“So, security stays on the same level of the guys while the rest of the staff are located on the level right below. I hope you guys don’t mind staying together.” Jen said as she pushed the hotel door open, leading them into their new room that they’d be staying in.

The four of them slowly trailed in behind, looking over the large hotel room. It was complete with two queen sized beds and a large couch, that more than likely could pull out into a bed. “Gabi, if you’re uncomfortable with sharing a room with the guys, I can look into getting your own room or something, and if unavailable, you can… perhaps room with me.”

“I’ll be perfectly fine rooming with these guys.” Gabriella replied with a smile, “They’re like my brothers, so it’s totally fine.”

Jen nodded, “Well, I’ll let you guys get settled in. We’ll have a training session bright and early tomorrow morning, so you guys have a goodnight.” she bid as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

“Will you guys check this out?!” Josh exclaimed excitedly as he kicked off his shoes and socks and jumped up on one of the queen sized beds, beginning to jump up and down on it. “We went from traveling around, saving people to staying in a luxurious hotel!” he flopped down on the bed, sitting on the edge of it. “I could get used to this!”

Darren gave him a pointed look, “Josh, lets keep our game face on. You know we’re here for a reason and that we gotta protect these men until we are able to transfer over what we possess.”

Josh began to nibble on his lower lip, knowing he was right. He just couldn’t help but to be excited with where they now found themselves. He’s been traveling with this group for the last few years now, protecting people with the other appointed guardians that were blessed by the Archangels. He was no one special… just a guy aspiring to be a doctor. He struggled with all the prep that came with the career, and instead resulted with studying to become a paramedic.

He’d never forget the name of his predecessor. Tracy. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, with thin black hair and streaks of platinum blonde, and the most beautiful hazel eyes you could ever find yourself staring into. She was younger than him, could have been a senior in college, and was a nurse. He was first introduced to her when the training he attended brought him to the hospital she worked at. She was the nurse assisting with the training, helping to teach aspiring paramedics tips upon bringing a patient into the emergency room. It was after that day, his life changed forever.

He hadn’t realized that she had been blessed by Archangel Raphael until she saved him from a woman he tried to help, which was actually a demon in disguise. From there, he was introduced to a world he never knew existed, and of course then she didn’t inform him that God has selected him to be her successor. Following that event, they dated for a while, until Lucifer tried to tear them apart and foil God’s plans of building his army. During the attack, Josh was severely injured and his soul was close to being possessed. Tracy was the only one that could save him, but the damage done was too great.

Josh will never forget that moment. He was laying on the ground, in excruciating pain, desperately trying to fight off the evil entity that was trying to overtake him. Tracy was knelt beside him, tears cascading down her face as she frantically tried to heal him. Behind her was Archangel Raphael, who tried to help her. Tracy’s eyes were glowing a fierce green, as she tried to surrender herself to Raphael to work on him, but he remembered hearing his voice speak out to her.

The only way to save him is to lay down a life for a life…

Josh wanted to fight against that option, but the pain he was in made him unable to do anything but moan and cry in discomfort. From there, everything seemed to set into slow motion. He found himself staring up in Tracy’s captivating hazel eyes, her black hair blowing in the wind. A lone tear cascaded down her cheek as she placed her hand on his chest, directly over his heart. She rose his head to her as she leaned down to hover over his face.

“Die before you die, so when you die, you will have life.” she whispered before she gently kissed him, locking her lips with his for what she knew to be the last time. She pressed hard down upon his heart, and from there a blinding green light surrounded them.

Josh could feel the demon that was trying to possess him immediately leave him, and when he opened her eyes to stop Tracy from healing him, his eyes widened upon seeing Tracy’s earthly form disintegrate right before him, her flesh and bones burning away into nothing but ashes right before him.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” he screamed out as he shot up from the ground, desperately trying to grab for Tracy, who was nothing more. His hand went right through her ashy remains, that blew away carelessly with the wind.

“Hey, Josh!”

Josh snapped out of his trance, realizing he was caught in a flashback. He looked over at Logan who called out to him, seeing that his face was contorted in concern. “You alright man? You just blanked out on us dude.”

