Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 19:27:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: NCfan <ngclle@yahoo.com>
Subject: boy bands/web of deceit 1

Hello!  Hope everyone is doing well!  I was getting bored, and I've been
having problems with my other story, so I decided to just take a little
break and start a new one, hoping that this will break the endless writer's
block that I've been having.

Disclaimer:  I do not know the BSB, nor do I know their orientation.  This
is a figment of my imagination.  Warning: this contains content of an adult
nature so all under 18 are advised to not read.

*****************************

The lies just rolled off one by one from the tip of his tongue.  He didn't
know how addictive and easy lying could be, nor did he realize how painful
each lie became the more deeply he fell.

But now, he realized that it was a habit he no longer knew how to break.
It started innocent, but then . . . it began to hurt his friends.  Pretty
soon, it broke his lover's heart.  And now, his very own emotions were
extremely fragile, ready to be annihilated.

But there were no more reasons for him to lie, not anymore.  He had already
lost his new lover, just because he nurtured the hope of returning to his
ex-boyfriend.  Had had basically seen his ex-boyfriend behind Nick's back
and then broke Nick's heart with his indecision.  Not that he didn't want
to stop the affairs, the lies.  It's just that he had taken Nick for
granted, fed on Nick's softness and gentleness.

And now, Brian was paying for it dearly.  But how could he not be tempted
by the seduction of his old boyfriend, especially when the guy was cute and
sexy and ruthless when it came to love.  Brian knew that his ex hated Nick,
knew that his ex would do anything deceptive to hurt Nick, but he didn't do
anything to stop it.  Why? Because he had fallen in love all over again
with his ex, and never once did he think to stop the pain that he and his
ex were inflicting on Nick.

And now, Brian walked hand in hand with Greg into the dining hall.  He and
his ex, Greg, were now official and he had officially announced that he and
Nick broke up.  All was silent when he and Greg stepped into the dining
hall.  All the other Boys were there along with management and other
workers, all except Nick.  But Brian couldn't look back now, not when
things had been so murky lately.  He had to walk forward.  In time, Nick's
wounds would heal, and everyone would be happy again.

Brian and Greg quickly sat down.  There was only one seat left and that was
next to Greg.  Great!  Brian thought.  He didn't want his Nick and his now
boyfriend to sit next to each other.  What if they didn't get along.  He
knew that Nick was a mess, but he didn't want the unhappiness to spread to
Greg.  But worse, Brian didn't want to sit next to Nick himself.  He had to
make a statement about their relationship.  It was over.

Soon, Nick stepped into the dining hall, and all have pretty much became
quiet.  Nick walked in, and as much as he didn't want to, Brian stole a
glance at Nick.  Nick had looked so pale lately, but he always smiled
regardless, as if he was hiding it, but it was so obvious.

"Hi guys!" Nick managed to smile again, although his body was shivering.

"You look a little cold," Kevin commented.

Nick just shrugged.  "I was just out playing basketball and I guess I was
sweating too much.  It's no big deal."  Nick smiled soothingly at Kevin.
"I'm not there yet, grandpa!"

Kevin rolled his eyes.  Brian sighed in relief.  These past few days, Nick
had actually became less moody.  He was finally adapting to the new
situation as Brian had hoped.

Everyone began eating, mostly in silence.  It was AJ who opened his big
mouth!  "Hey Nick, I have a friend who has this crush on you.  I mean,
you'll love him.  He's really cool!" AJ offered.

Brian had to roll his eyes, but Nick responded.  "That's nice."

"Well?" AJ pressed on.  "Do you wanna hook up with him?"

Greg seemed to have his opinions.  He quickly replied.  "Awesome idea.
Nick needs a little booster."

Nick merely shook his head and smiled tiredly.  "Naw.  I was going to spend
some time reading some stuff."

"Reading?" Greg asked, rather annoyed.  "You never started, so why now?
Why now when you have the opportunity to meet the man of your dreams?"

Brian felt bad and added, "Besides, you might have some fun."

Nick merely paused and then replied, "I guess."

AJ clasped his hands together.  "Cool!  He'll be at your doorstep tonight.
I promise."

Nick simply smiled.  "All right."

And dinner continued without a single awkward silence.  That was, everyone
was talking happily, everyone but Nick, who remained silent throughout the
evening.

**********************

As expected, AJ's friend, Seth, knocked on Nick's door late that night.
Nick quickly got out of his bed and opened the door.  It was nearly
midnight.  "Yes?" Nick asked.

"Hey, man, I'm AJ's friend," Seth slurring slightly.

"Uh, yeah, but isn't it a little late?" Nick asked tiredly.

"Naw.  The time is right for a little late night party," Seth pushed past
Nick into the hotel room.

"Listen, I'm actually very tired.  Would it be okay to postpone this until
another day?" Nick asked in between yawns.

Seth immediately turned around.  "You've got to be kidding, right?  I mean,
I drove a whole freaking four hours here just to hang out and this is how
you welcome me?"

