Real World Danger
Authors note: My second Nsync FF, and a crossover with BSB.
Warning: A bit of violence as it progresses, but nothing too bad. Also, I like BSB, but some serious slamming is going on in this one. Fasten your seatbelts...
~/~/~/~/~/
9/9/99- MTV Awards
The opera house was overwhelming. There were so many people, bands, buses, cars, cameras, etc. The band's buses all had to drive to the back for bus parking. All the people made the short distance take forever. Buses were lined up for a quarter of a mile. "Oh, man, would you look at this mess?" The bus driver said to his popular passengers.
"I'm glad I'm not drivin'!" Chris replied as he looked out the window. The bus made slow progress to the band parking lot behind the opera house. They passed a group of teenage girls, who recognized the bus and it's driver.
"It's Nsync!" they screamed, causing cameras to go off from all over the place.
"We're being beckoned," Joey said as the energetic group pulled down the windows and leaned out, greeting their fans as the bus crept along, continuing to the parking lot.
The guys were waving at all the girls when suddenly, the screaming doubled. "Guess were more popular than we think," Justin said, confused.
Then they realized some of the girls were looking behind them. Chris stretched further out the window and looked behind them. "Uh, guys, we have company," he said as he came back in, causing the girls to scream for him to come back. He sat with one hand on the side of his head as the rest of the group leaned out the windows.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Nick Carter yelled from the bus behind them.
"Oh, great, the boy wonder is here," J.C. said, only loud enough for the rest of Nsync could hear. "What's up with you?" He yelled to Nick, plastering a fake smile on his face.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Lance groaned as Nsync watched their fans turn to the Backstreet Boys's bus.
"I'll show them!" Chris said, standing up and leaning out the window again. Then he pulled his shirt off and threw it out to the girls.
The screams quadrupled as the flashes brightened the sunny day even more. The rest of the guys cracked up at Chris's spontaneous gesture then followed his action.
Now all the cameras, both TV and still, were fixed on the five hot guys hanging out the windows with no shirts.
*^*^*^*^*^*
"Well that sucks," AJ said as the Backstreet Boys watched all their fans lose interest. Then, he got an idea. "Okay," he yelled out the window, "We can beat that!" He pulled back in the widow and undid his belt.
"You wouldn't," Howie said, smiling.
"Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do," AJ replied, taking his pants off. He leaned back out the window and threw his pants out, turning the attention back on them.
"For the fans," Nick said as he stripped his pants and threw them out. The rest of the group's pants followed, causing near-fights between the girls.
They turned to see Nsync's surprised faces Brian yelled, "Makin' history here boys! Watch and learn!"
*^*^*^*^*
"God, they're so in love with themselves," Justin muttered to his friends. Now the bus had reached the underground parking lot where all the groups' buses parked. They came back inside and searched for more shirts to put on. Busta sat, watching as his friends all got ready for the awards. He hopped up on the seat his daddy was just at and looked out the window. A bus pulled up beside them and the guys inside were giving each other high-fives. He whimpered as one of the guys with blonde hair looked at him.
"What's up, pup?" Chris asked as he sat beside Busta. "Oh, I see," he said, giving Nick a fake smile and waving. "Don't worry, the ugly little boy can't hurt you." Confused, Nick returned the smile then joined his friends in search of pants.
Busta turned and licked Chris's face before he hopped down to find his other friends. Chris continued his search of a shirt with the rest of the guys. They still had two hours before the awards and decided to put on the tuxes closer to the concert. After they all found shirts, they headed outside to get dinner by means of limo.
"Hey, Chris, normally I wouldn't care, but those are 500 dollar tuxes in there. Did you let Busta go?" Justin asked, referring to the many accidents they've had because Busta didn't get to go to the bathroom.
"Oh, yeah," Chris said as he stepped back up on the bus. "Here boy!" The little Pug came running from the back of the bus where it slept on Chris's bed. "You gotta go pee?" Busta sat in front of Chris and barked once. "Okay, go on then," Chris said as he stepped aside.
Busta ran out and began looking for a place to go. Thankfully, the Backstreet Boys were already gone. Nsync didn't hate them. In fact, they shared a couple good memories. They just got so damn annoying. It was more like a fight between siblings, where you didn't mean anything, you just wanted to get under their skin. Later, they would all make up and hang out together.
