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Chapter 22: Nice to Meet You

The remaining hours on the tour bus had been non-too surprisingly uneventful. The fact that nothing else really went on had subdued to AJ's liking. He had been more then happy to just lounge around in his personal bunk bed, writing thoughtfully in his journal, and secretly scribbling down words that came to his mind for a song he had set to writing. It all seemed more appealing then to bother the fellas, especially after he had caught them speaking about him. The fact that they were hadn't bothered him all that much, but it had put a defenite damper on his wanting to hang out with them. Instead, he retired to his bunk to save his bandmates from his constant botherings, and considering his mother was resting peacefully in her own "temporary" bunk, he had no one else to speak to. Sure, he knew he could have gone right back up towards the front of the bus where Jeff was still lounging, but he was casually becoming bored with playing poker. He'd had enough of it for one day.

He had ended up falling asleep an hour and a half after climbing into his bunk and was quite displeased to find out that they had made a pit stop at a gas station and the fellas hadn't bothered to wake their rebel brother up to see if he'd wanted anything. It wasn't the end of the world, he knew, but when he finally did wake up from his venture into the land of slumber, he could have really gone for a bag of Lays potato chips and a Dr. Pepper.

"I'll let you have the left over crumbs of my chips and the last drip of my pop," Brian had teased at AJ's expense.

"You're so very kind, 'Rok," AJ had answered with a substantial amount of sarcasm dripping from every corner of his voice. With so being said, he turned around and walked away from the group.

"Someone's grumpy and needs to have a longer nap!"

"I heard that!"

Now, as he placed his suitcase on the bed in his hotel room, he could feel his stomach grumbling and he realized he'd eaten close to nothing that day. Minus the half eaten candy bar he had discovered in one of the side compartments of his duffle bag. 'Damn you, Nick!' his mind had spat, knowing his tall blonde friend had been the culprit to devour half of his hidden candy bar. 'If you're gonna eat the damn thing, then eat all of it!' But he quickly pushed the angry thought aside and devoured the rest of the candy bar himself. It didn't do much to fulfil his hunger, but boy did it taste good.

His stomach growled again and AJ eyed the phone on the nightstand with curiosity. 'I wonder how good this hotel's room service is...' he thought, raising an eyebrow. He knew he would need to eat something soon before he made himself sick, so he promised his growling stomach that he would call as soon as he unpacked the necessary items that he unpacked everytime they stayed in hotels, that of which were mostly bathroom necessities. He very rarely, if ever, unpacked his clothing. They usually didn't stay in one hotel long enough for there to even be a point in unpacking his clothes.

AJ stole a quick glance at his watch. It was already beginning to near late afternoon. He knew that for the fellas, the rest of the day was free. Tomorrow, they all had an early rehersal in the morning, to prepare for the show that night. But for AJ, he had no choice in the matter of what he could do in the next few hours. All of that was because he would be meeting up, for the first time, with his therapist. Her name was Jeanie McGuire, as he had discovered while listening in on the fellas' conversation back on the tour bus. Time was winding down before she would arrive at his room for his first therapy session, and if he had to truthfully confess to anyone, he was scared shitless about it, to the point where he was beginning to feel stupid for feeling so nervous.'Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do' he kept reminding himself and this was what he knew he had to do.

He was getting himself help.

Another look at his watch and he finished his "unpacking" and figured he would have enough time to call down for a bite to eat. Better to meet someone new on a full stomach, rather then on an empty one. But on a more serious note, he was just mass hungry. It sort of surprised him when he thought about it, considering he hadn't had much of an apetite the past few days.

"So, Mr. Stomach," he thought outloud, scratching his temple. "What are you in the mood for? A burger? A sandwhich? Soup? Eeew, no, cut the soup. Pizza? Ooh, now that sounds good. They probably don't have it, though. Guess I'll go for the burger. Room service...room service...room service..." He began scrolling a finger down the list of numbers next to the hotel phone. "A ha! 3...6...1...5-"

"Hey J!!!"

