Part IV:

Roll With It

"Okay boys, here we go."

The five guys glanced at each other and didn't move from their seats. Lou rolled his eyes as an amused smile crossed his face.

"Ready?"

"Of course," AJ answered casually. He sounded sure of himself but he didn't move.

Lou opened the van door further and Kevin was the first to react. He gave Howie a little push and pulled at the other guys lightly. "Let's go."

It was day one of their school tour. The boys had ridden in one van while Lou along with Nick and AJ's mothers had occupied the other. They'd be staying in a hotel that night before traveling the next day.

Right now they tried to focus on sound check. Kevin hoped that they would get a good response from the school. He realized that this could be a hard crowd to perform to, at least until they won them over.

"What if they don't like us?" Nick was saying as they entered through the front entrance of Kennedy High School.

"Then we take it in stride," Kevin replied. He sent the kid a reassuring smile as he repeated the same thing he had been saying the whole time. "You gotta expect the worst and hope for the best."

"Thank you, Mr. Therapist," Brian answered with a laugh. Howie rolled his eyes.

"It's true."

"Are we performing in the gym or in an auditorium?" AJ asked suddenly. He kind of hoped for the auditorium because it would have a stage.

"Gym," said Lou. "Better acoustics."

"Maybe we could fit in a game of b-ball before the show," Brian spoke up hopefully. Kevin shook his head.

"Not unless you wanna pay for all the damaged equipment in there that you'll probably hit."

"Are you saying I have a bad shot?" Brian exclaimed, throwing him a hurt look.

"I'm not saying anything."

"Hmph."

"Okay boys, I'm gonna go check in with the office to make sure everything's set," Lou interrupted. "I trust you can find your way to the gymnasium with no problems? Kev, make sure you all get there. Okay, son?"

"Sure, Lou."

Lou disappeared down one of the hallways and the five of them stood there silently.

"Well, son, lead us," AJ mimicked, giving Kevin a playful shove. Kevin chuckled.

"I would, but I have no idea where the gym is."

"I'll lead," Nick spoke up with a grin. They stared at him.

"Do you know where the gym is?" Howie asked doubtfully.

"Well, sure." Nick rolled his eyes. "Of course."

Kevin frowned at him for a minute before shrugging. "Okay, Nicky. Lead away. But if we get lost, it's your butt on the line."

"We won't get lost. I never get lost."

-

"You never get lost?!"

"We're not lost," Nick defended. "We're just . . . what's the word . . ." He looked at the other guys for help but they looked exasperated.

"You're in trouble, Nicky . . ." Brian told him. He was only half in jest. Nick's eyes widened.
"Me?" He stuck out his lower lip. "It's not my fault. Kevin was supposed to lead us!"

"Hey!"

"Well, you didn't, so . . ."

"Yeah, well little Mr. I Never Get Lost here," Kevin muttered. "What happened to knowing where the gym was, huh?"

"I was joking . . ."

"Oh great, just great."

"This is a big school, huh?" AJ said. They looked at him silently. Nick looked kind of upset so Kev wrapped an arm around him.

"It's not your fault, I was just playing with you. Okay?" The boy shrugged and he gave him a squeeze. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"So what are we gonna do?" Brian asked. "Keep walking?"

"You have a better idea?" Howie asked.

"Well, no . . ."

"This is a great first show . . ." AJ remarked, a grin across his face. "Lou must be having a heart attack." They all smiled at that.

"At least the show's not until a little later, huh?" Howie said, thinking of the bright side. "We're only late for a simple sound check, not an actual show. That would be bad."

"Yeah, well, the rate we're going, we're probably gonna be late for the show too," Kevin remarked, looking at the younger guys with a frown. They really had to work on sticking to a schedule. This was not good. And he was in charge. Just great, how responsible was he? He sighed. Nick looked up at him.

"I'm sorry . . ."

"It's not your fault," Kevin said, stressing each word. The poor kid was worried enough about the tour as it was, he certainly didn't need to be thinking that too.

"How about we try that hallway?" Brian asked, pointing to a hallway they hadn't been down yet. He figured it was worth a try. They couldn't be any worse off.

A bell rang.

The classrooms emptied as students hurried into the hallway. The guys tried to stay together and out of the way, but too many crowded them. Kevin grabbed on to Nick’s shirt when he realized how much smaller he was than everyone and that he’d surely get lost in the shuffle.

Brian tried desperately to keep up with Kevin as he made his way around the crowd. Howie stepped to the side and decided just to wait for the students to clear the hallway.

AJ just continued walking.

"—go of me!?!"

Kevin looked down to realize that that was not Nick he was holding on to. It was some other short, blonde kid.

"Uh, sorry," Kevin told him as the kid straightened his shirt and gave him a dirty look. "Sorry, really," Kevin repeated.

Another bell rang, and Kevin looked around. He was practically alone in the long hallway.

-

Nick grinned at AJ as they hurried behind some younger-looking kids. It had been perfect. When the bell rang, they’d just kept walking and suddenly, magically lost Kevin, Howie and Brian and were blissfully on their own. Things were always more fun when they were together without Kevin’s supervision.

"Let’s get to class," AJ told him.

"Pick one," Nick said as they glanced into every classroom they passed. "Pick something good like art, or shop, or--."

"Here we go," AJ said stopping at a set of double doors. "Drama," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "Shall we?"
"Let’s!"

It was actually a small auditorium instead of a classroom. All of the kids looked around AJ’s age if not just a bit older. Everyone talked happily to everyone else and didn’t even look at them strangely in the packed room.

They sat in the back, behind the last couple of students as the tardy bell rang. The talking and laughing hushed as a tall, red-headed woman stepped out on to the small stage.

"Freshmen," she said, dramatically. "Prepare for improvisation."

The reactions varied from groans to a laughter.

AJ shrugged and smiled at Nick. This was going to get good.

"I’m going to have groups of you come up to the stage and improvise. You must be ready to put away your inhibitions and act the part you are given. Understood?" she looked around at the silent group. "I think I will begin in the back."

She hurried up the aisle, and Nick began to sink into his seat. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.

AJ sat up and smiled. Pick me, lady. You won’t regret it.

"This row, this row and this row, to the stage, now."

The students emptied their seats, and Nick and AJ had not choice but to do the same.

"Just play along," AJ told him.

The group was big enough that they could just stand in the back and not get noticed, but AJ pulled Nick up to the front.

"Aje, no--," Nick whispered in protest.

"C’mon. Either we’re doing this or we’re not."

They were actually in the second row of students where they could clearly see the teacher’s and the others’ reactions.

"Now, freshmen," she said. "Listen and put this idea into your mind before you allow your body to react," she paused. "You are a pack of dogs. Wild dogs out in the evening on a summer night. Improvise. Now!"

AJ was the first to howl. Nick started laughing.

They were both swept up in the group of students who barked, howled and crawled on all fours acting like a pack of wild dogs.

"Good. Good," the teacher said. "Now you are cats. Cats who have just spotted the pack of wild dogs."

AJ started pretending to lick his paw, so Nick decided just to follow whatever he did.

"The dogs! Here come the dogs!" cried the drama teacher.

The cats on stage went wild in a frenzy of meowing, hissing, and scratching.

"Yes! The fear! Feel the fear!"

Nick ended up sitting on the floor laughing harder than he had in a long time. AJ pushed him.

"The fear, feel it," AJ said then took a swipe at him.

"Bacon!" shouted the drama teacher. "You are all strips of bacon frying in the pan on a Sunday morning. Bacon!"

AJ fried better than anyone else in class. He was actually sizzling, waving his arms in the air while he stomped his feet.

"You are good bacon," the teacher said pointing him out. "You move to the front." She glanced at Nick. "You are bad bacon. You are gooey, slimy uncooked bacon. Step to the back."

Nick moved to the back, laughing hard. He peeked behind the heavy curtain to find the backstage area full of props of costumes. Behind one of the racks was a door that seemed to lead back out to the hallway.

He hurried back, sizzling and frying, to get AJ.

"Let’s go," he whispered to him. "We gotta get back."

"Already? Fine," AJ huffed, losing the bacon act and following Nick to the back.

They stepped out into the hallway and followed the exit signs to the student quadrangle.

"Look, that looks like a gym," Nick said of a huge building with trophies in the windows.

"It does," AJ said. "Let’s go."

-

Brian could hear his tennis shoes squeaking in the empty hallway. Where were those guys? How had he lost them so easily?

"Where’s your hall pass?"

He turned to find a stern-looking coach in shorts and a golf shirt.

"Son? I asked you a question. Where’s your hall pass?"

"I," Brian began carefully. "Sir, I don’t need a hall pass. I’m not a student here and--."

"Son, you can’t be out in this hallway without a hall pass. That’s the rule. What class are you supposed to be in?"

"That’s the problem. I don’t go to class here, and I need to find the gym so that--."

"Fine. You don’t have a hall pass, then we have to get to the office. Let’s go."

"But sir--."

"Nothing! Hurry up. Move it. Let’s go."

Brian looked around desperately having no clue where the office was. The coach sighed exasperated and pointed a finger down the hall.

"Move it!" he said.

Brian walked in the direction that he pointed with a shrug. Here he was practically back home again going to the office for a tardy slip.

Brian smiled at the lady at the office. She looked much more understanding.

"Ma’am, I’m just lost," Brian explained. "I’m here to perform this afternoon. You know? I’m one of the Backstreet Boys."

She nodded and raised an eyebrow for him to continue. "And?"

"And I just got lost. The bell rang, and all these kids came out of the classrooms. Me and the guys got separated, and I’ve been wandering the halls ever since. If you can just point me toward the gym, I’ll get where I’m supposed to be."

She eyed him. She had heard every story in the book and was about to dismiss this one when she noticed the flier posted on the bulletin board behind his head.

It read: Backstreet Boys to perform in the gym.

Right below there was a picture of five smiling guys, and yes, this was one of them standing right in front of her.

Brian followed her gaze and turned to look at the flier.

"See?" he asked her grabbing it off the board. "See, that’s me."

"Yes, it is. Look at you."

"Um-huh, and those are the guys. And they’re probably looking for me. Now, could you please tell me, where’s the gym?"

"Out those doors, across the quadrangle to your right. You can’t miss it."

"Thank you, ma’am."

She smiled. "And honey."

"Yes?"

"Next time, come to the office and get a visitor’s pass," she said holding one out to him.

He nodded. "Yeah! That would have helped me. Thanks."
"Sure. Just turn it in at the end of the day."

-

How in the world did he wind up in the cafeteria? He was so lost. Howie looked around and sat down at one of the tables to think. A teenage girl got up from the table beside his and sat across from him.

"Hey," she greeted with a flirty smile. He heard her friends giggling from behind them and smirked.

"Hey . . ."

"I haven't seen you around before, are you a new senior or something?" she asked, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. He smiled.

"No, I'm in a band . . . the Backstreet Boys. We're performing here today," he explained. And I'm lost, he thought. Her eyes lit up and she nodded.

"I thought I recognized you from the poster. You guys any good?"
"I like to think so," he replied. What kind of question was that? She laughed.

"Well, what are you doing here anyway? In the cafeteria I mean."

"Honestly, I'm kind of lost. Where's the gym?" He frowned as she giggled and ran a hand through her hair.

"Right out that door," she said, pointing. "Down the hall and to the right. Through the large wooden doors."

"Thanks," Howie said. She smiled.

"Can I have your autograph? In case you get famous one day," she said quickly.

"Sure," he agreed. She handed him a pen and he scribbled his signature on a paper napkin.

