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** HOWIE **

“Do you think he’s going to sit in the car the whole time?” I cast what I hoped was an inconspicuous glance at Joey as Kevin deposited a handful of change into the parking meter.

“Those stitches on his forehead make him look like a criminal.” Kevin observed. “We’re probably better off if he stays in the car.”

“That’s true.” I flicked my eyes in Joey’s direction for a second time. The large man was wedged into the driver’s seat of a Ford Focus. Kevin was right; he did look like a criminal with his swollen face and permanent scowl.

“This place doesn’t even open until nine.”

I turned my attention back to Kevin, who had finished depositing change into the meter. He was now peering intently at the sign attached to the front door of ‘Handy Harold’s Hardware’.

I twisted my arm to look at my watch. “It’s ten to eight.”

“Figures.” Kevin muttered; his eyes were busy scanning the storefronts that lined the downtown street. “Do you want to have breakfast?” He nodded in the direction of a diner that occupied one of the corner units. “That should kill an hour.”

“Bad choice of words.” I laughed as I fell into step beside him. “But breakfast sounds good.”

The diner was clearly a local favourite. It was already full with patrons, most of them who were obviously on their way to work. I felt slightly self-conscious; not only were Kevin and I outsiders, but we also didn’t blend in with the rest of the business-casual looking crowd.

“The booth on the side is free.” A young women clad in a green checkered dress motioned towards the empty booth as she passed by us carrying a tray loaded down with food. “Have a seat, and I’ll be over in a few minutes to take your order.”

Kevin and I slid into the vinyl booth and I immediately picked up the menu. I couldn’t shake the feeling that people were staring at us.

“I might have the meat lover’s skillet.” Kevin mused. “What are you thinking?”

“Belgian waffle.” I decided; my eyes landing on the mouth-watering picture. “With strawberries and whipped cream and a side of bacon.”

“I meant why do you look so anxious?” Kevin chuckled. “But I appreciate the fact that you know exactly what you want to eat.”

I folded my menu and placed it on the table, taking a quick glance around the crowded restaurant before I returned my attention to Kevin. “I feel like we’re being watched.”

“Really?” Kevin did his own casual scan of the early morning customers. “Nobody seems to be paying us any attention.”

“You boys know what you’re having?” The waitress had materialized at the edge of our table; her pen poised to take our orders. “Coffees?”

I smiled warmly up into the woman’s face. She was probably in her mid to late twenties; fresh and clean with no makeup. A perfunctory glance at her nametag revealed that her name was Kristen. “Yes, coffee, and I’ll have the waffle with strawberries and whip, plus a side of bacon.”

“I’ll also have coffee.” Kevin informed the happy brunette. His eyes were firmly glued to her nametag. “I’ll take the meat lover’s skillet with extra hash browns.”

“Sounds good.” Kristen collected our menus and smiled widely. “You boys new to town, or are you just passing through?”

“We’re staying in the area for a few days.” I tried to be as vague as possible without sounding rude. “We’re taking a break from being on the road.”

“Oh yeah?” Kristen didn’t appear to be in any rush to leave. “Headed anywhere special?”

“Just Florida.” Kevin smoothly interjected himself into the conversation. “We’re meeting up with some friends.”

“I’ve never been to Florida.” Kristen acknowledged. “I’ve never been anywhere really; the farthest I’ve ever been is Nashville. It must be nice to be able to travel.”

“It is … sometimes.” I replied. I was in awe of the fact that this girl had never left the state. Sometimes I forgot that our fast-paced lifestyle wasn’t the norm, that not everyone had the same opportunities that we had. “It can be tiring too.”

“Hey, Kris!” A heavy-set man sitting at the counter signalled for the waitress’s attention. “You comin’ around with a refill, or what?”

Kristen rolled her eyes in a playful manner and gave Kevin and I a small wave before she headed off in the direction of the counter. “I just gave you a top up, Stan …”

“Did you see her nametag?” Kevin asked the moment that she walked away. “Her name’s Kristen.”

