Tracy looked over at Nichole and suppressed a laugh. Nic had this awful smile plastered on her face. Dan and Cath were oblivious. Tracy and Nic had thought Cath would be absolutely fantastic, according to Dan's rave. But quite the opposite was true. She was a charismatic psycho that had Dan wrapped around her thumb...not to mention the rest of her fingers. The car ride to London was excruciatingly painful, needless to say. They arrived at London in one piece. Hopefully, they'll stay that way for the rest of the day.
They toured the city for most of the day. The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben...all of them were amazing. Dan and Cath were clinging to each other the whole tour. Nic and Tracy had enough of their gooey eyes, so they feigned sickness and made Dan take them back to Birmingham.
"Bye Dan! Bye Cath! We're really sorry about this. But you know all about that Montezuma's Revenge, don't ya?" Tracy called out as they stepped out of the vehicle.
"Tracy, we're in England, not Mexico!" Nic elbowed her and whispered.
"Oops!" Tracy rolled her eyes.
"Bye, ya'll!" Nichole waved as she clutched her stomach.
They waved back and smiled sympathetically. Finally, they pulled out of the parking lot. Nic and Tracy made their way into the hotel, passing some of the polished, sophisticated hotel staff. A young bellhop bowed deeply and grinned lopsidedly at them. A maid smiled warmly. The girls looked at each other and raised an eyebrow.
"What's going on?" Nic asked Tracy.
"Oh, the Backstreet craze again," Lucy offered as she passed them. "The staff is excited...the last concert is today and that means no more fans loitering about since they're going to think that the Boys left after the concert tonight. But I have a secret...they're going to be here for the rest of the week! Don't tell anyone!"
"Oh, we won't," Tracy said. "Come on, Nic...we've got to get ready for tonight."
"Okay. Bye Lucy! I'll see you later!" Nic said.
"Alright, dear. Bye!" Lucy was already making her way across the lobby.
"Come on! Let's go get dressed!" Tracy tugged at Nic.
He clutched the Sea Life Centre pass and wrinkled his brow. "Why are you giving me this; and just one? Doesn't people usually get two tickets?"
"Well, I can't tell you exactly. Just think of me as your fairy godmother...and be there tomorrow! If you back out, you'll regret it!"
"But I have to go see some tower thing tomorrow with the rest of the guys!" Nick whined.
"Then get out of it! I'm telling you, you don't want to miss this. The tour starts at noon. You need to be out front five minutes till. I need to go. Remember what I said," Lucy stepped out of his room and pressed the elevator button.
Nick was intrigued by the whole idea. He decided to go and let his friends see the tower thing without him. Besides, he though most of them would back out anyway. Suddenly fluttering butterflies entered his stomach. Excitement consumed him. He usually didn't get this way unless something good was destined to happen. Trembling a bit with excitement, he ran to Brian's room to tell him what happened.
"Hey Frack," Brian opened the door and Nick's knock. "Why do you have that look of ecstatic joy on your face? You're getting it on with some chick and didn't tell me, right?"
"No."
"Okay, then...what's up?"
"I just got this pass to an aquarium from a desk clerk a minute ago."
"Yeah, so?"
"I just think it's odd. She singles me out and gives me a pass; one, not two!"
"Are you gonna go, man?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna bail on that Tower of Ben thing."
"Okay, if that's what you want to do," Brian shrugged his shoulders. "And anyway, it's Tower of London."
"Hey, is anything bothering you, man?" Nick raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Uh, no. I'm alright," Brian smiled, with a tinge of confusement. He had decided not to tell anyone about Tracy until he was good and ready. Lately, she's been the only thing occupying his mind. That's gotta stop, he thought firmly.
"Okay. I'm gonna go get something to eat...you want anything?"
"Nah, thanks anyway."
"Okay, see ya!"
Brian paced the room a bit and left to go look for the others. He found Joanna and Howie in a back room, making out like crazy. Their clothes were strewn across the floor...they were oblivious to everything but each other. In the midst of passion, they had also forgotten to shut the door.
Brian cleared his throat subtly, but effectively. They pushed one another away and stared up at Brian with mutual blushes creeping up. "Hey, Bri. Anything wrong?" Howie gave him the look of death.
"Nope. Just passing through. See ya'll later!" he laughed and bolted down the hall.
"You want to kill him or shall I do the honor?" Howie raised an eyebrow at Joanna.
"I don't need you barging in here defending that stupid idiot. He can take care of himself...and I've got a knot on my shoulder to prove it!" Kevin retorted.
"Hey means alot to the group, Kev, and so do you. He hasn't done anything to you. You're older than him, so start acting like it! I'm getting tired of this. It's putting a strain on all of our relationships! I'm sure as hell glad that we have a few days off after tonight. I don't think we could handle any more performances; and the comments about Nick's weight? That's got to stop!"
"But-" Kevin interrupted.
