It was a whole different Nick that met up the Littrell´s when they came out from church. He was talking and giggling in that same old way that had become a trademark for the teen for as long as Brian had known him. The sickness that had accompanied his friend all morning seemed to have varnished. At first Brian had thought that the sermon did him good when he had heard about Nick’s sudden departure and how he had joined with Tom McKinley’s little sister. ‘Of course girls, as well as video games, were the only thing that would get Nick in a good mood,’ he thought while mentally slapping himself for not thinking of it at the first place.
Nick on the other hand said very little when Brian pressed him on while he had left the church so sudden. Instead he asked, “B do you have a Pizza Hut or something in this town?”
Frowning Brian didn’t know what to answer at first, “Yeah why?”
“Oh nothing.” Nick smiled smugly.
Brian felt curiosity spark up inside of him. “Aww come on Nicky...Tell me what have happened. Why do you want to know if we have a Pizza Hut?” He nudged on Nick’s arm in a playful gesture. “You’re not going on a date are you?”
“Yeah,” Brian’s brother teased him. “I’ve heard you were talking to Julie.”
“Julie McKinley? She is very pretty,” Brian commented with a smile. “She will be a good date for you.” He chuckled. “You lucky dwag.”
“No!” Nick looked at once offended and Brian couldn’t for his life figure out why the teen would act like that, not until he heard the teen mutter, “It’s not a date. We’re just going to hang around, eat pizza and see a movie, you know..”
Harold laughed while Brian said grinning widely. “Dude...I don’t know about you. But that sure sounds like a date!”
“It’s NOT a date!” Nick snapped only to receive a wild grin from both Brian and Harold. None of them seemed to want to back off. Instead they kept teasing him until Jackie came to the teens rescue again.
“Stop it boys! Leave poor Nickolas alone,” she scolded them. “You’re older and you should know better than tease him like that.”
Great full Nick smiled back at her. Brian’s mom was great and for a second he thought about asking if she could adopt him, but at that very same moment Mr Littrell announced that they would soon arrive at the Richardson’s and until then they better behave.
Nick felt more and more nervous. It didn’t help matters that he missed his own family very much, even though he was feeling more and more comfortable at Brian’s house. It felt strange to meet Brian and Kevin’s relatives, the ones that Brian had talked about so many times before and he was afraid that he would say something stupid and screw up the whole Thanksgiving Dinner. Fortunately the cramps that had plagued him on and off ever since he arrived at the Littrell´s seemed to have gone away and he was starting to think that maybe the sickness had all been because of his nerves. That he was nervous about meeting Brian’s family and all.
”Nick?” Brian looked a little irritated as he stuck his head inside the car door. “You’re coming or not?”
With a jerk Nick sat up, rubbing his eyes with his fist. . He’d been daydreaming again and they were already in the driveway. When had they arrived at the Richardson’s? “Uh?”
”Well?" there was annoyance in his friend’s voice and this startled him a bit.
" Ye..yeah." he cleared his voice, but made no attempt to get out of the car.
”Good," With that Brian withdrew his head and then walked towards the house, not bothering to wait up for him.
Nick felt bad. What did he do to upset his friend so much? Had he done anything wrong? As he was wracking his brain cells to figure that out a voice called out for his attention.
”Nick!"
" Huh?" he trudged towards Jackie who was busy unloading the car with two full boxes of food.
”Don’t pay attention to Brian," she said as she lifted a big box,” He is just a bit upset since you left during church. And he doesn’t like me scolding him either.” She chuckled.
”Oh!" Now Nick felt bad. That hadn’t been his intention to stir up feelings in his best friend. ”I’m sorry.” Why hadn’t he thought about that at the church and especially singing there had meant so much to Brian? He had acted so selfish and now he was paying the price. Their friendship would be destroyed. A grip of pain shot through his heart.
”Well don’t be," Mrs Littrell smiled warmly at him. “How’s that stomach of yours? Any better?”
“Ye...Yeah...It´s fine.” There was no sense in alarming anyone, especially now when all that was left was a dull ache and he felt all right again.
“You sure?” She looked at him with a frown.
“Yes..I´m fine. It’s going away anyway. I think maybe I’m just hungry or something.”
“Could be and there will be plenty to eat. That I can assure you” Smiling she looked like she didn’t believe him but let it go. “Just promise me one thing Nickolas; that if you start to feel worse again you let me know. Ok? You know while you’re staying with us we have the full responsibility for you and we don’t want something to happen or you go around feeling sick.”
“’k” Looking at Mrs Littrell who was struggling to pick up another box he added quickly,”Let me do that." Before she had a chance to object he tried to take one of the boxes away from her.
