Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2002 21:17:57 +0100 (BST)
From: Jezebel <eh_oh_po@yahoo.com>
Subject: Set Adrift Chapter 8

Title: Set Adrift
Author: Jezebel the Temptress
Feedback: eh_oh_po@yahoo.com

Disclaimers: This story is fiction and it is not intended to imply anything
about the true sexuality of the celebrities mentioned or any personal
knowledge about their private lives.  If you are underage for your area or
if it is illegal for you to look at this why not go somewhere else, if you
don't like the thought of two men together in a loving, sexual way this
isn't for you either.

Summary: Nick finds out that one small act can have severe repercussions
for a long time to come.  Who would have thought that one kiss could cause
so much pain?

Notes: This is my first story to the archive, I've written a little before
but no real slash in this arena.  Please send feedback so I know if you
like it and where you think this ought to go.  I know that sex isn't the be
all and end all of a relationship so it might not feature too strongly in
the main story but there will be some of it along the way.

The dates might be a little messed up but I wanted this to fit into a
specific timeline and all of the major events will still happen, just in a
shorter space of time.

Check out the following stories by the authors that inspire me:
On the Streets (BSB - Kevin)
Under Management (Nsync - Lance)
Brian and Me (BSB)
JC's Hitchhiker (Nsync)
Double Take (BSB)
My New Life (Nsync)

---------------------

It had been two days since the realisation that the contract that Sully had
signed was a fake.  The three men had met back in the bar to discuss the
consequences of their discovery, although no real discussion was taking
place.

It was difficult to get a lawyer to look over the contract without being
able to confide in them what it was for but the terms were pretty straight
forward and Joey was surprised to see that Nick had been right.  To all
intents and purposes the contract was null and void thanks to the two large
court cases that they had taken out against Pearlman and Transcon.

As Joey looked over the report in front of him he could see that there was
no reason why Sully should not be in their lives, the fact that it would
also mean that he could reunite with AJ was less appealing, Joey knew that
Steve would end up getting hurt in all of this but he could not help but
feel that maybe this was fate.  AJ and Sully had been separated for a long
time and they deserved a chance, maybe Steve would be there to catch Sully
if it didn't work out.  At least his older brother could stay friends with
the club owner who was rapidly growing on Joe.  He had wanted to hate
Alexander Sullivan for what he had done to his brother, even though Steve
was older he was less wordly wise than Joey was and his younger brother
felt the need to protect him.  In doing so Joe was pretty sure that he had
found a new friend.

Nick too was over the moon with the results, he had hoped that it would
give him the chance to reunite Alex and Sully and now he was also glad that
he had been right.  It was rare that some problem or other was solved
because of him and when he was right he would record the moment for
prosperity, after all when you were young, blonde and in a boy band people
didn't believe that you had a brain.  At least on this occasion he could
prove them wrong.

The person that seemed least pleased with the findings was Sully himself,
the fact that the contract was to all intents and purposes null and void
raised more questions than it answered and posed more problems than he
thought he could cope with.  Sully had rebuilt his life after the bombshell
of having to leave AJ, he was not sure that he wanted to go back.  He loved
Alex but it was clear before he left that the other man would never feel
the same, Nick's being there did not make any difference and neither did
the fact that he was now able to make contact.  It had broken his heart the
first time that he had had to leave Alex behind, he didn't think that he
could go through that again and he knew that eventually he would have to.
Maybe Lou Pearlman had done him a favour in giving him that contract, if
nothing else he had been forced to move on.

The three men were sitting at the bar, each nursing a drink and lost in
their own thoughts.  The bar was only just opening, it was only seven
o'clock and it would be a while before the place began to fill up so they
all noticed when a young looking man walked in and stopped in his tracks as
he saw the three of them gathered at the bar.

"Oh." Ben said distractedly as he saw the two men he had been going between
at the bar together, Nick had been looking for Sully and Xander had been
avoiding Nick, but it appeared that they had found each other.  Thankfully
it did not look as if anyone had lost a life or a limb so that had to be
good, but there was a melancholy feel to the place that made Ben wonder
what he had missed.

