Second Time Around by Izzy by old_archive
Part I by old_archive

Second Time Around

- Chapter 1 -

~AJ~

I hardly ever had bad dreams. In fact, almost never. So I was kind of surprised that night when I kept waking up in a cold sweat. Whatever the dream was about I didn't know, but it scared the hell out of me and I couldn't get back to sleep.

I gave up finally, and I tried to make out my watch in the dim lighting of my bunk. When my eyes finally adjusted to the dark, I saw that it was a little after one-thirty. I groaned. Good morning.

You'd think listening to the steady hum of the bus on the road would put you to sleep, but it really didn't. I can't even tell you I felt safe on the bus anymore, at least when it's moving. I must've laid there for twenty more minutes before I finally gave up on any more sleep and got up. I don't need much sleep to function anyway.

I made my way past the other bunks and towards the back, deciding on watching TV for the rest of the night. Or rather morning. Whatever time it was. But someone else already had the idea.

"What're you doing up?" I frowned at Nick when I saw him stretched out on the couch, flipping through the channels. He looked up at me surprised.

"What're you doing?" came the retort. Note to self. Never argue with Nick when he's tired. It's not worth the annoyance.

"Can't sleep," I answered, pushing his legs off the couch so that I had some room to sit down. He moved them back after I settled in but I tried to ignore him.

"Me neither," he said with a sigh. "Sucks, huh? Nothing's even on TV." He tossed the controller to the side.

"Yeah . . ." I glanced at him and noticed for the first time how tired he looked. I think we were all tired, but he really looked it. "How long have you been up?"

He just shrugged and so we sat there in silence. I turned my attention on the TV, where infomercials were playing across the screen. The one on right now was advertizing a product for male pattern baldness. Everyone was obviously wearing a toupee. I grabbed the controller and started flipping, for lack of something better to do really.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Nick asked suddenly. I glanced at him, but he was busy drawing in some notebook of his and didn't look up.

"Yeah."

"Was it about what happened?" came the next question.

"I dunno," I said honestly. "I can't remember." I assume he was talking about the hell we'd been through almost six months ago, which surprised me. I thought we were all over that. I mean, I thought about it a lot and it still bothered me, but no one ever really talked about it. All the visible scars had healed you might say.

"Oh." He paused. "Is that what's bothering you?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"You just seemed worried about something," he said absently, looking at the screen when I stopped at some gorey movie.

"I'm just hoping this old bus gets us where we wanna go," I answered with a hoarse laugh, listening to the motor chug along. It sounded sick. "Is it bothering you?"

"No," he answered.

"Then what's bothering you?"

"Nothing, why?" he asked. I just shrugged. "See, the way I figure it, nothing like that is ever gonna happen again, right? I mean, Frank's probably dead, he can't come back, right?"

"Right," I said, knowing that he needed the assurance. What had gotten him thinking about that again anyway? I wondered if I even sounded convincing. Nick just nodded.

"Right," he repeated.

 

~Brian~

I don't know how I slept through the whole night, but somehow I did. Not that I was complaining or anything, I was just surprised to see that it was almost ten-thirty when I opened my eyes. I'd slept late.

When I pulled out of my bunk though, no one else was up as far as I could see. That was surprising. I rubbed my eyes and made my way to the front of the bus, holding onto the other bunks for balance. Pretty bumpy.

"Hey, Walt, mornin'," I greeted our bus driver cheerfully. He was pretty new with us, but once we had gotten to know him he was a pretty nice guy. He just hadn't been with us forever and we had to get used to new things.

"Hey, Brian. Good morning to you," came the deep answer, his eyes never leaving the road. "We should be coming to the hotel in about ten or fifteen minutes."

"Oh yeah? I'll go wake the guys." He just nodded and reached for his coffee that sat in the cup holder.

"Get up!" I hollered as I made my way back to the bunks. "Rise and shine!"

There was no response.

I rolled my eyes and went to Howie's bunk, pulling back the curtain a little and shaking his arm. "D, get up, we're almost at the hotel."

"Ugh," he groaned, sitting up. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven," I answered with a smile. "Did you get enough beauty sleep?" He shoved me away and I laughed again, heading to the other guys. Nick and AJ weren't in their bunks so I went to Kev.

"Kev, wake up." I shook his arm roughly. He didn't move. "C'mon, man."

"Go away," came the muttered reply. If anyone was wondering, for future reference, my cousin is not a morning person. It depends what day it is. I guess I shouldn't have fooled around, but I did.

I disappeared to the kitchen part of our bus and filled a cup with cold water, coming back and holding it over Kev's head. "Get up or I'll pour this over you," I warned with a laugh. Howie shook his head at me with a smile.

