It was just like any other day in the life of the Backstreet Boys. All was quiet in the beachfront mansion off the coast of Malibu. That is, until the youngest member of the group discovered that his most-prized possession was in less-than-pristine condition. And he knew just the man to confront, too.

“AJ! I’m going to kill you!” came the seething blonde’s voice breaking the once-serene atmosphere of the house. He charged down the hall, his eyes never veering from their destination.

“What is it this time, Nick?” AJ asked, indifferent to his friend’s wrath. He didn’t even bat an eye as his irate band mate cornered him with his barely-restrained temper. It wasn’t rare to find the youngest Backstreet Boy hollering through the halls about the latest acts of injustice committed against him. Why would this day be different?

“You broke my controller, man! I told you to be careful with my baby, and you BROKE it!” he accused, unable to mask his agitation.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man. I didn’t do shit to your precious X-BOX!” AJ defended, not bothering to acknowledge the death glare Nick aimed his direction. “I had your box back by 10, so it wasn’t me!”

“Then who was it, huh, AJ?” Nick demanded, redness creeping up with his mounting anger. “You were the last one using her! Who the hell else could it have been?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know, Nick? For all I know, it could have been the gremlins under your bed. Maybe they decided to have fun last night and wrecked your shit,” AJ teased, knowing that even at 28, Nick still suffered from his childhood fear of gremlins.

“Man, AJ, shut up. That’s not funny. Quit playin’ games and just tel… I didn’t mean that… shut up, prick,” Nick whined, annoyance replacing his infuriated expression. “You know I’m afraid of gremlins! That’s not fair!”

“Ha ha! That’ll teach ya to mess with the Jizzle! AJ McLean takes the competition down in a first round knock-out,” AJ laughed his now-infamous maniacal cackle, gloating at his friend’s misfortune.

“No fair! I could take you any time, any place. You wouldn’t stand a chance against Master Kaos,” Nick argued, his eyebrows a knot of defiance as he retaliated.

“What’s going on, y’all?” Brian questioned, sticking his head through the doorway at the arguing men’s commotion. Since the early retirement of his cousin, Kevin, Brian had taken on the role of father figure, keeping an eye out on the younger members of the group.

“The kid thinks he can take me in a fight,” AJ teased, his smile betraying the fact that he didn’t believe the words he was saying as he provoked the younger man.

“Man, shut up!” Nick immaturely spat, charging his opponent, knocking them both to the floor. The older man’s frail frame took a brutal beating as Nick’s much larger frame landed on top, crushing the man below.

Brian watched in amusement as his friends continued their impromptu wrestle match in front of him, flinging insults in an attempt to break each other’s concentration. He was so entranced by the scene that he missed the entrance of the fourth and final member.

“What did AJ do this time?” Howie asked, entertained by the fact that two supposedly grown men were currently wrestling on the bedroom floor like uncivilized teenagers.

“Don’t ask me. I’m just watchin’ the show,” Brian explained, suddenly bursting out into laughter at AJ’s futile attempts to pin Nick, while Nick effortlessly tossed the other man down, pinning him with little exertion on his part. “Y’know, I bet we could sell tickets to one of their grudge matches and make more money in one day than we do touring for months on end,” Brian kidded, another laugh escaping as AJ body slammed the larger man, wringing a moan of pain from both at the intensity of the impact.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Howie casually mentioned, a smile lighting up his face as an idea began to take shape in his mind. “We could create a mock-wrestling match as a set for our upcoming tour!”

“You’re crazy, D,” Brian responded, laughing off his friend’s idea with careless abandon, dismissing it as foolish and ill-conceived.

“I’m serious. We could all have aliases. AJ’d be AJ “The Jizzle” McLean. Nick could be Nick “Kaos” Carter. You’d be Brian “The Daddy” Littrell. And I’d be Howie “Diesel” Dorough,” Howie elaborated, his excitement mounting with every passing moment.

Brian didn’t even attempt to cover up his snicker at Howie’s self-appointed nickname. “Diesel?” he managed to spit out between bouts of laughter.

“What!? Train was taken!” Howie smiled, chuckling at Brian’s shocked face. “And we all know I have the most stamina in the group,” he winked.

“You know, Diesel, you may be on to somethin,’” Brian admitted, watching the other two members of the group give up their latest mission, deciding to call a truce.

“Let’s go get lunch before this stupid meeting. I’m starving,” Nick declared, looking around the group for any objections. Receiving only encouraging nods, he took it upon himself to lead the group to the local pizzeria, not bothering to turn around and make sure his brothers were following.

Just before they locked up their temporary place of residence, AJ turned to the two older men, giving his best friend a strange look. “Wait… who’s Diesel?”