Lauren sat in the front row at the amphitheater, surrounded by two teenage girls who screamed their lungs out. It took a while for her to get used to the millions of people screaming, but soon she found herself getting into the whole thing!

The guys had only sung two songs, but Lauren had this bad feeling about something. While they all had been backstage, Lauren had tried to get Nick to take some sort of medicine, but all he could say was, "I'm fine!" She also got the impression that Nick didn't want any of the other guys to know about him throwing up, so she didn't say a word.

He didn't look fine, though. As they sang their second song, he moved with only a half-hearted attempt. "Get down, get down, and move it all around...." they all sang, dancing up a storm. The more and more she watched Nick, the more and more she became worried.

"Get down, get down, yeah!" AJ finished, as they all collapsed onto the stage for effect. The lights dimmed, and the guys got up again. That is, except for Nick. "Dude, Nicky, get up!" she heard AJ scream through the shrieks and screams from the fans. "Oh shit!" she cursed, looking around her. No one seemed to notice anything was wrong....Lauren knew otherwise.

She dashed through her row, dodging all the people and ran out of the aisle, around to backstage. She saw a curtain come down, but the fans went on cheering, not realizing anything was the matter. She showed her pass to the guards, and walked as quickly as she could to where they ran on from backstage. In no time, she found a huge huddle of people.

"Oh my God," she whispered, as she pushed her way through the crowd, trying to find the guys. "Lauren!" Brian called out, "come here, quick!"

She ran to his side and saw Nick lying on the ground, eyes closed. "What happened?" she asked, already half-knowing the answer. "We-we we're just doing our thing and he fainted!" AJ exclaimed, in a frenzy.

It was bad enough that there was a huge commotion backstage, but Nick was lying helpless on the ground. "Okay," Lauren said, trying to take charge, "someone tell the audience that something's happened...don't say what! We need to get Nick to the hospital...something's really wrong, and I'm not sure what, but I'll tell you on the way!"

One of the members of the management team frantically called 911, and in less than five minutes, an ambulance arrived to take them back to Orlando. "Come on guys," said Kevin, leading the boys, and Lauren and some management, to follow the stretcher with Nick on it.

"So, what's going on?" asked AJ, once her, Kevin and Howie were in his car, (Brian rode with Nick in the ambulance), "what do you know?"

"Well," Lauren began, as she fidgeted with her hands, "today, on the bus, I noticed Nick looked really pale and thin....tell me you guys noticed that, didn't you?"

The guys nodded solemnly. "Yeah, a couple nights ago I drove him home from basketball....I told him he looked sick, but he just said he was tired," offered Kevin.

"Well, anyway, he said he fine....and then when we were watching the basketball game, I noticed he was shaking! His arms were shaking and he was trying desperately to control himself! I called him on it, but he just said he was nervous!" she continued.

"I can't believe we didn't call him on it sooner," mused Howie, not really talking to anyone in particular. "And then, when we were just about to leave the hotel, I walked into his room and found him throwing up in the bathroom! Again, he just told me he was nervous, but I didn't believe him....I had to, though, because we were leaving and there was nothing I could do about it....he didn't have a fever or anything!" she finished.

"Shit," muttered AJ. In less than and hour and a half (as they followed closely to the ambulance) AJ pulled the car into the Emergency Room parking lot outside the hospital in Orlando. They walked quickly through the lobby and went straight to the reception desk, and asked where they had taken Nick. "He's in room 324," the woman behind the desk answered, "but they may not be allowing visitors......"

The group of five didn't hear her, as they walked right by her, into the elevator, and went up to the third floor. They found a large group of people gathered outside the door where Nick's room supposedly was. "What'd we miss?" asked Howie frantically, as they found Brian almost immediately.

"He came out of unconsciousness a couple times in the ambulance," explained Brian, biting his nails, "and he tried to tell me something, but he had breathing machines running in and out of his body and I couldn't make out what he was saying....then he fell back asleep again!"

