Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1999 15:18:26 +1000 From: Braan Subject: Some Kind of Bliss 2 Some Kind of Bliss Introduction: This is my first attempt at any kind of serious writing that I intend for other people to read. Please respect that. I'm aware that not every scene and every dialogue in my work has a clearly defined purpose sometimes, just remember, I'm not Jane Austen, and I know my own failings better than you do! Secondly, don't be reading this expecting sex. It ain't gonna happen for a while. In this my inspiration is 'Boy meets BSB', which you simply must read (after my story please!). However, if you haven't read 'Brian and me' by DLS, how can you live with yourself? Go for god's sake, my story will still be here when you're done, you've got bigger fish to fry! A bit of a warning: as a proud Australian I will be shamelessly singing the praises of Australia as a country; can I just state from the outset that I am not and never have been an employee of the Australian Tourism Commission! Finally, I am very open to e-mail. Thanks to everyone who wrote to me, I was thrilled to get any letters at all after just one episode! I have already drafted the next instalment to this story but any suggestions will be taken on board. Please do try to keep criticism constructive, please, and remember not to crush my artist's spirit before it even gets going. Write me at braan90@hotmail.com Interactive Promotion: In an attempt to foster devoted readers, and to maintain my sense of humour, in every story I will use a special word requested by a reader. It can be tough or whatever, just try to keep it possible or you won't win. Anyway, if you win it, I will write your name in as a bit part in the next instalment, like as a waiter or limo driver or something. It's not much maybe, but what do you want me to do? CONGRATULATIONS to this week's winner, 'Dionysis'. He came up with the word 'detritus', which, as well as being one of my favourite words, is also just what I was looking for. I was kinda expecting a smart ass to suggest photovoltaic or electrocardiogram or something, but I'm happier this way! Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of Nick Carter or anybody else you care to name, myself included. If you are under 18 etc. then sorry, kids, come back later. If you are offended by material of this nature, go away, but there isn't anything offensive in this story just yet anyway. Except for some fairly gratuitous swearing. Some Kind of Bliss Part II I woke to the sound of my radio alarm at 9am. It was playing Shania Twain, again. Not that I really minded, she was damn hot and I loved her music. I stumbled into the bathroom, still trying to open my eyes fully. On my way back out I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror: my hair was sticking up like usual, and I really needed to shave. Not a good look. I padded down to the living room, rubbing my eyes, and was surprised to hear the TV already on. I looked through my fingers and saw someone sitting on my couch. "Oh, shit....." I muttered, desperately trying to remember what had happened. Nick heard me and turned around. "Good morning, sleepyhead!" he said cheerfully, way too cheerfully for this time of morning. "OH, SHIT!" I yelled as I remembered who my house guest was. Nick looked at me like I was nuts. "What's the problem?" "Ahh, no problem, no problem at all. I just kind of... forgot that you were here." "Forgot?" Nick sounded alarmed. "Well, no, I guess, no.........I guess I sub-consciously convinced myself that what happened last night didn't actually happen. But here you are, so unless I've gone completely mad, then...." "Gee, get over it. I'm here!" Nick broke in. "Well it may not be a big deal to you staying in some stranger's bedroom, but it sure is a big deal for me having a celebrity sleep in my room. Anyway....can I get you some breakfast? Toast, cereal, yoghurt, maybe we might have some eggs and bacon, possibly even pancakes..." "Whatever you're having is fine for me. Listen, Drew, I have something I need to say. Is that all you see me as, a celebrity? Someone to provide you with a great dinner-party story and that's it? Because I didn't stay the night with a stranger, I stayed with a friend, and I was hoping you felt the same way." I froze, not knowing what saying to say. Nick looked at me and then stood up. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll just get my things..." "No, Nick, wait!" I yelled. "Of course you are more than just a celebrity to me. I have met the real Nick Carter and had a very mutual conversation with him. I would really like to be your friend, Nick. It just sounds strange for me to say it, that is all." Nick looked me in the eyes. The intimacy he conveyed in this distant contact was amazing. He could see that I was telling him the truth. "Great," he said finally, smiling. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you." `Phew!' I thought to myself. "So, cereal and yoghurt OK, Nick?" I asked. "Sounds great, Andy. You don't mind if I call you that, do you?" "Not as long as I can call you Nicky," I replied. "Well, only good friends call me that really...." "So then there's no problem, is there?" I interjected. Nick looked decisive. "No. No there isn't." "Great. But I do prefer Drew. Now let me get breakfast and I'll be right back," I said, leaving the room. "Hey Drew?" "Yeah?" I stopped. "Do me a favour first?" "Name it." "Please would you fix your hair. I mean, I've tried: the Lord knows how hard I'm trying. But I can't not laugh at it much longer. It really does look stupid!" "Thanks," I muttered, blushing deeply, and ran to wet my hair. Over breakfast a few minutes later I asked: "Nick, I can't believe I didn't ask you last night, but how long are you in Sydney for?" Nick took a mouthful of OJ and replied: "Just for the weekend actually. Arrived on Friday night, depart on Monday morning." "Quite the jet-setter, aren't you? So what are you doing today?" I asked. Nick contemplated this over a mouthful of toast. "I don't know, actually. What are you doing today?" "Well, actually, I'm not doing......oh, shit, shit, shit I've gotta go....... oh, fuck it! Um, I'm not doing anything," I replied, my face falling and rising with my thoughts. Nick burst out laughing: only problem was he was still chewing on his toast so he ended up coughing like crazy. I laughed at this. Nick composed himself and accosted me: "Hey, don't laugh at my misfortune. And would you care to explain that outburst of obscenity that just spouted from your lips?" I laughed. "I'm sorry, Nick, it's just that your misfortune was so funny. Well, at first I thought I had nothing on today, then I remembered I am supposed to work this afternoon, but then I decided I'd call in sick." "And how were you planning on doing that? I mean, you don't sound sick in the slightest." "I was just going to put it on..." "No, Drew, I don't want you to lie to them for my sake," Nick broke in. "Oh," I replied, crestfallen. Nick obviously didn't want to spend his day with a loser like me. "I'll do it for you." I looked up and smiled as Nick laughed quietly. "OK, but who are you going to pretend to be? I mean, they know I just live with my sister, if you don't have a reason they will be suspicious." "Hmm, good thinking, 99.......Hey, I know, I'll pretend to be your neighbour ......I'll say you knocked on my door this morning and asked if I could make the call for you since you are really sick and have lost your voice." "Ohh, that is BRILLIANT! An evil scheme I'd be proud to call my own. OK, let's do it." I chirped. I dialled the number and gave Nick the phone. "Yeah, hi there. I'm just calling in sick for Drew Campbell......oh, I'm his neighbour.....no, he can't speak now, that's the whole problem, he has totally lost his voice.....yeah.......yeah.....OK, then...bye." Nick rolled the whole thing off with such sincerity that when he hung up I gave him a standing ovation. "That was masterful! Hey, you ever considered acting? Cos you were a natural at that!" I enthused. "Oh, shucks," he pretended to be shy. We both burst out laughing. The first to regain composure, I said, "OK, so I AM free today. What do you wanna do? Did you see the sights yesterday?" "No, I actually kinda just.....slept," Nick replied, embarrassed. "Well then, partner, you got yourself a tour guide!" I said in an appalling attempt at a cowboy accent. Nick grimaced, and punched me playfully in the arm. "Please don't use that voice again. Ever." We both laughed as I said, "Hey, buddy, at least I'm doing it for free! And you get what you pay for, remember that!" Nick took a quick shower as I planned our day. Nick soon jumped out of the shower, yelling, "Bathroom's yours!" I took a super quick shower then shaved carefully before going to my room and getting dressed. Nick was watching TV as I strolled into the living room. "OK, what do you think of this plan? We....." I started. "Shh, we're on TV!" Nick said excitedly. I looked up at the screen and sure enough the film clip for `I want it that way' was starting up. "Cool, I love this clip," I said. "Why is that?" "Actually it's because a friend of mine is in it," I replied. "Really? Who is it? Is it one of the fans?" "No, you moron! I meant you!" I laughed. We watched the rest of the clip in silence, me valiantly resisting the urge to sing along. After it finished I felt a subconscious pushing to say: "You know, I have to say, you looked really good in that film clip." "Ya think so?" Nick replied, smiling. "You know you did. Don't get cocky now, I'm sure the make-up team were working on you for an hour to get that look!" "Yeah, whatever," Nick responded, looking at the ground. "Umm........well, yeah, my plan. Listen, since it's a sunny day I thought we could do lots of outdoorsy stuff. So I thought we'd take the train to Milson's Point then walk over the harbour bridge to the city. Sound good?" Nick looked up quickly. "Yep, let's go!" Walking across the bridge about half an hour later I tried to recount what I knew of its history. "OK, it was built in the late 20s and early 30s..... I'm pretty sure it was opened in 1932. Umm, I've no idea how much it cost but I remember we only finished paying for it about 10 or 12 years ago." "You serious?" "Yeah, I remember seeing it on the news when I was a kid. Umm.....well, any questions? I'm sorry, we didn't really cover this in history in school. Or maybe we did, but I've forgotten it anyway." Nick laughed. "Drew, if I wanted a walking encyclopedia I would have hired one. I don't want one. I have a friend here who is doing his best, and it's much more enjoyable this way. Don't worry about it, OK?" I