~Chapter Eight~

As the world turns the days of our lives go by


The Drama chapter


~By (Just) Marina~








Nick stood there in awe. What was waiting for him on the other side of the door wasn’t what he was expecting at all. The room was completely dark and cold, which sent a shiver down his spine.



“Okay, you just contradicted yourself.” Nick walked into the room trying to avoid the uncomfortable hunch he had just gotten and still not getting used to the darkness surrounding him. “Didn’t you say before that I had seen something? I can’t see a thing.”



Writer: Well, you saw the darkness. Just keep walking and stop talking to me.



*Bump* “Ouch! I just slammed my face into the wall. Why is there a wall in here?”



Writer: Watch your step.



“Ha ha” he wanted to roll his eyes at the writer but his whole face was aching. “Where the hell am I anyway? This doesn’t look like the spaceship anymore. And where are the guys?”



Just as he stopped talking he heard someone crying in the room. It sounded like a muffled sob, a familiar one.



“AJ? Is that you?”



“Nick why did it take you so long to get the medicine?” AJ’s voice came from somewhere in the room.



“Medicine? You mean, you wanted me to get some medicine from the cabinet in the bathroom?”



“What are you talking about? Bathroom?” AJ turned on the lamp that was on the table to his right. The dim light allowed Nick to see him sitting on a couch, just in front of him. The younger man turned around and realized that the door he had just crossed wasn’t the bathroom door but the main door. He noticed also that he was completely wet and decided to take off his raincoat that was soaked with water.



“Why am I not surprised?” He said to the ceiling noticing that he was holding a paper bag in his right hand. “Is this what you wanted?” he asked AJ opening the bag and discovering it had some kind of medicine bottle inside.



“It’s too late, bro.” AJ was crying again and shaking his head. That’s when it hit Nick. It was too late.



“Too late for what? And where are the guys? Don’t you dare kill one of my brothers.” He yelled to the ceiling.



“They are with her.” AJ said looking at Nick like he had grown another head. “You don’t want to go there bro. Howie is… this is too much for him.”



Ignoring AJ’s words, Nick ran to up the stairs to one of the bedrooms and found the other guys in there. A girl was lying in a bed. She was really beautiful but extremely pale and it looked like she wasn’t breathing. Howie was crying hugging her with Brian and Kevin standing at his side. After a moment Kevin looked up noticing Nick at the door and walked directly to him



“What took you so long?”



“There was an accident in the road… I think.” he made a pause while tapping a finger on his chin. His memory was playing tricks on him. “Yes, there was an accident, now I remember it. I had to make a detour. The streets are flooded and everything is total chaos due to the storm.”



A boom of thunder roared and a bolt of lightning smashed down from the sky, illuminating the room.



“Nice touch.” Nick grinned looking to the ceiling again.



Writer: Thanks.



Kevin hugged Nick and started to cry on his shoulder.



“I’m sure that’s why the paramedics haven’t arrived yet” Kevin said between sobs.



“I guess.” Nick was looking at the girl from over Kevin’s shoulder trying to remember where he had seen her before. Suddenly realization hit him.



“Heidi!” he exclaimed. “She’s one of the girls from the cabin, right? How did she get in here again?”



“Do you have a fever?” Kevin put a hand on Nick’s forehead. “She is Howie’s girlfriend. They have lived together for a couple of months already.”



“No they haven’t.”



“Yes, Nick they have.” Kevin replied with his hand still on his baby brother’s forehead. Nick fought to release himself from Kevin’s grip and when he finally did it he looked around recognizing the place where they were. It was Howie’s house in Florida.



“Okay what kind of story is this one?” he asked walking to the bed. Kevin was already grabbing a thermometer from the bedside table. “Put that away Kevin. I’m not sick. I think I know what’s happening. Is this a dramatic story?”



Everybody was staring at him with worried looks. Everybody except Howie, who was still crying and holding the girl’s hand in his.



Writer: Nick, shut up and go on with the story.



Now everybody was looking at the ceiling with frightened looks on their faces.



“So we are in a drama now? Fantastic.” Nick rolled his eyes and kneeled down in front of Howie. “Howie, bro, stop crying. She is not your girlfriend.”



“Nick!” Brian scolded him. “How can you say something like that? Don’t you see that D is suffering?”



“Come on guys, don’t you remember?” Nick insisted.



“Stop it Nick. This is not time for one of your jokes.”



