"My turn," Nick said preparing to break.
"You broke last time," Sarah pouted.
"No, you did. Remember. The lil white ball went bouncing across the room."
"Oh, yeah," she said smiling slyly. "So Nicky, tell me. How did you and Alesha meet?"
"Ummm…she works at the mall. I needed a battery for my Playstation," he said breaking. "Woohoo…solids. 2 in at once. God I'm good."
"Whatever. So she sold you a battery?" Sarah asked snidely. "How exciting."
Nick laughed. "She was so cute working back there. Damn ball, you're suppose to go in, not stop halfway there."
"Ungh, Nick. She is so not cute. Did you know she was all rude and mean with me?"
Nick looked at her. "What? Alesha? No way."
Sarah nodded. "Yeah. She called me a bitch and told me that she was your girlfriend now and that I should just keep away from the fans because they are hers to deal with now."
Nick shook his head. "Alesha wouldn't do or say that," he said softly. "That doesn't sound like her."
Sarah could tell that he was doubting himself by the way he wouldn't look her in the eyes.
"They did say there were going to be playing pool, right?" Brian asked scanning the room for Nick's 6-foot plus figure.
Leighanne nodded. "Yes, they did," she said looking around. "Wait! There he is," she said pointing.
"Okay. Now what? We sit here and stare at them?"
"No, we move a little bit closer and sit there and stare at them," Leighanne said laughing.
Brian jumped as his cell phone started ringing. "Hello? >pausepause< Oh. Hey Kev. >pausepausepause< Yeah. We're at Dalien's. >pause< Baby-sitting. >pausepausepause< Nick and Sarah. >pause< Yes, I said that right. >pausepausepause< I guess he forgot she existed. I don't know. >pausepausepause< I think Howie's with her. >pause< Yeah. >pausepausepausepause< Sure. We're in the poolroom. >pausepausepausepausepausepause< I don't know if they will or not. >pausepausepause< Okay. See you soon. >pause< Bye." Brian clicked the phone closed, put it back on its clip, and wrapped his arms around Leighanne. "Kevin and Lori will be here in about 10 minutes. I told them to meet us in here."
"Okay. That table over there looks secluded enough," she said pointing to a table in the corner. It had an excellent view of Nick and Sarah, but was hidden enough so they wouldn't be noticed.
"Righteeo darling," Brian said kissing her softly and then heading over to the table.
o~/I kinda always knew I'd end up your ex-girlfriend/I hope I hold a special place with the rest of them/ And you know it makes me sick to be on that list/But I should have thought of that before we kissed/~o
"I'm going to marry her one day," AJ said as he collapsed into the booth. He and Carrie had been out on the dance floor since they had arrived over an hour ago.
"And is Gwen aware of this life-changing decision? I mean, one of ya'lld have to give up your career, because I really don't see ya'lls fans living in harmony," Carrie asked trying not to laugh.
"Oh, she and I talked. She knows the pressures I'm under as the sexiest Backstreet Boy. And I understand the pressure's she's under as the sexiest member of No Doubt -"
"I should hope you find her to be the sexiest member of No Doubt, darlin'," Carrie said with a smirk.
"Oh, didn't I tell you I had a crush on Adrian, the drummer? He's so adorable," AJ said batting his eyelashes at her.
"Whatever freak," she laughed, throwing a wadded up napkin at him.
"I don't want your used piece of tissue, that you VERY much," he said picking it up gingerly between his thumb and forefinger with a look of disgust. He tossed it at her quickly, making a face.
Carrie laughed. "I didn't use that. I just picked it up off the table."
AJ grinned. "I'm going to get something to drink. Want anything?"
"Nah, I'm all right," she said smiling at him as he stood up. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll be back in a minute," he said as he slowly wandered off.
"Wow, this place is pretty cool," Lori said looking around as they walked up the stairs to the rec rooms.
"Yeah, it's all right," Kevin smiled down at her. "Hope you don't mind spending some time with the fellas and stuff out in public. It could get interesting."
Lori laughed. "Darling, any place with you guys, be it public or not, is ALWAYS interesting. And no, I don't mind."
"There you two are," Brian said walking up. "Was beginning to wonder if ya'll were teasing us about coming."
Lori giggled. "Poor Bri. Thought we were gonna stand him up."
Brian smiled. "That would just be wrong," he said leading them to the table.
"Hey Lori," Leighanne smiled up at her. "Kevin," she smiled.
"Hey Leah. So, where's the boy?" he asked sitting down next to Lori.
"Over there," Brian pointed.
"Hmmm…" he said, surveying the situation before him. Nick and Sarah looked to be having a really good time. They were laughing and joking with each other as if they were best of friends. "That," he pointed at the couple, "has me a little disturbed."
Brian nodded. "I know man. I want to go over there and say something, but first of all I have no idea WHAT to say, and secondly, Leah won't let me."
