"Uh, Fatima?" called A.J. after they finished the routine.
"Yes?"
It had suddenly become very hot and uncomfortable in the room.
"I, uh, I need some fresh air. I'm gonna step outside for a minute, ok?" He started walking out the door.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he retorted not sounding to convincing, but she let him go.
A.J. sat himself on the stairs and just started thinking.
"What is up with A.J.?" asked a confused Nick.
Howie shrugged. "I don't know. He's been acting really weird lately."
"A.J. is weird. That's normal for him," said Brian.
"No, but he's been acting REALLY weird. It's just not natural." Howie recalled A.J.'s frequent mood swings, distant behavior, jumpiness, and his new found ability to spontaneously punch someone without looking. This wasn't like A.J. at all.
Outside, images of the past few months' events flashed through A.J.'s mind…their last concert for six months, their suing their manager, their separation from Jive, the club and Elena, the new album, the charity concert, the new routines, Howie's purposing to Elena, the mugging, the nightmare…the list went on.
'This is too much. I need to get away.' A.J. reached into his pocket, took out his keys, walked over to his car, got in, and then took off.
Back inside the studio…
Howie glanced at his watch and noticed that A.J. had been gone for a long time. He decided to go outside and check on him. But when he got outside, A.J. was no where to be found.
'Where the hell did he go?' His eyes searched the parking lot, and then something clicked in his mind. A.J.'s car was missing. Howie ran back in to tell the others.
"Hey, guys! A.J.'s car's missing. I'm going to look for him."
Before anyone could say anything, Howie grabbed his car keys and was on his way to search for his friend.
A.J. pulled into The Cabaret, a local bar/club. 'I need to get away. I need…something.' A.J. got out of his car and entered the place.
It reeked of alcohol and smoke. He sat himself on the stool, next to an older man, that was half-drunk, and ordered a shot of tequila.
"No worm, please," he added.
The man next to him laughed.
"But that's the best part! It's just not the same without the larva wriggling down your throat! I speak from experience!"
A.J. suddenly felt the urge to throw up. "That's- that's nice," he stammered.
"Oh you younglings! Can't take it like a man! First time?" the man asked with a slight slur.
"My first time with tequila or alcohol? Yes and sort of."
"What?! What's been keeping you?!"
"Well, first off, I just turned legal. Second, I wasn't allowed to drink in the business I'm in."
"Whoof! That sux! What do ya do?"
"I'm in a band."
"Oh, really? I used to be in a band, back in the day. I was the drummer. The Pricks…that was our name."
"Uh…"
"Yep, yep, yep. Those were the days. Young and free. Every night would be a party…women, sex, drugs… Then I met this chick, Delilah. She was gorgeous! Long slim legs, more curves than a baseball game, and the biggest set of jugs you've ever seen! It was love at first sight! Our relationship was great the first few months, then everything went downhill."
"What happened?"
"I married her! That was alright for a few years, but like I said before, it all went downhill, including her best body parts, literately, and therefore, our sex life."
"Err…"
"Here you go," the bar tender handed A.J. his shot.
"Thanks," he mumbled. He did the salt on the wrist thing and then swallowed it. "OH SHIT! This fuckin' burns!"
"Hehe. Too much for you, little man?!" taunted the weirdo.
"N-o…I…just…ha-ven't had this…be-fore…"
"Hmmm…you should work your way up! Bartender, get me two vodkas for me and the boy!"
"Coming right up!"
He quickly served them. A.J. chugged it down. The man looked at him wide-eyed.
"Whoa! Slow down there!"
"No way! I never got to do this before! It feels good to be FREEEEEEEE! Another, please!"
After his tenth shot, A.J. was totally wasted!
"Drrr…I better watch myself! Dun wanna get drunk or something!" exclaimed A.J., slumped on the stool, and red in the face. "It would really upset the band," he hissed, laughing, at no one in particular. The guy next to him had already passed out. "Aww, hell! Screw 'em! They can't t-tell me what to do! No, not me! But I'm out!"