AJ unintentionally slammed the phone back onto it's base as the sudden sound of two new voices speaking in unison entered his ears. He turned around just in time to see the infamous, Frick & Frack, come bursting into his room. He gave them both a questioning glare, surprised to see that Nick seemed to be back to his old "normal Nick" self. How normal was normal for Nick was an actual mystery. AJ was sure the world would never know the answer. "Don't you two know how to knock?"

"Like no, because Jeff let us in," Nick answered with a hint of cockiness in his voice, diving onto AJ's bed and digging through his stuff.

"Hey! Hey! Get your grubby hands out of my stuff you blonde moron!" AJ shrieked as he swatted at Nick's hands and quickly shut his suitcase, locking it. He placed it on the floor, out of Nick's reach.

Nick giggled. "Awww."

"And what's up with you?" AJ asked, looking at Nick oddly. "You sound like a dying cow while you talk this morning, not to forget that you looked like complete shit, and now you look normal, which I shudder at that thought, and you also sound normal. Care to give an explanation?"

"Heh, yeah, remember how we stopped at that gas station?"

"The one you guys "forgot" to wake me up for?" AJ rolled his eyes.

"Yep, that's the one!" Brian laughed.

"Shut up, 'Rok."

"Anyway, Kev generously bought me some day time flu medicine and now I feel pretty fly for a white guy!" Nick giggled again.

AJ almost backed away in horror. "Are you sure you're alright in the head, Nick?"

"Nah, he's doped up on daytime flu medicine," Brian chuckled, shaking his head with humour.

"Oh man..." AJ groaned.

"That, and I discovered the magical miracle workings of nose spray!" Nick piped up again, showing that he could breath easily through his nostrils by sniffing at the air.

"Damn mutt..." AJ muttered.

"I swear he's a nasal spray addict now, so I think I'ma look into finding him a support group for that," Brian said.

"Yeah, 'Rok...you...do that..." AJ trailed. "But may I inquire what y'all want? I was currently in the process of calling down for some room service-"

"Room service?!" Nick squealed.

AJ rolled his eyes. "Not for you, nitwit! And I swear, if you ever touch a candy bar of mine again and only eat half of it, I'll break both of your legs!"

Nick whimpered.

"Is it so much of a crime for us to want to chill with our good buddy ol' pal, AJ?" Brian spoke dramatically.

"As a matter of fact..."

"Oh, now that hurts..."

"Can it butthead," AJ grinned childishly. Ah, he really didn't mind if they were visiting him. As long as he got to eat, though, then he would be perfectly fine. 'Stop grumbling, you annoying stomach!'

"You look deep in thought, Aje. Whatcha thinkin' about? Huh? Huh?"

"I'm hungry, my stomach is growling, it's annoying, you're annoying, Nick is especially annoying. It's as simple as that. You've heard me preach my inner thoughts. Now leave."

"Sorry bro, no can do."

"Yeah, no can do!" Nick repeated as AJ's cell phone proceeded to ring. A childish and secretive gleam shone in Nick's eyes at that moment as he saw that the cell phone was laying directly next to him on the bed. He quickly reached for it before AJ could, and much to AJ's displeasure, brought it up to his ear and began to speak. "AJ McLean's Escort Service Hotline. How may I direct your call, baby?" he spoke in the most pathetic attempt ever in the history of man of a deep, sexy voice. He giggled when he saw AJ's eyes bulge open in surprise.

"Uh, may I speak to Alex, please?"

Nick paused for a moment as he failed to recognize the female voice that sounded from the other end of the phone connection. "Who's this, yo?"

"It's Jaymee."

Nick's eyebrows furled. "Jaymee? Jaymee who?"

AJ's eyes opened even wider. "Give me the phone, Nick!"

Nick swatted AJ's hand away.

