Jump to new as of November 4, 2001
Jump to new as of November 8, 2001
Posted on Tuesday, 2 October 2001
I've been tellin' my dreams to the scarecrow
About the places that I'd like to see
I say 'friend, do you think I'll ever get there?'
Aww, but he just stands there smilin' back at me
So I confess my sins to the preacher
About the love I'd been prayin' to find
Is there a brown-eyed boy in my future, yeah
He says 'girl, you got nothin' but time.'
But how do you wait for heaven
And who has that much time
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know
That you were born
you were born to fly
My daddy he is grounded like the oak tree
My momma she is as steady as the sun
Oh, you know I love my folks, but I keep starin' down the road,
Just lookin' for my one chance to run
Hey, 'cause I will soar away like the blackbird
I will blow in the wind like a seed
I will plant my heart in the garden of my dreams
And I will grow up where I want, wild and free
But how do you wait for heaven
And who has that much time
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know
That you were born
you were born to fly
~ "Born to Fly" - Sara Evans
Posted on Tuesday, 2 October 2001
All you people can't you see, can't you see
How your love's affecting our reality
Every time we're down
You can make it right
And that makes you larger than life
"What the heck is that crap?" Brooke Darcy rolled over in her bunk bed to ask her roommate.
"Don't tell me you don't know that song!" Alexis Bingley answered back. "Are you from another planet?"
"Ha ha," Brooke answered sarcastically. "I know very well that is the Backstreet Boys, but why do we have to listen to them so early in the morning?"
"Early? It's 8:30 and you have a 9:00 class like I do!"
"Which means I don't have to wake up for another fifteen minutes!"
Alexis laughed and threw a pillow up to where Brooke was still lying down. "Get up you lazy bum!"
"Whatever!" Brooke rolled her eyes before climbing out of bed, grumbling something about "boy bands" and "fifteen extra minutes of sleep."
Although it did not seem like it, the two girls got along uncommonly well the first couple of days that they lived together before classes started at Ohio State, excepting the minor disagreement on music. Alexis loved the Backstreet Boys. Brooke, on the other hand, despised anything that had to do with "boy bands" and preferred to stick with her alternative rock music... At least that's what she told everybody.
Brooke had a high respect for music. She had played piano for as long as she could remember, and was always involved in choirs at her school or church. Brooke claimed that the latest trend in pop music ruined music in that it focused more on dancing and appearances rather than the music itself. Alexis, however, saw that the Backstreet Boys could sing, and she had as much, and probably even more experience in music, as Brooke. She had played piano all her life, as well, as well as the clarinet. This led her to pursue studying music education.
Brooke managed, however, to prepare for her first class without complaining too much about the music and soon the girls were going in opposite directions; Brooke to her science classes and Alexis to her music classes.
Elliot Bennet climbed out of the passenger side of the car and took a deep breath. "Isn't this a great day to go back to school?"
His companion, John Benice closed the driver's side door and looked sideways at Elliot. "I can't believe you talked me into doing this. Do you have any idea how long it will take to graduate from college with our schedules?"
"So it'll take a little work?" Elliot shrugged and started walking down the street. "But where else can you learn so much about a subject you love... And see so many pretty girls," Elliot finished while turning his head to follow the path of a college girl who passed him from the other way.
John coughed, "So that is why you wanted to go to college. To find a girl!"
"No!" Elliot scoffed. "I wanted to study music history!"
"You mean the history of Journey and Steve Perry," John laughed while slapping his friend on the back.
"Ha ha ha," Elliot sarcastically laughed. "No. I do want to learn about such musical geniuses as Beethoven and Bach and Rach... Rachmani.... You know, that Russian dude!"
"Rachmaninoff?"
"Yeah him! Rachmaninoff and Mozart and ... and ..."
"Steve Perry."
Elliot scowled, his good mood quickly slipping away. "If you are so against this why did you enroll with me? I never asked you!"
"Noooo, not me exclusively, but I do particularly remembering you whining about how you could not go back to school yourself and that you needed somebody to keep you company. So I enrolled to spend time with people who are ten years younger than me and waste my time and money so that you wouldn't be alone."
"Well think about it this way," Elliot explained, "If we lose our talent you can always teach little kids once you graduate."
"Great. Just what I always wanted to do all my life." John paused outside the building where his first class was. "At least one good thing will come out of this."
"What?"
"That you will finally learn that Belgium is it's own country and not the capital of Holland."
"I knew that! I was just pulling your leg that time!"
"Of course you were," John laughed while turning to climb up the stairs. "Good bye El! See you at lunch!"
"Excuse me," Alexis politely said to the back of a tall stranger, "Do you happen to know where room 214 is? My 9 o'clock class is there and I can't seem to find it."
"Funny you should ask that," he said, "I'm looking for the exact same classroom." Alexis tried to hold in her thoughts as a fantastically familiar face appeared before her.
"Hey, my name is John. What do people call you around here?" the stranger said, attempting to shake a once steady hand.
"W-w-what? Oh, h-hi, you're ... You're ... John. Hi, nice to ... Uh ... meet you, John . .. Err ... I mean John. My name is ... Is Alexis. You can call me Alex. Hi." Alexis was a tad bit nervous once she recognized who John was.
John chucked. "Ha-ha, I'm assuming you recognize me. It's okay, just don't freak out on me." There was a short pause. "Right. Nice to meet you too, Alex. So you're heading to room 214 as well?"
Trying not to jump on John, Alexis sighed. What was the chance that she would ever get to meet at least ONE of her idols?
John, realizing that Alex did not hear what he recently asked, rapidly waved his hand to get her attention. "Hellooooo? Is anybody home?"
Alexis shot back into reality. "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. It's just that I am a ... a really big fan."
John concluded, "Don't worry about it, I get that a lot."
"Really?" Alexis said, hanging on to every word that came out of his mouth.
"Hey listen, why don't I tell you some of my horror stories while we walk to class?" John said, casually putting his arm around Alex.
"I couldn't ask for anything better." Alexis said, with a grin.
"OH MY GOD!!!" Alexis screamed as she opened the door to her dorm room. "Brooke! Brooke! BROOKE!!"
"What?" Brooke said in an angry tone. "Why did you have to wake me up? What is so important?" Brooke was upset that Alex had woken her up (she had just fallen asleep), but she quickly brushed it off when she saw that her roommate looked as if she could float in thin air.
Alexis squealed, "You will NEVER guess who I just met!!"
"Oh my," Brooke frowned. "Let me guess. You met Mr. Hotness himself that you will eventually marry and have a million kids with."
"No, even better!" Alexis quickly replied. "Guess again."
"Umm ... right. Who could possibly be better than Mr. Hotness?" Brooke pondered on the thought until she was forced to look at a poster on the adjacent wall.
"HIM!!!" Alexis screeched, as if she wanted the entire dorm to know. "I MET JOHN SCOTT BENICE, THE OLDEST MEMBER OF THE BACKSTREET BOYS!!!!!!!!!"
Brooke stared at her roommate blankly. "And that would make him what... Ten years old?"
Alexis glared at her friend. "No! He's twenty-nine!"
Brooke shrugged and looked back at the poster. "At least he's hot."