Lauren bit her lip, as Nick's mother asked the doctor what was wrong. "Well, Nickolas right now is extremely undernourished," the doctor began, "he has almost no nutrients in his body right now, and is very weak. He's half-asleep right now, but we've taken him to do some blood tests, so really we don't have any new news right now....only time will tell."

Lauren's heart stopped beating for a second, as she glanced at the four boys, standing around, looking worried and helpless. "Laur, what's wrong?" asked AJ, noting the look of fear on her face. She shook her head as her lower lip began to tremble. She didn't want to get them all worried for no reason...but she felt she had a duty to tell them what she knew.

"Come here guys," she said, waving them over to a corner where no one was standing. She thought it'd be better if his family didn't hear this. "What's going on?" asked Kevin, furrowing his brows.

"Well," she began shakily, "when I was in the fourth grade, my best friend's father got really sick....now I'm not sure what his symptoms were, and I'm not trying to worry you, but he also had to go for blood tests and cat scans and stuff like that."

"What are you trying to say?" asked Brian.

Lauren took a deep breath and bit her lip to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I'm trying to say that my friend's father was diagnosed with Leukemia."

"What?" asked Brian quietly. Lauren knew then that she had pretty much destroyed their hopes, but she felt as though it needed to be said. "My friend's father had Leukemia," she said sadly, as a tear fell.

"Had?" Howie said, his voice breaking on the word. Lauren nodded solemnly. "He died about nine years ago," she answered, as more tears trickled down her cheeks, "he died in his sleep when I was in the sixth grade.....my friend was devastated and I was too...." By this time she was fully crying.

"Shhh," AJ comforted, as he held out his arms for a hug. Lauren entered his arms and cried against his shoulder. "I mean, he was like a father to me.....he was the only father figure I had in my life...." she sobbed, then stopped talking almost immediately when she caught herself.

"What happened to your father?" asked AJ, as he kept rubbing her back to comfort her.

"He....um...well, he left before I was born," she answered. It wasn't a lie, but she still felt uncomfortable, "I never knew him."

She stepped back and avoided eye contact with AJ. She looked around at the other guys. Howie and Kevin looked sad, but Brian was desperately fighting off tears. "Nick has Leukemia?" he whimpered, looking lost.

Now Lauren regretted she mentioned that at all....Brian looked on the verge of a breakdown, and AJ thought she was strange because she wouldn't talk about her father. It was not a good moment.

"I'm sure he's okay," reassured Lauren, hugging Brian, "I'm sure everything's fine."

Lauren sat motionlessly, staring out the window of the hospital. The doctors had kept them guessing about Nick....they hadn't gotten any results back from anything and were feeding him intravenously. Nobody was allowed to see him.

She thought about the day she had seen the guys for the first time. It seemed like she had known Nick forever, when it had only really been a little over a week. She remembered how old he seemed, when really he was only 17....how she had pretty much been infatuated with him since the day they met. She wasn't really sure how to show it, but in her mind she thought about him constantly.

It was just his happy-go-lucky attitude that attracted her to him....and it was also his features. His bright blue eyes always seemed to sparkle with happiness and his blonde hair was always so perfect. At the beginning, she had dismissed her secret crush for Nick....she wasn't sure how she could be so attracted to someone who theoretically wasn't out of High school, but it was more than that now.

'Oh God,' she thought to herself, as her heart fell into the depths of her stomach, 'the hair......he's gonna lose his hair.'

Ever since the episode in the hallway, the only thing she could think about was the possibility of Leukemia. She remembered how her friend's father had lost all of his hair during chemotherapy, and how he had become weak and tired. She tried to picture Nick with no hair, but it only made tears sting her eyes.

"How are you doing?" Kevin asked, suddenly appearing from nowhere and catching her off guard. "Okay, I guess," she answered, hoping the tears that had formed in her eyes weren't apparent. It was no use, however, because as soon as she spoke, the lingering tears began to fall. She looked around, but the other guys and Nick's family were nowhere to be found. "I...I-I just don't know...." she stuttered, as she cried deep sobs.

