Chapter Six

Before I knew what was happening I felt arms surrounding me. I realized that AJ, Brian and Howie were hugging Nick and me. We stood this way for a few minutes before we heard Nick's soft laughter. I smiled and put my lips near his ear.

"What so funny baby?"

He lifted his head a little and spoke, "This is a very good photo opportunity. How come photographers aren't ever around when you need them?"

I chuckled and soon the other three started laughing too. Our laughter diffused the tension and cleared the atmosphere. Howie, AJ and Brian stepped back a little. Nick slowly lifted his head and looked at me. I cupped his face with my hands and kissed him. When I pulled away his eyes had cleared up and he smiled a little at me.

"Your not mad at me?" he asked me softly.

"Now why would I be mad at you angel?"

He blushed, "Because I didn't tell you about this yesterday? When you asked me if something was wrong?"

I smiled at the uncertainity in his voice and kissed him lightly, "I knew you had something on your mind and I also knew you would tell someone once you sorted things out in your head. Is this why you got stressed out and got a headache? And why you couldn't sleep?"

He nodded slowly. I moved his hair away from his face and wiped away the tears from his cheeks. I kissed his cheeks, his forehead and finally his lips.

"I love you," I told him.

He blushed again, "I love you too."

He looked at the other guys then back at me, "Nuh uh. I'm not repeating that stuff. You tell them."

I sighed and closed my eyes, and then opened them again, "Ok you guys. I know ya'll are curious. Let us take a shower first then we'll talk about this ok?"

The others agreed and walked off to the lounge room. Once they were gone I looked back at Nick who was biting his lower lip and looking the other way. I turned his face towards mine and smiled.

"What are you thinking love?"

"I'm thinking that I didn't get my good morning kiss today," he said, and then smiled sweetly.

His blue eyes were shining with love. I pulled him back into my arms and kissed him. I slowly pushed my tongue into his mouth and traced every part of his mouth. I firmly but gently held onto the back of his head. I only pulled away when we both needed air.

"Happy now?" I asked him breathlessly.

He shook his head and looked at me, "No. I--want--more--a whole--lot --more," he said to me in between kisses.

I groaned and pulled him closer and captured his lips completely again. Suddenly a ringing sound registered in my mind. I tried to ignore it and concentrate on Nick's soft lips instead. Nick moved forward and pushed me back then reached into our bunk for a cell phone. He pulled his mouth away from mine, then quickly leaned back and kissed me quickly. He looked at the caller id and groaned.

He laid his head on my shoulder and answered the phone, "Why do you always have such bad timing Jerald?"

I started laughing while trying to catch my breath. Nick's kisses were very…I couldn't find the word. I knew once Jerald and Nick started talking they could go on and on so I decided to interrupt.

I took the phone out of Nick's hand and spoke into it, "Hi Jer, what's up?"

I listened for a few seconds then said, "Yeah we'll tell you when. But right now we can't talk. I'll call you back later ok…Yeah bye."

I clicked off the phone and looked at Nick, "Go take a shower."

He smiled, "why don't you take one with me?"

I shook my head and laughed. We pulled out clothes from our bag and went into the bathroom. Nick took off his clothes and stepped under the shower spray.

"Nick if the water is too cold come back out," I told him.

I was leaning against the basin watching him. He was quickly rubbing the bath gel over his body.

"It not that cold, though I don't think your gonna like it much."

I groaned. I couldn't stand really cold water, but Nick didn't seem to mind it much. When he came out from the water though then he would start to feel cold. He motioned for me to come under the shower spray.

I sighed and took off my clothes then stepped under the water, shivering when I felt the cold water come down on me. Thankfully it wasn't too cold. When I moved a little away from the water to apply soap on myself Nick washed off the soap from his body. He stepped out of the shower spray and started drying himself and I washed the soap off my own body. When I was done I dried myself off too. Once we had pulled on our boxers and jeans we went out of the bathroom. I took Nick's towel and dried his hair.

After brushing our hair and pulling on t-shirts we were ready. "Come on let's go," I told him while holding out my hand to him.

He reluctantly took my hand and let me pull him towards the back of the bus. I stopped outside the door and turned to look at him. He was looking very uneasy.

