Kevin paced in front of the couch, drawing a hand through his dark, thick hair. The rest of the men assembled in the living area silently watched the eldest band member anxiously. Finally after a few minutes had passed he stopped, drawing a deep breath in and then sighing loudly.
"I just don't understand this at all," he began, gesturing towards the sleeping quarters with his thumb. "He seems to be getting worse, not better and no one seems to be seeing what I'm seeing and listening to what I'm saying....."
"I can't understand how the Carter's don't listen to a word you've said," Brian said softly.
"I would have thought Bob would have at least listened," Howie added.
"Screw the Carter's they don't listen to anyone but themselves," AJ spat as he placed an unlit cigarette to his lips.
Kevin sighed as he sat down on the couch. He rubbed his face in a tired gesture and then leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands.
"Don't take this situation so personally, Kev," Brian said empathetically.
Instead of relaxing at Brian's words, Kevin shook his head. "I do take this personally.....Nick should be in a hospital not on a stupid tour bus. It's my fault that Lou isn't listening to a word I've said..."
"Bullshit!" AJ rasped as he exhaled the cigarette smoke he had been holding in his lungs. "You are only a friend not a legal guardian of Nick's and there's nothing more you can do that you haven't already done. You've covered all the bases."
"Maybe I have but Pearlman seems to think that we should do a few more PR events before we board a plane for home and he has made certain that we can't leave without his permisson."
"How can fatass keep us?" AJ questioned.
"He's got our passports so we're basically screwed, remember?"
AJ snapped his fingers in defeat. "Shit I forgot about that."
"That is kinda weird that we surrendered our passports to him after we went through customs," Brian thought outloud.
"I guess it was okay at the time," Kevin replied. "I mean the last time we toured Europe remember how Nicky misplaced his passport and we went though hell until he finally found it inside one of his video game cases?"
"But it is really dumb that we all had to pay for his stupidity," Howie stated.
"Yeah but I didn't even question him when he asked for our passports. He made some flimsy excuse that he needed to keep them secure. I didn't even think about the fact that if he had our passports that we were screwed into doing what he wanted us to do. He pretty much has us under his thumb until we board the plane for Florida," Kevin said bitterly.
"Quit blaming yourself, whats done is done," Howie soothed. "We just have to figure a way out of this now."
Before they realized it, the bus had stopped outside of a low grade hotel and Pearlman greeted them as he made his way toward the front of the bus, the ever-dreaded clipboard in his tight grasp.
"People.....people......everyone focus up here," the manager bellowed as he flipped a few sheets of worn paper over the top of the clip board. "Where the hell is Carter!? I need him up here! He needs to listen to this!"
"We just stopped two seconds ago," Howie defended quietly for the sleeping teen.
"Try five minutes ago Dorough," Pearlman barked. "Get Carter up here.....pronto!"
The eldest bandmember sat back on the couch, folding his arms across his chest. "We can just fill him in when we get settled in our hotel room."
"He's really not feeling well," Brian added, ignorning his cousin's warning glare after he opened his mouth.
"Carter's never feeling well...he's such a sissy," the manager snickered.
"I doubt you'd feel 100% after smacking your head on a cement floor," AJ rapsed.
Lou shook his head, ignoring the rebel's comment. "We have busy schedule this afternoon with two radio shows and a charity concert tonight and tomorrow in this god forsaken city..."
Kevin jumped off the couch. "Tomorrow! You said we only had two more PR things you wanted us to do and then we could go home!"
"That will be enough out of you Richardson! You whine like a baby like blondie does."
Kevin wasn't going to be pushed aside easily. "No Lou, I'm sticking up for the rest of us. This is bullshit and it has to stop. Nick needs proper medical attention and I'll be damned if you'll have your way--"
"I'll have my way because I have contracts and your passports and you'll do as I say!" The older man paused for a few moments, staring at the young men assembled in front of him, waiting for another comment. When no one spoke up, he smiled briefly. "That's what I thought. Now as I was saying, we have two radio shows this afternoon so check in to get cleaned up and you'll have to hurry because you people are expected at the studio in forty-five minutes. I'll get Carter, so you better hustle, time is precious."
"You can do this without Nick," Kevin replied in a firm voice.
"They are expecting five Backstreet Boys and five Backstreet Boys they will be getting. You now have forty-four minutes!"
"Nick.....Nick!"
Okay since when did Kevin start yelling during a radio show? I quickly cupped my hands over my ears. "God, do you have to yell? I heard you the first time!" Call me paranoid but I could swear that this was the second time since we sat down that Kevin gave me one of those funny looks.
"I wasn't yelling Nick," he replied in a voice I could barely hear.
