Brian and Me

Alright, here you go. :)

Blah blah blah... story's fictional, and not meant to in any way represent anyone mentioned, particularly any members of any music groups. Blah blah blah, don't read this if you shouldn't go ahead if you're allowed and want to.

Story recommendations were included with the last installment, and would take me more effort than it would take you to just go back a page and check them out, so I'll leave you to that. :)

Big thanks to Matt and Scotty for their help in reading through this one and making suggestions. It makes more sense and is certainly more enjoyable with their input, and it's much appreciated, as I'm sure they both already know.

As usual, there is an html version of this installment, and all of the previous ones, on my website, located at:

dls-stories.homepage.com. Also available on the site is part two of my new story, 'I'll Never Stop' (big thank you to Matt for the name - even if he did make me give up the plot first :P). The installments are shorter, but that's the way the story is coming so far. I'm not sure whether that will last or not. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to email and let me know what they think of either story, and the webpage in general.

Enough from me, methinks. Enjoy! :)

PART 99

The alarm went off much too early for either one of our liking. I was about to press the snooze button when I remembered that I had to pick Nick up. Sitting up, I turned the alarm off and set it for a more reasonable time.

"I'll come," Brian said groggily, trying to sit up.

I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back down, pulling the blankets up over him again. "No, I'll go. You sleep."

"I'll come," he said again, blinking the sleep from his eyes. "It's not a problem."

"You're right, it's not. But I don't want to be dragging two Backstreet Boys through an airport. You get some more sleep, and we'll be back before you're even up again."

"You sure?" His eyes were already closed again.

"I'm sure," I said, kissing his forehead. "I'll be back before you miss me."

"I already miss you." From the tone of his voice, I knew that he was almost asleep again, and I smiled.

I climbed out of the bed and grabbed some clothes from the closet. I decided that I didn't have time to shower, so I just put them on, fixed my hair, and grabbed my keys from the dresser.

Making my way out into the living room, I found Erron sitting up watching TV quietly. He was sipping at a cup of coffee. "What are you doing up?"

I hadn't expected to have to deal with him already. I scrambled for an answer so that I wouldn't ruin the surprise. "Um, I'm going to get us some breakfast. And I'm going to stop at the market and get us some food and stuff for this week."

"Want company?" he asked, unwrapping the blanket.

"No, you look all comfortable. I'll get it and be back before Brian wakes up. Thanks, by the way, for not having the apartment below freezing."

"I thought you'd notice. I turned it down yesterday before I left for work."

"And we both appreciate it," I assured him. "See you in a bit."

"Okay. Hey! Get me some Eggo's will you? The ones with chocolate chips in them!"

I grimaced, then agreed. "Okay, I'll get some," I promised on my way out the door. I breathed a sigh of relief as I climbed into the elevator.

Nick's plane was right on time, and I managed to have no difficulty picking him out of the crowd coming through the doors. He was the one wearing, predictably, the hat and sunglasses, and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

I waved at him to get his attention, and he was soon standing in front of me. "Here," I said, handing him the cup of tea that I had picked up for him.

"Thanks," he said with a smile. "Where's Bri?"

"Back at the apartment, sleeping in."

"I guess early flights really show you who your true friends are, huh?" He laughed and patting me on the back.

"You're in Canada now, boy. Drop the 'huh' and pick up the 'eh'."

"Okay," he grinned. "How about we get my bags and get on the road, eh?"

"Come on, ya goof," I laughed, walking toward baggage claim.

We managed to get all of Nick's things and get them back to the car without being recognised. Once we were inside, he lost the hat, but kept the sunglasses.

"So which way is home?" he asked, looking around.

"The long way, around by the McDonalds. I want to pick up breakfast rather than cook."

"Cool. But why didn't you just put Brian to work cooking while you were here?"

I laughed. "Brian doesn't have the best track record in my kitchen. Last time he tried to help with breakfast, he and I both wound up needing showers, and Andrea had to step in. Besides, he looked too cute sleeping. Erron was up, but he's not exactly a whiz in the kitchen. Toast is almost beyond him, and he's the first to admit it."

"Oh yeah, I finally get to meet Erron," Nick laughed.

