"Hello?" Nick answered his phone.

"Hey Nick, It's Leslie." Her sweet voice said.

"Hey sis, What's up?" Nick asked her placing a finger in his free ear to drown out the noise.

"Well, I just wanted to see if you where coming tomorrow." She explained having a hard time hearing him over the music coming from his end.

"Sorry, I've got a lot going on. You know, backstreet stuff." He said.

"But it's Christmas and none of us have seen you in a long time. Aaron and Angle are gonna be really disappointed if you don't come." She tried to persuade him.

"Les, I'm sorry. It's nothing personal. Give everyone my love." He sounded a little annoyed.

"Alright, bye Nick. Merry Christmas." She said sadly and hung up.

Nick shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" AJ asked as Nick walked up.

"Leslie, wanted to know if I was coming for Christmas." Nick almost laughed.

"You aren't gonna go? Management gave us tomorrow off." Brian replied.

"Nah, I'm staying here. Gonna party it up with Jay." Nick told him slinging an arm around his tattooed friend.

"I thought you where going home to Rochelle and your mom." Howie gave AJ a disappointed look.

"I am, it's not that far of a drive. I'll run home tonight and have breakfast with them in the morning before coming back up here by tonight." AJ said taking another sip of his beer.

"Why are you coming back here tomorrow night? We don't have to be back for our show till late on the 26th." Brian did not understand his friends thinking.

"Jizzle and I have a big party planned tomorrow night. Got a bunch of ladies coming and everything." Nick grinned picking up his blue colored margarita.

"Well, I'm headed home right after I'm finished with this. Leigh and James are waiting on me." Howie said almost half finished with the single glass of wine he had ordered.

"Yeah, Baylee and my woman are waiting in Kentucky for me so I'm gonna head out. I got a flight to catch anyway." Brian told them all before finishing off his diet coke.

"You two are no fun." AJ rolled his eyes finishing off his third beer.

"Maybe you should cool it Jay. If you're planning on driving home you don't wanna be drunk." Howie said.

"Hey dad, since when did you step back in my life?" AJ sarcastically asked Howie.

"Jay, he's just looking out for you. Nick you should watch how much your throwing back too."

"Alright, alright, we'll stop." Nick rolled his eyes.

"Good, Later guys."

"Bye, Merry Christmas."

With that both Brian and Howie left the club and headed home to their families.

AJ and Nick stayed at the club a while longer.

Nick polished off a total of 5 margaritas while AJ drowned himself in a total of 7 beers. In fact AJ took another with him as he left. He figured it was a good hour and half drive to his moms and he didn't wanna get thirsty.

They where both pretty plastered by the time they chose to leave.

They walked out to their rental cars as the club began to close down.

"Well, I'll see ya later Chaos." AJ smiled.

"Yeah, Nerry Christmas." Nick slurred.

"It's Merry Christmas and it's not for Christmas for another..." He paused to look at his watch, "Eight minuets."

"Yeah." Nick laughed.

They told each other good bye and got in their cars.

AJ headed off toward his mother's house sipping on his beer as he drove.

Nick on the other hand went back to the hotel.

He was so wound up on liquor that he wasn't tired a bit.

He stayed up for another hour or two drinking even more drinks from the mini fridge until he finally passed out.

 

The next morning around nine o'clock Nick's phone began to ring.

His eyes fluttered open.

"Ah shit!" He cursed as the strong feeling of a hang over hit him like a ton of bright red bricks. It was kind of ironic because he felt like he had been hit by bricks.

His head was pounding; his ears where ringing; and his hole body ached. His stomach was doing flip flops too.

The blaring from his phone continued to play. It was making his head hurt worse.

In a desperate attempt to make it stop he picked up the phone and looked at it briefly.

"AJ?" He questioned seeing his face on the screen.

Nick shrugged and answered it, "Hey, can you call back later. I'm really hung over."

There was no response.

"Hello? Jay?" He questioned.

