Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 09:02:25 +0000
From: N D <pytn18@hotmail.com>
Subject: nick and ashley-chapter 16

DISCLAIMER: I don't know O-town or the Backstreet Boys and am not implying
anything. This is just fantasy and if homosexual content offends you or is
illegal for you to read, please leave. I am not affiliated with them, J
records, Jive records, MTV, ABC or anything.

The only thing I have remotely in common with these boys is that Ashley
Parker Angel and I were born on the exact same day-August 1, 1981.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Thank you all so much for all the encouragement and
kind words. Thank you to all the readers out there, especially the silent
ones.  I've been where you're at and if you've got a story dwelling in your
head, please do us all a favor and give it a shot. This story was just a
shot and look how far it's gotten. I'm already at the 16th chapter in only
3 weeks. All it takes is an idea and some dedication. The Nifty community
is a very accepting place.

http://jcv.5u.com/all/worldofslash/ --Jayson Vascardi's website that
features my story and many other slash fiction stories. Go check it out.


Nick and Ashley-Chapter Sixteen

Nick pulled his Durango up to a house that was very familiar to him. He
knew that while he was in Orlando he had to at least see them, let alone
tell them something that has been on his mind. He was wondering whether or
not it was worth telling them.  'They'll probably disown me.' Nick thought
to himself. This brought a frown to his face. 'Fuck them. I don't need
them.' Nick thought but then immediately scolded himself for not giving his
parents enough credit. 'There's only one way to find out I guess' Nick told
himself as he walked through the yard that he grew up in.

Flashbacks of his childhood flew threw his head. He remembered that corner
of the yard where the swing set used to be. He looked at the pool, which
seemed so much larger when he was a kid. He finally reached the door and
with a deep breath knocked on it.  Within a few minutes the door opened and
Jane Carter saw him and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh my god Nick I was so worried." Jane said.

"I called you guys from the hospital and told you I was ok." Nick said as
he walked in.

"Yeah but you were still almost killed and I'm just so glad you're home."
Jane said.

"Everything is ok now mom." Nick told his worried mother.

"That's good to hear. So why are you guys home?" She asked her son.

"They gave us some time off so we could get everything back together." Nick
replied.

"My son is home" Robert Carter exclaimed with joy as he walked in the room
and pulled Nick into a bear hug.

"Hey dad" Nick said. 'Let's see how happy you are when I tell you what I
need to.' Nick thought to himself.

"Good to hear you're ok son." Robert said.

"Thanks Dad." Nick said.

Everyone sat down at the table and began to catch up on some things.

"So everyone is ok then?" Jane asked.

"Yeah Ashley is a little banged up and gave us a scare but everyone is ok."
Nick replied.

"Ashley is the young man that saved you right?" Jane asked.

"Yeah that's him. He's from the group O-town. They're on tour with us."
Nick explained

"I'd like to meet this hero sometime and thank him personally." Robert
said.

"Oh I'm sure you'll get to meet him." Nick said.

"Good, tell him he's welcome in this house anytime." Jane said.

"Well that's something I wanted to talk to you guys about." Nick said.

"What is it hunny?" Jane asked her son.

"This is kind of tough for me to say. I'm not really sure how to say it.
It's been bothering me for a while now and I need to tell you guys." Nick
said.

"Nick you know we're here for you." Jane said looking into his blue eyes
and putting her hand on his on the table.

"I'm gay." Nick said. Jane slowly lifted her hand from his, which left Nick
with a very cold feeling. He continued on though feeling as if Ashley
deserved as much out of him.  "Ashley's been my boyfriend for over a month
now." Nick said.

Both of Nick's parents stood there and looked at him then at each other.

"C'mon you two, a second ago you said he was a hero and welcome anytime.
Please accept this. I feel as if I've done good and made you guys proud and
I'm old enough to make decisions like this. I need your blessing though
otherwise it will eat at me forever."  Nick said with tears in his eyes.

