AN: Stupid plot bunnies attacked me with their fluffiness until I gave in and wrote this. Drop me a line and let me know whatcha think. It'd be greatly appreciated. This particular story is set a couple years in the future and some details may be a bit fuzzy but this is fiction, not an autobiography so, chill, read, enjoy. Thanks ya'll... =) Be good. Disclaimer: No ownie, no ownie! ******************************* Nightmare of a Lifetime **************************** "No freaking way Malcom! No way in hell! They can't ask me this..." Malcom Larson raised thick brows as he studied the young woman pacing a trail in his carpet. She'd be pretty if she wasn't such a bad ass. And she was that, a bad ass. Newly turned twenty one and legal she was one of MTV's more electric VJs. Fans thought she was cool. Bands loved her. Or at least all the hard core metal rapping bands that detested Carson and Ananda and all the other belly baring girls that had come and gone. But Nicole Perry wasn't going anywhere. She stopped a moment to glare, hands fisted and resting on her hips. She looked like a goth princess in cargo pants three sizes too big, and an athletic tank top with a skull painted roughly on the front. Her nails were a permanent black and cut as short as they could be. Her feet were encased in huge combat boots, her wrists graced with neutral colored wrist bands that matched her chokers. Her bare arms were decorated with enough tattoos, real, every one, to put a member of Blink to shame and he knew that her back was much of the same. The current color of the week for her hair was fire engine red and her nose stud glinted in the light. She barely came up to his shoulder. Hell, she barely came to anyone's shoulder. She just scraped by at five feet even. Tough as nails, subtle as a blow torch. Malcom had more respect for her than for colleagues twice her age and experience. That's why the assignment sitting on his desk was so deserved, and why he was going to have hell explaining that to her. "Nicole..." The glare darkened and turned her normally lovely brown eyes a shade lighter than black. "Perry," he amended quickly. "Come on, think about it. People who know you love you but NO ONE knows you. You've been with us for four years and you've done some wonderful things for MTV. This is an awesome opportunity." Dark brows rose with incredulation. "Bull shit Malcom, this is a freak show. You know it. I know it. I want to go with Ozz Fest or Anger Management or Blink. Don't put me with this crap. Send someone cutesey and adorable. I'm not gonna follow a freaking boy band around for three months kissing ass and singing their dubious praises in pig tails and dimples. "Hell, they'd take one look at me and pee their collective pants. I'm a hard-core girl. You KNOW that. You think these are fake?!" She held up her inked arms for emphasis and he winced. This was going worse than upper management had thought, though better than Malcom had predicted. He knew Nicole better than upper management. He knew how hard she had worked to get where she was. And knew how far she was willing to go to keep her job. He licked dry lips and played his trump card. "They're willing to double your salary and add a bonus based on ratings at the end." She stared at him silently for a long moment. "Fuck you Malcom," she said softly and turned her back on him. He didn't need to see her to know that there were tears in her eyes. And that she wasn't going to forgive him for this for a long time, if ever. She was temperamental as hell and held grudges forever. Malcom sighed. "Perry, Nicole... Please... This won't ruin your credibility, I swear. Do this and I promise no more fluff assignments. They want you honey, YOU. You're not a fan, you're not going to kiss ass. You couldn't care less about *NSYNC. They WANT that. You're a bad ass honey." "They want to turn me, the blood suckers. They want to make me TEENY!" "Perry... its in your contract." There was another long silence. "Its MY show right? I get to decide what stays and goes ultimately right?" "Are those your demands?" he asked wearily. Upper management would have a cat but Nicole believed very heartily in her opinions and ideals. If they pushed her too hard she'd quit and screw the consequences. This was about as much of a compromise as they were likely to get. "Yes." "All right honey, its your show. You have executive say, okay?" And so "The Tour of a Lifetime: *NSYNC" was born with one very obstinate Nicole Perry as its reulnctant host. *************************************************************************************** Nicole hit her speed dial on her cell phone as she sat huddled in a random conference room in MTV's back studios. The phone rang exactly twenty three times before an exasperated Kelly Osbourne picked up. "What?" "Kell... Perry." "Jesus Perry, I was trying to sleep." Nicole picked at her nails and replied softly. "I'm not following the tour this year." "Well who are you tailing?" Nicole rubbed the bridge of her nose as she tried to ward off an enroaching headache. "*NSYNC," she whispered to the younger woman. There was a long silence. "Are you shitting me?" "You think I'D joke about something like THIS?" she demanded, voice cracking. "About *N freaking SYNC?! There's this new show that the big heads just HAD to get me to host. I have to tail their scrawny asses for three months. I'm covering concerts, the tour bus, parties, hotel rooms... It a continuation of that all access shit they started a few years back. "I'm gonna be their freaking groupie. And do you know why I was presented this illustrious honor? Because I'm not a BLOODY fan! Because I'm, and this is a quote, a "bad ass". I like I care. I am who I am Kell. I don't need shit like this." "You already agreed." It was a statement, not a question. "Yeah," Nicole replied tiredly. "What am I supposed to do Kell? They doubled my pay and offered a bonus. I... I love following Ozz Fest. I love you guys so much. I love the music. I love the people. I've grown up with you guys, ya know? But, Kell, you know how it is... "Debbie and Steven are at home. If it was just Debbie..." she trailed off and Kelly finished softly. "If it was just Debbie you wouldn't give a damn. But you won't abandon Steven cause you love him too much. Perry you know Dad or Mum would give you a job..." "I don't take charity Kelly. You know that." There was an equally tired sigh from her best friend. "Yeah Pear, I know. You and your damn pride." "Its all I have left Kell. Pride is all I have left and they're trying to take it away from me." "Well they won't succeed Pear. They won't. You're better than all those rat bastards. Hang in there and keep in touch. Time will fly by, promise. And you know Fermented Pain is gonna freak. They love playing with you." Nicole giggled. "Yeah but your Mum nearly shit bricks the time we set that roadie on fire..." "Just don't get a *NSYNC tattoo, no matter how drunk you get." "Screw you brat. I'm not the one caught on tape saying you liked them. 'Oh Mum, just one more concert please!'" She laughed as Kelly's scream of outrage was drowned out by the dial tone. "*NSYNC tattoo my ass."