Just to Bee Close

Nick loved Japan. A lot. There was nothing he didn’t love about it.  He loved the food, he loved the fashion, he loved the sights and the sounds, the dazzling LCD screens in Tokyo, the culture that was thousands of years old and resulted in some pretty cool old shit that Nick liked to visit whenever he made it out to Japan.

Like, right at the moment, Nick was taking a tour of an old temple that was hidden in a forest outside of Tokyo.  His tour guide was explaining the history of the site exuberantly in his best English to Nick and his girlfriend, Lauren, and Nick had to suppress the urge to giggle at the way the L sound was coming out as R’s.  He’d heard this verbal tick a thousand times, and it still got him. Every. Single. Time.

It was almost as good as dropping stuff in Howie’s mouth every time the man fell asleep.  Which was often as Howie seemed to only need a place to plunk his ass down before he dozed off.  Howie’s dozing habit had provided Nick with countless hours of amusement. 

Which was why it was weird touring without the rest of the group because he had to put more effort into finding ways to amuse himself instead of just messing around with the other guys.

But he had put a lot of effort and love into making his newest solo album, and he was going to make sure to enjoy every minute of his promotional tour. First stop: his beloved Japan and the passionate Japanese fans.

Nick tuned back into the tour guide in time to follow him through a section of the site that had crumbled and become overrun with shrubbery.  There was a faint humming sound, and the tour guide’s expression turned nervous.

“We should go now, Carter-san. We should go inside the temple quickly,” the man cautioned Nick.  “It is not safe out here.”

Nick frowned and looked around.  All he saw were a bunch of trees, flowers, the odd bird here and there, and the smaller shack-size buildings that had once been connected to and a part of the temple.  “I don’t understand.  What’s so unsafe?” As if to prove that things were fine, Nick stepped away from the guide and walked through the shrubbery. 

Lauren watched him nervously, glancing at the panicked expression growing on the tour guide’s face.  “Nick, why don’t we just listen to the man and go inside? Let’s go.”

“Aww, come on, Lauren. It’s just a bunch of trees,” Nick called back as he wandered farther out.  He swatted at a bee that buzzed by his ear and took another step out.

“Carter-san! Please!” The tour guide was agitated now, and Nick was starting to wonder what the hell the guy’s deal was.

He turned, intending to tell the man not to freak, when there was a buzzing sound near him again and then he was on the ground, screaming, as stunningly sharp pain shot through his eye and, it felt, down to the tips of his toes.  The pain went on and on, and he was sure he was going to go blind—if he didn’t die from the pain first.

“My eye! My fucking eye! What the fuck! What the-”

Lauren started towards him, but the tour guide pulled her back.

“You cannot go out there,” he told her apologetically, almost near tears.  “I cannot let you die, too.”

Lauren gaped at him in horror.  “Die?! What the hell do you mean by ‘die’? What the fuck is out there?”

Nick was still screaming in pain, and, as Lauren and the tour guide watched in horror, the faint buzzing sound grew exponentially until they both saw the cloud of angry hornets buzz out of the trees and descend upon Nick.  As soon as they attacked him, his body started writhing in unnatural ways, and he continued to scream as every inch of him was stung by the angry insects.

“Vespa Japonica,” the tour guide murmured as they watched in horror.  “It has the flesh-melting venom.  I am sorry, there is no saving Carter-san.”

Within seconds, Nick’s screaming cut off as the buzzing continued to grow.  There were so many hornets covering Nick that it looked as though Nick had gone and gotten a full body tattoo in black and yellow (no relation to the song). His body twitched hideously, but there was no way to know if it was reflexively or if Nick was still conscious and feeling the pain of flesh-melting venom sprayed from thousands of furiously attentive and dedicated Japanese hornets. After a few more minutes, as though sensing their victim’s defeat, the hornets rose in a cloud of black and rushed away into the trees.  Nick's body jerked once before it lay utterly still.

Unable to wait any longer, Lauren rushed towards Nick’s body and gasped at the sight of it.  The face and the body that had fanned the flames of millions of feverish fangirl hearts was mangled beyond recognition.  The blue eyes that had incited thousands of fantasies were blurry and seemed to ooze unnaturally.

“Flesh-melting venom,” Lauren whispered sadly.  “Poor Nick.  Guess the Japanese humans aren’t your only fans.”

For more on Japanese hornets (yes, they really do have flesh-melting venom!) and other horrifying insects, check out this article: http://www.cracked.com/article_15816_the-5-most-horrifying-bugs-in-world.html

Road to Nowhere

“I can’t believe I’m here…with you…in your car…it’s just wow, so unbelievable” the bleached blonde babbled excitedly as Nick reversed the car out of the club’s car park and out onto the road.  He’d had a few drinks and in the back of his mind, a little voice was telling him it was wrong to drink and drive, but he chose to ignore it.  He’d drunk a hell of a lot more on other occasions and managed to get home in one piece.  Besides, how else was he going to get to bang this hot little blonde by his side?  He would’ve fucked her in the club’s toilets, but he knew she wouldn’t go for that.  She wanted the full service!

“Well believe it…Kelly” he told her, hoping that was her name.  He didn’t really care; it’s not as if he planned anything more than one night with her.  “Where did you say you lived?” he asked as she ran her hand up his thigh and licked her lips.  He never took them back to his place.

“Silly” she grinned at him and then laughed a high pitched annoying laugh “I told you on the way to the car, its Rodeo Avenue…number 2468”

“Right” he nodded his head.  Her voice was beginning to get on his nerves, but she wouldn’t be talking once he got her into bed.  Plus she’d been a good kisser in the club and had shamelessly grinded against him on the dance floor and made it perfectly clear that she was up for sex.  He’d come across her type so many times over the past couple of years and they all wanted the same, to say they’d slept with Nick Carter.  He was happy to oblige on nights like this, nights where he needed to get laid.

As they drove away from the bright lights, Kelly unfastened her seat belt and moved closer to Nick.  She began running her hand further up his thigh, slowly and teasingly, she looked up at him as if for approval and meeting no resistance, unzipped his jeans and slid her hand inside.

