Written by: Stephanie (Darkcrystal)
Feedback to: padawan98@hotmail.com
PHASE ONE - BARF IN A JAR
“Nick! Brian! Don’t make me open this door!” Kevin shouted from the hotel hallway, banging his fist on Brian and Nick’s room door. “Get moving guys! We have an interview in an hour! Move it!” Kevin heard the lock click open and was then greeted by an angry, yet concerned looking Nick Carter.
PHASE TWO - COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET Nick and Brian walked out of the hotel doors and onto the side
walk. PHASE THREE - PLASTIC BALLS “They’re gone,” Nick announced from his and Brian’s hiding spot, “They ran right passed us.”
“Oh good, at least you’re ready to go,” Kevin said, “Where’s Bri? His he ready too? We gotta be down at the van in ten minutes, so he better—”
“Kev, shh,” Nick shushed him.
“What?” Kevin whispered, giving Nick a quizzical look.
“It’s Brian, he’s…uh, kinda out of it. You know, sick.”
“Really?” Kevin raised an eyebrow, obviously not convinced. He peered over Nick’s shoulder and caught eye of Brian in bed, mumbling and tossing slightly in his sleep. Kevin marched over to Brian’s bed and forcefully ripped the covers off of him. “Okay Brian, you can stop acting now.”
“Kev, don’t do that, he’s—”
“Please Nick, stop covering for him.”
“But Kev really, he’s…not well. He’s been—”
“MOMMY!” Brian called from his curled position in bed, “Mommy, I’m c-cold.”
‘Mommy?’ Kevin mouthed to Nick, confusion evidently written on his face. “Mommy!” Bri crawled to the right side of his bed and hugged on tightly to Nick’s arm, “Mommy, I’m cold!”
“Uh, here Brian,” Nick pulled the covers over him, “Alright now let go of…mommy.” Nick pulled his hand away from Brian’s firm grasp.
“Now wait a second,” Kevin said staring from Brian to Nick, “He thinks you’re his mommy?”
“I told you he was out of it.”
“You don’t expect me to fall for this, do…” Kevin started but was cut off by Brian bolting for the bathroom. Brian ran inside and slammed the door shut. Kevin and Nick followed him and could hear the not so pleasant sounds of Brian throwing up. Kevin opened the door and saw Brian kneeling beside a ‘full’ toilet. He flushed it and went to Brian’s side. “Sorry I didn’t believe you were sick, Brian. Are you okay?”
Brian shook his head no, “I just want Mommy.”
“Nick, help me get him back into bed.” Kevin and Nick got on either side of Brian and helped him walk back to bed. Once Brian was situated, Kevin announced his plans. “Alright Brian, me and the others are gonna head to the interview without you. We’ll get the stuff on the schedule done as quick as we can. We’ll be back by six or so, okay? You just rest up.”
“Mommy stay?” Kevin sighed.
“No, Nic…er…Mommy has to go.”
“But, but, but…”
“Kev,” Nick interjected, “I much as I would hate to stay with the Puking God, I think I should. I mean, I don’t think we should leave him alone in his…um…condition.” Kevin remained silent for a moment, thinking it over, then responded.
“I guess you’re right. I’ll tell AJ and Howie what’s going on,” Kevin combed his hand through Brian’s hair, “Call, me if he gets any worse.”
“Sure thing, Kev,” Nick walked him out the door. He stood in the doorway until he made sure Kevin was gone down the elevator. Once the elevator doors closed, Nick shut the door and locked it. He looked to Brian, who was now out of bed and halfway dressed.
“You called me Mommy?” Nick shook his head, “Didn’t you think that was a bit much?”
“Hey, Kev believed I was really sick, didn’t he?” Brian answered back, while pulling a sweatshirt over his head. Brian quickly pulled on his shoes and walked over to Nick. “We officially have the day off,” Brian smiled and clapped Nick on the back, “Great plan Frack.”