A dreamy smile appeared on Alexis's face as she sighed, "That he is." Brooke rolled her eyes and rolled over in her bed to go back to her nap. "By the way," Alexis interrupted her roommate's sleep again, "John invited me to lunch with him and his friend, and I asked if you could come too then."
Brooke rolled over and glared at her friend. "I'm not going out to lunch with a Backstreet Boy."
Alexis pouted, "Please go Brookey. Keep his friend entertained while I get to know John. Pretty pretty please."
Brooke groaned as she stood up, "Fine. But please tell me his friend isn't another one of the band members."
"I don't know," Alexis pondered, "I didn't think to ask."
"Probably too caught up at staring at John," Brooke muttered.
"Anyway, he probably isn't. What is the chance that two, never mind one, Backstreet Boy is here and taking classes."
"With my luck, probably very high," Brooke sighed. "So when is lunch? Enough time for me to shower and change?"
"Oh," Alexis smirked, " 'Little-Miss-Anti-Backstreet Boys' wants to look nice for the boys."
"No, I want to look nice for his friend, if he's not in the group. You never know, he may be my Mr. Hotness who I will have a million kids with." Brooke winked at her friend and slipped out the door to the showers before the pillow that Alexis threw at her could hit her in the face.
Posted on Tuesday, 9 October 2001
"Exactly who are we meeting at lunch?" Elliot asked as he and John walked to the sandwich place.
"Well, the girl I met is named Alexis Bingley. She's in my first class, and at first, she was a little star struck at meeting me, but as the class went on she became more comfortable. She's cool. You'll like her," John explained.
"What does she look like?"
"She's probably about Keane's height with dark blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Real pretty, but not super model pretty; more of a natural beauty."
"As usual. You get the pretty ones," Elliot mumbled.
"Yeah right. You're the one who's always being stalked by girls."
Elliot made a snort-like sound before asking, "So is she bringing somebody?"
"Alexis told me she was going to ask her roommate to come, but I haven't met her," John answered.
At that moment, they reached the restaurant and John spotted Alexis and Brooke seated at an outdoor table. "Hey Alexis!"
Alexis looked up to see the handsome face that she came to know well in her first class. "Hi John!" She exclaimed while standing up to greet the two guys. "This is my roommate, Brooke Darcy. Brooke, this is John."
Brooke smiled and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you. And may I say that pictures do not do you justice?"
John blushed and laughed, "Well, thank you, I think." Elliot cleared his throat loudly from where he was standing behind his friend. "Oh, I'm sorry," John started. "Alex and Brooke, this is Elliot."
Elliot extended his arm to shake hands with Alexis first. He agreed with John that Alexis was very pretty and seemed very nice... And kind of amusing. When she laid eyes on him her eyes became wide and she started stuttering. "W-Well. Elliot ... As in Elliot Bennet. From the B-b-backstreet boys."
Elliot laughed and answered in the affirmative. "I take it you like our music?"
"Y-y-yes," Alexis smiled at Elliot. He was happy to see that she turned to John with an even bigger grin on her face and started talking to him about their major. Elliot was relieved that she seemed as though she wasn't interested in John just because of who he was.
As John and Alexis became involved in their own little world, Elliot thought it wise to start talking to Brooke. He liked the appearance of her. She wasn't that pretty, but not ugly either. She was a little shorter than Alexis, with brown hair and brown eyes. Although her nose was a little big, and she wasn't the thinnest girl in the world, she had a pretty smile and sparkling eyes... Like she was always up to mischief... Like myself, Elliot thought.
After greeting Elliot, Brooke smirked and said, "You're that young member who all the girls faint over, aren't you? At least you grew up. You used to be so thin and puny." At his confused face, she explained, "It's a compliment. I'm saying that you're hot now."
It took a minute for her comment to sink in but when it did, he laughed, "Well thank you."
"And it was just my luck that you, as Kevin's companion, were in the group too."
"Do you usually have good luck?" Elliot asked innocently.
Brooke gave him a funny look. "Why aren't you a little egotistical," she smirked.
"Huh?"
"I meant that I was just my luck in a sarcastic way. I told Alexis that if Kevin's companion turned out to be in the group too, I wouldn't come. But since she didn't know that you were here, I was forced to come." Elliot looked confused again and Brooke sighed.
"Why wouldn't you have come?"
"I hate boy bands," Brooke answered bluntly.
Elliot was about to protest her comment but suddenly found her quite amusing. She wasn't about to fall all over him like most girls, and he admired her bluntness. Brooke answered his laugh with a smile, "That's okay. I decided I don't mind you, and I'll put the fact that you're in the Backstreet Boys out of my mind while I talk to you."
"Brooke!" Alexis heard her friend's last statement and was embarrassed by her. "Don't be rude!" She hissed.
Brooke was stopped from retorting by Elliot's chuckle, "It's okay, Alexis. I find her quite charming."
Alexis gave her friend a warning look before turning her attention back to John. Once her head was turned, Brooke stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes, causing Elliot to dissolve into laughter again. "You're so weird!" Normally Elliot would have never said something like this to a girl he just met, but he knew she wouldn't take it personally.
With a cheeky grin, she answered, "Yeah, I know. Insanity is a good thing!"
At this moment, the waitress finally came to take their orders. After the waitress left, Brooke turned to her companion and whispered, "Look at them. It's sickening, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Especially how they ignore everything outside of their conversation. But John deserves it," Elliot sighed. "He's always working hard; harder than any of us in the group, and he's been looking for a nice girl."
"And you?"
Elliot looked Brooke in the eye, and knew that she wasn't trying to hint that she wanted a relationship with him, so he answered, "Nah. I don't think I'm ready yet for that kind of relationship. I like to play the field."
"In other words, you're a womanizer," Brooke smirked.
"Well, I just can't help it. Women just seem to flock to me," Elliot joked, leaning back in his chair with a self-satisfied air.
"You're such a pig," she grinned.
"And you're such a brat!"
The sandwiches were soon brought out and the four settled into one conversation. They talked about why the guys decided to go to college and about Alexis' and Brooke's hometowns. Towards the end of their lunch, "The One" came on the radio, but nobody said anything. Until, Brooke, without thinking, blurted out, "Why can't they put on a good song?"
"Brooke!" Alexis scolded.
"Huh?" Brooke looked confusedly at her friend. Out of the corner of her eye she saw John staring at her with a look of disbelief that she would say something about the song out loud and Elliot stifling laughter into his napkin. When he gained control he told John calmly, "She doesn't like boy bands," before winking at Brooke.
Realization finally dawned on her. "Ooh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud. I guess I just didn't think."
Her apology made John finally see the humor in it and he smiled, "That's quite all right. I realize everybody has different tastes in music, but I just never heard anyone of my acquaintances say something like that in front of me."
Brooke blushed and apologized again. When John and Alexis went back to a conversation they were having before Brooke's comment, Elliot kicked her foot lightly and grinned at her. She only stuck her tongue out at him before finishing up her lunch.
Lunch over, the four were walking back to the campus; Alexis and John in front, holding hands, and Elliot and Brooke in back.
"El," Brooke spoke low enough so that her friend and his friend wouldn't hear her. Not that they can hear anything outside of the little world anyway, she thought.
"Yes Brookey?"
"Don't you think we should do something to them?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know," Brooke pondered, "embarrass them maybe?"
