1. Pouncing by LenniluvsBrian
2. Fast Food Trouble by LenniluvsBrian
Flashback….
“Nicky! Nicky! Waits up!” A small voiced called after the tall blond it was following. “Waits fer me!”
The tall blond turned and motioned for the little blond boy to come to him. “C’mon Aaron! You’re bein’ slow!”
Aaron frowned. “Yer to fast!” He whined.
“If yah can’t keep up, I’ma leave you behind,.” Nick threatened, though he wouldn’t really. He always looked forward to playing with his baby brother.
“Buts Nicky! You promised!” Aaron wailed loudly.
Nick rolled his eyes and went back for his little brother. He had promised to take the small boy to the pond to chase tadpoles. “Alright, alright. Don’t cry, Aaron.”
“I nots cryin’!” Aaron argued. “I makes you comes back.”
Nick smiled, shaking his head, as Aaron’s face lit up. “Yeah, yeah. And I fell for it – again.”
Aaron giggled, and hopped onto his big brother’s back, when offered a piggy back ride. “Faster Nicky! Go faster!”
Nick laughed and ran off with Aaron hanging onto his back, the two of them perfectly happy at that very moment.
They soon reached the pond and Aaron squirmed down off Nick’s back. “Lookie Nicky!” He cried, pointing to the swimming tadpoles. “They’re there! They knew we’s comin’ to play!”
Nick laughed a bit. “Yep. They sure did, Aaron.”
“C’n we goes in now?” Aaron asked, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting tadpoles.
“You gotta take your shoes an’ socks off, silly,” Nick grinned, slipping his off, then helping his brother get his off as well. “Now, yah can jump on in.”
Aaron squealed delightedly, as he jumped into the not-so-deep pond, his older brother right behind him.
End of Flashback…. ~~~~~
Thirteen-year-old Aaron Charles Carter was watching his brother, Nickolas Gene Carter, rehearse for the show he had that night. Aaron was the opening act, and had already finished his rehearsal, as well as his schoolwork, so he was free to watch. He'd been thinking back about the time Nick had taken him to the pond when he was four. He waited until his brother was just about done before a break, and decided to act quickly before his opportunity flew by.
“Whoa!” Nick yelled out, as he was pounced on by a short blond boy.
“Gotcha Nick!” Aaron laughed, as his brother regained his balance.
Nick laughed with him. “You gotta be careful about pouncing, Air-Boy. If I’d fallen, you would’ve went down too.”
“So? I’d land on you,” Aaron pointed out. “You’d break my fall.”
“Just couldn’t wait, could you?” Kevin asked, shaking his head, an amused smile upon his face. He was only amused, as he’d known it would happen – everyone had, except maybe Nick – nobody ever knew with him.
“Nope!” Aaron grinned up at Kevin. “Nick had to be tackled before it was too late!”
Kevin shook his head once more. “Just don’t be late after the break. We only have fifteen minutes, Nick.”
“I know, I know,” Nick sighed. “C’mon Aaron. We’ll grab us a snack.”
“How come y’all get to rehearse longer?” Aaron wanted to know. “Mine aren’t this long, unless I mess up.”
“Because we’re older and we sing more than you,” Nick replied, as he walked them out of the room they were in. Aaron was still on his back, so he got the privilege of doing al the walking.
“That’s not fair!” Aaron complained. “I c’n sing just as many! I got albums out too, yanno!”
“I know, Air-Boy,” Nick said, putting money into a nearby vending machine and getting himself some M&M’s. “But management wants you to be our opening act again for now. They said you aren’t mature enough to handle one of your own.”
“It was a stupid prank!” Aaron growled. “All I did was have silly string come down on everybody!”
“A prank that caused someone to have an allergic reaction,” Nick reminded him, getting his brother a Hershey’s cookies ‘n’ cream chocolate bar.
“How was I to know somebody was allergic to it?” Aaron demanded. “Hmm?”
“Aaron, just forget about it, okay? Mom and Dad said they wanted you with us again anyway,” Nick told him. “So, there’s no use in arguing about it. What they say goes, since they help manage you and all.”
“But it’s stupid!” Aaron whined, taking his chocolate bar from his brother. “All I wanna do is sing an’ dance for everybody!”
“I know, Buddy,” Nick said. “And you will; soon as they’re able to get your tour under way. They had to fight off law suits, yanno.”
Aaron grumbled, as he opened his chocolate bar – only to have it ripped out of his hands by his mother. “Mom! I was gonna eat that!”
“I know,” Jane replied. “Which is why I had to grab it. You know you’re on a no sweets diet!”
Aaron scowled. “Not by choice,” he muttered.
Jane frowned and practically yanked the young teenager off his brother’s back and to the floor. “You can go out to the bus and stay there for now. I’ll come get you when it’s time for you interview.”
“What?!?!?! You’re gonna ground me over a chocolate bar?” Aaron yelled.
“No. Over your superior attitude,” Jane answered. “Now, get going.”
“But I didn’t even buy the chocolate bar! Nick did!” Aaron protested.
“Nickolas wouldn’t buy you sweets, unless you talked him into it,” Jane said. “Nick’s too smart for that though, so obviously you bought it.”