“Of course it was great,” Nick puffed himself up, “it was my plan after all.”
“Well, your plan would’ve fallen through if it weren’t for my genius acting,” Brian placed his hand dramatically over his forehead.
“Or the fake vomit,” Nick shoved a container marked ‘Barf in a Jar’ into the hotel desk drawer.
“Yeah, that too.”
“Alright Bri, enough talk,” he tossed Brian his disguise (baseball cap and sunglasses), and put his own on, “time for Phase Two of Operation Sick Day to begin.”
Nick took a deep breath and smiled, “Smell that?”
Brian sniffed at the air and ventured a guess, “Car exhaust?”
“No,” Nick lightly smacked Brian on the shoulder, “Freedom. Sweet, sweet freedom.”
“Riiight,” Brian rolled his eyes, “So, where to first?” Nick thought for a second.
“We could go play some b-ball at the park.”
“Well, as much I like that idea; we don’t have a basketball.”
“Well, somebody’s gotta be down there,” Nick thought, “Maybe we can get in on a game.”
“I guess we can try.”
“Yeah, you’ll see Bri, it’ll be fun.”
~ ` ~
“That was some fun, Nick,” Brian remarked sarcastically. The pair was fortunate to have been welcomed into a game by two other young men, but unfortunately these two men, as Brian put it, were ‘NBA worthy.’ Nick and Brian lost. Miserably.
“Come on Bri, it wasn’t that bad,” Nick said to Brian as they were leaving the park.
“We lost by 16 points!” Brian shouted, “And not to mention that little fall.” He cringed as he rubbed his sore bottom.
“You have to admit it was better than interviews and boring work.”
“Yeah, I’ll give ya that,” Brian agreed.
“Alright, so now what?” Nick asked.
“How about we catch a movie; then get some lunch?”
“Sounds good,” Nick smiled, “but I get to pick the movie.”
The two hailed a cab and drove off to the movie theater. After a bit of arguing in front of the ticket seller, they finally agreed on a movie. Brian headed into the theater to save the seats while Nick got the popcorn and sodas. Brian got two seats on the aisle and sat impatiently waiting for Nick. Or more importantly, the popcorn.
Then Brian heard a scream.
Make that screams.
Female screams.
Some were shouting a name. Brian listened closely.
“Oh no,” his eyes grew wide, “Nick.” Brian quickly stood up to see Nick running down the aisle with about ten screaming teenage girls in hot pursuit.
“Briii-aan!” Nick yelled, scanning the seats for his friend. Brian waved his hands and stepped out in to the walkway.
“Nick, what’s goin’ on?!” Brian yelled as Nick quickly approached him.
“Birthday party!” Nick screamed. Brian’s eyes widened and he joined Nick, running out of the theater and out into the parking lot.
“You don’t think they’ll follows us, do you?” Brian asked. Both Backstreet Boys were crouched behind a car, trying to catch their breath.
“Does that answer your question?!” Nick pointed to the hoard of girls that just burst through the door.
“Run!” they both screamed in unison, and tore out of the parking lot.
The odd chase continued into downtown. On the sidewalk Nick and Brian bumped into various people while running for their ‘lives,’ (or at least not to get chunks of hair pulled out or clothes ripped off). Brian started to lag behind Nick, his shorter legs beginning to play in.
“Nick!” Brian shouted; he suddenly couldn’t see him anymore. He wasn’t that far ahead of me, was he? “Nick! N—Ahh..mmhm!” someone pulled Brian into a store and covered his mouth with his/her hand.
“Chill Frick, it’s me.”
“Nahhim?” Brian guessed it was Nick through his hand.
“Yeah,” Nick removed his hand, “Come on, we can hide out in here.”
‘Here’ was a small clothes store; their best option for a place to hide was in the back. Nick frantically searched for a hiding place. He spotted it, a closet marked ‘Employees Only’. Nick suddenly heard the screams getting closer. He had two choices: 1. Break a store rule, or 2. Get trampled. Hmm? Trampled? Or not get trampled? Trampled? Or…Wait! Why am I even debating this?! Nick opened the door and got inside, “Bri, quick, get in.”
