"Zoey, please…just…Zoey, no…don’t…" Brian stammered. It was too late; Zoey had already hung up. He hung up the phone and laid back on the double bed. He had been trying to get in touch with Tessa all night, but her friends weren’t letting him through. Apparently she must have told them what happened.
Brian was still in the dark. He knew it had something to do with Billie and something about a fiancee, but she wasn’t talking.
"Still couldn’t get through, huh?" Brian sat up and saw Nick walk into the room. The tall blond sat down on the bed beside him and adjusted his "Kaos" cap.
"No, Zoey won’t let me talk to her. I know Billie said something to her about a fiancee, but she won’t tell me anything. She’s been smiling and unnaturally pleasant ever since we got here," Brian said. "I really need to talk to Tessa. Frack, I don’t want to lose her."
"Well, it looks like you’ve already lost her," Nick commented.
"Thanks for being my ray of sunshine. I finally meet a girl that I really like, and Dragonlady has to ruin it. Ohhh," Brian groaned as his head fell into his hands. Nick patted his best friend on the back and tried to help him out.
"He’s still moping, isn’t he?" Brian looked up to see Kevin, AJ, and Howie walk into the room. It had been Kevin who had asked the question. The three of them sat down on the bed.
"If only Tessa would talk to me. If I only I knew exactly what had happened, what exactly Billie had said to her," Brian said.
The five of them sat in silence for a little while, thinking. It was AJ who broke the silence. "I think I know a way you could talk to her. Why don’t we invite her friends and her to the concert on Saturday?"
"AJ, the minute she sees the name Backstreet Boys, she won’t come," Brian said.
"Ah, but that’s the beauty of it. We don’t have to tell her who it’s for. Maybe you could surprise her after the concert."
"She’ll turn around and walk out. Whatever Billie told her, it was enough to make her hate me."
"You know, I think if D and I try hard enough, we could probably make Billie come clean and tell Tessa the truth," Kevin suggested.
Brian looked over at his cousin with hope in his eyes. "Do you think you could do that?"
"Oh, yeah," Howie chimed in. "She might be able to resist one of us, but two at a time?"
"Three!" AJ yelled excitedly. "If it involves bringing Dragonlady down, count me in."
"Four. Hey, Frick here is my best friend. And, besides, I think she took the batteries out of my gameboy," Nick added.
Brian just laughed. The guys could always make him feel better. Then he formed an idea. "Hey, Kevin, where did you put that piece of music you wrote?" he asked.
"I can’t believe he lied to me! You were so right, Zoey! I am too nice and too trusting," Tessa sobbed into her Kleenex.
"No, none of this is your fault. He had us all fooled," Skylar said as she put her arm around the small redhead.
"Yeah, I tell you, if he ever, EVER sets foot into this house again!" Zoey threatened.
"What a jerk," Megan commented.
"What a loser!" Kristin added.
The five friends sat on their living room couch in silence. MTV was on the TV, and the video for "Angel of Mine" just finished. Just as Tessa’s tears were about to calm down, the video for Boyz II Men’s "Water Runs Dry" began. This set off a fresh set of tears.
"Could someone please turn off the TV?" she begged.
Zoey grabbed the remote and hit the power button. Silence filled the room.
Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Kristin stood up and opened it. Since it was located in the living room, everyone else turned to see who was there.
Standing in the doorway was a man with long dark hair and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. None of the women had ever seen him before. He didn’t look like a salesman or the UPS man.
"Tessa Connors?" he asked.
"No, I’m her roommate, Kristin. Can I help you? She’s kind of going through a bad time right now."
"No, I can come to the door," Tessa said, standing up. She walked over to the door and shook the man’s hand.
"I’m Dennis, and I was sent to deliver this to you. The person who gave it to me wouldn’t say who it was from, but that it was very important that you come tomorrow night. Seven-thirty at the Charlotte Coliseum," the man said as he handed her an envelope.
Tessa opened it to find five front-row tickets and five backstage passes. The name of the singer or group had been scratched out.
"What group or singer is it for?" she asked.
"They wouldn’t say," Dennis shrugged. "Just please come tomorrow night. You and your four roommates. It would mean a lot to them."
Tessa gave Dennis a puzzled look. "It would mean a lot to who?" she asked, still trying to get him to reveal something.
"Can’t say. Well, you ladies have a nice day," he said with a smile. He then walked to the driveway, got into a car, and drove away.
Confused, Tessa closed the door and looked at her roommates. "Do you think we should go?" she questioned.
Megan smiled. "Sure. Why not? A concert might be just what you need."
"But I have my suspicions," Tessa hesitated.
"Well, if he’s a snake, then why would he invite you to his group’s concert? I think we should go," Zoey grinned.
Kristin, Skylar, and Megan peered over the tickets and the passes. "I can probably go to the concert, but I promised Dad I’d be home early on Sunday, so I can’t go backstage," Kristin said.
"Yeah, I’m suppose to meet Scott early, so I can’t go backstage either," Megan said.
"Sunday is the day I’m going to finish my painting, so I’ll just go to the concert," Skylar stated.
"Well, I’ll go backstage with you, Tess. If it is the prick’s band, I can give him a piece of my mind," Zoey grinned.
"Okay, then I guess we’re going," Tessa smiled.