"Good idea. Follow me."
Elliot walked up to right behind the couple, Brooke following him. "Awwwww," Elliot said loudly behind them, so the couple didn't have a chance but to turn their attention to him. "Look at the little lovebirds."
Brooke feigned sniffing, "It's all just too sweet. I think I'm going to swoon." Saying that, she stopped, put her head to her forehead and leaned back into Elliot, who purposely 'forgot' to catch her. She stumbled backwards, regained her balance caught back up with her companion. "You were supposed to catch me!"
"What? I was?" Elliot chuckled.
"You're no gentleman!"
"Who said I was?" Elliot grinned, "You yourself said that I was a pig."
"Why, I never!" Brooke laughed.
Seeing that they weren't gaining the attention of their friends, the two quieted down for a minute, until Brooke started complaining, "My feet hurt."
Elliot looked down to see the uncomfortable sandals she was walking in. "Well, why did you wear those shoes then?"
"'Cuz they went with the outfit!" Brooke explained.
"Here," Elliot walked in front of Brooke and stooped down. "Get on my back."
"Ooh! A piggyback ride. I haven't had one of these since I was little," she exclaimed before climbing on his back. "I have a good idea. Let's challenge John and Alexis to a race."
By then, the couple managed to get about fifty feet in front of them. Elliot ran up to them with Brooke on his back and intercepted them. "Hey John! Come on, race us!"
John gave the younger man a weird look, "Elliot, I don't think a busy campus sidewalk is a place for such games."
"Why not?"
"Because you're acting like you're five years old."
"Hey!" Elliot objected, "Brookey started it!"
"I did not! You offered me the ride!" Brooke retorted.
"But you suggested the race," Elliot pointed out.
"But technically you started it by offering me the ride. That just gave me the incentive to suggest the race."
"But you complained that you're feet hurt."
"Oh."
"Ha! Got you!" Elliot triumphed.
"Hey, where did John and Alex go?" Brooke quickly changed the subject when she looked ahead and noticed their friends were gone.
Elliot looked around but could not find them anywhere. "I dunno. I guess they got sick of us," he laughed.
"Hmm. Some friend Alexis is. Leaving me here with you."
"Yeah tell me about it. She left me here with you too." That earned a light smack on his head. "Oh well. Can I escort you home, my lady?"
"Well you have to. I'm not getting off your back now." When Brooke felt him move to drop her where she was she quickly added, "Of course, I would be eternally grateful if you were to help me back to my dorm."
"As you wish," Elliot grinned while continuing to walk in the direction they were heading.
Posted on Wednesday, 24 October 2001
Brooke had just finished her chemistry homework when there was a knock at her door. She didn't even have a chance to see who was at the door after she opened it when the person pushed his way inside.
"Ahh. Home alone without a hot date?" Elliot smirked as he made himself comfortable on her bed.
"Ha ha," she laughed dryly. "Hot dates don't like science nerds."
"Oh yeah, forgot that." Brooke scowled at his response and promptly hit him with a pillow.
"Besides," she added, "Alexis is out with the only hot guy on campus."
"Hey! What about me?" Elliot pouted.
"Well obviously, if you were so hot, you would've already had a date for tonight instead of harassing me."
"True, true," he admitted while nodding his head.
The two were silent after that while Brooke went around the room, cleaning up her stuff as music played in the background.
"What'd ya listenin' to?" Elliot finally asked.
Sick and tired of hearing all these people talk about
'What's the deal with this pop life and when is it gonna fade out?'
The thing you got to realize, what we doing is not a trend;
We got the gift of melody, we gonna bring it 'til the end.
"A mixture. We have a 50 cd changer and I like to put it on shuffle."
"But if Alexis's cds are in there too, don't you get some of our songs?" Elliot asked innocently.
"Yeah, but I usually skip them," she smirked.
"Why aren't you skipping this song then?"
"Why should I? It's pretty."
"It's track number five, titled 'I Need You Tonight,' from our Millennium album."
"Oh," Brooke clammed up.
"Surprised you there, didn't I?" Elliot chuckled.
"Well, I suppose you're allowed to have some pretty songs. Besides, I suppose you guys do have good voices."
It doesn't matter,
'bout the car I drive or what I wear around my neck.
All that matters,
is that you recognize that it's just about respect.
It doesn't matter,
about the clothes I wear, and where I go and why .
All that matters,
is that you get hyped cuz we'll do it to you every time
(come on now)
"Thank you, I guess," Elliot laughed.
"Who's singing this song?"
"Me," he grinned.
Brooke shook her head, "You have some ego."
"I don't usually... I just have one with you."
"Smart *ss."
"B*tch."
Brooke laughed. "Is there a specific reason why you're here bugging me, other than no girl in their right mind would go out on a date with a twenty-year-old who acts like he's five?"
Do you ever wonder why,
this music gets you high?
It takes you on a ride,
feel it when your body starts to rock,
Baby you cant stop,
and the music's all you got,
This must be, pop!
Dirty pop, that you can't stop
I know you like this dirty pop
This must be, pop
"Ha! You know my age! You're a closet fan, aren't you?" Elliot accused.
"You didn't answer my question," Brooke replied calmly.
"You didn't answer mine."
"I asked first."
"I'll answer if you answer mine first."
"Fine. No, I am not a closet fan; Alex just informed me of yours and Kevin's ages... along with the rest of the group's."
"Liar."
Now, why you wanna try to classify the type of thing we do?
Cause we're just fine doin' what we like, can we say the same for you?
Tired of feelin' all around me animosity,
Just worry about trust cause I'm a get mine, people can't you see?
"Am not! You can even ask her when she comes back!"
"I doubt she'll come back."
"What do you mean?"
Elliot wiggled his eyebrows.
"Geez, it's only the first date. And Alexis is not like that!"
"And I suppose you're not either," Elliot answer skeptically.
"No I'm not."
"So if I were try to seduce you here, you wouldn't give in to my charms?"
Brooke rolled her eyes, "You're such a moron. And you never answered my question."
"Why am I here?" Brooke nodded. "I wanted to get down to the reason of your dislike of me and the boys."
"Because although you can sing, you don't have any other musical talent."
Elliot raised his eyebrows, "We don't?"
"No, you don't play instruments, nor write your own songs."
"Ooh Goody!" Elliot replied sarcastically. "I get to prove you wrong. I play drums; Blake plays guitar and trumpet; LP plays the sax, bass guitar, and a little piano; Keane plays guitar, and John plays piano. For the next album that is coming out, we all co-wrote six or seven songs; however, not all of them made it on the cd."
It doesn't matter,
'bout the car I drive or the ice around my neck.
All that matters,
is that you recognize that its just about respect.
It doesn't matter,
about the clothes I wear or where I go and why.
All that matters,
is that you get hyped cuz we'll give it to you every time.
"Ahh, the management problem."
"Huh?"
"The management isn't letting you put all of them on there, are they? They dictate everything you do."
"Maybe."
"You should go on Ani DiFranco's label. She'll let you do anything. Hell, she has no rhythm and her chords are all messed up in her songs, but her cds still sell."
Elliot laughed, but continued, "So what do you think of our talent?"
"Can't say. Never heard any of you play, nor heard any of the music you wrote."
