My Everything

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything."

Thanks for all of your support! Without it, I don't think I could have written this story for this long.

Now on with the story.

First of all, let me just say that this is my first time writing any kind of fiction like this.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of total fiction and is not meant to imply anything about the sexualities of Nick and Drew Lachey or anyone else mentioned in this story.

If you are too young to read this, or if Homosexuality offends you, then please don't continue any further and leave.

Other 98 Degrees stories I'd like to recommend are.

"Give Me Just One Night" by Unanoche. "69 with Jeff Timmons" by Zachary Scott Pritt "Nick Lachey" by Ken. "98 Degrees Is Hot" by Gay Night "The Reunion" by RinSong. "Loving Nick Lachey" by Jordan "Playing Doctor with 98 Degrees" by Brian "This Gift" by Sprout

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.

"What I feel for you." is an awesome story and Thack, himself deserves applause for all of his hard work on it.

NEWSFLASH:

It is heard that Nick Lachey has signed a deal with ABC to star in his own comedy or drama series. Lets all keep our fingers crossed and hope that we get to see Nick Lachey do great things as an actor as well.

Before any of that happens, you can still catch Nick Lachey and his brother, Drew, on "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica." The show airs Wednesdays on MTV at 10:00p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and 9:00p.m. Central Standard Time. (CST)

Now, I"ll let you get on with the story.

Enjoy.

Previously on "My Everything".....

"Oh god, Mom!" Nick started, looking like he was going to panic. "Has something happened to my daughter? or Jessica?"

When I heard that part, I grabbed Nick's hand and squeezed it, letting him know that I was there for him. He squeezed it back, as his way of thanking me for being there.

"I'd much rather not get into it over the phone, sweetie." Cate told him. "Just get back here as fast as you can and be safe. I love you."

"Mom, wait!" Nick called up, but his call was cut off.

"Nick, what's wrong?" I asked, the fear in my voice, obvious. "What's happened?!

Nick grabbed me into a hug, which I returned, strongly.

"Well, at first, my mom told me to pack up my stuff and get as far away from you as I could get." He told me.

He continued.

"She even said that if I didn't come home, that she and Dad would come and get me, theirselves, which is why I went on the defensive just a minute ago. But then, she said, it was a family emergency and that they all needed me back there as soon as possible. When I asked what it was, she said she didn't want to get into it over the phone. She told me to get back home as soon as possible and to be safe."

Nick pulled back from our embrace and I could see the tears of fear that were rolling down his face. He was scared that something had happened to Jessica or to his little girl.

"All I know is that I have to get back home." Nick said. "My wife and daughter could be in trouble!"

"You don't have to explain, Nick, I understand." I said. "Come on, let's go back to the house."

Nick and I both turned and ran as fast as we could, back to my apartment. Nick burst into the house and immediately grabbed the cordless phone from the console and started dialing the number for the airline.

"Nick, when you book the flight, ask for two seats, would you?" I asked him.

Nick frowned. "Why?" He asked, confused.

I'd hadn't originally planned on doing this, but Nick needed me and I wasn't about to let him go through whatever it was, alone.

"Because, I'm going with you." I finished.

*********** CHAPTER 69 ***********

Nick hung up the phone and looked at me, in surprise. He hadn't expected me to offer to go back to Los Angeles with him. I could tell he was grateful, but at the same time, I could also see the conflicting emotions, playing on his face.

"Sean, no." Nick said, shaking his head. "I couldn't ask you to come with me."

"You didn't." I said, looking at him. "I offered to come."

"But you can't." Nick said. "You have your own life to live and your own responsibilities. I don't want to stand in the way of your new life that you've built for yourself."

"Nick." I said, giving him a sympathetic look. "Let me decide that, ok? I just want to be there for you, that's all. A day or two in Los Angeles isn't going to kill me."

Nick looked at me as he thought it over.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked me, still holding the phone in his hand. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Jessica is not going to be happy to see you if you show up at my house with me. I would predict a showdown unlike any other you two have had if you decide to do this and come with me."

I gave a sarcastic 'Ha' and shrugged.

"Well, I say, bring it on." I said, with an angry look. "Jessica is going to learn, once and for all that she can't have her cake and eat it too! Betrayal cuts both ways."

Nick's seriousness crumpled and his face broke into a sexy grin, as he chuckled at me. I looked at him oddly.

"What's so funny?" I asked, frowning slightly.

Nick looked back up at me, shaking his head in amusement.

"I don't think I've ever seen that side of you." He said. "It's kind of.....cute."

