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The backstage area buzzed with pre-show activity, the atmosphere heavy with a mix of excitement and anticipation. Nick was just leaving the bathroom, ready to head back to their changing room and prepare to take the stage with his brothers. The lively vibe, however, soured as he noticed Bill, one of their bodyguards, who was sent to accompany him back.
Nick sighed and mentally prepared for what was coming.
As soon as Bill was close enough, he just couldn’t hold himself back and started with his usual bullshit. "More and more girls are showing up here half naked, doesn’t anyone know how to dress appropriately anymore? Young people these days, no respect, no decency. Where is this world going?"
Nick, by now already accustomed to the guy’s unsolicited opinions, simply rolled his eyes. "Probably to a place where we don't judge people based on their fashion choices. Crazy idea, right?"
Bill, seemingly undeterred, zeroed in on Nick's appearance. "What's with that outfit, anyway? And those nails? You're not even trying to look like a man."
Nick was quick to fire back, aggressive sarcasm heavy in his tone, "Oh, sorry, I forgot that my nails and wardrobe choices determine my gender. My bad."
But, as always, Bill pressed on. "At least the other two of ya’ are more normal. Hopefully they rub off on you a lil’ bit."
Nick's patience wore thin, and he shot back with a raised eyebrow, "Normal? Yeah, because that's such a thrilling quality. Really a standard to aim for."
The verbal exchange went on as Bill continued voicing his below-average thoughts and opinions, each comment aimed to chip away at Nick's confidence. Nick, however, didn’t let himself falter, he wouldn’t give the asshole the satisfaction.
With a dismissive wave, Nick quipped, "Your insightful commentary really adds value to your job, Bill. Remind me, is criticizing outfits and nails part of security training these days? Or is it just the fashionista in you? Maybe you should stick to the silent and serious type—you know, the cool-guy cliché."
With that, Nick decided he'd had enough and stormed away, not waiting for the other’s response. He headed backstage where Matt and Chris were already waiting.
This has unfortunately been going on for weeks now, ever since the tour started. Generally speaking, they had a good team behind them and they’ve gotten used to working together. That was with everyone except Bill – one of their bodyguards.
He only ever targeted Nick, always picking at his appearance and even went as far as showing clear distain for his sexuality. It started subtly at first, with small comments here and there that Nick chose to brush off. But with time, Bill grew bolder, and by now he was confident there’d be no consequences, so he dared to insult Nick directly.
The only reason Nick hadn’t said anything about it was honestly because he hadn’t cared – at least not at first. He was confident and sure of himself, no random, unimportant, uneducated troll with muscles for brains would change that. So despite the hurtful and unwarranted commentary, Nick continued to roll his eyes and fire back at the asshole.
It was easier than complaining about him anyway, if he wanted him fired and replaced, Nick would have to file an official report, talk with people and so on, and it honestly just seemed like too much of a hassle, they only had around two weeks of tour left anyway.
But it seemed not even Nick was completely immune to bullying, as it was starting to affect his psychological well-being. It made sense, each interaction with Bill was tiring, he never failed to ruin his mood and despite what Nick said or wanted, he kept replaying the conversations over even hours after it was over.
It came to the point where Nick was constantly anxious, just because he knew he’d be seeing Bill soon and be forced to endure another pointless, tiring, one-sided critique fest.
So while Nick didn’t outright feel bad about himself or his appearance because of Bill, he was certainly more stressed, irritated, tired and, strangely enough, lonely.
Only two more weeks and I’ll never see that fucker again, Nick thought to himself as he entered the changing rooms, where his brothers were already waiting.
The irritation from their interaction still lingered, but Nick knew he had to shake it off for the upcoming performance. He couldn't let one narrow-minded individual ruin the energy he shared with his brothers on stage. It wouldn’t be fair to himself or their fans.
Still, easier said than done.
Chris, always quick to pick up on Nick's moods, grinned playfully. "What's eating at you, kid? Upset that you’ll lose again?"
Nick sighed, the frustration evident in his voice. "Leave it Chris, not the time.”
“You good? We can go out first if you need a minute,” Matt offered, not knowing what was bothering their brother, but eager to help even a little.
“No, no, it’s fine, seriously. I’ll feel better once we’re on stage and hear the fans screaming for me, I need that energy boost,” Nick replied, forcing a small joke by the end to lighten his mood.
“If you say so…”, Matt shrugged, trusting Nick’s judgement.
“You better not slack off, I know I’ll win either way, but it’ll just be boring if you don’t at least try,” Chris teased, trying to invoke Nick’s competitive side.
Nick just rolled his eyes and waved him off, then smiling softly as he turned away. At least he could always count on his brothers to remain the same.
.
.
.
The excited laughter of the crowd had faded, leaving only the muffled sounds of distant chatter as the three brothers retreated to the privacy of their hotel room. The energy that usually buzzed between them and the adrenaline holding onto them after each successful show were painfully absent.
Nick had managed to pull it together for the show, but the second they got off stage, Nick let his expression drop, feeling more drained than ever. He didn’t celebrate energetically with their crew, only gave out a few high-fives and thanked everyone for their support, before quickly gathering his things and rushed to their bus.
