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Chapter Four

“I so don’t see how this is going to work,” Darcy complained, stapling the eight by ten sheet of paper to an electric pole, “People in the world suck today. No body cares about OUR friend being gone.”

She stood back and examined the piece of paper. It had a large print of Abrianna’s face on it with the words MISSING in black bold letters. There was a little information on her underneath the photograph along with Abrianna’s home phone number if anybody had any information. They were even offering a generous reward of two grand to anybody who found her. The two girls, Abrianna’s family and Alex were all contributing to the reward fund.

“Darcy,” Bianca sighed, “Have some confidence. These things have worked before. Who says that they can’t work when we have to put one out?”

“It’s been four days,” Darcy grumbled, stapling another poster to a tree that was in a little park a hundred feet away from the pole, “We’ve put up over a hundred of these all over Chicago already. Don’t you think that SOMEBODY would have seen her.”

Bianca shrugged, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach. It had been four days since she’d disappeared. Four long days that had drug by so slowly that they felt like four weeks instead.

“There’s always hope,” Bianca said, grabbing more of the posters out of Darcy’s arms to take around herself.

“She’s eighteen,” Darcy pointed out, “It’s not like she’s a little lost kid. Somebody sees her and walks right past because she’s an adult and looks it. If she were younger, maybe someone would stop and take her in. That’s why I have no faith in these things. Because she’s too old for outsiders to even care.”

“That’s a lovely attitude,” Bianca remarked sarcastically, giving her a thumbs up, “Way to think of it.”

Darcy shot her a perturbed look and turned away, deciding to ignore her for a while. But it was her sarcasticness that had rubbed off onto her two friends over the years, and opened Bianca up to be bold…sometimes too bold for her own good.

The two friends continued walking down the busy city street posting up the posters, stapling them firmly into place. Bianca stretched up onto her tip toes to reach up a little higher on a tree so that it was more likely to be seen. Reaching up to staple it, she lost her balance and fell to her butt, the paper fluttering to the ground landing softly behind her. She growled in defeat, getting up and brushing herself off. Darcy was in front of her trying hard not to laugh.

“So now you’re gonna talk to me,” Bianca retorted, but she was smiling a little. She turned around to retrieve the fallen poster when she saw a boy about their age behind her holding it, staring down at it.

“Excuse me,” Bianca said, “Could we please have that back.”

The boy looked up and then back down again.

“I’ve seen this girl,” he said, “A few days ago in the park right over there.”

He pointed to the park in which he was referring to. The girls looked at it, then put their eyes back on him.

“Where did she go?” Darcy asked

The boy shrugged, “Me and the guys were playing soccer and the ball hit accidentally her. She seemed to be confused…in a daze, even. I didn’t see where she went off to after that.”

“Oh,” Bianca said, looking down. The little bit of hope that had sent adrenaline rushing through her had vanished.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help,” The boy said, “If I see her again, I’ll call the number.”

Bianca nodded and Darcy shooed him away. Neither knew what to say or do. Bianca wished that he hadn’t even told them that he had seen her. In a way, it was good to know that she had been around. But it put them right back at square one of not knowing if she really was okay, or something had happened in the days since the guy had seen her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, chick,” Nick called out, trying to get Abrianna’s attention.

Abrianna continued to stare out the window of the tour bus. It was almost a week later and she was still with the music group. It had taken a few shows for her to get used to the music, but she was slowly beginning to adapt to touring life and enjoy the music style. She didn’t realize quite how popular the band actually was and was sure that she still wasn’t fully aware of their popularity. She had a feeling that there was still something about them that she didn’t know, but was determined to find out. But shows weren’t all there was to their lives. There was so much more and she knew how hectic their days were and how stressful they must be. Abrianna admired their enthusiasm for their careers though and how together they seemed despite how busy they really were. She realized that she was extremely lucky that the five men had stopped and taken her in. Who knew where she would be without them.

“Hey, girl,” Nick repeated.

Abrianna looked over at him. Since they’d taken her in, she’d been referred to as chick, girl, woman, hey you and various other things.

“What movie do you wanna watch?” he asked, tossing her a book full of DVD’s. Abrianna flipped through them, not recognizing any of the titles. She looked through them once more realizing that Nick would probably choose something more entertaining than she would. He, after all, knew which ones were good and which weren’t.

“I don’t care,” she told him, handing the overflowing book back to him, “You pick whatever you like.”

Nick smiled and eagerly fingered through the movies trying to find his favorite. A.J. glanced at him and rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where his thoughts were going, giving his attention back to the book he was reading.