I grinned. "Oh, you get to meet him all right."

"What's with the grin?"

"Nothing," I said innocently, turning onto another street.

"Nate."

"You'll see..."

"Nate." Nick was trying not to laugh, but the curiosity was getting to him, and I had to tell him before I exploded.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Erron doesn't know that you're coming. Brian and I wanted to surprise him with it."

"Why on earth would you want to do that?"

"Well," I said, signaling another turn. "Erron sort of has a huge crush on you, and he's going to faint when he sees you walk in with me." My grin was from ear to ear. I glanced over and saw it mirrored on Nick's face.

"Is he cute?"

I burst out laughing, actually swerving a bit on the road.

"What?" Nick asked, smiling at me.

"Nothing. I just wasn't expecting that to be your first question," I explained, still grinning.

"Well, is he?"

"Do you want him to be?"

Nick blushed and looked out his window. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Hey," I said seriously, swatting him in the stomach. "Don't worry about it. Brian and I have been talking about that very thing. I think you're going to like Erron, but if you don't, or if you're not ready, tell him that. Or tell us. There's no pressure at all."

"If he's even interested," Nick said, his smile returning a little.

"Oh don't worry, he'll be interested," I laughed. "But he doesn't know that you might be, so if you're not, don't worry about it."

Nick nodded. "But there's just one thing."

"And that is?"

"Is he cute?" Nick laughed with me this time.

"That's for you to decide," I grinned. "But he turned my head at one time, and he's a lot of fun." I pulled into the drive-thru and rolled my window down. "Other than that, you're going to have to make up your own mind about him." I smiled as the scratchy voice started coming out of the speaker.

Soon we were pulling back into the parking garage of my building, the entire car smelling of fast food. We had spent the ride back to the apartment talking about what we had been up to the week before. Nick already knew about the encounter with Ms. Neale, but he also knew that I wasn't in the mood to talk about it. I killed the ignition and went to take the food bags, but Nick already had them.

"I'll just leave my things down here for now," he said. "Since we're going to be packing up anyway."

I nodded and motioned for him to follow me to the elevator.

By the time we got to the apartment, I was ready to rip open the bags with my teeth to get to the food. I heard Nick's stomach growl and started to laugh as I unlocked the door.

"That you, Nate?" Erron called from the living room.

"Yeah," I answered, smiling at Nick.

"Did you get my Eggos?"

"Sorry, I didn't make it to the supermarket," I laughed. "But I got breakfast, and I picked up something else that I think you'll like." I started to snicker and Nick punched me in the shoulder.

"I don't know what you would have got that would outdo the chocolate chip Eggo," Erron laughed as I walked out into the living room. Nick stayed behind me.

"Oh, just a little something I picked up on the ride," I said, pulling Nick into the room. "I thought you might like it."

Erron's jaw hit the floor, as predicted. He sat there, staring at Nick, without saying a word. His mug was in danger of slipping through his fingers, so I walked over and took it from him.

"I hope it's not too big of a disappointment," Nick said, smiling.

Erron stared.

"I've heard a lot about you," Nick tried, stepping further into the room.

Erron stared. I reached out and shut his mouth for him. "Uh, sweetie, aren't you going to say anything?"

"Uh."

"Okay, that was good," I laughed. Nick just grinned and sat down in the chair by the window. "But you can do better. How about we try 'hi'?"

"Hi," Erron said, blushing.

"Hey," Nick returned. "You okay?"

Erron blinked and nodded, which made me laugh again. "Oh, Brian's going to be kicking himself for missing this," I said. I reached out and turned Erron's gaze around so that he was looking at me. "I'm going to go and wake Brian up. Do you think you can entertain Nicky for me?"

Erron blinked rapidly as I slapped his cheek a couple of times. "Eh? Oh. Yeah, sure."

"Good. I'll be back in a few minutes," I said, standing up. Erron turned back to look at Nick. I smiled. I walked over and leaned down to whisper to Nick. "Talk to him for a minute. See if you can't get him using full sentences."

Nick laughed and nodded, and I continued to the hall. I heard Nick start to talk as I reached my bedroom door and opened it.

