Here's Looking At You by mersey
Summary: these are collections of one shots that just doesnt seem to fit anywhere else and came to me at the randomness of times and I had to write them down. I'll have individual summaries for each chapter :)
Categories: Fanfiction > Backstreet Boys Characters: None
Genres: Action, Adventure, Angst, Drama, Horror, Humor, Suspense
Warnings: None
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 6 Completed: No Word count: 5816 Read: 10854 Published: 06/15/07 Updated: 10/02/07

1. Best & Worst by mersey

2. The Dance by mersey

3. Break My Fall by mersey

4. Finding Baby Bear by mersey

5. Famous Last Words by mersey

6. I Swear It's Not Me! by mersey

Best & Worst by mersey
Author's Notes:
Set during Millennium. Nick roomed with AJ and took time to reflect.
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

 

“I still can’t believe it,” AJ told you, in a whisper that you almost didn’t catch as you were caught in the middle of awake and asleep.

 

The hotel room was almost silent, the soft drumming of the air-conditioner lulling you slowly to sleep. It was darker than usual that night but this didn’t surprise you because you did overhear Kevin muttering something about the weather and heavy downpour as the five of you made your way up to your suites earlier that day. You liked the dark (when there’s someone rooming with you) and you had been staring at it all night until your heavy eyelids started to droop and your heartbeat began to slowdown as you succumbed to sleep.

 

Of course AJ had to pull you back from the realm of dreams when you finally almost found solace in it.

 

But you didn’t really mind this time, because like him, you too, still couldn’t put your head around it.

 

“Me too,” you yawned. “I guess our hard work paid off huh?”

 

“Sure did,” AJ said, and even in the dark, you could tell that he was practically beaming, and it was contagious.

 

“And here we thought it was a big mistake to chose a song that doesn’t make much sense as our first single!” you laughed.

 

That night, you basked in the success and joy of what Millennium had done to your life and the band. It was euphoria of a whole new level and no one could take it away from you. Not even that argument you had with your parents over the phone earlier that day, before you found out just how successful the album’s first day sales had been. Those hurtful words they threw at you as if you were a stranger and not their son.

 

You knew AJ was doing the same thing too. Not even an estranged father’s phone call suddenly desiring to meet the son he had abandoned since childhood was going to break his spirit. Dad just wanted to ride on son’s success, you knew this, AJ knew this, everyone who heard of the phone call knew this, but no one said a damn thing, not even AJ.

 

And that was okay for you, at least for now, because you chose to be bathed in the best of times and not worry about the worst; and seeing how relaxed AJ was next to you right then, you knew your friend (brother), wanted the same things too, and that, sadly, made it all okay.

The Dance by mersey
Author's Notes:
Howie watches the dance between Kevin and Nick. No seriously, it's not slash, lol.
He heard their voices first before he saw them

He heard their voices first before he saw them. It was a little muffled at first, Howie couldn’t make out what was being said, but as their footfalls neared the room, the voices became clearer even though it was still soft and hushed, as if the conversation was never meant for anyone else but them. That didn’t stop Howie from listening though, all he had to do was be stealth about it.

 

“It’s not that I hate it Nick…”

“Then what?”

“It’s just…”

 

The doorknob twisted and in came Kevin, with Nick following closely at his heels. Their voices were strained, as if both were nearing the end of their patience with each other, but their body language told a different story. Nick, who had gained all two inches extra and ultimately outgrew all his Backstreet brothers, was holding the door open as Kevin made his way through and headed straight to the catering table.

 

It didn’t surprise Howie that Nick followed right behind and went straight for the coffee maker.

 

“I don’t think it’s safe for you.”

 

Howie couldn’t help looking over his shoulder. Kevin had piled a paper plate with bite sized chicken mayo sandwich and then grabbed a handful of nachos and crunching them in his fist, set them aside at a corner of the plate before dumping a generous amount of salsa sauce on it.

 

“It’s not like I’m jumping off a building here man.”

 

Kevin then proceeded to pass the plate of food over to Nick, who took it without question and then as if in return, passed a cup of black coffee to the older man. Nick muttered his thanks, Kevin nodded his head and they both turned at the same time and met Howie’s gaze.

