Angel Standing By
Chapter 20
Claire put on a smile, as though nothing had just happened. "Hey guys! This is Casey. I met her at the hotel earlier while you guys were at your interview. She seemed like such a huge fan that I just had to give her a pass."
Brian stepped forward. His emotions were running wild, but he tried his best to compose himself. "Hey there Casey, it's nice to meet ya!" He opened his arms and she gladly accepted his hug. "Tell me, who's your favorite?" He got a devilish grin on his face.
Casey glanced back at Claire, who gave her a 'go for it' look. "Well, Nick and you have always been my faves, but I think all of you are wonderful."
Nick's heart sank. He felt absolutely awful about what had just happened. He didn't feel bad about blowing up at AJ, but he wished to God that this girl wouldn't have walked in on the middle of it. Nick wasn't quite sure what to do. He had just made a complete jerk out of himself. If he tried to give this girl a hug, would she run away or slap him? "It's nice to meet you Casey." He opened his arms and was kinda shocked when she gave him a tight hug.
She stood on her tip toes and quietly whispered in his ear, "You're still my favorite."
When they parted, Nick gave her a big smile. "Did you enjoy the show?"
"Ohmygosh, of course I did! I had no doubt in my mind that I would!"
"What about our hugs?" Howie called, trying to sound like he was hurt.
"I'm sorry! I'm really nervous."
"No need to be," Howie said as he embraced her. "I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself."
She stepped up to Kevin next, who was about as tall as Nick was, but a bit more muscular, so he seemed bigger. "Hey there!" He leaned down to hug her. "It's always great to meet our fans."
"Well, thanks to Claire's kindness, she's made all of us happy!" Casey was glowing with happiness by this point.
At that time, the only one left was AJ. He had said nothing during this entire time. What could he say? "Hey there Casey. It's nice to meet you." He gave her a slight hug, then pulled away.
She knew that he was obviously having a bad day, so she took no offense to his behavior. "I've got to get going soon. Michelle and my parents are waiting outside for me. Michelle thinks I had to use the bathroom!" she said with a slight grin that was aimed at Claire.
"You bad girl! I love it!" Claire laughed. The other guys looked at each other in confusion.
"Michelle?" questioned Brian.
Claire and Casey looked at each other and began laughing. "It's a long story," Claire managed to get out.
"Could I have your autographs before I go?"
"Not a problem!" smiled Nick. Claire could tell that his happiness was half acted, but she appreciated it. Their night would be hell, but there was no need to make Casey's night hell as well.
There was one more round of hugs and Casey was quickly escorted out by Joe.
Claire and the five guys stood backstage in complete silence. She wasn't quite sure what had happened to start the fight that she walked in on......then again, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She was feeling stressed already. Did she really need something else to worry about? Nick held out his arms and got a genuine smile on his face. She quickly went to him, knowing that he needed a hug as much as she did.
AJ got a look of disgust on his face and quickly began to exit the backstage area.
"Bone, where ya goin'?" called Kevin.
He turned around and seemed to have tears forming in his eyes. "I'm goin' to the bus. I'm tired." No one attempted to stop him from leaving, so he walked away, his head hanging low.
Nick kissed Claire on the lips. "That was really nice what you did for that girl. I can tell already you're gonna make a great mommy!" His grin was as wide as could be. He was so happy about the baby. He had even found himself secretly looking at the baby supply catalog his mother had gotten for Claire. Why was he feeling this way? Guys his age were suppose to be thinking about other things....guy things. He couldn't believe that he was actually lucky enough to find someone he loved so much at such an early age.
Kevin watched them, wishing that he had someone to love that much. He use to. Her name was Beth. He had cared about her deeply and even became engaged to her. But, they were headed in different directions in life. After BSB began, he wanted to put all of his focus on the band, and in the process, lost Beth. In a way, he didn't regret doing it. BSB turned out to be more than he ever imagined, and he was very proud of what he and his four 'brothers' had accomplished. But, there would always be something in the back of his mind wondering what exactly would have happened if he and Beth had stayed together. The moment was getting quiet, too quiet. "So guys, have you found out anymore about the baby? How about the wedding?" He was truly concerned about his 'little bro' and Claire. He knew the two of them were going to need all the help and support they could get, and to tell you the truth he was honestly happy for them. Even though he thought they were both a little young for this much responsibility, he was proud that they were handling everything so well....almost everything. There was still the whole AJ thing. That was one situation that confused him and everyone else involved. Why was AJ being so touchy about this? Sure, this whole deal shocked them all, but everyone else seemed to be taking things in stride......everyone except AJ.
