Kevin paced the floor in his hotel room, deep in thought over the events that had played out several hours ago at the hospital. He felt that Lou Pearlman was a greasy weasel and a liar and once again, Pearlman had managed to squeak out of a situation. Kevin saw the fear in Nick's eyes when the manager questioned about the attempt to leave the hospital. He knew that Nick was so scared of the man that he would lie for fear of the repercussions if he admitted the truth.
Pearlman got out of another jam but the question was, how can he catch Louis J. Pearlman in the act?
Kevin's gaze fell onto the cell phone that was laying on the middle of the bed. He could call Nick's parents and tell them what Pearlman was doing to Nick, Kevin thought but quickly decided against it because of the time differences and also that it wouldn't serve any purpose since it was doubtful that he would get a hold of anyone in the Carter household that would side with his version of the situation. Jane was purely business and she had made it clear in the past that Nick was at fault when problems came up. Bob Carter wasn't much better about matters, he would usually duck away from any issue and refer the person back to Jane.
No wonder Nick begged that no one call his parents.
A loud pounding on the door broke Kevin from his thoughts.
"Dude! Anyone in there?"
Raking a hand through his thick hair, Kevin sighed as he made his way to the door. AJ kept his incessant banging on the door making the tall Kentuckian wonder if the skinny tattooed rebel was being mobbed by fans in the hotel hall. He smirked at the thought as he debated on answering the door right away.
"For chrissake open the door!"
The words set Kevin into action, quickly unlatching the chain on the door, barely able to open the door before AJ pushed his way in, slamming Kevin into the wall. "Jesus Bone, take it easy!" Kevin yelped as his body made rough contact with the wall and the open door.
Walking into the hotel room, AJ slammed the door. "Well you took your sweet ass time," he grumbled as he flopped his body ontop of the nearest bed.
Kevin rubbed his shoulder as he approached AJ. "So where's the fire?"
AJ rolled his body to one side as he picked up the television remote control off the night stand. "No fire, just worried about the mob in the hall."
Kevin snatched the remote from the rebel's hand. "You just randomly felt the need to wander the halls and then bother me?"
AJ rolled his eyes "Like you've got a chick in the room."
"Get out!"
"Huh?"
Kevin grabbed AJ's arm. "I said get out!"
"Can't I just be in here and hang out man? What the hell is your problem?"
Kevin's stare could have burned holes into AJ's body. "My problem is that I was trying to figure out a soloution to a problem and you being in here really doesn't help me think."
"Maybe I can help."
Kevin walked away from AJ, raking a hand through his hair. "Doubt it."
AJ cocked a grin on his face. "Why don't you try me? I can be pretty effective in problem solving."
Kevin snorted. "This is more serious than how to get laid."
"Why do you think it's always about sex with me?" AJ questioned, feigning a hurt expression.
"Because ninety-eight percent of the time, it is about sex."
"Well yeah I guess, but this time you've got my full attention and I want to help you with your problem."
Sighing as he sat down on the edge of the opposite bed, Kevin leaned his elbows ontop of his knees.
After a few moments of waiting, AJ finally broke the thick silence. "So?"
Kevin summed his problems up with two words.
"Lou Pearlman."
"What about fat ass?"
"The shit he's pulling."
AJ rolled over to face Kevin. "Pearlman is always pulling shit, nothing new there."
Kevin nodded in agreement. "True, but I've got to figure out a way to catch him in his bullshit and nail his hide and get out of our contract."
Those were the words that grabbed AJ's attention. He sat up and scooched his body to the edge of the bed. "Are you thinking about the deal with Nick at the hospital?"
"Exactly."
"We should call Howie and Brian, they should be in on this with us," AJ urged.
Once again Kevin raked a hand through his hair. "Us? There is no us, I have to figure this out myself."
"Dude just hear me out, we need to do this together, work as a team, comprende?"
This time Kevin laid back on the bed.
"I'll call them and they'll be down here in two seconds," AJ stated as he lifted the phone and automatically started dialing the extension to Howie's room.
Nick burrowed his head deeper into the pillow on his hospital bed. Exhaustion hit him like a lead weight and although he tried his best to close his eyes and get some rest, the nagging pain prevented it. He had asked a nurse a few minutes ago for more pain meds but his request had been instantly shot down, being told that he wouldn't be allowed anymore medication for another three hours. After several tries of falling asleep, Nick finally gave up and clicked the television set on, quickly surfing through the channels until he found something that would interest him.
Three hours waiting for more pain medication would seem like an eternity!
The clattering of metal equipment startled Nick and he quickly realized he had finally dozed off. He blinked his eyes several times to focus on the noise. He grabbed the glasses that were on the night table and slipped them on only to wish he had played dead. His first instinct was that someone had entered his room to serve him lunch was quickly dismissed when he caught the sight of Lou Pearlman standing alongside several people with cameras in their hands - professional cameras at that.
