Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 00:53:50 -0500 From: J Subject: "Back to Your Heart" Installment 3 Well, well, well... Here I am again. The last one was A BIT boring, I know, but I was working things up! This one I promise, will start to see some rising conflict, action, etc. And, I am also thinking about having views from other BSB members. I may have started this one prematurely; Nifty hasn't even posted the second one yet. However, I am listening to the BSB, so I decided, oh well, and plus, if I work on it longer, it will be better. (good thinking, huh?) My nickname in the boyband chatroom is either "moffattpromoter" or "jaquarius". Come in and talk to me some time. Moffatts rule. Buy their CD. Vote for them on TRL. Go to their concerts. Raise awareness. They are an increasingly cool boy band. Legalities (Which I was just informed MUST be here): Fiction isn't real, so deal with it. As much as we all wish Backstreet Boys, and N'Sync, and every other celebrity that we find attractive, was gay, it is their business, and not ours. This work of FICTION, does not imply that the REAL celebrities are gay, so don't go thinking that. Yeah, well, on with the story: Part 3: The Rising Horror... Chapter 5 I spent three more days in the hospital. Brian and I were due to be realeased on the same day. The rest of the guys, especially Nick, were excited for the day to come when we would be let out of hospital care, and would be able to come home. Each day, I spent talking to the guys and Nick. Overall, it was a pretty boring three days. Finally the day came, and there was excitement in the air. It was a Saturday morning, and a very sunny one at that. I awoke to a very happy and smiling face, radiating a glow about him, as though he were the sun himself. "Good morning beautiful," Nick said. "Oh boy, if only I could wake up to that every morning." I replied. "I would die a happy man." He smiled. "Stacey brought you breakfast. Can't tell what it is, maybe you can help me with that one..." he giggled, and pulled over a tray containing chocolate chip pancakes, orange juice, maple syrup, and a large red rose. "Stacey did not bring me that! You dork!" He laughed, as I immediately dug in to the pancakes. "Kevin and I came up with the idea. We figured you and Brian did not need to be eating hospital food on such a grand occasion... He's next door waking Brain up right now." "Who's the rose for?" I asked, half joking. "My girlfriend..." He maintained a serious face. "Oh, I hope you and her are happy," I kept the same serious face. "Actually... Oh jeez, I give up, I cant win with you!" He started tickling my stomach. His fingers worked up around my sides. "I guess I'm not ticklish there." I laughed. "I wouldn't remember where I am ticklish." "Then we will just have to find out, now won't we!!!" He exclaimed. He started tickling me everywhere. I had to laugh, just to give in to him. Then he got to my feet, and lightly brushed his fingers around my toes. "Oh hell!!" I screamed, laughing. I squirmed, as he found my ticklish spot, tickling me over and over. "Ok! OK! STOP!!! AHHHHH!!! I'm going to piss in my pants!" I squealed. He stopped tickling me, but neither of us could stop laughing. Suddenly, he stopped laughing, leaned over, and kissed me on the lips. I stopped laughing, and looked at him. He held a devilish smile, and his bright blue eyes gleamed. I reached up, and pulled his head back down into another kiss. My lips parted, and I slid my tongue into his mouth. We kissed passionately for a few seconds, when Kevin walked into the room. "Brian wants to know... AHEM!" Nick shot up. "Uh... Uh... Kevin, we were just... uh..." "Practicing CPR?" Kevin interrupted. I smiled, and Kevin laughed. "It's ok... I was expecting this to come sooner or later." He said. "But you should tell the guys soon. They are already beginning to wonder. I don't think you will have any problems with them, Nick. They need to know." "Need to know what Nick?" I asked, slightly confused as to what Kevin was referring to. "Well, uh..." His eyes widened. "That I am gay Andrew?!" His face looked puzzled, as if I was to know already that he hadn't told the guys. "Oh, you haven't told them yet?" I asked. "No, only I know," Kevin said. "Oh, okay." Was my reply. The conversation came to a stop, and for a few moments there was dead air. Kevin snapped out of thought. "I forgot, Brian would like to borrow the syrup... He seems to have run out of it." He said. "Ok, sure. Kevin, what time do we get out of here today?" "Well, at 11:00 o'clock, the van comes to take Brian back. I suppose, around that time, Nick can take you back to his house, where you will be staying," He smiled, as if it were a joke. "After that, who knows? Maybe tonight we can go to the mall, or something." "I need to get my stuff from Stacey's house later today," I told