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RING.

Nick moaned at the intruding sound. It pierced through the silence like a hot blade.

RING.

Nick rolled over to face his cell phone beside the clock. The clock read 2:43 am.

RING.

He finally picked up the phone and answered it with a groggy, “hello.”

“Hey, sexy.” The deep bass voice warmed Nick’s heart. He felt a big, sleepy grin cross his face.

“Hey, Alex,” Nick whispered and sat up against the headboard of the bed.

“I know it’s probably really, really early there...but I need to tell you something,” Alex said excitedly.

“Really? What’s going on?” Alex was obviously happy about what was going on, so Nick wasn’t worried.

“I was going to tell you this on your birthday, but the album is coming out sooner than expected,” Alex explained. Nick nodded though he knew the man couldn’t see him.

“Uh huh...”

“Well...I wrote a song for you. The producer says it’s going to be on the album!” Alex said quite loudly. Nick laughed.

“You did, eh? I can’t wait to hear it,” Nick said softly into the phone. He wished Alex would keep talking just so Nick could fall asleep listening to his voice.

“I woke you up, huh?” Alex laughed.

“Just a little bit,” Nick giggled.

“Sorry, I just thought I’d let you share my excitement.” Alex laughed again, and Nick tried to force a laugh.

“Are you guys recording in Sweden?”

“No, our manager’s being cheap. We don’t have an endless supply of hard cash like you do,” Alex laughed. “But we do get to record in Hollywood!”

“I wanna go to Hollywood,” Nick whined. Alex laughed.

“You need to go back to sleep.”

“Sing to me, baby,” Nick whispered. His eyelids were already heavy. Nick slid back down into the comfort of his warm bed and rested his head on the pillow. Alex began to sing.

If I give up on you, I give up on me.
If we fight what’s true, will we ever be?
Even God himself and the faith I knew
Shouldn’t hold me back,
Shouldn’t keep me from you.

Tease me by holding out your hand,
Then leave me or take me as I am,
And live our lives, stigmatized.

-"Stigmatized" by The Calling

Alex could hear Nick’s soft breathing over the phone and knew he was asleep, and also new he’d miss his wake up call because the line was busy. But Nick was content, and that’s all Alex cared about.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“NICKOLAS! YOU’RE NOT EVEN OUT OF BED YET??” Kevin cried. Nick was jolted from his dream (starring Alex, of course) and the phone dropped to the floor.

“Kev-”

“Nick! We were supposed to be at the studio over an hour ago! We’ve been waiting on your fucking ass!” Kevin roared. He picked up some jeans and a tee shirt from Nick’s suitcase and grabbed Nick’s arm with the other. He shoved him in the bathroom.

“Get your ass dressed! You don’t even have time for a shower, so if you reek, it’s your own fault! Rick’s so nicely given you five minutes to be down on the bus or you’re banned to your hotel room for a month! No parties, no drinking, no girls, NO VIDEO GAMES! Hear?”

“Yeah...” Nick muttered. He stepped into his jeans and tossed on his tee shirt. He exited the bathroom to find Kevin in the doorway. He slipped into his sneakers and didn’t bother to tie them. Kevin “escorted” him to the lobby. He was thirty seconds early.

“Damn it, Nick!” Rick groaned. “You NEED to heed your wake-up calls! They’re there for a reason!”

“I know,” Nick muttered. He waved his hand slightly and followed Brian to the van. They sat in the backseat with Howie.

“Nick...what happened? I thought you went to bed early last night,” Brian said.

”I did...”

“He was on the damn phone,” Kevin muttered. The van pulled out of the parking lot.

“With who?”

“His girlfriend,” AJ snickered. AJ had his suspicions that Nick was gay, but he never had any concrete evidence.

“Are you serious?” Brian asked AJ.

“Brian...AJ’s lying!” Howie laughed. “You should know better than to believe AJ!” Nick cracked a smile. Good ol’ Howie was changing the subject from Nick to AJ.

“Then who were you on the phone with?” Brian asked. Maybe it would clue him in to what Nick so desperately wanted to tell him...but couldn’t.

“I...erm....”

“Sex hotline!” AJ cackled.

“Shut up!” Kevin hollered. “Whatever it was is certainly none of your business.”

“Sex hotline with Kevin at the other end!” AJ laughed manically. Kevin groaned and wiped his hand down his face.

“If you don’t shut up I’m gonna shove the cordless up your ass!” Kevin threatened.

“Gay sex hotline!” AJ continued laughing, watching Nick’s reaction out the side of his eye. Yes, sir, he got a reaction...obvious discomfort. Was Nick really gay?

“This is getting really old...” Howie sighed. Kevin glared at AJ and went back to looking out the window. AJ let out one more laugh and turned to his. Howie sighed again and glanced to Brian, silently asking him what was wrong with his cousin, who shrugged.