Lauren stepped out into the fresh Orlando air. It was a week into June, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. 'I'm gonna miss this place,' she thought to herself, as she hailed a cab on the street corner. She told the cabbie to take her to the closest mall....she really needed to take her mind elsewhere. She hadn't really been out of her hotel in a while, so she was thankful for the fresh air. She was also extremely upset.

The open mall was packed with stores from the entrance to the exit. "This'll be good for me,' she reasoned to herself, 'I need to get my mind off things for a while.' She also hadn't had time really to spend with herself since she arrived in Orlando.

"He said by the food court," Kevin said, checking himself out in the window of Bloomingdales. "Dude!" exclaimed Howie, slapping him on the shoulder, "don't look so damn full of yourself, man!"

"Yeah!" added Nick, "I thought we agreed not to come to the mall together?! Last time we were here there was chaos!"

"AJ needs some down time, guys," explained Brian, still looking for the food court, "we need to take his mind off things now."

"And now that Lauren seems to be a no-show," added Kevin, "I think he can readjust....it may take time, but he'll do it."

Nick shrugged and frowned. He had tried calling Lauren at her hotel every day since she ran out of Kevin's house the night she told everyone the truth, but he hadn't gotten a hold of her. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he had to come to grips with the fact that she may have gone back to Toronto.

"Cheer up little buddy," Brian said softly, patting Nick on the back, "we all wish she was here....maybe it's just for the better."

Nick swallowed a huge lump in his throat. "Hey, there's AJ!" he said, pointing to the New York Fries stand. He stood there, looking cool and confident in his sunglasses and hat. A perfect disguise.

"Hey guys," AJ said, as the four guys approached him. "How are ya, dude?" asked Kevin, patting him on the back. "Good...good..." he replied, scanning the mall scene through his glasses. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a discussion about Lauren.

The five guys walked around for a bit, until three girls approached them from behind in the middle of the mall. "Oh my God! Are you guys the Backstreet Boys?!" girl one asked, excitedly.

They all nodded, and Brian smiled. "Yup, in the flesh!" he said in his crazy voice.

The girls quietly shrieked and asked for autographs.

"Oh my God! EEEEEEE!"

Lauren heard a squeal from behind her. "What the...?" she said to herself, not even bothering to turn around, then thought, 'there are some really weird people in this city!'

She took one step further, then heard some more commotion from behind her. "What is going on?....." she said, as she turned around. There, she saw a group of three girls standing face to face with Nick, Brian, Howie, Kevin and AJ.

"Oh shit!" she said out loud, as she turned abruptly around.

"That's so cool that you guys all come to the mall together!" girl number three exclaimed, as the guys nodded. As much as they loved having fans, sometimes they got aggravated when they pried too much into their lives. Also, when they stuck around and never seemed to leave.

"Holy fuck!" Howie whispered, as the girls said their goodbyes and walked away, "is that Lauren?!"

Nick and Brian, who were within ear shot, glanced a couple feet ahead of them. "That's her!" Nick exclaimed loudly, now getting the attention of Kevin and AJ. "That's who?" AJ asked, trying to see what everyone was so excited about. "It's......" Brian started, but caught himself before he said the name.

It was too late. AJ saw Lauren from the back, who was trying to make her way as quickly through the crowd as she could. "LAUREN!" Nick called out, not being able to help himself, "LAUREN!"

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!?" Kevin hissed loudly as he punched Nick in the shoulder, and as AJ just stood there, stunned. Nick shrugged sheepishly, then darted out of the group of boys to try to catch up with her.

"Lauren! Hey Lauren, wait up!" she heard being called from behind her, but didn't want to turn around. She knew it was Nick, but she didn't want to face him. She didn't want to succumb to everything she thought she had left behind.

"Lauren!" he exclaimed, finally catching up to her. She bit her lip as she turned and faced him. "Hey Nick," she said cooly, "how are you?"

Nick stood speechless. After two weeks of not seeing each other at all, all she could say was "What's up'?!

He stood there, trying to get words out, but not knowing what to say, when Brian came up from behind Nick. "Hey there Lauren!" he said in cheery voice, "how are ya? It's been a while, huh?!"

