Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 18:56:34 -0700 (PDT) From: Jason Calme Subject: boy bands - Chasing Matt Chapter 8 This story is about male/male relationships and contains graphic descriptions of sex. You should not read this story if it is in any way illegal due to your age or residence. This is a work of pure fiction. It mixes fictional characters and events with real people. However any real person mentioned in this work is purely an actor playing a part. This story in no way is meant to imply anything about the sexuality, personality, or behavior of the actual person. Copyright 2003 Jason Calme. This story is the sole property of its author and may not be copied in whole or in part or posted on any website without the permission of the author. Questions and commentary can be sent to "JasonCalme@yahoo.com". Chapter 8 - The Package The next morning Matt woke early. He checked his email and found an email from Nick. All it said was: package on it's way. DO NOT open until we chat! about 10? About 10? How was he going to last that long? And what was the package Nick was sending? And what were his parents going to think? He sat there trying to think of good reasons why someone would be Fed Exing him a box. He couldn't think of any. Maybe he'd ordered something from Amazon? No, stuff from Amazon didn't come by FedEx and his Father would have a fit if he thought he was paying extra to have it sent FedEx. Maybe a friend sent him something? But who? And what would they send? He could always try the truth. 'Mom, I met Nick Carter in New York and we hung out and he's sending me something.' But then they'd want to know what. Well, he thought, it was probably a t-shirt. So he could just tell them that. But what if it wasn't? What if it was something else? Well, but what would it be anyway? Maybe just an autographed CD or something? After all, what would Nick Carter want to send him? He'd just met him a couple of days ago; what would he send other than a t-shirt and maybe an autographed CD. Yes, he thought to himself, that sounded pretty reasonable. Almost boring. Of course, he hadn't mentioned meeting Nick. Would that be suspicious? Maybe his parents would be going out today? What time did FedEx deliver anyway? He went down stairs to get some breakfast, and casually asked his Mother what she was going to be doing. It was Saturday and she was going out shopping. One down! His Father was out in the garage working on one of the cars. With a bit of luck he'd be there all day and Matt could intercept the FedEx truck before his Father. Please God, don't let his Father get the package; he'd probably open it up without noticing who it was addressed to. He went upstairs to the office and tried to do something to take his mind off the package. But it was hard to concentrate on anything and keep one eye on the driveway in case FedEx came. Then he wondered; would they even deliver it on Saturday? What if Nick hadn't checked Saturday delivery? He might spend the day anxiously waiting for the package and it never turned up! After breakfast his Mother left to go shopping, and not long after, his Father went off to visit a friend that owns a used car lot. He'd be gone for a long while. Now, if only the FedEx truck would come soon then everything would be fine. By 2:30 he had pretty much given up on the package. He was running out of things to do and decided to go out and see if the mail had come. He opened the mailbox and pulled out the handful of letters. He was just closing the door to the mailbox when he looked down the street and saw a white van with FedEx markings coming towards him. He felt his stomach lurch as the excitement welled up inside him. For a second he thought that maybe the truck was going to go straight past him, but the driver suddenly braked and pulled over. The driver casually waved a hand at him, opened the door, and climbed out. Matt watched as the driver paused for a moment, reaching back to get something, and then walked around to Matt carrying a large box. Matt had imagined some kind of large tyvek envelope, but this was a box the size of a large envelope, and about three inches thick. "Nearly missed the number," the guy said, smiling. He held out a clipboard and pointed at a place for Matt to sign. Then he handed the box to Matt. "Have a good one!" the guy called as he walked back to the van. Matt stood watching as the man climbed in and sat in the cab, studying his list or something. Matt waited. The guy didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. Should Matt wait, or just go inside, he wondered? He felt odd standing there watching the guy, yet it felt odd to wait this long and then suddenly decide to leave. As though he'd been waiting for the guy to