< Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Nick walked through the hall towards his locker, nervous as to what he would find when he got there. He hadn’t talked to Lance since Friday morning when Christina had yelled at him at their lockers and after speaking to Justin, he found that no one else had talked to him either. He couldn’t help but gasp in relief as he rounded the corner to find AJ and Lance standing together, AJ’s arms wrapped loosely around Lance’s waist. His face broke out into a giant grin as he rushed towards his friends. Before they could say anything, Nick took turns punching each of them on the shoulder.

"Owww," AJ yelled, jumping back. He punched Nick in the arm as Lance whimpered and rubbed the tender spot on his own arm. "What was that for?"

"That," Nick said punching AJ again, "was for not calling any of us all weekend. We’ve been freaking out."

Lance snickered and stepped in between the two friends who looked as if they were going to go another round. All three teens burst into laughter as Nick jumped up and hugged both of them.

"I’m so happy you’ve worked things out. You’ve worked things out, right?"

AJ and Lance shared a private smile and nodded. "Yeah, it’s all good."

"Thank the lord for that,’ Justin’s voice was heard from behind Nick. He nodded when they all looked at him with humourous expressions on their faces. "Oh yeah, don’t even front. That fight was killing us all."

"Well, there’s nothing to worry about," AJ assured them. "We’ve talked and worked everything out."

"Now," Lance said with a smile. "We just have to work on you and Chris." Justin wrinkled his nose and gave a shrug.

"Whatever. It’s out of my hands."

Nick looked at Lance, his eyes full of compassion for his best friend. He knew that Lance knew Chris the best, and if he said Chris was missing Justin as he had on Friday morning, then he believed it. It was just a matter of getting Chris to admit to it and do something about it.

"Well, it could be in your hands on Friday night," Nick said with a grin. "We’re still going to the Underdog right? For Chris’ show?"

"Yeah, but still," Justin refused to get his hopes up. "What’s going to make this time different?"

"The fact that he asked you," AJ said encouragingly. Lance had confessed that he’d already agreed to go to the Underdog with Justin and Nick the following Friday night to see Chris’ band play. AJ knew Lance was afraid to suggest group activities after the mess he’d made of Valentine’s Day and so he admitted that it sounded like fun and if he was invited, he’d like to tag along.

"Asked you where?" Josh asked as he, Christina and Britney joined the group.

"Chris told Lance to tell Justin that he has a show this Friday night, all ages at the Underdog."

Josh gave a frown when he nodded in understanding. "Sounds fun, can’t go."

"You can’t?"

"No, I have to work on Friday. Sorry."

Justin’s face fell. If Josh couldn’t go then his mom was going to have to drive them, which he didn’t really mind but would rather avoid. His hopes were raised at the grin that graced AJ’s face.

"Uh, that’s okay. I can drive."

Everyone’s jaw dropped and AJ nodded as he rattled the keys he took from his pocket. "Last week I had my final test for my driver’s license. I passed."

A loud excited shriek filled the air as everyone was jumping up and down congratulating AJ. He hadn’t told anyone that he was going because he’d had so many things on his mind and one more stress would have probably been the final straw for him. So he’d gone on Wednesday, taken the test and passed. His mom had let him drive them to their favourite restaurant for dinner where they celebrated by her giving him a set of keys to the car.

"I asked her yesterday if I could borrow the car on Friday and she said that was fine. She’ll have her friend drive her home from work. So I’ll drive."

"That is so awesome," Nick gushed as he passed AJ’s new driver’s license around the group. They spent a few minutes teasing him for the picture before Nick looked up to see Chris and Kevin heading down the hall. His pulse sped up and he felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. As Kevin passed, he caught Nick’s eye and gave a discreet wink which Nick retaliated with a funny face. Kevin couldn’t suppress a laugh which made Nick’s stomach flip excitedly.

"He so wants you," Christina whispered, startling Nick out of his reverie.

"Huh?"

"He does, he wants you. You can tell. You guys are going to be so cute together."

Nick shook his head, he refused to think about all of the reasons why they weren’t cute together now. He knew why Kevin had turned him down and as much as it sucked, he understood them. But he didn’t have to like them, so instead of moping about what could be, he vowed to enjoy what was, which happened to be quick, fleeting, teasing and flirting moments in the hall.

~*~*~*

"So," Kevin sat down next to Nick who stared at him in surprise. He gave Nick one of his sexiest smiles which caused for Nick’s cheeks to heat up and him to look away shyly. "What’s going on?"

