Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 14:19:31 +0000
From: N D <pytn18@hotmail.com>
Subject: nick and ashley-aj and jacob sideline

Hi.  This is Kyriel2, one of the two authors of "The One" on Nifty
Boybands.  When ND approached with the idea of writing a parallel short
story to explore the relationships of the more secondary characters, I was
intrigued.  One of the stumbling blocks of trying to write fan fiction with
multiple characters is that you often either end up focused on one group of
characters and short-change the others, or you end up trying to cram
subsidiary storylines in to give them something to do.  The idea of writing
parallel stories has been adopted by some other writers, but the idea of
inviting other authors to take a crack at interpreting the characters
struck me as most unusual.  So I gave it a shot, and came up with the story
that follows.

Those of you who have followed my work on "The One," know that I tend to go
for a more introverted or conversational approach to character development.
Also, I'm just not good at writing sex, so it usually happens off camera.
Sorry.  In any case, I hope you find this short story to your liking.  If
so, write to me!  I can be reached at my personal e-mail: kyriel2@aol.com

Also, if this piece interests you, please take a look at my primary story
on the Archive, "The One."  (I didn't start writing until the second part
though: "2Gether at Last.")  If you end up liking THAT, then drop me and
Rick (my co-author) a line at: theone_backatone@yahoo.com

Thanks a bunch!
Kyriel2

Disclaimer.  As always, none of this is real.  All is know about these guys
is what I see on TV.  Also, I have no idea if Nick's house in Ruskin even
HAS a porch or a security gate.  Don't worry, that'll make sense later.
Ciao, dahlings.  -K2

*************************************
*************************************

Identity Crisis: A Day in the Life of AJ and Jacob

    Jacob was lying idly back on the bed, listening to music.  His hands
were clasped behind his head, his eyes closed, his toes counting time with
the beat.  When the music finished, he sighed and got up to change the
disc, then stopped.  He flushed slightly, seeing the other figure leaning
against the doorjamb.  "Hey."

    AJ smiled lazily, the expression sliding across his face like sunrise,
every movement reflecting his carefully studied image.  Jacob, of course,
spoiled the effect entirely by throwing a pillow in his face.  AJ laughed
and tackled him, the two of them rolling off the bed and onto the floor.

    Jacob snickered as AJ settled his sunglasses back on his face, then
trailed off as he became acutely conscious of being pinned under his
boyfriend, who was significantly more dressed than he was himself.  AJ
grinned wolfishly at his discomfort, his thoughts obviously following the
same track.  "Nice boxers, J."

    Jacob smiled.  "Glad you like them.  They're yours."

    AJ nodded thoughtfully.  "Thought they looked familiar."

    Jacob reached up and slid AJ's glasses down his nose so his eyes were
visible.  "So how long you were watching me?"

    AJ grabbed his hand and rubbed his thumb over the pale skin.  "Long
enough to realize how hot you look, lying in my bed and wearing my
clothes."  He leaned down a stole a light kiss.  "What did I ever do before
I met you?"

    Jacob pulled him down on top of him, then pulled him to the side so
they lay in each other's arms.  "Does it matter?  You've got me now."  He
sighed happily as his boyfriend snuggled closer.  "Why are you home so
early?  I thought you had to be in the studio today?"

    "Change of plans."  AJ propped himself on one elbow, so he could see
his lover's face better.  "The producer we were going to use backed out, so
we have to line up a new one while we've got the studio booked.  So we
figured we'd take the day off while Kevin does his thing, and just get an
early start tomorrow."  He lifted his sunglasses again so Jacob could see
his eyes crinkle in amusement.  "Any suggestions on how I could spend this
rare Valentine's Day opportunity?"

    Jacob's fingers slipped up his side to hang casually from the partly
unbuttoned collar of AJ's shirt.  "I might have a few ideas..."

    AJ grabbed his hand again before it wandered anyplace really
interesting.  "Besides that."

    Jacob raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.  "Besides that?"  He
slapped his palm over AJ's forehead.  "Are you feeling all right?"

