"Are you sure we're all going to fit?" Bob, Nick's dad, asked.
"Of course," I said, "I mean, if it's okay that Aaron stays with Nick and Brian, LeighAnne and BJ stay with me and the rest of the family stays in the guest room downstairs.""Of course," said Jane, "It's perfectly fine." (She had stayed at the hotel the night before.>"Yeah," BJ said."Okay," I said.When we got to my house, we found that my parents had taken my car and gone out. Nick, Brian, and I helped everyone unload the car and deliver the bags to the right rooms."This is such a cute house," said BJ, as we walked into the living room after putting her and LeighAnne's stuff in my room, "I mean, not cute as in adorable, but cute as in, small, I mean, not that...""I know what you mean," I interrupted her, "Thanks."We could hear Nick and Brian laughing from their room. BJ and I went to go check it out. LeighAnne went to go and hang up some stuff. When we entered the room, Brian and Nick were watching Aaron do some immitations of his teachers."Sounds like you've been having fun, little brother," said Nick."It's great," Aaron said.Nick looked a little wistful. I knew it was because he had never had a school experience like Aaron was having. BJ went over and gave her older brother a hug. As Nick hugged her back, I felt a pang of jealousy. Even if I knew it was only his sister, I wished I was the one giving Nick a hug to make him feel better."Hey, Brian," LeighAnne said, coming into the room, "Can we get some time alone?""Sure," said Brian, going over to her, "Jen, can we talk in your room?""Sure," I said, "Go ahead."Brian and LeighAnne left the room."I'm going to go down and talk to Mom and Dad," said BJ."Okay," Nick said."Um," I said, "I'll give you and your brother some time alone.""You don't have to do that," said Nick."Yeah," Aaron said, "Want to play video games with us?""No," I said, "That's okay. I'm going to go make some calls to my friends.""Are you sure?" Nick asked."Yeah," I said, "I'm sure.""Okay," said Nick.I went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Reaching for the remote, I flipped through the channels until I ended up on MTV. I had sat there watching for about fifteen minutes when a news update came on.We have gotten word,The reporter was saying,That the BackStreet Boys are spending the New Year Hawaiian Style. That's right, the BackStreet Boys, Nick, Brian, Kevin, AJ, and Howie, along with their families and close friends, will be spending New Year's Eve in Hawaii..."Nick!" I called before the spot was over.He came running in. "What?" he asked."Look," I said.The Boys were reportedly invited by a fan who lives in Hawaii. Rumor also has it that the girl may also be Nick's new girlfriend..."Uh oh," said Nick, "Okay, who leaked?""I don't know," I said, "I know the only person I know who knows is Kim.""She wouldn't have told anyone, right?""I doubt it," I said."I don't know who else could have told," Nick said."Me neither," I said."It'll blow over soon," said Nick, "And no one will remember.""You're probably right," I said, "They'll forget about it after they hunt you guys down.""Very funny," Nick said."I'm not joking," I said.Nick laughed and shook his head. "I'm going back into the room," he said, "Call me if anything else comes on.""Okay," I said.Nick disappeared from the doorway. I turned my attention back to the TV, but couldn't get my mind off of what the reporter had said about Nick and a new girlfriend. I wished that it was true.Later that night, when everyone (and I mean EVERYONE, Kim's parents included) came over, Brian and AJ cornered me in my room."So?" Brian asked, closing the door."So what?" I asked."Did Nick make any moves yet?" asked AJ."Nope," I said, "I don't expect him to, now that everyone thinks he has a girlfriend in Hawaii.""Wait a minute," Brian said, "What?"I told them about what had come on on MTV earlier that day."How in the world did that happen?" AJ asked."I don't know," I said, "Don't ask me.""Shoots," said AJ, "Now what?""I don't know," Brian said, "I guess we just ride it out.""I guess that's all we can do," said AJ."But back to Nick," Brian said, "I think I need to have a talk with him.""Don't do that," I said."Why not?" asked Brian."I don't need him to know that I talked to you guys about this," I said."But how else are you guys to hook up with him?" AJ asked."Look," I said, "There's something bothering Nick. He seems really weird sometimes around me.""There's something bothering hime?" asked Brian, "I didn't know about that.""I don't know what it is," I said, "He won't tell me. Maybe he'll tell you."I'll talk to him about it," Brian said."Okay," I said, "But only about that.""Don't worry," said Brian.We left the room and headed back into the living room."Hey, Nick," Brian said, "Can I talk to you for a minute?""Sure," said Nick, standing up off the floor where he was sitting.The two of them headed out of the living room."What's going on?" Kim asked."Nothing," I said, "Brian just wanted to talk to Nick about something.""We kinda figured that," said Kim, "Is something wrong?""No," I said, "Everything's fine."I sat down on the couch with Howie, AJ, and Kevin."Are you sure everything's okay?" Kevin whispered to me."Yeah," I said, "Don't worry."A few minutes later, Nick and Brian returned to the living room. Nick went back to his place on the floor and Brian squeezed onto the couch with us, in between me and AJ."Everything okay?" I asked Brian."Yeah," he said.