“Oh fuck yeah” Nick replied, not expecting a hand job on the way to her place.

“You like that?” she murmured, losing the annoying little girl voice as her hand moved rhythmically.

“A lot” he replied and shifted in his seat to give her better access. 

His eyes left the road for a moment when she stopped what she was doing, looked at him with big ‘fuck me’ eyes, moved her hair out of the way and then bent over taking him in her mouth.

“God yeah” he moaned and gripped the steering wheel tighter, throwing his head back in ecstasy as her mouth did wonderful things to him.

Just at the crucial moment, the car hit something.  It had to have been something big because the car went right over it.  Unfortunately, neither of them had been looking at the road at the time.

“Oh shit…fuck no” Nick exclaimed, coming to his senses and stopping the car.  If he’d killed someone because of his stupidity, he would never be able to live with himself, plus he didn’t fancy the idea of a long prison sentence and his name dragged through the mud in the papers.  The Backstreet Boys were at the height of their fame, he couldn’t be seen as anything less than perfect.

“What was that?” Kelly asked, straightening herself in her seat.

“Fuck knows, but I better get out and see” he decided and turned off the engine “stay in the car”

“OK”

Nick quickly zipped himself up and ran to where a dark shape was lying on the road.  With a sickening feeling in his stomach, he moved closer to see what it was.  The road was pitch black but as he got closer, he could see that it wasn’t moving.  “Fuck” he mumbled, edging closer, wanting to see but not wanting to see.  He sighed with relief when it turned out to be an animal, which was probably already dead when he went over it.

“Nick, what was it?” Kelly called from the car.

“Nothing” he called and began walking back to the car. 

But he didn’t get that far.

He heard Kelly scream and that was his last living memory.  If only she hadn’t screamed like that, he might’ve heard it.  If only he’d been sober, his brain would’ve had a quicker reaction time and he could’ve moved out of the way.  But none of those things had happened and instead, Nick had been mown down by a huge haulage truck.  The trucker - not anticipating a pedestrian in the road at a little after two on a pitch black night - was doing over the speed limit and therefore wasn’t able to stop in time.  He stopped and jumped out of the cab, but it was too late, there was no way anyone could survive that.  Nick was dead, his body horribly mangled with blood and guts oozing all over the road.

Stop The Pigeon

“Dude, will you stop chasing those friggin birds?” AJ requested as his friend Nick ran squawking, flapping and singing, imitating the pigeons he was following.

“It’s fun, look at them all go” Nick laughed as the flock of greyish looking birds took off.

“It won’t be fun when they’re shitting all over us, which is exactly what they’re gonna do to get their revenge”

“AJ, you are such a fucking girl!” Nick laughed and continued pestering the birds and singing the words to an old 80s cartoon featuring Dastardly and Muttley “stop the pigeon, stop the pigeon…”

He was getting further and further away from his friend.

They had a rare day off whilst on tour in England, so figured that as they were in the capital city, they would take in all the sights.  Brian and Howie were back at the hotel with their wives and kids, so Nick and AJ were the only two Backstreet Boys on the loose in London.  They’d already been on the London Eye, which gave them breath-taking views for miles around, and a boat trip up the Thames and now found themselves in Trafalgar Square amongst thousands of pigeons and other tourists.

Nick carried on running through the square, which was undergoing a bit of renovation in time for the 2012 Olympics.  It made a nice change to actually get to see some of the country he was touring in, it didn’t happen often enough.

He didn’t notice, but a crane was lifting a huge sheet of glass and moving it towards a partially constructed building, which was to house a temporary art gallery.  A huge flock of birds flew up into the air, causing the crane driver to panic and hit one of the buttons by accident.  The glass sheet dropped, plummeting to the ground, where it sliced Nick in half, right down the middle.  The glass shattered in a million pieces as the two halves of Nick fell in opposite directions to each other, his internal organs spilling out onto the glass littered ground.  It was a horrific sight. 

AJ couldn’t even scream as he stood there in utter shock at what he’d just witnessed.

Nick Carter had always been an ocean enthusiast. He loved the waves, sunsets over the water, beach, bikini babes lying on the beach... Anything that involved the ocean in some way was his cup of tea. Well, he wasn’t really into tea. Cup of wheatgrass, rather.

The summer had flown by and he’d spent most of it cramped on a tour bus touring the United States. He always inserted-city-name-here for each concert and assured the audience that he was exactly where he wanted to be each and every night, but his heart was missing the sea. When August arrived, Nick finally had some time off. An in-the-moment purchase left him with a brand new boat. He decided to invite the guys over for a weekend. They’d spend Saturday on his new purchase, cruising the coast of Florida.

“Hey man,” Howie greeted. “This thing is huge!”

The “thing” was a ninety-two feet yacht. At three million dollars, it was half the cost of his home. Still, he planned to use this boat for years to come. Maybe one day he’d be taking his family out on it.

“Well, I didn’t want to do it halfway,” Nick defended himself, still thinking about the price tag.

“Here, I brought something for the christening,” Howie laughed handing Nick a six-pack.

“Thanks,” Nick cracked one open.

“How’s the weather going to be today? There were some clouds north of here.”

In truth, Nick hadn’t even thought to consult the weather report. But they wouldn’t go too far from shore.

“It’ll be fine,” Nick said. He decided to change the subject. “I need a name for my boat.”

“The Carter,” Howie held up his hands as if the words were being written in the air.

“Might as well paint a target on the front,” Brian said. “This thing would be swarming with fans going after this pretty blonde,” he tussled Nick’s hair in a friendly manner.

AJ stepped on the boat right after Brian and Nick gave them the tour. Below deck, there was a kitchen, dining room area, and a lounge area complete with a flat screen TV.

“We on a boat!” Brian exclaimed, flopping down on the comfy couch.

Nick went into the pilothouse and led the boat out to sea. After awhile, when he was happy with the location, he dropped the anchor and joined the other Backstreet Boys.

