| Las Vegas March 1-3, 2002 Phase 3 |
| And this brings us to phase 3 of our whirlwind Saturday -- after the concert. This is where everything gets kind of jumbled because so much happened so randomly. I'll do my best to just give you the Cliff Notes version, but I can't guarantee anything. lol Having quickly changed out of our NOT TOO OLD shirts, Debi and I made it back downstairs by the elevators in time to see Nick and Mike get bombarded by fans as they were going back to their rooms from the venue about half an hour after the concert had ended. Luckily "bombarded" in this case was only about 15 people, but now that everyone KNEW Nick was around since he showed up on stage, it was a little more crowded with fans hanging around. After Nick walked through the first set of doors to the elevator, he turned back around, looked through the glass at me and Debi, and waved. At least both of us are convinced that he was waving at us. lol About 45 minutes later the small crowd of fans was still hanging around when Nick and Mike again showed themselves. Unfortunately, this was the stereotypical teenie crowd and they started SCREAMING when they saw Nick coming out of the elevators. Nick, being his usual quiet off-stage self, put his finger to his mouth and said "shhhhhhhhhhh" and that he was on his way to get something to eat. Debi and I for some reason took it upon ourselves to be Nick's protectors or something. I yelled at the teenies to stop screaming because it was rude, and Debi said, "Nick, you do what you gotta do" and he acknowledged her with his classic raised eyebrows and a shrug. Some fans tried to follow Nick but Mike made it clear that they wanted to be left alone.And then Debi and I noticed.... dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun.... a girl walking away with Nick and Mike. At first I thought it was just one of the fans trying to talk to him, but then she kept walking with them as they were leaving. Since Nick was walking a foot or two apart from her, we were hoping that maybe she was just a friend or a relative, but as the night went on, it became pretty obvious that there was something more going on. It was NOT platonic, it was NOT someone he had just met. So ladies, Nick has a girlfriend, at least that's how it appeared. Debi and I waited about a minute and then tried to figure out where Nick went, but we were unsuccessful. In wandering around the hotel trying to get a lead on Nick, we saw Jane chilling in a lounge area. Yippee. Then as we were heading back to the elevators, I spotted Eddie walking out the doors to the valet area, and Aaron and another boy were with him. We jetted outside to see them waiting on the curb for a cab. We walked a little closer and I said kind of loudly, "Aaron can you turn around for a picture?" He didn't hear me, but the valet did and he told Aaron that we wanted a picture. Aaron was on his cell phone but he turned around and posed and just waited for us to snap away.That kid is not only adorable, but he's a ham. He'll take any opportunity to pose for a picture and make a goofy face. Not shy at all, the complete opposite of his big bro who is usually so reserved in public. Debi and I then took a stalking break to get some food ourselves. We hadn't eaten ALL DAY because we got swept up in the Carter chaos. (or should that be KAOS? lol) After getting food we wandered around the casino on a Nick search mission. We eventually found him in a private gaming room at a table with Mike and the girl. After a while of trying to sneak peeks at him without pissing off security, we headed back to the lobby because some other fans told us Aaron was back and hanging out there. Sure enough, the kid was just wandering through the lobby with Eddie and another kid who Mike later told us was his (Mike's) brother. (I'm going to call him Mike's brother from now on even though I have no idea if it's true or not) Debi and I whipped out our Aaron pics from SJ for him to sign -- he has a BEAUTIFUL signature BTW, very neat and completely legible. As he was signing Debi's pic he asked her where it was from, like he was surprised to see a pic of himself from THIS tour. I said something like, "Thanks for letting him stop for us Eddie," and Eddie responded with a smile, "I love it when fans know my name." lol I explained that I knew him from when he was with Nick in the fall and he just nodded and said, "I know." (I'm still wondering if that meant "I know because I saw you" or "I know because that's how everyone knows me.") After Aaron signed our stuff I asked him if he had time for pictures, but he told us that he couldn't because he was on his way to bed. (it was around 1 am at this point) As Aaron was walking away he made a few more goofy faces for the camera -- that kid is a riot! -- and then we let him and Eddie and Mike's brother go while we spent a few minutes gawking at our autographs and straightening out all of our stuff. About 5 or 10 minutes later Debi and I started on our way to find Nick again (we didn't really have to work hard to find any of them, they were just THERE), but we spotted Aaron, Eddie, Mike's brother, and some of Aaron's dancers standing by the elevators talking with a few fans. Like I said, for some reason I was uncharacteristically bold that night, so I walked right up to Aaron and said in a sort of scolding mom/teacher tone, "Aaron, I