“Oh thank god you came along, I need a ride to the Ice Palace--” Nick stated as he closed the door to the cab.
The driver sized Nick up in the rearview mirror. “You got the cash, kid?”
“Well... um... not on me at the moment,” Nick stammered.
“Get out of my cab,” the driver growled.
“I can give you the money when I reach the place, I’m good for it,” Nick insisted.
“No money, no deal, get out now!”
Watching the cab speed off after he reluctantly got out, Nick decided to vent his anger. “ASSHOLE!” With no other options in site, he folded his arms across his chest and started walking down the street towards the highway.
“Where’s Nick?” a young girl asked Kevin as she watched him hastily sign his name across a group picture.
Kevin gritted his teeth for a moment before he answered that particular question for the umpteemth time. “Nick’s been delayed, I’m sorry.”
“He’s not sick is he? I mean he’s okay isn’t he?” Another girl questioned Kevin a few fans later.
Kevin just smiled at the girl. As he looked down to sign his autograph, he mumbled through gritted teeth, “He’s okay now, but he won’t be for long.”
“What did you say? I didn’t hear you,” the girl asked as she accepted the paper from Kevin.
“I said he’s okay and he won’t be long,” Kevin lied with a smile.
As Nick walked up the onramp to the highway, he couldn’t help but see that the traffic was at a standstill.
“Oh just peachy.”
Walking along the shoulder, his eyes cast down towards the pavement, Nick kept walking. He glanced up once or twice and by the third time he saw it - a car that had words painted on the windows and the body. It read ‘BSB FANS 4 EVA.’ He also noticed some other cars with writing on them as well. One in particular caught his eye: ‘I LUV N’SYNC’.
“Oh shit, that’s why the traffic jam, assholes are having their staduim tour the same night. God, what lame assholes,” Nick mumbled.
“OHMYGOD!”
Hearing the screams, Nick looked around behind him. He couldn’t see anything out of place.
“OH MY GOD! THAT’S NICK CARTER!”
Nick winced when he heard his name screamed. His heart sank when he heard some car doors slamming and then footsteps rushing towards him.
“Nick? Is it you, Nick?”
Nick turned to look down at the girls that formed a semi-circle around him. “Don’t you think y’all should be in your cars?”
“You’re Nick Carter!” a tiny blond stated confidently.
He managed a slight grin. “Nope, you got me confused with him. I get this all the time.”
“Well you sure as heck look like him. Why are you walking on the road?”
“I seriously doubt Nick Carter would be out walking the streets, and I’m walking cause my car wouldn’t start and I got ripped off last night so I can’t afford a cab.”
The girls all nodded in agreement. “Yeah you’re right, Nick would be in a limo or something like that.”
Nick looked at them wearily. “So... um, are you girls headed to the concert tonight?”
“Yeah! We’ve been waiting for this for weeks,” they cheered.
“Backstreet concert?”
“Hell yeah! I wouldn’t pay a dime to see n’sync,” a girl in the crowd reassured.
“Okay, can you do me a huge favor?”
“Depends,” the older girl in the group replied.
“I need to catch a ride to that venue and I’m really late and I know my boss is pissed. Can I ride with you?”
“Well.... I don’t even know your name and besides, we’re in the middle of a traffic jam. I bet you would get there on foot before we would.”
“Okay, I can tell you how to get there a lot quicker on the backroads,” Nick replied with a smile.
“Sounds good, is that all?”
“I have connections, I’ll see if I can set you up.”
“Connections? You work with the band?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“Okay, I guess we could do that, you look harmless enough. My name’s Roberta Jean,” the girl replied as she stuck her hand out.
“Mine’s Ni.. Nate.”