"Nick, this man saved your life, which makes him a great guy in my book. My
offer of him coming over anytime stands. It may take some time for me to
get used to this but I know that you've got a strong heart. You wouldn't be
famous if you didn't. I trust the decisions you make and just give me time
and I will get used to it." Robert said.

"Thank you Dad" Nick said as he got up and hugged his father.

He looked back down at his mother and saw that she hadn't moved much. She
stared through the table as if she was extremely hurt.

"Mom, are you ok?" Nick asked with trepidation.

"I guess. I just want to know where we went wrong?" She said as she looked
up with tears in her eyes.

Nick sat down next to her and took her hand in his.

"Mom, you guys didn't do anything wrong at all. You did everything right. I
learned love and compassion from you and dad. You were a great model of
it. You were always accepting of everything and I know in time you will
accept this too. Just because I am in love with a man doesn't mean I don't
know how to love. Ashley and I are good for each other. He treats me with
the same type of caring touch that you and Dad treat each other with. I
know he would never do anything to hurt me. You didn't do anything wrong
mom, you did everything right." Nick said as tears welled up in his eyes
too.

She stared down at the table still for a few minutes. Nick felt as if this
was going to be as hard as he originally thought. Nick began to get
discouraged but then all of the sudden Jane lifted her head and said, "Can
we meet him tonight?" Jane said with a smile through tears and Nick pulled
her into a hug and said "Of course." Robert joined in and this hug
symbolized the unity that only a family can portray. A family is much like
a tree, it may bend and sway but it takes a hell of a lot for it to break,
especially if all the branches use each other for support. The roots will
never die if the entire tree utilizes each other.

"I'll go get him and we can have dinner together tonight and just talk."
Nick said.

"Sounds great son. Bring him over around 6." Robert said.

Nick thanked his parents once again and told them he would see them tonight
and drove off in his Durango with a new respect for the people that raised
him.

He arrived back at the O-town house with about 2 hours to spare before the
dinner plans and saw Jacob on his way out heading to his car.

"Hey Jacob. Where are you headed?" Nick asked as he got out of his Durango
and leaned against it.

"Hey Nick. I'm going down to see AJ today and spend some time with him."
Jacob replied.

"Sounds great buddy." Nick said.

"By the way I'm throwing a surprise party for his 24th birthday tomorrow
night. It's gonna be here so just be here by 7 and I'm gonna bring him by
at like 7:30.  Park your car in the lot across the street so that he
doesn't see it." Jacob said.

"I can't believe AJ's gonna be 24. He couldn't even drink when I first met
him." Nick said nostalgically.

"Yeah that must be crazy. Oh well I gotta get going. Talk to you later
Nick." Jacob said hopping in his car.

"Later man." Nick said as he started to open the door to the house.

He walked in and found Devon and Dan on the couch in the living room making
out. He decided to play Devil's Advocate and closed the door very
loudly. The two men immediately jumped up and were startled out of their
makeout session.

"We were just, umm, we were" Dan began to stutter.

"Don't worry about it Danny, I'm all for young love right now." Nick said
with a smile.

"Why are you so happy?" Devon asked his fellow blond friend.

"I just told my parents about me and Ash." Nick said proudly.

"Holy shit, how did it go?" Dan asked

"I've never felt so close to them. It didn't hurt that Ashley just saved my
life either."  Nick said.

"Wow, I wish I had the balls to do that." Devon said.

"I was actually thinking about doing it soon. My parents have always been
really supportive of me. I bet they'd be cool with it." Dan said.

"I don't know about mine. I haven't had a good relationship with them for a
while now. I was always in the acting career and they've always been kind
of overprotective, a little too much so at times. I got in a pretty big
fight with them a few years ago and things have never been the same." Devon
said.

"Holy shit!" Dan said.

"What's the matter?" Devon asked concerned

"I don't mean to change the subject but I just realized something." Dan
said.

