Tori left the kitchen as soon as she made her point to Angela about the turtleneck and what it was covering, leaving Angela, Nick, Kim Ann and Sandra alone. Immediately, Angela turned to Nick and hissed, "You know, Nick, I don't appreciate your giving me a hickey. I would never do that to you." Nick laughed, but guiltily refused to look her in the eye.
"You've got a hickey?" asked Kim Ann, pulling down Angela's collar. "Oh please," she said as she studied it. "That'll be gone by tonight. That hardly qualifies as a true hickey."
Angela slapped Kim Ann’s hand away. "Yeah, but now that Tori woman probably thinks I'm a big groupie slut or something."
"Boy, she read right through the turtleneck right away," whispered Sandra. "Is she always that on to things?"
Nick nodded emphatically. "Oh yeah. She's pretty quick like that. It's like she's got sonar or something."
“Sonar? Don’t you mean radar, Nick?” asked Sandra. “I think sonar transmits sound waves through water.”
“Yeah, and radar transmits radio waves, you dork,” said Kim Ann, belittling Sandra with her correction.
Wanting to change the subject entirely to something he somewhat understood, Nick broke in, “Well maybe it’s ESP, I don’t know, but whatever it is, she’s got it.”
Kim Ann put her hands on her hips. "Well, she's not ruining MY fun. She'll just have to deal with it," she said loudly. Nobody commented, but their shocked expressions and the way they moved away from her said it all: Tori was standing behind her.
"Sonar," Nick whispered.
"I'm not here to ruin anyone's fun, Kim Ann," Tori said flatly. "I’m here to do a publicity gig, which happens to be my job. And as far as dealing with 'it,' whatever ‘it’ may be, that's also my job.” Kim Ann stared at Tori with a slightly submissive drop in her posture. “It would be really helpful to me if you would remember that your being here is a privilege that can be taken away as quickly as it was accepted. All I ask is that you respect my Boys and me. And if you don't, then you've ruined your own fun."
Angela was amused at the pink color that flushed across Kim Ann's face. It was the first time she'd EVER seen Kim Ann blush, and it made her smile at Tori. Nick snickered, too. He liked it when Tori used the term "my Boys." They bitched about her more often than not, but it was still a cool feeling to be fawned over like that.
"I wouldn't snicker too much, Nicky," Tori added. "You're responsible for this whole thing and every time something goes wrong, it’s on your shoulders, baby. Clear?" Her words were deliberate and intended more for Kim Ann's sake than for the purpose of chiding Nick. Nick bit his tongue, though he was dying to smart off. Tori smiled and spoke to Nick in a hushed, almost secretive voice. “You know, it’s a reeeally weak signal, but I can still read your mind. And it’s not saying very nice things right now, is it?”
“Crystal,” said Nick. “What?” Tori asked, confused. “Crystal… clear,” he said. Kim Ann was smirking at him gleefully. "So you’re responsible for everything now? Huh. Well, I can handle that," she said, smiling at Tori.
"Two down," Tori thought to herself, as she glanced out the kitchen window to see the Durango parked in the backyard.
“Well thank God you had the good sense to at least hide the Durango from public view,” she said as she swung back around to catch Nick’s response.
“Actually, we were even smarter than that. It was parked at Angela’s place over night so it would be completely out of sight. Her parents brought it back this morning in case we need it today,” said Nick.
“Well, I give you credit for thinking of the little details,” said Tori. Nobody confessed that it was actually Kenneth’s idea to move the Durango to his house for safekeeping.
Tori scuffed her feet along the floor as she paced over toward Sandra. "So you're from around here, aren't you?" Sandra nodded and Tori continued. "Is there a decent restaurant around her where we can go but not be recognized? I'm so hungry I’m getting the shakes." She glanced at the countertop with the chip bag and cereal box on it. "Chips and Fruit Loops aren't gonna cut it for me." Tori glanced at Nick’s stomach so that only he could see where her eyes were aimed and said, "I thought you guys were gonna try to eat healthy." Angela caught the subtle hint, though, and looked away, smiling.
Nick almost cracked a smile. Tori was the only one who could show concern for his weight without it hurting his feelings. He knew she would never criticize or judge him in front of another living being. He also knew she'd taken an “older sister” stance and threatened AJ within an inch of his life to stop the fat jokes. Nick sucked in his stomach with a big breath as he flexed both arms in a Mr. Universe pose. "Tori," he quipped, "you know it all turns to peter after midnight."
