My Next Thirty Years




"Hey, where'd all the eggnog go?" asked AJ nonchalantly.

Brian lifted his glass of white liquid, "Sorry, man. I got the last of it." Brian had just went for a glass and just managed to fill a cup with what was left in the small punch bowl. He hadn't even had a chance to taste it yet. He was just about to bring the glass to his lips when...

"I got Kristen's CDs!" cried Nick, running into the living room with a black case tucked under his arm. He dived behind the couch Brian was sitting on, almost causing Brian to spill his drink.

"Hey! Watch it, Frack!"

"Nick Carter!" yelled Kristen, standing in the archway of the room, hands on her hips. "What have you done with my CDs?!"

Nick put a pout on his face, "I jus' wanna check them out, Kris'." Oh, boy. Here's comes the puppy dog face. "Can I? Puh-leez?" Nick's lower lip is now stuck out, eyes wide and pleading.

Another lost soul struck down by the powers of Nicky, "All right, Nick. You can see them, just don't mess them up!" With that, Kristen left the room and went back to the kitchen to finish fixing the Christmas cookie tray.

"All right!" exclaimed Nick, vaulting over the back of the couch and landing beside Brian. Again, Brian failed in his attempt at a drink.

"Damn it, Nick! You almost made me spill!"

Nick was too busy flipping through Kristen's CDs. Hmm... Faith Hill, Blink 182, Guns and Roses, Creed, ... ...

"Hey! Tim McGraw! Kristen likes Tim McGraw?" Nick asked Brian, grinning when Brian sighed and lowered his glass of eggnog once again.

"Well, Frack, she has his CD so I guess she does," Brian was getting annoyed. He just wanted to drink his eggnog.

"You wanna listen to it?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Will you stop bugging me?" breathed Brian, exasperated.

"Maybe!" returned Nick, bouncing off the couch and to the stereo. He slipped the CD in and selected 'random', then sat back down next to Brian.

AJ raised an eyebrow as the first song played. He pushed away from the wall he was leaning against, "Country? We're listenin' to country?"

Nick smiled up at him, "Yep!"

"Great!" AJ sarcasticallly yelled. He liked country all right, he just wasn't in the mood for it. He was heading to the stereo when he froze, he stared with mouth open as Kevin stumbled into the room. Then his mouth turned into a grin.

"Hey! Tim McGraw!" Kevin yelled... really loud.

Brian was detoured from his drink again, his head snapping to Kevin. He glanced at Nick, he was staring with his mouth open, eyes wide in shock. Brian looked back to his cousin, "Kev?"

Kevin didn't seem to hear him, he just moved further into the living room, almost tripping over the coffee table. He held a half full glass of eggnog in his hand.

"Hey, I love this song!" Again, Kevin spoke quite loudly with the slightest of slurs.

The first song had ended and the beginning of song number 12 strummed its melody...

Kevin wrapped an arm around AJ's shoulders, grinning as he opened his mouth and sang...

"Whoo!" Kev whooped, spinning AJ and himself around in a circle.

"I think I'll take a moment and celebrate my age, the ending of an era and the turning of the page. Now its time to focus in on where I go from here, Lord have mercy on my next thirty years!"

Nick leaned his head close to the stunned Brian, "Is Kev feeling okay?"

Brian just shook his head mutely, the eggnog forgotten at his side.

Kevin continued 'singing', it was almost like he meant the words. He pushed AJ away and knelt behind the couch, his head resting on his arms on the back in between Nick and Brian's heads. He sang to their faces, like he was talking to them in an ordinary conversation.

"In my next thirty years... I'm gonna have some fun, try to forget about all the crazy things I've done. Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears... And I'll do it better in my next thirty years!"

Kevin pushed up from the couch and moved back around toward AJ, damn near falling into the Christmas tree.

Nick looked at Brian, an eyebrow raised, "Kevin's done crazy things? Where was I?"

Brian could only shake his head again, trying to process what was happening.

Just then Howie stepped into the room. "What the hell is all that racket? I could hear it all the way-"

Howie broke off as he took in the sight before him. Kevin saw him and meandered to Howie, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the living room.

"What the-" was all Howie got out before Kevin whipped him around the room, dancing awkwardly to the music. Kevin continued to pull the stunned Howie around and he broke into the next verse...

"My next thirty years I'm gonna settle all the scores. Cry a little less, laugh a little more. Find a world with happiness without the hate and fear. Figure just what I'm doin' here... In my next thirty years!"

Howie managed to break Kevin's hold and spun away, retreating behind the laughing AJ. Kevin grabbed Nick and pulled him up and flung him around the room, "Here we go!"

"Kev!" cried Nick, getting freaked out. "Let me go!"

"All right!" Kevin sang and let him go. Nick fell back onto the couch, staring up at Kevin as he continued singing, now spinning around the room and dancing by himself...

"Oh, my next thirty years... I'm gonna watch my weight, eat a few more salads and not stay up so late. Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers... Huh, maybe I'll remember my next thirty years."

Kristen chose that moment to enter the room with a tray full of Christmas cookies for the guys, "Okay, here you go and-"

She was cut off when Kevin wrapped his arm around her shoulders, taking a drink of his eggnog. He looked into her stunned features as he sang...

"My next thirty years will be the best years of my life. Raise a little family and hang with my wife. Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear. Make up for lost time here..." Kevin gave her a gentle kiss, smiling, "In my next thirty years."

Kristen stared up at him, "Kevin, what-"

Kevin spun away and tipped back the last of his eggnog, he stumbled back over toward Nick and Brian.

"In my next thirty years!"

They all watched in stunned silence, except for AJ, who was grinning like an idiot.

Kevin was getting a little unsteady on his feet, "Oh, whoa..."

He didn't seem to care and tipped his glass back again, getting the last drops, "Mmmmm, yeah, yeah, yeah..."

Howie found his voice, "Uhh, maybe you should sit down, Kev."

Kevin spun dizzily around in Howie's direction, "All right..."

Then he just stood for a moment, "Aw, here we go boys..." Then his eyes rolled and he fell in a heap at Nick and Brian's feet.

Brian stared at Kevin's sleeping form as the last notes of music played. He looked at his eggnog, then took a sip. He grimaced, "All right, who spiked the eggnog?"

The End.

"My Next Thirty Years" Sung by Tim McGraw. CD: "A Place In The Sun"