'Ok where is the kid?' Johnny thought irritated, standing at the reception desk, prepared to settle up the hotel bill.

'The kid' was getting on his nerves, not only was he late, he also had made a long expensive overseas call, no doubt to his girlfriend. High telephone bills together with ordering in late snacks from the kitchen was something that Johnny needed to talk to Nick about. This was starting to become a bad habit and had to be stopped before the kid started getting fat. Lou's words the other day burned in his mind. It was his responsibility to keep all the boys in shape. How things were turning out, especially with their youngest member was not good. Nick was not taking care of himself that well and he was constantly suffering from one ailement after another. But the teen was not all that concerned him this morning, both AJ and Howie had come back drunk from going clubbing and they had another busy schedule to tend too. Dealing with two hungover boys was not something that he had opted for in his job description.

Glancing at the watch he saw that they were already late and they had to get through the airport or they would miss their flight to Stockholm and the Mtv awards. They also had to go to be at Grand Hotel for a pre-award lunch as well as rehearsal for tonights performance. Johnny groaned. This life was giving him an ulcer. "Anyone seen Nick?" he asked with a sigh. A bit puzzled the rest of the group looked back at him. They had all been so pre-occupied with taking down the luggage that they hadn´t noticed that the youngest member was missing.

"Probably jerking off," AJ muttered quietly, leaning his aching head back on the headrest of the soft leather coach. He was batteling a mother of a hangover and was not in any shape or form to get on a plane. At least not this early. 6:30 am! The fact that he had only gotten about two hours sleep didn´t make him feel any better. His hand went up to his temples rubbing them furiously.

"Bone!" Kevin corrected his language like he had done so many times before. Not that Kev really cared about AJ´s potty mouth. At least not when they were out of the public eye. But when it came to them being in the limelight it was another question. They were a boyband, had lots of young fans, and therefore had to comply with standards and high morals. At least when any press was present. It was important to keep a clean facade and they were constantly drilled what to say and how to act. That was just the way it was. It was the music industry. And if they wanted to be a part of it they had to play the game.

"What? I'm just stating facts. You asked where Kaos was and I answered." The skinny man seemed a bit annoyed.

"He is probably still asleep," Howie informed them all. Being as perky as always.

"Duh genius like we didn´t know that." AJ sneered towards his friend, sitting next to him on his right. Life wasn´t fair. Howie had partied just as hard as him, still he looked like a bouquet of freshly picked daisies while he on the other hand, looked and felt like utter crap.

"You don´t have to bite Howie's head off like that," Kevin defended his friend. "AJ if you can´t handle liquor maybe you should quit drinking."

"Who says that I can´t handle booze?" AJ snarled. He didn´t like it when Kevin butted into his life like that.

"I do, look at you." Kevin waved with an disgusted hand towards the skinny man. "You look you have drank up a whole liquor store."

"Not so far from the truth," Tommy, one of the band members added with a grin. There was a short laugh in the crowd from all but Kevin and Brian who glared back at him angrily.

"Well it´s my descision if I wanna party or not." AJ felt irritated. Why were they on his case? "So get the hell out of my hair!" And the fight was at it again. Kevin telling AJ that he was acting like a five year old and AJ telling the older man that he was nothing but a jerk that wanted to be a teen. Surprisngly it was Lou that broke the bad tension that hung in the air.

"Well we have to get Carter down. And since you McLean want to be such a smartass you might as well get the honor to wake pretty boy up," sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Fuck, why do I have to do it?" AJ complained. He rubbed his temples, "I don´t feel good."

"That you should have thought of when you drowned that last tequila shot," Kevin argued. AJ shot him an evil eye.

"Stop it!" Brian said standing up like the good boy he was, "I´ll do it. I'll go and wake Frack up." He started to move towards the elevator when he was instantly called back by Lou.

"Littrell you get back here." His voice was hard, "I told McLean to do this so that is his job."

Brian sighed. Even if he didn´t like Mr. Pearlman very much he was reluctant to obey his managers orders and walked back towards his chair again. The fact that he was also a bit annoyed over that Nick always slept in late, stalling the rest of them also supported that he didn´t press on any further on the subject. Nick was a big boy and he had to start acting more mature. Brian couldn´t be on his case all the time.

"Aww fuck why do I have to be the one that wakes up fatty?" AJ groaned, feeling miserable.

This time it was Brian that objected to AJ´s words of choice," Bone don´t call him that. You have no idea how words like that hurt Nick." His own thoughts traveled back to last night when he had pressed Nick about his weight. He wished that those words could have been left unsaid.

"Chill man, like you never say anything like that."

Brian opened his mouth to give back a respond when Lou interrupted him with a grin that didn´t reach his eyes, "Okay McLean you have exactly ten minutes to get that boy's ass downstairs. If you don´t get him here you two are getting your asses down to the airport by yourself." There was a threat in his tone of voice, and AJ knew that when Lou was in one of these moods he was being serious. "So I suggest that you start moving."

