TEN THINGS
J o n a t h a n   A n d r e w   Y b a n e z

A U T H O R ' S B A B B L I N G

Okay, I know there are a lot of BACKSTREET BOYS story out there and most of them are centered on people having with crushes either BRIAN LITTREL, NICK CARTER or KEVIN RICHARDSON. I try to make this a little bit different from the usual with the celebrities themselves falling for the fictional character.

I admit that I am not a BACKSTREET BOYS fan although some of their songs really caught my attention. But I am, indeed, a very big fan of BRIAN LITTREL and KEVIN RICHARDSON, but since it was BRIAN LITTREL who had a heart problem, I think it was best to center this story around him. No, I don't think that he is gay, but it would certainly be interesting if he is.

D I S C L A I M E R :

I would like to remind you that this is just a part of the imagination of the author and none of these events ever happen. Any similarity between events in the story and situations in somebody else's life is purely and absolutely coincidental, accidental or, just simply, impossible. This story doesn't state anything about BRIAN LITTREL'S sexuality or choice of lifestyle, implicitly or explicitly. Remember this is just a composition based totally on the imagination of the author.

This story contains a homosexual premise and has homosexual undertones. If you are a minor, you know the rules. Please don't read this and find something more suitable for you age. But if you reach the age of majority, you can come back. If you're a bigot who just wandered here by mistake, you are allowed to stay. I would like to request you, however, to please keep an open mind.

Please enjoy!!!

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TEN THINGS
By: Jonathan Andrew Ybanez
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T E N   T H I N G S

X	See a rainbow at dawn
X	Taste the first snowflake of winter
X	Go to Disney World
	Flash someone from a car
X	See the dawn
	Be a star
X	Touch a snake
X	Make someone smile
	Talk to God
	Kiss my soulmate

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C h a p t e r 1 1
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Knock... knock... knock...

Early morning, I heard someone lightly knocking on my door. I was still very sleepy and could barely open my eyes. I was still very tired because of lack of sleep. Not because of the room or the bed or anything. The four-poster bed was very comfortable so my sleep was quite restful. In fact, it was the most relaxing sleep that I had in years. My sleeplessness was due to the fact that it was already quite early in the morning when I retired to my room. My conversation with Giles covered the entire evening and through the early moments of morning

I heard another set of knocks from the door but still I didn't mind it. Instead, I pulled my fluffy comforter over my head and buried my face even deeper in the piles upon piles of pillows. Another set of knocks came from the other side of the door. This time around, they were louder. Yet again, I just ignore it and wrapped myself like a piece of burrito.

Slowly, I heard the large heavy wooden door slowly creaked open. "Brian?... Hey, Brian?" I heard a low whisper. It was Tevyn,, or it sounded like Tevyn, anyway. "Brian, are you awake?"

"Go away..." I garbled as I sank deeper into my bed.

"Come on. Quit being a baby and wake up already!" He called out as he tried to pull the covers off me but I held on as hard as I could. He continued. "Brian, it's already morning!"

"The mobile subscriber you are calling is temporarily not reachable." I mumbled, all wrapped up in my blanket. "Please try your call later. The mobile subscriber you are calling is temporarily not reachable. Please try your call later."

"Come on, give me a break. Wake up, Brian!" Tevyn begged as he shook me. "We should be leaving by 10:00AM. It's already 8 in the morning."

"I can't wake up now, it's still too early in the morning." I whined and whimpered. "Mornings should be outlawed."

"Well, that's the bad thing about mornings, my dear boy... they come too early in the day." He climbed into the bed with me and slipped under the covers with me. Tevyn gave me a tight hug as he whispered in my ears. "You know what,... this happens to be one of my greatest boy band fantasy that I had for years."

"Really?" Interested, I turned around to face him. I smiled as I asked. "Would you care to share it with this boy band member?"

"Well,... I would go into a bedroom with a four-poster bed, much like this one." His eyes glowed brightly with mischief. "On the bed, I would find a boy band member all wrapped up in his comfortable quilt-like cocoon."

"So what happens next?" I smiled as I embraced him. I rubbed my forehead and nose affectionately with his.

