As soon as they entered the parking lot Brian leapt out of the car. He had to prepare for singing at the sermon and they were running a bit late already. Nick on the other hand dragged his feet along. He did not want to go to the mass still he had no options. To his demise he noticed that all kinds of people stopped and talked to the Littrell's and they seem to be friends with everyone.
Sticking his hands in his pocket Nick tagged along. When he was being introduced he smiled back at them and shook hands. He was being so polite that he bet his mom would be proud of him if she had seen him. She had always taught him to act nice since you never knew who the person standing in front of you was. Maybe one day it would pay back. What he didn’t like very much was that it was all business for his parents, not so much before though like it was these days.
Just when he thought he couldn’t take any more politeness he felt Jackie place an arm around his shoulder. “Nick it’s time to go inside. Come on.” She guided him gently towards the entrance. With a nod he followed.. The muscle he was certain he pulled yesterday in his side made him walk a bit hunched and Brian’s mom took notice of this at once.
“You feeling all right?” she asked.
“Yes.” He looked up to be met with Mrs Littrell’s concerned eyes.
“You sure Nickolas? It looks like you are in a bit of pain. Is your stomach bothering you today?
It would have been so easy to say a yes but instead he shook his head. “No I’m fine.” Placing a small smile on his lips he went on, “Why do you think so?”
“You’re walking a bit hunched.” Her answer was short but her eyes were questioning his words.
“Oh.” He chuckled lightly in an attempt to reassure her that everything was just peachy. “It’s the muscle I pulled yesterday while playing Basketball with Brian. It’s acting up again.” He did his best to stand up straighter. To his relief Nick noticed that it didn’t hurt that much anymore. Maybe he was starting to get better and the impending stomach flu was on its rebound.
“If you say so.” She looked like she didn’t believe him, yet she didn’t press on any further either. With a swift hand she corrected the collar on his shirt and then said. “Come on then, let’s go inside the others are waiting.”
“Ok.” Nick followed close behind and sat down on a bench.
It didn’t take long for the church to be filled to the brim with people and since there were not enough seats some of them had to stand in the aisle. It was hot and stuffy and people were complaining that it was hard to breathe. The Littrell’s had been fortunate enough to get seating places in the front of the church.
Nick on the other hand wasn’t that lucky. He was cramped up between an overweight middle-aged woman and her fat son. On the other side sat Brian’s brother Harry who was chatting with a good looking young girl that he was dating on and off. Nick got to know her name as Lisa. This meant that he wasn’t paying Nick much attention. Brian was preparing to sing his first song.
Nick sighed. He was already bored and the service hadn’t even started. On top of everything the woman next to him was wearing heavy cologne, the same one as Donna Wright and he knew it was called Opium. The name did fit since it was hanging like a fog making it hard for him to breathe and also making him feel more and more queasy.
Her eight year old son, red-haired with freckles and a large hole where he lost a tooth, was constantly bugging him. Hitting him in his side and making all kinds of faces.
He wanted to hit that little rascal and if he hadn’t felt so off he would have showed that little creep who was in charge, much like he did with his own little brother. But now they were in church and even Nick knew that such a thing wouldn’t be appropriate.
The intro to the first song was played and soon Brian’s clear voice filled the church. Looking at his side he saw that Mrs Littrell had closed her eyes, enjoying every moment. Even Mr Littrell seemed happy and Nick felt a pang of jealousy. Whenever he preformed his mother and father often sat and criticized him, not with words but by looks and that made him feel jumpy and nervous. His mother wanted it all to be perfect and there was more than one time that she bashed him for making a mistake. If she only knew that her way of acting made him mess up. As the song toned down Nick felt more and more restless.
If this was just in the beginning how would the rest be? He didn’t even dare to think that thought out loud.
Shifting in his seat, very uncomfortable, caused him to irritate the little creep by his side. Before he knew it the kid hit him in his side and had to bite his lip to keep from crying out loud. Glaring at the grinning youngster he balled his fist and wheezed that the little prick was going to get it. But the pain in the butt didn’t seem too scared. Fidgeting once more Nick started to glance at the clock. Time was dragging on awfully slow and he who had a hard time sitting still for longer period of times.
Bouncing his leg up and down he made the woman lean over to him saying in a snotty tone, ”Young man, can you kindly sit still and stop bouncing around?"
He was on the verge of telling her off when he stopped himself and instead stared at her, just to return back to the bouncing moments later. He just couldn’t help it. There was no way he could sit still, besides he needed more and more to look up a bathroom. Glancing at the back he saw that the church was packed and there was no way that he could make it to the back without stirring up the whole audience.
