“Hey Rok, you okay man?” A.J. queried his sullen looking friend. Brian remained looking straight ahead. “You miss her, don’t you?” A.J. said softly. Brian nodded sadly. “It’s like she never left at times.” “I know what you mean,” A.J. sighed. “I keep waiting for her to come pounce on me, but then she never does.” The other Boys walked in then, their faces going sad, when they heard A.J.’s last comment. The room was silent for a few minutes, Brian and A.J., not knowing their comrades had entered the room, both sat, staring at the floor. “I remember how she used to always cover my eyes and tickle me when I was trying to play Nintendo,” Nick piped up suddenly, startling everyone. “Then I’d tickle her back, and we’d end up arguing over the Nintendo, until Kevin would come in a tell us to stop messing around. It’s too bad she’ll never be able to do that anymore...” Kevin placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “It’s okay Nick, we know how you feel, ‘cause we all miss her as well.” “Remember the time we caught her playing Kevin’s keyboard and the look on her face when she looked up and saw us standing there?” Howie asked. “She looked as though she was going to pass out from fear and embarrassment.” “I remember that,” Kevin chuckled. “She thought she was going to be in deep trouble for playing my keyboard without permission. In reality though, we’d only gone down to see who was doing such a fantastic job of playing Back To Your Heart.” “I can still recall the day I adopted her,” Brian whispered. “She was so young and full of life, yet fearful of everything and everyone because of her past. She was happy that she was being adopted by someone nice, but totally shocked to find out it was her favourite Backstreet Boy.” “Well, hey, what seven year-old wouldn’t be?” A.J. commented. “She had always dreamed of being adopted and having a family who loved her, but never in her wildest dreams expected it to be her fave stars that gave her what she’d been looking for.” “I can still see the look on her face when we walked into the room to meet her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so happy in my life,” Kevin added. “I was also amazed how she instantly had a special bond with each of us, although we hadn’t known each other all that long.” Nick snorted out laughter then, causing the other guys to look over at him. “What’s so funny Frack?” Brian questioned. “When her and I crazy stringed the bus,” Nick giggled, “then still had the nerve to go crazy string the stage, and then you guys later on while we were performing Quit Playin’ Games.” The guys smiled at that, for it had been pretty funny, despite the fact that the two troublemakers had gotten in loads of crap for it. “I didn’t even know that she’d sprayed Kevin’s bunk with silly string too, until we went to bed and he sat down in it, in the dark, and was attacked, by what he thought was cobwebs,” Nick continued. “Man, did she ever get lectured then.” “Even though I was lecturing her, she still had sassy comebacks for pretty much everything I’d said, so I got mad and grounded her,” Brian remembered. “She pouted the whole time she was grounded too because she considered it unjust and unfair.” The room grew quiet again, as they all thought about certain memories they’d shared with her, and each other. They didn’t want to believe that she’d never be able to create new memories with them or anyone else.