15 year old Samantha Brewer walked down the dark streets. She glanced at her watch, it was 8:32 P.M.
Too late to be out by herself.
Samantha started walking a little faster. Her mom was going to have a fit, she was supposed to be home by 8.
Samantha began to run.
She ran and ran.
She turned a corner, and bumped right into someone.
Samantha was out of breath, it was almost a relief to her to have to stop running to apologize.
She looked up, and was about to say, "I'm sorry" when her face turned pale.
This wasn't who she thought it was, was it? It couldn't be...Nick Carter??!!
"I'm, so sorry!" Samantha stammered.
"It's okay." Nick responded, his voice a bit shaky.
"Are you okay?" Nick asked after they had been standing like that for a minute, Samantha still out of breath from running, her face still pale from shock.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just I was trying to get home quickly, and then running into you, you Nick Carter of all people! I mean, I'd NEVER expect to run into YOU in a little town like this! I mean, I know it isn't THAT little, but it is pretty small," Samantha knew she was babbling, but she couldn't help it, that was just what she did when she was nervous. "Well, 'cause you're famous and all, and you're my idol, things like that just don't happen to people like me, in towns like this." Samantha finished.
"Well...What's you're name?" Nick finally decided how to respond to Samantha's out burst.
"Samantha."
"I'm Nick."
"Yeah, I know."
"Well Samantha, I'm gonna go, maybe I'll bump into you again some time." Nick said, walking past her.
"Wait!" Samantha said, turning around.
But Nick was already gone.
This puzzled Samantha, this street was so long, how could Nick walk that fast?
But Samantha didn't just stand there and ponder over this question, in fact, she shrugged it off and continued to run home.
A smile a mile wide was spread across Samantha's face. She couldn't believe it, she had just met Nick Carter!
She couldn't wait to go home and call her best friend Kristin.
Samantha burst through the door to her house calling, "I know I'm late Mom, but the most amazing thing just happened, and I have to tell Kristin. Then you can yell at me."
"Samantha, honey, there's going to be something about BSB on the news, they said it was important news, so if you want to wait-" her mom didn't even have time to finish, Samantha was already sitting next to her on the couch.
After about a million other things, the segment about BSB began.
"A tragedy has happened today. Millions of Backstreet Boys fans who are watching right now, brace yourselves.
Nineteen year old Nick Carter of the popular music group, The Backstreet Boys, was in a car accident today. He was in the passenger seat of his friend's car when his friend, who we have just learned was drunk, hit a tree. While Carter's friend only has a couple of scratches and bruises, Nick wasn't at all that lucky." The reporter paused. "Nick died at 7:36 P.M. this night."
More was said, but Samantha couldn't hear the words.
She couldn't hear her mother say "Oh my God."
She couldn't even hear her own self sobbing.
A defing sound was going through her head, the sound of nothing. The sound seemed to swallow her up, so she could hear nothing.
Her tears seemed to drown her, so she could not see, and could not breathe.
Samantha ran.
She didn't know where she was running to, until she blinked and wiped her tears away and was looking into Nick's beautiful blue eyes.
Samantha cried even more as she looked at, the poster on her wall.
How could this have happened, how?! She had just met Nick a little while ago! This couldn't be true! But it was true.
Samantha was crying again. She did that a lot. She had loved Nick since 1997, when she had first bought the Backstreet Boys' CD. She still couldn't believe Nick was dead.
Memories flooded her brain of the night she had met Nick. She could remember everything from how she had looked at her watch, to the nothing noise.
Then, Samantha realized something.
Her watch had read 8:32 P.M.
The reporter said Nick died at 7:36 P.M.
It wasn't possible, the reporter must have been wrong.
But reporters were always right about that kind of thing.
Then she must have read her watch wrong.
No, when she had walked through the front door, she had seen the clock which had read 9:13, it wouldn't have taken over an hour for her to get home.
Well, maybe it wasn't Nick.
Now that was just dumb, of course it was him.
Samantha thought about when she had met Nick. She had been so awe struck at the time, that she hadn't really been paying attention to details about Nick.
Thinking about it now, she remembered details.
Nick's eyes seemed to be lighter, and looking at something far away.
His hands had been clutching his head.
His whole body had been trembling.
How could I have been so blind? Samantha wondered.
But, it couldn't be, Samantha couldn't even think of thinking that Nick was a...ghost? A scared frightened ghost.
No, that was too weird. Then again, wasn't it weird that Nick was just wandering aimlessly in the streets of her small town, and could walk faster than most could run?
Samantha couldn't take this, it was too much for her to handle.
Samantha knew she would probably never know the answer, but she still had to wonder...how was it possible to have met Nick, after he was dead, if he wasn't a ghost?
The End