Brian was still sound asleep. He was curled up into a ball on his side of the bed. It always amazed me that he made room for me even if I wasn't there. When it was just me in the bed, I was right in the middle, taking up as much room as I could.

I climbed under the covers, still dressed, and snuggled up behind him. Putting my arms around him, I kissed the back of his neck. Brian moaned and rolled over into my arms, resting his head against mine, but didn't wake up.

Taking his chin in my hand, I pulled his face to mine and started to kiss him.

It took him a moment to respond, but as soon as I felt his tongue licking at my lips, I knew that he was awake. I opened my eyes and found him looking back at me, his eyelids half open.

I finished the kiss, then stole another quick one. "Hi."

"Hi," he said, stretching in my arms as much as he could. "Did you get Nick?"

"Yep. He's in the living room."

Brian smiled. "I can't wait to see the look on Erron's face."

"Well, if you hurry, you can still catch it," I laughed.

"What?"

"Erron was already up when I left. He's out there now. Nick's trying to help him retrieve the power of speech."

"I missed it?"

"No, you're missing it."

"Well what are we doing in bed?" Brian asked, throwing the covers back. He jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, then took my hand and headed for the living room.

Erron was doing a little better when we got there. He seemed to be over the initial shock of Nick's being there, but was still dealing with being starstruck. Brian laughed when he saw Erron's face, then gave Nick a hug.

"You okay now?" I asked, sitting down with Erron.

"I will be as soon as I kill you and Brian for this," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, you're back to normal," Brian laughed. "But can you blame us? This was just too good an opportunity to pass up."

Nick smiled and came to Erron's defense. "Some friends you guys are, springing something like this on him. You should have warned him."

"Listen to the little traitor!" Brian said, sitting on my lap. "I'll bet he thought it was a great idea in the car."

"He did," I laughed, rubbing Brian's leg.

Erron's sense of humour was quickly bringing him back to his usual self. "So I'm surrounded," he laughed. "Nice to know who your friends are."

"Hey, I just found out about it this morning. I didn't have a choice. They planned it," Nick said, pointing at us. "I wouldn't have gone along if I had known ahead of time."

"What a suck-up!" Brian said, pretending to be shocked. "He certainly jumped ship fast."

Erron just smiled, and I marvelled at Nick. Realising that he must have to deal with starstruck people on a regular basis, I gave him a grin and hugged Brian tighter. I had a feeling that Erron and Nick were going to get along just fine.

"How about we eat breakfast?" I suggested, staring longingly at the take-out bags. "Then I'll call Principal Davis and find out what time I have to be there to talk to the students. Carrie said it's just the one OAC class today, so I shouldn't be gone more than a couple of hours."

"And I can go back to bed," Brian said cheerily.

I growled at him and threatened to make him come and sit in the car, just so that he couldn't go back to bed. He just smiled and kissed my cheek.

"I offered to come along and watch the presentation, but you won't let me. It's not my fault if you can't join me."

"We all know that those kids wouldn't pay attention to a word I said with you and Nick in the room," I smiled, opening the first bag. "They'd be gawking at you two."

"We can't help it if we're beautiful," Nick laughed, grabbing another bag and opening it. "Maybe I'll catch a nap too while we're waiting for you." His smile grew bigger as he rooted around in the bag, finally extracting his food and passing the bag to Erron.

While we ate, Brian and Nick insisted on explaining just how nice it was going to be for them to be able to sleep in while I was gone, and how deeply sorry they were that they couldn't come along with me. Crumpling up my McMuffin wrapper, I threw it at Nick, hitting him in the temple.

This prompted a food wrapper war that lasted several minutes, as with each throw we were providing the other with more ammunition. I was about to declare victory by bouncing a paper ball off of Nick's forehead and then Erron's nose when the phone started to ring.

Brian jumped off of my lap, and was still laughing when he picked up. "Hello," he said, "Nate and Erron's place... oh, yeah, he's right here," Brian said, his smile growing. He came back over and handed me the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Nate? It's Principal Davis calling."

I rolled my eyes and fell back in the seat. "Hello, I was just about to call you. I hope there's not a problem with my speaking today."

"No, just wanted to make sure that you're still wanting to come," she said.