“Nick! Tell her I didn’t do it!” Aaron cried.
“I bought it, Mom,” Nick piped up.
“Well, don’t do it again, Nickolas.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Nick said, looking a bit confused.
“Aaron! I sad go out to the bus! Now!”
“What’re yah yellin’ at me for? I didn’t even do anything!”
“Git!” Jane yelled, moving forward to smack him.
Aaron immediately turned and ran off for his bus. It wasn’t fair at all, that his brother could eat junk and he couldn’t even have a measly candy bar. It also wasn’t fair that he hadn’t even done anything wrong, and yet he was being punished. Nick was the one who bought the candy, yet he only got scolded. It so wasn’t fair!
Aaron climbed up onto his bus, and closed the doors behind him angrily. “Stupid mother….” He muttered. “I didn’t even do anything! She’s always gotta pick on me! Well, excuse me for not bein’ Nick!”
He loved his big brother, he truly did. But Nick always got the time and attention, and everybody loved him more. Nick was perfect because he made the most money and didn’t cause them any trouble – well, least not as much as he used to. Nick was all about pleasing people, while Aaron just wanted to have fun, make music, and be a kid – which wasn’t the greatest combo, and he was very quickly learning that.
He flopped down onto the couch in the back and flipped the television on. “Maybe something good’s on,” he grumbled, smiling a bit when he found the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. “Man! I can’t believe this show’s still on! Awesome!”
He settled back and watched cartoons and other T.V. shows, until he spotted his mother coming to get him for his interview. He quickly flicked the T.V. off, and ran for the kitchen, where he’d smartly placed handwritten lines that he knew he was expected to write. In all honesty, he hadn’t written them today – they were a bit old, but they still worked – lucky for him.
Flashback….
“Now, we will have the children tell us what they want to be when they grow up,” the kindergarten teacher stated. It was Kindergarten Graduation Day. “First up, Kaya Brown.”
“When I grow up, I’ma be an astronaut,” Kaya smiled widely.
“Why an astronaut, Kaya?”
“I like the stars,” Kaya replied, before hopping down off the small pedestal.
“Next up, we have Angel Carter.”
“When I grow up, I wanna be pretty.”
“Aren’t you pretty now?”
“Nicky says I am. But I wanna be pretty, like them girls on magazines.”
“Ah, you want to be a model.”
Angel nodded. “Uh-huh. Nicky says I pretty ‘nough.”
The teacher smiled. “I’m sure he does.”
Angel smiled and hopped down off the pedestal, to let her brother take his turn.
“Aaron, you’re next,” the teacher told the brown-eyed boy with golden locks.
“When I grow up, I’ma be like my big brother, Nick,” a small blond five-year-old declared, standing upon the pedestal.
“Aww,” the audience cooed, thinking it adorable that the little boy wanted to be just like his older brother.
“Why do you want to be like your big brother? He just goes to school, doesn’t he?” The teacher asked curiously.
The little boy shook his head. “Nuh-uh. He sings in a group!”
“A group, huh? So your brother has a band?”
“Yup,” the boy grinned proudly. “He gonna be famous!”
Everybody laughed, assuming the little boy just figured his brother to be famous because he looked up to him so much. Little did they know, that the little blond boy before them wasn’t kidding when he said his brother would be famous.
End of flashback….
Aaron was watching Nick and the other Boys sign autographs for the fans who had found them in the mall. He’d gone unnoticed, as he’d gone over to look at the magazine rack.
“I said Nick would be famous,” he muttered softly, picking up a copy of Teen Beat with his brother’s photo in the middle of it. “I wonder if I’m even in this issue.”
He rolled his eyes when he spotted a smaller photo of himself near the bottom of the cover.
“Wow. Backstreet Brother to tour with Backstreet Boys,” Aaron read. “I mean, duh. As if everybody didn’t already know that.”
He flipped through it, un-amused, as he found plenty of photos of Nick, Brian, and A.J., and only one of himself.
“I mean, what am I? Chopped liver? Nick’s not the only famous Carter!”
“Hey, Bro! Ready to go?” Nick called, after he’d signed the last autograph. “C’mon! We’re goin’ to Mickey Dees!”
“Sweet!” Aaron exclaimed, tossing the magazine back down in the rack. He quickly hurried to catch up with his brother and the other four Boys.
“Hungry?” Nick laughed.
“You’ve no idea!” Aaron replied, hopping up onto his brother’s back for a ride.
“We’ll we’d best run then, eh Air-Boy?” Brian teased.
“No. we’d better fly!” Aaron joked.
The three blonds laughed, as they followed the dark-haired Backstreet Boys out of the mall, all heading off in the direction of the closest McDonald's.
“What’s wrong, Air-Boy?” Nick asked. “Didn’t you bring any money with you?”
“I had money in my pocket before we left this morning, but now I can’t find it,” Aaron sighed.
“No worries, Bro. I’m buyin’ anyway,” Nick smiled.
Aaron smiled in return. Sometimes, like now, he was very glad Nick was his brother.
“Hey Mr.-I’m-Buyin’,” A.J. piped up from behind them. “It’s your turn. Hurry it up!”