"So you'll reserve your opinion until after the next cd comes out?"
"I guess. But I still don't like your old music."
"Have you ever really listened to it?"
"Are you always this argumentative?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"Okay. Fine. I have never really listened to your music." Elliot got off the bed and went to the cd player. "What are you doing?"
"We're having a listening session."
"Why are you doing this? Are you so desperate for fans that you're trying to convert me?"
Do you ever wonder why
this music gets you high?
It takes you on a ride,
feel it when your body starts to rock,
Baby you can't stop,
and the music's all you got, baby come on
This must be, pop!
Elliot stood up and looked at her. "No, it's because it's people like you who claim to not like a certain kind of music... not just the Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync or another group like us... when you haven't even ever listened to it to pass judgment on it."
"Oh."
"Ready to critique?" Elliot smiled.
"I guess," Brooke answered hesitantly. "What cd is this?"
"Our first foreign one. The one that flopped in the United States." Brooke made a snort-like noise. "It's not like that. It was right after the New Kids on the Block faded out and pop stars were shown to not really sing live at shows. America wasn't ready for pop music again."
"Geez. You sometimes really do act intelligent when it comes to music."
Elliot smirked, "Gee. Thanks, I guess."
"No problem," Brook winked. "What's this song?"
"'We've Got it Goin' On.'"
"Oh."
"Just listen. No talking unless it's a comment on a song."
"You're really trying to torture me, aren't you?"
"Yep," Elliot smirked.
"Do you just not have a life, that you have to come here and do this to me?"
"Well, right now, I don't know enough people on campus to have a life. Friday we'll go to a frat party. For now, you're listening." Brooke rolled her eyes. "But a warning: if you don't like this cd, don't give up. We're not so proud of some of the songs on it."
Brooke snorted. "And you're making me listen to it?"
"Just shut up and listen and comment."
"Fine."
Ooooooooooooo
Man I'm tired of singing
Forty-five minutes later, Brooke had critiqued "We've Got it Goin' On," "Get Down," "Boys Will Be Boys," and "I Wanna be With You" to be too "New Kids on the Block-ish;" "Just to be Close to You" and "Darlin'" to be too "blah;" "Roll With It" and "Quit Playing Games" to be "pretty catchy," and "I'll Never Break Your Heart" to be worthy to melt her in a puddle.
"But one thing, El."
"What?"
"How old were you when recording this cd?"
"Err... probably between fifteen and seventeen or something like that. I'm not in "We've Got it Goin' On" 'cuz I was going through puberty and my voice was cracking."
Brooke laughed, "That's funny. So you're not anywhere in that song?"
"Nope. Sucked too. I didn't have a solo."
Brooke rolled her eyes. "You do have too much self-confidence."
"Whatever. Now the next cd."
"Kill me now."
"Hey! You did like three songs from that cd, and it only gets better."
"Fine. Whatever. I can only hope Alexis comes home soon."
"Yep, and until then, you're stuck with me."
"Unfortunately. So what is this cd?"
"The second foreign one. A slightly different version of the one they released here."
Dirty, dirty, dirty pop
Dirty pop
Do you ever wonder
At the end, Elliot asked again what she thought of the cd. "Not bad. Not bad at all. 'Everybody' is pretty catchy, so is 'As Long as You Love Me.' I like 'All I Have to Give,' although it basically means 'I'm cheap and I'm not giving you anything.' 'That's the Way I Like It' is kind of iffy, but not as bad as the first cd. '10,000 Promises' is a quality song; same with 'Like a Child' (which makes me melt) and 'That's What She Said' (although whoever wrote it sounds like he's very bitter). 'Hey Mr. DJ' sucks though, while I really, really like 'Set Adrift on Memory Bliss' for some reason. 'If I Don't Have You' is okay, but nothing special. But my favorite song on the whole cd..."
"You gotta be kidding me. Not that song!" Elliot interrupted, laughing.
"What? It's hilarious!" Brooke giggled while mimicking 'If You Want it to be Good Girl.' "That is a quality song right there."
"You're lying, aren't you?" Elliot asked cynically.
"No! I like it! It's awesome!"
"Out of all the songs, that, I thought would be the one you liked the least."
Brooke smiled, "But you see, I have a sense of humor, and I just find that song incredibly funny."
Elliot shook his head. "Anyway, onto the last and final cd until November."
"Millennium."
"Exactly."
"Okay, well let's begin!"
"You're really enthusiastic about this, aren't you?"
"The sooner we begin, the sooner we end."
"Yeah. Right. You like our music, don't you?" Elliot snickered.
"Maybe. I don't know. Why don't you play the last cd for me."
"Okay."
Do you ever wonder why
This music gets you high?
It takes you on a ride, feel it when your body starts to rock
Baby you can't stop
and the music's all you got, come on now
This must be...
At the end, of course, Brooke gave her finally critique. "I basically like it all. I like how you thank the fans in 'Larger than Life.' 'I Want it that Way' is catchy, although the words make no sense. 'Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely,' 'Don't Want to Lose You Now,' 'Back to your Heart,' 'Spanish Eyes,' and 'No One Else Comes Close' are all songs that make me melt; 'It's Gotta be You' is awesome; you already know I like 'I Need You Tonight'; I really, really like 'Don't Want You Back' because of the melody and because it's not another typical song asking for forgiveness; I really like 'The One' because it seems so... I don't know. I just like it. And I love 'The Perfect Fan' if not only because I think it's sweet that it's for your mothers."
At the end of her evaluation, Elliot just stared at her. "I can't believe I did it."
"What?"
"Got you to admit you like our music."
"Yeah. Well. I guess your songs are pretty catchy. And you do harmony and stuff. Do you do accapella?"
"Yeah, of course," Elliot answered.
"Good. Cuz if you can do that, you know you're really talented. I remember trying to make an all girls choir in school sing acapella. We always messed up."
"Yeah, I guess it's kind of hard. Never really thought about it."
"Hmm."
"Hmm."
A few moments of silence passed before Brooke asked, "What do you want to do now?"
"I don't know. I thought John and Alexis would be back by now."
"So did I. Must be having too much fun." Elliot snickered. "No, not like that!"
"Whatever you say. What kind of movies do you have?"
"They're over there on the shelf if you want to look and pick one. I have to go to the bathroom to prepare for bed."
"You can't go to bed now! I'm still here!" Elliot protested.
"I'm not kicking you out. I just want to get ready now before it gets too late."
"Oh. Well you go do that."
When Brooke came back, Elliot had put in "Top Gun" and was lying on her bed. "Dude. That's my bed. I get it."
"But you can't see the TV from Alex's!"
"Too bad!"
"Come on here. There's enough room," Elliot patted beside him.
"Err. No. You might have cooties."
Elliot burst out laughing. "Now who's acting like she's five now?"
"Fine. But I'm not happy about it. I like a lot of room to move around." After a few tries in shifting, she finally got comfortable putting her arm across Nick's stomach and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Why do you all of a sudden have a lisp?" Elliot asked.
"Huh?"
"You came back from the bathroom with a lisp. Why?"
"Ahh. Because I put in my retainers. I haven't had my wisdom teeth out, and I don't want them to come in to mess up my perfect teeth."