"There you go. I'd better get going now, though. It was nice to meet you."

"You too . . . Howie," she said, looking down at the autograph. "Thanks." She watched him get up and leave, then glanced down at the napkin. Famous? What were the chances of that? She crumpled it up and threw it away before rejoining her friends.

-

"Look Lou, I know they're around here somewhere," Kevin was saying, running his hands through his dark hair. He hoped that it was true. He watched Lou pace in front of him for the hundredth time and took a deep breath. Lou stopped.

"Sure, son, but if they're not here in five minutes we can just-"

"Hey, Kev!"

Kevin spun around at AJ's voice and saw him and Nick running towards him. He pulled them close and looked at Lou. "See?"

"That's three of you. You a trio now?" Lou laughed. Kevin gave a weak smile. He was relieved to at least see that the man was taking it well. He could've given up on them and their antics long ago. He gave Nick and AJ a squeeze.

"Where'd you two get off to?"

"The, um . . ."

"Uh . . ."

"Never mind, I just hope you didn't get in trouble . . ."

"Us?" Nick asked incredulously. "Trouble?" Kevin rolled his eyes and pushed them away playfully.

"Yeah you."

AJ grinned. "This is a pretty cool school."

"It's too big," Kevin muttered. "Can't keep track of everybody." The wooden doors swung open again and Brian hopped in.

"Hey guys!" he greeted. "Long time no see!" Kevin rolled his eyes at his cousin's out of breath appearance.

"And where were you?"

"Getting a hall pass for the coach from hell," Brian said matter-of-factly.

"Huh?" Kevin sent him a funny look and Brian laughed.

"Where's Howie?"

"Right behind you," Howie answered, coming in through the doors. "Hey guys . . ."

Lou ushered them toward the mikes. "Warm up while you're all together," he joked. "We're behind schedule."

The five guys took their places behind the mikes and started a warm-up a capella they used for practice.

"My mike's not working," Brian said suddenly, tapping his finger against it. No sound came out. One of the technical workers moved to the sound box and moved a few wires. A loud ringing echoed in the speakers and they covered their ears.

"Ow," Nick mumbled. The sound dimmed away slowly and they uncovered their ears.

"Is it working now?" the worker asked. Brian stepped back up to his mike. He tapped it and the sound echoed over the speakers.

"Testing. One, two, three. Testing. Can anyone hear me?" he said, voice goofy. Nick grinned and stepped up to his mike.

"Roger, I hear you."

"Thank you, sir."

"No problem."

"Standby for clearance," Brian continued.

"Check," Nick laughed.

"Guys?" Kevin spoke up. "I hate to interrupt you two misfits, but we really don't have time to play pilot." He voice was amused. These two were too much.

"Roger."

"Check."

-

"Can we get a drink?" AJ and Nick stood in front of them on the bleachers, energy filled to the brim.

"Are you gonna go get lost again?" Howie asked with a laugh.

"No, we don't get lost," Nick said. His voice was so serious.

"Nicky, we've heard that story way too many times to believe it," Kevin muttered. He looked at his watch. They had a while to the actual show. Long enough to hunt them down if they did get lost. "Go ahead."

The two boys ran down from the bleachers, picked their way through all the equipment, and made their way out the wooden doors.

"Pick a hallway," AJ said when they came to a stop. Nick looked both ways.

"Um, that one."

"Okay . . ." As they made their way down the long tiled hall, AJ spotted a sign for the cafeteria and he took Nick by the arm. "C'mon, this way."

They each bought a soda from the counter and took a seat at an empty table, pretty much blending in with the rest of the kids eating lunch.

"So are you nervous?"

"Nah . . ." AJ smiled. "Not too much. Kinda," he admitted. Nick nodded.

"Yeah . . ." He played with his soda and almost jumped when a kid sat down on the chair next to him.

"Hey." He didn't sound too friendly.

"Hey," AJ said in the same tone. He looked the boy up and down, deciding he was about his age, just a little bigger. "What do you want."

"You're the pretty boys that came to sing today, aren't you?" the boy demanded. "The Backseat Boys."

"Backstreet," AJ corrected, anger boiling. He could take this kid. "And so what?"

"Who are you trying to be? The next New Kids on the Block or something?"

"No." AJ's voice was flat.

"They sucked and I bet you do too. Bunch of gay-"

That was it. Before the kid even said another word, AJ's fist was connecting with his jaw. Nick stared at him, but grinned.

AJ stared at his hand and unclenched it. Ow, that hurt. Next thing he knew, the kid was getting up and balling his fists. Nick gave him a shove and the boy fell over his chair. AJ grinned. Go Nicky.

"C'mon. Let's get out of here," AJ ordered, grabbing the younger boy by the back of the shirt. Nick dumped his soda on the rising boy as AJ dragged him out of there. Aides were coming to the scene, but Nick and AJ took off running though the cafeteria doors.

"Hey!"

Their footsteps echoed through the hallway and by the time they reached the wooden doors, they were both completely out of breath. Nick reached up to grab the handle, but AJ took his face in his hands.

"Don't say anything. Got me?" He knew the kid tended to have a big mouth when it came to keeping things on the down low.

"Sure. Okay." Nick gulped.

They made such a racket running in that everyone turned to look at them.

Both of them stood there at the door trying desperately to catch their breaths. Nick even bent over and patted his sides.

Howie shot Kevin a look. Those two were never up to any good. And it was way to soon for them to even get back there.

"Okay boys, I think we’re ready for--," Lou stopped talking when he noticed Howie and Kevin’s expressions. "What?" he asked them. "They’re all right. You guys worry too much."

Kevin forced a smile. "Yeah. Sorry."

AJ and Nick strolled casually across the gym floor to Brian who was at the opposite side of the gym playing with a pretend basketball.

"Pass it to me," Nick yelled when he realized what he was doing.

"Here ya go, Nicky!"

Nick dribbled the phantom basketball while AJ started to block him.

"Pass it, pass it!" Brian yelled.

When Nick raised his arm to throw the ball, he bumped AJ’s hand.

"Ow! OW!" AJ yelled.

The other two stopped.

"What?" Nick asked.

Brian leaned over to look at AJ’s hand. He was holding it tightly at his chest. It looked somewhat swollen, and his knuckles were red.

His eyes widened. "AJ. AJ, what’d you do?"

"Nothing! I don’t know. I must have bumped my hand."

"That looks like you socked someone," Brian said trying to pry his hand away. "Let me see."

"No. It’s fine," AJ said through clenched teeth. "Go back to playing basketball with Nicky." AJ made eyes at Nick so he’d take Brian away.

"Um, I’ve got the ball, Bri. Look!" he said brightly and started for the basket.

Brian didn’t move. "Okay. ‘Fess up, this is me. What did you guys do?"

"Nothing!" AJ repeated.

"Tell me," Brian ordered.

Nick smiled. "There’s nothing to tell, Bri."

But Brian turned to Nick. He gave him that look that made Nick step away and start running.

"Get back here! Get back here!" Brian yelled chasing him. "You’re gonna tell me, Nicky! You’re gonna tell me, or else you know what’s gonna happen."

Nick ran for all he was worth. He couldn’t take Brian tickling him until he talked because he knew Brian would get it out of him. He always did. It had gotten so that Nick couldn’t keep anything from him.

He ran right into Kevin, swung him around and stood behind him.

"Stop him, Kev. Stop him," Nick begged.

"Hey, Littrell, cool it. Stop," Kevin said trying to get Nick off of him. "Stop getting these guys excited. We need to go get dressed."

"You’re mine, Carter," Brian told him with a menacing look on his face, then smiled. "Just wait till after the show."

"Brian, go get dressed. Now," Kevin ordered.

"All right, fine. I’m coming. You know, used to be that you listened to me, and helped me out. Now, you just have time for little Nicky here," Brian whined as he walked away.

Kevin rolled his eyes but caught Nick’s arm as the kid tried to walk away and get back to AJ.

"Tell me you’re staying out of trouble. Just tell me because I need to hear it," Kevin said.

Nick smiled that smile he gave his mother when he knew she was on to him. "I’m staying out of trouble, Kev. Really."

Kevin smiled. "Okay. Good. Now, you need to get dressed too, little man. Hurry up."

"I’m gonna get AJ."

"Yeah. Okay. Go get AJ."

When Kevin looked up, he realized that Lou was watching him while talking to someone from the school. He threw him a weak smile and shrug as if saying, ‘Kids, what are you gonna do?’. Lou returned it, and Kevin even heard him chuckle. Kevin wondered if he even caught on to the fact that sometimes, they were too busy playing to get the work done.

-

"Well, it’s swollen," Nick said looking at AJ’s hand in the locker room they were using as a dressing room. The older guys had been quicker getting their suits on. AJ and Nick and purposely hung behind.

"Duh," AJ said. "Thanks for the observation, Dr. Carter."

"Well, that means you need to ice it. You think that guy will come back?"

AJ shook his head. "I’m fearing he’s gonna come at us during the show."

"Don’t worry," Nick said confidently. "Kev’s there."

"That’s what worries me. Nick, don’t you see that if Kevin or Lou found out that I was fighting with that guy, I’d be in big trouble. We’d both be in big trouble."

"But you were defending us. How can they get mad at that?"

This kid really was dim, AJ thought. "Because it’s not professional. And we’re in a high school, the kind of place where you get detention or suspended for fighting. What if they tell the other schools and they don’t want us to perform there anymore?"

He had a point, Nick thought.

AJ winced as he pushed his arm through his sleeve.

"Think it’s broken?" Nick asked.

"I couldn’t move it if it was broken. It’ll be fine. Man, that kid had a hard face. What was he eating? Cinder blocks?"

"That’s why he was so big," Nick said with a laugh.

Howie came running in. "Guys hurry it up. Aje, you okay?" he asked when he noticed his friend painfully buttoning his shirt.

"Yeah, I think I hurt my hand when I fell the other day," was the only lie AJ could come up with. He had fallen, hadn’t he? He just hated lying.

"Let me see," Howie demanded.

Nick hurriedly finished getting dressed because he didn’t want to be in the room when Howie got to questioning AJ. He got the shirt on, the pants, slammed the shoes on his feet and grabbed his jacket and tie.

"Ready!" he announced and hurried to the door.

"Nick!" Howie called.

He froze. "What?"

"Don’t forget your belt."

"Oh yeah."

He grabbed it and hurried out the door.

Howie finished buttoning the shirt for AJ and helped him put on his tie as well.

"Well, just leave the microphone in the stand today. You might drop it if you handle it, and we’re not in any position to break any equipment. Has it been hurting all day?"

"Just the last hour. It’s okay," AJ said. "Don’t worry."

"Okay, Aje. You ready?"

He nodded and looked at himself in the mirror over the sink. "Yeah. Let’s go."

"Too tight! Too tight!" Nick cried, choking as Kevin finished tying his tie.

"Oh sorry. It’s just there’s so many kids coming in. Look at them," Kevin said loosening the knot.

Nick glanced over his shoulder and turned around quickly. Yeah, as long as one of them didn’t come after them, it was fine.

"Tie your shoes, Nicky," Kevin said still holding the kid’s jacket. He knew that Brian was right behind them and that Howie would bring AJ out at any minute.

Whew, everything under control.

Lou hurried over to them as Howie and AJ joined them from the locker room.

"Okay, here we go guys. It’s game time. You all ready? Know the order of the songs? Everyone okay? Just remember, smile and act friendly. We want theses kids to know that you’re kids just like them."

