Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 18:09:54 CET
From: Chris Hanson <chris_h81no@hotmail.com>
Subject: "Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall" Part 3

First:
I really apologise for this part's delay. I have had a lot
to do at school and some personal stuff, but that is no excuse.
I'll try to get the next one out somewhat faster. I also had a
case of writer's block. This part may be a bit boring, but I am
trying to build up a decent plot for you.

Disclaimer:
This story is a product of my imagination. I am not implying
that Nick Carter is gay.

Lars and the rest of the characters in this story is truely a
product of my imagination. All resemblance to any real life
persons is purely a coincidence.

This story contains sexual relations by adult males. If you
are not into that or it is illegal in your state/country,
please leave now.

I am not a native English speaker. Thus there might be some spelling
and grammar mistakes. I hereby apologise for those. Also I am not into
much American slang, so the language might seem a bit formal. Sorry for
that. This is also my first attempt to write such a story.

Thanks to all you who have sent e-mail with feedback to me. You know who you
are.
I really appreciate it! It is nice to know that someone out there actually
is reading
your story.

Now on with the story...

"Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall" by Chris Hanson

Part 3

"Well, maybe I see you tomorrow?" Nick said as they headed toward their
houses.

"Yeah, I guess so," Lars smiled as he saw Nick blush slightly.

They said their goodbyes and went inside. When Lars got inside he threw
himself onto the bed. I couldn't believe how good he and the guys had gotten
along, and he felt really happy about it. He fell asleep that night with a
smile on his mouth for the first time in months.

When Lars awoke the next morning he could hear noise from the kitchen.
'That's funny,' he thought to himself, 'I thought they were at work at this
hour.' He walked towards the kitchen. He peeked inside and he nearly fainted
when he saw who was in there.

"Hey sleepy-head!" Nick grinned as he saw his sleepy friend in the door
sill. "You're aunt let me in before they left. I thought I could fix us some
breakfast. I hope you don't mind?" Nick looked a bit worried.

Lars just stood there speechless, once again breathtaken by the beautiful
boy standing in front of him. His beautiful blue eyes and perfect body.

"O-o-of course not," he managed to say. "It is very kind of you Mr.Carter."
Lars managed to loosen up a bit.

"Oh...aren't we formal today, mr. eh...." Nick looked up at Lars who started
to giggle.

"Johansen," he said with a thick Norwegian accent.

They both started to laugh. Lars decided to take a shower while Nick
finished the breakfast. After ten minutes Lars emerged from the shower. As
he did so, Nick opened the door to the bathroom, obviously unaware of Lars
still being in there. Nick froze when he saw the naked Norwegian in front of
him. He turned twenty shades of red.

"Oh God, Lars. I'm sorry. I didn't think you still be here," Nick apologised
as he turned around and left the room.

Lars dried himself off and put on some clean clothes. He went into the
kitchen and noticed that Nick was not there. Suddenly he was pinched in the
neck. Lars jumped ten feet of the ground.

"Jesus Nick, you almost scared me to death," Lars exclaimed betweem laughs.

They finished the delicious breakfast and headed outside on the porch.

"I really apologise for that bathroom incident earlier," Nick said shyly.

"Don't worry about it Nick. We're both guys, aren't we," Lars said
comforting. "It's no problem."

They spent the rest of the day talking about various issues. Nick told about
how the superstar existence was and told Lars about his family (including
both his biological family and the rest of the bsb). Lars couldn't believe
how easy it was to talk to him, and he felt confident that he could tell
Nick that he was gay. He felt like he had known him for years. But for some
reason he didn't tell him. A sudden silence fell. Nick moved his face
towards Lars'. When he was only a few centimetres away from Lars' lips, he
moved back. 'Oh my God,'
Lars thought. 'Did Nick just try to kiss me.' But he instantly abolished
that thought. 'He isn't gay. He has a girlfriend, Mandy. He told me so.'