sighed. "Thankyou. That was a really nice thing to say. You know, I think you may have missed your calling. You should write greeting cards, you always say things so well." "Well, that's only because I feel so at ease with you here. Do you know what I mean?" I nodded and stopped. "Well, this is pretty much the middle of the bridge," I said, looking out at the harbour. Nick looked around, taking it all in. "Wow......I had no idea Sydney Harbour was so big." He then looked down uneasily. "Or that it was so far below us," he added, grabbing hold of the railing. I laughed. "Well, you should never have looked down. Hey, I hope you don't get sea-sick, cos we're going on one of those later," I said, pointing out. Nick looked. "What, on a ferry? Yeah, that will be cool. Where to?" "Over to Manly. It's a suburb by the beach. You can't see it from here, which is why we are going to go up there," I said, pointing out Centrepoint Tower. "It's the tallest building in Sydney. It's such a clear day today, we'll be able to see for ages. Are you ready to go?" We set off down the bridge. As we walked through the pylon, Nick said: "Hey, thanks for doing that back there. Getting me to look up, I mean. Don't think I didn't notice what you were doing." I laughed. "Well, it worked, didn't it?" "Yeah, I guess so." We threaded our way along the city streets, dodging hundreds of tourists, until we reached Centrepoint. We bought our tickets and got in line for a lift. Luckily, we only had to wait about five minutes. As the lift doors opened at the top of the climb, I instructed Nick: "Now remember, look out, not down!" The first view we saw was North, towards the harbour. Nick's jaw dropped, and I felt a sense of pride in my home city; strange since I have nothing to do with how it looks, huh? Anyway, it was a trillion-dollar view, taking in the entire sparkling harbour, the opera house, the city below us, and North Sydney on the other side of the bridge. I pointed out Manly off in the distance. "We're going all the way over there?" Nick asked, disbelieving. I nodded. "How long will that take? I have a flight in the morning, you know!" I laughed, something I found myself doing very often with Nick. "It'll only be about half an hour. I thought we might have lunch over there. Unless you'd prefer to see the Opera House first?" "I'll leave the big decisions up to you, I think," he said, smiling. We separated for a while as I tried to find my apartment (no chance), my old school (easy) and the place where my sister worked (also easy since it's near the Olympic Stadium). Nick saw where I was looking and came over. "Oh, yeah, so that's the Olympic Stadium? Gee, it's huge.... This is awesome up here, Drew. So hey, where's my hotel?" he asked, looking through the telescope towards the stadium. "Well, Columbus, its on the other side of the building, actually." I grabbed Nick by the shoulders and steered him over to the eastern side of the room. "Down.......there," I said, finding the spot then pointing it out. "Oh, thanks, um......Magellan." "Is there any limit to the number of nicknames you can make up? I'm gonna forget some of them soon!" I grinned. "You'll be talking to me and I won't know to respond!" Nick also grinned, replying, "Yeah, point taken. OK, as much as I am loving this view, I am starting to get hungry, so if we're travelling to New Zealand or whatever for lunch, can we get going?" "Smart-ass," I muttered. "All right, we're off," I said aloud. We took the lift down again, then made our way down to Circular Quay. A few people gave Nick a double take, but I guess they couldn't believe it was him, because no-one approached us. We bought our ferry tickets and sat on the wharf in the sunshine. Fortune was smiling on us, I was certain, as we were waiting only a couple of minutes before a ferry arrived. We got on and climbed the stairs, taking the best seats outside right at the back of the top deck. Most of the trip was spent in idle chit-chat, me pointing out various landmarks, Nick ooh-ing and aah-ing appropriately. About halfway to Manly we spotted a couple of teenage girls coming towards us. "Uh-oh, we got two bogeys inbound at 11 o'clock," Nick whispered conspiratorially. I looked up and smiled. Before I could get out a reply, they were upon us. "Oh my god, I can't believe it's you! What are you doing here? I was sitting over there and I said to Rachel here, I said: `I'm sure that's Drew Campbell sitting back there, isn't it?' and she said `Yes, I think it is.' Didn't you, Rachel?" "Uh-huh," was all Rachel got in. "Hello, Lauren! It's great to see you. You too, Rachel. Gee, it's been ages, hasn't it?" I looked down to see Nick's reaction. It was a scream. He looked a little relieved, more than a little amazed, but it was disappointment that registered strongest on his face. I introduced him. "This is my friend Nick." "Hi there," Nick said, smiling. "Hi yourself," Lauren began. "Hey, wait up....tall, good-looking blonde with an American accent, named Nick....hey, you're the guy from the Backstreet Boys, right?" "That's right," Nick smiled, glad to have been recognised. "Hey, that's pretty cool. Anyway, Drew...." she sat down beside me and launched into conversation. I screamed into internal laughter. She could really be a bitch when she was in a spiteful mood. Nick looked disbelieving, then, recovering