"You look like you're doing well there, son," Pearlman commented as he made his way into Nick's room. "Richardson told me about your little thing that happened to you this morning when I talked to him on the phone. It was the first notice," the manager said with a forced chuckle, "so you realize I wasn't aware of the situation."
All Nick could do was nod mutely. He was scared to death of any confrontations with the man - especially one on one confrontations.
The manager sat in an empty chair next to the bed. "Have you talked to your doctor yet?"
Nick shook his head.
The manager seemed annoyed that Nick only displayed his replies. "So did they surgically remove your tongue boy?"
The blonde swallowed hard. "Um, no sir."
Pearlman smiled. "Thats better. Do you have any idea what they did to you here?"
"Kevin told me they had to take my appendix out."
"Pretty sick kid, eh?"
"Yessir."
"Feeling better now?"
"Yessir."
"I know if I were you I'd feel much better in my own room, don't you agree?"
Nick nodded his head wistfully. "Yeah I sorta wish I could be back home in Florida, that would be great."
Pearlman patted the young teen on the leg. "You wouldn't be earning any money if you were home in Florida though, would you? Your mother depends on you earning money so they can continue to live where they are and buy the things she loves."
Nick nodded.
Lou Pearlman had always been a master at making Nick feel obligated to his family and the fans. The blonde was the easiest to convince in the group to do anything that Pearlman wanted without an arguement. When Nick was feeling his worst, Pearlman kept cracking the whip, explaining to the young man that working through pain and illness made one a strong character and a reliable performer. Nick's personality was a trusting one, which eventually would get him into greater troubles in life as time passed. He always accepted Lou's advice without reservations.
"Alright, you get some rest and I'll be back in the morning."
Nick watched in astonishment as the obese manager waddled out of the room. When he first saw Pearlman in the doorway, he expected the man to go into one of his famous temper tantrums. The visit turned out to be a pleasant one. Maybe the manager had a heart after all. Pulling the blankets closer toward his chin, Nick closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Kevin Richardson's plans for sleep never materialized. His mind was preoccupied with the well being of his youngest band brother as well as the general well being for the entire group. His conversation with Pearlman did little to ease his tension headache and as the minutes ticked by it was developing into a full blown migrane - the ones Nick commonly was the recipent of.
Staring at the red digits on the alarm clock, Kevin decided he might as well get up. Howie, AJ and Brian weren't in the room so he quickly decided that they must have gone out sight seeing or to visit Nick. Leaving the warmth of his bed, Kevin padded across the floor toward the bathroom, softly closing the door behind him.
Catching his reflection in the mirror, he uncharacteristicly stuck his tongue out at himself. He looked like hell, this tour was already taking its toll on him. Too many responsibilities had been laid on his young shoulders Kevin wondered if he was heading for a nervous breakdown. Kevin gently washed his face and brushed his teeth, quickly deciding that his head hurt too much to endure the task of shaving and left the dark five o'clock shadow unchecked.
He made his way back into the room, pulling the sheets and blankets up, making the bed 'Nicky style'. He smiled at the memories of how Nick's housekeeping skills were far and few between. His suitcase never carried anything folded, clothes were always thrown in and pulled out. He wished that Nick would adopt some of the neatness that he prided himself on. When it came to making a bed, Nick seldom co-operated with such a task and would draw the sheets and blankets up only after constant nagging.
Situating the pillows, he laid ontop of the gaudy brown comforter. At least he had finished attending to his personal hygene, Kevin thought as he settled his head back on the plump pillow. Folding his arms across his chest, he closed his eyes only to snap them open when a deafening thud of the door announced that the rest of the guys had returned.
"Dude, I'm telling you her breasts were real!" AJ remarked. Kevin groaned.
"How would you know?" Howie questioned.
"Yeah, what makes you an authority on her anatomy?" Brian drawled.
"Could you guys keep it down to a quiet conversation?" Kevin softly asked as he massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Whoa, you look like shit," AJ rasped.
"Thanks, I feel like shit," Kevin mumbled.
Brian looked at his cousin with concern. "Whats wrong? Are you coming down with something?"
"Migraine," came the short reply.
"That's Nicky's area," Howie pointed out.
"Well it started with Nicky I guess," Kevin admitted.
AJ threw himself facedown ontop of the other bed. "Something worse happen with the kid?"
"No......just all the crap thats been going on with Nick and Lou finally got to me, I guess."
