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Chapter Three

“Say Nick, what are you doing all the way over there by yourself?” Brian asked as he walked over to the blonde on the far left side of the stage.

Loud screams could be heard from every direction but suddenly all grew silent. Well, for the most part anyways. The audience that consisted of mostly girls were just waiting for Nick to respond to Brian’s question with something completely off the wall and crazy. Especially since he was holding a guitar, strumming it lazily as the others had been off elsewhere on the stage. It was only a matter of time by the infamous Carter grin he was giving the audience.

“I’m playing the guitar!” he exclaimed proudly.

Brian faked looking completely shocked, “No! Is that what that there’s called?” he couldn’t help but start laughing at is sarcasm and Nick’s cluelessness.

“Yep!”

“And may I ask why you’re playing the guitar?” Brian asked him as he shook his head in bewilderment.

“To keep the bugs away!” Nick replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world just as a fly and a few mosquitos flew in to few inches in front of Nick’s face

“I don’t think it’s working.” Brian replied with a laugh.

In fact, by this point, the entire audience was laughing. Contrary to much suspicion, the conversation had not been staged or scripted. It was a one of a kind performance or rather real life conversation about Nick’s weirdness. Nick was truly being his usual unique self with his own way of thinking. Even the blonde was laughing now, but it was obvious that he was confused and unsure of what he was even laughing at by the way his eyes were darting around nervously. He was still playing notes on his guitar though.

“Since Nick already has a guitar in his hands, we’re going to play a song from our new album,” Brian stated, “You might know the words. If you do, sing along. If you don’t...then that is okay too.” Brian drawled in his Southern accent.

The crowd cheered and screamed out their love for the Boys as Nick’s playing slowly turned in to the tunes of Climbing the Walls and Brian’s beautiful voice rang out. Their band played in the background giving the song sounds that their music had never sounded like live before. A few people sang along in the chorus, screaming out the lyrics along with Brian singing. Most of the audience however just listened and smiled, waving their hands in the dark sky. A few held lighters and a few held up their cell phones to make some light. Most swayed their hips to the music. It was obvious that all were having a great time.

As always, the European tour was more successful than the United States one. It was only the first night there and they could tell that this would be no different. Sure, they were popular in America and the fans whom were still around were amazing. Europe was completely different. Pop music had never really died there as it had in their home Country. They had more respect all around, as sad as it was. No matter where the group was though, the Boys all loved their fans the same.

“We’re going to go back to nearly a decade ago now and sing a few songs from the past.” AJ shouted out, “Speaking of the past, how many of you were here for the Black and Blue tour?” Nearly everybody in the audience screamed, the sound almost deafening, “That’s incredible! How about Millennium?” Slightly less screams were heard, but it was still phenomenal, “And last...how many of you were here for our debut Backstreets Back tour?” Again, every single person screamed. This caused the group to laugh.

“Well then some of you are liars!” Brian joked with a chuckle, “Because if you’re under the age of twelve, you weren’t even born yet. We’re flattered though.” The audience laughed, some of them caught red handed as quite a few who’d screamed out in response couldn’t have been any older than eight years old.

Slowly, the band started to play the opening notes of As Long As You Love Me, one of their first hits ever. Only seconds later did the singing start. The song was the same, but the voices were more matured. Still though, they were in harmony with one another, sounding completely amazing. It was proof that even a couple of years apart could not change them. They could take a decade off and still have their voices blend in a way that said that they were meant to be together as a group.

The song ended and the Boys all ran off stage for an outfit change as Don’t Want You Back played in the background to keep the audience entertained while they were away for a few minutes. The opening night in Europe was going great and nothing out of the ordinary had happened other than a few minor slip ups in a song or two. They really didn’t have any routine dances for this tour except for a couple of songs. Even then things had gone smoothly for the most part other than Nick tripping over his feet. He’d caught his balance quickly though, playing it off as if nothing had ever happened.

“Ready to go back out?” Kevin asked everybody as they were finishing putting their fresh clothes on and taking a few swigs of water to hydrate their sweaty bodies.

“Yep.” AJ replied for everybody, “Good to go.”

With perfect timing, they all ran back out on stage as the next song in their set came on, ready to take on the second part of the show.

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“What a night, huh?” Brian sighed as he fell back on to a large couch. He leaned back comfortably as AJ and Nick plopped down on both sides of him. Kevin and Howie took single seat reclining chairs, “I think things went well.”