"What?" I asked, cracking a slightly confused smile. Nick looked back at me, still grinning.

"Your confrontational attitude." He said. "I think I'm starting to like it. It proves how much you truly have changed and grown from what went down with us in the past."

I was surprised to hear Nick actually admit that. I wasn't sure how he viewed me now, since then. But I had to admit that he was right. I had changed and possibly for the better.

"You really think so, Nick?" I asked him, curious to know what his opinion was.

"Yeah." Nick said. "You've changed into a whole new person. You never were confrontational back when we were together. You never really stood up for yourself as much as you do now. Now, you also have the attitude that suggests that you no longer care what people think of you."

I nodded. We were both silent for a moment.

"But that's not entirely true." I said, breaking the silence.

"No?" Nick asked, looking genuinely surprised.

"I don't care what other people think of me, but when it comes to the people that I care about most, I still do." I revealed to him.

Nick's eyes locked on me for a moment. As I watched him, I started to feel a little uncomfortable. There was something about the way that he was looking at me that seemed a little off. It wasn't a romantic look or anything like that. It seemed more like he was disecting me, piece by piece, looking for something.

"What, Nick?" I asked. "What's with the look? You're making me uncomfortable."

Nick snapped out of it.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

I nodded, as my way of accepting his apology.

"What were you thinking when you were looking at me like that?"

Nick shrugged.

"I was just making an observation." he said. "The reason I was staring at you so intensely like that was because of what you just said just now about caring what people think of you. I noticed that even though you've changed into this new Sean Perry, there are still traces of the old Sean Perry within you."

"Really?" I asked him, crossing my arms, grinning at him. "You think you've got me all figured out, huh?"

"I think so." Nick said. "Do you care to hear my opinion?"

"Shoot." I said, giving him the green light to speak.

"Well," Nick started. "You've obviously become alot stronger and you stand up for yourself alot more now and that's the new Sean Perry, but there is still some of the old Sean, still in you. That side to you that is loving and caring. You're still there for the people that you love most when they need a friend. That hasn't wavered at all. You still never cease to amaze me, the more I get to know you."

I was literally floored that Nick had figured me out so easily. But I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised, considering our history. He knew me like the back of his hand back then, and it seemed like he was starting to really get to know the new me.

Well, almost.

"Nick?" I asked him. "When did you get so smart?"

Nick laughed when I asked him that. I laughed a little with him.

"I don't know." He said. "I just know the kind of person that you are, that's all."

"Well, thanks." I said, patting his arm, gently. "It means alot to me that you don't think any less of me, simply because I've changed."

"Hey." Nick said, laying his hand on my shoulder. "Change can be good."

I looked up at him and glanced into his eyes. His eyes still had alot of power over me, with their hypnotizing beauty and charm. Whoever doesn't believe that the eyes are the window to a person's soul, needs to re-evaluate that saying. I was finding it to be more true all the time.

Before I could get too lost into his eyes, I snapped out of it, remembering that we had to book Nick's flight.

"Hey, we really should get your flight booked, so we can be ready to leave in the morning."

"Right." Nick said, sitting down on the sofa and picking up the phone again.

He again, dialed the number for the Orlando airport. I took that moment to excuse myself, telling Nick that I was going to go and pack up my suitcase so I'd be ready in the morning.

I walked into my room and started getting everything that I needed, packed up into my suitcase to be ready to go.

After that was finished up, I plopped down on the bed and grabbed the remote for my stereo and switched it on. I hit the CD button to see if I had any CDs in there that I could play while I waited for Nick to finish up with his call.

I was in luck. I heard one of my favorite songs "When We Were Still In Love" with Trisha Yearwood start playing.

As It played, I thought back to the many months that Nick and I had spent together. Plus, all the wonderful memories.

Trisha's beautiful voice started flowing from the speakers.

"When, we were still in love." "I knew just what to do." "For, my heart was like a child at play." "When all the world is new."

"When, we were still in love." "I didn't have a fear, cause." "I still believed a love like ours." "Would never disappear."

"I remember everything." "As if it were happening." "When the promise that we made. "Was Everlasting."

"When, we were still in love." "Above the clouds we flew, yes." "But now they have gone out to sea." "To weep for me and you."

"I remember everything." "As if it were happening." "When the promise that we made." "Was Everlasting."

"When we were still in love." "I sang a happy song." "But, now all I hear, is the bitter wind. "That whispers love is gone."

"Now all I hear is the bitter wind." "That whispers love is gone."