She kept on sobbing heavy sobs that came from her chest until she felt Kevin's strong arms around her, leading her to the end of the hallway where no one was. "I'm so scared..." she cried, as Kevin rocked her back and forth in his arms. "You don't have to be scared," he comforted, rubbing her back.

"Yes..." she stuttered, "I do.....I'm scared of what's gonna happen to Nick...I mean I just met you guys, but I don't wanna lose you! I don't wanna lose Nick, and I don't wanna ever lose you, or Howie or Brian or AJ.....God, if I lost AJ I'd have nothing left...."

"Why's that?" asked Kevin, inquisitively.

'Shit,' thought Lauren through her tears, 'why the hell did I say that?' "It's just that you all have been so good to me...if I lost you I'd be lost," she said, covering for her slip up.

Kevin continued to comfort her, until she completely stopped crying. Already it was closer to one in the morning, but still no one had informed them of Nick's condition.

She fell into a troubled sleep against Kevin's shoulder, and dreamed many dreams in which she lost everything: Nick was diagnosed with Leukemia, and the other boys left her.

She sat up suddenly, as she heard the doctor's voice. She glanced quickly at her watch and saw that it was now three thirty in the morning....but the doctor had news for them all.

"....and we haven't got results back from his tests yet, but he's awake now, and he's in his room...you can all see him, but try to go in only a couple at a time," the doctor finished, as she glanced at her clipboard.

It was the break of dawn already, and Nick's mother and father were still there, along with the guys and Lauren. Nick's siblings had long since left, and Lou, who had also been by, had left hours ago.

Nick's parents ventured into the room, and the door shut closely behind them. "Oh God," she muttered out loud, as she grabbed Kevin's hand and squeezed it tight. "Just don't say anything," warned Kevin to the rest of the guys, "nothing about the tests, and nothing about the results."

After five minutes or so, Nick's parents wandered out of the room, looking teary-eyed and exhausted. "We're going home to get some rest," Jane, Nick's mom said to the group, "after you see him I advise you all to do the same....otherwise it's gonna be a long night."

Howie was the first one to enter the room, closely followed by Lauren, Kevin, AJ and Brian. "Hey buddy," Howie said quietly, as he tried not to act too upset. However, Lauren couldn't hold back what she was feeling. Not only was she feeling a sense of deja vu, she felt incredible remorse. He lay there with a tube stuck in his vein connected to a machine, and he looked so weak and pale. He also looked so helpless.

"Hey guys," he said in a barely audible voice. Lauren smiled sadly at him, but wished she could help him. It took great willpower not to mention anything, so she kept her mouth pretty much shut during their entire visit.

"You need a ride home?" asked AJ, as the tired group made their way out of the hospital. Lauren nodded. "You know what? It's pointless for you to go back to your hotel now....why don't you stay at my house?" he asked, glancing at his watch which read ten minutes to four.

Lauren gave him an exhausted smile and nodded. "Sure," she said, as they both got into his car and made their way to his house, and in less than ten minutes they were there.

"You can borrow some clothes of mine to sleep in," AJ said, as he tossed his car keys onto the table in the front hall, "that way you don't have to sleep in what you're wearing.......cute picture, huh?" he added, as he glanced over at Lauren and caught her looking at a picture of him and his dad. Their dad.

"Uh, yeah," she said, trying not to let on too much, "when was this taken?"

"A couple years ago," he answered, "I think that was the only time I saw him that year....I rarely ever do."

Lauren nodded, as her eyes blurred with tears for the millionth time that day. "AJ, I...." she started, as she looked away as not to let on she was upset.

"Yeah?" he asked, "what is it?"

