The interview went fine at first, with Carson, who was actually hosting that day, asking Nick the usual, “How’s the tour going?” and “When will the new Bsb album drop?” sort of questions. But then the questions turned to more uncomfortable subjects, starting with Leah.
“So, rumor is you have a new girlfriend. Is that true?”
“Um... yeah, I’ve been seeing someone for a few weeks, but, um... it’s not really serious yet,” Nick answered carefully.
“Yet? Does that mean it might get more serious at some point?” Carson pressed.
“I don’t know, maybe,” Nick replied, annoyed. “We’ll just have to see what happens.”
“As we all know, Brian and Kevin are married, and AJ’s engaged. Do you want to get married too someday?”
“Yeah, maybe someday, but not for a long time,” Nick answered firmly.
“So, tell us more about your new girlfriend. Rumor has it that she’s in the... exotic dancing field. True story?”
“Uh... I’d prefer not to reveal any career information about her,” Nick said slowly, hoping to avoid any further questioning.
“Uh-huh.” Carson’s tone told Nick he could see right through the answer. But he thankfully changed the subject anyway and said, “Your album, Now or Never, recently went gold. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Nick replied, relieved.
“However, Justin Timberlake’s album, Justified, is several times platinum. How does that make you feel?”
Nick felt like screaming right then, but he gritted his teeth and said, “Justin’s doing his own thing, and I’m doing mine. I don’t listen to comparisons because what we’re doing is totally different. I wish him the best and congratulate him on his success.” That wasn’t the exact truth, but there was no way Nick was going to admit how much it pissed him off that a wannabe little prick like Justin could sell so many more albums than he could.
The interview ended a few minutes later, and Nick was left seething, vowing never to appear on TRL again. He knew that would never happen; he was sure he’d be there with the guys in a few months, before their album was released. Besides, if he never appeared on any show that had asked him about Justin Timberlake, he’d pretty much have no TV appearances anymore. Damn that Timberlake for deciding to go solo right after he did.
Suddenly, there was a knock on Nick’s hotel room door. He climbed off his bed, his anger fading, and went to the door. Leah stood outside it in the hall, waiting for him.
“Hey,” he said, smiling at the sight of her. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much. I was just wondering what we’re doing tonight since there’s no show,” she said.
“Oh... well... I don’t know...” Nick said slowly. He actually hadn’t even considered it; his only plans were take full advantage of sleeping somewhere that wasn’t a bus, as this was one of the few nights he got to spend in a hotel during the tour. He had been extremely tired a lot of the time lately and figured he just wasn’t getting enough sleep in the cramped bunk he had on the bus. It would do him good to sleep in a real bed in the hotel. “I actually planned on just staying in tonight,” he told Leah.
“Oh.” Leah’s voice was filled with disappointment. “I thought we could go out on the town tonight.”
“Oh... well, feel free to go out on your own if you want to. But I’d really rather just hang out here.”
“Fine.” She started to walk out, but Nick reached out and caught her arm.
“Leah? You’re not mad, are you?”
“No... it’s just... we haven’t really done anything together, you know? I mean, we’ve hung out, but we haven’t done anything... just traveled day after day.”
“Well, that’s kinda part of the job,” Nick laughed.
Leah gave him a patronizing look. “I know, but I thought we’d get more chances to do other things, and now when we actually do have a chance, you don’t want to.”
“I’m sorry, babe, I just am feeling really tired lately cause of the tour, and I want to get a good night’s sleep. We’ll go out together once we get back to Tampa, I promise.”
“But that’s still a week away. I miss you, Nicky.”
Nick cocked his head at her. “You see me all the time. How could you miss me?”
“I don’t know... I just... I miss doing romantic things with you... all we do is sit on that damn bus. I want to get out.”
“So go out! Go out tonight and have a great time! I’m not trying to stop you,” Nick argued, annoyed.
“But I want to go out with you! It’s no fun alone!”
“Not tonight, okay?”
“Fine.” Glaring at him, Leah stormed out in a huff. Nick started to go after her, then decided against it. If she was going to act that way, fine. She would come back when she felt like it. Besides, he just didn’t have the energy to fight with her.
In an overall pissed off mood, Nick flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes, massaging his temples to ward off the headache he felt coming on. Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.
***
When Nick woke back up, he was shocked to discover that it was dark outside. He had unintentionally slept for a good five hours. He expected to feel a surge of energy after his unplanned nap, but instead, he was dragging even more than before.
His first thought was of Leah, and he wondered if she was still upset with him. After some consideration, he decided to go next door to her room and see if she still wanted to go out that night. He didn’t feel that great and figured he was either coming down with something or just run down from the tour, but he didn’t want to let Leah down and told himself he could manage a night out on the town with her, despite how he was feeling.
However, when he knocked on her door, he found that she was not in her room.
“She left a few minutes ago, Nick,” a deep voice called down the hall. Nick looked to see Joe walking towards him.
“She did?” he asked, as the big black bodyguard approached.
“Yeah, she said she was going to go hit some clubs or something,” Joe replied. “How come you didn’t go with her?”
“I didn’t know she was going,” Nick admitted. “I was asleep.”
“Oh. Well, were you planning on going out?”
“No...” Nick said slowly. “No, I’m just gonna hang out in my room, I guess. See you later, Joe.”
“All right, catch you later, kid.”
Nick went back to his room, half annoyed with Leah, half relieved. He was a bit hurt that she had gone out without telling him, but then again, he had pissed her off, and he had been sleeping. Maybe she had tried to call him or stopped by before she left, and he had not woken up. And even if she didn’t, he couldn’t blame her. She was mad, and he understood her reasoning. And now he didn’t have to go out after all; he could go back to his room and catch a good movie.
And that was exactly what he ended up doing, returning to his room and ordering “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” on pay per view. He managed to make it through most of the movie, but sometime during the last half hour, he unknowingly drifted off to sleep again, plagued with bizarre dreams of hobbits, elves, and... Leah.
***