As Trisha's song ended, as well as my flashback to the wedding where Nick and I kissed, and consumated our vows as loving husbands, I wiped at a tear that had started to run down my face.

I found Trisha's song to be very moving, yet with a little sadness to it. Basically meaning that love hadn't worked out. I could definitely relate to that song.

"So much for happy endings, huh?" I whispered as I wiped away the rest of my tears.

"Sean!" I heard Nick's voice call out from down the hallway. It sounded like he was coming towards my room.

"Yes, Nick?!" I called back to him.

Nick emerged into the doorway of my room just in time to see me wiping at my tears.

"Are you ok?" He asked, quickly getting concerned. "You're crying."

"Don't mind me, man." I said, smiling, as I cleared my face of the rest of my tears. "I was just listening to one of my favorite songs by Trisha Yearwood and it kind of got to me, that's all."

"Trisha's good." Nick said, sitting down beside me on the bed. "Which song were you listening to."

"When we were still in love." I said. "It's such a moving song, yet so sad. It got to me because I can relate to it."

Nick nodded.

"Me too." He said, softly. "About how you can be so in love one minute and then it can be gone the next. And about how love didn't work out."

Just then, he looked up at me. When I saw the look in his eyes, I knew what he was thinking. We were both thinking it at that moment.

"Kind of like you and me." I said, lowly. "I know."

Nick nodded. He didn't have to say anything else. We both knew that there was no point in rehashing the past. We had both moved on.

"So," I said, remembering when Nick came into the room. "What did you find out about your flight?"

Nick sighed, heavily, which didn't sound good.

"I got the first available flight out of Orlando." He said.

"Cool." I said. "So, when do we leave?"

Nick looked up at me and when I saw that look on his face, I knew that I wasn't going to like his answer at all.

******************************************************* LAX AIRPORT,LOS ANGELES...........................

5:30 A.M.

"God, I'm so tired." I said, sleepily, as Nick and I both got off the plane and headed for baggage claim to get our luggage.

"I hear you." Nick said, through sleepy eyes, as we both walked down the halls of the airport. "I could use some more sleep myself."

"Some more sleep?!" I asked, sarcastically. "Nick, we didn't even have any time to get ANY sleep. Or at least I didn't. Since this was the only flight available, out of Orlando, we didn't even get any time to even nap."

Nick knew I was right. The flight that we got was to leave within two hours, so Nick and I had basically just packed up our stuff and went straight to the airport.

Nick must have gotten some sleep, but it was clear that he hadn't gotten enough. His eyes were red and bloodshot. Mine were another story.

"As soon as we get our bags, I think you and I should get some coffee." I suggested to him, as we came to the baggage claim conveyor.

"You're right." Nick said. "One of us has to be able to drive back to my house. I don't think that I'll be able to drive."

I looked at Nick and noticed just how tired he really was. It was clear that he was not going to be able to stay awake enough to drive right now.

"Why don't you just pick up your car from the airport parking lot and drive me to a hotel so I can book a room. Then maybe we can get some more sleep."

Nick looked back at me and I could see the confused frown on his face.

"A hotel?" He asked, as he stifled a yawn. "Why do we need a hotel? I just thought you were going to be staying with me."

I just laughed, forcefully.

"Yeah, right." I said, laying on the sarcasm thick. "I don't think Princess Jessica would go for that. Quite frankly, I'm too tired to handle a confrontation right now, anyway."

"Ok." Nick said. "You're probably right. I'll take you to a hotel as soon as we get our bags and some coffee."

"Deal." I said, giving him a weak attempt at a smile.

After what seemed like forever, Nick and I saw our bags coming down the conveyor. Nick grabbed his and mine and pulled them off of the conveyor belt. He handed mine to me.

"Thanks." I said, taking it and grabbing the handle to wheel it behind me. Now, let's go and get that coffee."

"Yes, Let's." Nick agreed. "I could use some right about now."

Nick and I walked through the airport, dragging our luggage behind us, heading for the coffee shop.

We went to the airport cafe and Nick went in to get us some coffee, while I stayed outside and kept an eye on our luggage.

In a few minutes, Nick came out, with two mocha cappaucinos in his hand. He handed one to me.

"Here you are." He mumbled, tiredly. "It was just made fresh."

"Thanks." I said, accepting the cauppacino from him and taking a sip of it. When I did I burned my tongue.

"Damn!" I said, as I grimaced in pain. When I looked up at Nick I saw him trying to stifle his laughter.