"And then... I would climb into the bed and join him... Slowly, I would peel away the comforter and... And I find my one true soul mate... Kevin Richardson." Tevyn paused and then giggled. "So Brian,.. I hope you don't mind but could please haul your totally fat and ugly ass out of my fantasy? I am waiting for Kevin to arrive!"

"Philanderer!" I laughed as I pushed him off the bed. "Bastard!"

He fell out of the bed, giggling. "But it did wake you up!"

"Speak for yourself!" I pouted, as I went back to my cocoon. "I'm going back to bed. I need my beauty sleep."

"Well, sleeping beauty, you'd better get your butt out of bed soon." He laughed as he stood up from the floor. "Or your ass will turn into a pumpkin."

"Go back to bed, Tevyn. You're the one who needs the sleep." I mumbled as I wrapped myself back in my cocoon. "You've gotten your fairytales all mixed up."

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After taking a bath, I made my way down from my room. I found Tevyn and Giles in the receiving area. Apparently, they were waiting for me. "Sorry..." I smiled sheepishly as I apologized. "I know I should have been down earlier."

"That's okay." Tevyn said. "We had just finished packing."

"So, where is all your stuff?" I asked, scanning the perimeter for the baggage.

"We had the utility boys placed them in the van." Giles replied. "How was your sleep, Brian?"

"It was quite nice... very restful." I said then chuckled. "Except for an incident in the morning when my sleep was disturbed by a philanderer."

Tevyn just giggled. Giles gave us a suspicious but perplexed look. However, he just smiled and let it go. "Anyway, the travel time will be between two and a half to three hours so... you can doze along the way if you feel tired or sleepy." Giles explained. He paused as he looked around me. "By the way, Brian, where are your bags? Aren't you going to be bringing anything?"

"Damned!" I cursed as I slapped myself on the forehead. "I've almost forgotten! Wait here. I'll just go upstairs for a moment.

"Don't bother, Brian. You are our guest. I'll have one of the utility boys get it for you." Giles told me. He, then, bellowed out. "Vincent, would please come here for a moment?"

"Yes, Mr. Atkinson." He approached us. "How may I be of service?"

"Vincent, Mr. Littrel seemed to have left his bag up in his room." He instructed the utility boy. "Please go upstairs and retrieve it for him."

"It's the blue duffel bag with the red stripes." I told him. "It's the one on the couch by the closet. It's really hard to miss."

"Of course, Mr. Littrel."

"Would you please put it in the van afterwards along with the other items?" Giles ordered.

"Thank you, Vincent." I smiled.

"No problem, Mr. Littrel." He smiled back politely.

"We won't be leaving until around 10 A.M. It's still 9 o'clock in the morning." Giles turned to me. "you still have time to eat breakfast."

"Well, the lobster is still sitting in my tummy." Grinning, I patted my stomach. "I don't normally have breakfast in the morning anyway."

"Brian, the trip is going to take the whole morning and I am afraid we won't be having lunch until around two in the afternoon."

"Come on." Tevyn pulled my hand and led me to the dining room. "Don't worry, you're not that fat yet. You won't need a diet until..." He paused and gave me a wink. "Wait, sorry, you are fat!"

"Very funny!" I gave him a smirk. "But like I said, I am not that hungry."

"You will be..." He said still tugging me along like a little puppy on a leash. "Just trust me on this one. I had done this trip a million times already."

"Like I have a choice?" I laughed.

"No, you don't." He giggled. "Anyway, you're going to love René's blueberry pancakes. It's the whole reason I stay here in Charlottetown."

Breakfast was actually good. Like I said, I don't usually have breakfast in the morning, but this particular morning, I gobbled down my food like a condemned criminal's last meal. We had a regular feast of cream puffs, French toast, hash browns, sausages, Belgian waffles, apple pie, scrambled eggs and bacon, the Canadian one, of course. Tevyn joked that we are already in Canada, why get another kind. Besides, they have lesser fat content.

Unfortunately, René wasn't able to prepare his famous blueberry pancakes. He apologized in something French but I wasn't able to follow. Tevyn was clearly disappointed but said that it was nothing big to cry about. When, the chef left the dining room, I asked Tevyn what he said and he gave me the English version with the heavy French accent. "I am inzeed zori, Monsieur TevIN." Tevyn mused. "I wasint abel to buy ze blooberi for ze pancake. Ze blooberi wasint fresh enuf."

