Will you be there beside me? If the world falls apart And will all of our moments Remain in your heart Will you be there to guide me? All the way through, I wonder will you

Lenore walks around the stage, loving the attention more than anything.

Walk by my side, and follow my dreams And bear with my pride, as strong as it seems Will you be there tomorrow?

Lenore walks over to her brother and sits on his lap. She looks into hjs eyes and sings the next bit to him.

Will you be there beside me? As time goes on by And be there to hold me Whenever I cry Will you be there to guide me? All the way though, I wonder will you

Lenore stays in her brother’s lap, but looks out at the audience as she sings the last line of the song.

Walk by my side, and follow my dreams

Lenore looks at Clay, and smiles as he hugs her tight and kisses her head.

“I will, Honey,” Clay whispers in her ear. “Love you….”

“That was sweet, man; that was sweet!” Randy says. “The way you sang that to your brother….Man! It was sweet!”

Paula smiled at her. “I think it was nice that you’d want to do that for your brother, and share it with everyone. It shows just how open with everyone you really are.”

Lenore smiles back at her, then looks to Simon, while not moving from her brother’s lap.

“I thought it was sickeningly sweet. So sickeningly sweet, it makes you want to gag,” Simon stated. “You are capable of so much more, as we saw last week. I don’t think you’ll ever be able to out-do last week’s performance. Ever.” He winks at her when no one else is looking.

Lenore smiles sweetly at him, then sticks her tongue out.

Simon does the same back, making Lenore giggle.

Clay just smiles and shakes his head at them. He then stands up, throws his sister over his shoulder, and walks off stage.

The rest of the show was amazing, though everyone was sad to see Kimberly Locke voted off. With her gone, it meant that Ruben and Clay were the final two Idol contestants; on of them was to be the next American Idol.

Lenore giggled to herself, as she thought about having Clay and Ruben all to herself for a week. And maybe – just maybe – the three of them would find time to check out Disney Land – and hunt down A.J.

“Now, you have to stay close, Lenore,” Clay told her as their limo pulled up in front of the theater. “There’s a whole lot of people here tonight.”

Lenore nodded, and stepped out of the limo behind him. The next thing she knew, people were screaming and taking pictures. Instinctively she grabbed hold of her brother’s hand.

Clay gave her hand a squeeze, then led her down the red carpet. He smiled and waved at everyone as they walked.

They, Ruben and Clay, stopped a couple times to talk to reporters, but made sure no one asked Lenore anything.

While they walked, Lenore looked around absolutely star-struck. She could not believe just how many celebrities were there. Everywhere she looked, she’d spot someone famous.

Finally, the three of them made their way inside the theater. Inside, celebrities were jammed packed all over the place. They wound up being stopped by some of them, as they were fans of the show.

Lenore’s eyes went huge, when David Hasselhoff approached them. She scribbled a message to her brother hurriedly, afraid David would leave before she’d finished. She tugged on her brother’s sleeve urgently.

Clay glanced down at his sister, and laughed when he read her message.

“What’s so funny?” David Hasselhoff asked.

Clay handed him the notebook, causing Lenore to look mortified.

David read the message…. IT’S MITCH! IT’S MITCH! CLAY! IT’S MITCH! …. TELL HIM I SAY HI! TELL HIM I LOVE HIM! CLAY! I WANNA HUG MITCH! THE LT. MITCH BUCHANNON! ….

He chuckles, and crouches down to the little girl’s height. “So, I’m Mitch, huh?” He smiles.

Lenore nods her head frantically.

David Hasselhoff kisses her cheek, then gives her a hug. “Would you like me to sign your book?”

Lenore nodded again, though this time she was blushing as well. She watched as he signed her notebook, beaming when he gave her another hug after giving it back. her grin was even bigger when he ruffled her hair after standing back up.

They went their separate ways after that; David going one way, and them another. The three of them found seats together and sat down.

Lenore, who was still excited from meeting “Mitch”, was practically bouncing in her seat. She just could not sit still. She sat there bouncing, and pointing out any celebrities she knew of and could see from her seat.

“Honey, calm down,” Clay laughed. “I know you’re excited, but you’re gonna have to sit still once the movie comes on.”

Eventually, Jersey Girl, the movie they were there to see, started. About half way through the movie though, Lenore got hungry.

Lenore passed her brother a note. “I’m hungry. Can we gets snacks? Please?

Clay nodded, got up, and led her out to the snack line-up. Once at the counter, he got their stuff, and turned to hand Lenore hers. He cursed himself silently, when he saw that she’d disappeared on him yet again.

Lenore had been standing in line next to her brother, patiently waiting for her snacks, when she thought she saw A.J. again. And, as usual, she took off after him, without telling her brother.

Clay pocketed his change, and the snacks, then went off in search of Lenore. “Watch her say she saw A.J.,” he grumbled to himself. Lately, it seemed the only time his sister broke the rules, was if she thought she saw A.J. McLean. And he was getting quite sick of that excuse – A.J. or no A.J. – she knew better!

Lenore hurried after the person she’d deemed as A.J., only to end up following him outside, and then lose sight of him.

“Hey, Kid,” a gruff voice spoke from the shadows. “What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be with your brother?”

Something about the man’s voice made her trust him, yet not want to get too close. So, for the first time since the accident, she spoke. “Thought I saw A.J.,” she told the mystery man. “But I guess I’m just seeing things again.”

“A.J. who?” The man wanted to know.

“He’s a Backstreet Boy,” Lenore answered. “I keep seeing an’ hearing him, but every time I get close, he either disappears, or Clay catches me.”

“I bet Clay gets mad when you disappear on him.”

“Yeah,” Lenore admits softly. “I get spanked. Might get spanked now, when he finds me.”

“Well, you shouldn’t ever take off on him – even if you think you see A.J.,” the man told her.

“But why not?” Lenore queried. “I love A.J. – and Brian.”

“That’s a good thing, Kiddo,” the man starts. “But your brother loves you more than you could ever love A.J. he doesn’t want something bad to happen to you. If you don’t stay close to him, or let him know where you’re going, bad people could get you and you’d never see him again.”

“Oh,” Lenore said softly. “I always forget that. A.J. makes my mind blank.”

“And Kiddo, you shouldn’t talk to stranger,” the man stated. “Because you never know who they can be.”

“You won’t tell Clay, will you?” Lenore fretted.

“No. Your secret’s safe with me,” the man replied honestly. “But when he finds you, you’d best act like I’m not here.”

Lenore nodded, just as Clay found her.

“Lenore Parker!” Clay yelled. “Get your bottom over here! Now!”

Lenore glanced at the mystery man, then quietly went over to her brother.

Clay glanced around, and seeing no one there, spanked her good and hard. “No more Backstreet Boys! Period!” He practically yelled right in her face.

Lenore sobbed as she was dragged back inside, and to their seats.

Meanwhile, the mystery man finished his smoke, and stepped out of the shadows. He shook his head, feeling a little bad for the sweet girl he’d talked to. “Poor Kid,” he said to himself in a whisper. “She didn’t have a clue.” He butted his cigarette, then headed back inside to join two of his four friends.

“Where’d yah go?” One asked him.

“For a smoke,” he answered, deciding to tell them the rest later.

The two nodded their heads, and returned their attention back to the movie.

But for the mystery man, his thoughts were clouded with his and the little girl’s conversation.