“This is to the Backstreet Boys.” Howie raised his drink as he awaited the other boys’ response.

All the other boys raised their drinks, including Kevin, who had hosted the party in the first place to tell them that he was leaving the Backstreet Boys to pursue other interests.

“I still support you guys even when I’m leaving.” he said to them, hoping they hadn’t taken the announcement he made earlier too seriously.

“You’ve been a great brother, Kev.” Nick replied in between drinks.

Brian noticed that Nick was drinking too fast, too fast that he was in his fourth beer already in the last five minutes.

“Slow down, Nick, no one’s going to take that bottle from you.” Howie joked, but was secretly concerned by the speed he was drinking.

“I’m sorry if you guys are disappointed with me for leaving,” Kevin began uncertainly.

“No, it’s okay Kevin,” Brian told him, “It’s your decision and we know that you have other points of interests that you want to focus on. We’ll still support you whatsoever.”

“You’re our big brother, anyway.” AJ grinned.

Nick finally slowed his drinking at this point. He started feeling a little light-headed as the world around him began to whirl. He had the sudden urge to puke so he stood up and ran as fast as he could to the nearest bathroom, his surroundings spinning uncontrollably.

“Where are you going, Nick?” he heard a faint voice call to him, was it Brian?

Finally, his knees couldn’t take the weight of his body anymore. He fell on the marble floor and puked, his head throbbing as he did. He felt his eyes close heavily as unconsciousness swept over him like a heavy cloud.


Brian ran over to Nick who was lying down on the floor, barely missing his puke a few inches away.

“Should I call the hospital?” Kevin asked with phone in hand.

“No, its okay, he’s waking up.” Brian replied joyfully as Nick’s eyelids began opening.

“Come on, Nick, get up.” Brian held Nick by his shoulders as he lazily stood on his feet.

Brian sat him on the table as everyone stared at him, dumbfounded.

Finally, Howie brought up the courage to speak, “I….I .. think I’ll go home now. We have recording tomorrow so, yeah, I guess I’d need the rest.” he smiled weakly, hoping they’d by his excuse.

He left the room and closed the door behind him.

“Wait guys, I’ll just clean the mess over there.” Kevin stuttered as he made his way to the puke-covered floor with a mop.

“I’m going home too.” AJ said, “I can give Nick a hitch.” he directed his gaze at Brian.

“No, its okay, I can handle him; his house is closer to mines, anyway.” Brian answered.

AJ shrugged his shoulders then left, leaving the two of them behind in the table.

Brian finally stood up from his seat and helped Kevin clean up.


“How is Nick?” Kevin asked Brian as he threw some tissue paper in the garbage.

“Nick’s okay. He’s just suffering from the alcohol.” he replied as he turned on the dishwasher.

“I need to go now, it’s getting late.” Brian pointed at his watch.

10:45pm

He definitely needed to get going if he wanted to be early for the recording the next morning.

“Yeah, thanks anyway for helping me.” Kevin told him appreciatively, “I don’t think I’d be able to clean Nick’s crap without your help.”

“Don’t worry; I clean crap all the time.” Brian replied humorously.

“See you, B-rok.” Kevin waved as Brian walked towards the door, dragging Nick with him.

“Bye.” Brian said as he closed the door quietly behind him.

Kevin sighed. This was his last day being a ‘backstreet boy’. He wouldn’t be with them when they start recording tomorrow. Somehow, he felt like a piece of his heart was missing.


“Wait, Brian, stop here by this bus stop.” Nick spoke, making sure every word was stressed.

Brian braked, causing a jolt in the car as they leaned backward.

“Your house is just three houses away, Nick. I’ll just drop you off at your house…” Brian was cut off by Nick’s desperate tone.

“Please… I… I have to… I have to… go.” Nick’s hands were trembling; the tinge of fear in his voice reflected the panic that was bottled up inside him.

“Nick, are you okay?” Brian held him by his shoulders and forced him to look directly in his eyes.

There he saw the terror in his eyes. He could see something hidden behind those blue eyes of his, but he couldn’t decipher what it was.

“You need to tell me what’s wrong.” Brian said to him firmly.

“I… I … need to… meet someone… by, by… the bus stop… I… have to be alone.” Nick choked out the words.

“I’ll hide while I wait for you.” Brian told him.

He didn’t’ believe Nick and he wanted to make sure that he went home safe.

