Hello! I guess I'm not on a writing streak now. It's just a matter of whether I have enough time to write. But it has been fun and I hope you guys enjoy reading it.
Disclaimer: I do not know the BSB nor do I claim to know their orientation. All this writing is fiction. Anyone under 18 should stop reading as this story contains content of an adult nature.
Brian woke up with a start and noticed that his arms were wrapped around Nick's lithe body. Brian sighed contentedly. Nick was a great pillow. Even Kevin had to admit that.
Brian slid his fingers into Nick's silky hair and felt the boy shudder under his touch. Nick was too simple. He responded to every single thing with such spontaneity Brian couldn't help but laugh each time.
But there was a burden weighing heavily on Brian's mind. He had yet to tell Nick that he wanted more than to just be friends. But how could he say it when Nick still didn't know what love was all about? And sure Nick commented on how cute guys were, but he said the exact same thing about girls as well. He was clueless to the point of sheer ignorance when it came to romance.
AJ and Howie both agreed that Nick was a hopeless case that wouldn't benefit from their erotic experiences. Brian merely smirked at that thought then, but he was starting to see AJ's and Howie's point, frighteningly enough.
There was one other point bothering him . . . Kevin. He was starting to notice Kevin being rather loose around Nick these days. Kevin, who was the enforcer of rules, the brain of the group, went completely irrational when it came to Nick. Sometimes, he would be overly strict nagging at Nick on the most insignificant detail. Other times, he would let Nick off the hook without a second thought. He drove Nick nuts, and Brian felt his heart swell from pity.
Brian suddenly felt a hard plop on his head as Nick's hand hit him squarely on the forehead in an attempt to stretch.
"Ow!" Brian cried, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand.
Nick ignored the cry. "Your head was in the way!" he replied, smiling while keeping his eyes closed.
"You brute!" Brian poked Nick's tummy making Nick squirm.
"Well, maybe if your head wasn't so big . . . " Nick grinned as he tried unsuccessfully to move away from Brian.
"Has it occurred to you that your hand, not my head, that may be . . . huge?" Brian tossed the insult into the air as Nick's mind glossed over it.
"No," Nick answered obliviously.
Brian jerked Nick's shoulders towards him. Nick's head fell back from the force and fell underneath Brian's face. "All right you squirt, that does it. You're being obnoxious!" Brian cried out into Nick's ears.
Nick's eyes widened from the closeness. "I'm not obnoxious!" He replied with indignation as he turned his body away from Brian, hugging his pillow protectively.
Brian sighed as he tapped Nick's shoulders. "That's not what I meant. You're just so adorably sweet."
"Does that give you a right to verbally abuse me?" Nick pouted.
Brian had to laugh, but decided to his best judgment to refrain. "Nick, you make me out to be a beast or a bully. I meant the term obnoxious affectionately."
Nick eyed Brian suspiciously. "I don't see what's so affectionate about the word obnoxious!"
"That's silly!" Brian countered. "Didn't you hear the way I said it? My tone was full of compassion!" Brian was trying really hard to choke back his laughter. Nick was way too simple-minded. He loved playing with the boy's mind.
Nick cringed and thought it through. "If you say so . . . " He sounded slightly convinced, which made Brian even more amused. Nick was way too trusting.
Brian smiled sweetly before checking the clock. He cringed. Ten minutes before the photo shoot! "Damn!" He cried out.
Nick chuckled. "You squeal like a mouse."
Brian furrowed his eyes in contempt. "I do not."
"Are we late?" Nick replied lazily.
"Ten minutes till the photo shoot!" Brian informed Nick.
Nick began to stretch. "Kevin will have our limbs dangling from the corners of the building!"
"Then what are you waiting for?" Brian said, exasperated as he pulled Nick out of bed. Before Nick could balance himself, Brian ran towards his luggage and dug out some clothes, making a huge mess.
Nick, on the other hand, sauntered to the drawers and pulled out a decent pair of pants and shirt. Brian didn't know how it had happened, but Nick was actually done in five minutes while Brian was still running around like a fireball, sweaty and panicking.
Nick looked strangely at Brian. "Don't worry. Kevin's been kinda nice these past few days. He'll let us slip by with very few caustic words, I assure you." Nick's voice was full of childish confidence.
