Here is the fifth part of the story. Again, this story involves Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys. Please remember that this is pure fantasy and absolutely nothing is implied about the sexualities of any of the characters in this story. All comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated at keithlowell@hotmail.com Thanks. With that said........ENJOY...........
Brian & Keith - part 5
Everyone walked out of the elevator and headed to the limo. Once safely inside, Kevin decided that they would go to a restaurant that serves a variety of dishes. He relayed that to the driver and they were on their way.
"I wish I could kiss you now," Brian whispered as he leaned towards Keith.
"I know, I wish the same but you know good things come to those who wait," Keith whispered as he rubbed Brian's hand. Brian perked up and smiled when he heard that. He could hardly wait till tonight. He will finally get the chance to rectify the instance that took place the first night that they met. Brian truly felt like himself and happy in a long time.
They arrived at the restaurant after a stressful limo ride. There was so much tension in the air. Everyone seemed to be on their last nerve. They were holding everything in, and it looked like the resentment would bust through any minute. Keith was wondering why the guys were acting this way. Then it dawned on him that this was the first time that Brian got serious about someone. The rest were probably one night stands that probably never even met the rest of the guys.
Keith suddenly snapped out of it when he realized that he was being handed a menu. He smiled as he realized that he had been in his own world as they entered the restaurant and while they were being seated. He had a tendency of zoning out once in a while.
His smile faded as he realized which restaurant he was in. This was the same place that he came to often with his "regulars". They would by him dinner and then out to the car for their dessert. The restaurant was in one of the best areas of town. It catered to a mix crowd and many celebrities. The restaurant had a policy that it didn't matter what you were, as long as you were respectful and had enough manners as to not offend anyone, then you were welcome. There was a dance area in the middle, and one could see many same sex couples dancing as they enjoyed their meals.
Keith of course could not be open with his relationship because of Brian's celebrity status. He wondered whether or not the guys knew of this place. Nevertheless, they will soon find out. Just as everyone ordered their food, the music started. Keith shifted in his seat as he realized that a lot of people will get up to dance. Brian's eyes opened wide and lit up as he saw a gay couple get up and started to dance.
"Maybe we can do that after dinner," Brian blurted out looking at Keith and casually pointing towards the dance floor.
Everyone turned their head to follow Brian's finger and gasped as they saw the couple kissing and dancing in each others arms. They all looked at Brian like he was mad and lost his mind.
"I don't think so," Keith said as he sipped his water.
Brian got a disappointed look on his face as he looked down. Keith leaned over and whispered, "Tonight you can sing to me while we dance in our room," in Brian's ear. Brian laughed out loud and whispered, "I love you," in Keith's ear. Keith also laughed out loud and continued chuckling with Brian as they looked at the rest of the guys.
Keith also laughed out loud as he scanned the restaurant quickly. He abruptly stopped as his eyes landed on a pair of eyes that were staring straight at him. His laugh stopped and his mouth was wide open as he stared in shock and fear. Those cold, fearful eyes belonged to a character named Peter, but he preferred to be called Pete. Pete was a burly man and he liked to be mean and physically abusive towards the guys that he picks up. Keith breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that Pete was alone tonight. One time Pete had picked up a friend of Keiths and was hitting him even before this person got into Pete's car. Keith saw this and called the police before running over to try to save his friend. Pete started beating up on Keith also as the cops arrived. They were able to refrain Pete but not before he gave Keith a bruised shoulder and a black eye. Luckily Keith's friend was not much worse. The cops dragged Pete away, but not before he cursed out Keith and vowed that one day he will make Keith pay for causing Pete to be arrested and making him lose his good time with his whore for the night. Keith felt a shiver go up his spine as he remembered the promise of revenge made by Pete. Unluckily Keith's friend did not press any charges, so Pete got off by only paying a fine and the doctor's bill. And now apparently he was up to his old tricks. Pete waved and scowled at Keith as it was clear that he also vividly remembered his promise.
Brian noticed that Keith was sitting there starving into space. Right then their food arrived. After a few minutes, Brian noticed that Keith had not touched his food and he was still staring out in space. Brian waved his hand in front of Keith's face but nothing happened. He took his hand and rubbed Keith's cheek tenderly as he hoped that this would bring about Keith. Pete noticed this caring touch and realized that it was Brian Littrell of Backstreet Boys. An evil smile came to his lips and his eyes lit up with an idea.