Lori sighed. "I hope Alesha doesn't see this. This will drive her crazy."
Leighanne nodded. "You didn't see her face when she walked out of the room tonite. I thought it was the end of the world. She looked so lost and dejected."
"I was almost in tears for her," Brian added.
Kevin sighed. "Is AJ and Carrie coming?"
Brian shrugged. "Dunno. Perhaps I should call," he said opening his phone and hitting a button. "Hello. >pausepausepausepause< It is. It's Brian. >pause< Hello. We're at Dalien's right now. You gonna show up? >pausepausepause< The poolroom. Kevin and Lori are here with us. >pausepausepausepause< Sure. >pause< Bye." He hung up his phone. "Okay. Alesha and Howie are with him downstairs. They're gonna be up here in a few."
o~/Wish for you on a falling star/Wondering where you are/Do I ever cross your mind in the warm sunshine/She's from/The city of angels/Like Betty Davis, James Dean, and Gable/ Never know what she means to me/I think I fell for the girl on TV/~o
"Hey Lesh, it's our song," Howie said, taking her hand.
"What?" Alesha said looking at Howie as if he'd just appeared out of thin air.
Howie sighed. "I'm going to get a complex if you keep drifting away like that," he said, winking at her.
"I'm sorry, D. Ya know, this song really sucks," she said looking away.
Howie blinked. "Why would you think this song sucks? I thought you liked it," he asked, confused.
"Well, gee. Let's see…how did I come to even know who Nick was? From ya'lls CDs and videos…hence, TV. So everything that has happened has been like some big dream and I'm finally waking up from it…although I wish I didn't have to," she sighed.
"Oh, baby. It's not even like that," Howie said wrapping his arms around her. "I told you that Nicky gets this way when she's around. They're just good friends, that's all. He loves you. I know it. Maybe you should talk to him tonite when he gets back to his room."
"Oh, I was going to. But I'm sure it wasn't about the same thing that you were thinking," Alesha said looking at him.
"Just don't make any rash decisions sweetie. Find out what's going on first. I think you'll find me to be correct when I say that he isn't leaving you for Sarah," he said kissing her softly on the top of the head.
"Howard Dwaine Dorough. What ARE you doing?"
Howie closed his eyes and shook his head, a smile playing at his lips. He looked down at Alesha who was trying not to laugh at the blush creeping onto Howie's cheeks. Turning slowly around, Howie said, "Hello, Bone."
"Well, hello D. Fancy meeting you here," AJ said with a grin. Looking at the bartender he said, "Two Bud Lights please."
Alesha wrinkled her nose. "Ewww…beer? Why don't you drink something manly?"
"Manly? Beer IS manly, darlin'," he answered.
"No. Tequila is manly. Beer is for weenies," Alesha said mischievously.
AJ looked shocked. "Tequila? Lil darlin, have you ever drank that stuff before? That is some harsh stuff."
Alesha laughed. "It's about the only thing I will drink."
"No way," AJ said staring at her in disbelief.
"Oh way, honey. WAY," she nodded.
"Great," Howie said recognizing the look on AJ's face. "Here we go."
Alesha looked from Howie to AJ and back again. "What?"
AJ looked at the bartender. "4 shots of Cuervo a piece please."
Alesha looked at AJ, confused. "What are you going to do with those?"
AJ grinned. "Well, I'm going to shoot 4 and you're going to attempt to shoot 4."
Alesha laughed. "I'M going to attempt to shoot 4 shots? PLEASE. 4 shots of Tequila ain't nothing."
"Okay, then. First person to give up, has to…ummm…take the other on a shopping spree buying them whatever they want. And I do mean…WHATEVER. Howie. You keep track. On 3."
Howie sighed and shook his head. "One…two…three…"
AJ drank his down, almost choking on the burning sensation. Alesha shot hers without a blink. Howie looked at AJ, whose eyes were watering, and then at Alesha who was smirking at AJ's obvious discomfort. "Number 2. One…two…three…"
They drank them down quickly, AJ handling the second shot much better than he did the first. Alesha was still smirking. Howie began to wonder if she hadn't played this game before. "Third shot. One…two…three…" and so it went. Carrie had joined them and was laughing at how quickly AJ was going under. By the time they hit number 15, his eyes were looking a little glassy and he wasn't shooting so much as he was sipping his Tequila.
"Ohtay, I give up. She wins," he said groaning as the bartender sat another shot in front of him. "I don't want that."
Alesha laughed. "Weenie," she grinned as she drank the shot down. "Told you. I love Tequila."
Howie shook his head. "Aren't you bothered in the least by how much you drank?"
Alesha grinned. "I've got a nice buzz, but that's about it."
AJ about fell out of his chair when his cell phone started ringing. "This had better be an important person. >pausepause< Oh. Hi Bri. >pause< You are? Where?" AJ stood up on his tiptoes, almost falling over as he looked around the room. " >pausepausepause< Oh. Cool. Alesha and Howie are here. We can meet ya'll up there. If you want. >pause< Okay then. Bye." He shut his phone off and looked at Carrie, then Howie and then Alesha who were all looking at him expectantly. Suddenly he cracked up laughing. "You look like a bunch of fish."