    With a snort, AJ ducked his head and kissed him on the lips.  "You're
so bad."

    Jacob pulled him closer.  "Only for you, babe."  He began kissing his
way down AJ's neck, speaking between the light touches.  "What did you have
in mind?"

    AJ rolled onto his back, opening himself to more of Jacob's pleasant
ministrations.  "I thought maybe we could go out.  You know, like on a real
date..."  He sucked in a deep breath as Jacob nipped slightly at a
particularly sensitive spot.  "Ooh, baby...Anyway, I thought maybe we could
do the things that couples do, for real, while no one's looking for us.
Make a day of it."  He tried to get his thoughts straight, so to speak, as
Jacob finished opening his shirt and his deft fingers started to work on
his pants.  "I mean, no one knows we're in town, and maybe we can finally
get some time to ourselves..."

    Jacob kissed him deeply, cutting off whatever he was going to say next.
"Alex, baby...I love you, and I love that you thought of this.  And there's
nothing I want more than to spend a day on the town with you, but lover..."
He let his voice drop into a husky whisper, his laughter twinkling in his
eyes.  "First things first, OK?"

    AJ let his hands slide down his lover's chest, until they hooked in the
waistband of Jacob's shorts.  "Sounds like a plan," he said as his hands
pulled the elastic down, exposing more skin.  "And I love you too."

    Neither of them said much after that.  They both knew everything they
could have wanted to say.

*************************************

    "You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?"  Jacob scratched
at his newly shaven chin.

    "You noticed."  AJ allowed himself a small smile while stirring his
drink.  He thought the waiter was going to have a stroke when he ordered a
Shirley Temple, but it was worth it to see the look on Jacob's face.  Not
that Jacob's face was particularly recognizable right now.  It wasn't well
known that the guys were in Orlando right then, but even so, their faces
were too recognizable in their hometown.  Their 'traditional'
hat-and-sunglasses disguise wasn't going to work here, so something
more...creative was called for.  Jacob had protested mightily at first, and
had only relented when he saw how much preparation his boyfriend had gone
to.

    Jacob ran his fingers through his straight hair, taken out of its
dreads for the first time in what seemed like years.  With his clean-shaven
face and gelled hair, he remembered the old days, when everyone thought
O-Town was just a gimmick band.  Honestly, it made him feel uncomfortable,
seeing how much he'd changed since then.

    AJ felt the same discomfort, only more so.  He'd actually shaved his
goatee, taken out his earrings, and dyed his hair back to it's original
brown.  Man, he thought, the guys were really going to freak when he went
back into the studio tomorrow.  But today, it was worth it.  Not to mention
he'd left the house without his sunglasses or one of his many bizarre and
fanciful hats.  Nope, today was a day for earth tones and muted colours.
No one on the street spared either of them a second glance.  They'd brought
along a couple of bodyguards, of course, but they'd actually managed to
blend in a few tables down.

    "It's weird," said Jacob.  "I almost feel like..."

    "Like an actor?" asked AJ, knowingly.

    Jacob blinked.  "Yeah.  How..."

    AJ folded his arms on the table and regarded his lover with a kind of
peaceful affection that had evaded him for so many years.  Without his
trademark shades, his eyes seemed more alive somehow, more vulnerable.
"You ever see our old videos?  The one's before Millennium?"  Jacob nodded.
"We were all young.  Younger even than you guys.  Trying to play a role all
the time was hell.  Everything had to be perfect and wholesome."  Their
eyes met.  "No one expects as much from the designated 'bad boy.'  The more
outrageous and off center you are, the more the agents and managers and
handlers leave you alone.  You make better press when you're free to
improvise."  He sighed.  "It was a cheap way out, but it bought me a
measure of freedom that the other guys couldn't have.  They never resented
me for it, but deep inside, I always felt guilty."

    "AJ...I don't know what to say."

