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Thanks again to Anastacia and Anita for reviewing!!! *smiles*

Chapter Twelve

Nick and Kevin briskly walked into the hospital and to the elevators. Nick couldn’t wait to see, on his own, that the one boy was ok. But then, the thought of the other one dying came back to him. He really hadn’t given it much thought until that moment. Now, it was becoming almost too much for him to bear. He felt tears stinging his eyes, and quickly took in a deep, shaky breath to get himself back under control. Kevin noticed his composure though before he could hide it.

“You okay, Nick?” he asked, concern in his sad, emerald eyes.

It was obvious that he was slightly shaken by the information too. Nick wondered if he really wanted to be doing this, or if he was just going along for Nick. Nick guessed that the older man genuinely cared, and wanted to visit with the victim of the horrific accident. He knew Kevin. Kevin was a sensitive person, even if he didn’t always show it from the outside.

“Huh?” Nick asked, staring at Kevin blankly, then looked around. When did they step onto the elevator? “Oh, yeah, everything is fine.” He stated, forcing a smile, which he hoped would convince Kevin otherwise.

Kevin gave a quick nod, accepting the answer without prodding Nick for more information. Nick was thankful for that. He wanted to keep his thoughts private. With a sigh, his mind wandered back to his previous thoughts. Nick wondered, if it had been him and Kevin on the train, which one of them it would be that had died. The idea put a chill down his spine, and he shuddered slightly. Maybe, because of their height, both of them would have died. Or possibly neither, their height and full grown size being an advantage. It was something that Nick would never know, and he was perfectly happy not knowing.

“Nick,”

Nick looked up, seeing Kevin standing on the other side of the elevator, his hand on the door, keeping it from closing. Nick shook his head, knowing that it was time for him to snap out of it now. Kevin gave him a firm look as Nick exited the small confined box joining his friend.

“What’s up with you today?” Kevin asked Nick, “Ever since we got here…”

“Which was only about ten minutes ago, tops,” Nick cut him off, “Jeez, Kev…give me a break.”

Kevin sighed, wondering if this was a bad idea. Maybe it was too soon. Not just for Nick, but for him too. They had, after all, no more than an hour before, found out that one of the people that had ridden in their places, was now dead. They were there now though. Kevin knew that they should stay and visit with the young boy who was lucky enough to be alive.

“So,” Nick asked, following Kevin, “Where is this kids room?”

Kevin rolled his eyes, but to be honest, again, he forgot which room and floor it was on. He was taking a long shot at making the right turn. If he was wrong, then he would somehow distract Nick while they went down a few floors, so he wouldn’t have to admit to his mistake. It was Nick who was normally scatterbrained, not himself.

“Should be right around here,” Kevin muttered, leading Nick on what seemed to be a scavenger hunt for the right room.

Kevin silently counted the numbers of the rooms in his head as they got larger. The closer that they got to the destined room, the more nervous he became. God, he hoped that he’d made the right choice.

“I have to pee,” Nick announced, causing a few nurses and patients roaming the halls to cast glances in his direction.

Kevin rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath before saying aloud, his tone one of annoyance, “Hold it. We’re almost there.”

Nick pouted as he continued to follow Kevin. Kevin stopped suddenly, Nick halting behind him. He looked at Kevin with curiosity as Kevin glanced into the open doorway.

“Is this the right place?” Nick asked him.

Kevin nodded, recognizing the boy almost instantly. Other than a few casts, and a bandage wrapped around his head, he looked like the same person from days before. There was an older woman and man in the room by his bedside, along with two teenage girls who appeared to be twins, if not, only a year or two apart in age. Kevin figured that it was probably his family. He hesitantly wondered if he and Nick should leave, and try again at a later time. He decided to go for it. Chances were, they would be there for five minutes, tops, anyways. Lifting his hand up, Kevin knocked, knowing that it would be the proper thing to do since they didn’t know the boy personally. Looking on the door, Kevin saw a file, which read off that his name was Keith. He knew that that bit of information would be very useful to them. The five people in the room turned their heads and stared at the two uncomfortable men standing in the doorway.

“Can we help you?” the woman asked, her face troubled, but eyes soft with kindness.

Kevin gulped, hoping that he and Nick weren’t intruding. He walked into the room, Nick following.

“Yes,” he said, “We’re just here to visit Keith and make sure he is okay.”

Question filled the woman’s face, as well as the man’s. The two girls kept glancing at them, giggling amongst one another, whispering things. Kevin tried his best to ignore it, and he knew that Nick was too.

