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** NICK **

I smiled stiffly, praying to God that the picture turned out nicely the first time. The girl’s perfume was so overpowering that it was churning my stomach. This was the last VIP picture of the evening, and the final guest, a young woman with a Platinum VIP pass dangling from her neck, had suctioned herself against me so tightly that I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to pry her off. Why did the overly scented ones always want to stand next to me? Brian’s arm was curled around my waist and I could feel his body shaking in silent laughter as he waited for the picture to be taken. He knew how I felt about too much perfume and he was clearly enjoying my discomfort.

“That’s it!”

I breathed a sigh of relief as Justin lowered his camera, choking on the offending fumes as I exhaled. “Thanks so much for coming.” I flashed my signature, sexy smile at the perfume-drenched fan and wiggled out of her grip. “It really means a lot to us.”

“I’m just so glad that you guys are back!” The girl gushed, gathering her purse from security. “It’s amazing – really amazing!”

“It’s great to be back.” Kevin affirmed. “Truly amazing.”

“Guys, I’m sorry, but it looks like we have two more VIPs.” Eddie appeared not two seconds after the supposedly final fan had walked off to join the rest of the chattering crowd waiting for sound check. “They’re saying that they got the passes from you.” Eddie turned to Howie as he spoke. “Apparently, you told them to show up late?”

A massive smile spread across Howie’s face. Minutes ago, he had been chugging water and complaining about the humidity. Judging by his expression, his discomfort was now just a distant memory. I, on the other hand, was sweating profusely in the sticky Toronto heat and I wanted nothing more than to suck up a few minutes of air conditioning before hitting the open-air stage for sound check.

“Howie!” A woman’s voice rang out; high and excited.

I turned to see two young women being escorted towards us by security. One was blonde and the other was a brunette. They both had VIP passes hanging from their necks and smiles stretched across their faces.

“You came!” Howie broke away from the rest of us and enveloped the blonde in a tight hug before doing the same to the brunette. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it was for me to track the two of you down. I must have looked through hundreds, if not thousands, of profiles!”

The blonde offered Howie a warm smile. “Of course we came! It’s nice to see you again, especially now that the circumstances are better.”

I blinked in confusion as I watched Howie interact with the fans. Who were these women? Howie definitely seemed to know them and they definitely seemed to know Howie. It almost seemed as though the three of them shared a secret; a special bond.

“You’re the girls from Starbucks!” AJ practically screamed in my face as he bounded forward to greet the young women. “Which one of you is Becca? Who did I talk to on the phone?”

The blonde stepped forward and gave AJ a shy, tentative wave. “That’s me. It’s nice to meet you.”

AJ wrapped his arms around Becca and gently rocked her back and forth. “You and your friend did a good thing for Howie that day.”

“You must be Hailey.” Kevin stepped forward and embraced the brunette. “Thank you for sticking to your promise.”

I looked to Brian for help, but he was too busy staring at the fans. He had a faraway look on his face and his eyes appeared to be tearing up.

Who the hell were these women and why did everyone else seem so excited to see them? What, exactly, had they done for Howie?”

“You guys definitely renewed my faith in the fandom.” Brian stepped forward and hugged each of the women in turn. “It was a good thing that you were there for Howie when he needed someone. The situation could have turned out a lot differently if ya’ll hadn’t been there.”

“Hellooooo?” I waved my arms in the air and let out an obnoxiously loud sigh. “Does someone want to fill me in? What’s happening?”

“Hailey and Becca were there when I got the call from AJ … I was in a Starbucks here in Toronto.” Howie dropped his eyes to the ground. “They were there when AJ told me that you were dead. They – they kind of kept me from losing control.”

Shit. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I drew my eyes back and forth between Hailey and Becca. They were both staring at me in apprehension. It was as though they were finding it hard to believe that I was really there; that I was actually alive and well. It was only the first night of the rescheduled second leg of the ‘In A World Like This Tour’, but I was already getting used to those kinds of looks. For some reason; however, Hailey and Becca’s stares felt different. They had been there; they had seen Howie react to the news first hand. All of the other guys knew who these girls were, they had a connection to these women that I would never have. I felt strangely hallow; as though I really had been gone, as though I really had been dead and somehow brought back to life.

“It’s nice to meet you, Nick.” Hailey stepped forward and offered her hand.

I ignored her outstretched hand, opening my arms and pulling her into a hug. I motioned for her friend to come closer and I pulled her against me as well; holding on to both of them longer than I would have in any other meet-and-greet situation.

“Thanks for taking care of Howie.” I whispered my appreciation, not wanting the other guys to hear. “It’s nice to know that there are people looking out for him when I’m not around.”

“Let’s go, boys!” Eddie’s restless voice rang out, causing Hailey and Becca to step back and pull out of my embrace. “We’re already behind schedule for sound check.”

