Okay, first things first. This story is a complete work of fiction, and is not meant to imply anything about anyone. While some of the characters may be loosely based on real people that I know, none are meant to actually represent anyone, particularly any of the members of the Backstreet Boys. We may wish that they were gay, and maybe some of them even are, but I'm certainly not about to say that they are. :)
As usual, if you are offended or made uncomfortable by material concerning sexual relations between consenting adult men, lighten up or go somewhere else. Also, if it is in any way illegal for you to be reading this type of thing, please don't. Or do, just don't get caught and feel very guilty. ;)
If any of the BSB happen to be reading this (hey, we can dream can't we?), feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think.
I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to write, and encourage them and others to keep doing so. It's nice to see that people like the story. Also, I happen to be an email junkie (which anyone who has emailed already could attest to) and I live for new mail. :)
***Thanks to Tyler, Lauren, Lukas, Matty, Jake, and everyone else who has taken the time to write, for their extra-nice comments. It makes it much easier to sit down and write with people like you to encourage me.
***The standard (though certainly no less special) thanks also to JB and EG (author of Adam, Zach and BSB - a very good story, do check it out), both of whom read over what you are about to read, either in whole or in part, and offered their opinions. There is no doubt that the story is better than it would have been without them.
Drop me a line at DLS_stories@hotmail.com and let me know what you think Enjoy!
PART 32
I awoke to find Brian staring at me with a smile on his face.
"Good morning," I grumbled, blinking the haze out of my eyes. "What are you looking at?"
"You. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Aside from it being too damn early to be awake, I guess. Why would you ask that?" I asked, sitting up a little and rubbing at my eyes.
"You woke me up in the night. You were having some kind of bad dream," he said, giving me a concerned look. "You don't remember anything?"
I thought about it, then shook my head. "Nope. I don't remember my dreams very often," I explained. "Unless they're really surreal or really bad."
"Well you were groaning and tossing around. You woke me up. I didn't know whether or not to wake you, so I just held you until you eventually calmed down. Are you sure you're alright?"
I could see the concern in his eyes, and wanted to tell him not to worry about it. The problem was, I was a little worried. I never had bad dreams, even as a child. There had been a bad spell of them after my parents had been killed, but that was to be expected, and they passed as I grieved.
Not wanting to talk about that, and wanting to make Brian feel better, I lied. "Don't worry about it Brian. This sometimes happens when I'm writing. I get so into the story that my brain forgets to shut off." I rested my hand on his arm and gave him a smile.
Taking one final look in my eyes, he sighed and smiled as well. "Just as long as you're okay. There's really nothing wrong?"
"Nothing that I can think of," I said. This, at least, was true. I had no idea where the dream had come from.
"Well then, let's get ready. Breakfast is in twenty minutes, and I call dibs on the shower!" he said, laughing as he launched himself out of the bed. I grinned and lay back on the bed, relishing that feeling between being awake and alert and just being awake.
Brian was back before I knew it, shaking my arm and telling me to shower. I let myself drift up from the peaceful limbo and finally climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
Brian was dressed and waiting when I came out of the bathroom in my boxers. Going to the closet, I pulled out a pair of brown cargo pants and a white t-shirt and threw them on before announcing myself ready to go. Brian nodded approvingly at my bare feet, as I knew he would.
"It's a start," he laughed.
"This is as dressed-down as I get, my friend," I grinned and followed him from the room and out into the hall.
The smell of food was wafting from Kevin's room, and we soon discovered that we were the last ones to arrive. Brian tossed me a plate and began filling one of his own from the cart.
"So how are the lovebirds this morning?" AJ asked.
"Fine," Brian replied with a smile.
"Just fine? I thought you'd be floating on the ceiling today," Nick said with a grin. "I know you didn't come back to the room."
Brian blushed, but I set my plate down and walked over to Nick. "Couldn't do anything without you there, now could we?" I grinned, leaning over and kissing Nick on the forehead.
This time it was Nick's turn to blush and the rest of us laughed. "I like him," AJ said through his laughter, pointing at me.
"Me too," Brian said as I joined him back at the cart. He leaned over and gave me a kiss. I retrieved my plate and looked at it. It looked suspiciously like Brian had been eating off of it.
"Funny," I said. "I would have sworn that I had more food on my plate."
"Huh," Brian said with a smile. "That is funny." He turned quickly and found a place to sit on the couch.
Smiling to myself, I threw some more food on my plate, replacing what Brian had taken, and went and sat on the floor in front of him, leaning against the front of the couch.
Brian sat his plate on the top of my head and continued eating, knowing that I couldn't make any sudden movements without spilling it all over myself.
"You gonna let him treat you like that Nate?" Kevin laughed from the table.
"Well," I said with a smile, looking up at the very edge of the plate that was in my field of vision and deciding that I felt bold. "I figure it will be the only thing that he gets to eat off of me for a long time." By the time I had it all out, I was laughing so hard that I almost succeeded in spilling the plate on myself, but Brian grabbed it just in time.
There was almost total silence in the room, until Nick started to laugh. The others joined in, and soon we were all laughing. Even Howie wore a smile. I smiled back at him, hoping that it was a sign of progress.
When we had calmed down enough to finish our breakfast, Brian held his plate himself. I finished mine, then reached up and scooped a couple of pieces of bacon from Brian's plate. He squawked and swatted at my hand, but I soon had them on my plate.
"You little thief!" he laughed.
"Hey! You stole half of my plate over there," I said, motioning to the cart.
"But that's different," he protested. "You were standing right there at the food. I have to walk all the way over there to get more."
I looked at the cart of food all of fifteen feet away. "Oh you poor baby," I said sarcastically. "Do you remember what I told you that first time you stayed in my hotel room? When you threatened to eat my breakfast?"
Brian looked at me for a second, and then I saw it dawn on his face. He looked to my fork, then touched his forehead and smiled.
I grinned back. "You've been warned," I laughed.
None of the rest of the guys knew what we were talking about and were looking at us with puzzled expressions. Figuring it was one of those things that you had to be there for, we just shrugged it off and told them it didn't matter.
"So it's just traveling today?" I asked, setting my plate aside and resting the side of my head against Brian's knee.
"Pretty much," Kevin smiled, looking at us. "We'll be on the bus most of the day and evening, with stops for lunch and dinner."
I nodded. "So what are you going to do until you have to get on the bus?"
"I'm going to get some more sleep," Howie said with a yawn. AJ echoed the sentiment.
"I was just going to hang out," Nick said, and Kevin agreed. I looked up at Brian.
"Whatever you want to do, sweetie," he grinned.
"Just hanging out sounds good," I decided. "Room for two more?" I asked, looking from Nick to Kevin, who both nodded.
Howie and AJ excused themselves a few minutes later, and I slid up onto the couch with Brian. Resting my head on his shoulder, I yawned.
"Looks like someone needs more sleep," Nick grinned.
"He had a bad dream," Brian said, looking at me. "He slept, but I don't think he got a lot out of it."
"What was the dream about?" Kevin asked, coming from the table and sitting with us.