"Hey Nick and Lars!" Aaron was shouting as he approached his brother and his
friend. In his hand he was carrying a football. "You guys wanna play some
soccer?" he asked.

"Well, if you're prepared to lose, I'm in." Lars grinned at the young
blonde.

"As if," Nick exclaimed. "We'll beat you anytime."

"You kidding me? You Americans cannot play soccer. You just play american
football," Lars laughed. "But I'm from Norway, the land of the midnight sun
and the land of the football. I practically grew up with a football. So I'll
beat the shit out of you two anytime." By now they were all laughing.

"Oh yeah. We'll see. Me and Aaron against you," Nick stated as he grabbed
the ball from his brother.

They played soccer for a couple of hours. Lars was amazed of how good the
brothers actually were to play. But he could not resist giving them some
piece of advice on some occasions. After all, Lars was an educated soccer
coach.

"Oh, I'm beat," Nick yawned.

"You sure was," Lars said with a large grin on his face.

"I meant I was exhausted you moron," Nick laughed.

They decided it was time to put the football away. Aaron had fallen asleep
on the wet grass.
Nick lifted him up, mouthed a "see you later" to Lars and carried his little
brother inside. Lars looked in awe at Nick. He could see how much he cared
for his brother. It made him think of Alex, and a tear fell from the corner
of his eyes. He wiped them away and went inside. He fixed some dinner for
himself and his aunt and uncle.

"Hi honey, we're home." Martha yelled from the hallway.

She came into the kitchen and saw that dinner was on the table. She walked
over to where Lars was standing and kissed him on the forehead.

"You're so sweet, do you know that?" she said.

"I know. It's just the way I am," Lars smirked.

John joined them with similar comments, and they ate for about half an hour.
Lars felt like he was placed in the witness stand. Both John and Martha were
eager to hear what he and Nick had done all day. So he thoroughly described
his and Nick's day, leaving out the almost kissing scene of course, if
that's what it was. They finshed dinner and Lars went to his room to call
Nick and ask whether they should get together or something.

"Hi this is Lars. Is Nick there?" Lars asked the woman who had picked up the
reciever.

"No, Nick is not available," the woman answered.

"Okay. May I ask who I am speaking to?" Lars asked formally.

"This is Jane Carter, Nick's mother." Her voice sounded very cold and
unpleasant.

"Do you by any chance know where Nick is or when he will be home?" Lars
asked carefully, trying to get some information out of Nick's mom.

"Nick won't be available for you today," she answered coldly.

Lars haung up the phone and shook his head slightly. 'What the hell is going
on here?' he thought to himself. 'Why was she so cold and unpleasant towards
me?' Lars went outside. He sat in a large rocking chair on the porch. He
looked towards the Carter residence. Lars though he saw someone sitting in
the corner of the porch. The dim light made it almost impossible to see. He
could only see the contours of a person in the corner. He or she was shaking
as though he or she was crying. Lars squinted. The person on the porch
became more clear to him now. He saw his bestfriend on his porch obviously
crying. Lars went over to  Nick's porch. He knelt beside Nick and put his
arm around him. Nick looked up and managed to force a weak smile.

"What's wrong Nick?" Lars asked concerned.

"It's nothing," Nick answered between sobs.

"Don't give me that shit, Nick. Surely I can see something's wrong."

"No, I can't tell you Lars. Sorry, I just can't," Nick answered, somewhat
terrified Lars thought. "Just hold me," Nick asked.

Lars tightened his grip around Nick. They sat like that for what seemed like
hours, Lars rocking Nick forwards and backwards, comforting him in the only
way he knew. Lars could see the gratitude in the superstars' eyes.

"You feeling better now?" Lars asked after a while.

"Yes, thanks Lars. I will never forget this. But there is something I need
to tell you." Nick looked sad and worried. Lars tried to pull Nick into a
hug, but Nick resisted.