"I've cleared it with Ms. Cole, and she's expecting you for her second period class."

"Second period," I repeated. "No problem. And when would that be?"

"Well, I told her that you'd be joining the class at about ten. That way, it gives her a bit of time to take attendance and give you a bit of an introduction first."

I smiled to myself, wondering just what sort of introduction I'd be getting from Ms. Cole after our last meeting. Looking up, I found Brian and Nick sitting with their heads together, lightly snoring and trying not to laugh.

I grinned and turned my head away from them. "Okay, that's no problem. I'll try to be there a few minutes early so that I can find the room and get ready."

"That's terrific. I'm sure the students will enjoy it."

Nick and Brian were giggling behind me now, and I got a flash of inspiration. "Principal Davis, do you have a vocal music class at the high school?"

She seemed taken aback by the sudden question. I heard Brian and Nick stop giggling and pay attention. "Not specifically vocal, no," she answered. "But our music classes contain a vocal component."

"Would there happen to be any of those classes going on in second period?" I asked, turning back to the guys. They were both shaking their head slightly, but Erron was having a wonderful time.

"Let me check," she said, and I heard her leafing through a schedule. "Yes, there is. Mr. Conlin's grade ten class has that period."

"Grade ten you say?" I asked, my grin surfacing fully at the look on Nick and Brian's faces.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it just so happens that I am here in town with a couple of friends of mine. You might have heard of them. Nick Carter and Brian Littrell, of the Backstreet Boys? I thought that maybe, while I was talking to the English students, they could do something with the music class. They were just telling me a few minutes ago how disappointed they were that they weren't going to be able to come with me this morning." I arched my eyebrows at Brian and stuck out my tongue.

"That would be fantastic!" Principal Davis said, loud enough for the rest of the room to hear, and I had to laugh.

"Well then, if you can clear it with Mr. Conlin, I'll just bring them along with me when I come."

"That's fine, Nate. Be sure to bring them around to let me thank them when they're done."

"I will," I promised, trying to keep the laughter in. "And I'll see you later this morning, then."

"Okay, Nate. Talk to you soon."

"Bye."

"Bye," she said as I pressed the button to end the call.

"That was low even for a scumbag like you," Nick said, throwing a pillow at me.

"But I thought that you wanted to come with me," I said innocently, smiling at both of them.

"Grade ten?" Brian asked, dropping into the seat beside me. "Do you know how much of a headache that's going to be?"

"Hey, you brought it on yourself," I pointed out. "You should know better than to tease me with sleep. Besides, you don't have to stay for the entire period. In fact, it's better for me if you don't. If you can get out early and go talk to the principal, we might be able to get away earlier."

Brian looked at me and smiled. "Okay, we'll do it, but you owe me."

"Us," Nick corrected. "You owe us. Big time."

I waved them both off with a grin. "You want to come too, Erron?" I asked, realising that we were in danger of ignoring him. "You could come along with me, or go with the guys and sit in."

"Nah," he said, smiling. "I'm the only one of us that can actually go back to bed. Think I'll do just that."

"Rub it in, why don't you?" Nick said, laughing.

"Well, if I'm actually going to be seeing people today, I have to take a shower," Brian announced, standing.

I looked at the clock and realised that it was almost nine. "Me too," I said, then smiled. "Guess it looks like we're showering together."

"Think you can handle that?" Brian asked seductively, leaning over me for a kiss and then helping me out of my seat. "We don't have time for anything too involved."

With a sigh, I let him pull me up. "You keep your hands to yourself, and I'll keep mine to myself."

"Yeah, right," Nick laughed.

So we set out to prove him wrong. Within half an hour, Brian and I were showered, shaved, and dressed and waiting on Nick to put his shoes on.

Twenty minutes after that, I was pulling up in front of the school. I had called back and made arrangements with Principal Davis to wait with Brian and Nick in the teacher's lounge while the students were in the hall. That way, we could keep the screaming to a minimum.

We got into the room just as the bell rang, collecting a few strange glances from the couple of teachers in the lounge. They gave us a look over and then rushed off to their classes, leaving us alone for a few minutes.

"So this is what it looks like," I said, looking around. "I always wondered what they did in here."

