Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 04:07:20 EDT
From: Carter . <nicksxtacy@hotmail.com>
Subject: Open Arms 6

OPEN ARMS Chapter 6
by Carter (nicksxtacy@hotmail.com)


	DISCLAIMER: If you're not supposed 2 be here, and you know who you are.
Please leave, the author nor nifty.org will be held responsible for any
results of minors reading this story...so please go away....
This story is FICTION and does not in anyway represent the true sexuality of
any characters mentioned within...but of course, I wouldn't complain if it
did...

	Author's note: Well, here' s the next installment of OPEN ARMS, I hope you
all enjoy. It' s here because of the overwhelming number of emails I got
begging and threatening for the continuation of Nick's story. Hey, if you
guys like it, I have no problem writing it....Enjoy

	I just wanna ask all of y'all to please check out "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" by
Lucas Thompson, it's the best story, and  he truly appreciates what an angel
Nicky really is...(look I mentioned u at the top this time!)

	And just a mention to a certain Scot out there who has been helping me
quite alot this week....see if you can find your bz mention man....

	And to my ONE TRUE ANGEL, I love you, and cherish you. You're everything to
me.

Carter

OPEN ARMS Chapter 6
by Carter (nicksxtacy@hotmail.com)

	As he entered the room, Brian saw the body of his best friend lying
face-down, unmoving on the bed.  Nick's right hand still clutched the pen
that he had been writing with, while his journal lay opened on the bed.
Brian slowly approached the blond's body and upon realizing that the open
book on Nick's bed was his journal, Brian hesitated. He wanted so badly to
know what was wrong with Nick, but he hesitated to pick up the book, knowing
that to invade Nick's privacy would be to ruin 6 long years of friendship.
If Nick knew that Brian had read his journal, Nick would never trust him
again. It wasn't a thought that Brian enjoyed at all. As he reflected on the
past few months; all the stress and depression that Nick had been feeling,
Brian realized that at least if he read Nick's journal and found out what
was wrong with Nick, he could possibly set things in motion to help Nick
with his problems. He glanced at Nick's sleeping face and quietly whispered,

	"I'm sorry Nickolas, but I'm doing this for your own good man...I hope
someday you'll understand"

	Brian's eyes drifted across the page and saw that there was nothing but two
words written on the page, "It's over".  Now that doesn't help, thought
Brian. What's over? What's he talking about? His problems? A relationship?
Is he suicidal? The last thought scared Brian so badly that he made a move
to lift the book carefully without waking Nick. Although his conscience was
half begging him not to turn the page and read what Nick had written
recently, the other part of his conscience reprimanded him for even thinking
about doing this to Nick.Brian's hands were actually shaking as he reached
to the corner of the page to turn it. Just as he was about to turn the page,
a loud voice surprised him and caused him to jump, sending the book crashing
to the floor,

	"Don't even think about it Brian." Nick's face tried to hide it's amusement
at having scared Brian and nearly giving him a heart attack. "Besides" he
said, "I haven't written much in that book for months, you're not going to
find anything out by reading that."

	"Nicky, I'm....I, uh.....I was just..."  Brian was at a loss for words as
the one person he was so afraid of hurting had just caught him doing
something so horrible, he thought for sure he'd lose Nick forever.

	"Don't worry about it Brian...You have too much to be stressed about than
to worry about me, okay? Now what you should be doing is concentrating on
your wedding...it's in like a week man, don't you have things to do? What
are you doing here anyways?" Nick rambled on trying to sound sincere and
trying as hard as he could to keep up the `good best friend act' rather than
doing what he so badly wanted to do: get down on his knees and beg Brian not
to marry LeighAnn.  He wanted to tell Brian that if he gave himself to
Leighann he'd be giving away something that Nick needed more than the air he
breathed. He wanted to tell Brian that he woke up every morning in with the
hope of giving all the love that he had inside to the young man from
Kentucky...the same man who had taken Nick under his wing at the tender age
of 12 and helped him grow into a beautiful spirited man. He needed Brian to
know that once he was married to Leighann, Nick wouldn't have much reason to
live...in fact, his entire existence would be based upon wishing failure
upon Brian and Leighann's marriage; something that he knew would be morally
wrong.

	Instead of opening his heart to Brian and letting the emotions pour out,
Nick simply jumped off the bed and placed his journal in his desk drawer. He
then turned to Brian, still waiting for an answer.

	"I know there's alot to do Nick, but I just wanted to spend some time with
you. God, I feel like I'm moving far, far away and I'm never gonna see you
again." Brian spoke the true emotions from his heart.

