"Are you pissed?" AJ wanted to know, leaning over to him, peering atop of his glasses.
"No."
"Yes you are." The rebel grinned. "You know better than wear pants that don't fit you." A small laugh was uttered, "I mean Kaos I dont think that the whole world needed to see if you were wearing boxers or briefs."
Loud laughter filled the van. Nick blushed even more. Usually he was never late to laugh at his own mistakes, but today he felt sore and vulnerable.
"Leave Nick alone. He's tired." Howie mumbled, blowing his nose from the umpteenth time.
"Arenīt we all?" Kevin yawned. "God I am dead tired. It will feel so good to go back to the hotel and sleep!"
"Yeah man, why are'nt we moving?" Bone asked when there were no movement in the van.
"B'rok isnīt on yet."
"Dude. I thought that someone was missing." AJ said as the door opened and a relieved Brian showed his face.
"Man I really needed that," he said as he sank down beside Nick, who moved closer to the window. Still not saying anything.
"Are you ready to leave then?" Johnny asked shutting the door behind him. A unison mumble was heard and the driver started the van.
They didnīt travel long before AJ suddenly uttered, "B are you a folder or a scruncher?" His eyes were gleaming micheviously.
"What?" Brian asked, looking like a questionmark as he scratched himself on his head. "What do you mean by that?"
"Donīt mind him," Howie mumbled as he sneezed into a tissue.
AJ gave a short glare to the Latino as he continued, " Just answer the question Brian. Are you a folder or a scruncher?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?" Kevin asked a bit irritated. He was tired and hungry and wanted some peace and quiet in the van. The last thing he needed to hear was AJ asking irrelevant questions.
"Mý question! Damn you sure are anal Kev!" Getting an angry stare back from the man in question.
"Oh, I am a folder," Brian muttered. "if you really want to know."
"Yeah I figured that out and you.." AJ grinned, pointing at Nick , "you are a scruncher."
"No I am not." He was heading down the trap. "I ball it!"
AJ bursted out laughing. "You ball it??"
Brian grinned, "Yeah he does."
"Like you would know that." Nick muttered, annoyed that the guys always found something to mock him about. "Yeah are there any problems with that?" Nick felt irritated. That and tired and he really wanted AJ to shut up. Kevin wanted him too and Kevin was the man to say it to AJ.
"No...no problem." The skinnier held up a hand, "but I bet that the fans would like to know that." He chuckled.
"Awww shut up Bone. You are pathetic."
"Immature," Howie added.
"Still got the potty humor I see." Brian muttered. No one was appreciating AJīs attempt to make a joke. Not when hunger and sleep was knocking on their door.
"Jeeze lighten up will you. I just wanted to know how B wipes his ass." AJ sneered. "God can there never be a joked told in this fucking place?" The skinny man got visibly irritated and he turned towards the window looking out.
Nick sighed. When it was silent once more in the van he closed his eyes. The vehicles rocking made him sleepy and before he knew what hit him he heading down the road of dreams.
"Is he asleep?" Kevin asked when the even breaths could be heard in the vehicle. He nodded towards the teen.
"Mhm.." Brian answered, glancing over his friend who slept soundly. But there were something with his appearance that had him a tad concerned. His cheeks appeared unnatural flushed. Was Nick not well? He felt on the forehead with the back of his hand. Yup, Brian frowned. Nick was definately warm. "Man," he sighed heavily.
"What?" Kevin asked impatiently. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah I think Nick's got a bit of a fever." He let go of the hand, afraid that he would wake the teen up. Nick had been through a couple of rough days and yesterday when he had overdosed on his meds had them all in for a scare. Maybe this was the after effects of that.
"A fever?" Now it was Johnny's turn to yell from the front of the van. "Are you saying that it is Carter's turn to get sick?" He groaned loudly as came to the realization that once again the youngest in the group was afflicted with some kind of ailment. "That kid attracts all sorts of germs that are out there." He muttered to himself, "The promoters will not be happy when they hear this."
"Cool it," AJ mumbled, not sore any longer. "You all know how Nick is, one time he has this, the other that. Dude, you are freaking out over nothing. He is probably exhausted after traveling. In fact I think we all are."
There were a unison mumble of agreement in the van.
"Hey Bone," Howie pointed to a street, "Isnīt there were the famous Red Light District is?" He was talking with an whispering voice so the manager wouldn't hear what he was talking about.
