Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 18:27:42 -0500 From: J Subject: "Back to Your Heart" Installment 4 HEY EVERYONE! I'm really psyched about this story, and obviously, If you are reading this far, you must be also. I got some really great emails this past time, with part 3. That really boosted my already crazy hyperactivity. He He He. Well, some bad news... Must tell... Classes started again, and I have some really intensive ones this year. I most likely will be pretty busy, so I might not have a lot of time to write a lot. Don't get worried now though! I will always keep my promise to finish it. I will hopefully have a new part out every few weeks or so, and I will definitely make the wait worthwhile! Oh, and I am taking some writing and journalism classes this year, so if my writing improves as the year progresses, you will know why. I wish I could use this work as an assignment or something, but I don't think my prof. will enjoy a story about two guys in love, one being Nick Carter from the BSB. Well, he he he, on with the story!!! Legalities: 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. If you want a story to wank your willie to (he he he, that's from a movie), I am also sad to inform you that this one will not be of that kind. 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 4: The Forgotten Terror... Chapter 7 I woke up in a cold sweat. A wet washcloth was being slowly dabbed on my forehead, and I heard the voices of many people talking. I slowly opened my eyes, surprised, yet happy at what I saw. Kevin was doing the dabbing of my forehead, and, when I opened my eyes he smiled a relieved smile. "You really scared us that time Andy..." Were the first words out of his mouth. "...Really scared us..." He mumbled. I looked around the room. I was lying on Nick's bed and Howie was in the bathroom, talking to some one. I could hear his frantic voice, talking nervously to some another man. In fact, there were many strange men in the room, and it slightly shocked me. Kevin noticed I was staring at them, and obviously realized my shock. "Do you remember anything about what happened before you passed out?" He asked in an overly worried manner. "For once, I remember every detail." I said, my voice quivering. Kevin looked at me, with grave worry marked on his face. "Do you know what happened to Nick...?" He was on the verge of tears. "... I'm... not entirely sure..." I said, almost afraid to hear what he would think of my answer. "Nick... well... he..." Kevin began crying. His hands raced up to cover his eyes. I immediately reached up and embraced him in a hug. "Shh, calm down Kevin... Is Nick okay? Tell me what happened..." I tried to soothe him, unsure if I myself was going to need soothing soon. His sobbing made my worry worse. "He's okay... [Sniff]... oh god... Andrew, he was hurt so bad... None of us ever heard his yelling... We came up, and saw you passed out, and heard him yelling... We couldn't get the door open at first..." He began sobbing again. I rubbed his back with my hands, and when he got his tears under control, he began talking again, "I was so scared he was dead... Oh god... I saw the blood, and the steam..." He trailed off into tears again. "Is he okay? What happened to him?" I tried to put as little worry as I could into my question, to help Kevin, however, I felt myself on the verge of tears. "He's okay Andrew... He's in the other room. If you are up to it, we can go see him." He coughed, and wiped the tears from his face. "Sure... let's go" I patted him on the shoulder. We walked into the next room, and Nick was sat up on a couch, talking to AJ and Brian. The moment he saw me, he started crying. He immediately jumped up, and hobbled over to me. He embraced me tightly, and we both began sobbing greatly. I heard Howie come into the room behind us. "The guys say there is nothing wrong with the shower system, or the door... They just can't seem to figure out how the door couldn't open..." He trailed off. Nick lightly pushed me aside. "I'm not crazy guys! Really!" He said, almost hysterically. "We know Nick, we would never call you crazy... It's okay, calm down..." Brian soothed. "It's just at this point, Nick, it's a little hard for US to believe your story." Nick flopped down on the couch; his face was red and flustered, and his cheeks were shiny from the tears. He reached up, wiping his eyes with a sleeve. "I was so scared guys... You have to believe me! Some one else was in that bathroom with me..." He trailed off as he began crying again. I sat down next to him, and hugged him again. "Nick, please... It's important to me that you tell me everything that happened to you..." I told him. He looked at me with question in his teary eyes. He sighed, and recounted the whole story in detail. He sobbed at intervals, and it took a whole ten minutes for him to tell the whole thing. "When I saw the man's face in the glass, I screamed. I didn't know what else to do. I guess I slipped in my own blood, and fell down hard enough to knock myself unconscious." He let out a deep breath of air when he finished. I looked