“Well? They were great. Not even Nick fucked up this time!” AJ exclaimed with a laugh as Nick flipped him off. A smile was present on his face though, “But it is only the first show!” he was sure to point out.

“Haha,” Nick laughed sarcastically, “Funny. Remind me to laugh when you’re the first to mess up.”

“Ain’t gonna happen, little man.” AJ shook his head.

Kevin just rolled his eyes at the argument as he turned the TV on to drown out the fight he could feel coming on. Flipping to the local news station, the man put the remote down. Ever since they’d left home, he hadn’t had the chance to catch up with what was going on in the world, feeling deprived of the knowledge. There was so much that could have happened in such a short period of time.

The two younger members of the group continued to argue, their voices growing louder. It was obvious that AJ was getting pleasure out of purposely annoying Nick, the blonde letting his rival get under his skin a little too easily. Nick’s voice rang out defensively and slightly whiney. This caused AJ to pick at him even more with new blackmail, mocking him without any mercy what so ever.

“I am not an idiot!” Nick complained.

“I’m not an idiot!” AJ mimicked in a high pithed voice, causing Nick to pick up a pillow and smack AJ over the head with it. He missed Brian by merely an inch as his older friend ducked out of the way, “Real mature, Carter.”

Kevin just rolled his eyes and caught Howie doing the same with an amused smile on his face. Kevin grabbed the remote to turn the volume up even more. With all the bickering going on, he wasn’t catching a thing. This caused each pair of eyes to glare at the eldest member of the band, Kevin oblivious to it as he watched the TV intently.

“Seeing anything good, Kevin?” AJ teased, deciding to pick on Kevin now instead of Nick. Nick had suffered enough.

“Not that I know of, because some of you keep rudely interrupting.” Kevin muttered without drawing his attention away from the screen.

This only caused everyone to snicker harder. Riling up Kevin was always fun. Especially since it was so easy to do. One thing about Kevin was that he did know how to have a good time. It wasn’t that. It was more of the fact that he tried hard not to have a good time. The man was too serious for his own good and twelve years since their start and he was still taking on the caretaker and fatherly role. Everybody agreed that since they were all grown now, all of their lives would be easier of Kevin would allow himself to lighten up. Even just a little...

Giving Kevin the silence he wanted, the others decided to watch the news program with him. Nick started to yawn in boredom in the first minute, already bored with the program. He kept looking at Kevin as he bit his lip, contemplating whether or not he should make a run for it to his room to whip out his game system to entertain him. He decided against it when he figured that there was no way around Kevin without being noticed and lectured like he was five instead of twenty-five. So instead of doing what he wanted, he just sat back and tried to at least act like he was paying attention along with the others.

The next news story caught everybody’s attention however, including Nick. Each man sat on the edge of his seat, listening intently to what the British newswoman was saying, her accent thick, her eyes serious. In the background, there were people clinging to one another crying. Adults held on to adults, adults to children, children to children. It was all the same though. They were upset. Something horrific had happened.

Earlier this afternoon, just as school was about to let out, a school shooting occurred in Denmark. The shooter, a young man by the name of Harry Portsman, was an eighth grader at the school. He shot several of his classmates, injuring fifteen and killing ten, which included two teachers before turning the gun on himself. When asked by those who were unharmed, they said that Harry was a quite kid who was picked on a lot, but they never thought that he would do something so drastic. Services for those who’ve lost their lives will be held on Tuesday at five. Please keep the family and friends of the victims in your hearts at this difficult time.

“Oh my God...” AJ let his voice trail off as his eyes widened in fear, his stomach feeling sick and in knots. He’d recognized the one girl in the background...the one in his vision who had begged not to be killed and the shooter had left her be. She had been standing staring blankly in to space in a state of shock, eyes glazed over. She had looked the same though. The outcome of the shooting though. That was what had really shook AJ because it was much worse than what he’d thought it would be. If he’d only seen where it was, he could have prevented it. He could have saved all of those lives. He felt so guilty as he put his head in his hands, shaking it, “Oh God...”

“Awful, isn’t it?” Brian agreed, not knowing why AJ was so upset. None of them knew, “I can’t believe that somebody would do something so horrible.”

“Yeah..” AJ muttered. He lifted his head up and stared blankly at the TV screen which had already turned to another story.

‘What’s wrong, J?” Howie asked, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

AJ just shrugged, I pretty much have. Was what he thought as the others went on to watch the TV, already forgetting about the incident. Like all the others though, AJ never would forget.