Pete's smile brought Keith about as he realized that Brian was rubbing his cheek. Keith smiled at Brian and looked down at his food. He had lost his appetite. He looked up and noticed that the guys were all busy stuffing themselves. He felt sick to the core and excused himself to go to the restroom. He quickly got up and make his way to the other side of the restaurant. Brian looked up at him with concern, but then decided that he was probably exhausted by the day's events.
Keith ran into the bathroom and into a stall. After he finished vomiting, he leaned back against the stall. He heard the bathroom door open, so he straightened up a bit and walked out of the stall. He ran straight into Pete once he left the stall. Keith looked up and cringed in fear as he noticed the expression on Pete's face.
"Hi Keith, remember the promise that I made last time I saw you," Pete said as he slammed his right fist in his left hand's palm.
"No, Pete please don't," Keith said as he backed away.
"You expect me to just walk away after what you did to me," Pete barked in anger as he walked forward to up with Keith.
"Please no, not now," Keith said as he started crying.
"Well, if not now, then maybe you want me to go to the press to tell them that you are whore for Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys," Pete said almost in a whisper even though they were the only two in the bathroom.
"No!" Keith screamed as soon as he heard what Pete had said.
"I'm glad that you came around to see my point of view," Pete said as he snarled at Keith.
"Okay, do what you want, but no sex," Keith screamed as he raised his hand towards Pete.
"I don't want any sex with you, you ugly piece of shit," Pete shouted back.
Keith just stood there with his eyes closed waiting for Pete to get it over with. He had to do anything to keep from going to the press about Brian. That would ruin everything. He just hoped that Brian would understand once he had a chance to explain. He hoped that his fantasy knight will really be a knight in true life. 'I love you Brian,' Keith thought to himself.
Just as Keith was thinking this, Pete threw his first punch to Keith's face. Keith flinched in pain as Pete's fist landed on his cheek bone. Pete continued with his punches to Keith's face and soon was throwing punches all over Keith's body. Pete was using Keith as a punching bag much as a boxer would for practice. Keith just took it all because he knew that he should not fight back. His friend, the same one he had tried to save the day he met Pete, had made that mistake on another occasion with another person and lost his life for that mistake. He did not want to die now, he had finally found his knight in real life and finally started to be happy about something in a long time. Finally, Pete seemed to run out of steam and stopped. He had his fill of his revenge by this time. Keith felt nothing at all because his body was sore all over and bleeding.
"That should teach you from interfering in my business," Pete spat out as he walked away to wash the blood from his hands.
After Pete washed up, he left after throwing the paper towels, that he had used a second before, on top of Keith. Keith just lay there huddled over a pool of blood. Pete had done a job on him. He had blood dripping from his nose, his cheeks, and basically his whole face. He could not move because his whole body hurt so much. He wished that he was dead because that was the only way he thought that he will be rid of the pain.
Just then he heard the bathroom door open. "Oh my God!" Keith heard as someone screamed. "Call 911! someone is bleeding in here," were the last words he heard before he finally passed out.
Meanwhile back at the table the guys were enjoying their dinner. They were famished as they ate up their meal with gusto. Brian noticed that Keith was in the restroom for a long time. Brian was starting to get worried but then he realized that Keith probably did not feel his best over the last couple of days and it finally caught up with him. Just then Brian heard those terrible words coming from the restroom that he would remember for some time. Brian was on his feet and in the men's room in a flash after hearing the guy's screams. The others were right behind him.
"Keith!" Brian screamed as he saw Keith lying there in a pool of his own blood.
Brian touched Keith but got no response. He heard the ambulance sirens stop in front of the entrance of the restaurant. In a matter of minutes, the emergency personnel were moving Brian out of the way to get to Keith. Brian did not want to let go, but Kevin grabbed him from behind and pulled him up and out the way.
"Does anyone know him or at least his name?" one of the ambulance workers asked the crowd that had gathered by now at the men's room door.
"His name is Keith Lowell," Kevin spoke up as he held Brian for comfort. Brian by now had tears running down his face as he hugged Kevin.
"Does anyone know what happened?" a police officer asked as he stepped into the bathroom.