“No Nick. It’s too heavy for you. I’ll ask Harold to help me.” She tried to stop him but Nick’s stubbornness was too much.
“I’ll can manage. At home I use to help mom and dad all the time. Taking in groceries.”
He went for the heavier one and when Jackie saw that there was no way to stop the teen she pointed at the smaller box”No Nickolas take the other one instead. It’s easier to carry."
Not listening he went for the bigger one and he was breathing hard while lifting it up. " No..No..I..ca..can..man..manage." Jackie was right. The box was too heavy for him and he regretted his move when a searing pain shot through his stomach, wanting him to double up. Yet steeled himself and determined to avoid further embarrassment, by dropping the box on the ground, food scattering all over the place, he did his best to carry it inside the house.
”Are you sure that it’s not too heavy for you?" Jackie’s voice could be heard behind his back, upon noticing the young boy weaver underneath his burden. Desperately he wanted to admit that he had once again taken water over his head but instead he mumbled in a strangled voice that he could manage. She held the door open for him.
Quickly Nick rushed inside and placed the box on the kitchen counter. Once he put his burden down he noticed that the pain went away again and he quickly dismissed it for being a result of the muscle he pulled yesterday.
“Thank you so much Nick,” Jackie gushed towards him. “I really appreciate that.”
”Oh it’s nothing." he blushed slightly.
“Yes it is and don’t say that it was nothing.. it means a lot to me.” Jackie was being sincere and the teen was about to object when Kevin’s mom; Ann Richardson entered the room.
“There you are Nick.” She gave him a warm hug. Kevin’s mom was very huggable too, not as much as Brian’s, but she could make people feel comfortable in a nice way. A true hostess. “Welcome to our family.”
“Thanks Mrs Richardson.” Nick said politely. He knew how to brush up his manners in certain situations and using his special charm often came in handy as well as that famous Backstreet smile.
”Ann to you," the tall dark-haired woman smiled,” I’m so happy that you could come and celebrate Thanksgiving with us and our relatives."
”Ok Ann then,” Nick smiled back. ”He didn’t know what to say next. Attention had always been what Nick had sought for but when he got too much he got nervous. Kevin was the one that saved the situation. Dressed in a green wool sweater and wearing a tie his older friend looked very proper, yet had a relaxed smile on his face. The few days they had been at home had already done him good. “Brian told me that you might be in the kitchen.” He gave the teen a hug. “Welcome Nick.”
“Eh...Thanks Kev." His face lit up as he saw the older boy. Nick had always looked up to him, like to a big brother. Kevin was the one that he turned to when there were something he needed help with or he felt sick when Brian wasn’t around. Kevin and he often got into arguments with each other, mainly because of the high age difference. Still they had a very close connection, much tighter than anyone could have guessed. Kevin was the one that was often there for Nick, standing up against the management when he thought they treated their youngest member bad. He was the dad in the band, even if he sometimes played it out too much.
”How you been?” Kevin looked his friend over with searching eyes,”You seem a bit pale, you’re ok?"
”Yeah.” Nick nodded, blushing.
“Good. B told me that you got kind off “sick” at church.” He chuckled at his own joke. “Like I didn’t know what sickness you caught there Kaos. Heard you talked to Julie, Tom McKinley’s little sister.” He ruffled the blonde in his hair, "She is pretty nice, and don’t you think?" Kevin laughed.
God did everyone know about him meeting Julie? He blushed which made Kevin laugh even more. Kev laughing? He almost fell flat on his butt. Seeing his friend being this happy was not something that was common. Generally he was rather serious and working hard, that was something that they all had in common; working hard!
“I heard you got a hot date tomorrow evening too.”
Nick stared. Man, news sure travelled fast in this small town. “It’s not a date.”
“Whatever you call it little bro, but you gotta take it easy,” He grinned. “Don’t want you getting hooked up with a girl when we are touring and all.” Before he had a chance to object Kevin had moved on to another subject. “I know meeting girls can really get to your head but you could at least have tried staying at the sermon while Brian sang. You know how much church mean to him.” Now THAT was the Kevin he knew.
“I kn..Know and I´m..I´m sorry.” Nick stuttered his words. “It’s just..just that..that..It was so hot and stu..stuffy in there and it was all getting too..too much.”
“Yes,” Jackie filled in. “Nick haven’t been feeling really well lately.”
“Oh,” Ann shot in. “What’s the matter with him?”
Nick wanted to tell them he was fine and if there were one thing he disliked it was when they were talking over his head, like they were doing right now. Ignoring his futile attempt to tell them that he was feeling all right and that there were nothing to worry about Jackie told them that he had been having a stomach ache.