Lauren just nodded, glancing past the two boys to where Howie stood with Kevin and AJ. "I-I gotta go," she stammered, and quickly walked away.

"LAUREN!" Nick called out, as Lauren tried to walk as quickly as she could away from the boys, "LAUREN! WAIT UP!"

"Brian!" Nick whined, hitting him on the shoulder, "she's not listening! She's not coming back! Brian, do something!"

Brian sighed, and thought what an ass he was about to make of himself. "You owe me big time for this," he muttered, thinking about how much easier it would be for AJ if he just let her go.

He broke into a sprint to try and catch up. "Yo, Lauren! Hold up there...please, just wait up!" he called, as people in the mall turned to stare at the ruckus he was causing. He finally caught up to her. "Damn," he said, catching his breath, "you sure can walk!"

Lauren didn't say anything. She was just afraid that if she spoke, she would start to cry. "Just talk to me for a minute, 'kay?" Brian asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Lauren nodded. "Laur," he began, "I know things got kinda screwed up and everything at Kevin's house, but I really think you need to talk to him..."

"Brian," she interrupted with a shaky voice, "he doesn't want anything to do with me....he made that perfectly clear when he watched me walk out the door...I think we should just stay apart."

"You see that boy over there?" he asked, indiscreetly pointing to AJ. Lauren nodded again. "That boy is your brother for crying out loud, and he feels the same way as you do....he thinks you have something against him and he's scared."

"I-I just don't know if I can."

"I can't believe it," AJ muttered to Howie and Kevin standing beside him, "I can't believe she has the fucking NERVE to show up here!"

"Oh for fuck sakes!" Howie said, throwing up his hands, "I've had enough of this shit, all right?! It's a MALL for crying out loud....a public area! I think that you two need to just talk already, because I can't stand you like this!"

"It's not that easy, D," AJ said calmly, staring at his sister, standing about 20 yards ahead of him, "she came into my life, I fell for her, and she told me she's my sister....that's a fucking shitload to take all at one time."

"Do it, Bone," Kevin said sternly, "trust me....it's the best thing you can do."

"Lauren, there are five guys that really care about you....present company included! There's a reason we wanted to hang out with you and stuff......we all care about you," Brian said in his most convincing tone of voice. "That's nice of you to say," replied Lauren, "but I don't need you to feed my ego...."

Lauren was now aware that someone other than Brian and herself was standing beside them. She turned around and came face to face with AJ.

She looked at him, not knowing what to say or do. "Yo Rok, do ya think maybe we could have a minute?" AJ said softly. Brian nodded, and walked back to where Nick was now standing with Howie and Kevin. "What's goin' on?" asked Howie, once the four were together. "Yeah, what's she doing?" asked Nick nervously.

"She's talking with AJ I think," Brian said, "but I think we better keep a close eye on them......I don't want any physical fighting going on here!"

Both Lauren and AJ stood in complete silence for almost thirty seconds....silence, that is, except for the bustle of the crowd at the mall. "Well," AJ began, "I......there's just so much I have to say and I don't know where to begin."

"I think I can begin," Lauren said, trying not to let her insecurity get in the way, "I basically messed up your entire life by dropping this...this..BOMB on you so suddenly, and there's really no way I can fix it.....it'd have been better if I had just stayed in Toronto and minded my own damn business....that's why I'm scheduled to go back to Toronto in three days."

AJ didn't know what to do or say, so he just nodded....she had basically summed up how he felt, minus the "going back to Toronto" part. He wasn't sure how to react to that at all.

Lauren watched AJ nod, and had to blink back the tears that formed in her eyes. A part of her had expected AJ to tell her that everything that had happened was in the past, and that they should get on with their future, but he agreed with her. It broke her heart.

"It's been a rough week," was all AJ could say.

Lauren nodded, trying desperately to hide the tears. "So, I guess I'll see you around," Lauren said tearfully, "and I'm sorry." With that, she spun around and walked away quickly.

AJ stood there and watched her walk away. Part of him wanted to call her name, but he couldn't even open his mouth. Eventually, she disappeared into the crowd.

Kevin, Howie, Brian and Nick watched Lauren and AJ converse from about 15 feet back. Although they couldn't hear what they were saying, their body language said it all.

