"And then we got the call that we'd be going on tour."

"Wow, tour," I replied.

"You wouldn't believe the number of people that showed up," James explained.

"Bet you're pretty confident now, huh?" I replied, giving him a smirk.

"Aw, c'mon, CJ. You know you're the only girl for me." He winks.

I felt my cheeks flush red. "So how was the tour? Where'd you go?"

"Great, we went to London and you could see the Big Ben. Oh, geez, Kendall said something about how it's not the clock that is called Big Ben … Something about the clock inside … " He waves me off. "Never mind."

"Hmm." I said, letting him know I was listening. We spent about an hour or so talking about his time around tour and all that. It just so happened that each girl that passed by, glanced at James, then shot a glare at me. Did people possibly think we were together? Hello? He was Mr. Hottie-Who-Is-Famous and I was Miss. Girl-Who-Works-At-An-Ice-Cream-Store. No matter how badly I wanted us to, we just didn't match up.

"And there was this cop dude who held his huuuuge gun," he said, stretching his arms out front to show me the size. "I was terrified."

"You? Terrified? Looking the way you do now?" I snorted.

He laughed. "Funny, CJ. More funny then you were in middle school."

"You learn things in high school," I replied. His eyes instantly filled with … with what? Regret? Sadness? Hope? I couldn't tell. He looked away from my eyes and at the ground, leaving an awkward silence in the air. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"I'm sorry I wasn't around for your high school graduation," he whispers so quietly, I almost didn't hear him.

"It's alright," I quickly said. "It's over now. It was only graduation."

"And you wanted to do it together and I ruined that." He looked up to me, staring into my eyes with his deep hazel eyes. "Sorry."

"Quit saying sorry. You did nothing wrong. You were following your dreams. We all were." I waved him off and looked out to the beach that was just not too far from my house. "Just drop it." Truth was, I was hurt that he wasn't around but I couldn't tell him that. Could I?

There's another awkward silence until I cleared my throat. One of my childhood friends came back to visit and I was going to take advantage of that. There was no reason to be moping around, sad from the past. "So tell me about your fans," I prodded, hoping my voice sounded normal and steady.

He blinks, looking at me until a smile creeps onto his face. "Most amazing fans in the world. They can get a little crazy but hey, I wouldn't be here without them."

"Crazy?" I wrinkled my nose. Oh, geez, did that mean I was crazy?

"Some. I got mobbed by one once in London."

"So, wait, you got mobbed by a fan in London? How?"

"She kind of hugged me and wouldn't let go. She actually tried to handcuff us together."

"Holy mother of cheese balls, were you alright?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Security was there so I guess I'm safe. Our fans can be very … " He pauses and thinks of a word. "… dedicated." He finished off.

I nodded as if I understood. Fans. He had fans. I thought back to my room which had a few posters of BTR that I found in a magazine. Would that be embarrassing if James saw? He probably never thought of me twice when he was surrounded by millions of pretty girls. I thought of the CD's and episode CD's sitting next to my small TV and stereo in my room. Would that be embarrassing?

Just then my mom comes out with a tray of lemonade. She smiles at the two of us then frowns. "Where's Patricia?"

"She left," I answered as I grabbed a glass.

"Why?" My mom asked, still frowning.

"She said she had other things to do," James said before me, shrugging. He reached for a glass as well and took a sip. "Girls, what can we do?" I gave him a light slap on his arm and couldn't help but notice his arms. Geez, he could rip mine off in a second. Yeesh, look at the size of those things. They're hu -

"CJ."

"Huh?" I blinked and lifted my eyes to meet his. "Yeah?"

He raised an eyebrow as he repeats what he said before. If the things in my room weren't embarrassing, this sure was. "I said, enough about me. What'd you and Patricia do while I was away?"

"I'd have to write a novel, James," I replied, giving him a look. "You weren't gone for a few weeks. You were gone for a few years."

"Now, now, give the boy a break," my mom speaks up, setting the tray down so we could grab a glass. "He went through a lot. He was much too busy to visit."

I rolled my eyes. It was so like her to defend James. "Whatever. I'm just saying, I can't sum up a few years in a few hours."

I felt his eyes on me as I looked down at my toenails which were painted a sky blue. I heard my mom walk back inside as I wiggled my toes until James clears his throat. "Alright then. How about you show me your room? I want to see if it's still the same as it was from before," he says, giving me a wary smile.

Of course not, I thought. Now, it has your face + your band mates' faces on the walls. I shrugged. "Sure." I stood from the porch, my glass of lemonade in my hand.

James stood up too and it was only then did I notice how tall he was. The guy was like a giant. I was up to his shoulder but he still looked very tall. I must have been staring because he looked at me and smiled. "What?"

"Nothing," I replied, shaking my head. "Nothing at all."

I pushed open the rickety door and sipped from my glass again as i walked down the smooth wood floor that covered the house. My mom sat in the living room, flipping through the newspaper with the TV on. I popped my head in to let her know we came in and she winked at me, nodding.

"Did my mom show you the guest room yet?" I asked, turning around slightly to look at him but didn't stop walking.

