Chapter Ninety-Six
"So, D, what's wrong with Nick? Did Ashley tell you that he has a stick stuck up his ass or something?" AJ asked grumpily, as they drove down the road.
"There's something wrong with Nick?" Brian asked worriedly.
"Apparently so…" AJ answered, rolling his eyes. "He ordered me to stay away from Ashley or he thinks he'll beat the shit out of me."
"Whaaat?" Riley asked confused.
"I knew you two were arguing this morning, but I didn't think it was that bad. What in the world did you do to Ashley?" Brian questioned, ready to smack his friend upside the head if he even dared to do anything to his best friend's girlfriend.
"I didn't do anything to her! The closest I got to her this morning was standing outside their bedroom door while they were lying in bed. That's it! Nick is just being a jackass."
"Aje, please refrain from swearing in front of the kids, they've heard enough cuss words for one day don't you think? Especially when Laila repeats things." Howie lectured.
"Sorry…I sort of forgot…" AJ replied softly, though there is still a hint of grumpiness in his voice. Howie shook his head.
"This group can't wake up early in the morning…it's too dangerous."
"Seriously," Riley agreed. "I thought girls were full of drama."
"Are you going to tell me what Ashley said or are you just going to leave me in suspense?" Howie rolled his eyes, and then explained to AJ, Brian, and Riley exactly what Ashley told him. When he finished AJ looked dumbfounded.
"Has he lost his fu-flipping mind?"
"This is Nick we are talking about here, J." Riley replied.
"I mean is he blind? Where has he been in the past few months when all I could do was think about Brooke?"
"You have to think about it from his point of view," Howie replied, trying to stay neutral in the situation as usual. "You two have been competing since the day Backstreet Boys even started. It's lik-"
"-Yeah so? Shouldn't he be used to it by now then?"
"Will you let me finish?"
"Okay, okay…sorry." AJ replied, trying to calm down some, but it's not an easy thing to do.
"Its like a big brother little brother type thing with you guys…it always has been. For the past eight years Nick has been trying to prove that he can do anything you can do."
"Exactly," Brian replied. "He looks up to you, he wants to be just like you. You are like his big brother. You've always been an only child so I know you don't understand what it's like to want to be like your big brother but coming from a little brother myself…I do."
"Okay but what does this have to do with me stealing Ashley away from him?" AJ asked, still not getting what his band mates are trying to explain to him.
"It's really tough on Nick sometimes, J. He's always been a little jealous of you. It's always been so easy for you…with the girls and stuff. Remember the little argument the two of you had this morning? About you being the sexy one? About how if you weren't saving yourself for Brooke you would totally have him beat? He didn't show it, but I know it really got to him. You can have any girl you want and he knows it. Ashley is the best thing that's ever happened to him and he's afraid of losing her to you." Brian explained.
"If I can have any girl I want, then how come I'm having such a hard time getting the only girl that I've wanted for five years? Maybe it's not as easy for me as you all seem to think. There is no reason at all for him to be jealous of me. All those girls that threw themselves at me in the past…they only wanted me because I'm a Backstreet Boy, because I have money. He should consider himself lucky."
"Then maybe you shouldn't make it seem like you have it so easy. All I'm saying is the comments you made earlier upset him. Then Ashley went and said she prefers her sexy Backstreet Boy over a movie star any day and not meaning to, she hit a nerve and set him off even more because he was feeling self-conscious at the time."
"I would never take Ashley away from him. Besides the fact that I only have eyes for Brooke…I would never do anything to hurt him. He's my baby brother and despite how stupid he can be sometimes…I love him. I know how much Ashley means to him. I also know that she would never leave him for me, either. Anybody can see that she loves him."
"You need to tell him that Aje, not us." Howie spoke up again, as he pulled into the driveway of Denise McLean's house. They still had to pick up Denise.