He saw all of them nod at him.

"Okay. I’ll tell the principal you’re ready."

The guys gathered around as had become their custom. Brian softly said the customary prayer asking God just to protect them and keep everyone okay. Nick’s, ‘Amen,’ was louder than usual.

"One. Two. Three," Kevin counted.

"Backstreet!"

"... the Backstreet Boys."

The guys ran on stage as the music began and took their places.

All Kevin could hear was the static in the speakers before the music began.

Brian watched the faces that watched him and wondered how many other kids like him were out there.

Howie looked around for his new-found fan.

AJ tried to open and close this hand just to see if it was okay.

Nick craned his neck and looked around for that guy. Couldn’t miss him. He was the one who was all wet.

He glanced over at AJ and knew from the older boy's expression that he had noticed their snarling enemy too. Nick tried to look somewhere else but his eyes kept going back to the same spot. Relax, he told himself. You're gonna make yourself mess up.

AJ tried to focus on the audience as a whole. The facial expressions he saw there were a mixture of both excitement and resentment toward them. His eyes drifted back toward the soda-wearing boy with the swollen jaw and he almost missed coming in on his solo that started off the song. He quickly recovered and got too caught up in the music to notice anything else. It was only a second flaw, he told himself. Less than a second. No one noticed.

The boys sang four songs before taking a short intermission. Personally they each thought the intermission was unnecessary, but for some reason Lou insisted on the ten minute break in between the next set.

"Good job, boys," the heavyset man praised as the applause died down. The guys moved around him and the gym filled with the sound of voices as the students began to talk.

"Nick, wear one of these with me," Brian said, grabbing two bandannas out of one of the many boxes next to the side of the stage. They were white with 'Backstreet Boys' printed across the bottom in black print. Brian fixed one on Nick's head and then fastened one around his own. Kevin rolled his eyes fondly.

"Cute."

"Thank you." Brian grinned. "We're publicizing," he said, stressing each syllable for emphasis. They had gotten the bandannas along with the demo tapes in the other boxes to distribute at the various schools. Kevin laughed.

Nick moved closer to AJ and poked him in the arm. "Do you think he's gonna do anything?"

"I don't know really." AJ shrugged. "I was hoping not, but he looks like an attack dog."

"Well, I think you broke his jaw," Nick said innocently.
"I did not break his jaw!"

"Who's jaw?"

They both spun around at Brian's voice. Nick shut his mouth and AJ shook his head.

"No one's . . ."

Brian rolled his eyes and scanned the section of the crowd that they had been staring into. He immediately spotted the stocky kid with the wet shirt and the purpled face. He stuck out like a sore thumb. It clicked in his mind and he glanced at AJ's swollen hand.

"AJ . . ."

"I didn't do it!"

"Do what?" Kevin's voice came. He looked Nick and AJ up and down. "Geez, I knew you guys had gotten in some sort of trouble . . ."

"No, we didn't," Nick stated. AJ groaned as he saw Howie make his way over. Make it a whole family affair why don't you? In fact, why not tell the world?

"What happened to your hand?" Kevin was asking. AJ rolled his eyes at the repeating question, but let the older man take his hand in his own. These guys were so nosy.

"He fell," Nick said quickly, getting used to the story. AJ let Kevin look at his hand without an argument.

"On what, bricks?"

"Felt like it," AJ muttered. He pulled his hand away and Kevin looked him in the eye.

"Not many people fall on their knuckles, kiddo."

"I'm a special guy."

"That's for sure," came the reply.

"So . . . how much time is left in intermission?" Nick spoke up brightly, hoping to get their minds on something else.

"Eight minutes," Howie answered, giving him a funny look. Nick sighed and pulled him closer.

"If I tell you something, will you not tell anybody?"

"Nick-"

"And not get mad either," the boy added quickly. "Okay? Promise?"

"Just tell me already."

"Well . . ."

"Nick!"

"You know AJ's hand? Look at that kid over there . . ." Nick paused and took a breath. "Connect them," he finished. He sighed and waited for a reaction. Maybe Howie would understand. Or maybe not. He couldn't just not tell anyone anyway.

"You didn't . . ." Howie's mouth opened.

"The kid attacked us," Nick defended.

"But, Nick-"

"Don't say anything . . ."

"Nick!"

"I can't believe you did that!" They spun around at Kevin's voice. AJ grimaced at Nick.

"You told him?" Nick asked, surprised.

"It was too obvious," AJ said with a shrug. Kevin ran a hand through his hair.

"What're we gonna do with you guys? Huh?" He cupped AJ's face in his hands. "You had better hope that kid doesn't say anything . . ." He sighed and released him. Why did this stuff always happen?

"He started it though, so it doesn't matter."

"It does too matter, buddy."

"He looks like a kid that gets into fights all the time, so I don't think many people will question it," Howie spoke up. AJ sent him a relieved look. The guys were taking it better than he expected. Kevin wasn't even chewing him out for it. Not yet at least. Who knew what they would say when they got to the hotel.

A ringing came over the speakers and the noise level decreased as a voice announced that the intermission was ending and would everyone please return to their seats.

"Here we go . . ." Brian punched Kevin in the arm and grinned.

They finished up their show with five more songs, finishing up with a faster tune for a finale. No problems occurred in that half hour, for which all the guys were relieved. Noticeably AJ.

"That was great, guys!"

They turned toward Lou as the students were milling out of the gym. A few stray girls had stood back to get the guys autographs but now it was just the six of them and crew left.

"How's it feel?" Lou asked. He was thrilled at the response from the kids and hoped all the schools would be the same. He rubbed his beefy hands together.

"Great," AJ said, a grin on his face. "That was fun. Let's have a party." He sat down on the bleachers and pulled off his dress shoes with one hand. Nick dropped down next to him and did the same.

"I hate these shoes," Nick muttered.

"Me too . . ."

"Next time, I'm wearing sneakers."

"Me too."

"We'll pretend to lose these things," Nick said. He grinned.

"I'm with you on that," came Brian's voice as he sat down next to Nick. "These are the worst shoes I've ever worn."

"It's a plan," AJ grinned. "Kev and D can wear 'em if they want. I bet they never notice."

"Oh, they'll notice," Brian said, shaking his head. "But it'll be too late."

They stood and headed for the locker room with the others. Half way there, a tall balding man cut them off.

"Hi boys, I'm Mr. Spaulding, the principal of this school. I just wanted to thank you for coming out and congratulate you on a job well done."

"Your welcome," Kevin said. He shook the offered hand and smiled. "Thanks for having us."

"No problem. But, I understand there was a problem with one of my students, Max Caulfield. Which one of you was involved?"

AJ felt one of the guys push him from behind but didn't budge. This was it. Say goodbye to your career AJ, he thought. He gulped as the man looked at him, thoughts rushing through his head.

"- . . . I just wanted to apologize for any trouble that was caused . . ." AJ couldn't believe his ears. Was he hearing right? "Max is a bully, and don't worry, he's been taken care of," the man said before walking off.

"Whoa, talk about close . . ." Brian whistled.

Kevin swatted at AJ. "You're a lucky kid, you know that?"

AJ just nodded. Yes. Yes, he was.

After the show, Lou took them to get something to eat at McDonalds. It was their just reward. After that, they headed back to the hotel where Nick and AJ had to put in time with the tutor. And even later than that, they got together in one of the rooms to work with the voice coach. Most of the week rushed right by them with the same hectic schedule. The drives to the next town usually took up most of the morning, then they’d have to set up at the school. It seemed like they barely had time to breathe, much less have any fun. Just when they thought they’d found a spare twenty minutes to play basketball or run off to an arcade, Lou called them in to do something else.

In a sense, Kevin was grateful to be so busy. It allowed for the guys to keep out of trouble, especially the younger ones who easily got bored. At the same time, things were getting so busy that he hardly had time to call Emily. He promised to call her every day and so far he’d only made two phone calls in four days. He worried that she’d lose interest in him not even give them a chance.

Nick plopped down in the seat next to him in the van. They had been playing around in back, but he noticed that AJ retreated to the solace of his walkman and that Brian had actually sat down to read.

"What? You guys tired of making a racket?" he asked the kid.

Nick shrugged. "I’m tired of being in this van," he said. "I’m tired of not sleeping in my bed."

Kevin looked at him. That was strange. If anything, he was always excited about performing and doing new things. For God’s sake, his mother was even with him. How much could he actually miss home?

"Just a couple of more days, little man," Kevin told him with a sigh.

"I’m tired of high schools," Nick said. "Every night, I dream I’m one of those students, stuck in those classrooms and dealing with kids who don’t like me."

"Really?"

He nodded and closed his eyes.

Kevin was glad Lou hadn’t heard that. From the conversations he’d had a chance to overhear, the Wrights were planning more tours like this one. He’d heard them mention Arizona, even California.

It wasn’t long before Nick’s head bobbed up and down as he drifted off to sleep. After a turn, he ended up leaning heavily on Kevin, who just shifted around to make him comfortable.

Kevin looked out the window at the passing scenery and rubbed his eyes. He was tired too, but isn’t this what they had wanted?

He turned around to look at his cousin who was also staring absently out the window.

"You okay, Littrell?"

He lifted his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I was listening to what Nick was telling you."

Kevin half laughed. "Well, at least his family is in this state. Have you called home, lately?"

Brian shook his head. "Nope. I think I’ll have to do that soon, though."

"Why are you putting it off?"

"Well, I don’t really want to hear what my mom has to say. She’s worried about me, Kevin. I can tell, even if she won’t come out and say it." He saw the startled expression that took over Kevin’s face. "And it’s not that she doesn’t trust you. It’s just that unlike Nick’s mom, Howie’s and AJ’s, she hasn’t met Lou and the guys. She doesn’t really know what I’m doing. It sounds all strange to her. I tell her we’re driving around in a van through the state of Florida, and she wonders if I think I’m living an episode of Scooby Doo. Maybe we’re out here solving mysteries."

Kevin laughed and almost woke Nick up, who ended up pushing his weight harder against him with a sigh.

"Well, we need to invite her out here, then. So she can meet everyone," Kevin said softly this time. "She’s gotta love the guys. And well, Lou’s really okay as much fun as we make of him. And maybe if she sees us perform, she’ll feel better."

Brian nodded. "Yeah. Probably. I’ll call when we get to the hotel, so she can go to Orlando when we get back."

Kevin nodded and smiled. He looked down at Nick. "Is he sleeping okay? You guys room together."

"Yeah," Brian said with a shrug. "As well as someone who eats McDonalds like there’s no tomorrow then watches scary movies before going to bed can, I guess. Why?"

"He mentioned something about bad dreams."

Brian shook his head. "He’s such a kid. I mean, really. I’m like a kid, but him and AJ are really kids, Kevin. Have you thought about that?"

Kevin glanced back at AJ who was drifting off to sleep as well. "I think about that all the time, cuz. I think it’s fine. You think it’ll catch up with them? In a bad way, I mean?"

"Who knows," Brian said.

The driver made his way off the freeway through an exit that led straight to a large, family hotel. They were always staying in out of the way places that never had anything fun nearby. Some of the guys suspected that Lou did that on purpose.

Howie sat up from the front of the van. "Hey look, this hotel has a pool."

"That’s not a pool," Brian leaning as far as he could into the window. "That’s a like a huge water slide."

"Water slide?" Kevin asked.

"And a dinosaur," Howie added. "Think that’s a water slide too?"

"That’s no water slide," Kevin said. "That’s ..."