"Uh, Chris..." J.C. started.
Chris looked to see what J.C. was looking at and saw Busta lifting his leg on the tire of the BSB bus. After looking around for a member of the band and not finding one, Chris whispered loudly, "Good boy!"
The rest of the guys laughed as Busta finished and came back to Chris. "Good boy!" Chris repeated as he petted Busta. Then Busta obediently hopped back in the bus and Chris shut the door.
"Okay, I'm set," Chris said to his friends.
They all loaded into the waiting Limo and started to drive off when Joey yelled, "Who the hell did that?"
The others looked and saw what he was pointing at. Someone had tapped a big piece of paper over the 'N' so the side of the bus said 'Outta' Sync.
Taking a deep breath, J.C. said, "Stop the limo. We gotta take care of something."
~`~`~`~`~`~
"So where you guys goin'?" the limo driver asked his five passengers.
"To Hard Rock Cafe," Kevin replied. The members of Backstreet Boys were all in their limo, heading to diner before the award show back at the Music hall. It was a bit of a drive, since everything closer had been booked up. But the manager had promised that they would have a peaceful meal, without any screaming girls. He said that he wouldn't let anyone under 18 in without a parent.
"Man, I would have loved to see their faces!" Nick said, still laughing from when A.J. and Brian put the sign on Nsync's bus.
Brian began to smile as he remembered too. "But we can expect a return hit, so keep your eyes peeled."
"They're to stubborn to take that lying down," Howie stated, laughing.
"Why can't you guys leave them alone?" Kevin asked. "What they did they ever do?"
"They kicked us out of first place on MTV's TRL, for one," A.J. recalled.
"Oh. Well, I guess it's okay then," Kevin replied.
"Okay, guys, here's your stop," the limo driver announced as they stopped in front of the restaurant.
The place was crowded, but not as bad as further in town. The guys got out and headed in as Kevin thanked the driver. They were met at the door and escorted to a table where they were all given menus. True to his word, the manager was rejecting all the girls with no parents, leaving the place fairly quiet, except for the occasional request for an autograph. As they sat and were trying to decide what to order, five more men were escorted to a nearby table.
"Well look what the cat dragged in," A.J. muttered into his glass of water. The rest of the group turned and saw the objects of his teasing.
The other group didn't see the Boys yet and were taking their seats. "Hey, guys, I thought they weren't letting girls in here," Nick said loudly, looking at Nsync.
A big smile crept over each of them as A.J. nearly choked on his water with laughter.
The members of the rival band looked up and when they noticed BSB, got a look of annoyance and shock on each of their faces. "Why don't you go get a tattoo or something?" Chris asked teasingly.
"Hey, I resemble that remark," A.J. shot back.
"Ooh, using big words now, are we?" Justin teased.
"Hey, little boy, you wanna run next door and see which one of us can get into that bar?" A.J. defended.
"Okay, guys, that's enough," J.C. started.
"Oh, and did we thank you yet for that lovely sign?" Joey asked aggressively.
"You liked that?" Nick asked, laughing again.
"Almost as much as Busta liked your tire," Chris shot back.
"Who's Busta?" Howie asked.
"You know, that fleabag they keep with them," A.J. answered.
"Hey, you wanna come over here and say that?" Chris asked, straightening up in his seat.
"Come on," A.J. threatened, raising his hands.
"Kevin, do mind keeping you boys on a leash?" J.C. asked calmly, he and Lance staying out of it.
"Sorry, man. They're not mine. Could you tell your guys to stop provoking mine?" Kevin replied, sincerely.
"Yeah guys, cut it out. Your acting like little kids," Brian added.
Chris leaned back in his seat, still eyeing A.J.
A.J. mimicked the action, mouthing, "later," with a sharp nod of his head.
Instead of replying, Chris buried his face in the menu. A few minutes later, the waiter came and took their orders. The two groups talked peacefully within themselves, except for the occasional judgmental glances across the tables. Both groups paid and finished at the same time, and headed out. Kevin and Brian held back the rest of their group and let Nsync weave their way through the tables first.
