~*~Brian’s point of view~*~

I hadn’t had that much fun with a girl in a long time. I’d felt like I could be myself, not have to worry about how “high profile” my life could get these days. Like this afternoon, word had somehow gotten out that we were boarding the 2 o’clock flight to L.A. and there were two dozen fans waiting for us. I’d tried to sign a few autographs, but I was running late as it was. I smiled in every direction as there seemed to be as many cameras as fans, but I hated to see the disappointed looks on the faces of girls I hadn’t had the time to personally greet.

All of our time spent in flashes of light.

And people said "pop" songs weren’t personal enough. I lived that lyric on a daily basis.

I supposed it was good that we’d finally discussed “who” I was. It was bound to come out sooner than later. Just as I’d suspected, she hadn’t known who I was initially. I wondered at which point she’d seen the cardboard cut-out of the Millennium cover and figured it out. The fact that August hadn’t made a big deal about it only further supported knowing she wasn’t a fan. Nor was she the type of person to capitalize on my fame. Those were the two types of people I was constantly surrounded by. Sometimes the two overlapped, though not usually. The ladder of the two was the big problem.

I had nothing against the fans, of course. But they all had a preconceived notion of who I was. Not that I was trying to project a false persona, but a lot of who they thought I was came from secondhand sources, like magazine articles that I may or may not have been interviewed for. Or even if it was an interview I was giving, a person isn’t going to be the exact same in real life as on the TV screen.

No, I was extra careful these days. I knew firsthand what it was like to trust somebody who ended up using me as a Backstreet Boy. I wasn’t going to let it happen again.

“What is up with you today, man?” AJ asked. He was sitting next to me on the airplane.

“Oh. Nothing.”

Nick heard us talking and turned around from in front of me, poking his head over the seat. “What’s up guys? We’ve been on the plane twenty minutes and Kevin’s already asleep. Why did I have to sit next to him?”

“I’m just resting my eyes,” came Kevin’s annoyed voice.

“Oops,” Nick mouthed.

“Well Brian might as well be asleep, too, for all the talking he’s doing,” AJ said, pulling a portable CD player out of his bag in case things didn’t get any more interesting.

“Sorry, I was just… thinking.”

“Brian, did you ever talk to that girl again?”

“What girl?” AJ lowered his sunglasses and must’ve decided that I was going to provide some entertainment after all because he stopped putting his headphones on.

“Just a girl.”

“August” Nick said to him and told him about running into her on Saturday night.

“You met her at the club on Friday? Wow, she must’ve felt really sorry for you!”

“Why?” Nick asked.

“Casanova here spilled his drink all over himself and then fell and busted his a…”

“Thanks, AJ,” I said, surprised he hadn’t already told everyone the story.

Nick cracked up, and Kevin gave a loud “Shhh.”

“So have you seen her since then?” Nick asked again.

I sighed, figuring they’d find out sooner or later anyway. “Yeah, we went out last night. I had a great time.”

“You haven’t been out with anyone in forever,” AJ commented. “She must be fi-ine to have this kind of hold on you,” he turned the word into two syllables.

“No one has a hold on me,” I laughed. But then I couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah right, you liar. We’ve gotta start memorizing the choreography this week. You gonna be able to concentrate?” AJ asked. “You were the last person I suspected would pick up a girl at a bar.”

“I didn’t pick her up! We just… met. And ended up meeting again the next night.”

“And then last night!” Nick cut in. “She seemed cool.”

“Anyone that can put up with you prancing around a store pulling pranks is your idea of a dream girl!”

Nick didn’t deny it. “Maybe she has a friend? August was my age, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, she’s in college.”

“College girls?” AJ’s eyes brightened. “Even better!”

I rolled my eyes. He was impossible. “Last time I checked, you were taken.”

“That may be, but I’m always looking,” he smirked.

Nick sighed. “How come I’m the popular one in the group, but you two are taking all the chicks?”

He’d raised his voice too much for Kevin’s liking. “You may be a cute kid on the magazine covers, but once the girls meet you they realize you run your mouth like an eight year old! Sit down!”

“Yes, dad,” Nick rolled his eyes before turning back around in his seat.

AJ and I sent each other a look, and AJ “accidentally” kicked the back of Kevin’s seat before settling back in his seat.

I couldn’t wait to learn these dance moves for the tour that Fatima had been working on. The sooner we got through the first wave of rehearsals, the sooner I’d be back in Orlando and could see August again.

~*~August’s point of view~*~

“It’s been a week,” I grumbled.

“Really? That’s the first time you’ve mentioned it!” Carmen said sarcastically. “Want some ice cream?” She pulled out a carton of chocolate Breyers.

“Ice cream,” I dropped my head on the counter.

“Oh, jeez. You’ve been out with him once! How can everything in the world remind you of him?” She pulled out two bowls and soon set mine in front of me.

I let out a laugh. “I know. It makes no sense whatsoever.” He obviously wasn’t thinking about me though, was he? I didn’t even know if he was back in town yet.

“Here’s a bright idea… why don’t you call him?” Carmen sat next to me at the island.

I paused. “I don’t have his number.”

“What?” she laughed. “Well, you just need to be patient.”

I nodded. But it was easier said than done.

“Cheer up, August. Why don’t we watch a movie or something tonight? Heck, I’ll even sit through one of your concert videos.”

“Really?”

She shrugged. “I’m in a compassionate mood tonight.”