"Maybe this?" Brian suggested, putting his arms around me from behind and kissing my neck.

"Careful," Nick warned from close to the door. "The last thing we need is a wayward teacher in here seeing you two."

"Kind of adds to the experience, doesn't it?" Brian whispered, pressing himself to me and kissing me again.

"What is this? Get Nate aroused and then send him on his way?" I laughed. "Cut it out before we get detention."

Brian laughed and stepped away again. "So when do we do this?"

"About five minutes," I answered, checking my watch. "You have any idea what you're going to talk about?"

"Nope," Nick answered. "I thought we'd just let them ask questions, maybe sing with them a bit."

"Sounds good to me," Brian agreed.

"I was thinking about he same," I said, nodding. "I'm not going to sing for them, but I thought I'd give them a bit of a rundown on who I am, and then just let them ask me stuff."

"Mr. Healy," Brian said, putting his hand up. "Is it true that you're deeply in love with that adorable Brian Litrell from the Backstreet Boys?"

I laughed and pushed him away from me. "No, I'm just using him to get to his cousin Kevin. He's so hot!" I said, swooning visibly and making Nick laugh.

"I've warned you about that," Brian smiled at me, pointing. "That's just sick."

"But Kevin is hot," Nick said, blushing. "I mean, he's totally off-limits and all, but you have to admit that he's good-looking."

Brian put his hands over his ears. "He's my cousin!"

I shook my head and grinned at Nick. "Denial." Nick nodded.

The alarm on my watch sounded and I pulled Brian's arms down. "Time to go.

Good luck kiss?"

Brian smiled and put his arms around me, pressing his lips to mine. After a few seconds, we parted again and he released me. "Good luck."

"You too," I smiled. "And good luck to you Nick," I said, turning to face him. "I'd give you a kiss too, but my boyfriend's the jealous type."

He just laughed and headed for the door. "We'll meet you at the Principal's office when the class is over?"

"Yeah," I said, giving Brian another peck on the cheek. "If not before. I don't know how many questions they'll have."

Brian and Nick both nodded and headed out into the hall, with me at their heels. "Okay, you're going out past the office, up the stairs, and to the left. Room 213. I'm down this hall, room 108."

Brian patted my shoulder with a smile, then he and Nick headed for the stairs. I turned and walked toward Ms. Cole's classroom, a smile crossing my face at the thought of meeting up with her again.

PART 100

It was the ultimate high school power trip. Here I was, about to have the attention of the entire class, able to say pretty much whatever I wanted, and commanding as much, if not more, power than the teacher did. With a smile on my face, I knocked lightly and opened the door.

Ms. Cole didn't look particularly happy to see me, and apparently didn't see the need to pretend. I smiled at her regardless, and offered her my hand. With a little scowl that only a few of the students sitting at the edge of the room saw, she shook it briefly.

"Class, this is Mr. Healy. He's written a book and he's been asked to talk to you about being an author."

With that glowing introduction, I stepped to the front of the class and smiled at the faces before me. Just standing there didn't feel comfortable at all. I felt too teacher-like. Turning around, I started moving things around on the desk, much to the displeasure of Ms. Cole.

I finally just pushed everything to one end of the desk and jumped up on it, sitting down cross-legged. I looked back to the students, and every one of them was looking back and forth between me and their beloved teacher.

"Ahem," she said, clearing her throat and getting my attention. "There is a chair on the other side of the desk."

"Oh, that's okay," I said, giving her my sweetest smile. "I'm fine up here." There were a couple of chuckles from the class, but they were silenced when she turned her sour expression in their direction.

Looking around, I noticed a familiar face near the front. "Hey, Sarah," I said with a smile. "Nice to see you again."

Ms. Cole didn't look pleased at all.

Sarah, on the other hand, had a large smile on her face. "Hey, Nate. How's life?"

"Can't complain," I answered her. "You staying out of trouble?"

She laughed at the shared joke between us. "Yeah, for the most part. Sometimes you just can't help it though, you know?"

I nodded and laughed with her. "Yeah, I remember well. Okay everybody, I'm here to talk to you about how I became a writer, and how wonderful it is, and how you should all really bust your asses for good grades." I noticed Sarah's eyes bulge a bit when I said 'ass', and her eyes flicked to the sentry in the corner, who I knew would be bristling.

