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Chapter Two-Hundred-Fifty-Three



“Should we even bother going to ask AJ if he wants to come join us?” Kevin questioned, as he sat Elenore down at the table with the rest of the kids with her plate of Orange chicken, Chow Mein, Fried Rice, and Egg Roll. She had insisted upon not having the Orange Chicken but Kevin told her she has to try it and put just two on her plate while filling the rest of it up with everything else.


“I wouldn’t. Besides, I think D said he was bringing him back some pizza” Brian shrugged, as he watched his cousin tuck a napkin in Elenore’s shirt and place one on her lap in attempt to keep her outfit clean as much as possible. Nick chuckled.


“Would you like to just cut some holes in a garbage bag and have her wear that, Kev?”


“Do we have any?” Kevin asked, really considering the idea. Jerald laughed.


“Why’d you get her dressed so early anyway Kev?”


“So I wouldn’t have to do it later. We’re on a time schedule Jer.” Brian chuckled.


“Just lean over the table when you eat honey, okay? Your outfit is very cute we wouldn’t want you to get anything on it.”


“Kay,” Elenore replied dutifully and she made a show of leaning over the table carefully, as she took a bite of her rice.


“How’s that egg roll, Kota?” Q suddenly asked, looking over at her as she sat quietly between Sarah and Elenore.


“It’s yummy. Can I have my two dollars now?” Drew eyed her plate and he chuckled.


“Nice try squirt but you haven’t even taken a bite out of it yet.” Dakota scowled and Nick smirked.


“Come on baby, try it for daddy. I know you’ll like it,” he encouraged.


“What is daddy gonna gives me if I try it?” she asked smartly, and everybody laughed.

“Nothing. Daddy doesn’t do bribes,” he insisted and Brian scoffed. Dakota looked down at her plate then and began eating her chicken, purposely ignoring the egg roll.


“You’re already getting two dollars honey,” Brian laughed. Dakota continued to stubbornly eat her chicken.


“All right fine,” Nick sighed, giving in. “You’ll get a kiss if you try it. How’s that?” Dakota looked up hopefully then.


“How abouts two kisses? She bargained.


“One Kiss,” Nick insisted playfully.


“Three kisses and that’s my final offer.”


“Well…you drive a hard bargain little one, but I guess I can deal with that” he told her while smirking and she giggled. “Three kisses all yours if you try that egg roll.”


“You promise?”


“I promise.” She looked at Q and Drew then.


“An’ I still get two dollars?”


“Yes ma’am.” Dakota eyed the three of them for a couple of moments, and then she picked up her egg roll and took a small bite out of it. She put it down on her plate then and made a real show of liking it.


“Mmm…delicious! This is so good I love it!” Nick chuckled and she got up and ran around the table to him and looked up at him expectantly. He rolled his eyes playfully knowing she’s lying through her teeth but he never said she had to actually like it. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and bent down and gave her a peck on the lips, before kissing each cheek. When he pulled away she beamed at him, kissed his cheek in return and she went on over to Drew and Q and collected her money before going over and settling back down in her seat again.


“Nicky?” Ashley spoke up suddenly, a small smile on her face.


“Hmm?”


“I don’t think I like my egg roll very much. If I try it…would you give me three kisses too?” she teased. Brian and Jerald laughed and Nick gently pulled her in his lap.


“Baby Id give you however many kisses you wanted,” He told her leaning forward and placing soft kisses on various parts of her face. She smirked and slid her good arm around his neck. Dakota sat there looking around at everybody, and noticed them all watching Nick and Ashley in amusement. Taking this as the perfect opportune moment, she picked up her egg roll and placed it on Elenore’s plate.


“There you goes Ellie,” she whispered.


“Thanks!” Elenore replied pleased, and she picked up her untouched chicken with her spoon and placed it on Dakota’s, completely unaware that Harry was sitting there watching them quietly. Suddenly Bella made a noise like she was going to cry and Nick and Ashley both looked down at her as she sat in her carseat between their two chairs. Ashley leaned down and grabbed hold of her pacifier and placed it in her mouth causing her to settle down almost instantly. By the time they were all finished eating, Kevin noticed Elenore about to wipe her hands on her skirt.


“HOLD it right there little one!” Elenore froze in her seat and looked up at him.


“Put your hands up in the air and no one gets dirty!” Jerald laughed and Elenore did as she was told. Kevin went over and placed his hands gently underneath her arms and lifted her up from the chair and he carried her over to the sink, turned the water on warm and leaned her over toward it, before sticking her hands under the water and helping her wash them.


“Joshua, shower. Now,” Brian ordered gently and Josh got up and hurried into Brian’s room where Brian told him his clothes and towel were at and got ready to take his shower.


“Come on Kota and Sarah, lets go get you two dressed. I was smart enough to give you your baths and just put you in play clothes until it’s time to go,” Nick announced, still teasing Kevin. Kevin scowled and Jerald chuckled.