"Nicky, you don't have to say anything to anyone. I'll tell them what happened you just stay with me ok?"

He nodded his head, then sighed and motioned for me to go inside.

Half an hour later we were sitting in the lounge room watching TV. After telling the guys what had happened and Brian almost going off to strangle Jennings we decided to forget about it for the moment. We would deal with it when the time came.

I looked at Nick and saw him looking back at me. When I caught him looking at me he blushed and looked away. I nudged Howie and pointed to Nick. He smiled at me and reached out and touched Nick's arm. When Nick looked at him he pointed to me. Nick looked at me and smiled. I motioned for him to come to me. He got up from the ground where he was sitting and came and sat down next to me on the couch.

I rested my hand on the back of his neck and kissed his cheek, which was still a little pink, "I love it when you blush," I whispered into his ear.

He smiled and looked at me. I kissed his forehead and pulled him close to me. He put his head on my shoulder and caught my hand in his. I entwined our fingers together and kissed his hand. He turned and settled his back against me. I turned too and out my arms around his waist.

Brian got up, "I'm getting something to drink. You guys want anything?"

"Can you get me some water please?" Howie asked.

"Nothing for me thanks," AJ said.

"Nicky? You want anything baby?" I asked Nick.

He smiled and looked at Brian, "I want the book I was reading before, please."

Brian smiled at him and looked at me, "Kev? Need anything?"

I shook my head. He went out and I turned back to Nick, who was now playing with my fingers. He put his left hand a little on top of my left hand and was looking at both our wedding rings I guess. I kissed the side of his neck and rested my head on his shoulder.

"What are you looking at honey?" I asked him softly.

He leaned his cheek against mine, "Nothing Boo."

He lifted up my left hand and kissed the back of it. I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"You guys are still all mushy, all lovey-dovey. I'd hate to know how you guys were on your honeymoon, or maybe I shouldn't even ask. We might just get contact diabetes from you two. You guys know that right?" AJ said with a grin.

Nick blushed and I smiled, "Thanks a lot J."

"I just wanted to make Nicky blush," AJ said.

Nick looked at the three of us laughing and made a face, "I hate you guys."

Brian came back and handed Howie a bottle of water and kept one for him. He came over and gave Nick a bottle of water and his book. Nick smiled his thanks. Brian pulled Nick's glasses out from his pocket and handed it to me.

I gave Nick his glasses and he smiled. He put them on and I pulled him closer into my arms. His back was still against my chest. He leaned his head on my shoulder and opened his book. Two minutes later when I looked at him, he was absorbed in what he was reading.

~~`~~`One hour later,on *NSYNC's bus`~~`~~

"Guys I'm hungry. When can we go get something to eat?" Justin asked.

Joey and Justin had been repeating this question since the past one hour. They had not eaten breakfast like the rest of them so were hungrier than them.

JC sighed, "I know you guys are hungry, so are we. But Jennings isn't allowing us off this bus until he has that meeting he didn't get to have this morning."

"First he doesn't let us sleep, now he wants to starve us?" Joey asked.

JC smiled, "I'm sorry guys. I can't help it."

"Lets call Kevin and see if they have to stay in their bus too," Justin said.

Chris, JC, Lance and Joey nodded. Lance looked up from the book he was reading to see four pairs of eyes looking at him. He stared back.

"What? Why do I have to call?" He asked.

"Please Lance, I'm sooooo hungry," Justin said pouting.

Lance sighed knowing he was lost. He picked up his cell phone and looked around for the file that had Kevin and the other BSB's numbers in it. He found Kevin's number and dialed.

It rang a few times before someone answered, "Hello?"

Lance was confused. It didn't sound like Kevin, this voice sounded much lighter and softer, "Um may I speak to Kevin please?"

"Lance?"

"Yes."

"Oh sorry. Just a sec."

Lance heard someone say something and then the unmistakable voice of Kevin Richardson came through, "Hi Lance, wassup?"

"Hi Kevin. Um we were just wondering are you guys allowed to leave your bus?" Great, that sounded smart, Lance thought to himself.

"As far as I know yes, we're allowed to go off. Security is all around the place so its ok to get off the buses."

'Guys when are we going for lunch? Kevin what is he reading?' I heard a voice ask in the background.