"Uh oh," muttered Howie, as they all witnessed Lauren turn and walk away, "that cannot be good."

Nick bit his lip as he watched the girl he adored walk away. If only he had had the courage to tell her before.....now it may be too late.

The four watched as AJ watched her walk away, then walk slowly back to the group. "So, what happened?" asked Kevin softly, but AJ didn't answer. He didn't say a word. "C'mon guys, let's go home," suggested Brian, as the five guys piled into a car and drove to Howie's house.

By the time they got there, AJ still hadn't said a single word, and they others were scared to mention anything. Once they got inside, Kevin tried again. "So, AJ, what happened?"

They all listened in anticipation to what he was about to say. "Well," said AJ shakily, "she basically told me that everything was all her fault and that everything would have been better off if she hadn't come to Orlando to find me.....she blamed everything on herself and said she's going back to Toronto in three days."

"And that was it?!" exclaimed Brian, narrowing his eyes at AJ.

"Yeah," he said, biting his lip.

"Oh, for the love of......." Brian began, but was interrupted sharply by Kevin, who said, "You mean to tell me that you two finally decide to talk to each other, and that's ALL she said?! Do you honestly think that solved anything?!"

"No, but....."

"And do you feel any better now, knowing nothing is resolved and she's leaving in three days?!" Kevin added.

"No, but......"

All five guys looked at Nick, whose eyes were wide open. "She's leaving..?" he said, almost in a whisper.

Brian patted his affectionately on the shoulder, but Howie joined in the argument. "AJ, why on earth did you let her say those things and walk away like that?!" he asked.

"Because," AJ said loudly, "what she said made total sense! Everything that came out of her mouth reflected how I was feeling! How was I supposed to disagree?"

"AJ, you're a fucking idiot...I hate to say it, but you are. Ya wanna know why?! 'Cuz this girl is your sister, man, and you're letting her get away. She's part of your family, and you're letting her slip away," Brian said, not sugar coating it at all.

"I'm a fucking idiot, huh?! Well, maybe I am, but listen to me," AJ exclaimed, "I LIKED Lauren...no, wait, I thought I loved her, and I'm talking about more than siblings love each other....then she tells me that we're sister and brother?! What the fuck did you expect me to do?!? That's something that canNOT be taken lightly, and no one in this room knows how it feels to be bombarded with that kind of information! I couldn't even look at her anymore, without thinking how I used to feel, and how I was supposed to feel....I was supposed to forget the past and be all 'happy-go-lucky' now, but that's not how I felt....I felt hurt, betrayed, and lost."

Silence filled the room. No one knew how to respond to that. Nick, who had been sitting in the corner, not saying anything, finally spoke:

"She's leaving?"

"Yes, Nick, she's leaving," AJ answered, rubbing his forehead, "and I know you like her and all, but trust me, it's better off this way. I think it's best if we just pretend like she never came into our lives."

"That's not true," Nick whimpered, biting his lip holding back the tears, as his voice got louder, "that's not true! How can you say that?! How.....?"

At this point, tears began to overflow Nick's eyes, and slowly ran down his cheeks one by one. "How could you say that, AJ?!" he screamed through his tears, "You liked her, but she's your sister.....so fucking deal with it! All I know is she's not MY sister, and I really like her, man! I love her! And now she's leaving...."

He put his head in his hands and began to cry. He hadn't cried like this since he was sick before he went into the hospital...and none of the guys had seen him cry like this ever before.

"Nickolas, you don't love her," AJ answered, as he watched him cry, "you don't even know what love is."

'Uh oh,' thought Brian, wincing, 'bad move.' But Nick lifted his head and said through his tears, "I may only be 17, but I sure as hell know what love is."

"You can't love this girl," continued AJ, "she's bad news."

Nick stared harshly at AJ through the tears that continued to stream down his cheeks. He sniffed loudly, and stood up. "Nick, buddy, where ya going?" asked Brian worriedly.

"I'm going for a walk," Nick whimpered, as he spun around and walked briskly out the door.