himself, started talking to Rachel. Ouch, this was going to be painful. "....and so we were heading over to Manly for lunch. How about you?" After a few seconds silence I realised that Lauren had stopped talking. "Oh, yeah, I was just showing Nick around the city and I thought Manly would be nice today. I mean, it's nice everyday, right? Hey, you wanna have lunch with us? We were just gonna get something simple and eat it on the Corso." "Sounds great. So hey, what have you been doing since......" I knew I could pretty much tune out, she'd keep up both ends of the conversation just fine from here on in. Nick was having considerably more trouble in talking to Rachel. In fact the conversation seemed to consist entirely of Nick asking polite questions, getting a nod or a shake of the head as response, then silence until he came up with the next question. I did feel sorry for him, as Rachel was especially bad when meeting new people. A few minutes later - torturous minutes for Nick, perversely amusing minutes for me - we were arriving at Manly wharf. Nick jumped up eagerly. "Well, here we are. Last one off is a monkey's uncle!" Having said this though, he waited for the girls to go first. As we walked towards the staircase, Nick grabbed my shoulder and whispered into my ear: "What is with that girl? Does she not have vocal chords or something?" I laughed. "No, she's just very quiet, especially around new people. She'll get better over lunch, anyway. Trust me; with Lauren here, none of us will need to talk much at all!" We disembarked and walked towards the plaza. "Ahh, isn't this just wonderful?" I asked Nick. "The beach is just down there, the harbour is just back there. Mmm, the sun is shining, birds are singing.....it doesn't get much better than this. I love it here. So relaxed, and relaxing. So...." "So HUNGRY! Come on, Drew, let's get a table while the girls go buy their lunch." Nick broke into my reverie. The girls went off as Nick and I sat down. Nick looked around at the various lunch options, then his gaze snapped onto one place. I turned around. Oh dear, it was in fact McDonalds. Despite all my efforts to get him to eat something `Australian', he insisted on maccas. I bought fish and chips for myself, so I guess I wasn't much more original than he was. Over lunch, we chatted idly, or rather listened idly to Lauren as she gave us the run-down on the last three years of her life. Anyway, at length we discovered that they were going to take the bus home rather than the ferry, so when we all finished eating Nick and I said goodbye, and we headed down to the beach. "I don't think I have ever had a more exhausting conversation, and I wasn't even talking," Nick commented. "Ow, my neck is sore from nodding in blind agreement too much." We both laughed at that. "Well, Nick, it's nearly two o'clock now. We can head back to the city, look around the opera house, then what do you want to do?" I prompted. "I'd like to get something for all the guys. I don't know, a crappy t-shirt or something?" "Ah, can do, my friend, can do. What else? Would you like to go to see Bondi? It's pretty close to your hotel, see, so it would be convenient that way. Apart from that, I don't know what else to show you in just a few hours. Do you wanna do anything tonight?" "No, actually, I've got a really early flight, so I'll just try to get some sleep. So how about we do what you suggested, and then go back to my hotel for dinner?" "Sounds fantabulous. Let me just luxuriate in this place for one more minute.....god, I'd love to live here. It's so peaceful, yet it's only half an hour to the city. Imagine going to work by ferry, it'd be so cool! Oh yeah, I'd love it here. Have you ever seen a more beautiful stretch of detritus?" "Huh?" "The sand. Sorry, bad habit of mine, using unnecessarily complex words." "Uh, OK. Um, you still want to travel, though, right?" Nick sounded surprised. "Oh, hell yeah! I love to travel, and there's still lots more of the world I wanna see. But to live in, I don't know if Sydney can be beat. I'm just so comfortable here. So familiar with it, you know? It's home." I sighed. "Well, that was way more than a minute. Let's head." "Good idea," replied Nick. "So, are we going to be mobbed by your fans again?" I burst out laughing. "Ohh, that was so funny! That has NEVER happened to me before, of course, and from the look on your face when it happened I'm guessing it never happened to you either. Ohh, that has got to be the funniest moment of my life!" "Yeah, well it might be funny now, but when you're famous the novelty will wear off real fast." I laughed. "Well, WHEN that happens, I'll deal with it. Can't see it happening, though." The ferry ride back was fairly uneventful, as was the tour of the Opera House, for me at least. Yeah, sure, it is beautiful from the outside, and you cannot tire of seeing that, but once is enough for the inside, I think, and this was about my fourth time. Call me cynical, but a bunch of empty rooms and corridors doesn't excite me greatly. I think Nick was more interested, though; from a performer's point of view, I suppose, it would be pretty interesting. Next we wandered down George Street, stopping in the hideous souvenir stores. I was pleased to see Nick and I shared a sense of humour - his t-shirt choices were truly appalling! In the style of `My friend went