"You should have let me deal with that friggen asshole," AJ spat. "I would have set him straight."
Kevin rested his hand across his eyes. "I've already got enough problems with Kaos, don't make me have more with you getting into a pissing match with Lou."
"I don't agree with how its always work work work with Lou, he has to let our bodies rest from time to time," Howie added.
Picking up the television remote Brian remarked, "Well I hate to say it, but maybe with Nicky out of comission for a bit, we'll probably get a few days of rest."
The conversation was interrupted with a knock on the door.
"Or maybe not," Brian added as he made his way to the door. He looked into the peep hole to see an anxious Johnny Wright. Placing a forced smile on his face, Brian opened the door.
The assistant manager rushed into the room. "Why are you people down in the lobby?"
"Kaos is in the hospital," AJ replied.
"I know that....why aren't you in the lobby? We have to be at the Tower Record Store in fourty-five minutes!"
AJ leaned up on one elbow as he looked over at the Black manager. "What part of Kaos is in the hospital did you not understand?"
"Listen McLean, you guys were scheduled to be at Tower Record Store this morning for an autograph session. The fans expect you to be there and so does Lou."
"But they will also be expecting Nick," Brian stated.
"Well they will have to get over it then I guess. We'll make a short statement that the kid was feeling under the weather--"
"Under the weather?!" AJ boomed, quickly throwing an apologetic look at Kevin when he moaned from the sound.
Johnny pointed at Kevin. "Whats your problem?"
"Migraine headache," Kevin muttered.
"Okay, usually its Nick that had those, what the hell is your problem people? I thought you were the Backstreet Boys not Backstreet Pussies!"
"If you'd stop running us ragged we probably would get sick," Howie responded with a shrug.
"Okay Nick's illness today is valid---"
"TODAY? oh for chrissake we're not machines Wright!" AJ spat.
Johnny waved a hand back and forth. "You know what I meant. Richardson, get dressed. We have to meet the shuttle van in less than ten minutes."
With that said, Johnny left the boys hotel room and leaned his body against the hallway wall. He hated being a hard ass to them but he had his own obligations and debts to pay. Lou Pearlman had his grip on everyone and unfortunately for Johnny, he also didn't have a way to get out.
Brian looked wearily at his cousin. He could see the pain in his eyes but his cousin, always the professional, did not let on to the frenzied fans that his head was killing him. True to his words, Johnny mad some type of an announcement before the autograph session started, saying that Nick was resting in his hotel room feeling under the weather. The next remark that Wright uttered had the foursome seething - Nick will be joining the rest of the guys for the concert at Wembly Stadium tomorrow! Johnny's expression warned the boys not to say or do anything after he made the statement or there would be true hell to pay.
Kevin mechanically scrawled his signature across the CD cover barely making eye contact with the young fan. He felt like crap and his heart wasn't into it. The young fan seemed to pick up on his mannerisms.
"Are you worried about Nick?" the young woman asked.
This jerked Kevin out of his daze. "Huh?"
"You seem preoccupied, I asked if you were worried about Nick."
Kevin managed a tight smile. "Always," he replied, trying to make a joke out the serious situation.
"Ah, well thats what makes him so special," she replied. "Thank you for the autograph."
The endless sea of fans seemed to take longer than anticipated and Johnny wasn't going to give them a break. He kept allowing the crowd of hysterical fans to approach the table; CDs, t-shirts and pictures clutched tightly in their hands. It was AJ McLean that finally decided that enough was enough and pushed himself away from the table.
"Sorry sweetheart, I need a bathroom break," he winked after he stood up.
Johnny rushed over to the tattooed singer. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded in a hushed tone.
AJ held his wrist, wiggling his fingers. "My hand is ready to drop off. I think two fucking hours for autographs is more than enough!"
Johnny watched AJ's movements and then looked at the massive crowd of fans, glancing at his watch. "I suppose so. I'll tell them to give them a five minute warning for you to finish up. We can't just stop it all of a sudden."
Being fooled in the past by Johnny, AJ immediately placed his thumb and index finger into his mouth, letting out a shrill whistle immediately quieting down the crowd.
"Guys, we'd like to thank y'all for coming here today, but I hate to tell you this we have to get going and get back and take care of Nicky." With that said, AJ flashed a cheeky grin at the angry manager.
"You sonofabitch!" he muttered.
"We'll settle this one later Johnny......concert tomorrow night my ass," AJ said as he walked away from the manager toward his bandmates.