"Miniature golf!" Brian said bouncing in his seat. "Yeah! Miniature golf, that’s gotta be cool."

Kevin looked down at Nick’s face which was still restfully sleeping. This was going to make it hard to keep the guys on track. But at the same time, they could all use a little fun. Maybe Lou would give them the afternoon off.

-

"What do you mean we can’t go outside? What do you mean?" Nick whined after checking in to the hotel.

"Yeah. I saw the pool," AJ said. "I’ve been inside so long that I’m liable to get scurvy."

Lou laughed, hot air blowing through his heavy cheeks. "Guys, we have a lot of work to do. Just because..."

Someone walked in the front door, and Lou felt the fresh air hit his sweaty back. It seemed like a nice day out there. Too nice to work? The next performance would be that evening at a nearby mall instead of a school. He could easily set up the sound equipment and give the guys some time off. At the same time, he knew he couldn’t blow everything off because they might get used to it.

He looked at Kevin, who as usual, was trying to keep the younger guys quiet.

"You guys go up and start studying," Lou told Nick and AJ. "Brian, Howie, Kevin, help me go through the equipment."

"But Lou--!"

"What?!? Study?!?"

Kevin gave them a shove toward the elevator. "Now, you two. Move it. And don’t get lost on your way up."

He pushed the up button for them.

"Kevin, c’mon!" Nick continued with his whining. "Please?!? Puh-lease. I swear, we never have any fun now and..."

The elevator doors opened.

"... you guys don’t even have to study, and it’s not fair," he continued. "How would you feel if--?"

Kevin pushed them into the elevator.

"—gonna go crazy!"

The elevator doors closed.

"Kevin!!!" he heard him yell.

He had to laugh. Man, these guys got worse every day.

"You should have gone up with them, Kev," Howie said. "You know they’re gonna run off the second they see they’re alone."

He had a point. Kevin started for the stairs.

"It’s okay," Lou said. "I sent them up on purpose. Let them go. They deserve a little fun. So do you guys. I don’t need any help with the equipment, but make sure everyone’s ready to go at five. Got it?"

The three of them blinked at Lou almost in shock. A break?

"Unless you guys don’t want to take a break," Lou said. "Do you?"

"Yeah!" Brian piped up right away. "I’m gonna get the guys so we can play miniature golf."

"I’m gonna call Emily," Kevin said.

"C’mon ‘D," Brian called running to the elevator.

"Thanks Lou," Howie called over his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, thanks Lou," Brian said as he pushed the up button fifty times.

Kevin smiled one of his rare relaxed smiles. "Thanks a lot."

"Yeah. You guys have fun," then he thought for a second. "Not too much fun."

-

"What are you two doing?"

Nick and AJ spun around at Brian's accusing voice, matching innocent expressions crossing their faces. AJ gave an endearing smile.

"Nothing . . ."

"Then why does it look like your school books were about to fly over the railing?" Howie questioned, trying not to smile.

"Because we were studying on the balcony and the wind just blew the books into the pool accidentally," Nick replied, obviously just relaying their planned excuse. "Almost."

"Oh really?" Brian raised an eyebrow. These two thought of anything to get them out of doing what they didn't want to do.

"Really." AJ smiled.

"Well guess what, boys," Howie started. They gave him uncertain expressions, ready to run if need be.

"What?"

"We are . . ." Brian started. He paused dramatically.

"What? We're what?" AJ crossed his arms impatiently.

"Taking a break!" Howie finished with a grin. He looked at them for a reaction, but the younger boys stared back deadpan.

"That's not even funny, 'D," AJ started with a frown. "You're not the ones that have to stay cooped up and-"

"We're not kidding," Brian interrupted, throwing him over his shoulder and lugging him inside to the other room. He dropped him near his suitcase. "Now, get changed so we can try out the slides. We only have 'till five."

AJ realized he was for real and grinned. "Yes!" he whooped. Brian grabbed Nick so they could go to their room and change, leaving Howie with AJ.

-

Kevin listened to the phone ring several times before the answering machine picked up. What if she was screening her calls because she didn't want to talk to him anymore? What if she was already fed up with his hectic schedule? He could prove that he was able to make time for her, couldn't he? He took a deep breath and tried to plan what he wanted to say as he waited for the beep.

"Hey, Em, it's Kev. I'm sorry it's been a few days and all, but I was just calling to-"

"Hello?"

"Hey girl, it's me." Kevin smiled at her breathless voice.

"Hey, Kevin! Sorry about that, I was in the shower," she said.

"That's fine," he said with a laugh. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright, how about yourself? Been busy, huh," she asked. Kevin frowned. Was that a subtle hint, or was he just paranoid?

"I'm never too busy for you," he replied easily. "Actually I was calling to see if you're free today?" He knew that the hotel was only about an hour or so from where she lived, so she could easily drive up.

"Today?" She sounded surprised. "Sure, I'm free. What do you have in mind? I thought you guys had a concert?"

"Well, we have some extra time today, and I've been missing you . . ." Kevin started. He could sense her smile over the phone. "So I was just wondering if you'd wanna drive up and spend some time with me and the boys. Maybe catch the concert tonight?"

"Oh, Kev, I'd love too . . . Where're you staying?" He listed off the exit and hotel and she agreed. "Alright, I should be there around two or so. So I'll see you then?"

"I can't wait," Kevin answered. "Love you."

"Love you too," she said before hanging up.

Kevin let out a breath and collapsed down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Well, that had gone well. And Lou, the one against any one of them having relationships, wouldn't be around to comment.

He couldn't tell the way she felt about things, but he figured that they could take things slow and see how they went. Neither of them was in a rush for a relationship anyway.

His thoughts were interrupted by knocking at his door. Never a moment of peace with these boys. Rolling up from the bed, he got up to answer the door. Brian and Nick.

"Hey, Kev!" Brian greeted cheerfully.

"Hey there, guys. What's up?"

"You're not even in your bathing suit," Nick noticed with a frown. "Hurry up!"

"Sorry, sorry, little man. I'll hurry, okay?" Kevin rolled his eyes with an amused smile. "Oh hey, you guys remember Emily?" he asked, opening the door wider to let them in.

Nick nodded and Brian grinned widely. "The girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend, Littrell."

"Sure she's not. . . Whatever, cuz." Brian pulled away as Kevin tickled him and pushed him toward the couch. Brian sat and pulled Nick on his lap playfully.

"Kevin's got a girlfriend," he whispered loudly so that his cousin could hear.

"First comes love . . ." Nick said in a sing-song voice.

"Then comes marriage . . ." Brian continued. Nick giggled.

"Then comes-"

A flying pillow hit them and cut off their song. "Cut it out," Kevin directed. Nick grinned. 

"Then comes . . .?" he started again. Kevin took a step towards him and he squealed, ducking away.

"You guys be quiet or we can just stay inside. How's that sound?" They both shut their mouths and Kevin smiled. He would never do that to them anyway, but if the threat worked then fine.

"My cousin's mean," Brian remarked, feigning a sad tone. He pretended to sob. "He doesn't love me no more."

"Argh," Kevin muttered, disappearing into the bathroom to change. Brian hadn't changed since he was six years old. Gotta love him. He came out five minutes later, changed, and found the two watching TV.

"You guys ready?"

"How come you asked if we remembered Emily?" Nick asked suddenly.

"Oh, she's gonna drive up and visit today," Kevin said. "That's all."

"Ooh la la," Brian sang. "And is the lovely lady staying the night?"

"I don't know," Kevin answered, glancing at Nick. The kid looked at him innocently and Kevin half-smiled. "C'mon, you two. Let's go."

- 

"This place is neat," AJ stated with a broad smile. He and Howie sat on the lounge chairs on the back patio of the hotel. "We never stay in nice places like this."

"I know, Aje. We can't really afford it I guess." Howie shrugged. He wondered why Lou suddenly chose the change. Oh well, he'd enjoy it while it lasted. AJ sighed.

"Yeah."

"So how are you doing?" Howie asked the kid, looking at him from the corner of his eye. AJ played with the edge of his long swim shorts and sighed.

"I'm good. I like touring. It's fun." He paused. "Change is good."

"Well, that's good to hear." Howie wondered if the boy would still say the same thing after months of touring. After all, it had only been a little over a week that they had been on the road. He knew that Nick was homesick, but maybe that was because he had family at home still. His dad and his siblings. AJ just had his mom, and she was there with him, so that was all he needed.

"Here come the guys," AJ announced, sitting up. He shaded his eyes with his hand. "Let's push them in the pool."

"You're just looking to be in trouble," Howie laughed. But he agreed. They jumped up from their chairs and sneaked around the back side of the cement patio.

"One, two, three!" On three, they both rushed forward and shoved the three guys who were just walking by the pool edge. There was a giant splash and the three surfaced after a few seconds.

"It's cold . . ." Nick complained. He swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out, shaking his head like a dog. Water flew from his blonde hair.

"You guys are dead," Kevin told them with a playful smile. Before he could turn, Brian dunked him under, starting a major water fight.

Nick was looking around for a towel, or something to help warm him up, when the ground suddenly disappeared from under him.

"Brian!" he squealed immediately assuming it was him.

"What?" Brian called looking up from the pool where he was holding AJ’s head under the water. He shook out his short, light hair and laughed when he recognized his cousin getting ready to throw Nick into the pool.

Nick was looking around himself desperately trying to figure out who was carrying him around.

"This is for all your whining, baby. And for all the trouble that you get into and make me worry about," he heard Kevin say.

"Kev! No! No! I’ll stop whining, I promise." He felt Kevin swing him once at the water. "I’ve got water in my ear." Twice. "My shorts tore." Three times. "I’m allergic to chlorine!" Four. "I can’t swim!" he screamed as Kevin threw him into the deep end of the pool.

That of course was a lie. The boy was born swimming, and they all knew that well.

Kevin jumped in after him and started for his cousin. It was pay back time. He wasn’t satisfied until he had nearly drowned the three younger guys at least five times each. They deserved it after all the grief they’d caused him.

"I wasn’t trying to drown you," he said dryly, when Brian started screaming bloody murder. "You’re such a baby, Littrell. Look, Nick and AJ aren’t crying."

"Well, you didn’t almost kill them."

"I didn’t almost kill you. I swear, the older you get, the worse--."

"Kevin!"

He looked up to find Howie hoisting AJ up onto his shoulders.

"Play you chicken," AJ said with a grin. "Pick a blonde, any blonde, any blonde."

Kevin laughed. Nick was lighter, but Brian would surely be stronger. He had to think.

"Kevin, please, please," Nick whined with that cheesy smile he always used when he wanted to get his way. "Puh-lease!"

"Let’s go, Littrell," Kevin said then gave Nick a look. "Next round is yours, little man. Just let me teach those two a lesson."

AJ was already flexing his little muscles while Howie laughed away.

"Bring it on, Kev," AJ teased.

"Did you know that I was captain of the football team?" Kevin asked as Brian climbed onto his shoulders. "Are you guys sure about what you’re getting into?"

"We’re sure," Howie said, cocky for once. "Like Aje said, bring it on."

"Ready cuz?" Kevin asked Brian who had suddenly forgotten he’d almost died.

"Ready! Let’s get ‘em."

Too much screaming and splashing was going on for Nick to really be able to see what was going on. He was cold again, so he’d gone and found himself a sunny spot on the edge of the pool. Ah, the sun warm felt warm and comfortable.

He could hear Brian’s whaling laughter from where he was. It looked like he and Kevin were winning because he could hear Howie laughing and screaming AJ’s name over and over.