"But I thought that we'd start with some questions from you guys instead. Does anyone have a question?"

Two hands went up. I pointed to one student. "Yes?"

"Who are you?"

I laughed and nodded my head. "Good question. Do any of you have the slightest clue who I am?"

"You wrote that book 'Blue Sky,'" a girl in the back row said. "My mom read it and loved it."

"Did you read it?" The girl nodded, becoming self-conscious suddenly. "And? What did you think?"

"I didn't like it at all," she said bluntly.

"Karen!" Ms. Cole hissed.

I put my hand up to stop her. "It's okay. I asked her what she thought. My ego isn't so big to allow me to think that everyone liked the book," I laughed. "What didn't you like about it?"

"I just didn't connect with the characters. They didn't come alive for me," the girl explained. She really did look sorry for being critical. "And the prison setting wasn't something that I identified with easily."

I nodded and thanked her for her honesty. "Does anyone else have a question?"

The girl beside the girl who had hated my book put up her hand, and I pointed at her. "You're gay, right?"

I was certainly caught off guard. Ms. Cole sucked air between her teeth then stood up. "Angela McNeal! Get to the principal's office and I'll deal with you after class! That's not the kind of thing that you ask someone about!"

I took a brief moment to consider the irony of Ms. Cole standing up for me, then put my hand up again as the girl's face fell and she started toward the front of the class. "Excuse me, Ms. Cole," I said politely. She turned to look at me again, and Angela stopped walking. "May I call you Jane?"

"I don't think that's appropriate," she snipped.

"Fine," I said, waving it off and getting a few more smiles from the students. This lady was really beginning to piss me off, defending my honour or not. "If you have some marking or something to do, I think I'll be fine here by myself for a while. I want them to understand that they're free to say whatever they want without getting in trouble for it, and they're a bit uptight with the teacher watching them." I thought it was a pretty reasonable request, even if it was bullshit.

"I don't think so," she said. "I don't think it would be proper to just leave..."

"I could always talk to Principal Davis and see if she has something for you to do," I said with a pleasant smile. I was sending 'get the fuck out' on every mental channel I could find.

She seemed to deliberate for a moment, and then her eyes narrowed as she stood up. She was clearly not happy with me. "I'll be in the teacher's lounge if I'm needed."

"Thank you," I said graciously. "I'll send someone to get you if I finish early."

She didn't respond as she took her marking book and walked out of the room.

"Told you she was a bitch," Sarah laughed, getting everyone laughing.

I grinned. "Hey, I never said I didn't believe you. You can sit down again Angela. I'm not about to send you to the Principal for being curious.

Now that she's gone, is there anything any of you feel like getting off of your chest?"

"I thought she was going to have a stroke when you moved the things around on her desk," a guy in the front row laughed. "No one touches her things."

I smiled. "Well, for the moment, I'm a bit out of her sphere of influence.

I'm a little beyond detentions. But, back to business. I suppose that, since only one of you knows who the hell I am, I should tell you about myself.

"My name is Nathaniel Healy, and I'm an author. Well, I've published a book. I'm not sure if one book makes you an author or not. But, that one book is on the best-seller lists, so I suppose I can lay claim to the title.

"I'm twenty-four years old, and I'm from right here in Toronto." There were a few raised eyebrows at that. "In fact, I used to go to this very school, which is why Principal Davis thought that it would be good for me to talk to you. I went here for my grade nine year, before transferring to a private high school.

"I went to the University of Toronto, where I got a degree in English, and worked on 'Blue Sky.' After university, I moved to LA with a friend of mine, and finished the book. Once I got it published, I moved back and took an apartment here again. And now I'm sitting in front of you guys feeling a bit foolish. Any questions so far?"

"Why did you transfer out of here?" a girl sitting near the window asked.

"I had a little bit of trouble here at the end of my first year. My parents thought it best if I finish at a smaller high school," I answered her, coming close enough to the truth to ease my mind.

"What kind of trouble?" someone called out.

"Some of the muscleheads on the football team seemed to have a problem with me."