 

“Hey D!” Nick grinned.

 

“Hey.”

 

It always amused Howie how well Nick and Kevin move around each other without really having to say anything at all. Like now for instance, Nick didn’t have to ask Kevin to move, Kevin just knew, and made way for Nick to walk pass him and straight to where Howie was sitting, and then Kevin would follow behind, like a constant shadow.

 

They sat on the sofa facing him and Nick placed the plate on the coffee table in front of them and grabbed a sandwich and passed it to Kevin, who took it without question and took his first bite.

 

“Seen the other two kids D?” Kevin asked.

 

“Nope, just you guys.” 

 

Nick tore two packets of sugar and passed it to Kevin and then tore three packets of sugar before dumping it into his own cup of coffee.

 

“Guess we’re early then,” Kevin said and they fell into a long silence where Howie pretended he was still reading the papers while Kevin and Nick silently finish off their snack. People always assume chaos and noise follow wherever Nick goes, but the truth is, Nick adapts to the company that he keeps. If Brian or AJ were here instead of Kevin, Howie had expected a little bit of noise and a lot of banters and moving around, but with Kevin, Howie knew to expect a very laidback Nick.

 

It wasn’t because Nick was afraid of the man, in fact, Howie believed Nick was the bravest among them when it came to dealing with Kevin. Perhaps years of being the subject of Kevin’s wrath had finally made Nick immune to it. Kevin could be on one of his worst days and Nick would barge right in the middle of it and simply said, ‘you need to cool the fuck down Kev’ and that would be the end of it. It worked both ways too. When Nick was being an asshole, it’d be Kevin’s words that would slap him back to reality.

 

Once the snacks were done, Kevin started rummaging through the small heap of magazines on the table before finally settling on TIMES and passing over the National Geographic to Nick. It didn’t take long before the two of them settled back in their seats and were lost in the pages of the magazines in front of them.

 

It was a dance Howie was familiar with. His sister used to tell him that all five of them have it in them; that it was something only shared by them and would go unnoticed if they didn’t take the time to sit back and look. He used to think Pollyanna was just being a girl, always looking too hard and interpreting things that didn’t need too much to understand.

 

But Howie was sitting back, he wasn’t thinking too hard, he wasn’t even trying to interpret anything, but he saw it all the same. It made him want to stand up and give a great big hug to the two men sitting in front of him right then, and would give the same to the other two when they arrived later, but he didn’t, because Howie may not be a lot of things (yes, he is that humble) but smart, he definitely was, and he wasn’t going to be the brunt of Nick’s teasing all day because he decided a group hug was in order.

 

So he said this instead: “So, which one is the better detective? Sherlock Holmes or Nick Carter?”

 

Kevin turned another page of the magazine and said without a hitch, “Sherlock Holmes of course, everyone knows him.”

 

Nick looked up from under his magazine and rolled his eyes. “But Nick Carter is the longest running Detective character in American history and besides, just because everyone knows who Sherlock Holmes is doesn’t mean he’s the best detective…”

 

Howie sensed another dance coming up, so he sat back, relaxed, and watched.

 

 

Break My Fall by mersey
Author's Notes:
another ficlet in Kevin's POV. Set towards the ending of Black & Blue.

Break My Fall

Mayday, Mayday.

He was reading the morning’s paper when Howie came to him. Well, if staring at the same article and not understanding a word of what it said, never mind if they were in English, counted as ‘reading’, that was what he was doing when Howie came to him.

Howie, with his shoulders hunched and arms buried deep in the pockets of his jeans and wearing that worry on his face, looking very wound up. He sat next to him and let out this soft sigh that said everything.

Yet he said not a word and waited for the man to say what was on his mind.

“This has got to stop, Kevin.”

And when Howie finally did, he wished he hadn’t.

Requesting permission to land

“We can’t let him go on like this for long, it’s breaking him!”

Kevin heard everything that Howie was saying, but he wasn’t sure if he understands what Howie wants from him.

“What do you suppose we do?”