"It's okay Ben, this is Nick Carter and Joey Fatone, we're all friends."
Sully said by way of breaking the ice, the air in the room was tight and
could easily have been cut with the proverbial knife.  "Did you want
something in particular?"

"I was looking for you." Ben said, deciding not to tell him whatever it was
with Nick around.

"Well, you've found me." Sully said with an amiable smile.  "What seems to
be the problem?"

Ben looked shocked, he had a business matter to discuss and he wasn't sure
that he could say it in front of these others.  He knew Nick, not only from
their own night together but of his reputation and Joey Fatone was as much
as womaniser as Nick was a lover of men, what he didn't understand was why
they were here.

"It's about the club." Ben said.  Sully raised an eyebrow but gestured for
Ben to carry on.  "Drew said...He said that 'they' weren't allowed in
here."

This time it was Sully's turn to be shocked, he had not expected that.  He
knew that his lover had been protective but he didn't think that it was
that bad.

"He knew that it was Nick that hurt you, boy did I hear about that, but he
didn't want you to break your oath or whatever." Ben said.  "I thought you
would want to know that."

Sully nodded thankful for the news but uncertain what he was supposed to do
with it.  Drew was dead and was no longer there to protect him and Nick,
and he supposed the others, knew where he was.

"It's been a weird few days, I think I've got some stuff to think over."
Sully said as he headed for the door, Joey put out a hand to stop him,
grabbing his arm, but Sully shook it off.  "I just need to think.  Tell
Stevey I'll be in touch."

Joey nodded and seemed happy with that but Nick was not.  It was only Ben's
presence that made him falter.  As much as he wanted to find out what Sully
was doing and wanted to keep the other man in his sight he could also see
the advantage of having Ben on side.  He could find out about the last five
years from someone that had been there and that would give him possible
ammunition in the second half of his mission.  He had Alexander Sullivan in
his sights, now he had to try and get the man to visit AJ and come back to
the Sunshine state.  With Ben on his team he was sure that they would win,
all he had to do was find a way to get the information he wanted.

--------------------

The problem with having a small apartment was that there was no real room
to pace, Sully was not patient and when the answers did not come
immediately he usually liked to roam.  In a small apartment you just didn't
have the freedom to do that.

The other problem was that the last time he had been this het up about
something he had wandered aimlessly around the city and ended up with a new
friend, someone that he had literally bumped into.  The last thing that he
needed now was to meet another Steve.  The elder Fatone had caused as many
problems as his friendship had fixed, not that he could blame Steve for his
parentage but he could blame him for not telling him.  There was also the
problem of Nick, AJ and the Nick and AJ fiasco of five years ago - just
because the contract was void it did not mean that the problem would just
go away.

Alexander Sullivan found that he was at a loss as to what he should do, on
the one hand it was good that he was no longer confined to certain places
and that he could see his family in Florida again, on the other hand was
the problem of avoiding Alex, Nick and the plethora of people connected
with the Backstreet Boys, without telling them what the problem was he
could hardly stay away.

For the second time in his lifetime he was alone and left having to make
decisions that he did not want to make.  No one wanted to change their life
dramatically and yet he was faced with it for a second time, as far as he
could see it he had two options to face up to things and to run.  He had
run last time and it had worked for a short time but just as with his love
for Alex all those years ago he never really was one for facing up to
things.

Sully sighed as he reached the wall and was forced to turn again.  He was
pacing until something better came along, he could not come up with an
answer and he was not sure that he wanted one just yet.  Maybe if he left
it a few days someone else would solve it for him.  Either way he was still
in the same predicament, unsure of what to do and uncertain of the future.

------------------

"I won't betray a trust." Ben asserted as Nick asked him to tell him more
about Drew and Sully.

Nick sighed, he had bought Ben a coffee and they had been skirting around
the issue for a few minutes, he did not know how much the other man knew
but maybe it was time to tell Ben a few truths of his own.  Kevin had told
him once that to get a secret you have to share a secret, he hoped that it
would work on this occasion too.

"Can I tell you something?" Nick asked hesitantly.

"Sure." Ben replied.