"Jaymee Smithson," came the girl's answer. "Why are you asking? Can I please talk to Alex?"

"No, because I don't know you and niether does AJ," Nick answered matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?" The girl sounded utterly confused.

"I'm hanging up now. Don't call again!" Nick scolded and was just directing his finger towards the "off" button to hang up when AJ suddenly dove at him, crying out, "No!". The two began to wrestle around on the bed, with AJ trying to get the phone from Nick, and Nick trying to keep AJ's cell phone away from him. The two of them ended up rolling directly off the bed and landed on the floor with muffled "oompfs".

"Give me my phone, you freak!" AJ ordered.

"No, man! It's some psycho teeny fan! I'm trying to save you from her!" Nick cried out.

"You're the psycho!"

"I resent that!"

"Give me the damn phone! I know her!"

"You don't know anyone named Jaymee, Aje!"

"The Hell I don't! Now give me the phone!"

Brian stood next to the bed and watched in shocked amusement as his two friends continued to wrestle around on the floor; AJ trying desperately to get his cell phone from the blonde, and the blonde holding it away each time. But during their little wrestling match, Brian noticed that Nick had unconciously dropped AJ's cellphone and now it was laying unattended to on the floor as Nick tried to defend himself. So, seeing his chance, Brian reached down and picked up the phone before AJ or Nick noticed he had done so.

"Um...hello?" he spoke in an uncertain tone of voice.

"Where's Alex?" Jameelah questioned, even more confused as yet another unfamiliar voice came on the line.

"Um...uh...who's this?" Brian stuttered.

Jameelah sighed. "Jaymee Smithson. I'm a friend of Alex's. Who are you?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know you, so I can't tell you that. How did you get AJ's number?" Brian answered, still unsure about this person named "Jaymee Smithson".

"He gave it to me. How else would I have gotten it?"

"You psycho teeny fans have your way of finding things out."

Jameelah laughed. "Pyscho teeny fan? I can assure you that I am far from being a psycho teeny fan or whatever. All I want is to talk to Alex."

"How do you know him? I don't remember him having a friend named Jaymee."

"I met him in New York! If you don't mind me asking, why didn't he answer this call?"

AJ smacked Nick upside the head, but noticed that the blonde no longer had the cell phone in his hand and he jumped up, as did Nick, also. "Damnit, where the Hell is it?!"

"How should I know?" Nick retorted with a glare.

"Because you're the one who had it!"

"Well I obviously don't have it any longer!"

"Find it, then!"

Brian shifted the phone in a casual manner to his other ear as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. "How do I know you're not lying about knowing Aje?" he asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing as if Jameelah could actually see that gesture.

"Excuse me?" Jameelah asked back in an exasperated tone.

"For all I know, you could be telling a white lie right now. And personally I don't really believe that you are telling the truth."

"You know, forget it. This is obviously a waste of my time. If Alex wants to talk to me, then he can call me back. At least tell him I called." Her words were harsh enough with it's own tone.

Brian heard the click coming from her end. She had obviously hung up on him and with a roll of his eyes, he hung up also. "Well...that was rude..." he muttered.

"You have it!" AJ suddenly shouted in Brian's direction and he reached for his cell phone. "Give me the phone, 'Rok!"

"She, uh...kinda hung up..." Brian hesitated in return.

"WHAT?!"

"She hung up."

"Damnit!!!" AJ burst, throwing his hands in the air. He looked ready to pounce both of his bandmates.

"I didn't think you knew her-"

"It's really none of your damn business! Both of you!"

"J-" Nick tried to intervene.

AJ slowly let loose of a shakey breath. His eyes narrowed with a dark fire towards his two bandmates. One could only take so much of their insane and immature antics and he'd defenitely just had his fair share for the time being. Not only had they just ran his nerves into oblivion, they had succeeded in delaying his hunger-stricken stomach from devouring any food. Now he was just completely and utterly irritated at the sight of the two. So to keep himself from saying anything that he would regret, he took another deep breath and gently rubbed at his temples. "Listen guys, I really don't have time to deal with this. I'm hungry, I'm tired, I'm annoyed, and I have less then an hour before my therapist arrives. So, if the two of you don't mind, would the both of you just leave, please?"