"Ahh. Well, don't talk. The lisp is annoying." Brooke slapped his arm. "Ouch!"
"That'll teach you for making fun of my lisp. You know how many people have a lisp all the time?"
"I was kidding! Just trying to get a reaction out of you. Unfortunately it worked."
Brooke laughed, "Just shut up and watch the movie."
Elliot did as he was told, and soon both were lost in the movie. However, somewhere in the middle of it, Elliot fell asleep, and a little later, Brooke followed suit.
Do you ever wonder why
This music gets you high?
It takes you on a ride, feel it when your body starts to rock
Baby you cant stop, the music's all you got
This must be, pop*
"Oh my God, John. How sweet is that? Quick, get the camera." Somewhere in the back of her mind, Brooke heard Alexis whispering and then the click of a camera.
"Should we wake them up?" Alexis asked.
"Nah. Elliot is cranky if he gets woken up. Just let them stay like that," John answered. "I have to get going though. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. Good night John."
"Night Alex," John smiled and kissed her on the cheek before leaving.
Even though Brooke could hear this, she thought it was all in her dream, and not ten seconds after John left, she had snuggled closer to Elliot and had fallen asleep again.
* "Pop" ~ *N Sync
Posted on Wednesday, 31 October 2001
The next morning, Brooke was awoken by Alexis's playing of the Millennium cd again. As Brooke slowly woke up, she noticed that her head wasn't resting on her pillow. Neither was her hand. When she realized what she was resting on (or rather, who) she let out a scream, jolting Elliot awake and making him roll off the bed.
"What the hell was that for?" Elliot asked sitting up rubbing the back of his head.
"What were you doing in my bed?" Brooke accused.
"I must have fallen asleep there," he snapped. "D*mn, girl, you made me get a bump on my head."
"Poor baby," Brooke pouted sarcastically.
Just then Alexis entered the room with a towel wrapped on her head. "Oh good. You two are up. I was afraid you guys were going to miss your classes."
"Don't worry, I don't have a class until two o'clock," said Brooke while still glaring at Elliot.
Alexis watched her friends' facial expressions with amusement before speaking up, "Oh, to warn you, Elliot, Brooke is very grumpy in the mornings."
"Well, so am I, but she just made my morning worse," Elliot grumbled.
"Really? I'm surprised," Alexis smirked, "You two looked pretty comfy together last night."
Immediately, both Elliot and Brooke turned to glare at their friend. Before one of them could say anything, though, their friend from across the hall entered all excited. "Hey girls! Did you hear that Elliot and John from the..." at that point she noticed that the girls had company. "...Backstreet Boys are at OSU..." she trailed off.
"Yeah, I know," Brooke grumbled.
Elizabeth, the friend, gave her a look before turning to Elliot with an extended hand. "Hi! I'm Caroline from across the hall."
"Hey," Elliot gave a smile, "Nice to meet you."
"Same here. So you're friends with Alexis and Brooke?"
"Yeah, I met them a couple of days ago. Alex and John are seeing each other."
Caroline turned to her friend in amazement, "You're dating a Backstreet Boy and you never told me?"
Alex shrugged, "I didn't think it was such a big deal. I mean, he's just a regular person."
"But still!" Caroline exclaimed before turning to Elliot and Brooke whose moods were getting better as they woke up. "And are you two seeing each other?"
Brooke scrunched up her face, "Hell no. I'm not attracted to him like that."
Elliot nodded his head in agreement, "I think she's becoming more like my little sister." Saying that, he squeezed Brooke's cheek to tease her, which only got a slap on his hand.
"Ouch, girl. You have to stop that slapping."
"Well, if you behaved, you wouldn't get slapped."
"Hey Brooke," Caroline interrupted, pulling her to the side. "If nothing's going on between you and Elliot, do you mind if I ask him out?"
Brooke snorted, "Sure, go ahead. Have fun with him. I have to warn you though, he acts like he's five and he's a womanizer."
"But he's a Backstreet Boy!"
"Then if you think that makes him special, you need some help," Brooke responded, rolling her eyes.
"So you don't mind if I ask him?"
"No, not at all. In fact, I'll get you started on it right now. Hey! El!" she called over to him, "Caroline wants to ask you something."
"Yeah, sure, what is it?" he asked.
"I was wondering if you hadn't had breakfast already if you would like to go with me."
Elliot looked over at Brooke with one eyebrow raised, but she only smirked at him, so he turned back to Caroline and said, "Yes, I would love to. Just give me an hour to get ready," he said while walking towards the door. "Wish to walk me out the door?"
"Of course!" Caroline said a little to happily.
Once they left, Alexis turned to her friend. "What was that about? How could you allow that to happen?"
"Err... Caroline wanted to ask him out so she did?" Brooke answered sarcastically.
"You know you and Elliot are perfect for each other!"
Brooke stared at her friend blankly for a moment before cracking up in laughter. When she calmed down and faced Alexis who was standing with her hands on her hips, she said, "You've got to be kidding me. Me and Elliot? We're better as friends. Besides, he likes to play around with girls. That's not my type of guy."
"He wouldn't play around if he found the right one."
"Maybe Caroline is the right one." Alexis stared at her in disbelief. "Okay, maybe not her, but it's not me either. And don't get any more ideas! I don't wanna hear any more of this!" Alexis pouted. "I don't care how much you pout! Elliot and I will never be like that! End of story."
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Alex smiled.
Brooke only threw up her hands in frustration, sighed, and went around collecting her things that she needed to take a shower while Alexis informed her, "By the way, we're going over to their house for dinner. John is grilling some hamburgers."
"Ooh," Brooke's eyes lit up, "something other than cafeteria food. I can't wait."
"Yeah, so meet up here at 5:00. John said he'll send Elliot over after his class to get us."
"Okey dokey. Will do," was the only thing Brooke said before leaving to take her shower.
"So how'd your date go?" Brooke asked Elliot while looking through his cds in his room. A couple of minutes beforehand, they went upstairs when Alexis and John abandoned them to be together in the living room.
Elliot smiled, "It was good. We're seeing each other again on Saturday night."
"Good. Friday is still free for the frat party." Elliot nodded. "So is this a real relationship or one that'll last two weeks at the most before you find a better girl?"
Elliot laughed, but didn't answer. "I take it that the answer is the latter." When Elliot still didn't answer, Brooke chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't think any less of you. I kind of guessed you were like every other good looking college guy."
"You think I'm good looking?"
"Yes, you dork. I told you that when I first met you. Luckily for me, though, I'm not attracted to blondes," Brooke gave him a cheeky smile before going back to the cds. "You have quite a selection. I would never expect that you would like some of these groups."
"Why not?" Elliot asked.
"You sing in a boy band."
"Hey now. Just look at the variety of music you like!" Elliot protested.
"You do have a point..." Brooke trailed off while continuing to look at his cds. "When is your next cd coming out?"
"End of November. The first single is coming out in about a month. Want to hear the song?"
"Sure!" Brooke grinned.
"Just don't tell John. He'll have a fit that I let somebody hear it before it was time."
Brooke laughed, "He's the uptight one of the group, isn't he?"
"Yep," Elliot grinned, "Frick and I are the jokesters. John gets mad at us sometimes."
"Frick?"
"Blake. I'm Frack."