Nick wrinkled his nose as he looked around the computer lab. They had a supply teacher and were given a free period to surf the Internet with the expectations that everyone was bettering their knowledge of search engines and how they worked. Mostly, people were using it to play computer games, check e-mail and chat with other people. Nick had been just surfing around when Kevin had interrupted. "Shouldn’t you ...not be here right now?" He asked with a laugh. "You took computer studies last semester, and I know it wasn’t freshman computer studies."


Kevin shrugged as he looked around the room. It didn’t seem like anyone was really paying attention to anything, which gave him the perfect opportunity to walk right in and sit down. "Actually, I have a free period right now. And I was walking down the hall when I saw you sitting here." Kevin motioned towards the door showing Nick that he’d had a clear view of him. "And when I saw you, I realized I hadn’t talked to you all day."

"We go tons of days without talking," Nick flirted shamelessly. He had completely forgotten about the basketball stats he’d been checking out and was focused entirely on Kevin who was sitting too close to be polite, but not as close as Nick would have preferred.

"But it’s Wednesday," Kevin replied as if it meant something. Nick nodded, pretending to understand.

"Oh, WEDNESDAY. How could I have forgotten?" Nick felt his heart swell as Kevin laughed They continued laughing for a few minutes until they were shushed from somewhere on the other side of the lab.

"So, does your friend Justin still like Chris?" Kevin asked curiously. Chris would kill him if he found out that Kevin was asking, but Kevin knew that his best friend wanted to know, not to mention whether they’d be going to the show on Friday night. When Nick raised an eyebrow he smiled guiltily at him.

"And why would I tell you?"

"Because I'm cute?"

Nick’s raised eyebrow turned into a narrowed glare. "So you’d use that against me? The fact that I think you’re cute?" Kevin pretended to think about it before nodding.

"Oh hell yeah. What’s the point of being good looking if you can’t use it to your own advantage."

Nick grinned wickedly and nodded. "You’re right."

Kevin paused for a moment, waiting for Nick to answer him. When he didn’t he asked again. "So, does Justin still like Chris?"

Nick gave a coy shrug. "I don’t know." He batted his eyelashes and gave an innocent pout. It was Kevin’s turn to narrow his eyes.

"What’s that about?"

"Well, you’re cute and you can get away with it, so I’m using my cuteness to distract you from the fact that I'm not going to tell you."

Kevin burst into laughter causing Nick to do the same. "You’re awful," he pouted. "I need to know."

"Why?"

"I can’t tell you."

"Well, I can’t tell you either."

Kevin grabbed Nick’s shoulders and pulled him in to ruffle his hair playfully. When he finally let Nick go he rolled his eyes. "Well, are you at least going to tell me if you’re coming to the show on Friday night?"

"Do you want to know if I'M going or if Justin’s going?" Nick silently prayed to anyone who was listening that it was the former. Kevin wanting to know if he was going to be somewhere would make his entire year.

"Well, I figure that if one is going, the other must be too. Since you’re joined at the hip, but I want to know if you are going."

Nick blushed and gave a nod. "Yeah, we’re going. I’m going." Butterflies were in his stomach as he saw Kevin’s eyes light up and a grin cover his face.

"Awesome, I’ll definitely see you there."

"Oh yeah? You’re going?"

"I am now," Kevin said as he stood up. Nick wanted to ask what that meant but before he could, they were joined by the supply teacher who was looking less than impressed.

"Why do I have this feeling that you don’t belong in this class?" She asked suspiciously. Kevin simply grinned at Nick, gave him a wink and turned his attention towards the supply teacher.

"Because you are far more intelligent and beautiful than anyone gives you credit for. Plus it’s your keen intuition."

Nick held his breath, waiting for her to either yell at Kevin or blush and accept the compliments. She did neither. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and smiled at him.

"Well, Mr."

"Richardson."

"Well, Mr. Richardson. I see you are quite the charmer. Please, do your charming elsewhere as I’m trying to conduct a class here. One that you are not enrolled in."

"I’ll see you Friday night Nick," Kevin said as he was ushered to the door. Nick only nodded and blushed as everyone in the room gasped as they watched him curiously. It was rare that Kevin Richardson was seen talking to a freshman, and to sneak into a class to talk to one was practically unheard of. Nick found himself bombarded by people almost instantly.

"Oh my god," a blonde girl Nick knew as Jessica said loudly. "That was ...Kevin Richardson. And he said he’d see you Friday?"