	"Come on, Bri. You've said it yourself, we're still gonna see each other
all the time, just because you're marrying Leighann, it does not have to
mean that our friendship is over. You're still gonna need someone to shoot
the ball with from time to time, and we both know Leighann can't play
basketball for her life." Nick tried desperately to make it all seem like
things were just as normal as they had been months before the engagement. He
didn't want to be an emotional burden to Brian during this stressful time.
He felt, if Brian was gonna go through with this wedding, he'd may as well
make it as easy for him as possible, he couldn't bare to see Brian hurting.

	"Nick, can we go get something to eat and maybe talk a little? I've got to
get something off my chest that's been bothering me for a while." Brian was
relieved that he'd said it. He just hoped that Nick would come along.
Getting Nick out was one thing,  the rest would just have to happen.

	****************************
	Brian thought back over the last few weeks. Ever since the night of Nick's
nervous breakdown, Brian had been replaying Nick's words again and again in
his head. He couldn't understand what Nick had meant about not wanting to
lose him....and then there had been  the whole thing with Nick saying he
loved him. Sure he loved Nick..as much as you'd love your brother. Surely
that's what Nick had meant, Brian told himself.  It wasn't until one night
that Kevin had confronted Brian and asked if Brian thought that Nick was
gay. The question had popped into Brian's head so many times and he'd always
just dismissed it just as easily. It wasn't that he didn't want to think
that Nick could be gay, it was more an issue, because he would've liked to
think that if Nick was gay, he would have felt comfortable enough to tell
him about it. God they'd spent almost everyday together for 7 years,
wouldn't Nick have told him if he was gay? "Not if he's in love with you"
had been Kevin's response.

	Brian had then begun to seriously consider the possibility. He was Nick's
best friend after all and if there had been any signs, Brian should have
been the one to notice them. After weeks of analysis while in Europe and
spending time with Nick, analyzing his demeanor depending on who he was
with, he came to the decision that instead of setting Nick up with a girl,
maybe he should have been looking more closely at what Nick really needed.

	It was not long after his realization that perhaps there was a chance that
Nick was gay that the perfect plan started to form in the back of Brian's
mind. He hoped to God that he had made the right decision, and then set to
work on getting things ready to execute his mission, once they had returned
to Orlando.

	Now tonight was the night. It seemed as though as he was finalizing the
details, Brian was even more in anticipation of this night than of the day
that he would marry Leighann. Lord knows he had surely spent more time the
past week on his plan for Nick than on taking care of wedding details. Brian
knew that if his plan worked accordingly and that he had finally figured out
the extent of Nick's depression that after tonight his poor, suffering
friend would be much happier. Brian tried to remain calm so as to not let
Nick believe that anything was out of the ordinary and that all was well.
*******************************

	"Yo, Bri... BRIAN, Mr. LITTRELLL!!!!!" Nick literally screamed and started
waving his arms wildly in the air, hoping to somehow get Brian to snap out
of his sudden daze.

	"Wha, what did you say Nicky?" Brian cursed himself for blanking out. So
much for trying to hold it together and make everything seem normal. He
couldn't help it, he was definitely excited.

	"I said, Okay, let's eat. Do you wanna order in, or hit Mickey Dees?"  Nick
was impatient and wanted to go eat so that Brian could say what he had to
say. If there was something that Brian needed to get off his chest, Nick was
honored that he'd come to him and not Leighann, so there was no way Nick was
gonna lose this chance to bond with his Frick.

	"Oh Nick,no actually, I kind of wanted to go somewhere nicer..."

	"Ok, Denny's?" Nick joked with Brian, wondering why all of a sudden Brian
was squirming.

	"No Nick, really. Somewhere classy. Go get dressed... put on something
nice, I mean it, classy." Brian  tried his best to hide his uneasiness at
lying to Nick. Well, he wasn't completely lying, it was a classy restaurant.

	"Ah fine. If it's that important to you, i'll go change..."

	"And fix your hair too" Brian added as he saw  a few stray hairs standing
at the back of Nick's head, obviously ruffled from Nick's nap.

	"God, you'd think we were going to the prom..." Nick grumbled as he headed
into his dressing-room sized closet and shut the door behind him.

	As he looked through his selection of clothes that would make even Tommy
Hilfiger jealous, Nick tried not only to find a `classy' outfit as Brian had
put it, but something that would make him look hot. If Brian was gonna go
all out and make a big deal about it then Nick was gonna make sure Brian at
least noticed and appreciated how he good he could make himself look. Sure
the teenyboppers would love him if he wore a paper bag, but tonight was
gonna be his night to shine.

