Disclaimer:I don't mean to imply the sexualities or sexual preferences of any of the celebrites I have mentioned in Love Brought Us Together.If anyone who is reading this has a problem with slash fiction or two people loving each other, then this is the wrong place for you to be. Lastly, this is fictional. If you don't know what it means please go look it up.
Previously
A couple of hours later, Nick woke up slowly. He checked the time and lay in bed for a few minutes before getting up and going to the bathroom.
He came out feeling awake and refreshed. He changed into a pair of dark blue track pants and a red t-shirt, throwing a couple of things into his backpack before sitting down to wear his socks and sneakers.
Once he was ready, he left his room, making sure the door locked behind him and looked up and down the hall. When he walked passed an open doorway, he looked inside and saw Lance Bass sitting at the foot of the bed and sipping something from a cup while watching tv. He smiled and knocked gently on the doorway, waving when Lance looked at him.
Lance Bass felt a smile break out across his face when he saw Nick Carter Richardson in his doorway. He felt the day's, week's, past month's tensions leave him and an incredible lightness fill his heart at the blue eyed young man's sweet and tentative smile.
Chapter Thirteen
Nick and Lance looked at each other for a few seconds before Lance remembered his manners and invited the blond into his room. Nick entered and Lance gestured for him to sit down. After they were both seated on the edge of Lance's bed, Lance picked up his cup of coffee again and took a small sip before turning his head to look at Nick.
"How are you Nick?" he asked, his deep voice soft.
Nick smiled at the handsome blond man. "I'm doing alright Lance. How are you?"
Lance chuckled, "I'm doing alright too." His smiling face took on a look on concern. "Your voice sounds a little hoarse, does you throat hurt or something? Are you getting a cough?"
Nick giggled at Lance's questions, finding it funny how much he sounded like the Boys in concerned Backstreet mode. "I'm really fine Lance. I just woke up a little while ago. You know how when you wake up your voice is slightly rough?" At Lance's nod he smiled, "Well that's why my voice is sorta like this. You're the first person I am talking to since waking up so..."he shrugged, knowing Lance would understand that once he spoke some more his voice would become normal again.
Lance smiled, relieved, and then blushed. "I'm sorry Nick, I shouldn't have thrown questions at you like that."
Nick smiled and placed his hand on Lance's. "Don't worry about it Lance."
They shared a smile before Lance turned his head to finish his coffee. They sat talking about nothing in particular after that while Lance filled a bag with the things he needed for the next few hours. When Lance put one last book into his bag and started to zip it up, Nick stopped him.
"Can I see that?"
Lance smiled, knowing he wouldn't be able to refuse Nick's request even if he wanted to and silently pulled the book out from his bag and handed it to him. Nick took the book with a smile and a soft 'thanks' before looking at the cover of the book, then flipping it open and scanning the index. With a slightly confused smile he held the book out to Lance to take back.
Seeing his confusion expression Lance explained. "I am studying business through correspondence courses. That book is one of the ones I am currently using," he said as he finished zipping his bag shut after putting the book back inside.
Nick nodded to show that he understood and didn't say anything further on the topic.
"Where's Kevin?" Lance asked, once he was ready to leave the room.
Nick shrugged, "He said he was going to be spending time with AJ or Howie, I don't remember, but that was a couple of hours ago so he could be anywhere. But then again knowing AJ, yeah he could be anywhere," he ended with a laugh, knowing AJ could have dragged Kevin anywhere.
Lance laughed, understanding what Nick was trying to say. "Well then do you want to go ahead and find out who all are ready to leave for the venue or wait here?"
Nick stood up, "Let's go and see who is ready. And while we are at it, can we also let as many "responsible" people as possible see us ready so that later no one can say that I wasn't ready on time?"
Lance chuckled and nodded and together they left the room.
As Lance and Nick left Lance's room, they came across Nick's bodyguard knocking on Nick and Kevin's room door. Nick smiled.
"Looking for me?"
Q turned and smiled when he heard Nick's voice. "Hi kid. You ready to leave?"
Nick nodded. Q nodded at Lance who smiled in return.
"Have you seen Kevin anywhere?" Nick asked Q.
Q shrugged, "Carl and Loonie are not here, so I think Kevin's out somewhere with Brian."
Nick leaned against the wall. "So what do we do then? Is everyone else ready to leave?"
Q nodded. "Everyone is meeting in the basement parking lot in about 7 minutes."
Nick and Lance exchanged a glance.
"Let's go on down then," Lance said.
Q turned and started walking towards the elevators, leaving the two younger men to follow him. Once in the elevator, Nick unzipped his backpack and began pushing things aside trying to find something. He glanced up when he heard Q disapprovingly clicking his tongue.
"What?" he asked with an innocent expression on his face.
"Now is not the time for candy Nicky. There is a vanilla milkshake waiting for you downstairs along with a muffin."
Nick immediately grinned and zipped up his bag, then moved forward and hugged Q. "Thank you so much. You are absolutely the best."
Q laughed and ruffled Nick's hair. "You're welcome kid."
Lance watched all this with a soft smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes.
10 minutes later Lance was pacing up and down in front of one black van while Nick sat on the floor of the van with his feet on the ground. He had a white take away cup in his left hand and a chocolate chip muffin in his right hand that he was taking a bite out of. After he finished chewing the last bite, he wiped his hand and took a sip of his milkshake while watching Lance.
"Lance?"