And Howie looked back at him, expectantly, as if he should have known the answer to that some two sentence ago. But whatever it was that Howie thought he should know, was lost on Kevin.

“You can’t ask me that,” Howie said instead.

“Why not?”

“Kev, if I had known the answer to that,” Howie said slowly, as if explaining something simple to a five year old. “I wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place.”

I cannot control the plane

“Maybe if you stop getting yourself drunk all night, we might actually be on schedule on at least one thing today.” Brian bluntly pointed out.

“Don’t talk to him like he’s a fuckin’ teenager Bri.” Nick jumped in. Bed head and eyes hidden behind a pair of shades. Kevin was surprised Nick was actually listening. He had placed a bet on himself that the youngest one was napping the entire meeting away.

“I’m not talking to him like his a teenager.” Brian turned towards Nick. “And you should stop acting like one too.”

“I’m still in this room so stop fucking talking about me like I’m invisible.” AJ groaned.

“Yeah, maybe we should all just stop acting like us and be more like you.” Nick spat. “Give me a Bible Bri, show me the way of the Lord.”

“Nick, that’s enough.” Howie interjected.

“No, Howie, don’t.” Brian cut in. “You’re always butting in when we’re in a middle of an argument, you can’t keep protecting those two. They need to see what they’re doing!”

“And what is it that you’re doing that is so damn righteous huh Rok?” AJ said but his attention was already on Nick. He made a swift grab for the shades Nick was wearing, earning a yelp from the unsuspecting blonde.

“Dude what the fuck?”

“Stop stealing my shades man.”

Nick pulled the bill of his cap further, enough so no one could see what was going on behind those eyes. Now Kevin suspected AJ was about to doze this meeting off.

“I’m at least responsible towards this group. That’s more than both of you can say for yourselves.”

“Hey, if we’re not responsible, we won’t even be here today.” Nick replied.

“And I’m not always butting in.” Howie added. “But someone’s got to do something when everyone’s just yelling their mouth off and no one’s listening!”

Kevin thought he was listening. But really, by the time they entered his ears, it’s all white noises that he heard.

We are in danger of crashing

“Ok that’s it. I’ve had enough.”

And Backstreet Boys were in hiatus. Not even the mighty Kevin could do anything to stop this plane from crashing. Perhaps the remains would be salvageable. Perhaps not. Only time would tell.

Mayday, mayday

Requesting permission to land

I cannot control the plane

We are in danger of crashing

~ Break My Fall By Breaking Benjamin

Finding Baby Bear by mersey
Author's Notes:
Nick's lost and it's up to Kevin to find him.


I can't even remember when I wrote this. Months and months ago, and it got lost somewhere in my computer, lol. Nick is 17 in this fic.

In Search of Baby Bear

I found him.

Of course it had to be me who found him. It could have been Howie, or Brian, or AJ, but it had to be me in the end. It was as if I had a Nicky radar on me or something. I always find him. Well, sometimes, it was him who found me. He could have gone to Brian, the obvious choice for everything when it came to Nick, but the few times when he had come to me, I was a thousand shades of surprise.

He was drunk. I could smell alcohol on him and I was still standing at the foot of the staircase. Perhaps I had been sniffing the alcohol and followed the trail that led me here.

The thirteenth floor. Talk about rotten luck.

He was leaning against the railing, his arms holding on to the metal bar as if his life depended on it. His knees were drawn up and his face hidden in between them, his hair a bunch of messy blonde.

If I were a serial killer, he wouldn’t stand a chance to escape me.

“A bed would be more comfortable don’t you agree?”

His head snapped up in an instant and I hate to think that he might have a whiplash from it. The frown immediately turned into a grin when he realised it was just me.

“Hi Kevin.”

Yup, he was drunk all right. No one could ever grin that wide and be sober. Well, maybe Brian, he does have an extraordinarily wide grin for a gnome.

“Hi Nick,” I said, and decided on the very last second to add in a wave. He could be seeing two of me right now. The waving could help him figure out which one of us was the real me. I don’t know how waving would help, I just figured it might. “What are you doing up there alone?”