Inside the cramped, VERY CRAMPED closet Nick and Brian could hear who they guessed was the stor manager threaten to call the police if those crazy girls didn’t leave. Things soon quieted down.
“Bri, open the door,” Nick told him.
“Maybe I could if you’d get your elbow out of my face,” Brian grunted.
“Oh yeah, and what about your knee sticking in me leg.”
“Just back up a little so I can turn around and open the door.”
“Back up?” Nick questioned with a laugh, “Brian, we’re packed in here like sardines.” Brian sighed.
“Fine.” Brian tried to turn his body around to face the door. In the process getting pained yells from Nick.
“Ouch! Brian! Ah, that’s my foot!”
“Cool it, would ya,” Brian shushed him, “I’ll have us out in a second.” He turned the handle and pushed. The door didn’t open. “Oh no,” he pushed at it more fiercely. “Damn it,” he swore.
“Frick, what’s wrong?” Nick asked, “Just open the door.”
“I’m trying. I think it locks from the inside.”
“Oh God, well, kick it or something.” Brian quickly drew back his foot to kick the door, but mistakenly hit Nick’s shin with his heel.
“OW! Brian! You idiot!”
“Hey, you told me to kick it,” Brian defended.
“The door!” Nick yelled, “Not me! Now open the door!”
“Nick, calm down.”
“Calm down? I don’t wanna be stuck in here with you! I mean, I love ya Bri, but this is a little too close for comfort.”
“Tell me about it,” Brian agreed, “Wait, I got an idea. I’ll bang on the door and someone will hear it and get us the heck outta here.”
“I can help,” Nick reached his arm forward and pounded on the door.
“Ow! Nick! My ear!” Brian yelled, “Would you just let me-EEE!” The door suddenly swung open, and Brian fell forward landing with a thud on the rough carpet. Nick unfortunately also fell forward landing on top of Brian.
“Auhh. N-ick. Get. Off.” Brian choked out. Nick quickly scrambled off.
“Sorry?” Nick smiled pitifully extending his hand. Brian glared at him but accepted Nick’s hand and allowed Nick to help him up. Brian stood and dusted himself off. They both finally noticed the store clerk that had let them out.
“Oh uh, hi,” Nick greeted her. “Thanks for getting us outta there,” he began to explain, “You see, we—”
“I don’t want to know,” she waved her hands, “Your personal time is your business. Just please leave the store.”
“Great Nick, she thinks we’re gay.”
“At least she didn’t recognize us.”
“…Backstreet Boys…” They heard her mumble as the walked away.
“What was that about not recognizing us?” Brian glared at Nick.
“Just forget about it Bri. She obviously doesn’t care. Let’s just leave.” Brian and Nick walked up to the store door, and Brian peeked outside. He quickly pulled his head back in and gave Nick a nervous look.
“Those fans are waiting outside. And now there’s even more of ‘em.” Nick poked his head out the door and looked down the street, BINGO.
“Get ready to run,” he motioned to Brian.
“What? Are you crazy?”
“No,” Nick smiled, “I got an idea.”
“Good,” Brian sat up, causing the multicolored plastic balls to tumble around him; Nick followed suit. Brian looked around disgusted, “Well, we’ve officially reached an all time low.”
“What are you talking about?” Nick questioned.
“Nick, we’re hiding in a McDonald’s Play Land ball pit.”
“Well, we did lose those girls didn’t we?” Nick reasoned, “And while we’re here we can grab some lunch.” They crawled out of the play land and entered the ‘restaurant’.
“Grab a booth and I’ll get us the grub,” said Brian, “The usual, right?”
“Yeah,” Nick answered and walked off to find a seat. There weren’t many people there, but he picked a booth in the back just to be safe.