Still nothing.

Nick assuming AJ had butt dialed him hung up.

He placed the phone back on the side table and closed his eyes again.

Just as he got semi-comfortable his phone began to ring again.

Nick grabbed it and saw it was his friend again. He rolled his eyes and answered but his ear was filled with the sound of static.

"Nick? Hello? Can you hear me?" AJ's voice almost couldn't be heard over the static.

"AJ?" Nick questioned.

"Nick? Hello?" He obviously could not hear him.

"Jay, it's a bad connection. Just call me later." Nick told him and hung up.

Once again he set the phone down and closed his eyes to try and sleep off his hang over.

A few moments later his cell phone rang for a third time.

"Fucking hell AJ!" Nick yelled grabbing the phone and sitting up.

With one swift movement he threw it a crossed the room onto a couch.

Nick started to lay back down but suddenly realized he had sat up too fast and now needed to go worship the porcelain god.

Nick shot off as fast as he could toward the bathroom as he felt the burning vomit rising. He managed to make it just in the nick of time. Get it? NICK of time! Yeah, not very funny.

Anyways, after he had managed to chuck up everything he was surprised to find he felt a little better.

He washed out his mouth, flushed the toilet and headed back toward his bed.

As he walked out of the hotel bathroom his eyes instantly fell on a man who was standing in the middle of the room.

Not expecting him he stumbled backward yelling out in a bit of fear.

Once he realized who the man was he took a few deep breaths and said, "Damn Jay, you scared the shit out of me. How the hell did you get in here anyway?"

AJ, holding a bottle of beer, took a single step toward him and said, "You have to change your ways or you're going to die alone."

"Excuse me?" Nick questioned taking a few steps toward him.

"It's too late for me Nick. It's not too late for you."

Nick opened his mouth to say something but his cell phone ringing cut him off. He took a good look at AJ and then walked away toward the couch where his phone now was.

It was Brian.

"Hello?" Nick answered assuming he was calling to check in on him.

"Hey Nick, I just called to see how you are." Brian said. Something about his voice sounded off.

"I'm fine Rok. I'm just talking to AJ." Nick shook his head.

"AJ? Nick, what are you talking about?" Brian asked sounding even more strange then before.

"What do you mean what am I talking about. I'm talk to..." Nick paused as he turned to look at AJ. "...AJ." He said awkwardly finding that AJ was no longer their.

He searched the room with his eyes.

"Nick, you haven't heard?" Brian questioned.

"Heard what?" Nick asked walking into the bathroom but finding that he was not there.

"He's dead Nick. He wrecked on the way home last night. It's all over the TV." Brian's voice softly and sadly said.

Nick quickly grabbed his TV remote and turned it on to a local news station. His eyes widened as he saw AJ's car wrapped around a telephone pole and police cars with their blinking lights. AJ's face was in the bottom corner with his year of birth and the current year beneath it.

"Nick? Did you hear me?" Brian's voice asked.

The cell phone slipped from Nick's hand and dropped to the floor.

Nick glanced down at his watch as he drove. He couldn't believe he was going to be late for his friend's viewing.

He had lost all track of time since the crazy dream he had about AJ and the terrible phone call he got from Brian.

Snow covered the ground and unlit Christmas lights hung on the houses he passed. It was a reminder that Christmas had just passed. Christmas would forever be a reminder of AJ's tragic death.

He wiped away the few tears that had fallen as AJ entered his mind.

He shook his head and focused on driving. He would be lucky if anyone was still their by the time he made it.

A few moments later he pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home. Only three cars remained in the parking lot.

He knew one of them to be AJ's mother's. He sighed as he shut the car off. It was a sigh mixed of relief, that he had made it, and sorrow, that he even had to be here.

Slowly he got out of the car and moved inside the building. He passed by a small office where two workers sat working. He looked at the names above the doors and saw the one that instantly froze his heart, Alexander McLean.