"You are truly evil!" I cried out, laughing.

"You havint zeen anyzing yet, mon petite cheri!"

"So what do you think?" Tevyn inquired. His eyes darted on my plate as he sipped his cappuccino. He was asking about the food on my plate. The hash brown was really good. I didn't realize that I was already full until I scooped too much on my plate.

"The hash browns were damned good. I don't think I have been this full before." I smiled. I looked that his mug and asked pointing to it. "Are you even allowed to drink that?"

"Well, I'm not really sure..." He gave me a serious look and then giggled. "But last time I checked, I think the Canadian authority still considers coffee a legal commodity"

"Smart ass." I threw a crumpled piece of table napkin to his direction. It bounced on his head. "For health reasons, you idiot."

"Doctors said it's relatively safe up certain amounts." He replied after taking a sip from his mug. "Just as long as I don't drink it like 24/7, it's still okay."

"Speaking of doctors..." I started slowly, since I know that I was about to step into dark territory. "I took the liberty of asking Giles to buy the pills for you. I know you were tired last night and you might forget them this morning. I mean with all the preparation and all, you might not remember or have the time to buy them this morning."

The look of disappointment was evident on his face. I touched his lower arm and asked. "Are you angry with me? I hope you're not angry. I was only doing what I thought and felt was right." I paused and looked him.

Tevyn was still wearing the same scowled expression.

"Please say something..." I said, somewhat begging.

"I'm not angry..." He said as he stood up. "However, I'm a bit disappointed... but not angry."

He came close to me and touched my shoulders. "Though you should realize that you could have asked me first. I mean I could have already bought them in advance and there would be too much supply."

I started to stand, saying. "I know. I'm sorry but..."

"No, don't apologize." He said as he motioned me to sit down. "You were only doing what you thought was right. And I should be touched by that, right?"

"I guess so..." I was relieved that at least he wasn't angry with me.

"Anyway, this is for being thoughtful enough of buying my medication for me." He said as he planted a kiss on my forehead.

I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"And this..." He gently placed his hand behind my head and pushed it down on my plateful of hash browns. "is for buying my medication without my permission."

He ran across the other side of the table laughing.

"TEVYN!!!!" I screamed as I wiped the gunk off my face. "TEVYN, THIS MEANS WAR!!!"

I grabbed the strawberry jam and scooped out a few spoonfuls. I aimed at my target and I scored! "GOTCHA!!!" I cried out.

In retaliation, he took the plate of waffles and threw the contents at me. I ducked down the dinner table so Tevyn missed. "DAMNED!!!" He cursed.

"YOU MISSED!!!" I popped out from my hiding place. Triumphantly, I danced around, shouting. "YOU SUCK AT THROWING. YOU ARE SUCH A LOUSY..."

Before I was able to finish my statement, he got me good with some whip cream. I ran to his direction and grabbed the can of whipped cream from his hand. I pulled back his pants and squirted some whipped cream down his undies. Tevyn burst out in giggling fits. He then fought back by catapulting a few cream puffs. I got hit by around five to seven of them.

Soon the entire dining room was splattered with food. There was a piece of French toast that got pasted on the ceiling; the floor became a mosaic of scrambled eggs; and the walls got a fresh abstract paint job of strawberry jam. The battle, however, waged on. Suddenly the door opened and Giles burst in.

"What's the meaning of this!" Giles screamed as he entered into the dining room. The ruckus must have alerted him of what has been happening inside. "Tevyn! Brian! Cease and desist!!! I SAID CEASE AND DESIST!!! NOW!!!"

"It was his fault!" Tevyn said automatically, even though he was caught red handed with the can of whipped cream still in his hand.

"I don't want to hear about it! I DON'T GIVE A BLOODY DAMN ABOUT WHO STARTED IT." He continued shouting. He took a deep cleansing breath and then he raised his hands for order. He turned to Tevyn and said as calmly as possible. "Just let go of the whipped cream and nobody gets hurt."

