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TWO WEEKS LATER: BACKSTREET BUS

Bianca looked around the quiet entertainment room at the guys, thinking about each one individually. She had been spending every night on their bus now that Eric had attacked her and Brianna had left her. She was never alone anymore and that's the way she liked it.

Brian was on his cell phone. Probably with Nicole, since she was all he talked about now. Lately every time you saw Brian, his face was plastered with a goofy, "I'm In Love" type of grin, although both he and Nicole said they were taking things slow and were still "good friends---and that's all!"

Nick was being really supportive; always asking her how she was or waking up at night just to check on her. She hoped he knew how much she appreciated his love and constant understanding. Placing her head on his shoulder, Bianca thought about how lucky she was. There weren't many guys who would be as patient as Nick.

Howie was...well, just Howie. He was always trying to cheer somebody up and keep them from only seeing the bad side of things. Even through all of the trauma with Ivy he still keeps smiling; no matter how upset, hurt, worried or whatever, his ever-present cheeriness never left.

A.J. was doing exactly the opposite. He had gotten withdrawn since Cassie left, but he still had Brianna to talk to. Now that she was gone he hardly spoke a word and his usually rambunctious personality was almost nonexistent. He didn't even talk to Howie like he used to, and he had taken to bringing a different woman back to his hotel room every night.

Kevin had distanced himself from everyone. After every show he would go straight to his hotel room and lock himself away until the next morning. When he emerged, with bleary eyes and a thundering headache, he would continue to ignore everyone. He hadn't spoken to Bianca since she blamed him for Brianna's absence. He constantly reeked of alcohol, but nobody knew how to quietly broach the subject of his serous drinking problem. So, instead, they chose to try to ignore it.

Bianca sighed and scanned the room again. A heavy cloud of despair seemed to cover everyone these days. She didn't know if she could take it much more; her mothers request to return home was looking better as the minutes ticked by.

Everyone glanced around nervously as A.J.'s cell phone shattered the almost absolute silence. A.J., thankful for any reason to leave the heavy mood of the entertainment room, flopped down in the kitchen to take the call. "Yo, this is A.J."

"If you tell anybody who's on this phone, I'll have you brutally murdered!"

"I'm alone. Brianna, is it really you?" She had been crying.

"Yeah. I missed everybody so I decided to check up. How have you been?"

"I'm doin' alright, I guess. Now that I know you're alright. I'm better. Hang on a sec; I'll go get Kevin."

"No, A.J.! Don't," Brianna said. "I don't want them to know you're talking to me. How's Kevin been?"

A.J. thought about his words carefully before answering her. With a sigh, he decided to tell her the truth. "Not good, Bree. Not good at all. He's been drinking. A lot. And he's always alone."

"Oh," Brianna said quietly. "I knew he was drinking, but I didn't think it was that bad." Her heart felt like it was being ripped out. She wanted to stop Kevin's hurting, but she couldn't be there to touch him or hold him when he needed her. "Just tell him I love him; just don't tell him we talked. Okay? How's Bean?"

"She misses you. We all do. She stays pretty tight with Nick and Brian now. She doesn't mention you much. We've all kinda split up lately. It's pretty odd, but it's almost like you held us together. I thought you'd be back by now."

"I wish I was. I've done a lot of thinking since I've been home. My mom just thinks I'm homesick. She doesn't even know the real reason I came back. I've just pretty much stayed alone and...Made decisions."

"Why did you go home? What kind of decisions did you have to make, babe?"

"A.J., I really don't want to go into that now. But I do need your help with something. Christmas is in a couple weeks and I need to know some stuff about Kevin. What does he want?"

"For you to come back, Bree. He needs you. Me, too. I mean, I need you to come back so I'll have somebody that really understands me. At least think about it."

"I will. And you know if you need me you can call me anytime. But I need to go now before people wonder who's on the other end of your cell. I'll call you again later. Bye."

A.J. switched the phone off and leaned back in the booth. Talking to Brianna had made him feel a little better and he realized one thing: she was miserable at home and that wasn't the last he would hear from her.

