If I Knew Then

Chapter 24: Quit Playing Games

New Year's went and as the weeks passed and tour went on, Nick started to distance himself from Brian slowly because he had enough. He was tired of waiting. When his birthday came around they filmed an episode of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and did some stops in New York that week. The guys were in pretty good spirits, and Leighanne had rejoined Brian for the tour, to Nick's disappointment. He was hoping that he and Brian would spend his 18th birthday together but it didn't look like that was happening after all.

Nick kind of moped around most of that morning even though the guys took him out for breakfast, and Leighanne was quick to notice his change in mood when they got back to the hotel. Brian didn't seem to care as he had other things on his mind, kissing at her earlobe as they walked in the lobby.

"Babe?" Leighanne said, gently moving so that Brian could focus on their conversation.

"Mmm?"

"I think we should take Nick out tonight for his birthday."

Brian looked at her skeptically before Leighanne continued to tell him they should take Nick out to dinner so he wouldn't be alone.

"We all just went out. I haven't seen you in weeks, baby. I wanted to spend time with you tonight." Brian lied. To be honest, he wanted to take Nick out but with his girlfriend here his focus was back on what he thought his life was supposed to be. He cared for Leighanne very much but their love was pretty one sided. It frustrated him to the point where he could feel his anxiety bubbling to the surface when they were together.

"I know, but he looks lonely. We could take him out for a while, I think it would be great for him." Leighanne said kindly, smiling. Brian liked that they were getting along but the last thing he wanted to do was hang out with the two of them together. They'd never done that before.

"Where do you suggest?" Brian asked, finally agreeing. Leighanne was the one who went to Nick and asked him to join them for dinner, which to Brian's surprise he accepted. He knew the two of them were getting along lately but it was weird to see them being so comfortable.

The three of them ended up going to a restaurant that had an arcade inside, something that Brian had ended up suggesting because Leighanne wasn't sure what Nick would like. They got dressed and ready to go, taking a taxi to the place and settling in.

"Thank you so much for taking me out, you didn't have to." Nick said as he put his coat down on the booth where they were sitting.

"Don't be silly, I didn't want you to be alone for your birthday. Especially after the big party Lou threw you last year. AJ was telling me all about it. That must have been great." Leighanne replied. Nick looked down at the floor, blushing.

"Um....yeah. Well parties like that aren't really my thing."

"That's surprising. I would have thought you liked parties."

"Not really. It's more AJ's style."

Nick looked at Brian and they locked eyes for a few moments as he thought of his birthday last year, where he had told Brian his deepest secret.

"I think I might be gay..."

It was then that Nick also remembered what Brian had said a few weeks ago at New Year's. Brian had told him nothing could happen between them because he was a minor. Nick suddenly smirked, he was now 18 and the excuse would not work anymore. He decided tonight he would finally make a move and didn't care if Leighanne was there. He was determined to see if Brian was really full of crap about his feelings towards him or not.

The two of them had sat next to each other in the booth and Leighanne on the other side of the table opposite Brian so Nick used this to his advantage. He started flirting with Brian subtly so that Leighanne wouldn't notice, but it was clear that it was turning Brian on.