Brian and Nick both exchanged nervous glances, and Brian always being the polite one, took the initiative to speak as him and Nick headed towards the door. "Sorry about the phone call mishap, Aje."

"I'll decide if I forgive you later," AJ grumbled.

"Alright, good enough I guess," Brian shrugged. "C'mon Frack, we'll go bug Howie."

"Why not Kevin?" Nick whined as they walked out the door.

Brian's distant voice answered as AJ began to shut the door, "Do you really want to suffer his wrath? 'Cause personally, I don't."

*****

'Oh make the pain stop, God!' AJ's mind whimpered as his facial features contorted so that he was wincing. He wrapped his arms tighter around his stomach as he closed his eyes, resting his back uncomfortably against the wall as he sat on the bed. 'I promise I'll never order room service again, just make the pain stop!' The cramps in AJ's stomach grew intensely worse right at that second and he looked up to the ceiling, half-expecting to see God smiling down at him with a mocking smile. 'This just freakin' sucks! I swear, I'ma sue this hotel for suffering from food posioning!'

"Maybe a little tv will do the trick," AJ thought outloud, desperately wanting to keep his mind off his aching stomach. He reached over for the remote off the nightstand and clicked the tv on. As if he wasn't already suffering bad enough, the first channel he clicked to was a freaking cooking network and he listened just long enough to hear, "...and after you have prepared the delicious, tangy, orange peanut sauce, bring the spinach noodles to a boil and-" before he changed the channel. The next channel wasn't any better, "Now at McDonalds you can get-". AJ didn't have the patience to bother channel surfing through all the channels. He hastily switched the tv off and threw the remote to the bed, crossing his arms over his chest in a pouting manner.

'I'm bored, so bored, so very bored, so very extremely bored, my stomach hurts, and oh, did I mention that I am bored?' AJ kicked his feet at the mattress in a childish sullen manner. Man, what he wouldn't do to be able to escape and go bouncing around town. No chance in that though. Jeff would stop him before he was able to even set foot outside the door. 'This freaking sucks!' AJ was sure that the fellas were together right now, discussing a plan for them to go bouncing around town. 'Sure, leave poor ol' AJ back at the hotel. No love fo' AJ, no love...' If he didn't have to meet with his therapist so soon, then he would have a chance to get up and do something. But no, damnit, he had to go and throw himself into this situation.

'Maybe I ought to call Jaymee back.'

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!*

'Or not...'

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*

"Yeah, yeah...I'm coming..." AJ grumbled as he struggled to stand up from the bed. Stretching his back and praying to God once again that his stomach would stop killing him, he walked slowly over to the door. Upon reaching the door, he paused with his hand reaching out. It was quite possible that his therapist was standing on the other side of that door and AJ suddenly found himself dreading the initial greeting.

Afterall, what exactly was he supposed to expect?

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!*

AJ pulled the door open and was met with a quite unfamiliar face. A figure standing at a mere 5'7" inches tall, golden strawberry blonde locks of hair cut in a cute layered style that reached just to the surface of her slender shoulders, a tight fitting pastel blue tank hugged her petite figure adorned atop with a dark denim jacket, finished off with hip-hugging khakis that flared slightly at the feet. In any other circumstance or on anyone else, the casual look this person was presenting, it would have looked quite un-professional, but for some reason unbeknownst to AJ, the look fitted her.

Was this his...therapist?