Josh simply nodded, looking around to find himself still seated at the edge of the bed, Logan seated next to him and Darren and Gabriella off to the side, discussing something amongst themselves. “Yeah, sorry. Just excited to be here is all.”

Logan continued to stare at his friend, knowing it was more than that, but didn’t want to press the manner. “Just making sure. You and I are gonna bunk together while Darren takes the couch. Gabriella will have her own bed.”

“These are the times I wish I was a chick.” Josh joked, trying to lighten the mood and shake himself from the depressing temperament he suddenly found himself in. “Get a bed to myself.”

“Why, you don’t want to share a bed with me?” Logan tried to joke back, but was unsuccessful when Josh’s expression remained solemn.

“Do you remember how we all individually got to this point?” Josh suddenly asked, his mind still on his beloved Tracy.

Logan stared at him, “It’s something I’ll never forget. Why do you ask?”

Before he could get an answer, there was a sudden knock on the door, which caught all their attentions. Josh’s eyes averted from the door to the ground, “Nothing.” he replied as he pushed himself up from the bed and walked over towards the door. When he looked out the peephole, he backed away with a smile, twisting the doorknob and opening the door for their guests.

“Hey peeps!” Brian greeted excitedly, with Nick and AJ standing behind him.

Josh smiled as he held the door open, allowing the three to walk into their hotel room. “Hey yourselves!”

Nick immediately his way over towards the closest bed and flopped down on the edge of it. Some people would find that action rude, but there was none of that to be had amongst them. They were all apart of the big Backstreet family, and these new guys would come to see him as their annoying, pestering brother. “Now that you guys are all settled in, what are you guys up to?”

Logan shrugged as he sat himself down on the couch, “Not much, ain’t nothing much for us to do.”

Nick gave a mischievous grin, to which it made the four of them groan inwardly. They had been warned about their behavior before hand by Jen… now they were witnessing it. “Perfect, because you guys are coming out with us!”

“And just where are you guys going?” Gabriella asked in a light motherly tone.

“We, are taking you guys out.” AJ stated matter-of-factly. “You can say that it’s a tradition that we take out our new employees to enjoy their last night of freedom and sanity.”

Logan cocked an eyebrow, “In other words, giving us a last chance to back out and run away while we still can?”

The three laughed and nodded, “Guess you could say that. But on the real, we treat them to a toast… thanking them ahead for the long hours they’ll put in, the relentless tasks to be asked of them, for putting up with us and for sticking with us till the end.” Brian explained. “It ain’t easy guarding a celebrity, a Backstreet Boy at that… I, for one, wouldn’t want to guard this prick over here.” he joked as he playfully shoved Nick’s shoulder.

“And why exactly would that be Rok?”

“Because you drive us all crazy!”

As the three continued to joke around, obviously entertaining them all, Darren tried to read Nick and Brian. They already knew that AJ would be Logan’s successor, and watching the way the two interacted in this moment made it obvious. But, he had to figure out who the other three would succeed.

“So, you guys are gonna have us start working already with watching you guys?” Darren interjected jokingly, “We haven’t even received our training yet.”

Brian slapped a reassuring hand down upon Darren’s shoulder, “Not to worry buddy, this night is for you guys. We take care of each other.”

In that moment, Darren felt a weird connection to Brian, but tried to shake it off for now; he’d figure it later. Tonight, as Brian said, was for them… or, as Darren saw it, for his three comrades. He wouldn’t drink and partake in the festivities, knowing he’d have to remain aware and keep a vigilant eye on everyone, but deep down inside he knew what lied ahead for all of them. He figured, a night of celebrating before things got crazy for his three friends wouldn’t hurt.

Darren smiled and nodded, “Alright. Lets party.”

~*~*~*~

“Oooooh my GAAAAWWWWSSSSSHHHHH, I haven’t been this drunk in my LIFE!!!” Logan squealed as he stumbled his way and crashed into Josh’s back, who was sitting by himself at the bar. He began to laugh hysterically when he found his face smashed into Josh’s back.