A shadow took away his sun, and he looked up.

Emily.

"Hi Nick!" she said smiling. "I was walking up, and heard all the racket back here. I knew it would be you guys."

He pressed a smile at her. "Hi Emily. Kev’s in the pool."

She crossed her arms and watched the guys with a smile. Nick moved out of her shadow because he was getting cold again. Didn’t she think about anyone else but herself? He shivered.

Brian had AJ halfway off of Howie’s shoulders. Nick decided to give them a break.

He pushed himself off the cement and hurried to the pool.

"Kevin! Ke-VIN!!" he yelled as loud as he could. "KEVIN!"

Kevin and Brian looked up startled, and just at that second, Howie stepped forward, and AJ pushed Brian off.

"What?" Kevin asked as soon as he came up for air. "What’s wrong with you?"

He smiled. "Emily’s here."

Kevin hurried out of the pool and looked around for a towel. Emily had already gone to get him one. The four of them watched as she stepped toward him and smiled. She handed him the towel with which he promptly dried his chest then his head.

He leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips as he placed the towel around his neck.

Nick was the first one to roll his eyes.

Brian let out a long whistle, then he leaned his elbows on the edge of the pool. "Hi Emily!" he called.

She laughed and pulled away from Kevin. "Hi Brian. Hi guys."

"Hi!" AJ, Howie and Brian greeted. 

Kevin cleared his throat. "You’re early," he said. "Not that I’m complaining. It’s so nice to see you. Let me go change, and I’ll come right back down. Guys, behave yourselves around the lady."

"Sure."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

Nick let himself back into the pool. "Yeah, right," he muttered to himself as he swam across. He felt a quick tug at his foot and knew what was coming. He made a quick grab for Brian’s hand at his ankle but ended up laughing, then gasping for air.

Brian let him go. "Where you goin’?"

"Nowhere. Wanna play chicken?"

Brian grinned. "Yeah. C’mon."

They were quick to set up the game again, and this time AJ wanted to make sure they won fairly. Emily was around, so he had to look good.

"Go Brian!" Emily cheered with a smile from her patio chair.

Nick rolled his eyes again as he steadied himself on Brian’s shoulders. AJ met his look and had to laugh. This little kid was so jealous.

"You’re going down, blondie," AJ said. "Both of you."

"Shut up, McLean," Brian said because Nick was too busy calculating the distance between himself and Emily’s perch.

"Guys ready?" Howie asked. "One, two,--."

Nick gave AJ a light shove without waiting for three and got exactly the reaction he wanted. AJ gave him a medium push, but Nick made sure that the inertia sent him flying off of Brian’s shoulders.

Splash!

Emily screamed.

Nick took his time coming up. By the time he did, Brian was already at her side with a fresh towel, apologizing left and right.

She was trying to laugh. "It’s okay. It’s okay."

Nick pinched his nose and shook out his wet hair. "I’m sorry. AJ cheated."

"I did not!" AJ said giving him a hard push this time.

She wasn’t soaked but was wet enough that some of her hair stuck to her head.

Nick laughed and saw Howie shake his head at him.

He just shrugged. "It was an accident."

Kevin appeared dressed in black jeans and a crisp, white shirt. Obviously, something was going on. He quickened his pace toward them, his mouth set in a straight line.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing," Emily said. "It’s okay."

"They got you wet?" he asked in shocked disbelief. "Guys?"

They all looked up at him, Nick more innocently than the others.

"We were playing," Brian said.

"It’s okay," Emily repeated. "Really."

"I told you guys to be careful," Kevin scolded. "Man, I can’t believe that you can’t even respect a girl."

Nick sank into the water, and Kevin noticed. He’d deal with him later.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

She smiled and shook out her long hair as it dried in the warm sun in little curls. "Yeah. It’s fine, Kevin. Don’t worry."

Brian tried to smile at his cousin, but he just shook his head. AJ and Howie climbed out of the pool and ran for some towels.

"We’re getting hungry," Howie said coming back. "How ‘bout we go eat?"

"We’re going on our own," Kevin said still not smiling. "You guys just make sure you’re ready at five. Think you can handle that?" 

Howie nodded ignoring the anger in his voice. "Yeah. No problem, Kev."

Kevin put his hand out to Emily. "Let’s go get my jacket," he told her. "I don’t want you getting sick."

Brian took a deep breath and smiled. "Bye Emily. Bye Kevin," he called.

"Bye Brian," only Emily answered.

"Well, that made him mad. Let’s wait till they leave to go upstairs to change," he said.

Howie and AJ both nodded. "No argument here, bro," AJ said.

Brian looked over at the pool and just noticed Nick’s blonde head as he swam from one end to the other. He was such a silly kid.

"C’mon Nick," he called. "Let’s go eat."

He popped up and looked around. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. C’mon. Just behave yourself, okay?"

"Okay!" he promised.

- 

"Sorry about the guys . . ." Kevin started as he pulled out a chair for Emily. Just another strike against him, he thought with a sigh. She laughed lightly as he was sitting down across from her.

"Oh Kev, they're harmless," she said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't worry about it. It was an accident."

"But still." I'll bet it was an accident, he thought wryly. Nothing's ever an accident with those four.

"And what are little brothers for anyway?" Emily sent him a smile. "They're supposed to drive you nuts sometimes, that's their charm."

"Charm ain't the word I use to describe it," Kevin answered with a laugh. "But you're right . . . As usual." The waiter came by to pour them water and handed them each a menu.

"Well, this was a wonderful surprise," Emily spoke up, breaking the sudden silence. "Thanks for inviting me."

"Thank you for coming." Kevin looked up. "I've missed you. It's lonely on the road."

"With those four? You must be joking."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do, Kev. Let's make the most of the time we have then, hm?" She smiled at him and he noticed something in her smile that he hadn't seen before. A sadness as if she knew it wouldn't last. Couldn't last. Or maybe he was reading it wrong. She understood, he was sure of it. And he knew that they had something that he didn't want to let go off.

- 

"So what do you guys feel like for dinner?" Howie asked, glancing at the guys spread out in Nick and Brian's room. AJ was lying on the bed half asleep, and Nick and Brian were battling it out in some Nintendo game.

If there was thing they had learned about Nick in the time they'd known him, it was that he was obsessed with video games, and wouldn't be satisfied until he'd had his daily dose. And since Brian was the only one with enough patience, or even interest, to sit through game after game, he was the designated opponent.

"Takeout," AJ mumbled.

"Are you tired, J?" He wasn't used to seeing the kid so relaxed looking. Was he sick or something?

"No . . ." came AJ's reply. "I'm bored. Nick, you're cheating."

"Am not!"

"Are too. You're not allowed to do that, kid," he said calmly. "Brian, you're letting him do that?"

"I don't know the rules!" Brian exclaimed, trying to keep his eyes on the screen.

"What do you wanna eat, Bri?"

"Basketball?" Brian offered. Howie frowned at the obviously distracted reply.

"Um, you wanna eat basketball? I knew you were obsessed, buddy, but isn't that taking it a little to far?"

"Oh, never mind, I can't talk and play."

"That's 'cause you suck," came Nick's input.

"Watch it little man," Brian returned. Howie rolled his eyes at the two.

"Guys, I thought you were hungry."

"I'm starving," AJ said. "Want me to order room service?"

"Can we afford room service?"

"I'll charge it to Kevin's room. Or Lou's," AJ answered with a small laugh. "They'll never know."

"Sure they won't. No way," said Howie. "How about the diner downstairs in the hotel?"

"Fine . . ."

"Guys?"

"Whatever."

"Sure, ok."

"Let's go then," Howie said, frowning at the lack of a response. "Guys, c'mon, let's go." Where was Kevin's authority when they needed it?

"Let us just finish this game. It doesn't take much to beat him at this one, hang on," Nick begged. AJ leaned over from the bed and covered Nick's eyes with his hands.

"Now beat him," he teased with a broad grin.

"Stop!" Nick howled. "Not fair!" Brian easily finished the course before Nick did with the extra help and let out a victorious cheer that Nick wrinkled his nose at. AJ uncovered the youngest blonde's eyes and gave his head a playful tousle.

"C'mon man, let's go eat."

"Fine," Nick grumbled. He smiled though.

They locked the door and made their way down to the family style restaurant. It wasn't very crowded, so they got seated right away and settled in a booth for four that looked out over the patio and the pool.

The guys started looking at the menus and AJ glanced out over the pool. "So how long is Emily staying for today?"

"I dunno. I guess she's going to the concert," Howie assumed. Kevin hadn't really mentioned any of their plans. Nick made a face.

"I hope she doesn't stay long . . ."

"Why's that?" Howie asked. "And don't mess around again or Kevin's not gonna take it so lightly, if you get my drift," he added.

"It was an accident."

"Well, just make sure no more accidents come your way, ok?"

"Accident's happen," Brian said with a shrug. Howie groaned.

"Not you too . . ." He knew the boy could easily get jealous for his cousin's attention sometimes, and wasn't subtle in showing it.

"No, I'm just saying, that's all." Brian smiled.

They ordered quickly enough and continued talking about the day’s activity. Everyone was hyped to be singing at the mall instead of at a school. Maybe a varied audience would be more receptive of their sound. And it wasn’t that they had been rejected at the high schools, but most kids weren’t exactly into oldies and love songs.

Even when their food came, they continued to chat idly until Nick noticed his mother and Denise entering the hotel. It wouldn’t have seemed strange to him except Laura, their tutor, was right behind them.

He swallowed back the bite of the cheeseburger in his mouth. "AJ?"

"Hm?" came the response.

"Did you do your homework already?"

"Naw. Lou gave us the afternoon off."

Nick sat up. "Yeah, Lou gave us the afternoon off, but Laura--."

"Oh, sh--," AJ stopped the expletive halfway out of his mouth. "Oh crap! What time is it?"

"It’s early, Aje," Howie said. "It’s only three thirty."

He and Nick started stuffing their food in their mouths hurriedly.

Brian laughed. "What? You guys have plenty of time."

AJ shook his head. "No, we don’t. We each have at least an hour’s worth of homework, and we have to ready at five, right? That’s what Kev said for us to be ready, right? Or for us to start getting ready?"

"For us to be ready," Brian said. "You two better hurry."

They knew they had to have their homework done before the show, or Laura have a talk with Lou and their mothers about them.

Nick swallowed back his last bite and started climbing over Brian to get out of the booth.

"Hey, wait!" Brian protested as Nick made it over him and started for the exit. Howie knew enough to let AJ get out when he finished. He was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when they got to the elevators.

Brian had to laugh. "Those guys. They have homework, and we don’t."

Howie nodded with a smile. "That’s right. So what are we gonna do?"

Hm, Brian thought, this was new one. He rarely got to hang out with Howie. Each of them was always busy balancing out his hyperactive best friend.

"I don’t know, D," Brian said. "But let’s have some fun."

"Okay. Miniature golf?"

"Sure," Brian said. "Let’s do it."

It was going to be nice to have a quiet, mellow time with someone who didn’t feel the need to be the center of attention or who didn’t easily get annoyed with everything.

"You talk to them," Brian said.

Howie shook his head and kept setting up his shot. "You talk to them. They were looking at you."

"Yeah, but they smiled at you."

Howie smiled and watched as the little ball made it right into the hole.

Ever since they got there, these two girls kept smiling at them. They were cute girls, who were at least eighteen. Brian had never been shy around girls, but he’d never been forward either. Putting on the charm was easy. Meeting them was the hard part.