He went back to grabbing the railing and I was nowhere closer to him than I was a few minutes ago. I figured having this distance would lessen my chances of being decorated with his vomit should he need one at any given moment.

“The girls are after me Kevin,” Nick said and for once, he sounded scared. “And that motherfucker left me on my own!”

I wasn’t sure how all this tied in with him ending up on a fire escape staircase.

“So you decided to sleep on a staircase?”

“I’m hiding!”

“From the girls?”

“Yes the girrrlss…” He slurred while rolling his eyes at me. I’m surprised he could still do that in his state.

“Because they’re after you?”

“They’re everywhere!” He exclaimed, arms waving wildly. If drunken Nick is always this amusing, heck, I’ll make him drink myself. Okay, so not really, but the idea was tempting for all of five seconds.

“But you like girls Nick, you’ve told me a thousand times-”

“They steal my necklace! See?”

I saw it. How could I not see it? He pulled his shirt by the neck, revealing a couple of scratches in replace for the now missing necklace.

“They’re violent!” Nick yelled and then shuddered at whatever image he was seeing on the ceiling. I nodded to show my agreement.

“That looks nasty.”

“Feels nasty too...was scratching it just now Kev, they itch like mosquito bites and then they just hurts.”

I smiled, because he looked so small and reminded me of the twelve year old he used to be. “That’s good, you don’t want to scratch an open wound.”

“I know, you told me,” Nick said, wagging his finger at me.

“So I did.”

“Yes you did.”

I moved a step closer, just because he was beginning to slur quite badly for me to understand him. “Dan said he didn’t know where you’ve gone.”

“Is he here? Is that sonofabitch here?” Nick was pissed, and he almost let go of the railing and fell flat on his face.

“He was asleep in your room. I went in to check on you and he told me you’re supposed to be back since he left you at the lobby.”

He snorted at this and shook his head, which I guess was a bad thing because he groaned half way and rested his head against the railing. “He fucking left me when the girls started chasing! Said he was gonna call for help but he never came back!”

“So you ran and hide here?”

“I’m not hiding.”

“You said you were hiding just now.”

“When did I say that?”

Just now.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Okay fine, if this isn’t hiding, what do you call it then?”

Nick shrugged and his neck turned red and I knew this was a sign that he was either nervous or embarrass.

“I forgot what floor we’re at.”

I figured it wasn’t the time to laugh my ass at this kid so I didn’t.

“You could have called me,” I pointed out. “You still have your cell phone don’t you?”

“Kevin, I’m drunk!”

It didn’t take much to get a confession out of Nick. I was sure he was going to regret this in the morning.

“You’re right.”

“I’m not supposed to get drunk.”

“You’re seventeen, Nick. You’re legal to drink in the UK.”

“But I’m not supposed to get drunk.”

“That’s correct,” I nodded. “What did I tell you about drinking?”

“I told them what you told me what I should tell them if they ask me to,” Nick defended himself. “You should know that it didn’t work.”

“Did you say no?”

“Yup.”

“But you drink anyway.”

“They said it won’t make me drunk.”

“They’ll always say that Nick.”

He shrugged and went back to hugging the railing.

“Hey, here’s a crazy idea, how about we get you back to your comfortable bed now?”

He frowned as if I had suggested killing a kitten.

“We can’t leave Mr. Patrick alone Kevin, that’s just insane.”

So here’s the debate. Should I even bother asking who Mr. Patrick is?

“Who’s Mr. Patrick?” And against my better judgement, I had to ask.

Nick had this ‘duh’ look on his face, it was quite ridiculous really. I wonder how much longer it had to take until someone found us here.

“Who do you think I’ve been hugging all this time Kevin? A piece of rock?”

I wanted to say metal, but I didn’t think it was what he was expecting to hear from me. I wish I had a video camera. Or Mentos…it’s getting really stinky in here.

“Well, I think you’re choking Mr. Patrick there.”

He let go of the railing and looked at it apologetically before turning back at me. “Really?”

Oh boy. “Yup. It’s not nice to choke…things…Nick.”

“I won’t hug too tightly then,” Nick said and then proceeded to put his arms around the railing again. “See? Not too tight, he won’t die tonight.”