"How the fuck would.." AJ started when he suddenly remembered what the street stood for. Girls. Nude Girls. "Yeah man, we better check that one out. I heard that they have some cool joints there." There was a gleam in his eyes.
The plot didn't work out as the boys had expected since Johnny had through out the years developed a sixth sense when it came to knowing what "his boys" were up to. "I want you all to rest up tonight and don't go to any clubs." He turned to look over his shoulder, "And NO Red Light District!" There was a tone of warning.
"Man! I never get to do anything fun!" AJ sulked, looking down at the floor.
"You are underaged." the manager stated, "and I don't want you all to get any more media attention than neccessary. And stay out of the bar tonight will you? It doesn't look good to the press. You are a boy band and suppose to be role models to the younger population. Not getting yourself smashed every night."
"Jeeze," Kevin muttered under his breath, "I'm an adult ainīt I?"
"Yes but you have younger fans." Johnny sighed, "all I asked you to do was to keep it calm tonight. Is that too much to ask for?"
AJ was the only one to respond, "Crap. When do we get to check out the clubs then?".
"Never."
"Dammit!" AJ was not happy.
The rest of the ride went under silence, everybody was too tired to discuss anything. Brian longed to be back at the hotel so he could call Leighanne like he had promised. He was so in love and the blonde girl was the best thing that had happened to him. He had even asked Johnny if she could join him on the tour getting a negative response back. The reason was that the management thought that a girlfriend would "distract" the guys too much, and would be bad publicity. It was important that the fans thought that they were all single, since management believed that if the truth came out about their private lives they would fall in popularity.
"Wow look at this!" Howie burst out as he saw the crowd of girls standing outside waiting for them. They were all screaming and everywhere the guys looked there were girls. Brunettes, Blondes, Red-heads, blacks. Hundreds of girls. Everywhere!
"Fuck! This is incredible." AJ uttered as he looked outside. "Totally awesome."
"How are we gonna get in without being crushed?" Kevin asked, always worrying over what would happend next.
"Donīt worry," Johnny said hanging up on his cell phone, "The bodyguards will take care of this. The van stopped and fans rushed towards the vehicle, pounding on the van. The guys felt like animals trapped in a cage.
"This is crazy!" Kevin said as he watched the girls trying to get as close as possible to the van. The noise outside was as deafening as it could be when about hundred girls screamed the loudest and highest they could. It was enough to wake up a dead.
Through this riot Nick slept peacefully.
"What are we going to do with him?" Brian asked, mentioning with his tumb towards his sleeping friend. "We canīt wake him up." The older boys sixth sense told him that after the attack with the fans the other day when Nick bruised his kidney the teen would be scared shitless watching the crowd that was piling up outside. After all Nick had been going through he wanted to spare him this.
"We have to wake him up," Kevin said with a sigh. He too wanted to spare the teen to have to face the riot that were going on outside, yet he had no choice. They would have to face the crowed. Smiling as always.
"BRIAN! Wake Nick up! Itīs time to get out!"
"But..but," the younger man stuttered. Nick needed all the rest he could get. Johhny was of another opinion.
"No buts..He has obligations to do!" The black man's tone was harsh, Brian glared angrily at his manager. He disliked him more and more. Johnny took much too often his irritation out on Nick. The teen was an easy target and this was something that Mr. Wright seemed to have discovered. If Johnny was bad, Lou Pearlman was the worst. Brian was lucky as long as that man didn't steer the ship.
"What should we do then?" Brian still felt reluctant to wake Nick up. The teen hated when they treated him like a baby, still he didn't think that his friend was in any shape or form to face hundreds of screaming girls that would do anything to get a piece of him. It was too wild.
"Can we go another way?" Kevin asked as he tried to find an escape route. "Isnīt there a back entrance to the hotel?"
"No," the driver answered, " It's too hard to go down with the van down in that tight lane, and even if it was possible we can't go anywhere due to the risk to run down fans."
They were stuck.
"Damn, this is fucking incredible," AJ repeated like a broken record. He made a face to the screaming girls outside. He laughed when they screamed even louder, pounding at the van. "These girls are crazy."
"Listen, Joe, Jake, Don and the rest of the crew will meet you guys outside. They will make a passage so you guys can go through. Also I have called in more people for security messures." Johnny ran a hand through his short black hair. "This is wild," he repeated over and over again.
"Great, But that still doesnt lead us to know what to do with this boy." Kevin nodded with his head towards the blonde that was sleeping peacefully, totally unaware of the riot that was going on outside. "He will panic when he sees this!"