to Sydney and all I got...' etc. We wandered around the city a little more, looking at nothing much, before catching a bus to Bondi. On the bus I was once more struck with just how easy it was to have a conversation with Nick. We'd known each other less than a day but already we got on like a house on fire. There was some quality about him that was really endearing, that just made it so easy for me to talk to him about anything and nothing. We soon arrived at Bondi, Sydney's most famous beach, but since neither of us had swimming attire, we decided to go for a walk. One of the best walks in Sydney links Bondi Beach to Bronte, around the headlands. It was in this direction that we set out. For the first part of the way we walked along in silence, side by side when the path allowed and single file with me leading when we had to share the path with oncoming traffic. As we came to Tamarama, it was late enough in the afternoon for the path to be a little clearer. "Well, this is Tamarama beach, known locally as `Glamarama', since it's where all the `beautiful people' swim," I intoned, reassuming my tour guide's hat. "It's actually one of Sydney's most dangerous beaches. Quite a nasty rip out there." "Ohh, Drew, you broke the silence! I was really enjoying the peace back there, it was so comfortable, not feeling the need to talk to you. It was.....it was serene." "Yeah, how's the serenity?" Nick's face was blank. "Uh, it's from an Aussie movie. Forget about it. Well, if that was how you felt, you should have told me so." I grinned, waiting for the reaction. "Oh, Duh! If I'd told you, then the silence would.....oh, I get it." I burst out laughing. "Hey, don't mock me like that! I WILL get you back, somehow." "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it," I spluttered between bursts of laughter. "Don't take this the wrong way, that was such a dumb blonde thing to say!" I laughed harder. Nick swallowed and replied, "Look, I hate to disappoint you, but I don't get offended by blonde jokes. Water off a duck's back. You're wasting your time there, friend." I stopped laughing. "Oh, don't say that! No! This cannot be happening. Of all the blondes in the world I'd have to befriend the one immune to blond jokes. Damn it!" We walked a little way further before Nick said: "Well, the serenity is all gone now. Why don't you tell me about your job?" "Oh, believe me, you do NOT want to open that can of worms. I hate it. I've been working there part-time for almost eighteen months, and when I find the resolve to look for something better, I'll be gone in a flash. I've really only stayed because it is so close to home, you know, so damn convenient. But everything about it bites. It has turned me into a very bitter individual. Still, for better or worse, working nights does give me time to unleash my imagination. Hey, you wanna hear my tongue-twister? Level of Malevolence. Try it." Nick cleared his throat. "Level of mavel....hey, it is tricky. Level of malevolence. OK, got it." "Yeah, it only twists for about 5 seconds, then after that it's all too straight. Well, that's my job in a nutshell. Tell me about yours. I mean, what do you do, day-to-day?" "Well, usually we're either on tour, in the studio, or on vacation. If we're on vacation I just lounge around home with my family, watching TV, playing Nintendo, or I go out with friends, usually that means one of the other guys in the group. You know, the hard life. Then when we're recording we have really long days, like 10 hours plus in the studio, to get every detail down perfectly. It's really exhausting. The only good thing is that at least it's private - just me and the other guys. Then when we're on tour, which is..... well, most of the time, we spend about 2 or 3 days in each city. Typically that would be spent like this: get up morning after concert in city A, travel to city B. Have a bit of free time while the crew set up the venue. Then there's always some promotion or other we have to do, either at night or the next morning, so we never get a lot of sleep. Then about midday on concert day we start getting ready. I mean, not intensively or anything, but we just hang out together until we have to go to the venue and warm up, do sound checks etc. Then we do the show, which usually last about 2 hours. Then we either go out afterwards or just crash back at the hotel. Repeat cycle. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy touring, but it does get tiring. And it can get really repetitive." "What about your fans?" I enquired. "Oh, boy. As much as the official line is that we love them, ya da ya da ya da, they can be so annoying! I mean we set foot outside somewhere and we're surrounded by girls screaming, crying, pushing into us, trying to touch us, trying to tear our clothes off for their own little souvenir. Yes, I know, it's hard to believe anyone could go so far, right? But it gets that bad. It's got to the point where I always wear two layers of clothing in case things turn nasty." "God, that's unbelievable. You know, I'm only going on what you just told me, but if I were you, I'd have to ask, is it really worth it?" "I ask myself frequently. I know the others do too. But I know that beneath all the hysteria there are people who really like our music, people who have been touched in some way by our music. So yes, it is