A weekend to remember - Chapter 1
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© Willow
published by us
rated : R
General warnings apply ! No stealing, copying or changing and then publishing it as yours ! It´s ours and only ours !
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Wednesday, February 16, 2000. A date that shocked millions of teenyboppers worldwide.
"I think Brian already has his date set."
The words rolled off Kevin Richardson's lips so smoothly it was if all he had said was "I like cheese." But it would mark the end of an era, and the beginning of a period of uncertainty in the lives and careers of the Backstreet Boys. Uncertainty.... and a new beginning.
Of course, not everyone was blind-sided by the news. More obsessive fans, as well as those with inside connections had known of Brian's engagement since early January. To others, it still wasn't all that unexpected. Brian had been dating LeighAnne solidly throughout his Backstreet career. It was a common consensus that he would be the first one to tie the knot. More astounding was Kevin's own acknowledgment that he and on and off girlfriend Kristen had gotten engaged on Valentine's Day.
Within minutes fans had set up more hate sites than thought possible. They publicly declared that they would no longer listen to the boys' music and denounced the fiancés as well as the boys themselves. Others challenged the turncoats. They believed in Kevin and Brian's right to date, to choose their own lives. Everyone spends so much time looking for their one true love, they pointed out, if Kevin and Brian have found theirs, kudos to them! Still others used humor to relieve the tension. Jokes about How Kev and Bri were engaged, but not to each other, became quickly annoying.
And through it all one life flickered on the brink of despair. He stood on the balcony of his tenth floor suite in Albany, New York, waiting. Waiting for what, or whom, he didn't know, but he waited just the same. He watched as foreboding storm clouds rolled in, thinking he should go inside, but he didn't move. Thousands of memories flowed through his mind, fragments of his life, past relationships, past family, past friends. Without realizing it, he began to speak.
"Why do things have to be so complicated all of the time?" he asked the winds. "Why can't it just be simple? Why can't I just be happy. Why can't I find love like Brian and Kevin. Why? Why...Why WHY???" He was almost shouting now. Suddenly he calmed. "I don't want much, just someone who makes me complete... Someone who wants me for me, not for some rock star. Someone..." He trailed off, leaning his head against the cold metal of the railing.
"Who am I kidding," he choked out, his voice cracking. He laughed bitterly. "All I want is Princess Charming to ride up on a white horse and sweep me away to the land of happily ever after."
"Nick! Where are you... we have to go take a vote about if we want to stay here tonight or start for North Carolina!"
Nick straightened instantly at the sound of Howie's voice. He wiped a hand across his eyes and snapped his carefully created masque back into place. "I'm out here Man," he called, no sign in his voice that he'd been on the verge of tears. He sighed and walked into the suite.