Staring down in the red colored water Nick's stomach churned. Blood! He was peeing blood! Thoughts swirled around in his head in the same speed as the toilet bowel flushed, hiding all evidence that something was seriously wrong with his health. Even though he had no medical knowledge, a small voice whispered in the back of his head that peeing blood was not something to take easily upon.
The pain that had burned in his back was gone after he had managed to empty his bladder and he made up his mind to go outside to the awaiting crowd. Hundreds of fans had come to meet them and within a few hours he was due to preform infront of more than 10 000 people! Since he was the only one in the group that escaped being a victim to the dreaded bug that was hitting people faster than the Spanish flu, he was the only one that was well enough to lead the group.
Carrying this heavy burden on his shoulders there wasn't a chance that he could let the rest of the group down by telling them that he was injured. His own ailments had to wait.
When he was done he walked over to the sink and turned on the tap. Rinsing his face he felt a bit refreshed, yet when he looked back in the mirror a ghostly pale face stared back at him. Out of nowhere he was struck by a sharp pain in his back which sent him hunched down. "Shit," he groaned as he tried to regain his posture again. Suddenly the door opened and in ran AJ, looking like his pants were on fire, which wasn´t far from the truth judging from the distress the singer was in.
"Bone!" he called out, yet the rebel didn´t listen and he ran towards an open stall, slamming the door hard behind him in the process. Nick grinned. It was clear that the rebel was in too much distress to be sidetracked.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and the minute he set his foot outside, Johnny grabbed his arm, growling. "Where the hell have you been? Do you think that this is a recreational trip?"
"Eh..uh..It..it couldn´t wa..wait," Nick stuttered, blushing, as he was rougly shoved towards the table. The rest of the group minus AJ signed autographs and greeted fans.
"They have been waiting for you for a long time so you better straighten up your act!" Johnny was nagging at him all the way to the table. One woman looked at him strangely as the manager passed her. She had a displeased frown on his forehead. Instantly he straightened up and patted Nick soothingly on his shoulder as he smiled towards her, "Sorry..you know kids." The smile was not returned back.
Pulling his chair back Nick sat down. He made a face as his sore back hit the hard plastic seat, Seeing this Brian glared at him, mouthing, "You okay?"
Avoiding his friends eyes he set his attention towards a girl in a ponytail who handed him a piece of paper to sign. She was shaking from nervousness and Nick took her hand in an comforting gesture. "Whats your name?" he asked as he scribbled down his name on the paper.
"Lottie," she squeaked and he smiled warmly at her.
"Lottie, what a nice name." He handed her the autograph.
"Thanks!" She let out a shrill cry as she ran away, looking very very happy. Nick laughed. He had at least made one girl to feel like she was in heaven.
"Can I have a hug?" another girl asked bravely.
"Yeah sure." He gave her a quick hug and as he was about to sit down again another girl yelled, "Niiiccckkk, meeeee toooooo pleeeaaaaaseeeeee!!"
"Aha." He continued to give out hugs even tough his back felt like it was on fire and his stomach felt heavy and strange. Ignoring his pain and aches he smiled widely. All for the fans!
Wincing he sat down, a small groan escaped his lips. Hearing this Brian, who leaned over towards him, whispering, "Dude! Are you alright?"
Nodding, Nick avoided his eyes and reached out to grab the poster that one girl wanted him to sign. He smiled to her, but the smile did not reach his eyes. Noticing this Brian whispered, holding cupping the side of his mouth with one hand so that no one could hear what he was talking about, "You´re not fooling me Frack. I´m telling Johnny that you need to be examined by a doctor."
A bit annoyed Nick whispered back, "No! I´m fine." Going to see a doctor was not something that he was incline to do. He knew that if anyone with medical expertise found out that he as peeing blood he would be in for a real treat. Judging from the bad luck that he often had he would probably be bedridden in a hospital for several days. Being in Europe away from his family was bad, but staying alone in a German hospital was worse.
Brian raised his eyebrows, "Frack?"
Completley ignoring Brian, the eigteen year old gave all his attention to the blonde girl with braces. She told him that he was the cutest guy in the world and even if he had heard it thousands of times it still made him blush and feel insecure.
In the corner of his eye Nick spotted that Brian had got the undivided attention from some fans. This meant that he couldn´t keep his eye on him any longer and Nick could breathe from relief. It wasn´t that he didn´t want Brian to care, no it was more that he was afraid that he would break down if someone showed him too much attention. The pain made him feel weak and sick and this often led him to feeling homesick which in turn led him to be like a cry baby. And that was not a thing that he wanted to happen.
Glancing at the empty seat beside him he saw that AJ hadn´t returned yet. The bug must have had him in a tight grip since the rebel had been gone quite a while. Just as he was about to ask Johnny how Bone was doing the boy in question came back from the restrooms. He walked in a hunched over position and the sickly pale color around his gills revealed that he was feeling anything but good. Nick felt sorry for his friend.
"How you´re doin' bro?" he whispered as he leaned over to AJ.
"Shitty!" AJ wheezed, barely no voice, as he smiled paley towards two girls that were giggling. Picking up a pen he wrote his name as he chatted to the girls. There was no way that anyone could tell that the five boys were as sick as dogs. They were all chatting and doing their best to please the fans even if they were feeling very bad. The Backstreet smile plastered on their faces.
Nick never thought time would end and he felt nothing but relief as Johnny finally announced to the screaming fans that it was time for them to pack up and leave. There was groans of disappointment as the manager fell the unwanted comments. The hours dragged along and Nick felt relieved when Johnny finally announced that it was time for them to leave the place. There were a desperate need for a bathroom break. As soon as they had left the meet and greet, Nick set his pace towards the restrooms again.