He drank what was probably his fourth beer and his stomach started grumbling. Nick realized he hadn’t eaten anything today. He started to head to the kitchen when Brian joined him on deck, so Nick chugged the rest of his beer instead.

Brian eyed his drink. “You’re driving- you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I’m fine,” Nick said. He gazed out at the water. Between the sun being behind the clouds and the August breeze, it wasn’t hot at all. The boat was rocking a bit though.

Brian noticed, too. “The waves look a little choppy. We may want to head back early.”

Nick shook his head. “I’m sure it’ll just be a little storm. We can wait out the rain watching TV.” This was his first trip on the boat, and he loved being out in the open water. There was so much space! No one was around. It was so peaceful.

The clouds continued to accumulate, though. They were gray and heavy. As afternoon continued, Nick realized he should go ahead and start heading back to shore.

As the ship rocked back and forth, he heard AJ in the bathroom getting seasick. The water was getting very difficult to navigate. Nick was really regretting the alcohol he’d consumed. Between the swaying ship and his own compromised vision, he was having a difficult time concentrating. He had no visibility and wasn’t used to these conditions. The wind howled. Rain pelted the glass. Could this get any worse?

“Um, Nick,” Brian came in. “We have a problem.”

“What?”

“There’s water coming in below.”

Yes, apparently it could get worse. Oh no, he thought. The ship was sinking? What had he hit?

He followed Brian and saw the puddle.

Howie was beside himself. “I don’t want to die!”

“Calm down, D,” Brian said. “We need to find the source.”

Just then, AJ came out. “Nick...”

“Not now, AJ,” Nick began checking the room.

“Nick, it’s important.”

“More important than the boat sinking?”

AJ stood, stunned. Then he started running around in circles. “WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?”

“There’s water coming in. But very slowly,” Brian said. “Nothing to panic about yet.” He pointed out the puddle to AJ.

AJ immediately calmed down. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you... the toilet’s messed up.”

“What?” Nick asked.

“It started overflowing and water came out...”

“So we’re not going to die?” Howie asked.

“No one’s dying!” Brian said. “Nick, I’ll clean this up, you go and finish navigating the storm.”

But the boat wasn’t rocking nearly as much as it had been. Nick glanced outside and saw that the storm was breaking. The rain wasn’t coming down nearly as much. He safely got them back to land.

At the dock, the Backstreet Boys enjoyed the bit of sunlight peeking through and hung out on the deck. Howie brought some food up, and Nick remembered how hungry he was. He grabbed a grape.

Brian was humming the Gilligan’s Island theme song. “Glad we didn’t end up shipwrecked on some island. If you guys could barely handle the bathroom flooding, I don’t know what we’d do in a real situation.”

“I was just kidding about the all of us dying thing...” Howie said.

“Yeah, um, I was just joking, too,” AJ said.

Brian headed below deck to grab a soda. On his way down, he shouted behind his shoulder, “Right... yeah, let’s hope there’s never an actual crisis or we’d be sunk.” His laugh at the bad joke echoed and disappeared.

Nick had just grabbed another grape. He laughed, too, and then realized the grape had gone down his throat wrong. He couldn’t breathe. Waving his arms, he got Howie and AJ’s attention.

“Just trying to get us to freak out again, huh?” AJ said.

“Yeah, nice try,” Howie smirked.

Where was Brian when he needed him? His face must’ve started to turn colors because the expressions on AJ and Howie’s faces changed.

“He’s not faking,” Howie stated the obvious.

“WHAT DO WE DO?” AJ screamed.

Get Brian! Nick thought. He pointed below deck, but AJ and Howie couldn’t handle any form of charades at the moment.

“Just swallow it, Nick,” Howie said.

Yeah that was helpful. Why hadn’t Nick thought of that? Swallow the grape and he wouldn’t be choking anymore. He was now madder at not being able to scream at Howie than the fact that he was getting light-headed. Of course that may’ve been AJ’s screams causing his headache, not the actual grape.

“What’s all the shouting?” Brian reemerged. He glanced at Nick. “What is going on?” he demanded.

“Nick’s choking,” AJ said.

“Well do the Heimlich maneuver you idiots!” Brian shouted.

Howie and AJ stared at each other but were too afraid to do anything. Brian threw down his drink and rushed over, but it was too late. Nick couldn’t hold on to consciousness any longer. He clutched his throat and took one last look at his beloved ocean. His dead body fell overboard, sending him to the place he loved most. Forever.

Nick’s last thoughts before he died were how embarrassing the headlines were going to be. Backstreet Boy Nick Carter: Killed By A Grape.

Chain Reaction

When Nick Carter bought his dream home in the country, he decided he’d be very ‘hands on’ with the upkeep of it…when he wasn’t away touring or recording with the Backstreet Boys that is.  He’d always bought houses which were ready to move in, or employed designers to come and style the houses for him, so buying a house which needed some attention was a novelty.  Of course he still kept his ocean side retreat too, he could never part with that, but a house in the country was perfect for bringing up a family.  Not that he had that yet…but he was working up to it!

He’d decorated the place from top to bottom within weeks of moving in, as the previous owner’s décor wasn’t to his taste.  Obviously money was not an issue, and he could’ve easily paid someone to come and paint or hang wallpaper, but Nick wanted the satisfaction that came with doing a job himself.  Surprisingly, he’d done a good job of it and felt a huge sense of achievement as he surveyed his handiwork.

Once the interior was done, he turned his attention to the exterior, or to be more precise, the garden.  He’d fallen in love with the huge garden when he’d first looked around the house.  There were huge sweeping lush green lawns and views for miles around and he loved nothing more than sitting on the porch swing at the end of the day with a cold beer and Lauren by his side, looking out at the land.  

“Why don’t you leave that for the gardener when he comes back on Monday?” Lauren called from her sun lounger on the patio where she was topping up her tan.  She didn’t share Nick’s new found love of DIY or gardening.