Brian got the food; thanking God the guy at the register didn’t recognize him, after losing his (and Nick’s) disguise in the chase. He spotted Nick and began to walk over. Brian causally looked at the other customers, and he spotted someone who he really didn’t want to see. It was Kevin! Brian froze in mid step, nearly dropping his tray. Kevin was looking right at him, but turned his head away. Brian took this chance and dove from sight, ditching the food. Kevin did a double take, but Brian was already gone. He had a feeling something was definitely up.
Brian scurried in a crouched run over to Nick and pulled him down so he was hidden behind the table counter.
“Brian! What are you—hmhmm,” Brian covered Nick’s mouth with his hand.
“Kevin,” Brian hissed, “Kevin, Howie, and AJ, they’re here.” Nick’s eyes grew wide. Brian took his hand away.
“What are they doin’ here?” Nick whispered.
“I don’t know, lunch break?” Brian guessed.
“Well, at least they didn’t see us,” Nick sighed. He noticed the nervous look on Brian’s face. “Bri-an,” Nick pressed.
“Uh,” Brian hesitated, “Kevin, well, he uh, kinda saw me,” he then quickly added, “Only for a split second…I think.”
“What?!” Nick whispered harshly, “We gotta get outta here.”
“Yeah,” agreed Brian, “Kev’ll think something’s going on for sure. Come on.” He grabbed Nick’s wrist, and they snuck out of the side door. They ran to the parking lot exit and crouched down behind some bushes. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Brian looked at Nick, “Hail a cab. We have to get back to the hotel.”
“I don’t have any money for a cab. I only had those few dollars for the popcorn and soda.”
“Well, I don’t have enough money. I spent it on the movie tickets and lunch,” Brian sighed, “We’re screwed.”
“No, we ca—”
“No Nick, that’s it! The jig is up! Game over! We’re caught! Kev and the others will make it to the hotel before us!” Nick stood up on the sidewalk.
“I won’t be caught this easily,” he said with determination, “This day was too much fun.”
“What?!” Brian yelled, “This day has been everything but fun! Let’s look at the facts, shall we? One,” he counted off on one finger, “we got our asses kicked at basketball. Two, we missed our movie. Three, we were chased down by fans. Four, we got stuck in a CRAMPED
closet. Five, we were falsely accused of being gay. Six, we were yet again chased down by…”
“Okay, okay, OKAY Bri,” Nick silenced him, “I’ll admit, today hasn’t been perfect,” he ignore Brian snicker and continued, “But just think of it this way Brian, Operation Sick Day has just gotten interesting. It’s a race, all odds are against us, but we’re not going down with out a fight. I think we can pull this off Bri, come on.”
“Well, maybe you’re right, but what are we going to do?” Brian questioned, “Hitchhike?” Just then a car pulled up to the curb and a teenage boy decked out in a Mickey D’s uniform exited from the passenger side door.
“Thanks Jen,” the teen called through the rolled down window, “Pick me up at nine okay?” He readjusted his visor and walked passed Nick and Brian to work. What the hell, Nick thought, Might as well try. He walked to the car and bent down to look through the window to address the female driver.
“Um, excuse me miss?”
“Yes, wh—Holy jeez, you’re, you’re Nick Carter, right?” she answered excitedly, but she quickly composed herself so not to look ‘uncool.’
“Yeah,” Nick smiled, “And Brian’s here too.”
“Wow, my Dad said you were staying in our hotel, but I still never thought I would meet you.”
“You’re hotel?” Brian question, “You own Wood Crest Hotel?”
“Well, my family and I live there; my Dad manages it. I’m just on my way there.” Nick and Brian looked to each other and smiled. “…Listen I know you hear this a lot, but uh, could I have your guys autographs?”
“Yeah, sure,” Nick answered, “we’ll even throw in some backstage passes to our next show…if you could do us a big favor.”
“Sure,” she smiled, “What is it?”
