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Author's Chapter Notes:

It would have been a lot more convenient if everyone would have had a mobile phone in 1993, wouldnt it?

enjoy the chapter!

  1. Stand By You

 

July 1993

                Brian kept his eyes closed, but Nick knew he wasn’t sleeping.

After a while, Brian’s anger had diminished somewhat and they had tried to figure out what to do now. Well, Brian had. Now it was pretty obvious to Nick why Brian and Kevin were family, and he had thought Kevin was the biggest control freak in the world…

                Brian had taken charge completely and didn’t leave any room for Nick’s suggestions, so the 13-year-old just nodded and said yes to everything. He didn’t feel that he had a right to argue anyway. To be honest, he was glad that he wasn’t alone.

Nick had never realized that missing a plane would cause so much trouble and stress. They’d decided to spend the night at the airport and thankfully, they weren’t the only ones.  Brian had tried to use the phone to call his parents, but apparently they weren’t home, and Nick’s parents were on a plane to Stockholm. Nick remembered their planning really well.

“Tomorrow we’ll call Lou and the others at the hotel,” Brian had informed surly.

“You got the number?” Nick had questioned.

“Yeah, it’s in my luggage, that’s… on the plane… right now…” Brian had stopped pacing and got a look of pure terror on his face, “Shit! I don’t have the number!”

“Relax, cause I do!” Nick had smiled triumphantly, waving a sheet of information in the air, that he’d just gotten out of his hand luggage.

“You little shit! You tryin’ to give me a heart attack? Geez!”

“Calm down, you won’t get a heart attack that easily.” Nick didn’t really know why, but Brian had looked at him meaningfully and then grabbed the piece of paper out of the youngest hands.

“Gimme that. I’ll keep it,” he had stated.

“Pfff, you’re such a control freak,” Nick had protested playfully.

“I like to call it ‘well prepared’, g’night.” And that was that. He’d lain down on the bench and pretended to sleep. Nick knew he was pretending, cause he himself wasn’t even able to sleep here, and he could sleep anywhere else. 

“I’m sorry,” he stated soberly.

There wasn’t an answer. Disappointing. Nick felt a great need to apologize suddenly. Not just for getting lost, but mostly because it was obvious to him that he’d totally misjudged Brian. No, he needed to apologize for everything, as he realized how rude his behaviour must have been.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, a little louder this time.

“I heard you,” Brian mumbled.

Nick smirked, enjoying the fact that he’d been right about Brian not sleeping. They had found an almost deserted hall at the end of the airport and tried to find some rest on the cold, hard benches in the middle.

 Nick tucked the thin blanket tighter around his frame. Miraculously, Brian had pulled it out of his bag and had handed it to Nick without a word, while taking off his own jacket that would have to function as a cover for himself. Nick had no idea how to make sense out of Brian’s behaviour, and had accepted the blanket wordlessly. Now, as he watch his companion shivering slightly in his t-shirt, he shrugged off his own jacket quickly and threw it on Brian. It may be July, but the airport’s air condition did it’s work perfectly and it was downright cold in there.  There were a few minutes of silence, while Brian picked up Nick’s jacket, that had fallen ungracefully on the ground.

“Thanks,” he murmured eventually.

“I’m sorry.” Nick said and he could see Brian smiling vaguely.

“I know you are, Nick.”

“And?”

‘’Never say sorry, unless you know what you’re sorry for,” came the simple answer.

“I’m sorry for everything,” Nick tried.

“… that’s a lot.”

Brian had decided to be cryptic in his answers obviously and Nick could tell the other boy enjoyed every moment of his apology.

“Well, what do you want me to say?”

“See for yourself…”

“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been such a dickhead to you all the time, I shouldn’t have,”

“That’s a start,” Brian replied.

“I just don’t really like strangers, it had nothing to do with you, really,” Nick confessed quietly.

“Wow, that’s a relief, so basically, you’re rude to everyone?” Brian sneered back.

Nick thought about that for a minute. “Well, yeah…”

“Good to know,” Brian shrugged and nodded.

“I’m sorry I got us stranded here as well,” Nick continued.

“Hey, I’ll tell you a secret,” Brian began.

“What?”

“I hate flying too.”

Nick stayed silent for a few seconds, then he looked at Brian and saw the enormous smirk on the kid’s face and they both started laughing.

“I’m glad you’re here, Brian,” he suddenly said.

“You’re welcome.”

Chapter End Notes:

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