leave; which is what he had been doing anyway. Why was the guy waiting? What should he do? But then the engine started up and the van drove off. Another disaster averted. Matt looked down at the box. For a t-shirt and a CD it was surprisingly heavy. He shook it a couple of times. He could feel things moving inside. He held it up to his ear and shook it again. There were definitely several things in there. Well, he'd find out in due time, he thought. He looked up. Shit! He could see his Mother's car coming towards him. He turned and sprinted for the back porch, flew up the stairs and inside. He threw the mail on the kitchen table and then ran up stairs to his bedroom and hastily hid the box under the bed. Then he wiped his brow and casually went back down stairs, where his Mother promptly set him to work cutting back some vines in the back yard. The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever. A couple of times Matt found himself going back to check that the box was really there, and even picking it up and turning it over in his hands. SN123467: Hey Matt! mattv80: Hey Nick SN123467: Hows things? mattv80: good mattv80: how are you SN123467: tired! been in rehersals all day and it was really tiring mattv80: what are you rehearsing? SN123467: stuff for tour. what you been doing ? mattv80: not much Matt looked at the box that was sitting beside him on the bed. He'd taken it out when he'd signed on, and had glanced at it now and again as it had gotten closer to 10. He kept telling himself it was just a t-shirt, but the excitement was killing him. He'd now imagined all kinds of things that could fit into a box that size; from airline tickets to a dildo. Well, he didn't expect Nick would send a dildo, but for a second it did occur to him that one would fit in there. SN123467: So get anything in the mail? mattv80: no Matt smiled to himself. If Nick was going to torture him with this box, then he'd give him a little torture too. SN123467: It didn't come? mattv80: you mean the box? SN123467: yeah! mattv80: it came :) SN123467: you kidding me? mattv80: it came fedex SN123467: lol! okay! Did you opne it yet? mattv80: you said no SN123467: just wondering if you could wait this long! I'm not sure I could. mattv80: you said not to so I didn't SN123467: great! So you got it there? mattv80: yep SN123467: So open it now! Matt shrugged, then he picked up the box and stared at it. He hadn't really thought about the best way to open it. Did he rip off the end? Where were the scissors? Or should he get a knife? Then he saw a pull tab and he yanked at it. As he pulled, the box started to ring. He nearly dropped it. The box continued to ring. He glanced at the screen. SN123467: answer it Smiling to himself, he ripped open the end of the box and saw a jumble of things. He reached in to find the thing that was ringing and pulled out a cell phone wrapped in bubble-wrap. He pulled open the bubble wrap and stared at the phone. It stopped ringing. He glanced at the screen. SN123467: Damn! The phone started to ring again. He stared at it for a minute. Then he flipped it open and held it up to his ear. "Hello?" "Hey Matt!" "Ahh...hey!" "So I always wanted to do that. I love the Matrix and thought that was so cool. Hope you don't mind," said Nick, laughing. "Ahh, it's okay," said Matt. "So you sent this just so you could do that?" Wow, thought Matt, Nick would throw away money on a joke like this? Then he wondered if Nick just sent the same phone to different people. "No! It's so we can talk, you know, on the phone! Now you have a phone!" "Oh, I can't...I mean thanks...but I can't affor..I mean I don't really need one." "Hey, no big deal! I'm loaning it to you for the duration of the tour, then you can give it back." "The tour?" asked Matt "Yeah, I'm going on tour for a couple of months and it's really hard to reach people, event through email, so you keep this for a couple of months, and then you can send it back. Okay?" "I couldn't..." "Great!" said Nick, and Matt could hear the grin in Nick's voice, and could imagine him smiling. "Uh..thanks," said Matt, still uncertain he should accept it. Then it occurred to him he hadn't looked at the other stuff. He tipped the box out on the bed. As expected there was some fan stuff, including a t-shirt and a signed CD. He also found a familiar pair of boxer shorts folded up amongst the other items. "So you like the other stuff?" asked Nick? "Uh yeah, thanks," said Matt. "Surprise!" he heard Nick laughing. "So the t-shirt fit?" "Haven't tried it yet! Should though." "Cool, though you probably don't want to be seen dead wearing a Backstreet Boys t-shirt!" and Nick laughed. "Maybe I'll just wear it to bed," said Matt, laughing, 'and think of you,' he thought to