The next day the Backstreet Boys had to do an interview on a local talk show. Nick didn’t want to go, it was supposed to be his vacation, but of course since they had recently released an album there was no such thing as vacation. As they got ready to go on stage, he felt the hard glare from AJ. Nick hasn’t been around much, not since he met Kimberly and the other guys knew exactly where he was. Kevin told him as long as this girl didn’t interfere with his duties he didn’t care what he did in his downtime. AJ on the other hand did….far too much. Brian was trying to get Nick to open up to him about this new girl, but he kept on shutting him down. He didn’t want them to know anything about her. He was afraid they'd use her against him and that was the last thing he wanted.
“Nick, I’m your friend,” Brian told him. “You used to be able to tell me everything.”
“Why do you want to know so much?” He demanded, “So you can go run and tell AJ or Kevin about her? I don’t think so. I don’t want her to have anything to do with you guys.”
Brian looked hurt; those words actually stung. He just shook his head, “What’s this girl doing to you?” He then walked away, Nick used to be his best friend….where did he go?
He felt the guilt eat at him and he tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t. Brian was his best friend…or at least used to be. He never defended him anymore, they used to be Frick and Frack, but not since last year. Nick walked over to Brian and sighed, “Look, I’m sorry. I just know how AJ feels about her and it pisses me off that he’s so against me seeing a normal girl.”
“Last time I checked I wasn’t AJ.”
Nick knew he was right, and he just nodded, “You're right...”
So he decided to let him on in their relationship and how he felt about her. This girl was driving him wild and that night in the bathroom….it just made him want to ravish her and make her cry his name. But it wasn’t just the sex, it was her. He felt like he was in love with her…yes, Nick knew that he always fell for girls far too easy, but this one was different somehow. She was genuine and pure…she was for real. She didn’t have a front she was putting up. Brian was surprised how much he was into this girl, but he was going to be positive for his friend…even though the other guys weren’t. Kevin tried to pretend, but everyone could see through him easily. Howie was neutral; he didn’t care either way as long as Nick got the job done.
Finally it was time for them to go to the interview. Nick couldn’t wait for this damn thing to be done and over with. He had to fake a smile and pretend to love these guys he was supposed to call brothers…talk about a challenge. He and AJ wanted to rip their heads off and Kevin and him….they weren’t on the best terms, but for the interview they had to put all that behind them…not unless they wanted to hear a story about it. Nick was doing all he could to keep Kimberly in the dark about their struggles, he didn’t want her to worry and he knew she would.
The interview was only about half an hour long, thankfully it wasn’t a long talk show. There were a good amount of Backtreet fans in the audience and he was doing all that he could to be himself and be lovely towards them. But the only girl in his mind was his girlfriend. The questions that were asked were pretty simple…that was until they came to his relationship status. Why did people care so much who he was dating?
“So Nick do you have any lucky girl in your life?” Asked the interviewer, named Rebecca Sunbreaker.
The crowd became quiet and the four other guys turned to him, waiting for his answer. They probably thought he was going to lie and maybe he should have, but he went in public with Kimberly yesterday and he was sure others saw them together. He just smiled into the microphone and girls began to scream, which caused him to laugh, “Well, actually,” he said. “I have been seeing this one girl.”
A few of the girls cried, no or boo. Rebecca looked at him surprised, “Ooh, a new girl in your life,” said the mid-aged blonde woman. “Anyone we know? Is it another public relationship like Paris Hilton?”
He laughed, “No, no. Defiantly not. I learned my lesson,” he said, coughing out another laugh. Nick rubbed the back of his neck, “Nah, she’s just an average girl, someone who I like a lot.”
“Not much of a looker I must add,” commented AJ, with a laugh. “With Nick it’s all about personality,” he said, staring at Nick, with hard eyes. “Gotta love this kid,” he then turned to the audience and smiled.
Nick could feel his jaw clench and he grinded his teeth, wanting nothing more than to just leap over and tackle AJ. He knew he had to keep his cool, he cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice leveled, because he could feel his temper rising and his hands trembling; he was livid. “I think this girl is beautiful,” he said in a low voice. He then looked into the crowd and smiled, “I think all women are beautiful…I’m the kind of guy where size and appearance aren’t a must.” Girls began to scream at his words and he chuckled, “I think each and every one of you is beautiful. And I think it’s very sad when people…” he eyed AJ with sharp eyes, “Have to judge someone before even knowing them. But some people are just shady like that,” again he eyed AJ. “I pity people like that…” he then felt antagonism come out when he said, “I pity you, AJ.”