"Do it and I'll kick your ass," came Kevin's reply. He was a little wider awake now. I grinned.

"Are you getting up?" He didn't answer, but rolled back over. So I tipped the glass. Just a little really, but all the water spilt out. It must have been colder than I thought though, because I've never heard Kev scream like that.

Oops.

"You're dead," he growled, sitting up fast and reaching toward me. I just pushed past Howie and ran to the back of the bus, not willing to take a chance. He caught me just as I reached the door, and had me in a chokehold in a second flat. "You're a brat, Littrell."

"Can't breathe," I answered. I really couldn't. I gasped for air and he loosened his hold but I still couldn't breathe. I told him that but I don't think he really cared.

"Aw, someone take a picture of Nick and AJ," I heard him say. I raised my eyes and laughed at the two of the asleep on the couch. There really wasn't enough room for two people but somehow they had managed.

"They had a party without us?" Howie said jokingly, coming up behind us. He pulled me away from Kevin, who glared at me. I grinned back.

Kevin just shook his head at me and went to wake up AJ and Nick since the bus was pulling to a stop. I rolled my eyes. He really is a poor sport sometimes. That's why it's my job to lighten him up. I take it very seriously. Honest.

-

 

- Chapter 2 -

~Howie~

"What's the matter?" I slung one of my bags over my shoulder as we moved away from the check-in counter and to the elevators. AJ turned to look at me with a frown.

"What? Nothing, man. Why?"

"I dunno, you seem . . . disturbed."

"Disturbed?" he repeated, brow creasing. "Thanks, 'D."

"That's because he's an insomnomaniac," Nick told me with a straight face. I stared at him as we waited for the silver elevator doors to slide open.

"What?"

"An insomnomaniac," he repeated.

"Insomniac, Nick," Kevin corrected, rolling his eyes. I really think Nick had a different dictionary than everyone else sometimes.

"That's what I meant."

"I'm not an insomniac, you goof," AJ answered, giving Nick a dirty look. The kid just shrugged and turned his attention on the fancy looking lobby.

"You're having trouble sleeping?" I asked AJ.

"No, dammit," came the gruff answer. He pushed past me when the elevator opened and leaned against the rail in the corner. I exchanged a look with Kevin, who shrugged at me.

"Don't press him," he whispered as we stepped in after AJ, pulling Nick and Brian with us. The two of them seemed to be mesmerized by a giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the lobby. It was the biggest one I had ever seen, that's for sure.

"So what're we doing today?" Brian asked as we unlocked the door to our room. We had gotten a suite again for the five of us. It was kind of nicer that way, we had a lot more room to spread out.

"A shoot," Kevin answered.

"Aw geez," AJ muttered. "Another one?" In the past three days we had already had had four shoots. I think they had missed us in our short time off or something. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't becoming our favorite thing to do.

"Yes another one. Don't worry, it's the last one for awhile," Kevin said, dumping his bags on the floor and collapsing on the couch with a sigh. Brian fell down next to him, mimicking the sigh and all. Kevin smacked him and made a face. "You're buggin' me today." I laughed as Brian stuck out his lower lip.

"I'm hungry," Nick interrupted, throwing his bags on top of Kev's. "Let's go eat."

We wound up eating in the diner in the hotel, since none of us wanted to go 'out'. It was a pretty nice place, not as fancy as the hotel luckily, but nice. Everyone was pretty tired though, which didn't lead to much conversation.

I played around with the utensils at my place setting until we got our menus. It was so quiet. Everyone looked distracted or something. Maybe just tired. I know I was.

 

~Nick~

Someone was following us. I knew it. I don't know who, or why, but somebody was definitely following us. I looked up from my menu and tried to get a look around the dining area inconspicuously. I just had this feeling.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?" I turned my head to look at Brian next to me. "What?"

"Who, or what, are you looking for?"

"Did you feel like somebody was following us?" I asked, trying not to sound uneasy. Brian raised an eyebrow.

"No . . . Are we?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I thought so . . ." I shrugged at him slightly and he laughed.

"You're paranoid, bud."

"No, I swear."

"Hi!" a bright voice interrupted. "I'm Mindy and I'll be your server for tonight! Can I start you off with some drinks?"

"My God . . ." I muttered. Talk about chipper. I saw Howie exchange a look with AJ.

"Sure, I'll have an iced tea," Kevin said. How did he keep a straight face? Mindy nodded with a big smile and scribbled on her pad. We all got our drinks ordered and she bounced away to another table. I started laughing.

"Hi! I'm Bubbly!" AJ mimicked in a high voice. "Can I, like, take your order?!"