“Hey guys,” Kevin said aloud, “Don’t you think that we should give our new friend a name? So we don’t call her “girl” or “chick” anymore?”

“Good idea,” A.J. replied, smiling at the girl, “Can’t believe it took us five days to think of that.”

Abrianna smiled back at him, happy that she would finally have a name of her own. She wondered what they would come up with to call her.

“What do you think of the name Zaina?” Nick asked her

“It’s pretty,” Abrianna replied.

“Pretty unusual,” Brian finished, “Can’t you think of something normal?”

“I like it,” Abrianna said softly, “It’s unique.”

The guys all looked at one another, amazed that Nick’s weird suggestion had actually impressed the girl.

“Well, Zaina,” Kevin said unsurely, “You now have a name…I guess.”

Abrianna (from now on known as Zaina) smiled. She was happy to know that she would actually be somebody instead of feeling like an object.

“Anyways, Zaina,” Kevin asked, changing the subject, “What do you think of all of this so far?”

Zaina shrugged, “It’s a lot of fun, I guess. Always moving, but fun.”

The guys all grinned happy to hear that she wasn’t completely unimpressed and bored with their lifestyle. They wanted her to feel at home and welcome and figured that they were doing a pretty good job of it so far.

Zaina figured that she had no choice but to like what her life was. She didn’t have anything else to compare it to other than the few days before being rescued. This was her life as she knew it. It was all she did know, but decided it couldn’t get much better. She was pretty much waited on hand and foot, which did get slightly uncomfortable at times, but she enjoyed it for the most part. She had five guardians that had taken over the roles as her big brothers. They protected her and were always around. It made her feel good to know that there were people who cared.

“These past few days that you’ve been with us haven’t exactly been the most exciting,” Kevin admitted regretfully, “But soon enough you’ll be so caught up in the action and things will start going again full throttle.”

“And I thought that this was hectic,” Zaina joked lightly even though she was partially serious.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet, babe,” A.J. said, staring longingly at the girl, “We’re going to show you the time of your lives.”

Zaina smiled at him, staring for a little too long. She was very attracted to the man and wanted to get to know him very well. She knew that she would have plenty of time for that though. Plenty of time to get to know all of them better than she even knew herself. She didn’t know if that would be a good thing or bad.

“I can’t wait,” she replied as fireworks exploded inside of her. She couldn’t help it, but she really wanted to have a relationship with this man. She knew for a fact that he was single and her goal was to reel him in like a fish and have him for her own. Was that such a bad thing to want after they had all been kind enough to save her from the outdoor world in which she did not know?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bianca sighed and threw her book aside, reaching to pick up the phone that was ringing beside her. She wasn’t in the mood to talk, but had nothing else to do that night but read or browse the internet, which suddenly seemed boring and a waste of her time. She’d quit her job because she kept messing things up from her mind always being on Abrianna. She was more in the way and an inconvenience than helpful so she’d put her two weeks in. It was her fifth day without a job, and she didn’t even miss it. It was three and a half weeks since their friend had disappeared and there was still no word on her whereabouts. It made Bianca sick, but she had no confidence left that their friend was still somewhere out there alive.

Hesitantly, she picked the phone up and slowly brought it to her ear, “Yeah?” she answered.

“It’s Darcy,” her friend said, “What’s up?”

“Same as usual,” Bianca said bordely, “Nothing.”

There were a few moments of silence. Her and Darcy rarely hung out any more. She didn’t even spend time with Tyler. They talked on the phone every night, same as always, but she didn’t feel like going out. He was being understanding, but she could tell that he was also getting frustrated with her attitude. She honestly didn’t know how much longer he would deal with it before ending things.

“Do you wanna go and see Freaky Friday later on?” Darcy asked.

Her question took Bianca by surprise. It was one movie that Darcy had said she had no initiation to see. Her and Abrianna had been planning to go together to watch it for months. She sighed. She knew that she wouldn’t enjoy the movie that had seemed like it would be so funny without her other friend.

“Not really,” she replied, “I think that I’m going to stay in tonight and go to sleep early or something.”

“Yeah, same here,” Darcy agreed, “I’ll probably download some pictures of Johnny or something.”

“Sounds good,” Bianca said, happy that her friend wasn’t putting up an argument. She wasn’t very good about telling people no more than once. She knew she’d cave in and end up going against her will if Darcy begged, “Have you heard from her boyfriend lately?”

“Nope,” Darcy responded, “I think he’s afraid of me. I saw him at the mall the other week and kinda threatened him in a non threatening way.”

