“So? We goin clubbin tonight or what?” Alex questioned as soon as the last interviewer had left the room. “We’re only in Los Angeles for one more night! It’s time to show this town how we do!”
“Shut up, Alex. Don’t you ever get tired of being the center of attention?” Brian growled, the scowl returning to his face now that the interviews were over. “And you’re not black, so quite trying to act like you are. It makes you look like an idiot.”
“What the hell crawled up your ass and died. Seriously man, I wasn’t even talking to you. We all know what your plans are tonight. You’re going to head back to the hotel and barricade yourself in your room like you’ve done every other night for the last four months. Well you know what? We’re sick of your attitude and it’s time you got over it dude. She left you, but you still have a son who needs you. Maybe you should think about that instead of whether or not I’m the center of attention,” Alex lectured, returning his friend’s glare with just as much intensity as he was getting.
“Not like it’s any of your business, but I was planning on watching a movie with my son tonight, thank you very much. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you go accusing people,” he spat, barely able to control his mounting anger.
“Well, shit man. After four months of doing the same thing every night, what else are we supposed to think? I don’t even know you anymore man, and I’ve been your best friend for 15 years! Doesn’t that mean something to you? Anything at all? What about your son? Your own flesh and blood barely even knows his own father anymore. Don’t you think there’s something wrong with that?” Alex pointed out, knowing that if he backed down now, he might risk losing his brother forever.
“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE! You don’t know what it feels like to find out your wife doesn’t love you anymore! How do you think I felt when she told me that she didn’t want to live a lie anymore, huh? How do you think I felt when she told me that she was leaving for good? That she wanted a divorce? Don’t pretend like you understand, because you don’t,” Brian ranted, his face bright red and his eyes teary and bloodshot. “You have no idea what I’m going through, so don’t stand there and pretend you do.”
“Then talk to us man. Tell us what’s going on. We’re your brothers. We care. We want to help you. But we can’t help if we don’t know what’s going on. You can’t keep pushing us away forever, Brian. We’re always going to be here for you, no matter what,” Alex soothed, trying to calm his angry friend.
“I can’t… I just, I can’t,” Brian responded, sighing in defeat before walking out of the room without another word. The rest of the group just sat there, eyes locked on the door as they tried to comprehend what just happened.
“Damn. I tried, but that man is freakin stubborn,” Alex unnecessarily explained.
“We know man. You got more out of him than any of us have gotten over the last four months. We just have to keep trying,” Howie encouraged, laying a comforting hand on his best friend’s sagging shoulders. “We can’t give up on him. We have to keep trying.”
“I know, D, but he just makes it so hard sometimes,” Alex vented.
“So we try harder each time until we finally get through to him. He’s our brother and we’re not going to just let him live the rest of his life miserable and bitter,” Howie preached, looking around at the other two occupants of the room.
“You’re right D. He just makes me so mad sometimes,” Alex fumed, starting to get wound up again.
“Hey guys! How did it go?” Casey asked, entering the room, followed closely by Serine and Paige. “What happened in here?” she asked, noticing the guys’ gloomy faces and the solemn atmosphere in the room.
“Alex just got into it with Brian,” Nick informed his girlfriend, giving her a sweet, passionate kiss before returning his attention to the rest of the room. “I think he made progress, but there’s no telling with Brian anymore. The man’s just not the same. He’s not Frick anymore,” he added, a frown crossing his face.
“Hey baby,” Howie greeted Serine, giving her a gentle kiss before returning the subject back to the issue at hand. “So what are we doing tonight? Are we going out or are we just going to stay in and have some kind of movie night?”
“I say we just stay in and see what’s on Pay-Per-View. I don’t really feel like going out anymore,” Alex voted, his energy spent after his argument with Brian. “What about the rest of y’all? In or out?
“I agree with Alex. I think we should just relax, watch a movie, eat popcorn – have a good old-fashioned movie night,” Paige approved, looking around the room for any objections to the plan.
“Okay! Movie night it is,” Howie declared, his excitement for a nice relaxing evening in growing. “Whose room should we meet in?” he asked, wanting to settle all the details before everyone went their separate ways to prepare for their night.
“How about we meet in mine? Out of the people not sharing a room, mine is probably the cleanest,” Paige suggested, shooting a challenging look at Alex, daring him to argue with her.
“Yeah, let’s trash her room tonight so she’s the one who has to pick up the mess in the morning,” Alex agreed, returning her challenging look with a gloating look of his own. “After all, she volunteered.”
