This was my least favorite part about being famous. Always having to be 'on' I never knew what being 'on' meant until Lou gave me a two hour lecture about it when I was 15 in Germany and asked some girls if they could please stop screaming into my ear. He pulled me aside then and lectured me on the finer points of being a teen idol. "It goes with the job" He had said. "You should be grateful they are there at all. If they want to pull at your hair and rip your shirt off, let them and smile as they do it" Of course, it was easy for him to talk, he didn't have to worry about it. But that's exactly what I did when a swarm of girls stood around me screaming. I worried. So, naturally when Brian and I arrived back at the hotel to a few fans, I whined.
"God! How do they always know where we are?"
Brian looked over at me and smiled, "I have no idea, but at least there are only three of them I think"
"There's always more than three, just wait and see, suddenly the lobby will be swarming"
Keith stopped us by placing his hand on my shoulder, "If you want, we could find a back entrance" I looked over at Brian and shrugged, I would have loved to do that. Playing basketball made me hot and sweaty. The last thing I wanted to do was put on a happy face and hug people. I probably stunk.
"Nah, that's okay man. We'll rough it out. Nick and I are tough aren't we kid?" Brian winked at me which meant I should stop complaining now.
SO, I reluctantly followed Brian and Keith into the lobby where we were instantly greeted by shrieks. It sounded like there were thirty people standing around us by the way the girls were acting. I know I should have been grateful, but at that particular time I wasn't. I was hot and felt a headache creeping up behind my eyes, telling me that I was coming down with the start of a cold. All I wanted to do was shower and go take a long nap.
"Oh my GOD!! I love you guys so much!!" One of the girls said to me through tears, which instantly made me feel guilty for ever wanting them to go away in the first place. I smiled and grabbed her in a hug "Thanks darling" I gave her my smirk which I'm pretty sure did the trick because she started full out balling onto my shoulder. Brian was busy signing an autograph for one of the girls while the third one rambled on and on so fast about something, I couldn't understand a word she was saying. I just smiled and nodded hoping that she wasn't telling me that her dog died.
I finally got the crying girl to calm down as we posed for picture after picture. It seemed like when one girl was done the next one moved to take her place. They were doing the same thing to Brian. The funny thing was, they never once asked the two of us to pose together. I bet that's something they regretted when they got home. "Damn! We had them both why couldn't they make a me sandwich?"
"I just wanted to let you now how much you guys mean to me. I would be nothing without you and your music" I smiled, that touched me deeply. I mean, it's something I don't get really, I'm only a kid, how in the world can I make such an impact? Beats the hell out of me.
I'm pretty sure they would have stayed all day and followed us right up to our room to continue oogling if Keith hadn't nicely moved us along towards the elevators.
"I think you have a male admirer Nick" I looked over to the very amused face of Brian and saw him glance over at a guy who was staring at me. Even once I looked at him, he just kept staring. It was a little creepy actually. I smiled at him because I didn't know what else to do. One of the girls saw me glance towards the man and decided to fill me in, "He's here waiting for you" She said still bouncing up and down holding my mother's book in her hands.
"Aww isn't that sweet" Now Brian was really enjoying himself.
The man slowly made his way towards me also clutching my mother's book in his hands. Keith still continued to usher us towards the elevators never stopping, his hold firm on my arm guiding me away from the girls and the man.
"Excuse me" the man finally said. I turned towards him and smiled. He looked vaguely familiar. "I was wondering if I could speak with you for just a minute?" Now Brian who was having fun suddenly decided to get all protective, "Um..I'm really sorry but we are in a bit of a hurry" Now Brian was pulling me by one arm and Keith by the other.
"Please? It will only take a few minutes" He didn't sound sure of himself, which only made Keith more insistent that I leave right now.
"I'm really sorry" I said as the doors closed. I nervously ran my hands through my hair.
"I need a shower like no one's business!"
"Yeah you do" Brian was quick to agree which sent me running over to him and hugging him tight against my sweaty skin.
"Ewww Keith get him off of me dude"
I laughed as I pulled away. "See I told ya I stink" We all got a laugh out of that one.