Brian, on the other hand, looked doubtful. "Maybe to you," Brian muttered under his breath, but before he realized it, Nick had caught the meaning behind his words.
"What did you say?" Nick asked, curious.
"Nothing."
"No, you said something."
"Nothing."
"Tell me."
"Oh, all right. Don't you notice that Kevin treats you nicer than the rest of us?" Brian finally surrendered.
"And at times, he treats me worst than all of you combined!" Nick's eyes widened at the memories of an angry Kevin that one time that Nick didn't notice and nearly got hit by a car. He shuddered when he remembered how angry Kevin had been.
"Never mind," Brian mumbled as he urged Nick out the door. He sighed. Nick was too simplistic sometimes. But Brian wasn't. He was keen enough to know that there was a reason to every action. And he was almost afraid to acknowledge Kevin's reasons.
Nick gazed at Brian uncertainly before he continued walking. Brian could tell the hurt in Nick's actions. He always became quiet when he was upset.
With Frank trailing Brian and Nick, the three left the hotel swiftly and headed for the limo. As they stepped up to their chauffeur, Brian suddenly noticed a change in Nick. The boy's cheeks became white with pallor as he started to stare across the street.
Brian looked towards the direction where Nick's eyes were focused on, only to see a tall looking man who was staring right back at Nick. He looked to be around Nick's age, but his eyes were hollow and his complexion, sallow.
Before Brian was able to comment on the situation, Nick headed for the limo and immediately got inside. As Brian got inside next to Nick, he noticed Nick's hands shaking and his breathing erratic.
"Care to tell me what's going on?" Brian said, eliciting a startle from his blond friend.
Nick jumped a foot off the seat. "Sorry. I . . . that guy across the street . . . I think I saw him . . . uh . . . last night."
"You think he's stalking you?" Brian asked, worried. The last thing he wanted was for some psychopath to have his eyes set on Nick.
"I don't know." Nick's blue eyes widened. The tears started to form at the edges, making Brian shiver. He knew that Nick was always on the nervous side. Everything seemed to set the boy off. But Nick's sixteen now. Shouldn't he have lost some of that fear?
Brian placed a hand on Nick's thing and rubbed it gently. "Frank's here. He'll keep you safe. Just don't go anywhere without him, okay? He's very protective of you!" Brian said as he recalled how Frank treated him this morning. Frank was a fiend when it came to protecting his own.
Nick nodded slowly. They were off to the photo shoot without any other complications, to Brian's relief.
When they finally got to the photo shoot session, true enough, Kevin was standing inside tapping his feet impatiently, his arms crossing his chest in a stern manner. Brian felt himself become cold. Not again. He didn't need a lecture at this moment. Nick was trailing behind him reluctantly. Brian sighed. At 16, Nick was still a boy. At least, he still acted like one.
Kevin instinctively jumped when he saw Nick and Brian. He stared disapprovingly at Nick, shoving Brian aside in the process. "Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting for you?"
Brian stepped in, attempting to calm Kevin down. "We just woke up a little late," Brian countered.
Kevin turned from Brian back to Nick. "I mean, with Brian, since he was on the red eye last night, he has an excuse. I would like to hear yours!" With that, Kevin stepped towards Nick, making the blond boy shudder.
Nick looked helplessly at Kevin, his hands still trembling from that morning. "I . . . I'm sorry."
Kevin's tall figure shadowed Nick. He reached out to grab the boy by the shoulders. "Did you know that I was worried about you?"
Brian felt heated from Kevin's irrational anger. "He just overslept like I did. We didn't go to bed until late last night!"
Kevin ignored Brian's pleas and stared straight into Nick's eyes. "Did you not fall asleep like you should last night? What's all this with monsters and stuff. I thought you were beyond that stage, but now . . . " Kevin had a look of disgust on his face.
Nick's tears started to form once again. His mind still hadn't recovered from last night. Yet, Kevin was making it no better. "Sorry!" he cried out before running out the door.
Brian stiffened. Surprisingly, his legs didn't budge. He wanted to run out after Nick, but decided to stay back and give Kevin a piece of his mind. From the corner of his eye, he saw Frank run out after Nick and felt relieved that at least somebody was looking after the boy.
