The pain was so instant and overwhelming that I swear to God I felt like I was going to piss my pants. Rubbing my eye, I sat back down in my seat, letting out every cuss word I had in my vocabulary. My swearing didn't last long before the grammar police spoke.

"Nick, stop swearing, what's wrong?"

Good ole daddy Kev. "My strap hit my eye," I explained as I looked up at him with one eye.

Kevin started to reach for my hand. "Let me see."

I knew instantly that there was no way in hell I was going to take my hand away from my eye. For some reason the warmth of my palm magically made my eye hurt less. "Nope, I'm fine."

"Then let me see," the older man continued.

Boy, why doesn't anyone listen to me? "I said I was okay."

"If you're okay then it won't hurt to look at it."

"Geeze Kev, why are you making such a big deal over it?"

Kevin squatted next to my seat. "Because I can tell you're in pain. Just let me see it and I'll leave you alone."

I rolled my eyes and gasped when I quickly realized that any movement made that eye hurt worse. "Shit.."

"Don't cuss, just show me your eye," Kevin spoke in a firm voice.

Judging by Kevin's face when I took my hand away from my face, I knew it wasn't good.

"Jesus Nick, can you open that eye?"

"It is...." Kevin was looking at me like I was a two headed freak.

"Great...just great," he muttered.

"I didn't do it intentionally," I defended myself as I heard Kevin swear under his breath.

"We'll have to have Lou get ahold of someone to look at it."

"I poked myself in the eye, geeze don't make a federal case over it Kevin."

Sighing, the older man stood up. "Well we better get off the bus, everyone else is in the hotel already and for chrissake, don't keep your hand over your eye when we leave the bus, people will start to wonder what you're doing."

That's Kevin for ya, he always worries about appearances more than anything. I knew my eye was watering so that probably didn't look the greatest to anyone that looked at me, but heck, we'll be running toward the hotel so it's not like anyone would think I was crying or something weird like that.

I was wrong. As soon as we got off the bus, I could swear I heard girls asking if I was crying. Great! Now the public would think I was a pussy! Then it happened - I distinctly heard someone - Kevin punched Nick in the eye.

Bad press and message boards will be running wild with this topic. I could see it now: Nick Carter punched in the eye by Kevin Richardson over a girl.

Yeah, me and Kev fighting over a girl. I'm such a stud that he would have to fight me for the many women that throw themselves to me.

"NICK! C'MON!"

How did Kevin get so far ahead of me? Shit! I spaced out again!

I finally got to the safety of the hotel lobby when I got another quick lecture from Kevin. That would be two lectures in one day for me....hopefully that wouldn't top my personal record of four in one day. That was a particularly bad day for me if I recall right. It was early in the tour. I had two left feet and I kept messing up the dance steps and Kevin was in a foul mood and he kept yelling at me for not paying closer attention to Fatima. When it came time for lunch, Kevin got on my case about proper diet and got into me about my eating habits. Then my cell phone rang during a recording and he tore into me like a rabid dog.....okay, wait that was three times I got lectured that day, not four. Anyway there is no way that is going to happen again.

Once we got back to our assigned room, Kevin went into the doctor mode and told me to come into the bathroom with him.

"I'm not that kind of guy Kevin," I joked. I was instantly rewarded with a dark look.

"There's better lighting in the bathroom, come in here so I can see your eye."

"I'll save you the details.....they're blue," I joked quietly.

The quiet in the hotel room was suddenly interrupted when Howie, AJ and Brian bolted in.

"Whoa Nicky, what the heck happened to your eye," Howie asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Dude! Did Kevin finally punch you like he's always threatening to do?" AJ cackled.

"It's not that bad," I replied, putting my hand to my face.

"I didn't hit him," Kevin called out from the bathroom. "Nick, get in here so I can look at your eye!"

Kevin spoiled my moment of glory. It would look like I was totally tough if we had gone into battle, I thought to myself as I slowly made my way into the bathroom.

"Lets leave the door open," Kevin ordered as I stepped into the room.

"Like I was gonna close it, you queer," I snapped.

As much as I wanted to open my eye for him to inspect it, the bright lights in the bathroom prevented me from doing so. After a few minutes of struggling, he finally gave up.

"I'm calling Pearlman," he muttered as he made his way to the phone.

I instantly panicked. That was the last person on Earth I wanted to have involved in my life. Lectured by Louis J. Pearlman was not high on my list of fun things to do on a tour. "Kevin don't" I whined.

"You need to have a doctor look at that," Howie said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I just got poked in the eye, no big deal, I'll put a warm washcloth on it and it'll be all good," I promised.

As much as I tried to protest intervention with Lou, Kevin ignored me and when the hotel doc left the room, I wanted to cry when I looked at the tube of ointment in Kevin's hand.

"Since I know you won't follow doctors orders Nick, I will be in charge of this."

"Three times a day, that has to suck," AJ rasped.

"Way to go kiddo," Brian smirked at my expense.

Thousands of miles away from home and I give myself a corneal abrasion and have to have Kevin Richardson pry my eyelid open three times a day to put salve in it. My life does totally suck.

"How much time is left before we have to go to that photo shoot?" Howie asked.

Photo shoot? With my right eye looking like I lost a fight? "Don't you think I can stay back at the hotel since my eye looks bad?"

"Nope, you have to go with us," Kevin replied.

"Peachy," I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. What else could happen to me in a day?