"Lance just a sec please," Kevin said.

"Sure," I said.

"Guys we can leave now if ya'll want to and if you want to know what he's reading check the book cover."

"Hey sorry. Why aren't ya'll leaving the bus if ya'll want to?" Kevin asked Lance.

"Jennings sent a message and told us to stay on the bus 'cause he insists that he wants to have the meeting we didn't have this morning."

"What? Is that guy stupid or what?"

"Justin and Joey are starving and we don't know what to do," Lance finished with a sigh.

"Well these guys are hungry too so we are going to leave to get some lunch in a few minutes. Why don't ya'll join us?" Kevin asked.

"Ok. But what about Jennings?"

"We'll deal with him when we see him."

"Ok."

They hung up and Lance turned to see four pairs of eyes staring at him again. He put his hand to his forehead, "Will you guys not do that please. No one has told the BSB to stay in their bus. They are going to leave for lunch in a few minutes and Kevin asked us to join them. So lets go, he said we'll see about Jennings when we see him."

They gathered whatever we needed and went to the front of the bus and got off. Their bodyguards were standing a little away. AJ was standing near the BSB's bus with Kevin and talking to their bodyguards. Kevin saw them and waved them over.

"There are a few places near by or we can drive around and see where we want to eat ok?" Kevin asked them.

They nodded our heads. Brian came off their bus and stood next to Justin. One of the BSB's bodyguards asked, "Where are Howie and Nick?"

"Right here," Howie said as he was getting off the bus. Nick was behind him and was talking into his cell phone. They came over and stood with us.

"Ok you guys decide what you want to eat and then we'll see where to go," Mike said.

"I vote for pizza," Justin said.

"I second that," Nick said while putting his phone into his pocket.

"I'm with them," Brian said.

"Me too," Joey said.

"Me three," Chris said.

"Me four," AJ said.

"That's great. Pizza it is," Brian said.

They laughed and decided to drive around and find a Pizza Hut or something. There were three vans so we divided up. They didn't bother to see who was going in which van, they just separated and went into them. Q, Mike, Justin, Nick, JC and Chris came went in one van. Carl, Bubba, Kevin, Joey and Nsync'c other bodyguards Mac, Terry and Jason went in the second van. Howie, Brian, Steve, Ted and Lonnie went in the third van.

Nick's cell phone started ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket. After looking at the caller id he answered it, "Yeah BJ?"

Everyone looked at Nick when he slapped his forehead and closed his eyes, "Uh sorry, hi mom."

Q started laughing, Nick heard him and opened his eyes. He narrowed his eyes at Q and spoke into the phone, "Um no she didn't tell me anything…yeah Aaron called so I spoke to him, BJ just said hi."

Nick nervously chewed his lower lip, "Honestly mom. What's going on anyway?"

He listened for a minute, and then said, "Ok. No he's not here. Bye, love you too." He clicked off the phone and kept chewing his lip.

"Nick stop doing that," Q told him.

He didn't appear to hear Q and was staring at his cell phone, which was in his hand. Chris touched Nick's arm.

"You ok Nick?" he asked.

Nick looked at him and smiled slightly, "Yeah. Its nothing."

We reached Pizza Hut and got out from the van and went inside. Nick looked a little distracted. We sat down at a table and waited for the others to come. Nick was quietly listening to what we were talking about. Chris was getting worried about Nick and Justin and JC were looking worried too. Q saw this and held up his hand telling them to relax.

When the rest of the guys came in we pulled a few tables together and sat down. Chris who was sitting to the right of Nick got up and put a chair on the left side of Nick and motioned for Kevin that there was place next to Nick. Kevin smiled at Chris and slid into the chair next to Nick, who was now playing with his bracelet.

``~``~``Kevin``~``~``

I put my hand on top of Nick's bracelet. He looked up and smiled at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked him quietly.

"Nothing I just spoke to BJ and Aaron and then mom so I'm just missing them."

Kevin sighed, "Nicky you had me worried when I saw you looking so sad."

Nick smiled, "I wasn't looking sad."