"What is it?" Devon asked happy to change the subject off letting his
parents know he was gay.

"You're the Nerf Kid!" Dan said laughing whole-heartedly as he fell over on
the couch.

"Oh jeez...you didn't know that?" Devon asked rolling his eyes.

Nick left his two friends to their own conversation and with a giggle
walked upstairs to Ashley's room. He knocked and there was no answer. He
opened the door and found him lying asleep on the bed with no shirt on and
just his baggy jeans. Nick let out a smile realizing that this man was his
and both of their parents accepted it. As if a huge weight was lifted off
of his shoulders, Nick laid down next to his boyfriend and began to trace
his fingers over his chest.

Ashley began to stir and finally woke up and saw Nick in front of him.

"Hey baby." Ashley said as he began to wake up.

"Hey sleepy. Have I ever told you that you're really sexy when you sleep."
Nick said.

"Many times but I don't mind hearing it again." Ashley said with a smile.

"Good." Nick replied

"How did it go?" Ashley said, as he got excited remembering that Nick was
going to his parents' house.

"They want to meet you...dinner's at 6." Nick said with a smile.

"Seriously?" Ashley asked.

"Yup, it took some preaching but they're gonna accept it and can't wait to
meet you."  Nick said as Ashley pulled him into a hug that was a sign that
things were starting to work for them. Things were going to be alright.

Nick and his Durango pulled back up to the house he was at earlier in the
day, giving him a sense of déjà vu. He felt a hand on his leg, which
reminded him that he had someone else with him this time. He looked over at
his boyfriend Ashley and gave him a wink.

"You know you're the first person I ever brought home to my parents." Nick
said

"I should feel special huh?" Ashley asked

"Yeah, but just because you're you." Nick said as he pulled into the
driveway and stopped the car.

Ashley leaned over and kissed Nick on the lips. Nick ran his hands through
Ashley's hair, which could now do whatever it wanted since the bandages had
been removed, letting Ashley's head breathe.

Both men pulled out of the kiss and got out of the car and headed towards
the door. Nick rang the doorbell and Robert opened it and welcomed them
in. Ashley strolled behind Nick not really coming into site until they got
to the kitchen.

"Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend Ashley." Nick said.

"Mrs. Carter, thank you very much for inviting me." Ashley said as he
extended his hand for a handshake.

Jane Carter waited a few seconds and just looked at the hand. Nick started
to feel as if his mom was bailing on him. When Nick was about to say
something Jane spoke up.

"Please, call me Jane." She said as she took his hand and shook it.

Ashley turned towards Nick's father and put out his hand. "Ashley Angel.
Nice to meet you."

"Robert Carter." He said as he took Ashley's hand and pulled him into an
embrace saying, "Thank you for saving my son's life."

"I know he would have done the same for me." Ashley said.

The 4 of them sat down and began to have dinner. They shared memories and
laughs that night. Ashley was amused by hearing stories of "Nicholas" as a
kid. Nick's parents let their guard down and let Ashley into their family
and into their hearts. By the end of the night they knew that as long as
Nick was happy then he was a great pick for a boyfriend.  The parents
learned a lesson from the son that day, a lesson of tolerance and a lesson
of compassion.

TO BE CONTINUED...

<<<<Wow, 16 chapters later...I honestly would have never guessed this
story would have gone this far but I am loving it. Like I said a few
stories ago, I am home for a little less than 2 weeks then it's back to
college, which means the updates will not come so readily. I may be
spoiling my fans by averaging like over 5 chapters a week but you guys have
been so good to me. You deserve it. Pytn18@hotmail.com is the addy for
suggestions and comments. By the way January 9th really is AJ McLean's
birthday (24th) and I'd like to say happy birthday and congratulations on
getting his life back together. It takes a big man to drink his sorrows
away but a bigger man to admit that there are better ways of living. >>>>

---ND---