~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, in the other van, Kevin pulled into Denise's driveway behind Howie and they waited as AJ went inside to get his mom. Nick who is sitting in the passenger's seat of the van glanced through the rear view mirror at Ashley. She is sitting in the very back of the van next to Dakota who is buckled up in her car seat and is coloring in her coloring book. Ashley has her seatbelt fastened, and she is hugging her legs to her chest, as she stares out the window moodily. Nick can see a tear streak running down her cheek. He knows she's been silently crying the entire way there. As Nick was staring through the rearview mirror, he suddenly caught sight of Kori who is sitting in the seat in front of Ashley, Dakota, and Sarah's. She, Wiley, and Spencer are all sitting together and she has her head rested against Wiley's shoulder. She had been trying to get some sleep, but so far it wasn't happening. She stared back at Nick with an angered expression on her face that startled him. He knows he is beginning to piss her off and he knows that's not a good thing. He took his eyes away from the rearview mirror and looked out the window in front of him to see that Denise and AJ were finally coming out of the house — AJ carrying Denise's bags. When her bags were put in their van and the two of them had climbed in and shut the doors, Kevin pulled out of the driveway, Howie followed him, and soon they were off. They drove for five hours, and then when the clock reached eleven, they decided they would stop at the nearest Mc Donald's and have lunch. Kevin discussed over the phone with Howie which Mc Donald's they were going to stop at. When they got there and the two vans were parked, they all began to get out. Ashley unbuckled Dakota from her car seat, gathered her up in her arms and got out of the van with her and Sarah followed. When the three of them were out of the van, Nick took Ashley's hand into his and gently squeezed it.
"I'm hungry daddy," Dakota announced as he steered them all into the fast food place with Laney at their side. The bodyguards are following the two vans in Marcus' car.
"I know baby. What are you hungry for?"
"Chicken Nuggets happy meal! An' I wants a toy."
"But of course. What kind of happy meal would it be if there wasn't a toy?" Brian asked with a grin as he caught up to Nick and had hold of Josh's hand.
"Kevy can we goes to play on the playground? Please?" Elenore asked, pointing eagerly toward the play structure. She had taken a nap during the ride there, and is now refreshed and ready to play.
"How about you wait until after we eat?"
"No Kevy we wants to play nooow. Please?" Elenore whined. Kevin sighed, and since he isn't in the mood to argue with her right now, he gave in.
"I suppose…but only if Q will go over there and watch you."
"Sure thing, Kev." Q replied. Elenore beamed. Kevin set her down so her feet were on the floor, and as soon as he did, she grabbed Dakota's hand and the two of them ran off toward the play structure with Q and Marcus following close behind them. Josh ran after them too and so did Spencer and Ryan, but Sarah clung tightly to Nick and AJ continued to hold Laila. Nick handed Sarah over to Ashley.
"What do you want to eat baby?" He asked her gently, as he rubbed his finger over her hand.
"Chicken nuggets and fries."
"Kay…do you mind if I get the family meal for you and I to share?"
"No…"
"Cool." He kissed her cheek and gave Laney her hand instead.
"Go find us a table with Laney okay?" Ashley nodded, and Laney began to take her to a table that was big enough for their big group. She's gotten to the point where she knows she can trust the bodyguards. She figures that if they were going to hurt her, they would have done it already. Nick followed everybody else to wait in line.
"D, will you do me a favor?"
"What Aje?"
"Order food for me and Laila? I'm going to go sit her down in a booster seat."
"AJ…I highly suggest you don't piss Nick off any more then he already is…"
"What? Sitting Laila on a booster chair is going to piss him off?" AJ asked innocently. Howie rolled his eyes.
"You know what I mean…Ashley is over there and he made his threat pretty clear."
"I don't care. There is nothing going on between me and Ashley so he might as well get over it." AJ replied, and with that he walked over to the table that Ashley and Laney had found. Howie shook his head, and then went to go order the food knowing exactly what AJ likes and guessing that Laila would want a happy meal with chicken nuggets. When AJ reached the table he placed Laila in the booster chair that Ashley had already gotten for her and he sat down next to her.
