really expecting an answer to his rhetorical question. It was more or less him thinking aloud. It still made him nervous though when nobody answered and wished that somebody would at least say something.

Several minutes later, Howie noticed four men slowly walking down the stairs, which led them safely to the ground. Howie squinted into the sun, trying to make out who they were. His heart accelerated when he saw that it was his four other bandmates. He breathed a sigh of relief that they were all okay. But wait…what were Kevin and Nick doing with them?

“Look,” Howie exclaimed, pointing, still dumbfounded that they were all together, “There they are.”

The entire group looked as the four Boy’s hurried down the last of the stairs in their direction and pushing through the gate one at a time. Adonica could feel tears of happiness welling up in her eyes that they were all okay. She too, wondered what Nick and Kevin were doing with Brian and A.J though.

“Thank god you’re all right,” she cried, throwing her arms around Kevin, and then hugged the other three men.

Dulcia and Alaura both hugged the men as well. Alaura went to A.J. last, keeping her arms around him for just a little bit longer than the others, but barely enough to notice. Jealousy boiled in Devin’s veins. Why did his girlfriend have to go hugging the four Boys? In his mind, they were all okay, end of story. Howie, not caring how un-manly he acted, gave each friend of his a hug too. He’d never been so scared in his life.

“What the hell happened?” was the first thing out of Alaura’s mouth, “And what took ya’ll so long to get your butts down here?”

The guys all looked at one another, wondering if they should inform everybody else of what had happened. None of them really didn’t want to worry anybody. They were all okay, after all, but a chance of luck.

“Well,” Kevin began, “One of the trains flew off of the track…”

“No shit,” Dulcia replied sarcastically, “Ya think so? Tell us something that we don’t already know. And besides, as far as we all know, it was just Aje and Brian in line. How did you magically appear with them?”

“We got in line behind them,” Nick told her, “We were going to be on the train right after them.”

The guilty feeling was coming back to him. He wondered if anybody on the defective ride was alive or okay. He hoped so. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that it should have been Kevin and him.

“Some kids cut us off though…so we should have…”

None of the girls gave Nick the time to finish. Adonica gasped, knowing just where his sentence was headed toward. She threw her arms around Kevin again, without really realizing it. Kevin put his arms around her back, giving Rich a sideways glance. He hoped that this didn’t end badly, even if he did enjoy having her arms around him.

“Hey, I’m fine,” he laughed, but it was obvious that it was forced and there was a slight hint if trouble in his masculine voice, “Everything is fine.”

Adonica pulled away from the hug, seeing in his eyes that everything wasn’t really completely fine though. She was just thankful that they were all okay. For the first time since the group had been reunited, Adonica noticed that her heart was still pounding in her chest from the fear that she had felt. She wondered why, when she’d found out that he, too, was with A.J. and Brian, she’d felt emotions that somebody who was only a friend would not feel. She was so mixed up lately. She loved Rich, but lately, she was having confusing feelings for Kevin as well. It scared her.

Rich, meanwhile, looked at Kevin, seeing the adoration in his eyes for Adonica. Taking her hand in his, he pulled his girlfriend close to him, making sure to let it be known that she was his. He smiled to himself in triumph when Kevin looked at them and saw longing in his eyes. One thing was for sure though. Rich decided that he was definitely going to propose to Adonica by the end of the week. He hoped that it would put an end to Kevin’s little crush on her and make him realize that he would never have Adonica.

Alaura walked over to Devin, trying to take his hand, but he brushed her off coldly, stepping away as if she were a leper.

“What?” Alaura asked him, hurt in her eyes.

“Why don’t you go get cozy with A.J.” he spat, making sure that it was loud enough for all to hear, “You seemed to be more than pleased to see him.”

“Devin,” Alaura said, “Of course I was happy to see that he was ok. We’ve been friends for a really long time.”

Devin snorted, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest. Alaura tried again to get closer to him, but he backed away again.

“Devin,” she pleaded, hating this jealous side of her boyfriend that was coming out. Alaura wondered what was causing him to act like this. She wasn’t interested in A.J, or any of the other Boy’s for that matter, in any kind of romantic way.

“Don’t talk to me,” he told her coolly, and begun walking away. Brad and Rich both kissed their girlfriends goodbye before running after their friend.

