Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2000 20:02:14 -0500 From: Jessica Taylor Subject: Picking Up the Pieces Chapter 7 Authors Notes-- Okay here's another chapter. And don't hate me TOOO much after you read it. I just decided to stop where I did. Gotta thank a few people too (woohoo first time I am actually gonna do this!) To Jacqueline, girl the ego you give me brightens my lousy days. NCfan and Raymond-- thank you soo much for the emails. And MF-- here's what you've been waiting for. On to TV highlights from this week.... anyone else watch that 'N Sync holiday special on FOX and wonder what the HELL was up with Justin and JC? Or did I just pick up on something slashy that was just two friends staring at each other... a lot. And did you see 'Diary' on MTV this weekend? An actual Backstreet Boys special where there was cursing and bleeps involved.... damn what is the world coming too?!? AHHH!! The worlds gonna end caue they actually know curse words!!! God save the queen. (*hehe*) And AJ giving the camera the finger when they got to NYC... didn't see that one comin'. Glad I wan't in Rio with them either... whew scary shit there. And I can honestly say I saw more Nicky booty shaking in that one HOUR than I've seen in my 3 years as a devoted fan. Anyways have fun... and don't hate the ending too much... Oooo. Before I forget... it's time for everyone's friend, Mr. Disclaimer! Mr. Disclaimer says don't be here if you are under 18 or don't like homoerotic fiction... and if you are, then I hope your legal in the continental United States at least. Picking Up the Pieces Chapter 7 Damn it. I hate mornings. Especially mornings where I have a headache the size of Montana. Where the hell did it come from? Oh yeah. I decided to drink my sorrows away. Time for some Extra-Strength Tylenol. "Oww." I muttered as I sat up in the bed. Wait a sec... how the hell did I get in here? The last thing I remember is Kevin... oh shit. Damn it. Fuck me. Fuck me royal. "Fuck shit piss." I sighed as I fell back onto the bed. I kissed him. I fucking KISSED him. Just shoot me now. Why the hell did I do that? Wait a sec Carter. First get your head on straight, then muddle through what the hell you fucked up yesterday. Tylenol. Go swallow some Tylenol. I gingerly got out of bed, and went over to the bathroom to get the Tylenol that was stashed in my toiletries bag. I opened the bag, and luckily I still had two in there. Good. I didn't really want to go outside the room and ask one of the other guys for some Tylenol... especially Kevin. I swallowed the two pills with a glass of water and a few minutes later my head didn't hurt as bad. Now I could think about what the fuck happened yesterday. Okay... went to Rosie, did that shit for her... then went and saw Zach with Kevin... Zach told me he dumped me cause I wasn't there for him. I was counting the events off on my fingers. Then I ran out and went to that bar... got piss-ass drunk... Kevin picked me up... got me back to the hotel... where I proceeded to make an ass out of myself by calling the elevator an ellelator. I gotta stop watching all those Tiny Toons Cartoons. Damn baby Plucky and his elevator-speak. Then Kevin tried to get me to bed to sleep off my drunkenness, and I grabbed him and kissed him. Okay got to the how. Now the ever important question. The why. Shit this was gonna take me awhile. ********** Kevin woke up to the sun glaring him in the face. "Damn it." He muttered as he pulled up the sheets and tried to go back to sleep. After he had gotten Nick to bed... "after he had KISSED me"... Kevin had taken a long hot shower and then immediately gone to bed, to try and forget about that kiss and forget about the fact that if he were to admit it to himself he kinda LIKED it. Surprisingly, he had slept through the whole night, only waking up now... "at 8 in the morning" Kevin muttered to himself when he saw the numbers on the digital clock. Kevin begrudgingly got himself out of bed and quietly opened the door. Looking down the hall in both directions and not seeing anyone, he figured it was safe to go get a cup of coffee to soothe his nerves. Kevin shuffled down to the kitchen in his socked feet and almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice say, "I see you finally decided to wake up." "Hey D." Kevin greeted the Puerto Rican. "Got coffee?" "In the pot." Howie said as he pointed to the coffee pot with his own cup of coffee. Howie was dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants and a dark blue wifebeater, with his hair in a very messy ponytail. If any of their adoring fans saw Howie at that moment they would be shocked that it was the same Howie that they saw day in and day out, but the boys had seen each other at their morning worst, so nothing fazed them, even Howie's brutally tangled hair in the morning. Howie watched Kevin carefully as he went and got a cup of coffee to wake him up to face the day... and Nick. "So, " Howie said as he took a sip, "what happened last night?" "Nothing." Kevin said as he poured the coffee. "Why do I find that hard to believe?" Howie said. "I don't know. Why is that Howie?" "Because Bone and I come back at 6 after going to get something quick to eat and Rok tells us that you've got some chip on your shoulder after you found Nick yesterday and you're already in bed." "Well you try finding Nick and see how exhausted you feel." Kevin said as he took his first sip of the bitter liquid. "Okay, maybe I would be exhausted too. But Rok said there seemed like there was somethin else buggin' you, and I think I agree with him." Howie said softly as he took another sip. "So what is it?" "Nothing!" Kevin practically shouted. He really didn't want to talk about what happened yesterday. "Okay Kev, just calm down. From what I know no one else is up yet, so let them get some sleep." Howie said, motioning for Kev to calm down. "We won't talk about it." "Thank you." Kevin said as he eased back into his chair. "Is Nick okay?" Howie asked, trying to tiptoe around the subject of what happened yesterday. He was still curious about his bandmate. "Besides a bruised spirit and a pounding headache caused by alcohol, just peachy." Kevin said acidly. "I guess that's a no." Howie laughed slightly. "Yeah. A BIG no." Kevin said, not laughing at all. "Did Rok fill you guys in last night?" "Yeah, what you told him over the phone. That's all he knew. Which I'd like to say wasn't much." "Well that's basically the gist of what happened. I could tell you more, but I really don't think Nick would want me to, or for him to say. But I will tell you that I threatened Zach with bodily harm if I ever saw his carcass anywhere near Nick ever again." "And me, J and Bri would be right behind you." Howie stated without a second thought. "Well hopefully the message got through to Zach. Cause I don't think Nick could handle it anymore." "Probably not." Howie agreed. He placed his cup in the sink and stretched, his hands going above his head, and his wife beater scratching up slightly, showing a sliver of his well-defined chest. "I'll see ya later Train. I'm gonna go take a shower and wake up Ames." "Not necessarily in that order." Kevin snickered slightly. "Shut up old man." Howie said, laughing slightly. "Yeah, yeah." Kevin said as Howie left the kitchen, and Kevin finished his coffee, his mind gradually going back to what happened yesterday. ********** Fuck. Why'd I have to fall in love with him? Fuck, I muttered as I banged my head against the bed's headboard for what was probably the zillionth time in the last two hours. Yup. I had been sitting here for the last two hours realizing what I had actually done yesterday. Yup. I found out the why too. Damn me and my overlytical attitude. Yup. I am just gonna say it now. I am in love with Kevin Scott Richardson. Fuck. Weird huh? One day he's comforting me after Zach dumps me like yesterday's news and today I'm realizing that I actually have more than just brotherly feelings for the bastard. I am screwed beyond screwed at this point. I had always wondered why I had all of those fuzzy feelings when Kevin held me after my latest break up, or why 99% of the time when he would back away after being so close to me, be it his hand touching my back during walks down awards show red carpets, or his arm around me during photo shoots, that I would feel so empty. And no wonder all of the past boyfriends I've had have always had something in common with Kev, be it some part of his personality, or goddamn it, even his looks. Funny how hindsight is 20/20 huh? I am so screwed now. ....yeah I know I'm a bitch, my friends tell me that all the time. You don't need to email me to tell me that one. Well now, Nicky's in one little pickle ain't he? And Kevin might have liked that kiss? Wuzup with dat shit? Oh well, you're just gonna have to wait to find out. Bye bye bye (don't yell at me I'm listening to that damn song right now, and it's stuck in my head) Your favorite neighborhood cliffhanger writer, Jess