I opened my eyes finding Kevin staring at me with a worried look on his face.....One of the first things I noticed was that I wasn't laying in bed - I was laying on the bathroom floor!
Crap! "W-what happened?"
"You fainted," Kevin said quietly as he stood up and grabbed a wash cloth off those metal holders above the toilet.
Okay....I fainted, no big deal, I'll just get up and everything will be cool....
"Don't get up Nick, lay still."
...or not.
"Honestly Kev, I feel fine....it was probably too hot in here. You know how it gets stuffy in tight places."
Instead of listening to me, he put a cold washcloth on my forehead.
"You know I can't take a bath like you insisted I take when you won't let me get up and you put a washcloth on my forehead."
"Hush...don't start getting smart with me, just lay still and be quiet."
"I wasn't getting smart with you," I argued, "I'm only stating the facts."
Kevin knelt beside me and flipped the washcloth over. "Do you remember how you felt before you fainted?"
Great....now he's going into his Dr. Richardson mode. I hate when he examines me! Before I could answer, someone was pounding on the door to our room. Thank God for whoever that was!
"Stay still, don't get up!" Kevin ordered as he got up and literally sprinted out of the bathroom.
Okay...this is really stupid having me lay on the fricken bathroom floor with a washcloth on my forehead like a wuss....I'll just get up and everything will be fine....
"Nickolas!
Busted!
Kevin almost always never calls me by my given name unless he's totally......
"I told you to stay put!"
....pissed!
AJ stood in the doorway, obviously wondering why I was laying on the bathroom floor.
"Hey Jay," I called out, praying that Kevin would forget that he was mad at me two seconds ago.
"You fainted again buddy?" AJ said in a concerned voice.
Why are they acting all concerned? I puked at a meet and greet and now I just fainted like two minutes ago. People do that stuff all the time...well not doing a meet and greet unless they're in a band or something....
"Nick, I asked you a question..."
Ooops....spaced out again, dammit. I seriously gotta stop thinking!
I moved the washcloth over my eyes, desperate to move away from the boring stares from Kevin. "What was the question again?"
Kevin pulled the cloth away from my eyes. "I asked if you were feeling better."
I thought for a moment, doing a mental inventory of my body.
"Other than feeling stupid laying on a cold bathroom floor and having AJ staring at me, I guess I feel fine."
LIAR...LIAR PANTS ON FIRE
I actually felt like total crap but I wasn't gonna say anything to Dr. Kevin! He would have an alert posted or something and have everyone hover over me! My head felt like a cement block and truth be told if I sat up right now I could bet that I couldn't hold it up straight. I honestly think I've gotten used to my vision being fuzzy on and off and my stomach feeling like it as going to spew at any moment but geesh...I had just fainted a little bit ago.
"Can I get up now and get cleaned up?"
"His eyes really look funny to me."
Great! When the hell did Brian come into the bathroom??
"Prolly cause I'm laying on the floor," I said through gritted teeth. This was starting to get annoying and embarrassing. "Can everbody leave the bathroom so I can get cleaned up?"
"Yeah you guys go wait out in the other room and watch tv," Kevin asked.
Thanks Kevin! Okay why isn't he leaving?
"Kev?"
"Yes Nick?"
"I think I can do this on my own you know."
"Absolutely not!"
"But AJ, Brian and I'm guessin Howie is out in the other room and they know you're in here with me...wouldn't this look a little funny?"
"We're all adults...." Kevin sighed loudly as he ran a hand through his hair. Okay judging by that move he was starting to get frustrated. I definately did not want to push the old man over the edge.
"Let me get up and lets get this overwith then...."
I guess that was the right thing to say to him because his body language instantly changed and he knelt on the tiled floor next to me.
"Start getting up slowly but let me know if you start to feel dizzy or faint," he said as he placed a hand tightly around my upper arm.
I was starting to feel a little dizzy but you know me, I wasn't gonna say a word!
"Are you doing alright?"
"We're only like two inches from where I was....yeah I'm okay."
Geesh...Kevin can be such a worrywart. After like two hours had passed - okay it was probably only two seconds but as slowly as Kevin made me sit up it seemed like two hours, I was sitting up on the floor. I noticed that my shirt was off and I don't remember when I did that but I wanted to die because everyone saw me laying on the floor with no shirt on. I hated my body, especially my stomach and now the guys saw me laying on the floor without my shirt on!!
"Nick?? Nickolas?"
Kevin's snapping fingers in front of my face shook me out of my trance.
"Sorry...I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"About how I was laying here half naked and everyone saw me without my shirt on," I confessed.
"So?"
Obviously Kevin didn't think it was a big deal but to me it is!
I shrugged my shoulders.
"You're bothered by them seeing you laying on the floor?"
