Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 20:07:51 -0500 From: Jessica Taylor <midnight_violet18@hotmail.com> Subject: Picking Up the Pieces Chapter 6 Author's Notes-- I rule... I rule... A chapter out after only ONE week. **Dances around her room** I rule... I rule... **Snif snif** JDA is over. WAAA! **Snif snif** I don't want it to be over!! **snif snif** If you want to read the story, email Ev to get the site for the story. It's on Nifty somewhere... **snif snif** Tears in Your Eyes is over **snif snif** **snif snif** 'N Sync Saga is almost over. **snif snif** I LOOVE that story, **snif snif** *Wipes nose with a used tissue.* Okey dokey on to other stuff. I wrote another little didy.. It's a Thanksgiving short and it's called "A Thanksgiving to Remember" It has both 'N Sync and Backstreet in it, but for some reason it made it into the 'bisexual/celebrity' section... go read it please!! And anyone else got Black and Blue stuck in their CD player and can't get it out?? Or am I the only one? Oh well... Here's you go, another chapter of Pieces... you savages.... Chapter 6 Kevin had been walking around the city for over three hours now, wandering to various parks that he knew Nick knew of, hoping he had just gone to some park to sit and calm down. Several times when they had been in the city and Nick had gotten pissed, one of the guys frequently found him in a park, staring out at nothingness. Kevin was now walking through Central Park, hoping Nick was there, cause he was running out of places to look. As he was walking to the large fountain located in the center of the park, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Taking it out, he noticed that the caller ID gave Brian's cell number. "Hey Rok." Kevin said distractedly as he continued to look through the park. "Kevin? Where are you guys? What happened? How's Nicky?" "Whoa Rok, slow down. One question at a time." Kevin said as he stopped strolling through the park. Brian took a deep breath over the phone. "Where are you guys?" he repeated one of his earlier questions. "I'm in Central Park. Nick is not." "WHAT?!? Why are YOU in Central Park and Nick isn't?" Brian yelled. "Because Nick ran out of Maggie's and I have no idea where he ran to." "Why'd he bolt out of Maggie's?" Brian asked Kev, his worry for his best friend evident over the phone. Cause Zach told him that the reason he's now seeing Sarah is that Nick wasn't under Zach's bed sheets enough." "Dumbass." Brian stated quickly. "And you haven't found Nicky yet?" "Nope." Kevin paused as he phone beeped, telling him that someone was trying to contact him. "Brian, I'll talk to ya later. Someone's trying to get me, maybe Nick." Kevin said hurriedly. "Okay Kev, see ya." Brian said as he disconnected. "Kevin quickly switched his line and said, "Hello?" "Mr. Richardson?" a gruff voice said over the phone. "This is he." Kevin said, wondering who the person was on the other end. "This is Tony down at Dark Riviera on 42nd and 3rd downtown, and I have a Mr. Carter down here drunk as a skunk, and I highly suggest you come pick him up." Tony stated. Kevin let out a sigh of relief. Nick had been found. He might be drunk off his ass, but he had been found. "I'll be there in 40 minutes. Try to keep him there." "There was a pause over the line. "I don't think you'll have to worry about him leavin'." Tony said, laughing as he finished his statement. "See ya in a few." Tony said as he hung up. Kevin closed his phone, dropping it in his pocket as he quickly ran out of Central Park and called a cab to get him down to the Dark Riviera. ********** Four Hours Earlier I never noticed where I was running to until I noticed the bright neon lights of the several bars lining the street. I stopped running, knocking into a guy carrying about a dozen boxes. "Hey watch it kid." He yelled at me. "Sorry." I said, helping the man pick up some of the boxes then quickly moving back down the street. I looked around the street, pondering what my poison was going to be for the night. I just turned 21 about a month ago, so I was legal in any bar I wanted to go to, but I wanted to find one that matched my mood at that moment: dark, dismal and depressing. "Found it." I whispered to myself when I saw the bar that