"Yes it was. I can't wait to see Kristy, though. I know it's only been one day, but I miss her," Brian said.
"Yeah, definitely I know how you feel," AJ agreed.
"I also know how you feel. I can't wait to see Lissa...I'm thinking hot tub...and then," Nick started.
He was cut off by his bandmates.
"Nick, please, keep your hormonal fantasies to yourself," Kevin said.
"Yes, please do," the other 3 agreed.
Nick was about to defend himself when the elevator stopped and opened up on their floor. The guys stepped out and started walking towards their rooms. Suddenly Brian, who was in front, stopped in his tracks, which caused the other guys the stop.
"What the..." AJ trailed off when he saw the police standing in front of the girls' rooms.
The guys exchanged worried looks. Then they spotted Elissa, Karen, and Alta, who were crying uncontrollably. Nick, Howie, and Kevin ran to comfort them while Brian and AJ stood back.
"Man, I have a really bad feeling that this has something to do with Kristy and Korin," Brian said.
"So do I," AJ responded.
They both walked up to the cops.
"What's going on?" Brian asked one officer.
"Does it have anything to do with Kris and Kori?" AJ added.
"It's not good, I'm afraid it does have to do with Kristen and Korin. Basically, they've been kidnapped. And we have no idea who the kidnappers are," the officer stated solemnly.
"Can you let us know if you hear anything?" AJ asked, in shock.
"Yes, and you are?" the officer asked.
"Brian Littrell and AJ McLean. Their boyfriends," Brian stated, equally in shock. At this point, he didn't care if anyone knew they were dating members of their opening act. He just wanted to know if his girlfriend would be alright.
"We'll let you know," the officer said as the policemen and women started to leave.
The guys nodded and walked over to where the remaining members of Illusion and the rest of the guys were.
"Did they tell you guys?" Karen asked them.
AJ and Brian nodded quietly.
"God, guys I'm really sorry," Lissa said as everyone hugged them.
Donna and Albert walked over to the group.
"We've decided to wait until tomorrow morning to make any decisions about the tour and what we're going to tell the press," Donna stated.
"So get some sleep everyone," Albert added.
They all nodded, but they knew they wouldn't sleep. The 8 of them ended up staying up all night talking, because it was impossible for them to sleep without any news of the girls.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I actually somehow did get to sleep that night. It wasn't until about 4:30, though. Until then, I had just laid there, torturing myself with thoughts of what might happen next.
I woke up the next morning at about 10:00. Korin was already awake, sitting against the wall, too afraid to move. I sat up and noticed that Joe was taking his shift. I immediately became tense. Something about him just scared me so much. Don was scary, but I could handle him. I knew he would hesitate before shooting me. But Joe, however, would not hesitate at all. One false move and my life would be over.
I did the only thing I could do - I prayed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Donna and Albert held a meeting the next morning. Karen, Elissa, Alta, and the guys all attended it. The purpose was to figure out what they were going to do about the tour and what they would tell the press.
"I'm not sure we should delay the tour," Donna said. "It would call for a lot of explanations that we don't have."
"NO! I am not going to tour while my girlfriend and her best friend are going through god knows what. If you tour, you tour without me," Brian spoke up.
"Me too," AJ agreed without hesitation.
"I'm not touring until Kristy and Korin are back with us," Alta said.
"Same here," Lissa and Karen added in unison.
"I'm not touring either," Kevin said.
"Me either," Howie and Nick agreed.
Donna and Albert exchanged looks.
"Look, the show must go on," Al said.
"The show can go on. Without the Backstreet Boys and Illusion," AJ replied.
"But you guys are the show," Donna protested.
"Look, we said we aren't touring until we at least know if Kristy and Korin are alive," said Elissa, who had been pretty quiet until then, with tears rolling down her face.
Nick pulled her in for a hug as she cried on his chest. Al and Donna just sighed.
"Alright, all tourdates are delayed until further notice. Now what are we going to tell the press?" Donna said.
"Just tell them the truth. We can get a campaign going, and there's a better chance that someone will know what happened to them," Brian said.
"No. We don't want to cause a panic. We have to make some excuse," Donna argued.
"Look, at this point, we'll do anything to find them. Besides, we hate lying to fans," AJ said, his voice rising.
"Welcome to the music industry. Sometimes you gotta lie," Donna replied.
"No! We're telling them the truth, Donna. Sorry," Brian said.
Donna and Albert exchanged looks once again.
"Alright. Fine," Donna said, sighing with defeat.
"Now, we have a press conference at this hotel at 7:00 tonight. Be ready," Al said.
Everyone agreed and stood up. The meeting was over.