The three other guys looked at Nick with a shock expression….even AJ was horrified with his outburst. Fans suddenly stopped cheering and looked at Nick with eyes wide open. Rebecca cleared her throat, “Well…I think we can tense a bit of hostility between you two.”
Nick soon began to panic as he felt all eyes darting on him. What did he just do? He cleared his throat and shook his head, “No.” He then smiled at the audience again, hoping to win their love back, “AJ and I joke around like that a lot.” He then slung his arm around the tattooed man’s neck and pulled him close, “He’s one of my best friends.”
AJ fought rolling his eyes, but he then smiled widely and laughed, “Yeah, Nick sometimes forget we gotta keep our joking down a notch. It’s all fun and games. We have a little bet on women,” he then hoarsely laughed.
Kevin just shook his head disgustfully at Nick. Thankfully the fans bought their little joke and things went back to normal and the interview continued…asking everything but about their relationship status. A few fans got to ask questions as well and after it seemed like the interview wouldn’t be finished, the show had ended and they all went back stage.
“What the Hell was that?!?” Demanded Kevin is a thick voice, “Nick, you went overboard this time! I know you sometimes say stupid things, but that was the icing on the cake!”
“I wouldn’t doubt if there was a nice little review about this show,” mumbled Howie, rolling his eyes.
Nick glared at AJ, “This is all your fucking fault!” He growled, “I mean what the fuck were you thinking when you decided to diss my girlfriend on live television?!?”
He laughed, “Oh yeah, it’s my fault. Go ahead blame your mistakes one everyone else, it’s what you do best. So who you gonna blame when you smarten up and leave this girl?” He laughed, “Gonna blame me too? Blame me for another lousy mistake….”
Nick just couldn’t control it anymore and he grabbed AJ and slammed him against the wall, “Kim isn’t a fucking mistake!” Howie and Kevin had to peal him off of AJ, “I swear to God if you EVER humiliate her in public again I will fucking break your face.”
He laughed again, seeing Kevin and Howie had him in their grasp, “Ooh, I’m so scared,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“You should be!” He hissed.
“Nick! AJ!” Snapped Kevin, “Stop this, I mean it.”
“Let go of me!” Nick barked, breaking free from their clutches, “You are dead to me, AJ…fucking dead to me!” He then stomped away.
“Where are you going?!?” Demanded Brian.
“None of your business!” He then left the building.
Kevin ran his hands through his hair out of frustration, “What the fuck was up with you and saying that?!? You knew it would piss him off.”
“It needed to be said.”
“Who cares what the girl looks like,” said Brian. “Why are you so against her?”
“Because unlike you, I can see her act perfectly. She’s using him, she’s gonna let him spend all her money on him and I bet you anything she’s gonna end up getting plastic surgery to fix that face of hers.”
Howie looked at AJ repulsed, “That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
He shrugged, “I don’t care. I need to get out of here. Who wants to play golf with me for a few before I snap?”
“I’m in,” said Howie.
Brian sighed, “Yeah, sure.” He then looked at Kevin, “You coming?”
He shook his head, “Nah, I’m meeting up with Kristin later. See you guys around.”
AJ shrugged, “Suit yourself. Come on boys.” They all then left the studio and left to play a bit of golf. Hopefully a game would calm him down and he could really open up to why he hated this girl Nick was seeing, it sure seemed there was a lot more to it than he let on.
Nick was so angry; his hands were shuddering on the steering wheel, as he gripped it tightly. He was driving around in circles, he just wanted to see Kimberly so bad, he knew that she would make him feel better, but he also didn’t want her to see him like this. He knew he wouldn’t be able to tell her why he was so upset, he couldn’t possibly tell her that AJ called her ugly on live TV. He prayed to God she didn’t watch the show, he couldn’t even comprehend on how hurt she would be. And if she was in tears when he saw her, he didn’t care anymore…he would just kill AJ. Fucking kill him.
Before he knew it, he pulled up into Angel’s apartment…force of habit. Angel was pretty much his best friend and whenever he was upset or just needed to vent he always came to her. He couldn’t talk to his other family members like he could her, it seemed they just didn’t care. He got out of the vehicle and walked up to the porch and hit the door bell. He ran his trembling hands through his hair, he needed to punch something, he could just imagine how she was feeling, knowing his luck she did see the show. What the fuck was running through AJ's mind?!?
The door then opened and Angel saw him standing there and she looked surprised, “Hey, what’s up?”
“Can I come in?” He asked, almost in a pleading voice.
She nodded and moved aside and he walked in, she shut the door behind him and followed him into the living room where he plopped himself down on the couch. “What’s going on?” She asked, as she sat down next to him, “Did something happen?”