Outside, J.C. proposed they take a walk together to sort things out. So they headed down the street, followed by four bodyguards. They walked two by two, Howie and Joey first, followed by Justin and Nick, then Lance and Brian, A.J. and Chris next, followed up by J.C. and Kevin. They were actually getting along peacefully, and had mostly made up. A.J. and Chris were still testing the waters with each other, but no major fights had broken out.
They had stopped to look at some cool shirts in a strip mall window when it happened. Shots rang out through the crowd and before anyone realized what happened, A.J., Howie and Chris were down. Screams echoed through the panicked crowd as everyone jumped to action. They all dropped down to get out of the line of fire as the bodyguards pulled out their guns and blindly returned fire. The remaining band members frantically pulled their still conscious, downed members around the corner, into the alley. Panicked, they searched for the cause of the blood stained sidewalk. As shots continued to ring out, they determined A.J. and Chris had been struck on opposite shoulders, while Howie had been hit in the thigh. A round of 'are you okay?'s started as one of the bodyguards slipped around the corner to join them.
In his professional voice, he asked over the shots, "Is everyone all right?"
"Of course we're not okay! We just got shot at!" Justin yelled as he watched Chris struggle to sit up, only to fall back on his injured arm. The shots finally stopped as Nick helped A.J. to lean against the alley wall. Panic-sticken, Howie pulled himself up to sit beside A.J., Kevin at his side. Desperately, Chris tried to sit up again, this time Joey and Lance at his side. The remaining bodyguards rounded the corner, and got to work. All their minds were full of questions; too many to be spoke. They dully listened to the bodyguards as they treated the injured men.
It was all a blur. At one point, someone called the police and paramedics. Eyes bounced from one bloodstain to the next. Darkness was approaching, confusing blood with shadows. After suffering a panic attack, Lance passed out, narrowly missing a pool of Chris's blood. The guards gave instructions to the shaken band members on how to slow the blood while they worked on each of the shot men one at a time. They tore Kevin's volunteered shirt into strips and tied two tightly around Howie's leg, causing him to wince. Brian held his hand to A.J.'s shoulder; as J.C. did the same for Chris.
"Your a lucky group of men," one of the Backstreet Boys's guards said. "Looks like your all going to live."
As they moved to help A.J. and the incredibly calm Chris, three ambulances screamed to a halt at the end of the alley. The paramedics ran out and quickly gathered around the panicked singers. The guards rattled off the statistics of the injured men, leaving the others to listen for words they knew. From what they could gather, they were all indeed going to live. A.J had some damage to his muscles, but the bullet passed through, unlike Chris. Howie also still had a bullet burrowed in him, and they all would require surgery. A crowd was gathering, adding to the confusion. Not a word was spoken between the panicked band members as the paramedics loaded A.J., Howie, and Chris into ambulances. Joey helped the now-awakening Lance get to his feet and get in the back of Chris's ambulance. J.C. rode in front, and Justin rode in the front of Howie's. Kevin rode in back with Howie and a paramedic, and Brian rode with A.J. The bodyguards convinced Nick to let them take him to the hospital, even though he argued the whole time about wanting to go with Howie. So off they headed, in the direction of the Metropolitan Hospital.
~>~>~>~>~>
"How ya holdin' out?" Brian asked.
"I'm okay," A.J. said, trying not to show his pain. The paramedic worked in the small space around them, getting A.J. hooked up to an IV and getting his insurance company. Brain's eyes drifted to the blood soaked shirt in a corner of the ambulance and thanked God no one had gotten killed. He laid a hand on his friend's uninjured left shoulder and wondered about the others.
~>~>~>~>~>
The paramedic worked as best as he could with both Joey and the pale Lance in the back with him. Lance sat shrunken in a corner, shaking. Joey tried to comfort both him and Chris, who still had not said a word, except for short answers to the medics' questions. J.C. sat in silence up front; hoping everything turned out okay and promising revenge for his friends.
~>~>~>~>~>
Howie also remained fairly calm, trying to take the worry off of Kevin. He offered a weak smile every once in a while, letting Kevin lighten his worried gaze for a few minutes until another wave of pain spasmed through Howie's thigh.