“Apparently,” I walked towards the entertainment unit. We had our movies in the cabinet underneath her TV. I pulled out Backstreet Boys: Live from Orlando.

“Besides, maybe he has Lance’s number.”

“I really don’t think that Brian has the N’SYNC members on speed dial.”

We grabbed some pillows and made ourselves comfortable on the couch. We watched a few songs, during which I couldn’t help but sing along.

“I’m going to have to shove this in my closet,” I said suddenly.

“What for?”

“I can’t imagine what Brian would say if he saw that I had this.”

“Eh, it’s just a video.”

I stared at the slightly younger Brian on the TV screen. “I’d never hear the end of it. He’d probably find it hilarious, my little bit of fandom.”

Soon, Brian was singing That’s What She Said.

I must’ve sighed aloud, because Carmen was tilting her head at me.

“Just listen to his voice. He wrote this song, too.”

“Really?” she listened to some more of it. “Hm.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

I barely heard her. I’d already returned my attention to the screen. I Need You Tonight came on next.

“This is Nick’s song from the new CD, right?”

I told her that it was. Now it was my turn to glance at her. She was mouthing the words. “Looks like somebody’s a bit of a closet case fan! You know the lyrics!”

“So? How many times have you played me this CD?”

“Still. You were getting pretty into it…”

“Shut up and watch your concert.”

I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the evening.

Well, except for actually hanging out with the Backstreet Boys.

~*~*~*~*~

Two more days passed. I was laying on my bed reading a magazine that afternoon when the phone rang, and grabbed the one on my nightstand. Carmen was supposed to call when she got off work so I could meet her for a movie. “Hey, you ready?”

“For what?” asked an amused voice.

“Oh, sorry. I thought you were… who is this?”

“Forgotten me already, huh?”

“Brian?”

“The one and only… well, hopefully. You don’t have any other Brian’s lurking around do you?” he laughed.

“Says the man with millions of adoring fans… How are you?”

“I’m great. Still in L.A. Sore from rehearsals, but good.” He paused. “I missed you.”

Wow. “I missed you, too. I was worried I’d never get to talk to you again!”

“I didn’t want to call until I knew I’d be back in town… but that was taking way too long.”

I agreed. It was so nice to hear his voice again. He told me about Fatima and which routines they were talking about including for the next tour. The minutes flew by and before I knew it, I heard Howie’s voice in the background.

“Hey, Brian. Break’s over. You ready to get back in there?”

“No… but I’ll be right there. Thanks, D.”

“Well I hope the rest of your day goes well. It was great talking to you,” I said sincerely.

“You, too. Would you mind if I called again tomorrow?”

I told him that he had better.

“Alright!” he sang. “Bye!”

I sighed, laying back down, not being able to keep the smile off of my face.

Another week passed, but Brian started calling every day. I even talked to Nick for a few minutes when Brian was called away to work on a particular dance step with their choreographer. Just like the time we’d gone out, we didn’t seem to run out of things to talk about.

The phone rang, and Carmen started walking towards it in the kitchen.

“I got it!” I ran past her and grabbed it. “Hello?”

“Hey, August. It’s me.”

“How’s it going?”

“Well… it could be better.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well… I think that it’s going to be forever before I can see you again. I feel like I’m never going to be in Florida again at this rate.”

“Oh.” I plopped down on the couch.

“I know. It really sucks.”

Tell me about it. I didn’t realize this was going to be such a long-distance relationship. Well, we weren’t even in a relationship. I didn’t quite have a word to define us.

I heard a knock on the door, and let Carmen answer it.

“Well…” I didn’t know what to say.

“Are you upset?”

“No…”

“You look upset,” he stated.

“No, I… wait. How do you…”

“Backstreet’s back, alright!” he sang, jumping over the back of the couch and landing next to me. My heart skipped a beat. I placed a hand over it.

“You scared me to death!” I whacked him with a pillow.

“Does this mean you’re not happy to see me?”

I started to answer, but Carmen interrupted us. “Um, you left your luggage in the hallway.”

Brian turned around, confused. “Oh.”

Nick was standing there.

“Carmen, this is Brian and that’s Nick.”

“Hey. Come on in,” she told Nick.

“I’m his ride from the airport,” Brian explained Nick’s presence.

I exchanged a quick glance with Carmen. He’d come straight here from the airport?

“What are you guys doing tonight?”

“Well, it’s 11:30…” I looked at the clock.

“Really?” Brian stared at his watch. “Oh, duh. I’m on L.A. time. Well, pencil me in for tomorrow, would you?”

I nodded.

“Just wanted to say hi.”

“Welcome back!”

They only stayed a few more minutes. As quickly as they came, they were gone again.

“It was nice meeting you,” Nick told Carmen. “See you guys later.”

“What have you done to that boy?” Carmen asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I thought you were pretty pathetic, going on about him, and I was worried your heart was about to get broken. But it seems he feels the same way…”

“Carmen, we barely know each other. We’ve been out once. He’s been in California, so we’ve had more of a relationship with the phone than each other.”

“Even better. You’ve had the chance to talk a lot. I mean, you two were on the phone for an hour last night. How do you find things to talk about?”

There was no point trying to explain a conversation with Brian via telephone. He was amused by the most random things and often went off on unexpected tangents. And even over the phone, I could tell when he smiled.

“So what’d you think of Nick?” I tried to talk about something else.

“He’s cute.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Hold your horses. He’s no Lance,” she headed towards her bedroom. “But he’s a close second,” she added right before bidding me goodnight and shutting the door behind her.