Nick laughed and stepped forward to give their orders to the girls standing behind the counter. Luckily, he knew what Aaron liked, so he hadn’t had to waste time in asking.
Once they’d all gotten their orders, they all went and sat down together to eat their meals and chat about what they were going to do that afternoon.
“Hey, Aaron,” Kevin began. “Don’t you have an interview to do this afternoon?”
Aaron paused and thought a moment. “I don’t know. I think. I know you guys got one.”
Nick thought a moment then, and shrugged. “I think Mom mentioned something about it to me this morning. I think yours is right before ours.”
“Damn,” Aaron said. “There goes basketball.”
“You could always play it later,” Howie suggested.
Aaron shook his head. “It won’t happen. I’ll probably be stuck with school work and stuff, even though it’s Saturday.”
“I thought you did all your homework?” Brian said. “I mean, I helped yah with math and everything.”
“I did,” Aaron replied. “But Mom likes to make sure I don’t ever fall behind.”
“Weekends are supposed to be for fun, man,” A.J. chuckled. “Not schoolwork.”
“Mom don’t want me dropping out, like Nick did,” Aaron shrugged. “I mean, how does she know if I’d drop out or not? I’m not Nick.”
“Gee, thanks,” Nick mumbled. “That makes me feel real good.”
Aaron frowned. “Nick, I don’t care that you dropped out.”
“Obviously, Mom does,” Nick sighed.
Aaron shook his head. “Beej says Mom don’t care. That she just uses it as an excuse to make us work harder. But I dunno, I just don’t like doin’ schoolwork all the time. I never have time to play video games or basketball.”
“Whatever,” Nick answered, finishing off his burger. “Hurry up, Aaron. If your interview is before ours, you don’t have much longer to eat.”
Aaron frowned, feeling bad for upsetting his brother. But it wasn’t like he’d set out to do just that. He’d been asked a question, and so he’d answered honestly. Maybe he should’ve lied a bit? Maybe that would’ve not made his brother feel so bad? How was he supposed to know what to do? He was only thirteen! A thirteen-year-old who wasn’t supposed to have very much fun or eat any of the ‘junk’ his brother and band mates ate.
“Just where have you been, Aaron Charles!?!?!”
“With Nick,” Aaron answered simply. “I said I was goin’ with him this morning.”
“Well, you’re late!” Jane snapped. “you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago!”
“We were stuck in traffic, Mom,” Nick piped up.
Jane sniffed the air a moment and glared at her youngest son. “And just why do you smell like burgers and fries?!?!”
Aaron shrugged. “We had McDonald's. No biggie.”
“It is a big deal Aaron!” Jane yelled. “I’ve told you to stay away from the junk you like to fill your body with! You need to stay in shape!”
“Mom, it was just one burger!” Aaron argues. “It’s not gonna kill me!”
“And just how did you pay for it anyway!?” Jane demanded. “I took that twenty you stole from your account out of your pocket this morning!”
“It’s my account! I’m allowed to take twenty bucks out! And why the hell did you take it? I needed it for lunch!”
“You were told you’re not allowed to eat out!” Jane barked. “And watch your language, Young Man! And answer my question! How did you pay for it?”
“Nick bought it!” Aaron yelled. “I was hungry! What was I supposed to do? Starve!?!?”
“Nick would do no such thing unless you bugged him to do it!” Jane declared.
“Mom, I offered,” Nick piped up finally, as the other Boys stood looking uncomfortable – Kevin a lil’ peeved.
“Well, don’t do it again, Nickolas!”
“Yes, Ma’am?” Nick said softly, though sounding very unsure.
“Now, Aaron, get into wardrobe! And just you wait until we’re through here and back upstairs!”
“Mom! I’m not some stupid lil’ baby!” Aaron shouted. “Quit treating me like some puppet!”
Jane grabbed him then and in one swift moment, had his pants down enough so that everyone could see his bared bottom. She grabbed his one arm and began to spank him, not caring if the media saw or not.
“You will not speak to me in that tone, Aaron Charles!”
Aaron fought back his tears, failing to keep them hidden, as he’d never been so embarrassed in his life!
“Mom, people are watching,” Nick pointed out.
“Let them!” Jane yelled. “Make great headlines! Aaron Carter spanked by his mother!”
“Mom! Mom! Ow! I’m sorry!” Aaron cried. “Please! Mom!”
Jane finally stopped whacking him and yanked his pants back up. “Now, get to make-up!”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Aaron replied softly, his face tear-streaked and red from embarrassment. He quickly ran off to make-up, hoping none of his fans had just witnessed what had happened.
“Mom, he’s just a kid!” Nick stated. “And he had a point!”
Jane glared at her eldest son. “I’ll deal with you later, Nickolas! Now, go get ready for your own interview!”
“But -”
“Now!”
Nick now looked as embarrassed as his brother had. He turned and walked away, the other Boys following him momentarily – Kevin giving Jane a cold, hard glare.
Jane turned and stalked off to go keep an eye on Aaron during his interview, and to ensure that he didn’t cause her or the record label anymore trouble.