He sat there, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table. He glanced up at the clock, noticing that only five minutes had passed. He sighed heavily, he was starting to get hungry and the ache in his knees was back.

Deciding he couldn’t put off his hunger any longer, he rose from his seat and walked over to the door, grabbing the knob and twisting it to find that it was locked from the outside. Slight anger rose up in him at the fact that they had locked him in the room as if he was some animal, but he quickly calmed himself when he remembered what Vernon had said.

Taking a deep breath in, he raised his hand and knocked on the door, waiting for whoever was standing on the other side to unlock and open the door. He stood there for a while, until he finally heard the jingling of keys on the other side. He backed away when the door opened, revealing an average sized male.

“You beckoned?” the man asked.

Nick looked him up and down. He didn’t look to be much taller, but he did pack a few more pounds of muscle than him. He had a crop of dirty blond hair and his eyes were a deep, striking blue, similar to his. He was dressed in a black police uniform; a silver nametag with the name “LITTRELL” printed boldly on it was clipped onto his shirt.

“Um… yeah, Officer… Vernon said to knock on the door and I guess let you know if I wanted something or whatever.” Nick said softly, his cheeks growing flush from embarrassment.

“Well, what can I get ya kid?” he asked, and this was the first time Nick noticed his strong Kentucky accent.

He bit his lip to keep from laughing, “I was wondering if I could get something to eat… and drink.”

The more Nick stared at the man before him, the less he felt intimidated. Besides the uniform, this man wasn’t intimidating at all. He seems to have a bubbly personality, an infectious smile, and the ability to make any person, even a stranger, feel at ease because that’s how he felt at that moment.

The man nodded, “I can do that. Have anything particular in mind?”

“Not really. Just something to eat and drink is all.”

“Okay, well…” the man turned to grab something and turned back around with a McDonald’s bag and drink in hand. “Ronald McDonald was our guest chef today.”

For the first time in actually a long time, Nick laughed. “Looks like I was captured on the right day.”

The man laughed as well, “I’ll say.”

“No, but seriously… how’d you get it so fast?”

“Vernon had told me it’d only be a matter of time before you buckled to your hunger, so just thought I’d be one step ahead and have your food ready.”

Nick grabbed the bag of food and his drink, “The fries aren’t soggy, are they?”

The man cocked an eyebrow in amusement, “No, your highness.”

Nick chuckled as he turned to walk back into the office. Once he sat down and placed his food and drink on the table, he glanced up at the officer who still stood there. “Um… care to join me?”

The man smirked, “Sure. I love to watch people eat!”

Nick laughed and rolled his eyes, this officer was sure a character. He watched as the man walked into the office, closing the door behind him. “Uh… you didn’t just lock us both in here, did you?”

The man’s eyes widened, “Darn it, I can’t believe I just did that!”

Nick couldn’t help than to laugh. “I’m sure Vernon or Harry will be back soon.”

The man sighed, “I hope so. I’m so busted if anyone finds out about this, and I’ll more than likely be humiliated for the next week or so.” He said as he sat down on the other chair that was situated across from Nick.

Nick’s smile never faltered as he opened his McDonald’s bag. “Do you want some?”

“Nah, you go on and eat kid, I gotta keep my figure.” He joked, saying the last part in a feminine tone.

“Are you sure you’re a cop?” Nick laughed.

“Last time I checked. The name’s Brian Littrell by the way.” He said as he held out his hand.

Nick grasped his outstretched hand and shook it, “Nick Carter.”

“You’re not so bad huh?” Brian asked.

“What?”

“I don’t know… I was expecting you to be some unruly, rebellious kid or something, but you’re not bad at all.”

Nick shrugged as he shoved a fry in his mouth, “I was being unruly and rebellious on the way here. Honestly, it was Officer Vernon who settled me down. I’m giving this whole… ‘cooperation’ thing a try to see how far I get with it.”

Brian nodded, “Cooperation will get you somewhere in life. But glad to know you ain’t one of those typical hormonal youths.”

“I’m far from being your typical kid.”

“I can see that, which is why I’m so kick back with you.”

“You’re not this way with other criminals?”

“Nope. I’m a mean person when I need to be. I have this thing where I can read into someone’s vibe, and with you I just picked up that I don’t have to put on a front with you, nor do I have to come across intimidating to gain your respect. Besides, you ain’t did nothing wrong kid… we just had to take you outta the streets so those darn people would stop bugging us.”

“Well, I guess it’s safe to say that I normally put on a front with people.” Nick said as he took his sandwich out of the bag. “I come across as a badass to push people’s buttons, I think of it as a way of testing them. Those who tolerate and have the patience to see right past my exterior are all that matters, which is when I’ll warm up to them and just be who I am. It’s my way of gaining trust, and although my method sounds simple, it’s actually a bit more complicated then that.”

“Really? How so?”

Nick shrugged as he bit his burger, “I’ve been through enough to know better, so it’s kind of hard to explain.”

Brian nodded as he watched Nick eat. “You’re a smart kid, huh?”

Nick smirked, “I wouldn’t say all that now. I dropped out of school and had been living on the streets, homeless ever since I was 9.”

Brian stared at the young boy with a newfound interest. “Really?”

Nick nodded, “But… enough about me, what about you?”

“What about me?”

“You know a little something about me; I don’t really know anything about you.”

