"Now I can see that we've fallen apart, from the way that it used to be, yeah...," Kevin's sexy voice sang out as he leaned back on his stool. The Boys were rehearsing for their sold-out show taking place that very night. Every single one of them had some sort of inner conflict going on, but they were extra careful not to show it. Kevin was frustrated because his little brothers were acting so childish, AJ was anxious for a break because he had to pee pretty badly, Howie was missing his longtime girlfriend, Nick was feeling kind of lonely because he wanted a girlfriend, and Brian was thinking about that girl's voice he heard last night. As much as they wanted to get their problems solved, they also understood that a show has to take place at 8pm.
"Okay guys, I think that should do it. We don't need to rehearse anymore. We can do this in our sleep! Let's bail!" AJ voted as soon as the last note was uttered.
"I'm with AJ, ya'll. I want to check out all of these chicks around here!" Nick also voiced his opinion.
"Well, does anyone want to shoot hoops with me, then?" Brian looked around.
"I will," Kevin offered. "I need some exercise...not as much as some people though," he looked pointedly at Nick.
"Kevin, if you don't shut the hell up..." Nick started.
"What? What are you gonna do little boy? Kick my ass or something? Bring it on!" Kevin's nostrils flared as his face began to flush.
"Oh, who's being immature now? Should we go behind the school at recess and throw punches?" Nick stood directly in front of Kevin, his eyes hardened and a look of controlled rage on his lovely face. "Come on big boy! Show me what you've made of! You all talk or do you practice what you preach? If you're going to be this way, why don't you spare us all the trouble and get your ass outta here? We don't need you anyway! You can hardly sing and you definitely can't dance! I don't see where you got this new attitude of yours! Ever since we let you sing, you've been slowly but surely taking over! You won't let anyone else comment in a interview, you belittle every single one of us, AND if that's not enough, you badger my poor little brother until he pratically begs to go home! I've had enough of it and so has everyone else!"
The other three guys watched the youngest and the oldest battle it out. No, they weren't going to intervene this time...the conflict has been building up for six years now, so they decided to let them take care of it themselves. Back and forth their eyes flew, from the tall dark figure to the equally tall, blond blue-eyed one. Kevin was so angry that sweat was dampening his bushy brows. Nick formed his mouth into a hard line as his cheekbone began to twitch sporadically. Kevin noticed the small spasms, and oddly enough, that infuriated him even more. His fists began to clench...tighter and tighter until he just snapped. Kevin's large fist shot out and struck Nick's twitching cheekbone. Leaping back in surprise, Nick lifted his own hand and felt his bruised cheek. That's it, Nick decided, so he swung his fist with all his might and hit Kevin's rock hard shoulder as he was turning to leave the room.. Kevin stopped in his tracks and glared icily at his younger bandmate.
Noticing the growing audience they were attracting, AJ stepped between the two men and held up both hands. "Ya'll, this has gone too far! I suggest that you get away from each other for a while. Save your energy for the concert tonight. I'm sure as hell not going to cancel a concert because two of my bandmates are dead!"
Kevin stalked off with a sulk on his face. Nick watched him leave as his chest heaved deeply. Tenderly touching his new imperfection, he winced at the pain and glared defiantly. "Yo, look Nick. I know you're angry and all, but he's not worth it. Honestly, I applaud your effort to try to get him on ground level. Every one of use was getting sick of him. I'm just sorry that it gave you that ugly shiner," AJ said.
"Thanks, Bone," Nick sighed. "I'm going to take a look around the city. I'll be back here around 5:30. Hopefully a fan will snatch me up and whisk me away. See ya'll later."
"Bye, Nick," they chorused.
"I've never seen either of them act like that," Howie commented.
"Yeah, well. I know how stress can get to you. It makes anyone go insane...even the most sensible person. We're all under a lot of stress...I'm surprised that none of us have gone under the deep end yet!" Brian said, with a hint of defeat in his voice.
"I've been there and back...twice, B-rok. And look how I am today! Perfectly fine. Cheer up, man! Oh, damn. I almost forgot! I really gotta go pee. Howie, what are you gonna do since Brian's gonna play some b-ball?" AJ asked, slightly bouncing up and down to get his mind off of relieving himself.
"Ah...I'll probably get online and write my sweetie, Joanna, a nice long email," Howie smiled blissfully.
"Oh. What am I gonna do?" AJ looked at Howie pitifully.
"Go shopping," Howie and Brian offered at the same time.
"What a great idea, man. I'm in need of a new hat," AJ said. "I'll be back sometime before the show. I gotta go now. I can't hold it in any longer!" AJ took off running to the restroom.
Howie and Brian looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, I'll see ya later man. I'm really dreading playing ball with Kevin. He's going to slaughter me!" Brian said as he left also.
Howie laughed and called out, "If you need me for cleaning up any blood or anything like that, I'll be in my room. Bye!"
*At The Same Time*
"Oh wow! Look at that house. Wouldn't you love to have a house like that? It looks like a castle!" Nichole exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah, isn't it lovely? I think it was built in the early 1800s," Dan commented. "Ya'll ready to go check out the city? Whoa...I'm picking up on your language. Never thought I'd be saying 'ya'll'."
Nichole laughed and glanced at Tracy. She had been quiet all morning. Nic decided that something drastic had happened last night since Tracy was playing the mute. She took her eyes off of her best friend and turned to Dan. "Yeah, I'm ready to see the city. I'm sure Tracy is too."