himself. "Yeah," said Nick, laughing, then his tone became a little serious "So you gonna be going to bed with me?" Matt gulped. Nick was just teasing, and yet... Matt laughed nervously, "Ah..sure," he said, holding his breath. There was a moment of quiet. "Listen," said Nick, suddenly quiet, "I'm sorry but I've got to run, but I just wanted to...well...get you the phone so I can call you later." "Later?" asked Matt. "Well, probably tomorrow," Nick laughed. "No, you can call later," said Matt. "Yeah?" "I'll be up for a while." "I don't know. How late?" "Probably til 1." "Okay, I don't know. That's 10 here. I'll see. Otherwise I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" "Sure," said Matt. "Bye Matt." "Bye Nick." It was Saturday afternoon. Matt was playing Dark Cloud on the PS2. "Matt," his Mother called. "What?" he called back, continuing to play. "I'm taking the truck to get some things. You don't need it do you?" "No, I'm staying home." "Bye dear!" she called. Ten minutes later the cell phone in his pocket beeped. He pulled it out and looked at the Caller ID and smiled. He knew who it was - only one person had the number - but he still liked to check before he answered it. He opened the phone. "Hello?" he said. "Hey Matt!" "Hey Nick!" "How are things?" "Good!" "Great!" said Nick. "Yeah," said Matt smiling. There was an awkward silence, but he didn't feel compelled to say anything. He knew Nick would eventually fill it. It had been two weeks since Nick sent the phone and Matt was still uncomfortable using it. He hated talking on the phone, but for Nick he was willing to make an exception. He just wished he wasn't so tongue tied and stupid on the phone. It just seemed he could never think of the right thing to say. Or the smart thing to say. Thankfully, Nick was so busy that they only really spoke for ten minutes or so here and there. "So," said Nick, "What are you doing?" "Not much." "Not much? What? What are you doing?" "I was...I was playing Dark Cloud." "That a good game?" "Yeah, it's great!" "Cool. You had lunch yet?" asked Nick "Uh, I had a yogurt," Matt said, grinning to himself. "Sounds filling," Nick joked. "Yeah. You?" "Oh, I'm trying to decide. What's good around here?" Nick asked. "Around where?" "Burlington," said Nick. "Burlington?" Matt asked, for a moment not sure what Nick was asking. "Yeah, thought you could recommend something good." There was silence. "Matt?" "Uh..." "You there?" "I'm...where are you?" Matt asked nervously. "I'm here man! Thought we could have lunch!" "Ahh...lunch? You're in Burlington....Vermont?" "Yeah, that's where you live right? I've got your address here somewhere, I'll come pick you up." "Stop!" "What?" "You can't come here," Matt said quickly. "Why not? I'll pick you up!" "No..no....don't come here," Matt begged, panicking inside. "Why not?" "Uhh..I'll, I'll meet you." "You're gonna meet me?" asked Nick, sounding a little suspicious. "Yeah, yeah I'll meet you. That okay?" "Uh...sure...if you want. What' good to eat near you?" "Um...there's a McDonalds..." "Well, that's good," said Nick with a laugh in his voice, "but I was kind of thinking of somewhere we could sit and talk, you know." "Okay...yeah...sorry...ummm." "It's okay...why don't you think, I'll come pick you up and we'll go..." "There's a Chinese place! I'll meet you there!" "Yeah?" said Nick. "Uh, okay, where is this place?" "Um, you got a map? Where are you?" Matt asked, and then quickly tried to explain to Nick how to get to the restaurant. He desperately tried to remain calm, but could feel the panic rising inside him and he knew he was talking faster and faster but he just couldn't stop it. "Okay, so I'll be there in like 15 minutes," said Nick. "Okay!" "And Matt?" "What?" "Calm down. It's okay. Okay?" "What?" asked Matt, and then he stopped for a moment and took a breath. "Okay," he said quietly. "Okay, see you soon." "Ahh, yeah," said Matt, hanging up the phone, staring at it as it lay in his hand. Shit! He went up to his bedroom to grab his wallet and keys. A quick check of his clothes. Fuck! He looked like shit. He went to the wardrobe and pulled out a shirt and pants. Then he ran to the bathroom to wash quickly and straighten up his hair. He rubbed in some gel and spiked it up. Then rushed back into the bedroom and got dressed. He checked himself out in the mirror. He looked okay. Checked his watch. Damn! He had to get going! He ran downstairs and out onto the porch. Fuck! His Mom had taken the truck. He thought about taking the car, but he wasn't on the insurance for that, and he could see his Dad working in the garage. He'd be in trouble if he took the car. Assuming he even got out the driveway. Fuck! He grabbed his bike from behind the garage, hopped on and pedaled off