CHAPTER 11
After several hours of walking around New York City together, Nick and CJ went back to the hotel. "So Nick, do you wanna come up and keep me company? I have a massive mansion of a room all to myself." She giggled. "And I get bored easily. Plus, no pesky brothers to come knocking that easy." The front desk clerk handed CJ a note. She and Nick both read it. 'Hope you had fun. I also hope you ate dinner, because we already did. Rehearsal is tomorrow at 12 sharp. Sleep well. See you tomorrow. Love, Brian". CJ smiled. "See? This means he had no intentions of finding me!" The front desk clerk handed one to Nick. They both read it. 'Dear Nick, PAWS OFF!!! Rehearsal at noon. Be there or I'm coming to find you. Peace, AJ". Nick stared at her and flashed his mischievous smile. "Why not? Let's go!"

They went up to her room and turned on the TV. "It's only seven. If you're hungry I can order room service." CJ looked at him. "So how about it?" Nick pretended to think for a minute. "Yea. Sure. I'm starving." CJ called down and ordered food and something to drink. 20 minutes later they were eating while watching 'Looney 'Toons. "You know CJ, I love the fact you're a total kid inside. Cartoons instead of almost anything!" She smirked. "I love Bugs and Daffy. You can't do much better than Looney 'Toons... Unless it's Smurfs!" Nick laughed and they sat on the couch next to each other for what seemed like hours of silence.

Nick had been wanting to ask CJ something. It had been bugging him all day. "Hey CJ, You said..." He looked down. CJ had fallen asleep. "You said you think you got punched. Where at?" He took this opportunity to try and find a bruise or some scratches. He started looking all over what skin he could see. But he couldn't see anything. Then he remembered, "Wait, you said..." He looked down at CJ. She looked so sweet and peaceful. He lightly shook her. "What?" she asked groggily. "Can I see your cuts and scratches? It's been bugging me all day... and a bruise if you have one." CJ sat up a bit and took her shirt off. "Whoa! CJ... I wasn't trying to..." Then he saw the scratches that were all up and down her arms. He also saw what looked like a bruise forming above her shoulder blade on her back. "Oh CJ, I'm so sorry. CJ you need to take care of this." He looked at her and she had fallen asleep again. So he went and found a first aid kit. He put antibiotic ointment and Band-Aid's over all the cuts and scratches he could find. He also found an ice pack and put it on her bruise, then had CJ lean up against. "Why didn't you tell someone it was his bad?" He found a blanket and covered her up. Then he set an alarm clock for 10 am and put it by her head. "Good night CJ. Pleasant dreams." He kissed her forehead and went to his own room.

Nick laid in bed and thought about the whole day. He had loved spending time with CJ, just talking to her, laughing with her, being goofy with her, just being himself with her. That was so hard to do with most girls. Most girls expected him to be Super Star Nick Carter, not just plain ol' dorky Nick. He'd even met other girls who knew celebrities, and they still wanted Super Nick. She'd treated him like a normal guy from the moment she met him. It was nice. "I hope it doesn't change."

Nick thought about lunch with Adam. "A super guarded piece of her heart... But why?" He remembered overhearing Brian and Kevin talking sometimes about CJ and being in "that place" again. "I wonder if it has to do with this... Carrot person..." He felt a tug at his heart. "Damn. Why does that keep happening? I guess the best thing to do would be to ask CJ about it." He started letting his mind wander. Soon he was asleep, dreaming:

Nick was wandering around, playing on a Slip & Slide with some friends. He had to keep his mind busy today. It was a bad day, it always on this day.
Nick flashed to 5 years later. He was dating a cute girl. She was his first girlfriend since joining the Backstreet Boys. She had brown hair. He loved brown hair. She had always reminded him of someone.
Nick flashed forward another 10 years. Every girl seemed to be missing something. He hadn't had an actual girlfriend in so long. They all either lied, or worse they left him. It was too hard to deal with. Flings worked better. It didn't hurt when they left.
Present Year - 1 week ago. "Seriously? You're bringing your fucking sister? Don't we have enough fucking women on this bus already?!" He looked over at Leighanne, Rochelle, and Leigh. "No offense ladies." Nick scowled at AJ and Brian. AJ looked at him and yelled back. "She's coming with us, damn it! We barely ever get to see her anymore. This is a perfect opportunity to spend time with her and catch up. So keep your fucking hands off! She's not one of your fuck and dump girls that you never have to see again! She'll be on tour with us for a year! So you'll just have to fucking deal with it!"
The room went black and Nick is just wandering around. A light comes on over a girl. He runs towards her. Just as he gets close to her she runs away. 5 more girls appear. Nick runs towards them, and they run away too. CJ appears under a bright light. He runs to her, and she doesn't leave. But when he gets right in front of her, she's just a small girl. She fades into the darkness.