“Because it’s the weekend, we’re home and I can do it myself” Nick replied “besides, I’ve always fancied using one of these”

The ‘one of these’ Nick was referring to was a petrol powered chainsaw which was kept in the tool shed for trimming back the trees.  The gardener, Jason, who they’d employed specifically for tidying the overgrown trees and bushes, had made a start on trimming and pruning the various trees and bushes on the property, but hadn’t finished the job by the time Friday evening arrived.  He was due back Monday to finish off.

“Well, just you be careful!” Lauren warned before sliding her sunglasses back on and turning the volume up on her iPod, effectively tuning Nick out.

“Ha, I’ll show her” Nick laughed to himself.  He figured it couldn’t be that hard to trim a few trees back.  How clever did you have to be to operate a chainsaw?  If Jason the gardener could work it, then so could he.  No problem.

He propped the ladder up against the huge tree, making sure it felt solid enough to climb, and then put his safety goggles on.  He didn’t want bits of tree flying into his eyes, blinding him as he was sawing.  He then began climbing the ladder, taking great care on the rungs.  Nothing to it!

Once he’d got to the right height, he powered up the chainsaw and began slicing away the branches.  This is fun!  He finished trimming the first tree and then moved on to the next one, he was really getting into it and decided that if he ever needed a change of career, he could quite happily be a gardener.  Working out in the open, the sun bronzing his skin as he worked…it sounded perfect! 

When he came to the last tree, his ladder wouldn’t quite reach the part he wanted to trim.  Being that he was so comfortable using the chainsaw now; he stood on the very top rung and reached across, holding the saw in one hand and grabbing onto a branch with the other.  He stretched up, not quite able to get to the branch he wanted, his foot slipped and in an effort to stop himself falling, he brought his hand down to grab the ladder.  In his moment of madness, it had slipped his mind that he was still holding a running chain saw.

The chainsaw sliced through skin, muscle, sinew, arteries and then bone before Nick fell to the ground.  His legs were bent in a most unnatural angle, the bone of one of them protruding through the skin.  His head was dangling by a thread, rendering him almost decapitated; blood was squirting out of his open neck and saturating the once lush green grass.  He was beyond saving.

Lauren didn’t notice for another hour, but when she did eventually find him, the chainsaw was still running.

�

It's A Wrap

�

Once upon a time in Denver-

or was it Portland? I don't remember.

We were about to do a show...

wait a minute, was it Idaho?

All these places look the same-

guess that's just the price of fame.

The traveling is just so boring

but show-time makes it worth the touring.

�

Anyway, we were on in five-

the excitement in the air made us feel alive.

Our fans were restless, starting to shout,

urging us to come on out.

So out we came, right on cue

to fevered screams... that's nothing new.

And, as usual, the loudest cry

Was for Nick, their favorite guy.

�

And of course, he ate it up,

drank in the adoration with a loving cup.

The rest of us began to sing

and finally Nicky did his thing.

He swayed to the left, then to the right,

he knew he was a sexy sight.

But little did anyone guess

his actions would lead to great distress.

�

While we sung the songs and did the dance,

most fans' eyes were on his pants.

They really were a size too small,

he had nothing to hide, he was showing it all.

But although it looked like it might hurt,

everything was cool until he unbuttoned his shirt.

On toning his body he'd been working hard,

his buffed-up abs were his trump card.

�

A sound of appreciation shot through the crowd

even up on stage, it was really loud.

He grinned widely and began to preen...

it would have gone well but for a single teen.

She had short blond hair... or was it brown?

And instead of smiling, she wore a frown.

Nick caught her eye, and gave her a wink

but she crossed her arms and simply blinked.

�

Was she really immune to his charms?

Could she be indifferent to his well-muscled arms?

Was she blind? Did she not see

how firm and perfect he'd come to be?

He finished the song, added a quick twist

then a hard pelvic thrust that couldn't be missed.

But instead of a look of a fan well sated,

the teen girl looked even more frustrated.

�

Was that anger in her eyes?

Didn't she see him as a prize?

Although it wasn't part of the show,

Nick was puzzled. He had to know.

Despite the warning Security gave,

Nick ignored the rules with a dismissive wave.

He went to the very edge of the stage

and leaned way over, her to engage.

�

“You know I'm such an awesome man

yet you don't seem to be a fan.”

A spark of rage in her eye was gleaming

and then the teen girl started screaming.

“You strut and flex and smirk and tease

but you never follow through and please!

You're just like every guy we know...

All talk and ego, but no show!”

�

A murmur then went through the crowd.

“You know, she's right,” someone said aloud.

“What's all this look but do not touch?

A girl can only take so much!”

That's when things went very bad;

something shifted and the fans turned mad.

Hands reached up and grabbed Nick's leg

he didn't even have a chance to beg.

�

The crowd enveloped him with a scream

to the rest of us it was a bad, bad dream.

Everyone wanted a piece of Nick;

Security got us out of there quick.

The last we saw of the man we knew

was a ripped piece of shirt and a flying shoe.

His over-sized ego had sprung the trap

Rest in peace, Nicky... and that's a wrap.

�

“Nick, I’m telling you, I’m not going to watch the bird show with you!” Lauren stood in front of the entrance of the bird show with crossed arms and a stubborn look on her face.

“Aw come on, baby! You know how I love these birds. I have never seen an owl from up close!” Nick said and pouted.

“And you know how I hate birds,” Lauren said and started to walk back.

Nick grabbed her arm. “Please?”

“No.”

“Pleaaaaaaaaaaaase?” he begged and went on his knees. “I BEG OF YOU, LAUREN! COME WITH MEEEE!”

“Nick!” she hissed. “You’re embarrassing me! People are watching!”

“I won’t stop until you go with me,” he smiled an angelic smile.

“Hey guys, are you coming or what?” Brian said while walking into the falconry arena.

“Yeah, hold up!” Nick said and returned his head with pleading eyes to his girlfriend. “Please?”

Lauren sighed in defeat. “Alright. But if one of those things is getting anywhere near me, I’m gonna kill you!”

