Pairing: ?/? Rating: Rish I dunno lol Chapters: 11/11 Disclaimer: I do not know anyone mentioned in this. It's come from my own twisted mine blah blah Not old enough? You know where the door is :D Warnings: Ok ppl, I know I haven't given away anything with the pairing, but I'm begging you to give it a chance. All will be revealed eventually, and not everything is as you think it is :) AN: Thank you to Angelique for doing the beta thingy and for basically helping me get everything right in my head.. it's a hard job lol
When they got back to the stage, Fatima was missing.
“You timed that just right. Sound have just finished repairing our mics and ear pieces” said Kevin as he adjusted his own piece.
“Where’s Fatima?” Nick asked, picking his piece up.
“She’s looking for you two.”
They fitted their pieces and got back into position as Fatima walked in. The rest of the sound check went by without any problems, so did the concert except a few mistakes that none of the fans seemed to notice.
Once they were all back at hotel, they split up. Howie and Kev went out to a night club. Brian went to call Leigh, and AJ and Nick stayed behind.
“Aje?” Nick called out as he jogged up behind him in the corridor.
“What’s up Nick?”
“I was just wondering if I could um, well if we could hang out?”
“You wanna talk huh?”
Nick nodded sheepishly. “Well why didn’t ya just say so?”
Nick shrugged.
“Don’t worry about it Nicky” he said, swiping his key card to his room and swinging the door open.
AJ followed Nick into the room, making sure to lock the door behind him. He took a seat next to Nick on the bed and said: “So what’s on your mind?”
“It’s just um, I wanted to talk to someone, and you were the best person.”
“What about Bri?”
“I think he’s having problems with Leigh.”
“What sort of problems?”
“I’m not sure. He keeps telling me everything is fine, but I don’t believe him. I know he didn’t go and see her like he told us he did.”
“Oh?”
Nick shook his head. “I found his plane ticket, and it wasn’t to go back home.”
“Well whatever he’s hiding, he’ll tell us in his own time.”
“But I’m his Frack J, he should tell me.”
“I’m sure he’s got a good reason for not telling you” he said, patting Nick on the back. “Just give him some time.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“So, you wanna tell me the real reason you wanted to hang out with me?”
Nick blushed and looked away at the wall. “Is it about you being into guys by any chance?”
“Kinda” Nick said quickly. “I just, I wanna experiment some more. I mean, the guy, the one I, well you know.” He picked at his shirt nervously.
“Go on.”
“Well, neither of us have been with anyone else and I know there’s more out there. Will you show me?” He asked, finally getting the courage to look AJ in the eyes.
AJ’s jaw dropped. “Oh God, not like that, I didn’t mean, shit” Nick stuttered. “I meant, take me to the right clubs or something.”
AJ sighed in relief, and then grinned.
“Well, why don’t we go out tonight?”
“Really?”
“Sure, why not. D and Kev have gone out, why shouldn’t we?”
“Well what about...?”
“I’ll stick to coke, I promise. Now, let’s go back to your room so I can pick out your outfit.”
*At the club with Howie and Kevin*
They were both at the bar, drinks in hand, observing the sea of bodies in front of them. “When are you going to tell her?” Kevin raised an eyebrow at Howie.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t pull that shit with me Kev. I’ve known you too long. You can’t hide it from her forever.”
“Forever is a long time D.”
“C’mon Kev. Don’t you think she deserves to know? She’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Well then I’ll deal with it when it happens. I’ve got enough to worry about with Nicky.”
“Ok, I’ll drop it. But when it all goes sour...”
“You can say I told you so. Fair enough. Now enough of this, there’s a whole sea of people out there just waiting for us tonight.” They downed the rest of their drinks and headed off into the mass of people.
*In Brian’s room* “I’m sorry Leigh, I just had to do it.”
“Why Bri? Tell me why. You could have said no.”
“No, I couldn’t.”
“So why have you only just told me that you.. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I couldn’t Leigh, you have to understand that. You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to tell you. To get it off my chest.”
“Why didn’t you then?”
“Because I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of you reacting like this. I didn’t want to lose you.”
“I can’t cope with this Bri, not now, not ever.”
“I know. And I’m sorry. I just, I just wanted to be normal. You uh, you won’t tell anyone, will you?”
Leigh laughed. “No one would believe me Brian. I would end up looking stupid, and that wouldn’t be good for my career. I’d rather people just think it was an amicable split.”
“Thank you.”
“I have to go Bri, I need time to process this. I’ll call you to sort everything out.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“Goodbye Brian” and then she hung up.
He threw his phone across the room and put his head in his hands. Everything was a mess. He knew Nick was worried about him, but he couldn’t tell him. Nick just wasn’t ready to hear it. He was still too young, and he couldn’t risk losing him as well. He rubbed his temples, the beginning of a migraine pulsing under his skin. He needed to get out, this room was slowly suffocating him. Grabbing his keys, he headed out of the hotel, out into the dark of the night. He knew he shouldn’t, but he needed it. He needed the anonymity it gave him, the thrill of the possibility of being caught. It was a rush, something he hadn’t let himself have since he met Leigh.
As he walked through the dark streets, he let his mind wander back to that day. He had always known he was different from everyone else, but Kevin had kept telling him not to worry about it, that he’d take care of him. And he had, he’d helped him get into the band, thus helping his find his best friend at the same time. When he’d turned 23 was when he let himself truly become himself. He’d told Kevin and from that moment he felt like he was given another start in life. He was unbelievably happy, but at the same time saddened. Kevin had forbidden him to tell Nick. He was too young, he wouldn’t understand. ‘When the time is right, we’ll tell him’ he’d promised. 2 years down the line, and Nick was nearing 21. Brian forced a meeting between the other 3, telling them he was going to tell Nick after his 21st birthday. They all agreed, and Brian had felt relief surge through him. That was when he’d decided to tell Leighanne, who had taken it badly. She threw him out of their home, refusing to let him back in for the following week when they had the time off before the tour. That lead him to today. He had a few months to decide how to tell Nick. His experience with telling Leighanne gave him more nerves than he’d originally had. He closed his eyes, willing the tears not to fall. He wouldn’t lose Nick the same way.
His eyes flew open when heard a murmur of voices. A smile crept across his face when he saw who it was.