Nick nodded and blushed at the attention. "Yeah."

"Why? Where are you going?" Someone else asked.

"A friend of ours’ band is playing. So we’re going." Nick answered. He was relieved when the supply teacher interrupted and moved everyone back to their seats.

"Come on people, you’ve got twenty minutes left of class, can we at least try to pretend we’re doing something productive."

Nick’s smile didn’t leave his face for the remainder of the day.

~*~*~*~

"What did you say?" Justin asked in awe. He was in bed and talking to Nick on the phone, who was also in bed, at his own house. They’d had practice that night and couldn’t exactly discuss the events of Nick’s computer studies class in front of everyone there. So they’d been forced to wait until they had some privacy, and this was the first moment they had.

"He asked if you still liked Chris and I told him I wasn’t going to say."

"Do you think Chris asked him to ask you? Since you guys talk all the time now and he knows you have this gigantic crush on Kevin. I mean, he probably figured that out of anyone, you’d most definitely tell Kevin, so he probably sent him and said to find out." Justin rolled over onto his back and excitedly bounced his legs against his mattress. Nick’s news gave Justin a ray of hope.

Nick had to agree, that was what he’d been thinking all day. "Yeah, probably. But I wouldn’t do that to you. Chris told you to stay away, if he wants to know, he should be the one to ask . YOU!"

"Still, I’m impressed dude. I would have bet money that you’d have told him. The minute he batted his eyelashes at you, gave you that Richardson grin ...you’d be a gonner."

Nick didn’t want to tell Justin just how close he was to telling Kevin, but knew deep down that it was Justin’s privacy that he would be invading and didn’t want to do that, not even for Kevin. There was also the fact that he’d been very proud of himself for being so cool, calm and collected around Kevin. He wanted to show the older teen that he was mature and not a kid in hopes it would change his mind about them. "Well I wasn’t. I stood firm."

"And how cool is it that he wanted to know if you were going."

Nick’s grin could have lit up the room. He felt his stomach flipping, just as it had done earlier that day. "I know. This show is going to rock."

~*~*~

On Friday, Lance had gone home with AJ before they were supposed to go to the show. It had become common practice, both before their fight and now had resumed afterwards that Fridays, since AJ’s mom worked late, they would go to his house to spend time together alone. It didn’t always result in them spending time making out, but both boys appreciated the nights that it did.

"What time are we picking Justin and Nick up?" Lance asked as he came up for air. His lips were swollen and he had to fight to regulate his breathing. AJ’s hand was stroking his bare back and Lance’s hand was on AJ’s stomach.

"Eight thirty," AJ answered as he pulled Lance’s head back down for another kiss. It was only quarter to eight and they wouldn’t have to really leave until ten after to make it on time. That still gave them twenty good making out minutes and he didn’t want to waste them talking. "Gotta leave at eight ten."

Lance nodded as he parted his lips for AJ’s tongue to enter his mouth. He felt AJ’s hand slide down his back and over his jean covered ass. The air in the room was electric and Lance desperately wanted more. He wanted more of everything, AJ’s body on his, his hands touching him, anything that AJ could give him, but at the same time, he wanted less. Less clothing. There wasn’t enough time to start something, but Lance couldn’t help but tell AJ what was on his mind.

"I want ...more..."

AJ stopped, his eyes flew open. "What?"

"More.." Lance whimpered as he kissed down AJ’s throat. "I want more."

"More what?"


"Everything. You," Lance’s hand stroked AJ’s stomach as it moved downwards towards the hardness he knew was between his legs. "...this."

The feel of Lance’s hand stroking him caught AJ unaware and he gave a soft cry. His hips involuntarily thrust into Lance’s hand as their mouths fused together in a passionate kiss. AJ had to fight to remember that they had to leave soon. Opening his eyes was probably the second hardest thing he’d had to do all night, the first was stopping Lance when he saw that it was five after eight.

"Lance, as much as I want you to continue that..." AJ whimpered as Lance swiftly undid his jeans. His whimper turned into a gasp at the feel of Lance’s hand over his erection with just his boxer briefs between them. "Oh fuck..."

"Is this okay?" Lance asked. Somewhere in the fog of his mind, he knew he was crossing uncharted territory and should ask for AJ’s permission to continue. He could tell by the sounds AJ was making as well as the way his erection thickened in his hand, that AJ didn’t mind, but he wasn’t expecting the answer he got.