Nick looked at Seth apologetically.  He should have figured that only AJ's
friends would be this crazy to knock on a guy's door a quarter before
midnight.  "All right, what do you want to do?" Nick surrendered.

Seth smiled and looked Nick up and down.  "How about a little booze and a
late night stroll near the park!"

Nick nodded his head tiredly.  "All right.  Let me get dressed.  You're
Seth, right?"

Seth nodded.  "So what else did AJ tell you about me?"

Nick shook his head.  "Not much."

Seth laughed.  "Good.  Then we have conversational material . . . although
. . . "  Seth grinned a wicked grin.  "When I'm done with you tonight,
you'd wish that we didn't exchange any words."

Nick smiled despite himself.  "That's quite a lot of confidence there,
mister.  But I don't think we'll be doing anything tonight but listening to
nice music and having a nice conversation."

Seth smirked.  "You mean you don't go easy your first date?"

Nick turned around, shocked at the directness of the statement.  "Excuse
me?"

Seth laughed even more.  "You don't f--- your first date?  It's more
romantic that way, when you don't know how bad your partner is yet."

Nick backed off.  "All right, we're getting one thing straight.  AJ is my
friend.  He tried to help set me up with you so I will go out with you, but
I don't want to listen to any of these insults.  Maybe we should go
tomorrow then.  You're drunk."

Seth immediately became more sober and stared at Nick.  "Oh listen, I'm
sorry.  It's just that I had a rough four hours in trafffic.  I didn't mean
what I just said, really!  How about I make it up to you now?  We can just
go hang out in the park or something . . . you know . . . take a stroll or
something like that?"

Nick sighed.  "All right.  Let me change."

Seth smiled and sat down quietly, waiting for Nick to dress.

Quickly, Nick grabbed a pair of sweats and shirt and changed in the
bathroom.  When he finally came out, Seth was still sitting there, quiet
and comoposed.  Nick felt bad.  "Wanna go now?"

Seth jumped up and immediately hooked his arms with Nick.  "This way, my
date."

Nick smiled a little.  "Really, you don't have to."

Seth shook his head.  "I want to."

With that, the two slipped out of the hotel room and exited the building.

****************

"So Seth, what do you do?" Nick asked with interest.

"I'm an engineer.  Met AJ in junior high school.  Did my undergrad at UCLA.
Recently graduated and working on and off."  Seth replied, his hand
entwined with Nick's.  Nick smiled politely and didn't shrug it off.

"You know AJ well?" Nick continued.

"Yeah.  We basically lived in the same neighborhood.  Made our neighborhood
into a disaster area!  But we survived.  I came out to him first."  Seth
tried to move closer in to Nick.

Nick smiled at Seth's attempts.  "You drove four hours just to keep me
company here?  That's really nice."

Seth laughed.  "I sure hope I get something in return, you know."  With
that, Seth grabbed Nick's bottom and gave it a squeeze.  Nick immediately
shoved him, upset with the degrading gesture.

"I . . . I don't do that on my first date.  Sorry."  Nick said dejectedly.

"You still not over Brian?" Seth asked bluntly.

Nick looked up, shocked.  "What?"

Seth rolled his eyes.  "AJ told me about Brian.  He your ex-lover?  Dumped
you for another guy?  That sh-- happens all the time.  You shouldn't be too
upset.  Things like that come and go.  Maybe it's a sign that you're not
easy enough."

Nick stopped in his tracks.  "This has nothing to do with that.  I would
prefer if you just keep your hands to yourself.  Otherwise, we can go back
to the hotel and continue this when you're more sober."  Nick's voice was
slightly raised.  He turned around, ready to head back to the hotel.

"Look, man, I'm sorry.  I was just curious.  You have a beautiful body, and
I'm wondering why you just don't use it."  Seth placed a hand on Nick's
shoulders.

Nick pushed his hand away, agitated.  "I'm trying to be receptive here,
since you are AJ's friend, but I hope you know that I don't usually go out
with guys at midnight just on a whim like this."

"So you're saying you don't sleep with every guys that knocks on your
door?" Seth shot back.

Nick threw his hands into the air.  "This is just silly.  I'm going back.
I'll see you in the morning."  With that, he turned around and walked the
other way.

Seth quickly ran after Nick.  "Look, you're so tight.  Come on, loosen up a
little.  I promise you, no more advances!  How about that.  We'll just sit
down next to the lake and talk!"

Nick sighed.  "About what?" he answered in a soft voice.

"About anything you want.  I mean, the night is still young."

Nick nodded gently before heading towards the water.  The two sat down next
to each other on the grass.  Seth, by now, was unable to touch any part of
Nick.  It wasn't what he had planned at all.  Nick was a lot harder to
break open than anyone.  He had to plan his steps more wisely.

"So, you just had a concert today?"  Seth asked.

"You could say that.  It was a busy day," Nick responded.  "Listen, I
didn't mean to sound so rude."

