Categories > Celebrities > Backstreet Boys > Jersey Girls and Jamestown Boys
Pepper gave a soft sigh of frustration as she surfed through the channels, that had nothing to offer, wanting nothing more than to find a decent show to unwind to after a hard night at work. She worked at a small, hole-in-the-wall, gas station in Trenton, New Jersey that almost no one went to. But the people that did come in made her hate her job a little more each day. It didn’t help any that she felt like she was getting nowhere with her life.
Here she was, going on thirty, and all she had to show for it was the fact that she had her own house, a small home placed away from town, out in the small country area. She had a second job, a work from home bit, growing fruits and vegetables on her land, and a certain herb in her tool shed out back. She could easily support herself, but she desperately wanting something more, but it honestly didn’t look like that would happen. Out of her and her three siblings, one sister and two brothers, none of them had anything major, but she was the only one that was stuck at the low end of the corporate ladder.
With a soft growl of annoyance she turned off the TV and let the remote drop unceremoniously onto the sofa cushion. She didn’t know what she was expecting at seven in the morning, besides the obvious news and morning talk shows, but it was worth a shot… Kind of. As she got up from the couch, Pepper stretched her aching muscles, groaning as she came out of her stretch. Her peace and quiet didn’t last long, though, when her doorbell rang throughout her home, making her look at her door with a cocked brow since no one she knew would be showing up at her home at seven in the morning.
Stepping out from around her couch, she headed to the door, pausing to peek through her curtains to see what car was in her driveway. A frown tugged at the corner of her mouth when the car didn’t belong to anyone she knew, but she still continued to the door, unlocking everything but the chain, and opened the door to look out at a face she never expected to see.
Shutting the door, she unlocked the chain and opened the door again, looking at her ex-boyfriend, Nick Carter. They locked eyed, but neither made a move, or even opened their mouth to say anything as they regarded each other with different emotions; hers was wariness, his was uncertainty. Finally, she broke the silence.
“Nick…What are you doing here?” She questioned as she leaned against her door frame.
“I don’t care how it sounds, but, as crazy as it does sound, I didn’t know who else I could turn to,” Nick answered, his voice breaking in between words and his sniffles. He paused to wipe his eyes of more tears and shook his head. “I need someone who I can talk to, someone who won’t look at me like I’m crazy and then go behind my back to call the mental institution.”
Pepper took in the red, puffy eyes and the unshed tears threatening to fall, and knew that no matter how bad their breakup had been, whatever it was he had gotten himself into had to be worse for him to show up at her home. She gave a heavy sigh of resignation and opened the door wider for him, shutting it behind him as soon as he walked inside her home. The minute she turned to face him, the feeling of a brick wall slamming into her dazed her for a moment, but the sobbing against her shoulder cleared her head.
At first she had the urge to laugh, because this guy that towered over her normally was slightly hunched over to bury his face in her shoulder, but it was the heartbreaking sobs that kept her from doing so. Despite their past, she couldn’t turn him away in this condition. Her hand slowly made it’s way to his back, where she rubbed slow circles as she chewed on her lip, trying to figure out what was going on with Nick. During the two years she had been with him, and the extra half a year she had known him before they started going out, she had never seen Nick cry this hard.
With the hand that wasn’t rubbing his back, she gently played with his hair and murmured words of comfort, even though she really didn’t know what she should say; she was still clueless as to why he was even here. She was thankful when she heard his crying slow a bit, but his arms still held her close so she knew he was nowhere near done, but being the stubbornly patient one she was, she would stay there until he was ready to calm down and explain what was happening.
When he finally did pull away from her, he had been miserably sniffling for almost five minutes, but she wouldn’t make him move. It was this kind of stubborn behavior that got her the nickname of “Dr. Pepper” since she was always the more patient of her friends, the one anyone could come to for any reason. No matter what time, day or night, Pepper was there to comfort the ones close to her, even cases like Carter, who she didn’t care for anymore. Their eyes met and he gave a small, sheepish small and wiped his eyes again.
“I’m sorry…”
Pepper shook her head. “It’s alright, Nick, come on.” She led the sad sight to the couch and sat him down, patting his shoulder softly before she went into her kitchen and started a kettle for some hot water. “So,” she paused to clear her throat as she came out of the kitchen and leaned on the arm of her couch, opposite of him, and looked at the blue eyes that had caught her long ago, “sit tight while I get some tea going, and then maybe you can tell me what’s going on.”
Nick, who had watched her come from the kitchen, to stand where she was now, nodded in agreement. “Okay…”
“Can you just…answer one question for me, right now, not about whatever is going on?” She questioned, and when he gave a wary nod, she ran her fingers through her hair. “How did you know where I live? The last time we even spoke I was still living in Newark.”