down, and saw that his toe was wrapped in bandage. His head was bandaged, and I guessed that he most likely had stitches. "Six stitches," he said, when he saw me looking. "It's not that many... Andrew?" "Yeah?" I looked straight into his eyes. "What happened? ...I mean, to you... What happened to you while I was in the shower?" He asked. I wasn't sure were to begin. I sighed, and repositioned myself on the couch. "Well... When I was screaming at you through the bathroom door, I heard a sound behind me. I turned to look, but no one was there... When I turned back around, the door was open to the bathroom. I was shocked, because I hadn't heard you open it." I paused for a minute, as I thought about what had happened. I bust into tears. It was too much for my emotions to handle. Nick grabbed my hand. "I believe you Andrew... Whatever happened to me, something worse is happening to you. Please continue, you will feel much better once you get it out..." Our eyes met, and I continued; "I saw the shower door, and there was too much steam inside the shower to see you. As I was looking, blood poured through the shower door, and across the floor... tons [sniff]... of blood, it covered the floor, and seeped into the carpet..." Nick was shocked, but I continued; "The steam cleared away [sniff]... and... oh god Nick... I saw you, there, in the shower... you were all... cut... cut up, and blood was all in the shower..." I choked it out, and burst into tears. Nick started crying, and we furiously began hugging each other. Kevin, Howie, and AJ looked at both of us strangely. "There is something amiss in this..." Kevin mumbled. Nick got defensive again; "We are not crazy!" He screamed, "We both saw these things! You guys MUST believe us!" I squeezed him tighter to me, and he stopped screaming. "Shh, Nick, they didn't have happen to them what happened to us. It's hard for them to believe. You must calm down for both of our sake's," I said, calmly as I could. "How do you remain so calm? Damnit!" Nick gasped through tears. There was a silence as Nick and I continued to cry out our fears. Kevin was so deep in thought, I could almost hear it out loud. For a moment he began to say something, caught himself, and stopped. The he spoke up; "I think... I think I want you two to see a psychologist." "A what??!! A SHRINK!!! You want US to go see a SHRINK??!!" Nick yelled again. "You are such a jerk!!" He jumped up out of the chair, and ran out of the room. Kevin turned to me, and was about to say something, but I cut him off. "I'll go talk to him. It's a good idea for us to go... maybe I can see about regaining my memory, at least." He faked a smile at me, and I turned to follow Nick. "Thanks Andy..." * * * * * "Nick, it WOULD be a good idea, you know... It wouldn't do us any harm... It's kind of weird that both of us saw something totally different... and, I mean, both of us saw something really shocking... I don't think I can get over what I saw, and I'm sure you feel the same... We need some one to help us..." I told Nick, as calmly as I could. "Andrew... I'm scared... I have never been as scared as I am now... I don't know what happened, and that makes it so much scarier. The thought of telling my fears, to someone I don't know, makes me very uneasy." He replied. "You didn't have any problems telling me, or the rest of the guys..." I reminded him. "That was different... I don't have to worry about feeling stupid in front of you guys." He cracked a smile. "I'm still scared though, of all that might happen..." "Maybe that is a reason why we should go. Please, Nick, do it for me. I don't have a past, as far as memories are concerned. I don't know why this is happening either. We can't just let it fly as a pigment of our imaginations, because both of us got hurt." He sighed; "Okay, I will go... As long as you promise me one thing..." "What is that?" I asked him. "As long as you promise never to leave my side from now on!" He drew me into a bear hug. My knees went weak, as he lightly kissed my neck. "Whew! For that hon, I'll do anything!" I giggled. * * * * * I was outside a large house. The warm breeze and palm trees lining the road spelled "tropics" into my brain. The night was silent, and the moon sent a cascade of silver onto the pavement. I stood in the road, staring at the house. A few lights were on in the back of the house, however, the porch was dark. I stepped across the pavement, and approached the house. A slight chill ran down my spine, in spite of the warmth. I looked in both directions down the street, with no avail. There was no sign of civilization, and if I didn't know better, I would have thought the street was deserted. There was a hunter green Mercedes parked in the driveway, and I ran my eyes over its sharp details, as I passed up to the porch. Each wooden step, leading up to the porch, groaned with my weight. I ran my hand over the wooden railing, and pulled back at the coarse paint chips that flaked off of it. This house was in desperate need for repair. I stepped lightly across the porch, remembering the sound that came from the wooden steps. I approached