“Now tell me the truth, have you even given any real thought to this scatterbrained idea of yours?”
The blond shrugged his broad shoulders as he stretched his long legs out in front of him and looked up at his protector, his huge shoulders a welcome shield from the blazing sun.
“I didn’t think so. You realize this is going to be a nightmare, right?” The bodyguard was always on alert, his dark eyes darting back and forth, always cautious. This young man’s safety was his number one priority.
“I can see it now.” He paced nervously like a father having a man-to-man talk with a rebellious son.
“Word will spread like wildfire. The campus will have to rope off the route you take to class because they will find out, just like they always do, and will be lining the streets. In fact, it will be so crazy that you’ll never even make it to a class. It’ll be a huge waste of money and you’ll be asking me later why I let you do it.”
“Nah.” He spoke softly. “It’s going to be okay.”
Nick blew the bangs off his damp forehead, trying to think cool as the Florida sun blazed down on his fair skin, sweat dripping down the back of his neck onto the collar of his gray t-shirt. Just when he thought he had made a decision about which class to take, he saw one that looked just as intriguing.
“You know that once they know you’re here, you won’t get a moment’s peace. You know that don’t you? The groupies will follow you around and I’ll get mauled just trying to protect your sorry butt. This is a college campus for God’s sake, Nick. I’d feel more secure throwing you into the ocean to swim with the sharks you admire so much.”
“Thank you for the geography lesson, but I know where I am, Billy. I’ve lived in Tampa long enough to realize that UCF means University of Central Florida.”
Nick took a minute to admire the beauty of his surroundings. The lush landscaping, the perfectly manicured lawns and flowers of all different varieties and colors…red, yellow and purple beds as far as his blue eyes could see. He really wasn’t interested in the landscape though. It was the student population and the normalcy of it all that made his heart skip a beat.
“I’ve always wanted to do normal things, Billy. I’ve never experienced any of this.” His hands gestured in wide arcs.
“I always had boring tutors and dreary classrooms. Taking this class is important to me and I have the time off now, so I’m going to take full advantage of that.” The discussion was closed as far as Nick was concerned.
He lost himself again in the pages of his catalog. There were so many classes he could take, but he kept going back to Intermediate Water Colors. Maybe that was the one. On the other hand Drawing with Charcoals might be interesting.
He stole a glance at his new Rolex. A gift from his band mates for his 21st Birthday. Being a member of the Backstreet Boys had its perks, but Nick had never had a normal life, especially not in the past nine years.
He had just another 5 minutes before he had to register, so he had better make a decision and fast. His eye glanced towards a course description that was stapled to the back of the catalog. A last minute write in…Art Appreciation - A class that explores all the wonders of Art from cartoon drawing to water colors to charcoal imaging. Now that was what he wanted. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed it before? Everything he was interested in all wrapped up into one and he certainly didn’t have time to take 3 separate classes. Art Appreciation it was!
Now, he needed to calm Billy down.
“Dawg, you worry too much. I really want to do this. I need to do something normal. You of all people should realize that. This class is exactly what I need. I’ll lose myself in the art of self-expression and go back to work in 8 weeks a changed man.”
“You’ll be a changed man alright. A bald, scarred man. The girls are going to make mincemeat out of you, Nick. Don’t you get it yet? You’ve been in this business almost your whole life. Why don’t you wait until the group falls off the face of the earth or at least until you’re not one fifth of the most popular pop band in the world.” Nick smiled broadly.
“Then it won’t be nearly as much fun, Billy. I’m going to take this class and you’re going to keep the girls from pulling me apart limb by limb. I trust ya, man. That’s why you make the big bucks and that’s why I love you.”
“Oh yeah?” Billy reached into his pocket and popped an antacid tabled into his mouth. “You couldn’t pay me enough for all the grief you put me through.” He felt the nerves kicking up in his stomach. He saw firsthand what the fans were capable of and he was worried.
“And Nick? I don’t even like you that much.”
Everyone knew that Billy guarded Nick with his life. His safety was Billy’s first priority. It would be just too uncool to admit how much he cared. Billy watched him grow from a teenager to a man, and as much as he hated to admit it, Nick was unaffected by fame. He had more money than he knew what to do with and he still wore clothes from K-Mart and bought his shoes at Payless.
“Now are you ready to register for this insanity or what?” Billy asked as he rolled his eyes. He had no interest in following Nick all over campus, but it was his job and Nick did seem excited about it.
“Yep, I’m ready. Nick hopped up with a cheesy grin on his face, but stifled his signature grin when Billy gave him the “look” when he noticed a crowd of girls gathering about twenty feet away.
“Let’s go, Nick. Now.” Billy said sternly. Nick started to turn around and Billy threw his arm over his shoulder and muttered under his breath.
“Don’t look back. Just walk. They don’t know for sure, but if you turn around they will.”
“Billy?”
“Just keep walking, Nick.”
“I’m going to college.”
“Shut-up, Nick.”
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Stories By Kailani