He took a deep breath and slowly walked in the parlor. At the front of the room was a black casket with bright red velveteen interior. He could see the body inside but not well enough to make out details.

"Oh Nick, I was afraid you weren't coming." Denies said walking toward him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. The last few days have been a bit of a blur." He tried to explain as she hugged him.

He could tell she had been crying... a lot.

"They are getting ready to close for tonight. I'm gonna run to the bathroom and let you have a moment alone." She told him and moved passed him out of the room.

The smell of flowers filled the air. The room was filled with them. Every table and each empty space had a large bunch of flowers arranged in various patterns.

Nick slowly moved forward toward the casket. As he did AJ's face came into view.

It was obvious they had done a lot of work on him. His make up was thinker then Nick had ever seen it.

At first Nick forced back the tears but soon his strength diminished and they began to fall.

He slowly reached out and touched AJ hand. It was limp and ice cold to the touch. More tears fell from his eyes.

"God, I can't believe they put me in a suite. I hate suites." AJ's voice said from behind him.

Nick quickly turned and yelled as he came face to face with AJ.

He stumbled backward bumping into the casket and turned around to look in it. AJ's body still laid there.

Nick yelled again as he turned back around to look at AJ who was standing there, wearing the same clothes as the night of the party, holding a beer.

"What the fuck!" Nick yelled looking terrified.

"Can you stop yelling? It's really annoying." AJ said.

"No, no, I 've gotta be dreaming or or... something." He said closing his eyes and pinching his arm.

"You aren't dreaming." AJ said.

"Well, you sure as fuck can't be real!" Nick shouted.

"Knock that off would you?" AJ rolled his eyes.

"Me? You're the one standing in front of me and laying in this casket behind me all at the same time." Nick still looked scared.

"That's not me. It's just my body. My shell." AJ told him walking past through him and looking down at himself laying there.

"H- H- how in the hell did you do that?" Nick asked horrified.

"What? Walk through you?" He asked turning and looking at him.

Nick could only nod.

"Pretty cool huh? All ghost can do it. Here, check this out." He said and snapped his fingers.

When he did he suddenly disappeared.

Nick blinked his eyes and looked around him. As he turned he saw AJ sitting in a chair behind him.

Nick rubbed his eyes and blinked a little more.

"You aren't dreaming. I'm really a ghost." AJ said standing up and walking toward him.

"B- b-" Nick couldn't say it.

"I know. I didn't think ghost where real either. He told me I couldn't move on until I completed my task." AJ rolled his eyes.

"He? Task?" Nick asked still lost.

"Yeah, ya know, I'm not really sure who he was. Some really shiny dude sitting on a big plush chair thing. I think it might have been Michael Jackson." AJ explained.

Nick just scratched his head awkwardly.

"As for the task part... well, I have to warn you."

"Warn me?" Nick questioned.

Suddenly AJ disappeared.

Nick looked around the room confused.

"Nick? Are you ok sweetie?" Denies asked walking into the room.

"I uh... yeah, no, uh... do you believe in ghost?" Nick asked her.

"Oh Nicky, I think you're exhausted. I know I am. I swear I've been hearing AJ's voice all night. Why do you go home and rest? I'll see you at the service tomorrow." She smiled.

Nick blinked his eyes a few times and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I... I'll see you tomorrow."

Everyone was now at the grave yard. They had just concluded the services. People began to move away from where the casket sat on the support poles over the deep hole.

Nick stood by himself at the casket looking at the carved headstone it sat in front of.

"Nick, Denies is having lunch at her house. We're gonna watch some of her old home movies of Jay. You wanna come?" Howie asked walking up behind Nick holding James.

"Uh, yeah, I just, need a minuet." Nick told him while trying to maintain his composure.

"Alright, see you there." Howie said then patted the top of AJ's casket before walking away.

Nick scanned over the words 'ALEXANDER MCLEAN' carved into the stone.

"I really wish they would have put AJ." AJ's voice said.

