Nick Carter looked around the gym.
He was in Moscow, Russia at one of the main gyms in the country that Olympic gymnasts trained at. Posted on the wall was a poster of the Russian's male star gymnast Aleksei Nemov. Nick was with the Boys on tour and had gotten bored. When he asked a clerk at their hotel what he could do to kill some time, the clerk responded that he should check out the gymnasts for fun. (Authors note: I�m not quite sure that the Russians let people come in a watch the gymnasts. Most of the gymnasts have left home at a very young age to live and train in the gyms) So Nick had made his way to the gym to watch the action.
Nick opened the door and took a seat to watch. The women were working out on their routines. Nicks eye caught one sparkling girl tumbling out on the floor. She had red hair and looked very familiar to him. He asked one of the other people in the room who she was and he simply answered Elena Produnova.
That's when Nick remembered.
When he had time and wasn't working on songwriting, he had tuned into the 2000 Olympic games and had been amazed by her outstanding routines. He moved closer to the window and watched as she went through the routine again. He gave a soft whistle at the difficulty she put into it. He looked around and crept out the door down to the practice area.
Up close she was even more beautiful than he imagined. She had made her eyebrow into a weird shape but it just made her different. She had strong shoulders, a tight stomach and bright eyes. Nick took in a deep breath, he wanted to call out her name but he knew he shouldn't. A pretty girl with a blonde ponytail walked over to him. �Hey� she said then took a drink out of her water bottle.
"How did you get in here?" she asked as she adjusted her grips for the bars.
"I just wandered in," Nick said trying to act casual.
The girl studied him carefully, then her eyes grew bright and a smile lit her face. "I know who you are!" she exclaimed.
He looked at her with a smile. "Oh yeah? Then who am I?" he challenged with his famous smirk.
"You are that American guy, excuse my English, um, that Backstreet Boy...Nick Carter?"
He laughed. "You are correct. Are you a fan?" he asked.
"Yes I am a fan," she answered and she stuck out her hand. "I'm Elena Zamolodchikova."
"Oh yeah! I recognize you," he said. "And I remember that last name too. Gee what a name. But it�s cool. I like it.�
She smiled again. "So do you like Elena?" she asked pointing to Elena Produnova.
"Yeah," he admitted while blushing, "I think she is really pretty and an awesome gymnast."
"Wanna meet her?" Elena asked.
"Ok," he said shyly. Then he looked at her. "This is going to be confusing. Elena and Elena."
"Well," she said, "Just call her Elena and call me Lena ok?"
"It works," Nick agreed.
Then Lena turned and called Elena P. over.
Chapter 2
Elena walked over to the two of them.
"Hi," she said, "what do you need?" she asked Elena.
"Oh nothing," Elena said, "just wanted you to meet someone." Elena Produnova looked at the blonde guy.
"Oh hi. I'm Elena Produnova," she said with a bright smile that made her even more beautiful to him.
"Yes I know," Nick said. "I'm, um, Nick Carter. Maybe you've heard of me before?"
"Oh yes," Elena said, "You are a Backstreet Boy."
(Authors note: I'm not quite sure how good Elena Produnova�s English is or for that fact Elena Zamolodchikova�s. I'm using Russian Characters and they will all speak English since I don't know Russian)
"I love the Backstreet Boys. Your music is so great. I love you song, 'I Want it That Way'".
"Thanks," Nick said, blushing at her enthusiasm.
"So are you a gymnastics fan?" She asked looking at him.
"Yes I am. I'm not really too familiar with everything but it looks great and like a lot of hard work."
"Well, it is a lot of hard work, but it is also a lot of fun. I really enjoy gymnastics."
"Yeah that's like the way I am with my music."
"Hey Elena," Lena interrupted, "we better get back soon or else our coach is going to get mad." Elena agreed.
"Wait!" Nick said He couldn't let her get away that fast. "Can we do something after your practice is done?"
Elena looked thoughtful. "Ok," she said, "but I can't stay out too long."
"Ok," Nick said. She smiled and went on with her practice. He took a seat again and continued to watch. Finally, about an hour later, she waved to him. She shouted that she was going to take a shower and change and then would be out ASAP. Nick called over Elena Z.
"Hey Lena, am I going to see you later?" he asked.
"No," she said, "well not for awhile since I'm going on tour for awhile but you'll meet Svetlana Khorkina and maybe Aleksei Nemov or something."
"Ok," Nick said with a small smile, "I hope we meet up again."
"Oh we will," Elena said with a knowing smile then left.
Nick sat down and waited for Elena P. It didn't that long for her to come out. She looked very pretty in her white blouse and blue skirt.
"So what do you want to do?" he asked.
"Oh I don't know," she said, "Whatever, it doesn't really matter."