	At the same time Brian was nervously pacing around Nick's bedroom, going
over everything in his head. Did he really want to go through with this?
Well, it was too late now, the plan was already in action, and there was no
way he could stop it now without hurting someone. He checked his watch and
realized that they were doing extremely well for time. The last thing he
needed was to be rushed. Everything had to go smoothly. A little voice was
constantly nagging Brian in the back of his head, telling him over and over
that if, by some chance his assumption about Nick had been wrong that he
would risk his entire relationship with Nick by going through with tonight,
but when faced with the thought that he could make Nick happy, he just told
himself that it had to be done because after all this time, it was obvious
that Nick wasn't going to do it himself. Brian quickly checked his watch
again as he heard the door open and Nick step back into the room.

	Brian almost gasped as he saw what a transformation had occurred in such a
short period of time. Nick had changed out of his Nike basketball outfit and
was now wearing a slim-fitting, muscle-hugging black ribbed sweater and
matching black, slightly shiny dress pants. The sweater hugged Nick in all
the right places to emphasize and accentuate all the extra time that Nick
had been dedicating to the gym recently. The short sleeves were just the
right length to cover the tattoo of the shark that Nick had on his left
shoulder, but just short enough to reveal the tribal arm band that graced
Nick's right shoulder.  Something about the way the sweater fit Nick...it
was just so perfectly molded to his body, without being too tight drove them
all wild. Guys and girls alike. Nick remembered having worn it to an awards
show in Europe and Stephen Gately, the cute, outed member of Boyzone had
practically done a double-take as Nick walked by.  Nick had been tempted to
say hi, but when he remembered that Stephen was in a happy relationship, he
had forgotten about it. As Brian looked his best-friend over, from head to
toe, Nick had really cleaned up well and had erased any traces of his
earlier nap. Now he looked like a real prom king, every inch of his body
radiating beauty and sexuality. Nick was not only gorgeous, but had achieved
the look of a sexual God, while maintaining the innocent charm that made him
the Angel that he was. Brian beamed at his best friend, overjoyed that Nick
was getting into this. `Maybe it will all be okay' Brian thought as he
walked over to Nick.

	"Well, Nicky, you sure do a good job of cleaning up." Brian told him as he
noticed that even the pants Nick wore were a bit more slim fitting than his
usual, hinting at the manhood that they held inside. `I wonder if he does
know what I have planned' Brian thought to himself. `No, it's impossible, he
may be my best friend, but he can't read my mind'.

	"Well, I'm glad you like what you see. Now what about you? Aren't you going
to fix yourself up?" Nick said it, just because he knew he was expected to
take a shot at Brian. In reality,he thought Brian looked like a God. Brian
was wearing a pair of loose gray pants and a dark gray sweater. He looked
like a Calvin Klein model about to take to the stage. As they walked out of
the house together anyone who would have seen them would  have been
overwhelmed by the radiating beauty of the couple. Nick and Brian.
Individually, they could each seduce a nun, together, they were  the
definition of hot, and would run the risk of putting Viagra out of business.

	"Hey, Bri? Are you driving, or am I?" Nick asked. Brian had already thought
out every detail and had purposely blocked Nick's car in when he had parked.

	"Well, I wanna get going and since your car's blocked in, let's just take
mine" Brian's voice did not betray him and did not let any indication of his
lies be known.

	They got into Brian's new BMW and fastened their seat belts.  Brian knew
that without Nick at the wheel, he'd be constantly be fidgeting with the
radio controls but he figured, tonight he'd let him have his way.

	"Bri, I still can't believe you drive manual.  Doesn't it take too much
concentration? Why don't you just switch the car into automatic mode, it can
do both you know." Nick had tried manual a couple of times, but he needed
his hands free to control the stereo and just couldn't be bothered with
having to worry about the gear shift as well.

	"It's not that hard you know. Here, let me show you. Put your hand on the
gear-shift" Brian commanded.

	Nick contemplated, `missing' the gear-shift and grabbing something else,
then switched out of his fantasy mode and placed his hand on the gear-shift
as Brian had requested. Before he knew it, Brian's warm, soft hand was on
top of his, gently squeezing anytime the gear needed to be changed.

	"Just keep your hand there Nick, and watch, you'll get the hang of it."

