Oreos for Breakfast: Nick BSB Fiction

Oreos for Breakfast - Chapter 21

By
The Paperbag Princess & The Pumpkin Coach

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I found my seat in first class and pulled out my cell phone, smiling when the flight attendant told me that I'd have to turn off the phone when the captain ordered them to shut the main doors. Whatever. I had to find Rachel quick before she saw that stupid article and freaked out.

Okay, now I sort of felt like a kid running away from home. What the hell was I going to do when I got to LA? I found my schedule book in my bag and Rachel's handwriting confronted me as I flipped it open. She'd scribbled her schedule - along with her hotels, flights and assumed names - in the margins of my book. Sometimes she'd even written little notes, like "Rachel loves Nick" or "to do: buy Rachel biiiiig present." Those made me smile, even now.

Today… Saturday, September 29th. They were supposed to be in San Diego but that was crossed out and I'd written in "Video - LA." Right. Today must be the rescheduled video shoot without the evil Gregory Dark. That's the decision that'd fucked all this up, wasn't it? She'd hated the director and threw a fit so they had to go to LA early and that meant she couldn't meet me like we'd planned.

Right, Nick, that's what had fucked up your relationship. It had nothing to do with you sleeping with another girl, right?

Stop it! If I kept listening to AJ's voice in my head, I'd run off this plane and not even try to apologize. I couldn't do that. I had to try something. She wasn't returning my calls. Hell, for all I knew she wasn't even listening to my pathetic messages.

I looked back down at the book. They were supposed to be at the Peninsula, and she was checking in as Nicole Bates again. She liked that one, didn't she? Sometimes she used "Buttercup," but she'd probably stopped using that name now. Maybe James had made her change all of her assumed names so I couldn't find her…

Get a grip, Nick! Not everything is about you! I doubted she hated me enough to change every little bit of her life so I couldn't talk to her. But still… she must have a will of steel not to at least feel a bit sorry for me. After all, I was calling her voicemail like ten times a day. That was a little obsessive and desperate, huh? The other night I'd been so drunk that I'd called her at least five times in a row, singing sappy ballads into her voicemail before I'd filled it up completely.

I'd actually only left her one message this morning. What was there left to say? I had no idea what I was going to do if I was actually able to see her face-to-face. I'd begged into her voicemail and sang… what else was left? Did I have to cry for her now? Did girls like that?

"Superstar!" Anna answered the phone on the second ring, and I just laughed.

"You call me that just to piss me off, don't you?"

"Duh! You are so much fun to fuck with… so how's my heartbroken friend today? Hungover again?"

"Not for two whole days. I'm taking your advice."

"Good. Should have done that to start with. It's all about penance with us girls, you know. You can't have any fun when you're broken up with us. We don't care about any damned ''breaks'.'"

"I'll know that next time," I sighed into the phone, remembering the article that was now lying in the airport trashcan. Maybe I could have my friends buy every copy of The Star and then she'd never see it.

Right. That was a great plan, Nick.

"What did you do, Nick?"

Anna sounded worried now, and I slumped further down in my seat, watching for the airline attendant, "Nothing. Well, something stupid, but it wasn't my fault really. It was Vinnie's…"

"Right. The charming Vinnie. What the hell did Vincent do now? I thought you left him in Milwaukee?"

"I did. But we picked up some girls on our way to Milwaukee and sort of entertained on the bus. One of them talked… and now it's all over one of those stupid papers."

"Nick!" Anna wailed.

I stopped her, "I know. I know! I'm a colossal fuck up and don't deserve any girl to like me, ever. I know. But I can't do anything now. I'm actually on my way to see Rachel now."

"She's talking to you?" She sounded skeptical, and I had to smile. My Anna was such a cynic. It was actually kind of cute.

"I thought that's what you wanted."

"No… well, yeah. But… she's such a wimp!" she sputtered into the phone.

"Stop it! She's not talking to me. Well, not yet. I have to find her first."

"What? Back up, superstar. You've lost me. Where are you?"

"On a plane to LA. Rachel is there, and I couldn't stomach having to sit in a hotel room in Vancouver for two days listening to the fellas be all self-righteous…"

"You're projecting, you know?" she interrupted.

"Whatever. Are you listening to me or not?"

"Continue…"

"Thanks. They're going to make me hang up in a sec. But I need your help. Rachel's in LA, and I know they're filming a video, but I don't know where. I know some of her fans must…"

"You want me to stalk her for you?"

"Umm…" When she put it that way…

"Nick, you're totally pathetic. You know that, right?"

"Desperate, yeah. Are you gonna help me or do I have to bribe someone when I get to LA?"

"Why can't Frank figure it out for you?" There she went being all reasonable and Anna-like!

"He's not with me. I'm alone. And I'm doing this with or without your help."

"You're what?"

I could just see her face as she tried to process what I'd just told her. "Alone. Without the fellas. Me, myself and I on a plane to LA."

"Can you do that?"

"It's a free country. Well, it's Canada… that counts, right? Did you know you need a passport even though Canada is connected and shit?"

"Nick, you are hopeless!"

I smiled at her as the flight attendant tapped my shoulder, telling me to turn off my phone. I nodded, "I know, but you love me and want to see me happy anyway. Look, I gotta go. Will you help?"

"Of course I will. But don't you have a show or something? Are they going to hunt you down?"

"No show until Monday. Call you when I get to LA; it's like a three hour flight."

We said goodbye, and I put away the phone, smiling at the flight attendant as she offered me a selection of cookies and drinks. Mmmmm… chocolate chip cookies!

"Rachel!"

I put the cookie I was holding back on the plate and forced myself to smile before I turned around. "Hi, Shane."

"Hey," he said with a smile. "You look great after our late night."

Why did I sleep with the guy in the video? Or, more precisely, why did I invite the guy from the video back up to my room after a drink, fool around with him a little, and kick him out before much happened? I was an idiot. Didn't I learn anything from Jeremy? I shouldn't be fucking around with guys I worked with. That was just stupid. I had to deal with him now.

I'd been half hoping that since I kicked him out before he got off, he wouldn't be speaking to me today. No such luck.

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep," I admitted. That didn't sound flirty, did it?

"Neither did I," he agreed with a raised eyebrow, his voice low and suggestive. Fuck. He was flirting. "Maybe we should catch a nap later."

Or not. I didn't want to fuck him last night when I was half drunk, and I definitely didn't want to fuck him today, when I was sober. He still wasn't Nick.

"We'll see," I demurred. "I think I'm crazy busy today."

"I've just got two scenes, I think, but I can hang out and talk to you between takes."

Great… James walked by, and I caught his eye.

"Hey, how's my date today?" he called, coming over to us and draping an arm over Shane's shoulders. In a great ironic twist, Shane was playing James' date in the video, not mine. A nice gay boy named Kyle was playing my date. He was about 6'2" and muscular. I should introduce him to Frank.

Frank… I wondered how he was. He sent me a birthday card, and a gift certificate to Borders, and a little note saying I could call him any time. He also mentioned he'd be happy to make Nick's life miserable in any way I chose, I just needed to say the word. Such a sweetie, that Frank.

Shane smiled over at me. "Tired," he said in answer to James' question, trying to get me to share the joke. I just looked at James instead.

"Are they ready for us?"

"Yeah, close-ups before the crowd gets here."

"Finally. Talk to you later, Shane," I said, dragging James with me towards the set.

"So he still likes you?" James asked, giggling, and I scowled up at him.

"If you love me at all, you will keep him away from me."

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