Chapter 9-Uninvited Guest

Chris, JC, Joey, AJ, and Christy were in the kitchen the next morning when Nick came downstairs, looking distraught.

"What's with you?" AJ inquired. "Have a nightmare?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Nick muttered, grabbing a pack of blueberry Pop Tarts. "It was the one where I get mauled by girls at the grocery store after they see my credit card."

Chris shook his head. "I don't wanna know."

At that time, Kevin emerged from upstairs, his dark hair sticking out in all sorts off odd places. As he was met with odd glares, he said in a low voice, "Don't ask."

"I really don't care to know," Christy said.

A short while later, Candice came down, with hair head almost as bad as Kevin's. Chris snickered at the sight of her. Candice gave him an evil look. "Laugh again and I will kill you."

"Riiight. You look..."

"Good God." Candice said at the sight of Justin. The irratible curly blonde made his way down the stairs and shoved past the others to get to the cereal cabinet. "Dammit... where the hell are my Apple Jacks?!" he grunted.

Kevin's eyes grew glazed over as he stared at his cereal bowl, and at the empty green cereal box next to him. Quickly--before Justin could turn around--he shoved the box under the table and shoveled the last of the cereal into his mouth.

Justin turned around, still quite upset about not seeing his cereal in the cabinet. "Alright, who took my cereal?"

"Justin... babe..." Candice began, looking at Kevin as she spoke, "it's just cereal. We can get you some more."

"Besides, there's Oreo O's in here!" Chris said quickly, pulling out a full box of the cookie cereal. Justin grabbed the box from his friend's hands without even giving him a 'thank you'. He snatched a bowl from Joey's hands, a spoon from JC, and the milk from AJ, then flopped down into a chair.

"You're welcome, punk!" JC snapped, walking out the kitchen.

Candice rolled her eyes. "More and more I'm convinced that guys can get PMS."

Just then, the sound of the doorbell ringing resignated through the house. Everything seemed to stop, and Justin even stopped crunching on his Oreo O's. "Wofu wha if caw bof," he said with his mouth full.

"Repeat in English, please," Christy said.

Justin finished chewing and swallowed the rest of the food. "I said, wonder who it could be," he repeated slowly. "Couldn't you hear me?"

Christy rolled her eyes. "I'll get it," she said, getting up and heading to the front door. She looked out the peep hole and saw a blurry, dark-haired guy at the door. "Who the heck is that?" she wondered aloud, before flinging open the door. "AAAAAH!"

There, standing in front of her, was Carson Daly, with two large suitcases and a backpack. "Uhh, hi, you would be... one of the girls, I assume."

"Yeah. Uh, what're you doing here?" Christy stammered. "I mean, we had no idea you'd be dropping by."

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Carson explained. "MTV sent me up here to check up on you guys." He picked up his suitcases and came in.

"Hey, Christy, who's at the door?" Joey shouted.

"It's Carson!"

"Carson? Daly?" Chris replied.

"Yes, Chris, that Carson," Christy answered. "Come on in. The guest bedroom is upstairs and to your left--it's the first one you'll see."

"Thanks Christy," Carson said, grabbing the suitcases and heading upstairs.

Christy walked back to the kitchen, where Justin was devouring the last of his cereal. Candice rolled her eyes at him. "So Carson's here?" she said, dismay in her voice. "They could've sent Dave."

"But we got Carson, so we gotta live with it," Christy responded, heading upstairs.

"Right," Chris added.

Christy walked down the hall to her room, and was perplexed when she found the door open. That's funny... it was closed when I left to go downstairs. She walked in to find Carson looking around her room. "Excuse me!" she said, irritated. "What're you doing?"

"Oh! Uhh... checking to see if the rooms were as big as they said they were and if you got everything you requested," Carson said. "Apparently, you did... so I'm gonna go."

"Please do," Christy replied as he headed for the door.

*******

The next day Christy and Lance were in the living room, watching Rush Hour when AJ stepped in. "Hey, looking good," he said, tipping his sunglasses down ever so slightly.

"You'd better not be talking to me," Lance said.

AJ rolled his eyes and sat next to Christy. "So, babe, want to hang with me later?"

"No, I'd rather not," Christy said harshly. "I'm kinda watching something with Lance here, so would you please go find some other way to spend your time?"

"Come on... what's he got that I don't?"

Lance snorted as Christy turned to the tattooed guy next to her, obviously to tell him off yet again. "Oh, I don't know know... he's not a completely inconsiderate, perverted pain in the ass who only intends on screwing me."