"No!" AJ roared. "I am not finished! Nick is not overweight. He's very upset that all the fans think so. And do you know why his fans think that? Because you uttered the words 'Nick is getting fat' on Rosie the other day. Maybe he has a pudgy stomach and not rock-hard abs like you do. So what? He's got more talent in one finger that you do in your whole body (Author's Note: hm...I might have to disagree with that statement. His body is mighty fine.). Show a little compassion for the guy! He's never been to a high school, has to put up with crap from you, doesn't get to see his family much...and he's only 19; the youngest out of the five of us! Yeah, I think he needs a break."
With that said, AJ stalked out of the room where a stupefied Kevin sat. He wasn't used to people standing up to him. And he figured it wouldn't be the last time either. Sighing, he picked up the telephone and proceeded to dial a number.
"Mom," he said a few minutes later. "Am I a pain in the ass?"
"Yeah, cool huh? Nic there's something I've been meaning to tell you...Oh hey, look! Nick's waving at you now!" she subtly changed the subject.
Nichole waved back and smiled shyly. The guys were sitting on stools, wearing brightly colored shirts, and singing gorgeously. The whole crowd of fans were swaying to the gentle melody of the ballad. Kevin looked so proud when it was his turn to sing. Nick was constantly checking to see if Nic was looking at him. The rest of the guys were absolutely oblivious. The Boys gave two encores and bid their fans goodnight at precisely 11pm. Brian gave Tracy a secretive look before he exited the stage.
"Well, it's over, Nic," Tracy said.
"Yeah, it was great wasn't it?"
"Yeah. I gotta go to the bathroom. Wait here for me okay?"
"Ok."
Tracy was gone for well over twenty minutes. Nic thought that maybe she had went to Dan's house, so she decided to go there. She exited the Arena and found that it was raining heavily. It came as a surprise because it had not rained since they had arrived. It didn't take long for Nic to get sopping wet. She threw her arm up and jumped into the middle of the street. A cab stopped immediately and she hopped in, heeding the driver's warning about getting the seats soaked. Before she closed the door, she thought she heard a male voice yell "Hey! Stop!", but she just passed it off as her imagination and gave the driver Dan's address.
The cab was leaving the hotel as Nick ran quickly toward it. He had screamed "Stop" as loud as he could, but the heavy rain drowned his voice out and the girl didn't hear him. Soon she and the cab was out of sight. He stood on the sidewalk, drenched from head to toes, shivering and yet, determined more than ever to finally get that girl.
"Oh, no problem," she claimed. She has went to the bathroom earlier and just in case Nichole followed her, she waited ten minutes and then went backstage to see Brian. She felt kind of bad for doing this to Nichole because she knew how much she loved Nick Carter, but she put that thought aside and concentrated on having fun with Brian. Nichole could make it back to the hotel okay.
"Is your friend still feeling bad? I wish she could have made it here and met everyone," Brian broke her thoughts.
"What? Yeah, she was feeling bad during the concert and left. She understood though," Tracy lied.
"Ah, ok. I told Nick she was going to be backstage tonight and he was really excited. It's too bad that she's ill."
"Yeah. Speaking of which, where is Nick?" she looked around.
"I dunno. Maybe looking for Nichole. You know, I never told him her name. He's gonna be so amused when he finds out her name is Nic too!" he chuckled.
"Yeah, well. Can we talk about something else?" he was making her feel more guilty by the second.
Brian gave her a funny look. "Sure," he replied. "It's raining outside."
Tracy laughed.
"What?"
"You are so funny Brian."
"Yeah, I know. Hey, I want to introduce you to the guys. Come on!" he tugged her to where AJ, Kevin, Howie and Joanna stood.
"Well, hey there little lady," AJ drawled. "Brian is this your latest conquest? You're a fan right? The same one that was at the club the other night?"
"Yeah, she's a fan," Brian picked up on his subtle hint...all too well remembering an earlier conversation with him about fans, LeighAnne and Nick. "This is Tracy, everyone. Tracy, this here is AJ, Kevin, Howie, and his girlfriend Joanna."
"It's nice to meet all of you," Tracy said sweetly.
"Nice to meet you too," they echoed.
"We gotta go ya'll," Brian started pulling Tracy along. "See you later," and to AJ, he mouthed, "I'm gonna kick your ass!", which was noticed by everyone except Tracy.
"Oh, yay," Joanna dryly commented. "Another war among the Backstreet Boys. At least my sweetie is staying out of it."
"That's what you think, Joanna," AJ smiled wickedly. "Howie is always with me, ain't that right, D?"
"Uh, yeah."
It's really nice to meet you, Cath. I've heard so much about you," Nichole said through clenched teeth.*Five Minutes Later*
It's good for tomorrow's tour. You need to be there at noon," Lucy was telling an astounded Nick.*At The Same Time*
"Look, I just think it's wrong," AJ muttered to an angry Kevin.*A Few Hours Later*
"Whoa, Tracy! Brian waved at you again!" Nichole exclaimed.*At The Same Time*
"I'm so glad you could make it," Brian took Tracy's elbow and whispered into her ear.