Matt and Chris noticed, of course, and were now convinced something had to be wrong, this wasn’t like Nick, he’d normally complain loudly and energetically even when sick or tired, so this low-mood was really bizarre to see.
The moment they got their room, Nick went directly to his bed and slumped over it, his usual boisterous spirit replaced by a heavy, subdued silence.
Matt shot a concerned glance at Chris, who nodded in support, before tentatively approaching Nick. "Hey, Nick, what's going on, man? We’ve noticed you've been off for a while now, and today was just… weird."
Chris was still full of energy, but held himself back to prioritise his obviously troubled brother. "Yeah, dude, spill it. You're killing our buzz here."
Nick sighed, his shoulders sagging further. He debated whether to share the burden he'd been carrying for weeks, letting go of the weight of this secret that had been eating away at him. Matt and Chris exchanged puzzled glances, their carefree expressions gradually giving way to shared concern.
Just two more weeks, no sense in starting anything now, Nick thought and resigned himself to what was likely to turn into an argument.
"I’m fine, just tired," Nick replied, his voice uncharacteristically subdued.
“Tired of what?” Matt asked, still worried. He knew it was perfectly understandable to get tired, especially after weeks of non-stop performances, but he just wasn’t used to seeing Nick acting like that.
“Is something wrong? Normally you’d complain about being tired and not, you know, actually act like it,” Chris tried to joke a bit, to ease the tension.
Turns out, Nick wasn’t ready for this conversation, it was just adding to his already too-high stress levels, so he groaned out, louder than before, but still way quieter than what would be normal for him. “Oh my god, can you just leave it? Why do I need to defend myself every second of every day, can I just be left alone for one fucking moment??”
Before either of them could respond, Nick jumped back up from the bed and rushed out of the room. “Don’t follow me,” and he was gone, letting the door slam shut behind him.
Matt and Chris were left gaping in shock, neither of them having expected such a response.
“What the hell was that?”, Matt muttered.
“Dude, is it just me or was it really weird how Nick didn’t yell the last part?”, Chris asked, still confused.
Matt nodded immediately, “Really weird. He was talking like I would, it just felt wrong for him.”
“We should follow him,” Chris mused, ready to go after Nick.
“Chris, he specifically said not to do that…”, Matt pretended to berate him, then smiled, “let’s do it.”
They looked at each other with matching smirks and hurried off after their brother.
.
.
.
Nick made it to the hotel parking lot, not knowing that this dimly lit and eerily quiet place would serve as the unexpected battleground for his final confrontation with his arch-nemesis. As Nick stormed out, frustration clear by his expression, he found himself face to face with the source of his recent torment.
Bill, leaning against a pillar and smoking, looked up at Nick with a scowl. The cigarette dangled from the corner of his mouth as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Where do you think you're going, princess? Didn't your mommy teach you to ask permission?"
Nick, tired of enduring Bill's constant barrage of taunts and insults, clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not your damn responsibility, Bill. I can go wherever I want without reporting to you."
Bill chuckled, the arrogance evident in his tone. "You should be grateful, you little shit. I protect your sorry ass, and you repay me by flaunting your f**** self around."
This was it, Nick had reached his breaking point. He squared his shoulders, meeting Bill's gaze with an intensity that surprised even himself. "Yeah, we’re not doing that. Enough is enough. I won't take your shit anymore. You talk to me like I'm nothing, despite me paying your pay check. Check yourself, bullying someone decades younger than you, you absolute sad loser.”
Bill erupted into laughter, a grating sound that echoed in the empty lot. "Ohh so tough, are ya’? What are you gonna do, huh? Cry to your brothers? You're the worst of the lot anyway, too soft for this world. Your generation gets offended over everything."
Nick didn’t waste time, snapping back, "Stop being so damn obsessed with me, it's creepy. I wonder why a big, tough guy like you cares so much about how I dress and who I like anyway."
This seemed to hit something in him, since Bill's face twisted into a mask of rage, and he threw his cigarette away, storming closer to Nick. The tension hung thick in the air, and Nick, for the first time, felt a pang of fear as he took a step back.
Bill raised his arm, moving to grab Nick, but before he could make contact, a strong grip halted him midway. Bill and Nick both turned in surprise to see Matt, his expression etched in unrestricted fury, holding Bill's arm with a vice-like grip. His knuckles turned white as his fingers dug into Bill's flesh.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Matt's voice was low, dangerous.
Chris, always quick to back up his brothers, stepped to stand between Nick and Bill. The aura around him was charged, his eyes reflecting a steely determination. "You need to back off right now. This isn’t gonna end well for you, I promise you that."
Bill, feeling the weight of the situation, attempted to pull his arm away, but Matt's hold remained unyielding. "You're fired, if that wasn’t clear" Matt stated coldly, his gaze unwavering. "We'll be reporting your sorry ass, and if you ever so much as look at Nick again, I'll make sure you regret it."
The threat hung in the air, heavy and palpable. Bill, realising when he was beat, grunted in frustration, yanking his arm free from Matt's grasp. He shot a venomous glare at Nick before retreating back where he came from.