“It’s not a joke. That girl isn’t Howie’s girlfriend. You have to remember. This is the writer’s work. Don’t you see that someone is playing with our minds?”



Writer: Why does one of you always give me trouble? It’s not like I’m being mean to you. I’m killing Howie’s girlfriend not Leighanne or Kristin or someone that already exists. I’m even creating some new girlfriend to do it.



“Hey!” Brian pointed to the ceiling. “I remember you!”



“Me too.” Kevin said in an annoyed tone. “So what the heck is happening now?”



Writer: Okay blondie, you win. I hope you are happy with what you just did. But let me warn you, you are so not going to like what’s coming next and you will have no one to blame but yourself. You will wish I had killed Howie’s girlfriend instead.



Nick was about to say something but he didn’t have the chance.



“Guys why was I crying outside?” AJ came running into the room just to be received by a big hug from Kevin.



“I love you man and I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.” Kevin was bawling.



“Kev, man, I love you too but you are wetting my shirt.”



“But I’m proud of you AJ.”



“Is this your idea of drama?” Nick asked to the ceiling smiling. “Kevin cries every day. And I really don’t want you playing with our minds and making us say the things that you want, so stop doing it right now, thank you very much.”



“Dude, who is the chick?” AJ asked “Is she dead?”



“It’s Howie’s girlfriend…. well, not really”



“Poor girl. Damn Kevin let go off me. I can’t breath.” Kevin stopped hugging AJ but he kept one hand on his younger brother’s neck. He was still crying and giving AJ one of his ‘I’m so proud of you’ looks. AJ shook his head. “So why is the girl dead?” he asked trying to ignore Kevin.



“I have no idea. Is there a fatal illness that can get cured by this medicine?” Nick took the bottle out of the paper bag and showed it to his brothers. “Who sends someone to buy medicine when someone else is dying by the way?”



“We called 911” Howie said.



“Oh right!” Nick put the bottle back into the bag and placed it on the table behind him.



“Okay so this is the drama chapter?” Brian asked still confused by what had just happened.



“Yes, but it seems like it’s going nowhere now.” Nick replied.



“Then why do I feel the sudden urge to cry?”



“You always cry Kevin.” AJ made Kevin release him. “By the way, you are already crying man.”



“No, I’m feeling it too.” Brian said approaching AJ and Kevin. Nick and Howie followed him. “I really need to tell you guys that I love you and I will always remember you.”



“Are you going anywhere, Brian?” Nick asked already shedding a tear.



“We are breaking up.” Brian said aloud what they all were thinking. Tears were running down his face.



“No! I mean, yes, we are… but why?” Nick looked at the guys, one by one, in search of the answer that he already knew.



“I don’t want to break up” Howie started to cry again.



“It’s time for us to do it guys.” Brian patted Howie on the back comfortingly. “We had already agreed that the time had come.”



“I’m gonna miss you guys.” Nick bit his bottom lip trying to control himself. “You are the best thing that happened to me. I mean, you know my family… if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have known what a really family was. I never counted on my parents. You guys were my parents. Kevin, you were always there for me and ….” he chocked on the words and couldn’t finish. Kevin was rubbing his back trying to calm him.



“It’s okay little man. I love you to Nick. I love you all, guys. You are my little brothers. And…and I need to tell you something. I want to apologize for all the times I wasn’t the big brother you needed. I know I have been an ass sometimes but you have to know that I always cared about you guys.”



“Of course we know it Kev.” AJ’s voice was cracking and he was about to cry. “I mean, sometimes I have been an idiot too, telling you to mind your own business when in reality I did like the way you got in my business. It showed me that you cared and it’s good to know someone cares about you the way you do.”



“Yes.” Nick was able to speak again. “It’s horrible to think that no one loves you, that no one cares about you.”



“We do care about you Nick.” AJ hugged him. “We are brothers. I know I don’t always say this but I want to say it now. I love you guys. Without you, I don’t even want to think where I would be.”



“Well, I know where I would be without you.” Nick kept wiping his tears with his sleeve. “I would be lost. Because you are the best thing in my life…”



“Nicky”



“No, let me finish. For the past 10 years I’ve had the best family that anyone… What AJ?”



“12 years Nick, 12 years.”



“Oh right. For the past 12 years I’ve had the best family that anyone could ask for. You have been my fathers, my brothers, my mentors, my everything. You have taught me how to value life and I have a little bit of each of you in my blood.”