	Nick didn't need to be told twice, and plus, Brian wasn't letting go. He
just concentrated on the feeling of Brian's hand clutching his and wished
for the day that they'd walk around hand in hand. All too suddenly , Nick
was reminded of the fact that Leighann was the one who would win the right
to Brian's hand, heart and heads. Nick felt a shiver run down his spine,
despite the Florida heat.

	"What's the matter Nicky? Something on your mind?" Brian sensed that Nick
was deep in thought, and tried to open the lines of communication.
	"I was just thinking...in a week,  you'll really be married, won't you?
It's gonna be Brian and Leighann, more than frick and Frack, no matter how
much we try." Nick spoke honestly.
	"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about Nicky. I've been doing
a lot of thinking lately, and I realized that I never really asked you, What
do you think of Leighann?" Brian questioned.

	"Well, she's ambitious, and outgoing, and she's very strong-willed" Nick
didn't want to lie, but also didn't want to be harsh, so he found the most
positive qualities that were true to mention to Brian.

	"So you don't like her at all?" Brian saw right through Nick's attempts.

	"What do you mean Bri?" Nick tried to sound innocent and clue less, but
knew he was caught.

	"Oh come on Nick. If you thought she was pretty you would've said that, if
you thought she was sweet and sensitive and caring, then you would've said
those as well. No one chooses ambitious, outgoing and strong-willed as
adjectives to describe someone they really like."

	"I'm sorry Bri. It's just that I don't know her as well as you do. Maybe if
I knew her as well as you do, then I'd like her more, but as of now I
haven't been exposed to her sweet, sensitive and caring sides. I'm sorry
Bri. but it's the truth." Nick looked at Brian as he saw a tear quietly roll
down Brian's cheek.

	"Oh my God, Brian I'm so sorry. I take it back, please, Bri, don't cry. You
know I didn't mean it." Nick's heart broke into a million pieces as the man
of his dreams let loose an endless stream of tears.

	"Oh Lord, Nick, it's not you. It's her. I don't think I love her anymore,
and I can't go through with this wedding. I don't believe in divorce, you
know that Nicky and I can't marry her and risk being unhappy for the rest of
my life. It wouldn't be fair to her, to me and to our kids. If we don't'
love each other completely." there Brian thought, it's out, I said it.

	"Whoa. Brian, I had no idea. Why didn't you say something earlier?"

	"Because I wasn't' sure before Nick, now I'm sure that I can't go through
with this."Brian  was relieved that it had all been said

	"Well, B-Rok, if that's how you feel then I think you should do whatever
your heart says is the right decision. I know how strongly you feel about
divorce, and because of that, I think you should think very hard about
marrying someone that you're not even sure that you love" Nick spoke like a
true best friend. He had to try hard to keep his voice steady though because
he was so happy. The wedding was off, and him and Brian were going for a
special dinner.

	"So Nicky, you'll support me through this, and stand by me when I tell
everyone that the wedding's off?" Brian asked cautiously.

	"Of course I will Frick. I'm always here for you, don't ever question it"

	"Thanks alot Nick, you have no idea how much that means to me."

	Before they realized it, Brian was pulling off the highway and they were
turning  into the parking lot of a romantic little french restaurant that he
had found. As Nick read the sign on the restaurant, he couldn't help but
smile, "La Tour Eiffel" it was called.  Brian  told Nick that he was going
to park his own car, because he couldn't live with the thought of the valet,
well, anyone, for that matter, driving his precious car. He let Nick out at
the entrance and told him to go and tell them that he had a reservation and
that Brian would meet him at the table.  As soon as Nick saw Brian turn the
corner he quickly ran two doors over, as he prayed that the flower shop they
had just passed was still open. Nick ran inside and without hesitation,
placed his order. One single white rose was all that Nick needed. The lone
flower represented frailty, yet independence, beauty, but purity, innocence,
romance, love, hope, and peace. Nick had the single white rose in hand and
was back in the lobby of the french restaurant in no time at all. He was
quite a sight, all decked out in black, with the tender white rose in hand.
Every woman who saw him thought what a beautiful young lady must be waiting
for such a gorgeous man. Little did they know...