"This is about more than reuniting two friends.  I fucked up, Sully is more
than a friend to the band, he was kinda seeing one of the others and I
screwed that up.  I came on to him, wouldn't take no for an answer, and
when he pushed me away he felt as if he had to leave." Nick said.

"So you're doing this out of guilt?" Ben asked plainly, Nick could see that
he was not happy with Nick's admission.

"No.  I'm doing this out of friendship." Nick replied.  "And hopefully so
that I can make up for some of what I've done."

Nick was open and honest, he knew that this was the only way that he was
likely to get Ben to open up himself.  An eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth, a truth for a truth.

"And when did Nick 'fuck-em-and-leave-em' Carter develop a conscience?"

Nick blushed, that was not a truth that he was ready to share.

"I just want to help." Nick said.  Ben snorted.

"Nicky, Nicky, Nicky, that isn't how it works.  A leopard can't change his
spots and as the songs says, them players, they gonna play and you Nicky my
lad are a player." Ben said with a smirk.  "Now, do you want to try again
and tell me why it is that you're so desperate to find out about Sully and
Drew.  What is really in it for you?"

Nick looked at Ben, not sure if he could take the other man's arrogance.
Then he saw the uncertainty in Ben's eyes, it was well hidden but then he
was used to that look, he had seen it in his reflection in the mirror every
day since he had been shaving.  Even after he had given up his one nighter
lifestyle the view was still there.  Ben was insecure and Nick knew how
that felt.

"Okay." Nick said.  "The truth is that I want to change, and this is my
first step in doing so."

Ben faltered for a moment, as if waiting for the punchline for some
unuttered joke, when none came he looked away before looking back up at
Nick with a look of agreement.

"Well, I can only tell you what I know but..."

And as Nick began to hear the tale of the bar owner and the sad man that
drank alone he could almost feel as if he was there, he knew the club, he
knew Sully and it was not really a stretch of his imagination to invent an
image of Drew as Ben described him.

Ben told a story of how a sad and lonely Sully had wheedled his way into
Drew's heart, the older man was known as a bit of a playboy but as soon as
he had met Sully he had reformed.  Ben said that Drew was known to say that
all it took was meeting the right man to amend his ways.  As he spoke the
words tehre was a far away, almost dreamy look in Ben's eyes.

"Do you ever think you'll meet the right man to get you to settle down?"
Nick asked, his tone almost hopeful seeing as Ben had been that man for
him, or had at least been the man that had made him take a long hard look
at his own life.  He wondered if it were possible for him to do the same
for Ben.

"There are three types of people in this world Nick, the lovers, the
players and the haters.  The lovers, they're like swans, mating for life
and believing in soul mates and that crap.  The haters, well they either
don't have sex or just criticise everyone else for their practices, mostly
while they partake in a little action of there own.  The players, well,
we're a different breed - we have sex, have fun and don't get tied down."

Nick looked at Ben as if he were mad, but he truly seemed to believe this.
He looked over at Nick as if he was sharing the secrets of the world and
then continued.

"I'm a player.  I don't believe in love."

And as Nick heard the words the look in Ben's eyes were back.  It sounded
odd but Nick wondered if the other man was just playing at being a player,
he had the soul of a lover and whatever had made him believe that he was
not worthy of that love made Nick feel ill.  He knew that his own
experience was early on in life, his family was hardly the most
conventional as far as love and cherishing went but he had realised that he
was capable of love, he just hadn't found it yet.  It hurt to see someone
else so obviously jaded.

"But Sully, he's a lover?" Nick asked.  Ben smiled.

"Yeah, he's a lover.  According to Drew, the best lover." Ben said with a
leer.  Nick rolled his eyes but he remembered that first kiss, Sully was
probably a good lover but he was not Nick's.  He was a lover too, because
Nick Carter believed in soulmates and he saw that Alex and Sully were
destined to be together.  He only hoped that he would be able to undo the
damage that he had done and bring the two back together again.  After all
what good is a soul mate if you can't be with them?

---------------------

To Be Continued.

Just a short update as I am working on the transition, but wanted to keep
the updates regular...

Hope that this works for you, let me know what you thought and thanks for
the response so far.