Looking desperately around her, Brianna once again searched for the familiar that no hat could hide. It was not there. She was getting worried. After landing, he had not shown up. Instead of waiting around, she made sure her phone was on, and went in search of her luggage. After returning to their meeting spot, still no Nick. In disgusted rage, she weighed her options and cursed her impulsive nature. She had not had time to go to an ATM before boarding her plane; she had exactly three dollars and eighty cents in her wallet, hardly enough for a taxi.

"Brianna!" a voice called. She looked around, searching for the voice. She found its owner.

"Kevin! What are you doing here?" she asked as he walked up to her.

"Makes a guy feel loved," he said as he gave her a friendly hug.

"Sorry. Nick's late, stupid jerk and I'm stuck here with my bag," she explained.

"Yeah, Nick had plans with Laurel he couldn't possibly break, so he asked me to come. Didn't tell me what time, so I had to track him down, so that I could track you down," he explained.

"Has anyone ever told you you talk too much?" Brianna asked. It was an absolute lie, he was usually stone-silent around her and Nick's idiocy and giggle-fit conversations.

"You are a freak," he said simply, as he turned to lead her to where he had parked.

"But I'm a sarcastic, heinous bitch-freak. That makes all the difference, my friend," she exclaimed, chasing after him.

* * * *

"Brianna! What are you doing here?" her mom asked, flying out of her house as Kevin drove up. Brianna could hardly wait for the car to stop before she was in her mother's arms.

"I told you I was coming for a visit!" Brianna squealed.

"Brie, we've been over this. You have to tell me dates. You could tell me in December that you are coming for a visit, and not show up until September. Brie, I'm renovating every room in the house. There is no where for you to stay," her mother explained, putting a damp spot on Brianna's joy at seeing her mom.

"I can stay on a couch or something," Brie shrugged.

"No, Brie, you really can't…I'm not even going to be here…" her mother trailed off, as they entered the house. Her mom was right. The floor was torn up, walls were half torn down. Plaster, paint and wood could all be seen in every direction.

"Whoa…where are you staying?" Brianna asked.

"With a friend for a few weeks. I'd ask you to stay with us, but she really doesn't have the room for the both of us. What are you going to do?" her mother asked her.

"I'll have to free-load off of Nick, it's his fault I'm here anyway," she answered. Kevin, who had been following behind with Brianna's bags, overheard her, and spoke for the first time since they left the airport.

"I don't know about that, there Brie. He just moved in with Laurel, and things are pretty complicated," he said.

"Whoa, Kevin, do you ever shut up?" she asked with a smile. She thought for a second.

"Well, here's what I'll do. I'll go over there anyway, and tell him my sordid tale and say I'll have to stay in a hotel. You know how much all of you hate hotels, and he'll immediately ask me to stay with him, or get me somewhere to stay while I'm here. I know this boy really well," Brianna said.

"You're horrible," her mother complained, rolling her eyes. Brianna and Diane, her mother, had an excellent relationship, and Brianna adored her. They were very close to each other, and they had never had any problems distinguishing the fine line of where they were friends and when they were mother and daughter. There was no one else in the world she respected more than her mother.

"Brie, I don't know if that'll work…well, just see how things go with him when you first talk to him," Kevin suggested. Brie suddenly realized he was still instrumental in her plans for the day.

"Hey, Kevin, I have no idea where Nick is staying. You said he just moved in with Laurel? I haven't gotten the change of address card yet, so I need a little assistance. Care to be my knight with shining hub caps yet again?" she asked, turning on her charm.

"I'm going to have to start charging you. I wonder what a chauffeur makes per hour," Kevin answered.

Kevin waited patiently as Brianna and her mother said good bye, and then he drove her towards Nick's house. Just his luck, they hit a traffic jam on the highway, and he was forced to endure Brianna's endless questions about Laurel.

Kevin was purposely infuriating her.

"What's Laurel like?" she asked.

"She's really nice."

"And?"

"Her and Nick make a good couple."

"That's all you can give me? There's nothing else to her than being a nice person?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

"What's their relationship like? Do they argue a lot, are they like one of the couples that hang off each other's words, what are they like?"

"Wait and see."

"KEVIN, I need to know these things. He's told you that he proposed to her, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. I think it's great. Why are you getting so worked up about this?" he asked, a slight suspicion showing on his face.

"I just think that it's important to know what my best friend's future wife is like. What kind of personality she has…you know, likes and dislikes. What she might think of her husband having a female best friend…" she muttered the last part under her breath. She had to get Kevin on her side, somehow, otherwise she would have to destroy the relationship single-handedly.

"So that's the reason for the impromptu visit," he said, with an air of revelation. Brianna smiled as he fell right into the palm of her hand.

"Who taught you a word like impromptu?" she joked.

"Brie, you have nothing to worry about. Laurel would never come between Nick and any of his friends, she's too smart to think they'd last longer than a second if she ever tried to cut out any of his friends from his life," he said slowly, concentrating on the road as traffic began to move forward again.

So that answered one question. All of the Boys loved Laurel, otherwise Kevin would not have said what he had. They did not grow to trust too many people, and it was clear that Laurel was one of the lucky few…it was going to be harder than she had thought.