Stalling a second more, AJ looked out into the hall for any sign of his body guard, but was more then surprised to find that Jeff was nowhere in sight. He hadn't left his perch outside AJ hotel room since they had arrived and the man chose now to dissappear? 'Figures...' AJ thought as he looked back to the woman. He offered her a nervous, yet apologetic smile. "Um...may I...help you?" he spoke slowly, unsure of his own words.

"I'm Jeanie McGuire," a soft, yet firm English-accent toned voice answered back and AJ looked to see that she was holding her hand out in a offer to shake it. "I hope I'm guessing correctly that your friend, Kevin Richardson, told you my name and that we would be meeting today?" she added as AJ weakly shook her hand. She offered him another smile.

"I guess...kinda..." AJ shrugged. He looked past Ms. McGuire and into the hall again. "You wouldn't by any chance happen to know where Jeff would be, would you?"

"He your bodyguard?"

AJ nodded.

"Ah, yes, he's taking a bathroom break. He told me to let you know he would return shortly."

AJ nodded again.

"Are you going to let me in, Mr. McLean, or are we going to have our session in the hall?" Jeanie let loose of an unsure laugh.

"Sorry," AJ apologized with a sheepish grin as he stepped aside to allow Ms. McGuire to enter the room. "And it's AJ."

"Pardon?" Jeanie asked.

"Just call me AJ. I'm not too familiar with doing the whole formal name thing."

"Alright, AJ," Jeanie answered, putting quite a bit of emphasis on his name through her english accent. "Do you mind if I have a seat?"

"No, by all means, go right ahead," AJ answered back, quickly grabbing his jacket off the chair that she was motioning towards. He threw it to the bed and as she took a seat at the small table, he, too, also sat down in the other chair. "Oh, as a bit of advice, whatever you do, do not order room service from this place. I did just a little bit ago and now I swear I'm gonna be shittin' up a storm tonight! The food is absolutely horrible."

"I guess I will take your advice into consideration," Jeanie smiled.

"Sorry for my bout of crude language there..." AJ mumbled sheepishly.

"No offense has been taken. You speak however you want."

"So, um..."

"You seem a fair bit nervous, AJ?"

"Don't get me wrong or anything, but I don't know you."

"That's understandable, AJ. Because, I don't know you either, but if we work together on this, then by the end of your therapy "treatment", we will know each other quite well."

"You are aware that me talking to you has to be kept confidential, right? How if it leaks out, it could seriously damage my career?"

"You have nothing to worry about. My lips are sealed outside our sessions."

"Ok."

"So, let's start off with the basics," Jeanie spoke, getting comfortable in her seat and folding her hands on top of the table. She paid no attention to a few strands of strawberry blonde that fell just short of her right eye as she focused all of her attention on AJ. And if you asked him, it scared the Hell out of him about how serious she had become all of a sudden. "How are you doing today?"

"Where's your pad?" AJ asked.

"Pardon?" Jeanie questioned with shock.

"Your pad, you know...notepad, something you write on? I mean, don't you people have to take notes during sessions like these?"

"Oh, I see what you're talking about now. To answer your question, yes, "us people" as you want to put it, do take notes. But this is only our first session. Think of it as an informal meeting. I just want to get to know a little bit about you before our first formal session."

"Ok, that's cool."

"So again, how are you doing today?"

AJ shrugged, slumping in his seat. His stomach was still giving him quite a hard time. It hadn't let up one bit, and he was beginning to develope a small case of a headache from it, too. "Um, my stomach hurts because the food here sucks, I'm bored-"

"In general, AJ..." Jeanie laughed.

"I'm fine."

"And how have you been doing these past couple of days?"

"Depends what day you want to talk about," AJ challenged.

"Whatever you feel like speaking about right now."

"In that case, I've had my share of mostly bad days. Yeah, that's sounds about right."

"Stress?"

"Huh?"

"Would you say it's stress?"

"I'm not trying to be rude, but that would be a 'Duh' for the most part."

Jeanie nodded. "What else?"

"What about you?" AJ suddenly turned the tables on his therapist.

