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Japan.

It was one of Nick’s favorite places to be.  The fans were adoring but polite.  Some of them spoke English better than he did, but they always apologized for their English before they spoke.  Nick had insisted that Rafe build in lots of time for sightseeing and enjoying the culture…and showing it all to Mel, sharing such an intimate part of his life with her, made him as happy as he had been in a long time.

Mel had cautioned him about the Japanese fans.  They didn’t miss much, she told him.  Gus gave her daily reports on what was being said on the message boards.  There were Nick-spottings galore, and every item contained almost verbatim reports of what he had said and done, who had been with him, what they had said and done, etc.  Toby was blown away.

“See, it’s like this,” Gus told them, while they waited for Jeff and Nick in the lobby one day.  “These girls are huge fans.  You would be amazed by the number of them that traveled to the U.S. to see the Backstreet Boys when they were on tour…even though they knew the group was coming to Japan.  Especially after AJ had his little episode…the fans weren’t sure the Japan leg wouldn’t be cancelled.  So they just packed up their t-shirts and headed to America.  They’ve got money to spend.   And most of the time, they’ve had to sit over here watching the reports from overseas and living vicariously.  Whenever the Boys come here, the fans take the opportunity to be part of the whole thing.  That’s why the guys keep coming back.  Nick was here on his last tour and Howie did one of his charity things here.”

“What’s not to like about the place?” said Toby.  “The shows sold out in record time.” 

Toby was having a great time in Japan.  Nick had included him on every jaunt, the free-time ones as well as the publicity ones.  Of course, Mel had been there too and often one or more of the other guys.

Toby wasn’t fooling himself any more about Nick and Mel.  It was obvious that the rest of them were a smokescreen on the outings.  The two were trying hard not to let on how they felt about each other, but Toby had caught the occasional glance that was very telling.  And when he had come into Nick’s suite the morning after their arrival in Tokyo, he had heard Mel’s voice in the bedroom.  Toby had backed out quietly and closed the door.

Toby didn’t like it because he didn’t think Mel was right for Nick.  But Nick obviously thought she was, so Toby decided to give it a chance.  He kept the information to himself and watched the others to see how much they knew.  He was a little embarrassed to discover that he was pretty much the last to know…even Tom seemed to be aware of it!  And everyone was protecting them…because it was obvious they weren’t making it public.  Toby could understand why.  Rafe would kill them!

Toby tried to figure out the best way to approach this.  Should he act like he’d known all along and just hadn’t said anything?  That could get tricky, if Gus got into one of his moods.  As far as Gus knew, Toby still hadn’t figured it out.  Should he go on pretending that he didn’t know?
…pretending you’re an idiot, you mean, he told himself.  Should he tell them that he knew and that he would help them disguise it in any way he could?  No, that was bad.  They would wonder how he finally figured it out…they might think he was sneaking around spying on them…for Rafe… 

Toby knew that the whole crew thought he was a spy for Rafe.  It amused him, but it hurt his feelings at the same time.  He worked for Nick…and he was loyal.  He faxed in the expense reports, and he answered any questions that Rafe asked him directly, because that was part of his job.  But he didn’t report on any personal items, just replied that he didn’t know, if Rafe strayed into that territory. 

At first, Toby figured Gus for the spy…especially after he found out he was related to Rafe.  But Gus was a pretty straightforward guy, considering that he was a conniving con man, and it didn’t seem possible.  Toby asked him about it and Gus laughed at the idea, but didn’t confirm or deny it.

Toby hadn’t seen Gus much over the Christmas Break…only at the end, when they were busy with the details for the Japan venture.  Toby hadn’t missed him as much as he thought he would.  He’d gone out drinking with a couple of friends from his modeling days and he had met a nice man, who had invited him back to his place.  Toby hadn’t gone…but he’d thought about it.

Gus spent most of the Christmas Break in Spain, visiting his parents.  He ran across Rafe at a family party, and they spent some quality time together walking in the garden of their grandparents’ home.  Rafe told Gus how pleased he was with his work.  Gus told Rafe not to patronize him.  Rafe laughed and told Gus not to be so touchy.  Wasn’t he enjoying it?

Gus told him that he was, that he found that he was good at the job.  He was good at tracking down information and working with the little details.  Rafe told him that, if he kept his nose clean, maybe there’d be a job working with Murray when the tour was over.  Gus said that he thought he liked being on the road.  That can be worked out too, said Rafe good-naturedly, clapping his cousin on the back.  Just don’t mess up on this one!  It was all said in a friendly tone, but Gus caught the implied threat.