"I did say 'made fresh' didn't I?" Nick said, as his laughter gave way. For that remark, I punched him in the arm, but not real hard.

"You don't have to rub it in, Asshole!" I muttered, as I turned away and grabbed our luggage.

"Man, you really are tired." Nick laughed. "You've never insulted me or called me names before."

"Yes, I'm tired, Nick." I said, annoyed. "Now, can we get out of here and get your car now?"

Nick shook his head and started walking with me towards the airport exits.

"You're such a grouch today." He replied, as he walked over to the valet area to claim his car keys. He gave the valet guy his ticket and the man rushed off to get Nick's car.

While we waited for Nick's' car, I glanced over at Nick. As I watched him stand there, sipping his cappaucino, I noticed that he seemed distant all of a sudden.

"Nick, are you ok?" I asked him. He turned and looked at me.

"I'm fine, Sean." He said, trying to reassure me. "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Are you sure that's all it is?" I asked him, not sure I bought his excuse. "You seem upset. If it has to do with the fact that I just snapped at you a minute ago, I apologize for that. You know how I get when I'm tired, not to mention jetlagged."

"Trust me, Sean, it's not that." Nick said. "I just am worried about Jessica and Nicole."

When he said that, I wondered something about when his mom called him late last night, back in Orlando. Something was definitely off. I could feel it.

"Nick, I just thought about something you told me last night." I started saying.

Nick turned and looked at me.

"What is it?" He asked me, as he took another sip of his cappaucino.

"You told me that your mom said she couldn't get into it over the phone about whatever this family emergency is. Maybe it's not as serious as you're thinking. Maybe Jessica and Nicole are fine."

Nick's expression changed into a worried look.

"What do you mean?" He asked me, confused. "My mom doesn't mess around when it comes to family emergencies. When that's the case, there usually is one and it's serious."

I nodded, but something still didn't feel right.

"Yeah, but if Jessica or Nicole were hurt in any way and had to be hospitalized, wouldn't you think your mom would have told you that? I know I would have if it had been that serious."

When I said that, I must have hit a nerve, because Nick frowned at me, and he looked like he was going to get angry.

"What are you saying, Sean?!" He asked, defensively. "Are you saying that my mother is lying to me?! She would never do that!"

"Whoa! Nick, calm down!" I said, raising my hands in the air. "That's not what I'm saying at all. There's just something about this that doesn't feel right to me, that's all. I didn't mean to imply that your mom is lying to you."

Nick calmed down a bit, and looked back at me. I could tell that he was sorry he jumped to the wrong conclusion.

I'm sorry, Sean." Nick apologized. "I didn't mean to lay into you."

"Don't apologize, Nick." I said, tapping his shoulder, lightly. "I understand you're worried right now and it's understandable. Let's just let it go for now and wait until we get back to your house so we can get the answers that we need to put us both at ease."

Nick smiled at me. Then he leaned over and wrapped one of his arms around me and pulled me in for a quick hug.

"I'm glad you're here with me, Sean." He whispered. "I don't know how I could have gotten through this alone."

"Of course, Nick." I said, as I returned his hug. "What are friends for?"

As Nick hugged me, I could feel the mixed emotions playing within me. I knew that I wanted to be there for Nick as his friend, but at the same time, knowing how I felt about him, was starting to get harder and harder for me to keep to myself.

But I knew that I had to. It was the best thing for Nick, and everyone involved in his life. I was not about to do anything more to break up his family. I had already destroyed Nick's relationship with his brother. Although I wasn't the one who'd betrayed Nick, directly or indirectly, I had been the reason that Drew had sabotaged my marriage to Nick. He had been in love with me. I knew that. But I'd never thought that he would go as far as he did to make that known.

As soon as I thought about Drew, I started wondering how I was going to face him when we got back to Nick's. I was sure that he would be there for whatever this family emergency was.

"Well, here comes my car." Nick said, as he released me. I turned and saw that the valet had pulled Nick's car to the curb near the exit. I turned back to Nick.

"Are you going to be awake enough to drive now?" I asked him. "You weren't sure you could, earlier."

Nick nodded. I took a good look at him and he seemed to be more awake now than what he was when we got into the airport awhile ago.

"Oh yeah." Nick said. I'm fine now. Let's go."

Nick and I grabbed our luggage and we went out to his car, where the valet guy was just getting out of it. Nick handed the man, whose name tag read "Vince", a twenty dollar bill, for a tip.

"Thank you, Mr. Lachey." He said. "You enjoy your day."

"I will." Nick said. "Thank you, Vince."

