Six months later....
"How much longer 'til we get there?" 22-year-old AJ complained.
"AJ, shut up," 20-year-old Nick Carter said. "You're starting to get on my damn nerves."
"Well, excuse me for being excited about seeing Lynn again," AJ said. "We got the same house, right, Kev?"
28-year-old Kevin Richardson didn't even look up from the magazine he was reading. "Yes, for the millionth time, we got the same house."
"Am I really being that annoying?" AJ looked at 25-year-old Brian and 26-year-old Howie Dorough.
"Yes," they said in unison.
"I don't know what it is with your infatuation with Lynn, Bone," Brian went on. "You tried everything in the book and you still weren't able to get her to go out with you. Just give it up, man."
"Yeah," Nick agreed. "Face it, Bone. She's never gonna go out with you. I mean, she could already have a boyfriend by now. It's been six months since you've seen or heard from her."
"Does she even know you're coming back?" Howie asked, looking at AJ.
"No," said AJ. "I figured I just surprise her." Then he turned to Brian. "And admit it, Brian. You know you're excited about seeing Lynn's friend Emily again."
"Yes, I'm happy I get to see Emily again," Brian admitted. "But I'm not looking for a hook up right now. Leighanne and I just broke up a few weeks ago."
Everyone got quiet after that comment. Brian was so let down after the breakup. He thought he'd finally found someone he could spend the rest of his life with, but after three years of being together, Leighanne just left him without a word. Just a note saying that it was time for her to move on and he should do the same. Maybe hooking up with Emily will do me some good, Brian thought. You had a great time with her during that time. And you know she's always been in the back of your mind since. He shook his head to clear his mind. Brian didn't want to jump into another relationship right away. He still needed time.
As for the deal with Lynn and AJ, the other guys were right. AJ did try everything he could to get her to go out with him, but she always said she just wanted to be friends. AJ knew there was something Lynn wasn't telling him. He thought Lynn was a great person and he had a lot of fun when he was with her. They had good conversations and they seemed to have a lot in common, although they were also different in a lot of ways. But everytime AJ asked Lynn about what it was like for her to grow up in Phoenix, she'd clam up, say she had to be somewhere else and leave, or change the subject. By the time it was time for him to leave, AJ was totally confused about her, but that just made him want to be with her more.
Soon, the captain of the flight announced they would be landing in Seattle in a few minutes. AJ, Brian, Nick, Kevin, and Howie gathered up all their things and prepared to land.
"How many times do I have to tell you," 18-year-old Emily yelled into the phone. "Lynn doesn't want to talk to you..... Well, that's just too bad..... After what you've done, I don't know how you could expect her to talk to you..... I'm telling you right now, Dwayne, if you don't leave her alone..... It's a little late for 'I'm sorry'. Goodbye!"
Emily slammed the phone down. "I can't believe the nerve of that guy...." Then she saw 18-year-old Lynn sitting on the couch, tears falling down her face. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I know you're hurting right now. But Dwayne doesn't deserve you, not after what he's done to you, and in your condition."
"I know that, Em," Lynn said, her voice shaking. "But I can't help wondering if everything would be different between me and Dwayne if I had just moved back to Phoenix like he said. I don't want to go through this by myself."
"You won't. I'll be with you every step of the way. Dwayne probably would've done the same thing anyway. Now come on, let's go take a walk. You need your exercise. It's not just you you're taking care of anymore."
Lynn got up off the couch and followed Emily out the door to a nearby park. By the time they got back, Lynn was feeling much better about the days events. As they neared the house, Emily and Lynn saw a couple cars parked in the driveway of the house next door.
"Looks like someone decided to rent that house for the rest of the summer," Emily said. "When was the last time someone stayed there?"
"About six months ago," Lynn said. "When that guy AJ and his friends were on vacaion or something."
"Oh yeah." Emily smiled thoughtfully. "I remember AJ was so in love with you. He tried anything and everything to get you to go out with him. But being your responsible self, you stayed away."
"You know why I did that. I'm not gonna make some other guy take over a responsibility that isn't his in the first place. I would never do that to any guy."
"Who said anything about AJ playing 'dad'? That's Dwayne's job, even though he's not worthy of that title."
"I highly doubt I'd be able to keep this a secret," Lynn said, pointing to her round stomach. At eight and a half months pregnant, she was pretty small, but still looking pregnant. "Besides, it won't be long before this little guy comes out. Then I won't even have time to think about AJ."
"I wonder what Brian's doing right now," Emily said.
"Still crushing on him? I thought you said he had a girlfriend."
"He does, but that doesn't stop me from hoping."
By this time, they were inside the kitchen of their house. Lynn took out a glass and poured herself some orange juice. They heard a knock at their door and Emily went to go see who it was. Lynn stayed in the kitchen, pouring herself another glass of orange juice. When Emily still hadn't come back after a while, Lynn walked out into the living room. She saw the back of two heads sitting on one of the couches. As she walked around, Lynn saw the two guys were AJ and Brian. In her feeling of shock, she dropped the glass of OJ that she brought with her. As the glass hit the floor, Emily, AJ, and Brian looked up. Both of the guys' eyes widened in disbelief as they saw Lynn. Momentarily stunned by seeing AJ again, Lynn stood in place for a few seconds, then she turned around and took off to her room.