The four boys sat in complete silence in Howie's living room, waiting for Nick to come back. He hadn't told them where he was going, or when he'd be back, but somehow Kevin thought he probably wouldn't be back that day.

"Where the fuck is he?!" Brian burst out suddenly, "this is bullshit!"

"Don't worry, buddy, he'll be okay....he probably walked home," reasoned Howie, furrowing his eyes in worry.

Brian shook his head. "This can not continue," he said softly, picking up the phone and dialing Nick's number.

Nick wandered aimlessly around town, walking up and down familiar streets and past familiar buildings. He had stopped crying, but he was far from okay.

'I-I just don't know what to do,' he thought to himself, 'three weeks ago I didn't even know this girl....and now she's controlling my life! She probably hates me anyway...'

Nick glanced at his watch, which said it was five thirty in the afternoon. "Oh shit," he muttered to himself. He was supposed to meet the boys at their manager, Lou Perlman's, office, but he didn't feel like going. "Fuck it," he said to himself, as he turned down his street toward his house, "I don't wanna go....I don't wanna have to deal with AJ right now."

"Where's Nicky today?" asked Lou, as the four other guys sat motionlessly in his office. They had left Howie's house not knowing where he was at all, and didn't have the slightest clue where he was now. He hadn't picked up the phone at his house, so it was all up to him.

"He's...uh....not feeling well today," Brian lied, looking at his hands, "he asked if he could just take the day off to rest."

"Oh, no problem," said Lou with a smile on his face, "it's important that Nick always feel 100%....the whole hospital scare really threw us all off and if he needs time to recuperate, then he's entitled."

The boys smiled wanly. They hated lying more than anything, but especially to their mentor.

The meeting continued, but it was shorter than expected. The minute they left Lou's office, Kevin whipped out his cell phone. "I don't know where that little son of a bitch is, but he knew we had a meeting today, and he can't expect us to cover for him all the time," he said, dialing Nick's number.

"Oh just let him go," AJ said with no expression whatsoever, "he's pissed off, but just let him cool off......he's too fickle to hold a grudge for too long."

"Fickle?" asked Brian, narrowing his eyes at AJ, "You're calling HIM fickle?"

AJ didn't answer, but kept walking. Brian had to bite his lip to refrain from saying anything else....the last thing he wanted was to start a disagreement.

Nick lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He kept imagining Lauren, earlier in the day when they saw her at the mall, and when she had walked away from AJ. "That bastard!" he said out loud, his voice quavering a bit, "it's his fault she left.....it's his fault I'm miserable!"

"Nick!" his mom called from downstairs, "Brian's here!"

Nick blinked but didn't move. "Nick!" his mom called again, "I'm sending him upstairs!"

Still, Nick didn't move. He wasn't really in the mood to see anyone right now, even his best friend. All of a sudden, the door opened slowly, and Brian poked his head in. "Hey buddy," he said softly, "how are ya doing?"

Nick sighed and sat up. "Not too well, B-rok," he said, not smiling, "I just can't...."

"I know Frack, I know," Brian interrupted, sitting down beside him on the bed, "but you can't let everything that's happened bring you down. There are so many people out there, and there are some that are bound to break your heart......she pretty much hurt us all, Nicky, but she was in and out of all of our lives in a second."

Nick bit his lip to hold back the impending tears. "I'd like to move on.....really, I'm trying my hardest, but I can't," he said tearily.

"You....you just hang in there, buddy, all right? Everything will be okay....I promise," Brian said, patting him on the shoulder. Nick nodded, as Brian explained he really had to go. Nick watched him walk out the door as another stray tear rolled silently down his cheek. He had a feeling something bad was going to happen....something really bad.

"Lauren! Welcome back!" a voice exclaimed, as Lauren walked aimlessly into her familiar, yet unfamiliar office back at the buildings of Holt Renfrew. She was there, and people were around her, but she wasn't comprehending what exactly was going on.

"Lauren!" Bailey's voice was triumphant over the other people whom she worked with, "How was Orlando? Did you meet your family?! Tell me all about it!"

Lauren hugged her, and faked her best smile. "It was fun," she said, in her pseudo excited voice, "I met my father and my brother."

"You have a brother?" Bailey exclaimed, leading Lauren away from the bustle of the main corridor, "wow! That's amazing! Were you like totally surprised?"