Howie was just shy. It was much easier for him to meet girls at school where he could sit next to them in class for a few weeks, then ask to borrow a pencil, or for the class notes, then casually start making conversation. He wasn’t the sort to start chatting up strange girls in strange places.

"You talk to them," Brian repeated. "C’mon. Before they leave."

"No," Howie said. "What am I supposed to say? Hi, I’m Howie, wanna play with us?"

"Well, it’s a start," Brian said.

"I can’t. I’m just not the type who--."

"Heads up," Brian said.

The girls were walking straight to them.

"Hi," said the taller one with shoulder length brown hair. "You guys want to play against each other? I’m tired of beating her," she said pointing to her shorter, blonde friend.

Brian looked at Howie who just shrugged. "Um, sure," he said. "I’m Howie. This is Brian."

"I’m Stephanie," said the tall one. "This is Grace."

The blonde one seemed shyer than her out-going friend, but she smiled as well.

"Hi," Grace said.

"Well, lets go start from the beginning. No?" Howie suggested.

"Sure," Stephanie said immediately attaching herself to him. "Want to be my partner?"

"Sure."

Brian grinned at the blonde who just followed him.

They had a really good time because the girls were fun and easy going. They were in Florida on vacation with Stephanie’s parents.

"What are you guys doing tonight?" Brian asked the girls at four-thirty.

Grace shrugged. "Staying in, right?"

Stephanie nodded. "My parent’s won’t let us go anywhere but the mall."

Howie smiled and Brian laughed.

"The mall?" Brian asked. "Well ladies, I think this is our lucky day."

- 

Kevin and Emily entered the hotel lobby at four forty five to find Nick and AJ sitting quietly in the lobby. At least they looked awfully quiet to Kevin. He was still in no mood for them, so he didn’t say anything .

"Why don’t you wait for me here," he told Emily. "I have to go grab my stuff. Lou will be here in about fifteen."

She smiled. "Okay."

He glanced back at the guys who continued to look absently at the floor or at the walls.

He bumped into Brian and Howie who were hurrying out of the elevator laughing and talking loudly.

"Hey you two," he said. "How’d it go without me?"

"Fine," Howie said. "The runts shut themselves up and did their homework."

"What?"

"Yeah," he continued. "It was even their idea. I guess they’re learning something."

Kevin shook his head. "How to be sneaky. I’m gonna go grab my stuff. Be right back."

"Okay," Brian said. "I’ll go keep Emily company."

Kevin gave him a look. Brian just smiled.

Lou showed up right on time for once, and they piled themselves into the vans after Kevin came back down.

"Okay guys," Lou said. "Ready for another show? We’re expecting kind of a crowd at the mall. They’re having a moonlight sale and--," he stopped when he realized there was a girl in the van. "Hi," he told her in a surprised tone.

"Hi, I’m Emily."

"I’m Lou," he said.

"Lou, Em’s my," Kevin began. "She’s my..., my... girlfriend, and I thought it would be okay for her to come to the show."

Lou nodded quickly. "It’s fine. Yeah. No problem. Anyway, I was saying that we’re expecting kind of a crowd, so lets make sure we give it our best. I know we always do, but today should be extra special."

They all nodded.

Why was he always including himself like he sang or something, Nick asked himself then looked out the window to the darkening streets. It bugged him.

He felt AJ elbow him.

"What?"

"What’s with those two?" he was asking looking toward the back of the van at Brian and Howie who hadn’t stopped talking since that afternoon.

Nick shrugged. "I dunno. You finish all your homework?"

"Barely," AJ admitted. "You?"

"Yeah. I had my mom check it. It was okay. Man, I can’t believe that on top of all the tutoring, we still have homework and rehearsal and everything else. The other guys should get extra work too."

AJ nodded. "Yeah. Either that or we should get rid of Laura."

Nick laughed, "Yeah." Then he looked at AJ like something just dawned on him. "Yeah! That’s what we should do. We should pull a good prank on her so she’ll quit."

"Lou’ll get us another tutor," AJ said simply.

"So? That’ll take a while. C’mon, help me think of something."

Thinking never hurt anyone. "Okay," AJ said.

The show was great. And the guys’ suspicions had turned out to be true. The mixed audience had really enjoyed their performance. Some of the older people actually sang along to the oldies.

AJ couldn’t remember when he’d had such a relaxed start to a show. Things were getting easy, and he figured that was bound to happen. Nick was happily hamming it up for all his baby face was worth. The kid knew how to play up on his looks, and singing to little girls and grandmas was his specialty.

Kevin sang each song to Emily, who stood in the front row and watched him practically in awe. He’d come a long way from his days as Aladdin.

Brian and Howie were busy looking around for Grace and Stephanie. They’d promised they’d be there, and eventually made good on their word.

"Good show, guys," Lou said as they hopped off the stage. "Ready for some McDonalds?"

"Yeah!" Nick and AJ responded.

"Um, Lou," Kevin said. "Emily and are going to go back to the hotel. She has to drive all the way back home, and I don’t want it to get too late."

"And we’re," Brian began. "We’re going with those girls."

They pointed at Stephanie and Grace who waited by stage.

"They’re staying at our hotel, so we have a ride back," Howie said.

Nick and AJ had the same exact look of surprise and disappointment on their faces. They were so shocked that they were speechless.

"Um, you guys wanna go?" Brian asked them.

"No," Nick said right away and pouted.

"No thanks," AJ said, then just shook his head.

Lou smiled weakly at them. "Looks like it’s just us guys. C’mon, let’s go. We’ll leave Kevin and Emily at the hotel and head to Mickey D’s."

Nick’s mind was off in one of those races. How could they? How could they just take off with some girls? It was bad enough that Kevin had to leave with one, did they have to do it too? He was gonna kill Brian. If one of those girls became his girlfriend, he’d kill him.

AJ sighed and followed behind Lou. How on Earth he got stuck with the fat guy and the blondie was beyond him.

"Don’t get back too late, you two," Lou told Howie and Brian. "We hit the road tomorrow at nine."

They nodded. "No problem."

- 

All throughout dinner, Nick's mind tried to come up with the perfect plan. One, to get rid of Laura. Two, to get rid of those new girls. He sighed. Girls ruined everything. They were always in the way.

AJ glanced at Nick and smiled. He knew the boy would come up with some plan that would fix everything. Unless he thought of it first of course. He glanced at Lou across from them in the booth.

Lou smiled at the kid, unsure. Was there something wrong with his youngest boys tonight? They were never this quiet. He shrugged to himself. He was never really that great at understanding kids much anyway.

"Well guys, I'm gonna get another burger," the older man said, crumpling up the paper wrappers that surrounded his place at the table. "You boys want anything else?" They both shook their heads, so Lou stood up and went back on line by himself.

"Gee, and I thought I ate a lot," Nick remarked, glancing at AJ.

"Nicky, that man weighs three hundred pounds more than us combined. Of course he's gonna eat a lot more." AJ smirked. "So did you come up with anything yet?"

"Well . . . how about we steal all her stuff?" Nick suggested.

"I don't think that would make her leave."

"We can tell her that one of the guys has a crush on her and they want to marry her."

"She'll probably be happy. I think she has a thing for Kevin anyway," AJ answered.

"Oh. Well, how about we just make her hate us?"

"She already hates us."

"No, she doesn't. She just doesn't like us much. We should buy a frog or a snake or something and scare her with it," Nick said. A smile spread across AJ's face and he nodded.

"That would work . . . Let's do that. Good idea, man."

Nick grinned at the praise.

Lou returned in a few minutes with another Big Mac on a tray. He squeezed into the booth across from them and looked up. "You sure you boys don't want anything else?"

"Nope." Nick sipped his soda for a minute. "Can we go back to the mall? To walk around? Please?"

"I guess so," Lou said, nodding slowly. "Since the other guys are all out. But we can't stay long."

"Thanks, Lou." AJ smiled.

- 

"That one . . ."

"No, that one."

"No, I don't like him." Nick pointed into another cage. "How about that one, AJ?"

"Yeah, that one's okay." AJ peered into the glass aquarium and snickered. "This is evil."

"Yeah . . . Do you think we can keep it afterwards?"

"No." AJ rolled his eyes. "The guys will kill us when they find out that we waved it in Laura's face to begin with. Be happy if we live."

"You don't wanna do it still?" Nick was disappointed. He was kind of looking forward to causing some excitement.

"No, no. I wanna do it really bad." AJ grinned. "Nothing can stop me now," he laughed. "How much money do you have?"

Nick dug through the pockets of his baggy jeans, coming up with a wrinkled dollar. He handed it to AJ.

"That's it? You're cheap, runt," AJ teased.

"Sorry . . ." Nick laughed.

"We better buy it quick though before Lou comes back," AJ said, pulling the smaller boy with him as he went up to one of the workers in the pet shop. He caught their arm. "Excuse me, can you get us that mouse?"

"Sure thing, son. Which one?"

"The tan one."

"I wanna keep it," Nick whispered as the mouse was placed into a white cardboard box with the pet shop's logo. "It's cute."

"No, Nick." AJ smiled.

- 

When the two boys came back to the hotel at nine o'clock, they were just in time to find Howie and Brian saying goodbye to their new friends in the lobby. Lou was busy parking around the back and had dropped the boys in the front. Nick made a face as Howie waved them over to meet the girls and AJ laughed at him.

"Hey guys," Brian said happily. He pulled Nick to him and rested his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"AJ, Nick, this is Grace and Stephanie," Howie said, motioning to each of the girls. AJ gave a smile and Nick tried to do the same. He was still upset at Brian going off with the two.

"Nice to meet you two guys," the girl named Stephanie greeted. She smiled at them.

"Well, it was fun tonight," Grace said to Brian. "I guess we'll talk to you later?"

"Definitely," Brian said, kissing her cheek quickly. Howie said goodbye to his girl similarly, and the two young women walked off to their first floor rooms.

Before a word was said, Nick grabbed Brian's arm and started pulling him with all his strength toward the elevators. AJ and Howie followed. Brian laughed at the kid and slowed him down. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Nick said sullenly. "Is she your girlfriend now, huh?"

"No, we're friends. We just met, kiddo . . ." He laughed. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Nick said sullenly.

"Okay . . ." Brian poked him in the stomach to get him to smile as they stepped into the elevator. "Was Mickey D's fun?"

"Lou eats a lot," AJ spoke up. "He had like four burgers." Howie laughed and looked at Brian.

"What's in the bag anyway? You went back to the mall?" Howie asked curiously. AJ nodded.

"Yeah, to walk around. I bought a present for my mom," he said, looking away. He was a horrible liar. Nick was even worse with these guys though, so it was up to him.

"Oh, that's nice," Howie answered, not asking anymore.

"Is Kevin back yet?" Nick asked suddenly. Brian nodded. "Is he still mad?"

"Nah, you know him." Brian laughed.

"Is Emily gone?"

"Yeah, she left awhile ago."

"That's good," Nick said softly when they stepped off at their floor.

- 

The next day they didn't have any travel in the morning. The next show was only at the next town's high school over, so they wouldn't be moving until after noon. Nick and AJ still had to go the tutor in the morning though, against their will.

"Where is he?" Nick whispered as he and AJ took out their homework, waiting for Laura. AJ opened his cupped hands and the little mouse stuck out it's pink nose. "Aw . . ."

"You can't keep him, Nicky," AJ hissed. He let the animal sit on the tabletop and smiled. "He is cute though."