“We, um, we were in line for the ride right behind them,” Kevin explained.

Nick looked past Kevin at the young boy sitting up in the hospital bed. Keith was glaring at them. Nick’s eyes widened at the hostile vibe that he was getting from him. He took a step back.

“That’s very nice of you boys to come and see how he is,” the woman said, extending a hand. Kevin and Nick both stepped forward, shaking it, “I’m Mrs. Banks.”

“Mr. Banks,” the man said, shaking their hands as well, “And these are our daughters.”

“Nice to meet all of you,” Kevin greeted them, smiling at the two girls, who were still giggling. Nick noticed Keith roll his eyes. The kid definitely had an attitude. Then again, he didn’t blame him.

“Well,” Mrs. Banks said, “We’re going to go down to the food court so you can visit.” She turned to her son, “We’ll be back in twenty minutes or so, okay honey?”

“Yeah, whatever mom,” Keith rolled his eyes.

His parents stood up and left the room, the two girls standing up to follow. They were gently nudging one another. Nick found it humorous how fans acted so shy sometimes. The shy ones were sometimes the most ferocious too, he knew, if given the chance. Finally, one of them spoke up.

“Are you, um, Nick and Kevin from the Backstreet Boys?” she asked, her eyes glowing with excitement.

“Yes, we are,” Nick spoke up, smiling.

He could see the other girl hold her breath in, as if she were about to start hyperventilating at any given second.

“My sister and I are huge fans. You have no idea.” She said, a bit over-dramatically, “Could we please have your autograph?”

“Sure,” Nick and Kevin both replied at the same time.

“Oh, please,” Keith muttered, embarrassed at how his sisters were acting. They were older than him, but he swore that they acted younger.

The girls frantically searched the room for something for them to sign, the quiet one finally grabbing a notepad off of the nightstand by Keith’s bed, tearing off two sheets. She outstretched her arm, handing them out to the two Boys. Kevin retrieved them first.

“Who should we make these out to,” he asked.

“Chelsea,” the more outgoing of the two said.

“Cadence,” the other one nearly whispered, not believing that her idols were right in front of her.

Kevin individually signed each piece of paper, handing them over to Nick. When Nick was finished, he gave them back to their new owners, flashing them his famous smile.

“Thank you so much,” Chelsea said, giving each of them a hug. Nick and Kevin both laughed, hugging her back.

“Thanks,” Cadence said, clutching the piece of paper to her chest, her new most prized position.

Chelsea flashed the guys a grin before scurrying out of the room to catch up with her parents. Cadence timidly followed her sister out of the room, as if she were afraid of the two men.

“Sorry bout them,” Keith spoke up, “They are such losers.”

“It’s okay,” Kevin replied, feeling bad that the boy was talking about his sisters in such a way. He didn’t feel that it was his place to scold Keith on it though, so instead said, “We don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Nick chimed in.

Nobody said anything for a while. Nick suddenly felt guilt coming back to him stronger than ever. Here he was, face to face with the person who Nick felt he should be in his place. Here he was, in the place that the other young boy had died in shortly after the damage had been done.

“So, why the hell are you here?” Keith asked, his tone turning icy. He crossed his arms over his chest, “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Just wanted to see if you were okay,” Kevin informed him, “We were in line behind you.”

“In front of,” Nick said with a forced cough, and Kevin elbowed him hard in the gut, telling him to shut up.

“Aww,” Keith cooed, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “I should feel honored. The Backstreet fags came to visit me.”

Nick could tell that this statement angered Kevin by the way the vein on his neck starting to was bulge out. Sure, they both knew that not everybody enjoyed their music, but it always upset them when people expressed their thoughts openly, and directly at them. Instead of his tempter losing check, Kevin just laughed slightly.

“Not a fan, huh?” he asked, stating what was already obvious.

“That would be an understatement,” Keith replied with a smirk, “My sisters on the other hand.” He shook his head in complete and utter disgust, “They are pathetic.”

Kevin and Nick looked at one another, not sure as to what to say to this boy. Talking to people who did nothing but throw out insults were always difficult to speak with.

“So, how are you doing?” Kevin asked.

“How the fuck do you think?” Keith rashed out, as if Kevin’s question were the dumbest in the whole world and the answer was obvious, “I’m stuck in here with several broken bones. My best friend is dead, and my only visitors so far, besides family, are a couple of lonely pop stars who obviously have no lives.”