“Save it Nicky or you’re going to get your ass kicked and I’m gonna laugh. You know how my brother likes to do everything early and be ready.”


“Yeah, yeah” Nick replied while rolling his eyes playfully and he squeezed Kevin’s shoulder gently before scooping both his girls up and carrying them out of the penthouse. Ashley stayed behind gently rocking Bella in her carseat with her foot while contemplating on being evil and going to bug AJ.


~*~*~*~*~*~



Meanwhile, at Peter Piper Pizza, Laila was off playing in the baby area. They have a little ball pit and slide made just for the tiny kids and Marcus was there keeping a very close watch on her while Howie and Ryan were off playing video games together in the arcade.


“Howie, can we play another round of air hockey?” Ryan pleaded, when the two of them had finished battling it out in a game of basketball, keeping points and all. Howie had lost miserably against Ryan and Ryan was rubbing it in relentlessly.


“One more. But then I think you need to start counting up your tickets afterwards and get your prize. We need to be leaving soon.”


“Aww…but I don’t want to,” Ryan whined, as this is the most fun he’s had in a long time.


“I know buddy, but we really need to. We still have to get AJ’s pizza back to him so he can eat and then you and Laila need to change out of your pizza stained clothes and all that jazz. We’re going to have literally ten minutes to get ready when we get back and then I have to work.”


“Work shmirk, your boss is a jerk” Ryan glowered. Howie laughed.


“Be as it may, I still have hundreds and thousands of fans that I would be letting down tonight if I stayed here all night playing air hockey with you – as much as I would love to, but sometimes we just have to do what we don’t want to. That’s life.” Ryan sighed.


“Okay…”


“Now come on…one more round of air hockey,” Howie told him and Ryan grinned before darting over to the air hockey table. Howie chuckled and followed him, the two of them each taking a side and grabbing their air hockey stick and Howie put two coins into the machine and pushed start, causing the game to turn on and the two of them broke out into a full on air hockey war.


“How come you guys have such a jerky boss?” Ryan questioned in the middle of their game.


“Please don’t use that word Ryan, it’s not nice” Howie scolded gently.


“Well, it’s the truth” Ryan shrugged. “I don’t like him. He looks at my Ashley like…I don’t know he’s just not nice and I wanna punch him.” Howie chuckled.


“You have a crush on Ashley, don’t you?”


“She’s just easy to talk to,” Ryan shrugged. “She really listens and cares and knows just what to say to make things better.” He added, not admitting to Howie’s question, but he doesn’t have to. It’s written all over his face when he talks about her.


“Yeah, she’s a pretty good friend” Howie agreed. “She’ll really go far in her career path that she is choosing, that’s for sure.”


“She’d make a pretty good girlfriend too,” Ryan insisted. Howie laughed.


“She’s just a litte too old for you buddy.”


“Age doesn’t matter.”


“It does after a certain extent,” Howie pointed out amusedly. “Besides…I think you would have to fight Nick for her, he’s pretty in love with her.”


“True…but I’m next in line,” Ryan insisted. Howie shook his head smiling, finding it extremely priceless that a nine-year-old is crushing on a seventeen-year-old. They played for a few moments more, until suddenly Howie made the final shot making him one score ahead of Ryan.


“HA! I win, I win, I win!” he cheered, doing a little victory dance in his spot. Ryan scowled.


“You cheated,” he insisted playfully.


“I did not, you just had your head on cloud Ashley and I took advantage of it. You and Nick both…sheesh. You should just form a fan club.”


“You’re the one to talk…How about every time my mom calls huh? You get this weird smile on your face like…like…you’ve had way too much of Ashley’s pain medicine and are all goofy or something.” Howie raised his eyebrow.


“I do not,” he denied innocently.


“You do so, and you spend hours talking to her too.”


“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”


“You do so. You’re in love with my momma.” Howie noticed the determined look on Ryan’s face then, and saw that he is strongly hoping that he will admit it and he became serious.


“Ryan your mom is going through a really rough time right now.”


“All the more reason for you to be there,” Ryan insisted.


“I’ll be there for her, I promise you buddy” Howie told him, and he went over and knelt down in front of him so they were eye level with each other. “But I don’t want you to get your hopes up on anything other then a friendship between me and your mother, okay? I really don’t think it’s appropriate.”


“Why not?”


“Because like I said…she’s going through a really rough time right now. She just lost your father it wouldn’t be the greatest idea if I made any kind of moves on her right now. I don’t think she’s ready to move on.”


“But Laila and I need you!”


“Yes, I know that…and I’m not going anywhere. I’m always going to be here for the two of you. Always. But all I’m saying is that I don’t think your mother is ready for romance just yet. Okay?”


“Kay…” Ryan replied resentfully and Howie rubbed his hand over Ryan’s back. Just yet Ryan thought to himself. Just yet. But she will be. If he can just get the two of them to spend more time together. He loved his dad very much and he always will. No one can replace him…ever. But him and Laila do need a fatherly figure in their life very much and it’s up to him that they get one. He knows that for sure. He also knows that no one could be better for the job then Howie. And if Howie and his mother got together, then maybe the goofy Backstreet Boy taking care of his sister wouldn’t be heart broken when its time for them to go back to their mom. After all, he is beginning to like that goofy Backstreet Boy.