worth it, or so I tell myself at any rate. But one of the things I have loved about Sydney is that no screaming fans have come up to me. It has been a holiday in the truest sense of the word." By this time we were pretty close to Bronte. I spent the remainder of the walk thinking about what Nick had said, and wondering if I could ever be so forgiving of people if our roles were reversed. "Well," I turned to Nick, " that's the Bondi to Bronte walk. I will now forever associate it with the perils of fame. Oh, that and dog poo." We both chuckled as I wiped my feet on the grass one more time. "OK. Umm, taxi to your hotel, then dinner? It's already gone 6 o'clock." The taxi trip back to Double Bay was uneventful as we both tried to comprehend better our previous conversation, and for once the taxi driver was as contemplative as his passengers. I thought I understood Nick a little better now. For all his looks and money, I wasn't sure I would swap lives with him. When we arrived at the hotel Nick picked up his key and we went up to his room. Hardly had the door closed behind us than Nick was stripping off his shirt. "Look, I can't wait any longer, Drew. I've been aching to do this all day. The shower in this room is amazing. Have a seat or whatever, I could take a while, I'm still rather sweaty from the walk." I nodded and heard the bathroom door close behind him. I sat down and tried the TV, but of course it being a Sunday afternoon there was only a choice of lawn bowls, an arts program, or an Elvis movie. Seeing this I screwed my eyes shut and said out loud: "Make it stop! Please, make it stop!". I smiled and shut off the television, and decided to step out onto the balcony. I opened the curtains and slid back the door. The view was astounding. I had never seen Sydney from this angle before, so it was a new delight to take in all the familiar sights. It struck me how quiet it was. I stood there, leaning against the railing, absorbing the sunset for what must have been quite some time because the next thing I knew Nick was washed, dressed and coiffed, and standing beside me. "Some view, huh?" Nick stated the obvious. "Yep. It's your view, you should know," I joked. "Actually, it's yours, since you saw it first. I only saw it just now myself," Nick said embarrassedly. He explained: "It was dark when I got here on Friday, then I slept till about midday yesterday. Then I just kind of tumbled out of bed and down to the street.....you know the rest. Hey, you gonna have a shower?" "Umm, yeah, I guess I will. I haven't got any other clothes to change into, but a shower would be nice." Nick was right, it was a damn fine shower. I didn't take too long to enjoy it, though, as I was hungry and itching to get to dinner. I got out and towelled off, and dressed again, trying to make my clothes look neater than they actually were. When I emerged from the bathroom Nick was sitting on his bed looking at me, tapping his foot impatiently. "OK, you ready? Let's go, I'm damn hungry!" he exclaimed. I wasn't about to protest since I felt just the same. As we arrived at the restaurant we were met and directed to a table by a window on the far side of the room. Menus were given to us, and we both made up our minds super-fast, only to discover that we had to wait for our waiter to come take our orders. After a few frustrating minutes we managed to grab the attention of a waiter. "Good evening gentlemen, my name is Dionysis. I'll be taking care of you this evening, so anything that you require, please don't hesitate to ask. Now, today's specials are......" "Sorry, Dionysis, but we've already decided what we're having." Nick flashed a conciliatory smile, which had little effect. "We'll both have oysters for entree, and we both want a steak, medium well for my friend here, medium rare for me. Oh, and just a jug of water to drink, thankyou." Nick turned back to me and made as if to recommence conversation, thus dismissing the waiter. Dionysis looked quite miffed, and walked away to the kitchen. "Great, now we'll probably have to wait an hour till it arrives," Nick brewed. "Calm down now, Nick, no use worrying yourself into an early grave over it!" I replied. As I had hoped, Nick smiled, this time genuinely. "So what, and where, are you flying back to tomorrow?" "Flying to LA, then changing flights to Houston. I'm meeting the guys there, we'll have a couple of days for me to recuperate, then we'll do a concert. >From there, who knows? Oh yeah, Kevin would," Nick chuckled as he answered his own question. "Kevin always knows what we're doing. The rest of us are just his obedient minions." Nick stopped as our water was brought. He thanked Dionysis then continued. "Actually, that reminds me. I have a bit of a proposal for you." "Yes?" I raised my eyebrows. "Well, it's like this........" Nick began. A telephone rang nearby. "God, some people just have no manners, do they? I mean, we're in a restaurant here and....." I looked at Nick to support my rant only to discover him pulling out a mobile phone. I shut my mouth and winced involuntarily. Hey, I never even knew he had the damn thing! "Hello? Oh, hi Kevin....." Nick began. I was already tuned out to give Nick privacy for the call. As such my mind wasn't at it's peak. `Kevin?....nope, doesn't ring any bells. I forgot about eavesdropping and concentrated instead on the