Mike just stood there staring at the elevator doors that had closed on him, missing any chance he had of ever talking to his brother. He couldn't believe he hadn't been more forceful. Barrel his way onto that stupid elevator and demand some of Nick's time. But, he just let him go. With not so much as a word uttered about it.
Dejected, he walked past the screaming bouncy girls and out the lobby doors back to his apartment.
When he got there, he was met with a dozen messages on his answering machine. The first three were friendly reminders from bill collectors. We just wanted to remind you Mr. Alexander that you are two months past due on your credit card. How sweet of them. Then the calls from the store. At first they sounded concerned. "Mike where are you? Please give the store a call back as soon as you get this" to the last one on his machine, from the boss himself, "Mr. Alexander, if you still value your job you better call within the next ten minutes"
Once he got up the nerve to call, he was surprised to see that he still had a job. He got the "and if this ever happens again you're gone" speech but aside from that not a big deal was made about it. Thankfully.
His doorbell rang about an hour after that. He was in the middle of making a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. He had thought about just going to bed forgetting the day even happened, but his hunger prevented him from doing that. "Great who is it now?" He said wiping his hands on a dish towel and making his way over to the buzzer to let whoever it was in.
"With my luck I probably just buzzed the grim reaper up"
It wasn't the grim reaper, but could have very easily been the grim reaper's cousin, "Hi"
She bolted through the door, "Where the hell did you go?"
"Nice to see you to Melinda"
"Stop fooling around with me, seriously Mike. I could have fucking lost my job because I covered for your ass!" He knew it was because of Melinda that he still had his job.
"Sorry...it's just been a horrible day" He said sitting on his couch and placing his feet on his broken coffee table.
Melinda sat beside him, still looking angry but also grateful that he was alright.
"Why? What happened?" He rolled his eyes, did he really want to explain this to anyone when he had such a hard time dealing with it himself?
"It's nothing...thanks for covering for me. I owe you big time"
"Yes, you do Mike and you know how you can start?"
"How?"
"By telling me what had you running out of that store like a psychopath. Poor Ariana was beside herself" She laughed. "You had to see her, she kept saying HE HAS MY BOOK! it was pretty friggin hilarious"
"Yeah, I feel bad about that. I guess I owe her one too"
She turned on the couch to face him, a gesture which made Mike a little uncomfortable, he was never big on confrontations. "So, tell me what's going on" Melinda said slowing each syllable as she spoke.
"Okay, but if I tell you, do you promise not to go blabbing it to everyone?" She smiled and crossed her legs pretzel style on the couch, "Ooh, this must be good..I promise...now shoot"
He decided to tell her about everything, even the part about his dad in jail. She sat oddly quiet for Melinda. When he got to the part about Nick being his brother, her eyes grew big as saucers and then they sat in silence.
"So, you think I'm nuts?"
"No...but, are you sure? I mean absolutely sure?"
"No, but my gut tells me he is the one Melinda. I really think Nick Carter is my brother"
"Jesus Mike, this is the kind of shit you see on soap operas. This doesn't happen in real life" He nodded. She had a point, it was really bizarre. "So what are you going to do?"
"Nothing I guess, I tried to talk to him at the hotel but his security brushed me off"
"That's ridiculous, they wouldn't do that if they knew who you were"
"But they don't" She stood up and grabbed both of Mike's hands in hers pulling him off the couch, "Let's go"
"Where?"
"What do you mean where? We are going back to that hotel and you are going to talk to your brother if I have to cause a major scene to get you in to do it"
"I don't know Melin..."
"Do you want to talk to him Mike?" She asked still holding both of his arms close to her. Mike looked her in the eyes and smiled, "Of course I would. Nothing would make me happier"
"Well, let's go then!"
He suddenly felt a whole new rush of adrenaline over take him and once again wanted to run right to the hotel. He almost forgot to shut off the burner where his boiling water was waiting for him. By the time he was done with his story the water had just about evaporated entirely. He had forgotten all about the Mac and cheese. Now all he had on his mind was his little brother.
"But why out of all the groups and bands in the world, does your brother have to be a stinking Backstreet Boy?" She said as they closed the door ans headed back towards the hotel.
