Birds In Your Garden: Chapter 5
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The floor kept moving under his feet, and he wasn't even moving! Hated when that happens. And everything was blurry or there was more than one, which made finding the doorknob really difficult. Mikey was behind him, jumping up and down pretending to be one of the Backstreet Boys, singing off key, and net even getting the words right. "Yo, dude!" Kevin said, turning around to him and putting his hand over Mikey's mouth. "Shhhh. People sleep here, man!" Was that his own voice slurring like that? How the hell much did they drink?

"No one sleeps in New York," Mikey protested, pushing past Kevin into the suite. The stereo was soon blasting ACDC, and in the back of his mind, Kevin knew it was too loud, so he stumbled over to turn it down. "Dude! What're you doin?"

"People are sleeping, man," Kevin told him, putting a finger over his own lips. "Ya gotta let 'em sleep."

"Man, you were so much more fun to hang out with when you were younger," Mikey chastised. "You'd pick up a few girls, we'd get loaded…now it's 'shhh' and no women? Fuck that, man. You suck." Mikey dropped to the sofa and within seconds, he passed out.

Kevin stood at the foot of the couch watching him, trying to get things back into focus, but nothing was working and the room started swirling around under his feet again. He was going to regret this in the morning. Shit, he already regretted it. Carlos had had to literally drag him out of the cab, and he was sure Carlos wasn't particularly sober either. Good image, Kev. Real good image.

He peeled off his shirt, crinkling his nose at the smell of smoke from the clubs they had been to, and went into the bathroom to splash water on his face, drinking directly from the faucet for a long time. Water was supposed to help, wasn't it? Not that it ever really did, but it couldn't hurt. Why had he done this? Why had he stood at that bar with Mikey and go shot for shot with him, knowing Mikey could drink him under the table. Fucking pride. Kevin glared at the images of himself in the mirror. "Yeah, you," he said to them. "Fucking pride."

If he laid down now, the whole room would swirl around him and he'd puke. He knew he would, and he didn't want to do that. That would be the only thing that would wake Mikey up just because he'd have to stand over Kevin and tease him. He left the bathroom and headed out of the room to pace the hallways for a while, hoping to work some of the alcohol out of his system. Fucking wrecked. He was absolutely wrecked. He kept walking the hallway and turned, going down the stairwell a few flights and walked into another hallway, trying to remember the room number in his stupidity. 1412? 1421?

He stopped at a door and tapped his knuckle against the door, cringing and praying at the same time he had the right room. What the hell time was it anyway?

"Kevin?" Shannon asked, squinting through the crack in the door.

"Um…" Kevin started, furrowing his eyebrows at Shannon and not really knowing what more he was supposed to say.

"Geez, Kevin, I can smell you from here," she said, waving her hand in front of her face. She closed the door for a second to unchain it before grabbing his arm and pulling him into the room. "What're you doing?"

"Kevin?" Jana asked, sitting up in her bed, squinting at him.

"Um," Kevin stammered again, lifting his eyebrows in the hopes of focusing.

"You're hammered, aren't you?" Shannon chuckled with a shake of her head. She put her hand on Kevin's shoulder and walked him into the room, sitting him down on the foot of Jana's bed. She left for a moment and came back with some aspirin and bottled water and told him to swallow, which he did obediently. "I'm leaving the rest of it up to you," she said to Jana with a drop of her chin and climbed into her own bed.

"Kevin?" Jana asked, crawling onto her knees and running her hand down the back of his head gently. "Want to lay down?"

He shook his head and tried to blink her into focus. "You're so pretty," he slurred, wavering side to side. "And I am so wrecked."

"Sounds like you spent the night with Mikey, all right," she said dryly. "Come on, scoot back here." She moved back to lie against the headboard, and he slid himself carefully back, dropping his head to her shoulder. "Did you have a good time at least?"

"I think so," he answered, closing his eyes as she ran her fingers over his temples, but opened them quickly due to the room swirling around him. "You remember Mikey?"

"Yes," she answered. "I remember he used to get you this drunk back then too. Suppose some things will never change, huh?" she asked, running her hand down his shoulder and his arm. "Keep a foot on the floor," she ordered gently. "It'll stop the world from spinning as drastically."

"It's spinnin, all right," he replied in a slur. "So fuckin' stupid. I don't need to be doing this." He lifted his head up to look at her, his eyes wide. "I don't."

"I know you don't," she soothed, placing her hand on his head and lowering it back down to her shoulder. "But it happened, and you're going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning. Just try to close your eyes and forget about everything."

He murmured, "room's spinnin'."

"It's going to," she said. "I've got you, though. You won't fall off."

"I think I already have," he whined in a whisper. "When I saw you again."

"Shhh," she said, caressing his shoulder and his arm, trying not to laugh. He had always been a sentimental drunk. "Try to sleep this off. Where's Mikey now?"

"On my sofa," he mumbled. "Said I sucked."

