Final Fantasy Eight

"Come on... pick up... pick UP!!!" Nick chanted, gripping the receiver with both hands. "PICK UP!!!" he shouted. Kevin glared at him from the dining room where he was reading. Nick cringed, squeaked out a weak 'sorry, Kevin', and went back to staring intently at the telephone, willing someone on the other end to pick up. Soon, Brian appeared in the doorway.

"Nick, we have to go now..." he sighed impatiently, glancing over his shoulder at the clock on the wall. "We're already twenty minutes late for rehearsal. Please get off the phone, okay?"

"But.. but it's an emergency! And we've never been late before, what will one little time matter? Ahhh!!! The other end is clicking, I think someone's picking up!"

"If it's not Nintendo," Brian muttered under his breath, "it's something else." He sighed helplessly. Nick motioned him to shut up, so he shrugged at Kevin, Howie, and AJ. They walked out the door, and Nick didn't notice as they got into the van and drove off.

"I'm famous!" he babbled into the phone. "Can I have it early? Please? Did I mention that I was famous? It would  be really good for your reputation if you gave it to me early! I'm famous! My name is Nick Carter, and I sing! Somewheeeere over the rainbow, way up hi-" the person on the other end hung up with a laugh.

"Nooooo!!!" Nick sobbed. "All my effort and waiting for this day, only to be let down! Now I'll NEVER get Final Fantasy Eight before the summer!!!" He continued crying. He knew the store would be sold out within ten minutes of each shipment, and he wasn't allowed to go anywhere where there were big crowds that he would be recognized in. Then he got an idea. 'Maybe...' he thought, 'Maybe if I go really really early in the  morning tomorrow when the store gets in their early shipment... but I'd better go now just to be sure...'

He ran into the kitchen, where his bodyguards were playing cards. They were there to take Nick to rehearsal, but since Nick had not gone to rehearsal, they had taken the day off in the huge mansion that the Backstreet Boys were staying in while they recorded their new album.

"Guys? Guuuuuys???" Nick whined, tugging on their sleeves. "Can we go to the video game store? Can we please?"

"Look, Nick," sighed the bodyguard in the right with the red shirt, "we went to the video game store yesterday. You already bought twelve new games, one new Nintendo 64 to keep in the white van, and put half a dozen games on pre order. Can't you lay off?"

"I WANT TO GO TO THE VIDEO GAME STORE AND IF YOU DON'T LET ME THEN I WILL GO BY MYSELF AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME CUZ YOU'RE NOT MY MOM AND IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME THEN YOU'RE GONNA GET SUED FOR A LOT OF MONEY AND IT WILL ALL BE YOUR FAULT!" Nick screamed.

"Fine, fine!" said the bodyguard on the left with the black shirt and the baseball cap, taking his hands off his ears, and picking up his hand of cards which he had dropped in surprise when Nick began to scream. "But this time," he said as he collected the cards off the table and the floor, "you stay inside the van until it stops, no rolling down the windows to throw water balloons at people, and no running to the arcade next door when we're not watching. Remember last time? The girl scout troop?" Nick shivered. "Good," said the bodyguard, making the cards into a neat pile on the tabletop. The three of them walked out to the spare van.

After driving about for some time, Nick spotted the huge three story Video Land. "Look, the store! The STORE!!!" he screamed excitedly, and plastered himself against the window staring at it. He had to find a way in. But how? There had to be one around there somewhere. They rolled past an emergency exit. "Aha!" he shouted triumphantly. He opened the door of the van, which was still driving, and jumped out of it, crashing into the emergency exit before he could stop himself. He staggered backwards, shook his head about, and rammed into the door again, trying to knock it down. Behind him, he heard his bodyguards shouting at him to get back in the van before someone noticed him.

"No!" he yelled. "I'm so close, I can't turn back now!" He shook the doorknob with one hand, and stuck his other hand in the mail slot. Then he realized it was pointless to have his hand shoved in a mail slot, so he tried to pull it out, but it was stuck.

"Dammit!" he screamed. "Heeeelp! Help me! I'm stuck! Get me out!!! Ouuuut! I... I'll have to get m-m-m... myself out..." he stuttered, looking around wildly like a trapped animal. "I... I'll have to.. t-t-t...tttto... chew my own a-a-arm off.... Yes..." He started laughing insanely and chewing at his wrist. "M-m-must get f-f-final f-f-f...f-f-f...fantasy... EIGHT!!!" He continued gnawing at his wrist frantically.