"Jay," Kevin started as I laughed even harder.

"Like, yeah?" AJ answered.

"Not now, be nice."

"I am nice," AJ answered. He looked at me since I was laughing, and gave me a grin. "Huh, Nick?" I just kept laughing. Kevin looked at me with a small smile.

"You are so overtired."

"No, I'm not . . ." I took a deep breath. Brian took a look at me and cracked up. I started laughing again. We were pretty calm until Mindy the server came back with our drinks.

"Hi again! How're we doing? Ready to order?" She was bursting with energy and had this huge smile on her face. What a dork. I glanced at AJ, who was biting his lip not to laugh.

"Yes we are!" he exclaimed.

"Great! What can I get you?" Once again, Kev was the first to order. I was last and I got this huge sundae I saw on the back of the menu.

"That's not lunch," Kevin told me as the woman bounced away again.

"It's brunch," I answered. He rolled his eyes.

-

 

- Chapter 3 -

~Kevin~

"Mindy? Could we just have the check?" I asked again as our chipper waitress tried to convince us to get dessert for the hundredth time. All I wanted was the damn check so we could get out of there and make it to our shoot on time. Mindy seemingly didn't care.

"Look at this one . . ." she was telling the guys. We'd finished eating at least fifteen minutes ago.

"I already had that," Nick told her.

"Oh yeah?" She tried to find another one to point out. She had the guys hysterical by that point, but at least they weren't laughing in her face. "How 'bout this one?"

"We'll just have the check," Howie said, glancing at me. I gave him a grateful smile as he convinced the lady we'd come back another time to try all the desserts.

"All of 'em," Nick added. "Really."

"Alright! I'll be right back!"

"I think I wanna try whatever drug she's on," AJ said when she was out of hearing. "Damn."

"We're gonna be so late," I muttered.

"We're late, we're late. We're late for an important date, no time to say hello, goodbye, we're late, we're-"

"Brian, enough." Ever since he woke up that morning it'd been nonstop energy. He gave me one of his looks, but stopped his Alice in Wonderland song.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm just tired."

"Tired of me?"

"No," I answered evenly. He gave me a wide grin and I had to smile. I was actually glad things were getting back to normal. As normal as they get for us anyway. It had taken awhile to get back to this point.

"Here comes Mindy," AJ said. "Howie, I dare you to give her your number."

"No way, man. You-"

"Hi again! Here's your check! You can pay at the register! Please come again!" She dropped the paper on the table with a flair and hopped away, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Thanks," Howie said, grabbing the check and heading to the register with AJ. We charged everything to the room usually, especially in a rush. Which this definitely was.

"Guys, c'mon."

"One sec . . ." Nick was scraping all the last bits of chocolate from his sundae with his spoon and licking it off. That could keep him busy for awhile.

"Nick, you can get another one later, we're late. Rok, come on."

"Yeah, c'mon, Nicky," Brian said, grabbing his arm.

We got to the shoot on time but with not a second to spare, and I saw the photographer looking at his watch. Figures. "Hello, darlings," we were greeted, as they pretty much rushed us inside to the wardrobe room. I was so glad we'd have a break from these things for awhile. It was too much at once.

"Alright guys, we're doing group shots first. Andre will help with the wardrobe . . ."

 

~Brian~

"Brian, can I talk to you for a second?"

I looked up and frowned at Nick's worried voice. "Sure, what's up, buddy?"

"C'mere." He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me past the racks and racks of clothing, to a part of the room that wasn't being used. He stopped suddenly and took a deep breath. He looked kind of scared.

"What's wrong?"

"I found something."

Found something? I stared at him. "What'd you find?"

"A note."

"Another love note?" I teased. He shook his head and I stopped smiling. "Lemme see." He dropped it in my hand and started rambling.

"It was pinned to the clothes rack and I thought it was from the people here, like telling us what to wear or something, so I opened it but it wasn't, and . . ." He trailed off suddenly. "What do we do?" he whispered.

Hey boys, it read. It's not over until I get my money. Frank.

I swallowed. "Uh . . ."

"I told you somebody was following us," Nick cried. He was freaking out. So was I.

"Um . . ."

"Is it a joke?" A joke. That was it. It was a joke.

"Maybe the guys are getting back at us for our pranks," I said slowly, turning it over in my mind. Could be. Made sense. Were they that cruel? Yeah, maybe. But it took us long enough to get over it the first time around, never mind again.

"Yeah," Nick said, running a hand through his hair nervously. "Then we shouldn't show them, huh? Don't let them know it scared us?"