"Five more minutes, guys. Hold on," the medic instructed, while inserting an IV in Howie's vein.
"You're gonna make it," Kevin said softly to Howie as he patted Howie's shoulder.
"You can count on it, "Howie replied.
~>~>~>~>~>
Once at the hospital, the guys were gently unloaded from the ambulance and wheeled into the huge hospital. The others tried to keep up, but were held back as their friends were rushed into the ER They were seated outside, in the waiting room as the doctors raced with time to help save the lives of the popular men. A few minutes later, Nick came running in to find his friends.
"How are they?" he asked, in near tears.
"Here, have a seat," Kevin offered, motioning to a seat next to him. "They're in the ER now, then they'll go to the O.R."
"But they're gonna live, right?" Nick asked hopefully.
"They're going to be fine," J.C. comforted from three seats down.
"Chris didn't look so good," Joey spoke up.
"Of course not, he-" Brian started.
"No, I mean, he wasn't even talking to me," Joey shot back.
"Everyone reacts differently," a doctor explained as she walked up to them.
The guys all turned to face her as Nick asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Are they all right?"
"Yes, they're fine," the doctor said with a slight smile. She had rarely seen such a big group of men that were bonded so closely. "In fact," she continued, "they are all in surgery now. Thanks to your fast acting, you helped us out quite a bit. Good job."
The guys gave a sigh of relief, as they were finally able to believe their friends were going to make it. "How long will they be in there?" Kevin asked.
"I don't really know," she replied. "I'll have someone come get you when you can go see them. I will go over their charts with you now, though. Starting with uh," she started as she flipped through the charts. "Howie Dorough?" she asked, looking up.
"Ours," Brian claimed.
"Okay, well, Howie is having surgery to remove the bullet from his thigh. It looks pretty good, he has some torn muscle which will put him on crutches for awhile, but the bullet missed all the major arteries." The guys nodded for her to continue. "And next I have a Chris Kirkpatrick?" she asked, looking up again.
"He's ours," J.C. said.
"Okay," she said, making a note before continuing, "Chris is undergoing surgery to remove a bullet from his shoulder. It pierced the shoulder blade and stopped in the muscle, they were hit from the back, I presume?"
"Yeah," Justin said dully, replaying the whole incident in his mind. Seeing his friends go down, nothing he could do...
"It's not that much damage, considering," she continued, breaking Justin of his thoughts. "He'll be in a cast and sling for awhile, along with some pain, I'm afraid," she finished.
"What about A.J.?" Kevin broke in.
"McLean?" she asked, flipping to the next chart.
"Yeah," Kevin said.
"Well, it seems A.J. made out best of all," she said, looking up with a smile. "The bullet passed through closer to the spine, but missing it, and dodging the ribs and lungs. This man must be blessed," she finished.
They all smiled in spite of the situation. "I didn't get your name," Joey remembered.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Doctor Kravitz," she replied.
"Thanks, Doctor," Kevin said before she smiled and walked back to the desk. Then the bodyguards appeared coming through the doors.
They walked over to the relieved group and announced, "We got him."
"The shooter? You got the shooter?" J.C. asked.
"Yup. Some escaped criminal that had a touch of schizophrenia. Didn't even know who he was shooting at."
"Is he dead?" Lance said, speaking for the first time since the alley.
"Yeah, he's dead," the guard replied. "Two shots to the head."
"Good," Lance replied, earning concerned glances from the rest of the groups.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Dr. Kravitz said as she approached the group. "But A.J. is out of surgery. You can follow Nurse Sanders to his room."
"Thanks," Brian said as they all got up.
J.C. pulled the Doctor aside as the others followed the nurse. "I was wondering if you could look at Lance."
"Is he hurt?" she asked, concerned.
"No, no. He just seems a little... disturbed by this whole thing. I mean, we all are upset, but he's not himself. He had a panic attack and passed out. He hasn't really been himself since."
"Okay, I'll talk to him," the doctor said with a smile.
"Thanks."
"You better go catch up," she said as she nodded down the hallway to where the others had disappeared. "Room 504," she called after him as he ran to catch up.
~>~>~>~>~>
He arrived in the room just as A.J. was waking up. "How ya feeling?" Kevin asked.