"They beat you up?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Because you're gay?" Angela asked, apparently determined to get an answer to her question.

I sighed and nodded. "That's exactly why. But that's old news that I'm sure you'll understand I don't really enjoy talking about. Any questions about the book, or how I got it published or anything like that?"

"Is it true that you're dating Nick Carter?"

There were a few whispers around the room as people started to recognise me from the tabloids. I put up my hands to quiet them again before answering. "No, it's not true that I'm dating Nick. I'm seeing someone right here in Toronto, as a matter of fact." I grinned a little at that, considering that as long as Brian was in town, it wasn't a lie.

"But isn't that just a cover so that people won't think that Nick is gay?" the guy behind Sarah asked.

"No, I assure you it isn't a cover to keep people from thinking Nick is gay. I really am dating someone else."

"So what's your boyfriend's name?"

"That's really none of your business," I said with a smile.

"But you are on tour with the Backstreet Boys, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," I smiled. "We've come to an arrangement that benefits us both. I get to write my new book in a different environment, and get to meet some very interesting people who just might turn into characters for me. I'm also going to be helping them put together a tour diary of their time on the road. It works out nicely for both parties." I reminded myself to call Celia and see if the contracts for that had arrived yet.

"What's AJ really like?"

I sighed and resigned myself to the fact that this was going to continue. I didn't particularly like being associated with as just a friend of the Backstreet Boys, but at the same time, refusing to entertain questions would only lead to more questions and speculation. "He's very nice. He's a bit crazy, but a lot of fun. He's been trying to get me to come with him to get something pierced, as a matter of fact."

"Are you going to go with him?"

"No," I laughed. "My boyfriend won't let me."

"How many tattoos does he have?"

"I'm really not sure," I admitted. "He might have some hidden in places that I don't get to see."

They laughed at that, and the questions continued. For another fifteen minutes, I answered questions about everything from what the guys liked to eat for breakfast to what the inside of the tour bus looked like.

Finally, I had to stop them. "Okay, I know that you're interested in the guys, but I really should talk about writing. That's what I'm here for. So, if we could put the band questions on hold for a while, does anyone have something writing-related that they would like to ask?"

A few hands went down, leaving just one in the air. I pointed to her. "How do you write? What's your process?"

"That's a great question," I said, giving her a smile and blessing her in my heart. "I keep a folder of different thoughts and ideas for the story. Basically a book of scribblings that don't mean anything to anyone but myself. When I need some direction, I leaf through those ideas until something comes to me. Then I start typing again."

"What's the new book about?" This was again from the girl who hadn't liked 'Blue Sky.'

"Sorry, but that's one thing I won't answer," I laughed. "I'm very superstitious about that. I don't talk about works in progress with anyone other than my editor and my agent."

Once they got into the questions, there were some very good ones asked. For the next half hour, I talked about outlining stories, contacting agents and editors, and shopping your work around to publishers.

I was about to take another question when there was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in!" I called, expecting Ms. Cole coming back to check on me.

Instead, Nick poked his head inside the room, which caused a collective gasp from the entire class. I smiled at them. "I see you know Mr. Carter," I laughed. "Come on in Nick."

Nick blushed and stepped inside, walking over to me. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," I said, walking with him out into the hall again, noting the whispers behind us. "You know," I said, as soon as we were out of earshot. "They all think we're dating now."

He smiled but it didn't seem like his heart was in it. "Where's Brian?"

I shrugged. "He's supposed to be with you."

"We finished talking to the music class and were going to stop and talk with the principal for a few minutes while we waited for you. Brian excused himself after a minute. He said he was coming to see if you were almost done here."

"I haven't seen him."

"Well then where could he have gone?"

Brian would have had to pass by the office and come down the hall to get to my room. Which would mean that he would have gone by... "Nick, can you talk to these guys for a minute or two? I think I know where he is."

"What am I going to talk to an English class about?" he asked.

"You'd be surprised," I laughed, dragging him back into the room with me. "Everyone, I have to go and take care of something. But Nick has offered to stay and answer a few questions in my place. If you ask really nicely, you just might get an autograph too." I grinned evilly at Nick's face, and knew he'd get me back for that later.