"I don't remember," I said. "I wouldn't even know I had one if Brian hadn't mentioned it this morning. Look," I said, looking from Brian to the other two in the room. "I just haven't been sleeping all that well lately. The last couple of nights I've been too excited about coming with you guys to get any real rest, and with the new book going, my head is in overdrive. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."
I saw Kevin and Brian exchange a look, but couldn't tell what it meant. Finally Brian sighed and stroked my head. "Okay, but I want you to try and get some rest now," he said lovingly.
"No, Brian," I protested. "I don't want to go back to bed." Seeing that he was about to argue, I decided a compromise was the best way to go. "Listen, if someone doesn't mind my using their bunk, I'll get some sleep on the bus today. Okay? I never really liked road trips anyway," I said with a smile.
"Okay," Brian agreed, seeing that it was as good as he was going to get from me. "But no one has to lend you a bunk. You can use ours," he said with a smile, still running his hand across my temple and along the side of my head.
I smiled back and settled a little more into the couch. "So are we just going to sit here and play 'Make Nate Take a Nap' all morning?"
Brian laughed. "Okay, point taken. So what do you want to do?"
"I'm pretty good right here," I said with a shrug and a smile. "Besides, you guys have all the experience at this touring business. What do you propose?" I said, looking to Kevin and Nick.
"How about just getting a movie and vegging for a while. We're going to be busy enough when we get to Cincinnati," Kevin suggested.
"Sounds good," I agreed. Brian and Nick nodded as well, so Kevin went to check out our selection as we made ourselves more comfortable. Sliding down on the couch so I was laying down, I lay my head on Brian's knee.
"What am I? You're personal pillow?" he laughed, drumming his fingers on the side of my head.
"Hey! You used me as a table," I replied with a grin. "I think it's the least you can do."
"But I'd be more comfortable like this," he said with a smirk, swinging his legs around and sliding down until he was lying down as well. His movements almost threw me off of the couch.
"Oh yeah, this is much better," I groaned from my crumpled heap at the base of the couch.
"I don't know, I'm pretty good," Brian laughed.
"Well then, you stay where you are," I grinned, getting up. I lay back down on the couch, a little lower than Brian, so that my head was resting on his chest and his legs were on either side of me. I slid one hand underneath him so that my arm was around him and let the other fall over the side of the couch. "Mmmmm..." I said, resting my head on his chest. "Much better."
Brian rested his arm on my back, keeping the other under his head and agreed.
"You two are too much," Nick snickered. "Could you be a little more entangled?"
"I think you know we could be," I retorted with a smile, making him blush again. "We could always make room for another," I said invitingly.
"Quite alright," Nick laughed, throwing his hands up in front of him. "I'm good right where I am."
"Yes, you are," Brian said, making us all laugh.
"Well, I see you two made yourselves more comfortable," Kevin grinned, coming back from the phone.
"It's all his fault," Brian and I said together, pointing at each other.
"Geez, it's like you're married already," Kevin groaned, taking a seat in his chair again. I could see Kevin giving Brian and I looks, then looking away just as he seemed about to speak. Finally, I had to ask.
"What's on your mind Kevin?"
He looked back at me and smiled. "You don't miss much, do you?"
"Sorry," I said, returning the smile. "Observation is part of what I do. Now what is it?"
"Well, I know it's a touchy subject, but I'm wondering what you guys are going to do when we get to Kentucky."
I felt Brian jump a little at the question, and with my ear to his chest, I could hear his heart start beating faster. I gave him a little squeeze to reassure him, then looked back to Kevin.
"Whatever we need to do," I said. "If I have to stay at a hotel, I will. If Brian wants to tell his family, I'll be there. If not, I'd still like to meet them."
"You do?" Brian asked.
"Of course," I said quietly. "There's got to be at least one good member," I laughed, looking at Kevin.
"Funny," he replied sarcastically. "You never told your parents, did you?" Kevin asked me.
"Kevin!" Brian hissed, afraid it would upset me.
"It's alright Brian," I assured him. "No, Kev, I didn't. But I remember what it was like to worry about telling them. I know what Brian's going through, and I don't want him to rush anything just to avoid hurting my feelings."
"What are you talking about?" Nick asked, looking to Brian, then back to me.
"Well, you know Brian much better than I do, but I think I know him well enough for this. I bet he's thinking right now that if he doesn't come out and introduce me to his family as his boyfriend, it's going to make me feel like he isn't serious about our relationship." I looked up into Brian's eyes and discovered that I was right. Looking back to Nick, I smiled a little and continued.
"What he doesn't realise is that I know how much he loves me, and I don't need him to rush into telling anyone anything to make me feel like he's serious about us." I glanced quickly to Brian's face to see if he was getting the point. The smile on his face told me that he was.
"You were right about all but one thing," he smiled at me.
"And that was?"
"You don't have any idea how much I love you," he said sweetly, leaning in for a kiss.
"You two could give someone a cavity," Kevin groaned as we kissed.
The movie came, and we just sat around until it was time to pack, laughing and talking. I was really beginning to feel like I was one of the group.
"Well," Kevin said, standing. "We really do have to get ready to get on that bus."
Brian and I groaned, and stayed where we were. I buried my face in his stomache, making him laugh.
"Come on you two," Nick grinned, pulling me off of Brian and dumping me on the floor. "You have all day to be touchy-feely," he laughed.
"Okay. I'm up I'm up," I said, staggering to my feet. Running for the door, I yelled behind me. "Last one ready has to give the other a massage!"
Brian laughed and sprinted from the couch to the door, catching it as I tried to close it on him to slow him down. He raced to the door of his room to find it locked. Mumbling to himself he dug in his pocket for his key.
"Looking for this?" I asked with a smile as I opened my own door. I held up his room key and swung it back and forth. I had taken it from his pocket while we were laying on the couch.
"I thought you were just feeling my leg!" he laughed, running at me. I ducked into my room and ran for the bedroom, throwing the key away from me to get more time.
There was a moment of indecision from Brian as he tried to make up his mind between getting me or getting the key. Deciding on the key, he ran and grabbed it, promising that he would be back for me when he was done packing.
I laughed and raced around the room, throwing my things in my luggage. When I was finished in the bedroom, I tossed my bathroom stuff into another smaller bag and quickly packed up my computer.
Grabbing all of my things, I threw them out into the hall and slammed my door. I was sitting against the wall with a smug look on my face when Brian came charging out of his room with his things. Seeing me, a wide grin spread across his face.
"No fair. You cheated," he laughed, sitting beside me.
"All's fair in love and war," I grinned.
"And which is this?" he asked softly, letting a little more Kentucky slip into his voice.
I pretended to think about it for a moment, then smiled. "Let's call it a loving war."
Brian laughed and kissed me.
"You guys sure packed quickly," Kevin said, coming out into the hall. "Who won?"
I raised my hands and gave the victory sign with my fingers, making Kevin smile.
"He stole my room key out of my pocket while we were on the couch," Brian complained, poking me in the ribs.
"Well maybe you should make your boyfriend keep his hands to himself," Kevin said with a laugh.
"But what would be the fun in that?" Brian asked with a grin, putting his hand on my knee.
Nick had gone and woken AJ and Howie, and we were all soon ready and heading down to the lobby to get on the tour bus. The fans were in full force as we walked into the lobby, and the security people were immediately more alert, prepared to force a path through them.