down the road. He checked his watch. He was late! Damn! He felt for the cell phone. He'd just call Nick and let him know. He didn't want Nick to come looking for him. He checked his pockets; but all he could feel were his keys. He pulled out his wallet, but nothing else. Fuck! He'd left the cell phone at home! He thought about turning around and going back and getting it. But that would just make him later, and he was half way there already. He'd be there in a couple of minutes. He came to the intersection. Slowed down and looked both ways, reaching back to put the wallet back into his pocket. Distracted for a moment, he didn't see the car pull out as he turned. He didn't see the car. He didn't feel it hit him. He didn't even remember flying through the air. He heard a squeal and turned, and then he was lying on the ground. He couldn't figure out where he was, but then his brain put it all together. He'd been hit! Hit by a car! And his leg hurt! And his hand! Fuck! "Are you okay?" an elderly man was standing over him, looking concerned. Was he? He wasn't sure. His hand hurt like a bitch, and he looked at it and saw a bad scrape on the palm. His leg hurt like a bad sprain. Not really serious he thought. His knee hurt a little too, and his pants were torn. Fuck! "Are you okay?" repeated the man. A middle-aged woman had now joined them. Matt saw the look of concern on her face. "I'm okay," Matt said, trying to get up. He put his hands down and winced when he pushed with his left hand. The palm hurt like hell. The man offered Matt a hand, and he took it with his right, and stood up awkwardly. "We should call an ambulance," the woman said. "I have a phone," and she started searching through her bag. "No, I'm okay," said Matt, tentatively putting weight on his leg. It was sore, but just like a bad sprain. "I didn't see him," said the old man to the woman. "It's okay," said Matt. Damn! He was going to be so late now! What would Nick think? What would he do? He just had to get there. He tried putting a little more weight on this foot. It seemed okay. He took a tentative step forward. It hurt like hell, but he could move. He took another step and winced a little. "Oh, I don't like the look of that!" said the woman. "I just....I don't know where he came from," said the man. "It was my fault," said Matt, "It's okay...I'm okay." "Are you sure?" asked the woman. Matt smiled as best he could to her, and hobbled over to his bike. He just had to get to the restaurant where Nick was waiting. He reached down to try and pick it up. The man hurried over to help him. The bike looked okay, but when he tried to move it to the side of the street the chain feel off. Matt wheeled the bike to sidewalk and looked at the chain. It was broken, and the back wheel was a little bent. He wasn't going to be able to ride it. "Should I call the police do you think?" said the woman. "No, I'm fine," said Matt. "I feel terrible," said the man to no one in particular. "It's not your fault. I just...I just wasn't watching where I was going." He had to get to the restaurant! This wasn't important. Hell the bike could be fixed; it wasn't in bad shape. He quickly wrapped the chain around the handle bar, and then looked at the man and woman who were watching him, obviously concerned. "I'm fine!" he said, smiling at them, "thanks!" and he started to push the bike down the street, leaving the two of them standing where they were, watching him go. Matt glanced back at them a couple of times, smiling. Letting them know he was okay. He even half waved one time. God his leg hurt like a bitch! He must have really sprained it bad! But that was all; he couldn't walk on it if it was broken...could he? He kept walking. His knee was aching and the palm of his hand was starting to hurt like hell now too. He walked the final three blocks to the restaurant, nearly tripping as he went to lean the bike against the wall. It occurred to him that no one was going to steal it. He paused for a moment. Okay, lets see, he thought...hands bloody, pants ripped, legs hurts like hell, and I look like shit! Fuck! He hobbled inside and was meet by a smiling Asian woman. He wondered what he should say. "Matt!" he heard someone call, and he saw Nick standing waving at him. The woman smiled at Matt as he walked past her towards Nick. Nick was standing by a table, a huge smile on his face, a picture of friendship and welcome. The smile quickly vanished and the expression turned to concern as Matt hobbled up to him. "What the fuck happened to you?" Nick asked. ------------------------------- To be continued... ------------------------------- My other stories: High School: Do What You Can Celebrity: Boy Bands: Birthday Blues Celebrity: Boy Bands: All The Ways I Love You