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“I want it right here,” Bianca Parker said as she turned around and lifted her tank top, exposing the small of her back.

The large man placed his hand on her back as if making a silent observation and then nodded. Motioning toward the chair across the room, he disappeared before coming back with an outline of the Chinese characters Bianca had chosen to be the permanent mark on her body. They meant Strength and Love; the only two things Bianca thought anyone could ever need in the world.

Sitting down in the chair, she rolled her tank top up enough for the guy to put the outline on her skin. After a few minutes, he let her know that it was on and asked her if it was in the right spot.

Bianca looked down, but as much as she turned and twisted, she just couldn’t see it. “I dunno…what do you think Holly? Does it look okay where he put it?”

Briefly looking up from the magazine in her hands, Bianca’s long time friend, Holly Michaels sighed. “Why don’t you get up and look in the mirror?”

“Because I thought it would be easier to have you tell me since neither of us would have to move,” Bianca said with a mega watt grin that caused Holly to roll her eyes.

“You’re one lazy bitch,” she joked good-naturedly. “Yeah, it looks good there. So, what do you think Dale is gonna think of the tattoo?”

Bianca’s smile faded at the question. “Why should I be worried about what he thinks?”

Holly just shrugged. “I thought you might get a little input from your boyfriend. I mean, if it were AJ, I could understand.”

The words had left Holly’s mouth before she realized it, and Bianca stiffened. “Well, just so you know, Dale and I broke up.”

She hadn’t really wanted to talk about it, but she figured there was no better time than the present. Ever since her break-up with Backstreet Boy AJ McLean, her love life had been on a steady downhill track. The current man in her life, well, ex man, had been NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. The two had met at one of his races and had been dating roughly a month before Bianca decided that they didn’t work well together.

“Sorry,” Holly gave her a sympathetic look.

Bianca just shrugged and smiled at the man seated beside her.

“Ready?” he almost grunted.

“Yep,” she said and took a deep breath as she waited for him to begin.



“You know what? This is fucked up,” Nick Carter yelled across the room at his fellow band mate, AJ McLean. “If you could get with the program, we could get outta here sometime today!”

“Look, when little Nicky can grow up just a tiny bit come get me, okay? I’m gonna go have a cigarette,” AJ looked pointedly at Brian and Kevin before walking out of the studio room.

“He’s such an asshole,” Nick mumbled before leaving as well.

“Well, that’s great, don’t ya think?” Brian said and looked at Kevin and Howie.

They were both sitting quietly on the couch. Kevin looked rather disinterested in the events taking place around him and Howie just looked very uptight. They had been in the studio for two weeks now, but they had gotten next to nothing accomplished. The obvious tension between AJ and Nick and Kevin’s severe lack of interest in the group had proven that it would be much harder to get anything done at all.

“Well, okay then,” Brian said to himself. “I’m gonna go call Julie. If they come back before I’m finished, come get me.”

Making his way outside, Brian pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the number to his closest friend. After three rings, he heard her answer. “Hey Jules.”

“Heya Duckie!” she greeted happily. “What are you doing? I thought you were busy, busy, busy?”

“Yeah, well, too much drama going on to actually get anything done. Nick and AJ are at each others’ throats and Kevin’s mind is just not here. I decided I would do something productive.”

Julie could practically hear him grinning and she laughed. “Well, thanks.”

“So, have you given any thought to what I asked you the other day?”

“Oh, well, I dunno, Duckie.”

“Okay,” Brian sighed, unable to mask his disappointment. A few weeks earlier he had asked Julie to fly out to L.A. to visit him while he was there with the Boys. At first she had just been hesitant, but now she seemed like she didn’t want to come at all. “It’s okay, I understand that you’re busy.”

“Brian, it’s not that I don’t wanna come, but I don’t want to get in the way when you’re out there to work,” she explained quickly. “It just seems like you have enough distractions.”

“Julie, I want you out here,” Brian said almost pleadingly. Clearing his throat, he sighed. “I mean, it would be really nice to have someone here that I don’t feel any tension with. I need a break from these guys, and I’m not gonna get one any time soon.”

“Okay, Duckie,” Julie said quietly. She could tell he was being completely serious about needing a break. “I’ll come visit.”

“Great,” he said excitedly.