As the tension dissipated, Matt and Chris turned their attention to Nick, concern etched on their faces. Nick, still in disbelief over the protective stand his brothers had taken, took a moment to collect himself.
"Thanks," Nick finally muttered, his voice a mixture of gratitude and lingering tension.
Chris's expression softened, his eyes reflecting the love they shared. "We've got your back, Nick. Always."
“Why didn’t you tell us?”, Matt was still too furious to function, eyes pulled back and jaw clenched in barely contained rage.
Nick sighed and looked at the ground, feeling a bit embarrassed now that it was over. “I guess I should have… It was just passing comments at first, it didn’t seem like a big deal. I guess he grew bolder when I didn’t rat on him initially, but by this point there’s just two weeks left of the tour, so I thought it’d be easier to just wait it out.”
“Nick,” Chris started seriously, waiting for Nick to look up at him before continuing, “there’s no point in doing any of this if we’re not having fun. All of us. In the future, tell us the second anything like this happens, even if you think it’s small and unimportant. I wanna know everything.”
Nick’s eyes grew moist, and he sniffled and nodded his head slightly. “Yeah… I will. Thanks for coming after me.”
“Always,” Chris said with a smile, then pulled Nick into a hug.
“You get in here too, Matt”, Nick said after a moment, extending one arm out to make space for him.
Matt still had a serious expression, unable to let it go, but went to join the hug anyway.
“You can calm down now kid, the guy’s already lost this job, and after we submit the report he might actually get fired from the company. We win,” Nick tried soothing Matt, feeling a bit guilty for the situation upsetting him this much.
“Getting fired is not enough. I need him to hurt,” Matt growled.
Nick and Chris looked at each other a bit surprised. “Well damn, what are you plotting there Mr. Tuff?”, Chris joked, despite genuinely not liking this side of his brother.
“Don’t be violent Matt, it’s not healthy to hold on to such hate. I’m okay, please let it go,” Nick sighed, just wanting this to be over with.
“Yeah, yeah. Just be sure to tell us if anything happens again,” Matt said, breaking away from their hug.
They ended up going back to their hotel room and took it easy for the rest of the night, just talking, giving Nick the chance to vent and explain how this all affected him. They still had time to watch a movie, so Chris held himself back and let Nick choose this time, and it ended up being the most relaxing evening Nick has had in weeks.
The rest of the tour passed much better for all of them, now that Nick wasn’t anxious at every step anymore, his energy had returned and every aspect of their show was much livelier again.
There was one more noteworthy incident though; as per protocol, the brothers, along with their manager and entire security team had had to have a meeting about the events that transpired, as it was a quite serious matter.
Nick’s confidence had returned completely, especially when both Matt and Chris were beside him, and he had no problems recalling everything that piece of shit had said and done.
Bill had tried to lie and downplay everything, but luckily for them, some of the confrontations were caught on various security cameras, and knowing he might lie, their manager had prepared the footage beforehand. If looks could kill, Bill would be dead three times over with how Matt and Chris were glaring at him, as the recording were played.
The entire meeting was loud and full of everyone talking over each other and demanding different things, but surprisingly enough, despite how sadistically angry Matt was initially, he remained quiet through it all, simply glaring at Bill over the table.
After about an hour, the meeting was coming to an end, and it was decided that while Nick wouldn’t be pressing charges or anything like that, Bill’s employment with the company would be terminated immediately, and he’d never be allowed to work in this field again.
Nick and Chris looked at each other and smiled, satisfied with this resolution.
But then, just before they stood up and left, Bill’s face suddenly went from frustrated to horrified, his face paled and he started sweating profusely. Everyone turned to look at him confused, but he just excused himself and started running away, mumbling something about not feeling well.
The poor guy didn’t manage to make it to the nearest public toilets and the entire meeting room that went out after him, plus the people from the hallway bore witness to the consequences of someone sneaking into Bill’s room and adding laxatives with his pre-packed lunch and drinks. No one ever learned the true cause of this, but it was undoubtedly the worst day of Bill’s life.
Nick and Chris looked at each other in equal measures of sick satisfaction and utter disgust, no one could bear to look directly at the scene, and felt that a bit of natural karma served Bill right.
When they turned to look at Matt, their hearts skipped a beat (in fear, nervousness or uneasiness) when they noticed him staring at Bill’s face, his tense and hateful expression finally lifting somewhat. Matt felt eyes on him and looked back at the others, remaining quiet, then turned and started to walk away.
For their own piece of mind, neither of them ever asked anything, but they both had their suspicions.
I honestly feel bad for anyone that’s ever done us wrong, Nick thought, feeling a bit unsettled, but ultimately vindicated.
Has he ever done anything like this before that we just don’t know about? Chris thought as they all walked out, wondering how much he didn’t know about his best friend and brother.
It might seem a bit harsh, but if you heard all the things Bill has said over the past weeks, as well as to all other people on past jobs, abusing his position and neglecting his job… and who knows how far he’d take it if Matt and Chris hadn’t intervened when they did.
As they walked out, Matt didn’t feel a sliver of regret.