"I, um, I'm kinda tired now....I think we better get to bed," she answered, chickening out at the last minute. AJ nodded and led her upstairs, gave her a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, and showed her to her room. "You gonna be okay?" he asked, "if you need anything, I'm right down the hall."

"Okay, thanks a lot," she replied, feeling this moment of awkwardness between them. "Hey, c'mere," he said smiling sadly, as he held out his arms for a hug.

She hugged him, and felt that same moment of sadness again. "It'll be okay," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face, "Nick'll be fine....he's a trooper."

Lauren nodded, as AJ's face moved closer to hers. Oh no!' she thought, as it hit her like a brick, he's gonna try to kiss me!' He moved his face closer and closer but Lauren just backed away. "I-I'm really tired...goodnight AJ," she stuttered on the brink of tears, as she walked into her room and left him standing outside the door, confused and rejected.

What the hell just happened?' he asked himself, as he stared, dumbfounded, at the shut door.

Lauren collapsed onto her bed as the tears began to flow. "No..." she cried out loud, "this isn't supposed to happen..."

She cried and cried until she finally fell asleep. She awoke at around ten the next morning, and peeked outside her door, to see that AJ's door was still shut, meaning he was still asleep. She scribbled a quick note and grabbed her stuff and headed out the door before AJ woke up.

"Lauren?" AJ called through an empty house, "Lauren? Where are you?"

He walked into the kitchen and immediately saw the note on the counter.

"AJ Thank you very much for letting me stay over....talk to you soon.
Love Lauren"

He stood, staring at it for a couple minutes. "She's gone," he said to an empty room, "I shouldn't have tried to put the moves on her...what the hell was I thinking?! She's been through so much today..."

As he plopped down the couch, he let out a huge sigh. He couldn't help thinking that he had scared her away for good.

"You tried to kiss her?!" asked Howie, staring straight at AJ, "what the hell were you thinking man?!"

AJ shrugged, as he looked helplessly at the three boys around him. They were seated in the waiting room of the hospital, but weren't allowed in because the doctors were in there with Nick. "It was an impulse," he said sadly, "I shouldn't have done it...she's probably never gonna wanna see me again."

"AJ, it's only been a day," Brian said, "maybe she really was just upset about Nick and everything...I think you'd better talk to her." AJ shrugged again, "Maybe."

At that very moment, the doctors opened up the door to Nick's room. "What's the scoop, doc?" asked Kevin, as the boys waiting anxiously for the news.

"Well," the doctor began, "the results from the cat scan aren't in yet, and neither are his blood tests....we had to send them to another hospital to do the full research....but his vital signs are improving...he seems to be gaining weight and his blood pressure is more normal."

"But we still don't know anything about his tests, right?" asked Brian, biting his fingernails. "Right," the doctor answered, "but I think everything will turn out all right."

Nick slowly opened his eyes, now aware someone was in the room with him. "Hey Lauren," he said softly, realizing she was sitting in a chair beside his bed, "what are you doing here? Where are the other guys?"

"They left about an hour ago," she answered, "I wasn't here with them though....I haven't really talked to anyone in the last day or so." She moved her chair closer to Nick. "Why not?" he asked, "is everything all right?"

"Yeah," Lauren lied, "everything's fine....it's just been hectic, that's all."

"How's my brother?" he asked, wincing as he tried to move in his bed, "I don't want him to see me in pain like this." Lauren gave Nick a sad smile and put her hand on top of his. "He's fine," she replied, "he was a little shaken up at first, but he seems to be okay....he comes to visit you when you're asleep."

Nick smiled, as tears sprung to his eyes. "Something's wrong with me, isn't there?" he asked, his expression suddenly turning sad, "please just tell me." Lauren drew in a deep breath. "Nick, you're going to be fine," she answered, her voice breaking a bit, "I mean, just look at you! You've gained so much weight since we brought you here...and you're definitely not as pale as you were before....you look great!"

Nick shrugged and gave a half-smile. "It means a lot that you say that," he said, intertwining his fingers through hers, "I'm glad you came to visit."

