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Chapter Two

As Kevin, AJ, Howie and Nick left the Court House, nobody said a word. There really wasn’t much to say. One of their best friends was being held under custody, being charged with doing something to his girlfriend. Somebody who he had loved with all of his heart. Somebody who he had come to them in a depressed funk when she had turned down his marriage proposal because she just wanted to ‘take things slow’.

Paparazzi and press swarmed the four men taking pictures and asking questions that was really none of their business. They wanted to know what was going on with the missing member of the group. Word spread fast, but they’d all agreed to try their hardest to keep the case away from the media for as long as possible. That could only be another day or two, but it would be another day or two longer that Brian’s privacy was kept just that...private.

“This is one place I never thought I’d be.” Howie shouted above the loud commotion of the nosy media. Their security guards stayed close by the four men as they roughly shoved their way though the crowd, walking quickly in attempt to just get away in to their limo that was waiting for them at the bottom of the flight of steps and across a large sidewalk in front of the beautiful building, “At least, not for this.”

Nobody said anything more until the four men were safely inside of their vehicle. Camera flashes went off, bright lights going off in their eyes. Press pounded on the windows, sticking their faces up close. Microphones and recorders were being held out still despite the fact that they were already out of their vision. It was almost as if they were waiting for some windows to be rolled down and they’d be spoken to.

Ever so slowly, the large vehicle lurched forward, making its way through the mass of people being careful not to hit anybody. Ever now and then, the horn would blare when somebody would jump in front of it and the limo would stop abruptly. None of the guys paid much attention to this though, their minds preoccupied with much more important things.

“It didn’t go too badly today.” AJ offered with a shrug, “Could have been worse.”

“My cousin is rotting in a damned cell because somebody is accusing him of killing Julian,” Kevin snapped in AJ’s direction before softening his tone, “Brian would never hurt her. He loved that woman more than life itself.”

There were a few moment of silence then. Kevin seemed to be especially sensitive to the whole case. They all were, as Brian was like family to all of them. The only difference was, Kevin was blood related. It was still as if they were all living in some sort of dream and would awaken at any moment on a tour bus. All of them were smart enough to realize that the realism of that was slim to none. This was their life for the moment. Scared and worried that their best friend would be convicted of something he hadn’t even done.

“I think he’s innocent...” Howie spoke, taking his chances of being next in Kevin’s path of rampaging, “True, he got in to a fight with her, but that doesn’t mean anything. She’s a grown woman. She doesn’t have to call mommy or daddy every time she wants to go somewhere. She’s probably just out somewhere taking a breather to get her thoughts together.”

This actually caused the mood to lighten as a few light chuckles were heard. Sure, the situation was serious, but Howie did prove a good point. Julian was twenty-eight years old. Their wasn’t a law that said she had to call and check in. Chances were, the woman was safe and sound in another State or possibly another Country and this whole thing was being blown out of proportion. Sure, the court was just taking precautions...just in case. But this was Brian Littrell they were talking about. The man was the least likely to harm anybody out of the whole group. This was saying a lot, because none of them would ever dream of causing any kind of harm.

“I know he is innocent...” Kevin replied with a wave of confidence, his voice suddenly coming out loud as he spoke his inner thoughts, “Her parents are blowing this way out of proportion.” a camera flashed through the window and he noticed that they were still moving very slowly, “As soon as tabloids hear of this, Lord only knows just what they’ll come up with.”

To say that everybody’s imagination was getting the best of them would be the understatement of the year. Each man had different thoughts running through their heads. Each a story that was beyond crazy. The type that people read for entertainment purposes only, but the stories were just crazy enough to make them wonder if there was any truth behind any of this. They all wanted to visit their friend and talk with him, asking exactly what had happened. That, however, was not possible. They could visit, but under close supervision due to the chance that they would feed the suspect information, coaching him on what to say in next days court.

“This is fucking insane,” AJ grumbled, “Absolutely insane.” Finally, the vehicle was moving at a steady pace as in the back window flashes still went off, the media growing smaller and smaller in the distance behind them. He leaned back in relief, happy that they had gotten away freely on the first day of trial, “Today was something else.”

“That it was,” Howie agreed with a nod.

To say that all of them looked exhausted was an understatement. When their friend had been pulled out of a meeting they’d been having by three police officers, all had been confused and then stunned when they’d taken him by the arms, leading him away without explanation. Brian had looked behind him at his friends helplessly as if begging for help. Each of them had taken no time to run after to demand what was going on. They had gotten no answers however. They only got the chance to see their best friend being hauled off in the back of a police cruiser. It had been a couple of days before they’d heard anything.

“I have a feeling everything is going to be okay,” Nick spoke up with a shrug, “They’re wrong about things all the time. This is one of those things.” he was talking about the court process.

The others nodded, really not in the mood to discuss it any longer. They agreed with Nick. This was all a huge misunderstanding. Any day, Julian would come home and the whole thing would be dropped, Brian found innocent. That was what they all believed. What they believed though didn’t necessarily mean anything though. What they believed wasn’t necessarily what they got, for this was just the beginning.

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Flashback
March 11th, 2005

“Are you sure it’s not to soon to meet your friends?” Julian asked nervously as Brian led her up to the door step of Nick Carter.

That morning, they’d just finished recording for their upcoming album. In a few months, their tour would launch. In just over two, it was planned on being released. Therefore, the group plus some family of the Boys were going to be at Nick’s for a small ‘Congratulatory’ party that they were throwing for themselves for just over a year of hard labor and work to make this album the best one yet and perfect as it could be.