A.J. smiled, "I'm feeling peachy."
"Glad to hear it," said Brian.
"You guys don't have to hover over me, you know," A.J. complained groggily.
"Who's hovering?" J.C. teased.
"No, seriously," A.J. started, cut off by a yawn. "I'm fine. They said I could get out in a few hours. I just wanna take a quick nap..."
The guys found themselves staring at a sleeping A.J., who fell asleep in mid-sentence.
"Well I guess that's all we're gonna be hearing from him," Justin said.
"We better go," Brian said. "Besides, this place is bringing back some old memories that I'd rather not relive now."
Kevin nodded and the group headed out. A while ago, Brian had heart surgery to repair a hole in his heart. He was fully recovered, but didn't like to talk about it much. The group headed back to the waiting room to wait for Chris or Howie to get out of surgery. Dr. Kravitz came and pulled Lance aside while the rest of the guys tried to read a magazine.
"Your friend said he was worried about you," she said. "Did you want to talk about anything?"
"Not really," Lance mumbled. Truthfully, he didn't even know what was bothering him.
"I can try to help if you'll just tell me. Is it something from your childhood?" she prodded.
"No. I don't really know. I guess I just don't see how this all happened. I mean, we had bodyguards, and not to mention we were in a huge crowd. I don't understand how someone can be that hateful and not even care if they kill someone. It drives me crazy."
"I understand," the Dr. replied, laying her hand on Lance's shoulder. There's nothing you can do to stop it. Just remember that you helping just by giving all your fans a ray of sunshine by singing, and don't let anything stop you."
Smiling, Lance replied, "Okay. Thanks. I'll remember that."
They were interrupted by another nurse approaching Dr. Kravitz. "Mr. Dorough is out of surgery," she announced, getting eager looks from the men.
"Thanks. You can go ahead and show these men to his room." she replied as the guys got up.
The nurse turned to the men and said, "Okay, follow me."
~>~>~>~>~>
Howie sat propped up in his bed, his leg elevated slightly and in a cast. He brightened as his friends entered.
"So, how's it hanging?" Justin asked, unable to resist.
"Haha. Aren' t we funny?" Howie replied sarcastically. "Actually, I don't feel too bad. How's A.J. and Chris?"
"A.J. is fine. He got really lucky," Kevin said.
"And Chris?"
"We don't know. He's still in surgery," Justin said. "He's got a hole in his shoulder blade."
"Oh, man. Well tell him I'm praying for him. Man, I wish I could get out of here. This sucks." Howie said, impatiently.
"Live with it," Brian replied. "You gotta get better. Your leg doesn't hurt?"
"Not now. I'm so pumped full of drugs I can't feel anything," Howie replied, smiling.
"It's probably better that way," Brian teased.
Then a nurse entered the room. "I'm here to take Mr. Dorough's stats. You guys should probably go. I'll call you when I'm done, if he's not sleeping."
"Oh, okay. We'll see you later, Howie," Kevin said before he and the guys left the room. They headed back out to the waiting room to wait for Chris. They all were growing worried with each passing minute.
"Listen, Nick, I'm really sorry about what I said earlier, I-" Justin started.
"Hey, forget about it. I'm sorry too. I guess we were just getting cocky about the awards. Hey-" Nick remembered.
"We still got about half an hour." J.C. said, looking at his watch.
"What are we gonna do?" Nick asked. "We are suppose to perform tonight, and I really don't think that's possible right now."
"Don't worry, it's probably all over the news by now," Kevin replied.
"But we should still make an appearance before the rumors start to fly," Brian added.
"You gotta point. I hate leaving Chris and Howie by themselves, but they said A.J. could get out in a few hours. We could run down there and come back. We don't have to stay." J.C. added.
"Okay, sounds like a plan," Kevin said. "But only if we can see Chris before then."
"Right." J.C. agreed.
The guys sent Joey and Lance down to the gift shop to get some new magazines while they waited. The two also stopped by the cafeteria to get some bottles of water. They returned, grateful that the bodyguards had been blocking the media and fans, as they were all waiting outside. Lance and Joey returned, and it was another 20 min. before nurse Sanders came to get them.