"Frick and Frack. That's cute. Brian's the short cute one?"
Elliot laughed, "Yeah. He's short. I don't know about cute. We can call him up now, if you want. I haven't talked to him in a while."
"If you two are such good friends how come he didn't come to college with you?" Brooke asked.
Elliot shrugged, "Didn't want to. John was the only one willing."
Brooke nodded. "Well, what about the song? I wanna hear it before you call Blake."
"Sure," Elliot answered, bending behind him to pull a tape out of the drawer, which he tossed to Brooke. "Put it in the stereo, it should be at the right place."
Brooke did as she was told and sat down on Nick's bed to listen. "Can you tell me who sings what part? I have no idea whose voice is whose."
"Sure. This first verse is Blake."
Baby, please try to forgive me,
Stay here, don't put out the glow.
Hold me now, don't bother,
If every minute it makes me weaker,
You can save me from the man that I've become.
Oh yeah
"Blake. I like his voice. Really pure," Brooke commented.
Lookin' back on the things I've done,
I was trying to be someone,
Played my part and kept you in the dark,
Now let me show you the shape of my heart.
"This next part is LP."
"What does that stand for?" Brooke asked.
"Lawrence Philip. Nobody calls him Lawrence, though, except his mother," Elliot answered.
"But LP?" Brooke made a face. "Isn't that a record or something?"
Elliott chuckled, "Yeah. From a young age, he always was listening to music. He had this record player and these Disney records that he always listened to, so we started calling him LP since it fit with his name."
Brooke laughed, "That's funny!"
Sadness is beautiful,
Loneliness is tragical,
So help me, I can't win this war, oh no.
Touch me now, don't bother,
If every second it makes me weaker
You can save me from the man I've become
"Ooh. I really like his voice. It's... I don't know... I just like it."
"Yeah, I think everybody agrees that he has one of the best voices in the group," Elliot answered.
"I can see why."
Lookin' back on the things I've done,
I was trying to be someone,
Played my part and kept you in the dark,
Now let me show you the shape of my heart.
I'm here with my confession,
"This is you!" Brooke grinned, proud of herself.
Elliot grinned, How'd ya guess?"
Got nothing to hide no more.
I don't know where to start
But to show you the shape of my heart.
"I guess I can just put a singing voice to the speaking voice," Brooke answered.
I'm looking back on things I've done,
I never wanna play the same old part
And keep you in the dark,
Now let me show you the shape of my heart.
Lookin' back on the things I've done,
I was trying to be someone,
Played my part and kept you in the dark,
Now let me show you the shape of my heart.
Lookin' back on the things I've done,
I was trying to be someone,
Played my part and kept you in the dark,
Now let me show you the shape of my heart...
Show you the shape of my heart...*
"Ooh. That last part was LP again!" Brooke exclaimed, proud of herself.
"Yep. You're getting good at this," Elliot smiled. "So what did you think of the song?"
"I really liked it. It seems different from your other songs somehow. More... Grown-up."
"That's what I thought too. Actually, that's what I think of the whole album."
"Ooh. I can't wait until it comes out. Are you guys doing some promotional thing for it?" She asked.
"Yeah. Blake actually had this idea that we'll go around the world, visiting different cities."
"Aww. That would be nice. I've never been out of the country."
"Never?" Elliot asked, surprised.
"Nope. I've only been out of the continental United States once, and that was to Hawaii. That was really nice."
"I bet it was," Elliot laughed. "I don't think anybody would say a trip there would be bad."
"True dat," Brooke said, causing Elliot to laugh. "What's so funny?"
"You," he answered. "You don't seem like the type of person who would say that."
"Well, there are a lot of things that I do that don't seem typical of a girl like me."
Elliot laughed, "See, this is a time where I think girls are just from a completely different species."
"Can we listen to the song again?" Brooke asked out of the blue.
"No." Elliot said, acting serious.
"Well, screw you," Brooke smirked.
"Please," Elliot gave her a suggestive smile.
"Do you want to get slapped?" Brooke raised her hand in a threat.
"No!" Elliot laughed holding up his arm in defense. "I've had enough of you hitting me lately. And I was only kidding; you can listen to the song again if you would like. I don't really care."
"Good!" She grinned while getting up to rewind the tape. As she was doing that, the phone in the house rang.
"Hello?" Elliot answered. "Hey 'Rok! What's up?" Elliot looked up at Brooke who was moving her head in time with the song and smiled while listening to his friend.
"Not much," Blake answered. "I just wanted to see how you were liking school."
"It's great. It's definitely different from being home taught through high school." Just then, the chorus to the song came on again and Brooke started harmonizing along with it.
"Who's that?" Blake asked as he heard her in the background. "Already found a girl to keep you company?" He teased.
Elliot laughed, "No, it's not like that. John's dating Brooke's roommate and we're usually left to our own devices. It's more like a brother and sister relationship."
Blake snorted, "Right. When I actually see you have a sibling relationship with a girl that is not really your sister, I'll die of shock. You like girls too much."
"Hey! Give me some credit; you're starting to sound like Brooke!"
At the sound of her name, Brooke turned around and asked, "Who're you talking to?"
"Blake," he answered. "Hey, how come you never told me you could sing? You have a good voice."
Brooke shrugged, "Never came up I guess. But yeah, I sing. I have ever since I can remember."
"Elliot!" He heard his voice being called from over the phone.
"Huh?"
"You left me for a sec."
"Sorry, was talking to Brooke. Here, why don't you talk to her? I doubt she'll make fun of you like she always does to me."
Blake laughed, "Finally found someone who doesn't take your crap, huh? Sure, put her on the line."
"Hey, Brookey. 'Rok wants to talk to you."
"Is that another name for Blake?"
"Yeah."
"D*mn, you all have too many different nicknames," she commented as she walked over to take the phone from Elliot, who laughed at her comment.
"Hey. What's up?" She said into the phone.
"Hey, this is Blake. I hear that you've been keeping Elliot busy while he's at school."
Brooke laughed, "Yeah, I guess you can say that. He's been kind of forced on me."
"Is that right?" Blake laughed.
"Yeah. Alexis, my roommate, forced me to meet him in the first place, and since El here has no life, he insists on torturing me by remaining in my presence."
Blake chuckled, "You're funny. I have a feeling I'm going to like you."
Brooke smiled, "Thanks. I like your accent. Seems to go with what you look like."
"Thanks, I guess," Blake answered. "It used to be much worse. I'm from Kentucky and you must know how strong the accents are there."
"Yeah, one of my good friends was from down there. She almost completely lost the accent, but every once in a while you'll hear it peek out on some words."
"Yep, that's how it is."
"Hey Brooke!" Elliot called.
"Hey what?"
"Wanna embarrass John and Alex? I have the perfect plan."
"Sure."
"Hey Brooke," Blake said from the other side of the line, "I have to go. Tell Frack I'll talk to you and him later."
"Sure. Will do. Nice talking to you."
"Same here. Bye."
"Bye." Brooke hung up the phone. "So what is your genius plan?"
"Well, you see, everybody in the group has their own solo song."
"Yeah. So?"
"This stereo is hooked up to the speakers all over the house."
"And the point is?" Brooke was getting impatient.
"We can play LP's song over the speakers where Alexis and John are."