"What's up Ashley?" AJ questioned, as he looked over at Ashley who is sitting on the other side of the table.
"Do you have some kind of death wish or something, J? Nick is already angry enough as it is. I don't think we should give him any more reason to think what he's thinking." Ashley replied, as she looked back at Nick and sure enough, he was watching Ashley protectively, and giving AJ unfriendly looks, and Howie is holding onto his arm to make sure he doesn't go and beat his best friend to a bloody pulp over a stupid misunderstanding.
"There is nothing wrong with me sitting here. You are sitting way over there. If he thinks I am going to sit at an entirely different table just because he's being a jackass he's sadly mistaken." Ashley didn't reply, she only looked at Laney who was sitting next to her protectively.
"Don't worry about it sweetie. Nick will calm down…he has no reason at all to believe that you would ever hurt him. Everybody knows that you love him." Laney reassured gently.
"I hope it's not that obvious…" Ashley replied softly. "We can't have the fans finding out."
"They don't know…if they did we'd have an angry manager calling us and it would be all over the place. But you know, if most of them aren't rooting for the two of you by now, then there is something wrong with them because you two are cute together — even when you aren't together."
"Exactly," AJ agreed. "And Nick should know that I would never do anything to jeopardize that. I know that you are the best thing that's ever happened to him."
"Well obviously he doesn't know that…I can't believe that he doesn't trust me. If he can't trust me then maybe we shouldn't be together."
"Ashley you don't mean that…" AJ insisted, as he doesn't want his best friend to lose the girl he loves — even if he brought it all on himself. "You don't really want to break up with him." Ashley shrugged and looked away from him. She hugged her legs to her chest and leaned into Laney so her head is rested against his shoulder. She fully trusts him now. She knows he would do anything to protect her just like Nick would. Laney wrapped his arms around Ashley and he looked down at her with a small smile on his face. Despite the circumstances, he can't help but be happy that she finally trusts him. Now he can protect her better if he should need to. She snuggled into him as she felt him hug her. Nick was right; he really is just like a big soft teddy bear. A few moments later Howie, Brian, Riley, and Nick joined them at the table. Nick sat on the other side of Ashley and she pulled away from Laney and looked at Nick to find him staring at AJ like he could jump across the table and attack him right there.
"Nick, why don't you come with me to gather up our kids?" Brian suggested when he noticed what was going on.
"I don't want to. I need to help Ashley."
"Ashley is a big girl, she can help herself. Come with me to get our kids." Nick rolled his eyes, and then he got up and followed Brian to the play structure in the next room. Ashley sighed in frustration, then she grabbed her half of the chicken nuggets, her Dr Pepper, and her fries and she got up and went and sat at the opposite table. If Nick doesn't want her anywhere near AJ, fine. She'll stay away from him. But that means he doesn't get to sit with her either. Laney got up and went and sat in the opposite side of her with his own food. He knows she wants to be by herself, but he also knows that Nick would kill him if anything happened to her.
~*~*~*~*~
"Nick, you really need to chill out." Brian informed him, as they stood in the kids' area waiting for all of the kids to put their shoes and socks on. "AJ is not trying to take Ashley away from you. If you haven't noticed, he loves Brooke. And if you also haven't noticed…you are hurting Ashley by acting this way. If you don't want to lose her, I suggest you start trusting her because she loves you."
"I trust her…its him that I don't trust." Nick replied bitterly. "You know how he is, Brian. He's a player…he has a different girl every week."
"He hasn't been like that in five years, Nick. If you haven't noticed he only has eyes for Brooke."
"Just because he's in love with Brooke it doesn't mean he's changed his ways. Brooke is not the only girl he's looked at. What about all of those girls he went out with and slept with?"
