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Behind the Lime Light - Chapter 13

The moment Howie set his foot inside the room he noticed that something was wrong. AJ laid on the bed, zapping with the remote controller and when the Latino arrived he turned his head. A dull _expression in his eyes.

"What happened? Why are you laying there?" Howie asked a bit annoyed. They were late as it was already and the last thing they needed was AJ refusing to go. "Why are you not ready?"

A deep sigh could be heard from the bed. The channel on TV was changed and then the eighteen year old said with a face. "You have to ask Kevin about that!"

"Kevin?" Howie's face was a question mark. "What does he have to do with anything?" Not waiting for an answer Howie pointed at the watch. "In about ten where supposed to be downstairs going to a dinner and now youīre just laying here being lazy." With a snarl he added. "Donīt you dare to make this any harder than it already is."

"Iīm not." The teen sat up in his bed. "Besides Iīm not the one you should bitch about..do that to Kevin instead."

"Kevin again?" Howie frowned. "Why do you keep bringing him up all the time?"

"Go to his room and ask him and youīll find out."

Howie sighed. What was it with everybody today? If they were not irritated they were playing charades with his mind. It was annoying that was what it was. "Ok and why should I go and ask him?" For a second the Latino's face lit up. "Did he talk to Johnny? Is it ok for Nick to stay at home?"

"No" AJ shook his head, "I wish it was that simple."

"OK..then what?" Howie, the calm one in the group was starting to loose his temper. He was just as tired as the rest of them and wasnīt exactly looking forwards working in the evening. Johnny had them running on a tight schedule, sometimes a bit too hard then they could cope with and to tell the truth he had wished that they had a few more weeks free time since he longed to be with his family a bit more. Family and friends.

"He's drinking."

"Drinking?" Howie couldnīt believe his ears. "Are you saying what I think youīre saying?" Ok he knew that Kevin was an in a bad mood and that was the main reason for keeping Brian out so there wouldnīt be any arguments, but this, this was worse than heīd ever expected.

"Mmmm." AJ hadnīt turned his attention away from the TV. "Yeah he is getting drunk right now. On scotch."

"You serious?" A feeling of fright hit his veins. Kevin couldnīt be doing that, could he? No not today. Not when they needed him the most. Needed his leadership.

"Yeah I am and if you donīt believe me you can check it out yourself." AJ sounded tired. Beat.

"Why?"

There was an annoyed chuckle. "How the hell should I know. He's been acting like a bitch all day and when I was asking him why he was so upset he kept bitching at me again and told me to leave." The teens voice was filled with irritation. "I could care less what he does now."

"Donīt say that Bone." Howie scolded him.

"Well, I am telling the truth ainīt I and if you donīt believe me go and ask him. Maybe you have more luck with his moody ass." AJ spat.

"Did he talk to Johnny or something? You know when he was getting this upset?" The twenty four year old was fishing for clues.

"Yeah but I donīt think itīs what caused it." AJ sighed. "Kevin is getting weirder each day. I donīt know if the business is that good for him. Heīs changing."

"We all changed. Even you Jay" Howie said being the wise person as he was. "Iīm sure something would have happened for him to act this way. Did you hear if he was experiencing something bad on his break?"

"Yeah? Like what?" AJ sounded very uninterested. " The dude probably has PMS thatīs why he is acting like this. Either that or he havenīt got a fuck for a long time!"

"Jay!" Howie was on his case again. "That was uncalled for. Not nice at all" He looked sternly. "Donīt say something like that."

"Well, then stop asking all those stupid questions. Go and see the dude instead if youīre that interested or concerned for him. "

"I will."

"Good." AJ laid down on the bed again, flipping on another channel with the remote. Just as Howie was about to leave the room he caught himself like he was reminded of something. "D?"

"Yeah?" The Latino stopped by the door post.

"Did you go and see Nick?"

A nod. "Mhmmm."

"And?" AJ was impatient. "How was he then?"

"Not so good."

"Oh." There was genuine concern in the almond eyes.

"Yeah he was throwing up and stuff. Not good at all. His headache is really bad."

AJ frowned. "That shitty huh?"

"Aha. He has no business working today either. He needs to stay at home and rest."

"Itīs fucked up that management are the only ones that donīt realize that."

The Latino nodded. "Youīre right. Thatīs why Iīm going to talk to Johnny."

"You are? I thought you were going to talk to Kevin?" The teen asked in surprise.

"I am and I will, but I have to talk to Johnny too. The way Nick looked it would be fatal to have him attending a dinner party. Itīs bad when he is well so what would it be when he is sick?" Howie opened the door. "If Johnny calls while I am at Kevin's tell him to go and see Nick at his room."

"In his room?" AJ asked but settled for that when his friend showed no sign of explaining anything for him. "Ok Iīll do that. And when you talk to Kev tell him to get a grip on things too. That he canīt fuck up like this. We need him."

Howie smiled palely. AJ could be so right sometimes. Kevin couldnīt go get drunk, not at a time like this. They needed him too much. With those words he was out of the room getting ready to talk some sense into their oldest Backstreet brother.