Kevin explained how they had come to the restaurant for dinner and how Keith had went to the restroom and then all of a sudden they heard a scream for someone to call 911. He was still holding Brian close to him because now Brian had started sobbing loudly. Kevin noticed the police officer look at Brian with a questioning look. Kevin was worried that this would cause trouble for the group. That thought disappeared as soon as it appeared in Kevin's mind because he realized that Keith was a friend of theirs and they should do everything they could to help Keith.
"One of you will have to come with us in the ambulance," one of the emergency personnel said to the guys.
Kevin looked at Brian but he was in no shape to answer any questions that they might have. He thought about going himself, but felt that his place was to be besides Brian at a time like this. A.J. came to Kevin's rescue as he spoke up.
"I'll go in the ambulance," A.J. said as he looked at Brian.
"Are you sure A.J., I can go if you prefer," Kevin said.
"Yeah, thats fine, besides Brian needs you right now," A.J. replied as he walked out with the ambulance workers who had Keith on a gurney.
"We'll see you at the hospital," Nick yelled as A.J. got inside the ambulance.
"You guys can ride with me," the police officer said as he made his way to the cruiser.
"Thank you," Kevin said as he helped Brian in the backseat and got in after him.
Everyone had gathered in the waiting room. The police had questioned them and left over an hour ago. Kevin had given them the number at the hotel if they needed to reach the guys until Sunday and then for after that the number to their manager. Kevin had asked the cops to keep this low key. The cops were shocked at first, but as soon as they realized who these guys were, they agreed.
Brian had stopped crying by now, but the tears would flow freely every once in a while. He was sitting next to Kevin with his head on Kevin's shoulder. He was glad that he had Kevin with him. He loved all the guys like brothers but he had a special relationship with Kevin. He had always been able to talk to Kevin about serious stuff to silly everyday stuff. He had hoped that now he would be able to have that kind of relationship with Keith. Thinking about that brought new tears down his cheeks. 'God I hope Keith is going to make it through this,' he thought to himself.
"Whats taking them so long to come and talk to us," Nick sighed as he stood and started pacing again.
"Calm down Nick, they're just doing their job," Kevin said as he tightened his hold around Brian. Just then a doctor walked into the waiting room.
"Hi everyone, I am Dr. Amanda Rosenberg. I was the physician on duty when Mr. Lowell was brought in," she spoke as she sat down across from the guys. Everyone smiled at her but then got worried expressions on their faces as she sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "Okay, lets get down to business," she said as she brushed some of her hair away from her forehead.
"Lets see, Mr. Lowell, Keith, had a bad run in with a bully. He should recover fully in time. Looks like this bully just used him as a punching bag and for some reason Keith did not put up much of a defense. He has two black eyes and a broken nose and swelling all over his face. He received some punches to his chest and stomach, but x-rays show that there is no internal damage. He also has knife slashes across his chest and back. Thank God the bully did not stab him. He did lose a good amount of blood, but with some rest and good food he should be fine. Apparently, the bully did not attack Keith's lower body. The attacks seem to end at the stomach," Dr. Rosenberg looked up as she finished her briefing.
Brian flinched as the doctor read the extent of Keith's injuries. He could not believe that anyone wanted to hurt Keith to this extent. One thing that bothered him was the fact that Keith had not fought back or even protected himself. These feelings brought all kinds of questions into Brian's head. 'Calm down Brian, Keith will explain as soon as he can,' he thought as he tried to clear his mind of the disturbing questions.
"I need to know if Keith's family can be contacted," Dr. Rosenberg asked as she grabbed a pen and turned to a blank page.
"We don't know any of his family, but we can probably find their number at his apartment," A.J. answered as he looked at the doctor.
"Okay, if you guys think that's best," Dr. Rosenberg answered. "Now that we have gotten that taken care of, which one of you is Brian," she asked as she got up from her chair.
"That's me," Brian said as he raised his head from Kevin's shoulder.
"Keith has been asking for you, as soon as we get him set up in a room, I'll come and get you to see him," she said as she looked directly at Brian.
"Okay, thank you doctor," Brian replied as the doctor turned to leave.
After the doctor left, the guys looked at each other nervously. They all had the same question roaming around in their minds, but were not able to ask it aloud. They all looked at each other and sighed and then distanced themselves from one another in the waiting room.