Tori raised her eyebrows, shocked by the bold statement he’d made with Angela in the room. "Oh, does it?" She turned her gaze to Angela, expecting a smile, but instead was met with a shocked and hurt expression. "Read that one wrong," she noted to herself before fumbling with words to take the burn out of her comment. "Oh, girlfriend, I'm just kidding. Kevin told me all about the house rules last night… AND, what a nice girl you are."
Kim Ann grimaced and rolled her eyes. "Well, the shit is getting deep in THIS room," she exclaimed. She couldn't BELIEVE it. Had the whole world gone mad? She just KNEW that Nick and Angela had screwed all night long and of course, they were innocent, as usual.
Angela glared at Kim Ann, ready to pounce on her if she said one more word. Oddly, she also found it satisfying to know that she was so wrong about her and Nick - and that she would never know ANYTHING about them and their time together. "And where were you and Howie all night at the bowling alley? Playing pinball, was it?"
Kim Ann stiffened up and her jaw tensed, showing her anger at being exposed. "Yeah, that's right, Angela. What're you getting at?" She stared threateningly and was surprised that Angela didn't look away.
"Nothing," Angela said slowly. "I just wondered who had the highest score, that's all."
Tori let things go long enough to feel things out with the girls, but she stepped in before Kim Ann could react to Angela's call to arms. "That's enough. Don’t need anymore information, thank you," she said abruptly. She pointed at Nick and shook her finger. "Clean it up, little man and don’t act like a sex fiend."
Nick shrugged innocently. "I 'as just jokin', man. I didn't mean anything by it." He knew Angela was pissed, but he really HADN'T meant anything by it in reference to her. He would have said it if it had just been he and Tori in the room.
Sandra interrupted Nick's excuses. "Tori, there's nothing around here. We're talking about a forty-minute drive for something decent to eat."
Tori threw her head back and closed her eyes tightly. "God, I'm in hell. Is it too much to ask for real FOOD?"
"There's French onion dip in the fridge," Nick said hopefully, as if it would change the chips on the counter into a delicacy, but nobody was finding his humor very funny at that moment.
"Maybe Angela could cook something," Sandra interrupted. "She's a great cook."
All eyes turned to Angela and she blushed. "I… guess I could," she said hesitantly. "But we'll have to go to the house."
"That’s cool, let's go," said Tori hurriedly. "I want to meet your parents anyway."
"They're at work," Angela replied quickly, hoping to change the parent subject.
Tori noticed an awkward feeling in the room and eyed Nick for a sign. Ever so subtly he mouthed the word "no" to her, hoping it was enough to keep her from pressing Angela further. Tori nodded. "Good! No distractions." She smiled at Angela. "What can you make? Do you have a specialty?”
Angela smiled and looked at the floor shyly. "What do you want?" She looked back up at Tori, waiting for her answer.
Tori feigned thoughts of food as she studied the hint of sadness in Angela's eyes. She sighed and tapped her chin. "Oh, I don’t care. Just normal Indiana food, I guess," she replied. After a long pause she said, "Baked chicken breast. That seems easy enough. Can you cook that?"
Angela looked at the ceiling, smiling. Baked chicken breast? Only the easiest thing in the world… pre-heat, season, and… well… bake. She found it hard to believe that world travelers would settle for plain old home-cooked chicken breast. "Yes, I can cook chicken breast."
"And macaroni and cheese?" asked Nick. He desperately wanted eye contact with Angela to gauge how mad she was. Her expressionless look at him said it all… or so he thought.
"Salad," she retorted, as her eyes dropped to his stomach before she turned and headed toward the back door. "THAT was for the hickey and the peter comment," she thought smugly.
Tori eyed Nick, while enjoying Angela's feistiness. It was good for Nicky to get it back once in awhile. She was finally catching on to Kevin's impression of Angela… and Kim Ann. "Load up, guys!" Nick hollered out to the living room. "Road trip!"
-----
Nick pushed the button on the remote and opened the Durango for everyone to jump in.
