064 - Ghost - Kevin Richardson/Nick Carter (RPS)

Title: “Ghost”
Author: beckyo and ptarmigan
Fandom: Backstreet Boys (Kevin Richardson & Nick Carter)
Characters: Kevin Richardson & Nick Carter
Prompt: 064, ghost
Word Count: 2,787
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: This one is not a part of our continuing series. Any errors are purely our own, as we gave our beta the day off for her birthday. :)



Kevin opened his eyes at exactly four minutes past eight, AM. He stared at the clock beside the bed, wondering what had awakened him and why it had to be so goddamned early; then decided that if he had to be awake with absolutely no chance of getting back to sleep then so did Nick. As always, Nick didn't seem to mind his wake-up call.

Later that morning Kevin was standing in the kitchen leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in one hand and the newspaper in the other, when he caught a glimpse of someone in the front hall.

"I've already got the paper, Nick." When there was no response, he called again. "Nick? I've got the paper."

In the silence that followed, he moved to the kitchen door to see what Nick was doing. The hall was empty, as was the living room. The den, the studio, all the rooms on the main floor were empty, and as Kevin returned to the kitchen, scratching his head Nick ambled down the stairs, his hair still wet from the shower.

The expression on Kevin's face was a classic double take, and Nick burst out laughing. "Kev? Man, it's me. I live here, remember?" Moving past him into the kitchen, Nick patted his back. "You need to lay off the caffeine."

"I thought I saw you in the hall."

"Nope, couldn't you hear the water running?" Nick fixed himself a bowl of Frosted Flakes and straddled a chair at the kitchen table. "What time do we need to be at the studio?"

Kevin stared at Nick, not answering, until Nick looked back up at him.

"Yo, dawg! What time to we need to be at the studio? You alright?"

Shaking his head slightly, Kevin finally responded.

"Are you fuckin' around on me, Nick, playin' a trick or something? I saw someone in the hall!

"Kev, I just got outta the shower, look at me, I'm still damp! Why would I do that anyway, it's not Halloween or anything?" Nick's voice seemed sincere, but Kevin scowled.

"I dunno, but I saw someone, and who else could it be? No one went in or out the door, I woulda heard the alarm click."

Nick simply stared.

Shrugging it off for the time being, Kevin poured more coffee, and sat across from Nick.