Nick nodded and took hold of her hand. “Yeah, sure, let’s go. It’s starting in 5 minutes! I hope the good spots aren’t already gone.”

They walked into the arena. Lauren looked around cautiously while Nick was frantically looking around where the other guys went to sit. He saw Brian waving from a spot in the front.

Nick enthusiastically walked to him while pulling Lauren behind him.

They sat down next to Brian. A pole with a green platform was standing right in between Nick and Lauren. They both looked up at it.

“Nick, are those birds going to stand on a pole like that?” Lauren asked scared.

He shrugged. “It would be really cool if an eagle would be standing on our pole.”

Lauren glared at him. “No, it wouldn’t.”

“Aw baby,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t be scared. Those birds wouldn’t hurt you.”

Lauren didn’t seem so sure. She had a bad feeling about this. She didn’t even feel like going to a zoo in the first place. This was not how she imagined their day off. But Nick and Brian insisted on going. So Nick dragged her along and Brian took Leighanne with him.

Spectacular music began to play through tiny speakers that hung on the walls.

After a few seconds the music began to fade and a voice spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the bird show where we’ll show you and tell you something about eagles, owls, falcons and Egyptian vultures. Before we start, there are a few rules to keep this show nice and safe. First of all, you are not allowed to eat or smoke during the show. And second, you are not allowed to walk around during the show. There’s a chance the birds might see you as prey and attack you. If you stick to these rules, we can all enjoy a great and fantastic show!”

The music came back again and suddenly falcons flew over the grass field in front of the audience. Nick felt Lauren tense. He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

When the falcons did a few tricks and flew over the crowd a few times, they separated in two groups, each flying to a tower where a falconer stood. They held their arm, covered with a leather glove, up as the falcon landed on it.

“That was awesome!” Brian said excitedly as he applauded along with the rest of the audience.

Next came a group of owls tearing through the air.

“Hey, that’s Harry Potter’s owl!” Nick yelled and pointed to a snow owl circling in the sky.

Lauren facepalmed. I can’t believe I gave in to that guy, she thought.

Along with the owls, came four eagles from both towers.

“EAGLES!” he screamed.

“Nick! Keep it down!” Lauren whispered.

“BUT THOSE ARE EAGLES!”

“I know! And everybody knows so you don’t have to scream!”

He just sighed and looked with sparkling eyes at the flying birds. One of them headed for the pole that stood between them.

“Oh hell no, it’s not-“ Lauren started but froze when the eagle landed softly on the platform.

“OH MY GAWD! LOOK AT THAT, BRIAN!” Nick yelled and immediately grabbed his photocamera and snapped a few pictures. “AJ’s gonna be a jealous motherfucker,” he smirked as he looked at the pictures he just made.

Leighanne coughed. “Language!”

Nick rolled his eyes but didn’t let that ruin the fun.

Brian didn’t take any offence. He couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s enthusiasm.

The eagle took off and flew over the crowd back to one of the falconers. Lauren sighed in relief and started to relax a little.

Nick didn’t know where to look when eagles and vultures flew all together.

“Damn, those vultures are some ugly birds!” Brian remarked.

Nick nodded, not turning his eyes away.

Buzz. Buzz.

Nick waved his hand next to his head. “Damn insects,” he muttered.

Buzz. Buzz.

“What the,” he said as he looked around in annoyance. He saw a wasp landing on his arm.

“WASP!” he exclaimed and started flapping his arms around. “WASP!!”

Several people turned around, an irritated look crossing their face. They tried to listen to what was being said about the vultures but Nick kept screaming.

“KILL IT! FUCKING KILL IT!”

“Nick, calm down! It’s already gone!” Lauren said.

Nick froze and looked around him. No wasp.

“Phew!” he said and wrapped his arm around Lauren’s waist.

Not long after he calmed down, the same wasp landed exactly on his nose. His eyes crossed as he looked at it. His face turned pale.

“AHH!!! FUCKING BITCH ASS MOTHERFUCKER!” He slapped at the wasp but it escaped before he hit it.

The wasp started flying around him angrily.

“IT’S GONNA KILL ME!” he panicked, got up and started to run.

“Nick, you can’t run!” Brian yelled.

“I CAN WHEN A WASP IS OUT TO KICK MY ASS!”

The group of eagles started flying around restlessly and Lauren, ever keeping an eye on the animals she hated, noticed it.

“Oh my God. NICK! Sit the fuck down!”

“IT’S STILL HERE!”

One of the eagles decided to take the initiative, made a U-turn and flew Nick’s way with an immense speed.

“NICK, WATCH OUT! THE EAGLE!” Lauren screamed in panic.

“Eagle?” he stopped and looked around. “What ea- AHH!”

The eagle pecked with its beak at Nick’s arm. It took a quick turn and pecked at his head.

People in the audience were screaming, some were pointing at him. None of them dared to make a move.

Two falconers ran up to him and tried to distract the eagle but the animal had its target set. And its target was Nick Carter.

When the eagle flew high into the air, Nick saw his chance and took off to the exit.

But two other eagles had noticed him too and were heading to him. One of them pecked at his shoulder while the other took hold of his ear.

“OOOW! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!” he screamed. He hit the eagle that held his ear and the bird let go. It managed to bite off the top of Nick’s ear as it swallowed the piece down.

Blood trickled down his cheek, his neck and his shoulder. He felt the warm liquid trickling down. It made him feel dizzy.

The eagles were ruthless. Another one joined the trio as all of them dove down and pecked at Nick’s every visible spot.

“SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!” Brian yelled.

The falconers ran up to him, holding food, trying to distract them again.

“JUST FUCKING SHOOT THEM!” Lauren screamed in anger.

 “GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME! HELP!” He cried as more blood covered his body.

He made one mistake. He looked up so he could see the eagles to hit them.

But all of the eagles saw their chances and pecked at his face. Both of his eyes were taken out and his lower lip was torn.

He dropped down to his knees as the eagles kept pecking on him.

At last, he dropped down, face on the ground. A pool of blood grew around his head, covering the sandy ground.