"He went out with them because he couldn't have Brooke. Didn't you notice they all resembled her in some way? When he finally realized he couldn't replace her, he just stopped seeing women all together. He's not the same guy anymore Nick."
"Whatever…" Nick replied, and he scooped Dakota up in his arms when she came up to him and he carried her back to their table. Brian sighed, then he took Josh's hand and waited for Ryan, Spencer, and Elenore to finish putting their shoes on, then he led them all back to the table also. When Brian got back to the table he saw that Ashley and Laney were sitting at their own table now, and Nick is sitting at the other one with everybody else after Kori convinced him to give Ashley her space.
"Kevy I wants to sit next to Kota," Elenore announced when she got to the table.
"That's up to Nick, Ellie." Kevin replied. Nick smiled at Elenore and lifted her up and placed her in the booth between him and Dakota and Kevin passed him her food. He handed it to her and began eating his own food as he kept glancing over at Ashley every now and then. Brian sat down in a chair next to Riley and lifted Josh into the empty chair next to him and he gave him his happy meal, before starting to eat his own breakfast.
"Daddy, when are we going to gets to Kentucky?" Dakota asked after a long while of silence.
"In a few hours baby. Probably around dinner time."
"Brian we left Chance in the car…what if he's lonely out there?" Josh suddenly spoke up.
"He's not lonely buddy. He has Lily, Lil' Rok, and Tyke out there with him."
"What if somebody takes them?" Elenore asked worriedly.
"We locked the door honey, no one can get them."
"What if they gets hot?"
"They won't…it's nice and cool out there."
"Kay…"
"So Bri…Alex tells me you adopted Josh?" Denise spoke up suddenly, as she sat there next to her son eating her lunch. Brian grinned down at Josh and ruffled his hair.
"Yup, I did." He answered proudly. "Right after the kidnapping when I got him back. I didn't want to risk anyone else taking him away from me. So I made him officially mine."
"That's great, congratulations. I always knew you'd make a great father." Brian beamed proudly, and then he leaned over and kissed the top of Josh's head, which kind of took Josh by surprise. He is still trying to get used to all the affection that Brian gives him. "Are you living in the orphanage still like Nick and Dakota? Or is Josh moving in with you?"
"Josh is moving in with me. We've already started to move him, but after thanksgiving break when we get back I'm going to finish moving him in all the way and we are going to work on fixing his room the way he wants it."
"Well that's cool."
"Brian gave me the coolest room ever. It has the best view of the beach and everything," Josh bragged happily.
"Ooh, that's a very nice room, I've been in it before. You'll be very comfortable in that one." Denise replied. "So we have two Backstreet dads now. Nick and Brian…is there going to be any others any time soon?" She asked, looking around at Kevin.
"Well, you never know…" Howie replied while grinning.
"Lou would have kittens if we all suddenly became fathers," Brian replied, chuckling a little.
"Exactly…which is why we all should just to piss him off. Lou is such a jackass…" AJ commented, and Howie gave him a look.
"Is that your new favorite word today or something?"
"Sorry…forgot…kids…" AJ replied, looking down at Laila and she smiled up at him sweetly. He smiled back and ran his fingers through her blonde curls.
"Icky ackass!" She spoke up suddenly, and everybody burst out laughing — everybody except Nick, as he understood her very well. All he did was look at AJ with that same dangerous look he gave him earlier that morning on his way out to the van.
"Well, we all know you would make a great father, McLean. Are there anymore words you want to teach your two year old?" He asked, and then he got up and stormed off toward the bathroom. AJ sighed, and then looked over at Brian expecting him to get up and go reason with him, but Brian didn't move.
"I think it's about time you talked to him, Bri."
"Oh no, not this time. It's between you and him I'm not getting in the middle of it." AJ groaned and put his soda down, than he got up and went toward the bathroom to knock some sense into his blonde headed friend.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Enjoy =)