With a sigh he decided that he better hold on, for what it was worth. The minister, giving the sermon was preaching about the topic of families. He talked about how thankful they all should be that they had families that cared for them and the more he preached the sadder Nick felt. His thoughts were travelling back to his own situation and his family in Europe. If they really loved him why didn’t they invite him to come with them to Germany? His stomach ached more and more and he thought about how much he missed them.
Suddenly the stomach ache was back again and he bent over, trying to lessen it. Now was no time to get sick and he rubbed his stomach up and down trying to sooth the pain.
Just like Brian did, Harry most have sensed that something was wrong since he leaned towards Nick’s side, whispering,” You ok?"
Nick mentally debated whether or not he should say anything, but after catching a quick glance at Mrs Littrell he decided that Harry would probably talk to her and he didn’t want to be a nuisance so instead he kept his mouth shut.
”It’s nothing," he mumbled, shaking his head. His stomach churned over and over again and he tried desperately to wait for the stomach cramp to lessen. And soon he was feeling better again, sitting up straighter he got a curious look from Harry,”You need to get out Nick?" he asked, with a smile in the corner of his lips.
”No!" Nick shook his head as he felt his face turned red. Nothing more was said as it was time for a psalm. This pain was starting to get on his nerve and he caught himself wishing that whatever was causing his system to act up would make itself known so it would be over with. Sometimes it was better if the sickness decided to erupt then having to deal with feeling crummy all the time. But he decided that if this stomach ache continued he would seriously ask Brian’s mom for something to ease the pain.. Embarrassment forgotten.
He didn’t have time to think the thought out as he felt a pinch in his side. ”Stop that!" he wheezed to the little shit, silently wishing that he could kick the kid’s ass out of the bench. The kid didn’t listen to him and instead leaned over him, making his stomach cramp up even more,”Where is your family? Don’t you have one?" he asked nosy.
”None of your business," he sneered back, hoping that the kid would leave him alone. No such thing happened and instead the kid leaned even further saying to him in an evil tone,”I’ll bet that your mom thinks that your butt ugly and she don’t want to have you."
This last comment triggered something inside Nick and he bit his lip. Generally eight year old kids did nothing to upset him and he usually just showed the kid who was in charge. But being emotional tired and in pain the situation was becoming more and more unbearable. He was feeling sicker by the minute and in a weak moment he hit kid in his side. Not hard. Just to make a point.
This set off an unwanted reaction. The kid started to bawl, high and loud and everybody’s eyes turned to the corner where Nick sat. Hushing them down since the minister was talking again. The kid turned towards his mom, whining loudly, " Mom, Mom, that nasty boy HIT me!" He pointed towards Nick who wanted to sink through the ground.
Nicks face turned red from embarrassment and he could see now Mr and Mrs Littrell turned at his direction. Sinking further down in the bench he wished that he would disappear, turn invisible. But his thoughts were soon interrupted by the woman saying with distaste,”What gives you the right to hurt MY baby boy?" She was soothing her son, by holding her arms protectively around him, whispering that everything would be fine. At the same time she managed to stare at Nick with cold eyes.
"I did not, I did not hurt your son," Nick mumbled, trying to defend himself. In the corner of his eye he could see that Harry was watching the scene with amusement.
”Yes you did," the boy started to whine again. ”He did, he really did. Look mom!" the boy lifted his shirt just to reveal a pale stomach that made Nick think of those pale white dumplings that he got one time in Germany. He couldn’t help but grin, despite the seriousness of the situation.
The woman caught this instantly and she said to him,”Are you laughing at this? At hurting my Stillwell?"
This was it!
Stillwell, the boys name was Stillwell? Nick could feel the giggling bubbles boil up within him. He swallowed hard, to no avail. The laughter hit him hard and as the boy moaned the more he wanted to laugh. He was suppressing the giggles so much, swallowing it down and as the boy, Stillwell, wailed, " Ooo Mommy it hurts so much!" he just knew that he couldn’t take it any longer.
He had to get out of there or he would embarrass them all. He stood up fast as the laughter was threatening to split him in half and he ran towards the entrance, hand covering his mouth. They probably thought he was sick, but he didn’t care. He had to get out! Fast!
The moment he hit the fresh air he started to laugh. Giggles erupted from him and he laughed so hard that he thought he would wet his pants. It wouldn’t surprise him if it was heard into the church and he felt bad for acting this way. But he couldn’t help it. When the worst of laughter had died down he panted for hair, hands on his knees. His stomach ached again, but it was more from the laughing fit then from being sick.
”Nick? Nick? Are you feeling sick?" Jackie’s voice was heard as she came out from church.
Panting he tried to get his bearing back, and as he did so he mumbled,”No. No I’m fine." He could feel her hand on his back, no doubt concern that he was feeling bad again. Not having the guts to tell her that he had another of his famous laughing attacks that everyone in the band disliked so much. He murmured,”It. It was just too stuffy."
