Just One Kiss

Stacy quickly grabbed her shirt and threw it back on as Nick looked to see who was there.

“Hey Nickel, I didn’t know you were going to be here.” Leslie, Nick’s younger sister, said as she walked into the living room.

“Hey Les, spur of the moment thing, what are you doing here?”

“Same as you I guess, spur of the moment.” Leslie replied, finally spotting the brunette sitting next to him. “Am I interrupting something?”

“N-Not really,” Nick replied as Stacy blushed a light shade of pink. “Leslie, this is Stacy, Stacy this is my little sister Leslie.”

“Nice to meet you,” Stacy replied.

“So, this is your new girlfriend.” Leslie replied with a small nod of her head. “Nick’s told us a lot about you. Don’t worry, all good.”

“I’m sure it was,” Stacy replied, nudging Nick in his side slightly.

“Have you lost weight Nick?” Leslie asked suddenly, looking her brother over again.

“A little yeah, why?” Nick asked, looking down at himself.

“You’re looking less flabby than you did the last time I saw you, and I think I see some muscle.”

“I finally realized I wasn’t living a healthy life, so I started hitting the gym and eating differently,” Nick shrugged. “Stacy’s been my kind of coach through the whole thing.”

“That’s good,” Leslie said, sitting on the couch as Nick sat on the love seat. Stacy joined Nick, lacing her fingers with his as he grabbed her hand.

“How about we watch a movie?” Nick suggested after a few minutes of silence.

“Sounds good,” Leslie agreed. “Stacy, there’s a bunch of DVDs in that cabinet over there. Look through them and see if one strikes you. Nick, come help me get snacks.” Nick rolled his eyes, but followed his little sister anyway.

“Popcorn is a must,” Leslie muttered to herself as she grabbed a bag and placed it in the microwave. “Drinks, wine?” Leslie turned around for Nick’s answer, but found him staring off into space. “Nick?” Nick’s attention snapped to her, waiting for her to continue.

“Do you want wine, a beer, anything?” Nick thought for a moment before looking in the refrigerator. He pulled out a jug of red Hawaiian Punch, and grabbed a couple glasses.

“This will work for Stace and me.” he replied, opening the lid and pouring the liquid into the glasses.

“You really are working on changing yourself around.” Leslie smiled. “What brought this on? Her?”

“Not completely. She’s the main reason I stick on it though.” Nick admitted. He sighed and leaned against the counter, staring at the floor as he drew in his courage. “I can’t keep this from you guys any longer. I’m not just working to get myself in shape. I’m working on making myself healthy again.”

“Healthy? Nick, what’s going on with you?” Leslie asked, setting the popcorn she just pulled from the microwave onto the counter.

“All that partying I’ve done, all the drugs and alcohol. It finally caught up to me. My heart couldn’t take it anymore. Pretty much if I would have kept going, I would have been dead by the age of forty. Stacy’s been helping me build myself back up.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” Leslie asked, looking up at Nick with blue eyes identical to his own.

“I don’t know,” Nick muttered. “I was scared of how you would react I guess.”

“Nick, we love you,” Leslie said, grabbing her brother’s hand. “Sure we would have been worried and probably freak out a little bit, but we would have been there to support you just as much, you know that.”

“I’m the older brother Leslie, I’m supposed to be the one who’s strong for you and the others.”

“Will you stop with that Nick? We’re not little kids anymore.” Leslie snapped.

“No, I’m not stopping it, because it’s true. It doesn’t matter how old we get, I’m the eldest one of us all, I need to be strong for you, for Aaron and Angel, and BJ.”

“And part of being strong is knowing when to ask for help.” Leslie stated.

“She’s right Nick,” Stacy said. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening, I just caught that last sentence.” Stacy turned back to Nick. “Your sister is right Nick. If I would have known you being scared and not wanting to seem weak to them were the reasons you didn’t tell them, then I would have done it for you. Believe me, Nick, you need your family in a time like this.”

“You don’t know my family Stacy,” Nick muttered, turning his attention to the floor.

“I’m looking at your sister, and I can tell she truly wants to help you. I know Aaron, and he looks up to you, so he’ll do what he can to help you as well.”

“The only person who really has problems right now is our Mother.” Leslie informed Stacy. “She’s still trying to live through Nick and Aaron, but they stopped believing her lies.”

