"Kathleen said something about Rhiannon when I mentioned Nick performing tonight," Brian whispered.

"Do you think she had something to do with the way Nick was acting? I mean, he was pretty sick earlier, then all of the sudden, he was bouncing off the walls," Howie said, his eyes narrowing.

"I think she definitely has something to do with it," Brian said.

"I think so too. Drugs?" Howie asked, shaking his head.

"Don't know. Maybe. But who can we ask? She's Kevin's best friend and AJ's so far up her ass, he'd never tell us the truth. But if she's giving Nick drugs, we have to find out," Brian said, sighing.

"Do you think Kathleen would tell us?"

"No way. And risk pissing off Kevin? I don't think so," Brian answered, shaking his head.

"But how?"

"I don't know. Ever since she showed up, though, Kevin and AJ have been acting weird. They sleep all day and stay up all night. I hardly ever see them eat anymore. They never wanna go out to dinner with us like they used to. They just hang out together. It's just strange. They were never that close before. Do you think she's got them hooked on something too?" Brian asked.

"Maybe. Damn. This is just getting scary, man," Howie whispered.

"I know. Maybe we should confront her."

"Do you think we should? What if she tells Kevin?"

"Do we wanna risk the wrath of Kevin?" Brian asked. "I think we should. I mean, this is for their own good, right?"

"You're right. I know you're right. We'll do it tonight. If we can get her alone, that is."

************************************

"AJ, I'm sick again," Nick whined, leaning over onto AJ's shoulder. AJ looked disdainfully at Nick and pushed him off his shoulder. Nick's bottom lip trembled, and he began to whine pitifully.

"AAAJJJ," Nick moaned, "I don't feel good. Pet me."

"I ain't pettin' you, Nick," AJ growled. "You know I don't like sick people. They make me nervous."

"Ok," Nick sniffed, leaning against the window of the limo. It was cool and rainy outside, and the glass felt extra cold against Nick's fevered cheek.

AJ looked at Nick and sighed."Oh come here, you big baby," AJ said, trying to sound gruff. But the truth was, he felt sorry for him. He knew Nick felt terrible, and there was nothing AJ could do to make him better. Nick looked over, a pitiful expression on his face. AJ put his arm around him and Nick laid down in AJ's lap. AJ rubbed Nick's hair.

"You smell like sweat," Nick mumbled.

"You smell like ass and feet," AJ muttered back.

"That's not nice."

" I'm not nice," AJ growled, looking out the window. But he never stopped rubbing Nick's hair. He loved Nick. His little brother.

"Yes you are," Nick said, closing his eyes. "You're my best friend. I love you, AJ."

AJ snorted. "Ok. But I'm not touching your monkey again, so don't bother asking."

*******************************

Rhiannon made her way to the hotel bar and sat down at a small table near the back of the room. She surveyed the room through her blue tinted glasses. It wasn't very crowded yet. She'd have to wait for her dinner.

Brian entered the bar and looked around. He spotted Rhiannon and headed in her direction. Rhiannon smiled when she saw him. She liked Brian. He was a good person. He had a beautiful aura.

"Hi," she said, smiling brightly, "have a seat."

"Thanks," Brian said, looking more serious than she had ever seen him.

"What's up, B? You look like somebody just pissed in your cheerios."

"I... um... I have to talk to you about something serious, Rhiannon. And I want a straight answer from you, ok?"

"Shoot," she said, folding her hands on the table. She knew this moment would come.

"Uh... Howie and I... um... we've been wondering about something. Ever since you came along, Kevin's been acting weird. You know... he doesn't hang with us anymore. He doesn't play softball or anything like that. He just seems pretty much glued to your side. We don't ever see you guys during the day, because you're always asleep. And now AJ's doing it, too. Those two never used to be very close, but now they're like each other's shadow. They go on all kinds of late night ventures together. Yeah, we've seen them sneakin' out at all hours. It's just weird. And now Nick... something was definitely up with Nick tonight. I mean, did you see him? He was practically floating on air, he was feeling so good. My point is... Howie and I were just wondering if you had anything to do with this. I mean, are you... giving them... stuff?" Brian looked down at his hands, unable to face her after making such an accusation.

Rhiannon smiled and looked up at the ceiling. "Brian, I would never hurt them. Don't you know that by now?"

"Obviously I don't," Brian said softly, looking up at her. "We're just worried about them."

"Good. I'm glad to see you care about them so much. But I can promise you I'm not giving them drugs, if that's what you're thinking. I did give Nick something earlier tonight, but it was just an old herbal remedy that my father passed down to me. Just herbs and aromatic oils. That's it. No artificial chemicals or anything like that. I can assure you, I would never, ever do anything to hurt any of those boys. I love them, Brian. I love them in ways you can never understand."

"Well can you tell me why they're acting weird?" Brian asked.

"Ask them. I'm not the one you need to be talking to about this."

Brian nodded. He was bound and determined to get to the bottom of this. He excused himself and went to Kevin's room.

"Hey cuz," Kevin said, inviting Brian in. "What's up?"

"We need to talk," Brian said, sitting down on the couch.

"Ok, but make it quick. AJ and I are going out," Kevin said, walking into the bathroom.

"Kevin, come back in here and sit down for a minute."

Kevin returned to the living room and sat down sideways in the chair across from Brian, draping his legs across the arm.

"What's up?" Kevin asked.

"I think I should be asking you that question, man. What's up with you and AJ? Y'all aren't yourselves anymore."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kevin laughed. "I'm Kev. He's AJ."

"You know what I mean. You're sleeping all day. Partying all night. Or whatever you two do. You never invite me or Nick or Howie to go anywhere with you two anymore. And you look different, Kev. You look... I don't know... ethereal."

"Ethereal? That's an awfully big word, Brian. What does it mean, anyway?" Kevin laughed.

"It means unreal. You know... ghostly or something," Brian said softly, looking down. "And AJ's starting to look like that too."

"What are you saying?" Kevin asked, narrowing his eyes. "That I look dead?"

"No! No, not at all. You look great. Almost too great. That's what I meant. And AJ... I mean, have we ever seen AJ with such a great complexion? It's flawless, Kev. FLAW-LESS. That's just weird. What's going on. I've known you my whole life, and I know there's something going on. You can't lie to me, so you might as well tell me what it is."

Kevin sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He cut his eyes at Brian. He couldn't tell Brian, could he?

"You're right. There is something going on. But I just don't know if I can explain it to you, man. Just believe me when I tell you that you don't want to know," Kevin said.

"Yeah I do. I really wanna know," Brian countered, leaning forward, his elbows propped on his knees.

"No, you don't."

"Yes I do. Listen, we could go on like this all night. So why don't you just tell me and get it overwith."

"I can't," Kevin said, shaking his head. "If I told you, you'd never look at me the same way again."

"What is it, Kevin?" Brian asked, feeling a lump forming in his throat. "There's nothing you could ever tell me that's so terrible that I wouldn't love you anymore. We're blood, and nothing can change that."

Kevin laughed bitterly. "If you only knew..."

"Are you... gay?" Brian asked quietly. "I mean, if you are, that's fine."

"No," Kevin laughed, "I wish it were that simple. I know you wouldn't hate me for being gay. And I'd tell you if I was, but that's not it."

"Tell me," Brian said, walking over and kneeling beside Kevin. "I promise I won't judge you."

Kevin looked at Brian for a long time. His sweet cousin. One of his closest friends throughout his entire life. Brian's blue eyes shined with emotion. Brian loved him so much. He could actually feel the love. But would he understand? Kevin crossed his fingers, took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"Brian, something happened to me last year..."

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