tablecloth. `Wow, white.......look at that pattern......there isn't one.....how surreal......hang on, did he say Kevin? as in the Backstreet Boy Kevin?" Suddenly the conversation from the other side of the table was well worth eavesdropping on. "......was really good, we saw the sights, and now we're just eating dinner at the hotel......Yeah, he's here right now....Sure, I'll put him on." Nick held out the phone. As I took it I asked Nick quietly, " Is this the Kevin I think it is?" Nick looked at me like I was stupid. "Duh!" I took a deep breath and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?" "Hi there Drew, it's Kevin Richardson here. How's it going?" I heard. "I'm really well thanks. How are you?" "I'm fine, thankyou. Hey, I heard you and Nick had a fun time today." "Well, I know I enjoyed myself. I hope Nick did too." I looked at Nick who nodded his head enthusiastically. "I'm sure he did. So Drew, what do you think about your job?" That threw me. "My job? Well, I hate it really. It's awful." There was a beat. "You hate it? And you're still going to do it anyway?" Why were we having this conversation? "Yeah, I'll be there, but only for as long as it takes for me to find something I actually like." Nick was waving his arms, frantically trying to get my attention. After a significant pause I heard Kevin say, "Um, Drew, could you put Nick back on?" "Sure thing. Nice talking to you, Kevin." Nick practically grabbed the phone out of my ear. Boy, did he look upset. "Kevin? Yeah look, I'm sorry.....No of course he's not insane......No of course I'm not insane.....Listen, Kevin, I just haven't had a chance to tell him yet. I mean, a chance to ask him yet. Trust me, Kev, he's ideal. I'll call you later, OK? Bye." Nick ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He looked up, looking really awkward. I went on the attack. "OK, Nick what was that? Why does Kevin care what I think about the deli? What haven't you had a chance to tell me? Why am I `ideal'? And why has it got you so worked up?" Nick looked into my eyes, setting off alarms somewhere in my head. "Drew, I haven't been honest with you about my reason for coming to Sydney," Nick began. "I wasn't just here for a break. I guess you've heard that we are going to be touring Australia in three months?" "Yeah, I have heard something like that," I replied cautiously. "Well, we've done a lot of touring in the past few years. We've found that our international tours are much smoother and more enjoyable when we have someone from the country we are in touring with us. Just providing local information and stuff. We don't want a big fan though, they would never get anything done. So basically, Drew, I'm offering you a job with us. You'll stay in our hotels, come to our concerts, fly with us and travel in our limo. You'll also be paid for it." I was stunned. "So what, you came to Sydney just to find someone for this job?" I asked. "That's right, it was my turn. Last time it was Howie, before that Brian. We've been fairly lucky so far, except for the last time it was my turn to find the person. It was in England, and she turned out to be shocking. First she tried to crack onto Brian, then Kevin, then A.J., then Howie, and me last of all. I don't know what was more embarrassing, the fact that I chose her or the fact that I was the last one she chose. Anyway, Drew, I really need to redeem myself with the guys, and I'm counting on you. Please will you do it? You'd be perfect for the job." "Hold on, hold on. So how do you find these people?" "Well, we all have different methods. Mine is to go to a city and get lost. I just give myself up to fate and see where it takes me. This time it led me to you. Now I know my system works. Please say you'll do it, you'd be perfect, and....well, I don't have time to find someone else." "Wow, so fate brought us together. That's so......romantic. I'm sorry, there just isn't a better word. OK, so how long will I be working with you guys?" "For about a month. So you'll do it then?" "Gee, let's see......OF COURSE I'LL DO IT! It's like my dream job, I'd be killing myself if I didn't take it. I just wanted to watch you squirm a little more. I'm so excited, how am I ever gonna wait three months?" Nick laughed a very relieved laughter."I'm sure the time will just fly by. Kevin will send you some stuff soon, letting you know all the details...." I broke in. "Oh my god, Kevin! He thinks I'm a total nut! Nick, you've got to call him right now so I can apologise. Oh, I'm so embarrassed! He hates me." Nick tried to calm me. "Of course he doesn't hate you. Here, I'll call him." Nick took out his phone and pushed a few buttons. "Hi, Kevin? Yeah, it's Nick.....Well, I asked him, and he's gonna do it.......He'll be great...... Look, what do you want to bet?......Yep, you're on! Listen, Kev, Drew wants to talk to you. Here he is." I took the phone. "Hey, Kevin. I'm sorry, really sorry for what happened before. I feel like such a clown. Please don't hold it against me." "Drew, you have nothing to apologise for. It's Nick that is the clown. He should have told me that he hadn't asked you," Kevin said down the line. "So, I'll try it again now. What do you think about your job?" I laughed. "I am so excited! Nick told me what you were looking for, and I know I can do it. I can't wait till you guys get here, I've