The guys smiled and waved through the bank of windows at the front of the hotel, then gave the security people a sign. They walked into the crowd and started the daunting task of making a safe walkway through the screaming people.
Taking a closer look at the people in the crowd than I had the previous times, I noticed that there were more than a few screaming boys in among them. I indicated one with a nod and leaned in to Brian.
"He's kinda cute," I whispered with a laugh.
Brian took a minute to look so that it wasn't obvious that he was checking the guy out and started to grin. "If only my boyfriend wasn't around," he whispered back, making me smile.
"Okay, let's go guys," Kevin said, noting that the security people were in position as the bus pulled up and the doors opened. Grabbing our things, we ran outside and vaulted into the bus, the doors swishing shut behind.
"We'll stop in a little while so that we can put our luggage in the compartments under the bus," Kevin explained to me, piling his things on one of the bench seats near the front of the bus. I added my things to his, reserving my computer, and followed the guys to the sitting area at the back of the bus.
"And after we stop," Brian intoned, pointing his finger at me like a scolding mother. "You owe me one nap."
"But you owe me one massage, my dear," I said softly, leaning in and gently blowing in his ear.
Brian sighed and vowed to get me the next time. I smiled. "Sorry," I said. "I'd like to take this opportunity to announce my retirement from the field of luggage racing." I gave Brian a smirk and sat next to AJ.
"You're such a punk," Brian laughed, dropping to the floor in front of me and laying his head against my leg. "You're lucky you're a cute punk."
"Don't forget lovable, sweet, funny, kind, generous..." I grinned as I recited all of my good points that had apparently slipped his mind.
"And modest," Brian said, kissing my knee.
"Can't forget modest," I agreed, running my hands through his hair.
"Ugh," Nick laughed, listening to us. "Don't you ever stop? Nate, wanna play some Nintendo? I smell new blood."
I started nodding my head and was about to agree when Brian spoke up. "No you don't. If you start now, Nick will have you playing for hours, and you'll never take that nap."
I knew that Brian was just worried about me, but I was really starting to get annoyed at his insistence that I sleep. Seeing the determination on his face, I sighed and nodded my agreement. "Yes, mother," I said, making him smile. "But you have to come with me."
"I'm not tired."
"Okay then. Nick, set up the game," I said, turning away from Brian and winking at Nick.
"Alright, alright. I'll come," Brian laughed.
Nick smiled at me and gave me a small wave. I took Brian's hand and let him lead me to his - our - bunk. Sliding in, I was a little dubious that two people would fit inside, but once we were settled, there was more than enough room.
Rolling me over on my stomache, Brian scrunched in and sat on my thighs, kneeling over me, and started to knead my shoulders.
"Mmmmmm..."
"You're really knotted up," Brian said. "Are you sure that there's nothing wrong?"
Hearing him, I stopped to take a sort of internal inventory. He was right. My muscles were tighter than they should be. I wondered why I hadn't noticed before now. "I honestly can't think of anything that would have me stressed out, Brian," I srugged. "Maybe it's just the traveling or something."
"Well, we're going to have to do something about it," he said, running his fingers over the sides of my neck and working back to my shoulders.
"You're pretty good at this," I moaned as I relaxed a bit more.
"I have lots of hidden talents," he said lowly, leaning in and licking my earlobe and making me laugh.
As Brian worked over my muscles, my moans must have gotten louder. "You know," AJ's voice boomed from the back of the bus. "I never noticed how thin the walls are in this bus."
I could hear Nick laughing, and Brian and I started. Brian was still trying to work on my shoulders and back, but he was having trouble controlling his hands while he tried to hold the laughter in.
"I can just imagine what they think we're doing in here," Brian whispered, leaning in next to my ear.
"Well, may as well give them their money's worth," I grinned, looking up at Brian. Before he could ask, I started moaning even louder and yelling Brian's name.
Brian slapped me in the shoulder and tried to cover my mouth with his hand, but I turned my head away from him. "Brian! Yes! Don't stop!"
Brian was laughing so hard he couldn't stay up, and he fell down on my back, driving the wind out of me. I let out an 'oof' sound and fell silent, trying to get my breath back. Brian laughed quietly to himself and rolled out of the bunk with a smoothness that must have taken months to perfect.
"Be right back. I got the munchies," he explained, smiling to himself and heading for the kitchen area of the bus.
He left the curtain open, and in a moment, Nick walked by. Glancing in, he started to laugh, seeing me fully clothed. "You asked for it," I laughed.
"Well if you weren't doing that, what were you doing?" he grinned.
"I was rubbing his back," Brian said with a smile, coming up behind Nick. "Then little mister Broadway here decided to give you guys a performance."
"Hey, did you guys run out of steam?" AJ called, coming toward us. Seeing Brian and Nick outside the bunk, he looked in at me with a puzzled expression. "You were in there alone?"
Laughing, I shook my head. "Brian was giving me a backrub until you decided to make your presence known. Now I'm here alone, and my boyfriend is sitting out there with a bag of Cheetos," I laughed.
Brian grinned and offered me the bag. I took one and put the end in my mouth, puckering it out at Brian. Smiling, he leaned in and took the other end, bringing his lips to mine.
"Ugh," Nick chuckled. "Which one's lady and which one's the tramp?"
Brian laughed, breaking his contact with me, and stood back. "Well I'm prettier," he grinned. "And he's the one in the bunk moaning and groaning. What do you think?"
"Correction," I said, pouting a little for effect. "He's the one that's getting cold and lonely in the bunk."
Smiling, Brian came over and wriggled into the bunk beside me. Once he was settled, I leaned across him and took hold of the curtain. "If you don't mind," I laughed, looking at Nick and AJ, "I have to have a nap before I get a spanking."
"Oh I'm sure you could get one anyway, if you asked nice enough," AJ grinned.
Brian and I laughed and I pulled the curtain closed, leaving us in a strange sort of semi-dark. I wiggled over so I was laying beside Brian and lay my head on his chest. He put his arm around me and smiled down at me. "I love you," he whispered.
"It's hard not to," I laughed, kissing his hand. "I love you too." I whispered, closing my eyes.
Brian and I were still in the same position when I woke up. For not being tired, he was snoring pretty loudly. I smiled to myself and cuddled up a little closer to him. 'How did I ever do without this?' I asked myself.
"Nate? You awake?" he whispered a few minutes later.
"Yeah," I said, looking up at him. "You weren't tired, eh?"
"Yeah yeah. Smartass. You want to get up?"
"Can we stay here for a few more minutes?" I asked, looking up and giving my approximation of a puppy-dog face.
"Sure," he laughed. "Though your regular smile works just fine for getting your way."
I gave him the smile, moved up a little in the bunk and started to kiss Brian's neck.
"Oooh. That works even better than the smile," he laughed as I nuzzled the hollow of his neck.
Suddenly, the bus started to slow down and I could feel it start to turn off the road. Wondering what was going on, I looked toward the curtain just as I saw Kevin's face poke slowly through it. He had his eyes scrunched shut. "Are you guys up and decent?" he whispered.
I laughed at the expression on his face. "Yes we're up. And fully clothed too."
