Pretty soon Nick and Joey were inseparable once again.
After Sabbath died, it took Nick a while to recover.
Joey came to see him everyday after school. And after a few more days he was ready to go back and join her.
They even talked about why they were fighting before.
It all seemed so silly now.
Nick apologized for blowing up at her and thanked her for standing up for him.
Joey understood that she had embarrassed him when she went all Chuck Norris on that boy's butt,
making it seem as if he needed her to defend him.
A year had passed. A lot had changed.
They were sophomores in Junior high and now both were seen as outcasts.
As for Nick, he had a huge decision to make.
While they made him wait for results for the MMC* audition, he connected with a couple of old friends at other auditions.
Alex and Howard were a few years older than he was, but had the same interests and ambitions.
Turned out, they loved to sing too!
So every time they would meet in a waiting room, they would sing together.
One day, Alex spotted this ad in the "Orlando Sentinel":
The three guys decided to go to the audition and to their surprise, they nailed it!
In the mean time Nick heard back from the MMC and got the part.
To any other kid, the choice would've been easy.
This decision could possibly change his life...
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“...so, you nervous for tonight?..”
Nick and Joey were sitting outside underneath one of the big trees decorating the Carter's yard.
“....nah...not yet...maybe when I meet the guy...But Alex and Howard are gonna be there too, so....”. Nick answered, taking another bite of his sandwich.
He'd been so excited about this band he joined with his two friends.
Lou, the guy from the ad, had held a bunch of auditions right after they got in and found two extra members.
Too bad it didn't last...
Sam and Charles left them about a month ago and the search started all over again.
But tonight was gonna be a step forward.
Lou had found this guy, Kevin, and they were all going down to meet him later on tonight.
You know...just to see if it clicked.
If so, they were gonna be spending a lot of time together!
“...well...while you're off singing and dancing...i get to babysit those little devils you call siblings...”. Joey sighed.
Nick smiled at her and draped his arm around her shoulders.
“ I know, I know....but you being a huge pain in the butt yourself...well...let's just say... it works!..”.
Joey punched his chest.
“ Hey!....that hurt!!...” Nick pouted, as she jumped up and started running.
“ That's for being such a smart-ass, Carter!..”.
He stood up and ran after her. It only took him half a minute to catch up to her. His legs being much longer.
He tackled her and send both of them tumbling down.
Straddling her, he pinned her hands with his knees and started tickling her sides.
“...Noooo...stoppp...Niiickk...Gett offf”. Joey screamed out, laughing and wiggling underneath him.
He stopped tickling her and looked at her seriously.
“...Nope...not untill you repeat after me....say...Nick Carter is the greatest singer in the whole world and i will worship him forever...”.
“ Nooo way!!!...Never!”. She answered and tried to break free, in vain.
Nick shrugged and started tickling her again. This time he showed no mercy.
“Okkk...Okkk...justt stoppp!”. Joey screamed, her eyes filled with tears from laughing so hard.
“ I'm waiting...”. Nick sang, his arms crossed, for dramatic effect.
"....Happy now?!?...". she exclaimed after giving into his demands.
“ Yesss!...Whoohoo!”. Nick cheered victoriously, his arms up in the air.
Joey pushed her body up. Causing Nick to lose his balance and topple over.
As he fell to the side, he grabbed onto Joey for support, but accidentally pulled her on top off him instead.
“ See...not so funny now huh, Carter?...”. She said hovering over him.
Nick froze.
Her face was inches away from his.
He could feel her warm breath against his face.
Strands of her hair tickled his cheeks.
A familiar feeling rose inside his body.
“...No...please not now!!”. He begged silently. He had to get out of there!
He easily jerked his hands loose and sat up as fast as he could.
Joey rolled off his stomach and fell on the ground.
“ Ouch!...Hey!...What the...”.
“ I gotta go....”. Nick jumped to his feet and started walking towards the house.
His face felt like it was on fire. So did another part of his body...
“ Nick!...Where are you going!?!”.
“ I gotta go get ready for tonight...I'll see ya later 'kay?”. He yelled, still bolting towards the door.
Joey sat on the ground, dumbfounded.
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Nick finally made it to his room.
He let himself fall onto the bed and sighed deeply.
OK, he knew it was a natural thing for boys his age.
That's what he'd learned in sex -ed.
It already happened a few times before. No big deal, right?
Although, the other times he'd been alone...luckily.
“ Shoot!...Joey...did she see?!?...what if she did?!?...”. He wondered in horror.
He calmed himself thinking that she probably hadn't noticed.
"...She would have teased the crap out of me...".
Taking a deep breath, he finally tried to relaxed.
His “problem” solving itself.
“ What now..?” he thought. Looking sideways he caught a glimpse of his alarm clock.
“ 15.00”.
He didn't have to leave for another three hours.
“ Should I call Joey back over?..."
Nah, he'd have to explain why he left so quickly and this was to embarrassing to talk about....even with Joey.
He decided to go downstairs and watch some cartoons with Aaron until dinner.
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“ Come on, Nick...We're going to be late!”. Jane yelled at the bottom of the stairs.
“ Kids, have fun with Joey tonight...remember...she's in charge...no funny stuff, alright?”.
The smaller kids expressed their understanding and went back to watching TV.
“Now, Joey...you know the drill....Aaron, Angel and Leslie in bed by ei..”.
“...eight, yes...and BJ by nine...”.
Jane smiled at her and pinched her cheek.
“ Right...and remember...no..”.
“...candy before bed and check if they brushed their teeth...Mrs. C...I'm not an amateur!”.
Jane laughed and headed towards the door.
“ I know, sweety...you'll do great like always...tell Nick I'll wait in the car...Bye babies!”. She said before heading out.
Two minutes later Nick came running down the stairs.
“ Where's mom?”. He asked, putting on his shoes and jacket at the same time.
“She's in the car..”. Joey chuckled watching him struggle and stumble.
“ So, How do i look?”. Nick checked himself in the hall mirror, and turned to look at her.
Joey walked over to him and straightened his collar.
“ There...Perfect!”. She smiled, satisfied with the results.
“ Good...Wish me luck!”. Nick said, crossing his fingers like they always did.
Joey crossed her fingers visibly and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“ I will!...Now go...you'll be late!”.
Nick watched her walk to the living room and felt uneasy.
It wasn't like she hadn't done that before.
But after what happened this afternoon it felt weird.
He shook the thoughts out of his head and ran outside.