"Yeah, we won't say anything-"

"Guys?" Kevin's voice made me drop the note and we both spun around, wide-eyed. I bent down to grab the paper and stuffed it in my pocket. "What's that?"

"Nothin'."

"What're you doing hiding back here?" Kevin was looking at us funny. "They're looking for you up front. C'mon."

"Are we almost done here?" Nick asked as Kevin grabbed him playfully and lifted him off the floor.

"Almost. What's the matter?"

"Nothin' . . . Put me down," he said with a laugh. Kevin dropped him and gave us both a push toward the front.

"Go finish up so we can get outta here."

"Yessir," I told him, ducking as he tried to hit me. I really don't think he would play that sort of joke on me and Nick. Would any of the guys? I really wouldn't think so. "C'mon, Frack."

I guess we'd have to find out.

-

 

- Chapter 4 -

~AJ~

Something was up. I didn't know what it was exactly, but I felt it. I don't know if it had to do with the gloomy weather outside, if it was just nerves, or if something really was going to happen. I just had this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't go away. It stayed with me throughout the photo shoot and even later that night.

"AJ? You okay?"

I turned at Kevin's voice and frowned. "Yeah, why?"

"I dunno, you were just staring out that window awhile and I thought maybe you froze or something." He had an amused look on his face as he said it so I gave a small smile.

"Nah, I was just thinking about some stuff."

"Wanna talk about anything?" he offered, dropping down on the other side of the couch. I shook my head.

"No thanks. It's nothing." Fact was, I didn't know what was bothering me anyway. It would be kind of hard to talk about it. I grabbed the controller off the table and flipped on the TV. "What's up with you?"

"Not much. Tired."

"Yeah, me too . . ." I started flipping channels. Nothing was ever on TV. I sighed. Boring. Maybe I'd go out. Find a club, forget about whatever was bothering me. Just relax. I looked at Kev. "You wanna go out?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe." He looked too tired. When the phone rang I jumped up to get it, tossing the remote control on Kevin's lap. I grabbed the cordless across the room.

"Hello?" There was a pause, so I repeated it again. "Anybody there?"

"Hey there. . ."

I frowned, not recognizing the voice. "Who's this?"

"You don't remember me? I remember you . . ."

"Who the hell are you?" There was silence. Damn sicko fans who don't know the meaning of peace or privacy. "You still there?"

"I'm disappointed, AJ," the voice continued. "But you'll remember me once we settle your debt." He laughed softly.

"Go to hell," I said, hanging up. Brian was passing by and he smirked at me.

"Your boyfriend?"

I grabbed him in a headlock and punched his side. "Freak."

He just laughed and pulled away. "Who was it?"

"Wrong number." I stayed by the phone a second in case whoever it was called back, but it stayed mute. I sighed and headed back to the couch where Kevin had foundSouth Park. I sat down heavily and pressed my lips together. Kev looked up.

"Wrong number?"

I nodded.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know . . ."

 

~Howie~

I thought that the guys were acting weird this morning, but by later that night, it was multiplied. It wasn't so much as acting weird, you could just tell something was up. We all have our little tell tale signs when something was bothering us I guess. But I couldn't figure out what it was that was bothering everybody, only that it was there.

We were all pretty tired, so no one was going out anywhere. Our hotel suite was definitely not where the action was at, that's for sure. We were just lounging around. I hung pretty much to myself because I didn't want anyone to blow up at me. Everyone seemed on the verge of losing patience. I was afraid to even ask AJ what was up one more time.

And something was going on with Nick and Brian. There was always something going on between the two of them though, some silly thing or another, so it didn't really bother me too much at that point. They were probably planning something, although the looks on their faces had seemed more worried than playful. Who knew. Maybe I should have asked.

"Come on, guys, let's do something," Brian was saying when I came into the main room. I grabbed a seat and pulled my feet up, looking at him between AJ and Kevin on the couch. Where did he get the energy from? I felt drained.

"We don't wanna do anything," came Kevin's even answer. AJ looked up when I sat down and gave me a tired smile.

"It's still early. We can go out or something," Brian continued, looking at me. "Howie, you wanna?" He gave me his 'sad puppy' face, jutting out his lower lip. I just shook my head.

"Sorry, Rok . . ."

"Don't feel bad, D," Kevin told me. "Just ignore the goof." He draped an arm around Brian as he said it. "Brian, we're tired. Get over it."

"We can go swimming," Brian tried.

"Go with Nick," AJ said, shooting an annoyed expression in Brian's direction. "Stop buggin' us."

"Nick's sleeping and I'm not bugging you."

"Coulda fooled me," AJ muttered.