Kevin opened his eyes and smiled. "Sorry, but I don't think I want to see my cousin naked," he grinned.
"You'd be surprised," I said slyly, giving Brian a sideways glance, causing him to slap my arm.
"Well, we're stopping for lunch, if you're interested," Kevin informed us.
Brian looked to me, but I shook my head. "I'm good for now. I had more than enough at breakfast. You go, though."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Brian, I'm sure. You go and grab something to eat. I'll look around the bus for a few minutes. I'll be fine," I urged, pushing him toward the edge of the bed. He slid out, and I made a much less graceful exit from the bunk behind him.
"Hey, where'd all the stuff go?" I asked, pointing to the area where we had piled our luggage.
"Oh, I told you we would be stopping to put it under the bus. You and Brian were sleeping, so we loaded your stuff for you. Don't worry. I put your computer over on the table," he said, pointing.
I grinned and thanked him, then told Brian again to go for lunch without me. Kevin finally helped me by dragging him off the bus. I waved with a smile as Kevin picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, carrying him toward the restaurant.
Laughing to myself, I walked around the bus, checking it out. There was certainly more room than it looked like there should be from the outside. Finishing the little tour, I sat down at the table and took out my computer. I decided that, while I was waiting, I would get a little work done on the book.
I took the computer out of the case and turned it on. A few minutes later, I was fully engrossed in the world that I was creating.
PART 33
"Nate!" Brian called, finally succeeding in snapping me out of my daze.
I looked up from the screen and blinked a couple of times before I realised what was going on. "Sorry," I smiled. How long have you been talking to me?"
"About five minutes now. I just wanted to tell you that we're going to be leaving in a few minutes, so it's your last chance to grab something before dinner."
"I'm fine," I said with a smile. "Just a little out of it there for a minute."
"A minute? We've been in the restaurant for over an hour," Brian grinned, sliding into the seat opposite me. "Have you been writing that whole time?"
"I guess so," I said, looking to the screen of the computer. "Looks like I got nine pages written."
"Is that good?"
"It's great, for an hour's work," I said, with a smile. "Sometimes I only get a couple of pages done in that long, if there's trouble with them. The max is usually about ten when everything's clicking."
Brian nodded as the rest of the guys came back on the bus. Nick looked uncertainly from the computer back to me. "Are you ready to play, or do you have more work to do?"
For a minute I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I was concentrating on what I wanted my characters to do next. Then I remembered that I had promised to play Nintendo with him. "Oh, sure Nick. I'm just about done. Let me just write a note at the bottom so I know where I want to go next."
I turned back to the computer and typed in a lengthy paragraph so that I had enough details to get me back into the story when I started writing again, then looked up with a smile.
They were all looking at me. "What?" I asked.
"Who types that fast?" AJ said, adding a whistle. "That would have taken me an hour to type in."
I grinned. "But you don't make a living by doing it. How long do you suppose it would take me to learn to sing and dance to a Backstreet Boys song?"
"If your fingers use a controller that fast, I'm dead," Nick joked.
"I don't think you'll have a lot to worry about," I laughed, shutting down the computer and putting it back in its case.
As it turned out, I was absolutely right. I discovered something about myself that day. I suck at Nintendo. Nick whipped my ass repeatedly until he decided that I wasn't enough of a challenge anymore, and took both Brian and I on.
While it was a little closer, Nick still prevailed easily. "You guys suck," he laughed, doing a little sitting version of an end-zone celebration.
I grinned and cuffed him in the back of the head. "I thought you said you weren't peeking!"
Nick looked from me to Brian, apparently shocked and unsure how to react. He finally decided on laughing as Brian cracked up beside me.
"You're going to take some getting used to," Nick smiled.
"I'm definitely an acquired taste," I agreed with a smile. Brian laughed and nodded his agreement, which set Nick off again.
"What the hell are you guys doing in here?" AJ asked, coming through the door and watching us laugh. A smile was playing around his lips, but he was confused about what was so funny.
"Nate's just being his usual charming self," Brian said lovingly, kissing my cheek.
"I can just imagine," AJ chuckled. "You're going to be quite a handful, young man."
"You sure you're up to it, wuss?" I laughed, immediately covering my head and preparing for some form of retaliation from AJ. There was nothing. I waited for another few seconds, then raised my head just in time to see the pillow coming for me.
I threw my hands up to block the pillow and Nick tackled me from the side, pinning me to the floor.
"Help!" I yelled to Brian, who was sitting and laughing at me.
He shrugged. "I told you not to call him that."
AJ appeared over me and started to tickle me. Fortunately, I'm not very ticklish, and I laughed more from the fun of the situation than from the actual tickling.
AJ seemed to get discouraged, and sat back to try and think of something else to do to me.
"Let me give it a try, AJ," Brian said with a smirk. "Hold him Nick."
Nick tightened his hold on me so I couldn't go anywhere and Brian leaned over me. With a giggle, he moved in and started to gently brush his lips across my ear.
"Don't you dare!" I warned him, turning my head away from him.
"This is for stealing my room key," he laughed, softly kissing me behind the ear.
My response was immediate, and almost caught Nick off-guard. Brian kept moving from one ear to the other until I was practically in convulsions on the floor of the bus. Finally, laughing hard enough that tears were streaming down their faces, the three of them let me up.
"You are in so much trouble for that!" I said, giggling a little.
Brian put his hands up to his shoulders in a 'don't blame me' pose and gave me his melt-your-heart smile. I sighed as my heart melted and gave him a hug. "I'll get you later," I promised him as I pinched his ass.
"Hey!" Brian jumped as Nick and AJ laughed. Turning to me, he grinned. "You hungry yet?"
I stopped for a moment to check. "Yeah, I could eat something," I concluded.
"I'll go see if there's anything to snack on," Brian said softly, heading out of the room.
"He's so in love with you," Nick laughed, sitting beside me.
I smiled at that. "Listen, Nick, there's something that I'm hoping you can help me with..."
Brian returned to the room with the bag of Cheetos from earlier and a couple of cans of cola. "Here you go sweetie," he cooed as he sat on my lap and handed me a cola.
"Thanks, honey," I replied with a wide grin.
The look on Brian's face was priceless. Nick had told me that he couldn't stand being called honey. Apparently it was what his mother always called him. His grin faltered for a moment, then he saw the one that I had on my face and turned to glare at Nick. "Nick!"
"What? He asked me a question. You wouldn't want me to lie to your boyfriend, would you?" Nick laughed, bolting from the couch and out of the room.
"Nick! I'm going to kill you!" Brian bellowed and chased after him.
Chuckling, and feeling very pleased with myself, I sat back and started on the Cheetos.
Soon Kevin showed up and helped me eat. I could still hear Brian and Nick fooling around up front and started to laugh. "They really do get along don't they?"
Kevin laughed. "They're almost inseparable. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."
"I like Nick. He's a lot of fun to hang around with. Not to mention how totally cool he is with Brian and I being together. You've all been incredible."
"Not quite all of us," Kevin sighed. "Howie's not exactly been your biggest supporter."
"I think I'm making a little progress with Howie," I said hopefully.