Kevin’s only respond to the information was short, “Like that was some kind of news!” Both Ann and Jackie shot him a glance and quickly his friend changed subject.
”Come on Nicky, I’ll introduce you to all of my uncles and aunts, and cousins. Such a fun event." The last sentence was said with sarcasm. He noticed Ann gave her son a displeased eye and he quickly he changed his words. “It’ll be fun, you see.” With that he placed his hand on Nick’s shoulder and guided him towards the living room.
Brian hadn’t been kidding when he had told him that the Littrells and the Richardson’s had lots of relatives. As he followed his older friend into the living room he started to regret this more and more. Brian was laughing and talking with his cousins and he barely gave him the eye as he walked past. Kevin introduced him to several aunts and uncles and Nick took them all in hand, being the polite and neat boy that he could be when the occasion called for that. After talking to close to 30 people, it felt like all the names swirled around his head and the room felt suddenly stuffy. His head ached and he needed something to drink.
Leaving the two cousins he walked over to a table where there were soda and candy. After getting a glass he tasted the candy. Even if his senses told him that eating something might not be one of his best moves, he started to chew on the candy. After all it gave him something to do. Leaning against the wall he looked over the crowed. Several family members had come to celebrate and they all seemed to enjoy themselves.
The stomach ache that had accompanied him for the last days was still hanging there and he could swear that it was starting to become more frequent. Maybe he should go and ask Mrs Littrell if she could help him out and if they had any Pepto Bismol. Stuff like that usually helped when you had a stomach upset. Catching a glance he saw that Brian’s mother was pre-occupied with setting the table and he didn’t want to bother her. Asking Ann was also out off the question. He didn’t know her well enough and therefore didn’t want to be a nuisance.
Just when he was sure that they had all forgot about him Brian came up to him. “Yeah I thought I would find you by the candy.” He smiled at him.
" Mhm.." Nick chewed on. Not really hungry, more since he didn’t know what to do. He always ate when he was bored or felt unsure. A bad habit that management wanted him to shake so that he wouldn’t become fat. What a joke, Nick thought. He was anything but fat, more likely skinny. Looking like every other teenage boy.
“Just don’t eat too much,” Brian said. “There will be plenty of food and getting full of candy is no use, besides there will be snacks and stuff later.”
“Ok,” Nick nodded while ripping off the paper on the home made candy and stuffing another piece in his mouth. Food wasn’t high on his list yet he couldn’t stop eating the sweets. Once the dinner was served Nick looked over all the dishes that had been put on the long table and all could feel was disgusted. His stomach churned at the thought of eating anything. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Not being hungry was a safe sign that something was off with him and now he was almost certain that he had become a victim to a bout of stomach flu.
‘Couldn’t have come better, ' Nick thought miserable as he sat down his almost empty plate besides Brian at the "youths" table. He had no appetite at all and the candy that he had eaten earlier bounced around in a threatening way. When he pushed the mash potatoes around in the gravy he caught the oldest member’s attention.
”Is that all you going to eat Kaos?" Kevin said as he took a bite from the bread.
Shrugging Nick mumbled,”Yes."
”Is something wrong?"
”No, I’m not really that hungry," he mumbled, staring down at the plate in front of him. His stomach ached again and the nauseous feeling he felt in the back of the throat was flaring up again. God, how he hated this. Hated being sick.
”Not hungry?" there were a frown on the older staring Kentuckian as he looked at Nick,”You usually eat everything, right Brian."
”Aha," His friend was too involved in a conversation to pay any attention and this had Nick feeling even more alone.
”Nick you’re all right?" There were concerned in Kevin’s green eyes as he asked this question.
”Yes," Nick smiled palely. ”I think I maybe ate too much candy." He rubbed his hand over his stomach, trying to get the sick feeling to get away.
”Yeah," Brian laughed,”Aunt Martha’s chocolate candy can be a bomb."
”Mhm.." The teen winced as a pain shot through his stomach and he folded over.
Noticing this Kevin frowned,”You’re sure?"
Brian, who had caught a waft of the situation reached out to feel his friend’s forehead, when the blonde jerked away. Such humiliation. He was NOT going to be checked out in front of all these relatives.
”Yes! Jeeze, get off my case will you." Nick sneered, getting all the attention around the table in the process. They all stopped talking and looked at his direction. The teens face went all red like an over cooked lobster and blushing to his ears Nick mumbled an apology before quickly standing up, pushing his chair back. Then he briskly walked out of the room, getting everyone’s look after him.
”Nick!" Brian called out when he saw Nick leave and when he stood up to follow his friend Kevin and him changed glances. Nick could be so moody and usually it was better to leave him alone. This time however something told the Kentuckian that something was not right with Nick at all. With that Brian went out too.