“I used four-one-one,” he answered, blinking with a child-like innocence that melted some of her cold barrier. “I wouldn’t have even come here, but I really needed someone I could trust.”
Pepper furrowed her brows slightly. “Nick, after all these years, what would make you think you can trust me, given our past? Granted, you can, but I’m curious about your thinking pattern here.”
The blonde bit his lip and looked down, sniffling as his features changed to a slightly pained expression. “Because I know how much you care for people, and I guess I was hoping that even though I hurt you, maybe you could look past it.” He cleared his throat and wiped his tears away before he looked up at her, his eyes shimmering once more. “Did you want me to leave?”
Pepper shook her head. “You can stay, I was only curious Nick.” She looked past him, to the kitchen when she heard her kettle whistling. “Hold that thought.”
Nick watched her leave again and sighed, hating that he had to come here and bother her like this, but he didn’t know how to tell the guys, his brothers, what he found out. He didn’t even know how to tell his family, well, his brothers and sisters. His mom and dad could go to Hell as far as he was concerned, but Pepper had been the girl he could always talk to when they knew each other. He could talk to her about anything, even things the other Backstreet Boys didn’t know to this day.
When she came back and placed a cup of her tea in his hands, he took a slow sip, closing his eyes as memories flooded back to him of times when he would get in bad moods and she made her tea, the same tea he was drinking, to make the troubles go away. Fight with fat ass Lou Pearlman? Drink some of Pepper’s tea. Fight with his family, or one of the guys? Drink the tea. Tab rags saying something bad about him or AJ that got them yelled at by Lou? Drink the tea. He swallowed the few sips he had taken and opened his eyes, looking at the girl that looked at him with curious, but guarded eyes.
“Need anything added to it?” She questioned, ready to get up from her spot next to him to get him something if he needed it.
Nick shook his head. “No, it’s as good and perfect as I remember it to be,” he answered, offering her a small smile before he took a bigger sip, staring at the remaining liquid in the cup as he swallowed. “Thank you, for letting me come in, and for getting me the tea…”
Pepper nodded and took a sip of the cup she had made for herself after she had made his cup. She heard him clear his throat again, and turned her blue-green eyes to him. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah…” He looked down and waited until she had set her cup of tea on the end table by her side of the couch before he finally opened his mouth to explain what was going on. “Pepper…?”
“Yes, Nick?”
“Remember how I said this was going to possibly send me to the mental hospital?” He questioned, and when she nodded, he looked at her, capturing his eyes with his own. “Pepper, I’m pregnant…”
[Author's Note: I'm only going to post up to chapter three tonight, just to get a feel of what you guys think of it.]
Here she was, going on thirty, and all she had to show for it was the fact that she had her own house, a small home placed away from town, out in the small country area. She had a second job, a work from home bit, growing fruits and vegetables on her land, and a certain herb in her tool shed out back. She could easily support herself, but she desperately wanting something more, but it honestly didn’t look like that would happen. Out of her and her three siblings, one sister and two brothers, none of them had anything major, but she was the only one that was stuck at the low end of the corporate ladder.
With a soft growl of annoyance she turned off the TV and let the remote drop unceremoniously onto the sofa cushion. She didn’t know what she was expecting at seven in the morning, besides the obvious news and morning talk shows, but it was worth a shot… Kind of. As she got up from the couch, Pepper stretched her aching muscles, groaning as she came out of her stretch. Her peace and quiet didn’t last long, though, when her doorbell rang throughout her home, making her look at her door with a cocked brow since no one she knew would be showing up at her home at seven in the morning.
Stepping out from around her couch, she headed to the door, pausing to peek through her curtains to see what car was in her driveway. A frown tugged at the corner of her mouth when the car didn’t belong to anyone she knew, but she still continued to the door, unlocking everything but the chain, and opened the door to look out at a face she never expected to see.
Shutting the door, she unlocked the chain and opened the door again, looking at her ex-boyfriend, Nick Carter. They locked eyed, but neither made a move, or even opened their mouth to say anything as they regarded each other with different emotions; hers was wariness, his was uncertainty. Finally, she broke the silence.
“Nick…What are you doing here?” She questioned as she leaned against her door frame.
“I don’t care how it sounds, but, as crazy as it does sound, I didn’t know who else I could turn to,” Nick answered, his voice breaking in between words and his sniffles. He paused to wipe his eyes of more tears and shook his head. “I need someone who I can talk to, someone who won’t look at me like I’m crazy and then go behind my back to call the mental institution.”
Pepper took in the red, puffy eyes and the unshed tears threatening to fall, and knew that no matter how bad their breakup had been, whatever it was he had gotten himself into had to be worse for him to show up at her home. She gave a heavy sigh of resignation and opened the door wider for him, shutting it behind him as soon as he walked inside her home. The minute she turned to face him, the feeling of a brick wall slamming into her dazed her for a moment, but the sobbing against her shoulder cleared her head.