"I think so too, but you're a long way from being on his Christmas card list," Kevin nodded. "As for the rest of us, one look at the smile on Brian's face makes it clear that he's in love. How could we stand in the way of that?"
"Thanks Kev," I said, giving him a warm smile.
"No problem," he said, returning the smile and popping another Cheeto into his mouth. "Nate?"
"Hmmm?"
"I have to ask. Are you really in love with Brian? I mean, REALLY in love with him. Not just the Backstreet Boy?" Kevin blushed and looked away a little bit.
"You don't have to be embarrassed about looking out for him Kevin," I said, looking him in the eye. "I am so totally head-over-heels in love with your cousin that I don't know what I would do if I didn't know that he would be there in the morning when I wake up. I can't explain it exactly, but you have to know that I truly love him."
"Good," he nodded. "I'm glad you're here, Nate."
"Thanks. Me too," I laughed.
"What did Nick do to deserve that?" Kevin asked with a grin, pointing toward the front of the bus.
"He told me to call Brian 'honey'," I giggled.
"Ooooh. He hates that!"
I just nodded and smiled. "You think we should go and pull him off of Nick?"
Kevin shrugged and looked at me. I shrugged in response with a smile. In the end, we decided to leave them to settle it on their own.
PART 34
The trip to Cincinnati was as busy as Kevin predicted. For two days, I barely saw any of the guys. I worked through the day, taking breaks to wander around Cincinnati, then joined them for their concerts and stealing a few minutes with Brian. By the time we got back to the hotel from the venue, they were all exhausted and went straight to bed.
We were back on the bus and on our way to Kentucky before we could really have some time to just hang out again. As soon as the doors were closed behind us, Brian grabbed my hand and dragged me to the back of the bus. Collapsing on a couch, he pulled me down on top of him and brought his lips to mine.
"Ahem," Nick cleared his throat from the doorway.
I pulled away from Brian. "One minute," I whispered, getting up and walking over to Nick.
With a smile, I put my hand to his forehead and pushed him back out the door, sliding it shut once he was clear. Turning back to Brian, I grinned and lay back down on top of him. "Now, where were we?"
"Right about here," Brian laughed, putting his finger to his lips.
"Here?" I asked, kissing him again.
"Uh huh," he mumbled against my lips.
"About time," AJ grinned as we rejoined the group an hour later. "What were you guys doing in there? No wait! I don't want to know!"
Kevin laughed and slid over at the table so I could sit down. Brian sat opposite me and started to rub his foot along my leg under the table. "Where's Nick and Howie?" I asked, trying to ignore Brian's foot, which was moving further and further up my leg.
"Sleeping," Kevin said with a smile. "You guys blocked Nick's video game access, so he's pouting in his bunk."
"Mmmmm...sleep," I said with a smile.
"You still having nightmares?" Kevin asked with a note of concern.
"No, nothing like that. I just didn't sleep well last night," I replied.
"Maybe he was lonely," AJ snickered, sitting down beside Brian. Since arriving in Cincinnati, Brian had insisted on staying in his room with Nick. He didn't want to wake me up when he left in the morning.
"Maybe I was," I agreed, looking over at Brian with a grin.
"Well you won't be tonight," he smiled.
"Um, Bri?" Kevin asked quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Are you forgetting where we are going to be tonight?"
"Shit!" he exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the table.
"Brian..." I started.
"Maybe I should just stay at the hotel with you guys," he said as though he hadn't heard me.
"She'll know something's up for sure then," Kevin said sadly. "Maybe Nate should stay with us."
"No, I want him to come with me," Brian protested, reaching out and grabbing my hand.
"Brian, it's okay. I'll come with you. You can tell them that I'm a friend of yours and you wanted me to meet them. That's close enough to the truth," I comforted him, squeezing his hand a little.
"That'll work, Brian," Kevin agreed. "At least until you're ready to tell them the truth."
"Are you sure?" Brian asked me, looking me in the eye. "Are you sure you want to spend the next few days just being my friend?"
"Being with you is what matters," I assured him. "I think I can refrain from jumping you at the dinner table," I added with a smile.
Brian smiled back. "The we'll give it a try and see what happens," he concluded. "If I can't handle being there, we'll leave."
I nodded my agreement and yawned again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a pillow," I grinned as I stood from the table.
"Want some company?" Brian asked with a grin.
"I'm alright," I said. "You hang out with these two bozos for awhile."
"Okay. Sweet dreams, sweetie," he laughed as Kevin and AJ smiled.
"Thanks honey," I replied with a smile as I made my way to the bunk.
When I woke up again, it was three hours later, I was feeling much better, and I had a handsome boyfriend wrapped around me.
"Hey you," he smiled.
"How long have you been lying there?" I asked quietly, moving further up in the bunk to rest my head on his shoulder.
"I don't know," he said. "A while. I missed you."
Reaching up, I held the side of his head and turned it to face me, then brought my lips to his. The silkiness of his skin always caught me off guard, and I stroked my thumb along his jawline as our tongues mingled together. "I missed you too."
"You did not!" he laughed. "You were sleeping."
"But in that moment between dreaming and waking, when I didn't know you were there, I missed you," I said with a grin.
"Awwwww. isn't that sweet everyone?" Nick asked from his bunk. I heard the rest of the guys laugh. Boy, this bus really did have thin walls.
"Would y'all like to join us?" Brian sighed, leaning his head back on his pillow.
Before he could regret saying it, both Nick and AJ slid from their own bunks and jumped in with us. While there was lots of room for two, once they were settled, there was nowhere near enough room for four. Nick nudged Brian, rolling him over on top of me, then squeezed in with AJ right behind. We wound up with AJ half hanging out of the bunk, Nick beside him, and then me with Brian lying on top of me.
"This is cozy," AJ laughed, trying to get his legs onto the mattress.
I looked to Brian's face and smiled. Getting a smile in return, I had to laugh. "Sure is," I said with a grin, looking across at AJ for a moment before wrapping my arms around Brian and kissing him again.
Brian brought his hands to the side of my head and ran them through my hair as we kissed, trying to make as much sloppy kissing noise as we possibly could.
"Uh, guys?" Nick laughed, nudging me in the ribs. We ignored him, but turned up the volume a little more.
"Guys?" he asked again. Again, he got no answer.
With a sigh, Nick reached over and forced his hand between our mouths. I opened my eyes and saw the glint in Brian's, knowing what he had in mind.
We continued kissing, making sure to slobber all over Nick's hand. With a grimace and an "ew", he withdrew it again, reaching over and wiping it on AJ's shirt with a laugh.
"Hey!" AJ shouted, grabbing Nick's hand and forcing him to slap himself with it. There was a wet smacking sound as Nick's hand hit his own cheek.
Brian and I stopped kissing and I looked over at our bunkmates with a grin. Brian nuzzled into the hollow of my neck and also looked over.
AJ now had both of Nick's hands and was repeatedly slapping him with them. Nick was laughing and trying to make a serious protest about it at the same time, without making any headway.
Brian and I laughed together as AJ took Nick's slobbery hand again and, for the grand finale, brought it up and smacked Nick in the centre of the forehead.
I felt Brian's hands work their way into my back pockets and looked back to him. "You trying to steal my wallet?"