"Brian," Nick said finally speaking after what seemed like hours of silence.
"Not now Nick, Brian does not need this," A.J. warned as he looked at Brian and then at Nick.
"No, I think now is the perfect time to discuss this, besides it is better if Keith is not present for this discussion," Nick replied as he stared at Brian.
"What are you talking about?" Brian asked.
"What are you going to do with Keith?" Nick asked back.
"What do you mean by that?" Brian asked with a hint of anger.
"I mean are you going to be okay saying good bye to Keith on Sunday," Nick said softly.
"I am not going to say good bye to Keith on Sunday, rather I was hoping that he could come back with us to Orlando," Brian replied as he looked down towards the floor. This is not how he had planned on having this conversation with the guys.
"What!" Nick, Howie, and A.J. shouted simultaneously.
"I really don't want to go into details right now, but I will be glad to explain later on," Brian said as he looked at the door hoping that the doctor would come through and take him to Keith.
"Well! I'm calling a group vote to discuss this matter now," Nick said in anger. He could not believe that Brian would get seriously involved with Keith.
Brian was out-voted by four to one in favor of having the discussion at that moment in the vote called by Nick. The guys had agreed that whenever one of them called a vote, they would always abide by the wishes of the majority. So, Brian had no choice but to go ahead and discuss the matter at this moment. Brian was a little disappointed that Kevin had voted against him. Then he realized that since all they did was argue the last time they talked about this issue, Kevin had no other choice.
"Okay, now whats all this about," Nick said as he crossed his arms and leaned back to listen to Brian's explanation.
"Well! I have fallen in love with Keith and I want to spend the rest of my life with him," Brian said as he wiped away a tear from his eye.
"Does he feel the same way about you?" Kevin asked.
"I know that he does love me, but we have not talked about our future together," Brian answered as he slumped back in his chair. He had a feeling that this discussion would take some time.
"Are you sure you can trust a person like that?" Howie asked.
"A person like what," Brian repeated.
"Oh come on Brian! do you need us to spell it out for you," Nick said furiously as he leaned forward in his chair.
"Yes I do," Brian replied as he leaned forward in his chair to meet and challenge Nick's advance.
"Okay, that's enough you tow," Kevin said. "Brian, you heard the question, now answer it," he continued speaking a she pulled his chair in between the two duelling friends.
Brian was relieved that Kevin had sat in between of Nick and himself. He had a feeling that he would certainly get in a fight soon anyway, but he did not feel that this was the right place or time. He had to stay calm to be able to see Keith when he got his chance. He did not want to upset Keith because of these guys. He laughed inwardly at himself at the thought that there was a time when he would have done anything for the guys and now that he had found a life partner, he was getting in fights with them over Keith. He just thought that he would never turn into a person like that. But, he loved Keith and he felt like he could fight the world to stay with him. He just felt bad that he had to fight his best friends and his surrogate family to be able to love Keith.
"I love Keith, and trust comes before love, so that should answer that question," Brian finally answered Nick and Howie.
"Well! that ends this discussion for me, Brian knows what he is doing," A.J. said as he looked at the guys one at a time.
One by one all the guys nodded their agreement that this discussion is over for now. Brian looked at A.J. and smiled his thanks for understanding that this was not the time to discuss this issue. A.J. smiled back letting Brian know that he for one saw nothing but sincerity when Brian and Keith looked at each other.
Just then Dr. Rosenberg stepped into the room. "Brian, you can come with me now," she said as she turned back around and started to leave as fast as she came in. Brian was right at her heels. He was glad that he did not have to spend time with the guys right now. They were not his favorite people at this moment. He really loved them but sometimes they just got on his nerves. He chuckled to himself while he thought about how that is what families did to each other from time to time.
They stopped in front of a door. Dr. Rosenberg informed Brian that this was Keith's room and that she had to go continue making her rounds. Brian stood there alone trying to muster enough strength for what awaited him inside. He decided that he did not want to cry in front of Keith. He decided that he had to keep his composure for Keith's sake. He wanted Keith to recover fully so that he can join them on Sunday when they had to leave town.
Brian pushed the door open slowly and slipped into the room quietly. He was not sure that Keith would be awake or not. He turned around and faced the bed. He stood there shocked looking at the figure lying on the bed. He almost did not recognize Keith. He would really have to try hard not to cry. Keith looked very uncomfortable lying on the bed in the middle of the room. Brian sighed and forced himself to move forward and sit in a chair next to the bed.