Rafe went back into the house, and Gus stayed in the garden for a few more minutes.  Who would have thought, he asked himself.  Colossal Screw-up Gustavo Deloro was finally “making a man of himself”, as his grandfather said.  His grandmother was horrified, of course, that Gus’ job was that of a servant.  She muttered, “Madre de Dios” and crossed herself every time Gus’ job was mentioned.  But they were all pleased that he seemed to be growing up.  And it was certainly time.  The family had expended a considerable amount of money and effort keeping Gus’ shenanigans out of the newspapers and the law courts.

Gus stood up from the garden bench and stretched.  He looked up at the large house.  He wanted to go home.  This wasn’t home to him anymore.  L.A. was home.  He wanted to get back to work.  His project for Mel was waiting for him.  He had managed to keep up with it a bit over the Internet but it would be easier on site.  He missed the hustle and bustle of tour life.  He missed the satisfaction of watching a situation grow frustrating for someone and then being able to soothe it over with the right information, product or service.  He missed the music.  He missed the guys.  But most of all, he missed Toby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The concerts in Japan were an entirely new experience for Melody.  She had gotten used to the screaming girls in America and Europe, but over here, there was a whole new atmosphere.  The girls sat quietly and listened to the song.  When the song ended, they screamed and yelled just like the American girls, but then they would settle back in their seats and listen again to the next song.  It made Alias Me such an intimate experience for her and Nick that it was almost embarrassing.

They put House Arrest into the show as an extra encore.  They rehearsed it once with Scott and the stage crew.  It was an immediate hit with the crew.  The practicing they had done at Pineapple Ranch paid off.  Melody had sent the music to all the guys, and they had come in prepared to play.  The four days of rehearsal had been four days of fun.  Stevie Ray had joined them, and they had jammed on a few other songs.  Nick’s playing was so polished now that he could pick up almost any song with seemingly little effort.  Melody knew that he practiced them all later until his fingers were stiff, but it didn’t matter.  He had turned into a musician.

Melody and Nick spent every night together between New Year’s Eve and the flight to Japan ten days later.  As a kind of mutual New Year’s resolution, they stopped discussing their relationship.  But they never went out in public together, and Nick even went to a couple of evening events… and then he went home to her. 

Nick wasn’t giving up on it, he just hadn’t figured out a way to do it yet.  He finally saw where she was coming from on the whole ‘marketing of Nick’ angle.  He didn’t agree with her necessarily, but the tour was going really well, and he didn’t want to mess with success.  And she was right.  Rafe wouldn’t like it.  Nick was prepared to tell Rafe to go fuck himself, but he didn’t think that would be good for the tour.  And as Mel kept telling him, nothing should get in the way of the music.

Nick loved Japan.  He always had.  The parts of his house that he had bothered to decorate were done in an Oriental style.  He’d picked up a couple of nice objets d’art on this trip to add to his collection.  He was thrilled at how he’d managed to show everything to Mel without raising any eyebrows.  He had a feeling that the whole crew knew what was going on and were silent co-conspirators.

Toby knew. 

Nick had come out of his bedroom in Osaka to find a room service table laid with breakfast for two.  Mel had panicked and said, ‘omigod, the fans are sure to find out’ which made Nick lift the skirt of the trolley to show her that no one was lurking there.  He had calmed her down and promised to talk to Toby about it.

Toby explained that he knew Mel liked her coffee and why shouldn’t they be able to enjoy breakfast together. 

“But what if someone ferrets it out,” said Nick. 

Toby shrugged.  “So, we say you and I have breakfast together…a business meeting to sort out the details of the day…”

“But what about you…don’t you get two breakfasts delivered to your room?”

Toby shook his head.  Not any more.

“What do you eat?” asked Nick.

Toby laughed and told him that he ate Mel’s breakfast.  He had one ordered to her room, and he made sure he was there to intercept it.  If anything, he said, they’ll think I’m sleeping with Mel.

The thought of Toby in her room gave Melody the creeps, and she made sure that she locked up anything she didn’t want him to see.  But she smiled at Nick when he gave the explanation and she did enjoy the intimate breakfasts.  It was their best time together when they were vertical and not onstage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were in Kyoto.  It was the last week of January.  The Japan leg of the tour had been a phenomenal success.  Record sales had been good before their arrival, and they skyrocketed in the two weeks they were there.  Nick had even had a phone call from Rafe telling him that Bryan Adams said ‘thanks’.  Nick’s cover of House Arrest had generated a hot demand in Japan for the album, Waking Up the Neighbors.