“Nick, it’s time you tell everyone, including your band members.” Stacy said.

“No,” Nick said flatly, turning around to open a cabinet, though he couldn’t see what he was looking at.

“Nickolas, them knowing will only help you in the long run.” Leslie sighed.

“I’m not doing it, just forget it alright. And neither of you are to tell them either. I forbid it.” Leslie saw the spark fly in Stacy’s eye as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“You forbid it?” She asked coolly. “Nick, I’m not sure if you know me very well. I’m not one to get ordered around like that, especially not by my boyfriend.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Nick started, but Stacy cut him off by storming out of the kitchen.

“Don’t you think I’ve had enough orders in my life?” Stacy snapped throwing herself on the couch and slipping on her sandals.

“Stacy stop, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, you know I didn’t.” Nick pleaded.

“Yes you did, otherwise you wouldn’t have said it.” Stacy whispered, standing up and pushing past Nick, who quickly grabbed her arm gently and tugged her back to him.

“Stacy, just stop please.”

“Let me go Nick.” Stacy growled, but Nick had seen the tears welling up in her eyes.

“Stacy, is there something you’re not telling me?” Nick asked, running his hand up and down her arm.

“I’m scared,” she finally managed to choke out. Stacy started to collapse to the ground, but Nick managed to hold on to her and help her on the couch.

“Scared of what?” Leslie asked, sitting on the table in front of the two.

“You went to your cardiologist didn’t you?”

“No, but I go in a couple weeks,” Stacy sniffled. “They said once I got past a certain point, I should start seeing improvement, but I’ve had nothing.”

“You have a heart condition?” Leslie asked, her eyes going round with shock.

“Same thing Nick has, except I was born with it.” Stacy answered her. “I’ve already had a heart attack when I was sixteen. I do everything I can, but nothing seems to be working.”

“Stacy, I’ll go to your appointment with you if you want me to.” Nick said. “I know, it’s scary.”

“One condition, tell your family, tell your friends. They need to know Nick.”

“I know,” Nick sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell them soon.”

“Promise,” Stacy insisted.

“I promise,” Nick replied, wrapping his arms around her more securely. Leslie watched her brother interacting with Stacy, noticing just how differently he acted toward her.

“Did you find a movie?” Leslie asked Stacy to break the heaviness in the air.

“Uhm, not yet,” Stacy admitted.

“We’ll help when we come back in, we’re just getting drinks and some popcorn.” Stacy nodded and watched the siblings leave the room, looking around the room for the first time. She noticed a picture of Nick, Leslie, Aaron, and two other women she’s never met. She knew they were Nick’s other little sisters, BJ and Angel.

“Let’s see what we have,” Nick said, setting the two glasses he was carrying on the table. “None of these struck you?”

“Not really,” Stacy replied, sitting and grabbing one of the glasses. “I guess I’m not really into movies.”

“What kind of movies do you normally watch?” Leslie asked, looking through the cabinet over Nick’s shoulder.

“Anything really,” Stacy replied.

“That narrows it down.” Nick mumbled. He found a movie he hadn’t watched in a long time, and he looked back at Leslie. She nodded and stepped back, allowing him to move to the television to put the DVD in the player.

Sitting on the loveseat beside Stacy, Nick pulled her to him as Leslie started the movie. About twenty minutes in, however, he noticed Stacy was oddly still. He gently looked down at her, and realized she had fallen asleep.

“I’m taking her to my room,” Nick whispered to Leslie, easing himself off the couch before picking her up bridal style. Stacy stirred and her head rested on Nick’s shoulder as he carefully carried her down the hallway. Gently, he laid her down on the bed and covered her up before walking back into the living room. Neither he nor Leslie said anything until the movie was over, and Leslie sent him a quick goodnight before heading to her own bedroom.

Nick pulled out his cell phone to send a text to John, letting him know not to worry about Stacy that she was in bed at their family getaway house. He walked into his bedroom, watched Stacy sleep for a minute before sliding in next to her. Though he was exhausted, he didn’t fall asleep right away. Instead, his mind wondered to how he was going to tell everyone he’s been hiding something as serious as a heart condition for so long. Especially how he was going to tell Brian, who was open about his own heart troubles back when they first started as the Backstreet Boys.

Deciding he would figure out something in the morning, he let himself drift off into an uneasy sleep.