"Well, Claire has a doctor's appointment this week, so we'll be finding more out about the baby!" said a happy Nick as he squeezed her tightly.
"And as for the wedding," sighed Claire, "I have no clue. I never imagined how difficult it was gonna be plannin' one of those things!"
"Well, if there's anything that any of us could help you out on, just speak now or forever hold your peace!" Brian said in one of his funny voices. The others couldn't help but laugh.
AJ walked towards the tour bus, his head still hanging low. All of a sudden, he walked into something, or I should say someone.
"AJ, what in the world is wrong with you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry mom. I wasn't lookin' where I was goin' I guess."
"You guess? Honey, what's wrong with you lately? You're spacing out, you barely talk anymore and a couple of weeks ago...."
"Mom, I don't wanna talk about that." AJ could feel his body tense up and the tears began to form in his eyes once more as he thought about the whole incident that occurred when Nick and Claire announced their news.
"I know you don't want to, but you really should. I just don't understand things anymore. You've always been able to talk to me about stuff. What's changed? And what happened between you and Claire?"
That was all it took for AJ to break down. His emotions got to be too much for him to handle any longer. He accepted his mother's open arms and seemed to cry his eyes out like there was no tomorrow. "Mom, I don't even understand anymore! All I know is that a little over a year ago, I brought my best friend into my world, hoping to be as close as we were before I left and to hopefully bring her some happiness by hooking her up with a nice guy. Well, only one of those things happened and I'm beginning to think it was a mistake."
"Honey, Nick cares about Claire more than anything in this world. She's found happiness and more. As for you not becoming as close as you were, that's something you both have to work at. Did you just expect Claire to step off that plane in Germany and act as though four years hadn't passed? Four years in which you kept no contact!" Denise McLean was little upset with her son for not staying in touch with his best pal during those beginning years of BSB. Claire had always supported him in wanting fame, always listened to his problems and had always been like a sister to him.....
"What? Why does everyone seem to think that this is all my fault?" He found himself almost yelling at his mother. "Everyone keeps putting he up on a pedestal. According to everyone, I'm the one who keeps screwing up!"
"Alex, calm down! No one is blaming you. Please, tell me what's going on in that head of yours."
How could he possibly tell his mother what he was feeling? How could he tell her that he was jealous of what Nick possessed? How could he tell her that he thought he could maybe be in love with.......NO! It just couldn't be possible! He looked around and noticed that the guys and Claire hadn't emerged from the arena yet, but he wasn't going to take any chances. "Let's go on the bus. I don't want anyone to hear."
As soon as they stepped on the bus, AJ headed for his bunk. Denise sat right beside him. "Alex, what's going on?"
"That's just it mom, I don't know. What I do know is that I'm jealous of this entire situation. What I'm not sure about is whether I'm jealous of their happiness, or of Nick."
"What are you trying to say?" A worried look crossed Denise's face as she listened for her son's answer.
"I'm trying to say......well, I don't know!!!" AJ was getting flustered and angry. Why couldn't these people just leave him alone? How could he give them an answer when he couldn't even give himself one. He began to calm down. "I think that I may have feelings for her."
The only way to describe Denise's reaction was to say that she had a look of horror. "AJ, honey, you're just having that protective instinct. You've been friends for so long. She's in a difficult situation, and you're worried she may get hurt, but she's completely safe with Nick. You just can't have feelings for Claire!"
He was shocked by her tone. Who was she to tell him what he could or couldn't feel? "Mom, I don't get it. What would be so wrong with the fact that I like Claire?"
"AJ, you can't like Claire."
"Why?!?!"
Denise didn't know what to do. In the few seconds of silence, she could hear a tiny voice inside her telling her to let AJ know before any more damage was done. "AJ, you can't like Claire. She's your sister."