the door. I reached toward the brass knob, turned it, and gently pushed the oak door forward. It gave easily, and I found myself in a dimly lit foyer. I quietly tiptoed down the hall, passing rooms filled with absolutely nothing. I passed a good 20 rooms, before I found one with a closed door. I reached down, and twisted the handle. The door would not budge. I squatted down and found there was a keyhole. I moved forward, and placed my eye up against the hole, peering into the room before me. I could make out the dim silhouette of a man, pacing in the room. I watched him pace for a few moments, and stood up. I felt a gentle tap at my shoulder, and I swiftly turned around. The man was behind me, holding a gun. "I am waiting for you..." He whispered. His eyes burned a deep red. I quickly turned, and tried to run, with no success. My feet stuck to the ground, and my legs felt like jelly. I tried to scream, but no words came out. I turned around again, and Nick was standing in the place of the silhouette. "This is only the beginning... only the beginning, Andrew... beginning, Andrew...Andrew... Andrew..." The house faded away into darkness. "...Andrew... ANDREW!" Nick's voice rang into my ears. "What... WHAT? I'm awake, don't shout!" I was bathed in a cold sweat. Nick was gently shaking me. "What's the matter?" He asked. "You were crying out in your sleep, something about 'must go to Miami'. What were you talking about?" "I'm not sure Nick..." He hugged me close, and I closed my eyes again. Warmth came to with his embrace, and I felt myself drifting back into sleep. This time, however, it was dreamless. Chapter 8 "How old is each of you again?" I shifted my weight. The couch Andrew and I were sitting on was coarse, and overstuffed. I was sitting on one end of the couch, and Andrew on the other. I spoke up before Andrew had a chance to "I'm 19, Andrew is 20." "I see," came the curt reply. The owner of the reply sat directly across from us, on an overstuffed velvet chair. His figure was short and plump, and he was balding on top. He was the last person I would think of as being a psychologist, however, Kevin had been told he was the best. Thus, Andrew and I found ourselves sitting uncomfortably on a dilapidated couch, answering his pathetic questions. "How long have you known each other?" He asked. "2 weeks, now." Andrew answered. "I see." He was playing with a stuffed duck, and writing notes down on a legal pad. "Where and when did you meet?" The shrink asked. He looked at Andrew. From the beginning of our session, Andrew and I had been taking turns answering. It was merely a coincidence, and just happened to flow that way. The shrink must have figured we had it planned, so he looked at each person accordingly, after asking his question. "Well," Andrew began, "We met at the hospital, after I was in a car accident... Nick was there, because of Brian Littrell... so I guess you could say we 'ran' into each other..." I lightly giggled, and Andrew looked at me with a goofy grin; I started to giggle harder. Then the shrink looked at me, and I shut up "I see." He fumbled with the stuffed duck, and wrote some more notes. I tried to lean forward to get a glance, but he moved his pad towards himself. "So, why are you guys here to see me?" This time, he didn't look up from his pad. "—Because we were forced to..." I said rudely. Andrew gave me a dirty look; I looked at the ground. "Actually, doctor, because we have been having some problems lately..." Andrew looked at me again, and I looked at the ground again. "Nick and I... both... have been, well, having some problems..." "Like how?" Psychologist asked. "Well... the other day... well, to put it shortly; Nick had an accident in the shower... Some how, the shower door got jammed, and things went wrong, and he ended up getting hurt." I looked at Andrew, slightly shocked. It was surprising to me that he was that open to the psychologist, and we barely even knew him. I guess I couldn't grasp this psychologist thing. The doctor looked up at me from his pad "I see". Dr. What-ever-his-name-was showed no emotion. Not even concern or shock. He just looked at his pad, and wrote comments. I was starting to get pissed. "You know, you could stop being so fucking quiet all the time, and stop with the 'I see'. It's starting to get me pissed at how rude you are." I half yelled at him. "Nick, you really need to—" Andrew began, but the psychologist cut him off. "Nick, do you want to know my analysis?" He asked. Andrew turned to him, and had this puzzled look on his face. "Sure, doc" I said. He looked up right into my eyes. "I think both of you need to go on vacation, and get some rest. Both of you seemed tensed up from all the recent stress, and I'm sure a little R and R would make most of your problems go away." I got up and left the room. * * * * * "Tell me again why you two are going to Miami?" AJ asked. "The psychologist said we need a break... I guess it would do us good, especially Nick." Andrew looked over at me with a goofy smiled. I crossed my arms and smirked. He giggled. "I had this dream the night before, and I had this