Brian sat there looking at Keith. Keith had an ice pack wrapped around his head and covering almost all of his face. His chest was covered with bandages that wrapped around all the way around him. Brian felt so bad for Keith. He wished that he could take all the pain away. He just wanted to wrap his arms around Keith and take him away from this place. He wanted to tell Keith that he loved him and wanted to hear those words spoken back. He wanted to feel Keith's arms around him and to hear Keith's voice say that everything will be okay.
Keith lay there unconscious. Brian had never seen Keith so out of it. He was really worried. He could not hold back his tears anymore. Brian took hold of Keith's hand just as the first couple of tears slid down his cheeks. Brian sighed loudly as he let the tears flow freely. He squeezed Keith's hand, but there was no response from Keith. Brian leaned forward and spoke softly.
"I love you, please don't leave me," he said as he squeezed Keith's hand harder. "Everything will be okay, you just get well and then we can talk," he whispered as he let go of Keith's hand.
Brian leaned back into his chair and wiped his tears away. He got up and leaned forward and tried to kiss Keith. Unfortunately, there were bandages and ice covering most of it. Brian picked up Keith's hand and kissed it. He whispered "I love you" to Keith and turned to leave the room. When he was halfway out the door, he looked back and whispered another "I love you" to Keith and left the room. He closed the door behind him just as some fresh tears slid down his face.
Brian wiped away his tears and walked up to the nurses station. He informed the nurse that he was a friend of Keith's. He gave the number to Keith's apartment and told the nurse that he could be reached their tonight incase they needed to get a hold of him. The nurse told him that because of the medication Keith would sleep straight through the night and probably wake up around 9 or 10 in the morning. He thanked her and said that he would return in the morning then.
Brian walked towards the waiting room. He did not want to face the guys right now. He definitely was not up to it. He walked into the room and suddenly the guys fell silent. He looked up and saw four faces with genuine concern on them. 'They are not that bad after all,' Brian thought to himself. Brian sat down in a chair and faced the guys.
"Keith is stable now but out of it, the nurse said that he will not awaken till tomorrow morning," Brian said. "Kevin what do we have planned for tomorrow because I will come here in the morning," he continued speaking without giving a chance for the others to say anything.
"As far as I know, just another rehearsal scheduled, but this one is in the evening at the venue," Kevin replied looking at Brian.
"Okay good," Brian said as he relaxed a bit in his chair.
"Brian, may we see Keith?" A.J. asked.
"I don't think that is a good idea since he is out cold and also he is not really allowed to see a lot of people just as yet," Brian answered relaying the same info that the doctor had told him earlier.
"Okay, if you think that's best," A.J. said as he slumped in his chair.
"Well, I'm going to go over to Keith's apartment and try to call Carol or Brad to let them know what happened. I am also going to be spending the night there since it is closer to the hospital. I will ride with you guys to the hotel first to get an overnight bag for myself and to pick up some of Keith's clothes," Brian blurted out in one go before Kevin had a chance to react to any of this. He knew that his cousin would definitely have something to say on this matter. He knew that his cousin was just looking out for him but it just gets to be too much sometimes.
"Brian, I don't think that's such a good idea," Kevin said when Brian had finally finished speaking.
"Frankly Kevin, I don't really care if any of you think it is a good idea or not, I just have to do this. I am not asking your permission, but just letting you know where I am incase you need me," Brian said as he looked directly at Kevin almost silently questioning Kevin's authority.
....to be continued.......
sorry guys that it took so long to get this part out. I guess that I am always making promises that the next part will be out soon, but never manage to make good on those promises. So, this time I am not going to make any such promises.
What do you guys think of the story so far? I like the direction it is going in. All suggestions and criticisms will be appreciated. Or if you guys just want to write to say hello, that's fine too.
I just want to say that BRIAN looked so gorgeous and cute at the MTV presentation of the Backstreet Boys Live Special. I absolutely love the new song, and his voice is out of this world. I was certainly jealous that the girl was allowed to go and sit next to him. And, of course, I want that plaque with all their autographs on it. Okay, enough of me ogling over Brian.
Have fun you guys and remember to write.