"He would," she mumbled to herself with a shake of her head. "Just close your eyes, Kevy. I've got you," she whispered to him, rubbing his temples again as she glanced over to Shannon, already back to sleep. "You're safe. You won't fall off."

"Already did," he whispered, trying to dispute her, but the darkness was creeping into his head and he had to let himself be absorbed into it. She would make sure he didn't fall off the edge. She was holding him again. He couldn't fall with her.

~

"Kevin?" Someone was touching him. It hurt. No, wait, the touch didn't hurt, it was his head that hurt. The ends of his hair, even. Fuuuuucckk! He think he said that out loud because the next sound he heard was a giggle. "Come on, baby, time to get up."

"Fuuucckkk," he muttered again, unable to move. Where the hell was he? He attempted to pry his eyes open and saw AJ's face looming in front of his with a wide grin. "Oh, God."

"God ain't gonna be helping you right now, dawg," AJ said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Time to be a Backstreet Boy, Kevin."

"Tell them I'm dead," he groaned, pulling the pillow over his head.

"Well, we can't do that without causing mass hysteria and if you think your head hurts now? Imagine the screaming that would ensue then. Nope. What was that you said to me once…be a man? Get up." He slapped Kevin's bare shoulder.

"I hate you," Kevin grumbled.

"Yeah, I know you do," AJ said. "But consider it payback for Boston."

"Fuck you," Kevin teased, lifting the pillow up and looking to AJ with a smirk.

"I've been waiting years for this chance!" AJ howled, jumping on top of Kevin and pushing the mattress up and down, moaning loudly. "Oh, Kevin! Oh, Kevin!" he cried erotically.

"You're gonna make me fuckin' puke, dawg!" Kevin hollered into the mattress, forcing himself to swallow and not cry with the pain in his head.

"You'd feel better," AJ advised, climbing off him and dropping to lay next to him in the bed. "Have a good time with Mikey last night?"

"I don't know."

"Any particular reason you came down to bother Shannon and Jana?" he asked, poking his finger into Kevin's shoulder, snickering playfully.

"To what?" He lifted himself up onto his elbow and squinted around the room. This wasn't his suite. Fuck.

"Oh, man, I am so glad I'm sober when I see other people in this state," AJ laughed. "Dude, you wouldn't even match black you're so fuckin' pale." He slid off the bed, coming around to put a hand on each of Kevin's shoulder and bounce him lightly. "I'm getting you up outta bed, but you can bet I'm not comin' near you until we get to Boston." He jumped back as Kevin swung his arm out to hit him. "Oh, and there are some fans down the hall that said they wouldn't mind if you drunk-walked into their room sometime." He cackled loudly and jumped up onto Kevin's mattress, jumping up and down over him.

"You might think you're endearing, but I've got news for you, ya fuckin' dildo," Kevin groaned, "when I'm better, I'm gonna kick your ass for this."

"Ya gotta catch me first!" AJ leaped off the bed to the other one and bounded out of the room in a wave of giggles.

"Kevin?" Carlos came into the room and stood near the entrance. "You wander off like that again without at least telling me where you're going, I'm going to leave you to the fans."

"I didn't know I was wandering off," Kevin protested, pulling himself up off the mattress. "And really, I can't wander that far because the fans would return me. It's written in my boxers, man. If lost, please return to…"

"Get the hell out of here and let the ladies have their room back, you prick," Carlos sighed, extending his arm out and patting Kevin's back as he made his way out. "And don't you ever do that again."

~

He had showered, let himself puke, tried some more aspirin and drank two bottles of water. He still felt shaky and kept having hot flashes. Mikey hadn't even woken up yet, and were it not for his snoring, Kevin would have been concerned about him being dead. He sat down on the bed, letting his hair drip down his neck and shoulders, making sure the towel was covering him should someone walk in, and picked up his cell phone. He didn't even listen to the messages first and dialed Jana's cell.

"Hello?"

"Jana?" he said, feeling his voice stiffen inside his brain into a throb.

"Swift move last night," Jana chastised, and he wasn't sure if she was teasing or serious.

"Yeah, I know," he sighed.

"Nice way to keep everything nice and quiet, don't you think?"

"I didn't mean…"

"You go to all the dancer's rooms in a drunken stupor, don't you, Kev?" she questioned.

"Jana, I know, please," he started, trying to take a breath without hurting any more. "If you're going to reprimand me like my mother, Jana, save it," he said, his voice stiffening.

"Then don't fucking call me until you don't need one," she spat in reply before hanging up.

This was not a good day. He needed to have a good day. In a few hours, he needed to be out in front of the world to present an award on MTV, not to mention, possibly accept one in the middle of a sold-out show in New Jersey. Hydrate, he told himself, trying not to let another hot flash make him dizzy. And kill Mikey. Definitely kill Mikey.

Birds In Your Garden: Chapter 5
Page 17 | Page 18 | Page 19 | Page 20

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Read the companion story:
Oreos for Breakfast (Nick Fanfic)
by The Pumpkin Coach & Paperbag Princess

c. 2001, 2002 by Coriander
Some content not suitable for children. You have been warned.