"I know, I know." There was desperation in Brian's eyes when he looked outside. He loved his fans, but this was too much.
" I talked to Don, Nick's bodyguard and he said that he could carry the kid if it was neccessary." There was a mocking tone in the manager's voice when he uttered the last words.
AJ busted out laughing, "Yeah that would fit. We baby him anyway..heheheee...so maybe we can burp and change his diapers when we're at it!"
"Ajee!" Kevin wasnt too amused.
"That might work," Brian mumbled, nudging his friend gently on his shoulder. "Nick," he whispered, "Come on wake up."
A slight stir.
"Nick!" A bit louder. "We're at the hotel."
"Nooo, let me sleep," the blonde moaned, shifting in his seat. "I do..I donīt feel so..so..good."
"We know. But we're at the hotel and have to get out now from the van. You can rest when you come up to the room." Kevin frowned when he spotted the flushed cheeks on the teen.
"Canīt I sleep in the van instead?" He was barely coherent, wanting the others to stop bugging him.
AJ, sick and tired of his little brother always wanting to get attention yelled, "Hey Kaos. Check it out! There are hundreds of girls outside. It's freakin' wild."
Brian shot a glare to the skinnier man, wishing that he shut up. Kevin did the same, adding a silent move where he pretended to cut AJīs throat. The 20-year old was not high on his list at all, especially not since he was doing his best to add problems to an already panicky situation.
It worked!
Nick shot up his eyes like someone had stung him, looking outside a bit disoriented. "Holy shit!" He ran a hand through his sweaty hair, sitting up straighter in the seat. Bone was right. It was crazy.
"Why did you have to do that for?" Kevin asked, demanding an answer.
"You wanted him to wake up and I did that!" A grin came across AJīs lips. Turning towards the dark man he added, "So I think you should thank me instead of being pissed at me!"
The look Kevin shot back could have killed on the spot, and a crime would have comitted if Nick hadnīt yelled. "I am NOT going out there!" There was panic in his eyes. True panic as he moved away from the window where girls were banging on the van, trying to get his attention. "NOOOOO WAY!"
A deep sigh came from Brian. He could have figured this out with his pinky! When Nick set for something, it didn't matter what it was, there was no way that they could change his mind. At one time, when they were in Asia, their plane was delayed and they were scheduled to go on a smaller plane. Nick had gone totally ballistic, claiming that he would NOT on ANY circumstances get on that plane. No matter how they had cajoled, soothed or even threatned him they hadnīt got the teen to change his mind. This had them all waiting, sleeping on hard plastic chairs for almost 20 hours. Needless to say they had been pissed, espeicially Howie who loved to be up in airplanes. Kevin tought he was a wuss too. But Nick did not change his mind. Frankly Brian was happy for that beacuse flying with a hyper teen in panic was more than even he could muster! It would have been similar to holding a cat over a tub of water.
Nick had the same desperate look in his eyes and Brian knew it was futile to talk him into going outside.
"What is happening?" Johnny barked when he heard the loud discussing that was going on in the back.p>
"Kaos refuses to go outside," Howie informed him, adding, "so what else is new." Even if Howie often cared for people around him and he had well earned his nickname Sweet D' he still could get royally pissed at Nick. The fact that the teen loved to tease him didn't help either and sometimes Howie just wanted to throw him off the bus. Violence however was not a part of the Latinos life, even if he thought that the blonde was much too immature for his own age. He knew that the event a few days ago had scared his friend dearly, but it could just as well be Nick's famous stubborness that had set in, which he strongly suspected.p>
"Calm down now," Kevin said with his southern growl when Nick was acting like a panicked deer caught in the headlights.
"I wont go out there..I wont.." the eighteen year old repeated over and over again. Like a mantra. The girls outside were getting impatient and several of them climbed on each other, trying to get an extra peak at the guys.
"Shut the drapes!" Kevin yelled when he saw how Nick was almost sitting in Brian's knees, trying to get away from it all. Brian shut the drapes as fast as he could, blaming himself for not thinking of that sooner. That could have spared Nick some discomfort.
"He is in panic!" Brian was starting to get desperate too. Frack had a bad habit to work himself up sometimes and often it ended up to be very big. He was making a hen out of an feather.