“No… no, I have to be alone.” Nick shook his head vigorously.

“Okay, whatever you say.” Brian replied, a hint of suspicion still visible in his tone.

He brought the car to the side as Nick disembarked.

“Good night. Go home after you meet that person, okay?” Brian told him.

He felt like a father who was concerned for the safety of his son, but he didn’t matter how he felt at that very moment, he just wanted to see Nick safe in his house, watching TV or just snoozing around.

“Bye, Brian.” Nick’s face was drawn to something far beyond as he closed the door.

Brian drove towards his house, suddenly feeling guilty for leaving Nick by the bus stop.

Suddenly, a black BMW whizzed past him, barely avoiding a collision.

Brian honked in annoyance at the driver.

Thinking it was just some crazy teenager who just got his drivers license, he drove back to his house still thinking about Nick’s safety.

“Darn it.” Brian felt he hadn’t slept for more than thirty minutes when the alarm went on.

He turned off his alarm and lay back on his bed again.

He wanted to have a few more shut-eyes before finally getting out of bed.


“Brian, you need to go now.” Nick’s voice pierced the darkness surrounding him.

“Go where?” Brian asked nearly frantically.

“To the recording studio.” Nick’s voice faded away and was replaced by Leighanne’s urgent tone.

“Wake up, Brian.” Leighanne shook him awake, “You’re almost late for recording. You’ll have to get up now if you want to be on time for it.”

Brian went out of bed almost immediately. He had almost forgotten about the recording this morning.

He went to his wardrobe and picked out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to wear.

He looked at his watch. He had no time to shower and barely anytime to drive there.

After changing, he got his wallet, car keys, etc. and placed it in his pocket.

“Bye, Leigh.” he quickly pecked Leighanne’s cheek, who in return gazed at him annoyingly.

“Don’t be late, Brian.” she spoke firmly.

“I won’t.” Brian whispered in her ear even though he knew he’d barely make it.


Brian walked into the recording studio nearly 20 minutes late.

Howie looked at him disapprovingly as he entered.

“Where’s AJ?” Brian asked him.

“He’s singing his vocals.” Howie nudged his head towards the glassed area where AJ was singing with headphones on and a microphone in front of him.

“Where’s Nick?” Brian looked questioningly at Howie.

“I hope nothings happened to him.” he secretly pleaded.

“He hasn’t come yet.” Howie looked at his watch tapping his foot impatiently as he did.

“I’ll call him.” Brian brought out his cellphone and called Nick’s house number.”

“Hello?”

It was Aaron, Nick’s younger brother. Brian was secretly disappointed by this.

“Hi, this is Brian…”

“Oh, Brian, have you seen Nick? He hasn’t come home yet.”

Brian froze as he gripped the cellphone.

“He hasn’t come home yet?” Brian asked his voice only above a whisper.

“Yeah, have you seen him?” Aaron questioned him urgently.

“Uhm, I was about to ask about Nick,” Brian looked at Howie, who looked back at him, both fearing the worst had happened to him.

“My gosh, where is he?” Brian heard Aaron gasp over the phone as the same realization hit him: he was missing.


“I’m calling the police.” Brian replied grimly after telling them what Aaron relayed to him.

“Brian, Nick can be in some place out there without us knowing it. We shouldn’t alert the police yet.” AJ spoke calmly.

“”What do you think we’re suppose to do, AJ, drive around town and look for Nick?” Brian’s voice escalated by an octave due to his rage, “The police can post a missing person sign—whatever, and people might be able to recognize him. He doesn’t have a car, remember, so people would probably be able to spot him easily.”

“I think AJ’s right, Brian.” Howie put a hand on his shoulder, “We don’t want any publicity. What is Nick finally shows up, who knows? Let’s wait and if he’s not here by lunch, we call the police.”

Brian sat on the couch as he tried to absorb the things that were said to him. He just hoped Nick showed up before lunch.


Kevin lazily picked up the phone as it rang by his bedside.

“Hello, Richardson residence.” he drawled sleepily to the phone.

“You and your house are being watched. Don’t dare look for Nick or your wife will die.” an unfamiliar low voice said over the phone.

Kevin’s mind was suddenly alerted by what he said.

“Who are you? What do you want? Where’s Nick?” he asked, his mind racing with possible answers.

The anonymous person hung up in response.

“Oh gosh, I hope it’s not one of the boys’ tricks.” he thought.