"Lance ...no ...."

Lance’s hand stopped immediately and he pulled his mouth away from AJ’s ear. "No?" He withdrew his hand and heard AJ moan in protest.


"Oh fuck ..yeah, yeah it’s SO okay. God, I didn’t mean that. Any time you want to stick your hand down my pants, go right ahead..." AJ stopped as he realized what he’d said. His cheeks turned a bright crimson red as Lance chuckled.

"Oh yeah? Any time?" Lance growled and moved back towards AJ, sliding his hand down his boyfriend’s jeans again. AJ pulled away a second time.

"Any time but now, Baby. We’ve got to get going. Nick and Justin are going to be waiting for us." He kissed away Lance’s pout.

"Can we call and cancel? Tell them we have something better to do?"

Sadly, AJ shook his head. "No, we can’t. We’re really looking forward to this, remember?" And it was true, as much as AJ didn’t want to stop where things were heading, he had truly been looking forward to seeing Chris’ band play again. He loved live music and knowing how important it was to Justin was more than enough incentive to stop what they were doing. For now.

"But.." Lance groaned as he got off the couch and followed AJ to the front foyer. They turned off all of the lights and made sure the doors and windows were locked. It was nearly twenty after and AJ knew they were gong to be late. Looking at the well kissed expression on Lance’s face, he knew Justin and Nick could deal with them being a little late.

"No buts, baby. We can pick this up later."

Lance’s grin lit up AJ’s world. They shared one last kiss, AJ grabbed his car keys and once the door was locked, they headed towards the car to pick up their two friends.

"Why are you late?" Justin asked skeptically when they finally got to his house. AJ was nearly twenty minutes late from when he said he would be at his house and Justin had started to worry that they weren’t coming. Nick was already in the car so thankfully they wouldn’t have to waste time getting him. He was anxious to get to the venue, as he wanted to get a good spot to watch the band.

"We’re late because we’re late J," Lance said innocently. He and AJ shared a knowing look as Nick and Justin did the same in the back seat.

"Making out? Couldn’t pry yourselves away from each other?" Nick said. He received silence in response which was more than enough answer.

"They don’t go on until after nine thirty anyways," Lance argued. He was thankful that they couldn’t see the blush on his face in the darkness. His mind was still on the fact that he’d actually undid AJ’s jeans and slid his hands down the front of his pants, something that he hadn’t expected to be brave enough to do. What was better was AJ’s reaction, and that he’d said that Lance could do it whenever he wanted. All Lance could think about now was when they were going to have alone time together again so he could continue with what he’d started.

"I just want to be there early," Justin pouted in the back seat. He was more nervous than he thought he would be. All night he’d been jumpy, he’d changed his outfit about ten times, finally settling on a pair of jeans, his new sneakers and a long sleeved rugby shirt that he’d gotten for his birthday but hadn’t worn. Although he knew it was too preppy for the Underdog and Chris’ crowd of people, it was the only type of clothing he had. So if he was going to stick out, he wanted to do it in new clothes that Chris hadn’t seen him in before.

"Don’t worry J," Nick assured him. "It’s gonna be fine."

Justin wasn’t certain of that, but he wanted to believe it so bad he let himself.

Nick spotted Joey and Kevin almost immediately as they walked in to the bar. They had big X stamps on their hands, indicating that they were underage and couldn’t drink anything alcoholic. He felt his stomach flip a few times and grinned as Kevin waved enthusiastically at them. "Come on, lets go over," he urged.

"You came?" Kevin said, relieved. He knew Nick had said they were going to be there, but he wasn’t sure and would have hated if for some reason he hadn’t have come, especially when, for some reason, Kevin had been anxious to see him all day.

"I said we were," Nick said, grabbing the seat next to Kevin. Joey nodded at him in greeting before turning to face Justin, Lance and AJ.

"Welcome, Kev said you were coming so we got two tables."

"Thanks," AJ smiled as he sat down. Lance moved their chairs so that they were side by side and their hands clasped together almost instantly.

They passed the time before Chris’ band went on with chatter about school, everyone’s various extra curricular activities and other mindless every day stuff. Nick watched as Joey’s attention was caught by a girl sitting by the bar and he politely excused himself to go meet her. That had been the last they saw of him for a while.

"Good evening," a man stepped up to the microphone on the stage, capturing everyone’s attention. "Thank you for coming to the Underdog. We’re proud to put on this all ages event for a band that seems to be pretty popular with you kids. Without further ado, here is Anarchy For Everyone."

