I eyed the blond Kevin was talking to. What was she trying to do, intimidate us? If she was, she really need to work on her attitude . . .along with a few other "bare" necessities

"'Friendly chat,' my *ss," Star snickered, quietly.

"Right, girls?" Kristin said, her tone icy.

"Kiss my *ss," I said, glaring at her, then the other blond. "You, too, blondie." With that, Star and I turned and went back onstage, where we were met by JC and Chris, who had been waiting patiently for us to finish with the two "hell-lords." The guys actually seemed quite amused by the situation. After stepping into JC's arms, I looked at Kevin.

"She's evil," Star told him before I could say anything. I snickered and he just glared at her.

"Don't you call my fiancée evil," Kevin warned.

"Look," I said before they could get into an all-out war (though there was no doubt in my mind that Star would win), "Kevin, come backstage and I'll give you my number and e-mail address. If you want to get together, you can call or whatever. I'll take yours, too, but don't expect me to make the first move because I won't." Kevin looked at me and nodded. I gave JC a quick peck on the cheek and took his hand, dragging him backstage while Kevin followed close behind. We wrote down all our information and swapped. After that, everyone left the center. The ten of us (Nsync and Galaxy) were staying at my brother's house, (which just so happened to be my foster parents old home until they moved to one about fifteen minutes away).

Wait, if we live in Philly, how did Galaxy meet Nsync? Oh, that's easy. Chris used to live up here, but he moved awhile ago. He was great friends with my foster brother, Josh, ever since they were born. When I was adopted (which was immediately after birth), he was also like a brother to me. After he moved down to Orlando, we kept in touch, frequently visiting each other. One time, about a little more than one year ago, while Nsync was on tour, Chris visited us, dragging JC along. I had told Chris earlier about a singing group I had formed named Galaxy. He asked to hear us sing and we did. He thought we sounded great, so he got us a record deal with JIVE. Meanwhile, we ended up "coupling off," if you know what I mean. Things kind of went from there and we're on our first tour. We had made sure we were with Nsync because they were the only ones we really knew. So, that about brings you up to date, does it not?

When we got back to the house, I went straight up to my room and plopped down on my bed. Sighing, I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling.

"Having fun?" I looked up to see Chris standing in the doorway, then I went back to staring at the ceiling. "What's up?"

"Nothing," I sighed, closing my eyes.

"What'd Kevin have to say?" he asked, coming over and sitting on the foot of my bed. I just shook my head. "C'mon, Al. You're like a sister to me. Can't you tell me what's wrong?"

"That's what Kevin said," I muttered.

"He said you were like a sister to him?" Chris asked, confused.

"Basically," I said, positioning myself on my elbows so I could look him straight in the eye. "He's my biological half-brother." Chris's eyes went wide as what I said sank in.

"Wow," he breathed.

"Uh, huh, and you're the only person that knows, so lets keep it to ourselves, shall we?"

"What about JC?"

"I haven't told him yet."

"Why?" I shrugged.

"I dunno," I said, truthfully. "I guess I didn't want to bother him with it."

"It's bothering him not to be able to help you," Chris said. "He loves you. Let him help."

"I'll tell him when I'm ready," I said, stubbornly.

"And when will that be?" Chris asked. I thought for a moment, then sighed.

"I don't know."