The phone ran again and Kevin answered it determined to call off the pranker.

“Hello?” he barked to the phone.

“Hi Kevin, it’s me, Brian.”

“Did you just call me a few minutes ago?” Kevin asked suspiciously.

He expected Brian to burst into laughter and confess to him about the joke.

“What are you talking about? No, I just called now, why?” Brian responded innocently.

“Okay, so what did you call about?” Kevin questioned tiredly ignoring his question, “I need my beauty sleep.”

“Is Nick with you in your house, because he’s not here in the recording studio…”

“Did you check his house?”

“Yeah, Aaron answered and said he wasn’t there. Have you seen Nick?” Brian asked once more.

“Sorry, no, the last time I saw him was last night here in my…” Kevin was but off when Brian hung up the phone.

It was 1:30pm and Brian came to report his failure to the other two.

“I’ve called Nick’s house, my house, Kevin’s house, his parents’ house, and even the local hospital and none of them had seen Nick last night or today.” Brian told them breathlessly.

Their worries for Nick were increasing by the minute and they were all convinced that something happened to him.

“I’m calling the police.” Howie replied; breaking the silence that was filling the room.

He went outside to a pay phone and pressed the numbers that were very familiar to him as a small child. He didn’t imagine in his whole life that he would use this number to report to the police that one of his friends was missing.

“Hello? Yes, I need to talk to the police right now. This is Howie Dorough…”


An hour later, they found themselves in police headquarters filing a missing person’s report.

“So what is his name again?” the detective looked expectantly at them as he sat on his desk ready to type in their answer.

The detective had quite a modern look: sunglasses, gelled hair, and the works.

“Nickolas Gene Carter—Nick Carter.” Howie replied as he wringed his hands nervously.

“from the Backstreet Boys?” he guessed.

“Yes.” AJ responded.

“Okay…” he’s voice drifted off as he searched their directory for that name.

“Blue eyes, blond hair, around 6 feet tall, do these describe Nick?” he asked them.

“Yes. Do you need a photograph of him?” Howie asked.

“No. Apparently, he has a record for drunk driving.” the detective replied grimly as he typed in the details.

“When was the last time you’ve seen Nick?” he questioned all of them.

“We went to a party last night in a friend’s house, that’s the last time we’ve seen him.” Howie spoke for the group.

“What happened during the party?”

“We ate and chatted together. Nick drunk a lot of beer and puked on the floor.” AJ told him.

“I knew it.” they heard the detective mutter as he typed in what he said.

“What happened after the party?” he finally asked them.

All of them became quiet as they waited for one of them to talk.

“We left separately, Howie first, then AJ, then Nick and me.” Brian finally spoke for the three of them.

“Did he ride with you, or did he have his own car?” the detective directed his question to Brian.

“He had to ride with me since his car was in a repair shop.” Brian replied.

Howie and AJ nodded in agreement.

“Tell me,” the detective took off his sunglass, revealing the hazel eyes that were hidden beneath the shades, “do you know what happened to Nick?”

“No, he just asked me to drop him off in a bus stop. I was pretty reluctant to do what he asked but he freaked out at the thought of being dropped in his own house.”

Howie and AJ looked at Brian, stunned.

“Why didn’t you tell this to us?” Howie whispered to Brian.

“Did you know what he wanted to do in the bus stop?” the detective asked once more as he resumed his typing.

“He said he wanted to meet someone. He didn’t want me to be with him when he met that person.”

“Do you know who he wanted to meet with?”

“I have no idea.” Brian responded impatiently.

After ten minutes of uneasy silence, the detective finally spoke, “Okay, I guess we’re done. We might give you a ring in a few days. We hope we’ll be able to get a lead by then.”

“Thanks.” Howie nodded at him as they stood to leave.


“Creepy.” AJ remarked as soon as they left the police headquarters.

AJ’s remark reflected the thoughts that were present in each of their minds. They hadn’t expected anything like this to happen.

“Yeah.” Brian responded as each of them went to their own respective cars.


As Brian entered his house, the aroma of roast chicken filled the air.

He sat down beside the Leighanne in the dining table as he scooped himself a piece of baked potato and roast chicken.

“You almost missed dinner, Brian.” he could sense a hint of disappointment in Leighanne’s voice as she ate.

“Where’s Baylee?” Brian questioned her, noticing that Baylee wasn’t with them in the dining table.