The audience burst into applause while many people on the dance floor were screaming loudly. Justin watched in rapture as the band walked onto the stage, Chris the last to arrive. He felt his stomach flip and his pulse race. It was the exact same feeling he’d gotten the last time he was here, when he’d first noticed Chris as more than Kevin Richardson’s friend. A million emotions plagued him and Justin knew that no matter how hard Chris pushed him away, he would always feel this sense of awe and adoration for the older boy.


Chris wore black leather pants, a black tee shirt that was just slightly too tight and a chain going from his back pocket to his belt loop. He had on black boots and as per usual, his hair was spiked in every direction. When he wasn’t singing, his trademark snarl was etched onto his face. Had Justin not borne witness to Chris actually smiling, he would have thought the snarl was permanent. Justin was in love. He had intended on standing at the back to watch Chris’ performance, but after the first song, Justin knew he couldn’t, he had to be up front.

"I’m going up front," he said softly. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Chris.

"Want me to come with?" Nick asked.

Justin shook his head. "No, stay here." With that, he was up and heading through the mass of people to a spot that seemed to open up just for him in the front, right in Chris’ line of sight.

Nick looked at Lance and AJ who were wrapped up with one another and at Justin who couldn’t see anything except Chris and he grinned. He couldn’t help but feel jealous, but before the feeling could linger, he felt Kevin’s hand on his arm.

"Wanna go outside?" Kevin asked. Nick’s lips curled downwards into a frown as he looked at the stage. He thought that Kevin had come to see Chris’ band play like he had.


"You don’t want to stay?"

"We’re not going to leave," Kevin explained. "I wanna talk and it’s too loud. Just for a bit?"

Nick couldn’t resist the pout and so he nodded. "For a bit." He leaned in to tell Lance that they would be outside if anyone needed them. Ignoring the look that Lance gave him, he followed Kevin outside to where there was a large number of people standing and sitting around. Kevin led him to an empty place on the curb so they could sit down.

"He really likes him," Kevin gave no preamble. He looked directly into Nick’s eyes, expression unreadable.

"Who really likes who?" Nick asked. He wasn’t sure if Kevin meant Chris or Justin.

"Chris. Despite how he tried not to, he really likes Justin. I just thought I’d tell you."

Nick narrowed his eyes trying to figure out of Kevin was lying to him or telling him the truth. "Are you telling me this so I’ll tell you if Justin..." He stopped when Kevin rolled his eyes.

"I know Justin likes Chris, you don’t even have to say anything. It was obvious the second Chris came into the room. He was the only thing Justin was looking at. He couldn’t take his eyes off of him."

Nick nodded. "It’s true. He does. He likes Chris so much, but he hurt him. Why?"

"He was scared," Kevin explained. "He’s not used to being pursued like Justin did. No one ever really pays attention to Chris as more than mine and Brian's friend. He doesn't let a lot of people close to him, and as bad as it sounds, not a lot of people want to get close to him. They don’t get him, Justin was the first to make the effort and it scared him."

"Is he going to say something tonight? Is that why he wanted Justin to come?"

With a shrug, Kevin responded. "I hope so. Chris could use Justin’s innocence and his outlook on life. Nothing can bring that kid down, Chris needs someone like him."

"What about you Kevin? What do you need? Who do you need?" Nick nudged Kevin’s shoulder with his own. "You can tell me."

Kevin shook his head. He refused to frown so instead he forced a smile. "I can’t tell you." He didn’t want Nick to know that it was him that he needed, him that he wanted. So he didn’t say anything.

"You can, I won’t judge you. I won’t be mad when it’s not me."

Kevin still refused. "I can’t," he whispered softly.

Before Kevin could stop him or he could have second thoughts, Nick leaned over and kissed him. He tilted his head, fit his mouth perfectly on Kevin’s and kissed him, licking at Kevin’s lips to let his tongue in. When Kevin did, Nick deepened the kiss until finally he broke it, gasping for air. There was a wide grin covering his face.

"What was that for?" Kevin asked, more breathless than he should have been after one kiss. He closed his eyes and reminded himself why this was a bad idea. Nick answered by kissing him again, this one chaste with no tongue.

"Because I wanted to," Nick answered, heart pounding rapidly. He smiled as he stood up and reached to pull Kevin up. "Now come on, I want to see at least some of Chris’ show."

End Chapter 35


Chapter 36 >