Altered States
+Chapter Sixteen+
A Night of Unwanted Adventures
“Brian’s riding shotgun, you can sit in the back,” AJ directed at me as we
walked out the front entrance towards the car.
“Thanks,” I replied as I got into the backseat, my knees pressing up against
the front seat.
“So where are we going?” Brian asked as he buckled in. “Anyplace would suit
me just fine, I’m so glad to get out of there, you wouldn’t believe me if I told
you.”
“Let’s just enjoy ourselves, okay? No more talk about that crap. We gotta
get you circulated into the mainstream again, Bri, I bet that would be the
best thing in the world for you,” AJ stated as he drove down the highway.
“So where are we going?” I asked hesitantly. I was actually afraid of AJ’s
idea of a nice place to take Brian. I was still worried about him flipping out
on us and drawing a blank.
“Well, I was thinking about Tabu--”
“Howie’s? No way dude, nope,” I protested quickly.
“Would you let me finish dumbass?” AJ snapped back.
I held my hands up, “Go ahead.”
AJ shifted in his seat, adjusting the shoulder strap on the seatbelt. “As I
was saying I was thinking about Tabu, but that’s in Orlando which is
miles from here, plus the club scene may be too intense for Brian here.”
“Ya think so smartone?” I replied sarcastically. I was so dead set against
this clubbing thing with Brian to begin with. I had an uneasy feeling about
this.
“Okay so where to then?” Brian asked, ignoring Nick’s obvious apprehension.
“How about Mac’s?”
“MAC’S? ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR FRICKEN MIND!?” I yelled at AJ. That
club was very fast paced, it certainly would be too much for Brian to handle.
“Whoa, Nicky, if you don’t like the choice then stay in the car. I’m sure Brian
can handle this, he’s a big boy.”
I slumped against black leather seat in the back, folding my arms across my
chest defensively. I was totally against any of this and I knew that I would
definately have to stick close to Brian to make sure nothing would happen.
AJ would be wrapped up in his own little world once we hit the club.
“Here we are,” AJ announced proudly as he pulled up to the valet. AJ
deliberatly ignored making eye contact with me, so I knew there would be no
chance of getting to persuade him to change his mind. Thank god so far,
Brian was still acting like good ole Brian, so I was guessing it could have been
worse. I kept my fingers crossed that this would continue until we got him
safely back to Greenville.
As we walked into the nightclub, I couldn’t help but notice the pointing and
the whispers as we filed past tables towards our booth. As soon as we sat
down, we were approached by three young women.
“Didn’t you used to be Brian Littrell?” a tall burnette gushed.
Brian looked up at her with a lopsided grin, my stomach was doing flip flops.
“Used to be? I still am,” Brian replied with a chuckle.
The girl thrust a napkin and a pen towards Brian. “I’ve been a fan of yours
for years. Could I have your autograph?”
Brian accepted the pen and napkin from the girl. As he struggled with trying
to write his name, I jumped in and bailed him out. “You know those darn
napkins are hard to write on with a ball point pen.”
“Uh, yeah I guess you’re right there,” the girl agreed.
Brian’s handwriting wasn’t like it used to be, but the girl wouldn’t have cared.
She asked for a picture and then her face turned red when she realized she
didn’t have a camera with her.
“Hey honey, that’s okay, just scoot back to your table now, okay?” AJ
requested.
“Oh, um, yeah, gosh I’m sorry, you guys must be busy. Thanks again Brian,”
the girl replied as she fumbled with the napkin and the pen, quickly turning
away.
After she left, the three of us sat in the booth in an akward silence, the
only noises was the music coming from the horrible band the club had hired.
The bass on the drums definately drowned out any of the other accoustics in
the band.
“I dunno about you guys, but I’m getting a little thristy and since it’s obvious
that the waitress either is on lunch break or gone for the day, I’m gonna go
grab something to drink. What do you want?” I asked Brian and AJ.
“Black Russian,” came AJ’s reply.
“I guess I’ll take a Heiniken,” Brian stated.
Brian rarely drank but when he did have something it was usually one beer.
Period.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a few then,” I remarked as I scooted out of the booth,
leaving AJ and Brian to strike up conversations. After finding my way to the
bar, it took me a good ten minutes of being pleasant to girls that came up to
talk to me before I could place our drink orders.
“Yeah, I’d like a Black Russian, Heiniken and a Salty Dog,” I shouted the
order over the music.
“Fifteen fifty,” the woman behind the bar replied.
“Figures,” I mumbled under my breath. As I made my way back to the booth,
I felt panic rising when I noticed that AJ was sitting in the booth by
himself.
“Where’s Brian?”
“He went to the bathroom,” AJ replied, never taking his eyes off of a girl
that was standing thirty feet away from him wearing super tight shorts.
I quickly set the drinks down on the table. “You let him go to the bathroom
by himself?”
“Nick, I’m sure he’s fine. I think he knows what to do when he gets in the
bathroom, don’t you?”
“Oh, god, AJ, that’s not the point. What if he freaks or if something goes
wrong or anything!” I stated as I threw my hands angrily into the air. AJ
never broke his gaze away from the girl. “AJ? ARE YOU LISTENING TO A
WORD I’VE SAID?”
“I’m going to look for Brian,” I knew I pretty much said to no one in
particular since AJ was involved in looking at that girl.
“Yeah, okay, sure,” AJ mumbled as I stormed past him.
After walking into the men’s room and not finding a trace of Brian, I could
feel my heart beating faster out of sheer panic. “I knew this was a mistake,”
I kept mumbling over and over as I frantically scanned the bar crowd looking
for my best friend. He was no where to be seen. I quickly returned to the
booth, silently praying that Brian would be sitting down with AJ again, but
finding that my prayers weren’t answered when I saw AJ sitting with the
girl in the tight shorts.
“Shit, AJ he wasn’t anywhere.”
“Nicky, just sit down and wait, I’m sure he musta gotten involved in a
conversation, okay? Relax and drink, things will be fine,” AJ soothed.
Taking AJ’s advice, I sat down in the booth, but I kept my eyes scanning the
club, hoping I would spot him somewhere.
Chapter 17