"Mr. Kirkpatrick is out of surgery now, if you'd like to see him-" she didn't have to finish, as all of the guys jumped up and waited for her to show them the way. "Right. Follow me," she finished.
~>~>~>~>~>
"He's still a little out of it," the nurse warned as they entered Chris's room. Chris was still asleep. "The surgery went well, but there's nothing we could do to fix the hole in his scapula. It won't make him handicapped in any way, so we saw no point. He should wake up anytime now."
The guys gathered around Chris and nervously talked amongst themselves. "So, that'll be kind of cool," Nick said hesitantly, trying to make light of the situation. "It'll kind of like a battle scar or something."
The remark earned a slight smile from the rest of the guys. "You know where he got that scar above his eye?" J.C. asked without looking up.
"Where?" Brian asked softly.
J.C. laughed a little before answering, "He was chasing his sister around the house and ran right into the wall."
The guys laughed as Joey added, "He also is the only one of us to have fallen out of the bunkbeds on the bus!"
"Sounds like him," Kevin said, laughing.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chris asked, slowly opening his dark brown eyes.
"Chris!" J.C. asked, surprised.
"Who else?" he asked, smiling.
"How ya feeling?" Joey asked.
"I'm fine, just a little sore. Look, do you guys have to tell them everything?" he teased.
"Okay, we'll stop," Justin said. "Oh, wait, he also likes green M&Ms the best."
Chris started to raise his right arm to his face, then yanked it down in pain. "You guys..." he continued, wincing slightly.
"You okay?" J.C. asked, seeing his friend's pain.
"Yeah, just forgot about that," Chris said, smiling at his friend's concern. "How's A.J. and Howie?"
"Better than you," Kevin said. "A.J. got really lucky, and he'll be out tonight. Howie will be on crutches for awhile, but it's not that bad."
"How is that better than me?" Chris asked, confused.
"Well, it seems you now have a hole in your shoulder blade. They didn't want to fix it because it would be worse than if they left it, and since it won't affect you anyways..." Justin said.
"How long will I be in here?" he asked.
"We don't know. Probably overnight." Joey said.
"Wow. What about the awards?" Chris suddenly remembered. "Don't miss it on my account."
"We were going to go after we saw you," J.C. said.
"What if you didn't?" Chris asked.
"You wouldn't really have made us stay in that waiting room all night, would you?" Brian teased.
"No. I'd have to get out to tell you guys to leave," Chris remarked, smiling through a yawn.
"That's our signal to leave," J.C. said, smiling.
"Yes. Go get us some awards," Chris urged.
"Okay, we'll be back later," J.C. said as they turned to leave.
"Don't come back with out them!" Chris yelled after them.
~>~>~>~>~>
The trip to the VMA's was a nightmare. The reporters dogged them the whole way in, asking about the earlier events. The guys repeated, 'We'll tell you on the show,' but it did no good. Chris Rock, the host, could sense the audiences concern and let both groups go on first.
They began their speech.
"I guess you all heard about what happened today," J.C. started. "An escaped convict opened fire on us while we were in a crowd on the street. " The audience was silent as he continued; "A.J., Howie, and Chris were injured and are now in the hospital. They all will be good as new in a couple days, but this has taught us all a lesson none of you should forget. This world is getting more dangerous everyday and no one is safe, not at school, not at work, not even while going shopping. There are actually people out there who can kill in cold blood and not give a damn who they kill. It's almost turned into a sport." J.C. looked down and motioned for someone else to continue.
Brian stepped up to the microphone and blinked at the blinding lights. He continued, "We would just like everyone to stop and look around. Look at the world you're creating for you children. This is not nature, not the survival of the fittest. We lived here for hundreds of years, why is this violence starting? You can't blame one someone else, or new technology that's meant to prolong lives. Do colors and sports teams really mean so much we have to kill for them? The things that give us joy and entertainment? This needs to stop right now."
With that, the seven men stepped off the stage into the spellbound audience. They silently made their way back to the hospital, this time without the mass of reporters following.
IN MEMORY OF EVEYONE WHO HAS DIED AN UNESSISARY AND UNTIMELY DEATH.
Finnis
You are listening to BACKSTREET BOYS: LARGER THAN LIFE
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