He nodded, “I don’t think I can do it anymore, Ang…I really don’t.”
She looked at her brother confused, “Do….do what? Date a fan?”
“What? NO!” His voice was harsher than intended, but he was just so heated from that damn interview, “AJ – the band! I want out, Angel. I don’t know how much more I’m going to be able to take being in it without killing myself or one of the guys….AJ especially.”
“What brought all this on, Nick?” She demanded, with concern in her voice.
He let out a loud sigh and got up and walked into the kitchen. He was there enough where he knew his way around. He grabbed one of Benny’s beers before returning back to his sister. He snapped it open and took a nice long sip, “I’ve been feeling like this for a while now. At first I thought it was just a phase, I mean you know how I go through these. I want out of the band, I hate the guys, I just want to do my own thing. Then later I get over it….but this time….this time I can’t get over it.”
“What happened?” She whispered.
He sighed, “Ever since I started dating Kim the others have been on my ass about it. Saying she’s no good. I think I’m old enough to make my own damn choices!” He said, raising his voice as if he were reliving their first fight. “AJ has something against her….oh that’s right because she’s not fucking fake as Paris.” He rolled his eyes in annoyance, “He doesn’t think she’s pretty enough for me…at least that’s the vibe I’m getting. We had an interview today and the damn chick had to ask me about my relationship status…so I told her I was seeing a girl I liked.”
“Why didn’t you just lie?” She wondered, “You always do when it comes to that kind of stuff.”
He groaned, “Yeah, I know I do.” He took another sip, “But I kind of made it known last night at Disney….and well I’m getting fucking sick of lying! Why the fuck can’t I just be a guy that likes a regular girl?”
“Who said you can’t?”
“EVERYONE!!!” He roared, “Every fucking person! Last year when I was just hanging out with your friend Lauren, remember what happened? Everyone was saying how ugly she was….we weren’t even dating….apparently I’m not even allowed to be friends with regular girls either now?!?”
Angel just shrugged, “Fans think you’re this hot guy and I guess they want you to be with a hot girl.”
He let out a loud laugh, “Yeah….well there are two things wrong with that. One the hot girl is either completely fake or the fans will say what a slut she is because she’s on my arm.” He shook his head, “I sometimes….I sometimes want out of this whole fame thing, you know?”
Angel sighed, “I know, Nick.” She hugged him, “It’ll be okay though. I know you’re having a bad day, but you’ll see it through….you always do,” she said, with half a smile.
He sighed as he pulled away, “I don’t think so. So when I told the interviewer about the girl I liked AJ says, not much of a looker I must add. I mean what the fuck?!?”
“Wow, he said that?”
“Yes!”
Nick put the beer can on the coffee table and dropped his head and ran his hands through his hair, “What if she saw it? What if she’s crying her eyes out right now?” He looked up at his sister, “I will kill him, Angel…”
“Why don’t you just stay here for a while and chill out….does that sound good?”
He nodded, “Yeah…” His phone then beeped and he saw it was from Kimberly, “Shit….it’s Kim. What if she’s upset from the show?”
“Want me to read it?”
He shook his head, “Nah.” He took a deep breath before opening the message.
I thought of you none-stop last night
I wished so badly you were sleeping me with me
Although I don't think we'd be sleeping ;)
Miss you so much
Hope you had a good interview
Well, gotta go my break's almost over
Talk to you soon =p
Relief soon swept over him and paranoia got replaced with excitement. A smile formed around his mouth. Funny how one little text message could put him in such a better mood.
Angel saw the suddenly change in his attitude and she smirked, “Looks like she didn’t see the show?” She truly loved how this girl made her brother feel. And who cared if she wasn’t a size three or a model? He was happy and that was all she cared about, she didn’t understand why the others couldn’t see that either.
He shook his head, “Nope,” he said, as his smile grew wide.
“Well, good!” She said, with a pleased look, “So now you can stop stressing.”
He bit his bottom lip as he looked up at his sister, “Angel…I-I think I love her.”
Her brown eyes bulged out of her head, “Nick! You barely know the girl. You can’t be saying stuff like this…I know you like her a lot, but take it down a notch.”
“She’s different than the other girls I've been with. I mean, you met her, you know she’s like no one I ever dated before. She likes me for who I am, she cares about me.”
She sighed, “You’re infatuated, Nick,” she told him. “You don’t want to ruin it by blurting something like that out! It’s been what? Only a week? Take it easy, please. God, you’re just like Aaron,” she mumbled.
“What?”
“You and him always jump so fast into relationships and say I love you, let’s get married. Yady yady ya.”