Nick jumped back and looked around.

"That never get's old." AJ laughed sitting up on top of his own casket holding the same bottle of beer.

"Would you get down? Someones..."

"What? Gonna see me?" He asked sliding off of it.

"Only you can see me dip shit." He laughed walking through Nick and sitting down in a metal folding chair that was draped in red velvitine.

"Only me?" Nick asked confused.

"Yep, I have to warn you to change. Therefor I get to spend the rest of eternity haunting you cause Lord knows your too thick headed to actually listen." AJ rolled his eyes and took a sip of the beer.

"Isn't drinking that shit what killed you in the first place?" Nick scolded.

"Yeah but... you can't die twice." AJ explained standing up.

"So... you keep saying your here to warn me to change. I don't get it. What am I supossed to change?" Nick asked.

"This." AJ said lifting his bottle of beer to show Nick.

"I'm supossed to change your beer?" Nick gave him a strange look.

AJ slapped his forehead, "You really are stupid arent you?"

"Hey!" Nick defended.

AJ laughed, "Well, since your too dumb to figure this out... I'm suposed to get you to realize that you have to stop drinking."

"Stop drinking? Why?" Nick asked folding his arms over his chest.

"Because you have a problem." AJ told him picking a rose off the flower arangmemt laying on his casket.

"Well I disagree so you can just move on to the after life pal." Nick said and turned to walk away but AJ appeard infront of him.

"This is my task Nicky. I can't move on until you change. Where I go all depends on how well I do." He said rolling his eyes at the last part.

"...and if I don't change?" Nick asked.

"Then I'm stuck here haunting your ass drinking this bottle of beer for... well the rest of your life... which isnt gonna be very long if you don't change!"

"I don't have a problem!" Nick yelled.

"I never said you did." Brian's voice came from behind him.

"Brian I uh..." Nick stuttered turning around.

"I just wanted to see if you were ok. I saw you standing here talking to yourself and got a little worried." Brian said.

"I'm not talking to myself I'm talking to AJ." Nick rolled his eyes and pointed to AJ who sat in a chair.

Brian gave him a consered look.

"I told you, he can't see me." AJ said standing up and walking infront of Brian. He then proceeded to pull his pants down and jump up and down.

Brian stood unphased.

"See?" AJ said turning back to Nick.

Nick moved so that he could see Brian, "I uh, you know, saying goodbye." Nick quickly made up a little shaken by AJ's actions.

"Oh, yeah well, Leighanne, Baylee and I are heading over to Denies' now. You wanna follow us over?" Brian asked.

"Yeah sure." Nick said.

Brian turned to walk away aftter patting the top of AJ's casket.

Nick turned to look at AJ but once again... he was gone.

A few hours later a few of AJ's close family and friends sat around the TV at Denies' watching home movies of AJ when he was younger. Some moments made them laugh while other made them cry.

"Oh gawd, no mom, please don't show them this!" Nick suddenly heard AJ's voice.

His eyes got large and he looked around the room.

He sat on the coffee table that had been pushed off the the side of the room holding a bottle of beer.

As the picture came on the screen it showed AJ at about age four running around the living room with a towel tied around his neck.

"Super Alex!" He yelled jumping up on the couch.

The people in the room laughed a little.

"Holly hell this is the most embarrassing thing ever!" AJ complained.

Nick stood up and walked toward the hall. He looked over at AJ and gave him a warning glare and motioned for him to follow.

AJ rolled his eyes but stood and followed him down the hall.

Nick opened the door to the closest room and walked in without even looking to see what it was.

AJ walked into the room and blew on the door. As he did it closed.

"What is this?" Nick asked looking around the room.

"My old bedroom." AJ explained jumping up and the bed.

"Would you get down?" Nick almost growled.

"You worse then Kevin." AJ complained dropping down on the bed.

"I am not!" Nick snapped.

"Yeah, you kinda are." AJ nodded.