    AJ stirred his drink again, watching the swirl of color against the
fragments of ice.  The whole day had been fantastic, from doing the whole
touristy thing to the expensive meal at the open-air restaurant they'd
found.  "The whole 'rebel' thing gets old after a while, I guess.  But
after a while it starts to feel familiar and natural, and you begin to
forget that it's just a role.  Eventually, it's like a second skin that
grown too tight to shed.  By then, it takes a huge slap in the face to
break free and realize who you are again."  He let his eyes meet his
boyfriend's.  "I almost flushed my career and my closest friends down the
toilet for a sense of relief I thought I could only find in the bottom of a
bottle.  It took me a while to get my feet back on the ground, and even
then something always seemed missing.  I'd forgotten how to be plain old
me, instead of AJ McLean, Backstreet Boy."  The way he said it, you could
hear the capitals.  He smiled.  "And then I met you, and everything fell
back into place."

    "Wow."  Jacob felt overwhelmed.  "I never realized."  He fidgeted a
little.  "AJ, why are you telling me this now?"

    AJ looked away and gazed out at the setting sun.  "Because I love you,
Jake.  And I don't want you to go through what I did."

    Jacob's smile vanished and he frowned.  "What's that supposed to mean?"

    AJ sighed.  "Jake, you're a wonderful, sweet guy.  But you hide it all
behind the attitude and unwillingness to compromise.  Maybe you should drop
it sometime."

    Jake's frown had deepened into a scowl.  "You think I'm acting?  That I
don't care about our music?  That I don't want to us to be nothing more
than that bubblegum crap you..."

    AJ's gaze sharpened.  "What?"  His tone of voice dropped frigidly.
"That bubblegum crap we sing?  Is that what you were going to say?"  He
leaned back, and let Jacob see the sudden lack of friendliness in his eyes.
"Cause I have my pride too, Jake.  We're not bubblegum anymore.  We worked
hard to get where we are.  We didn't get this handed to us on a plate."

    "And you think we did?  You think we didn't work hard?," Jacob snarled.

    "Not like we did, Jake."  AJ bit the ends of the words off as he
clenched his teeth to keep from screaming at his boyfriend.  "We worked
high schools and malls and record company hallways to get where we are, the
make a place in the industry for bands like you to have a chance.  Now
listen to me, damn it!"

    Jacob crossed his arms angrily and sat back in his chair, expectant.
"Fine.  Lay it on me, Bone.  Thrill me with your words of wisdom."

    AJ took a deep breath and let it out.  "Jake, I'm not trying to put you
guys down.  I know you've worked hard, and I know how tough it can be to
hold on to who you are while doing it.  But Jake...If you close yourself up
and start believing your image, you're going to wake up one day an empty
shell."  He leaned forward to emphasize his point.  "Just like me."

    Jacob stared at him coldly.  "I'm nothing like you."  Then he got up
and left.

*************************************

    Jacob didn't know where he was going.  He'd manage to ditch his
bodyguard, but he didn't have much of a plan after that.  On impulse, he
rented a car and just drove around Orlando.  He didn't want to go home to
get his own car, because AJ might be waiting there.  He couldn't believe he
had said that to AJ.  A lot of what he had to say actually made sense.
There was no reason for him to treat his boyfriend with such hostility.  He
loved AJ.  There was no reason for him to start giving him such...such...

    Attitude.

    Oh, God.  Is that what happened?  Maybe he'd already started retreating
behind his image.  The tough guy.  The rebel artist.  And AJ tried to knock
a hole in it.  Fuck.  The things he's said to AJ.  What was he thinking?!
The band was one of the most important thing in the world to AJ, and Jake
had just called it crap.  Fuck!  Fuck!  Fuck!

    OK.  Breathe, Jake.  What now?  He had to do something.  But what?  How
was he going to smooth things over with AJ?  Hell, he didn't have a clue
how this love stuff worked with another guy.  If he was dealing with a
girl, he would have tried to buy her off with flowers, chocolates, and lots
of groveling.  But AJ?  Shit.  Where would he even start?  The most
experienced gay guy he knew was...Ashley.  Ashley and Nick.  Nick, AJ's
bandmate.

    Yes!

    He ran a few red lights on his way to Nick's, but he hoped no one
noticed.  And he just hoped that the two of them wouldn't kill him for
interrupting them.

