“So I said I couldn’t.”

“LANA!” Hannah shrieked so loud, I had to pull the phone away from my ear. 

“Crap Han, you don’t have to scream,” I commented, easing the receiver back towards me, as I flopped back down on my bed.  “I hear you just fine.”

Hannah, of course, ignored me.  “Are you insane!  You said NO to Nick- I’ve been in love with you since I was sixteen- please realize I am alive- isn’t he a dream Hannah-when will you ever ask me out- Carter?”

Even though she couldn’t see me, I rolled my eyes anyhow at her overdramaticisms.  “I say no to him all the time.”

“Well, not when he’s asking you out!”

“He didn’t ask me out,” I protested.  “He asked if I wanted to go see his show tomorrow night.  See the difference?”

“Lana, those words.  You know go-me-tomorrow-night?  Most people call that asking you out on a date.”

“Not Nick,” I immediately disagreed.  “It’s just his show,” I explained.  “He always asks.  Ever since we were younger.  If he has a gig in town and we’re around, he invites.  No big deal.”

“But don’t you always go?”

“Yeah,” I admitted.

“So why aren’t you tonight?”

“Because,” I emphasized, pouring all my reasoning into that one word.  “Trying to get over him, means not seeing him.  Especially, when I know that he’s going to be playing the freaking guitar,” I accentuated.  “Nick.  Guitar,” I annunciated slowly.  “It’s worse then seeing him play drums Hannah.  I become more of a complete moron than I usually am.  And I don’t want to be a complete moron!  I have wasted the last five years being a complete moron around him.  I want this year, to finally be, me, not being a complete moron when it comes to Nick Carter.  I mean, is that so hard to understand?”

“You’re trying to justify saying no to him aren’t you?” Hannah commented dryly.

I rubbed my forehead agitatedly.  “Uh-huh…” 

“You’ve been thinking way too hard about why you didn’t say yes, haven’t you?” she quipped.

I threw my hands up in the air.  “God, yes!  Alright!  Happy?”

Hannah paused on the phone, “Saying no to him still makes you a complete moron, you know that?”

I pulled at the ends of my hair.  “I know,” I griped.

“So then go!”

“I can’t,” I said mournfully.  “I told him you were throwing a party, one that you had invited the guy you were crushing on to.  And I, as your best friend, had to be there for moral support and to help set up.  And under no circumstances was I going to ditch you when there was a possibility that you could make a total moron of yourself in this need to gain his attention,” I hurriedly rambled out. 

“You said WHAT?”  Hannah balked. 

“I know!  I know!”  I soothed, cringing when her voice seemed to go an octave higher as she continued to groan in disbelief.  “But it was the best I could come up with!” I immediately rationalized.  “I’m still reeling from finals, and that thirty-page paper I had to write on how Hollywood convolutes the core ideas of contemporary American novels when they’re adapted to film.  Do you know what kind of a travesty that is?  I mean I’m barely hanging on to brain cells here!  And it didn’t help that Nick was going off about his ocean campaign either.  You know how his eyes get really blue when he’s passionate about something Hannah!  I just bombed.”

“Obviously,” Hannah commented sarcastically.  “Lana, face it, you are so not ever going to stop crushing on Nick.  It’s like a fact of life,” she huffed.  “I knew I should have stayed at your place and made sure you read that Cosmopolitan!” she ranted.  “And where in the hell was Brent this entire time?  Knowing your brother he would have said something about this supposed party being a fabrication of your imagination.”

“Yeah, about that…”

“Crap, Lana what else did you say?”

“I kinda, sorta, told Nick that the guy you were crushing on…that it was Brent,” I quickly bit out.

“I have the hots for your brother!”

Damn, Hannah could shriek high.

“I told you, I was thinking quick!”

“But your brother!”

“Well after saying that thing about your party.  I knew that I was in trouble because- well-obviously you’re not having a party,” I mumbled.  “So I said that we weren’t trying to make it obvious about Brent and that maybe if Nick could bring him by after the show and pretend it was a last minute casual thing…” I trailed off. 

Hannah was silent on the other end.

“You’re still my best friend right?” I questioned when the silence ebbed on.

“Despite better judgment, unfortunately,” she finally said.

“So then...” I prompted hopefully.

“You’re going to buy the alcohol.”

I sighed in relief.  “No problem.”

“Clean up.”

“Of course.”

“Make Nick bring AJ for me so I’ve got someone to look at…”

I smiled into the phone.  “AJ’s in LA, remember?  You moped about him moving out there for a whole week after we found out,” I reminded her.   “And besides you’re supposed to be crushed out on my brother.”

“Whatever Lana!  As if!”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Brent…God!” Hannah mumbled.  “Of all the…How about Howie?”

“New York.”

“Kevin?”

“London.”

“Brian?”

“Georgia.”

“Aaron?”

“He’s 15!”

“Pretty hot for a 15 year old…”

“Hannah!”

I heard a loud sigh on the other end.  “I still think I deserve AJ for this.”

“How about just the gratitude of your best friend?”

“Yeah, right!  All I know is that we're only doing this stupid thing because you’re finally going to make a move on the Backstreet Boy.”

I swallowed.  “Han-”

“I’m not suffering making googly eyes at Brent,” Hannah spit out.  “If this doesn’t accomplish anything.”

“He’ll probably be all over some other girl…” I whined.

“You are going to be that girl Lana, and that is all there is to it.  Be at mine in an hour and bring the Cosmo!”

And that conversation was over…

With a dial tone reverberating in my ear, my hand flopped the phone tragically on the other end of my pillow, just one thought zooming through my brain…

Stupid boys with guitars!

7. Formulate A Plan
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