Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 07:37:08 EDT
From: SaetanSaDiablo@aol.com
Subject: One More Try 7

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah, I don't know anything about the Backstreet Boys,
this isn't intended to imply anything about the sexualities of anybody
mentioned herein. Any resemblance to anybody alive or dead is purely
coincidential and is not to be taken seriously.

Stories: You have GOT to read Deceiving Secrets by Jay Chords, Lucky Me by
Lauren. Umm...Whatever by Khiem, Love Me by Elisheva (I hope I spelled that
right!) Brian and Me by the lovable D.

I'd like to take this moment to sit down and tell y'all about a wonderful
friend of mine. Jay, you're wonderful, doll! You've been there for me, I've
been there for you. I'd like to thank you for everything you've done for
me. Thank you! ::hugs Jay:: You've been there for me, you listened to be
bitch and whine..and you even cared enough to let me use your shoulder when
I needed it. Thanks, babykitten.

Anyway! On with the good stuff, aye?  Oh! And email me! I haven't gotten an
responses, does my writing suck that bad? Heh heh. ;)

SaetanSaDiablo@aol.com

Thanks!

				One More Try

				By: Corrado Bottieri

	"Wake up!" A voice screamed in my ear. I was in the fog of sleep
and thought I was dreaming when I saw Kevin standing over my bed.

	"Kevin?" I asked, sitting up a little bit and making sure that the
sheet I was under covered the lower, naked part of my body. "What're you
doing here?" I asked placing a pillow on my lap.

	"We got off early." He said grinning. "We have to be in New York
City the day after tomorrow for a photo shoot and an interview on Rosie,
but that's just about it."

	I let it all sink and then finally nodded. "So you're here 'til
tomorrow, then the next day you're leaving for New York? How long in New
York?"

	"About..." I saw him make the calculations in his head, "two
weeks." I nodded.

	"So what're you going to do now?" AJ asked, walking into the room
slowly. I looked from Kevin to AJ. I shrugged.

	"I'm not sure. I'm doped up on pain meds and Glucophage as well as
hungry." I glanced at Howie who was leaning against the door. "Who's all
here?" I asked, looking at Kevin.

	"Uhm, just me, you, AJ, and Howie. Nick and Kelly went off to have
a talk and Brian's out getting food." I shifted my weight.

	"What kind of food?" I asked, hoping that Brian wouldn't bring back
greasy McDonalds. As much as I loved their food, I'd be sleeping too much
in the next few days to work it off.

	"Chinese." He said, clearing his throat. "You said you loved
Chinese." I didn't say that.

	"Uhhuh." I said, slowly nodding. "Hey," I said glancing at Kevin's
eyes, "Hand me that bag right there, next to the dresser?" He nodded and
reached for the bag. I took it from his grasp and smiled.

	"Thanks." I said softly as I rummaged around through my backpack.

	"What're doing?" Kevin asked, his inquisitive nature coming to the
surface.

	"Looking for something," was my reply. I pulled out random things
as I dug into my backpack.

	"A condom." He said monotonously. I pulled out two other
things. "Packaging Tape." He went silent. "A feather and a scarf?" I looked
at him.

	I pulled out a small black leather wallet. "Don't get your hopes
up." I said with a smile still on my face. I opened it up and dug through
it, looking for a piece of paper.

	"Guys?" They looked at me. "You're hovering around my bed." I
pointed out.

	"Uh huh." Kevin said intelligently.

	"Sit down." I said chuckling. Kevin immediately sat down and leaned
down toward my shoulder. Howie, on the other hand, excused himself and
left. I frowned a second but didn't let it bother me. Figured he had
something to do, or something.

I glanced at Kevin in the eyes. "What do you think of..." I asked.

	"Of..."

	"Hold on, I'm thinking." I said smiling. He rolled his eyes. "What
do you think of going to meet an ex-student of mine?"

	Kevin raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "I'm fine with it." He
said. "As long as the student is. Who is she?"

	"He," I said getting up out of the bed and running into the closet
to grab some clothes, "has a name. And it's John. He's very smart, and has
some great, and by great I do mean great, skill for writing poetry. I was
wondering if you'd take a look at it, and maybe..."

	"See if we should sing it?" Such a bright young fellow, I thought.

	"Please?" I called from the closet. "I'll make it worth your
while."

	"With packaging tape, a feather, and a scarf?" He called back. I
stuck my head in the door.

	"You'd be surprised what I can come up with." Before he could
comment, I ran across the room and into the bathroom, giving Kevin quite a
show.

	There was a knock at the door while I was getting changed. I heard
some muffled speaking before the door closed again.

	I got dressed quickly and entered my bedroom while drying my hair.

	"Hello." Nick's voice echoed threw the room. I glanced at him.

	"Hi." I said softly. Not knowing what to say in this matter.

	"We need to talk." He said softly. I shook my head.

	"No, it's all right. I'll be fine." I said softly. "It's okay."

	"No." He said firmly. "It's not okay. We need to talk." I looked at
him.

	"I don't do well in confrontations." I said, looking at the
ground. I could hear him smile.

	"Well, I don't know you very well." Nick said softly. "So, I'll
make this short."

	"No." I said softly, not knowing why. "You don't know me at all." I
turned and reached for the brush.

	"I know you're a really fucked up individual." Those words sliced
through my head and I didn't know what I was doing until I had done it. The
contact of my fist with his face barely hurt as I heard a bone snap, as the
wet, gushing blood flowed out of his nose and mouth and onto my fist. All I
knew at that moment was that I wanted his blood. The scream that emanated
from his mouth would ring in my eardrums for years to come, and I would
always treasure the bloodlust that the adrenaline in my body had
created. All I could think of was that I had tasted blood, and I wanted
more.