*************************************

    Shit.  He wasn't coming back.  Where the hell was he?  AJ banged his
head against the window of his car, parked across from the O-Town house.
Why did he push it?

    He sighed.  Because he saw things in Jake that the others didn't get to
see.  The smile in his eyes.  The joy in his face when he laughed.  AJ knew
the other guys didn't give them much chance of making it, cause he knew
they thought both of them were too totally self-involved.  He wanted them
to see the real Jake, the one he'd fallen in love with.  He wanted the
others to understand what he saw in them.  He wanted them to...

    Wait a minute.  Who cares what they think?  What was important was that
he knew the real Jake, not what anyone else thought.

    Was he still that worried about what people thought of him?  He was
doing just what he'd accused Jake of doing!  And he said that Jake hadn't
worked hard for his music.  He knew all the O-Town guys had a sore spot
about being called part of Lou's 'bubblegum factory.'  Hell, all the BSB
had the same one.  Shit!  Shit!  Shit!

    No time for that.  Focus on the problem, Bone.  He had to do something.
But what?  How was he going to smooth things over with Jake?  Hell, he
didn't have a clue how this love stuff worked with another guy.  If he was
dealing with a girl, he would have tried to buy her off with flowers,
chocolates, and lots of groveling.  But Jake?  Fuck.  Where would he even
start?  The most experienced gay guy he knew was...Nick.  Nick and Ashley.
Ashley, Jake's bandmate.

    Score!

    He ran a few stop signs on his way to Nick's, but he hoped no one
cared.  And he just hoped that the two of them wouldn't hurt him if they
were already...involved.

*************************************

    Jacob keyed in the code into the security gate that Ashley had given
him, and then pulled his car into Nick's driveway.  As he got out though,
he noticed that the car in front of his wasn't Nick's or Ashley's.

    "Guess you had the same idea, huh?"  Jacob turned to the side, and saw
his boyfriend sitting on the porch, smoking a cigarette.  Wearing his
sunglasses.  And his earrings.  Looks like the date was over.  "They left a
note on the door saying they went to Nick's house down by Key West."

    "AJ..."

    AJ flicked away the cigarette.  "Can I go first?"

    Jacob swallowed his misgivings, and nodded.

    "I'm sorry I tried to change you.  I just wanted everyone to know how
different you are we're together.  How open."  He shook his head.  "I
should have just enjoyed it while I could."

    Jacob made his way over to sit beside him.  Then he reached up and
lifted AJ's sunglasses so they rested on his forehead.  Looking into AJ's
eyes, he said, "I'm sorry I ran away and didn't hear you out.  You were
right.  I just didn't want to hear it.  And I was wrong."  He leaned in and
gently kissed AJ on the lips.  "I am a lot like you, AJ.  And I don't mind
that at all."

    AJ responded by pulling him closer, and deepening the kiss.  Then he
pulled back, and Jacob could see his lover's eyes twinkle mischievously.
"Hey, you know, Jake...It's a long ride back to Orlando, and Nick and
Ashley won't be back until tomorrow."

    Jacob raised his eyebrows.  "So?"

    AJ looked pointedly at the door of Nick's house behind them.  "So I
have a key."

    Jake let himself smile, unconsciously echoing AJ's wolf-like grin of
that morning.  "Do you think they'd mind?"

    AJ slipped his glasses down over his eyes and growled seductively.
"Nah.  As long as we stay out of their bed."

    Jacob snickered.  "Now where would be the fun in that."

    AJ seemed to uncurl as he got to his feet.  "I like the way you think,
loverboy."

    Jacob ran a fingertip slowly down the middle of his boyfriend's chest.
"Is that all you like, Bone?  The way I think?"

    AJ grabbed him and slung him over his shoulder.  "Let's find out."
Then he pulled out his keys and carried a laughing Jacob inside.

*************************************

End.

Comments to:  theone_backatone@yahoo.com or kyriel2@aol.com
For comments on "Nick and Ashley" pytn18@hotmail.com