“I saw.” I took in Kevin’s worried expression and tired to think of something encouraging to say. It was obvious that he was missing his wife. “We’ll all be home soon enough.”

“I just wish that I could talk to her, you know?” Kevin dropped his eyes to the Formica table top and began to absently rearrange the silverware. “I want to be able to tell her that I’m okay.”

My mind flashed back to the conversation that Brian had had with Rochelle, the one in which he had reassured her that we were all alive and well. I debated letting Kevin in on the secret as I watched him struggle to make sure that his fork was perfectly in line with his knife. In the end, I decided that cryptic was the way to go. AJ and Brian would be furious if I gave away our secret.

“She’s knows that you’re okay.”

“You think so?” Kevin lifted his eyes from the table as Kristen returned with our coffee.

I waited until Kristen had walked away before I continued. “Kristin’s smart enough to figure it out.”

“I suppose.” Kevin dumped a serving of milk into his cup and stirred it into his coffee; the spoon clinking softly against the sides of the mug. “I miss her.”

“I miss Leigh too.” I leaned back against the vinyl backing of the booth, listening to it creak under my weight. Over Kevin’s shoulder, I could see Kristen coming out of the kitchen with our food.

“Can I get you boys anything else?” Kristen asked once she had deposited the plates on the table. She smiled warmly at us. “Jam?”

I shook my head, gazing down at my waffle that had the circumference of a basketball. It was topped with what appeared to be a full pint of strawberries, and I was pretty sure that the cook had unloaded an entire can of whipped cream on top of it. My side of bacon had come on a separate plate; eight gloriously greasy rations.

“No thanks.”

“I think there’s a full pig on my plate.” Kevin picked up his fork and stared at his breakfast, seemingly unsure of where and how to begin. “I probably could have done without the extra hash browns.”

I speared a strawberry with my fork and opened my mouth to reply, but the conversation at the next table suddenly caught my attention.

“…I’m telling you, Clair, they’re definitely a couple. They came through my line at Pat’s the other day. The little southern one seemed embarrassed by the whole thing …”

Kevin choked on a piece of bacon and took a long swig of coffee to wash it down. Our eyes locked as he set his mug down on the table, and I couldn’t resist smirking at him. It was obvious that he had also picked up on the women’s conversation.

“…I was watching the tall, blonde one the whole time that they were in the street. It’s such a shame, don’t you think? They’re both so attractive. It’s really a waste that they’re not interested in women. Can you imagine the children? …”

I stuffed a massive piece of waffle into my mouth to stifle my laughter. I could only imagine how Brian and Nick must have behaved in the grocery store. Whatever the two of them had done, they had certainly created a lasting impression with the two middle aged women sitting next to us.

“… Did they mention if they were staying in town? I would love to get a glimpse of them again. Gay or not, the blonde one sure knows how to fill out a pair of jeans …”

“Can you believe this?” I whispered. “Those women think that Brian and Nick are a couple and they’re still ogling after them?”

Kevin swallowed his mouthful of hash browns and sighed. “I don’t get it. I really don’t.”

“… I don’t remember what they said. I’m pretty sure that the blonde mentioned something about the Kentucky boy’s cousin. Maybe they’re in town to visit him …”

Kevin choked again; this time on a piece of ham. He dropped his fork onto his plate and reached desperately for his coffee.

“… A cousin, huh? Good Lord, I can only imagine what he must look like; drop dead gorgeous, I’m sure! I wonder if he swings the same way …”

“Did you hear that, Kev?” I took a sip of my own coffee and grinned wickedly at him. “You’re drop dead gorgeous.”

Kevin snorted. “I wonder what they would say if I walked over and announced that I was the ‘Kentucky boy’s’ cousin?”

“They probably wouldn’t believe you.” I laughed. “I think they’re hoping for more of a Brian look-a-like.”