Tom wandered into the backstage room where they were all chilling before the performance.  He had a piece of paper in his hand and a serious look on his face.  “Gather around,” he said soberly, “you all need to hear this.”

They all looked at him…thoughts of family and global tragedy whirling through their heads.

“Um…it’s the Grammys,” he said in a somber tone.

Everyone sucked in a breath.  No one looked at Nick.  ‘Grammy’ was a word you didn’t say around Nick.  He knew that there was buzz that he would be nominated.  There was a hot debate going on among the crew about what he would be nominated for…rock or pop.  Nick had made the definitive statement that he would rather lose the Grammy for Best Rock Album than win it for Best Pop Album.  And that he didn’t want hear the word ‘Grammy’ again.   And he hadn’t, but that hadn’t stopped the crew from talking amongst themselves.

Tofu moved behind Tom and read the paper over his shoulder.  “Congratulations, Nick.  It looks like you’re going to get your wish…to lose a Grammy.”

Nick looked confused.  “What?” 

“You’ve been nominated for Best Rock Album.”

Nick looked stunned.  What?  He looked at Mel who had her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes.  He looked around at the rest of them and shook his head.  He couldn’t make it sink it.

Finally, Rashad let a roar out of him.  He grabbed Nick and whirled him around.  “Way to go, Kid!  Way to go!” 

Then there was general mayhem and shouting as the rest of the crew filtered in, drawn by the noise.

After a couple of minutes, Nick looked over at Tom.  “So who am I going to lose to?” he laughed.

“Probably REM,” sighed Tom. 

Michael Stipe had recorded an album with his group that was outstanding.  It was called Back With a Vengeance.  It was a favorite with everyone on the crew.  Tom read the rest of the nominees.  They all agreed that REM would win the Grammy for Best Rock Album.

“They always give it to the old guy,” said Blaine, waving it off. 

Nick shrugged.  “I know it’s a cliché, but really…”

“Yeah, yeah, we know…” said Tofu, “it’s an honor just to be nominated.” 

Everyone laughed.

“Well, then I guess you’re pretty honored,” said Tom, who was so proud of his straight face, he was almost bursting.  He waited until they were all looking at him.  “Alias Me was nominated as Record of the Year.” 

Nick backed up until he was leaning on the wall.  This was too much.  His knees told him to sit down.

“And…” Tom savored the moment, “…one more…Song of the Year.”

A sob tore out of Melody.  Song of the Year.  That was for writing.  That wasn’t for performing.  She moved across the room and into Nick’s arms.  She hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back.  And then she felt more arms.  Blaine and Tofu and Rashad joined the hug.

“The short chick is smothering,” said Melody, after a moment.  The others backed away, clearing their throats and swiping at their eyes. 

The crew lined up and gave Nick hugs and high-fives.  He thanked them and said how it was great and all, but it was just a nomination, he was sure he wouldn’t win, and we’ve got a show to put on here.

And then Tom’s phone rang.  It was Rafe.  Tom listened and put in the occasional word.  Then he handed the phone to Nick.

“Congratulations, Nick!” said Rafe earnestly.

“Thanks, Rafe,” said Nick.  “I’ve having trouble taking it in.”

“Yeah, I can understand that.  It’s a big thing.”  Rafe then proceeded to give Nick advice about how to handle the media and what to say at his shows.  Nick didn’t listen to any of it.  His brain was numb.

“…and a date.”

“What?  Sorry, Rafe.  I didn’t get that last part.”

“A date.  For the Grammys.  Do you have someone you want to take?  You’ll be sitting in the front row, you know.  What about Marisa?  Or maybe even Tamara?”

“Can we talk about this later?” asked Nick.  “I’m still in a bit of a fog.”

“Sure, sure,” said Rafe.  “We’ve got nearly a month.  I just wanted to say ‘congratulations’, Nick.”

“Thanks, Rafe,” said Nick.  “And, uh…thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” said Rafe.  “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

Nick handed the phone back to Tom.  He stared across the room at Mel, who was talking excitedly to Blaine.  Nick smiled to himself.  He knew who he was taking to the Grammys.