was calling to me. It had a solitary blue neon sign proclaiming it "the Dark Riviera", and it had a black brick outer face with a ratty fabric overhang. Stepping inside, I saw that there weren't many people in the bar yet, but since it was only two in the afternoon, there really wouldn't be many people in the bar to begin with. There were a few people playing pool at one of the two pool tables in back, and there were about a half dozen people sitting at the bar itself. I walked by all of the people sitting near the front of the bar and sat in the shadowed corner, slumping into the barstool. "What can I get ya buddy?" the bartender asked. He had a slight potbelly, and he had a very bushy mustache and very dark, crewcut hair. "I'll have a beer." I said. "Sure Mac." The bartender said as he went over to the beer taps and poured me a glass. He slid it down the table and I grabbed it, nursing the beer slightly before I took the first sip. Two hours later I was on my fourth beer, and I had moved onto whiskey shots as well. When the bartender walked over with my fifth whiskey shot, he asked "Do you wanna talk about it?" "Why should I?" I said sourly as I downed the shot in one gulp. All those "getting to know you" games I had played with AJ and the rest of the guys over the years had made me real good at throwing back shots. "Cause the only reason a guy like you would be drowning his sorrows in alcohol like this would be if they were hurt bad. I've seen it enough of times to know." "Oh you have have you?" I said, slurring my words slightly. "What would you know about my problems?" "My guess?" the bartender said. "Some girl left ya." I laughed. "Nope. Close though." "Then what?" "A GUY left me." I said as I poked him in the chest, my drunkenness getting the better of me by this point. "Okay so a guy left you. What was the reason?" he said, not fazed at all that I had said 'a guy left me'. I guess he has heard it all. "Cause I wasn't fuckin him enough. Yup. Didn't screw him enough." I said with a quick nod of my head. "Whew. Bad reason. Here, this one's on me buddy." He said as he poured me another shot. "Thanks mister..." I trailed off. "Tony. The name's Tony." The bartender Tony said. "Thank you Tony!" I said energetically. "Hey Tony! Can I get another screwdriver down here?" one of the other people down at the other end of the bar yelled. "Sure Mark." Tony said as he turned around and went back to being bartender and not 'Nick's sounding board'. "Stupid Zach. Stupid fucking shithead. Stupid fucking-shit-for- brains-ex-boyfriend." I muttered as I stared at my empty beer mug and traced my finger on the rim of the glass. After another beer and three more shots, I was pretty plastered, to put it mildly. "Hey Nick," by this time Tony knew my name, "ya got somebody I could call for ya? To come pick ya up?" "Yep." I said as I shook my head quickly several times. "Dizzy." I muttered as I stopped shaking my head and fumbled with pulling my wallet out. "Name's KevyKev... no that's not right... his name is Kevin... umm... Kevin Richardson. Yeah that's it!! He's my friend. Came with me when Zach dumped me." I said as Tony took my wallet and searched through it, finding my rumpled piece of paper that had all of the guys' cell phone numbers on it. And you guessed it, by now Tony the bartender knew my whole sordid story. Tony left me for a minute while he went to call KevyKev. I rested my head on the bar tabletop and closed my eyes, muttering "Just a quick nap." I was out in seconds. ********** Thirty Minutes after Kevin's call The cab drove up to 'The Dark Riviera, and Kevin stepped out, giving the cabbie fare plus a tip. As he took a good look at the outside of the bar, he muttered, "What a dive." Entering the bar, Kevin saw what he assumed to be Tony behind the bar, while he nudged a hunched over person with blonde hair. "Guess that's Nick." Kevin said to himself as he closed the door to the bar. The person with blonde hair lifted his head off the bar, and Kevin saw that it was in fact Nick. Likewise Nick saw Kevin. "Kev!!" Nick yelled. As he jumped off the barstool, much like a four year old. He wobbled as he stood on his own two feet for the first time in over three hours, while the alcohol still running through his system made his first steps wobbly as well. "Tony! This is my friend Kev." He said as he draped his arm around Kevin's shoulders. "Well at least I think he's my friend... he might be something more... but I don't know." Nick smiled cheekily at Tony. "What the hell Nick?" Kevin was wondering what was running through his younger 'brothers' head. 