God Kevin....you can be so clueless sometimes....I felt stupid by telling him what I did two seconds ago and I immediately regretted it.
"Just nevermind...its stupid."
Kevin seemed satisfied and decided to let the subject drop.
"Okay little man, lets get you standing up so you can step out of your pants and boxers."
I definately didn't want to strip down with Kevin holding onto me....how gay!
"Do you think the water is still hot?"
"I dunno," he replied as he let go of my arm.
This was my chance to strip down without him hanging onto me! Just as I attempted to step out of my jeans my body betrayed me and I crashed into the side of the wall. My balance totally sucked!
"HEY!" Kevin shouted as he reached out and grabbed my arm.
His shouting and the sound of me crashing into the side of the wall brought Howie, Brian and AJ into the bathroom. I seriously wanted to die on the spot!
"God guys...my foot got tangled in my jeans and I fell into the wall, don't make a federal case out of it," I growled. When the heck did my balance get this bad?? Kevin bought my excuse.
"Get out of here...I've got this handled."
Finally after the guys left and with Kevin's help I got my jeans and boxers off and got into the bathtub.
"Can I just do this alone now?" I asked him quietly.
"How about I close the shower curtain while you bathe?"
Right about now I felt like such a tool.
"Why can't I just take a bath alone?"
Kevin pulled the shower curtain closed and I could see his silhouette as he sat on the closed toilet seat. Nope...he wasn't gonna leave me alone.
After a few moments of sulking in the water a thought popped up.
"Hey Kev you know what would be cool?"
"No Nick, what?"
"This bath would have been more fun if we had put Mr. Bubble in the water. I like bubble baths!"
"Yeah it would have been cool but under the circumstances it wouldn't have been practical."
Kevin can be such a downer at times!
I had been hoping after I took my bath that Kevin would stop hanging all over me and give me some space. They were having a meeting together and I was the subject of the conversation.
"Pearlman finally got back about the flight home while you were in the bathroom with Nick," Howie began.
"You know how gay that sounds Howard?," I spat as I shook my head....mental note to self DO NOT SHAKE YOUR HEAD....MAKES HEAD HURT!
"Okay Lou called while Kevin was helping Nick with his bath," Howie corrected himself.
"It still sounds gay!" I protested his correction.
Kevin glared at me. "Nick drop it! Okay Howie, what were you saying again?"
"Lou called when you guys were busy and he said the first available flight home isn't until Wednesday."
"Wednesday! That's three days away!" Kevin grumbled.
AJ shook his head. "I bet that jackass probably didn't even try for the next flight out."
"Well what did you expect," Brian said with a sigh, "you know how cheap Lou is."
"So we don't go home until Wednesday...no big deal," I added as I laid down on the bed. I felt kinda woozy again but I wasn't gonna say anything to anyone!. There also wasn't anyway that I would tell them about the spots that sometimes popped up when I looked at something too long.
"It is a big deal Nick....you need to be seen by a doctor," Kevin said in his no-nonesense voice.
"For puking at a meet and greet! You've got to be kidding me."
"It's not the meet and greet Nick, there's a whole lot more thats going on," AJ said as he drew a cigarette out of his pack of smokes.
Brian wandered over toward me, "Don't you remember hitting your head?"
I thought for a second...as much of a clutz that I am I don't know which time they're talking about. "When?"
"In the bathroom at that concert, don't you remember?"
How the heck am I suppose to remember that concert when we've had pretty much a non-stop tour so far. "Yeah I remember but I'm fine now."
The way Kevin looked at me literally made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He just stared at me, rubbing his chin with his finger and thumb. He had to have been plotting something! I was really feeling tired so I just closed my eyes praying that they would just go on with their conversation quietly and without me.
"Have you noticed how Nick's been walking weird?"
My eyes snapped open when I heard Howie's comment.
"I'm fine...."
"I guess I never really noticed that," AJ replied.
"Now that you mention it he was walking like he had been drinking," Brian added.
"Guys I said I'm fine," I pleaded. Why isn't anyone listening to me?
"Well since Lou is being an asshole I think I'll call the airlines to see if I can book an earlier flight out," Kevin said as pulled out the thick phone book.
"We can wait...whats another week?" I asked.
"Nicky we have a flight out in three days," Howie said.
"Yeah three days, thats what I just said."
"No you didn't you said another week," Brian sighed.
I looked over at Brian and I had to blink twice really hard to clear my vision. Why the heck were my eyes starting to betray me?
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Why are we playing charades?"
"Answer the question Nick," Kevin snapped.
"Four," I replied...at least I hoped to God there were four fingers because thats what it looked like to me.
"How many now?"
Again I had to blink a few times really hard. "One."
"Thats it, I'm calling the airlines," Kevin said as he opened the phone book.
No one told me if I got the finger question right but judging by the way the guys were acting I think I might be in trouble.!