Nick crept off his bus. Brian and AJ were still having fun! And they weren't leaving yet, so why should he have to get sent off to his bus like a little kid? Ken wouldn't mind. Come to think of it, Ken didn't really have to act like such a dictator. He walked around aimlessly. Which bus was Brian's? Ah, it was this one.
"Aww, but Ken!" Nick heard Brian saying his goodbyes to Rose and Tara. There had been a third, hadn't there? Egg. Nick wondered where Egg had gone. They'd left her in the hallway with Aaron, and then Aaron left... Where was Kevin? Nick wondered what in the hell had been bothering Kevin for the last three weeks. His last girlfriend Shannon had obviously said something that was getting to him but he didn't want to talk about it, which was unusual. He'd rather bash things with his hockey stick. Yes, that had definitely become one of Kevin's favorite pastimes. So far, Kevin's own bus had suffered the most, but there were a few dressing rooms that hadn't gone unharmed. Nick heard Ken ordering Rose and Tara off the bus again. He remembered his idea. He'd thought they could invite their three new acquaintances to tag along on the tour busses with them. The two girls stumbled off the bus and Ken stuck behind to chew out AJ and Brian for a while. True, bringing people along hadn't worked so well the last time... But that was different! Ken had known about it then.
"Panda! Hippo!" He waved at them.
"What?" Tara looked at him suspiciously. "Ken's after us. We have to go. It's been great!"
"Uh, uh, umm...." What if they had jobs? What if they had pets? They wouldn't want to leave without any clothes, anyway. Or would they? What had made him think they'd want to come along at all?
"What is it?" Rose looked with distrust at the tall, baby-faced blonde she and Tara had dubbed Baby Spice.
"Shit! Ken's coming!" Nick saw Ken in a window of Brian's bus. "Follow me. Please?" They could hide on his 'batcave' and discuss it, maybe. Tara and Rose exchanged glances then shrugged and ran after him. Nick's bus was a wreck. He threw some shoes, clothes, and a few video games off a couch onto the floor so they could sit down.
"What's going on?" Rose asked uneasily.
"Uhh...."
"Get to the point, Blondie," Tara suggested.
"Um, I dunno. Nevermind, I guess. Bye..." he said, trying very hard to sound sad.
"Spill it!" Tara demanded.
"You could come with us," he said quickly.
"But... Ken!" Rose said simply.
"We could, um, not tell Ken?" Nick suggested. "Forget it. Another stupid idea... Sometimes this just gets dull, ya know."
"If Ken finds out, he'll kill us.... you know that, don't you?" Tara wondered.
"He can't kill you! He'll just make you leave."
"He's right, Hip," Rose noted thoughtfully.
"Do you have jobs?" Nick asked.
"Got fired last month," Rose answered. "Tara's a hippie. She doesn't have a job."
"Well....." Tara had to admit, it had a crazy kind of appeal and tried to suppress a smile. "There's only one thing."
"Shayna," Rose realized.
"Howie said she went home," Nick informed them.
"I guess she knows the way back to our place, right Rosie?" Tara mused. "Yeah, she'll be fine, just fine." She grinned.
"Hip, your parents are going to kill you," Rose realized. "No they won't! Egg will get back and let her in. We can call them sometime."
"So..." Nick was hopeful. In reply, the two looked at each other and started laughing hysterically. They nodded at him.
"Are you sure?" Rose asked uncertainly.
"Yes!!! Yes yes yes! This is gonna be so much fun!" Nick stopped at the sound of Ken's voice.
"Nick? What is going on in there?"
"Uhhh... I won my video game! I won! I won! Aren't you proud, Ken?!?!"
"You're a crazy kid, Nick." Ken left them again. Tara noticed how much Nick sounded like a teenybopper and started laughing harder.
"Are you sure? I mean... you don't have any clothes or anything, except for what you're wearing. But you can get stuff somewhere!"
"This is nuts," Rose commented gleefully.
"You'll have to hide here tonight, because Ken's on the lookout. But maybe after that someone else'll take you in." He smiled in disbelief that his insane plan had worked. Or seemed to be working. "No one goes in my room. You guys can hide out there and I'll sleep on the couch." They looked at him unsurely. "It's fine. Even Ken won't find you there."
Someone knocked on the door.
"Kevin?"
"What?" Kevin barked.
"It's Ken. Why the hell are you still in your dressing room? We have to leave, ya know."
"Yeah, Ken. I'll be along in fifteen."
"Don't take too long!" Ken left.
"I guess I ... um, won't see you." Erin looked at her hands and realized she'd forgotten about washing them. They must be filthy! She wondered where a restroom was.
"Yeah, I guess so." Kevin frowned at the remains of his beloved slippers and regretted burning them. He felt so much better after talking idly with Erin. Erin frowned at her fingernails. It wasn't that she felt unwelcome in her apartment with Rose and Tara. She just felt out of place. Strangely enough, she didn't feel out of place with this weird pop star.
"Kevin, how often do people ask you if they can go on tour with you and hang out on your bus?" The worst he can say is 'no'....
"All the time. Fans beg to come with us. Sometimes they find their way into the busses, and then there's trouble..."
"Well, it was cool talking with you. I hope you work things out and stuff with ... um.. the stuff Shannon said," Erin said sympathetically. He still thought her question had just been a random question. She walked to the door and turned the doorknob.