When Nick ended his speech the other guys were looking at the ceiling.



“What?” Nick asked.



“Nothing bro.” Brian said after a couple of minutes. “That was beautiful. It was really nice of you to say something like that. I want to thank you too, all of you guys. Part of me knows this is the right thing to do, that we should part our ways, but I can’t stop thinking that my life will be incomplete without you.”



“Guys, are we sure about this?” Howie asked. “I know we have agreed to do it, but I don’t see me keeping on with my life without you. You have always been there for me, especially you.” he said looking to AJ. “Yes, especially you Jay, you have always been my brother, you have always been family to me, always since day one when we met at the orphanage….what?!” Howie looked at the ceiling. “Okay that’s it. I’m not an orphan. What orphanage?”



Writer: Sorry, I just got carried away by the moment.



“Well your moment sucked.” Brian was now the one showing his annoyance. “And what’s with the whole quote from NON? You have no right to use it. Those words came from Nick’s heart and I don’t want you making fun of them in your dumb story. Those words are too important for me.”



“Thanks bro.” Nick smiled.



“Your welcome.” Brian smiled at Nick but the next second he was yelling at the ceiling again. “And your story is not even believable. We’re breaking up? No way! That will never happen.”



Writer: Oh come on. You have to accept that you looked so cute hugging each other and saying all those things. Some of them really came from you. And I wasn’t making fun of Nick. Not this time.”



“Well the breaking up part surely didn’t come from us.”



“Of course not” Kevin said. “We are not breaking up.”



“Never.” Nick added. “You think we would give that satisfaction to the haters. No way Jose.”



Writer: But I need something really sad and that scene with the dead girl didn’t work the way I expected.



“By the way.” Nick whispered to Brian. “Am I the only one who feels weird still having that dead chick in the same room?”



“Don’t say chick to refer to a dead girl Nick. It’s disrespectful.”



“She doesn’t even exist Brian. Oh look, she already disappeared.” Nick pointed to the bed.



Kevin clapped his hands together. “Stop discussing guys. We need to solve this situation.”



“Can’t we just say that this was just another one of the writer’s bad ideas and go to the next chapter already?” AJ suggested.



“I don’t know if I want to do that.”



“Do you think it could be worse than this Nick?”



“Have you ever read BSB fanfic Brian?”



“Have you?” Brian asked tongue in cheek.



“Well I have checked some things here and there” Nick’s face blushed red all over. “It’s not like I do it all the time. I was really bored one night and…You know what” his voice got stronger. “I won’t explain my reading habits to you guys, the thing is that we could end in something worse, like a vampire story or in angst or…”



“Slash?” AJ interrupted him.



“The one where we all are gay and in love with each other? No way!” Brian was shaking his head frantically.



“Don’t worry we already had that one, I don’t think the writer will repeat genres.” Kevin said without thinking and not even looking at the others, his head down, still wiping his tears away.



“I knew it!” AJ yelled pointing to a ‘caught in the act’ Kevin who was looking back at him with his mouth hanging open.



Howie, Brian and AJ started to laugh while Nick blushed. Kevin, nevertheless, after some initial hesitation regained composure and walked to AJ taking him by the shirt.



“That never happened. Understood?” he barked through clenched teeth.



“But…”



“No! Don’t say a word Jay. It never happened. I don’t want to hear you mentioning it again or I will give the writer the sad scene required for this chapter.”



“What’s that supposed to mean?”



“It means that for the next chapter there would be only four backstreet boys.”



AJ gulped. “Jeez Train, you aren’t funny.”



“So?” Howie asked after a while still trying to control his laugh. Kevin had released AJ but there was still tension left in the room.



“So what?” Kevin grouched.



“So what’s happening now?” Nick intervened guessing what Howie meant to say. “Are we just staying here waiting for something to happen? Because I’m hungry and we could take advantage of the fact that we are in Howie’s house and eat something while waiting for the next genre. There has to be food here and for all we know in the next scene we could be in the middle of nowhere. Besides, it could take time for the writer to decide what to write next considering…”



Nick was still talking when the lights went out again and a strange noise made them jump.



“Or...” he kept going releasing a deep breath. “It could happen right now. Damn! I was really hungry. Won’t you ever give us a break?"

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Mersey will be back next Saturday with the horror/supernatural chapter. :O)