Disclaimer: See previous disclaimer for more details.
Author's Post-it: thank all of those who emailed me. It meant a lot to me. I kno, I kno, this is a LOT less sexual (SONG BREAK! does the everybody dance sorry) than Secrets. Don't worry, it'll come (no pun/misspelling intended) or maybe not. The ^ means it's a dream sequence.
The Hands of Time; Act 2, Scene 1:
~1992~ Nick Carter was standing in line for the audition for a part on a show. It's like this EVERY week, he sighed. People pushed and shoved in lines; trying to get someone's attention. Nick was only 12 but he was being pushed and shoved along by people a lot older than him.
Someone bumped into him; knocking him over. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" someone gasped. Nick got himself up. "Are you ok? I-I saved your place."
He looked up, blushed and turned away. "I'm ok." He brushed off his clothes. "Name's Nick." He held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Nick. I'm Howie." Nick stared up at Howie's brown eyes. How pretty, he thought, it looks like chocolate.
"Nice to meet you too." Nick finally replied. A boy with sunglasses ran up to them. "Hey AJ." Nick greeted.
"Hey AJ." Howie laughed.
"Dudes, you guys should come with me. There's this guy that gonna make the next New Kids On the Block. He asked if I had some friends that sing. You guys wanna come along?" he asked breathlessly.
"Sure!" Howie shouted.
"How about you, Carter?"
"Sure. Nothing else to do." Nick replied.
"Great. C'mon!" he laughed as he dragged his friends towards Lou Pearlman's office. Howie and Nick froze. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't know. I have a weird feeling about this place." Nick whispered.
"Me too." He searched for the reason why he felt strange. He spotted the man who played Aladdin at parades at Disney World. "Hey, Kevin!" he shouted as he waved the older man over. Nick watched as the three friends greeted each other. "Kev, I need to introduce a friend of mine." He motioned towards Nick. Nick looked around and pointed to himself. "Yeah you." Howie laughed. He walked over next to Howie and looked up at Kevin. "Nick, this is Kevin. Kevin, this is Nick."
"Nice to meet you, little fellow." Kevin shook hands with Nick.
"Likewise." Nick returned. A teen behind Kevin stuck his head out; he was chewing gum. "Who's he?" he asked.
"This joker behind me?" he asked. The gum chewer glared at Kevin before emerging from behind him. "This is my cousin Brian from Kentucky."
"Hi." Brian held out his hand. "Nick, right?" he asked. Nick nodded.
"I called Kevin here and Kevin called Brian so we're just like New Kids On the Block." AJ smiled.
"Yeah, a chance to get famous." Brian added. The quintet walked towards Transcontinental's doors.
"Spread music and joy throughout the world." Kevin smiled at the idea.
"And have girls fall at our feet." AJ added.
Nick slightly froze again. He didn't want girls falling at his fee. He knew he was gay ever since he was ten when he was dared to kiss the gay boy in his 5th grade class. It felt good. "Yeah, girls." Nick echoed softly.
He felt somebody hit his back. "C'mon, Kid!" the Kentuckian shouted. He felt another hand soothe his back. It relaxed around his shoulders.
"Don't worry about them, Nick. If you feel left out, you still know me and AJ." Howie smiled down at the blonde teen.
They auditioned for many record companies. None of them wanted the five. The next year, they returned to Trans continental and struck a deal with Lou, Donna, and Johnny. Everyone was so excited on the tour bus as they headed off to their first tour.
Nick felt homesick. He wanted to go home. He felt so lonely. The rest of the guys were watching a movie of some sort in the back while he rested in the bunks. He felt someone open his curtain as he peeped out of his blanket.
"Hey, Nick." Chocolate brown eyes smiled at him. He found himself speechless. "Are you feeling ok?" he asked softly.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Nick replied. Howie smiled at Nick's slight blush and his messy, blonde hair. "Aren't you watching the movie with the rest of them?" he asked.
"Nah. Didn't feel like it." Howie smiled. "What're YOU doing up late?" he asked.
"Couldn't sleep." Nick sat up to make room for Howie to sit down. "Guess I'm just a bit homesick." Nick blushed a bit.
"So are the rest of us. Even me."
Nick's head snapped up. "Even you? But I thought you were excited like Kevin, AJ, and Brian." Nick gazed into Howie's soulful eyes for answers.
Howie gazed back into Nick's ocean blue eyes. Such a beautiful and questioning gaze. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and soothe his wild hair. "No, I've just been acting way too long."
Nick's eyelids began to heavy. It wasn't long before he leaned onto Howie's shoulder to sleep. "G'night, Howie..." he mumbled into the older man's shoulder. Howie placed Nick down and tucked him in.
"Good night, Nicky. Sweet dreams."
~Later~ Nick tossed around in his bunk. A nightmare jumped around his head.
^He was dancing. A pair of powerful arms surrounded his waist as he held a smaller person. They were dancing, laughing, and kissing. Nick felt happy. He opened his eyes and saw that it was Howie that he held. Howie's face smiled back up at him. "I love you, Nickolas." He leaned up to kiss him and Nick felt the beautiful feeling of another man's lips upon his.
"I love you too, Howard." His voice sounded so far off yet so near. But he didn't care; they were both happy. He knew that. He softly swayed to the old music that played in the background. But, then, he heard shouts. People were shouting at them. He held Howie close as bricks and rocks and stones broke through the windows.
Suddenly, fire danced around them. The hot flames played around them like little fire demons. They jeered at him. The smoke fumes reached his nose. More went into his lungs as he gasped when Howie fell into the flames. "I'll always love you, Nickolas." His voice sounded like it was somewhere else.^
Nick woke up again; covered in sweat. What the hell was that, he thought to himself, That was scary.
Howie was sleeping peacefully until his mind had hit a nightmare.
^He was dancing. He felt very happy with the strong arms that surrounded him. He looked up to a pair of shining blue eyes. The man whom they belonged to smiled warmly down at him. "I love you too, Howard." he gently whispered in Howie's ear. He turned and kissed his lips.
He found himself smiling. "I love you, Nickolas." They were laughing and kissing. They swayed softly to the classical music that played.
They stopped and gazed into each others' eyes. They leaned close to kiss but the ground broke beneath them as fire billowed around them. Angry shouts came at them. The smoke leered into his lungs as he felt life drift away.
"No, Howard!" the blonde man caught him and held him close. "I'll always love you, Howard. Just like you'll love me." The entire world went black.^
Howie shot up in his bunk and accidentally hit the top. He rubbed his head and thought over the horrible nightmare. What was that, he asked himself. He could still feel the man's arms around him; how comfortable they felt. The blonde man's shining blue eyes were still imprinted in his mind. A fiery blue like...like Nick's.
"I wonder what it means." Howie asked himself.
TBC... Food. Feedback. Eiffel 65. Li'l Tyke's head. Life. Suggestions. Comments. Whatever. Just send me something: Mistress_N9@juno.com with THOT or The Hands of Time in the subject area. Aight? Peace.