"Nope, just your heart," he whispered sweetly, leaning in for another kiss.
"You already have it," I whispered back just before our lips met.
"Alright, enough of this," AJ laughed as he swung back out of the bunk, grabbing Nick's leg and pulling on it. "If I ain't getting any, I don't need to see these two going at it," he laughed.
Nick agreed, nudging me again in the ribs before he slid out and left us alone again.
PART 35
We were greeted by a round of applause from the guys when we finally emerged from the bunk, our hair and clothes mussed.
We took a bow and sat down in the living area with everyone else.
"I can't get over how much space there is on this thing," I said, sitting down beside AJ on the couch. Brian held my hand and sat next to me.
"There has to be," Kevin smiled. "We have to spend a lot of time on the bus. It almost has to be a house."
I nodded. "So how much longer are we going to be on it today?" I asked.
"A few more hours," Nick said. "And then we get to relax for a few days and do absolutely nothing." He leaned back against the couch and put his hands behind his head.
"Not really a change of pace for you, is it Nick?" I asked with a smirk.
He slapped me in the shoulder. "Hey! At least I don't have to live in my head like some people!"
"Good thing," I replied. "You'd get lonely with all that empty space."
Kevin, AJ and Howie laughed. "Brian," Nick whined with a smile. "Make Nate stop bugging me."
Brian grinned and pulled me into a kiss. When we finally broke apart, I couldn't even remember what Nick and I had been talking about.
"Happy?" Brian asked Nick with a smile.
"Oh yeah. It's been what? All of five minutes since I've had to see you guys locked at the lips," Nick laughed.
"He's not bugging you anymore, is he?"
I laughed and stuck my tongue out at Nick, making him laugh as well. "You save that for someone who wants it," he grinned.
Brian looked around and saw my tongue sticking out. He reached over and grabbed it again, just like he had in the hotel room in LA. "What did I tell you about that?" he asked, pinching my tongue.
"Thorry honey," I said, trying to form the words around Brian's fingers and not to laugh.
Brian groaned and let go. "You're a handful," he laughed.
"Bet you're not the first guy to say that," Kevin said suddenly, making us look at him. "Sorry," he continued. "Just wanted to get in on the witty banter."
I laughed and threw a pillow at him.
We sat around and talked back and forth about nothing, really, until the driver announced that we were almost to Lexington. The guys were taking a limo to the hotel that they would be staying in, while Brian and I were apparently being met by Brian's mom.
Well, actually, she was meeting Brian. She didn't yet know that I would be going with him. At the mention of our impending arrival, I felt Brian tense up a little bit, and felt sorry for him.
"Remember, I'm just a friend of you guys, and you wanted me to meet your family. They don't need to know anything other than that," I whispered to him.
Brian nodded and gave me a smile to let me know that he was okay.
"You're sure that you want me to come? It's probably easier for you if I don't," I said, making sure that he really wanted to bring me along.
"You're coming," he said, squeezing my hand. "I don't want to spend the next few days without you."
"Okay," I agreed.
We rode the rest of the way in silence. I had the feeling that everyone was thinking about what would happen when I met Brian's family. I know that's what was going through my mind.
The bus pulled into the parking lot and I could see both a limo and another car sitting and waiting for us. We pulled to a stop and piled out of the bus, moving toward the rear so that we could retrieve our luggage.
Brian's mom came running up and scooped him into a hug. I could tell just by looking at the two of them that there was a special bond between them. I really hoped that I wasn't going to prove to be what tested that bond.
Kevin handed me my things and I made my way over to Brian, who was just escaping his mother's embrace.
"Mom, this is Nate. He's touring with us for a while, and I invited him to stay with us for the few days that we're here," Brian said, pulling me towards them.
Jackie Littrell gave me a smile that mirrored her son's and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you Nate. Are you a singer as well?"
I grinned as I shook her hand. There seemed to be a vitality to the woman that made it almost impossible not to immediately like her. "No ma'am," I said politely. "I'm a writer."
"First thing: Don't call me ma'am again. It's Jackie."
"Okay, Jackie. Nice to meet you too."
"So you're a writer? For a newspaper or magazine?"
"No. Actually, I write novels. I'm working on my second one at the moment," I said, indicating my computer bag slung over my shoulder.
"So you've published one already?" she asked, walking with us as Brian went to grab his bags.
"Yeah. It's doing quite well, actually. It's called 'Blue Sky.'"
"You're Nate as in Nathaniel Healy?" she asked with a smile.
"That's me," I said, returning the smile. It still amazed me when people recognised my name.
"I haven't read 'Blue Sky' but I've heard very good things about it," she said.
"You can borrow my copy, Aunt Jackie," Kevin said, coming over and receiving his own hug from his aunt. "We all read it, as a matter of fact. It's great."
I blushed a little as the rest of the guys joined us. Each of them got a hug from Jackie, and then loaded their things into the back of the limo.
Jackie made them promise to find some time to visit her over their break, and they all got into the limo. Saying goodbye to each of them, and promising to call them later, Brian and I put our things in the trunk of Jackie's car and got in.
"So Nate, why are you on tour with these guys if you're working on a novel?" Jackie asked as she pulled out into traffic.
I glanced up to see her stealing glances in the rear-view mirror as she drove. I smiled and gave her the story that I had worked out with the guys. The story that, thus far, we hadn't had to use.
Jackie nodded as I finished. "Sounds like a pretty good trade."
I grinned. "I think I get a little more out of it than they do. I get to come along and suck in all the fame without actually earning any of it," I laughed.
Jackie laughed. "So what do you boys want to do while you're here?" she asked.
'Make out with your son,' I thought with a slight smile.
"Just hang around," Brian answered. I had to admit it was a more proper answer than the one I had come up with. "We've only got a few days before we have to hit the road again."
"Well, it's just you two and me and your dad at the house," she said, looking over at Brian. "Harold's out of town for a week on business."
"That's too bad," Brian said sadly. "I really wanted to see him."
Jackie nodded. "He wanted to see you too, but he had to go. He said he may try to make a concert next week instead so that he can say hi to you and the guys."
"That'd be good," Brian agreed. "Tell him to let me know, and I'll arrange the passes and tickets."
The ride to Brian's house wasn't a very long one, and we were soon turning into the driveway of an impressively large home. "Here we are," Jackie said, turning off the engine and opening her door.
I got out as well and took a deep breath. I coughed a little, making Brian and Jackie laugh.
"You've been in the city too long," she said, opening the trunk so we could gather our things. I nodded and started to pass Brian his bags.
He gave me a smile and waited for me to take my bags out and close the trunk, then we both walked after Jackie to the front door.
"You can show Nate where his room will be, can't you honey?" she asked as she took off her shoes.
I saw his jaw set a little at her pet name for him. "Yeah, no problem. Follow me," he said to me, turning and wandering up the stairs.
As soon as we were upstairs and out of earshot of his mother, Brian leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "She likes you!" he whispered.
"I like her too," I whispered back. "She's very nice."
Brian stopped in front of a door. "This is where you'll be," he said, opening it on a room done in soft blue tones. "Sorry about the colour scheme, but it used to be my room."
I dropped my things on the bed and looked around. "It certainly is blue," I laughed.