Lauren nodded and showed that artificial smile. "Yeah," she said, "it was quite a shock."

After talking for a bit more, Lauren headed into her office. Surprisingly enough, she only had a couple of voice mail messages and only some paperwork on her desk. She sank down into her chair and sighed. In retrospect, she had been in Orlando for three weeks, but wanted to erase those three weeks from her life entirely. The only person she had called before she left Florida was Robert, her father, who seemed to be the only person who didn't have some sort of grudge against her. She hadn't talked to any of the guys, and she especially hadn't talked to AJ. They didn't have her phone number in Toronto, and she didn't expect to ever speak to them again.

A silent tear rolled down her cheek, but quickly wiped it away. 'Enough crying,' she told herself sternly, 'it's over and done with. It's time to move on.'

"So what do you guys think....do you all agree?" asked Kevin, looking around the table at the circle of guys. The five were sitting in the offices of TransContinental, but Lou Perlman wasn't with them. They had a lot of work to do, but no one seemed to want to do it.

"All right...." Kevin replied, rolling his eyes at the lack of response, "well what about all this paper work? Does anyone wanna take initiative besides me here?"

No answer. Howie looked at Kevin helplessly, then looked at Nick. He was slumped in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, an annoyed look on his face. "Nick?" asked Kevin, looking directly at him, "do you have any input?"

"Whatever," Nick said flatly, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. Kevin rolled his eyes again and glanced over at AJ, who was staring off into space. "AJ?" he asked, but AJ didn't answer. Part of Kevin thought he didn't hear him, but the greater side of him believed that AJ just didn't care.

Kevin then looked at Brian, who was glancing nervously from Nick to AJ. "All right, I think we've had enough of the silent treatment," Kevin said loudly, "this is now officially ridiculous.....AJ, I know you're mad at Nick for whatever reason, and you're mad because of everything that happened with Lauren, but she's gone, and it's time to move on....Nick, I know you're mad at AJ because he let Lauren go without any sort of goodbye, but she's gone, she's in Toronto where she lives, and we have a career to deal with here."

"I'm not in the mood to work," Nick said monotonously.

"What do you mean you're not in the mood to work?" Brian asked carefully, "we have to get all this stuff done!"

"Maybe another time," said AJ out of nowhere, apparently back from outer space. He stood up and made his way to the door. "Wait!" exclaimed Howie, "Yo, Bone, slow up dude......we have stuff to do!"

"I gotta go," said Nick hurriedly, as he walked past AJ to the door. Just as he reached AJ, AJ shoved him aside and said, "I'm outta here." With that, AJ was out the door, soon followed by a shocked Nick, who went his own separate way.

"What the hell just happened there?" asked Howie, whose mouth was open in astonishment. "I don't know, but I can tell you one thing......it's definitely not good," replied Brian, "those two won't even be in the same room with each other, let alone talk to each other! How are we gonna manage?"

"We'll figure something out....don't worry Rok...everything will be okay," Kevin reassured, although he wasn't too sure himself.

".......and, well, as we became closer and spent more time with each other, he kinda, well, fell for me I guess," Lauren finished, as her and Bailey sat in the coffee room at Holt Renfrew.

"And you still hadn't told him you and him were brother and sister?!" she asked incredulously.

Lauren shook her head. She had tried her hardest to pretend to be happy in front of Bailey, but she had sensed something wasn't right and called her on it. She started from the beginning when she went to see her dad, and finished when they all went their separate ways.

"And you mean to tell me, while all this was going on, you had a crush on the other one...what was his name......Nick?" she asked again.

Lauren nodded. Bailey shook her head in disbelief. "That is just too much," she said, "it's too bad you left on such bad terms."

"Yeah," Lauren answered, thinking about the three great weeks they all spent together and how much fun they had, "it is a shame."

"This has gone on long enough," murmured Howie, looking at the two empty chairs at the table where him, Kevin and Brian sat, in the offices of TransContinental, "we need to get those two back together...or at least speaking to each other!"

Kevin nodded and said, "I can understand why AJ’s upset....he had every right to be...but Nick is just acting immature and selfish! People come and go, and you gotta let go of things that aren’t yours and never were in the first place!"

