Ever since the incident at the dance studio three days ago, Nick was giving Kevin the silent treatment and only talking to AJ, Howie, and Brian at a minimum. Numerous times the boys, except Kevin, had approached Nick in attempt to resolve the issue, but Nick stood his ground. He planned on dragging this one out in order to prove his point. Until Kevin apologized, he wasn’t going to back down.
Tonight though, AJ had popped in at Nick’s Malibu beach house to confront him of his childish behavior. He blatantly stated that he was getting tired of both Nick and Kevin’s PMS attitude and wanted them to just get over it.
“You both need to stop acting like a fucking chick on the rag!” he said as soon as he walked through Nick’s door.
He had persisted that Nick come out with him for dinner to talk about it, and although reluctant, Nick accepted. They took off in AJ’s black Escalade and on the drive to the restaurant in Santa Monica; AJ had reassured Nick that the guys wouldn’t be joining them at dinner. However, as soon as the two stepped into the building, Nick saw that AJ had lied.
“You asshole,” Nick hissed in AJ’s ear as they rounded the large table. “You promised me!”
“It was the only way I knew that you would come,” AJ replied as he pulled a chair out to sit.
Now, as Kevin tried to make small talk with everyone, Nick had a sudden urge to throw his menu on the table, get up, and walk out. He didn’t want to sit and watch Kevin pretend that he didn’t do anything wrong and he especially did not want Brian staring at him like some damn puppy dog! Yet he knew he couldn’t just leave.
But as soon as Kevin opened his mouth to talk to him, Nick knew he would not be able to sit through a whole night together.
“So Nick, could you explain why you didn’t answer your phone last night? I think your agent and I called you about seven times trying to inform you of a interview we have tomorrow. Management chewed my ass out for not being able you reach you.”
So he couldn’t just walk out, but he could escape to the bathroom for a few moments.
“I’m going to go take a piss,” Nick stated as he got up from his seat and looked around.
When he went to push his chair in, he heard Kevin reply.
“I was in the middle of talking to you, Nick. Don’t you think it’s kind of rude to dismiss yourself while someone is talking to you?”
This pushed Nick to the edge. What nerve does Kevin have in lecturing me about this? He hasn’t even apologized for talking behind my back yet!
Nick just scoffed and turned around, but not before muttering “Fuck this shit…” as he stormed off to leave.
After placing their orders with the waiter, Kevin sat impatiently for Nick to return. When their food had arrived, he knew it had been too long.
“Where the hell is he?” Kevin wondered. “I’m going to go check in the bathroom.”
“No use, man. He ain’t there,” Brian shook his head. “He ditched us.”
Kevin groaned as he took his heads into his hands “Why can’t we just have a normal night out without any drama?”
The others could only shrug their shoulders in response.
When Nick had exited the restaurant, he immediately reached for his cigarettes. When he didn’t feel the square pack anywhere on him, he grunted. He had left his pack on his desk in his office.
He ran his fingers through his short blonde locks and began to walk to the parking lot when he realized that AJ had driven to the restaurant, not him. He had no cigarettes and no ride.
“Shit,” he huffed. There wasn’t a convenient store around, only posh looking restaurants and boutiques.
Nick slowly began to stroll the streets of Santa Monica aimlessly, searching for a place to buy a pack of smokes.
Soon, he began getting wrapped up in his thoughts about the boys and tonight’s get ‘together’.
Nick felt bad that he had just walked out on the boys. He knew he was going to have hell to pay from Kevin. Kevin would yell that he had been disrespectful to just dismiss himself, probably stressing the fact that Nick had lied about leaving. He led him to believe that he was in the restroom. Oh yes, Kevin would just jump at the chance to chew Nick’s ass out about it. Because he was Mr. ‘Perfect’.
Nick hated it, he really did. Throughout all his years of being a Backstreet boy, he found out one sure thing. He could never be like Kevin.
Kevin was punctual. Kevin was smart and didn’t screw up his sentences during interviews. Kevin knew how to respect his elders and not walk out on his friends at restaurants. Kevin was a gentleman to everyone. Kevin never got pulled over for DUI’s and didn’t party with bitchy heiresses. Kevin had the ‘prefect’ marriage with the ‘perfect’ woman, living in the ‘perfect’ house. Yup, all of those qualities Nick seemed to lack. And after failed attempts of trying to be like Kevin, Nick finally gave in.
But to his defense, Nick was only the classic ‘Nick’ because that’s what everyone soon pegged him as at an early age. “Oh, Nick’s late again?” they would say. “Nick is always late!” So Nick started to frequently show up late knowing that everyone already figured he would be. “Oh, Nick’s whining again?” they would say. “Nick always whines!” Soon, Nick found himself whining just for the sake of playing along to his given part. Eventually, Nick began to take on his so-called mannerisms as if they were a part of him all along. It became second nature to him, and soon, it was him.
And now, he wondered, could I stop all this shit and grow up?
Nick’s thoughts were quickly shifted when he heard loud shouts from a group of teenagers. Suddenly he found himself standing along the Santa Monica pier. Almost confused as to how he wound up there, he turned to walk away from the beach. Yet, something was pulling at Nick, telling him not to go back. He scanned the pier and the beach below it. Then his eyes rest on the amusement park that sat just along the end. Pacific Park.
Nick walked through the entrance and up to the ticket booth. He paid for his unlimited rides ticket and entered the park with no intention to ride any of them at all. As he passed by the kiddy rides and small game booths asking himself why he was here, Nick was unaware that this night would introduce a new character who would turn his life upside down.