"You're just-"

"Guys," I started, cutting off whatever comeback Brian had in store. "Come on."

"Yeah, AJ. Come on," Brian said. I looked at the ceiling.

"You really know how to test someone's patience, little man," Kevin interrupted. "Give it a rest."

"Well, sorry, I didn't know you guys were in such bad moods," Brian answered, starting to get up. Kevin wouldn't let him. "Don't, Kev."

"Just relax, Brian. C'mon. I'm not in a bad mood."

Brian sank back into his seat with a sigh. "Coulda fooled me," he said with a small smile. Kevin messed up his hair, rolling his eyes.

"We need another vacation."

"I'd vote for that," I said. "Huh, AJ?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Smile, AJ," Kevin said, casting him a look. AJ made a face at him. "That's not a smile."

"That's all you're gonna get," AJ said with a laugh, shaking his head.

"What's wrong?" I thought I'd try my luck. But AJ raised an eyebrow at me.

"Don't even start, D."

-

 

- Chapter 5 -

~Nick~

I went to bed early because I was so exhausted, but I couldn't sleep. And even when I did, I just woke up from bad dreams. It was the note's fault. Stupid damn note. I was going to kill whoever wrote it. Maybe it was AJ. He sort of knew what had been bothering me. But he didn't usually do stuff like that. Neither did D or Kev. That left Brian and he was just as spooked as I was. Unless . . .

Brian wouldn't do that to me. I must be delirious. I hadn't been sleeping too well for awhile and I guess that got me to thinking about some crazy stuff. The note only multiplied it even worse. Now I could hardly sleep in the hotel, nevermind just on the bus.

I sat up in bed and stared at the shadows on the wall. I could hear the TV on inside and the guys talking. Maybe we should just tell them all about what we found. I'd rather them laugh at me about falling for it instead of having sleepless nights stressing about it.

A shadow moved over the window and I held my breath for a second. I forced myself to relax. It had taken a long time to get over things and I wasn't about to let one small thing erase all that. No way.

I got up after awhile. I didn't feel like being alone. If nothing was bothering the guys, then why should I worry over things? It wasn't my responsibility.

Unless the note was real and me and Brian were just letting Frank get closer and leaving the other guys caught off guard. That would be bad. Very bad. I guess we'd find out some time or another.

I headed to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of soda before I headed out to the main room where the guys were. Watching something dumb on TV. How dull.

"Hey, Nicky," Howie greeted when he saw me.

"Hey," I answered softly, looking for some place to sit. Kevin slid over and patted the seat next to him, so I squeezed in there on the end of the couch. "Mornin'," I said.

"Couldn't sleep?" Brian asked, giving me a look.

"Nope." I shrugged. He'd given me this big thing about not worrying about the note and that it was fake and nothing was going to happen. Of course, I could tell he was freaking out too. He thought he could get these things past me. I wasn't that gullible.

"Well welcome to the party," AJ said sarcastically. I smiled slightly. Silence took over and I fidgeted in my seat as nobody said anything.

"Brian, can I talk to you?"

"Sure, Nick." He looked at me but didn't move.

"I mean now." I sat forward a little. "Alone?"

"Oh. Okay, sure." He looked surprised, but he got up and followed me to our room. I leaned against a dresser and took a deep breath.

"What if it's not a joke, Brian? What if it's for real? They don't seem to think anything's up. Don't you think we should tell them?"

"I don't know, Nick. I've been thinking the same thing . . ." He rubbed his forehead. "Maybe we should drop hints or something?"

"Maybe . . . I just don't know, Brian. I'm freaking out."

"Me too."

I swallowed as he admitted it. Great.

"Let's just sleep on it tonight and see what we come up with."

"You try sleeping on it," I answered. He smiled slightly.

"I know, Frack. But what else can we do? It's too late tonight. C'mon." He pulled me to the door and gave me a playful smack. "Stop worrying. Act normal. As normal as you can," he added with a laugh.

"Funny," I muttered, shaking my head. Alright. Act normal? I could try that.

 

~Kevin~

"Do you know anything about a note?"

I glanced across the table at Nick stirring his cereal with a worried expression. "A note?" I repeated. He looked up.

"Yeah, a note. You know, Kev. A piece of paper with writing on it?"

"Smartass." I rolled my eyes. "Nope, can't say I do. You get a note or something?"

"Or something . . ." he answered slowly, dropping his spoon on the table. He looked even more worried. "I'm not hungry."

I frowned. The past day or so everybody was acting a little different. I was beginning to think that we may have jumped back into the routine of things a little too quickly. Or maybe we were just working too hard. We were moving at a faster pace lately to make up for lost time.