****ONE WEEK LATER****

"Hey, baby!" Nick exclaimed as he walked into Bianca's hotel room. "I know what you're getting for Christmas."

"Really? What?" Bianca asked, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him anxiously.

"Jive is getting you a really nice gift, Bean. Wish they'd get me the same thing."

"I wish you'd tell me what it was already."

"Patience, sweetie," Nick said as he rubbed her back. "I'll tell you what I want you to give me."

Immediately, Bianca stiffened and pulled away. Crossing her arms across her chest, she told him, "Nick, you know that I...that me and you..." She was flustered and couldn't seem to get her words right.

Nick stepped up to her and ran his hands down her arms. "Bean, baby, everything's gonna be okay. Eric’s gone; you can relax."

Bianca slumped against him and sobbed. "I'm still scared, Nick. I just don't know if I can relax. I feel like he's out there waiting around every corner to finish what he started." She stopped to wipe her eyes. "And I'm sorry if I have to vent all of this on you, but you're all I have now and I’m so scared that I'm gonna lose you, too."

Nick pulled her body close to his and squeezed her until she was short of breath. "Bianca, I want you to stop thinking that. You are not losing me. You'll never lose me. Baby, I don't like it when you talk like this. Please calm down."

Bianca took a deep breath and whispered, "I don't want to be alone tonight, Nick. Will you stay here with me?"

"Of course, baby," he reassured. Silently he cursed the man that did this to her.

****TWO DAYS LATER****

Kevin woke up with yet another pounding headache. 'Damn, I should really try to remember what I did last night,' he thought unable to open his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt arms circle his waist. He smiled and tightened his grip. It had all been just a bad dream, and he was finally waking up with Brianna, his boo, snuggled tight in his arms.

Kevin ran his hands down her bare back and buried his face in her neck. She was wearing a different perfume than usual.

When he finally opened his eyes, the smile fell from his face and he nearly died of shock. Lying beside him was an unfamiliar red-head. "Oh my God..."

Opening her eyes, she smiled sweetly up at him. She leaned in to kiss him, but he moved away quickly. "You're not Brianna. Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Excuse me?" she asked a little angrily. "You invited me back here with you from the bar."

Kevin's head was swimming. "I wouldn't do that; I don't even know you."

"Well," she said, "you sure didn't care about not knowing me last night."

Just as Kevin was about to respond, he was interrupted. "Hey, Kev--what the fuck?" A.J. yelled. "Kevin, who the hell is that?"

"Nobody..."

"What?" the red head yelled as she started throwing on her clothes. "I was somebody last night when you were fucking the hell outta me, but now I'm nobody?! It does not work that way!"

"Well, whoever you are," A.J. began.

"Tara," she replied coldly.

"Whatever!" A.J. shouted throwing up his hands and glaring at her. "Do you know he's got a girl-friend?"

Tara's face remained unchanged. "That's lovely; look, I didn't know you'd have a damn heart attack because this grown men," she added emphasis by running her finger down Kevin's bare chest, "had a fun night."

"Just get out," Kevin sighed hanging his head in pure disappointment. Tara finished dressing quickly and left the room, making sure to slam the door on the way out.

"Kevin, you've got a lot of explaining to do," A.J. said angrily.

"I know, and I can explain everything--"

"No!" A.J. exploded. "It's not me who loves you, it's Brianna. And it's her you'll have to explain to. My feelings aren't the ones at stake here. I'm not sorry for you and I don't want to hear your fucking lame-ass excuses," he said without emotion.

"Why are you so worried about it?" Kevin asked. He was talking so low A.J. almost didn't hear him.

"Because, Brianna is one of my friends, too and I'm not gonna stand back and watch you do this shit to her. Man, she's the best friend I've got." Before Kevin could respond, A.J. turned and stalked out, slamming the door harder than Tara had before.

When A.J. left, Kevin just sat on the bed with tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn't believe he got so drunk that his actions were beyond his control. Thinking of Brianna, he choked back a sob. "What have I done? God, baby, what have I done?"