"What will that do?" Brooke asked, confused.
Elliot grinned. "Just wait and see," he answered, putting a cd in the player and selected a song. "Come on," he pulled Brooke off of the bed, and pulled her to the staircase where they could hear Alexis and John talking quietly over the music.
Something about the way you moved
That caught my eye,
I really did have to try it,
I can't deny it.
The way your body swings
As I watched you from behind.
You got me so excited ,
How could I fight it?
Brooke had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle the laughter that was threatening to escape. When she could talk, she whispered, "Geez. And all these people say that you guys are sweet and innocent and good role models."
"Just wait," he smiled, "It gets better."
Baby let me be the one to hold you,
To give you the things I know you need.
You know we can wait another lifetime
And we can never find
A love just like this.
If you lay down,
Lay down beside me,
You can get all inside me,
And I can get all inside you, too.
If you lay down,
Lay down beside me.
You can wake up beside me forever,
Forever and ever
Forever and ever baby
"Whoa there. That's a little too graphic for me. You're contaminating my virgin ears," Brooke laughed.
"Virgin ears my **s. You don't make it through eighteen years of life without hearing a lot of crap."
"Yeah, you're right. But shhh," Brooke whispered slyly, "Don't tell my parents. They don't know yet that I know where babies come from."
"Really," Elliot chuckled.
Let's take this chance
To get to know each other better.
Baby, we will discover
We can be more than lovers
"ELLIOT WILLIAM BENNET!"
"Success!" Elliot grinned. "We have officially gotten John angry." He took Brooke's hand and pulled her down the stairs. "Come on. Follow me."
"Like I have a choice," she mumbled.
I'll give you what you need,
Just come to me and get it ,
Baby, you won't regret it
No, no, no, no, baby.
Baby move a little closer,
Yes I wanna feel your body next to mine
And before this night is over
You will just know what I need
Talkin' love until you sleep
Nonchalantly, the friends walked down the stairs and towards the family room, where John was standing up at the doorway, looking annoyed.
"Wow, John," Elliot grinned. "Interesting choice of music. Trying to seduce the poor girl already?" Walking up near John, he whispered, "But I don't think this is quite the song to do it."
If you lay down,
Lay down beside me,
You can get all inside me,
And I can get all inside you, too.
If you lay down,
Lay down beside me.
You can wake up beside me forever,
Forever and ever
Forever and ever baby
Tonight we'll find
Find just what we've been looking for
Good good love and so much more
Hold on, Hold me and don't you let go
Until I tell you to
"Elliot," John said through gritted teeth, "You'd better run. Fast."
"Sure," Elliot laughed, slapping his friend on the back. "Come on Brookey. Let's go for a walk."
"Okay," she replied. Walking past her roommate, she gave her a wink before following Elliot out the door.
If you lay down,
Lay down beside me,
You can get all inside me,
And I can get all inside you, too.
If you lay down,
Lay down beside me.
You can wake up beside me forever,
Forever and ever
Forever and ever baby**
"Oh. My. Gosh!" Brooke exclaimed, laughing, once they were away from the house. "John looked like he was about to spontaneously combust."
"True dat."
"You're such a moron."
"Yeah, I know," Elliot chuckled. "Now come, let's get some ice cream. We'll give John time to cool off before going back... And then you can help me with my math homework."
"What math?"
"Algebra."
Brooke rolled her eyes, "Dear Lord. I'm not even sure I remember that far back. Why are you taking it?"
"D*mn liberal arts education," Elliot mumbled, scuffling his feet on the sidewalk. "And please try not to make me feel stupid. I get enough crap from the guys about my apparent lack in formal education."
"I'm sorry," Brooke said, laying a hand on his arm. "I won't give you trouble." She managed to get a small smile from him. "Now let's go get some ice cream."
* "Shape of My Heart" ~Written by Max Martin, Rami, and Lisa Miskovsky
** "Lay Down Beside me" ~ Don't know who wrote it... AJ's old solo song...
Posted on Wednesday, 7 November 2001
The next day, Brooke met her sister, Georgiana, who also attended Ohio State for lunch. They lived in separate dorms, and busy schedules made it hard for them to meet up as often as they wanted, but they made sure to have lunch together at least once a week, and they always saw each other on Sunday afternoons when their parents made them go home for dinner.
So you're still liking college?" Georgiana asked as they were walking back to campus.
"Of course. Especially not having Mom and Dad to nag me over everything."
Georgiana laughed, "Of course. But you've got to admit that you miss them a little."
"I suppose..." her sister chuckled. "Oh. Alexis already found a boyfriend. It's quite sweet."
"Oh really. What's his name?"
"John. He's a music education major too. I'm friends with his friend, Elliot, also. We like to embarrass Alex and John whenever we can.
"And you don't think of this Elliot as anything more than a friend?" Georgiana asked, suspicious.
Brooke grimaced, "Oh God, no. We're not like that at all. If you saw us together you would see."
Her sister laughed, "I guess I'll just see about that on Saturday at the football game."
"I guess you must," Brooke smiled.
"Hi John!" Brooke said brightly as she saw him enter the opened door through her mirror, where she was applying make-up.
"John!" Alexis smiled, surprised. "I thought you weren't coming until later.
"We weren't," he said while kissing Alexis on the cheek, "But Elliot wanted to see Caroline before going out."
Brooke smirked before asking, "Where are you guys going tonight?"
"Probably just a movie," Alexis smiled, looking at John.
"Dear Lord," her friend rolled her eyes, "Does the mush ever end?" Just then, Elliot entered the room. "Good. You're here to save me from this romantic crap."
"Are they at it again?" Elliot scratched his head. "All I ever hear out of John's mouth is 'Alex this, and Alex that.'
Brooke looked over to where Alexis and John were both blushing, "You'd better stop, El. You're embarrassing the kids."
"Aww, but 'Mommy', I like embarrassing them," Elliot whined.
"I'm sorry, honey but you can't."
The two friends had to hold back their laughter when they looked at John and Alexis who were watching them with the weirdest expressions on their faces.
"I don't think I'm even going to ask," Alexis shook her head and returned to brushing her hair.
Brooke let out a small laugh that sounded like a "heh," and then turned to Elliot, "Hey, wanna go stalk the hot RA with me? We still have like four hours before we have to leave."
"Sure. Come on."
As they walked out of the room, they said goodbye to Alexis and John and then settled into a conversation of their own.
"What's up with this hot RA?"
"Well, he's not hot exactly. He's cute. He has this curly blonde hair that almost looks like a 'fro, and these cutest glasses."
"I thought you didn't like blonde guys." Elliot commented.
"I don't. Except him. If he asked me to, I would drop my resolution of staying a virgin until I'm married."
Elliot snorted, "That's great. Put a cute guy in front of you, and you would forget all your morals."
"At least I have them to begin with," Brooke baited.
"Hey now. That was harsh," Elliot pretended to pout.
"I'm sorry."
"No you're not."
"You're right, I'm not."
Elliot looked sideways at his friend, shaking his head, "You are something else."
Fascinating new thing,
You delight me,
And I know your speaking of me.
Fascinating new thing,
Get beside me, I want you to love me.
"Hmm," she answered distractedly, looking behind her at a guy that passed her.