Lauren stayed for ten more minutes, then had to go because visiting hours were over. "See you tomorrow," she said, right before she left, as she blew him a kiss.

When she had left, Nick smiled to himself. It was the biggest smile he had had since he was admitted to the hospital, and it was all brought on by Lauren.

Then, he remembered AJ, and how he also had a thing for her. It killed him that he couldn't do anything about it while he was in the hospital....he felt bad thinking so, but he was kinda happy that apparently Lauren wasn't hanging out with the guys as much as she used to. 'Maybe,' he thought, 'when I get outta here I'll have a chance.'

Lauren walked hesitantly through the double doors leading to the third floor waiting room. She had been in her hotel room when she had received a call from Brian, telling her that the doctor had the results to Nick's tests and if she wanted she could come down and hear them herself. This had been the first time she had talked to any of the guys besides Nick in a couple days, and she was a little nervous to see AJ again, after what had happened at his house.

"Hey Lauren," said Kevin, as she walked up to the group of guys, plus Nick's mother and father. "Hey," she said shyly, glancing nervously at AJ. He gave her a slight smile, and she returned the gesture half-heartedly.

"Well," the doctor said, walking over to the group, "we received the results from Nick's blood tests and cat scans yesterday, and it appears as though nothing is seriously wrong....he just came in contact with a bad infection which kept him from begin able to digest food in the right way and keeping it down. There was also signs of major fatigue, so we made a guess that he might have contracted Mononucleosis, but the blood tests show no signs of that whatsoever."

"So is there anything we can do?" Nick's mom asked. "Well, what he really needs, more than anything, is lots of rest. We're taking him off the IV and starting him on solid foods which hopefully he can keep down.....he's going to be able to go home tonight, but he's gonna have to take it real easy for the next couple of weeks...that means no performing and no sports of any kind....we're also putting him on an antibiotic which will hopefully clear up the infection," the doctor finished.

There was a sigh of relief from the group. The doctor told Nick's parents that they could gather his stuff so he could leave as soon as possible.

"So, how have you been Lauren?" Howie asked, as they stood waiting outside the door. Up until that point, there had been an awkward silence. "Good," she answered, as the silence continued. She didn't exchange any words with AJ.

Soon, Nick's stuff was collected and the attendants wheeled him to the exit.

"Come on," coaxed Brian over the phone, "we never hang out anymore....Kevin thinks ya don't like him anymore!"

Lauren smiled despite herself. Brian had called her up and invited her over to Kevin's house to watch a few movies, but Lauren had said she couldn't come. She still didn't know how to handle the situation with AJ.

"I don't know..." she said, biting her lip. "Please?" asked Brian, "for old times sake?"

Lauren sighed. It was so hard to pass up the opportunity, especially when she realized these guys were probably the best friends she could ever have. "All right," she finally said, giving in. "Yes!" exclaimed Brian, "be at Kevin's by seven...and we will start the movie's without ya so you better be on time!"

Lauren hung up the phone and sank back down onto her bed. She couldn't help thinking that she had gotten herself into a pretty bad situation.

"Well look who it is!" announced Brian, as Lauren walked timidly into Kevin's living room, after being let in by him, "hey stranger! How's it going?!"

"Good," Lauren smiled, as he bounced out of his seat on the couch and greeted her with a hug, "it's been a while, huh?" The truth was, it had been a good week since they had seen each other at the hospital.

"Yeah!" agreed Howie, "how come ya never hang out with us anymore?"

"I've been busy," she lied, trying not to look at AJ.

"Well we all miss bein' with ya," AJ said, winking at her. Lauren smiled sickly at AJ, hoping nothing was going to happen. "So, what did you guys rent?" she asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

Kevin popped the first movie into the VCR and they all settled down to watch it. Lauren sat in between AJ and Nick, and kept her eyes looking straight ahead at the TV.