“Come on Ryan, lets go count your tickets and collect your prizes,” Howie suggested, and he stood up and headed back to the table, Ryan taking hold of Howie’s hand. When they got back to the table, they found Marcus sitting there with Laila who was happily sipping from her cup of Dr Pepper.


“RYAN!” Laila exclaimed happily, and she dove up off of the bench and at her brother, attaching herself to him like a little monkey. Ryan grinned and slid his arms around her protectively and he kissed her forehead softly, as he stood there watching Howie count the tickets, adding his own into Ryan’s pile as he was only playing for him so he would get a better chance at getting a really neat prize. When he finished counting he looked at Ryan amazed.


“Wow kid, 3,000 tickets all in one visit. That’s pretty amazing if you ask me.”


“Yeah, I’ll say” Marcus agreed looking extremely impressed.


“Come on, lets go collect your prizes,” Howie replied and he stood up and headed for the prize booth, Ryan trailing close at his side with Laila still clinging to him. As soon as they got there, Laila squealed.


“TEDDY BEAR!” Ryan looked where she was pointing and saw a big teddy bear twice her size – heck it is nearly twice his size and it’s brown and fluffy and has a red bow around it’s neck and it’s only 200 tickets. He glanced at all of the other prizes then and saw a really neat green lava lamp. He would have fun looking at that at night and he has just enough to get both the teddy bear and the lava lamp. He might even be able to get himself a yo-yo and some candy too. Ryan set Laila down then and she immediately reached for Marcus, wanting up. Marcus chuckled and gathered the small child into his arms allowing her to snuggle into him like he were her own personal teddy bear. When it was Ryan’s turn in line then, Howie looked down at him curiously.


“Tell the man what you want buddy.”


“I want that teddy bear,” Ryan announced, pointing to the big teddy bear hanging from the wall. “And the green lava lamp, a yo-yo, and…” he looked at all of the candy. “Two fun dips for me and my sister.” Howie grimaced at the thought of his two-year-old eating fun dip, but otherwise said nothing. He’ll just thrust her upon AJ later. He does it to him after all. Gets her all riled up and then hands her over to him and expects him to be the responsible one. Well, now it’s AJ’s turn. The man grabbed a long stick then and he went over and got the big teddy bear down with it and he walked around the counter and set it down on the ground in front of Ryan. Laila gaped at it in surprise.


“TEDDY BEAR!” she exclaimed happily, and she slid from Marcus’ arms and darted for the gigantic bear, throwing her little arms around it and hugging it. Marcus laughed at how tiny she looks standing next to it.


“Laila wants to keeps teddy bear,” She announced, looking back at Ryan.


“It’s all yours Laila,” Ryan promised, and she squealed and tackled the bear all over again. Ryan shook his head smiling, feeling glad that he had made his little sister’s day and he looked at the man running the prizes again. He was back behind the counter getting a box that held Ryan’s lava lamp down and he sat it on the counter, before retrieving the candy and the yo-yo.


“Well, it’s a good thing we took the tour bus, huh?” Marcus asked, looking at Howie. “It would be very impossible to fit that thing in a car.”


“Mhm,” Howie agreed. “And it’s a good thing we’re taking the tour bus back to Florida instead of getting on the plane again. It would be a pain having to carry that through the airport and onto the plane – it would probably have to go in storage.” Marcus snorted.


“Knowing Ellie, she would probably free it for Laila the second she got a chance.” Howie shook his head.


“I think if we got back on the plane again, Kevin was planning on having her and Josh sit in a four seat isle – with them in the middle and two adults on either side of them.” When Ryan had his prizes he gathered them all in his arms and he looked at Howie and Marcus curiously.


“Ryan, keep your sister close to you,” Howie instructed. Ryan did as told and went over and took Laila’s hand while Howie and Marcus each took hold of the teddy bear. Laila made a screeching sound, not understanding what they’re doing with her teddy bear.


“Calm down honey, we’re just taking it out to the bus. You can play with it in a second okay?” Howie reassured. Ryan kept hold of Laila and he began following Howie and Marcus out to the bus. As soon as they were out there and on the bus, they set the teddy bear down.


“There you go sweetie, go crazy” Marcus told her, and she once again tackled the teddy bear. The bus driver came out from the front where his seat was with a pizza in his hand and he looked at them curiously.


“Ready to go now?”


“Yeah, we really need to.”


“Okay,” He replied.


“Did you get AJ some pizza?” Howie asked, suddenly remembering that his friend hadn’t eaten yet and he looked at Marcus.


“Yeah, I brought his box out here earlier just before you and Ryan came back to the table.” The bus driver went back to his seat then, set his pizza down in the small box of his and he started up the bus and headed back to the hotel.