Alesha awoke to the slamming of a door, someone yelling for Nick, and a pair of strong arms around her. Disoriented for a moment, she looked down and seen Nick sleeping soundly. All of a sudden, Brian burst in the room shouting, "Nick!!" He looked at her and said, "Who're you?"
"Shhh..." she said, looking at Nick.
"I'm awake," he said softly looking up at Brian. "Oh. Hey." He sat up slowly.
"Hey guy. I heard about Em. I'm so sorry buddy."
Nick sighed, "Me too." He grabbed Alesha's hand and was holding it tightly again. Brian was looking at them suspiciously, especially her.
"So, who're you?" he asked again.
"This is Alesha. Alesha, this is Brian."
"Nice to meet you," Alesha said quietly. She could tell Brian didn't like her for some reason. She figured it probably had to do with the fact that she was here, with Nick, in a time of extreme vulnerability. She knew how protective of Nick he was. He probably thought that she had some hidden agenda.
"Hmmm," he replied.
Feeling extremely uncomfortable, she said, "I'm going to go get something to drink. Would ya'll like anything?" They both shook their heads, so she got up and left.
She heard Brian exclaim softly as she was leaving, "What the hell is she doing here Nick?" Sighing, Alesha shook her head and walked in the front room.
She turned on the TV, and flipped through some of the channels before settling on MTV. They were having one of their rare moments of nostalgic MTV, playing old HeadBanger's Ball episodes. Alesha knew most of the songs and videos by heart so she didn't really have to pay attention to know what was going on. She probably wouldn't have paid attention anyway. She was thinking about what Brian had said, and the possibilities of what he was thinking about her.
Suddenly Brian was sitting in the chair next to the couch where she was. "What do you want?" he asked.
Startled she stared at him for a moment before answering, "Excuse me?"
"What do you want from him? Why are you here?"
"Umm...well, he asked me to AJ's party last night, he drove me from Daytona to there, he found out about Emily at the party, he needed someone to drive him home, since I had come with him, I did. I stayed and watched over him all night," Alesha said turning back towards the TV.
"And what do you expect in return for your "charity"?" he asked snidely. He looked nothing like the playful angelic type person that he appeared to be on TV and in pictures.
Sighing and trying to keep her temper under control, "I don't expect anything Brian. I'm his friend, and friends do things unselfishly. Without expecting things in return."
"I can't believe that you are willingly putting time into helping him. You don't even know him," he said vehemently.
"I know enough. Perhaps maybe more than even you. Excuse me," Alesha said as she got up and went outside.
She walked down to the edge of the water and sat down staring at the ocean. The water was cold on her feet as it washed over them. She picked up a shell and was looking at it when she heard someone walk up behind her. She looked up to see Nick standing there. "Hey," she said softly. "How ya doin?"
He shrugged and sat down beside her. "Brian's being an ass isn't he?" he asked.
"He's just protecting you. I understand. Just wish he wouldn't be so hard about it."
"Thank you for staying with me. Are you gonna get in trouble with work?"
She shook her head, "I called Jim. He's gonna work for me. And I'm off tomorrow so it's okay."
He smiled softly, "I'm sorry about Brian. Maybe I can talk to him."
"It's okay hon. I'll talk to him, after I calm down enough to do so rationally. He can really piss someone off," she grinned.
"Yes, yes he can," he chuckled softly. Then he sighed, his eyes getting misty. "What am I going to do?" he whispered.
Alesha leaned over and hugged him, "You'll get through this baby."
"As long as you're here with me," he mumbled into her shoulder.
They sat like that for a few moments. Alesha's mind was a jumble of thoughts. Nick, on the other hand, seemed to find peace and comfort in her presence. Eventually Nick sighed and pulled away. "I have to go see my mom. She's the one who called me last night. She was pretty upset, too."
"It's okay hon. I'm gonna go talk to Brian."
So they stood up and Nick walked towards his parents house while Alesha headed towards the beach house. When she walked in, Brian was sitting on the couch playing a basketball game on the Nintendo. She waited until his game was over and he was reading the stats to say anything to him.
"Can we talk? Please?" she asked.
Brian didn't look at her, but continued looking at the screen and almost growled, "Why?"
Alesha sighed. "Because as much as you don't believe me, I care about Nick. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, and now that it has, I want to help him through it. But I see that by me doing that it's going to cause problems between you and him and he doesn't need that right now. He needs his friends to be there for him. And because of your apparent, although misplaced, dislike for me, I'm at a crossroads. Do I walk out his life right now, completely burning any and all bridges, breaking his heart because he has lost not one but two friends? By doing this I also confirm to you that I'm a heartless bitch seeking only the recognition that I would get by having been associated with the Backstreet Boys. Or, do I stick around being a shoulder for him, watching out for him, continually coming between you and him. Which would not only affect ya'll's friendship, but would eventually alienate him from the group as well. This would result in him losing not one, not two, but a total of 5 friends...AND his career." She peeked at Brian to see if he was paying attention. Much to her surprise he was. He had completely abandoned the Nintendo and was staring at her in amazement. "I guess the most unselfish thing, at least most unselfish thing in the long run," she continued, "would be for me to walk away now and not look back. I haven't really been around long enough or been a big enough part of his life to really affect much. Being as sensitive as he is, I'm sure it will hurt him, but it's the least likely to affect his life in the long term. So, I guess I'm asking you, what should I do? Tell me Brian, which do you think is the right choice?"
Brian sighed, "I - I don't know what to say to you. I don't know you. I don't want Nick to be hurt, and as you've seen, it's way to easy to do."
"Why do you think I'm going to? Besides the fact that you've made it virtually inevitable."
"Because, the kind of girl Nick seems to attract, well - usually...not always, cares very little for him. They think it's so cool to be noticed by a cute celebrity."
"Is that what you think about me?" she asked.
"I don't know. Nick seems so completely infatuated with you. I'm afraid for him." Brian looked at her for a second. His stare so intense she wanted to look away, but she knew if she did he would take it as weakness. "No, I can't say that I think that about you. But I don't trust you. I've seen the most apparently angelic persons turn into demons in an instant." He grew silent for a moment. Sighing, he said, "I guess that my personal opinion would be to leave now, before he grows too attached."
Alesha could feel the tears forming as Brian spoke. Choking them back she replied, "And what are you going to tell him when he comes back and I'm gone?"
He shrugged, "I'll take care of that when it happens."
Nodding her head and biting her lip, she stood up. The tears fell despite her efforts to keep them in. "I guess...ummm...yeah...Bye," she said gathering her things and walking out the door.
Walking outside, she realized she had no idea how she was going to get home. She broke down on the porch, sobs violently racking her body.
She didn't hear the car pull in the driveway or the passenger get out and walk over. "Hey Alesha," Howie said putting his arm around her. "Are you okay? What happened?"
She looked at him and shook her head, "Do you think that you could possibly take me home? Nick drove me and I have no way home."
He nodded, "Sure. Nick know you're leaving?"
She shrugged, "Kinda. It's a long story."
"Okay hon, c'mon." Howie helped her up and they walked to the car. He tried to carry on a conversation with her on the ride home, but gave up when he realized it was going to remain one-sided.
Howie pulled into the parking lot and parked. He started to say something, but Alesha shook her head. "Tell Nick that I am sorry. I never meant to hurt him. I never meant for anything bad to happen to him. Tell him that my thoughts and prayers are with him. I hope his friends will always protect him and care for him as they do now," she said softly. Then she opened the car door, got out, and walked away without turning back.