longing to be in Miami, I don't know why... So I figured, hey, if we needed to go somewhere, why not Miami?" "I see," AJ said. Andrew burst out laughing, and I rolled my eyes. "What? What did I say that was so funny?" AJ looked confused, and I had to laugh at his dumb expression. "Never mind," Andrew said between giggles. Kevin began to speak, "I think I want to come with you guys... I mean, how do I know that it is okay for you two to be alone down in Miami? What if some one tries to kill you again?" "Kevin, you don't have to act like a mother all the time!" I yelled. "Andrew and I are not babies! We can do perfectly fine on our own." "Nick, calm down... really" Andrew said, with a slight look of worry in his gorgeous eyes. "Maybe he should come with us, maybe the rest of the guys should all come too. It could be fun, we could hang out on the beach... go clubbing... ya know, get to know each other better..." I sighed, I knew he was right, I just had wanted to spend personal time with him, but I couldn't tell him that. "Ok, I guess you are right." AJ and Howie looked at each other. "We don't want to go, if that's alright" They said in almost unison. I sighed, but quietly enough that no one heard. "Ok, that'll be good, so I can take care of Nick, and we wont have any problems," Kevin laughed. "So... When are we leaving?" I asked. "As soon as you are ready." Was Andrew's reply. "Give me 15 minutes!" I yelled, running in to my room. I grabbed a suitcase, and flung it on my bed. Quickly, I grabbed shirts, pants, socks, underwear (boxers, of course), toiletries, shoes, some cd's, my cd player; I shoved them in the suitcase, sat on it, and zipped it up. I was out of the room in a hustle, and arrived at the front door sweating. "Wow! That was fast" Andrew laughed. "Was I the only one not ready?" I asked. "Brian wasn't, but he should be down in a—" Kevin was interrupted as Brian came huffing down the stairs. "You shouldn't be carrying that all by yourself!" I yelled at him. "You need to take it easy on that heart of yours!" I ran up and grabbed the bag from him. "Thanks Nick, nice to know there is a gentleman in this house" He looked at Kevin. Kevin rolled his eyes, and marched out the door. I huffed out the door with Brian's bag, as well as my own. Andrew was behind me, and we strolled out to the driveway. When we got there, a sparkling navy blue Volkswagen beetle was sitting in the driveway. I smiled, and Andrew nearly fainted. "Oh my god!!!! You got my beetle fixed???" He screamed, almost in tears. "No, I bought you a new one... the old one was too beaten up" I laughed, it was nice to see Andrew happy. "AHHH!!" He dropped his bag, yelled again, and ran over to me. He jumped up on me, and kissed my cheek. The weight of two bags, and Andrew was too much for me, and we fell over in a heap. We both cracked up laughing, and soon, we had Kevin and Brian standing over us, laughing also. "Ok guys, come on! I'm driving, and you two can have the backseat." Kevin laughed. "But the backseat isn't big enough for the both of us!" Andrew whined. "That's the whole point!" Kevin and Brian chuckled, as they walked towards the car. * * * * * I was squished in the backseat of the tiny Volkswagen beetle, practically fused with Andrew. I didn't mind, and I'm sure he didn't either, but we both were having a hard time with Kevin singing Britney Spears. "Oh baby, baby, how was I s'posed to know! Tha somethin' wasn't right babe!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Brian laughed, and Andrew and I covered each others ears. He giggled and looked at me. For a few minutes, it seemed, we were locked on each other's gaze. He smiled, and I followed suit. The I heard Kevin yelling. He turned down the music. "Oh man, Andrew, look!" He pointed to the side of the road. "There is the telephone post you hit! Wow, that is a little freaky." "Tell me about it..." Andrew looked out the window, as we passed by. "It kind of gives me the willies." I looked out the window. The telephone post was knocked over, and there was still a crew from the telephone company out trying to fix it. I shuddered. "Nick, are you ok?" He asked, looking into my eyes. "As long as you are here with me I am... are you ok?" I asked him in turn. "I'm not sure, I'm a little nervous for some reason." He said. I pulled him into a hug, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "It's ok, I wouldn't let anything happen to you... ever... Kevin and Brian and I will protect you." I told everyone that I wouldn't end this one in a cliffhanger, so I didn't. I also refuse to go back and check it before I send it in to Nifty, so deal with the little error here and there that Word failed to get to. I'm also sorry this one is a little boring, it will get better soon. I just finished watching all three scream movies, so I have some tricks up my sleeve that I just wove into the story line. BTW, I already have the story planned out, and I'm figuring on only about 10 more postings. Shout out to Jeff, Casey, and everyone else. Oh, and AJBlue, I haven't had time to check the VMA awards, it is supposed to be on again tonight...