'Something more?' he wondered. "Sorry about this guy over here Tony." Kevin said as he started to support Nick who was rapidly falling back to sleep and leaning more and more against Kevin. "Don't worry about it. After the story I heard from this guy, getting drunk is the least of his problems." Tony said as he wiped off the inside of one of Nick's beer glasses. Kevin helped Nick walk out of the bar, and while he leaned against him, Kevin called for another cab. A few minutes later Kevin got Nick into the back eat and crawled in right after him, telling the cabbie to go to their hotel, the Parker Meridien. "Just how many beers did you have Nick?" Kevin asked aloud. "Umm... I think..." Nick paused as he counted on his fingers, "Thre.. no five." Nick said triumphantly as he managed to hold up four fingers in front of Kevin. "And wanna hear a secret?" he whispered in Kevin's ear. "I had six whiskey shots too." He giggled. "Geez Nick." Kevin sighed to himself. Minutes later the cab parked in front of the Parker Meridien. Kevin gingerly pulled Nick out of the cab, and while Nick leaned against him, he gave the cabbie the fare. Kevin helped Nick stumble into the main lobby, and get Nick to the elevators. "Ooh. El-le-la-tor." Nick said slowly as the doors to the elevator opened and Kevin got the two of them into it. Kevin shook his head at Nick's antics, and just passed the keycard through the panel to allow the elevator access to the penthouse. The elevator quickly rode up to the penthouse, with Nick singing, "Ellelator go up! Ellelator go down. Ellelator go up!" "Remind me to never get you drunk again." Kevin muttered to himself. "Okey KevyKev." Nick said when he heard wheat Kevin had said. Kevin laughed to himself, shaking his head. Finally the bell dinged and Kevin got Nick out of the elevator. "Bye bye ellelator." Nick even waved to the elevator as well as it's doors closed. Kevin opened the door to the suite and escorted Nick to his room. "Here's your room Nick." Kevin said as he opened the door to his room. He sat Nick down on the bed as he took off Nick's sneakers and socks. "Time for you to go to bed." "Okay." Nick smiled at Kevin as he took off Nick's pants. "Time for your shirt." Kevin said as he started to take off Nick's shirt. Before he knew it, Nick had grabbed Kevin's shirt and had pulled him up so he could be face to face with Nick. Nick stared at Kevin for a split second, then kissed him full on the lips. "Mmm. Minty." Nick muttered as soon as Kevin had gained enough sense to push him away. Kevin shook his head, not believing that Nick had just kissed him. What plagued his mind even more was that he didn't break the kiss immediately, he had let it last longer than it should have. "Okay Nick. Definitely time for you to go to bed." Kevin said as he finished taking off Nick's shirt. Kevin pulled down the sheets to the bed and forced Nick into the bed. "Go to sleep Nick." He said as Nick snuggled into the pillow. "Okay daddy. Night night." Nick said, and literally two seconds later he was out like a light. Kevin closed the door softly, and as soon as he turned around he slammed right into Brian. "Hey man, did you find Nick?" Brian immediately asked. "Yeah, he's in his room dead to the world after getting drunk off his ass. I'm going to bed too. If you see the rest of the guys tell them g'nite for me. 'nite." Kevin quickly opened his door and walked into his room. Brian looked at his watch as soon as Kevin slammed his door closed. "It's only five o'clock. What the hell's up his butt?" he shook his head as he entered the common room. END!! Oh no Nick and Kevy kissed. Bad bad bad bad.. what are they gonna do now... You're just gonna have to wait and see now won'tcha? And see I wasn't that bad to Nicky-poo. Just got him drunk off his butt. And boy was that fun to write. Hehe. Baby Pluck rules!!(EL-LE-LA-TOR go up!) See ya!! Seven coming soon.... Jess