	Nick got to the hostess and asked for his reservation. His heart was
pounding. He still wasn't sure exactly what was gonna happen between him and
Brian tonight but his stomach was a flutter in anticipation. First Brian
came to his house, told him to dress nicely for a dinner alone, just frick
and frack, then Brian tells him that he's no longer marrying Leighann..and
Brian brings him to a cozy little French Restaurant, evidently so Nick could
remember the trip to the Eiffel tower.  `The boy is quite the romantic' Nick
thought as he patiently waited to be seated. What was taking them so long,
he wanted to see his Brian. He wanted to walk up to the table, hand Brian
the rose, and see Brian rise to hug him. He wanted Brian to take his hand,
kiss it, and then pull him into the most passionate, tongue-wrestling kiss
ever. Then they would clear the table and Brian would make love to Nick over
and over again on top of the table, Nick moaning and screaming his way
through it, as Brian would bring him to exstacy over and over again. And
Nick would drive him wild so that Brian would be screaming his name too,


	"Mr. Carter, Mr. Carter, Mr. Carter" Wait, thought Nick, why would Brian
call me Mr. Carter. Then Nick snapped out of his daydream to see the
restaurant manager trying to get his attention.  Nick quickly straightened
himself out and tried to avoid all the odd looks that he was now being given
by the entire crowd in the restaurant lobby.

	"If you'd please follow me sir,"

	"Yes, thank you." Nick tried to follow the manager without causing any more
attention to be drawn towards him. He tried to figure out why the manager
had been asked to seat him rather than the hostess, but then figured that it
was due to their celebrity status. The manager preceded to lead Nick up a
spiraling flight of stairs until Nick realized that they had entered a
private dining room. Here the sounds of slow music echoed in the otherwise
silent room. The gorgeous, enormous crystal chandelier hung over the single
dining table in the corner of the room that looked out over downtown
Orlando. The view was beautiful. All around the room, at least a thousand
white candles flickered in time with the huge fireplaces on either side of
the table.
	Nick was stunned and breathless as he looked around the room, no longer
unsure about Brian's intentions. This was obviously the setting for a
romantic dinner. Not just any run-of the-mill romantic dinner, but this was
a night that only Prince Charming could have conceived and only his one true
angel could have deserved. Looking over his shoulder, Nick confirmed that
the manager had left him and he was now alone in the huge room, walking
every so slowly towards the great big table at the end of the room. Nick
couldn't even make out Brian's face, just his the profile of his figure
looking out at the city from the high-backed chair in which he sat. Nick
took his time, trying to come up with the words to not only thank Brian for
tonight, but also to express his undying, beautiful love for the man who
made him so happy. Dreams do come true he thought.
	As Nick approached the table, he heard the song that was playing slowly
fade into a new song that he knew too well. He slowed his walk, deciding to
let Brian wait on him as he absorbed the song. He couldn't believe the time
and effort Brian had put into this evening, and upon considering it, he now
couldn't believe that he'd ever doubted that Brian loved him as equally as
he loved him...All the time together, the hugs, the caresses, how could he
have been so blind? Brian was just as in love with him as he'd been with
Brian. To think that if he'd told Brian earlier, they could have been
together all this time. The love that now consumed Nick's heart caused him
to quicken his pace as the song approached it's chorus. As Mariah belted out
the words, Nick reached the table, as the silent figure, turned from the
window, to look into Nick's eyes with as much love as Nick was feeling
inside.

	"Oh, Nick you came. I really didn't think you would. You have no idea how
long I've wanted to ask you out, and I haven't had the courage to. Thank you
so much for coming." the man said, obviously showing a genuine care for
Nick.

	"Chris, I really....really wasn't expecting you...." Nick stumbled for
words as the rose fell from his hand and hit the floor. There sitting at the
table was a beautiful sight yet Nick was equally dissapointed as he was
aroused. It was Chris Klein. His gorgeous eyes stared intensely at Nick with
love as his beautiful, full lips quivered because of his nervousness. He
took Nick's hand and brought it up to his lips and laid a tender kiss on the
smooth skin. Nick half flinched, half melted at the touch. No one had ever
touched him or looked at him this way, but he had never wanted any one to.
Well, no one but Brian Littrell.  Or so he thought....

TO BE CONTINUED

Well, last time I got death threats because I was thinking of giving up on
the story...I guess i'll be expecting more this time because of the turn out
of this chapter... Well, what can I say but, life is full of little
surprises, and change is good....

I want to thank everyone for the beautiful, touching emails that i've
recieved over the past week. It's good to know that although Nick is seen as
such a monster in so many stories, there are still many who love him and
want to see him happy. I really appreciate all the emails, and I love you
all.

I hope to hear from y'all to know what you thought...and where you'd like to
see it go from here.


Alwayz & 4ever,
Carter (nicksxtacy@hotmail.com)