The falconers finally took hold of the eagles, their beaks covered in blood.

Lauren, Brian and Leighanne ran up to him. The rest of the audience ran out of the arena around him, panicking and screaming.

Lauren knelt down beside him and turned his body over with shaky hands. She gagged as she looked at his blood covered face, no eyes and no lower lip.

Brian covered his face and looked away as Leighanne dialed 911.

“I knew we shouldn’t have come here,” Lauren sobbed. “I knew those things were no good.”

Eagles were of one Nick Carter’s favorite animals.

They were.

Blue Skies. Blue Ocean. A gentle breeze in the air.
"Just like the old days", thought Nick, as he steered his boat out into the open sea off the Florida Keys. Living in LA for a few years now, Nick missed his old hobby. On vacation after a big tour, he decided to fly off to Tampa and meet a few old buddies. Today, he felt he needed some time alone and rented out an old Sea-ray. This was his idea of alone time: just him and the ocean that he loved.

He had gone a long a way out into the deep sea, when he heard the boat's engines making weird noises. "Damn it! Not now!" he said to himself. And in a few moments, as he feared, the engines gave up. He played around with his wrench for a while, but to no avail. Exhausted, he went up to grab the mic on his radio, when he spotted another boat coming towards him. "Guess I'll be getting a ride home", he thought and waved out as the other boat pulled up beside him. He was pleasantly surprised to see a woman come out, she motioned him to climb aboard. "Need a lift?", she asked and Nick just smiled back.

She was in her late 30s, blonde, nothing strikingly beautiful about her, but Nick did find something strangely attractive about her. A woman out at sea just like him: could well have been his dream girl.

"You're Nick Carter, aren't you?", she asked peering closer at him. "Yes I am" he replied, "Wow, you've got a collection of knives and harpoons there", he continued, pointing to the open case kept in a corner. "Yes, fishing is my hobby", she replied, "You look exhausted, have a drink." She handed him a bottle of orange juice and moved up to start the boat. Nick gulped down some of it, and noticed her turning the boat back out to sea. He got up to ask her about it, but was overcome by a numbing sensation through his entire body and fell unconcsious. When he woke up, he found himself choking on some pungent liquid being forced down his throat. Gasping, he tried to fight his way free, but his hands were weak, he felt paralysed. He tried to shout out, but that liquid had caused some inflammation in his throat, choking his voice. He could barely let out a whisper. He saw the woman looking at him with a cold, emotionless stare. She reached back to drag her weapon-case. She first gagged his mouth with cloth, staring at his horrified eyes, and said "You rich people think you own the ocean. Do nothing but pollute it" Nick wanted to tell her he wasn't like that. He just wanted this nightmare to stop. His pleading eyes began to well up with tears.

"I'm teaching you all a lesson one by one. You're number 7", and Nick let out a muffled scream as he felt a searing pain in his abdomen. The harpoon left a deep gash, blood starting to pour out from the wound. She didn't pull it out. Instead, she twirled it around watching Nick scream and his body arch in agonising pain. After being satisfied with her game, she pulled the harpoon out, leaving a gaping wound, with blood flowing out. Reaching into her case, she pulled out a large knife, first playing with the blade, leaving cuts all over Nick's arms and chest. Then she stabbed him violently several times, puncturing his lungs, leaving him a bloody mess. Nick was fighting to keep his breath, noticing her getting up to torture him more. She brought out a rope to tie him up. As she went about this, the rope dragging across his wounds made his agony unbearable. She pushed him over to the side of the boat and raised him up against the edge.

She could read in his eyes that he was pleading for mercy. Pulling up a knife to his neck, she showed her first sign of emotion, a smirk as she whispered in his ear "I liked NSync more anyway", slashed his throat and pushed him into the water. Nick was helpess. Bleeding, drowning, he was seeing the end getting closer. Breathing his last in the very ocean he loved so much.

His worried family & friends had called in for help. The Coast Guard found his stranded boat, but no sign of Nick. A few days later, coastal authorities in the Bahamas reported a dead body found at the beach: male, Caucasian, early 30s. It didn't take too long for the body to be identified. The headlines flashed: "Backstreet Boy Nick Carter missing for 3 days, found dead at sea".

It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you... there's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do...

"SHHHH!"

I blessed the rains down in AFFFRICCAA!

"NICK!"

The young man stopped singing abruptly and looked up at his friend with a smirk on his face. "You are no fun D. No fun at all."

Howie simply shook his head as he trudged along ahead of Nick, using his machete to push branches and bushes out of the way, occasionally pausing to wipe away the rain drops that were dripping down his face.

"Hey loud mouth," Howie spat as he slapped at what felt like the millionth biting fly of the hour, "did you listen to a word the guide said back there?"

All Nick could do was shake his head because seriously? Listen? Nick Carter listen? Ha.

"Well let me refresh your memory, she said to stick to the path and to be respectful. We're already lost because YOU had to find the perfect flower for Lauren, and now you're singing about Africa at the top of your lungs." The annoyance in Howie's voice grew by the second, "PS dumbass, Fiji is NOT in Africa."

Nick could do nothing but laugh, "Man relax," he whispered, catching up with Howie for a minute and laying a hand on his shoulder, "We're out here in the jungle, and it's beautiful!"

Howie rolled his eyes, continuing on as he stared up towards the sun, trying his best to figure out it's position in the sky. He wouldn't call this "beautiful". Beautiful was lying on the beach with his wife back at the resort. Beautiful was sticking to the trail the guide had cautiously warned them to stick to. Beautiful was living to see another day with his son. But this... this was NOT beautiful.

"And look on the bright side D... it's not raining anymore!"

I can see clearly now the rain is gooooone...

Howe had to clench his teeth to keep from turning around and decking him when he started singing again. He tried to pull his mind from the insanity of the man behind him and focused instead at getting them safely back. Nick grew quite after a time and he kept walking for what felt like forever until he finally saw a light in the distance. He squinted and climbed up on a rock to make sure but... yes... yes! It was the lights from the tops of the villas, shining like a beacon guiding them home.

