"So, is this over abundance of cologne for any special reason or are you just trying to make another hole in the ozone layer?" Brian teased as he walked into Nick's adjoining hotel room and found him getting ready to go out. Nick flashed Brian a smile, and ran a comb through his hair, before buttoning his shirt.
"Neither, I've got a date with Alicia" Nick grinned as he grabbed a jacket from his half packed suitcase adn looked around the room to see if he'd forgotten anything.
"Alicia?" Brian said a little unenthusiastically.
"Yeah Alicia, you know my girlfriend. Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, kinda nice looking in her own model kind of way" Nick responded. "Remember?"
"Oh yeah, I remember" Brian muttered as memories of Alicia's last stay with Nick on their summer tour surfaced. All he could remember was thinking she was inredibly bossy, incredibly cosmetic and totally unsuited to Nick, but Nick seemed to be completely infatuated by her. He remembered everyone breathing a sigh of relief as soon as she headed off to do some runway shows, things had been tense between everyone while she had been there. "So what have you got planned?"
"Well I'm meeting her for dinner and then who knows" Nick smirked. "I can't wait to see her, it's been almost two months since we last saw each other."
"Nick.." brian started, trying to decide whether to finally talk to him about Alicia. He'd watched her blatantly use the fact she was dating Nick to boost her own public profile, and use Nick in practically every conceivable manner. The girl had been nice in the beginning, almost sweet, but as soon as she started to make a name for herself things had gone downhill. Nick had been totally blind to it all.
"Yeah Bri?" Nick smiled, as he saw Brian looking at him thoughtfully.
Brian registered the ecstatic look on Nick's face, and he couldn't bring himself to approach the topic. He sighed and put on a smile. "Uhh have a great time, take care."
"Don't worry dad" Nick laughed. "I can handle things just fine. Ali will be there to look after me."
Nick grabbed his things, and quickly ran a hand through his hair before stuffing his room key in his pocket. He waved goodbye to Brian and quickly rushed out the door.
Brian stared after his young friend with a concerned face. "That's exactly what I'm worried about."
**************
Nick was quickly ushered to a table, tucked away in the back of the restaurant. He waved goodbye to one of the bodyguards who had accompanied him, and settled in to wait for Alicia. He tried to ignore the fact he was getting some sidelong glances from other diners, and concentrated on the menu in front of him. He was just deciding what to order when Alicia walked in. She was chatting away on her cell phone, totally oblivious to the fact people were eyeing her as she giggled loudly. Nick couldn't help but appreciate what she was wearing, a purple toob top and a silver skirt with silver stilettos. She spotted him and gave a little wave before flipping her hair over her shoulder and making her way towards him.
"Baby, it's great to see you" Nick grinned as he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.
"Nick hi" Alicia said a little uncomfortably, followed by a small smile as she took a seat opposite Nick. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Not really, I got here a few minutes ago" Nick shrugged, unable to wipe the smile from his face. He reached out to grab her hand, just as Alicia pulled it away to brush a strand of hair off her face. She laughed a little before looking around the restaurant distantly. "So Ali, did you miss me?" Nick asked jokingly, trying to capture her attention.
"I..I..I did" she finally said, giving Nick a half smile. "Yeah I did. But you know I was busy with things so I didn't have much of a chance to."
"You didn't have a chance to?" Nick said with a half laugh. "Well I missed you Ali, being on the road just wasn't the same without you."
"Great Nick" Alicia said as she began to fumble around for something in her bag. She pulled out a small mirror and primped her hair for a considerable amount of time until they were interrupted by a waiter.
"Can I take your orders?"
"Ali? Are you ready to order?" Nick asked, smiling at her, as she gave the waiter a bothered look.
"I'll have a salad, no dressing, and an iced water with crushed ice not the cubes. Can you manage that?" She stated curtly.
"Of course" the waiter said with a forced smile. "And you sir?"
"Yeah, I'll have the chicken thanks" Nick said, smiling a little extra to make up for Alicia's abruptness. The waiter took the menus, leaving the couple to revert back to the silence they'd been enduring.
"So Lish.." Nick began before he was cut off.
"Alicia" she corrected. "It's Alicia Nick, Lish sounds like something you'd use to walk a dog."
"Okay, sorry Alicia" he said, emphasising her name. "So how did Milan go?"
"It was incredible. The shows were brilliant, we partied day and night, the city was exquisite, I loved it. It's a good thing I went, I made the right decision not going on the last leg of the tour" she remarked.
Nick looked across at her, a slightly hurt expression on his face. All he had been able to think about was Alicia and how much she had barely batted an eyelid when she had said she was glad she hadn't stayed on tour with him. "I'm glad you had a great time."
"I know isn't it great" Alicia said. "You've been to Milan haven't you? Oh the city was gorgeous, I must admit it was better than all those early starts, they're horrible, I hated that about touring."
"Good" Nick said as he began playing with the spoon on his placemat. "That's good."
Alicia smiled at Nick before answering her ringing cell phone. She turned away from Nick and began carrying out a hushed conversation in what he guessed was Italian. The food came just as she ended the call. "Ciao." Nick began to take a bite of his chicken when he sensed Alicia had something to say. "Lish?"
"Alicia" she corrected again. "Nick we need to talk."
"Sounds serious, who was that?" He joked.
"Someone" she dismissed curtly. "Look Nick while I was gone, I thought alot about us."
Nick began to settle in for the conversation, smiling a little as he began to like what he was hearing, that she actually remembered that there was an 'us'.
"Okay I'm all ears."
"Nick, I've been getting alot more publicity lately. After the Milan shows, my bookings went through the roof."
"I know, I noticed they did a piece on you on MTV, you looked beautiful" Nick interjected. Alicia tossed her hair over her shoulder, looking at Nick seriously.
"Nick, my career is taking off now. I am working with some of the greatest names in modelling."
"I know that's great Alicia, I'm really happy for you."
"Nick, I'm not that same up and coming model you knew. I'm different now. I've completely changed, my whole life is changed. I'm not Ali anymore."
"You're not Ali anymore?" Nick said dubiously.
"Look Nick this whole thing was great when I first started, but I'm not playing anymore. This whole pop star, boy band thing is just not gonna work with me anymore. I've met someone and he knows what I'm going through now, so it's been great but it's over."
Nick almost choked on the chicken he was chewing as he began to register what she was saying. "You're breaking up with me?"
"Did I not make that clear?" Alicia said, a little annoyed. "Yes Nick, we're over."
"Alicia..God what do you mean the boy band thing is not gonna work with you? It never bothered you before."
"Nick, you sing syrupy love songs and dance around with chairs, tell me that doesn't make you cringe. You call yourself a singer, but you don't even have enough cred to do that" Alicia remarked with brutal honesty.
"What?" Nick said a little weakly.
"Nick, you're a great guy, you're sweet and I love you to bits but it's just not gonna work. We're different, you're still hanging with teenagers while I am working with a much more wordly crowd. We're just not heading the same way anymore" Alicia said, trying to give Nick a smile.
"Huh?" Nick responded, still in a state of shock.
"I have to be going Nick, I'll see you around. Ciao babe" she said as she got up, tossed her hair and walked out of his life forever.
"What the hell was that?!" He exclaimed, still in a state of disbelief.
Chapter Two
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