Everything seemed to be going okay, until Lauren noticed that something was touching her back. It was AJ's arm, which was resting across the back of the couch, inching closer and closer to her shoulders. She glanced quickly over at Nick, who had apparently noticed the moves AJ was trying to put on her. However, he kept his eyes on the TV and tried not to pay attention. Lauren could tell, though, he was kinda upset. She was too.

"AJ," she said softly, shrugging his arm off of her shoulders, "I can't......."

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking into her eyes, "what is it?"

Lauren could feel tears well up in her eyes as she said, "It...it just can't happen..."

"Why not?" he asked. By this point Kevin had put the movie on pause and all the guys were looking at them. "I....I...." she stuttered as she stood up, her voice quavering, "I gotta go..."

"Lauren, wait!" AJ exclaimed, grabbing her hand, "please don't leave! First, tell me what the problem is!"

That's when the tears began to fall. She looked at Nick, who looked at her confusedly, and glanced at the other guys. "AJ, I just can't..." she bawled. "Please just tell me," he coaxed.

Lauren looked at the guys, sitting there watching her cry her eyes out. That's when she realized the truth needed to be told. "AJ," she sobbed, "I....I'm your sister."

The room was silent. AJ dropped her hand, as his eyes widened. "What?" he said in a barely audible voice. "I'm your sister," she repeated, watching a horrified look appear on his face, and seeing the surprised reactions on the faces of Kevin, Howie, Brian and Nick.

"No you're not!" AJ said, forcing out a fake laugh, "that's impossible! There's no way....."

"It's true!" she cried, as more tears fell from her green eyes, "I'm telling you the truth....my mother used to date your father...OUR father...before you were even born...she got pregnant but they split up before I was born....I never met him until a couple weeks ago when I came out to Orlando to find my family."

"But that's impossible!" he said again, his fake laugh turning into a strange tone. Lauren shook her head, as the tears continued to fall. "My mother moved out to Toronto, where I was born, and your father stayed in Orlando and met your mom and had you....this all took place in the span of less than two years, but the fact is we're half-siblings," she finished, still crying.

The silence in the room was thick enough to be cut with a knife. AJ just sat there, staring at her, not moving or saying anything. "AJ, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before, but you have to understand this has been really hard for me....and I didn't want to bombard you with the information at the wrong time..." she rambled on and on.

AJ still said nothing. Lauren could see tears forming in his eyes, but nothing fell. She glanced at the other guys, who looked as shocked as ever. "I'm just so sorry..." she repeated, grabbing her purse from the table, "I think I'd better go," she added, walking through the house, out the front door.

AJ sat, still speechless and motionless on the couch. "AJ, buddy, are you all right?" Kevin asked softly. "She's my sister...." he responded quietly, but then his voice rose, "she's my fucking sister!! Why the fuck wouldn't she tell me when we met?!"

He jumped out of his seat on the couch and ran out the front door. "Whoah," said Howie, after the fiasco was over, "I can't believe it!"

"This is just too much," agreed Brian, "I think we better just let them both cool off for a while."

Nick nodded in agreement, but inside all he felt was some sort of happiness. He wasn't happy that one of his best friends was hurt, he was happy that now he felt as though he had a chance.

Lauren's phone rang and rang inside her hotel. "I'm sorry sir, but she seems to not be in at the moment," the hotel operator told Nick, who was on the phone. "But I'm positive she's there!" he exclaimed, exasperated, "isn't there any way you can just put me through?"

"Not if she doesn't pick up the phone," the operator explained, "I can leave a message for you if you'd like?"

"Forget it," Nick muttered, and hung up. "Shit," he said, kicking a chair over in his room, "what am I supposed to do?"

He thought back to that morning when he had met the guys at the dance studio with Fatima. AJ had looked like shit run over twice, and it wasn't looking good. While Nick had gained back his strength 100%, AJ was going downhill. He had bags under his eyes, and barely moved or spoke. No one even dared mention Lauren or anything about them being siblings.