"How about we go out to dinner and then you can meet the rest of the guys."
"Oh wow! Can I really meet the rest of the group?" she asked excitedly.
"Sure," Nick said laughing. "Let's go."
He hesitated but took her hand in his and they walked out together to a little cafe. They sat down and ordered their food. Nick ordered one of the specialties and she ordered a small salad, yogurt and a glass of water.
"Is that all?" Nick asked giving her a concerned look.
"Yup," she answered, "I have to watch my weight."
"WHAT???" Nick exclaimed in surprise, "But you aren't fat at all."
Elena laughed.
"Well, Nick, all gymnasts eat very little and watch what they eat. Gymnasts cannot get fat and we eat only healthy food for energy and we never eat junk foods like candy or chips or sodas really."
"Wow," Nick said, "Without that stuff I would go crazy."
"Oh I don't mind really," she said with a laugh, "After awhile you just get used to it."
Their food soon came and they ate and talked. Soon their plates were taken away. They talked for a while and then headed to Nick's hotel so she could meet the guys.
"Are you nervous?" he asked glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
"Well, maybe a little bit. But I'll be ok." She flashed him a smile. They reached the hotel and headed up to the Boys' floor.
"Well here we are," he announced. "Are you ready?"
"Yes I am," she responded. Nick knocked on the door.
"Hey Brian it's me." The door began to open.
Chapter 3
Brian opened the door. "Hey Nick! What took you so long?"
Nick smiled and pointed at Elena. "She did!"
Brian gazed at the girl who in turn gave him a small smile. "Hello," Brian said, "I'm Brian Littrell."
"I know," she said, I'm Elena Produnova." She shook his hand.
"Oh man!" Brian exclaimed, "I knew I recognized you from somewhere before. Come in, come in!" He ushered them into the room where the rest of the guys were.
"Hey guys," he called out, "we have a very special guest with us. Guys this is Elena Produnova. The great Olympic gymnast."
Elena smiled shyly and said hi to all of them. Brian led her to a seat and she sat down and looked at all of them. They were all cute and nice but she felt that she liked Nick better. As a matter of fact she thought she was developing a crush on him. Yes...she definitely had a crush on him...but did he feel the same way? she wondered. She looked up and they were all looking at her. Uh oh, she thought, did they ask me a question?
"Um, guys I'm sorry did you ask me a question? I'm just really tired from practice and was zoning out."
"It's ok." Kevin said with a kind smile, "I just asked you what it is really like to be a gymnast."
"Oh," Elena laughed, "Well for one thing usually after practices you are dead. But hey, I love them they are really fun! I love to go out and learn new routines or prepare for a big meet somewhere and all of that stuff. I'm telling you, being a gymnast is not an easy thing to do. I usually wake up around 5:30 am to warm up with 100 jumping jacks, 100 crunches, 50 push-ups, and a few other things. Then I take a shower. By 7:00 I have a fruit or yogurt and then I head off to the gym to start working out. I am at the gym until about 11:30. Then I have some schooling till 12:30, then a quick lunch, go back to school until 2:30, work out at the gym until 7:00 pm then I go home, have a small dinner, maybe watch a tv show or do homework then I am in bed by 9:30."
"Wow," A.J whistled looking amazed, "Tough schedule."
Elena laughed. "After a while you get used to it. Heck the gym is my home. Really," she said looking at the guys, "I board there so it's easier for me to train."
They all continued talking about music, gymnastics, and among other things for a while until Leighanne announced that it was time for her to go. She stood up and thanked the guys for a good time and said she hoped that she would see them again.
Howie laughed. "Oh don't worry you can see us if you want. We will be here for a month working on our album and tv shows and stuff like that."
"Good," she stated. Then she got an idea. "Hey, do you guys want to meet some other gymnasts tomorrow?"
They all agreed and decided to have Nick take them to the gym around 7:15 and they would all hang out together. Nick got up and announced that he was going to walk Elena over to where she stayed and that he would be right back. Together they got up and left.
Nick took her hand and swung it in between them and gazed up at the beautiful sky. The moon shone and the stars twinkled. They walked in silence because there was no need for words to be spoken. Soon they reached their destination. Nick turned towards her.
"Well, here we are Elena."
She gazed up at him. "Thank you for a wonderful night Nick."
He gazed down into her bright eyes. "No, thank you for this wonderful night Elena." He cupped her cheeks with his hands. "Elena, you are so beautiful..."
He bent his head down towards her and met her lips with his for a sweet kiss that drove him wild. After a few wonderful moments they pulled apart to once more gaze into each other�s eyes.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow Nick?"
"Oh, you better count on it Elena," he said with a grin.
She smiled, gave him one softer kiss and then turned and walked into the building.