“We’re really sorry about your friend,” Nick stated

Keith snorted, “Sorry won’t bring him back. Fourteen and died on a roller coaster. Isn’t life just grand.”

Kevin felt bad for the boy. He now knew how old they were, generally. Nick bit his bottom lip, not knowing how to respond to Keith’s depressing words.

“Know what sucks? His funeral was yesterday. Could I make it? Nope. I was stuck here.” His voice continued to drip with sarcasm. He turned his head to them, his eyes accusing, “Is the only reason you are here to look good to the public?”

“No,” Nick said incredulously, “Of course not.”

Keith didn’t look too sure. Nick could tell that his attitude was stressing Kevin slightly. It was stressing him too.

“So,” Keith asked, his eyes narrowing at Kevin, “How’d you break your arm?”

Kevin looked down at his arm, which was still in a cast. He’d grown so used to it over the weeks, that he didn’t even notice that it was broken anymore.

“Fell off of the stage during the show,” he admitted without embarrassment. He felt that there was nothing to be ashamed of. Accidents happened.

Keith laughed, “Wow,” he said, “Talentless and clumsy.”

Kevin didn’t know how to respond to the comment. He wanted to act mature and above the kid, not spouting off comebacks. He must have waited too long to reply, and he figured it was just as well. The visit had turned out to be a disaster.

“You know what,” Keith said, “I’m tired. I think I’m going to get some sleep. Thank you ever so much for coming. I know that my life will never be the same.”

Keith shut his eyes, without another word, letting Nick and Kevin know that they were no longer welcome. With a shrug, Kevin walked out of the room, again with Nick behind him. On the way to the elevator, Kevin sighed.

“That went well,” he said, none too seriously.

“Couldn’t have gone better,” Nick said, rolling his eyes, “We tried.”

“Yep,” Kevin said, “And were nothing but nice, despite his actions.”

Nick agreed. At least he had some peace of mind knowing that the angry teen boy was very much alive, but he had a lot of problems. Nick wondered if he had always been like that, or if it was something that had developed over the past few days. He was willing to bet that the personality was a result of the accident. Nick hoped that he could put all thoughts of this behind him now. He wondered though if that was even possible since it had been on his mind on a 24/7 basis since it happened.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, Adonica,” Kevin called out as he saw her walk past his room. He’d had the door set ajar, letting some fresh air into the large room. Adonica stopped, looking in at him. She cringed. She’d wanted to avoid talking to him, because she knew that eventually, the subject of her engagement would come up. When Kevin knew that he had her attention, he began speaking again, “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

Adonica shrugged, cursing under her breath. She could only avoid confrontation for so long, “Sure,” she replied, as if nothing were wrong as she walked into his room. She hoped that she didn’t end up hurting him by the end of their conversation, “What’s new with ya?”

Kevin shrugged, “Went to the hospital to visit somebody yesterday,” he replied, “Since we are leaving tonight for Europe, it was our last chance to go.”

Adonica nodded, shifting her eyes uncomfortably around the room. She hated that she felt the need to feel this way around Kevin. She heard him sigh, and she knew that her actions were upsetting him.

“Adonica,” he said, standing up, “Are things between us weird for you since…well, since what happened?”

Adonica’s head jerked up, “Excuse me?” she asked.

“Since I kissed you,” he replied bluntly, but softly, “It seems like since it happened, our friendship hasn’t been the same.”

Adonica blushed. The kiss had happened not all that long ago. Sure, it had changed things. There was no way that something like that could happen and not change anything.

“A little, maybe,” Adonica admitted, and she saw Kevin’s posture fall, so she quickly tried to think up something positive to say, but nothing came to her mind.

“I’m sorry,” Kevin apologized, “I shouldn’t have done it.”

Adonica laughed, “Kevin, I don’t want things to be weird between us. It doesn’t have to be.”

Kevin looked hopeful at that. He wondered if that meant that in the future, he might have a chance with her after all. It was torture being in the same room with her, and not taking her into his arms, kissing her again. He’d grown to accept the fact that he was in love with her. She was perfect for him in every way.

“You acted fine after the accident,” Kevin said, “But before then, and ever since after, it’s been awkward.”

“I know,” Adonica replied.

She had fully intended on acting normal around him after she’d found out that she’d almost lost four of her best friends, him being one of them. But then Rich had proposed. That changed everything. Especially since Dulcia’s comment on how Kevin would react. She feared to know.

“Look, Adonica,” Kevin replied, “If I could take it back, I would,” he said, although he wasn’t being truthful, “Can’t we just forget that I kissed you and move on.”