“Dude, gimme shotgun,” said AJ as he tried to slide between Kevin and the open passenger-side door. “No,” said Kevin as he swatted AJ out of the way as if he were an annoying mosquito. Kevin got in and pulled the door shut, happy he had the legroom. AJ jumped in the back behind Kevin while Tori, Brian and Howie got in on the other side and crammed together in the backseat.
“Safety first,” said Nick sarcastically as he patted his seatbelt and put the Durango in gear, waving at the girls to pull out ahead of him. AJ made a hooting sound and lifted his butt off the seat, “Hey, quit tryin’ to grab my arse!”
“I’m trying to find a seatbelt, you idiot,” affirmed Tori. “Oh sure, you probably say that to all the guys,” joked AJ.
“God, you are in such rare form out here,” observed Tori. “Time off is having a weird effect on you guys. What gives?”
“Manual labor does that to a manly man,” said AJ in a big, burly voice.
“Ohhhhh… well then how is it that YOU know?” Tori asked.
Nick hit the gas too hard, causing the truck to peel out while everyone else grabbed for something to hold on to.
“Nick, try not to kill us, would ya? I don’t have a seatbelt here,” remarked Tori.
“I think we’ve had too much fresh air,” said Brian. “That and we’ve actually seen the light of day while we’ve been here, and not just through the van windows.”
Kevin turned and glanced over his shoulder and said quietly, “It’s the girls. New women make a couple of ‘em goofy.”
“Whatever,” dismissed Howie. “If new girls made us goofy, we would have been goofy every day the last few months.” Kevin looked back at Howie and said with an accompanying hand gesture, “Hey, I’m just sayin’…” Brian flashed Nick a grin in the rearview-mirror as Howie giggled and continued. “Sounds to me like you’re jealous because none of them is eyeballing you.” The vehicle was filled with cat calls and painful moans, acknowledging Howie’s slam on Kevin.
“Oh, yeah,” said Kev, “because we all know MY life is really lacking hordes of women.”
“WHORES?” exploded AJ with surprise. “Did you say you’re lacking whores?”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “Hordes! I said ‘hordes.’ But you know, McLean, if I ever DO need a whore, I’ll come to you first for a referral of repeat performers.”
“Oooooh, them’s fightin’ words,” said Brian. AJ just sat with a deadpan look and quietly thought to himself, “Uh huh. You probably would, you loser.”
Kevin finished his explanation with a jocular tone. “You know it and I know it. When it comes to the hotties and the boos, dude, they all want me.” The truck erupted with laughter.
Kevin followed up on his brave statement. “But seriously, there is something kind of refreshing about these girls. They’re nice and easy to be around. They’re not a total pain in the ass.”
“So far,” corrected Tori.
“And as much as they don’t want to admit how little they know, it’s kind of nice that they don’t know all that much about us,” said AJ.
“Yeah,” added Brian. “We can actually have a conversation without having to answer brainless questions and act like we care.”
Tori squirmed in her seat to adjust how she was sitting and said, “Yup, I think this is probably a good break for you. But you know, there is work to be done… on the house and on other stuff.”
Nick rolled to what Kevin thought was a piss-poor stop at a stop sign and only looked to the left before proceeding. Kevin could feel himself tense up but he didn’t say anything or react.
Tori pushed on the back of Kevin’s seat. “Like you have a phone interview scheduled for tomorrow, so we can do a run through later if you want,” said Tori.
“I do?” asked Kevin. “Where?”
“Yeah, they wanted you, so… WTPI Indianapolis… by cell.” Kevin turned his head slightly but didn’t actually look at Tori.
“What format are they?” he asked.
“Light rock,” Tori answered.
“So THAT’S why they wanted the old man,” joked Brian. Kevin turned his head a little further and looked out the corner of his eye at Brian who followed the look with a Homer Simpson-type “Doh!”
“Why aren’t we goin’ to Indy to do it live?”
Tori took a tone that indicated Kevin should have known why. “BeCAUSE, I don’t want groupies finding you and following you all the way back out here to Edgell. My hope is that they’ll think you’re still somewhere else until the day of the event.”
“Does the station reach all the way out here?” asked Kevin.
“No,” said Tori. “But it’s only like three hours away – those kids will come to Edgell if they know you’re going to be here. I want bodies for the Peace House gig. I just don’t want them here until that day.” After a moment of quiet, Tori continued. “And then there are a few other things we all need to talk about when we get some time away from Peace House duties.”