"Let me guess," Elliot began when they got far enough away from him that he couldn't hear their conversation. "That was the guy."
"Mmm hmm," Brooke smiled. "We can go back to the room now. I saw what I wanted to see."
"And people say all guys think about is sex..." Elliot muttered.
"Ahh yes. The double standard. Isn't it great?" Brooke laughed.
"Not for men..."
"No, but you have many double standards that aren't good for females. You for example. You can sleep around, and nobody thinks twice about it. If I were to do it, I would be considered a slut."
"True," Elliot agreed. "But I think there are equally a number of double standards that can be used to the advantage of both men and women."
"I suppose so. But it always seems like the most harsh of them give the advantage to men."
"You sound like a feminist."
Brooke scrunched up her nose, and opened to the door to her room, which they had reached by this point. "No, actually I'm not. I always say that if it weren't for the feminists of a hundred years earlier, I would be sitting at home, embroidering a handkerchief, waiting for a marriage proposal instead of studying at college."
I'm surprised that you've never been told before
That you're lovely, and you're perfect,
And that somebody wants you.
Elliot chuckled, "Somehow, I don't think you would be happy like that. I picture you as the feminist working for the rights of the women back then."
Brooke gasped while flopping down on her bed. "That would make me a liberal! God forbid!"
Elliot grabbed the remote control off the TV before sitting down next to her. "Are you talking politically?"
"Of course. Republican through and through. Of course you're probably a democrat through and through. You're a celebrity."
Elliot shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I am."
"What's your big issue?" Brooke asked.
"Huh?"
"What do you really care about? I'll tell you what it makes you. Like mine. My big issues is abortion. Pro-life all the way, and that's what mostly makes me a conservative. That and moral issues," she explained.
"Big Christian, huh?" Elliot grinned, while flipping through the channels on the television.
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"You'd get along with Blake really well."
"So what's your big issues?" she asked again.
"The ocean. Want to keep it clean."
"Definitely a democrat," Brooke decided.
"What? You don't care about the environment?" Elliot looked away from the TV long enough to ask.
"Oh, I care about the environment. Just not enough to go radical about it," Brooke explained.
"So drilling oil in the ocean..." Elliot began to ask.
"Wow? You know about that? I'm surprised," Brooke commented sarcastically before answering, "I don't think there's anything wrong with it. The drilling techniques are so sophisticated now, the chances of an accident are so slim, it won't happen."
Fascinating new thing,
You seem naked
On a temporary circuit.
Fascinating new thing,
Don't betray them
By becoming familiar.
"Pollution?"
"Up to the individual. I don't want my hard earned money going to government agencies that act like they're doing something, but really don't."
"Obviously you've never been to the ocean enough to care about it...." Elliot muttered under his breath, getting annoyed.
"Actually, I grew up on the East coast. Every single one of my summer vacations have been spent at the ocean, whether it be the Jersey shore, the South Caroline shore, or Miami beach. And I probably love it just as much as you, so don't go making assumptions."
"Hmph."
There was an uncomfortable silence between them as Elliot continued changing the television channels and Brooke glared off into space. Finally she spoke up, "Listen, let this be a lesson to us not to discuss politics in the near future. It'll only cause problems."
"Fine with me," Elliot agreed, still changing the channels.
"Will you give me that?" Brooke laughed, grabbing the remote out of his hands. Immediately she turned it to MTV, where they were playing 'N Sync's "Bye Bye Bye."
"Hey! Is this you?" Brooke pretended to be ignorant.
"No," Elliot said through gritted teeth.
"Really? I mean. It's a boy band. They're dancing. They're singing. Hey! That guy with the curly hair even looks a little like you," Brooke managed to keep her voice steady, but a smile was slowly forming on her lips.
"D*mm*t, Brooke. Give me that control," Elliot lunged for her, but she flipped over, clinging to the remote and hiding it under her.
"You can't have it!"
"Brooke..." Elliot started to whine. He sat quietly for a second before asking, "Are you ticklish?"
"No," came a muffled answer.
"I don't believe you!" And with that, he started tickling her at her sides. He was right. As soon as he touched her she started giggling and rolled over, with her arms around her stomach, protecting it. "Fine. I'll change it. But I won't give you the remote, cuz you won't decide on something."
"All right. You can keep it. But put on something good."
"Yay," Brooke smiled. "You know, my sister loves 'N Sync."
"You have a sister?"
"Yep. Georgiana. She's your age, actually, and she goes here too. You'll meet her tomorrow at the football game."
"Ahh. I'll look forward to it."
Brooke gave him a sideways look. "Don't even think about it."
"About what?" Elliot asked confused.
"Trying to get together with her. Cuz If you ever did anything to hurt her...."
"Relax! I wasn't thinking of anything like that. I wouldn't try anything with your sister or any of your good friends. I'm afraid of you hurting me!"
Brooke laughed as she flipped through the channels until she found ESPN. "Ooh! The Mets are on! We'll watch this."
"You like the Mets?" he questioned.
"Oh yeah. My father's and my favorite team. I'm going to marry Mike Piazza."
"He has a mullet!"
"I don't care. Have you ever seen his arms? Soooo muscular. And he makes a lot of money!"
"So do I!" Elliot protested.
"Sure, you make a lot of money, but honey, those arms ain't muscular."
"You require a lot in a guy. You'll never find a husband that way."
"I wouldn't say that," Brooke quietly said.
"Huh?"
"I think the moment any guy showed any interest in me, I'd be ready to marry him."
"Why's that?"
"Cuz nobody has before. I would be afraid to lose that one guy who did." Brooke's voice had gotten lower and sad, but she managed to keep a stoic face as she stared at the baseball game.
"You don't know that."
"Know what?"
"That no guy has showed an interest in you. There were probably plenty of guys who were just afraid to tell you."
Brooke snorted, "I told you, guys don't like nerds."
"You're not a nerd, though. True, guys do get intimidated by smart girls, but that's just because we're stupid and moronic, and whatever adjective you have already described me as." Elliot smiled as he noticed that he made her laugh a little. He put his arm around her shoulders, and lowered his forehead to touch hers. "I'll tell you what. If neither of us are married by thirty-five, I'll marry you."
I'm surprised that you've never been told before
That you're lovely, and you're perfect,
And that somebody wants you;
I'm surprised that you've never been told before
That you're priceless,
Yeah, you're precious even when you are not new.
That got Brooke laughing harder. "Like that'll happen! We'll end up killing each other by our first anniversary."
"Hey you never know. Besides, we'll have to get you married before you're too old. Then you won't be able to have any kids."
"How do you know I want kids?" she raised her eyebrow.
"You seem like a person who would."
"You like to make assumptions about people," Brooke smiled. "But you're right. I want kids one day."
"So do I. See, we're perfect for each other!"
Brooke chuckled. "Elliot. Just shut-up and watch the game. I'll think about you're proposal when I'm thirty-five and not married. For now, just keep your mouth shut so you don't sound stupid."
I'm surprised that you've never been told before
That you're lovely, and you're perfect,
And that somebody wants you;
That you're priceless,
Yeah, you're holy even when you are not new.*
"Yes, ma'am," he grinned before turning back to the TV to watch the game.
* "Fascinating New Thing" by Semisonic