”I know," there was compassion in her voice, yet Nick could tell something more too. Looking up he saw that she had a smile in her eyes as she played along with him,”You are probably tired. Sit down and rest here for a while and then come back when you feel like it," she motioned towards a bench under a tree.
He nodded.
If she knew the real reason for his departure she showed no sign of it and she didn’t scold him either. As she led him over to the bench she said,”I am going back inside for a while."
Nick looked up, suddenly feeling ashamed of his behaviour. ”I´m...I´m soar...sorry," he stuttered.
”For what? For feeling sick?" Jackie said with pretend surprise,”Nonsense. I tell whoever asks that you are suffering from a cold." She stopped to look at him, ”Because Nickolas you’re not feeling one hundred percent are you?"
”Uh?" He didn’t know what to answer.
”I’ve seen you rubbing your stomach. Do you feel discomfort?" she was frank with her words.
" Eh..uh..eh..A bit," Nick felt embarrassed as she said with a warm smile,”When we get to Ann’s I will see if I find something for you to take so that your stomach will be better again."
Nick blushed as he stuttered, " Tha..thanks."
"Now sit down and rest and come in when you feel like it, Ok?" And with that she left.
As soon as he was alone he pulled his jacket closer to his body. It was cold, yet so much better to stay outside since he didn’t have to deal with anyone but himself. He noticed for the first time how quiet it was and all that was heard was birds singing. It had been along time since he had been alone and he closed his eyes, devouring the situation.
The past days emotional ups and downs had became too much for him and now he needed time to melt it down. Maybe it was his emotions going haywire that made his stomach ache. Kevin used to say that bottled up emotions could make a person ill. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was that bothering him.
”Hey," someone called out. ”Is this place taken?"
A bit startled he opened his eyes, just to be met with a pair of blue eyes looking back at him. They belonged to a pretty blonde girl about his age. She was dressed in a short black skirt and a black short jacket. Her hair was in a pony tail and the first impression he got was that this girl liked sports.
”I don’t see anyone here," he mumbled, making no further moves to invite her to sit down. In fact he tried to look as uninterested as possible. This was just a charade since his heart was pounding like a drum. Girls always made Nick feel nervous and she was no exception. His hands went all clammy and when he opened his mouth he usually said some stupid comment. Oh how he longed to be like AJ, talking and be sociable with everyone.
She smiled as she sat down,”Well there is one now." Nick couldn’t help but look at her. She was a bit pushy and he noticed that she was very attractive with a catching smile. His teenage hormones raged and he decided to be a bit more talkative. It wasn’t everyday that a girl like this spoke to him.
”I’m Julie," she said as she stretched out her hand. A bit startled he took it, having no time to answer before she continued,”And your Nick, right?"
”Yes?" How did she know about him? ”We met before?” He looked at her a bit puzzled.
”No but my big brother is Brian’s best friend, Tom." As the word best friend was being mentioned there was a pang of pain in his stomach. Not from sickness but from jealousy
This explained everything. Brian had probably asked her to talk with him so he wouldn’t feel so lonely, but then how would his pal know that he was going to be outside of the church. It didn’t make much sense to him. But one thing he knew. He didn’t like this Tom character very much. What was it with this guy? His name seemed to be everywhere and judging from that Tom was a very popular guy. He even was the captain of the football team at high school and Nick knew that he both played football as well as basketball and that he was really good at sports. When Brian talked there was admiration in his voice and Nick felt really jealous.
Stuffing his hands in his pocket, he muttered,”It’s cold out here. You should get inside."
”So should you," she commented,” By the way what are you doing out here?" She looked at him curiously.
”I eh...I...It was too stuffy in there." ”Really?" she had laughter in her eyes,”I thought that little creep...Stillwell was bugging you?"
Upon hearing the name again Nick felt like he was going to have another laughing attack. He must be really tired when he was laughing at such a silly name. He giggled, holding his hand over his mouth.
She laughed too. ”Yeah I know he has such a funny name." They giggled for a while, side by side and even though she was Toms little sister Nick started to think that she was pretty cool for being a girl.
”So do you sing like Brian?" she asked after a while.
He nodded,”Yeah."
”In that group Backstreet something?"
”Backstreet Boys," Nick corrected her,”Yeah and we tour all over the world. Mostly Germany and Europe."
”How cool, then you get to see pretty much everything right?"
”No," he shook his head,”We mostly get to see the bus and then the venue." He kicked with his foot at a stone, as he talked.
”Sounds kind of boring," she said frankly and he looked up a bit surprised. Usually the girls got all crazy when he talked to them but not this girl, no. She didn’t even look impressed.