“Don’t worry so much,” Brian laughed as he leaned over, giving her a kiss on the cheek affectionately, “They’ll love you...just like I do.” he reached up, letting himself in to Nick’s as if he lived there. After being friends with the other four guys for nearly twelve years coming up, they pretty much shared one another’s homes anyways, “We’ve been dating for almost a month...tomorrow is one month since we met. Heck, I’ve met your parents already. I think that qualifies as time to meet the friends.” he joked.

Julian laughed, “I suppose...” her voice trailed off as voices could be heard coming from a room towards the back of the extravagant home, “Wow...her voice trailed off as she looked around in awe as she tried to change the subject, “I’ve never seen anything like this before...other than your house, of course...but...” she let out a slow breath. It was true that her home as well as her parents were simple and small. She lived in her own apartment that had one bedroom. It was in a nice complex in a nice part of town, but really had nothing extra other than a tiny workout center and a pool. Her parents lived in a one story with two bedrooms in a cute neighborhood which was obviously older. The family was about average. That didn’t bother Brian though. He was attracted to Julian for her...not her social status, “I hope I fit in with you all...maybe I should leave.” she bit her lip nervously, but knew that he wasn’t about to let that happen when her boyfriend didn’t let go of her hand. She sighed in defeat, “Or not.”

Brian just smiled, pulling her in close to his side as they finally reached his friends. He was more than ready to show off his lovely girlfriend. They’d been dating for a month and he’d done nothing but talk her up. None of the Boys had met her though. That was all about to change though. It was time they saw that the woman existed and wasn’t just some crazy figment of his imagination that he’d conjured up to them so he seemed to have something in his life outside of the group. He was excited for them to meet her. He gave Julian a reassuring squeeze before speaking up to his long-time friends.

“Hey guys!” Brian exclaimed, announcing his presence.

Nick, his brother Aaaron, AJ and his mother Denise, whom he was extremely close with, Howie and his sister Polly, Kevin and his wife Kristen all turned to face the voice. They smiled and waved, all eyes on the new member of the group. Their eyes held curiosity and Julian just bowed her head and blushed. Anybody who knew her well would be aware that she hated to have all eyes on her and hated being in the spotlight, it making her self-conscience. Brian was one of those people and he quickly spoke up to take the attention off of her.

“This is my girlfriend, Julian,” he introduced, “Julian...you already know who the Boys are, I’m sure...but anyways..the tall blonde is Kevin’s wife, Kris...the young blonde is Nick’s brother, Aaron. You’ll find that he acts a lot like Nick.”

“Hey!” the brothers cried out in defensive unison.

This caused everybody to laugh as Brian introduced her to Denise last. They all greeted her warmly, already accepting her and making her feel welcome and like she belonged without questioning too much.

“It’s great to finally meet the woman that has our B-Rok always off in dreamland and singing like an angel in the studios out of nowhere.” Kevin smiled, “Anybody who makes my little cousin that happy is always fine by me.” he shook her hand.

“Thank you,” Julian said quietly as she actually looked up to actually face each of the individuals before her.

“Our Brian picked up a real hottie this time,” AJ mentioned, turning directly to Julian, “You’re a real steal.”

His eyes met with Julian’s for a moment as they exchanged a look for a second. Again, Julian blushed while AJ just stared at her with arms crossed over his chest, an amused look on his face as he looked her up and down. Brian looked at each of them oddly, wondering what that was all about. The moment passed too quickly for it to even be worth mentioning. He pulled Julian in closer to him again to prove that she was his girlfriend and not up for grabs. It was mostly for AJ’s sake, for the man was always known for being a ladies man and getting pretty much anybody he wanted. He was not going to get Julian though.

“We’re glad to finally meet you.” Kristen mentioned sweetly as Brian’s thoughts were distracted by somebody else speaking. He watched Kristen pulling the younger woman in to a hug.

“You too.” Julian breathed as she was already beginning to ease up, “Brian talks so much about all of you. He thinks the world of you all.”

“He thinks the world of you.” Kevin chuckled, “Dear Lord, you’re all the boy talks about day and night. Absolutely everything leads back to Julian. It’s cute.”

By now, both parties of the new couple were blushing profusely. They looked in to one another’s eyes before magnetically going in to one another for a long kiss of passion. The world around them froze as if they were the only two in existence. For all Brain cared, in his mind they were. Nothing else mattered, just them. They may have only been together for a month, but he felt the relationship strengthening by the day. He felt as if this were the real deal. Being already in his thirties, he was finally finding somebody that was worth it to him to think romantically about on heightened levels.

“Look at those two go at it.” Aaron cracked.

“I think I’m going to throw up.” AJ mentioned with a smile, “I’ve never seen anybody suck face for so long and still be breathing.”

Brian glanced at them out of the corner of his eye as he and Julian broke free of their kiss. He picked up a random object from the table and threw it at the young Latino playfully. Everybody laughed as he ducked to miss it hitting his head by inches.

“Yup, he’s in love.” Kevin smiled as the couple went at kissing again, embraced in one the arms of each other still. It looked like they all had their entertainment cut out for them for the evening without even leaving the room.

Thanks so much for the feedback on Chapter 1 everybody! It means the world to me! Here is Chappy 2 for ya'll. Enjoy!