Kevin actually scowled. “How is it that the two of us are always overlooked? Maybe it’s because I’m not a woman, but I honestly don’t see how Nick and Brian became the favourites. Nick is practically a cookie-cutter creation of what a pop star should be; tall, blonde, blue eyes. How boring is that?”

The angry expression on Kevin’s face was only serving to make me laugh even harder. The poor guy really did look offended by the whole situation. “You have your own breed of Kevin groupies.” I pointed out. “At least you’re not plain, old, generic Howie.”

“You’re not generic.” Kevin jabbed rather forcefully at his food. “Who says that you’re generic?”

“Everyone.” I sighed. “I think it’s fairly common knowledge that most of our fans could give two shits about whether I’m around or not.”

Kevin’s scowl intensified. “That’s not true.”

“Even you guys don’t care half of the time.” I shrugged. “It’s cool.”

“What do you mean that we don’t care?” Kevin set his fork down on his plate and directed his intense stare towards my face. “We all care about you.”

I took a deep, unsteady breath. Was I really going to continue to pursue the conversation? “Sometimes it feels like I’m on my own.”

“Really?” Kevin continued to peer intently into my face. “You feel like we leave you out?”

“Sometimes.” I admitted. “I always seem to be the odd man out. It’s always Nick and Brian, or AJ and Brian, or you and Nick. No one is ever automatically part of team Howie.”

“I thought that you and I were a team.” Kevin gestured between the two of us and laughed to lighten the mood. “You know? The old guys versus the young guys.”

“You think so?” I cut up another small bite of my waffle to occupy my hands. “I suppose that’s kind of true. At least it’s an accurate reflection of how things have been over the past few days.”

“You’re an integral part of the group.” Kevin’s serious expression had returned. “I know that you have my back no matter what. You’re steady and predictable, and not in a bad way.”

“I guess steady and predictable is better than generic.” I cracked a smile to show that I was teasing. “Thanks, Kev.”

Kevin simply smiled and resumed eating his breakfast. I followed his lead and returned to the task of cutting up my massive waffle. I wasn’t sure if I felt one hundred percent better about the situation, but I definitely felt more settled than I had last night when I had told AJ that he had a mangled face.

“I’ll just leave this here for whenever you boys are ready. There’s no rush.”

I looked up as Kristen slid a small black tray onto the table containing the bill and two red and green striped mints. She topped up our coffees and set a few more containers of milk on the table before hurrying off to attend to the women who had been yammering on about Brian and Nick.

Kevin snatched the bill off of the tray and looked at it in astonishment. “$14.50? How is this place not going bankrupt?”

I looked down at my half eaten plate of food and shook my head. I couldn’t force myself to eat another bite even if I wanted to; the portions were definitely outrageous given the minimal price.

“Maybe that’s only the bill for one of us.” I suggested, catching sight of another small piece of paper. I plucked the paper off of the tray and flipped it over. “She must have given us separate bills.”

“Now, that would make sense.” Kevin acknowledged as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. “I feel weird carrying around this much cash.”

“Try not to let everyone see it.” I glanced cautiously around the still crowded diner before dropping my eyes to the small piece of paper in my hands. What I saw immediately made my blood run cold.

“Howie?” I could hear the uneasiness in Kevin’s voice. “What’s the matter? Did she charge you way too much?”

I could practically feel the colour draining from my face. My hands felt clammy and the paper was beginning to curl beneath my fingers. The message was typed as opposed to hand written. The words and the delivery had both been premeditated; someone had definitely been watching us.

“Howie?” Kevin tried again. “What’s wrong?”

Not trusting my voice, I slid the paper across the speckled Formica table into Kevin’s waiting hand. I kept my eyes trained on his face as he picked up the small piece of paper; watched as his eyes widened in fear and his skin paled. Like the others, this message was cryptic, but shockingly clear: ‘Me and my boys went out, just to end up in misery / I was about to go home and there she was standing in front of me - - - - The two of you may be older, but are you wiser?’