them. "When she comes in to take care of my bandages today, I will ask her how to get to her house." "Ok then, when the rest of the guys come in about a half an hour, I'll tell them to go get it. It'll be no problem." He grabbed the syrup off my tray, and began to leave the room. "Oh wait, Kevin... one more thing!" I yelled after him. "Yeah?" "What am I going to do about clothes? I don't have any money!" "That's ok, you are our guest until you get your memory back... I'll have AJ take care of the clothes, he seems to be remarkably good at that." He laughed, and I heard him go to Brian's room. "He's a really great guy Nick... you should be glad he's your friend." I told Nick, who looked slightly upset to be left out. "Yeah... I know" He sighed. * * * * * Stacey came into the room, just as Nick was leaving to go check up on Brian. "Hey honay!" She cried, as she crossed the room to my bed. "How are those bandages holdin' up today?" "Good, I guess." I replied. "Are you going to take them off today?" "Yup, you are leaving today... Do you think I would let you out into this world looking beat up? Everything, except the stitches on your chin, and the cast on your arm, come off." "Yay!!!" I yelled, louder than I intended. "Okay then, sit up, and lets see how fast we can do this, since I know you are dying to leave this place... and me" She sighed. "Awww, Stacey! I would never want to leave you!" I laughed; she faked a smile. I caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. She finished taking off my bandages, and I pulled her into a hug. "YOU keep in touch, you hear me?" I told her. "I don't care what happens, I want to hear from you often." "Ok, same goes to you." "My friends, the ones next door, are gonna pick up my stuff for me today... Is that ok?" I asked her. "Yeah, sure, its ok bye me!" She sounded really hyper now. "Am I missing something?" "Um, no? Its just, with them being famous and all, well, my sister wants to get their autograph!" She exclaimed. "WHAT??!! Nick... being famous?? HA that's a joke!" I laughed, and then stopped when I realized she was serious. "They are famous? Really?" "Oh my gosh! YOU DIDN'T KNOW???!!!" she squealed. "No!" I was puzzled. How come Nick didn't tell me? It's not like it would have changed anything? A million questions ran through my head. Stacey looked at me shocked. "You didn't know that they were the Backstreet Boys?" Her words shot into my head, and stabbed the back of my brain. Backstreet Boys; the words seemed to echo. My head swirled. I saw flashes of light; green and gold, and red, swirling around the room. A gun shot, then screaming. I saw blood, thick, pouring from the walls. "ANDREW!!!! What's the matter?????? Oh god! Let me get the doctor!!" Stacey's screams were muffled as I quickly passed out. * * * * * I regained consciousness with a doctor over me, checking my pulls. Stacey was talking to another, and I could hear the rest of the guys, in frantic whisper from across the room. I was hearing their words, but I couldn't speak. I tried calling out to them, but it just stuck in my mind. "... I don't know, he just... he just passed out when I said 'Backstreet Boys'," Stacey was crying. The guys whispering got even more frantic "Well, calm down Stacey. It is possible he regained some memory. There have been cases of amnesia patients having violent seizures when regaining memory. It IS possible Andrew went through that." I heard Nick gasp. I wanted to laugh, I wanted to tell them I was ok. "Seeing as he has spent the past few days in the company of the ACTUAL Backstreet Boys, realizing that may have sent him into shock." This doctor truly was an asshole. I heard Howie snickering, until some one shut him up. For a second, I felt my fingers tingle. Then my toes. The tingle worked it's way slowly up to my nose. I could wiggle my toes. Then, all of a sudden, a nauseating wave engulfed my body, and I opened my eyes. "ANDREW!" I heard 6 desperate voices yell out. "I'm okay, I'm okay... really I am. I feel a little nauseated, but other than that, back to normal." Stacey, Kevin, Howie, AJ, and Brian seemed relieved with my answer; Nick and the two doctors did not. Nick walked over to the bed, and sat down next to me. "What happened Andrew? You had us all worried, especially Stacey... Why did you black out?" "I don't know... I don't remember. The last thing I remembered was..." I paused when I realized what Stacey had said. "Nick... why didn't you tell me?" He looked at me, saddened. He sighed, looked down, and then looked in my eyes. "I was hoping it wouldn't make a difference. Whenever I... well, the guys and me, meet some one new, they always end up liking the 'backstreet boys'. They never like the real US. Since you didn't remember, it made it a hundred times easier to deal with. I'm sorry, we all are..." He looked down, and then looked at the guys. They