"Yeah, that's where my stuff is," he answers, smiling.

"Oh," I replied lamely. "Right. Why don't you go lie down for awhile as I - "

"So you can clean up and hide any secrets?" James asks, smirking. Yes! I screamed inside my head. I need to cover the posters and hide the CDs + DVD's. I knew that if James knew I was a fan, I'd never live it down. James would never let me. He'd boast and brag. I sighed. Glad to know he was back.

"No, I just want to … hide my bras and panties and such," I said, realizing what a ridiculous excuse that was and wished I could take it back.

Catching me by surprise, he leans down closer to me. "I don't mind," he whispers in my ear as I felt his hot breath on my neck.

I felt my cheeks flush before I swiftly turned from him. I stopped at my bedroom door and turned around once more to look at James. "Are you sure you don't want to rest for a little - "

"No," he replied immediately. "Let's see your room."

I sighed before pushing open the door slowly and flicking on the lights. I could see through my window that the sun was beginning to set. I walked over to my bed and take a seat, not ready for the conversation that was to happen. James steps into my room and glances around, a smirk forming on his face.

"Wow," he says, the smirk not leaving his face. He walks over to one of the posters that hung above my bed. "Doesn't that guy look oddly familiar?" He points to himself in the poster then looks back at me.

I glared at him. "Shut up."

"He's handsome, isn't he?" He asks, a teasing look in his eyes. "Tall, soft hair, brown eyes."

"Shut up, James."

"Saaaaay, isn't that fellow named James too? Maybe we're twins!" James teased.

"Okay, I like your little dumb band okay, there, I said it." I folded my arms across my chest. "I hope your satisfied."

"I am," James laughed. He walks over to the set of books that sat on my bedside table. He flips through the titles, reading them out loud. "Oops, You Kidnapped my Heart, Rage, Hunted, Bittersweet Goodbyes…" his voice trails off as he holds up a Harry Potter book. "That's a lot of pages. You sure you can handle it?"

"I've said it once, I've said it twice, I've said it three times - shut the f up, James."

"Feisty," he replied, raising an eyebrow.

There's a knock on my bedroom door causing us two to look up. "Hey you two," my mom's head pops in the doorway. "I found one of my old photo VCR's. I thought you guys would want to watch some."

"Sure, why not?" James says, holding open his arms so my mom could pass over the videos.

"And I've got a few photo albums if you'd like to see those too," my mom said, glancing at me.

I shrugged, standing up and taking the four or five photo album. "Thanks mom. You outdo yourself."

She blushes before waving me off. "I'm headed to bed now. Don't stay up too late, you two."

I nodded as I started going through the photo album. "Night."

"Good night, Ms. Johnson," James said, saluting to her. She chuckled quietly before closing the door behind her. He turns and faces me. "I forgot what a cool lady your mom is."

"My mom's always cool. I'm cool. You should have put two and two together," I joked, looking hack at the photos.

He snorts, making me glare at him. He ignores my look and shifts the box of VCR videos in his arms. "I think we should watch these tomorrow with Patricia when she's cooled off."

"Sure." I shrugged. I scanned the photos then doubled over laughing.

"What?" James asks, smiling as he set the box down near my bed before sitting next to me. He leans in close, his skin touching mine as he looked for what I was laughing at.

I ignored his arm that was still touching mine and pointed to a photo of James in diapers. "Oh, geez, your mom let us keep that when she came over for tea once, remember?"

"Oh my gosh," he muttered, hiding his face in his palms. "I'm ruined."

I turned the page and one photo of me in a diaper appeared. I tried to quickly turn the page but I was apparently too slow because James brought the page back down and laughed. "Oh, Geez, you were a chubby baby."

I blew a raspberry at him and turned the page. The two of us spent the night looking through several photos, laughing at the memories until James finally glanced at the clock and raised an eyebrow.

"It's late," James commented. "We should go to bed."

I yawned. "I am pretty tired."

He stands from my bed and stretched his (huge) arms out in front of him. "Alright," he says. He leans down and kissed me on the cheek. "Night, CJ. It was great to see you again."

I watched in awe as he made his way out of my room. What swag. How smooth. I sighed before replying. "Good night, James. Same to you."

I waited until I heard the click of his door before getting up to brush my teeth. Since his guest room has a washroom, I didn't expect him to come back out. He was probably changing right now … Out of his shirt, slooooowly zipping down his jeans then pulling them down - OKAY, I DON'T HAVE A LIFE. I NEED SLEEP. NOW.

I kicked my legs off the bed and quietly made my way to the washroom. I wonder if he has a girlfriend. He didn't act like he did.

I shook my head, my thoughts jumbled as I brush my teeth. Up, down, up, down. I wonder if he had to date one of us, Patricia or me, which one he'd date. I spat out the toothpaste and gurgled water in my mouth, cleaning the taste. I washed my face, feeling refreshed as I headed back to my room.

A good night's sleep. That's all that I wanted. It's all that I need.

….

I wonder if he's sleeping naked.