“Don’t you want to go back to your room and sleep?” Please say yes.

“I can’t leave Mr. Patrick alone.” And then he did one of the yuckiest things ever. He found a gum, stuck at the bottom of the railing and started picking on it.

“You…you don’t want to do that Nick,” I said, hoping to distract him. I have to remember to get him to take a shower and wash his hands when we get back. He’s not going to like the shower, at all.

“I like gums.” He said and started stretching the yellowish gum in between his fingers.

“Not this one, you don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it tastes like fish,” I said, remembering the fish flavoured gum he once tricked Howie into chewing. “Mr. Patrick put it there to trick you.”

Right. Pit the kid against his own imaginary metallic friend. You go Kev.

It seemed to work though. Nick flung the piece of gum and it landed on the wall behind him and then pushed himself away from the railing, looking at it in disgust. Of course he had to lose his balance while at it and tripped on his own legs as he was about to stand up.

I made my move, just quick enough to break his fall as he rolled down three steps. He wouldn’t be a happy camper in the morning.

There we were, in the middle of the stairs, him on his back with me cradling his upper body, struggling to keep our balance in check, when he started to giggle.

“What’s so funny?” I figured why not just ask what the deal was, even though I knew I wasn’t to expect a real answer from a drunken seventeen year old.

“Hi again, Kevin.”

“Hello Nick.”

“I just rolled down the stairs.”

“And I’m trying to stop you from breaking any bones in your body.”

“Thanks Kevin, rolling down is not fun at all.”

“I thought so too,” I smiled. “Besides, I don’t think your dad’s gonna be too happy if he sees any bruises on you.”

“Oh we don’t have to worry about that,” he said dismissively. “Help me up?”

I nodded and pulled him by the hand and didn’t let go until I was sure he could stand on his own.

“I’m serious Nick, your dad was barking at Dan the last time I saw him. He wasn’t happy that he left you on your own.”

This, for some reason, woke him up. “He has no rights to do that to him, he’s my friend!”

And this is where I get utterly confused. “You were eager to beat his ass just a minute ago, why are you defending him now? And I’m sorry but he really shouldn’t have left you there on you own. Your dad’s just worried okay? We all are. Everyone’s out there looking for you.”

“My dad has a weird way of showing that he cares,” Nick argued. “And now he’s going to blame Dan for everything as if Dan’s his son or something.”

“What are you talking about?”

He waved his hand lazily and took a deep breath before exhaling calmly. “Forget it. Let’s just get out of here so they can stop looking for me.”

I decided not to question him further. I was planning to be the good guy here. That’s the plus side when one of his parents followed us out, there was no need for Kevin Richardson to play dad. I didn’t have to nag at him or be the responsible one. I could be one of the guys, out to a club and getting my ass drunk and woke up the next day with a bitch of a hangover. Besides, I knew he was going to get his ass chewed by Bob later, so why make the kid suffer more than he was getting right?

The downside is that, Nick was never happy when the parents are around.

-

Dan wasn’t around when we arrived in Nick’s room. Knowing Bob, either Dan was sent out there along with the search party, or his ass got flown back to Florida.

“What are you doing?” Nick had practically jumped on his bed and was about to doze off.

“I’m bonding with my comfortable bed.”

“What you need is to bond with the shower.”

“I can do that tomorrow morning.”

“No, you’ll do it tonight,” I said. Oh I can feel that big brother streak coming out now. “Look at it this way Nicky…your dad will probably be less mad if he smell some flowery scented bath gel on you rather than the stinking alcohol.”

“No, he’ll probably accuse me of being gay instead.”

“Then we’ll just have to plant some of AJ’s porn videos in your bag now won’t we?”

“I’ll get grounded for that.”

“I think it’s a bargain than getting your ass whipped.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

“Right now I have to, because you stink.”

He laughed but stopped half way, grabbing at his stomach and looking very green. Oh hell no.

“I don’t feel so good.”

“Toilet, now.” There was no nicer way to tell him that. He made his way to the bathroom and seconds later, he was emptying his stomach down the porcelain god. I wonder what I had done in my previous life to get the honour of hearing that.