"Where do you think you´re going Carter?" Johnny wheezed as he saw the blonde walk towards the door with the famous stick figured sign.
"I gotta go," he explained as lightly as he could. His back ached something fierceful and his bladder was dying for a release. There were no chance that his manager could stop him in his desperate need.
"Again? You pee more than a pregnant woman," Johnny muttered as Nick slunk into the restroom, closing the door behind him with a thud. He wasn´t alone in the room and before he could blink, AJ came out from a stall.
"You have the shits too?"
"No!" Nick rushed past him as he gave his grinning friend the finger. Seconds later the door slammed shut inches in front of his friends face.
"Is this gonna get bad, like should i put my shirt over my face?" AJ laughed as he went over to the sink to wash his hands. "Can I still breathe?"
"Shut the fuck up," Nick growled inside from the stall. He wished desperately that Bone would go away. It was bad enough that he had to face yet another painful trip to the bathroom, he didn´t need to have AJ standing outside listening too.
Standing there, waiting for AJ to leave the room, he felt coldsweat break out on his forehead. His stomach was cramping too and for a moment he feared that he would get sick. 'Beautiful,' Nick thought miserably. That was all he needed, his stomach rebelling too. To his relief the nausea passed away as quickly as it came, replaced with a burning feeling in his bladder.
When he was sure that he was left alone he finally let go. Closing his eyes hard, he didnt dare to look, afraid that the urine in the bowl would be colored again. The sharp pain that he felt in his back intensified and he knew that he didn't have to look. He just knew that the water would be red!
A small cry escaped his lips as a sudden pain struck him in his lower stomach when he was done. Bending over he shielded his midsection.
"Nick?"
Shit! AJ was still there?
"What?" He tried to make his voice as casual as possible so that his friend wouldn´t hear that something was wrong with him.
"Did the zipper get stuck on your dick or what?" A hoarse laugh was heard.
Biting his lip he forced himself not to let out another cry. 'You can do this, come on!' he mentally said over and over again.
Upon hearing no sneer comments back there was a knock on the door, "Dude you´re ok?" AJ sounded concerned.
"Ye..yes," Nick did his best to steady his voice even if the searing pain made it hard to breathe. He leaned against the tiled wall, regaining his posture.
"You sure man? You don´t sound too good." Another knock on the door. "You want me to get B´rok?"
B'rok? What could he do about this? "Rok? What do you want him to do? Wipe my ass?" Nick sneered through gritted teeth.
A laugh was heard. "Now I know that you´re fine. Well Nicky I´m getting out. Come to the bus when you´re done jerking off."
"Bite me!"
"Not right now, I´m not a stud like you."
"Eat me!"
"No thank ýou. I think I´ll pass." AJ laughed before he started to cough really hard, muttering, "Man this sucks." After the worst of coughing bouth was over he said, "You sure that you´re fine?"
"Get out!!" Nick yelled as he did his best not to groan again. The pain was still there, just not as intense as before.
"Relax man, I´m on my way. Don´t stay too long. Johnny will be pissed." With those words AJ left the facilities.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead Nick felt like crap. The pain in his back was bad and dizziness swept over him in waves. Looking down in the bowl he noticed that he was still pissing blood. "Fuck," flushing the evidence away. He had to ask someone about this condition. Asking Brian one more time would be too suspecious, so he opted to talk to Kevin. After all the tall man had been a football player and had to have at least one kick to his balls during his sportive years. Kevin was also the one that Nick often turned to when he needed to ask something serious.
Stepping outside he noticed another man that was using the urinal. Ignoring him Nick walked up to the sink, turning on the tap. Bending down to wash his face a sudden rush of diziness washed over him. Like a blind man he grabbed the wash basin as white dots appeared infront of his eyes. Nausea made it hard to breathe and his legs felt like jello. For a moment he was sure that he would pass out as cold sweat ran down his forehead and back, and he was grateful that he had the basin to hold on to or there had been no stopping for him to fall flat on his face.
"Dir geht's nicht gut, oder?" The man by the urinal held a hand on his arm, looking at him with concerned brown eyes.
"I..I don´t sp..speak ger..German," Nick stuttered as he slowly started to regain his color back again. Running his hand through his sweaty hair he felt embarrassed.
"Are you sick?" the man asked in broken English, trying to decide what condition the teen standing infront of him was in.
Shaking his head Nick stumbled over his words, "I´m..I´m fi..fine."
"You sure? You don´t look well at all." The man let go of his hand. "Maybe you should sit down for a while."
"No I have to go," Nick mumbled as he straightened up, dismissing that he felt like in a few seconds later he would be ready to topple over. "They'll leave me if I´m not coming."
"Who? Your family?"
"No, my manager." Nick murmured as he walked slowly towards the door, "The group."
The man studied him, "You´re that teen that is in that famous group right...The American one. Backs..Backside bo.."
"Backstreet Boys," Nick corrected him with a groan, "Yeah."
"You want me to get someone?" The man asked, as the teen in front of him looked like he could do with someone taking care of him, shivering with chills.
"No...no I´ll be okay. I really have to go." Nick said, pressing the door handle. "My group will miss me!" He let out a small grin, "Thanks anyway."
"No problem," the man said, returning the smile back. "You take care."
Nodding, Nick closed the door behind him. He didn't like to be questioned by some stranger, even if the man meant nothing bad. Closing his eyes he breathed a sigh of relief, just to hear Johnny's voice sound through the hallway.
"CARTER! There you are! We have been waiting for you so you better get your fat ass over here NOW!"