"Nick!" Howie called out, glancing behind him, excited to let him know he'd found the way. But instead of Nick all he saw were the bushes and trees he'd just come through. "Hey Nick!"

He called out several more times to no avail, getting angrier with each passing minute. "Nick Carter!" He yelled, this time as loud as he could, "If this is your idea of a sick joke, I will find you and when I do I will beat your ass!"

Silence.

Howie decided to backtrack, following the path he'd cleared the first time he'd ventured through. All was silent for a few minutes, but then... a scream. A horrible, gut wrenching scream. Howie felt his heart stop and then leap into his throat. He knew the scream was Nick's and he knew he had to do something. He hurried closer to where the screams were coming from, wondering the whole time what the hell kind of animal could bring on screams like that and if a small latino with a machete could possibly stand a chance against it.

He breathed deeply... it wasn't optional. This was his friend and he would damn well try to save him.

Howie walked closer still to where the screams were coming from. They never stopped and his heart raced faster and faster with each step. Suddenly all was quiet for a brief moment, and in that moment he heard the sound of voices. Human voices.

Howie crept closer, kneeling on his knees as he edged his way through the weeds. He could see the sun from a clearing in the distance and knew that had to be where Nick was. Maybe someone had already saved him. Maybe it was too late.

But then, there were the screams again, even more agonizing than before and Howie hurried faster.

He came to the edge of the clearing and pulled back the leaves of one of the bushes, peering quickly in, and the sight he saw there would forever haunt his mind. There was Nick, a fire beside him, his arms and legs tied behind him. His eyes shut tight. His mouth open in that God awful scream...

And there surrounding Nick were a group of horrid looking men, there mouths dripping with blood, there eyes without a trace of humanity as they knelt beside his body and ripped chunks of flesh from his bones. One was roasting a piece of him over the fire, another was preparing to tear away at his side.

Howie could look no longer. He couldn't scream, he couldn't breathe... he just knew he had to get help. He turned from the clearing and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, stopping only momentarily to vomit on the side of the trail in a patch of Fiji'n flowers.

He ran straight back to where he'd stopped before, where he'd seen the lights. He ran on down from the jungle and to the gates of the resort where he collapsed into a heap of exhaustion and fear and sickness until a guard had found him sometime later.

Howie couldn't find the words to describe what he'd seen, but the guards knew that something bad had happened. They followed Howie back up into the jungle, and to the clearing where they all stopped in their tracks.

The fire was out, the cannibals were gone. Birds were picking the last remaining bits of skin from the pile of bones. The fresh puddles of blood were the only thing left to let them know this had been a recent attack.

Howie knelt beside the remains of his friend and cried. He would forever be haunted by the things he saw that day... by the images that would constantly run through his mind.

And of course... by those damned songs.

“Yo Aje…we got it man.” Nick ran into the hotel room waving a small box in his hands. “You gotta love the internet. We didn’t even need a prescription.”

AJ nodded his head and plopped on the couch next to Nick. Whose tongue was peaking out from the side as he busied himself trying to tear apart the small box.

“I’m not sure I wanna do this anymore Nick.”

Nick stopped and looked up at AJ, “You are shitting me. Dude, we were supposed to do this together.”

“Now you sound gay!”

“It’s not like I’m going to use it for you. You said we were going to see who could go for the longest. Now you are chickening out. Not cool, man.”

He finally got to the small bottle that contained a few little blue pills. Nick smiled eagerly and twisted it open and immediately popped two in his mouth. He shook out another two and put them in his hand.

“Your turn!”

AJ nodded, “Fuck no! I told you I’m not doing that…don‘t take so many.”

“Huh?” Nick looked at him after he popped another one in his mouth. “Just for good measures. No pun intended.” He snickered, but AJ wasn’t amused.

“Nick did you even call Lauren to come down? Tell me your not going to…sick!”

Nick’s upper lip curled “No…she said she’d be here by ten. That’s why I took them now. I told her to be prepared to be with me for over twelve hours.”

“Good luck” AJ patted Nick on the shoulder and headed out.

Three hours later

Nick knocked strongly on AJ’s hotel room door, beads of sweat nestled on his forehead and he looked a bit pained. When there was no answer he knocked again.

“What the hell Carter?!?” AJ asked annoyed at Nick’s persistence.

Nick swallowed hard and looked down at himself. “Lauren cancelled on me!”

AJ’s eyes followed Nick’s gaze, “Holy shit Nick. You can’t come knocking on my door at midnight with a damn boner.”

“Um…this is going to sound disturbing for you, but Brian is with Leighanne and well I’m not sure this would go over well with Howie and don’t get me started on New Kids…that would just be an open door to jokes. It wont go down if I don’t go…”

The twosome stared at each other for a second. AJ was trying to figure out where the hell Nick needed to go and then it hit him. Go!

“Oh go. You need to…Jesus…effin…are you serious Nick. You had to pick me to come tell this to.” With a deep sigh he let Nick in. “I have an idea…” He shuffled through his bag and took out two magazines. “Here…they work for me.”

Nick took the magazines and snorted as he skimmed through the magazines. “Lesbians?”

“What? Don’t judge me! Now get your ass in there and do what you have to. Make sure you wash down everything after…”

“This is not good.” Nick mumbled to himself as he looked through the magazines. Why was he even looking through the magazines, anyways? The erection was already there…shaking his head and ashamed of his situation, he began his mission to release.

Two hours later

“Are you alright buddy?” AJ knocked on the bathroom door.

Nick was sweating profusely now and his member was throbbing like never before. It wasn’t the usual pleasing sensation, it was painful like it was about to burst. He’d been staring at it for the past half an hour hoping that his thoughts would magically bring it back to normal.

With a big frown Nick walked out of the bathroom and handed the magazines to AJ. Who hesitantly took them from him. His eyes fixed on the tent Nick was still walking around with.

“I’m guessing that didn’t work. Buddy…I think it’s time to go to the hospital.”