“Hmph,” Bianca grunted, “Can’t imagine why. And by the way, that didn’t make any sense at all.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Darcy demanded, already knowing the exact answer without needing to be told.

“Just forget that I said anything,” Bianca sighed, “I talked to him last week. He’s not taking it well still. I guess that this proves your theory wrong. Some guys are lost without their woman.”

Darcy didn’t say anything. She hated the idea of being wrong, but wasn’t in the mood to argue or try to twist the situation around into making it so that she was right again about this too.

“I think one thing is for sure,” Bianca commented, “We’re both not into anything we used to be into anymore.”

“You’re right,” Darcy replied, “In fact, now, everything we used to like seems childish and dumb.”

Bianca sighed. There was a long period of uncomfortable silence. Neither one knew what to say and Bianca was itching to just get off of the phone. That way she wouldn’t have to make something up to say just to keep conversation going.

“I’m gonna go,” she said, “Maybe we can get together later this week, ya know. If we’re both feeling up to it.”

“Sure,” Darcy replied, “Talk to you later.”

“Bye,” Bianca said, hanging up quickly.

Getting up out of her computer chair, she went and crawled into bed, leaning against the wall. She picked up her pillow and hugged it against her chest. A few tears trickled down her cheeks, even though she was trying so hard to hold her emotions in. Nothing was the same anymore, and for the first time in her life, she hated change more than anything.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Has anybody seen my pants?” Nick called out, searching everywhere for the pair that he had to wear out first on stage, “I could’ve sworn that I hung them over the back of the couch.”

The other four guys all rolled their eyes and groaned. Kevin looked as if he were about to pass out. They were running behind schedule as it was and now Nick had lost the most important part of his outfit.

Zaina shook her head and dropped to the floor, crouching down to look underneath the couch that was in their dressing room. She pulled a few things out and tossed them behind her.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing woman,” Howie protested, “You’re messing up our room.”

Zaina didn’t reply, continuing her search. She squinted, thinking that she saw them in the very back against the wall. She crawled underneath the couch a little and grabbed them, dragging them out from under with her. Zaina stood up and looked them over, clearing her throat. Nick looked at her and she held the pair of pants out to him. Nick ran over and grabbed them, slipping them on quickly over his boxers.

“Thanks,” he said greatfully, smiling at her, “Where did you find them?”

“Behind the couch, blonde,” Zaina told him with a laugh, ‘They must’ve fallen when you “hung” them there.”

Nick buttoned the pants and straightened his clothes, giving himself a look over in the mirror to make sure everything was right.

“Okay guys,” Kevin barked, “Let’s move it. We’ve got a show to do.”

Zaina hugged each of the guys and wished them luck, like she did every show. It had become a tradition of hers. When it came A.J’s turn, she hugged him for an extra long time. She peeked over his shoulder to make sure nobody was looking before sneaking a small kiss on his cheek.

“Break a leg out there,” she called as they walked out the door.

“Aren’t you coming to watch?” Kevin asked her, stopping and letting the others go out around him.

Zaina shook her head, “Nah. I’m kinda exhausted tonight. I might be out later on though.”

Kevin nodded, “Get some rest. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Zaina’s eyes widened, wondering just what was in store for them. And why was she going to be involved in it?

“Photo shoot and press meeting. Nothing new for us, but something very new for you. Evidently, the press got word on you and they want you there for the interview.”

“Oh,” Zaina replied, wondering what made her so special. She’d come to realize over the past month that the Backstreet Boys were a hit sensation. They were IT. They were one of the most well known, popular and famous music groups around, and they had stopped to help little nothing her in a time of need. Now she was very much a part of them and was beginning to realize that she was starting to get some publicity too. The guys refused to let her into any photos though. Something about protecting her image and privacy. She didn’t understand it.

“Well, I gotta jet,” Kevin said, “Rest up and come on out if you feel up to it. If not, see you after the show.”

Zaina got up and gave Kevin another hug. He was definitely the most concerned about her well-being. She appreciated his going all out to make sure that she was doing all right at all times.

“Good luck out there,” she called as he left.

She watched the man jog down the narrow hall that led to backstage and shut the door behind her when she saw that he’d made it there safely. It wasn’t uncommon for fans or anti-fans to be lurking in the shadows waiting for one of them to appear alone waiting to attack. Their security was tight, and she didn’t know of it happening to them, but she could never be too safe. Walking over to the leather couch, she fell onto it and laid down. Shutting her eyes, an idea popped into her head. Smiling, she pictured her plan. It would surprise and dazzle everyone. The finished product of what she wanted to do was the last image in her head before she drifted off to sleep.