Brian gave Kevin an icy stare. "Care to explain?"
Kevin gazed back at Brian with a wary look. "He needs discipline. I don't want him feeling that he could cut corners like that. He's a growing boy, and if his parents are not around, then we're responsible. Like any other kid, you've got to set limits for him. You do want him to grow up like a gentleman, don't you?" Keving shot back at Brian.
Brian stared at Kevin, exasperated. "But he's already very good and well-mannered. I don't see why he needs any discipline at all. He's not obnoxious at all. He's innocent and naive, but I don't think he's in need of discipline. He doesn't throw tantrums. He doesn't start fights. He's always practicing really hard. He doesn't run around . . . "
Kevin quickly cut Brian off. "How do you know he doesn't run around Chicago in the middle of the night? Were you here?"
"No!" Brian retorted. "But I trust his judgment not to!"
Kevin frowned. "He was roaming the streets of Chicago last night! Frank told me so."
Brian suddenly realized that he was going to lose the argument. Without even thinking, he blurted out the next words. "If you like him, why not just say so. You don't have to create all these restrictions on Nick!" Immediately, Brian regretted it. Kevin was his cousin after all.
Kevin looked shock by Brian's words. With one final stare, he walked off. Brian sighed. Nothing was working for him. With one tear drop sliding down his cheek, he too ran out of the building.
Nick suddenly felt nauseated as his whole body shivered. But it wasn't cold outside. He looked around, only to see that he was far from the building that sheltered Kevin. He felt bad. He shouldn't have fled like that. But then again, he was too upset to think maturely.
He was about to run back to the building when he felt cold all over again. He knew that feeling. He knew that the presence of that sickly man was near. Suddenly, everything seemed depersonalized to him. He stared around at his surroundings only to feel dizzy and weak. He crossed his arms over his chest, hoping for the coldness to pass. He thought of Frank trailing behind him and struggled to crane his neck to find his bodyguard, but for some odd reason, he knew that Frank was nowhere in sight.
Nick swallowed hard. He then saw the tall figure of that ghostly man, but now, the man's complexion was less deathly. They eyes were still sunken, but not as bad as last night. That was the first time Nick had saw the man in daylight. Nick backed away instinctively, but the tall man, or rather boy, walked towards him. At that moment, all Nick felt was that the whole world disappeared and only he and the deathly figure existed. His breathing became erratic as he felt the fear.
Nick clutched his throat. He felt as if invisible hands were rubbing against his entire body in broad daylight. He felt as if his clothes were barely clutching his skin. At that moment, he realized that this deathly figure was surreal. It wasn't a part of his imagination, but it wasn't an illusion either.
He remembered the debt that the figure claimed he owed and felt a pitting at the bottom of his stomach. Just when the sallow looking boy was a few feet from him, Nick felt his legs weaken. He wanted to turn around and beg for help, but strangely, people walked by without noticing his despair. He backed away farther and farther as the deathly boy advanced. Nick could clearly see that the boy was less hideous today. The guy's golden brown hair was sifting under the light breezes.
Still, Nick was petrified. Just when he felt he was going to break down, a voice tugged him back to reality.
"Nick, wake up!" Nick's eyes fluttered open as he heard Brian's soft voice. He looked up to see Brian carefully cradling him in his arms.
"What happened?" Nick asked, afraid.
"You passed out on the sidewalk!" Brian frowned worriedly. "Nick, don't listen to Kevin. He's been confused lately. He doesn't know what he's talking about!"
Nick trembled. "He's forgiven." Nick didn't know what to say. He felt too foolish to tell Brian that he passed out because he saw a ghost. Brian would laugh.
Nick scanned the area behind Brian to see that the sixteen year old boy that he had seen had disappeared. He half expected this. It wasn't the first time that it had happened. But the bad thing was, the image of the boy was getting more real and what he had thought were mere illusions had slowly seeped into his reality. Something beyond his realm was going on, and now, the secret tides had been set in motion. Nick felt the sudden shift in the air. What were once sudden chills had now become haunting thoughts, and sooner or later, they would be start reality.
And Nick didn't know whether he could face it at all.
Thanks for reading!
NCfan ngclle@yahoo.com