"You can set up over there," Pearlman barked as he swept his arm over to the wanted area. "Nickolas, my boy, glad to see you're awake."
Nick drew the covers closer to his chest as he stared at the scene in front of him in disbelief. Pearlman quickly made his way over to the teenager's bedside, leaning in to whisper, "You may want to close your mouth, you look stupid with it hanging open."
Wordlessly, Nick closed his mouth but continued to stare in disbelief.
"Since you can't go to the concerts, I thought it would be a good idea for the concerts to come to you, figuratively speaking," Pearlman explained. "You seem to be a bit surprised."
"Shocked would be more like it," Nick mumbled.
"This wouldn't have been any better if I had planned it out," Pearlman gushed. "You in the hospital gown, your hair..."
Those words instantly caused Nick to try and rake his definate case of bed hair into place. Pearlman quickly reached up and grabbed the young man's arm to stop the motion.
"You look fine like this, it gives the fans the whole picture."
Nick knitted his brow in confusion. "Fans?"
"Of course the fans, Nate is going to be filming the whole thing and it will be a live feed on MTV."
NIck's eyes widen in horror. "LIVE FEED?"
"Naturally you'd agree to this, you know you are always putting your fans first," Pearlman explained.
"I would be but not like this," Nick grunted.
"Nonesense boy, this is what those kids eat up. Their idol laying in his sick bed!"
Nick narrowed his eyes at the manager. "Does Kevin know about this?"
Pearlman snorted. "You worry too much about Richardson."
"Does he?"
"Sure he knows about this," Lou lied. "I always get things cleared before I do them, I have contracts too."
Scratching the side of his cheek as Nick looked at the photographers, he wasn't sure if the manager was speaking truthfully. This all seemed too extreme - even for Lou Pearlman. Embarassment instantly flushed his pale cheeks when camera shutters started clicking away simultaneously.
"That's it Nick, look over here!"
"Nick, how are you feeling?" A voice asked from the small group of photographers.
"Um, okay I guess, tired?"
"Sounds more like a question than an answer," a male voice chuckled.
Nick threw Pearlman a pleading look, begging the manager to stop the circus. He wanted nothing more than to be left alone, not stared at like a fish in a fishbowl.
"Nick gave us a real scare a few days ago when his appendix burst," Pearlman explained dramatically. "If it wasn't for my quick thinking, we probably would have lost him or so the doctors have told me."
Nick's eyes grew wide when he heard the manager utter those words. He knew that Pearlman had nothing to do with him getting to the hospital in time, in fact it was Pearlman that basically stopped him from seeing a doctor sooner. How could he lie to those people? Pearlman caught the teen's scowl and promptly rubbed Nick's shoulder.
"These kids are like family to me."
Just as Nick started to open his mouth to object to what the manager was saying, he was quickly silenced by the all-too-familiar shut-the-fuck-up-if-you-know-whats-good-for-you squeeze on his shoulder.
Pearlman then handed a folded up letter to the young man. "Nick could you please read this statement to the cameras for the fans?"
Wordlessly, Nick unfolded the letter and scanned it. Lou squeezed Nick's shoulder once again.
Gingerly clearing his throat and wincing when the action caused pain to race through his stomach, Nick started to read the letter outload:
"I'd like to thank all of the fans for their letters, cards and prayers for me during my hospital stay. Because of your kindness, I am getting better each day and am looking forward to singing and performing for y'all." He swallowed hard as he read the words that Lou was literally putting in his mouth. "I would also like to thank my managers for their quick action in taking care of me. Because of them, I am still here today. I would also like to thank the doctors and nurses at the hospital for taking care of me." Nick swallowed once again, looking up at the managed with uncertainty about the last sentence in the letter. Pearlman again squeezed his shoulder and nodded at the letter. Nick knew what he was being directed to do and promptly pasted a smile on his face to read the final sentence on the letter, "I will be seeing you this weekend when I get out. Love you guys."
Kevin paced the room as Howie, AJ and Brian watched their older brother with concern. AJ had only been able to them that Kevin needed them down in his room to discuss an important matter. Each man knew by the older Kentuckian's posture that the issue at hand was causing a lot of mental stress.
Brian's gaze went from watching his cousin to the program that was playing on the television. Suddenly Brian gasped and pointed at the tv. "Kevin," he croaked. "Kev, you're gonna want to watch this."
Sighing, Kevin stopped his pacing. "I don't feel like watching some stupid tv show," he hissed, not bothering to turn around.
"Shit," AJ rasped. "Unfucking believable."
Those were the words that finally grabbed Kevin's attention. When Kevin saw Nick on the television he instantly felt sick to his stomach, his face turning a heated shade of red. "That fucking Pearlman is going to die," he muttered. Without saying another word, Kevin grabbed his room card, slipping into his front shirt pocket and headed toward the door.