"Okay, one more thing before we leave the rural areas...I promised you that I'd show you some cathedrals. Well, since my favorite one is about a mile away, I thought I'd go ahead and show it to ya'll. Why there I go again!" Dan laughed. " I think maybe I rather like 'ya'll'."
Nic smiled as they drove a little way down the road and then looked at the massive cathedral that was towering over them. It was beyond beautiful...there were no words for the emotions coursing through her. The sheer grandeur of it made her want to cry with appreciation. The stained glass windows shimmered as the sun's shiny rays gently kissed them. The beautiful marble glistened brightly as the breeze blew with a hint of freshness in the air. Dan and Nic had stepped out of the car to get a closer look while Tracy stayed in and sulked. Nic couldn't describe the feeling she was picking up. She felt a warm, safe presence engulf her as she got closer to the church. Closing her eyes, she stood still as serenity poured over her.
"So, are you ready to go yet?" Dan asked, totally oblivious to Nichole's peace and tranquility. Sure he thought it was beautiful architecture, but that was it. Nic had a way of seeing the spiritual part of everything...but Dan did not.
"Uh, sure Dan. We don't want to miss out on that concert!" Nic broke out of the spell that had claimed her attention.
"Yeah, and we still gotta see the city! There's this cool shop that I want to show you. Oh, by the way, what's wrong with your friend? Why is her bloody blood boiling?" Dan raised a dark eyebrow.
"Honestly, I don't know. The only words she has uttered to me was 'yes' and 'no' this morning. She might be feeling a bit homesick...who knows? I've tried talking to her, but she just kinda ignores me. You would think that she'd be so excited since the BSB concert is later on this evening. She'll be okay though," Nic assured.
The pair walked back to the car, hopped in and left the church. Turning around, she looked at Tracy and frowned. "What's the matter with you?" she asked her friend.
"Nothing," Tracy muttered.
"What? What did we do to you?"
"Nothing! It's not about ya'll!"
"Well, what is it then?" Nic pressed.
Tracy sighed. "Last night I overheard, uh..., Brian Littrell talking to AJ," she confessed, looking a bit relieved to get it out.
"For real? What did they say?" Nic wasn't that surprised, since she heard the other members last night also.
"Brian hates us, the fans, and AJ was arguing with him. He loathes us Nic! I can't believe it! I thought he was the one that loved the fans the most! Oh, well. What do you expect from a superstar?" Tracy scoffed.
"Maybe he was joking," Nic offered.
"No, no he wasn't. He was serious."
"So, why should you care anyway?" Dan interrupted. "At least you still get to hear their music."
"Because the fans made them who they are today! Without us, they'd be nowhere! He could appreciate us a little bit more, you know?" Tracy yelled.
Tracy and Dan argued back and forth until they finally reached the city. They passed the Hyatt, the hotel they were staying at, and noticed all of the girls standing out front screaming. Nic and Tracy scanned the crowd, looking to see if the BSB has exited the hotel. No, they couldn't find them. They continued on their way, finally parked the car and got out. Stores and pubs littered the streets. Dan led them into a rather large record store called "Racks". Nic looked around appreciatively. The store wasn't crowded at all. In fact, there was only 5 other people in the store besides them. Tracy headed over to the BSB section since she heard that England carried some cds the US didn't have. Dan made his way over to the metal section and Nic found herself staring at some rare Bush cds. She picked one up, scanned the songlist and decided to get it. She looked up across the racks and saw that a tall guy, his face shadowed by a blue floppy hat, was giving her long glances. She couldn't really make out his face, but she could clearly see his bright blue eyes. He kept on glancing up at her and looking back down again. She smiled and felt a blush began to stain her cheeks.
"Hey Nichole! Check this out!" Dan interrupted her intent gazing. Nichole turned to him and opened her mouth to tell him to shut up, but she stopped as she saw the guy exit the store. Her heart sank as she realized that she might not see them again.
"What is it Dan?" she asked angrily.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" he stared at her incredulously.
She sighed, "Nothing," she looked at him expectantly. "What is it that you wanted me to see?"
"Well, take a look at this-"
*Later That Night*
"I can't believe we've got front row tickets!" Tracy jumped up and down excitedly.
"I thought you were mad at them," Nic commented with an excited smile on her face.
"Yeah, well. I thought I'd forgive Brian just this one night...and tomorrow night of course. Then I can go back to being mad at him."
"Such a fickle person!" Nichole tsk-tsked.
"Yeah, ain't I though?" Tracy cackled. "So, how does this outfit look?"
Nic watched Tracy model her clothes. "Fine...it looks great as a matter of fact!"
"Really? Ya think?" she twisted around to look in a mirror. The short black skirt and red shirt looked awesome on her.
"Yep! What about mine?" Nichole had on wide leg jeans that had cute hippie-like embroidery on the sides, a ribbed white tank, and her trusty brown Birkenstock sandals. The tank showed off her brown tan and her cute daisy tattoo on her back.
"Uh...Nic, we're not going to Woodstock! Why don't you wear your nice black pants and that shirt?" Tracy looked at her like she was insane.
"I want to be comfortable, Trace. Do you know how hot it's going to be in there?"
"Oh ok. Wear whatever you want to wear. But I'm warning you, you'd better not do your hair in braids!" she snickered.
Nic rolled her eyes and asked, "Are you almost ready? The concert starts in 2 hours. We need to get there early."
"Yep. I'm ready. This is going to be so much fun."
"yep, it sure is," Nic agreed wholeheartedly.
"Tell me why...ain't nothing but a heartache, tell me why...ain't nothing but a mistake, tell me why I never wanna hear you say, I want it that way..."
