(The song ‘White Rabbit’ is playng)

"So, in my experience, LSD is the best drug to screw on."

Nick kept staring in disbelief at Sabra as she continued to babble. Her idea of keeping someone company was spilling her guts about her history of drug experimentation to see which substance gave her the best orgasm. Throughout his career he had met some strange people, but this girl took the prize.

"So, what do ya say?"

Nick was so lost in his thoughts that he had stopped paying attention. "Huh?"

"I have some really great LSD upstairs. You wanna try?"

His body stiffened and his eyes wandered. It's then that he saw Layla in a crowd nearby. "Layla, over here!" he yelled.

"Nick! I'm sorry I was gone so long. Sabra, thank you so much for keeping him company."

"Not a problem," she grinned. "Hope to see you again soon, Nick."

He watched her walk away, waiting until she was out of earshot. "That girl takes flirting to new extremes."

Layla shut her eyes in embarrassment. "Please tell me she did not offer to sleep with you."

He quickly smiled. "Did you know LSD is the best drug to be on when having an orgasm?"

Putting her head in her hands, she let out a long sigh. "I am so sorry." She allowed her puppy-dog eyes to show. "Let me make it up to you."

Nick allowed a goofy grin to appear on his face while his imagination filled with possibilities. "What do you have in mind?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Alex, do you really enjoy exploiting yourself for thousands of screaming hormonal little girls?"

He stared around the table, eyeing the people Sarah had introduced him to. He wasn't impressed with any of their ideals. He knew these people were different, but he was under the impression that they were supposed to be open-minded. "Well, Steve, I really don't see how I exploit myself. Singing is my career and it's something I love to do."

"Oh come on. Don't you feel the cheese oozing from your pores while you pose for the pinup fantasies?"

"Look, I want to be taken seriously as a musician. Believe me, it's the one thing I strive for. At the same time, I can't forget about fans of all ages. Different ages need reached in different ways. Me writing songs and playing instruments means something to someone of a mature age, but it won't mean squat to a five or ten-year-old. We don't want to lose any fans that we've acquired, so we'll do what it takes to keep them but only to a certain point." All the eyes looking at him were filled with amusement. He knew there was no winning with the crowd, so he wasn't even sure why he was trying.

"And what's that point?" another one of the men questioned.

"None of us will sell out," he replied dryly. "You won't see any of our faces plastered on a fruit snack box. You won't see lip balm flavors named after us. You won't see our likeness used on a cereal package. We know what sells and we know what's too much. The last thing any of us wants to be is a New Kid on the Block reject. When you push yourself onto people, they get tired of you. That's why we take the long breaks. They're just long enough that people aren't rolling their eyes at the sound of one of our songs but they're not forgetting about us either."

"You make a fair argument, McClean, but I still won't ever buy your music."

"Steve, you don't ever have to. Just don't go dissin' it since you know nothing about it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Layla, holding a small radio, led Nick along the shore and headed for a nearby rock. "I thought you might like this better than a noisy party."

"I do, but you wanted to be there." He took a seat, helping her up next to him.

"It's the last thing I want right now." She looked towards the water, then back in his direction. "I'd rather get to know you better. You seem like an interesting person."

"Me?" He crinkled his nose a bit. "Not really." He took the radio from her hands and tuned it to a local rock station.

(The song ‘Happiness’ is playing)

"How long have you been in the singing group?"

"Since I was twelve. We got our first contract when I was fifteen and we were touring by the time I was sixteen."

She snorted lightly and rolled her eyes. "God, I'd love to see what your definition of interesting is."

He laughed a bit. "You have to understand something. I've been doing this for so long it's just become life for me. Don't get me wrong, I feel extremely blessed, but it's all second nature now."

"I can see your point. What else do you like to do?"

"I like to write songs. I play the drums and I began learning the guitar a while ago."

"Do you do anything that's not musical?" she laughed.

He thought for a moment, realizing his life was pretty much his career. "Besides taking my boat out, I don't do much of anything else. I play basketball when I get the chance. I go out with friends to clubs once in a while, but I prefer to stay at home. I travel so much with work, relaxing is a luxury for me."

"Simplicity is a wonderful attribute for a person in your business. It helps you keep a level head."

"What about you? What makes you tick?"

"I’m basically like you, I'm all about chillin'. I don't want modeling to become my life. It's something I'm good at and it's a great way to make excellent money, but that's where I want it to end. I don't want that to define who I am."

"How did you get into the whole hippie thing?"

(The song ‘Flavor of the Week’ begins to play)

"Well, my parents started it all with the name they chose. It all fell into place after that. Once I entered junior high, I found a group of people that were into the same things as me. Their parents were twisted as well. But, I tried to not limit myself to that particular group. I wanted to be well rounded I guess you could say. Unfortunately, our culture is very judgmental and you are known by the company you keep. If I hang out with pot heads then that must make me one."

He turned his attention to the water. "I get so sick of that judgmental shit."

"Ah, a man of experience speaks." She smiled sweetly as his gaze returned to her.

"It's like, just because I sing with four other guys in a supposed boy band; that makes me gay."

"Exactly! Take for instance the guy I'm kinda seeing."

Nick felt his heart fall and knots began forming in his stomach, but he put on his best front. "Okay, what about him?"

"He's the type of person that loves to party. He just doesn't know when to quit. Next thing you know, I get categorized as the same type. I'm not one for caring about what others think, but I don't want people to get the impression that I drink and do drugs all the time."

"Is that what he does?"

"He cleans up while he's filming for movies, but that's about it."

"If you don't mind me asking, who is he?"

"Brad Renfro."

He thought for a moment. "That little kid from 'The Client'?"

She laughed a little. "Well, he's nineteen now, but yeah that's him."

"Why do you put up with him if he's like that?"

"Because, I've seen a side of him that is so sweet and caring. Not many people see it, but I do."

"Have you seen that side lately?"

She looked down at her hands and began to fidget a bit. "Last time I visited him in Tennessee, he was drinking most of the time. I guess that's why I refuse to commit to him. My subconscious knows the relationship is doomed."

"Salvage a friendship before it's too late. That kind of person needs a friend more than a lover."

"I know you're right, but it's so hard. I hate hurting people." She took a deep breath and let it out. "You're very wise, Nick." She studied his eyes, almost noticing years of pain blazing from within. "Are you in need of a friend?"

(The song ‘Breathing’ begins to play)

He looked at her sweet face, memorizing its every curve. "I don't have many close friends, so I could always use more."

"Good." She let her head rest on his shoulder as they both looked out at the roaring water.

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