"No! No! No! Ahhh!" Brian groaned as he hopped out of the yellow and orange pickup truck. He lifted the hood and looked at the engine. Somehow, there was a hole in the radiator, most of the coolant had leaked out, and the engine was now smoking.
Brian looked up, adjusted his cap, and took in his surroundings. He had been driving for about an hour and was in the middle of a small town. Beyond a cluster of trees to his right loomed one solitary mountain with a knob on top of it. It was blue in color and was really very beautiful.
He looked around a little while longer and saw that he was only a few feet away from a service station. He smiled, closed the hood, and hopped back into the truck. Hopefully, he’d be able to drive it to the station. He cranked the truck, put it in gear, and was able to make it.
Once he reached the station, he hopped out of the truck and headed inside. Inside, he found an older lady behind the counter and a couple of old men sitting around watching TV. No one looked up when he walked in. Brian walked up to the counter and grinned.
"Who do I need to talk to about getting my truck fixed?" he asked.
"Well, it’s well after five, honey, so there’s no one here to fix your truck. But, you can leave it here, and I can get mike to look at it in the morning," she answered in a thick Southern accent that almost matched his own.
Brian’s smile faded. The guys were expecting him back by that night, and Billie would probably be on the war path. He sighed, realizing that he had no choice. He was definitely going to have to demand his money back from Brad now.
Brian leaned up against the counter and asked, "Do you have a phone I can use around here?"
"Sure, honey. It’s right over there," the lady said, pointing to a pay phone in the back corner of the store.
Brian walked to it, plunked in some money, and dialed. His cousin’s familiar deep voice came over the other end.
"Hello?" Kevin asked.
"Kev, hey! It’s Brian."
"Brian! Where the hell are you? Nick said that you disappeared about an hour ago!" The irritation in his cousin’s voice was evident.
"Kev, calm down. I rented a truck and went for a drive. Somehow, I lost track of time and wound up in this small town. The truck broke down, and I can’t get it fixed until tomorrow."
"What small town are you in?"
"Uh, hang on." Brian put his hand over the mouth piece and turned to the lady. "What’s the name of this town?"
"Boone Mountain, NC," she answered with a smile.
He turned back to the phone. "Boone Mountain," he said.
"Boone Mountain? Where’s that? Hang on." Brian could hear Kevin turn away from the phone. "Hey guys, do you know where Boone Mountain is?" he asked. There was a muffled answer, then Kevin came back on the line. "That’s an hour away from here, Brian! Do you realize that we have a TV appearance to do tomorrow at 8 AM?! Billie’s really going to annoy the hell out of us now!" Kevin was a bit of a worrywart.
"Kev, Kev, breathe, man. Just don’t tell Billie. Tell her I’m really sick, and that she can’t go into my room or something. I’m sure y’all can cover for me. It’s only one appearance. Put Howie on the phone; you’re starting to hyperventilate," Brian said.
There was a pause, and Howie’s calmer voice came from the other end. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Hey, D, try to calm Kev down. I’m okay; I rented a truck, and it broke down. So, now I’m stranded in a small town called Boone Mountain. I won’t be able to leave until tomorrow."
"Wow. Well, you really shouldn’t have run off, but I think we can manage until you can get back. Find a hotel room and stay there. AJ and Nick will handle Billie…"
"Woo-hoo! I get to lie to her!" Brian could hear AJ interrupt in the background.
"And I’ll calm Kevin down. Don’t worry; we can cover the appearance tomorrow. We’ve gotta run and get some dinner. Call me when you find somewhere to stay." Howie and Brian said their goodbyes, and Brian hung up the phone.
He sauntered back over to the counter and leaned against the desk. "Do you know of any hotels around here?" he asked the lady.
"Sure, honey. There’s a Holiday Inn just right up the street. Here’s a phone book if you need it," she answered as she slid a phone book across the counter.
Brian took it and was about to go back to the pay phone when he stopped. A pretty redhead with a serious look on her face came strolling through the door. She looked up and smiled as she passed him. She walked up to the counter.
"Five dollars worth of gas, please," she said.
The lady rang her up as she dug in the pockets of her jean shorts. Suddenly, a worried look crossed her face.
"No, this can’t be happening," she mumbled as her searching became more frantic. She then proceeded to break down into tears. "I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money," she sobbed.
"Oh, honey," the lady said sympathetically as she handed the girl a Kleenex.
"Wait a minute. Here you go," Brian stated as he handed her a five-dollar bill.
The redhead looked at him and wiped her tears away with the Kleenex. She slowly and timidly took the five-dollar bill and handed it to the lady. "Thank you," she said as she managed a smile.
"No problem," Brian said. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, it’s just been a bad day. I usually don’t cry like this, especially when I first meet people."
"I’m sorry about your day," he apologized.
After she had composed herself, the redhead grinned at him. "So, does my knight in shining armor have a name, so I can pay him back?" Her tears had basically dried, but her eyes and nose were still very red.