Swallowing hard he waited a couple of minutes, gathering his strength and then knocked on the door. At first there was silence then he could hear shuffling towards the door, a few cusswords as something fell down and then the door opened.

Howie couldnīt believe his eyes. Kevin was standing there, blear-eyed from alcohol and smelling like a whole liquor store. "What do you want?" he slurred as he opened the door to let Howie in.

"Oh my goodness what happened?" The Latino burst out as he caught the sight of the hotel room. There was a mess inside and he could see small bottles littered all over the bed. By the look of it heīd raided the minibar completely. This was definitely not the Kevin Richardson he knew; he was being way out of character.

"Hello to you too D." Kevin said with a sarcastic smile as he wobbled back to his bed, holding up the glass to his lips. "You coming to check on me? Did AJ rattle?" He balled his fist, "Cause if he has then Iīm.." He couldnīt finish the sentence as Howie cut in.

"Eh..uh..No." Howie could feel himself blushing. He was a terrible liar.

"D I donīt know how to say this but youīre a terrible liar." He shook his head, "Not that it matters anyway. And to answer your question nothing or should we say everything happened." He grinned widely at his own joke. "but mostly Iīm getting trashed." Holding up his glass towards Howie he asked, "You wanna have a drink too?"

"No." The Latino was shocked. What was wrong with his brother? Why was he acting so moody? This was not like him, not at all. It was almost like heīd flipped.

"Good 'cause I ainīt got anything more." He held the last bottle towards his mouth, shaking out every drop before asking mostly to himself "You think they give out drinks at the dinner party too? Cause if they do I will be one happy guy."

Surprised over the strange question Howie mumbled, "I donīt know..maybe."

"Great then Iīm getting some." Tossing the empty minibottle aside he took a large gulp from the glass. "Youīre coming to get me? To the dinner I mean."

The younger man felt stunned, not knowing what to say. "Eh..uh I donīt" he started before changing his mind. Kevin was in no shape or form to go to a dinner party and it would be a disaster if he turned up there. Even more than if Nick came along. "Kevin you canīt go to the dinner party."

"Why not?" The older man tugged at his clothes, acting like a drunk teen. "Is it because of my clothes?" It was clear that he wasnīt thinking straight.

"No, Kevin." Howie shook his head. "Your drunk."

That last sentence rose heat. "Iīm NOT drunk. A little tipsy maybe but not drunk." He set his eyes into the younger man. "Iīm 25 so I should be allowed to drink." As he rose his glass to his mouth he missed it and instead swished out some drops onto the bed and onto himself. "Shit" he mumbled, "Iīm clumsy today." Standing up he made his way out to the bathroom.

"Where are you going?"

"To get a towel and wipe up the mess I made." Seconds later a loud crash could be heard and the a laughter.

Thinking that something bad must have happened, although he could hear Kevin's giggle he rushed into the small bathroom just to find the oldest member sitting on the floor, completely trashed with mountains of towels and toilet paper all over him.

Howie started to laugh. This was some sight.

"What a piece of junk!" his friend muttered as he tried to free himself from the towels.

"Oh Kevin." Howie sighed as he gave a helping hand. Once he got Kevin to his feet he lead him out of the room. "Just how much have you been drinking tonight?"

"Not much at all." Kevin laughed. "Just a few bottles" He gestured towards the small mountains of mini bottles that occupied the bed. Noticing this Howie saw that he had really been through the mini bar. Opening it up he found that it was empty.

"How did you manage to drown all of those?" Howie asked as he was taking in the oldest member, the one that always talked about not drinking too much was punch drunk and there was no one to take charge of the situation.

"No idea..but it was good." Kevin poured the rest of the alcohol into his mouth, swallowing it in one swift move. "You sure you donīt want something D? I mean youīre not the one to say no to a real and honest drunkenness?"

"No." Howie shook his head. "And neither should you. Come on," he added as he held his grip around Kevin's waste. "We gotta get you sober. You have any coffee in the room."

Kevin's eyes suddenly darkened. "Donīt tell me what I should and shouldnīt do. If I wanna drink I will drink and if I wanna stay sober I do that too. Iīm a grown man and I do what the hell I wanna do with my life. Including drinking my ass off." He spat as viciously as a poisonous snake. "And for the record I donīt need any coffee."

Howie sighed. This was a nightmare and soon Johnny would be banging on the door. Helping the tall man to sit down on his bed he said with defeat. "This is not a good time to get drunk Kevin. Weīre supposed to be downstairs soon and the way youīre acting right now you cant go to the dinner and then management will be totally pissed and.."

"Screw the management!" Kevin said, shrugging Howies hand off his shoulder. With a grin he added, "And I drink to that!"

The whole situation was starting to get awkward and Howie felt at a loss what to do. "Kevin come on..try to reason with me.."

The older man looked at his friend, "Reason with you? What do I have to reason with?" His voice was slurred and suddenly it looked like he was having a hard time sitting straight.

"This is so not like you to do something like that." Howie could hear himself whining, "Especially not in a situation like this."

"A situation like what?" Kevin gave him a bleary eye.