They were already asking questions as I excused myself. I heard "Are you and Nate dating?" just as the door snicked shut, and shook my head with a laugh.

I had to hold myself back from running down the hall. Then, realising that I wasn't a student anymore, I did run. Once I got to the end of the hall, I turned right and passed the office. There, at the bottom of the stairs was my destination.

I pushed the door open and saw Brian standing beside the birdbath sink. "Bri?"

He turned around to face me and his face was white as a sheet. "This is the place, isn't it? This is where it happened."

"Yeah, it is."

"Where?"

"What?"

"Where were you? Where did it happen?"

"It doesn't matter," I said soothingly, putting my arms around him and turning his head to face me.

"I matters to me, Nate," he said, looking at me seriously. "I want to know this. Where?"

"Right there," I said, taking a deep breath and pointing to the place on the floor. "Right in front of that stall, under the window."

Brian stared at the spot I was pointing to, then started to cry.

I wiped his tears away as fast as I could, and tried to calm him down. "Hey, don't. You're going to get me started, and I still have some kids to talk to. I don't want to be all red-eyed."

He laughed and hugged me. "I'm sorry."

"Don't you be sorry," I said softly, rubbing his back. "You didn't do it. Now let's get out of here. There's nothing here for either one of us."

Brian pulled out of our hug and kissed me. I brought my hands up to his face and cupped his jaw with them as we kissed, then used my thumbs to wipe the moisture off of his face again. "You know," I said, grinning a little. "If we had more time, and that door had a lock, we could make a much happier memory in here."

"Let's continue that thought later," he said, giving me the smile that I was looking for and kissing me again quickly.

I nodded my agreement and returned his smile. "I'll hold you to that. Besides, I think I'd rather just forget about this room entirely. The mood isn't quite right for that kind of happy memory. Now splash some cold water on your face, sweetie. There are some kids I want you to meet."

Brian looked at me quizzically, then did as I said. When his face was dried again, he looked pretty much normal. He took one last glance at the place on the floor that a much younger Nathan Healy had occupied at one time, then followed me out the door, being careful to drop his hand from mine when we reached the hall.

I walked him back to the room, and could hear Nick laughing with the students inside. "Now, you get to help us convince them that Nick and I aren't dating," I laughed.

"Why would they think you were?"

"Well, they read the tabloids for one. And Nick poked his head in to see where you were. I left him talking to them. So as far as they know, it's just Nick and I here today, and that doesn't look good."

Brian nodded and motioned for me to open the door. "Let's go."

I pushed the door open just as Nick started laughing again. The students looked up quickly, no doubt expecting Ms. Cole's triumphant return. I smiled at them. "Don't worry, she's not with me." They laughed along with me for a moment. "But I did find someone else that you might find interesting." I stepped inside and Brian followed behind me.

There were a few more gasps from the back of the room.

"Hi," Brian said, giving them a wave.

"How many of you guys are here?" a girl asked, getting a round of laughs.

"Just us," Brian said. "We're on a little break from the tour, and we thought we'd tag along with our buddy Nate here."

"So he and Nick really aren't dating?"

Brian laughed and Nick and I both said "I told you so."

"No, he really isn't dating Nick."

We spent another few minutes talking about the tour, and what the guys were like, before Principal Davis knocked on the door and let herself in. "I thought you might like to wrap it up," she said. "So you can be gone before the next class starts. I think it would be hard to smuggle your friends out of here with the halls full of kids."

I returned her smile and agreed. Brian, Nick and I thanked the students for putting up with us, and we all reiterated how important school was. We did have role model status to keep up, you know. Then they quickly walked around the room and gave some autographs.

I said goodbye to Sarah again, making her smile. I felt a certain connection with her, and it was more than the fact that she shared my mother's name. She said goodbye as well, and then Brian and Nick dragged me out of the room. They obviously weren't keen on being mobbed in the halls.

We reached the car just as the bell rang, and I swear I heard both of my companions breath a sigh of relief. Smiling to myself, I got in and unlocked their doors. "Let's hit the road."

To Be Continued...

There you have it. I know that some of you are getting impatient about them getting to the cabin. I promise you they do get there in the next installment. :)

Thanks for reading!

~D~