"You okay, Nicky boy?" He had gone back to stirring his cereal absently. I got a shrug in response. Alright then. Trying to get stuff out of these guys was like pulling teeth sometimes.

"What time's the interview?" came AJ's voice as he came into the kitchen and grabbed the juice from the fridge.

"Eleven-thirty."

"Do you think I can meet you all there?" he asked, looking at me hopefully.

"Where're you going?"

"I just wanted to check out something. It won't take long. I'll catch up with you guys later, okay?"

"What're you checking out?" Nick asked.

"None of your business," AJ answered, giving Nick a smile. The kid just went back to his cereal and AJ chuckled. "Later, Kev."

"Seeya. Don't be late."

"I won't . . ."

"What do you think he's 'checking out'?" I asked Nick after AJ left. Nick looked up at me and gave a knowing smile.

"Psychiatric help in the area," he said evenly.

I laughed.

"I'm serious," he told me, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know."

"Hey, guys." Brian came into the kitchen pulling a long sleeved t-shirt over his head. "What's up?"

"Hey, Brian," Nick greeted. "Want some cereal?"

"No thanks. Hey, Kev . . . Do you know anything about a note?"

I stared at him and then looked at Nick, who was giving Brian an annoyed look. "Guys, what's going on?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well, I'll see you guys later," Nick said, jumping up and disappearing through the door. Brian stared after him.

"Brian, you're not going anywhere," I stated. "What's up?"

"He asked you already, huh?"

I nodded. "What note?"

"I don't know." He gave me an innocent grin and went to grab a bowl from the cabinet. I leaned back in my chair as he poured himself cereal.

"I don't buy it, hon," I replied. "C'mon."

"It's nothing, Kev."

"Then you can tell me, right?"

"Well . . ." He was obviously trying to think of something to cover the whole thing up so I just sighed. He caught my eye. "Really, Kevin. It's just a joke," he said earnestly. If it was 'just a joke' then why were the two of them so worried over it? And why were they asking me about it?

"Is this something I'm gonna be mad at you later for?"

"I don't know." He gave me a small smile. "I hope not."

"Yeah, me too."

-

 

- Chapter 6 -

~AJ~

I was hoping I was wrong.

I had decided to keep my little mission a secret, only because I didn't want to raise anyone's suspicions for a false alarm. And that's all I hoped it was. That I was wrong and freaking out for no reason whatsoever.

The whole problem was with the phonecall. While I was in bed last night it had finally hit me who the caller could have been. Exactly why the name Frank had rung a bell for me. I hoped I was just overreacting though. Nicky had gotten me thinking about everything on the bus two nights ago, so I figured it was only natural for me to worry a little.

So I was just going to ease my worries a bit and reassure myself that everything was going just fine.

I only had to make a phonecall, but I hadn't wanted to make it in the hotel room because I knew the guys would listen in and get all riled up. That's just the way they were. So I thought I would save myself and them, and take the opportunity to get out a little by myself for once too. That didn't happen often.

After the whole ordeal with Jill and the now in question Frank, the guys and me had pretty much made a friend in this one cop, Gary. He'd given us his number at his station and told us not to hesitate in calling if we ever had a concern or question about something. Right now I had both. I never thought I would really need the number, but I'd kept it just in case. I figured I would see what Gary could do for me now.

I stopped off at a diner a couple streets down from our hotel and found their payphone in the back. I searched through my pockets and dialed the number on the crumpled piece of paper I found, waiting.

"Officer Mason," he answered on the second ring. "How can I help you."

"Gary? It's AJ. Remember?"

"Yeah! Of course, kid, what's up? How's it going?"

"Pretty good I think . . ." I cleared my throat. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot. This about the case?"

"Yeah. You remember the guy with Jill? Frank or whatever?"

"Mm-hm."

"You never told us what happened to him, did you?"

There was a long pause. I leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling. Why did I get the feeling I didn't really want to know?

"Gary? You there?"

"Yeah, kid. Honestly? I hate to say it to you, but I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean . . . I really don't know what happened to him. He's out of our hands, AJ. Out of our custody. We never even got a ID on this guy, kid. Didn't have him long enough to even run a check."

"Are you messing with me, Gary? 'Cause it ain't funny."

"Sorry, kid."

"You mean he could be right in the same town as me and the fellas and you don't know shit?" I couldn't help but be a little annoyed at the dude. It was his job, wasn't it? To handle these things?

"Basically, kid," Gary answered, not sounding the least bit swayed. "Why, you think something's up? Want me to send you some of my guys down there to scope things out?"

"I don't know . . ." I rubbed my face with my hand. "I thought this was over, Gary. You told us it was."