Lance immediately slowed his pace and turned to look at Nick, "Yes Nick?"
"Why are you so upset?"
Lance took a few more steps before stopping and biting his lower lip. "I just, um..." he trailed off, very unsure about how to proceed.
Nick thankfully was more perceptive than he got credit for and nodded his head, letting Lance know he wasn't looking to push him for information. "Come sit," he said, patting the small space next to him.
Lance smiled and came forward. Nick scooted back further into the van so Lance could enter and sit. Lance sat down on the ground in front of Nick, feeling a sense of calm overtake his mind and body. He decided Nick was good for him and left it at that, deciding not to analyze it further.
Joey sat in the seat behind Nick and Lance in the van and watched them. Nick was laughing at something Lance was saying and Lance was watching him with a smile on his face, the kind of smile he hadn't seen in a long time from Lance. It was then that Joey realized just how unhappy Lance had been. But being around Nick...and Kevin made him happy. He seemed to like watching them. Truth be told, Joey liked watching them together too. They glowed with love and happiness. But he felt that Lance watched them differently and felt a slight stirring of unease. He hoped that Lance wasn't getting infatuated with either Nick and Kevin or both of them or crushing on them.
Nick and Lance exited the van first, before Joey followed them. They gathered up their bags and walked into the backstage area being careful to keep out of the way of technicians and stage crew running about. They separated once they reached the area where the dressing rooms were located. Lance went to the room marked "Nsync" and Nick went into the room marked "BSB". Joey watched as Lance kept his bag in a corner and sat down, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. His manner screamed, "Touch me not." Joey frowned and sat down on the other couch and watched his friend. Joey had been amazed at the change that always went through Lance whenever Nick Carter was around. He always seemed happier than he usually was when he saw Nick. Joey was all for his friend feeling happy by looking at someone, he just hoped Lance remembered that he wasn't looking at Nick Carter, but at Nick Carter Richardson. Because that's the way things were and that's how they were going to stay unless something phenomenal happened. Nick seemed to live and breathe Kevin. And Kevin in turn was fiercely protective and in love with Nick. Joey didn't even want to think about what would happen if Lance tried to interfere in that relationship in any way. Not that he thought Lance would. No matter how Lance felt, he would never try to get in the middle of two people in love. Though sometimes hurt and pain did a lot of strange things to people and in turn made them behave in ways they normally wouldn't. Joey just prayed Lance wouldn't lose control of himself. Nick Carter flopped down on the couch in the Backstreet Boys dressing room and pushed his bag a little away from him on the couch before curling up on the couch and snuggling down. He sat that way for a few minutes before opening his bag and taking a book out; pushing his bag aside he curled back up and started reading after taking his bookmark out.
40 minutes later Nick frowned while he waited with AJ and Howie on stage. Nsync had finished their sound check minus JC who was out shopping and stuck in traffic. And now Howie, AJ and Nick would have to go through sound check without Brian and Kevin who were also stuck in traffic with JC. He bit his lip hard before releasing it and taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.
'I can do this,' he thought to himself, 'I don't need Kevin with me every second of the day. I'll be fine, I'll be fine, I'll be fine... I am fine, I am fine, I am fine.' He started repeating his usual mantra in his head a few times before smiling slightly and focusing on what was happening around him. A few minutes later Nick, Howie and AJ stood on stage preparing to go through with a quick check of all the equipment that would be used. They sang 3 songs with their band to make sure they were comfortable with everything before a technician approached them.
"Sing one more song with these," the technician indicated two other microphones, "they are Kevin and Brian's. We just want to be sure."
Howie and Nick nodded and exchanged their microphones for the ones labeled with Kevin and Brian's names.
After checking to make sure everything was working and ready, the 3 Backstreet Boys went back to their dressing room to start getting ready. Nick slowly changed his clothes, all the while looking towards the door in case Kevin came in. Q smiled sympathetically at him, not that Nick noticed. He tugged his shimmery shirt down and smoothened it. He turned to Q who nodded approvingly at his choice of clothing and went with the him to the room that was set up as a combined make up room for both the bands.
Joey watched Lance's face light up when he entered the room and saw Nick sitting in a chair in front of the mirror getting his hair and make up done. Joey turned his head back to the make up lady, Cath, when she growled at him to 'just sit still for a few more minutes!' but watched Lance out of the corner of his eyes. Lance leaned on the table near Nick.
"Hey Nick," he said softly.
"Hi Lance," Nick replied while trying to twist out of the hair stylists grasp.
"Nick PLEASE!" The stylist begged.
Nick squirmed, "It feels so disgusting in my hair!"
Andre sighed, "I know hun but it's the only thing that'll hold your hair in place until we are able to get your regular gel back."
"Can't I go on without any gel today? Please?" Nick asked her with pleading look on his face.
He sighed when he started pouting and ran her fingers through his hair. "Alright alright, stop with the cute faces. We'll use some mousse today."
Nick settled back in the chair with a smile while Andre worked on spraying his hair with a little water and spreading some mousse in it. A few minutes later Nick was ready to leave. With a 'bye' he was out the door.
Kevin looked at his watch for the 9th time in the past 5 minutes. He sighed and sat back, crossing his arms over his chest as the driver tried to maneuver the van through the crowd of teenagers, security and reporters.
This chapter is dedicated to all the wonderful people I got to know through nifty. Thank you. My email address:magical_dreams2002@yahoo.com