Seth waved his hand off confidently.  "Naw.  You're cool!  It's just that
. . . I don't know . . . I always envisioned you as some sex-crazed star."

Nick chuckled amusedly.  "Do I really?"

Seth nodded.  "Yep."

Nick turned to look out at the lake.  "I must be putting up a good front
then."

Seth suddenly looked at Nick curiously.  "I . . . I only have one question
really."

"Yeah?" Nick asked, not even looking at Seth.  He loved to feel the fresh
breezes blowing in his face.

"You've never given yourself to Brian?"  Seth asked, slightly afraid of the
answer.

Nick looked sadly out at the lake.  "I didn't think that we were ready.  I
wasn't ready."

Seth blinked.  "Do you think that could be the reason why he went back to
his ex?"

Nick turned sharply to face Seth, making Seth cringe.  But rather than
saying anything, Nick bit his lip.

Seth continued.  "Is that why?"

Nick shook his head.  "At least I hope not.  I don't think so.  Brian is a
very strong-minded person.  He wouldn't do anything if he didn't think it
wasn't right."

Seth looked at Nick sympathetically.  "You wanna maybe have me help you?"

Nick looked at Seth, surprised.  "With what?"

"Finding another boyfriend?" Seth replied.

"Isn't that what I'm doing right now?" Nick asked.

"Well, I . . . I have to admit that I would do anything for you to love me
. . . but I've had this crush on you for so long . . . and I want you to be
happy."  Seth replied.

Nick smiled.  "You're strange.  One moment you're so flirtatious.  The next
you seem so . . . decent."

Seth laughed.  "I'll take that as a compliment.  I'm sorry about earlier
this evening.  It's just that I had a rough ride and added to the alcohol
that I kinda slurped down so that I could be a little more relaxed around
you . . . I guess I was just plain silly."

Nick tilted his head.  "Not really.  Kinda sweet actually."

Seth laughed nervously and slowly moved his hand so that his fingers barely
touched Nick's hand.  With one quick movement, he grabbed Nick's hand in
his and gave it a gentle squeeze.  He waited to see Nick's reaction.  Nick
didn't shove him away.  Seth beamed and scooted closer to Nick.

"Well, I kinda sense that you want to take it slow, but could I . . . well
. . . will you let me . . . ummm . . . kiss you?"  Seth stuttered.

Nick's heart skipped a beat.  He didn't know whether to agree or not.  He
didn't know if it was such a good decision.  Slowly, he closed his eyes.

Seth took the hint and leaned in slowly, until his lips brushed against
Nick's and suckled on them for nearly a minute before reluctantly pulling
himself away.  "Thank you."

Seth could hear Nick's gentle voice.  "No, thank you."

***************

The night seemed to have passed so quickly.  Pretty soon, Nick and Seth
were back at the hotel.  As they stepped onto their floor and walked to
Nick's room, Nick suddenly heard moans coming from Brian's room.  He stared
sadly at the walls until Seth broke him out of the trance.

"You're not over him."

Nick shook his head.  "I'm trying."  Then he noticed that Seth did not have
a room.  "Uh . . . it's late.  Why don't you take the bed.  And I'll take
the couch."

Seth vehemently refused.  "No, I'll take the couch and you, the bed."

Nick laughed sadly.  "Last chance!"

"How about we both take the bed!" Seth blurted out.  It was worth a shot.

Nick looked away.  "I . . . haven't for so long . . . I don't know.  It
would feel weird."

"I promise I won't cross any boundaries!" Seth said hopefully.

Nick opened his hotel door, still not replying to Seth's statement.

After a long awkward silence, Nick finally commented.  "All right . . . but
. . . nothing else is gonna happen, okay?  You stay on your half of the
bed."

Seth looked at Nick amusedly.  Nick was just very unique and the way he
acted was too cute.  "No problems on this end."  With that, he quickly
changed in the bathroom into his most conservative pajamas, which consisted
of boxers and a T-shirt.

Nick, on the other hand, was draped in two layers of clothing.

"Ya know, I'm not goint to rip your clothes off."  Seth laughed at Nick's
shyness.

Nick smiled softly.  "I know.  I'm used to this."

Seth sighed.  He wondered whether Nick did this with Brian.  If he did,
then . . . maybe Brian was put off.  Either way, Seth didn't mind.  He
thought that Nick was rather funny that way.

Without further comments, the two jumped into bed and tried to fall asleep.
It took all of Seth's will to even close his eyes because he kept on
staring at Nick's face since the two were lying face to face, but two feet
apart.

Seth continued to stare, knowing that he probably seemed very rude to Nick.

Nick, in turn, stared back at Seth with discomfort.  "Go to sleep."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"You're staring at me."  Seth remarked.

Nick sighed and then closed his eyes.  Seth smiled and continued to stare
hopelessly at the blond, his eyes showing suppressed desire.  It wasn't
until hours later that he was able to put aside his desire and fall into a
peaceful sleep.

******************

ngclle@yahoo.com