By now, not only had Nick's bodyguards gotten out of the van, but he had also been recognized. There were crowds of girls screaming and trying to reach him over the police barricades which had been put up. They had been in back of the van ever since the girl scout incident at the arcade. Nick noticed the girls in mid bite. He paused, and  his eyes grew wider.

"Umm..." he said, looking around nervously at the girls. "Ummmm..." he repeated. "I- I- umm... I... um... I-" he tried to desperately to pull his arm out of the slot again, hoping both for escape from the crowds, and a brand new Final Fantasy Eight. He almost fell over backwards when the door swung open, and Kevin was standing there. Of course, he couldn't fall over backwards since his hand was stuck in the door, which swung inwards. So, instead, he fell over forwards, pulled by the door. "Umm... hi... Kevin... hehe..." he said guiltily, grinning. "I was just... umm... walking by the store when I happened to see a little old lady who was... umm... being pulled into the mail slot by an evil spaceship stealing green scaly monster, so I... umm... I reached in to pull her out, being the brave hero that I am... and... umm.... I.... I got her out, but.... but I was stuck and... and umm....and... Aaron did it?"

"Not now, Nick. We have to get to rehearsal. We're late." said Kevin.

"Hey! Wait a minute! What are you doing here? I though you were going to rehearsal with Brian and AJ and Howie!"

"Umm... whatever do you mean, Nick?" Kevin said, quickly pulling Nick's hand out of the mail slot, and pulling him inside the door. "Why would I... be with Brian and AJ and Howie? They wouldn't have a reason to be here if they were going to re-"

"They're HERE?!" yelled Nick excitedly, happy that he might not get in trouble for going to Video Land. After all, who was left to yell at him if everyone else had gone there, too?

"Real smooth, Kevin," said AJ sarcastically, stepping out from behind a cardboard display for some video game, arms folded. "'Leave it to me, guys, he'll never know we're here.'" he mocked. "Yeah, right. Nice try. Well, Nick, I guess you know what we're up to. You can come out, Howie." Howie stepped out from behind another display, smiling, and obviously embarrassed to be there. By now, Nick was extremely confused. He had no idea what they were up to.

"Umm... yeah, I know what you're up to," he lied. "That's why I came to the store. That'll teach you to try to fool Nick Carter... it's not an easy task. I've just got these amazing reasoning skills, you know, and-"

"You have no clue why we're here, do you?" interrupted AJ.

"Umm... no. No, I don't."

"Awesome! Go away, Nick," said Howie happily.

"Yeah, we're busy. Go to rehearsal." said Kevin, glad that their secret was still a secret. "You'll never know what we're doing here until we decide to tell you."

"Come on, guys! That's not fair!!!" Nick whined. "Tell me!!! What ever happened to that whole 'we're a big family' thing? Huh? Huh???"

"Sorry, Nick," said AJ. "This secret isn't going to be let out. It's very important that-"

"Hey guys, I got the video game!" announced Brian, marching into the back of the store, and not noticing Nick. "I waited on line for forever, and I had to sign two dozen autographs, but I got it. Nick's going to love this. I can't wait to see the look on his face when- oops..." He saw Nick, who was staring at the video game in his hand, and looked as if he was about to begin drooling any minute. Kevin, Howie, and AJ were glaring at him disappointedly, shaking their heads at his ruining of their plan. "Umm... sorry guys..." Brian said lamely.

"You got me the VIDEO GAME!?!?" squealed Nick, still staring at the little video-tape shaped box. "I LOVE YOU!!! I love you sooooo much!!!"

"Awww, that's so sweet, Nick!" said Howie, touched.

"Not YOU, you... you person, you. I meant the video game!" He ran towards Brian, arms outstretched. Brian, not knowing how to respond, held the box out questioningly. Nick grabbed it and hugged it, happily muttering about all the fun the two of them would have together with his new Nintendo 64 in the white van.

"Nick? Nick, are you there?" said AJ, two hours later, shaking Nick's shoulders. "We're going home Nick. Nick?"

"Let me try, AJ. Nick, let's go home! We have a surprise for you there." Said Brian.

"Not gonna work, B. He's got the video game, now he doesn't want anything else." They glanced at Nick, who was standing in the middle of the storeroom, hugging his video game, and whispering to it, eyes closed. They shrugged at each other, and motioned at Howie and Kevin, who were watching Nick in case he should decide to hurt himself. Brian, AJ, and Howie walked out the door. Kevin grabbed the back of Nick's shirt and followed.

"Ow!" said Nick, shaken out of his daze. "Can't you see we're having a personal moment here? A little privacy?" he gestured towards his video game. "You can go now."

The End

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