"Yes, it’s Brian Littrell. It’s nice to meet you," he said as he stuck his hand out to her.
She took it. "I’m Tessa Connors."
"You know, you don’t have to pay me back."
"Yes, I do. You didn’t have to do that."
"Yes, I did. You were in tears, and you said that you had a bad day."
"No, you didn’t."
"Yes, I did."
"No, you didn’t."
"Yes, I did."
Tessa sighed and eyed him. "You’re rather stubborn, aren’t you?" she inquired.
"Yeah, I guess I am," Brian replied with a big, cheesy grin on his face.
Tessa returned his grin. "Okay, I won’t pay you back, but only on one condition," she said.
"What’s that?" he asked cautiously.
"Let me take you to dinner."
He seemed a bit surprised. The lady behind the counter was watching the whole scene and grinning. "Um, well…" he mumbled.
"And I won’t take no for an answer." She was triumphant for a second, then her face fell. "Unless, of course, you already have plans."
"No, no," he said. "It’s not that…it’s just that my truck is dead, and I have no clothes, and…." he ran out of breath.
Tessa smiled. "I have a car, and, um, you look fine to me." They both blushed as their eyes met. Both began to smile and eventually burst out laughing.
"Alright, where are you taking me?" Brian asked when he had clamed down.
"I know this great place right next to the Holiday Inn up the road. It’s called the Mountain View, and it has the best beef strips and chicken tenders around here. You game?" she teased.
"Alright, let’s go," he agreed.
Brian turned to the lady behind the counter and thanked her. She just smiled and said, "You’re welcome." With that, he turned to Tessa, and they headed to her car.
"Where is he?!" Billie roared as she snatched AJ’s headphones off his head. She glared down at her least favorite Backstreet Boy. AJ had been sitting on his bed listening to his portable CD player with his eyes closed.
"I honestly don’t know, Billie," he answered, looking her straight in the eyes.
"You’re hiding something from me, Dopey. I checked his bed and found pillows stuffed under the covers. I know you know something about this," Billie raged.
AJ blinked at her innocently. "Now, would I lie to you? Besides, if Brian did disappear, why would he tell me? He knows I can’t keep a secret," he replied.
Billie stood there glaring at him, hoping to stare him down, so he would confess. But, apparently, AJ was rather good at staring contests, and Billie was the first to look away. She finally turned her attention to the music floating out of the headphones.
"What is this crap that you’re listening to?" she demanded.
AJ snatched back his headphones. "It’s called ‘Music of the Night.’ It’s from The Phantom of the Opera. Don’t you have any culture?" he asked as he placed the headphones back on his head.
Figuring she wasn’t going to get anything out of AJ, Billie went in search of the other three Boys.
She found Nick sitting on his bed playing with his gameboy. She did the same thing with the gameboy that she did with AJ’s headphones. Only this time, she threw it on the bed.
"Where’s you partner in crime, Blondie?" Billie inquired darkly.
Nick just picked up his gameboy and continued to play. "Which partner would that be?" he asked emotionlessly.
"You know who I mean; your roommate."
Nick finally tore his eyes away from the game and smiled. "Ohhhh! You mean Brian? He went for a walk," he answered.
Billie smacked him on the back of the head. "I figured that, Stupid. Where did he go!?" she snapped.
Nick set his gameboy down, rubbed the back of his head, and calmly stood up. At 6’2", he was a good eight inches taller than the annoying blonde woman, and this forced Billie to back up a little.
"All I know is that he went for a walk," Nick said calmly. As he had grown taller over the years, Kevin had taught him how to use his height to intimidate. It was currently working on Billie.
"Well, let me know when he comes back," she said, her voice a little shaky as she tried to keep the authority in it.
She finally had enough of Nick towering over her, so she backed away from him towards the door. Nick just smiled and waved, then sat down and returned to his gameboy. Billie turned around and huffed out of the room only to run into Howie and Kevin.
She glared at the both of them, but directed her question to Kevin. "Alright, Richardson, where’s your cousin?" she asked, trying to restore the authority to her voice.
Anytime she spoke to Kevin, Billie would try to sound older and more in control. It bothered her that he was a year older than she was.
"I don’t know really. Nick said that he took a walk," Kevin answered. He then turned to Howie. "Have you heard anything, D?"
"Nope, but I trust Brian. He’ll be back," Howie said with confidence.
After not being able to get anything from these guys, Billie snapped. "All of you are hiding something from me!" she screamed. "We may not get along, but I have a right to know where Brian is!"
Kevin placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Billie, all I know is that he went for a walk. He’ll be back."
Billie finally composed herself and stormed off towards her room. Before she reached her door, she turned around to face Kevin. "I still think you’re hiding something from me, Richardson, and I’m going to find out what it is," she hissed. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and went inside her room.