“You haven’t been this drunk in a long time or you’ve never been this drunk in your life?” Josh corrected with a chuckle as he downed another shot of whiskey.

“What’s the difference?” Logan asked as he tried to push himself up on the empty barstool next to Josh. “Why are you… why are you sitting here by yourself?”

“A man can’t enjoy drinks by himself and delve into his own thoughts?” Josh asked as he put his glass down for another shot.

Logan stared long and hard at his friend that seemed so complex at the moment. “Dude… are you sure yuuur okay?” he slurred his question. “Yo-yo-you’ve kinda been this way… since back at the hotel. Talk to me bro. Whaaatsthaamaatteerr?”

Josh downed his new ordered shot and slammed the glass down on the bar. He was frustrated at the moment, not with Logan, but with the fact that he couldn’t drown his thoughts and sorrows in alcohol like he used to be able to. His gift could at times be considered a curse; his ability to heal others as well as himself now made him unable to be affected at all by alcohol. Although it was a good thing, because he could never get drunk, it totally defeated the purpose of drinking alcohol to take your mind off of things.

“I can’t get drunk.” Josh finally replied, knowing that that was only half the truth. His mind was still set on Tracy, and no matter how hard he tried to forget the negatives and remember the positive, like the fact that she gave her life for him and now lives within him, he just couldn’t help than to think that it was his fault.

Logan shook his head, “That’s not all. But…….. I won’t push it on you man. Just smile bro… like you said, here we are, being treated to drinks by celebrities! Live your life dude!”

Josh began to twirl the empty shot glass around on the bar. “Die before you die, so that when you day, you will have life…” he muttered, more to himself.

Logan tried to lean in to hear his friend, “Whaaaat?”

After a moment of silence, Josh stopped playing with the empty glass and pushed himself up off the barstool. “I’ll be back, I have to use the bathroom.” he said as he left Logan alone at the bar.

Logan simply shrugged as he pushed himself off the stool and made his way back towards the rest of the group. “WHO’S READY FOR ANOTHER ROUND?!?” he exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air.

Brian stumbled over towards him and threw his arm around his shoulder, “You’ve gotta be the craziest, coolest drunk ever… right after AJ!” It was decided once they got to the bar that since Darren wouldn’t be drinking at all, Gabriella would only be having a few drinks, Josh seemed unaffected and Logan was drinking whatever was handed his way… that the boys’ would allow themselves loose and to drink as well. Brian and Logan seemed to be the only ones that were drunk, while Nick, AJ and Howie were simply buzzed.

Gabriella strolled her way over towards Darren, who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. “At ease soldier.” she joked before taking a swig of her beer. “You need to relax.”

Darren chuckled, “What makes you think I’m not relaxed?”

“Oh, I don’t know… could be the fact that you’re standing guard, stiff as a board with your arms across your chest.”

Darren slowly unfolded his arms from across his chest and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Better?”

“Much.” Gabriella replied with a smile as she placed her bottle to her lips again. “Now, don’t make me distract you from your deep thoughts because I will.”

“You shouldn’t be reading my mind without permission.” Darren laughed.

“For your information sir, I am not reading your mind. It’s called I’m a good friend who’s known you for years and I can read right through you.” she replied with a wink.

Darren’s attention immediately shot over at Josh, who was wandering out from the bathroom and back over towards the bar. “I do, however, give you permission to read his mind.” he sighed, “he’s starting to concern me.”

Gabriella looked over at Josh as well, “He won’t let me in too deep with his thoughts… but it deals with one thing and one thing only.”

Darren stared long and hard at the troubled younger man, easily reading the heartbreak that seemed to be so evident within his now dark eyes. “Tracy.”

Gabriella nodded before taking a final swig of her beer, finishing it off. “He needs to stop blaming himself.”

Darren nodded before his attention was averted back the group he now found himself babysitting. Logan was holding up a shot glass filled with a dark colored amber liquid, “A toast… to these Backstreet Boys! For being the coolest cats on the planet! For giving us a job and giving us a chance to protect you like God wants us to!”

Gabriella quickly made her way over towards Logan, yanking his arm down, “Alright, you’ve had enough to drink there buddy.”