Nick pulled up for another country road stop sign but basically drove through it, barely looking at the cross street for traffic.
“Nick! Would you please look? God, you’re dangerous,” judged Kevin.
“You wanna drive Mr. Perfect?” asked Nick as he glared at Kevin. “It’s not like there’s anybody on these freakin’ roads anyway. There hasn’t been car one.”
Kevin argued with a nasty, loud tone. “Well that doesn’t mean you have to drive like a fool. You still need to watch what you’re doin,’ just in case.”
“Well, we can’t all be perfect like you,” said Nick, reverting to his old stand-by phrase, as he hit the gas to push the Durango to a pace that matched his temper.
“And you wonder why we made you ride in the back on the way up here,” said Kevin.
Nick started to yell back at Kevin when Brian and Tori screeched in unison from the backseat, “Nick, WATCH OUT!” Nick turned his eyes to the road and slammed on the brake and jerked the wheel to the left, narrowly missing a horse-drawn carriage that was traveling slowly up the side of the road. The carriage continued on and slowly pulled to the left to pass the girls’ car, which had suddenly pulled off the road when they saw the Durango swerve. Nick looked out through the windshield, shaken and shocked.
"Holy shit! What the HELL was THAT?” he asked bewildered.
“THAT would be an Amish family you almost clipped,” said Kevin as he smacked Nick up side the head, mussing his hair until it fell in his eyes. “Way to go!”
Nick swept both hands over his forehead and through his bangs, slicking his hair back; his right foot still firmly planted on the brake. Tori readjusted her butt into the seat between Brian and AJ after the heavy brakeage and then gave Nick a tongue lashing. “Jesus, Nicky, I know Florida’s full of OLD people but did you have to learn to drive like them, too?”
Nick turned to argue with her. “Well how the hell was I supposed to know there’d be Amish people driving on the road?”
“You would have KNOWN if you would have LOOKED,” said Kevin with a frighteningly slow and calm voice.
Howie shook his head and peered out his window to see if he could catch a glimpse of the Amish people. “How embarrassing would THAT be to be run over and taken out by the Amish?”
“Yup,” said Brian. “You were right, Tori. One horse-and-buggy-crossing-the-center-line later and…” Tori smiled without looking at Brian. Nick straightened out the truck and continued down the road in silence, hoping the Amish truly were a peaceful people so he wouldn’t get the finger as he passed by.
_________________
Angela hustled around the kitchen, trying to get things in order as quickly as possible. She had the chicken in the oven and the salad tossed. "Half way there," she thought, as she dug around the pantry, hoping to find what she was looking for. She gave a sigh of relief as she spotted the box of macaroni in the back. "Thank God it's a big box," she thought as she pulled it out. She'd forgotten to check for it before she'd sent Sandra to the store for cheese.
"Everything under control?" asked Tori as she swooped back into the kitchen. She observed the box of macaroni in Angela's hand and couldn't help but laugh. "You know, Brian will be grateful that you caved on that one."
"Oh yeah?" asked Angela. "He a big mac and cheese fan?"
"Huge," replied Tori, walking toward her. "Especially homemade."
"Is there any other kind?" Angela asked, jokingly. "My mom always said the ‘home’ part is what MAKES it."
"She was a smart woman," Tori responded cautiously to her mention of her mother. Brian had filled her in on the delicate nature of the topic when Nick couldn't say more than "they died." Angela stared at the macaroni box and smiled thoughtfully. "She was."
Tori smiled and shook her head with wonder. “Moms – ya gotta love ‘em.” There was an odd silence that fell between them when Angela decided to push the personal conversation further.
“So, speaking of moms, how come you don’t have kids?” she asked.
“Me? Oh, I DO have kids,” retorted Tori.
“You do? Where are they now?” asked Angela.
“They’re in the living room watching your TV,” said Tori with a laugh. Angela rolled her eyes, realizing that the intimate conversation wasn’t as intimate as she thought.
Tori stood quietly for a moment then said, “You know, this is the closest thing to ‘home’ that these guys have had in a while. They’ll like it.”
“Good,” said Angela. “It’s kind of fun. ‘Cause how many people can say they cooked for the Backstreet Boys, right?”
