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Nadine Scotts waited outside the Nine Thirty Club waiting to see her best friends for the first time in a year. Her best friends had been on tour with their band, Good Charlotte. Benji, Joel, and Paul had known Nadine since her freshman year in high school; their junior year.

Benji and Joel had been the big brothers Nadine never had. In fact, they had met her by saving her from getting beaten up by a bunch of the cheerleaders. They took her to their house and patched up her busted lip and iced her black eyes. After that, she became their permanent shadow.

Through the twins, Nadine met Paul. He was a very sensitive, caring guy. When she first met him, she fell head over heels in love with him. He was all she ever wanted in a guy; though, she never told the twins or Paul because she did not want to fragment the group of close friends that she finally had.

"Nadine Scotts? This way," called the bouncer guarding the door that led backstage.

As she made her way through the tight knit throng of punk rock kids, she noticed girls sending her looks that made her glad looks could not kill.

"Down the hall, last door on the right," the bouncer said pointing Nadine down a sterile looking white hall with black and white checkered tile flooring.

Nadine walked down the long corridor, comparing herself to the girl she was when the guys released their self titled debut album in 2000 and the girl she is now that they have released their third record "The Chronicles of Life and Death."

She was a senior in high school when they released their first album, and Benji, Joel, and Paul's pride and joy. They were proud of her because she had been accepted to Yale University and was the valedictorian of her class. She was on her way to major in linguistics. They visited her every chance they got while she was at college, but she could not help feeling lonely.

Now, she was a law student at Harvard. The guys often commented on how much she had grown up. ("Finally," as Joel would say.) She no longer stole Benji's concert tee shirts and wore them with jeans, but she wore neat pleated skirts and form fitting tank tops. Alas, they could not get her out of her Chuck Taylor sneakers.

Nadine stopped outside the door. Why am I so nervous? I mean, jeez! It's the twins and -- at the thought of Paul her stomach filled with butterflies. Damn it, Nadine! Stop it! It's just Paul!

With that bit of chastisement to her feelings, she knocked on the door. She heard chairs slide and footsteps shuffling toward her. The door swung open and arms rapidly embraced her.

"Nadine!" Benji exclaimed.

"We've missed you so much!" Joel cried.

"Guys, I can't breathe!" Nadine gasped for air.

"Oh, right," Benji said as they let her go.

Nadine looked up and saw Paul standing off to the side. She felt his eyes groping her for a bit of the awkward little girl in high school.

"Hey Benji. Hey Joel," Nadine said, calmly hugging each of the twins in turn.

She calmly walked over to Paul and smiled. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing. I - just - Wow!" Paul said embracing her.

Nadine inhaled Paul's familiar smell of Dial soap and after shave. It brought back many memories of weekends at the guys' house when things weren't going well at her own dwelling.

As she let go, she looked up at Paul and the butterflies in her belly began fluttering again. Would you cut that out? she silently pleaded to her feelings.

Paul smiled and said playfully, "We've missed you, Sardine."

"Don't forget about us over here," called a voice, Nadine recognized as Billy.

They hadn't been at close as the other three and she, but she was fond of both Billy and Chris. She pranced over and hugged them both. Then she plopped herself on the couch in between the twins.

"How's school? Are you still a brain? Are you seeing someone? If you are: It's about freaking time!" Joel said in one breath.

"Well, school's going fine. I'm first in the sophomore class at Harvard. No, I'm not dating. You should know that, Joel! You ask me every time you talk to me," Nadine smiled.

"It's not healthy -- not dating, Nadine...But, anyways, Wow! With being first in your class, you found time to come and visit us! We should feel loved!" Benji smirked.

Nadine grabbed a cushion from the couch and began hitting Benji. "You -- Are -- The -- Biggest -- Jerk --In -- The -- World!" she shrieked in between hits,

"Hey! Cut that out, Nadine!" Joel said.

"I forgot how serious you took school," Benji said rubbing his head where he had been injured.

There was a knock at the door, and someone said, "Benji, Billy, Joel! Press!"

The twins and Billy got up and looked apologetically Nadine.

"We'll be back soon; I promise," Joel said.

As the door closed, Paul stood and walked to a door and looked directly at Nadine. He nodded his head for Nadine to follow him, so she followed with butterflies flying wild in her abdomen.