Brian came around the corner in the park carrying 5 large pizzas (balancing is more the word for what he was doing, actually) when he spotted Nick up ahead, just staring into the distance. He hustled up (as much as a lil guy like him can while carrying 5 large pizzas without dumping them all over the ground, that is, anyways). "Nick???" he called out when he got within ear shot. A bunch of the chess players looked up as Brian trotted by them. "NICK???"
Nick shook his head to clear the swirling mass of confusion that filled his head and dazedly looked at Brian. The first words Brian thought of were 'you look like you've just seen a ghost'. But something about Nick's face warned Brian not to fool around with him. "Are you OK?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"Yeah," Nick nodded, his response a moment delayed like when news casters are interviewing people by satillite, which only heightened Brian's concern.
Brian slid the pizzas onto an empty chess table beside where Nick was standing. He looked at Nick carefully, studying his arms and clothes a little bit, noticed the front of Nick's shirt was kind of frumpled looking, and asked, "You didn't get mugged, did you?" Nick didn't respond. "Nick???"
He looked at Brian. "Huh?"
Brian nervously bit his lip. "Maybe we should get you to a doctor, you're acting kind of fishy..."
"FISHY???????" Nick cried, suddely animated, whipping his arms about, he yelled, "You'd be acting FISHY too if you were me! You'd be acting FISHY if you were gonna go SWIM WITH THE FISHES!"
Brian laughed in spite of himself. "What are you talking about, Mr. Soprano?" He half began to wonder what Nick's attacker had used to drug him with.
Nick grabbed Brian by the shoulders, shaking him gently. "I. Am. Not. Kidding." he said the words deliberately, his voice pinching like dolphin's screech.
Brian blinked up at Nick, and, assuming he was joking, laughed again. "Dude, you really need a tic-tac."
Nick let go of his friend and shook his head. "I'd think you'd be more upset hearing about my eminem death."
Brian tried hard not to crack up once again. Clearly, he told himself, something was upsetting Nick, no matter how irrational it was -- and even if he couldn't pronounce it right. "Why on earth do you think your death is EMINENT?" he asked, putting emphasis on the word he was correcting for Nick.
Nick's eyes were wide and panicy. "I don't remember the message The Goose said to tell Fat Freddy, and I'm basically gonna die when they find out I'm not Jack Taylor, 'cos they think I am, but I'm nt! They think --- and I wasn't there at the docks -- but I just ---"
Brian stared at his friend, entirely unable to respond. "Ooookay. Slow down, Carter. Too many TV dramas for you."
"Rok, I swear," Nick squealed, "Fat Freddy told me to tell The Goose that The Gopher flew the coop and that the Fox and the Hound was out and I told The Goose, and The Goose said to tell Fat Freddy something and I forgot it."
Brian patted Nick's shoulder. "Mmkay."
"Why don't you believe me?" Nick whined.
"Because," Brian told him, "You're talking about geese and gophers that fly and some guy named Freddy who's, I'm assuming, overweight."
"Actually he wasn't all that bad," Nick commented.
Brian nodded, "OK. Whatever. That makes it so the story's more realistic then." He smiled, "C'mon Nick, let's go to the shoot, and we'll eat the pizza and forget this craziness ever even happened, OK? We're already running late, Kevin's going to be pissed off as it is." He guided Nick towards the pizzas. "You're probably just delirious from lack of eating."
"Yeah. Maybe," Nick reluctantly agreed, lifting the pies. He followed Brian as he walked towards the site of the photo shoot. Nick dutifully followed Brian through the maze of paths, losing himself in thought as he racked his brain for the message that The Goose had given him for Fat Freddy, but his mind was blank.
When they reached the site finally, Kevin, AJ, Howie and Johnny all came over -- Howie and AJ fawning over the pizza, while Kevin and Johnny looked pissed off. "You're late," Kevin grunted, his arms folded over his chest, giving the Dirty Brow to them both.
"Sorry," Brian apologized as Nick walked by (followed by Howie and AJ) and put the pizza down on a table that was set up on the set. "Nick freaked out over -- well, nothing, I guess. And we ran into Isa ---"
"The hyena?" Kevin interrupted.
"Yeah," Brian answered with a nod, "She was the waitress at the pizza place."
Kevin shook his head, "I'm surprised Nick went in at all."
"Well he left as soon as he saw her, and said he'd meet me here. But - and this is the weird part - I found him just inside the park gate staring into space. When I asked him what was wrong, he started spouting off something about a Goose and fishes and the mob."
Kevin laughed, "Active imagination."
Johnny rolled his eyes, "Go eat. Both of you -- before those three eat it all, AND so we have time to actually have a photo shoot tonight."
Saving the Day for Blondes (AKA How Nick Carter Became Involved in a Terrorist Mob, Quite By Accident Really!, And Thereby Managed To Save The World For The First Time Ever, Much To Kevin's Surprise.) by Pengi