As she grabbed the shot glass out of his hand, Logan began to cry. Gabriella immediately grabbed his face, forcing him to focus in on her. “What’s the matter sweetie? Why are you crying?”

“I just… I really love you guys, you know that?!” Logan sobbed as he grabbed Gabriella and pulled her in for a tight embrace. “We’ve known each other for so long and been through so much together. We’ve saved so many lives and fought evil too many times to count!”

Gabriella shot a look over at the four, glad that they were too intoxicated to know or even care what Logan was talking about. “Well, we love you too Logan!”

“And YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!” he cried out once more as he shot his hand out for AJ, “I feel like I’ve known you since FOREVER!!! We’re gonna do great things together and I’ll teach you a lot of great things!! You’re gonna be the brother I’ve always wanted, but never had!”

Gabriella tried desperately to drag his him away from the four before he revealed too much, but Logan quickly tugged away from her and grabbed at Brian and Nick, pulling them in for a hug. “AND I LOVE YOU GUYS… sooo, sooo, sooo much! I know we just met, but… I love you guys, and will do anything to protect you. ANYTHING!!!”

Darren finally intervened and grabbed Logan, hauling him up and away from the group, “Alright buddy, you’ve had TOO much to drink! Lets get you back to the hotel bud.”

~*~*~*~

“You arrrrrrreeeee… my fiiiiireeeeee, my one… desiiiiiirrrrrrreeeeee, beeelieve… when I saaaaay, I want it thaaaat waaaaayyyy!!”

Darren closed his eyes and shook his head as he listened to Brian and Logan sing one of the group’s songs horribly off key. They were all crammed in the elevator, riding up to their floor to go back to their rooms.

“Tell me whhhhhyyyyyy…” they belted out just as the elevator doors slid open, to which they were told be quiet by Josh.

“Sorry!” both Brian and Logan whispered at the same time, to which caused them to both bust out laughing. “Jinx, you owe me another shot!” Brian cracked.

Logan tried to unsuccessfully compose himself, “No can do buddy… we had… too much to drink!”

“Tell me whhhhhhyyyyyyyyy!!” Brian sung out off key again as he dropped dramatically to his knees in the middle of the hallway.

Nick and AJ snickered as they pulled their older friend up to his feet. “I really feel bad when you get drunk Brian.” AJ laughed as both he and Nick tried to carry Brian’s drunken stupor over to his room.

“Why?” Brian slurred out as he placed his head upon Nick’s shoulder.

“I feel bad that I didn’t know you guys were the one that sang that epic song!” Logan interrupted as he tried to walk alongside the three of them. “I must say, that was the… BEST song EVER, of the 90’s!”

“Alright Logan, lets get you back to our room.” Josh said as he began pulling Logan over towards where their room was. “Say goodnight to the Backstreet Boys.”

“Goodnight to the Backstreet Boys!” Logan shouted out, laughing when Josh told him to be quiet once again. “Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol…” he sang out as Josh opened their hotel door and held it open for him to walk in.

“Make sure he settles down, meanwhile I’ll make sure the guys will be okay.” Darren muttered to Gabriella, who simply nodded and was off to do what he instructed.

Darren stared at the drunkest member of the group, who seemed to have fallen asleep between AJ and Nick while Howie struggled with trying to find the hotel room key in Brian’s back pockets. When he finally found the key, he held it up triumphantly before he slid the card through the opening, unlocking Brian’s door.

“Will you guys be okay?” Darren asked as he watched, “Will you guys need my assistance with anything?”

Howie shook his head as he held the door wide open for AJ and Nick to carry Brian in, “No, we’ll be okay. If anything, we’ll just give you guys a holler. Thanks again, so much and we’ll see you tomorrow morning!”

“See you tomorrow.” Darren nodded as he turned to make his way back to his room.

Just as they all disappeared into their respective rooms, they failed to notice the fact that a door to a room on their level was cracked; with vibrant yellow eyes peering out through the cracked door at the group. It smiled evilly as the darkness of the room shrouded the being in mystery.