“I guess you guys need to get out there with everyone else.” Howie hugged Hailey and Becca one final time. “You’re both staying for the show, right? You got the tickets that I sent?”

I rolled my eyes discreetly in Brian’s direction and he smirked in response. Howie was so anxious that it was almost comical. There wasn’t a chance in hell that these two women weren’t going to stay for the show.

“Of course.” Becca smiled and patted her purse. “First row after the pit.”

“Let’s go!” Eddie’s voice boomed again, more agitated this time. “I swear that Backstreet time is going to be the death of me.”

“Poor choice of words, bro.” AJ quipped with a massive grin as the five of us waved goodbye to Hailey and Becca. “Poor choice of words.”

I shook my head and bounded up the stairs that led to the side of the stage. I peeked out from behind the curtain as I picked up a microphone. The VIP holders were talking excitedly amongst each other and taking copious amounts of pictures while they waited. Farther back, behind the fans, were our family members. I absently twirled my wedding band around on my finger as I watched Lauren and Rochelle make faces at Ava.

“You newlyweds …” Brian laughed as he stepped up beside me. “… you don’t have to look at her every second of the day, you know?”

“I know.” I pulled my eyes away from Lauren and flashed Brian a cheeky smile. “But I want to. Besides, Dr. Thaler said that it’s good for me to focus my energy on the positive things in my life.”

An even bigger smile tugged at the corner of Brian’s mouth. “Dr. Thaler told me the same thing.”

“I wonder if we’ll ever stop needing to be told to do that.” My grin faltered as the doubt once again began to invade the far reaches of my mind. Sarah was slated to stand trial for our abduction and attempted murder sometime within the next few months. Every time that I thought about having to face her in court I was practically overcome with anxiety. The only thing that helped to settle my nerves was reminding myself that the other guys would be standing there with me; I wouldn’t be facing the situation alone. “I wonder if we’ll ever truly be able to forget.”

“I doubt it.” Brian answered honestly. “What happened … with Sarah … is now as much a part of Backstreet as the five of us. What we saw – what the fans saw on that video – is something that will never be permanently erased from any of our minds.”

I nodded slowly. Brian made a good point, but that fact didn’t make his words any easier to digest. Of course, that was the role that therapy was now playing in my life. Dr. Thaler had essentially become the sixth member of our group; he was there to help us make sense of the situation that had happened with Sarah, to help us rebuild our lives and to be able to get back on stage. Tonight was the first night that we would be testing the strength of Dr. Thaler’s advice. Tonight would mark the first night since our horrendous ordeal that the five of us would be onstage performing together as a truly united front.

Brian elbowed my gently in the ribs and nodded in the direction of our families. “It’s nice, isn’t it? Having them all here, I mean.”

“Yeah …” I watched, almost mesmerized, as Kristin bounced Max on her lap while simultaneously trying to stop Mason, James, and Baylee from goofing off. Holden was passed out on the chair next to Leigh, and Leighanne was leaning over to take a picture of the two of them with her iPhone. “… it’s perfect.”

“You boys ready?” AJ suddenly appeared in-between me and Brian. He slung his arms across both of our shoulders and tightened his grip. He began steering the two of us towards the stage, refusing to let go even as we stepped out from behind the curtain and the fans began to shriek.

I felt Brian loop his arm around AJ’s waist, and I followed his lead while simultaneously raising my microphone with my free hand and addressing the crowd. “How’s everyone doin’?”

The fans roared their excitement, and I darted a quick look across the stage at Kevin and Howie. They were standing side by side, shaking their heads as they watched the three of us stumble around and bump against each other. I couldn’t control the smile as it pulled at my cheeks and enhanced the wrinkles around my eyes. Brian and AJ were each sporting similar smiles that showed their happiness as well as their age. The three of us had definitely been through a lot and, although we looked a little worse for wear, we were the closest and the happiest that we had probably ever been.

Kevin was addressing the crowd and the fans were going crazy, but I had no idea what he was saying. At that moment, it didn’t matter what his words were. All that mattered was that the five of us were standing there together; on stage in front of some of our most dedicated fans with our loved ones looking on. Our lives may have been tested, but they hadn’t been taken. Now, it was up to us to make sure that our lives weren’t wasted.

Chapter End Notes:
It's hard to believe that this story has finally come to an end. It has been a massive part of my life this summer, and I have mixed feelings about posting this final chapter. While I'm thrilled that I was able to bring the journey to a close, I'm sad that it's over.

I just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to leave me a review. Feedback is what gives me the motivation to write, so without everyone's support I wouldn't have been as excited as I was to keep up with my updates. To those of you who left a review after every chapter: you're all amazing!! I am seriously blown away with the positive response that this story received and, again, thanks to whoever nominated me at the DRATW Awards. It really means a lot to me! xx