Tevyn handed him the squirt can to him. "Okay." He continued calmly as he gazed at his wristwatch. "It's about 9:30 in the morning and we have about 30 minutes before estimated time of departure. I don't want to deviate from our schedule because we have to be there before four in the afternoon. So I would greatly appreciate it if the two of you would clean up and get ready. I couldn't imagine how two grown men could be such little boys."

As he turned around and started to walk away, still grumbling, Tevyn took the apple pie and winked at me. I got the clue and grabbed the strawberry jam.

"Oh Giles..." I called out.

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The food fight continued for another ten minutes or so, all with an additional player. I never thought Giles would lose his cool, being a spiff-upper-lipped-English butler and all. After the apple pie and the strawberry jam, however, he became a converted man. He reached out for the maple syrup and poured the entire contents over Tevyn and me.

The only person who was able to stop everything was Maria. It's hard to believe that such a kindly and soft spoken woman with a delicate Scottish Mrs.-Doubtfire-like accent could pack enough strength and punch to command like a drill sergeant when the situation calls for it.

It was actually funny because when she came in, Giles was now the one caught red-handed. Maria found him on top of me on the dining table stuffing my face with cream puffs. Giles could only sputter that we started it! Maria never believed him because, like all those whodunits, it's always the butler who did. 

By the time the war ended, the biggest casualty was the Giles. He looked like he had become one big piece of meringue pie. After all, Tevyn and I are working together on the same side. Maria dismissed us to let have time to clean up while she informed everyone that the trip would be slightly delayed because of Giles' childishness.

Poor Giles!!!

Anyway, we had hurried up stairs to get cleaned up. Tevyn headed to his room and I went directly to my bathroom. Immediately, I stripped off and soaked my clothes in the bathtub so the dirt wouldn't harden into stains. I looked at my clothes as the water enveloped them. Just looking at my shirt and jeans, I know that getting the stains off is definitely going to take a hell of a time. The hash brown and the eggs are just going to be a breeze but the strawberry jam and the maple syrup?... it's a different story. I mean my white shirt almost turned into a bright shade of hot pink!

I headed to the shower to wash myself. It's the second bath that I had this morning. Like my clothes, the eggs and hash browns were easier to clean off. But the whipped cream, strawberry jam and maple syrup was another matter. They were so sticky that even the soap had trouble getting them off my skin. The major problem was with my hair, where it was caked by the heavy glob. It took me at four rinses to at least get the reddish color off my hair. Entirely, my hair began to appear normal only after the seventh rinse.

I got out of the bathroom and proceeded to the bedroom to get dressed. Unfortunately, I realized that Vincent had already taken my luggage down to the van. I quickly wrapped the towel around my hips, got out to the hallway and headed for Tevyn's bedroom.

I gently knocked on Tevyn's door.

"Who's there?"

"Tevyn, it's Brian." I replied. "Can I come in? I need to ask a favor."

"Wait for a minute." I heard some scuffling of feet. A few moments, the door opened and Tevyn came out to greet me. He was wearing a pair of tight white boxer-briefs and a gray t-shirt. There was a towel hanging on his shoulder and his hair is still slightly wet and disheveled. Obviously, Tevyn, like me, had just gotten out of the bathroom. But unlike me, he had some clothes to wear.

"Come in." He said. He gave me a mischievous smile, and then slapped my left cheek. "Whoa, Brian! Nice ass! No wonder you are such an asshole!"

"Shut up!" I groaned at his joke.

"So what's up?"

"I hope it's not you!" I hit him back, snickering. "I mean after you had seen me in just a towel, I bet one of your wildest fantasies had just came true!"

"Oh, you shut up! Smart ass!" He laughed. "But really, what's up?"

"Actually..." I started, then I got a look at his room. "WOW! Great place you've got here!"

His room actually looked like a hotel suite I once stayed in while on tour. The entire place had a rich dark hardwood finish. The entire flooring was wood parquet, and the shelves and bookcases were created from either oak or walnut. The ceiling was quite high and there was a gothic candelabra-styled chandelier hanging from it. The pieces of furniture were definitely antiques or astoundingly remarkable duplications from early 19th century England. On one corner there was a desk beside a huge bay window with heavy velvet curtains, looking out on a vast ground and wooded area. And on the other there was a fireplace with a reproduction of Van Gogh's 'Irises' on top of it.