“Actually, quite a few, but they’ve been chefs and McDonald’s employees,” said Tori. “But this meal will be special.” Tori pressed her finger against the counter top several times to pick up tiny crumbs and flick them into a tiny little pile on the side of a cutting board.
"You know, you handle Nick very well," Tori said, hoping to prod some information from Angela.
"Ah," Angela said, shrugging, trying to be nonchalant about it. "He's all show." She bit her lip, fighting the smile she so badly wanted to display, but her bright eyes betrayed her.
"That, he is," Tori agreed. "But most girls go with it." She looked at Angela and cocked her head thoughtfully. "You're not a Backstreet fan, are you?" The "are you" was more of an answer than a question.
"I… I… I like some of their songs," Angela answered, wondering if Tori would be offended if she knew the truth. "And they're all super nice guys," she added.
"You know what I mean," Tori persisted.
Angela blushed and giggled a little. "I’m a fan NOW," she insisted, unable to say "no," as she thought of the guys and what they meant to her.
Tori laughed with her. "I love it," she exclaimed. "RARELY, do I get to meet such a rare creature. Oh my God, you wouldn't believe the stories if I told you, Angie."
Angela laughed and moved away to dump the macaroni into the pan. "I heard about the AJ ponytail story from Brian," she added, trying to sound somewhat enlightened on the subject.
"That?" asked Tori incredulously. "Oh, that was before my time. I'm talking 'Millennium' time here."
"Oh?" Angela asked. "There's a difference?"
"Mmmm," verbalized Tori as she thought about it. "Not so much of a difference, just a new level, I suppose. I’ve seen some crazy things the past few months. And some scary things.”
“Like what?” asked Angela, eager to hear more about her new buddies.
“Well, there was the time when the guys got attacked, literally, to the point they were bleeding. I mean BLEEDING,” said Tori. “These female fans came after them and they were like little animals, pulling at the guys’ hair and clawing at them and ripping their clothes. I swear they were trying to walk away with the guys’ skin under their fingernails.”
“Oh my God,” squawked Angela, with a concerned look in her eyes.
“It was like a full-on chase. These girls and women were chasing the guys down the street. It was like a real-life Sears commercial, I tell ya.” Angela continued to cook but threw in a “Oh, uh huh,” to acknowledge that she was listening. Tori could tell Angela didn’t understand the Sears reference.
“Yeah, I remember running to get help because AJ’s and Nick’s scratches were so deep. We were afraid they would scar, but I don’t think they ever did. And you never know where those chicks’ fingers have been. You should have seen it – a chiropractor and an ears-nose-and-throat doc from the tour staff trying to doctor up and bandage flesh wounds. They kept complaining that this ‘wasn’t in their job description’ and ‘God, are you gonna have us delivering babies next?’ Sheer madness!”
Tori paused but Angela didn’t comment so she threw her another example. “They shut down Times Square when the Boys were on TRL for the album release."
"Really?" Angela asked, wide-eyed. "They literally shut it down?"
"Oh yeah," Tori replied, enjoying Angela's lack of knowledge and how it was all new to her. "TRL was a biggie. The police asked them to stay away from the windows so they could keep control of the crowds."
Angela nodded, but it was obvious from her dumbfounded look that she had no clue what Tori was talking about. "Ummmm," she asked softly, “and what is TRL exactly?”
Tori tried to conceal her disbelief, but couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped. "Total Request Live on MTV," she explained. "It's kind of a popularity contest where fans call in or email requests of their favorite videos, and then they play the top 10 videos of the day."
"Oh yeah," Angela said quickly. "I've seen that." She was talking with her hands, exhibiting just how flustered she truly was. "That one geeky guy hosts it."
"Geeky?" asked Tori. "Carson?!? He's pretty popular among the younger crowd. They’d shudder if you called him ‘geeky.’"
Angela shrugged. "Is 24 in that age bracket?"
"A little bit, yeah. In fact, that’s Carson’s age bracket. I think he’s 25." Tori shook her head, still amazed by Angela's disinterest in MTV and all that was BSB.
"Hmmm," Angela said thoughtfully. "Guess I'm weird, then. I think he's a geek."
"Well, I'm not too concerned about your taste. You DO think Nicky's cute. That's pretty normal," Tori replied to assure her that she wasn't weird.