thought you said you were going to bed!" He looked at me like he had been caught doing something bad, shrugged, and kind of squeaked, "But... but... I'm talking to my dancers!" It was so cute. I can't believe I scolded Aaron Carter! lol Anyway, everyone just chilled there for a while. Aaron was talking with the dancers about the show that night and how he had accidentally whacked one of them while he was dancing. I asked Eddie if we could take pics but he thought about it for a sec and said that it probably wasn't a good time because everyone was just being casual and hanging out. Eddie was actually REALLY personable with us all night. I was surprised that this wall of a man who had seemed so tough as Nick's bg was actually so friendly. Anyway, after 10 mintues or so of hanging out there, Aaron's phone rang. Turns out it was JANE telling him to go to bed. LMAO Nice to know that even pop superstars have their moms nagging them. So Aaron said that he had to leave because his mom was telling him to go to bed. As he was walking away he gave a few fans hugs -- including DEBI! -- and then Aaron, Eddie, and Mike's brother headed up the elevators. Debi of course was floating because she had gotten an Aaron hug -- hey, only one step away from hugging Nick right?! lol Next Debi and I headed back to where we had last seen Nick -- the private gaming room. As we approached it we saw Mike OUTSIDE the room talking with some fans. We passed him without much thought other than, "Nick can't be far if Mike is around" and glanced backwards into the private room to see Nick and the girl, um, sitting closely shall we say. I immediately felt sick and turned around so I couldn't see them. That was NOT something I needed to watch, nor was it something that I SHOULD watch. So Debi and I decided to go back to the elevator area because we knew he'd have to go back there eventually. However, we had to walk back past Mike to do so, and as we neared him we basically interrupted his conversation and thanked him for being so cool with us all day, for letting Nick sign autographs and take pictures. That's when we got a REAL surprise: Mike thought he knew us! lol Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but Mike was acting like we were long lost buddies or something. I still have NO CLUE who he thought we were, but we didn't set him straight. *evil grin* After talking with Mike for a minute we went back to the elevator area to wait for Nick to go back to his room. Debi and I were now the only people there ecause the other fans who had been hanging out decided to try to get a peek at Nick. When we had only been there for a few minutes, who do we see coming OUT of the elevator but AARON and Eddie and Mike's brother. I totally glared at both Aaron and Eddie like, "Isn't he supposed to be IN BED?!" As they walked by I said something to that effect to Eddie but he just grinned and shrugged and mumbled something I couldn't understand. Then the three of them proceded to just HANG OUT in the lobby. Not meeting anyone. Not talking to anyone. Just STANDING THERE. Very very strange. Then a few minutes later came MY FAVORITE experience of the night... Mike comes around the elevators from the left side (they are kind of free standing so you can approach them from around either side), looks at me and Debi sort of in a panic, and says, "Did you see him? Did he go up?" We were totally confused and said, "Nick??? Um, NO, why?" Then Aaron spots Mike from across the lobby (a good 20 yards away) and shouts his name. Mike turns around, cups his hands to his mouth, and yells to Aaron, "I LOST YOUR BROTHER!" OMG Debi and I were DYING!!! It was sooooooo funny!!! Almost immediately Nick comes around the *other* side of the elevator with his arm draped around the girl looking like everything is fine. Then he spots Aaron across the lobby and yells, "AARON!!" at the top of his lungs like he hadn't seen him in years. They run towards each other (like something out of a movie lol) and give each other a huge bear hug -- it was absolutely ADORABLE! I had my camera in my hand so I snapped a pic, but then Mike and Eddie asked me not to take anymore so I didn't, which is why I'm not going to pass that picture on. It was supposed to be a private moment and I feel bad for even taking it, even though it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. For the next half hour Nick, Aaron, Mike, Eddie, Mike's brother, and Nick's gf (and I think like one or two other people) were just chillin in the lobby. They didn't seem concerned about security AT ALL. I was surprised they'd be so open like that when they could go upstairs to their rooms and bond in privacy. But it worked out well for us because we could watch them just being them. It really was a sight to behold, the Carter brothers just enjoying being together. They never tried to avoid us or hide from us or make us go away. They knew we were there and that we were watching them, but they didn't seem to care. At one point Nick, Aaron, Mike, and Eddie were all huddled up together, arms around each other like no one else existed, totally cute, discussing lord knows what. Another time Aaron leaned over this railing that we were all standing against, caught Debi's eye, she waved at him, and he waved back at her, just with his fingers, not a whole hand wave, ya know what I mean? She's now in love