Nick sighed and turned for the walk back to the hotel. He couldn't believe it. He had fallen in love. Sure, he had been in love before...but this time was different.
This time it felt real.
He stopped outside the hotel and gazed at the moon. Elena, I love you and I will in time make you mine...
Chapter 4
The next day, Nick waited impatiently for 7:15 pm to come. He tried to do everything to pass time. The guys all laughed at how antsy Nick was.
"Man, he has got it bad!" A.J told Kevin and Howie.
"Yup, he sure does." Kevin agreed and Howie just laughed.
Meanwhile, Brian tried his best to keep Nick busy to try to pass time. They did everything from playing video games, playing basketball to watching a movie and calling home. Finally after what seemed like a century 7:10 rolled by.
"Time to go!" Nick yelled as he practically ran out the door. The guys ran out after him and tried to keep up as he rushed towards the gym. They got there shortly and walked in. Elena was there with a few other people. They were all dressed in leotards. She came up to them.
"I thought that maybe you would like to see some of the stuff we do and then maybe you can show us a little of what you do."
The guys agreed and Elena called the group over to introduce them.
"This is Svetlana Khorkina, Aleksei Nemov, and Yekaterina Lobaznyuk (first name pronounced Katerina).
The guys said hello and then sat down to watch what was going to happen. First, Aleksei started on the floor and his first tumbling pass was a double layout. The guys were very impressed with what he did. Now Nick really knew why they called him the best male gymnast in the world. It was because he really was the best. He completed the routine with a double twisting layout and once again stuck the landing. Nick, along with the others stood up and cheered and clapped for him. He smiled at them and waved.
The cheers were soon quieted when Elena took on the beam. She was amazing. She made every move look so clean and easy. She made it look like the beam was four feet wide instead of four inches. She danced along the length of it to show off her grace and balance. She twisted and leaped for excitement. She tumbled along it causing them all to hold their breath. Her handstands were strong and balanced and she showed off her stuff. She performed very difficult moves and executed a perfect landing.
Nick cheered the loudest and wrapped her in a tight hug. "You were great!" he said, not believing just how great she was.
"Thanks," was all she said because he bent down to kiss her.
The kiss was quick and they turned to Svetlana who would be performing on the uneven bars. Nick kept his arms around Elena as they watched Svetlana's grace on the bars. He remembered that she was the gold medallists on the bars and even had her own move. When she finished her routine, everyone once again clapped and cheered loudly.
Yekaterina took her place at the length to run to vault. She ran and hit her 1 and a half twisting yarchenko. Then she once again went to the end of the runway and this time did a double twisting yarchenko. They all stood up and cheered for her.
"Well," Aleksei, said, "this is some of what we do. Now it is your turn."
The boys whispered together and then made their way to the floor. They began so sing "I Want it That Way."
The way they sang was so beautiful that it almost brought tears to Elena's eyes. She was so happy, she couldn't believe it. She could almost swear that she was falling in love with Nick. Yes...she could feel it down in her heart.
The love blazed in her heart for him.
She wanted nothing more than to have him love her back the same way she loved him. But would that ever happen? It would be hard if they did share feelings for each other. She lived in Russia and he lived in America. Who knows how often they would be able to see each other if they saw each other at all. Elena sighed and turned back to the song, which they were finishing up. When they were done, they all clapped for the guys and then joined them out on the floor.
"So, did you like that?" Nick asked her with his little amused smirk.
"Well," she said slowly, "I think Brian did great and so did the others, "But as for you, well, I dunno. It was OK...I guess." She held back her laugh.
"You little rat!" Nick exclaimed. "I cannot believe you just did that to me. Talk about being way rude!"
She burst out laughing at the look in Nick�s eyes. She couldn't believe that for a moment there he almost believed her.
"So, what do you want to do next?" Howie asked.
"Well," Svetlana started thinking, "We can go to the park and just hang out.�
"Good idea," Nick said nodding his head. He took Elena's hand and they all walked out towards the park.
When they got there, it was already getting a little dark. Aleksei ran around yelling and having fun. Soon all of the others began to run around and laugh and have fun themselves.
Elena dodged behind a tree and glanced out to see where Nick was. She frowned. Where did he go? she wondered. Suddenly, a pair of arms snaked out and grabbed her around the waist. She let out a little scream but was cut short when Nick dropped his head to hers to meet her for a kiss. She smiled as she kissed him back.
"Hey you two!" they heard Svetlana call. "We are heading to the cafe now. Would you like to join us?"
Yekaterina giggled but tried to hide it.
Elena blushed and Nick laughed. "We're coming!" he called out.
They took each other hands and ran to meet up with the
rest. They all walked off to the cafe together laughing and just having a good time.