"He's FUNNY," Angela blurted out, giggling. "You should've seen him last night with my…" She stopped before she said “bra on his head,” but had nothing to finish the sentence with, so a painfully obvious silence followed.
Tori raised her eyebrows and waited, expectantly. "Well, I KNOW you two did SOMETHING last night, so you might as well finish your sentence. I won't tell."
Angela felt her face heating up, but Tori's coaxing was so calming and unassuming. "He… he had my bra on his head," she stammered. "That's all."
"Well," Tori said softly, "that's a new one."
Angela giggled again. "He got it from the bathroom. He just put it on his head and pretended he couldn't find it. That's all."
Tori noticed that all of Angela's sentences were ending with a defensive and nervous 'that's all' so she decided to stop prodding her. She knew there was more to the story, but it was nothing she wanted to hear. "That sounds about like Nick," she agreed. "He can be highly amusing… and annoying."
"You know it," Angela agreed. She liked Tori a lot, but she was still uncomfortable discussing one of "her" boys with her.
Sandra bounded into the kitchen with her grocery bag. "I'm BACK!" she shouted out. "Pretty good time, eh?" She eyed Tori suspiciously before approaching Angela to hand her the bag.
"Well, I'll let you finish up in here," Tori said as she walked toward the living room. She was impressed by Angela's honesty and understood why Kevin had defended her so vehemently on the phone the night before. "By shit, he WAS right," she thought to herself.
Sandra leaned close to Angela, and looked behind herself before speaking, not wanting to get caught by Tori like Kim Ann had earlier.
"Was she giving you shit about the hickey again?" she whispered.
Angela shook her head and smiled. "No. She's pretty cool, Sandra. Just don't bullshit her."
"Well, I didn't do anything last night," Sandra said defensively.
"Nothing?" Angela prodded.
"Nada." Sandra emphasized her innocence by holding her hands in the air in surrender.
"Not even a kiss?" Angela persisted.
"I swear to God," Sandra said emphatically. "I was too busy grilling him about Nick, for you."
"And?" Angela asked, curious whether or not Sandra had any tidbits for her. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?" She grabbed the bag from Sandra, pulling its contents out one by one as her eyes stayed on her friend.
"’Cause it was mostly ex-girlfriend stuff. And….. I didn’t want to bring it up until I knew whether or not you two had done anything, either," Sandra explained. "Supposedly they just broke up and he's supposedly all devastated about it."
"Yeah, but HE broke up with HER," Angela emphasized as she mixed the cheese, sour cream and macaroni together. "He told me that yesterday in the car."
"Yeah… because his family wanted to move to California and she wanted him to stay in Florida," Sandra added. "I guess it was just an all-around ugly situation. You know, all or nothing from both sides."
"Wow," Angela said thoughtfully, as she finished mixing everything together. A sick feeling settled in her stomach as she remembered Nick's reluctance to offer her anything more than a week… it was because he was in love with his ex-girlfriend. NOT a good situation. "But there had to be more to it than just that, right?" She hoped.
"Well…" Sandra continued. "This is where it gets good. She gets all pissed at him and stuff and says a bunch of horrible things and then STEALS his TV from the record company. Brian said Nick was pretty pissed off about it." Sandra tried to poke her finger into the cheese to scoop some out, but Angela pulled the pan away from her.
"Why did the record company have his TV?" Angela asked.
Sandra rolled her eyes. "NO! You ass. The record company GAVE them all big screen TVs when they signed with them. It was at his house. I think she was living with him, but I’m not for sure."
"Okay," Angela said, waiting for more. They were living together? She couldn’t even fathom living with a guy NOW, much less at Nick’s age. She wondered how old his girlfriend was…
"When Mandy -- her name is Mandy, by the way -- realized that Nick was really breaking up with her, she took it." Sandra hadn't meant to say the girl's name, but it had slipped out accidentally. She felt bad when she saw Angela wince at the sound of it.
"Well, why didn't he just go get it back from her?" Angela asked. "There ARE laws against stealing."
Sandra sighed. Angela was so clueless to how relationships worked in reality, as opposed to her simplistic theories on them. She always hated asking her for advice about men because she got the no-holds barred, matter of fact, truth. "Probably because he didn't want another confrontation with her. He cut his losses and moved to California."