At first she had the urge to laugh, because this guy that towered over her normally was slightly hunched over to bury his face in her shoulder, but it was the heartbreaking sobs that kept her from doing so. Despite their past, she couldn’t turn him away in this condition. Her hand slowly made it’s way to his back, where she rubbed slow circles as she chewed on her lip, trying to figure out what was going on with Nick. During the two years she had been with him, and the extra half a year she had known him before they started going out, she had never seen Nick cry this hard.
With the hand that wasn’t rubbing his back, she gently played with his hair and murmured words of comfort, even though she really didn’t know what she should say; she was still clueless as to why he was even here. She was thankful when she heard his crying slow a bit, but his arms still held her close so she knew he was nowhere near done, but being the stubbornly patient one she was, she would stay there until he was ready to calm down and explain what was happening.
When he finally did pull away from her, he had been miserably sniffling for almost five minutes, but she wouldn’t make him move. It was this kind of stubborn behavior that got her the nickname of “Dr. Pepper” since she was always the more patient of her friends, the one anyone could come to for any reason. No matter what time, day or night, Pepper was there to comfort the ones close to her, even cases like Carter, who she didn’t care for anymore. Their eyes met and he gave a small, sheepish small and wiped his eyes again.
“I’m sorry…”
Pepper shook her head. “It’s alright, Nick, come on.” She led the sad sight to the couch and sat him down, patting his shoulder softly before she went into her kitchen and started a kettle for some hot water. “So,” she paused to clear her throat as she came out of the kitchen and leaned on the arm of her couch, opposite of him, and looked at the blue eyes that had caught her long ago, “sit tight while I get some tea going, and then maybe you can tell me what’s going on.”
Nick, who had watched her come from the kitchen, to stand where she was now, nodded in agreement. “Okay…”
“Can you just…answer one question for me, right now, not about whatever is going on?” She questioned, and when he gave a wary nod, she ran her fingers through her hair. “How did you know where I live? The last time we even spoke I was still living in Newark.”
“I used four-one-one,” he answered, blinking with a child-like innocence that melted some of her cold barrier. “I wouldn’t have even come here, but I really needed someone I could trust.”
Pepper furrowed her brows slightly. “Nick, after all these years, what would make you think you can trust me, given our past? Granted, you can, but I’m curious about your thinking pattern here.”
The blonde bit his lip and looked down, sniffling as his features changed to a slightly pained expression. “Because I know how much you care for people, and I guess I was hoping that even though I hurt you, maybe you could look past it.” He cleared his throat and wiped his tears away before he looked up at her, his eyes shimmering once more. “Did you want me to leave?”
Pepper shook her head. “You can stay, I was only curious Nick.” She looked past him, to the kitchen when she heard her kettle whistling. “Hold that thought.”
Nick watched her leave again and sighed, hating that he had to come here and bother her like this, but he didn’t know how to tell the guys, his brothers, what he found out. He didn’t even know how to tell his family, well, his brothers and sisters. His mom and dad could go to Hell as far as he was concerned, but Pepper had been the girl he could always talk to when they knew each other. He could talk to her about anything, even things the other Backstreet Boys didn’t know to this day.
When she came back and placed a cup of her tea in his hands, he took a slow sip, closing his eyes as memories flooded back to him of times when he would get in bad moods and she made her tea, the same tea he was drinking, to make the troubles go away. Fight with fat ass Lou Pearlman? Drink some of Pepper’s tea. Fight with his family, or one of the guys? Drink the tea. Tab rags saying something bad about him or AJ that got them yelled at by Lou? Drink the tea. He swallowed the few sips he had taken and opened his eyes, looking at the girl that looked at him with curious, but guarded eyes.
“Need anything added to it?” She questioned, ready to get up from her spot next to him to get him something if he needed it.
Nick shook his head. “No, it’s as good and perfect as I remember it to be,” he answered, offering her a small smile before he took a bigger sip, staring at the remaining liquid in the cup as he swallowed. “Thank you, for letting me come in, and for getting me the tea…”
Pepper nodded and took a sip of the cup she had made for herself after she had made his cup. She heard him clear his throat again, and turned her blue-green eyes to him. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah…” He looked down and waited until she had set her cup of tea on the end table by her side of the couch before he finally opened his mouth to explain what was going on. “Pepper…?”
“Yes, Nick?”
“Remember how I said this was going to possibly send me to the mental hospital?” He questioned, and when she nodded, he looked at her, capturing his eyes with his own. “Pepper, I’m pregnant…”
[Author's Note: I'm only going to post up to chapter three tonight, just to get a feel of what you guys think of it.]
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