1574: A Timeless Summer

Chapter 1

© 2007 Nina

The rumble of the engines filled his ears, and his hands clutched the armrests so tightly that his knuckles turned white. After spending more than half his life flying, he had never gotten used to it... and he knew he never would. Here we go, he thought as he felt the large aircraft began to pull away from the terminal. He didn't understand how a lot of people liked, no, loved to fly. The idea of being 15,000 or 30,000 feet up in the air, with nothing below you but solid land terrified him. And the fact that he was encased in 180 tons of metal that was carrying more than 48,000 gallons of fuel did little to appease his fears. Stop it!, he scolded himself as he willed his mind to think of something else. If the guys could hear him now, oh how they'd tease him! Fourteen years of flying all over the world, and Nick Carter was still scared to fly.

His choice had been obvious at the time. Between an 18 hour long drive and a 3 hour long flight, he went for the flight, as most people would. It was a relatively short trip in comparison to other trips he had taken. His eyes closed as he felt the plane take up speed as it ran down the runway, preparing for take off. "Oh, this is the worst part," he murmured to himself, his baseball cap hiding most of his blonde hair from view.

"You can hold Pookie if you want, he makes bad things go away," he heard a little voice say, and he looked to his side, seeing a little girl seating next to him, holding a worn teddy bear. She must have been no older than seven, and was acting braver than a 26-year old. Now he was really glad the guys weren't here to see this. He would have never lived this down.

"That's ok, you can hold him," he replied with a warm smile.

"I'm Jenny, what's your name?" the little girl asked him, a curious and friendly look upon her young face.

"I'm Nick. Nice to meet you," he replied, "Are you flying alone?"

"Nope," Jenny promptly replied and pointed at a couple sitting in their same row but across the aisle, as each row at either side of the aisle in the first class cabin only held two large seats.

"Those are your parents then?"

Nick's question was met with a nod from the girl. "We're flying!" the girl announced excitedly as she leaned forward to take a peek out the window.

"Yeah, we are," Nick said, a little surprised as this had been the first time he hadn't consciously noticed (excluding the rare occasions he had managed to fall asleep right after boarding) when the plane lurched off the runway and became airborne.

***

Nick had never been more relieved in his life as he was now that the plane had finally landed. It had just come to a stop at the terminal at O'Hare International Airport. His flight buddy, Jenny, had fallen asleep halfway through the flight, and Nick found himself facing the landing alone.

Not many knew of this holiday he was taking. The last year had been crazy with their latest album, Never Gone, coming out and touring around the world. It had been good, but crazy nonetheless, and he wanted a break for himself. He just wanted a few low-key months in a place that, while did not have the fast-paced life of a city, would offer him enough things to do to keep him from getting bored. He considered spending time in Florida, but he knew there was no way he could ever be low-key there, no matter what he did -or did not do - or where he went. This is why he chose Illinois. True, his method of choosing was by closing his eyes and pointing to a map of the United States, but, realizing he had never really spent a lot of time there, he decided to just go along with fate.

The internet had been his next step, wanting to find a place to stay; he wasn't really in the mood for any fancy, five-star hotels. What was low-key about that? An internet search revealed the Marriott Residence Inn, a hotel geared towards extended guest stays. A little bit of further research -or reading in the hotel's web site - revealed information about its key location. Minutes away from Six Flags Great America, Hurricane Harbor theme parks, shopping at Gurnee Mills or Prime Outlet Malls (although the shopping part, he knew, would appeal more to Howie or AJ than to himself), and, for a bit of history mixed with entertainment, the Historic Long Grove and Bristol Renaissance Faire. Train stations were very close as well, and he could just hop on a train and go down to the city of Chicago or just drive north to Wisconsin. The possibilities were endless. Not even thinking it twice, he booked his flight and a room. The next day, he found himself landing at O'Hare.

"Bye bye, Nick!" Jenny said as she waved at Nick, her mother holding her other hand as they made their way down the plane's aisle.

Nick waved back at her, he found kids cute... except when they were screaming their lungs out. He must admit though, that there had been a point in his life, not too long ago, in which the thought of forming a family had more than just crossed his mind. The idea of settling down and, by this time, being able to hear tiny footsteps running around the house had been something that he had wanted to make a reality. But, it had been a reality that had slyly slid through his fingers like sand.

Stop it!, he scolded himself as he made his way towards the baggage claim area, you're supposed to enjoy yourself, it's a holiday, not a trip down memory lane, he reminded himself.

***

Nick opened the trunk to his rental SUV, a color silver Audi Q7. He put inside his two suitcases and closed it. He walked around to the driver's side, opening the door. Before getting in, he reached over to the passenger's seat, to place his carry-on bag. Placing the key in the ignition and turning it, the engine roared to life.

Okay, so the car maybe isn't exactly low key, but hey, I'm a guy, he thought with a chuckle as he pulled away from the parking spot. Reaching into the outside pocket of his carry-on, he retrieved the directions to the hotel. It would take him about 40 minutes to get there and, at the moment he read it, his stomach grumbled as if in protest.

"So maybe I should have MapQuested a Burger King or something," he said to himself as he got into the interstate. Turning on the radio to a random station, Nick tapped his fingers against the wheel to the rhythm of the music as he drove.

His destination? A summer he'd never forget.