Howie tapped him lightly on the head. "What did Brian want?"
AJ pouted and rubbed his head. "Not gonna tell you now. That hurt."
Alesha looked at AJ threateningly. "I'm gonna make you hurt even more if you don't' tell us what Brian wanted."
"Fine," he said shaking his head and sighing. "He wants us to meet him in the poolroom upstairs. They wanna play some pool."
"Groovy," Alesha said smiling.
"Hellohellohello fellow members of the only real talent in the music industry," AJ said loudly as he walked up to the table.
"What is wrong with you?" Lori asked looking at him like he was crazy.
Howie laughed. "He challenged Lesh to a Cuervo shot contest."
Lori looked horrified. "Oh you poor boy. Someone should have warned you. She's been drinking that stuff since she was 12."
AJ looked at Alesha. "Oh, now that isn't fair. You didn't share that tidbit of info with me BEFORE hand."
Alesha shrugged and grinned evilly. "You didn't ask."
"So how many did you have Bone?" Brian asked grinning.
"Ummm. I lost track after 6."
"15. He stopped shooting after 6," Alesha smirked. "He started sipping like wine after that."
Leighanne laughed. "Poor AJ."
AJ looked around. "So, how are things up here?" He made a face. "Looks as boring as down there." He slung his arm around Carrie's shoulders. "We should liven up this…HEY! Isn't that Nick?"
Alesha's smile froze on her face. Howie looked from her to AJ to the table. Alesha closed her eyes and turned slowly around. She opened them just in time to catch Nick and Sarah in the middle of a kiss. Her eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth. Turning quickly back towards the table, she closed her eyes again, and shook her head. Then she quickly walked away.
"Oh my god. You're Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys. This is sooo cool," a girl of about 16 or 17 gushed, staring at Nick as if he was a god.
Nick blushed. "Yes," he cleared his throat. "Umm…that would be me."
"Oh my god," she squealed. "Do you…do you think that you could take a picture with me?"
"HELLO? Nick. Game," Sarah said coming over and grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away.
Nick looked over at the girl, shrugged helplessly and mouthed, "I'm sorry."
"What the hell Nick, we haven't been back together 2 hours and you're already running off with those silly girls? And you wonder why it didn't work," Sarah said through clenched teeth.
"What are you talking about Sarah? We aren't together," Nick said shaking his head.
"Sure we are Nicky. You know you want to be with me," she said wrapping her arms around him and kissing him.
Recovering from the initial shock of her actions, Nick pushed her away. "What the hell, Sarah? I DON'T want to be with you. I don't want you to kiss me. I don't even want you to touch me," he said looking at her in disgust.
"Then why are you here?" she asked stepping closer to him.
He tried to move further away. "I..I don't know. I guess I thought we could be friends. But guess I was wrong."
"Oh Nicky. You know you want to be more than friends," she said as she brushed a lock of hair from his face.
"No, no I don't, Sarah. I'm with someone else now. I love her. I want to be with her, not you."
"Don't tell me that you're talking about that bitch, Alesha," she said pouting.
"That's exactly who I'm talking about. And she is NOT a bitch."
"Oh Nicky. I just don't understand how you can be so into someone like her. She's just using you for who you are. She doesn't really love you."
"Whatever Sarah," he said as he tossed his pool stick on the table and walked off. He stopped in mid-stride when he seen AJ, Carrie, Howie, Kevin, Lori, Leighanne, and Brian sitting at the table. Closing his eyes and running his hand over his face, he sighed. He looked up quickly and scanned the group, looking for Alesha. Brian pointed at the back of Alesha's retreating figure and Nick cringed. Brian nodded and shrugged. Nick sighed and headed in that direction.
Sarah had noticed the group and headed over. As she approached the table, Howie stood up. "Look Sarah, no offense, but I don't think you're welcome here."
"What? What did I do?" she asked looking up at Howie with an expression of pure innocence.
"What haven't you done?" Carrie asked. "You're always in Nick's business. Even when he didn't want you there. Get on with your life, Sarah. He doesn't want you anymore. He's happy. At least he was until you decided to ruin it for him. AGAIN."
"Oh what do you know? You can't even manage to keep AJ happy. How long have you two been seeing each other? 4 years now? And you've yet to become a serious couple? Don't tell ME about making men happy."
AJ stood up and walked over to Sarah. "Don't you EVER compare yourself to my girlfriend or any of the other guy's girlfriends. You aren't even worthy of licking the dust off their shoes. Now get the hell out of here before I have security ESCORT your ass out."
Sarah looked at the group and laughed. "Oh. You haven't seen the last of me. Nick will never be over me. Ever," she said as she walked off.