"When is this gonna be over so I can go to sleep....I'm tired," I sighed, hoping someone would get the hint.
"You slept all the way over to hotel on the bus and then you cat napped coming to the radio station," AJ reminded me as he slipped on the headphones.
I directed a middle finger at Bone. "Funny...I don't remember doing that."
The radio DJ seemed amused with my gesture toward AJ. Kevin, however, wasn't. "Would you two just stop for twenty seconds?"
I think I pissed Kevin off during the whole radio show because everytime the DJ asked me a question, Kevin stepped on my question and answered for me. How the heck does he get off by doing stuff like that? Finally the last question was asked and there was no way I was going to let the old fart not let me speak!
"I'd like to thank all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules and meeting with me and our listeners this morning."
"You add a half a cup of bleach for a full load of whites," I said with a grin. Okay, judging by the looks on everyone's face, that wasn't what I thought I was gonna say.
"You'll have to excuse Kaos....he's a little----"
"Crazy!" AJ interrupted Howie with a toothy grin.
"He is definately the blonde of the group," Brian added.
Kevin didn't look very pleased with my comment. He gave me that constipated face as he took off his headset and then grabbed my arm pulling me close to his side as we walked out of the studio. "Nick are you feeling okay?"
I jerked my arm away from Kevin's grip. "I told you I was tired. Why is everyone picking on me? Can I go lay down now?"
"We can't just yet, we have to sign autographs out in front of the studio for two hours and then you can lay down."
Tears were starting to blur my vision. Two hours? I felt like crap and now I have to sit outside in the heat for two whole hours? "Can I just lay down under the table and go to sleep? Please?"
At first I thought Kevin was going to let me but when I saw Lou Pearlman walk over toward the canvassed area where fans had already lined up, I know the answer was going to be no.
"I'm sorry kid, but you know Lou isn't going to let us out of this one."
"Would it matter if I told you I've got the start of a migraine again?"
Right after the words left my mouth I instantly regretted them because Kevin's hand came toward my forehead, trying to determine if I was running a temp. I knew I didn't have a fever - I wouldn't have that kind of luck but I still dipped away from his touch. I guess it's an old habit or a game but as soon as I did that, I took a quick breath in when the movement made my head pound worse than what it had been.
"Take your seats boys, time is money," Pearlman smiled as he gestured to the five folding chairs situated behind a long table.
The first autograph I was suppose to sign didn't go exactly as I had planned. A young girl dressed in a Backstreet Boys t-shirt laid her CD case in front of me. "Hi Nick, my name is Amy and I'm a big fan of yours!"
"Hi Stacy."
"No, I said my name is Amy."
I could have sworn she said Stacy, I thought to myself as I shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry," I apologized as I tried to pick up the Sharpie marker that was placed in front of me. It took me three tries before the girl picked it up for me and then handed it to me.
"Here you go.....sometimes those things can be tricky."
I gratefully accepted the marker from her, managing a tight smile. God I wanted to be laying down instead of sitting here. "So is it Ann without---"
"It's AMY A-m-y."
This time I caught Brian's face out the corner of my eye. "I misunderstood her," I explained over the roar of fans.
"Like three times but who's counting."
Then it happened! Instead of my signature, there was nothing but five year old scribbling across the front of this poor girl's CD cover! "These pens aren't working right. I'm sorry about your CD. How about a picture instead of an autograph?"
When I stood up for a picture with the girl every pore in my body opened up and I'm sure I must have soaked her with my sweat but she apparently didn't seem to mind that. She just seemed happy that I gave her a picture to compensate for ruining her CD cover. My head hurt and my stomach felt worse than my head. "Sorry about your CD."
"It's okay Nick, I hope you feel better."
Wow! How the heck did that girl know I felt like crap? The next person in line didn't look like she was going to be as nice as the last one. Wait did I say one? I think there was two. I loooked past the two girls out to the sea of fans that were standing in line waiting for autographs. My stomach hurt not to mention how bad my head felt and I was expected to sit in the heat for two hours! My mouth was starting to water but it wasn't from hunger - more from the nausea that was making itself known in strong waves as the minutes ticked by. Suddenly I knew what was going to happen and my eyes scanned for anything nearby to stick my head into a wastebasket, a shrub or a bag! I spotted a paper bag but I had to get from point A to point B to barf. Instead of getting up from the table and making a quick run for safety, my feet got tangled into the legs of the chair and I found myself face down in the grass. To add insult to injury, instead of my brain connecting with my feet, I wound up on my hands and knees, puking my guts onto the ground in front of all of the fans!.
When I finished, I immediately broke down and cried. Who cared now? This was the worst day of my life!