I shook my head at him. There was a big discussion going on about what to order. Finally we decided. When the pizzas came there was chaos while everyone got what they wanted. When we both had what we wanted Nick picked up a slice of pizza from my plate and took a small bite. He widened his eyes, indicating that it was very hot. I smiled and gave him my glass of sprite. He took a few sips and sighed, pushing his plate towards me a little. I picked up a slice from his plate and took a small bite.

We finished eating and went outside after paying the bill. This time Nick, Justin, Chris, Q Carl and me were in one van. Justin and Nick were talking about some game on the way back to the arena. We reached the arena ten minutes later.

"Hey Nick, you wanna come and play the game with me?" Justin asked Nick.

Nick smiled, "Sure."

Justin went towards the bus and Nick turned to me, "I'll be back later ok?"

I leaned in and kissed him, "Have fun."

He smiled and went after Justin, while I went to our bus.

JC, Joey and Lance came onto the bus and looked around. Chris was lying down in his bunk. JC went to his bunk and Lance went to the front of the bus with his cell phone. Joey wondered where Justin was and went to the back of the bus.

He opened the door and saw Justin and Nick sitting on the ground a little away from the TV and playing Nintendo. He smiled and sat down on the sofa watching them.

"Hi Joey."

Joey was surprised when Nick said hi to him. He didn't think they had realized that he had come into the room.

"Hi guys," he said.

Justin and Nick had been playing for two hours when Chris came in and saw them. "Ok you two, give it a rest. You guys have been playing for quite some time," Chris said.

They just nodded while continuing with their game. When they finished it they put down the controllers and Nick rubbed his eyes while blinking. He stood up and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll see you guys later. Bye," he said.

They said bye to him and he left. When he was walking through the bus he saw JC sleeping and Lance reading something. He waved to Lance, who said hi to him and stepped off the bus. He went to the BSB's bus and opened the door. He went inside and went to the bunks, looking for his bag. He saw Howie and Brian sleeping. He couldn't find what he wanted so he went to the back of the bus and opened the door.

AJ was watching TV and Kevin was reading when Nick came in. Kevin looked up and smiled at Nick. Nick smiled while blinking.

"Do you know where my blue bag is? I can't find it," Nick asked them.

AJ shrugged, "Last time I saw it, it was in the spare bunk."

Nick looked at Kevin, who said, "I think it's in the front of the bus."

"Thanks."

Nick quickly went to the front of the bus and looked for his bag, while his eyes started burning even more. He wiped away the tears that were forming due to the stinging and found his bag. He sat down on the sofa and started looking through everything in his bag for the bottle of drops he needed and couldn't find them. In frustration he dumped everything on the sofa and continued to look through the things. When he couldn't find it he put his head down and squeezed his eyes shut.

Nick suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and opened his now slightly red eyes to see Brian standing in front of him with a bottle of his drops in his hand. He tilted Nick's head so that Nick was looking at the ceiling and opened the bottle. He squeezed two drops of it into Nick's eyes and sat down next to him.

After a few minutes Nick opened his eyes and little and looked at Brian, "Thanks."

Nick didn't ask Brian how he knew that Nick needed the drops. They were so close in their friendship that they didn't need to ask each other these things.

"I heard you looking around for your bag. When you left Kevin so quickly I figured it was because you needed your drops," Brian said while rubbing Nick's back.

Nick opened his eyes again and went back to the bunks with Brian. He got into his own bunk and closed his eyes. He wanted and needed to rest his eyes.

Nick felt someone caressing his cheek a little while later. He smiled and leaned into Kevin's hand. Kevin smiled when he saw Nick moving his face closer to his hand. He leaned into the bunk and kissed Nick's closed eyes lightly. When he started to move away Nick caught his hand.

"Where are you going?" Nick asked Kevin softly.

"Nowhere baby, nowhere."

A few days ago, she was coming home from school and was almost raped. The guy has been arrested. Kanchan has cut her arm very badly and has bruises and scatches on her body. She has been hospitalized and will stay in the hospital for a week atleast.

She is a very sweet girl and was thrilled when her story was put onto the net (thank you David from Nifty for making my friend so happy) and has been writing a lot. I have access to her computer so I will be updating for her.

She is not going to be checking her emails and though I have her password I will onlt check her mail for her I will not reply back to anyone who mails her...she will do that herself soon.