AJ walked into warm May morning and sucked in a deep breath. He was fuming, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone else know that. Pulling out his pack of cigarettes, he looked at them for a second before slipping them back into his shirt pocket. He had been trying to quit for months now, but it never failed…he would always break down and have one. And it always went from there. At least it’s smoking and not drugs and alcohol, he thought thankfully.

When he heard the door open, he turned and found Howie staring at him with a concerned expression on his tanned face. “You okay man?”

AJ turned back and looked out at the smog covered city and rolled his eyes. He did his best not to let out an irritated groan as he gave a short nod. “I’m peachy. Can’t you tell?”

Howie grimaced at his friend’s thick sarcasm. “Sure. So, are you coming back in there soon? I think Nick cooled down a little.”

“What Nick needs to do is grow up,” AJ snapped before he could catch himself. Damn it. “I’ll be in there in just a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Howie’s voice was uncertain, but AJ heard the door shut and knew he was once again by himself.

Nick and AJ had been going at each other for months now, and it was usually initiated by Nick. Ever since he and Nick had gotten into a fight in the middle of a popular Manhattan club eleven months earlier, Nick had done his best to provoke AJ. Trying to get him to the breaking point. Luckily, AJ’s fuse was a lot longer than it used to be and he was able to put up with the crap Nick did or said.

All because of a woman, AJ thought sadly. Bianca. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since that fateful night in June, but he had heard about her. Ever since he walked away and Nick walked out on her, Bianca seemed to have gone wild. From various tabloids and entertainment shows on television, AJ gathered that she was the female Colin Farrell; it seemed like every time he turned around there was a new guy on her arm.

And he also knew that she had started drinking. Even though he hadn’t had any contact with Bianca, he knew from friends that had seen her out and about that her wild side was in full swing. Unlike Bianca, AJ had calmed down quite a bit. He wasn’t dating anyone seriously and although he had been out a few times to movie premiers or other events, he wasn’t being a celebrity man-whore. He had grown past that stage in his life; at least that’s how he felt.

Stomping out the cigarette he had subconsciously pulled from the pack and started smoking while he had been lost in thought, AJ let out a breath and turned to head back inside. He was sure that he would have to retreat out of the studio room later in the day. After all, it was only 9:30 am.



“Nick, what is your problem?” Brian whispered to the 23 year old blond who hade come back and sat down beside Kevin on the couch.

“Why is it always my problem?” Nick started defensively. “Why don’t you blame AJ sometimes?”

“Because, Nick, you started this today. What has gotten into you?” Howie asked as he entered the conversation.

“Where do you get off? Are you my fucking mother?”

“No, I’m not, but-”

“That’s damn right, you’re not. Keep that in mind,” he said in a bratty voice.

“Look, Nick, all I’m saying is that you need to let some things go and move on, okay? What happened months ago is over and it’s really sad that you’re still hanging onto that,” Howie said and watched as Nick’s cheeks began to turn an angry shade of red.

“What do you know about what happened?”

“Enough,” came Howie’s curt reply.

“Fuck you,” Nick yelled.

“That’s it!” Brian cried and got between the two men who were now standing toe-to-toe. “I’m sick of this bullshit! You go over there and look at a magazine or something. And you,” he motioned to Nick, “come with me.”

Nick huffed angrily, but followed Brian from the studio room and down the hall to an empty conference room. Going into the dark room, Nick slumped down in a chair and looked at the glossy, cherry table in front of him as he waited for his lecture.

“What’s up with you, man?” Brian asked patiently as he sat beside his friend. “You’re not being yourself, Nick.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Nick asked hatefully ignoring Brian’s sympathetic glances.

Brian knew that the last few months had been hard for Nick. He had walked out on Bianca calling that one of the hardest decisions of his life. And although Brian knew it was hard and he loved Bianca like a sister, he was glad Nick had decided to do what he did.

They both needed time to grow up and become their own person and he knew that if things were meant to work out, they would. But there was no telling Nick that. “Come on, man, you know you can talk to me.”

“Look, Brian, I’m really thankful that you care, but there’s nothing to talk about,” Nick’s tone was even as he stood and waited for Brian to “dismiss” him.

“Okay,” Brian nodded sadly and watched the younger man leave the room.