“Could you give us a ride back to the hotel?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, of course,” she motioned them to get in, “The name’s Jen, by the way. Don’t you guys have a limo or something, though?”
“We’ll explain on the way,” said Brian climbing into the passenger side and shutting the door; Nick was already sitting in the back.
Brian, Nick, and now their ‘mission’ driver, Jen were closing in on their goal, the Wood Crest Hotel. There were only two things that could stop them. One, bad traffic and two, a red light. Unfortunately they had both.
“Wait a minute,” Nick said from the back, “Brian, does that van in front of us look familiar to you?”
“Wha…Oh God it’s our van,” he looked back to Nick, “I can see Howie, J, and Kev. We’re dead.”
“Wait, I know a shortcut,” Jen spoke up, “Down the side streets.” She pulled her car out of the packed lane and down a neighborhood street. She made several more maneuvers and pulled back out onto a main road that didn’t have much traffic. The hotel was in sight! Jen drove up to the entryway and let Nick and Brian out.
“Thanks for the lift,” Brian smiled genuinely as they exited the car.
“Yeah, thanks,” said Nick, “Our room number’s 208. Come up in an hour and we’ll hook you up with the tickets.”
“Alright, thanks,” Jen waved to them, “Bye, good luck.”
Nick and Brian ran through the glass doors and be-lined it to the elevator.
“No!” Nick yelled running to the elevator, “Wait! Hold the door!” The doors shut and the elevator traveled up without them. “Dang, we missed it.”
“I got more bad news,” Brian tapped Nick’s shoulder, “Look who just walked in.” Nick turned to the entrance and saw Kevin, Howie, and AJ come through the doors.
“Crap,” Nick swore and looked around wildly, “Stairwell!” he called out, and he and Brian quickly dashed through the door. They hurriedly tore up the four flights, stumbling and tripping along the way. They got to their floor and burst out of the door. They sprinted down the hallway and turned a corner to their room. 202…204…206…208! They made it!
“Hurry Bri, get the key,” Nick said out of breath. Brian fumbled through his pockets.
“I can’t find it,” he said nervously, “I…Wait, Nick, don’t you have it?” Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out the key card.
“Oops,” he smiled sheepishly. He pushed the keycard into the slot and opened the door. He and Brian ran inside, and Nick slammed the door shut. Brian ripped off his clothes and threw them in a heap into the closet; now back into only his boxers and a white T-shirt. He dove into his bed and pulled the covers up around him immediately pretending to be asleep. Nick plopped down on the couch, grabbed the remote, and turned on the television. Just as the picture appeared the door burst open; and Kevin, AJ, and Howie came inside. Kevin looked surprised to see Nick and Brian there, and Nick acted surprised to see his friends come in.
“Kev? What are you guys doing here?” Nick asked.
“I, uh…”
“We came to check on Bri.” Howie cut in.
“Have you guys been here the whole time?” Kevin asked still suspicious.
“Yeah Kev, why wouldn’t we? Bri’s a little better. He stopped calling me Mommy, but definitely not good enough to be outta bed.”
“Well okay,” Kevin shrugged, I guess I was wrong, “I guess we’ll go now then.”
“Bye Nick,” Howie waved.
“Yeah, bye,” AJ got up from the desk where he had been sitting and followed Kevin and Howie out the door.
“There gone,” Nick sighed, “We did it. We got away with it.” Brian sat up in bed and smiled. Suddenly the door opened and AJ walked in. Nick and Brian stared at him with wide eyes.
“Next time, I want in.” AJ smiled and threw a small container at Nick; it was the ‘Barf in a Jar’. AJ smiled at them slyly and ran back out to the hallway to join Howie and Kevin.
“So I guess AJ’s in on our next prank, eh Nick?” Brian crawled out of bed and sat down next to Nick on the couch.
“I guess so,” Nick sighed, then smiled, “And I’ve got the perfect plan.”
THE END