nodded their agreement, and then waited for me to answer. "Nick, look at me." His gorgeous blue eyes looked into mine, and I felt my heart shudder at the sadness in them. "It would never EVER matter to me that you guys were the Backstreet Boys. You guys are my friends because of who you are inside, not the outside. Trust me, I would never treat you like that." His eyes gained a new gleam, and I smiled. The guys got really happy, and for a few moments, there was the silence of happiness. The doctor's harsh voice broke that happiness. "We want you to stay in the hospital for another week, Andrew. With that seizure, and no one to take care of you, we feel that you need to stay here." "I am going to stay with the Backstreet Boys." I said, quite simply. "They will take care of me. I need to get out of this hospital." "I'm afraid we can't let you do that." He spoke, with a tinge of anger riding on his voice. "Well I am afraid you will have to." The doctor's voice stuck in the back of his throat, and he got up and left the room. The other doctor followed him. "You really showed him up! Wow! I have never seen another patient talk to him like that. He really is a turd when he wants to be!" She smiled at me. "We are glad to have you back Andrew." "I wasn't aware I was gone..." "What happened when you blacked out?" Nick asked. "I don't know... I'm not entirely sure... All I know, is that I really want to get out of this place. When are we leaving? What time is it?" I asked. "It's about 11:20 o'clock p.m." AJ said, looking at his watch. "Let's see... we missed our exit time by 12 hours and 20 minutes." Brian hit him. "We can leave now... if you are up to it" Brian said. "Yeah, I would like to leave as soon as possible..." was my reply. "Well, if we leave later, that would mean that it would be easier to SNEAK out," Howie put his two cents in. "Why would we be sneaking?" I asked. "He doesn't know?" AJ asked, looking at Nick. "Why would he? He hasn't been outside!" he retorted, looking slightly pissed at AJ's comment. I was confused. "What are you guys talking about?? I'm lost!" I whined. Nick laughed. "If you were to go outside, right now, you would be hounded by hundreds of reporters. We have bodyguards, but the guys are concerned what might happen to you." He looked at them. Kevin spoke up, "If we leave at about 2, I could have Jerry bring us to Nick's house, we could all camp out there tonight. I can call him, and tell him to pick us up out back." "Sounds good to me." Nick said. "Ok then, a plan it is... Now, until then, what shall we do?" Kevin asked. "Hmmmm, I have a good idea. Say, Nick, is there anything you want to tell us? I mean, since we have some time to talk as a group, it may be good." Nick shot him an incredible death stare. It was so incredible, that Kevin stumbled from the force of it. "What do you want to tell us Nick?" Howie asked, interested now in the conversation. I squeezed Nicks hand on the side of the bed, hoping to help him in his effort. I think it helped... Chapter 6 I was shocked. First of all, that Kevin would bring up this subject; and second of all, that he would bring it up at this time. I was about to tell him off, when Andrew squeezed my hand. I decided to go for it. "Guys... there is something I have been waiting to tell you... maybe I have waited too long..." "Go on..." Kevin urged, acting as though he didn't know already. I made a mental note to punch him the next time we were alone. "Well... Guys... I am gay..." I said, cringing a little when I said 'gay'. "So?" AJ said. "Is there a problem with that?" Howie asked. "It was kind of obvious, Nicky," Brian said. I sighed; it felt like an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders. "How was it obvious??!!" I really wanted to know this one. Brian laughed. "Side glances you made... the playgirls in your sock drawer..." I turned a deep crimson red. Andy squeezed my hand again, and I knew that I had to say something else. "Guys... um... there is something else... something new to everyone, except Kevin..." Everyone looked at Kevin, and he looked at me, puzzled. "I'm in love with Andrew." He looked at me, and I saw great love in his eyes. I wanted that moment to last. I turned to him. "Will you let me be your boyfriend?" The look of shock on his face was amazing. Then, he started crying. "Oh, Andrew, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... I'm..." I began, before he cut me off. "Of course I will Nick!" He leaned up and kissed me, on the lips, with full passion. Then he whispered, "I am crying tears of joy" * * * * * Most of the guys fell asleep around 12:30. Andy and I stayed awake and cuddled during the wait. Finally, and sadly, 2:00 o'clock came around, and we gathered everything together. Brian rustled AJ, who promptly got up. Kevin walked over to Howie, and lightly shook his shoulders. "Wake