Chapter 1
Kristin sighed as she put the rest of her clothes away in her dresser. She’d been in her new apartment for over three hours and there was still no sign of Rachel. As usual, Rachel was running behind schedule. Kristin rolled her eyes at the thought. She and Rachel had been friends for over eight years, but Rachel’s time management skills were one of the many things that drove Kristin nuts. Kristin picked up her cell phone to check the time. It was now nearly six o’clock in the evening.
“Where the hell is she?” she muttered to herself.
Without a second thought, she dialed Rachel’s cell phone number. The phone rang three times before she answered.
“Hello?” said Rachel.
“Girl, where are you? I’ve been waiting all day?”
“Whoa, hang on,” Rachel said.
Kristin snickered to herself when she heard Rachel put the phone down. There was loud music playing. She couldn’t help but dance a little when she realized that Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) was playing. She heard Rachel cursing before she picked up the phone.
“Sorry about that,” Rachel said.
“What was that all about?”
“I nearly ran off the side of the road while talking to you,” Rachel said with a soft chuckle.
“Girl, you need to learn how to drive.”
“I know how to drive. I’m just not good with the phone and driving at the same time.”
“Whatever,” Kristin said. “How much longer until you get here?”
“Maybe another thirty minutes. I’m just now getting into Orlando.”
“What took you so long anyway?”
“I took a stop in Georgia last night. I woke up late and was in a rush to get here.”
“Woman, you are never on time.”
“At least I’m in Florida,” Rachel joked.
“That’s not saying much,” Kristin replied with a grin. “Do you know how to get here?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a map.”
“Oh, Lord,” Kristin replied. “I’ll expect another call from you in five minutes,” she said with sarcasm.
“Oh, funny,” Rachel said.
“Bye,” Kristin said with a laugh then hung up.
Kristin went back to unpacking her things. After spending nearly twenty minute unwrapping her fragile items from the bubble wrap, she found a box that was very well taped. A smile spread across her face when she took the scissors and opened it. Inside the box was her entire collection of Backstreet Boys memorabilia. She’s been collecting merchandise from all over the world ever since she became a fan. Kristin pulled out her favorite picture of Nick Carter. She had the picture glossed and put into a frame. Kristin looked around her room and found the perfect spot for it, on the night stand beside her bed. She admired the picture for a moment then heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. Kristin went and answered the door. There stood Rachel with a big smile and her arms full of boxes.
“Finally!” Kristin joked as she let her in.
Rachel put down her boxes. “Girl, give me a hug,” she said as she stretched out her arms.
Kristin hugged Rachel. “It’s so good to see you. It’s been far too long.”
“I know, what’s it been? Two years?”
“It’s been close to that,” Rachel said with a nod. “Last time I saw you was at the Backstreet Boys concert back in 1997.”
Kristin hugged her again. “I’m so glad we’re finally in Florida. We’re going to have so much fun!”
Rachel laughed. “I know, it feels good to finally be out of Missouri,” she said as she picked up her boxes. “So, which one is my room.”
“This one,” Kristin said as she opened the door for her.
Rachel set her boxes down by the wall and looked around. “Wow, this place is really awesome. How did we score this again?”
“My godfather cosigned for me,” Kristin said. “Actually, he said he’d pay the rent on this place if we keep up with the utilities and other expenses. All I had to promise was that I maintained my GPA in school,” she said with a grin.
“Sounds like a good deal to me. Alright, I’ve got a ton of more stuff out in the car. You wanna help?”
“Yeah,” Kristin said as she followed her outside.
She took a glimpse of Rachel’s purple 1998 Dodge Neon that had a small U-Haul trailer attached to it and laughed.
“I thought you said you didn’t have much to bring with you?”
“I didn’t,” Rachel said as she opened the trailer. “I left most of my stuff at home.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t pull your bumper off with this thing,” she joked.
“Oh, shut up. There’s not that much stuff in here,” Rachel said as she handed Kristin a box. “It’s my bed that was too big to fit in the car.”
“Right,” Kristin said as she walked back to the apartment with the boxes.
Kristin helped Rachel unpack some of her boxes. She drug in a big box from the living room. It was very heavy and took all of her body weight to push it into the bedroom.
“What the fuck do you have in here? It weighs a ton.”
Rachel glanced at the box and grinned. “Read the label.”
Kristin looked on the side of the box and laughed loudly. “Backstreet Boys Stuff. Fragile!” she read out loud. “You act like it’s expensive china or something.”
“It is!” Rachel said as she stood up. “Move over,” she said as she pushed Kristin out of the way.
“Girl, you need mental help,” Kristin said while watching her open the box. “Oh, my god, you wrapped everything in bubble wrap and put towels in between stuff. You have officially lost it.”
“Oh, hush,” Rachel said as she began pulling some items out of the box. “It’s not like you don’t have stuff too.”
“Yeah, but you’ve got your entire collection in this huge box. Forget your bed being too big for your car. It was this box!” she joked.
“Bite me!” Rachel said as she pulled out a framed poster of Brian. “Look at this man. He is so hot!”
Kristi shook his head. “Nick is hotter…by a landslide.”
“Nick is cute, but Brian’s got what I like.”
“That’s because you have bad taste.”
“You’re mean today,” Rachel said with a fake frown. “I don’t think I like you anymore.”
“Oh, stop it. You know I love you,” Kristi said as she hugged Rachel. “I’ve had about enough of this unpacking shit. Let’s go eat somewhere.”
“Good idea,” Rachel said as she set the poster against the wall. “Pizza?”
“I should’ve know,” Kristi said with a grin. “Let’s go. We’re taking my car.”
“Okay,” Rachel said as she followed Kristin outside.
Both girls left the apartment and headed to Kristin’s car on the pretty mid August day that Orlando was having. They breathed in the fresh air and felt their energy being restored as they walked across the parking lot.
"It's really beautiful here," Rachel said.
"I know, I love it," said Kristin.
"We had nice weather in Missouri, but this is unbelievable."
"Yeah, it is. I don't think I could ever get tired of it."
“So, uh…what are the odds of us running into…you know,” Rachel said with a grin.
Kristin laughed. “Girl, you have a one track mind,” he said as she unlocked the car.
Rachel smirked and got into the passenger seat. “Well?”
“I think you should realize there’s more to life than Backstreet Boys,” Kristin said as she turned the ignition.
“I know this,” Rachel said as she put on her seatbelt. “I’m just saying. We’re in their hometown…and they’re not touring.”
Kristin snickered ad turned on her radio. “Sing along with the CD and shut up, you goober.”
Rachel reached over and turned to her favorite track. She grinned wildly as the music began to play. Kristin laughed as she started to dance in her seat.
“Oh my god, we’re back again!” Rachel sang.
Kristin cracked up and continued to drive. “I’m so scared to call you my best friend.”
“Brothers, sisters everybody sing!” she continued. “Come on, Kris, you know the words.”
Kristin laughed as she sang along with Rachel. They came to a stop light and they immediately broke into a fit of giggles as the did some of the dance moves to the song. Kristin looked over at Rachel and grinned widely. She knew it was the beginning of an amazing adventure.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This is my edited versin of the first chapter to All I Have to Give. I find it much easier to read and the two characters have a lot more flair. You can sense the relationship a little better and the fact that Kristin's character is supposed to be some what of a bitch, it shows in this chapter better than the original. What do you think?