Alyssa watched Devin leave as a tear slid down her face. She just couldn’t win. She honestly didn’t know what she had done wrong. Everybody around her had looks of confusion written on their faces. A.J. raised an eyebrow, wondering why Devin had involved him.

“What was that all about?” Brian asked.

Alyssa shrugged, visibly upset by the rejection from her boyfriend. The day, which had started out to be so great, had ended sourly, taking a downfall rapidly. She knew, when everybody begun walking away together, that they were leaving the park completely. She sighed, hoping that the kids that were on the ride in Nick and Kevin’s places were okay. She also hoped that her relationship with Devin wasn’t over. Again, she wondered how things could take such a turn for the worst.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nick’s eyes widened as the scene at the park earlier that day appeared on the news. There was yellow tape strewn across the entire ride, gates and all, with the words CAUTION printed in bold black lettering. The camera zoomed in at the place where the ride had lost its course. Nick’s stomach was sent into turmoil at the sight of it. Everybody on the ride had been taken off of it, but it still sent chills down Nick’s spine. He found it gory and morbid to even show pictures of the mangled, wrecked train lying on the ground in a crumpled heap.

“This is Marie Coy reporting live. A devastating accident has left coaster lovers in shock this afternoon,” A news reporter announced, stepping into view of the screen in front of the ride. The wind lightly tasseled her black hair, blowing it into her dark, serious eyes, “One of the trains on the new thrill ride Speed Demon at Thrill Island Amusement Park derailed, leaving seven people dead and twenty-five critically injured. The cause of the accident is unknown at this point in time. The ride will be shut down for investigation. We will keep you posted with the latest information. Back to you, Lucy.”

Nick had since tuned out the reporter. The information, he was hearing, but he wasn’t comprehending it. It was as if it were going in one ear and straight out the other. He didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t want to know or be a part of it.

“Scary, isn’t it?”

Nick jumped, looking behind him to find Kevin standing there. He hadn’t even heard the older man walk into the room. Nick stared at him blankly for a moment, then nodded slowly, at loss for words.

Kevin walked over and sat down next to Nick. He looked into the blondes blue eyes and could see that there was still pain and guilt wedged deep down into them. He felt the same. His soul screamed with guilt just knowing that it should have been them.

“Seven people died, Kev,” Nick whispered, “Seven people. What if it was those little boys? If it was…God, I hope I never find out. I wont be able to live with myself if it was.”

Kevin sighed a troubled sigh. He closed his eyes, rubbing them. Suddenly, he was exhausted. It had been a long day.

“It’s not our fault, Nick,” Kevin said, “I know that it may seem that way, but you have to realize that it isn’t.”

Nick was silent. He looked towards the ground, not wanting Kevin to see the tears in his eyes that were forming. He wanted to hide it, not wanting the person who had become a brother and father figure to him to see just how badly he actually was hurting.

“Nick, look at me,” Kevin said after a long moment.

Nick refused, lowering his head even more. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to trap the tears inside, failing. The salty drops found a way to escape anyways, sliding down his cheeks, falling to the carpeted ground. He didn’t understand why this was so hard on him. He didn’t know why it was affecting him like this.

“Nick,” Kevin said again, his voice stern, but Nick could tell that it was trembling a little.

Nick slowly looked up at Kevin. There were tears in his eyes as well, which surprised Nick. It was on very rare occasion that he saw Kevin cry.

“It’s not our fault. I know that it may seem that way, but we can’t blame ourselves for this.” He told Nick. The thing was, Nick wasn’t sure if he believed him. Kevin didn’t seem all that convinced himself by his own words.

“But,” Nick began, but he was interrupted.

“I know it should have been us, but it wasn’t. They pushed ahead of us. What were we supposed to do?”

Nick nodded, not arguing. There was no point in it. He was thankful to be alive, but knowing that he possible shouldn’t be scared him, and made him feel all the more guilty at the same time. Nick roughly wiped his eyes, brushing the tears away, slightly ashamed.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Kevin told him, not even bothering to wipe away his own. He figured they’d dry away on their own when they were ready to stop.

Nick shrugged again, and sighed deeply. He wondered how long he would have this on his mind. One thing was for sure though, he was going to call the local hospitals and check to see if the two young boys were alive. He decided, after much thought, that he had to know for sure. It would either put his mind at ease, or mess his head up even more. He had yet to discover which it would be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alaura groaned as she continued to pound on her own hotel room door. The room that Devin had locked her out of. She let out a frustrated sigh, almost positive that her knuckles were about to start bleeding from the abuse she was causing them all because of her arrogant boyfriend.