“He’s done eating. He’s upstairs playing.” Leighanne answered.

They ate silently for several minutes picking on their potatoes and chicken when Brian finally resumed conversation.

“I’ll clean up.” Brian told her.

“No, it’s okay. You’ve had a rough day, recording, and all that…” she answered.

“No, I owe you…” he was silenced when Leighanne placed her fingers gently on his lips.

“You don’t owe me anything, say no more.” Leighanne smiled, finally releasing her fingers.


The phone rang from its cradle in the kitchen as Brian wiped the counter.

“Hello?” Brian answered the phone.

He did not hear a response from the person on the other line, and instead heard deep, wheezy, breathing.

“Who’s this?” Brian asked suspiciously.

The line went dead.

Brian replaced the phone in its cradle.

He pondered on what he should do about the call but then decided he should finish up first.


After cleaning up, Brian was about to wearily ascend the stairs when something caught his eye.

A piece of paper was being slipped under the door from outside.

He quietly picked the paper up and read the message typewritten on it,

“Nick is safe with us. Call off the search for Nick or the worst may happen to your family.”

Brian opened the door on impulse upon reading the message. He was greeted by the eerie darkness outside.

After closing the door behind him, he pocketed the note and finally ascended the stairs.

He pondered on his next plan of action when he heard a scream from upstairs.

Brian immediately ran up the stairs and into their room.

He saw Leighanne hiding in the safety of the comforter.

“Leighanne, what’s wrong?” Brian asked her.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…” was merely what he got in response.

“Did you see anyone?” he asked her once more.

“No… over there in the bathroom.” Leighanne finally revealed her head above the covers and pointed to the bathroom door which was slightly ajar.

Brian didn’t need anymore urging on the matter.

He opened the bathroom door and was horrified by what he saw.

Scrawled on the mirror using a red spray paint were the words, “I’m coming soon”

The words sent a chilling shiver down his spine.

He immediately picked up the phone and dialed 911.

“Hello? This is Brian Littrell...” Brian began his story.


Two hours later, the house was in frenzy as detectives and officers alike scurried around trying to find any clues to the culprit that might have committed the crime.

Brian watched intently as a detective carefully took a small sample of the spray paint and placed it in a file.

“I’m going to send this sample to the Lab.” the detective told Brian, noticing that he was staring at him, “Maybe we could get a lead on the case.”

Brian nodded silently.

He didn’t know how to react to what happened.

“Sergeant, we found a red spray paint can below the sink.” An officer pointed to a cabinet under the sink.

He gave the can, which was in a plastic bag, to the sergeant, who nodded in approval.

“We’ll find who is behind this.” the sergeant told Brian.

“I hope you do.” was all Brian said.

He just hoped that Nick was okay.


“You didn’t get the right guy!”

“What do you mean? You said he was blond, he’s blond!”

Nick raised his head slightly, then let it fall back again on the hard, wooden chair.

The drugs still had an effect on him.

He closed his eyes momentarily as he listened to their conversation.

“The big boss didn’t want him, he wanted the other blonde!”

“But I checked his house address, it was correct…”

“You went to the wrong house, damn it! You tortured the wrong person for nothing!”

“You were looking for Brian, this is Brian right?”

“No, you horse head, this is Nick Carter. The big boss wants Brian Littrell. Brian Littrell, you hear me?”

Nick’s pulse quickened when he heard them mention Brian’s name.

“Oh my gosh, my gosh, Brian should know about this…” Nick thought desperately as he tried to free himself from his handcuffs.

“Hey, bitch, what are you trying to do?” Nick turned and saw the man dressed in overalls staring unpleasantly at him.

“You want a piece of me, huh?” the man in overalls approached Nick; every stride he took made him shiver in fright.

Nick expected the man to strangle or punch him when the door suddenly opened.

“Uhm… heehee… hi Mr…” the man in overalls stuttered then was interrupted by the dark-haired man who just entered.

“Don’t mention my name in front of strangers.” The man replied looking directly at Nick.

Nick had expected him to be in a business suit, like in the movies, or like one of those drug dealers who would suddenly appear in the middle of the night, but instead, he was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a polo shirt.

“Leave us.” The mysterious man commanded his two workers.

They immediately left and closed the door behind them.

After a few minutes of pondering on what to say, the man started conversing with Nick.

“Where is Brian?” he asked Nick, his dark eyes surveying him carefully.