"With Nick being sick and all." Howie went silent for a second. "You know he is getting worse Kevin and..and he needs you." The words sent the older man in for a reaction.

"Need me?" He spat. "Have you guys ever thought that Iīm sick and tired of always having to deal with all kinds of situations that you guys fuck up with? To be the most responsible one in the group?" He glared at Howie that looked mostly nervous, biting his lip. "The media, management and even you guys act like Iīm some kind of big brother or even worse," There were a short pause before he spat out the word like it burned him, "Dad!"

Surprised over the sudden reaction Howie did his best to calm his friend down but it only served to give more fuel to the situation. "Donīt touch me. Iīm an adult and I know what Iīm doing and saying." His words were hard. "And if I want to act like an ass I will, there is no stopping me."

"Ok." There was nothing more Howie could say. Obviously his friend was much too trashed to reason with and this left out the option of having to lean on him for support. Standing up he decided that it was useless to try and get Kevin on a different path as the older man continued to cuss out words about his situation and how he was sick and tired of baby-sitting brats that werenīt even diaperdry.

Suddenly the calm and ever peaceful Howie had enough. "Stop it!" He yelled getting Kevin to shut up in the process. "AJ is right. You always nag and bitch about everything, saying that weīre so useless and all but have you ever stopped and think about how youīre acting?"

Kevin opened his mouth to answer, anger shining in his eyes, but Howie stopped him. "No wait..now ítīs you that has to listen to what I have to say.." Shocked over the sudden change in the Latino Kevin nodded, mouth wide open in surprise.

"Weīre all tired of that attitude of yours. Ok you can be a really nice and supportive guy when it comes to that but mostly you go around and nag about things these days. Especially today." Once again Kevin did attempt to speak and was shut down by Howie's words. "I told you to listen didnīt I?"

"Huh..ok go on." Kevin looked at him confused. If he was out of character so was Howie too.

"Anyway as I was saying you canīt go around acting all moody and then not tell us what is up with you today. And even if youīre an adult you still have responsibilities to do, to the management and also to us in the group. If something is bothering you so bad that you have to drink to deal with it itīs better that you come out loud and say it, instead of hiding from it."

The older man looked at the Latino, confusion as well as surprise visible in his _expression. "Hey D where did you learn all that wisdom?"

"From you. That is what you say to us all the time."

"Oh." Kevin slapped himself in his head. "Man no wonder that I recognized the words." He tried to grin but when there were no smiles back he stopped his action. "Ok I know..I interrupted you..go on."

"Thereīs not much more to say but that weīre here for you if you wanna talk and if you donīt please don't make a fool of yourself by getting drunk. It will look bad on us, but mostly on you."

The last words had Kevin silent. With a sigh he set down the glass on the small table "Iīve been acting like an ass, havenīt I?"

"In a way..yes."

"Ok..yeah youīre right. Itīs stupid of me to get drunk at a time like this but you know there are limits to everything and things were getting to me and I know..I slipped." He looked at the younger men with regret in his eyes. "Iīll make it better..Iīll promise."

Not listening to the drunkard Howie went on, "It would be much easier to understand you Kevin if you could come out and say what is bothering you today. Why you are such a grouch."

"Kristin left me." The words were spat out so fast that Howie barely heard them.

"She did what?"

"She left me." Kevin held his hands to his face as he started to tell his friend about the morning from hell and how heīd suspected that she cheated on him and that he was now loosing the only woman that he loved. The woman that he wanted to marry and have his children with. It was the words of a drunken man but also from someone that was really down and depressed

All the anger Howie had felt was gone with the wind and he sat down next to his friend, holding an arm around his shoulders as Kevin let out his despair. "Man that is bad" he mumbled not knowing what more to say or do.

"Yeah. Can you believe it? She cheated on me and when I called her on it she denied it. Telling me that I was a liar, that I was making up things." His shoulders were hunched and he was talking with a monotone voice. "But the worst part is that now Iīm starting to regret my actions and when I try to call her all I get is the answering machine." He cried silently. "And now I donīt know what to do."

'Neither do I' thought Howie as he looked at his watch.. Now both Nick as well as Kevin had to be let out from the dinner party, different reasons since non of them were fit to attend any festivities

His thoughts were interrupted by Kevin's dark voice. "Iīve screwed up didn't I?"

Howie nodded. What else could he do? "Yeah and like I said before you can't go to a party punch drunk. There will be top business man and youīre the one that usually leads the conversation."

"Sorry." Kevin had genuine remorse.

"Itīs ok buddy." Howie patted the older guy on his shoulder. "You know Iīll tell Johnny that you come up with the same disease as Nick and then he have to let both of you off."

"You think itīll work?"

"It has to. He canīt be that stupid that he sends both of you off. It would be like sending a person into the Lions den."

"Ok." Kevin laid down on his bed. "Iīm tired anyway. Iīll think I am gonna get some shut eye" With that he closed his eyes and was gone seconds later. Snoring away."

Howie shook his head. Man if heīd knew that it was in his job description to baby-sit the groups oldest and the youngest member then he would have thought twice about signing up. With that in his mind he picked up the phone, calling Johnny to inform him about the new situation...