Nick walks sulkily back to his room, feeling like a complete idiot. He decides to go to AJ’s room instead, he needs a friend to talk to. Opening the door, he finds all four guys lounging around doing whatever. Howie’s on the phone, Kevin and AJ are watching TV, and Brian is clumsily strumming a guitar.
“Backstreet meeting I wasn’t invited to?” he asks, falling into a chair.
“Nah, we just kinda got bored. Jade is sleeping off the drugs, and you were downstairs with Ali,” Brian says, looking up at him.
“The drugs?” Nick looks confused.
“Long story,” Brian shrugs. “Anyway, something on your mind, Frack?”
“I think I just got in ANOTHER fight with Ali. I swear, every time I see her I always end up yelling at her. Except, this time it was the other way around.”
“What happened?” Kevin pipes up.
“This guy asked her on a date, and I kinda threatened him.”
“Why would you do that? It’s no business of yours who she goes out with, she ain’t yours,” Kevin says, and Nick glares at him.
“Yeah, well I got jealous. I can’t see her with anyone else but me, so I scared him away. When she finally realised what I was doing she got pissed. I seriously didn’t mean to make her mad, I was trying to make up with her!”
“Nick, she’s crazy about ya,” AJ says. “And everyone knows you love her too, so what I recommend you do is find her, take her to your room and SHOW her how much you still love her.”
“It’s not that easy! I mean, she’s all ready to date other guys! She’s leaving for New York in less than a week!”
“Who cares Nick? You… aren’t… together… anymore,” Kevin explains slowly. “We already got one member who can’t keep his head straight since his girl’s on tour, we don’t need another.”
“Kevin, will you please butt out of this! If anything is going to make him lose his head it’s the fact that he’s NOT with her, so will you please stop reminding him! And so what about me?! I love Jade, she’s my girlfriend for God’s sake. Can’t you be happy for me?” Brian asks, his face hardened.
“Look, I’m sorry. I’ll lay off, but I swear if management finds out about them being with you guys, we are in SERIOUS trouble. You know how impossible it is for us to date someone working for us.”
“How could they possibly find out?” Nick asks.
“I don’t know, but you gotta keep it quiet.”
“We will,” Brian answers.
“You will,” Kevin finishes, and Nick frowns sadly.
“Ugh,” I groan and pull the sheet up over my head. I feel like hell. No, scrap that. I feel worse. There are no words bad enough to describe how I feel. My head is pounding away, I feel sick, my lip feels like it belongs to somebody else and my nose is throbbing. I feel seriously sick. I try to convince myself that it’ll pass but I end up running to the bathroom and kneeling over the toilet bowl. I hear the room door close just as I lean back from throwing up.
“Jade?” Brian comes into the bathroom and wrinkles his nose up when he sees me worshipping the toilet.
He comes to sit behind me and holds my hair back with one hand while rubbing my back with the other. A few minutes later, there’s nothing left in my system and I shakily stand up to splash my face with cold water and clean my teeth. Brian stands behind me the whole time – ready to catch me if I should suddenly decide to add passing out to my list of ailments. He had held my hair back. I smile to myself in the mirror. When I had been a teenager and in the throes of shitty love and all the usual teenage crap, my mom had told me that a guy was Mr Right if he would hold your hair back while you threw up. Nothing I don’t already know but it’s nice to hear my mom’s voice in my head again. I have to call her.
“You feelin’ better now honey?” Brian’s voice brings me back to the present and I nod.
“Yeah. Thanks,” I head towards the bed and curl myself up around a pillow. Brian sits by my side, stroking my hair gently.
“Do you want some of those pills we got yesterday?”
“Nuh uh. I bet that was why I got sick.”
“Oh ok. How’s your face?”
“How you’d expect.”
“That bad?”
“Worse.” He chuckles and I close my eyes. “Could I be alone?” I ask him. I am really not great at accepting company when I feel like crap.
“Uh, sure,” he sounds surprised and stands up. “I’ll go bug somebody else.”
Sliding my sunglasses up on my head, I walk through the doors of the hotel with several shopping bags. I had decided to take my mind off the ultimatum I had given Nick by maxing out my credit cards. It hadn’t worked but at least I am now the proud owner of some of Boston’s finest dresses.
“Alicia!” yells a familiar voice. I turn to see Nick leap out of a chair and rush over to me. He’d obviously been waiting for me to come back. He rushes up to me and turns me around with both arms.
“Nick, I’m not in the mood to fight with you, because I know that’s what this will lead to.”
“No, Ali you gotta talk to me.”
I yank my arm away and shake my head. “No, I don’t.”
“Well, if it makes any difference I do need you,” he states, reminding me of a few days ago. I shake my head again and continue towards the room. Again, he chases after me. “No. See, it wasn’t supposed to go like. You were supposed to stop, and kiss me, and tell me you need me too.”
“What if I don’t?”
He stands there, his face gone totally pale. He lowers his head and rubs the back of his neck. I immediately regret saying that; the look on his face makes my heart sink.
“Oh Nick, please. You know that’s not true. I do need you, more than anything,” I wrap my arms around him, and pull him into a hug. “Let’s go up to my room, okay.”
He nods, and eagerly pulls my hand toward my room. When we get there I shut, and just for good measure, lock the door. I turn to him, waiting for him to continue.
“I’m sorry, for scaring that guy away.”
“I’m actually glad you did.”
“Ali, I don’t know why this is so hard. Probably because I don’t want to screw anything else up but…”
he goes to sit on the bed and I sit on his lap.
Caressing his cheek with my hands, I interrupt him. “Nick, you didn’t screw anything up in the first place. If I would have just told you-”
“But I should have been there for you! I should have understood, like I do now.”
“You’re here for me now and that’s all that matters. But you know what?” He looks at me questioningly. “You WERE my first.”
“Okay, now you’re just playing games with me.”
“Hear me out. Sure I’ve had sex with lots of guys but-”
“Okay, see that’s not helping,” he pouts, and I kiss his nose.
“Just listen to me! But I’d NEVER made love to any one of them until you came along. And you completely changed me. I thought you showed me everything there is to know about love, but apparently I have a lot to learn.”
He smiles and kisses me passionately. “Oh you do, baby. And I plan to teach you everything I know,” he mumbles against my lips as he unbuttons my shirt.