"We need to be there by noon."

~~~

Two hours later Nick parked the truck on the street across from the studio, and both men waited to cross over until there was a gap in the traffic. Kevin noticed someone coming up beside him from the corner of his eye and expecting a fan, he turned with a smile. There was no one there. He looked all around him, but he and Nick were the only people on the sidewalk in either direction. The store directly behind him had a closed sign on the door, but he went to try the doorknob anyway thinking someone veered off at the last minute and entered the store. The lock stayed locked. Turning quickly he stepped out onto the street to catch up with Nick, and into the path of an oncoming car.

The screech of tires and blaring of a horn sent Nick spinning around just in time to see Kevin land by the curb, rolling out of traffic and onto the sidewalk.

"KEVIN!" His heart had stopped, and he was shaking when he reached his lover's side.

"I'm okay." Kevin sat up, but he was clearly not 'okay'. He was pale and shaking and there were numerous abrasions on his arms. A crowd began to gather including the driver of the car that narrowly missed striking him.

"I'm so sorry, you stepped out and-"

"Did you see her?" Kevin asked anxiously. "Did you?"

"See who?" Nick interrupted.

"She was there, Nick. I saw her."


Ten minutes later Kevin repeated himself. "She was there, Nick, I saw her." Nick had half carried, half dragged him across the street, and into the studio, and had made him sit still so he could minister to his cuts and scrapes.

Nick looked up from where he was kneeling beside Kevin. "I still don't know who you mean, Kev...hold still." He grabbed a Band-Aid from the table, but before he could apply it to the worst of Kevin's cuts, Kevin stood up knocking him on his ass.

"The girl, Nick, the girl that was right there, right beside me. You must have seen her." Kevin's frustration came out as anger, making Nick flinch. "I think she was in my house this morning, too, Nick! What the fuck is going on?"

Turning on his heel, he peered back at the other man. "You sure this isn't some sort of prank? Is it AJ, is he doin' it?" Without waiting for any response from Nick, Kevin stormed out of the room and down to the small kitchen for more coffee. He was more shaken up than he was letting on by both the near accident, and the shadowy woman who appeared to be stalking him. Once alone in the empty room he slumped against the wall, slid down, and rested his head on his knees.

Nick watched him go, and took the hand of the engineer who was waiting to help him up off the floor. "Thanks Chris."
"What's going on, Nick?"

Nick shook his head. "I have no idea." Running his hands through his hair he sighed. "Let me go talk to him, and hopefully we can get this straightened out without losing a days' work."

With a nod of his head, Chris headed back to the booth as Nick set out to find Kevin. What he saw was more than a little disconcerting. Kevin was still where he'd landed, slumped against the wall in the break room, his head now buried in his hands.

"Tell me about her." Nick spoke softly, hoping like hell his voice conveyed a mature calm, because right now he felt neither.

"AJ did it." Kevin had almost convinced himself this was true.

"AJ's in Florida, Kevin."

Kevin looked up, his face stricken.

"Then...who? Who's doing this, Nick, and why to me?" His voice came out shakier than he liked, and he looked into Nick's' concerned eyes. "This is nuts, let's get to work, I don't wanna think about this anymore. At least I know no one can get in here."

With Nick's help Kevin rose to his feet, but before going back to the booth he opened a cupboard, pulled a bottle from an upper shelf, and took a long swig of whisky. Nick wisely said nothing, just waited for his friend, and tried not to notice the way Kevin's hands were shaking.

"Nick? Don't leave me alone, okay?"

"I won't. I promise. But Kev?" He hesitated, not knowing what was right or what was wrong. "Look, you wanta go home? We can just scrub the session for today and go hang out."

"No!" His response was swift and harsh and when he saw Nick take a step back he softened his tone. "No, Nick. I need to work so let's get inside and get to it."

Somehow they managed to work until mid-afternoon, but Nick knew there was precious little that was worth saving. Kevin was off his mark nine times out of ten and what they had in the can so far was garbage. Chris had even said as much when they took a break but Nick had promised to personally foot the bill for the session. Anything to keep Kevin's mind off whatever it was that had him so disturbed.

At four thirty Chris called a halt, citing mechanical problems, and Nick was faced with getting Kevin back outside.

"Time to knock off, old man." Clapping Kevin on the back he grinned. "Come on, I'll buy you dinner."

Kevin could do nothing but follow Nick down the hallway, and out into the warm, late afternoon sunshine. He checked out the street in both directions before letting Nick pull him across the street, and even though he was certain they were the only people on the block, a chill crept up his spine when he saw the spot where he'd seen the girl and almost been hit by the car.

"Let's get away from here, Nick, let's eat closer to home." Kevin spoke in an uncharacteristically meek tone of voice, buckled his seat belt, and continued to watch warily as Nick pulled away from the curb and into traffic.

Sitting in a booth in one of the couples favorite eateries, beer in hand and Nick across the table from him, Kevin was finally able to take a deep breath and relax a bit. He rolled his shoulders, took a long pull of the cold amber liquid, and looked directly into Nick's eyes.

"I'm not going crazy, you know, there's been someone there twice today. I almost saw her the second time but all I could see was her shape, not her face."

"I don't know what to say." Nick methodically peeled the label off his beer bottle before looking up and into Kevin's eyes. "I didn't see or hear anyone, Kev. Has anything like this ever happened before?"

"No, never." Kevin seemed even more perturbed by this, and Nick was glad to see their food arrive, so he had something else to concentrate on.

Midway through the meal, and two beers later, Nick couldn't hold it any longer. "Look, Kev, I've really gotta hit the boys' room, I'll be right back." He was gone before Kevin could open his mouth.

