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Chapter 99


Nick slid out of the truck and headed into the building, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. After taking the elevator over to the rehearsal room and walked in, the other guys were there already, talking and warming up. Nick walked over to the corner and set his stuff down with everyone else’s.

“Ah ha, the prodigal son returns,” AJ laughed, making his way over.

Nick rolled his eyes and watched as the rest followed AJ.

“So Nick, how’d everything go?” Kevin asked.

“It went good, she’s really sweet.”

Howie raised an eyebrow, “There’s that word again.”

“What? She is!”

“So are we ever gonna meet her?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah, in September, I gave her an all access pass for her birthday.”

“Wow, that was nice of you,” Howie grinned.

“Yeah, surprise surprise right?” Nick rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, what’d you guys do?” Brian questioned, sitting down on floor.

Nick followed, “We hung out. She took me to her job; we went to the movies, the beach, the mall, a club.”

“Sounds nice, what’d you do on the last day?” AJ smirked.

“Waited to hear from her mother about helping her to see her dad in Georgia, he was in the hospital.”

“Was?” Howie questioned.

“Yeah he was sick, really sick.”

“What happened? Is he out now?”

He sighed, “Nah, he died early yesterday morning.”

There was silence for a moment before Howie spoke.

“Aww damn.”

“Yeah, his liver and kidneys shut down and he developed pneumonia and well…”

“How…I mean…how was she?” Brian asked softly.

Nick sighed, “She was pretty broken up about it naturally. Her and her dad were kinda having a hard time for awhile, luckily the day before they’d talked and cleared the air a bit. Still she was a mess…I’ve never been close to anyone who’s lost their parent right then with the exception of you Kev, I wasn’t there for that. But this, it just tore me up. I mean, like, she was crying and all I could do was hold her.”

“Hey man, I’m sure that was enough,” Kevin smiled sadly.

“It didn’t feel like it.”

“I’m sure Veronica was grateful that you were there though Nick. And hey, her dad is in a better place now, I’m sure she knows that,” Brian offered.

Nick nodded, sighing heavily.

“You said we’re gonna see her in September for a concert? Which one is she going to? I know it’s in New York, but is she gonna be in New York City or in Buffalo?” Howie questioned.

“I dunno, didn’t ask, but I’m assuming Buffalo, that’s only an hour or so from her I think, and that‘s the one I mentioned when I gave the pass to her.”

“Has she ever been to a concert before?” AJ asked.

“Yeah, she’s told me she’s been to a few, and that she’s never been real close to the stage.”

Kevin stared at him for a moment, “Now that you’ve told us all this, are you gonna tell us how you two met?”

Groaning, he ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t keep putting it off, and he wasn’t ashamed of Veronica, quite the opposite if he wanted to be honest with himself. He found that he was finally willing to share her with four of the most important guys in his life, even though he knew what their reactions would be. Veronica was important to him, and he wanted them to know it, to know she wasn’t like the others he knew.

“Yeah, alright.”

Brian blinked, “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow ok then.”

“We met through my fan club,” Nick started.

“Your fan club? Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” Howie sighed.

“Where does she work?” Brian asked.

“Huh?”

“What department does she work in? She works at your fan club right?”

“What? Oh no…no she doesn’t work there,” Nick continued.

“You met her at your fan club, but she doesn’t work there? What was she there looking for a job or something?” AJ prodded.

“No, nothing like that.”

“What then?” Kevin pressed.

“I met her through my fan club.”

They all stared at him, confusion in their eyes.

“She…wrote me a letter and I happened to find it and I wrote her back.”

“Ok, so someone from the fan club wrote you a letter?” Howie frowned, trying to piece together what Nick was saying.

Groaning in frustration, he glared at Howie, “No! I told you she doesn’t work there. She wrote to me through the fan club, using the address they give out to get a hold of me.”

They stared at him for a moment, the realization slowly hitting each of them at different times.

“A fan? She’s a fan?” Kevin blinked.

Nick looked away.

“A fan? I can’t believe you’d go and meet a fan Nick, what are you thinking man?” AJ asked.

“She’s not just a fan AJ, she‘s more than that ok?”

“Nick, man I thought you’d gotten over that whole groupie stage,” Kevin groaned.

“Fuck you Kevin! She’s not some fuckin groupie! See? This, this right here is why I didn‘t wanna say shit to none of you,” Nick spat, he was so mad he couldn’t see straight.

“Hey relax Nick, it’s cool, no big deal. We’ve all been friends with fans before at one time or another,” Brian soothed, shooting Kevin a look.

Kevin rolled his eyes.

Nick looked over at Brian, struggling to keep his temper down, “She’s not just a fan I said. She‘s more to me than that.”

Brian stared at him, “You’re not…falling for her are ya man?”

Nick stared at them, he wanted to deny it, the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t make himself say it.

“Nick…you do realize that nothing can come of this, you know that don’t you?” Kevin frowned.

And that’s what he was afraid of, everyone telling him no, telling them no. It was why he couldn’t admit it to himself, why he couldn’t say it aloud, he knew then there’d be no turning back.

“It’s not right Nick, she’s a fan, an actual relationship is basically out of the question.”

“I know Kev ok?” Nick growled, his heart dropping.

He knew Kevin was right, but part of him wasn’t so sure.