Forever and a day later, the barfing stopped, followed by the sound of the toilet flush. I made my way into the bathroom and found him already up by the sink, washing his face.

“I am never drinking again.”

I laughed. “You’re not even legal back home.”

“Well, I won’t drink even when I’m legal.”

“I want that in writing. Think you’re up to it tomorrow morning?”

“I’ll write a decree if it makes you happy.”

He must have been really sick to even suggest that. Perhaps he was indeed hurt when he fell down the stairs after all. I had to check if there were any bruises on his body once he’s done with shower.

“So, what do you do when your friends offer you a drink?”

“Just say no.”

“What else?”

“Tell them that it’s bad for my health and my breath and I will never be ready for the hangover.”

“And?”

He sighed. I laughed.

“And Kevin will beat my ass.”

“Damn right.”

“But you haven’t done that yet,” Nick pointed out. “Is it coming after this?”

“Nope. Your dad’s here, he’ll be doing the beating.”

“Oh I bet.”

I can’t help feeling sorry for him. It was a rare sight, to see him sounding so afraid when the mention of dad was brought up. The two of them were always smile and sunshine around each other. At least that was what I had been noticing.

“Come on, it won’t be that bad.”

He shrugged, which means, he’d like to put an end to this discussion.

“Take the shower okay? You’ll feel better, trust me.”

He snorted but said nothing and then proceeded to shoo me away and locked himself up in the bathroom. A few seconds later I heard the shower running and Nick singing the Sesame Street theme song. I figured this was the best time to call Johnny and let him know baby bear is back in his crib. We’ll deal with father bear later.

Famous Last Words by mersey
Author's Notes:
A tiny angsty piece in Brian's POV. No time set for this one, at least I don't think, lol.

Famous Last Words (Brian)

“It's just ‘round the corner, no biggie.”

He recalled sighing in resignation. That split second of acknowledgment where his brain said, 'dude, you seriously need to chill, the kid has a point.' He remembered nodding his head, a smile slowly forming at the corners of his lips as he waved him off lazily.

He remembered the young man's laughter and him rolling his eyes and failing miserably at sounding annoyed as he replied, “Famous last words, man.”

It was a joke, damn it.

He never came back. Turned ‘round the corner (no biggie) and met with some bad company. Wrong place, wrong time, they said. Probably saw what he shouldn't, and had to be kept quiet. Forever.

It was just round the corner. There were no sixth-sense-like-grandeur that hit him and told his heart that something was off. That he should get up from the couch and do something before it's too late. There was no stillness in the air, nothing ominous at all. Just...nothing.

Movies and books, he thought. Sometimes they are too clichéd for their own good.

Truth was, he was laughing at Wile E. Coyote's ass and munching on popcorns. Was burping on his last sip of Coke when the phone rang...there was nothing vaguely sixth sense-ish to that at all.

There were times when Brian looked back and wished he hadn't listen to his brain. Wished his last parting words to his brother wasn't “Famous last words, man.”, because he's (was) more than that, and he wondered if he'd said it enough (I love you, little brother) for the kid to know that he meant it.
End Notes:
I use 'little brother' instead of naming the person, so you can either visualise it to be AJ or Nick, both are his little brothers IMO. And this is fiction, I have no desires to see any of them killed, obviously, I'm just...morbid...sometimes, lol.
I Swear It's Not Me! by mersey
Author's Notes:
Written in Kevin's POV. This is a crack!fic so no physical torture on any BSB, I think. 

I Swear It’s Not Me (Kevin)

“Look,” Howie said pointedly across from him. “It’s really a simple thing.”

 

Everything is always simple when it comes to Howie. He couldn’t recall of anything Howie-related that was ever difficult.

 

Sometimes, the devil in him would use this very point against him, poking at his sides on nights when he thought nothing would ever just end. Problems just topple one over the other until the voice in him would whisper, go on, kick that damn door, you know you want to. And then there was Howie, going ‘Oh, a last minute interview? Sure, I think we can do that.’ Winks.

 

“It’s more than just simple though,” AJ added his two cents, knees absently brushing against Howie’s; they were sitting that close.