He watched the waitress return to the table and inquire if everything was satisfactory, and he watched other patrons coming and going, and he kept his eyes wide open. He was fine he told himself, it was nerves, or he was getting sick, or ...

At the soft tap on his shoulder Kevin turned to let Nick know he was fine but it wasn't Nick. He jumped up to follow the girl he'd caught a glimpse of only to lose her in a noisy crowd of restaurant patrons leaving at that moment. Rudely pushing through them without a word, he ran to the entrance, and stopped on the sidewalk. She wasn't there, she didn't seem to be anywhere but in his head.

"Kevin, I-" Nick rounded the corner and slid into their booth. Their empty booth. "Kevin?" he leaned out into the aisle, peering this way and that, but no sign of him.

"I saw him go out the front door." Their waitress was giving him a strange look, and when she asked if she could get them anything else, Nick shook his head, tossed down a handful of bills and went after him.

"Kevin?" Frantically, Nick looked up and down the street. A shadow on the corner caught his eye and thankfully it was Kevin. He broke into a run and was panting by the time he caught up with him. "Kev, wait up. Where're you going?" He didn't answer. "Kevin, STOP!"

Nick caught him by the sleeve and Kevin spun around, his eyes wide and his skin pale. "NO! I have to find her! Nick, you don't understand. I think I know her. I think I know who she is."

Nick tightened his hold on Kevin's arm, and turned to look down the street.

"She's not anywhere around now, Kevin." If she ever was, he silently added. "C'mon, come back to the car with me, and tell me who she is." Kevin balked at first, but with gentle persuasion Nick managed to get him back to the truck and buckled in, but it wasn't until they got home that Kevin spoke again.

"My high school sweetheart, Nick, my first love...Bobbi Jo Thornton. It was her, but it wasn't, it was like she hadn't changed, hadn't gotten older."

Kevin sat at the end of the sofa, close to the fire that Nick had started as soon as they'd gotten home. He couldn't stop shivering, his feet and hands felt like lumps of ice, and when Nick shoved a mug of hot tea into his hands he gratefully wrapped his long fingers around it.

"We planned to be together forever, Nick, we thought we were soul mates, but when I went to Orlando I guess we grew apart." He rubbed his hand over his eyes, and leaned back against the cushions. "I missed her for a long time, though."

Nick wrapped his hand behind Kevin's neck and squeezed the tense muscles. "I'm so sorry. Where is she now?"

"I've no idea, Nick. Mama said she moved away a few years back, and that's the last I heard."

"Why don't you see if you can find her, Kev? With the internet and all it shouldn't be too hard."

Kevin smiled tiredly, his eyes closed and his head resting against the back of the sofa. "I might just do that, thanks. Nick, look… I'm sorry about today. It's just-"

Kevin's cell phone began to ring and the strains of My Old Kentucky Home began to drift down the hall. He started to rise, but Nick pressed a hand against his thigh. "I'll get it. It's either your mom or one of your brothers."

"Tell them I'll call them back. Please?" he hardly had the energy to open his eyes, let alone carry on a long-winded conversation.

"You got it." Nick finally located Kevin's phone where he'd dropped it with his keys and smiled when he saw the caller ID. "Hey Mom!" He grinned as Kevin's mother laughed, but his smile faded as he listened. "Yes, I'll tell him. No, I'll have him call you back. Today's been a little weird."

Kevin was cold. There was a draft coming in, and he was ready to berate Nick for leaving a door open when he saw her.

He lifted his head, opened his eyes and looked straight into hers. She stood in front of the fireplace, and he could see the dancing flames behind her, or through her...or something.

"Bobbi...Bobbi Jo." He spoke softly, and reached his hand out to her, but she didn't move. "You look beautiful, girl. I remember that dress, you wore it to the prom."

She stared at him, her dark brown eyes meeting his in the unwavering way she had. He believed she could see into his soul, then and now.

"Kevin, I love you, Kevin. When you went away I thought I'd die, but I didn't. I moved away, and I fell in love, and got married, and we've got three children now, Kevin. Do you? I know you always wanted lots of children."

Her voice was soft, her accent sweet just like he remembered, but he couldn't respond to her, couldn't make his mouth work.

"Kevin...I needed to tell you that I never stopped loving you, and that I forgive you for leaving me behind. You've done exactly what you said you wanted, you're a star, and I'm so proud of you, so proud."

Suddenly he couldn't see her as well, she was fading, she was leaving him, and he stood with his arms outstretched.

"No, Bobbi don't go, please...don't go..."

"Kevin, baby that was your mom on the phone." Nick stopped short when he saw Kevin standing before the fireplace. He'd heard Kevin's last words and a shaft of ice pierced his heart as he relayed her message. "She wanted you to know –God, I hate this- Kevin, Bobbi Jo was in an accident this morning. She died instantly. She was on the interstate, and they say she never saw the truck that crossed the median. It happened-"

"At 8:04. I know, Nick. Now I understand."

Nick could only hold him as he wept, trying to make some sense out of today and all the days before when Bobbi Jo had only been a fond memory.

One month later, on a crisp cool Thanksgiving Day, they stood together at her grave. The grass had yet to grow enough to cover the hard packed mound of soil and the flowers left by mourners had withered and turned brown. Kneeling by the granite stone bearing her name, Kevin cleared it all away leaving the wreath that he and Nick brought all the way from town.

Brushing the dirt from his hands Kevin stood. Taking one last look he spoke softly, and at the last his voice failed him. "I wish I could have…"

"She knew, Kevin. She always knew."

They turned toward the car. Behind them a sudden warm breeze kicked up a whirlwind of red and orange leaves and the luminous figure that appeared in its midst smiled sweetly.

"Goodbye, Kevin."


~ fin ~
11/23/05

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