Pepper bit her lip as she paced her bedroom floor, trying to shake the bad feeling that she had woke up with, and still had nearly five hours later. It was the 27th, which meant Brian, Howie, and AJ were flying in to find out what was going on with Nick, and tomorrow her siblings were due to arrive for their monthly get together. No matter how hard she tried to focus on narrowing down the bad feeling, she couldn’t figure out what it could be. She was normally so good at pinning it, but not this time. And she couldn’t shake it either.
Nick stood in the doorway of her bedroom, watching her pace back and forth. He had known something was bothering her when she had kept zoning out during the conversation with him and Kevin but, now that he had her alone, he was going to find out what was wrong.
“Pepper.”
Her name being spoken drew her attention to Nick, the small frown on her face not leaving. “Did you need something Nick?” She questioned before her eyes fell on the half-eaten sandwich in his hand before he took a bite of it. “What is that?”
“A peanut butter, sardine, and pickle sandwich,” he answered with a shrug. “Want a bite?” When she gave an apologetic smile and shook her head, he shrugged and took another bite. “So, what’s wrong?” He questioned, his words muffled through the mess in his mouth.
Pepper sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. “I can’t shake a bad feeling that I have,” she explained. “I woke up with it and I have no idea what it relates to; it’s driving me crazy…”
Nick finished his sandwich and held up his finger, signaling for her to hold on a moment before he left her room. Pepper shook her head and put her elbows on her knees before she leaned over and put her head in her hands. She was getting a headache from trying to sort things out, and even she knew a headache was the last thing she needed right now. She looked up and gave Nick a curious look when he came back into the room.
“I didn’t want to talk to you with sardine, slash, pickle breath,” he answered the unspoken question and smiled at her before he sat down on the bed next to her. “So, are you were saying?”
Pepper relaxed a bit when his hand began rubbing slow circles on her back. “I have a bad feeling and I don’t know why, it’s as simple as that,” she sighed. “It’s giving me a headache…”
“Are you stressing about how the guys are going to take it?” He questioned as he moved his hand up and down her spine. “Cos, I mean, that is my job,” he chuckled so she would know he was playing.
Pepper gave him a small smile. “I might be,” she admitted as she leaned against him when his arm gently pulled her closer. “I can’t help it though, I worry about you Nick.”
Nick smiled at her words and slowly moved away. “Lay down on your stomach, and get comfortable,” he softly commanded, earning a confused look from her. Trust me, okay?” He watched her as she crawled up her bed and laid on her stomach, shifting for a couple of moments before she got comfortable.
“Is this okay?” She questioned, curious as to what was going on.
“Are you comfortable?” He questioned and as he spoke she could feel the bed shifting.
“Yeah.”
“This it’s okay,” he answered, smiling as he laid next to her and slid his hand under the back of her shirt, rubbing the tense muscles. His other arm curved under his head to where he could slowly rub her head with his other hand, earning a surprised, but pleased moan from Pepper. He smiled as he continued his new ministrations. “How does this feel?”
“Like I’m in heaven,” she smiled as she melted into her mattress. “You’re a Godsend Nick.”
“You’re probably the only person that will say that to me and not be thinking of me as a Backstreet Boy,” he murmured by her head, keeping his voice low because of her headache. He made sure that as he ran his fingers through her hair, his fingertips gently massaged her scalp.
A soft moan escaped her lips before her eyes slipped closed. “That’s not true,” she responded, her words running together a little bit as she found harder to talk with his hands moving over her back and through her hair. “You know there are some fans who view you as a person, and not some shiny toy for them to chase.”
Nick chuckled softly at the analogy and shifted to get more comfortable. “That is true,” he replied. “Pepper… Can I tell you something?”
Pepper worried her lip between her teeth and opened her eyes, wondering if this would be something good or bad. “Sure… What is it?” She questioned, closing her eyes.
“I’m going to miss you while your siblings are here,” he said softly, but this hadn’t meant to be soft. He just couldn’t bring himself to say it any louder for fear of how she would take it.
Pepper slowly pulled away from him before she turned over to lay on her side, facing him. She let him put his arm under her head for support, not realizing just how close they were. “I’m going to miss you too, Nick, but we both know it’s best for you to go while they’re here,” she replied, looking into his blue eyes.
“I know,” he replied as he took a brave chance and slid his arm around her waist, feeling relieved when she didn’t push him away, but instead moved closer, resting her head against his chest. He would have given a sigh of relief if he wasn’t worried it would jinx it. “I just wish I hadn’t fucked up so bad with us, so they wouldn’t hate me…”
“You wouldn’t have to go anywhere,” she replied, finishing his unspoken thought. When his hand resumed rubbing her back, she closed her eyes, relaxing against him.
Nick smiled as he held her close to him, glad she was letting him do so. He was surprised when he heard her breathing slowly even out, but the surprise dissipated when he remembered that back rubs and, or head rubs, could help her fall asleep. The realization that she had fallen asleep in his arms made him smile more as he continued his ministrations, wanting her to be able to stay asleep.
- - - - -
AJ shook his head as he leaned against the door frame, looking at the two curled up on the bed, asleep together, their bodies entwined, holding each other close. He looked at Howie, who had an amused grin on his face, and then to Brian, who was staring in utter shock. He looked back at Kevin, who looked at him with a look that clearly read, “Discussion,” and nodded before he tugged at Howie’s shirt, then nudged Brian’s foot with his own.
When he had their attention, he jerked his head in the direction of the stairs before he quietly shut the door to Pepper’s bedroom and they all made their way to the living room for their discussion.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I would just like to say that it makes me uber uber happy to come on here and see "Read Count: 1453". Because even if I'm not getting reviews from those readers, aside from Miss FFG, I still have the count to prove they are there and that is enough for me. =) Thank you to all of your guys for reading, even if you're not reviewing. ^_^
Chapter End Notes:
[Author’s Note: So that was a little something for those of you who wanted to see more interaction between Nick and Pepper =) The sandwich was half Rayne, half FFG induced lol. They both had peanut butter in sandwiches, but FFG had sardines, and Rayne had pickles and I couldn’t decide who to go with so I picked both lol. Out of curiosity, is there anything you guys would like to see happen while he sibs are there? I’m curious about what you guys want =)]