Johnny was now starting to loose his patience, "This is fucking unbelievable," he screamed as he climbed to come to the backseat. "Howie you take the front seat. I wanna talk to Nick!" Without any comments Howie did as he was told, the black man was practically fuming with anger. Brian held a protective arm around Nick, when Johnny entered the scene. The teen was shivering, both from panic but also from the fever that ran through his veins. To say that Nick was in a miserable state was no understatement!
"Nickolas!" Johnny was speaking with as calm voice as he could manage, altough it sounded forced when he spoke through gritted teeth. Reaching out to grab his arm, Nick shrugged quickly away. The black man had seen so much in his days to know when someone was having an anxiety attack and here Nick was experiencing one. The boy was white as a sheet, his lip shuddering as chills wracked his body. On top of everything his skin felt cool to the touch and he looked like he was on the verge of crying. At that moment the singer acted far away from the young man that he was and this had the manager a bit concerned.
"I don't wanna go, please dont make me go," Nick whispered hoarsly, over and over again. His eyes closed as didnt want to see the situation infront of him.
This was getting out of hand.
"Nick calm down, relax." The black man's voice was soft when he realized the teen wasn't playing a game. "Listen to me."
Nick however had no intention of doing like the manger wanted to. He was too much in his own world.
"Nooo....nooo," He moaned over and over again.
"Shit, this is fucking unbeliveable." AJ mumbled. In his eyes his friend was acting like a basket case and this scared him more than he wanted to admit. He knew that the kid had some issues, but this was more than he bargained for.
"Shut up." Kevin was doing his best to remain calm, but even he was scared over the way Nick acted and looked. He was afraid that the teen was going into shock. Why, he had no idea. "Youīre not doing anything better by yelling at the kid!"
Brian threw AJ a hard glare and the short man quieted down, turning his attentíon towards the crowd instead.
"Look at me when I talk," Johnny's tone was firm, as he grabbed Nick's arm once again. There was no results as the teen still held his eyes shut. This was testing the managers patience and he wished that Clark would have been here instead. Johnny didn't do people that well and this was the reason why they had assigned the new road manager to do that kind of work after that his wife Donna was too busy to handle the business. AJīs mother Denise would also have known what to do in a situation like this. Johnny, however did not! "NICK FOR HEAVENS SAKE! STOP ACTING LIKE A RETARD!!" The limit was reached and he was yelling at the kid again, before he could stop himself.
It seemed to work as Nick opened his blue eyes, the panic shining, blinking several times. Still not saying anything.
"Stop yelling at him." Both Brian and Kevin was upset over their managers unfitful behavoir. Ignoring this, Johnny continued a bit more gently, altough he had to breathe through his nose all the time to stay calm. "Nick listen, Don is going to help you. He will carry you through the crowd and everything will be just fine."
"No....no." Nick shook his head. They will crush me." he drew in a shaky breath, "just like the last time and then..then I wont be as lucky." He looked at the manager with tearfilled eyes, "please don't make me go out there. Please."
"NO! Don will come and that is it!"
Nick's lips quivered as he realized that there was no turning back. No matter how he pleaded he still had to go out to the vulchers. The last days event was too fresh in his memory and even if he tried to talk himself into that it was not going to be dangerous, nothing would happen and he would be safe it still made him skiddish with panic. This was something he couldnīt control!
"Hey dude," AJ leaned across the seat, patting Nick lightly at his cheek. Brian responded immediately with a glare, about to open his mouth to say that Bone should mind his own business. Nick steeled himself too. He knew that he was acting like a baby, but he couldn't help it. This was beyond what he could manage.
Ignoring the silent glares that he got from the rest of the group he continued softly "Everything will work out fine. Believe me." The rebel looked straight into Nick's eyes and to the rests surprise he seemed to calm down. "Don will help you. Donīt worry. There is nothing to be afraid of. Okay?"
Everybody held their breath waiting for the teen to throw an even worse fit. They fell flat on their asses when Nick whispered shakily, "O..okay, Lets go then."
Nick Carter always amazed them!
"What the fuck did you do McLean?" Johhny was full of admiration when he noticed how well the 20-year old handled the situation. "No, no donīt tell me. I donīt wanna know." Johnny grinned. "Not as long as this worked." Brian and Kevin couldn't believe their eyes either. The only one that wasn't surprised was Howie. He knew that AJ was far from the bad ass that he often pretended to be.
Shrugging, AJ mumbled, "Doesn't matter." Turning to the rest he said, "Lets get going then before Kaos changes his mind."
With that, action was taken. No time to spare.
