Chapter 189

Welcome, Clairevoyance315.

You last visited: May 28, 2009 at 9:42 p.m.

Private Messages: Unread 0, Total 0.

Claire scrolled right past the welcome message on the Backstreet Boys forum and began skimming the threads. With Nick gone on tour again, this time overseas in Europe, she had taken to checking this message board again to keep tabs on him when she was not busy with Cait and Lainey. Those times were few and far between, but when it was night, and the condo was dark, and the two babies were sleeping soundly, she managed to find a few quiet minutes to sit at the computer and wonder what Nick was doing right then.

Sleeping, most likely, at this hour. He was in… (She scrolled until she found a thread with the tour schedule and checked.) ... Brussels tonight, Paris tomorrow night. That meant if it was eight p.m. in Florida, it was… (Again, she paused and did the math in her head.) … two a.m. in Brussels. She supposed he could still be out, checking out the Belgian nightlife.

She smiled as she pictured Nick dressed in hot Euro fashion, sipping drinks in some posh club in the heart of Brussels, then looked down at herself, in her raggedy t-shirt and pajama shorts. She would rather be eating Belgian chocolate, if she were there with him. A part of her wished she was.

Clicking the ‘Back’ button on her browser, she returned to the main page of the forum and resumed her scrolling. She passed a thread titled “Why Nick is still not as popular as Justin,” stopped, backtracked, and clicked. Smirking, she read the original post.

the dramabrewer: After six years as a solo artist, Justin Timberlake still sells out arenas. Nick Carter still does not sell out even small venues. You people wonder why. It’s not difficult. Justin constantly reinvents himself with music that is unique and innovative. Nick continues to sing whiny, generic ballads written for him by other people. When you go to a Justin concert, you can expect be entertained with something new and exciting every time. When you go to a Nick concert, you can expect to be bored by the same old thing – Nick sitting on a stool, grunting out meaningless lyrics and making tortured facial expressions. That is not entertaining. Hence, why Nick is still not as popular as Justin.

“Are you for real?” murmured Claire in disbelief, unable to stop herself from reading on.

05Ebony: Oh boy, here we go again. Why are you here?

the dramabrewer: Why are you so obsessed with me?

05Ebony: Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not obsessed with you.

the dramabrewer: Liar. You constantly come into my threads and ask why I’m here. Why are you here? Not to discuss the topic. You’re here because you’re obsessed with me.

05Ebony: Oooookay then. Think whatever you want.

the dramabrewer: I will. And you will continue to read my thoughts because you can’t ignore me.

JustIgnoreMe: I think Justin Timberlake’s “innovative” music sucks.

the dramabrewer: That’s because you are a teenybopper.

05Ebony: Why is everyone who disagrees with you suddenly a teenybopper?

the dramabrewer: Again, I ask, why are you so obsessed with me?

05Ebony: The only one who’s obsessed with you is YOU.

the dramabrewer: Lies. All lies. Stop making things up.

05Ebony: That doesn’t make any sense.

the dramabrewer: You make no sense.

“Arguing with her is like fighting with a brick wall, girl,” muttered Claire. “You’re not gonna get anywhere with it.”

She scrolled until someone new joined the conversation.

Dewfreak: I think you’re forgetting that Nick CAN’T do all the dancing and stuff Justin does anymore. He’s only got one leg. Of course he sits on a stool to sing. It’s probably a lot easier for him that way. It doesn’t matter to me anyway – it should be about the music, not all the other stuff.

the dramabrewer: No one has forgotten. Nick won’t let us forget. Instead of entertaining us, he bores us to tears with songs about all the trials and suffering he’s been through. As if anyone wants to hear that. People don’t go to a concert to be depressed; they go to have fun. Justin’s shows are more fun than Nick’s.

Dewfreak: You are horrible.

JustIgnoreMe: Have you ever been to one of Nick’s shows, dramabrewer? He’s amazing!! And like Dew said, it’s not about the dancing and pyro and all that stuff. It’s about the music. Nick could sit on a stool and sing about anything, and I would be entertained.

the dramabrewer: That’s because you have no standards. You don’t want Nick to succeed.

JustIgnoreMe: Excuse me? Just because I don’t want Nick to copy what Justin is doing does not mean I don’t want him to succeed.

retardiefartie: Drama’s right – why do you get on our cases when we talk about what the boys can do to improve? You call US “bad fans,” yet you’re the ones who don’t seem to care how well they do. We just want them to put out good music and be successful, and we’re not content to just settle for pathetic attempts at music, like the kind that’s on Nick’s album.

EveryoneDoesHateMeNow: Reps to Fartie and Drama. Nick ain’t got nothin’ on JT. If y’all honestly think Nick’s more talented and unique than JT, then y’all be in denial.

cookie1fondler: Whiterly!! *squeezes* *huggles* *fondles* Oh heavens to Betsy, my old geezer body can’t handle all this physical contact! Brittle bones, you know? *wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze*

Claire stopped reading and briefly skimmed, until it became clear that any chance of a mature conversation had been lost. As the posts became increasingly stupid, she clicked her ‘Back’ button again.