"Anything else?" AJ asked.

"Yes... you're an egotistical brat who's always meddling in someone else's life, although they don't want you to."

AJ stood up and moved in front of the TV screen. "Okay, okay, so you think I'm obnoxious. But really, who would you rather see naked: me or him?"

Christy got to her feet and quickly kicked AJ in the crotch. "You stupid asshole! What the hell is WRONG with you?!"

Just then, a voice behind them said, "Smile for the cameras!"

All three heads turned to see Carson standing in the doorway. "What cameras?!" Christy shrieked.

"Erm... nevermind! I'm a VJ... it slipped." Carson laughed sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

Christy gave him an odd stare, suspecting that he was up to something. "Sure, Carson... sure." I'll be watching you, Daly, she thought as he exited the room.

*******

That night, after dinner was done, Shiara and Candice were out on the patio, dancing and singing to the radio as "The Thong Song" played.

"We have no life," Candice remarked.

"Yes you do," Christy replied, coming outside. "But they're just rather pitiful existances."

Candice laughed. "How's Carson doing?"

"I think he's up to something," Christy said as she walked over to where the other girls were standing.

"Up to what?" Shiara inquired.

"We-ell... the other day he was snooping around in my room for no good reason, and then today he saw me and AJ fighting with each other and he said 'smile for the cameras'. And right now he's holed up in his room making phone calls to someone."

"He could be calling his mom, Christy," Shiara said.

Candice shook her head. "I disagree. It does sound like Mr. Daly's up to something, and I say we investigate."

"Okay." The three girls went inside and upstairs to the guy's end of the hall. They stopped at the door to the guest bedroom, and they pressed their ears against the door to hear what Carson was saying.

"Yeah Dave, I've gotten all the cameras in place... no, they don't know about it. Is anyone what? Oh, romantically? I don't think so. AJ's flirting with the blonde girl, Christy... dammit, I don't know about the other ones! Justin, Nick? Beats me."

"Oh my shit... he's frickin' filming us!" Candice whispered.

"I knew he was up to something!" Christy seethed. She banged on the door. "Carson! We need to talk to you!"

"Hold on!" After a few minutes, Carson finally threw the door open, red-faced. "Hi, what's up?" he asked, smiling.

"We know what you're up to, Carson," Shiara said.

"And let me add that it's just plain wrong," Candice added. "You're not supposed to be filming us! It's in the contracts!"

"Shh!" Carson said, attempting to quiet the hysterical girls down. He was quite obviously failing at this.

"Shh my ass," Christy snarled, pushing him into the room, with the other girls behind her. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"Everyone wants to know what's goin' on down here!" Carson shouted. "So I thought, hey, why not plant a few cameras around the house and let it air on the webcams on the MTV site? Everyone would love it."

"It's against contract, Carson!" Candice screamed. "You could get your ass FIRED!"

"I have an idea..." Shiara said, leaning over to whisper the idea to the other girls. After awhile, they nodded in agreement, and grabbed Carson by the heels and began to drag him out the room and downstairs.

"HEY! HEY! Put me down!" Carson cried.

As soon as the girls got to the living room, they dropped Carson in front of the guys. "We have an announcement!" Christy said firmly.

"And that is...?" Joey asked, barely looking up from the TV.

"Carson's intent on filming us!" Candice rasped. "He's... planted hidden cameras everywhere!"

"What?!" the guys shouted.

"You heard right," Christy said. "Now how should we make him pay?"

"I know!" Chris shouted. "I say we throw him in the ocean and make him swim for the shore!"

"That's a little... harsh," Candice said. "I say we make him take out all the cameras."

"NOOO!" Carson shouted.

"Yes, you will," Shiara snapped. "Now go ahead and bring them all down to us."

An hour later, Carson had removed all twenty-five cameras from their hiding places, mumbling as he brought them to the ten guys and four girls. "Now what?" he said sharply.

"Now..." Justin began as he went and picked Carson up--"we kick you out the house!"

"Yeah!" the others shouted as Justin walked to the door and dumped Carson to the ground.

"And stay out!" Shiara yelled as she tossed the suitcases out at him.

"You can't do this to me!" Carson shouted. "I'm a VJ!"

At this, Christy tossed his backpack in his face. "Go be a VJ somewhere on the mainland then!" She slammed the door in Carson's face.

"Aww, guys, come on! I'm sorry!" Carson whimpered. "Please just let me stay inside... it's starting to rain! Aww man..."

chapter 11
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