AJ sighed heavily. He looked towards Johnny for support but the black man shook his head. This was not something he was getting in between. The famous Johnny Wright had respect for Mr. Pearlman and even if he sometimes thought that Lou's descision was fucked up he knew better than to object. Mr. Pearlman was wealthy, but what more he had friends high up and Johnny knew that his days in the music business could be numbered if Lou decided to kick him out.

Bone knew when he was being deafeated. "Okay...Okay what room number does he have then?" After getting the information he needed he loomed with his tail between his legs, feeling just as miserable. It wasn´t just the fact that he had to wake his little brother up that ticked him off, no it was more that Nick was still fast asleep and they often had to wait up for him. Instead the way he felt HE should have been the one burrowed under the covers.

Once he reached Nick's floor, he walked towards the door, noticing that it was really silent in the hallway. 'I'll bet we are the only ones up on a Saturday morning,' he thought feeling sorry for himself as he put the keycard in the slot. The door opened and he was met with a dark room. Nick fast asleep.

"Kaos!" he called out as he walked and pushed the drapes aside so the morning light could come into the room. It was a gloomy morning in the end of March and the rain was whipping against the window. Not a good day to go on a flight. Looking over at the bundle on the bed he saw Nick snoring softly, mouth open like he had difficulty breathing through his nose. A pile of used up tissues on the bedstand showed that a cold virus had attacked his little brother and for a short brief moment he didn´t want to wake his friend up. He looked unnaturally flushed and could use all the sleep that was needed.

Just as he thought about going down to tell to them that they could fuck this, Lou's voice pondered in his head in the same speed as the sledge hammer inside. "Go get Nick or you will get to the airport by your own ass!" This served enough to get into action. "Nicky wake up," he called out shaking his friend's shoulder lightly.

There was no movement. Not even a stir.

Knowing that sometimes almost nothing would get the kid to wake up he shook his shoulder a bit harder, "Nick get up!"

A slight stir. But still no movement that could remsemble waking up. The older man grew impatient. " NICK GET UP!" Finally it gave the wanted result. Nick moved slightly, just to pull the covers further up over his head so just his blonde hair was sticking up on the pillow.

With a sigh AJ concluded that either Nick was sleeping too hard or not giving a damn about getting up. He opted for the latter. Knowing that they were already late he had to take drastic measures. Dealing with a pissed Lou was not something that he felt up to, especially not while batteling a headache the size of Texas and the nasusea that accompanied a bad hangover. 'Shit, why didn´t he listen to Kevin? Why did he have to be so stubborn? He shouldn´t have drunk that last shot!' It was easy to be wise afterwards, yet he hoped that he next time would stop before he was feeling this miserable. After all they had a very big awards show in the evening and he had to be fit for fight then. The only good part with his hangover was that it never lasted that long. Not like Nicky's that would last for days!

Making one last attempt to wake his buddy up, AJ shook his shoulder, "Nick wake up. We have to go now. The plane will leave NOW!"

"Leave me alone," the teen slurred still not fully awake, pressing his face towards his pillow.

'Ok that is it!' AJ thought irritated. He had no patience dealing with a stubborn "kid". With that he walked briskly into the bathroom, picking up the tooth brush glass, filling it with COLD water almost to the brim. Then he walked back to the bed where Nick was hugging the covers like it was his most precious thing in the world. Still asleep.

"Okay Kaos, I´ll count to three and if you´re not up by then I will pour this glass over you." he said calmly.

"Fuck off," Nick mumbled, half asleep.

Sighing, AJ felt forced to go through with his threat. Ripping the covers off Nick's body he said firmly, "On three I am pouring this water over you." He held his glass up threatingly, "So what's it going to be?"

The threat gave effect as Nick opened his sleepy eyes, "You wouldn´t dare."

"I wouldn´t?" Something evil gleemed in the olders man's eyes. "Don´t temp me."

"Fuck you!" Still not fully awake, not believing that AJ would do such an evil task, he fumbled to get the cover over his shivering body. His face was flushed, both from sleep but also from something else. He had closed his eyes again and for a moment AJ felt a pang of guilt for acting so forceful towards his friend, but Lou had demanded actions to be taken.

"Ok Kaos, don´t say that I didn´t warn you.One..two..three" With that he slowly let the water pour over his friend's face.

"Wh..what the..fu..fuck!" Nick yelled as he sputtered water and was becoming painfully aware of ice cold substance hitting his face. His eyes shot up. "Why did you have to do that?" There was hurt in his friend's voice.

AJ felt like a dork, yet he grinned at the confused and pissed look the teen had upon his face.

"Fuck AJ, you poured water into MY face?" Nick was slowly taking in the situation and he was fuming now. His face as well as the bed was wet from water and Nick was not a happy guy.

"Yeah I told you to get up, didn´t I?" AJ laughed, jumping aside as the pillow came flying towards him. "Good morning to you too."

"Why did you have to do that?" Nick asked when he had a calmed down, a hurt expression on his face. He pulled his hand through his wet hair and he was shivering constantly. The day couldn´t start any worse.

"Because you didn´t get up when I told you so and we have to leave for the aiport in like five, or you will be left alone here in Oslo." AJ narrowed his eyes, "But maybe that's what you want."