Nick rolled his eyes, “I’m not gonna marry her, Angel. I just love how she makes me feel…especially when the guys are pushing me to my last nerve.”
“Does she know that you and the other boys are having problems?”
“No!” He almost shouted, “I don’t want her to know anything that goes on with them.”
“Well, what are you going to do, Nick?” She demanded, “Are you gonna leave the band?”
He sighed, “I don’t know,” he mumbled as he dropped his head. “I try not to think about it.”
Benny then walked in, “Hey, Nick,” he said, with a wide smile.
Nick raised an eyebrow, “Hi...what are you so happy about?”
“My sister’s in town! She’s gonna visit us for a bit.”
“Oh, yeah!” Said Angel, standing up, “Is she here?”
“Yeah.” Benny turned his head and called, “Cassie, in here.”
Nick’s eyes grew at the sight of the woman that walked in. She had red curly hair that went down to her lower back and deep blue eyes. She was wearing a jean skirt that was a little higher than her knee and a black button up blouse that was far too tight around her breasts. He swallowed hard when he saw her.
Once she saw him her face grew with excitement, “Oh My God, you didn’t say he would be here.”
Angel wasn’t thrilled that her boyfriend’ sister was a huge Backstreet fan, but she was trying to cope with it. “Yeah, he just came to stop by for a little bit.”
Nick then stood up, “Actually…I was – I was just leaving. Thanks, Angel for letting me vent.”
“Where are you gonna go, Nick?”
He shrugged, “Back to the hotel I guess. Kim’s at work.”
“Why don’t you just stay here?” Smiled Cassie. She walked closer towards him and couldn’t help herself as she hugged him, “I’m sorry…I’m a fan.”
He laughed, “Yeah, I kind of got that.” He hesitantly embraced her.
“Cas,” said Benny. “Kim’s his girlfriend.”
She dropped her arms, “Oh…” disappointment grew across her face. At least she wasn’t the kind of girl to not care and still try to get in his pants.
“Yeah, Nick,” said Angel. “Just stay for a little bit. I promise to make sure all hands are off,” and her eyes darted towards Cassie.
“Well, I promised Cas I’d take her out. To a club, she’s twenty one since last month. Want to come, Angie?”
She smiled, “Sure.” She then looked at Nick, “You game?”
He shook his head, “Nah, I’ll just chill here for a bit, I guess. If that’s okay with you? I just need time to unwind.”
She smiled kindly at her brother, “I like that idea.” She hugged him, “Everything will be fine, you’ll see. But remember what I told you about those feelings.”
He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah.”
“Okay, let’s go,” ordered Angel.
“Aw, Nick you’re not gonna come?”
He shook his head, “No. Have fun….and yeah happy belated birthday.”
Her face glowed, “Thanks!”
The three of them then left the apartment and Nick just plopped himself back down on the couch, thanking God that, that girl was leaving. He pulled out his cell and decided to text Kimberly back, smiling as he did so.
I don't even think you realize how much I would kill
To have been there with you
I thought of you a lot too
I can't wait to see you again
If that dick gives you anymore problems
Don't hesitate to tell me
I'll straighten him out >:)
Nick so desperately wanted to write, I love you, but maybe Angel was right...maybe he was just infatuated. But this feeling felt so real, he didn't know how much more he was going to be able to suppress without exploding and telling her. He sighed, knowing she wouldn’t be replying anytime soon since she was at work. He wished she would just leave that place, he sometimes got worried about that boss of hers. He tried to stop thinking about that and he put his phone down and flicked on the TV. Soon his mind began to wander…to the other guys. He knew it was stupid of him to make that remake about AJ, but he got him so fucking mad! He wished he knew why he hated Kimberly so much, she did nothing to him. It pissed him off to know he would go to the extreme to try to humiliate her on national television. The band wasn’t like it used to be, he was growing further apart from them and he could feel the distance eating him up inside. He just didn’t know what to do anymore.
AJ and the other two guys went to a small golf course, to relax. The tension was still there, but golf usually helped the boys when they were stressed – it was their stress reliever. Although, AJ couldn’t seem to calm down, he was still pissed off with the whole interview incident. How the hell could Nick have an outburst like that?!? Sure, it wasn’t smart to provoke him…he knew that Nick was going to be furious with his little comment about his new girlfriend. But he could have kept his cool! Saying he pitied him on live TV. What if girls thought low of him now? Did he just set a bad name for himself? Admitting that he was shallow?
“So how long do you think until we’re in the headlines?” Questioned Howie, breaking AJ’s train of thought.
Brian let out a loud sigh, “Man, I don’t even want to think about that.” He held his golf club and gently hit the ball until it just missed the hole by a few inches, “Damn,” he mumbled.
