Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 01:39:12 +0000 From: Chained Soul Subject: 'Angelic Damnation' chapter four Disclaimer: First and foremost, this story is NOT true and is not meant to imply anything about any of the celebrities mentioned. Secondly, this story is similiar to the story 'Cosmic Companions' written by Shell, Kat, Jackie, and Colleen. I love the story and recommend that you read it, but 'Angelic Damnation' is not meant to be a rip off of their story. To the authors of 'Cosmic Companions' You rock! I love the story and am glad the bad guys got what they had coming. But, I don't want to give away the story so I'll shut up. Also, my story involves the Backstreet Boys and contains consensual male/male sex. If you are not entertained by stories of this nature, you've stumbled into the wrong site. Please leave now. I know, I know. If you weren't interested, you wouldn't be here, but I'm required to write that anyway. Questions, comments, and flames can be sent to Expression_of_Truth@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________________________ This chapter is dedicated to COOLRIDER78~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ______________________________________________________________________ They never spoke again about where Aj had disappeared to that night. The routine resumed for the guys. Another city, another practice, another concert. Aj did his best, on stage and off, but at times, he still felt pain. His sides and back hurt after he danced. He found himself stumbling at times, his legs feeling as if they'd give out on him. He had a bigger appetite than he'd ever had but made a point of watching what he ate. He stayed off his feet, relaxing, whenever he could. He slept as much as his schedule would allow. He did his best to take care of himself. He knew it was important that he do so. He'd decided not to tell the guys. 'Pregnant,' he thought. 'Howie'd have a heart attack. Kevin wouldn't let me out of his sight. I hate to be treated like a damn child. I can take care of myself. And Nick and Bri would be fussing over me endlessly. Ok, so that could be funny to watch, but still.' No. He wouldn't tell them. He didn't want to face them with such news just yet. They were all still recovering from the shock of discovering his alcoholism. He'd decided the very night Nick confronted him that he'd never drink again. He'd promised. ______________________________________________________________________ It had been two months now since his appointment with the doctor. Two months since he'd learned he was to be a father. He was convinced that, had it not been for his near constant exercise, he'd be showing physical signs of his pregnancy. With how much more he'd been eating lately, he felt he should have gained a fair amount of weight. He knew his body and could well see the change that had occured. But there was no way the others could have noticed. He'd only gained a mere thirteen pounds. He knew he should weigh more. He'd read about pregnancy on the internet. This was dangerous. It was a Friday night and the guys had no prior obligations. They all decided to meet up for dinner out. Kevin had made a reservation at a resturant in the city. Given who they were, the guys had to be careful when they went out or they'd find themselves surrounded by fans. Luckily, this was a fairly quiet resturant. They were led to a large table near the middle of the resturant. They were sitting comfortably, looking over the menus, except for Aj. "It's freezing in here. Aren't you guys cold?" The guys all replied no and Nick handed Aj his jacket. "You can wear it, man. I don't need it." "Thanks, Nick." Aj replied as he placed it over his shoulders, using it more as a cover than a jacket. He'd started to dislike the feel of cloth on his arms lately, though he couldn't explain why. Once they'd all placed their orders, they sat talking quietly amongst themselves. Nearly in unison, they all fell silent. Aj noticed they were all looking at him. This annoyed him. He never did like to be studied like this. "What?" he asked them. "What's going on, Aj? You've changed." Kevin told him. Aj's first response was to go on the defensive. "Nothing's wrong. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." "Calm down, man." Brian whispered, hoping to avoid causing a scene. Kevin spoke again, "Look, we know something's not right. So, don't lie about it. You're not dancing anywhere near as well as you used to. Sure, during concerts, when it really counts, you're great. But in practice, your steps sometimes faulter. And by the middle of practice, you're exhausted. You used to be able to out dance any of us. When we change backstage during concerts, you're always winded. You sleep all the time. You've just been acting so strange recently, Aje. We're worried. Now, I'll ask you once more; what's wrong?" "You think I'm drinking again." Aj accused them. "No." Nick responded. "But something's wrong." "I'm fine." Just then, Aj felt as if his stomach was trying to turn itself inside out. The pain was intense, but he stood quietly, dropping Nick's jacket onto his chair, and walked toward the bathrooms. He made a point of hiding the pain until he was away from the guys, safe in the bathroom. He'd never felt so terrible in all his life. He threw up into one of the toilets, not thinking to lock the door to the stall, leaving it open. He'd never thrown up before during his pregnancy and hoped this incident did not mark the beginning of a new problem. Finally, he stopped gagging and relaxed, reaching up to flush the toilet. He walked out into the main portion of the bathroom where the sinks were located and ran some cold water over his hands before cupping them and bringing some water to his mouth. Rinsing as much of the bitter taste out of his mouth, he looked up into the mirror. Despite a slight red tinge to his eyes and cheeks, he looked fine. Nick stood there waiting as Aj walked out of the bathroom. "The guys were here too." He said before Aj could speak. "They know you were sick. I told them to wait at the table because people were staring. You need to let us know what's going on, man." Aj sighed heavily and headed back toward the table as Nick followed. They took their seats again and the guys resumed staring at Aj, all waiting for an explanation. When Aj didn't say anything, Kevin spoke up, "You ready to tell us?" He was trying his best to be patient but of all the things Kevin ever was, patient was not one of them. Aj shook his head 'no.' He didn't want to talk about this right now. And Kevin lost his temper. "Damn it, Aj! No secrets! We have to be able to trust each other!" A harsh whisper. No need to cause a scene. "Fine!" Aj replied in the same angry whisper. "Fine. You really want to know?! I'm pregnant. Fucking pregnant! Happy now?" And he began sobbing. He went to stand up to leave but he was suddenly weak. His legs couldn't hold him. He started to fall but Howie was there in an instant and caught him. When Aj had started to fall, it had snapped Howie out of his stunned stillness and he quickly jumped up to catch him. Now, he stood with Aj, shaking and sobbing, in his arms. The shock kept returning to him. 'Pregnant?' he thought. He knew what the word meant but it just didn't want to register. Then it hit him with startling clarity and something occured to him. He looked down at Aj, who was still too weak to stand. "Mine?" he asked quietly. Aj glared up at him, angry. "You really think I'd sleep around, D? You know me better than that. Of course it's your's. I didn't make this baby on my own." he could barely manage the whisper this was said in. He just wanted to sleep. He felt terrible. "Guys," Brian spoke up, "let's head back to the hotel. We need to talk about this. There are too many people here." Nick, Kevin, and Brian hadn't heard Aj's admission that the baby was Howie's. They had yet to learn of the relationship Howie and Aj had tried so hard to hide. ______________________________________________________________________ End chapter four.