"Thanks." He smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Is this really your room?" I was wondering.

"Yup, hard to believe, isn't it? But it is mine." He shrugged then explained. "I had this room built when I was 14 years old. I had asked my father to find an architect who can specifically design the bedroom, as I liked it. Several people thought it was my father's office or something."

"Nice music..." I listened to the song. It sounded familiar but the artist wasn't. It must be a cover. "Who sang it?"

"It's Bright Eyes."

"Funny it doesn't sound like Art Garfunkel."

"It's a cover by Stephen Gately."

"Who is he? He sounds familiar."

"He should sound familiar." He went over to the CD player and got the casing of the album. He handed it to me. "He made waves a year or two before. He's the Boyzone member who officially came out of the closet."

"Yeah, the Irish group. I remember now." I looked the CD cover. He's a decent looking guy but he's got too much make-up on though. "Didn't he decided to come out at the height of their career? A very bold but highly dangerous career move."

"Yup... but I think it didn't really matter to the fans. They still loved him. You can't really find Boyzone albums here in Canada or the US." He said as he started the song from the beginning. "They didn't really reach our shores. I bought the album when I was in Britain late last year."

"Had you ever listened to this song before? I mean really listen? It sounds so helpless but so overpowering sometimes." Tevyn said as he moved towards the window. There was a hint of sadness in his face as he gazed outside from his room. "I like this song. It's a nice song."

"It's just strange to see a fourteen year old having a bedroom this elaborate and formal." I quickly changed the subject. "The room looks too mature and gothic to be a young boy's bedroom."

"Strange... there seemed to be something missing..." I studied the area, and commented. I paced around the room, rubbing my chin. I was trying to make out what was missing. Finally it dawned on me. "Wait!!! Don't tell me you like to sleep on the floor."

"You must be looking for the bed. Actually, this isn't really my bedroom." He said, then, pointed to the back corner of the room. "Bedroom is over there. This is just my receiving room."

"What? Isn't that just a flat piece of hardwood?" I stared at the corner. There was nothing but a wall. I smirked. "Don't tell me you just lean on a wall when you go to sleep?"

"Yeah, I'm a very big fan of the Coneheads, that's why I follow their sleeping habits." He rolled his eyes, in sarcasm. "No, of course not! That's actually a door. I had it designed to make it look like a wall so nobody would notice it... privacy reason. What do you think?"

"Awesome!" I came closer to examine it. I touched and pushed it a bit but it didn't budge. "Holy... It actually looks and feels like a wall."

"Want to go inside and have a look-see?" He pushed the panel.

"Sure."

Tevyn just pushed the wall gently and it opened. I asked, amazed. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Open the wall... How did you open the wall?" I stared at him. "I tried to push it but nothing happened."

"Well, there is a button here at the bottom. Push that and the door opens. It's plain and simple Canadian ingenuity, nothing to do with the Japanese this time." He smiled at his little joke as he pointed his foot near the edge of the door. Then like a doorman of a restaurant, he lifted his hand and pointed the way in. "And, TA DAHH! Welcome to my room."

I entered the chamber and I was quite surprise. It wasn't as I expected it to be. The interior was as plain and simple as plain and simple as it could be. The walls were painted beige; the lights were simple and there were no chandelier hanging from the ceiling; and the vertical blinds covered the windows. An entire room a minimalist would be proud of. Even the furnishings were unadorned. There was only a king-size bed, a side table, a writing desk and wooden chair, and rocking chair near the window. It was a stark difference from the receiving area outside.

"When I go to bed, I like things simple." He explained my silent question. 

"Well, it's actually a surprise." I raised an eyebrow after examining the entire chamber. "I thought that you would have followed the motif of the receiving area."

"As complex as I may look sometimes..." He came close to me and whispered to my ear. "Brian, I am really a person with simple taste."

I looked at his face and his green eyes hypnotized me like some mystical force. I edged my face closer to his and my own lips inched nearer to his. I was burning and my lips yearned for his mouth. Time seemed to slow down until...

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