“I… I don’t know where he is.” Nick replied.

“Okay.” The man replied rather calmly, too calmly for Nick.

“If I would tell you that he would die in a few week’s time, where would you go if you were free?”

“You’re killing Brian?” Nick asked aggressively as he shook the handcuffs bindings his hands to the chair.

“No,” the man smiled deviously at him, “at the moment.”

“Are you killing him?” Nick shouted.

He wanted to punch the guy for being so cruel to him, but he was unable to do anything with his hands pinned to the chair.

The man approached him holding something in his hand.

“There’s a price to pay if you don’t answer me.” he hissed as he held the injection threateningly at him.

“What did you say again about that DJ?” Howie asked AJ.

They were both waiting for Brian to come to the studio and were taking their time pleasantly.

“Ok, I was listening to this punk rock station. The usual DJ for that station was out sick or something and didn’t show up for work so this old guy replaced him for the day. You can’t believe what he was playing.” AJ burst out laughing.

“What?” Howie questioned him giving him a confused look.

“He… was… playing…” AJ was barely able to gasp in between laughs, “country music… when it was supposed to be punk rock. My gosh, I was thinking that guy was crazy…”

“He must have applied for the wrong station.” Howie grinned at him humorously.

“Hi Howie and AJ.”

Both of them looked up to see Brian looking blankly at them.

He propped himself down on the couch beside Howie.

A frown creased Brian’s forehead as he stared at the wall behind AJ.

Howie noticed dark circles forming under Brian’s eyes and that his clothes were wrinkled. He didn’t even bother to comb his hair, which was supposed to be a usual hygiene for Brian.

“Bad night, huh?” AJ asked him.

Brian finally directed his gaze at AJ.

He nodded silently, bowing his head as he did.

“Must have been a terrible night.” Howie thought to himself as he watched a tear roll down Brian’s cheek.


Brian closed his eyes momentarily as he felt the tears build up behind his eyes.

He tried to recall the dream he had the night before.

“Brian, you need to go now.” he could hear Nick’s voice ringing in his head.

Instead of the darkness enveloping him, Brian saw Nick handcuffed to a chair, his face and arms were bruised from the several punches he got from his captors.

“No, Nick, I’m staying here with you.” Brian replied firmly as he laid his hand on Nick’s shoulder.

“No, you can’t, Brian, their going to do worse… to you.” Nick whispered hoarsely.

The door suddenly opened and a gunshot was heard as Brian crumpled to the floor in pain.

“Briiiaann…” he heard Nick shout to him before he woke up in breathing gasps.

Not able to control his emotions any longer, he sobbed.

He had had a terrible night, and as much as possible, he didn’t want to relive it.

He felt someone pat his back and Brian nearly jumped at the touch.

He had completely forgotten the fact that Howie and AJ were watching him cry.

He immediately grabbed the tissue box on the coffee table in front of him and wiped his eyes.

“Its okay, Brian.” Howie told him as he rubbed his back comfortingly.

“They’ll find the person behind Nick’s kidnapping.”

“I hope they do because I think they’re deathly serious about Nick.” Brian replied.

“What do you mean?” AJ looked at him questioningly.

Then Brian told him the strange occurrences that happened the night before; from the mysterious phone call, to the note slipped under their front door, to the paint inscription on their mirror.

Howie and AJ were at first, out of words.

They were shocked by what happened and they didn’t know how to handle the situation themselves.

“So, since the police are keeping the area blocked off, where are you staying now? Where are Baylee and Leighanne staying now?” AJ asked Brain, willing to get off the topic.

“He’s staying with my cousin.”

“Kevin?”

“Yup.”

“How about your stuff?” Howie questioned him.

“They let us pack some of our stuff, of course.” Brian grinned at his question.

“So, are we ready now?”

All of them looked up to see Max Martin there, holding a paper in his hand.

“Yes, sure.” Howie replied.

“Ok, we’ll start with Brian.” Max motioned for him to follow him to the recording booth.

“You’re doing the leads for this song.” Max told him pointing to the paper he was holding.

“Okay.” Brian gulped.

“You okay? You look like you just had a bad night…”

“I’m fine.” Brian insisted forcing a smile at him.

He didn’t want to break down in tears in front of him.

“Okay, then let’s start.”

Brian went to his position in the recording booth.

He placed the headphones on his head and waited for his part to start.

Brian sighed tiredly.

He knew he had to do this.