He liked her more and more.
”Yeah I’ll guess it can be." Turning to her he said, " But enough of me. What do you do?"
”I go to High school and then I baby-sit on weekends. Kind of boring too," she said with a chuckle,”When I don’t play basketball that is."
That last sentence triggered something inside Nick and he turned his head towards her,”You play basketball?"
”Yeah," she nodded,” And I intend to get a college scholarship too. For basketball."
”Cool."
”Yeah, my dad wants me to be a doctor or nurse like him but I am doing no such thing. Instead I am going to major in Psychology and then play basketball."
”You sure have the road picked out," Nick said in amazement. He never met a girl that was this goal oriented before.
”Yup," she laughed as she ran her hand through her hair, "If you want something bad enough you’re going to get it,"
”That is what I think of singing too," Nick said and soon they started to talk. About their future. Nick found himself getting more and more infatuated with this girl. She was exciting and interesting and she could talk both B´ball as well as other stuff. After they had talked for a while she stood up.
”Well I better get going now." She motioned towards the door with her head,”You’re coming?"
Thinking back about that little creep inside he said,”Nah I’ll think I will pass."
”Ok." She went silent for a while before continuing,”Hey you wanna come with me to the basketball game on Saturday?"
”You’re playing?"
”Nah silly," she laughed." It’s a NBA game at the stadium. Hasn’t Brian told you about it? I’m sure that he and Tom would like to come?"
A basketball game? And Brian hadn’t said anything. A bit upset over the information, but still not wanting to reveal anything he said, " Eh..Sure...yeah I’m sure that Brian said something. Ok, I can go."
”Good, then we ask Tom and Brian too, right?" She looked at him and he nodded.
”Ok." Mentally he wanted to slap his face for not saying something more to her. Like asking her out on a date or go to the movies. He had to say something, anything, and was going to do it when she beat him to it.
”Eh...how long will you stay Nick? At Brian’s house?
”Until Tues... no wait Wednesday I think." Looking a bit puzzled he asked,”Why?"
”Eh...just wondering." She looked into the ground, shivering. Nick stood up too. It was starting to get cold and he should really get back in before he caught a cold above this stomach problem he had. That would be much too typical him.
“Ok.” ‘Real smooth Carter,’ he punished himself. ‘Way to go sounding like a stuttering fool’
While he was pondering why she would want to go out on a date with a nerd like him she took the charge again.
”You wanna go to the movies or something? Tomorrow night?”
His heart took a leap. She was asking him out, it wasn’t the opposite. Then it most means that she was a bit interested in him after all. He was about to say yes when he remembered something. He was supposed to do some stuff with Brian. “I can’t.”
Her eyes quickly lost their glow. “Oh.”
Feeling like a fool he stuttered. “I...I´ve got something to do with Brian tomorrow.”
“You are?” She looked sad.
“Mmmm.” He kicked a stone, cursing for sounding like a dumbass. He was sure that if AJ had heard him now he would laugh at him, calling him a wuss for not going on a date instead of hanging with Brian who he met every other day.
He was sure that she was about to leave when she said. “I thought that Brian was going to that party together with my brother, Tom. He didn’t say that he had changed his plans, did something happened?”
The party! Nick slapped his forehead with his hand. He’d forgotten all about it. “That’s right!” He mumbled. “I forgot all about that.”
She lit up again and this time Nick felt he had to take the courage to ask her out. “I’ll guess that means that I can go...That is if you want,” he added quickly.
“Sure.” She smiled widely at him and Nick felt all warm inside. This was some girl. Ok he had been out on dates before but never with someone as hot as she was.
“Maybe we can go out and eat pizza before,” he suggested, suddenly feeling the strength return.
“Yes that will be great.” He swallowed hard, searching for his words. “I ca..call you tomorrow then.”
“Sounds great.” She was starting to walk towards the entrance. “I’ll better get inside. It’s cold out here.”
“Ok.” Nick’s heart was pounding like crazy. He felt like he was floating on clouds. Just when she was about to walk inside he remembered that he didn’t know her phone number. Shit! “Hold on...Wait!!!”
“What?” She stopped on the front step, turning around. “Something’s the matter?”
“Eh huh...nah...it´s just.. That I don’t know your phone number.” He felt like a stuttering idiot!
“Oh.” She laughed briefly. “Ask Brian he’s got it. After all he and Tom used to be best buddies.” The words were not intended to hurt yet they felt deep inside of Nick. Best buddies! As far as he was concerned Brian had only one best buddy and that was him.
“See ya then,” she shouted before she opened the heavy door and went away out of view.
“Yeah later.” Nick smiled widely. This was turning out to be an even better Thanksgiving then he could ever had guessed…..
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