“If Nick wasn’t such a pansy, we wouldn’t even be in this mess with the begin with,” grumbled AJ, as he swung hard, seeing his ball fly through the air.
“Nice arm,” said Howie, in a bit of awe.
“Just pretending its Nick’s face,” he answered, with a rough laugh.
Brian studied AJ for a few seconds, “What do you have against him seeing this girl anyway? I know we’re not that thrilled that he’s seeing her, but you seem to be taking it to the next level.”
AJ looked at him annoyed that he would even ask such a question, “Do you not see what this girl is doing to him?!? How much of a dick he’s being?” He shook his head in disgust, “It’s so easy for a girl to control him. And I bet you anything, she doesn’t even give a shit about him. Just like all the other ones. He’s so desperate to find love,” he said, in a feminine voice. “That he doesn’t care who it’s with.”
Brian couldn’t disagree the way Nick told him how he felt about her, the way she made him feel...how he could actually be a regular guy around her. It sounded to him that Nick was in love with her. He just prayed that this girl felt the same….he remembered when Paris and him broke up. He wouldn’t admit it, but he truly loved that woman…then she tore his heart in two and made him out like he was a woman beater. “I hope your wrong…Nick's crazy about this one.”
He scoffed up a laugh, “He probably loves how easy she is.”
“Why do you care so much?” Wondered Howie.
“Because he attacked me because of that slut!” He raged, “He nearly broke my nose…for a fucking girl!”
They all were walking towards his ball and it was a good ways down the hill they were on. Finally they found it and he swung again, but missed. He hit it harder, taking the soil with the impact, that time the ball only went a few feet.
“Maybe you just need to be easy on him,” suggested Howie. “You’re not helping by calling her names. No offense but what you said at the interview was a low blow.”
“Hey!” He snapped, “Whose side are you on anyway?”
“I’m on no one’s side,” he admitted. “But the way you two are always going at it, you’re gonna tear the group apart.”
Brian studied AJ’s facial expression and could see fear was in eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was cause the group to split up, “AJ, do you think you’re jealous?”
“JEALOUS?!?” He almost yelled, he looked at Brian in appall, “Why the fuck would I be jealous?!? Have you seen that girl?”
“I think she’s kind of cute,” commented Howie, with a smirk.
“Well, you always had bad taste in women,” he harshly spat.
“What are you saying?” He demanded, feeling offended, “You saying Leigh is ugly?” His voice sharp, “That is my fiancee you’re talking about, so watch yourself.”
AJ had never seen that side of Howie, although no one had ever insulted any of his women before. Howie was his best friend he didn’t want to start anything with him, “Look, I’m sorry…Leigh’s hot,” he lied. He never found her appealing, but that was probably a good thing, because he would have fought for her. He remembered when Brian first met Leighanne, he thought she was pretty hot and he tried to nab her…but she wouldn’t give him the time or day. Brian was the one who won her over....he still was bewildered by that. Now they were married, what did Brian have that he didn't?
Howie could tell he wasn’t being sincere and that pissed him off, “It’s no wonder why you’re still single,” he mumbled, but AJ heard and hearing it from him...that actually stung.
“I don’t mean jealous of her,” continued Brian. “But of what he has…you never seem to do well with relationships. Do you want someone like he has?”
AJ then laughed, “No thank you! Commitment is defiantly not something I do well with. I don’t know how you guys do it….having a woman by your side constantly, knowing everything you do.” He shuttered, “Defiantly not for me. I’m happy with just being a bachelor.”
But sadness slowly began to sink in….maybe that was one of the reasons why he disliked Kimberly so much. Nick seemed much happier with her; he was glowing and had someone when he was in need. What did AJ have? Nothing. All of the other guys had that too. Maybe he just thought Nick was like him, happy with having one night stands. They used to be best friends, going to clubs together, hooking up with girls. Was he actually jealous? Or maybe he was just upset that he no longer had his clubbing buddy.
Thunder sounded the sky and within a few seconds, lightening.
“Come on, let’s get going,” ordered Brian.
“This game blows anyway,” mumbled AJ, as he walked away from the other two. “I think I’m gonna give Niki a call.”
“Who’s Niki?” Wondered Howie.
“Just some girl I met a few nights ago. Gonna take her to a club...put a few drinks in her,” he said, with a grin.
Brian just shook his head at his tattooed friend. He strongly believed AJ wanted what the others had, he didn’t want to be alone anymore and he was going all about it the wrong way. One night stands were not going to give him that feeling of comfort or closure that he craved. He actually understood what Nick meant, because Brian pitied him too.