"No, Lars. Don't!" Nick said. Lars got a sad and rejected look on his face.
"Lars, we can't be friends anymore." Tears were streaming down Nick's
cheeks. Lars was shocked. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore. They were
streaming freely from his eyes. He managed to stammer a "why?", but Nick
didn't answer. He just looked away. Lars rose to his feet, he was angry. He
needed this friendship. And now he knew that all the things Nick had said
were just lies. He had never wanted to be friends with him. He had just used
Lars. He left Nick on the porch. He wanted to go home. Home to Norway. Home
to his mum and dad. He needed them. He needed to get away from Nick and
everything that reminded of him.

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

*)Through the corridors of sleep
Past the shadows dark and deep
My mind dances and leaps in confusion.
I don't know what is real,
I can't touch what I feel
And I hide behind the shield of my illusion.

So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

The mirror on my wall
Casts an image dark and small
But I'm not sure at all it's my reflection.
I am blinded by the light
Of God and truth and right
And I wander in the night without direction.

So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

It's no matter if you're born
To play the King or pawn
For the line is thinly drawn 'tween joy and sorrow,
So my fantasy
Becomes reality,
And I must be what I must be and face tomorrow.

So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

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

He stood in front of the door to his home. He carefully pulled on the
doorknob and opened the door. Lars stepped inside his family home. The
familiar smell of his father's cologne and his mother's cooking entered
through his nostrils. He could hear noises from the living room. He put his
suitcases down and entered the living room.

"Hi mum and dad," he said so low that they almost didn't hear.

Lars' father and mother turned around slowly. For the first time in his
life, Lars could see tears in his father's eyes. His mother was also on the
verge of crying, and so was Lars. His father moved towards him. When he was
only a few centimetres away, he grabbed his son and pulled him into a
passionate hug. Lars could feel his father shake. He was crying. His father
was really crying. Kirsten also joined them.

That night they talked for hours. Jakob and Kirsten said that they had done
a lot of research on the gay topic and talked a lot about it, and that they
now had managed to come to terms with the fact that their son was gay. They
had been so ashamed of how they had treated Lars and was afraid that he
never would forgive them, so they didn't contact him when he was in the
States. They had also explained everything to Alex, and he also accepted it.
Lars was so glad. Although he told his parents that he didn't think he could
forgive them right away, he was glad that they had managed to accept that he
was gay.

When he went to sleep that night he felt content. But he also missed Nick.
What Lars had realised the past week that he and Nick had been apart, was
that he was in love. He was in love with Nick, but he couldn't forgive him
for the way he had treated him. He knew that it would never happen. They
would never be a couple. Hell, Nick wasn't even gay. He fell asleep with a
million thoughts in his head.

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

"Lars it is your aunt Martha on the phone!" Kirsten called from the living
room.

"Okay, I'll take it in my room," Lars yelled back. 'Why on earth will she be
calling today? I talked to her last night," he thought to himself.

"Hi auntie!" he said cheerfully as he picked up the reciever.

"Hi Lars. I've got something to tell you," she said. Lars could instanly
hear that something was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked worried.

"Well, I think you should get the first plane over here. Nick has tried to
kill himself, and the doctors say that there is a possibility he might not
live through this week," Martha said on the verge of crying.

"OH MY GOD!" Lars shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm coming with
the first plane over there."

'Oh my God, why did he do it? Oh God please don't let him die. Please. I
love him so much.' The thoughts were running through his head. His mind was
going wild. 'Oh Nick! I love you! Please don't die!'

TO BE CONTINUED

So that was part 3 of my story. I surely hope you like it. Feedback is
WANTED and you can e-mail your comments, suggestions and questions to
chris_h81no@hotmail.com. I always reply to those who e-mail me.

*) "Flowers Never Bend With Rainfall" is from the Simon and Garfunkel album,
"Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme", and is (c)Paul Simon 1965.