"Look, would you just leave me alone already? I told you; I don't have a problem and I'm not gonna change." Nick folded his arms over his chest.

"I really didn't wanna have to do this Nick but I guess I have no choice." AJ said standing and walking toward him.

"Do what?" Nick ask nervous trying to back away from him.

"This." AJ said and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly Nick was seated in the middle of a giant music arena. The stage was full of instruments and a large jumbo screen was over the top of it.

The entire arena however was empty except for Nick.

"What the-" He questioned when suddenly AJ appeared next to him.

"What's going on?" Nick asked shifting in the seat to look at him.

"Nick, you're going to be visited by the spirits. One is of the past, one is of the present and the other will be over the future." AJ explained.

"Do I look like Scrooge to you?" Nick asked angry.

AJ ignored him and went on talking, "Now I get to choose what these spirits look like. I was gonna make them some hot girls in bikini's but that dude who I'm now thinking might be God said that would be inappropriate so I chose someone you could better relate to. I'm also hoping you'll listen to him." AJ rolled his eyes as he finished.

"Him? Him who?" Nick asked.

"Me." He heard a voice from the seat next to him.

He turned and came face to face with Kevin.

"Kevin? You're dead too?" Nick asked confused and worried.

"No, I'm really a spirit from your past. I just look like Kevin." He explained.

"Oh, well, whats going on?" Nick asked him.

"I'm here to show you your past in hope it will help Alexander complete his task."

"Look bub, not even my mom is allowed to call me that so just tell all the angles and your little spirit friend to cut it out." AJ snapped.

"You know, you really don't have to stay to watch this." Kevin told him.

"I know but I aint got anything better to do." He shrugged and popped his feet up on the chair in front of him.

Kevin shook his head. "Very well."

 

Kevin lifted his hand into the air and pointed at the screen.

 

Suddenly the screen lit up and a very young version on Nick was seen holding an infant on each hip.

 

"Where did you get this?" Nick asked.

 

"It's a vision Nicky. Shut up and watch." AJ told him.

 

So reluctantly Nick looked to the screen.

 

"But they don't want me. They want you." The young Nick said and the two infants cried in his arms.

 

"Get your ass back up stairs." His mom came on the screen. Her speech was heavily slurred and she held a bottle of beer.

 

"Mom, please, I don't know what to do." He begged her.

 

"Your dad and I have friends over, we do this every Friday. Now go before I make you sorry." She yelled making the infants cry more.

 

"Stop. I don't wanna watch this." Nick said looking away from the screen.

 

"It's the first time you were affected by alcohol." Kevin said.

 

"Well turn it off. I can't fucking hear them cry for her like that." Nick squeezed his eyes shut.

 

Kevin raised his hand and paused the screen.

 

"You were exposed to drinking from the start. You were set up to be an alcoholic." Kevin told him.

 

"So you're saying it's all my parents fault?" Nick asked.

 

"No, you see Nick, alcoholism can be genetic. If your mother is an alcoholic you have an increased risk. If your dad is too then your risk is even higher. You should have avoided it all together." Kevin made his first point.

 

"You didn't avoid it Nicky." AJ added.

 

"Well no shit." Nick crossed his arms over his chest.

 

"That brings me to the next clip." Kevin said and pointed his hand at the screen again.

 

The screen started to show a slightly older version of Nick. He was crowded around some friends in a garage.

 

"Dude, I scored some drinks from my dad." One of the boys said.

 

"Awesome man, pass me one." Came another and then the first boy passed him a can of beer.

 

A few of the others spoke up asking for one. Nick just sat watching.

 

"Come on Nicky boy, I know you want one too." Someone said giving him a can.

 

"I dunno, I've seen what this stuff does to my mom and..."

 

"That's if you drink too much." Someone cut him off.

 

"Yeah Nicky, one taste wont hurt." Someone laughed.

 

The young Nick thought for a moment then popped open the can and began to drink.