with a 14 year old! lol j/k Another amusing incident involved Nick running DOWN the UP escalator to talk to a falling-down-drunk woman, but it's too complicated to explain and still make sense. lol Anyway, eventually Nick headed upstairs with the girl, but right before he left I thanked him for being so nice to us all day and for taking the time for us, and he was very cordial and said, "No problem." A few minutes later Nick came back downstairs with the girl because he couldn't get into his room. lol He was asking Mike for another key and was kind of frustrated, so Mike finally just went up to help him figure it out. Then for another half an hour it was the rest of us still hanging out in the lobby... us, 3 or 4 teenage fans, Aaron, Eddie, Mike's brother, and some girl that Aaron told me was his cousin, although he disappeared with her into this little alcove for a while. lol Finally around 2:30 am Aaron again started heading for the elevators. As the group approached us (we were standing closer to the elevators than they were), Eddie walked up to me and said, "Someone get this girl's camera." I thought I was in BIG trouble for taking that pic of Nick and Aaron hugging, but I was wrong. :) Eddie -- my new best friend lol -- said, "She's been here all night asking for pictures and she keeps getting denied. Someone get her camera and take a picture" and he basically forced me and Debi and Aaron into a picture together. Well, not that he had to FORCE us, but ya know, he ORDERED us to do it. lol Aaron agreed without hesitation in the little boy way only he can. That boy SQUEEZES when he takes pictures. He even fought his hand UNDER Debi's backpack to put his arm around her rather than just rest it on top. lol After the picture, Aaron, Eddie, and Mike's brother were continuing towards the elevators when Eddie's cell phone rang. He answered it then turned to Aaron with a serious look on his face and said, "It's your mom." Aaron's eyes basically popped out of his head and the three of them JETTED towards the elevator and away they went. Again, it's comforting to know that #1 Jane isn't allowing him to completely run wild and #2 he's still scared of his mom. lol About 15 minutes later Mike came back from helping Nick get into his room, and this is when we got a peek into what Mike is really like. That man talks about Nick NON-STOP. I wonder if Nick even knows he does that. Really, we didn't have to ask him ANYTHING, he was just blabbing away. (Debi and I let the teenagers ask the dumb questions, we just stood there listening to the answers lol) At one point Mike turned to me and Debi and said, "I know how you guys know Nick" and then turning to the teenagers said, "but how do y'all know him?" Debi and I were speechless -- WE KNOW NICK??? Alrighty, if Mike says so! lol He told us that he recognized us from other shows, but neither one of us had seen Mike in person before in our lives. A few too many drinks perhaps? lol Like I said, Mike talked A LOT, most of which I'm not going to get in to because it's really not important for everyone to know. One relevant fact we learned: Mike is NOT Nick's bodyguard, he's Nick's ASSISTANT. (at least that's what Mike said, although he was ACTING like a bg) That makes me feel better about Mike losing Nick earlier in the night. lol And THE MOST IMPORTANT THING MIKE SAID FOR ALL BSB FANS TO KNOW... Nick is VERY excited about his solo album, but BSB IS NOT BREAKING UP. He made that crystal clear. He said that Nick thinks his solo album will be good for BSB in the long run and that we shouldn't believe ANYTHING unless we hear it from the Boys themselves. So breathe easy BSB fans, they're not going anywhere. :) Debi and I eventually got Mike to ditch the teenagers and we went to a bar in the hotel with him and some of Aaron's road crew. Again, more of the same, Mike talking about Nick, mostly about his solo album. It sounds like Nick is REALLY looking forward to this, as is Mike actually, so I'm happy for him. And again, the intention is NOT for the his solo career to take the place of BSB, so there is no need to fret. Around 3:45 am Debi and I decided we had enough of the bar and the road crew and Mike's babbling so we called it a night, thus ending our 12 hours of Carter experiences. We knew Aaron was leaving the next day to drive to his next venue so we hoped to catch him then, but we KNEW Nick wouldn't be surfacing before we had to leave for the airport to catch our own flight. Unfortunately the next day was a bust in terms of encounters. Saw Nick's gf hanging around like she was getting ready to leave but no sign of Nick, saw Aaron's dancers loading up, and saw Eddie getting on the bus, but that's it. So Debi and I sadly left the hotel knowing that Nick was still there and headed to the airport to come home. Again we had bad airport luck, but nothing could bring us down after Saturday. We're still flying high a week later, and probably will be for a looooooooooooooong time. So that's that. Long and tedious for you to read probably, but hey, it's what happened! Again, remember that this is just what *I* experienced and how *I* viewed the situations, not the end-all and be-all of Nick and Aaron's weekend in Vegas. If you've made it to the end of this, BLESS YOU! Thanks for letting me babble on and on and on. |
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