“Since it’s in my room, I am officially uninviting Alex. Everyone else, I’ll see you over there in half an hour. Any particular requests from room service?”
“Yeah! Make sure there’s plenty of popcorn! Ooh, and gummy worms… And ice cream! Oh, don’t forget the cokes! We’re going to need lots of caffeine tonight. Oh yeah! And get some of those Cooler Ranch Doritos,” Nick listed off, getting excited by every new addition to the list. “Oh! And don’t forget the Oreos and milk!”
“Nick, I don’t think room service has all of that,” Casey informed her boyfriend.
“It’s okay. I’ll just make a quick trip to that Walgreen’s across the street,” Paige offered, attempting to write down everything on Nick’s list. “Anything else?”
“Chocolate covered popcorn?” Casey requested, garnering strange looks from everyone in the room – except for Paige, who nodded her head in agreement. “And maybe some Twinkies while you’re at it,” Casey laughed, sharing an inside joke with Paige.
“Did you ever tell Nick about that joke?” Paige questioned, wagging her eyebrows at the man in question. His blank stare gave her all the response she needed to know that Casey had never told them about their Twinkie plan.
“Casey and I had this plan that since everyone likes to throw stuff on stage during the concerts, she and I would go to a Backstreet concert together one day and throw Twinkies on stage – one for Nick and one for Brian. Nick’s would have the name Thor written on it, and Brian’s would just have his name on it,” Paige explained, bursting out into laughter as Nick’s face turned bright red from embarrassment due to the nickname given to his most sensitive body part by his fans.
“OH MY GOD! That would have been hilarious! You should have done it!” Alex exclaimed, barely able to contain his laughter enough to get his words out before they were swallowed in his amusement. “Twinkies,” he laughed, shaking his head at our crazy fan adventures. “Classic. Just classic.”
“Oh man, the things I could tell you about Casey and our wild, crazy fan days,” Paige teased, laughing at her friend’s discomfort. “But I’ll save the rest of those stories for another time,” she kidded.“Alright, I’ll see you all back in my room in half an hour,” Paige declared, dismissing the rest of the group to their various rooms to get ready for their movie night. “Aren’t you going to go get ready?” she asked Alex when she noticed he hadn’t left with the rest of the group.
“Actually, I thought you might want some help getting all the stuff from Walgreen’s so I thought I’d offer,” Alex explained, giving her his sweetest smile. “Besides, how else am I going to pick your brain about your crazy fan adventures?”
“Oh Alex, don’t ever change,” Paige laughed, patting the younger man on the shoulder.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he questioned, following her down the hall to the elevators. “No, seriously, what is that supposed to mean?” he asked, when all he got in response was a resounding laugh.
“It means never lose that childlike curiosity. It’s the one thing that will help keep you grounded in this world,” Paige wisely explained, smiling at the innocence of the man in front of her. Despite everyone’s claims stating he was the most experienced of them all when it came to matters of life, he still held onto the childlike innocence. He may have been through his fair share of bad times, but he still held onto that hope – that open-eyed wonder – that so many adults lose with age and experience.
It was one of the things that Paige, herself, could relate to. On more than one occasion during her marriage, Shawn would stop what he was doing and just watch Paige’s reaction to new experiences or objects, saying he loved seeing the innocence in her eye whenever she discovered something new.
“Are you okay?” Alex questioned, watching the torrent of emotions sweep through her eyes, leaving a lingering sadness in its wake.
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. I was just thinking,” she responded, shaking her thoughts from her mind, not willing to risk breaking down in the middle of the hotel lobby with so many people to witness it.
“Are you sure? I mean, you looked downright distraught there for a second,” Alex pried, trying to get her to open up to him. He had heard from both Serine and Casey how worried they were that Paige hadn’t shed a single tear in memory of her husband or son since the accident.
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking, though,” she smiled an empty smile, grateful for his concern but wishing he would drop the subject all the same. “I was just thinking about my husband, that’s all.”
“He sounds like he was a great man,” Alex complimented.
“He was the most remarkable man I’ve ever met. He went through so much in his lifetime, but he never stopped living life to the fullest for a second of that time. He was always so full of life and trying to make everyone around him happy. That’s one of the things I loved most about him. His ability to bring out the best in everyone around him. He was an amazing man,” Paige reminisced, her eyes welling up at the memories of her beloved husband.
“If you ever want to talk, I’m here for you,” Alex offered, pulling her into a comforting embrace. “Anytime.”
“Thanks. I may take you up on that one of these days,” she accepted, holding on to him while she gathered her composure.
“Anytime,” he repeated.