Brian took my hand and led me to the door across the hall from mine. "This is my room now," he said. I opened the door and followed him inside. This one was much larger, and reminded me very much of Brian. I could even smell the faint odour of his cologne.
"At least you're not very far away," I grinned, sitting on his bed as he started to put his things away.
"Too far," he grumbled, opening the closet.
"It's just for a few days," I tried to console him. "And we're bound to be able to steal a few minutes together away from anyone who could see us."
"I know," he conceded. "But I don't like the idea of having to sleep here without you," he said as he sat beside me.
"Neither do I, but that's the way it has to be for now," I said, patting his leg. "Now let's get you unpacked and then you can help me."
Half an hour later, we were completely unpacked and were sitting down in the living room with Jackie. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," she said. "And your father should be here anytime."
Sure enough, Brian's dad came home just before Jackie announced that dinner was done. Brian introduced me to his father, who was also very personable and insisted that I call him Harold, and then we were herded into the dining room.
Brian's parents sat at either end of the rectangular table, and Brian and I sat opposite each other as we ate. The dinner conversation was light. Jackie and Harold asked Brian all about the tour, and then turned to me, asking about how I became a writer, and how I met Brian and the guys.
By the time everyone was caught up, dessert had long been served and eaten. Taking our plates into the kitchen, Brian leaned over. "So far so good," he whispered. I nodded and placed my plate in the dishwasher.
Brian and I insisted on clearing the table, and we were soon done. Joining his parents in the living room, I stifled a yawn.
"Looks like an early evening for you," Jackie laughed as I sat down opposite her.
I nodded and smiled. "Traveling takes a lot out of me. It's much worse with planes, but apparently busses have a similar effect."
"Better get used to it," Harold laughed. "If you're going to be hanging out with these guys, you're going to be seeing a lot of both."
Brian smiled and sat on the same couch as I was on, making sure to keep an appropriate distance between us. "At least he gets to sleep when he wants to," Brian said with a grin. "He gets to set his own schedule."
"But you get to have tons of adoring fans screaming your name and telling you that they love you," I replied, returning the grin.
"Believe me, that's not all it's cracked up to be," he said. "Some days, I would trade every fan for a nap."
"Brian!" Jackie said in mock reproach. "You need those fans."
"I know, but sometimes it's a little much. That's why I don't want to do anything strenuous over this break. We've got that to look forward to when we start again."
Harold nodded. "I can imagine it's tiring."
I can't say what came next in the conversation, or if in fact anything came next, because that was when I fell asleep.
I woke up as Brian carried me into my room. He was carrying me over his shoulder, as was appropriate for a 'pal' to carry another 'pal,' but he set me very gently on the bed and laid me down.
"Sorry," I whispered.
"Don't worry about it, sleepyhead," he laughed. He helped me get undressed, then got me into the bed and covered me up.
It was the first time in a long time that someone had tucked me in, and I couldn't help but smile. "I love you, you know," I said to him as he kissed me on the forehead and said goodnight.
"I know, sweetie," he said with a grin. "I love you too. Goodnight." He kissed me again on the forehead, then stood up and headed for the door.
"Goodnight," I called softly as he shut the door behind him.
PART 36
I awoke to the marvellous smell of pancakes, and immediately felt good about not going to the hotel with the rest of the guys. Home cooking beats hotel food any day of the week.
I swung my legs out of bed and grabbed some khakis and a t-shirt from the closet. Putting them on, I stepped out into the hall. Noticing that Brian's door was already open, I wandered to the bathroom and tried to make myself presentable. Finally achieving semi-acceptable results, I headed for the kitchen.
I walked in and found Brian and Jackie, both in aprons, setting the table. I glanced at the clock and discovered that it was almost eleven o'clock. Harold would have already gone in to work.
Brian noticed me and smiled. Seeing this, Jackie turned as well and saw me. "Morning Nate!" she said cheerily as she moved back to the stove.
"Morning," I responded, not taking my eyes off of Brian. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Just eat your share," she laughed as she flipped the last pancake onto the stack. She shut off the stove and brought the plate to the table, setting it in the center. "Both of you sit down and dig in."
Brian and I were nothing if not obedient. The words were no sooner out of her mouth than we were at the table with forks in hand. She laughed quietly and sat down as well.
We talked about what to do with the day as we ate. Finally, we decided to just sit around the pool and get a little bit of swimming in. I was just stuffing the last piece of the last pancake in my mouth when there was a knock at the door.
Without waiting for an answer, the door opened and someone entered the hallway. "Brian? Nate? Aunt Jackie?" Kevin called.
"We're in the kitchen, Kev!" Brian yelled, attracting a look from his mother. Apparently, much like my own mother had, Jackie Littrell disapproved of yelling in her house.
Kevin came rushing into the kitchen. "We've got trouble," he said. Before any of us could ask what he meant, he tossed several copies of different tabloids on the table.
I glanced from his face to the table, and groaned.
'GAY AUTHOR IN STEAMY ROMANCE WITH BACKSTREET BOY,' one headline screamed.
'BACKSTREET BOYFRIEND REVEALED!' said another.
Brian's face had gone pale at the sight of the headlines, and his mouth hung open a little in shock. Grabbing one of the papers, I opened it, fanning through the pages until I found the story.
'This paper has learned that there is an ongoing romantic relationship between popular new author Nathaniel Healy, who is openly gay, and one of the members of the extremely popular boy-band The Backstreet Boys...' it started.
"Shit!" I exclaimed, than blushed and looked at Jackie. "Sorry."
"No, no. Shit is definitely the word for it," she said, picking up one of the papers herself.
I looked back down and saw the picture that was accompanying the story. I felt the blood run from my face.
"Nate?" Brian asked out of concern.
I looked at him and pointed to the picture, turning it around for him to see. I was smiling at the camera while Nick's face rested on my shoulder. It looked very cozy.
"They think you're with Nick?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes, they think he's with Nick," Kevin said. "Somehow, they got hold of that picture and ran with it. I don't even know where it came from!"
"I took it," I said quietly.
"You WHAT?" Kevin asked, sitting down.
"I took it," I said sadly. "At your video shoot in LA. I was chatting with my friend Erron, and he didn't believe where I was. So, I took the picture with my digital camera and sent it to him."
"And he sent it to the media?" Brian asked, scanning the different headlines again.
"No, he wouldn't have done that," I protested.
"Then how did they get it, if only you two had it?"
"I don't know," I said. But then it hit me. "Wait, yes I do. His computer was stolen a little more than a week ago. Whoever stole it must have found the picture and sold it to the newspapers."
"So none of this is true?" Jackie asked, pointing to the paper that she was holding. "It says here that you and Nick were spotted at an LA mall, and then later at a health spa. It says that you joined him on tour in Chicago and have been staying with him at the hotel and on the tour bus ever since."
"Actually, every word of that is true," I groaned. "Just misinterpreted. Nick and I did spend the day together in LA, and we did go to the mall and the spa. What are we going to do about this?" I asked Kevin.
"Management has already called a press conference for tomorrow morning. We'll tell them the truth. That you and Nick aren't in any relationship except that of friendship, and that you're on tour with us working on your book. And we hope that they believe it," Kevin said with a sigh.