“Well… like I said, my name is Brian Littrell, my middle name is Thomas. I was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky and moved up here to New York a few years back. I’m 21-years-old and my astrological sign is Pisces. I like long walks on the beach and candlelit dinners…”

Nick laughed and rolled his eyes, “You’re something else.”

“What? Don’t tell me you don’t like long walks on the beach!”

Nick shrugged, “To tell you the truth I’ve never been to the beach.”

Brian’s eyes widened, “Are you serious? Man, you ain’t living your life! Besides my long walks, surfing the waves is the best feeling in the world!”

Nick nibbled on his bottom lip; Brian’s statement of him not living his life had settled down into the put of his stomach. He wasn’t living his life, hadn’t been since his family was murdered. “You surf?” he asked, trying to escape the somber mood he suddenly slipped into.

“Don’t let my twang fool you.” Brian said in a low voice, immediately ridding himself of the Kentucky accent. “I think I surf more than I ride horseback. I normally travel around to different beaches on my free time.”

“Cops have free time?” Nick questioned, sounding shocked.

“Boy, your little noggin is filled with stereotypes that we must break. Of course cops have free time. It’s seldom, but free time nonetheless.”

Nick nodded and fell silent. He resumed eating his food, but the moment of silence was beginning to bother him. “So… do I address you as Brian or Officer Littrell?”

“Well, here in the station, around other officials you have to address me as Officer Littrell. Other than that, feel free to call me Brian.”

Nick smiled, “You’re cool.”

“Well, I sure hope so!” Brian cracked, “I try not to act my age, and I think the proper term for that is immaturity.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Nick laughed, “And you're not that old."

“Wow, not only are you filled with stereotypes, but with compliments as well. You’re a weird one kid, and I mean that in a good way.”

Before Nick could respond, they both heard jingling of keys from outside. Brian quickly rose out of his seat and walked over to the corner of the room, nearest to the door. He composed himself and stood straight, looking as if he had been standing there, watching over Nick the whole time.

When the door opened, both Vernon and Harry walked in to find Nick eating and Brian standing off on the side.

Harry looked Brian up and down, “You locked yourself in here again, huh?”

Nick couldn’t help than to bust out in laughter, “Again?”

Brian cracked a grin and playfully shoved Harry, “Be quiet man.”

Vernon rolled his eyes at the banter, “Brian’s a total softy, so we always pick on him.”

“And, as you can tell, he ain’t the brightest crayon in the box!” Harry added.

“You guys suck.” Brian grumbled playfully, “Well Nick, I’m gonna excuse myself from this room and spare myself from the unnecessary humiliation.” he shot a look over towards Harry as he said this, “But it was nice meeting you kid, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Alright, bye Brian.” Nick said as he watched Brian leave the room.

“Welp… did you have a good meal?” Vernon asked as he looked at the rubbish that was on the table.

Nick looked down, quickly gathering his mess up, “Um, yeah. Thanks.”

Vernon shrugged and sat down, “No problem kiddo. Look, we have a few things we’d like to discuss with you real quick.”

“Look, I know I’m in trouble and what I was doing was wrong, but I was listening to what you guys said in the car and I am giving this cooperation thing a try, I mean I was so good while you guys were gone, you can even ask Officer Littrell!” Nick blurted out in one breath.

Vernon couldn’t help than to chuckle, “Calm down Nick.” he said as he held his hands up to prevent Nick from saying anything more. “It’s not about that. We know you were listening to our talk earlier and we know you’ll cooperate with us, that’s not a problem. What we wanted to talk to you about is… well, lets just put it this way, you seem to be feeling a lot more comfortable here, right?”

Nick shrugged, “Sure… I mean, beats living on the streets and digging in trashcans to find something to eat.”

Vernon nodded, “Okay… well, do you feel like making yourself comfortable here for a little while longer, at least until we get a few things worked out.”

Nick glanced between Vernon and Harry, who was standing behind Vernon. “Are you trying to sugarcoat the fact that you want to place me in jail or something?”

Harry shook his head, “No, we’re not gonna place you in jail for anything because you haven’t done anything wrong, well… besides not listening to a person of authority and resisting arrest, but that’s minor. We know you don’t want to be placed in an orphanage, and we don’t want to place you there, so I guess what we’re trying to ask is… if you’d want to stay here for a while, until we can figure out what to do with you.”

“What do you mean until you can figure out what to do with me?” Nick asked, feeling anger rise within him. “Look, I was doing just fine on the streets, you guys decided to pick me up and now you’re making it sounds as if I’m some sort of burden you don’t know how to get rid of or where to put it. And by the sounds of it, seems like you guys are gonna place me in an orphanage anyway.”

“No Nick, that’s not what he meant.” Vernon sighed, feeling Nick start to slip away because of what Harry said and how he said it. “We have an idea with what we want to do, that doesn’t involve placing you in an orphanage, but until we get everything worked out we want you to stay here with us. The truth is, we don’t want you on the streets kid… we don’t like to see any youth living on the streets. We take them off and do what we can to help them, and that’s exactly what we want to do with you. But like I said in the car, the choice is up to you.”

Nick remained silent, contemplating over what was said. “You promise me you’re not gonna send me to some orphanage?”

Vernon stared Nick straight in the eyes and nodded, “You have my word kid.”