“We can try,” Adonica told him, hoping that it was possible, even though she was past worrying about that now.

Just then, Rich flung the door open, coming into the room. Adonica jumped back, startled. She looked at him, his eyes were wild with fire.

“What did you say?” he shouted, getting up into Kevin’s face

“Nothing,” Kevin quickly answered, wishing that he’d told Adonica to shut the door after her when she’d come in. Who knew though that Rich would have walked by towards the end of their talk.

“No,” Rich yelled, “It wasn’t nothing. You said you kissed MY girlfriend.”

He turned to Adonica, hurt in his eyes as well as anger, “And you let the bastard? How could you.”

“Rich,” Adonica said, pleading for him to calm down, “It happened awhile ago.”

“How long?” he tested.

For a second, he was calming down. Maybe they were talking about something that had happened before he had met her.

“Week and a half ago,” she replied meekly.

Rich felt something inside of him snap. He felt as if he’d been slapped across the face. She had betrayed him. He turned to Kevin, wanting to strangle the man.

“Too bad for you,” he started, “I have the advantage since your arm is broken.”

With that, he formed his hand into a fist, bringing it back, and punching Kevin in the eye. Kevin cried out, bringing his free hand to his eye to cover it. Rich punched Kevin in the jaw with such force that he stumbled backwards a few steps.

“Rich, stop it,” she cried out, trying to step in between the two, but he shoved her aside, leaping at Kevin and pushing him onto the bed, punching him over and over. Kevin tried to push him away with his good arm, but it wasn’t enough. His strength was pretty much useless at that moment in time. Adonica, taking her chances, rushed over to the two, trying to pull Rich off of Kevin before he did any permanent damage. It took a few minutes, but he hesitantly let her pull him away. His body was shaking violently with fury. He was heaving in anger. Kevin sat up, placing a hand to his lip, and bringing it down. Adonica gasped as she saw that he was bleeding from several cuts on his face.

“You are a pathetic bastard,” he roared, “You moved in on my woman. We’re engaged.”

“Engaged?” he nearly whispered, looking at Adonica with hurt in his eyes, He felt as if he'd just been punched in the chest, “You’re engaged?”

Adonica nodded, hating seeing him look so helpless. She didn’t want him to have to find out this way. She knew now that everybody’s predictions of him liking her were right. She felt terrible.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kevin asked, and she swore that she saw the beginnings of tears I his eyes.

“I...I was going to,” she said softly, “He…he just proposed two days ago.”

“Now you know,” Rich yelled, “If you ever hit on her again, I’ll make sure that you aren’t so lucky next time.”

Adonica turned to Rich in anger, “Would you cut it out?” she yelled, “You are being an asshole, and to be honest, I don’t like this jealous side of you.”

“Come on,” Rich said firmly, walking away, expecting Adonica to follow him. When he noticed that she wasn’t, he said again, “Come on. Let’s go back to our room.”

Adonica shook her head, “No,” she said, standing up to him, “I don’t want to see you tonight.”

Rich let out a noisy huff of air, “Fine,” he replied, not fighting her, “Have it your way.” And seconds later, he was gone.

Adonica and Kevin were left alone in silence. Kevin refused to meet her eyes, and she didn’t blame him.

“You…he…” Kevin stuttered, then lifted his head to look at her finally, “He proposed to you? You accepted?”

Adonica wished that he didn’t look so hurt. All she could do was nod in response. She could tell that he was in pain, not just mentally, but physically too from having her boyfriend beating on him. She knew that this would definitely put a temporary strain on their friendship, if not, a permanent one. Getting up, Adonica walked into the bathroom, returning moments later warm, wet washcloth. She walked over to Kevin, gently pressing it against his wounds. At first, Kevin tried to push away, but he eventually quit fighting her away, letting do what she intended. She knew that they would probably bruise later, but she could at least wash away the blood. The warmth of it felt soothing against the cuts, stinging them slightly at first. Adonica felt that since it was her boyfriend who had caused the damage, that it should be her to try and fix it the best she could. Kevin sighed, looking at Adonica for a moment and into her eyes. He knew now that all of his longing was for nothing. He had a feeling that now, he would never be able to have her and treat her like a princess. Kevin didn’t know which hurt worse though. The truth of it all coming to reality, the fact that he’d let his feelings get out of hand, and actually believing that there was a chance, or that Adonica hadn’t told him about her and Rich first off, trying to keep it from him as long as possible.