 

Kevin raised his hand and stopped the screen, "This was your first taste of alcohol."

 

"Yeah, I actually remember it. What's your point?" He asked defensive.

 

"Alcohol is an addictive substance. All it takes is one taste to get hooked." Kevin explained.

 

"I'm not hooked!" Nick yelled.

 

"For fuck sake Nickolas, stop being so hard headed!" AJ yelled back.

 

"Both of you stop." Kevin butted in.

 

They both got quiet.

 

"My point here is that you created the problem. You chose to open that can and drink. Your friends might have encouraged you but they didn't force you." Kevin explained.

 

Nick said nothing.

 

"Next clip." AJ said then took a sip of beer from his bottle.

 

Kevin once again pointed to the screen and it flipped to another clip of Nick a little older then before.

 

"Look that's me!" AJ declared seeing himself.

 

"Did you get it?" The younger Nick asked the younger AJ.

 

"I always come threw. Just remember, you didn't get it from me." The young AJ said and handed him a brown paper sack.

 

"Thanks." Nick said taking it from him.

 

"What's this?" Nick asked Kevin watching the image fast forward.

 

"This is the first time you got drunk." Kevin explained as the picture began to show a time laps of Nick and a few guys and girls drinking. The time laps covered almost two hours. When it Kevin finally stopped the image young Nick was too drunk to stand but yet still drinking.

 

"Do you remember this Nick?" Kevin asked.

 

"Not at all." Nick replied.

 

"How about this last clip?" Kevin asked and pointed to the screen.

 

A new clip came on the screen of Nick in the hospital getting his stomach pumped.

 

"Yeah, how could I forget?" Nick said not wanting to look at the screen.

 

"This was the morning after. BJ found you passed out in the garage. Your parents couldn't wake you and they had to have you rushed to the hospital to get your stomach pumped. You had alcohol poisoning." Kevin explained.

 

"Didn't stick did it?" AJ asked.

 

Nick said nothing.

 

"Yeah, thought so." Kevin said.

 

Suddenly Nick heard a distant voice calling out his name.

 

AJ snapped his fingers and everything went black.

 

"Nicky!" Nick heard Brian's voice.

"I get it ok?" Nick said as his eyes fluttered.

"Get what?" Brian was sitting on AJ's old bed where Nick was laying. He couldn't remember laying down.

Nick looked around him. "Where'd they go?" He asked confused.

"Where did who go? Nick, are you ok?" Brian asked looking worried.

Nick opened his mouth but quickly closed it.

"Nicky, you need to sleep and you can't do it here. If Denies see's you in here she'll loose it." Brian warned helping Nick sit up.

"I... yeah... maybe I just need sleep. It's been kinda hard to sleep with AJ fuckin' haunting me." Nick wasn't thinking as he spoke.

"Haunting you? Nick, you're starting to scare me." Brian said.

"Uh..." Nick remembered AJ from before saying only Nick could see him. "Ya know, the suddenness and just, the footage." He nodded.

"Oh buddy. I know what you mean. I think management is gonna work on getting us some grief counseling." Brian rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

Nick took a deep breath and stood. The video's spirit Kevin had showed him and what he said made sense. Nick wasn't saying he had a problem by far but he probably should have stayed away from alcohol. It couldn't have hurt.

"Come on bub. Go home and sleep. I don't want anyone else seeing you in here." Brian patted his back.

Nick took one last look around the room and nodded. "Yeah, sorry."

"It's ok." Brian assured him and swallowed hard.

Nick told everyone goodbye. He hugged both Rochelle and Denies who made him promise to keep in touch.

Nick agreed and got in his car. Reluctantly he drove home. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep but he needed to try.

He made him it home not long later and laid down in his bed. Now if AJ showed up in his bed he was gonna be pissed.

The clips from before played over and over as he tossed and turned trying to sleep. Finally pure exhaustion took over and he slipped into a restless sleep.