Nick still had intense feelings for Lauren, but now couldn't even get in touch with her just to say hi. He had tried going to her hotel room, but no one answered the door. She had made it quite clear she wanted nothing to do with anyone.

It had only been three days since the confession, but those three days had seemed like weeks. During the dance rehearsal, Brian had whispered to Nick, "Dude, we need to do something about AJ.....him and Lauren really need to talk!" And Nick had agreed, but he was uneasy about the possible outcome of that.

Nick had also told Brian about his feelings for Lauren. "Dude! How long have you felt this way?!" he had asked, surprised as hell, "did you like her when AJ did?!"

Nick had nodded solemnly. "I didn't want to steal her away," he had explained, "but I just felt so strongly for her!"

So now, everyone knew except AJ, who pretty much kept to himself these days. The thing Nick was scared about the most was Lauren leaving Orlando and him never getting to say goodbye.

"AJ?" Kevin said softly, trying to get his attention. The five guys were sitting in Brian's living room after just finishing some group work they were doing.

"AJ?" Kevin said again, "we've been thinking....."

"Yeah," chimed in Howie, "dude, you've been so depressed lately, and it kills us to see you this way....don't you think it'd be a good idea if you called her? Lauren, I mean.....I think you owe it to yourself....."

"I owe it to no one," AJ interrupted loudly, "she bombarded me with this fucking information and she expects me to just pretend like nothing happened?! I LIKED her, D, for Christ sakes I LIKED her! My own damn sister! She knew I was trying to put the moves on her....why didn't she stop me?! Did she have to string me along like that?!? My fucking sister...."

"I know you're upset, AJ, but you have to get past it! You have to talk to her and tell her what you're feeling or else nothing will be accomplished! You heard her before....you and your father are the ONLY family besides her mother that she has! You two need to reconnect, rather than drift apart!" Kevin explained, trying to knock some sense into AJ.

AJ let out a huge sigh but refused to back down. "You don't understand what this is like! Up until three days ago I didn't have anyone either! I had my mom, and occasionally I had my father, when he decided to show up in my life.....but I've never had any brothers and sisters! This is the biggest shock of my life...that my father would keep something so big from me! For God sakes, I'm 19 years old! This has been kept from me for 19 fucking years!" he exclaimed.

"But it's been kept from Lauren for 20," Brian reasoned, "I'm not saying that you shouldn't be affected, but I'm saying that you need to sort this out together."

AJ sighed again. "I just need to not think about it," he said stubbornly, "I just need to not think about her, talk about her, and I need to not see her."

"Ever again?" asked Nick meekly.

"Ever again."

"Mom, I'm coming home," Lauren said into the phone. She sat in her hotel room for what seemed like the fourth week in a row. Really, it had only been a couple days. "Things didn't turn out as well as I had planned, so I'm coming home as soon as I can.....I'll try calling you again soon, but I may be home before I get a chance........bye," she told her mom's answering machine.

She leaned against the headboard of her hotel bed as a tear ran down her cheek. "Well, I've really fucked things up!" she cried to an empty room, "I HAD a brother who I thought cared about me, but now wants nothing to do with me....I had it good but it's gone now!"

She broke into heavy sobs, as she thought about the times she had spent with him. Though they had only known each other for two weeks, the memories she had were endless. She also missed Nick. In the two weeks they had known each other, she had made such a connection with him, and liked him a lot, but couldn't gather up enough courage to talk to him on the phone. "What makes me so sure that he'll ever want to see me again," she cried out loud, "I hurt his best friend! He probably hates me!"

She cried and cried until she had no more tears left. She got on the phone and booked a ticket back to Toronto as soon as possible. The soonest she could book was for the following week, but in that week she wanted nothing to do with anyone.

She wanted to call Robert, but she thought somehow that would make things worse. "Why did I screw it up?" she asked herself, "why?"