“Devin,” she yelled, “Let me in. I kind live in there too.”

There was no response. She still didn’t have the slightest clue what she had done to make him so angry with her. She’d asked all of her friends if she’d done something, since they were right there the whole time. They had all answered ‘no’

“Devin,” she shouted, not caring if she was waking up people in surrounding rooms, which consisted of her friends and the Boys. It was only ten though, so she figured that they were all still awake, “Open the fucking door.”

Alaura was satisfied when she heard the door unlocking, and it opened. Devin opened it a crack, and she could see his face appear, but just for long enough so he could drop her bags out the door. It closed again, with her still standing in the hall. Throwing her hands up into the air, she wondered how anybody could hold grudges over something that wasn’t even known for so long. Now the problem lied on where she would stay overnight. With Adonica or Dulcia was out of the question. They were rooming with their own boyfriends. She wouldn’t want to interrupt anything going on with them. She stood, pondering the other alternatives. Alaura couldn’t help but wonder if Devin was watching her through the peep hole, laughing at how cruel he was being towards her. She stood, still dumbfounded when a door behind her opened.

“Everything okay out here?”

Alaura spun around, finding herself face to face with A.J. She smiled weakly at him, but still couldn’t hide the disgust or keep it out of her voice.

“My lovely boyfriend has decided to kick me out for the night,” she replied sarcastically, “Such a charmer.”

A.J. chuckled, “Do you need a place to stay?”

Alaura bit her bottom lip, not knowing how to answer, or if she should lie and tell him that she didn’t need one. She did, of course, but didn’t want to put him out. She didn’t even know if he had a roommate. She finally decided to just be honest before she ended up spending the night on the hard, cold, hallway floor. Slowly, Alaura nodded.

“Well, you can share a room with me,” he offered, generously, “I mean, I don’t have anyone else in there tonight.”

Alaura smiled at him in appriciation, as A.J. walked over and grabbed her bags, bringing them into his room. She followed him in, plopping down onto the double bed which was still made. A.J. set her bags down, then walked over, sitting next to her.

“Thank you,” she told him softly.

“No problem,” A.J. told her, “I’m always here to help out a good friend in need.”

Alaura laughed, slightly forcing it. She was thankful to have made such amazing friends who would always be there to help out. She was just sorry that it was in this way and under these circumstances.

“Want to tell me what happened?” A.J. asked, curious as to why Devin was completely avoiding her.

Alaura shrugged her thin shoulders, “I don’t know. Seriously, I have no clue. When ya’ll got off of the ride, he started acting funny.”

“Hmm,” was all A.J. could come up with to respond. It was a bit odd that Devin would do this without so much as a simple explanation for it all, or even good reasoning.

“I hope that it passes,” Alaura sighed, “He is being such a pathetic ass hole.”

A.J. laughed again. Alaura found his laugh to be extremely sexy. With her anger towards Devin, it was turning her on. She looked at him, and his eyes caught hers. They were so captivating. Before she knew it, Alaura found herself kissing A.J. on the mouth, using some tongue. A.J’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t pull away, kissing her right back. A.J. laid her down gently, kissing her more passionatley, closing his eyes and enjoying it, knowing that he would be going to hell for this. He brushed a stand of hair out of her eyes, as she took the back of his neck in her hand, pulling him closer. Suddenly, without warning, A.J. stopped, pulling away a few inches. His breathing was heavy. He stared at Alyssa, seeing the question in her eyes, mixed with hurt.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” A.J. said huskily, not wanting to stop, but knowing that it was the right thing to do, “It will just cause more problems. I don’t want to be the one to cause problems.”

Alaura sighed, knowing he made a reasonable point. As much as she didn’t want things to end, she knew that they needed to.

“You’re right,” Alaura breathed, stopping just long enough to stare into his sexy eyes, forgetting all about ending the romantic moment just as quickly as the thought had entered her mind, and starting kissing him harder and more passionately, caught up in the moment. She didn’t really care. All she wanted was to be with A.J. at that moment. She knew that it was wrong, but it still didn’t stop her.

A.J. kissed her back, his mouth on hers, full of longing and hunger. He slid his hands over her back, her thighs. Before either of them knew it, their clothes were both on the ground as they took things to a whole new level of intensity between them.