Upon hearing the words left alone Nick stiffened. If there was one thing he didn´t like it was being alone. "No."

"Good put these on." AJ threw a pair of jeans and a tee in Nick's direction. The teen stood up, making no attempt to put on the clothes that had been tossed to him.

"Where are you going?" AJ asked as he saw Nick padding barefoot towards the facilites.

"I have to go to the bathroom," he mumbled, looking like a drenched cat.

"No you don´t." AJ said firmly. Jeeze he had to be a father for this kid! "No time. You can go at the airport. Put on these clothes or I´m kicking your ass."

Finally Nick seemed to understand what AJ was saying and he reluctantly sat down on the bed again, holding his clothes in his arms. Wiping off the excess of water on his body with the sheet, he grabbed with the other hand a tissue, blowing his nose loudly. AJ made a face of disgust. If there were one thing that grossed him out it was when other people blew their noses, heck he didn´t even like to blow his own nose. Puke, blood and even shit didn´t bother him, while snot and phlegm sent him hugging the toilet bowl in no time. This was something that Nick had used several times and when he really wanted to gross AJ out he played nasty with those body substances. AJ gagged at the memory.

Nick looked up, a smile toying in his lips like he knew what his older friend was thinking about. AJ interrupted his thoughts, "Don´t you even think of that." Nick's smile faded. "Hurry up and get dressed, meanwhile I'll try to gather all this stuff up and pack your suitcases." He started to toss some clothes down into the suitcase on the floor.

"Okay." Still Nick didn´t make a move.

"Jeeze Kaos how do you manage to make such a mess in a room," AJ muttered as he gathered Nick's belongings. He knew that he was not the one that should talk. In fact AJ was known for being the messiest in the group when it came to hotel rooms. Coming out of the bathroom, holding Nick's stuff in his arms he noticed that the blonde sat in the same position as when he had left him, "Why aren't you dressed?"

"I can´t wear this," Nick whined holding up his black jeans.

"Why? What is wrong with them?" He grinned briefly, "I really don´t think it´s time to ask for fashion advice. Don´t yell at me for listening to D!" D' might be a great guy, his best friend, but when it came to clothes he sucked. At least according to AJ´s tastes.

Nick fidgeted nervously, "They..they are..eh.."

Getting impatient, trying to translate Nick's stuttering AJ muttered, "Okay spill it. What's wrong with thpse?" While awaiting for the teen's answer he threw in yet another t-shirt into the suitcase. How anyone could travel around the world with just one suitcase, a sportsbag and a backpack was beyong his imagination. He himself, who was an shop-aholic had always at least three suitcases with him. Howie was just as bad.

"They're....too small," Nick mumbled, feeling miserable. His hair hung heavy on his head, still soaking wet from the water that AJ had poured over him.

"Too small?" AJ grinned, "Well if you skipped eating pizza in the middle of the night, you wouldn´t get so fat." The words were meant like a joke, but he could see that it hurt his friend, more than they were intended to do. Nick's eyes went dark.

"Fuck you," he spat.

"Eh..Kaos, listen. We don´t have time to get you anything else to wear." He tried to be as gentle as possible especially when they were running late and would soon have an angry Lou banging on the door, asking where the hell they were. "Look just get those jeans on and this," he threw Nick's grey hooded sweatshirt jacket. "We have to go now." There was no time for further appologies and he also knew that Nick never was pissed for a very long period of time.

That was one thing that was cool with Nick,' AJ thought, 'People could say stuff to him, he would either blow up or sometimes just shrug it off with a laugh like it never bothered him. He could never stay mad for long.' His thoughts were confirmed that nothing ever hurt Nick when he saw how the teen was putting on his jeans like those words had never been uttered. From the corner of his eye he saw that Nick had trouble buttoning his jeans and AJ was on the verge to say some smartass remark when he stopped himself. "Hurry up you fa..." Nick didn´t need anymore shit from him, not now. He loved his little brother and like brothers Nick needed to screw up sometimes, he needed to know his place. But what AJ often thought was uncalled for was the way Johnny, and especially Lou treated Nick sometimes. The rude comments, the laughs behind his back. AJ had heard them one too many times about Nick, and he was stunned that the kid didn´t lack more self confidence than he did.

"Let´s go. I´m ready." Nick stated as he picked up his backpack, slinging it over his arm. He walked out of the room in a hurry, leaving AJ with the suitcase and sportsbag.

When it dawned on AJ that Nick had left him with all this he got mad, "Fuck Kaos. This is YOUR stuff. I ain´t carrying YOUR stuff!"

Nick who was already on his way towards the elevators pretended like he didn´t hear what AJ was yelling to him about.

"NICK!" AJ yelled as he hoisted the big suitcase after him, as fast as he could. "I´m no fucking bellboy." ' Fuck,'¨AJ felt irritated. He couldn´t leave the suitcases because then Lou would chew his ass and they were already late and Nick showed no sign of stopping either.

'Serves him right for waking me up so rudely,' Nick thought with a smile as he pressed the elevator button, hearing AJ cussing in the hall.