heard so much about you all. Nick said you'd be sending me some info?" "Yeah, that's right. Make sure you give Nick your details." "I sure will. Um, I think Nick wants me to put him back on, so I'll be hearing from you soon, right?" "That's right. Bye, Drew." "Bye." "See, Kevin? I told you he was perfect!" Nick told Kevin. I blushed, the picture of modesty. "Don't try to back out of the bet now!" I wondered what the bet was. "Kevin, I gotta go now. Our meal just arrived.......Yep, I won't forget, OK, Bye." Nick hung up just as Dionysis arrived with our meals. When he was gone, I immediately asked: "OK, so what's the bet?" Nick laughed. "I bet that you'd be awesome at your job. Kevin's trying to get out of it now that he spoke to you. Ha ha, I can't lose!" "OK, but what is the bet?" I repeated. "Oh, I can't tell you that. Top Secret." Nick grinned. "Now shut up and eat!" As we ate we talked about the upcoming tour, about my duties, and about some previous holders of my job. It turned out two of them are now working for MTV. This only made me more excited. If I played my cards right I could get a permanent job out of this! Before long our plates were denuded - it had been quite an exhausting day. We continued chatting until Dionysis arrived with the bill. Nick grabbed it straightaway. "Ha! I've got this one!" "Um, Nick......did you see me offering? It's all yours, pal." Nick was disappointed at his hollow victory. "Hey, not fair!" he exclaimed. There was a pause. Nick swallowed the last of his water. I began awkwardly. "So what now? Do I just exit, stage left?" "Yeah, I guess so. I'm only going to go up to my room and pack my bag then get into bed. My flight leaves at 7.30am, and I would like some sleep." "Umm, I could help you pack, if you like," I volunteered. "No, it's alright, I only have a few things. Besides, what would the gossip columns say, me bringing a young man into my hotel room at this time of night?" Neither of us laughed. "Drew, I really didn't want to have an awkward goodbye like this, but I guess we got one all the same. I've just got to tell you how glad I am we met. Even though we've known each other only a day, it's like that doesn't even count. I meet hundreds of people every week, most of them only want me for my autograph. There are very few who make any attempt to engage me at a personal level, and even fewer who succeed. But I have never before felt a bond with someone like the one we have. Before this starts sounding like a marriage proposal or something, I just wanna say that I'm so glad we met, I'm sorry that I have to go so soon, but I am really looking forward to having you tour with us in three months time. I meant what I said when I told Kevin you were ideal." I took a moment before replying. "Nick, I feel exactly the same. I don't make friends quickly, I usually just clam up around strangers. But as soon as we met you put me at ease. That's a special friendship. Thankyou so much for giving me this job, I swear you won't regret it. Say hello to the others for me won't you? And oh, you'll need my address and phone number." "Hell yeah. I'm glad you remembered, Drew. Kevin would kill me if I forgot. And here's my cell phone number too, if you need to call me." We exchanged pieces of paper and Nick said: "Well, I guess that's it then. I'll see you to a cab." We walked out the front door and, true to today's form, there was a taxi waiting right there. I opened the door, and turned to Nick. "Well, I'll talk to you soon, I guess." I said weakly, extending my right hand uncertainly. Nick shook it just as uncertainly. "Have a good flight." I got into the cab and closed the door behind me. As the driver pulled out I turned to wave to Nick with a hollow feeling in my stomach despite the full meal I had just eaten. When the taxi turned the first corner I felt suddenly sick. I told myself that this was ridiculous: sure, he was a good friend, but that was all, and that was all I wanted it to be, right, Drew? I mean, it wasn't as if I'd known him that long, and I would be talking to him again soon. My self-reproving didn't work, however, and I felt awful all the way home in the cab and until I fell asleep at 11pm. ###Well, that's part II. Will Drew discover why he feels this way? Does Nick feel the same? Was it just a dodgy batch of oysters they had for entree? Find out in the next instalment of Some Kind of Bliss. Oh, and what do you think the bet should be? I have absolutely no idea. Something really big, cos I have plans for the bet. As usual, comments, suggestions, complaints, entries in my interactive promotion can be directed to braan90@hotmail.com Please mail me to let me know how you think it's going. AUSTRALIAN READERS: HELP ME! Since the next few instalments of this story will be set on tour in Australia, I need lots of local information. Since I've never been to Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth, and only went to Brisbane for Expo `88, I strike a problem. I'm fine for Sydney (like you didn't already know that!) and I know Canberra, but I'll be damned if I'm sending the Backstreet Boys to Canberra! Mail me with suggestions. Actually, anyone who has visited these cities could help, Australian or no, if you visited these places and remember anything about them then you're more help than I am! That number again: braan90@hotmail.com