"I should make a statement as well, shouldn't I?" I asked.
Kevin nodded and looked my way. "Yeah, you'll have to be at the press conference. They need to see that we are all together on this."
I excused myself for a moment, returning with my cell phone. Flipping it open, I dialed Celia's number.
"Hi Celia. Have you seen the papers yet?"
"I saw them. How are you holding up?" she asked.
"I'm doing okay. After all, it's all lies."
"Close enough to the truth to have you sweating, I'd think," she said. I could hear the concern in her voice.
"You said it," I answered, trying to sound as casual as I could. "Listen, I have to do a press conference with the Backstreet Boys in the morning. Can you clear it with the publishers?"
"No problem, Nate. I'll call them now and get right back to you."
"Thanks Celia," I said, flipping the phone closed.
"She's going to clear it with the company," I said, turning to face Brian and Kevin, who both nodded.
"Ahem," Jackie cleared her throat, drawing our attention. "Don't you think it would be better if Nate just didn't go back with you on tour?"
"No, mom," Brian said quickly.
"But if his presence is going to be so disruptive and bring this kind of media attention..."
"He's not leaving the tour."
"Honey, I know you guys like Nate, and I have nothing against you," she turned to me and gave me a brief smile. "But I think it would be better if..."
"I said no," Brian said with finality. "We'll handle this."
"But..."
"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Brian said, standing from the table. Jackie stood and Brian led her into the living room. I had a sinking feeling in my stomache, and glanced to Kevin to see what he thought.
Kevin looked very serious and offered me a pat on the shoulder for support. He then tiptoed to the door separating the kitchen and the living room and put his ear against it.
"Kevin!" I hissed. "What are you doing?"
"Who do you suppose they're talking about?" he hissed back, motioning for me to join him.
Shaking my head, I crept over to Kevin's side and put my own ear to the door.
"I don't want to hear another word about Nate not coming with us on tour," I heard Brian say.
"Look, honey, I know he's your friend, but I don't think you guys should be hanging around with him," Jackie tried to reason with him.
"Why? Because he's gay?"
"It's not just that. You saw how those papers blew it out of proportion! You can see what people think when they see you with one of them," she said. I closed my eyes and let out a slight noise at being referred to as 'one of them.' I'm gay, not a member of a hockey team, dammit.
Kevin rested a hand on my shoulder and I eased my ear back to the door.
"What do you mean 'one of them'?"
"You know what I mean. Gays. It's not right, and I don't want you around him," Jackie answered. "No good can come of it."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Brian's voice was gradually rising.
"Don't speak to me like that," Jackie commanded, raising her own.
"I'm only going to tell you this once more," Brian said. "Nate is coming with us on tour. We'll work out this tabloid thing like we have all the other false stories that have been written about us."
"You know I'm right about this," Jackie sighed.
"No, mom. I know exactly the opposite. You couldn't be more wrong. Nate happens to be one of the sweetest, most genuinely nice people I know. He's taught me to be more open-minded and not to blindly follow some stupid dogma that someone else feeds me! What does his being gay have to do with anything?"
"Brian. We both know that it's wrong. Don't even try to pretend that it's not. I can't believe you actually invited him into my home! How could you bring him here? And what about Nick? Look what his association with Nate has done."
"First of all, Nick loves Nate, and knows that he's gay. We all do. It doesn't matter. Second, this is my house too, and Nate is my guest. You won't do anything to make him uncomfortable. Do you understand?" Brian's voice was just short of booming now.
"I won't have to. As soon as I'm done with you I'm asking him to leave," Jackie hissed. "He's not staying another hour in this house!"
"How can you go from loving him one minute to hating him the next?" Brian asked. I could tell from the lilt in his voice that he was near tears.
"Let it go," I heard Kevin whisper. It took me a moment to realise that he was talking to Brian. "Just get the hell out of there."
"Brian..." Jackie started.
"No, I don't want to hear anymore. If you want Nate to go, he'll be gone."
"I knew you'd come to your..."
"And I'll be going with him," Brian finished.
"What?" Jackie's voice carried through the entire lower floor of the house.
"You heard me. I can't stay here with you if you're going to be so callous toward my friends. I'll pack my things and we'll be out of here."
"You can't go, honey. You just got here!"
"Watch me," Brian replied coldly.
"So this is what he's done to you," Jackie moaned. "He's turned you against your own family."
"No, you did that quite well on your own," Brian said flatly. "All Nate's done is show me love and support. Something I suddenly find sadly lacking in you."
I'd have bet a million dollars that the words were out of his mouth before he knew they were coming. I heard Jackie and Kevin both gasp at the same time.
"Shit," Kevin mumbled.
"What did you say?" Jackie asked Brian.
There was a moment of silence. I'm not sure whether Brian had to think back to realise what he had said, or whether he was gathering his courage, and I've never asked him.
"You heard me," he said finally. He was definitely in tears now. "Nate has shown me love and support on a level that I never knew existed. He's not in a relationship with Nick. He's in a relationship with me."
"Brian!"
"What mom? Are you going to hate me now too? You want him out of here, I go with him. It's as simple as that."
"You are not gay," she said, trying to assert her will on his.
"Oh, I assure you I am. Your son is gay, mom. I'm 'one of them.'"
"No, you're not. You can't be."
"Why? Because I was always such a good boy? Because I went to church? Because I wear blue? Because I play sports? Pick your cliche. Nate and I are together, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."
Kevin reached over and grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the door. "Well that could be going better," he said sadly.
"What are we going to do?" I asked him. There were tears in my eyes from hearing Brian's pain and not being able to help him.
"We're going to go upstairs and get the two of you packed. This isn't going to end well," he said, pulling me towards the stairs.
Kevin went to Brian's room and gathered his things, and I packed my own. A few minutes later, we were back in the hall with our luggage, and we headed back to the first floor.
From the landing we could hear the muffled voices as they yelled, but we couldn't make out the words. Something told me that I didn't want to. Finally, we heard Jackie scream.
"Get out! Get out of my house!"
"Shit," Kevin moaned again.
Brian came out of the living room and saw us standing on the landing. His face was streaked with tears and his eyes were puffy and red. Seeing me, he ran over and fell into my arms.
My own tears fell as I held him, his head on my shoulder and his tears soaking my shirt. "It's okay," I soothed, rubbing his back.
Kevin gave us both a hug and started to move us toward the door. The process was a slow one, since we had two sets of luggage and I was occupied with Brian. We had almost made it outside when Jackie appeared beside us.
"You did this to him," she snarled, giving me a look of pure hatred. She drew her hand back and slapped me as hard as she could, leaving a bright red mark on my cheek.
Brian gasped and clung tighter to me as Kevin moved aside and grabbed her hand before she could hit me again.
Feeling Brian tremble against me, and feeling my own tears running over the mark she had left me, I turned to face her, trying to control my anger. "I did nothing to him," I returned. "You did this to him. I'd never hurt him like you have."
To Be Continued...
That's it for now. I know that the two previous parts weren't the most exciting, but I hope that this one makes up for that a little. :)
Thanks for reading! :)
DLS
dls_stories@hotmail.com