They heard Laura coming and AJ scooped the mouse back up in his hands. Their tutor entered the room with a less than cheerful air.

"Okay, boys, let's try and pay attention today," she said in greeting. She directed the statement mostly at the younger boy.

"Yes, Laura," Nick mumbled. Boy, would he be glad when she was gone. The thirty-something woman sat across from them at the table. AJ smiled sweetly at her.

"Guess what, Laura?" he said in a baby voice.

"What, Alex?"

"My name's AJ, Laura, you know that. But anyway, we got you a present!"

"Oh yeah?" Her voice was dry and Nick wrinkled his nose. How ungrateful was she?

"Yeah!" AJ stood up and moved toward her.

"You'll love it, Laura," Nick said with a giggle. "We know you will." On that note, AJ moved forward and dropped the mouse down the front of her blouse.

"Aaah!" Laura shrieked and jumped back from the table. She kept screaming and ran from the room. Nick and AJ exchanged a glance and jumped up, running after her. She threw open the front door.

Kevin, who had come when he heard the screams, jumped out of the woman's way.

"What the hell?" Nick and AJ tried to squeeze past him, but Kevin caught them in his arms. "What'd you do?" he demanded. They struggled in his hold but he carried them inside the room and dropped them on the couch. He stared at them a minute and decided to go check on whatever was wrong with the tutor. "Move an inch and I swear-"

"It was a joke," AJ interrupted. "Kevin . . ."

"Don't. Move. I'll be right back." He ran out of the room to where Laura was still screaming.

"Let's run away," Nick said, voice shaking. He started to stand up but AJ grabbed the back of his shirt.

"No way, little man. We're in this together."

"Do you think we can keep the mouse?"

"No . . ." AJ rolled his eyes.

-

Brian collected the small, tan mouse that had taken a long drop from Laura’s blouse. He’d been in Kevin’s room when all hell had broken loose and had followed him down the hallway.

"Hey, where you going?" he asked lifting the mouse to his face.

Laura screamed still shaking out her shirt and stomping her feet as if she could actually step on it. "Get it away! Get it away! Get that thing away from me."

"He’s harmless," Brian said easily. "And--."

He was cut off and Kevin rushed toward them.

"Laura. Are you all right? Is everything okay? What happened?"

"No! No, I am not okay! I can’t believe you’d even ask me that," she said, suddenly even more upset now that Kevin had shown up.

"I’m sorry," he said earnestly. "What’d the guys do this time?"

It all dawned on Brian then, and he put the mouse behind his back.

"What do you mean what did they do? Can’t you see that horrible thing?" she practically sobbed pointing at Brian. "Look at him. He’s awful! How could they?"

Kevin looked at his cousin. If he had done anything to that woman, he’d...

"Not me, cuz! She’s not talking about me!" Brian defended himself when he saw the look on Kevin’s face.

"Alex and Nick," she cried. "They...they...they," She sobbed but couldn’t seem to get the words to come out of her mouth.

Kevin looked from her to Brian, who just smiled and shrugged at him, not helping a bit.

"Nick! AJ!" Kevin called. "Get out here."

Nick gulped and looked at AJ. They could still run for it. Maybe Kevin could catch one of them, but not both of them. AJ was older, but he was smaller, maybe even faster.

"Now!" they heard him say.

"Well, here goes," AJ said.

"We’re so busted," Nick muttered. "Damn Laura."

They walked sullenly out of the room and into the hallway to face their tutor who looked a mess.

She’d just had mouse in her blouse not a hurricane in her hair, Nick thought as he studied her. She was really going to make a big deal out this, wasn’t she?

"Okay, you two, what happened? What’d you do?"

"Us?" Nick asked making that innocent face they’d gotten to know so well that it had lost its desired effect.

AJ pasted a smirk on his face. Maybe he couldn’t lie, but he could deny. "Nothing," he said.

"Don’t ‘Us?’ me," Kevin told him looking more fatherly than Nick’s own father ever had. "I’ve just about had it with your silly pranks, Nicky. If you guys--."

Brian started laughing.

They all turned to look at him, and tried to get serious. "What?" he asked then twitched strangely.

Kevin took a deep breath and turned back to the matter at hand. "What happened in that room? Someone is going to have to tell me."

Brian busted out laughing again.

"Littrell, if you’re not going to be of any help, you’d better--."

Brian laughed really hard and started wriggling around as if he were being tickled. He started doing this little dance, shaking his arms, hands and feet.

Nick and AJ laughed. Laura looked even more horrified. Kevin shook his head.

The little, tan mouse made his way out of Brian’s shirt through the second and third buttons.

"There you are, Kelsey!" Nick cried and went to gather him up. "Where’ve you been?" he asked the mouse. "I was looking for you."

Kelsey? AJ wondered when he’d found time to name him.

Laura grabbed on to Kevin’s arm and stepped behind him. "There he is! There he is!"

"It’s a mouse," Kevin said. "What are you guys doing with a mouse?"

"We found it," AJ said.

"Can we keep it?" Nick asked. Kevin tried to look back at Laura who looked petrified beyond words.

"I don’t think you can," he said.

"No! They can’t keep it! They put it in my blouse," she was finally able to say. "They put that thing in my blouse!"

Nick had already taken a step back toward the room when Kevin turned to them with newly incited anger in his eyes.

"What?" they heard a woman’s voice say.

All the guys whirled around to find Denise and Jane standing right behind them. Denise already had her hand on her hip. Jane was already glaring at her little pride and joy with bloody murder in her eyes.

AJ finally lost the smile on his face and looked at the floor. Crap!

Nick’s mouth immediately went dry. This had turned far worse than he had anticipated.

Kevin looked at them seriously. "I’m glad your mothers could hear that," he said. "It saved you two the embarrassment of having to tell them yourselves. I’m so sorry," he told Laura.

She still hadn’t let go of his arm, but she pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"I think we need to talk to our sons," Denise said eyeing AJ. "Privately."

"No problem," Brian said avoiding the pleading look on his little blonde friend’s face. His capacity to cover up for him did not extend to matters that dealt with his mother.

"Excuse us," Kevin said giving them a stern look as he walked away with Laura in tow.

"Mom! We didn’t mean to! That mouse came out of nowhere and--!" Nick began knowing that a good defense meant a good offense.

Jane gave him a look that shut his mouth quickly. "I think we’d better just deal with us on our own. Let’s go."

Divide and conquer, Nick thought. That was her style.

He tried to look back at AJ who would still not look up from the floor. He never did anything to make his mother mad. Any time he hung out with that loud-mouthed, prankster Nick, he ended up feeling ashamed of himself. When was he going to learn?

"Alex," Denise began in her softest tone. "I’m disappointed."

He closed his eyes. He might as well have disowned him.

She started down the hallway toward the elevators and didn’t even look back at him once. He followed her, only because he didn’t know what else to do, but she didn’t talk him and didn’t look like she intended to.

"Mom," he tried to begin. "She’s really mean to us, and well, you know...," he trailed off because he knew anything he could possibly say was worthless. He had been raised far better than that. They had always talked about respect and how if he ever wanted to have any, then he’d better be prepared to give it. The same thing went for trust. He was crazy if he thought she was going to trust him so easily anymore.

Man, AJ thought, she was good. She had him scolding himself.

Dear Laura,

I am very sorry that AJ put the mouse in your blouse. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Actually, we thought you were an animal lover like us, and we thought you’d really like Kelsey. I think AJ just got nervous when he heard you scream, and the mouse ended up falling into your blouse. Please know that we would never intentionally hurt you, or Kelsey. I hope that you will accept this sincere apology and maybe give me English credit for writing this letter.

Sincerely,

Nick

He went to run the letter by his mother who read it with a disgusted look on her face.

"This is an apology?" she asked. "You’re expect her to forgive you and give you English credit?"

He shrugged. It was worth a shot. He was writing and all.

She put paper down and looked at him tiredly.

"Nick, what’s the point of apologizing if you don’t mean it?"

He sat down next to her with a sigh. "Mom, I don’t like her. She’s mean and snotty to us."

"She’s your teacher, not your friend. You promised. You promised you were going to take this seriously, Nick. All of it."

He looked at his shoes and thought. She was right. He had promised.

He could hear Kelsey scratching around in the shoe box he had swiped from his mother.

"Okay," he said hopping up and taking the paper. "Back to the drawing board."

Dear Laura,

I am so sorry that we scared you with Kelsey today. We were just trying to make you laugh and didn’t know that you were so afraid of mice. Please accept this sincere apology as I feel really badly that you were scared. I know what it’s like to be scared, and it’s no fun. Every time I get on the van to go somewhere else I get scared that something is going to happen and that I might not make it home. I guess it wasn’t fair for us to make you feel that way on purpose, even if it was just a joke. Please, forgive me. I’ll do anything to make it up to you.

Sincerely,

Nick

Laura stared down at the letter in her hand with disgust. How much longer could she put up with those rotten kids? They were nothing but trouble and she definitely was not getting paid enough to deal with their little schemes on top of it.

"What? What is it?" Kevin stared at her from across the table, a frown on his face. About a half an hour had passed since the mouse incident, but the tutor was still making a big deal and shaking like crazy. He'd gotten her a cup of coffee but that didn't seem to make it up. And when he tried to leave her alone, she started making even a bigger fuss. What a high-strung idiot.

"Your little 'band mates' are terrors," came the sharp reply. Kevin's anger rose slightly at her words as he watched her run a hand through her mussed up hair. She shoved the letter at him. "Look at this."
Kevin took the offered piece of paper and scanned it quickly, a small smile forming on his face as he read it over. "What's the matter? He's sorry."
"No, he's not. Don't you get it? He and Alex are like demon children."

"What are you talking about?" Kevin stared at her in irritation. No wonder AJ and Nick didn't like her much. Not that that even slightly excused what they did. But she was certainly very . . . imperious, to say the least. "They're just kids. They don't mean anything by it," Kevin defended, sliding the paper back towards her.

"They're just kids," she sing-songed, throwing her nose in the air. "And that lets them get off scot-free?"

"No. I'm not making excuses for them." Kevin rolled his eyes in aggravation. "But they've learned their lesson. They've apologized. What else do you want?"

"I can think of a few things those two deserve," came the grumbled reply as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. Kevin's anger boiled.

"Look, they apologized. That's all they can do. No one was hurt, right? It was a harmless prank." He stared at her as she turned away. Fine, so now she was going to ignore him. Just fine. Maybe now he could get away.

He made a mental note to himself to talk to Lou about getting a new tutor. And they had to have a sit down talk with the boys to let them know that their prank was not the reason for the change. Just that they had realized what an absolute . . . awful person she was.

-  

"Do you think we can keep her?" Nick asked excitedly, leaning over the table to watch AJ and Brian.

"No way," Howie answered. "Don't think about it, Nicky." He watched Brian place another book parallel to the thick notebook on the table. Whose grand idea was it to make an obstacle course for the animal anyway?

Brian's of course.

"Kelsey's a smart mouse," AJ cooed, holding the rodent up to his face. It twitched its nose and he laughed. "Yes, you are . . ."

"You either, AJ. You can't keep it." Howie shook his head as he watched them. They sure got over being upset quickly, that's for sure. It was like nothing happened.

"Look, Howie, don't I make a good maze? You can help!" Brian grinned at him. The table looked littered with books, notebooks, and piles of a few magazines they had found. Howie glanced at it and the proud look on Brian's face with amusement.

"No thanks, I'll just watch."