"I'm sorry?"

"How are you doing?"

"This isn't a "get to know me" session, AJ. This is a "get to know you"," Jeanie answered.

"It's only fair that I know some stuff about you. I mean, how am I supposed to know if I'm gonna be comfortable confessing my most inner thoughts to a complete stranger, such as yourself, Ms. McGuire?"

"Alright...I guess that's fair..." Jeanie trailed, "What is it you would like to know?"

"Anything, Ms. McGuire."

"It's Jeanie, and, anything?"

"Sure, anything," AJ shrugged.

"Ok..." Jeanie leaned back in her seat, a thoughful look masking her petite face. "Let's see, about me...I was born and raised in London, England; most of my family still resides there. I began my college education in London, but decided to continue and finish it here in the united states where I am certified as a psychologist and psychiatrist/therapist."

"What's the difference between a psychologist and psychiatrist/therapist?"

"A psychologist is someone who has a doctoral degree, such as a PhD or PsyD, and experts in psychology. They are trained in counseling, psychotherapy, and psychological testing," Jeanie explained. "A pyschiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of a mental or psychiatric illness. Psychiatrists are licensed to prescribe drugs as part of their treatment regimen and are also trained in psychotherapy, which is a form of "talking" therapy. And I'm sure you know what a therapist is."

"I guess I have an idea... So, what...are you going to drug me up or something?"

"Not drug you up, AJ. I may not have to prescribe you any medications at all. I will be able to tell you whether or not it is necessary by the third session, and if, I'm saying if I feel it's necessary, I will be prescribing you what are called anti-depressants."

"I know what those are."

"Alright. Anything else you would like to know before we turn this session back over to focus on you?"

"Are you single?"

"Pardon?"

"Because I have this friend named Howie and he's single-"

"That's quite unappropriate for you to ask."

"Sorry..." AJ apologized with a sheepish shrugged. "You're right and don't tell Howie I asked. He'll kill me if he finds out..."

*****

"You have a concert tomorrow, is that correct?" Jeanie asked as AJ walked her over to the door as she was getting ready to leave.

"Yeah."

"Well, what's your schedule like for the day?"

"Early rehersal in the morning. Who knows what happens after that. One more rehersal and soundcheck right before the concert, then comes the concert."

"Well, I was hoping we could have your second session tomorrow, so you'll have to let me know if you'll be having any free time."

"Alright, will do," AJ answered, reaching out towards the door handle. But before he could even attempt to open the door, it opened completely on it's own.

Or rather Howie opened it.

"Hey Aje, I was wondering-" Howie began to speak, but was quick to notice that AJ wasn't alone in the room. He noticed the woman standing next to AJ and gave her the quick once-over, a hidden grin forming at the corner of his lips. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting?"

AJ rolled his eyes; he knew that Howie had just been checking Jeanie out. "No, Jeanie was just leaving."

"Oh?" Howie asked, raising his eyebrows.

AJ rolled his eyes again. "D, this Jeanie, my therapist. Jeanie, this Howie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Jeanie smiled, extending her hand.

Howie quickly took the hand was offered to him in a tight squeeze and he grinned. "The pleasure is all my mine."

"I will be seeing you tomorrow, AJ. Good evening gentlemen," Jeanie spoke as her hand finally dropped from Howie's strong grip.

"Yeah, see ya." AJ watched as Jeanie stepped out the door, said goodbye to Jeff, who was once again standing at his perch, and dissappeared down the hall to his left. AJ turned back to Howie. "So, what's up D?"

"We're all heading out to a movie. You want to come?"

"I'm surprised you guys haven't already gone out somewhere without me."

"Get real, man. We knew you had you're first session today and we decided to wait for you. So, you wanna go or what?"

"Yeah, hold up." AJ quickly retrieved his jacket and cellphone from the bed, then followed Howie out the door.

Maybe this therapy thing wouldn't be so bad afterall.