Vince walked back into the airport to assist another customer, while Nick and I set about getting our luggage loaded into the trunk of his car.

Nick grabbed his luggage and mine and loaded each of them into the trunk. Once that was done, he hopped into his car, which was still running and he unlocked the passenger side door so I could get in.

I opened the door and got into the car with him. Nick then started driving out of the airport parking lot and into the busy streets of Los Angeles.

We both were silent, during the drive, each of us having alot on our minds.

"Nick?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"What?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I just wondered how I'm going to handle it when we both run into your brother at the house. I'm sure Drew will be there for whatever this family emergency is."

When I brought up Drew, Nick sighed heavily, in realization.

"You're probably right." Nick said. "But we will deal with it. We didn't come back home for Drew, that's for sure."

"Well, right now, I'm more worried about what I'm going to do to Drew if I see him again." I pointed out to Nick. "I haven't seen Drew since I left Los Angeles and I'm just as angry with him now, as I was when I left. I gave his face a beating for god's sake!"

Nick nodded, understanding how I felt. He was feeling the exact same way.

"I understand how you feel, Sean, really I do." Nick said. "But you can't solve anything by being violent. That's just not the way it works."

Nick turned and looked at me, briefly.

"Besides, I don't want you to beat up Drew again. I'm sure he's hurting alot more right now than his face ever could." He added. "And now that I know the truth and have seen your handy work on Drew's face, I'm not surprised you belted him. I could belt him myself right now."

"But you won't do that." I said to him. "I know that despite what Drew did, and how hurt and angry you are with him, you still love him."

Nick looked visibly sick when I said that.

"Whether I love my brother or not is irrelevant right now." Nick said, bitterly. "All I care about is that Drew stays away from me until I can decide what I'm going to do where my marriage and my family are concerned. If he's going to be there for this family emergency, whatever it is, I won't stand in his way, but any other situation than that, he stays away."

"Ok. Point taken." I said. "All I'm really saying is keep an open mind where your brother's concerned. It may take a while, but I think that with time you'll eventually forgive Drew for what he did."

"I will never forgive him." Nick said, getting annoyed. "As far as I'm concerned, Drew can just go to hell."

"Nick..." I started.

"I don't want to talk about Drew anymore." Nick said. "Can we just drop this now?"

I sighed in frustration, knowing that there was nothing more I could do. Nick refused to budge on this matter, so I decided to just leave it alone for now.

"Fine." I said, and sat back into my seat and closed my eyes for a bit to relax.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Nick was shaking me awake.

"Sean, we're here." I heard him say. I opened my eyes and looked around.

We were at Nick's house. It didn't seem like that long.

"Nick, how long was I asleep?" I asked, rubbing my eyes to wake up.

"I think about a half hour." Nick said. "Traffic was bad so it took awhile to get here."

I opened the car door and got out. Nick got out too and shut his door as well. He then set the alarm and the car chirped, confirming that it was set.

As I looked around, I saw another car parked in the driveway that I didn't recognize. Nick had a two car garage, and Jeff's car was parked on the opposite side of Nick's, while Nick had parked in front of Jessica's car, which was in the left side of the garage. The other car was behind Jeff's. But Justin's car was gone.

"Nick, who's car is that?" I asked, pointing to the grey Mercedes benz that was parked behind Jeff's car.

"That's one of Mom's and Dad's cars." Nick said. "That means one or both of them must be here."

"Oh, great." I said, sarcastically. "It looks like I'm going to walk straight into an ambush."

"Don't worry." Nick said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "If any of them give you a hard time, I'll stick up for you."

Nick and I walked up to the house and Nick unlocked the door and we entered his house.

"Come on." Nick said. "Let's go into the living room."

"You go ahead." I whispered to him. "I need to use the restroom first."

"Sure. Go ahead." Nick said, as he started walking towards the living room.

I went upstairs and did what I had to do. After washing my hands and drying them, I returned downstairs and walked to the living rooom.

When, I walked to the doorway to the living room, I was greeted by eight pairs of eyes, including Nick's.

In the living room, stood Jessica, and her mother and father. Also there were Nick's mom, Cate, and his father, John. Jeff and Danny were also there, sitting on the sofa nearby.

"Hey, everyone." I greeted them. Nick's parents, and Jessica's mom were all shocked to see me.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Cate exclaimed.

To Be Continued........?

Well, that's it for this one. I hope you all enjoyed it!

"What happens next? Oh, if you only knew!"

Stay tuned.

slpwriter@yahoo.com