"As far as I'm concerned, it is. Nothing new has happened for the past six months, AJ. You really think something's gonna happen now?" He sounded condescending in the way he said it, and I felt stupid disagreeing with him.

"No, I guess not."

"Alright, kid. I got some work to do, but give me a call if you have any trouble and I'll send someone, okay?"

"Yeah." I hung up without thanking him. What sort of thanks did he deserve? He wasn't going to get any from me, that's for sure.

 

~Brian~

AJ was late.

Very late. The interview should have started almost fifteen minutes ago, so I think everybody was getting a little impatient. I was getting a little worried. What if the note had something to do with him being late? Then what?

The lady who was supposed to be conducting the interview kept sticking her head in the room, giving each of us an annoyed look, and then leaving again either sipping her cup of coffee or taking a bite out of her jelly donut. She didn't even offer us any.

I shot a glance at Kevin, who I could tell was getting more and more ticked off with every second passing by. He had the tendency to overreact in times such as these. I was glad I wasn't in AJ's shoes.

The lady poked her head in the door again, looking us over.

"Do you have any more donuts?" I asked with a bright smile. She looked at me with an even more annoyed expression, shaking her head and leaving again with a huff. Hm. Kevin stared at me. "What?"

"Oh Brian," he said tiredly. I frowned and went back to skimming through one of the magazines left out on the table next to the long couch. Nick slid closer to me as Kevin started drumming his fingers on the armrest of his chair.

"Bri, what if it's . . ." He trailed off and I knew he was thinking about the note too. I glanced at him, shaking my head.

"I don't think so." Actually I did think so, but he seemed to relax when he thought I wasn't worried. I should get an Emmy for my performance. Inside I was freaking out.

"He'll be here any second, Kev, relax," I heard Howie say. I looked up.

"Yeah, you might get hypertension or something," I added, giving him a smile. For some reason he didn't return it. He just gave one of his 'I'm not in the mood' looks that he seemed to always save for me. I stuck out my lip and went back to my magazine.

"Hey fellas, sorry I'm late . . ." AJ breezed in through the door about a second later. We all stared at him, but he was already heading toward the other free chair, distracted. He was in one of his moods obviously, where you couldn't reach him if you hit him over the head.

I saw Howie give him a questioning look, but AJ just shook his head. Kevin was about to open his mouth when the lady reappeared, fresh donut and coffee in hand. Man.

"Are we all here now?" she asked snippily, placing her stuff on the table. Howie gave me a look and I tossed my magazine to the side, giving her my attention.

"We're sorry about that," Kevin started. Miss Snotty Interviewer removed her pen from her clipboard with a grimace.

"Sure, fine, whatever. Let's just get this moving, shall we?"

In other words, let the fun begin! Not really. That was one of the worst interviews we'd been put through. And let me tell you, there's been some pretty lousy ones along the way too. That lady just didn't like us. I wouldn't be surprised if the printed article made us out to be a bunch of obnoxious cannibals. Serious.

"Alright," AJ started as we walked down the hall to the exit afterward. "Before ya'll get all mad at me-"

"Too late, bro," Kevin interrupted. AJ made a face at him. "Where'd you go?"

"Well, you see . . ." He sounded tentative and I shot him a curious look, wondering what was up.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I'd rather say it in some place a little less public." He gave the interview offices we passed a frown.

"Well can it wait until lunch?" Nick asked. " 'Cause I'm starving."

"Yeah, yeah. It can wait," AJ said. He almost looked relieved and I frowned. This wasn't good.

"You sure?" Kevin checked. He knew something was up.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

-

 

- Chapter 7 -

~Nick~

I was developing a plan.

It was simple. Brian and I could leave the note lying around somewhere and see what the other guys' reactions were when they came across it. I could tell Brian was getting worried too, so this would take care of the whole thing once and for all. If they all freaked out, it was real and we could go from there. If they didn't, then we would know it was a joke. That way we could quit making such a big deal out of it.

As I slid into the booth at McDonald's, I tried to figure out what was wrong with AJ. He was weird to begin with, but this was taking it a little far. I started to unwrap my burger and looked up at him as he sat down across from me.

"You gonna tell us here?"

He shook his head and ate a fry absently.

"Why?"

"Because, Nicky. You'll find out soon enough. It's not really a big deal."

"Oh." Fine. If it wasn't such a big deal then why was he making it out to be one?

Brian came back from the counter with his food and sat down next to me, grabbing a handful of my fries.

"Get your own!" I objected. Brian just grinned. I leaned toward him a little and lowered my voice. "I got a plan . . ." He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh, all we gotta do is-"

"Secrets secrets aren't nice," AJ sing-songed from across the table. He frowned at us as Kevin and Howie took the last two seats.