 

“Yeah,” Brian added to his left. “It’s about honour. It’s about baking your cake and eating it.”

 

“Dude, what planet are you on?” Nick asked, to his right.

 

“Translated to, ‘Rok, in English, please.’” AJ grinned.

 

“Thank you.” Nick said.

 

“You’re very much welcome.”

 

“And I will never eat anything I cook, much alone bake.” Nick added.

 

He shook his head because this entire conversation was going nowhere and he really could have used this down time to sleep.

 

“This is pointless. It’s not even important!”

 

“Sorry Kevin, but I have to disagree,” Nick said as he held his hand up, like a kid asking for permission before speaking, which Nick totally disregarded, so why his hand was even up in the first place was something he really couldn’t be bothered to find out. “This is very important, my honour is at stake here!”

 

“You have one?” Howie asked, eyebrow raised, and he couldn’t help the snort that came out.

 

Nick rolled his eyes and ignored the remark. This seemed to be really important to the young man. “Look, if no one steps up and admit, we all know the blame will rest on me by default and I will not have that.”

 

“But it’s something that you mostly would do, Nick.”

 

“Brian, I’m very hurt by your utter ignorance.”

 

“It’s not really ignorance,” AJ defended Brian. “It’s more from observation. You do seem to do it a lot, Nick.”

 

“See?” Nick sighed, overly dramatic if he could say so himself. “You guys are already doing it and this meeting isn’t even over yet!”

 

“You guys,” said Howie. “We can all come out of this with no one owing up, but remember, we’re breaking something very important if that happens.”

 

“Yeah,” said Brian, again. “How can we trust each other if no one owns up?”

 

“We sure don’t have any problems moving on when the blame’s on me by default.” Nick muttered.

 

AJ was giggling. “Dude, you’re too easy man.”

 

“I’m not easy AJ,” Nick retorted. “You’d already be in my pants if I were.”

 

“Dude, give it time.” AJ grinned. “’Sides, the best things are worth the wait.”

 

“You’re sick.”

 

“You’re sicker.”

 

He wondered again why he was here in the first place and then it hits. Oh, yeah, right.

 

“Okay guys, listen.” He spoke out, killing whatever banters that was about to get out of hand between the two monkeys affectionately called AJ and Nick. “I’ll take the lead and everyone else just follow through okay?”

 

“Right, okay.” Howie nodded in agreement. Always the wingman, that one.

 

“Okay so,” he breathed. “I swear, it’s NOT me.”

 

Nick put up his hand again. “Not me either.”

 

“Not me.” Howie joined.

 

“Definitely not me.” AJ shook in negative.

 

“This is not the cake that I bake,” Brian said next. “Therefore, I cannot eat it.”

 

“Uranus,” Nick affirmed; to whom, he wasn’t quite sure. “Definitely from Uranus, this one.”

 

“Well,” Howie sighed as he got up from their little séance thing. “I have to say I’m very disappointed in this outcome. From today onward, it changes everything.”

 

“God, D, did you forget to take your happy pills or what?” AJ smirked.

 

“No truer words have ever been spoken.” Brian said.

 

“Thanks Rok.” AJ smiled.

 

“Not you,” Brian pointed out, which totally got a hyena-typed laugh from Nick. “I agree with Howie. This definitely changes everything.”

 

He couldn’t help rolling his eyes this time around. “Guys, come on. Someone friggin’ let out a ripe one, it was gross, we could’ve died from poisonous gas but we didn’t, and no one owns up, big fuckin’ deal, now can we just call this meeting over so I can go sleep the rest of this weird night off?”

 

The room was silent for a few seconds before AJ broke it. “Okaaayyy…so we all agree that Nick did it and meeting’s over.”

 

Everyone left the room happy. Well, everyone but Nick.

 

And Kevin really understood the whole honour and trust thing they have together, but he’s the oldest in the group, it had taken him years to earn their respect, so he couldn’t very well admit to releasing the silent but deadly gas while they were having dinner, could they? That would totally ruin the very empire of respect he had built. So yeah, it wasn’t him. Definitely.
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