Howie winced, but Brian just looked sharply at Kevin. "What exactly are you saying?" he asked carefully.

"I’m saying that Nick needs to get a grip," Kevin answered.

"Maybe it’s AJ that needs to get a grip," Brian said defensively, "Nick is the victim here......he lost someone that he loved."

Kevin made a noise and shook his head. "Nick doesn’t know what love is....Nick loves his Nintendo....he loves going to the beach.....he loves his mom! But he doesn’t know how to truly love someone....he’s only 17!" he laughed.

"Just because he’s young, doesn’t mean he’s stupid!" Brian said back, starting to get angry, "he’s not a child...he knows what love is!"

"Why are you defending him all of a sudden?" asked Kevin suspiciously.

Brian rolled his eyes, and was about to answer with a comeback, but was interrupted by Howie, who said, "Okay guys! That’s enough, all right? Let’s just call both of them and tell them to get their asses over here, or else!"

Kevin nodded, and so did Brian. "Fine," said Howie, who picked up the phone and dialed both of them. They were both reluctant to come, but did so after much coaxing on Howie’s part. While this was going on, Kevin and Brian sat in silence.

"Why did you call us here?" asked Nick, the minute he walked in the door. AJ was already seated, and once again staring off into space. Nick gave a rude glance in AJ’s direction, but it was returned with nothing but a scowl.

"Because," answered Brian, standing up, "we think that for everyone’s sake we should all try and get along.....that means resolving any conflict that we have with each other."

Nick blinked and shook his head. "I’m not talking," he said stubbornly, pointing to AJ, "especially to him."

"Fine by me," AJ responded, "‘cuz I’m not talking to him."

"Stop it, AJ!" Brian screamed, suddenly losing his temper, "why are you being like this?!"

AJ’s eyes widened in disbelief. "What the fuck do you mean, Brian?! Why aren’t you yelling at little Nicky over there? Or does it hurt you too much to hurt his little bitty feelings?!" he said, in a fake cutesy voice.

"God...can’t you for one minute stop being an asshole?" Nick muttered to himself, directing his comment, though, at AJ. AJ glanced at Nick, then at Kevin. "If everyone is done insulting and ridiculing me, I’ll be on my way," he finished, as he stood up.

"Don’t even think of going anywhere!" Howie exclaimed, "we need to fix this!"

"Howie, buddy, they didn’t build Rome in a day," AJ answered, giving a smartass look to the others.

"I’m outta here," Nick announced, standing up as well. "Nick, sit the fuck down," Kevin boomed, "you aren’t going anywhere!"

"That’s what you think..." he mumbled, but was interrupted by Kevin, who said, "this selfishness and immaturity has dragged on long enough! Just get a fucking grip on your life, and come back and join us!"

"Just because you’re the oldest one here doesn’t mean you can be the biggest BITCH to everyone!" Nick shot back, slamming his hand down on the table for effect.

Nick and Kevin began bickering back and forth, and were soon joined by AJ and Brian, who seemed to be having their own argument. It was total chaos. ‘Oh shit,’ thought Howie to himself, looking at the scene around him, ‘I’ve gotta stop this!’

"HEY!" screamed Howie, interrupting the arguers, "will you all just shut up for a second?! God, if all of you don’t stop yelling at each other like this, you’re gonna collectively break us all up!"

Silence stunned the room. All four of them looked at Howie with horror and fear in their eyes. Howie himself, felt sick just saying it. "Well, it’s true," he continued, unsure of his own words.

Nick looked down at the table. ‘What is going on here?’ he thought, ‘why is my world coming crashing down on me like this? Maybe what I need is some time....’

Just then, AJ, mirroring Nick’s thoughts, said, "Well, I don’t know about y’all, but I can’t be here like this anymore....too much shit has gone down, and I think we need time to just cool off...we need to stop fooling ourselves...."

Tears came to Nick’s eyes, but masked them by looking down again. Brian grabbed his sweatshirt off the table and headed for the door. Before he walked out, he turned to face the four guys, and said, "If it’s over, it’s over." With that, he turned and walked out the door.