"And?" Angela asked again. There had to be more. Sandra was still enthralled in the story. There had to be some finality other than a fight over a TV.
"Well… back track a little bit now," Sandra said, waiting for Angela to put the dish into the oven. When she had her full attention, she continued with the story. "When they were together, Nick had gotten her a recording contract, ‘cause she wanted to be a singer and stuff."
Angela interrupted. "Just like that?"
"Well… yeah," Sandra replied. She wasn't sure if it was "just like that," but it sounded good at the moment. "So… when they broke up and she took his TV, he just couldn't let it go."
"But he DID let it go. He moved," Angela observed. It felt important for her to state that point, if only to convince herself.
"Well, he THOUGHT he let it go," Sandra snapped back, unappreciative of Angela's input. "So… he put this big thing up on his website totally dissin' her to all his fans. I mean, Brian said it was pretty shitty, even given the situation and all."
Angela's eyes widened in realization. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed. "We got in a HUGE fight over that last night. He was showing me his website and stuff and he wouldn't let me look at one of the sections!" Angela turned from Sandra, overwhelmed by all the information she'd suddenly acquired about Nick. "Oh my god," she repeated in shock. "He was really shitty with me about it, too, Sandra."
"Yeah, well, he's probably embarrassed," Sandra assured her. "I mean, would you have been impressed if you had read something horrible about his ex on the internet? That HE put there?"
"Well… no," Angela replied slowly. "But why would it really matter?"
"Record deal, Angela," Sandra said, smirking. "She's fucked. Ain't no Backstreet Boys fans gonna buy it."
Angela put her hand over her mouth and giggled like a prissy little girl. "Oh my GOD! That’s so bad."
Sandra was laughing with her. "Can you even believe he had the balls to do that? Nick?”
Angela's face went serious. "It's not funny, Sandra. I mean, that's just downright ROTTEN." As soon as she finished her sentence, though, her hand went over her mouth again and she resumed laughing, almost relieved that Nick had taken such a serious action against his ex. It made her feel less threatened. "I can't BELIEVE he DID that!"
"Did what?" asked Nick as he entered the kitchen.
Angela and Sandra both whirled around guiltily. "What?" asked Angela, almost giving an exact repeat performance of Nick's denial earlier, when she'd questioned him about the hickey.
"He did what?" Nick asked again. He grinned and eyed Angela. "You talkin' 'bout me?"
Angela couldn't help but just stare at Nick blankly, afraid to say anything about what they had just discussed. It was as if he were an entirely different person now. Nick looked back and forth between them and saw the smiles they were trying to hide. "Girl talk," he thought to himself, before backing toward the living room again. "Fine!" he quipped at them before leaving the room. "Don't worry about me!" he yelled out from the living room. "I'll be fine! Even though I KNOW you're talkin' smack about me in there!" He SO desperately wanted to shout “NO! She didn’t grab my package!” out into the kitchen, but he knew after the previous incident with Tori that it would only make Angela mad again. Besides, he thought he’d seen an empty macaroni box on the counter. He knew it was just for him and it made him feel special. “God,” he thought. “You’re pathetic, Nick.”
"Oh my GOD!" Angela whispered urgently to Sandra when she was sure Nick was gone. "You don't think he heard any of that, do you?"
"Are you crazy? He wouldn't be joking, if he did," Sandra assured her. "He'd be kicking Brian's ass right now."
"I can't believe Brian told you all that," Angela said, shaking her head. "WHY would he? You know how they are with personal shit like that."
"’Cause Brian likes you," Sandra said softly, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "I don't think he wants you walking in to all of it blindly."
"He said that?" asked Angela.
"Well… no," Sandra replied. "But he WAS sober and he was just rattling all that off. I didn’t even have to dig much once he got going. I mean, why else would he tell me all that stuff, if he didn’t want ME to tell YOU, right?”
"Sure," Angela agreed, staring off into space as she weighed Sandra’s
theory out in her mind. "I think…" Why else WOULD Brian share
personal
information about Nick? Angela was confused, but also relieved. At
least
she now knew the whole break up story and had an idea as to what was on
the website that Nick had gotten so uptight about. But she still
couldn't
believe he’d done that to someone he cared about.
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