Waiting for My Sun to Shine

The last show of the tour ended in their hometown; Phoenix, Arizona. It was bittersweet for Hallie, she didn't want to leave her friends, but was itching to get back to New York. Despite everything that happened between her and John, she had a wonderful time on tour, it was refreshing for her to visit all the places she's never been able to go to, meet dozens of interesting people from every state, and watch her friends perform live every night on stage. She was truly grateful to be part of it and was going to cherish every moment.

Hallie drove to the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to pick up Ethan the morning before the show. He told her his reasoning for flying out was to take a small break from work and see the boys' last show. He neglected to mention that he came out to strictly talk business with Tim. When she reached the arrivals section she noticed that he didn't come alone, Mia was by his side with a huge smile on her face. All in All, Hallie was excited to have them both in her hometown.

"This is a surprise!" She hugged Mia first before Ethan.

"Well, I keep hearing how beautiful this state is, wanted to see what all the fuss what about." Mia put on her sunglasses right before they walked out through the sliding doors of the airport.

Outside of the venue, Eric was on his way home to his parents house. The boys had the pleasure of sleeping in their own beds for a change when they arrived home last night. Even Nick, Andrew, Peter, Gary, Justin, and Larry, felt right at home, from visiting so many times and hanging out with the rest of the boys. Everyone met up in the morning to set up their gear and Merch for tonight's show. While Eric was heading to his car, Ashley drove in and parked right beside him.

"Hey, Halvo." She greeted him with a hug once she got out.

"How are you doing?" He smiled politely. Eric always kept his conversations short with her because he was never interested in anything that came out of Ashley's mouth. Maybe he was being biased because Hallie was his best friend, or maybe it was because he never thought Ashley was right for John in the first place. Either way Eric kept a fake smile on his face as he endured talking to her.

"Well, working at my parent's country club can be dull, but you know me I always make the best of things." She was so enthusiastic as she put her purse on the trunk of her car and opened the passenger door to get her cell phone. A pink box with the words Alesse written across caught Eric's eye as he looked at it closely, but Ashley was too fast, closing her car door and swinging her purse on her right shoulder. "John's still in there right?"

"What- Yeah." Eric snapped back to reality.

"We're going out for lunch." She had a spring in her step. "See you tonight at the show!"

Eric waved back as she entered the venue then got into his car and turned on the ignition. In the all the years he had known Ashley, he never paid attention to anything about her, or cared about anything that was in her purse. But something about the way she was acting seemed too odd. He drove out of the parking lot and on his way home. However, instead of going straight to his house he stopped off at the Brock's home to speak to Hallie. But when he entered the house all he saw was Mia sitting on the kitchen counter eating breakfast.

"Oh, hey." He was surprised to see her, he was only expecting Ethan to be in the house with Hallie and Kennedy. "Where's-"

"She's Showering." Mia took another bite of toast. She could see that something was troubling him as Eric took a seat on the stool by the island counter.

"Mia, you're a girl." He finally said to her and she gave him a funny look. "What's Alesse?"

"Birth control pills, why?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"It was in Ashley's purse-"

"You went through her purse?" She questioned.

"It was sticking out, I didn't actually go through it-" He paused. "That's not the point! If you're pregnant why would you keep birth control pills in your purse."

"I don't know Halvo, maybe she forgot to take them out, you'd be surprised what you can find in a lady's purse." She jumped off the counter and left him alone in the kitchen.

Eric didn't bother waiting for Hallie to get out the shower. He walked out the house and into his car he drove off again finally making his way home. He snacked on a few things he found in his fridge before making himself comfy on his couch in the living room. As abrupt as his drop in at the Brock's was, he was glad that Mia was there to answer his question instead of making a big deal and talking to Hallie about it. Flicking channel's on the TV he heard his front door open and close and in moments John appeared in front of him.

"Hey, man." He nodded.

"Can we talk?" John asked.

"Yeah, actually there's something I wanted to ask you." Eric sat up.

"I know what you're gonna say." John paused. "You and Hallie have been sneaking around behind my back."

"Huh?" Eric looked more confused then ever. "What are you talking about?"

"The whole tour you two have been attached at the hip." As he was about to protest John continued. "I saw you two at Justin's in bed together that night."

"Wait a minute, behind your back?" Eric questioned. "You have a girlfriend who is pregnant with your kid and you're upset that we went behind your back? I didn't realize that I had to ask your permission to date Hallie!"

"Your my best friend a little heads up would have been nice." John lashed back. "This isn't easy for me, none of it is. I just keep digging myself a hole deeper and deeper... and now it's really too late."

Nothing was left more to say. Eric was curious as to why John was brooding so much, but he figured that he would let it slide. He could see that John was very upset and hurt by all of this, but Eric didn't feel bad enough to come clean about the truth, that after him and Hallie's intimate moment then decided to just remain friends. He watched as John looked down at his ringing phone and in seconds he left the house without saying another word.



After the boys finished all three sets they stayed out like they always did, signing autographs, taking pictures, and having sweet conversations with their fans. Once they finish, everyone headed over to John's parents home for a little party with all their friends and families. As much as Hallie felt uneasy about showing up, Lily, Kadi, Mia, Eric, and Ethan gave her courage like a tiny support system. When she arrived with her parent's, she kept her distance from both Ashley and John. She just had to endure it for a few more hours and then she would be back on the East coast, or so she thought...

"So, Tim..." Ethan appeared in front of her with Tim by his side, both wearing wicked smiles. "I heard my assistant did a great job as tour manager."

"I got no complaints." Tim said. Hallie rolled her eyes at the fact that this conversation was staged. "I was thinking about keeping her for another few weeks, I need someone who can organize my entire office, because it's a mess."

"What?" Hallie didn't like where this was going.

"Of course you can keep her, Tim, and for as long as you want." Ethan patted him on the back. "Jacob's been doing a good job replacing you, not great, but good enough."

"Jason." Hallie corrected.

"Whatever." Ethan shrugged not caring about the temp's name. Hallie did not like this at all, she was hoping to catch a flight back to New York the next day with Mia and Ethan. The fact that Tim didn't give her a definite day on when she would be working till worried her even more. She almost wondered if Kennedy had gotten to the both of them and devised a plan to keep her in Arizona longer.

"Tim, I don't know if this is a good idea." She said in a low voice.

"Hallie, I'm not just messing with you. I really need your help and not just to organize." He genuinely told her.

"You can finally put your Harvard degree into use this time." Ethan teased. But Hallie still wasn't completely on board with the idea. She had to fight them both on this because in her heart being at home was going to drive her crazy.

"But-"

"Hey, we have some good news." John announced to everyone in the house, cutting off Hallie's conversation on the other side of the room. He rested his arm on the top of Ashley's shoulders before looking down at her with a smile. He waited until he had everyone's attention, then glanced at Hallie who was standing between Tim and Ethan. He took a deep breath ready to speak but Ashley was quicker.

"WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"