	I was suddenly broken out of my revelry by someone putting their
arms around my shoulders and backing me up while red lights flashed through
the window and people shouted and spoke quickly.

	I didn't know what to do. So I just stood there and let them push
me, flash lights in my eyes, ask me questions. I responded with the correct
answer, at least I thought it was the correct answer.

	"How many times did you hit Mr. Carter?" Some woman with long
auburn hair asked me. I looked down at my fist, the blood on my fist. The
blood where the skin on the knuckles split.

	"Once." Was all I was able to muster before I blacked out.

--

	"Mr. Richardson, I'm sorry but it's impossible to see the patient
at this moment. For a number of reasons," I heard a nurse's voice just
outside my room. I sat up a little and looked around. I was in a hospital
room with an IV hooked up to my arm.

	"Get me out of here!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

	"Excuse me a moment, sir." I heard the nurse say before she ran in
here.

	"Mr. Jones, it appears that you were under a lot of stress. We have
you here to keep you calm and relaxed." The nurse was a short woman, not
much taller than Lydia, but she seemed more on the stuffy side.

	"Get." I said with my teeth gritted. "Me. Out. Of. Here." I shot a
glance at the door where Kevin was walking in. I groaned inwardly.

	"You can leave later but the doctor has some questions for you."
She said glanced at Kevin. "And YOU are not allowed to be in here.

	"It's all right, nurse." I said looking Kevin up and down. He
looked like hell. "You okay?" I asked glancing at him. He shook his
head. He just pulled up a chair and sat down. "Wanna tell me about it?"

	"Nuuh." Was his reply.

	"Why not?" I tried not to be hurt. He just...didn't want to talk
about it. I watched amused as he buried his head in the bed.

	"Because you'll hate me." Was his answer. I rolled my eyes.

	"Puhlease!" I said muttering under my breath, not this
again. "We've been through this before, Kevin. Nothing you can say will
make me hate you any more," I said grinning. "Then that hairdo of yours
already does." He raised his head and looked at me, a half-smile on his
face. Oh, what a beautiful smile.

	"There's nothing wrong, really."

	I turned and looked at the nurse. She just stood there, staring at
me and waiting for me to yell at her again. I just narrowed me eyes and
glanced toward the door. She apparently didn't get the hint for all she did
was stand there.

	"Since you won't get me out of here," I said bitterly, "Then get
your ass out of here." I hated nurses. All they were to me were annoying
little flies that are there to pester you into getting better so you didn't
come back to the hospital. I bet it's just a government conspiracy.

	Anyway, the lovely nurse gave me a dirty look and left saying
something about how much trouble I was going to be to her and the
doctor. And how she was going to summon the doctor. Then as my eyes focused
on the figure at the bottom of my bed, I softened my heart and sighed. Then
I moved my foot and lightly kicked him in the head.

	"Bullshit!" I winced. My head hurt for some reason. "Ouch." He
looked at me harder and raised an eyebrow. "Head hurts. Sorry."

	"It's okay. And...I'm not going to tell you." He said looked back
down at the bed. I sighed and shook my head.

	"Look, we haven't been through much, but we've been through enough
to where you should be able to trust me when I tell you that there's
nothing in that head of yours that could make me hate you, at all." I
sighed and took a breath.  "Okay?" He smiled up at me and took a deep
breath.

	"All right." He looked at the door and looked back down at the
bed. "I..." He sighed and looked me straight in the eyes. "I love you."

	I was shocked. This man, this beautiful specimen of a man was
sitting at the foot of my hospital bed confessing his love for me. And I
was unable to say anything! Anything at all.

	"Damien!" Kelly's voice rang through the hospital room. "Are you
awake?"

	"Yeah!" I called back and sighed inwardly. Saved by the Kell
girl. Kell Girl. I chuckled to myself, I should remember that.

	"What..." She said as soon as she entered the room and then she
came to a complete stop. She looked from Kevin's eyes to mine and then back
to Kevin's. "You told him?" She swore under her breath at Kevin's
nod. "Well, what did he say?" She asked rather impatiently. I couldn't help
but smile softly.

	"I haven't answered yet. You came storming in here trying to cut my
head off for punching Nick." I said softly.

	"I wasn't gonna cut or chew your head off. I was gonna compliment
you. Never thought you'd be able to hit another person. Wait until John
hears about this!" Kelly started rather excitedly. She then ran out of the
room leaving Kevin and myself alone again, with that uncomfortable silence.

	"She's so weird." Kevin said after a moment, finally breaking the
silence.

	"I agree. And...to reply to what you just said." I looked down at
the ground and then back up into those pools of jade. "I don't love you,
not yet. I do know that I like you a lot, Kevin. I really do. But you have
to hold on, I need to take it slow. Okay?" Kevin nodded and smiled. "So,
we're boyfriends?" I said blushing lightly. He nodded and looked toward the
door and then back into my eyes.

	"We're boyfriends." He stood and came to me and then placed a kiss
on my lips. Mountains in the springtime, midnight perfume, summer rains,
first loves, and everything nice about the world was in that kiss. Love,
oceans, and animals. "Thank you." He said softly, "For everything."

	"No problem," I said letting his head lean on my own. "Just
remember that when I ask you for a favor." I chuckled softly but stopped
when I felt a sharp pain in my head, and before I knew what happened, I
passed out.

- -

Thanks all, I love you for reading! And and and..email me! Please? That's a
hint.