A.J. hopped off the stool and nearly fell. He balanced himself and stumbled out the door. Everything was blurry and spinning.
"Damn world! Stop spinning! I-I-I need to get to my friggin' car and what not!" he muttered loudly. "Now…where the hell IS my friggin' car?! Car! Hey, car!!!" He was calling his car.
He wondered the parking lot, stumbling, tripping, and colliding into various objects, looking for his car. Finally, he found his shiny, new Lexus right where he left it.
"Ahhh, there you are! Thought that you can hide fff-from me?! A.J. McLean? The teenybopper god?! Ha!"
He staggered to his car, jingling the keys high above his head, when suddenly, someone snatched them from him.
"Hey! What the fuck?!" He turned around and faced the person who had taken his keys. "Huh?"
There stood a surprised, but very angry Howie. "A.J.!!! What the hell do you think you're doing?!!!"
"Yo, hiya Howie! Watcha doin' here?"
"I just spent a whole friggin' hour looking for you! What are YOU doing here?!"
"I needed a break from the whole pop star scene! I was just hanging out!"
"Getting stupidly drunk is more like it! A.J., how could you be so irresponsible?!!!"
"Hey, don't have a cow! I'm allowed to have fun once in a while! I am only human, you know! Although some people may think otherwise!" he snickered. "Now gimme my keys!"
"Are you crazy?! You think I'm gonna let you drive in the state you're in?!!! No way! Get in my car!"
"B-b-but…"
Howie was really losing his patience. "Get in my fuckin' car, A.J.! Before I throw your sorry ass in there!!!"
"Whoa! Check out the other side of Sweet D! I never would have thought…"
A.J. didn't have a chance to finish his sentence because Howie had grabbed him, dragged him to his car, and shoved him inside. Despite his size, Howie was pretty strong.
On their way home, A.J. continued blabbering none sense, while Howie tried to ignore him and resist the urge to hit him. A.J. suddenly felt sick and clutched his stomach. Howie looked at him. "What is it?" A.J.'s eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his hand.
"Oh, no! A.J. please don't puke in my c---" Too late. A.J. quickly turned around and threw up between the door and his seat. Howie groaned, but didn't look too mad. A.J. wiped his mouth and faced Howie with guilt in his eyes.
"Sorry, D…I- I…"
Howie sighed exasperated. "Don't worry about it." The rest of the trip was made in silence.
By the time they got there, A.J. was slumped in the passenger's seat and semi-conscious. Howie stopped the car, got out, and went over to help A.J. He reluctantly got out of the car. He could hardly stand up. He leaned on Howie for support. They slowly made their way up to the door. A.J. looked up and frowned.
"Hey! Wait a minute! This isn't my house! What are you doing?"
"A.J., if your mother saw you like this, she'd murder you! I'm being a good friend and saving your ass! I know I shouldn't, but I am. You can stay at my house until you sober up."
A.J. grinned stupidly. "Thanks, bud! Boy, am I glad I have a pal like you!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
He opened the door and stumbled into the living room with A.J. clinging to him. A.J. promptly plopped onto the couch.
"Man, am I tired!" he stated. "A.J. go beddy-bye now! G'night!"
Then he fell asleep or rather passed out. Howie covered him with a light blanket and sighed.
"Goodnight, A.J." It was only 11 in the morning, but neither of them got much sleep the night before. A.J. was out cold. Howie didn't want to leave him alone, so he called the guys at the studio and let them know what happened.
"Wow! That's not like A.J.!" said Kevin on the phone.
"I know. I don't know what's wrong with him. He won't tell me anything."
"Oh, well. Are you going to tell Denise?"
"No. A.J. has to do that when he wakes up."
"Ok. See you around then."
"Yeah. Bye."
He hung up and then decided what to do to keep himself busy for the next few hours.
Three hours later, A.J. woke up with a migraine, stinging eyes, and a major case of nausea. He couldn't remember what happened. He looked around and realized that he was in Howie's house.
'What am I doing here?'
He slowly and cautiously made his way up the stairs.