up buddy" he whispered. "... No, mommy, just let me sleep... a few more... WHA?... oh, sorry Kev.". Kevin laughed, as Howie got up. The 6 of us tip-toed down the halls, making sure not to arouse any of the nurses. Since we were in the back already, we could bypass the hustle and bustle of the ER. We quietly slipped through the back door, and were promptly met by Jerry, our driver, and a large van. "Hop in guys!" Jerry said. We all climbed in to the van. Andrew and I took the back seat, with Brian, Howie, and AJ in the middle, and Kevin up at front. Andrew laid his head on my shoulder, and soon I heard the breathing of deep sleep. I yawned, and fell asleep myself * * * * * "Wake up beautiful!" Oh what angel calls me thus? "I'm up... I'm up..." I said groggily. "Whew boy! You need a bath!" Andrew chuckled. I sat up in bed, and glanced around the room. It looked remarkably like my room, in my house, in Orlando...WAIT, it was my room, it was my house, and we were in Orlando. "Hey, how'd we get in here?" I asked Andrew, in slight amazement. "Kevin and Howie carried you up here. You sleep like a log, and sound like a bear!" He laughed again. " Oh you be quiet!" I tackled and tickled him. "I'm only ticklish on my feet, remember??!!" He squealed. So, I grabbed him, threw him on the bed, and quickly began to tickle his toes. "OKAY! OKAY! MERCY!" We both laughed until our sides hurt. "Okay, time for me to go take a shower," I said. "Good, he he he, it's about time!" * * * * * In no time, I was in the bathroom, and I was undoing my shirt buttons. I took my shirt off, and reached down to take off my pants. If only Kevin had been smart enough to take them off for me when we got back, it could have spared me the discomfort during the night. I sighed, as I removed my boxers. "What's taking you so long to get in the shower??" Andrew screamed through the door. "Don't make me come out there to beat you!" I screamed back, laughing, as I closed the shower door, and turned on the water. He laughed. There was a pause, and I thought I could hear a light gasp, and a thump from outside the door. "Andrew?!" I yelled. He must have left. Yes, he was downstairs doing something now. Perfectly safe. The water shot out of the showerhead, and I tossed my head back, underneath it. It began to get hot, so I turned the cool water on more. The water started to burn my scalp. I yelped, and stepped back from underneath the water. I turned the cold water up all the way. Nothing happened. The steam was collecting in the shower now, and I quickly turned the hot water down. Again, nothing happened. I turned both handles, frantically, with no avail. I turned to the shower door, and reached to open it. It was jammed. "Hell!!" I screamed. The steam was starting to heat up. Sweat poured down my forehead, and flowed over my cheeks. I wiped it away and began beating on the door. "Guys??!!! Can anyone hear me? Andrew??!! I'm stuck!!" I laughed; it seemed silly to be locked in a shower. No answer. Where could they be? Downstairs. That was it. It had to be; Kevin was making breakfast, and they were all too preoccupied to care were I was. "Help ME!! Some one... anyone!" I began to choke, as the steam got thicker, and hotter. "I... [cough]... Can't.... breathe... [cough]" I managed to choke. I began panting, as the steam seared at my throat. I kicked the door. It seemed to loosen, so I began kicking harder. My foot slipped, and my toe caught on a piece of metal. It cut deep into my large toe. "FUCK!!!" I started crying. I leaned up against the wall, and looked at my toe. The cut was deep, and bleeding profusely. I started sobbing uncontrollably. "CAN'T... [cough]... ANYONE HEAR ME?" I yelled. Then there was a clank of metal against tile. It sounded near, on the inside of the bathroom. "Who's there? [cough] Help me! I'm trapped! [cough]" I was terrified, and I began to feel weak. The steam burned my skin and throat, and I could not breathe. Then I caught a glimpse of a dark form moving in the bathroom. I tried frantically to wipe away the condensation on the glass, but as soon as I did, more appeared. "Who's there????!!" I sobbed frantically. The dark form came closer. I inched forward to get a better look. Suddenly, two handprints formed on the shower glass. I yelped. I stared closer. The condensation swirled around on the glass. First a nose then a mouth formed, curling up in an evil smile. Then the eyes came, wickedly squinted, staring at me. The mouth opened and engulfed the glass. I screamed with all my might, and stepped back. I slipped in the blood in the bath tub, and fell. My head gashed into the tile, and before I slipped unconscious, I heard screaming outside the door. "Oh god! Andrew, Are you ok??!!!" Comments are appreciated. Shout out to everyone I got to know today in the Nifty Boy Band chatroom. Ya'll know who you are. Moffatts rule! J