Chapter 20:
Before the Show
Brian was impressed. Under the harsh
lights of the dressing room he inspected his neck and face in the mirror. Not a
trace of Xavier’s marks could be seen. The wonders of stage makeup he thought.
The first time AJ had come in to get something he ignored Brian completely. The
second time he entered he reached for a certain item, "accidentally"
bumping into Brian in the process. Brian sighed, knowing tonight’s concert
would not be pretty. From past experience, when AJ was ticked off, you could
expect the unexpected. Oh well. I can take his crap.
He looked around the room for the
ever-present water cooler. He was dead tired, with no sleep last night and the
rigors of a concert ahead of him. He needed to start hydrating himself right
now, or he would never make it. He filled up a large cup of water, downed it,
and refilled another.
"Save some for the fish," joked
Xavier. Brian ignored him and finished his drink, pissed at Xavier’s ability to
appear without a sound. He walked over to bench, picked up a package and tossed
it to the bodyguard.
"Here’s a little token of my
appreciation for all you’ve done," Brian said bitterly. He watched as
Xavier opened the gift and inspected the Rolex. "You do know how to tell
time, don’t you?"
Xavier slapped the watch on his wrist and
grinned, not minding the sarcasm. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two
backstage passes. "I’ve got something for you too," he said slyly,
tossing the tickets onto the makeup table. Brian went over to retrieve them,
confused, until he realized what they were. He picked them up and stared at
them dumbly, unable to accept the meaning these two small pieces of paper held.
Finally he turned to face Xavier, powerless to speak.
Xavier seemed to understand and he nodded.
"Melissa and Jessica couldn’t make it. They had other plans."
Brian sat heavily on a chair, overcome. He
looked up at Xavier, trying to hide the horror in his eyes. How could Xavier
possibly know about the tickets? How did he know their names? He could hardly
form the words. "Please, please tell me you didn’t hurt them."
Xavier almost felt bad as he heard the
anguish in the young singer’s voice. Almost. "Okay," he repeated
cheerfully. "I won’t tell you I hurt them."
Xavier’s nonchalance hit Brian like a
sledgehammer. He covered his eyes and leaned forward, rocking back and forth.
He stopped after a moment, took his hands away from his face and spoke quietly.
"Why? They were nothing to you.
Nothing. I thought the rules of the game..."
Brian didn’t have a chance to finish
before Xavier came up, grabbing the nape of Brian’s neck and forcing him to
look upwards. Xavier bent down his face just inches from Brian’s.
"First," he whispered, "there are no rules. Second, the fun is
in watching you suffer." He roughly released his grip and walked away.
"Who cares about those two bitches?"
"Then...you didn’t harm them?"
Xavier gave him a fake hurtful look.
"I told you I didn’t. Let’s just say though, that I persuaded them that
should stick with NSYNC." He laughed at his own joke.
Brian felt a rush of relief and anger
flood him at the same time, relieved that the two girls were okay and angered
at the way Xavier had tricked him. Unwilling to reveal any of the torment
Xavier had just put him through, Brian looked at him unemotionally. "I’m
kinda busy here, getting ready for the show. Any more tricks you want to pull,
any more watches you need?"
Xavier smiled at the tone in the
Backstreet Boy’s voice. "No, not at the moment. But I’ll let you
know."
"I’m sure you will." Brian stood
up and walked over to the door. He swung it open, motioning for him to leave.
Xavier took the cue with good nature, amused at the singer’s insolence. He
stopped at the door to give Brian a last shot. He hoped that this one would
sting.
"Cute kid," was all he said
before he left.
Brian managed to keep his face straight as
Xavier left. He swiftly locked the door, barring anyone from entering. He
slumped to the ground, his back leaning on the closed door for support. He
closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind, to concentrate on anything but what
Xavier had just said. It was impossible, of course. Cute kid. He shuddered and
hoped desperately that his plan with Aaron worked. Brian pulled himself into an
upright position, determined to tough out these mental mind games that Xavier
enjoyed inflicting upon him. He unlocked the door, reached for another cup of
water, drank it, then began to exercise his voice. It
was sore, nothing more.
***