"If it bothers you that much then go away," I answered. Brian hit my arm.

"Just tell me later," he whispered, grabbing some more of my fries. I knocked his hand away and he just laughed. "Sharing is caring, Nicky."

"Exactly," I said, pulling the fries out of his reach and giving a sweet smile. He rolled his eyes and moved on to Kevin's fries instead. Kev didn't seem to mind.

We concentrated on our food rather than on conversation, but after awhile I got this funny feeling. Like back in the hotel restaurant when it felt like somebody was following us. I glanced around, but nobody was even looking at us or anything. Weird. Kevin caught my eye for a second.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothin' . . ." I focussed my attention on my food and tried to convince myself that I was overreacting. I couldn't help but be a little wary when I started thinking about things like that. Kev probably thought I was nuts.

"You sure?"

I nodded. He was always asking if we were sure. That's because he saw right through us.

 

~Howie~

Whatever was up with AJ was a mystery to me. I was a little daunted by it since I could usually read him pretty well, but today was different. Throughout lunch he was distracted and almost acting nervous, which was pretty odd. If AJ was ever nervous, he usually hid it behind a calm front. Not today.

So came group meeting time.

"First off, I'm probably overreacting here and I don't wanna scare you guys . . ." AJ drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch nervously. "But I thought you should know . . ."

Scare us? I frowned.

" 'Fess up," Nick said with that innocent joking smile of his. "Did you kill somebody?" AJ just shook his head.

"I made a phone call . . . to Gary. Remember Gary?" We nodded and AJ played with a fold in his baggy jeans anxiously. I glanced at the other guys. "Well I called him . . . he told me something . . ." He looked up at us finally. "I'm probably making a big deal outta nothing."

"Alright, so spit it out," Kevin said with a small smile.

"Well he told me that he doesn't know where Frank is, you know? They never knew where he went or anything . . . So . . ." He laughed nervously. "No big deal right?"

I swallowed. Frank Frank? The Frank? The Frank with Jill Frank? I glanced at the other guys again to see their reactions and hopefully realize I shouldn't freak out, but Kevin had a grim expression, all the color had drained from Nick's face, and Brian was already chewing his nails.

"Kev?" AJ tried. He was desperate. "No big deal?"

"What made you call him in the first place?" I asked suspiciously, sensing there was something more. My stomach felt uneasy suddenly.

"I got this phonecall yesterday," AJ admitted after a pause. He was digging his nails into the armrest now. "It was this guy . . ."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Kevin rubbed his forehead tiredly, looking at AJ for an answer.

"Because I didn't want to scare the shit outta you like I am now!" AJ exclaimed, giving Kevin an annoyed frown. He caught my eye and I could tell he was uneasy.

"Alright, alright." Kevin took a deep breath. "We don't know anything for sure yet, you just had a feeling, right Aje?"

"Yeah, coulda been a prank call," AJ said. He gave Kevin an 'I don't think so but maybe' look.

"Psycho fan?" I suggested. We'd had a few of those in the past. Kevin made a face.

"Possibly. Maybe it's a coincidence. No one's seen anything else, huh guys?" he asked. I shook my head and we glanced at Nick and Brian, who stared back silently. Kevin frowned. "Guys?"

"Well . . ." Brian cleared his throat. "There is something, kind of. Sorta." He hit Nick's leg softly. "Go get it."

I watched Nick disappear to the room he shared with Brian and frowned. Get what.

"Kev?" Brian started apprehensively. "You remember this morning? The note? When I told you something was a joke?"

"Yes . . ."

Brian gaze dropped to the ground. "It doesn't look like a joke anymore . . ."

I'd never seen Kevin really want to strangle his cousin before.

"Here." Nick came back and dropped a small piece of paper on the table, falling back in next to Brian. Kevin immediately snatched it up, scanning it. Something in his face changed.

"You know boys, there is a little something called communication." He offered the note to me and I read it quickly. Money?

"What money?" I asked, handing it over to AJ, who read it and started cursing.

"Gary's an idiot," he muttered. He looked at me. "The ransom he never got probably."

"Is it real?" Nick asked, speaking for the first time. We looked at him but no one answered. He frowned at us and got up from the couch, heading to the door. I watched him triple lock it silently.

"Alright guys, let's just relax a second . . ." Kevin gave Nick's leg a pat as he sat back down. "We'll call Gary and see what he thinks. Maybe there's nothing behind the threats."

We could tell he didn't believe what he said for a second but we didn't say anything.

-1



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