" 'Elena, will you marry me?' No, that's too straightforward… 'From the first day that I saw your smiling face, honey, I knew that we would be together forever'…oh my God, I'm using our own lyrics! How pathetic can I get?!…ok…"
Howie was practicing how to propose. He was down on bended knee and held out the ring and everything. A.J. lurked in the doorway, watching him, and holding back a chuckle.
" 'Elena, I know we haven't known each other that long…' "
That's it. A.J. couldn't suppress his laughter any longer.
"I think it said yes!" he chortled as he entered the room.
Howie was surprised and quickly got off the floor.
"A.J.! I-I didn't know you were there!"
"I know," he giggled.
"Ahem. So…how are you feeling?"
"Like shit."
Howie put the ring back in the top drawer of his dresser.
"Well, duh! You were totally out of it just a few hours ago!"
"What happened? I don't remember."
"I don't know! You suddenly disappeared from the studio so I decided to go out and look for you. I searched around for an hour and finally found you at a bar, drunk out of your mind!"
A.J. looked at the ground. "Oh," he said softly, then walked away.
"A.J., wait!" Howie went after him. "What's going on?"
"What?"
"You've been acting really weird these past few couple of months. I noticed a while back, but I didn't say anything. I should have. I didn't know you were going to take it to this extreme."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me! Something's up. What's going on?"
"Howie--"
"A.J., I'm not giving up until you tell me."
A.J. sighed in frustration. "Howie, there are just some things going on in my life right now that I'm having a hard time dealing with."
"Like what?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"A.J., I want to help you."
"I know, but there just some things you can't help me with."
"I can try."
"No! Despite what you believe, you can't solve everybody's problems! This is something I have to go through alone!"
"No one has to go through anything alone!"
"Please! Just stop it! Just leave me alone!" A.J. flew down the stairs and gathered his stuff. Howie followed him.
"Where are you going?!"
"Home. Thanks for everything you've done for me. I really appreciate it. Bye."
"A.J.! What's it going to take for you to realize that you need help?! Getting yourself killed?! Or hurting someone else?! You got drunk today! And you were about to drive! You think I'm going to let you just leave?!"
"Excuse me, but you can't tell me what to do! You're not my father! And besides, I did fine without one for seventeen years! I didn't need one then, and I certainly don't need one now!"
Howie's search for answers had now turned into a monstrous, heated argument.
"I'm not trying to be your father! I'm just trying to be your friend!"
A.J. was furious. He was blinded by anger. He didn't think about what he was saying.
"Friends? Friends?! Yeah, we're such good friends! Friends don't steal each other's girlfriends!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Does Elena ring a bell?! I saw her first! I pointed her out to you! You knew I liked her, but you went out with her anyway! You didn't care about my feelings!"
"I thought we already covered that!"
"Well, you thought wrong! Dammit! You know what?! I had it! I-I just had it! I can't do this anymore! I quit the band! I quit the fuckin' band!"
"A.J., you can't!"
"Oh yeah? Watch me! You know why? Cuz I can't handle the pressure and stress anymore! But that's not all! You know what really pushed me over the edge? You!"
"What?!"
"Yeah, you! You think you can just go around solving everybody's problems! It doesn't work that way, Howie! God, why did I join the band?! Why?! I could've finished high school, gone to college, become somebody, and I could've had a normal life! And I never would've become 'friends' with you!"
That last comment really hurt him. A.J. stormed out of his house,
and
slammed the door behind him. Howie didn't even bother to go after him.
He
just hung his head, went slowly up the stairs, into his room, collapsed
onto
his bed, and stared at the ceiling in the dark, wondering where he had
gone
wrong. They've known each other for over ten years. They were the
best of
friends…more like brothers. Howie and A.J. were so close. What
happened?
Was A.J. really going to quit the Backstreet Boys? Was their
friendship
really over?
Links to other sites on the Web
To Chapter 12
Back to CONTENTS
© 1997 crunkgrl62382@yahoo.com
Get your own Free Home Page