"Okay, sure." Brian went back to organizing his 'maze' and Nick took the mouse from AJ's hands. He cupped it in his two hands and held the animal out in front of Howie's face.

"Ain't she cute?"

"Yeah. And you still can't keep it. Can you imagine dragging that thing from place to place in the van? I don't think so."

Nick just shrugged. It could work. He wasn't going to press his luck though. He'd rather stay on everyone's good side for the rest of today if possible.

A knock came on the door and AJ jumped up from his chair to answer it. Opening it up, he found Kevin.

"Hey, Kev," he greeted in an unsure voice. He still wasn't sure of the older man's reaction to earlier and decided to be cautious.

"Hey, buddy," Kevin returned easily. He messed up the younger's hair playfully as he came into the room and AJ let out a breath of relief. So he wasn't mad after all. He watched as Kevin grabbed a seat on the sofa near the table the guys were at. AJ returned to his seat at the table.

"I'm so tired," Kevin said with a groan. The little time he had spent with the tutor had left him aggravated and exhausted. That women was something else.

"Look," Nick said brightly, moving to Kevin's side and holding out Kelsey in front of his face. "Wanna hold her?"

"No." Kevin pushed the boy away gently and leaned his head back. He was trying to forget about the mouse, but when the kid stuck it in his face like that . . . "You still have that thing? We have to get rid of it."

"No, we can . . ." We can keep her, Nick thought, but shut his mouth when Kevin shot him a look. Okay, maybe he should just forget about it after all. He sat on the other end of the small couch with a pout and pulled his feet under him. The mouse squirmed in his hands.

"Bri, whatcha doing?" Kevin looked at his young cousin's concentrated face and frowned. What was he up to now?

"Making something."

"What is it?" Besides a mess, Kevin thought.

"A maze for Kelsey!" Brian answered. He grinned proudly. Kevin shook his head at him.

"You're such a goofball. You're making a mess."

"It's a masterpiece, Kevin. You don't know what you're talking about." Brian smiled at him sweetly and Kevin rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood.

"Just clean it up when you're done with whatever it is," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

"Sure thing, cuz." Brian looked at him with a frown and then went back to his architectural designing.

"So what're we doing today?" AJ spoke up. Kevin opened his eyes.

"We have a show this afternoon, remember?"

"I know that. Duh. I meant until then."

"Sleeping."

"How boring. You can go to sleep. Not me."

"Okay," Kevin answered, shutting his eyes.

"Fine."

"Good."

"Great."

"Yeah."

"Yup."

"Aje? Be quiet."

"Ew," AJ answered. He got up from his chair and moved toward Kevin quietly.

"What're you doing?" Kevin asked, opening his eyes when he sensed the boy moving toward him. AJ paused mid-step.

"Nothing?"

"Right." Kevin grabbed his arm and pulled him down between Nick and himself on the couch. "Be good," he said with a laugh.

Nick was still patting Kelsey, watching the little mouse’s eyes squint slightly when he slid his hand over the soft fur. AJ leaned over them with a smile.

"I’m keeping her," Nick whispered.

AJ gave him a look. He knew the kid was stubborn, but this was going to create a problem.

"I don’t think that’s such a--," AJ began.

"No. It is. I’m keeping her, Jay. Serious."

"Yeah, but--."

"You’re doing no such thing," Kevin said dryly not moving an inch or opening his eyes. "You’d better take it back to wherever you got or set it free somewhere it can survive, like a vacant lot or something."

"No," Nick said.

"I didn’t ask you Nicky. It wasn’t like an option that you got," Kevin said finally sitting up.

Brian looked up from the maze to notice how serious his cousin actually looked. He knew that Kev was getting tired of the guys and their pranks, especially Nick. He’d been in hot water with Kev since the whole Emily thing.

Nick pressed his mouth closed and pushed himself off the couch. Kev grabbed his arm as he tried to walk out of the room.

"I’m serious, Nicky. We don’t have room for a mouse on the road. You don’t have time to take care of it. Can’t you see that? Geez, can’t you ever see anything? You’re so busy playing around that you don’t see that ...," he saw the look on Nick’s face, stopped and dropped the kid’s arm.

Nick’s eyes were even wider than usual, and he’d drawn a quick breath. Kevin hadn’t meant to scare him, but he needed him to know that this was serious. The other guys watched apprehensively.

"Look," Kev began in a softer tone. "Look baby, I talked to Laura, and I can see why you guys hate her. I’m willing to talk to Lou about that, and maybe can get you guys someone else."

"Cool!" AJ laughed.

"But wait," Kev continued tugging gently at Nick until he was able to make him sit back on the couch. "It’s not cool that you guys did that. It wasn’t cool that you guys got in a fight at that school. And not because she’s my girlfriend, but it was totally not cool that you got Emily all wet. Now, I know that you guys get bored and maybe don’t have enough to do. But geez, can you just remember that this is our job? Hell, it’s our dream, and the last thing we need is to mess things up. All I want is for you guys to think a little before you run off doing silly things. You could have talked to me about Laura. Really."

"She’s awful," AJ said. "She doesn’t care about what we’re doing. She just wants us to be quiet all the time."

Kev finally half-laughed. "And I can see why that’s such a struggle. But guys, you have to finish school. That’s not an option. I’ll talk to Lou, and maybe he’ll let you have a say in picking someone else. Yeah?"

AJ was nodding immediately, but Kevin had to search out Nick’s eyes. He was staring at the floor but finally looked up.

"Yeah?" Kevin repeated.

"Yeah, Kev," he said softly. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry about Emily too. I didn’t mean--."

Kevin messed up his hair. "It’s okay. It’s really okay. But I need you to try to be good. I mean really good."

He nodded.

"Aw," Brian said with smile. "Now, we’re really like a family." He dropped himself on the couch between his two favorite guys and threw an arm around each of them. Nick was quick to get cozy on Brian’s shoulder. Kevin just laughed.

"What are you going to do with that thing?" Kev asked pointing at the maze.

"Oh, Kelsey’s going to run through it, huh Nick?" Brian said brightly. "She’s going to prove just how smart she is. Right?"

"Yeah, we’re gonna time her," AJ said.

Nick was back to petting the mouse and watching its tiny eyes.

"Kev, can we go to the mall?" he asked not looking up.

"Yeah, I guess. Why?"

He didn’t answer right away because he didn’t want to have to say it. He had actually started getting attached to the mouse, and he didn’t want to take it back.

"Wanna buy something?" Brian asked nudging him with his shoulder.

"No."

"Well, I have to take Kelsey back, right? I mean, I can’t just dump her somewhere, and we got her at the mall. Maybe AJ can get his money back," Nick said finally looking up at them.

"Forget about the money," AJ said.

Kevin bit his lip and suddenly felt like a big, bad older brother for making Nick give up his pet.

Howie sat down on the floor in front of them with a sigh.

"How long before we go home?" he asked.

"We’re back day after tomorrow," Kev said. "Why?"

"Well, I don’t see the big deal then," he said. "We’ll just keep the mouse in a box and out of the way. I bet you Lou won’t even notice. Once we’re home, Nick, you and your family and decide what to do with it."

Nick laughed because they were all such animal lovers in his family that he knew a mouse would be no problem.

"I don’t know--," Kevin began.

"Well, my mom won’t care," Nick said. "I took one of those shoe boxes from one of her shopping sprees. She didn’t even notice. I mean, I could just keep the box with me all the time."

"You’d better," AJ said with a laugh.

"Why?"

"Because if you leave it anywhere, Lou’s liable to sit on it," he said reaching over Kev and Bri to give Kelsey a pat.

"Or eat its cheese," Brian said. "And starve poor Kelsey. So what’s the verdict, Kev? Can we keep it?"
Both he and Nick peeled their eyes at him contriving sorry puppy dog looks on their faces.

"Puh-lease?" Brian added for good measure.

Kevin shook his head and got off the couch. "I don’t care what you guys do as long as you stay of trouble. Keep the mouse out of the way, and make sure that you feed it and give it water," he said stepping to the door. "I’m gonna call Emily. You guys have to be ready at five."

"Right."

"Sure."

"Yeah."

"Um-huh," Nick said with smile. "Thanks Kev."

"Welcome, Nicky," Kevin said and exited shaking his head.

"Get the timer," AJ shouted when he saw the door close.

-

Lou looked up from his laptop when he heard the knock on the door.

"Come in," he called.

Kevin appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, can we talk?" Kev asked. "I mean, if you’re not too busy."

"No, come in," he said putting the computer to sleep and sitting forward. "What’s up? Everything okay?"

He motioned for Kevin to sit on the chair in front of his.

"Yeah. Well, no," Kevin said. "I wanted to talk to you about the guys’ tutor."

"Laura?"

"Yeah. Where’d you get her? I mean, I’m just curious."

"From an agency. But she’s not going to tutor the guys anymore. She quit today. I’m afraid I’m going to have to go break it to them."

Kevin closed his eyes.

"What?" Lou asked. "Was there a problem?"

"Sorta," Kevin admitted. "I don’t really like the way she dealt with them. I mean, she had no patience, and the guys are kind of hyper."

Lou chuckled. "Kind of? Kevin, those two wouldn’t sit still if you tied them down. But that’s her job, to be stern."

"Yeah, but not rude," Kevin said. "I just don’t think she was the right person for the job. How do you plan to get another one?"

"The agency will get someone."

"Don’t you think that they should have some say in who is their tutor? I mean, they spent so much time with her."

"Yeah, like when we let them sit in on auditions and they almost got their asses kicked? If we let them sit in who do you think they’ll pick? Mary Poppins is taken, Kev. You know, I’ve been meaning to talk to you, so I’m glad you came," he said looking at him curiously.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"No, but there is a reason why Nick and AJ’s mom came along, you know? You are not solely responsible for their behavior, and I don’t want you to pressure yourself with those two. They’re kids, Kev."

"I know," Kevin said softly.

"Yeah, but I think maybe you take on too much with them. Don’t you?"

Kevin eyed the big man in front of him. Was he kidding? They were so young that someone needed to watch out for all them, not just Nick and AJ. He knew so much more was going on than Lou could probably even imagine. He knew about Nick’s homesickness, about AJ’s hurt hand at the high school, about how Brian needed to call his mother.

"... and bottom line is that they’re just kids, Kev. I mean, so they’re a little screwy. Nothing bad is going to happen to them. I’m sure whoever their next tutor is will be fine."

"Uh, okay," Kev said finally realizing this guy had no clue. "I just thought that it might all work out better if they liked their tutor."

"Or if their tutor likes mice?" Lou asked with a smile. "C’mon Kev, I was a kid. I pulled pranks on my teachers all the time. It’ll be okay. The guys will settle down and do what they need to do."

‘Not just on their own,’ Kevin thought but kept his mouth closed. He was just happy Lou wasn’t upset about the mouse. "Okay, thanks, Lou," he said pulling his chair away from the table. "I’ll let you get back to work."

"Hey, you’re my priority," Lou said with a smile that sent his big cheeks hiding his tiny eyes. "If you need anything just come find me. Okay?"

"Okay thanks," Kevin said hurrying out the door.

A strange feeling settled into his stomach as he went down the hallway back to his room. Lou’s tone had been a little too easy about everything.

He told himself that he was just being paranoid. He’d taken his big brother role a little too seriously. It was just that at home, he was the youngest. His family always rallied around him and supported him. He cherished being the guide in this journey, so he wanted to be a good one. The guys were a challenge, but he loved them already and only wanted the best for them. At that moment, he wasn’t sure Lou Pearlman knew what that was.

***

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