“Great! Their all gonna see my dick. Then I’m going to be on the tabloids as the boy band member with the never ending boner.” AJ wanted to laugh, but the distraught look on his band mates face helped him contain himself.

“I’ll drive.”

The twosome drove the whole twenty minutes in silence. Nick shifting in his seat and AJ glancing over at his friend in pain. They finally entered the hospital and explained to the nurse what his problem was. With a raised eyebrow she gave Nick a sympathetic look after checking out his package and told him it would be a bit of a wait.

Another hour later

Nick sat with a new pack of ice between his legs and a pout. He didn’t like the glances he was getting from the different people waiting along with him. “This is humiliating. My heart is racing…I think I might throw up and my shit feels like its gonna pop. What do I do if my dick pops?”

“I’ve never heard of anyone’s dick popping, Nick. Just calm down you’re making me nervous.”

“Is it hot in here?” Nick squeaked and fixed the collar of his shirt. “I can feel my heart drumming against my ribs…dude, I read that in those fan romance stories we read sometimes online. I didn’t know it was true.”

"Nick Carter" A pretty nurse shouted his name.

He carefully stood up and felt the pain shoot through his body when his member made contact with his shorts. "Holy crap! Come on AJ you have to come with me...please." Nick pouted again as he slowly waddled towards the nurse. The pain was almost unbearable.

They finally reached the room and he was instructed to change into a gown and explain how he had gotten into such a dilemma.

“That was stupid!” The nurse snorted, “The doctor will be with you in a couple of minutes.” She exited with a giggle.

"What does she know..." Nick mumbled.

AJ busied himself with a big medical light that he kept smacking to spin around. “Hey look at this…”

Nick leaned his body forward. AJ smacked the light. It spun around and sideswiped Nick’s member.

The twosome looked at each other wide eyed. When they realized where the noise had come from. Nick let out a girlie scream as the pain shot through his groin. They both looked down and there was no more tent, but Nick was now hyperventilating. He shot a hand to the heart and fell on his back.

“Holy shit dude! You broke your---” Nick flopped like a fish for a bit and then went still. “Nick! Buddy!”

Nick was so excited about his new experiment, that he’d forgotten to read the warning label for side affects. Possible heart attack being one of them.

"Dude, just take the damn picture!" AJ yelled to Nick. 

Nick laughed and shook his head no, "I can't believe you're planking!" he said, snapping a picture of his friend planking at the feet of an elderly couple just trying to enjoy a quiet day in the park.

"I'm trying to make it a trending topic. You should try it, Nick. It's seriously stupid, but fun," AJ said. "Oh, I know, let's place money on it! We each take 10 pictures planking, and have the fans vote on the best one? Loser washes cars for a month after the tour?" he grinned.

"Well, it has been awhile since ALL of my cars were detailed... Fine, you're on!" he said, shaking his friend's hand to seal the deal.

Throught the day, the fans following both Nick and AJ were shown various planking pics online, from planking on a staircase, planking on an escalator, planking on a table in a restaurant.

Nick finally found the perfect place to plank and smirked at AJ, "Oh, this one will win for sure... come on!" Nick and AJ made their way to the rooftop of their hotel where Nick carefully laid down on the banister, hoping his friend could take a fast enough picture before he lost his balance.

"Hurry up," Nick chuckled, trying to hold the pose until he heard the click of the camera.

"Hang on, you're not entirely in the frame." AJ had to back up a few steps in order to get his friend fully in the shot. 

While AJ was trying to get the picture, a pigeon landed on Nick's back, which made him squirm as the talons dug into his skin.

"Hang on, that's perfect!" AJ laughed, snapping the picture.

Nick was about to climb off the banister when the bird leaned over and began pecking at his ear, "Ow! Fucker!" he said, reaching up with his hand to try and get the bird off him.

The bird would not get off him and Nick tried frantically to wave him off. 

The upside? The bird finally got off his back.

The downside? Nick lost his balance, beginning to fall off the roof of the hotel.

All Nick could think on the way down was how he didn't even fucking want to do it in the first place, and he hoped he could haunt AJ because that would be-

SPLAT!

Nick hit the ground and you could hear every bone crack in his body as the flesh hit the cement, blood pooling around his head.

AJ quickly made his way down to his friend, tweeting, "Guess Nick is more competitive than I thought..."

I heard screaming, but it was mine, then AJ and Brian came running in, they were screaming now, I blinked I couldn't talk.

"Dude what the hell happened? Asked AJ, looking wide eyed at me, while Brian fell to his knees crying.

I swallowed hard

"It..it was... was an accident... I... promise,"

*************************

We all were in one bus, enjoying it for once, since we all had a bus to ourselves, but every once in while it’s nice to have everyone together. AJ was talking on his cell, Brian was asleep, and Nick was eating and I was cutting some decorations up, that our Manager needed for the NKOTBSB tour.

I got up to get a marker and Nick came in

"Hey Howie have you seen my cell? Asked Nick

"Nope I haven't seen it," I was still holding the scissors but I didn't notice the way I was holding them

"Shit I can't find it,"

"Sorry," I said

"Can you call it?" asked Nick

"No I'm busy, I'm not sure where mine is at the moment,"

"Really come on Howie,"

"Dude I got to get this done,"

"Whatever, just take a break for second" said Nick

"Like I said I'm busy, and I don't have my phone on me, its somewhere in the other room I think," I told him

"Fine, be that way,"

"Don't be like that, I'll help you find it when I'm done,"

"When will that be?"

"I don't know, an hour maybe," I told him

"I can't wait that long,"

"Go ask AJ or Brian,"

"AJ's on the phone and wont help either, and Brian is asleep.

"Then I don't know what to tell you,"
"Nick I found your phone, it’s in here," Yelled AJ

"Ok cool, I'm coming," said Nick, just as Nick was about to turn around to go in the other room the bus hit a big bump and Nick lost his balance and the next thing I knew I felt worm liquid on my hand and I looked up with wide eyes and Nick coughed up blood and it was dripping down his chin. His eyes closed, I started screaming.