"Will you come on tour with us and hang out on the bus?" Kevin asked abruptly. "I mean... NO. I know you have a life. I... I'm a stupid pansy and you wouldn't want to come, anyway.." He trailed off unhappily.
"Kevin, you're not a stupid pansy!" Erin reminded him yet again. "I just ... well, I'd really like to." She smiled bashfully. 'Do something spontaneous for once in your life, Erin Grace Greene,' she told herself.
"We can't tell Ken or Jobob or anyone else. Well, maybe we can tell the guys..." Kevin smiled youthfully. "Let's go to my bus! You can have my bed, I'll sleep on the floor," he said courteously.
"It's okay. I'll sleep on the floor." Erin laughed happily. She decided to call Tara and Rose tomorrow, maybe the next day. They'd be okay.
"No, I will. Follow me."
"Okay, Ken. We understand..." AJ sighed resentfully.
"Yeah. No more fans on the batcaves, no more other people who aren't fans, no more-" Brian counted on his fingers.
"Don't make me sound like an asshole, guys. You just have to remember your job, okay?" Ken said in a fatherly tone.
"Right." AJ glared at the floor. He hated being told what to do.
"Yeah, yeah... Okay." Brian looked at a hat sitting on the floor and remembered that Rose still had his beloved Kentucky Wildcats hat. "Hey! Morticia has my hat!!" He dashed past Ken into the parking lot. Neither Rose nor Tara were anywhere in sight. He looked around for a bit then gave up. She could keep his hat. He had a few more just like it. Brian had met hundreds of people at concerts. He'd meet more interesting people tomorrow night, right? He walked back onto his bus, feeling cheated.
"You look pissed," AJ commented.
"Hmmm." Brian sat on a couch and crossed his arms.
"Chill, Brian. We can get you another hat," Ken said casually.
"It's not about the hat," he grumbled.
"You made thousands of people happy tonight, you know that?" Ken said, trying to cheer him up. "Didn't you see all the little girls screaming at you?"
"Cut the crap, Ken." Brian glared at nothing in particular. "In the words of Kevin..." That phrase had become synonymous with 'shut up' lately.
"Yeah, please," AJ added. "Don't give us ten seconds to get their phone number or anything."
"Would you two please stop making me feel bad? You're Backstreet Boys. That's why you're here. If you wanna meet people, that's fine, but it's just impossible for them to stick around. I shouldn't have to remind you of that-"
"Goodnight Ken." Brian knew Ken was probably right and that he'd feel bad later for snapping at him.
"I guess I'll go find Kevin," Ken announced as he walked out.
"Seeya B." AJ didn't want to stick around. Brian was in bitch mode again. Maybe Nick would feel like playing video games. Nick always felt like playing video games. He walked into Nick's bus and didn't see him anywhere, but there were voices in the kitchen. 'Oh no. Nick's flirting with dancers again...' He walked into the kitchen.
"I wonder if Baby Spice has any edible food." Tara stared suspiciously at the small kitchen.
"Probably not... What did your little sister say was his favorite food? She knows these things."
"Um, pizza? Something like that." Nick was taking a shower or something.
"We could eat pizza."
"I don't think there is any. I'm hungry!" Tara whined. They heard footsteps behind them too late to allow time for hiding. "Oh god! It's Ken!" Tara gasped.
"Don't kill us!!! Please!!" Rose begged. Neither of them liked Ken very much.
"Why not?" AJ laughed at them.
"Oh, look. It's not Ken, it's un-Scary Spice," Tara muttered. What if he told Ken they were there?
"Does anyone know you're here?" AJ wondered.
"Um. Yes! We have permission from KEN." Rose lied.
"Then why would Ken want to kill you?" AJ smirked.
"Because we were contemplating raiding Blondie's fridge." Tara explained.
"Where is.. err.. Nick?" AJ was suspicious.
"We killed him and stuffed his corpse in the closet." Rose smiled evilly.
"You weren't supposed to TELL him! And besides, the corpse is under the bed, stupid." Tara rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah, sorry." Rose hit her forehead. "I'm soo stupid."
"Um." AJ watched them interestedly.
"Oh. Baby Spice is in the bathroom. Taking a shower or something." Tara shrugged.
"Are you guys still hungry?" AJ asked courteously.
"YES!" Tara kicked Nick's fridge. Rose shrugged.
"We can go to my bus!" AJ said happily. "I have food!" They left.
"Oh my god! Howie I LOVE this movie so MUCH!" Shayna gushed, staring at the screen.
"Me too! It's my favorite movie!!" Howie said.
"I know!! And your motto is 'Do unto other as you would have them do unto you!!!!" Shayna was ecstatic.
"Wow! I can't believe you know that!" Howie was amazed. "Do you want some of the official BSB popcorn?"
"YES!"
"And some official BSB pepsi?"
"YES!" Shayna was about to pass out again. She never thought Howie would be this nice to her! Everyone else made fun of her for being in love with Howie. They all said Nick or Brian was the best, but she ALWAYS told them Howie was the nicest and the cutest and had the prettiest voice. "Howie! Did you know that you can sing higher than I can?!"
"I can? WOW!" Howie giggled and went to the kitchen for popcorn.