Nick walks around his Prowler that is parked in Kevin’s garage. No noticeable damage and AJ was right it was still in perfect condition. Of course wasn’t used to driving on the right side of the road yet. AJ yelled at him that when he turned corners his life flashed before his eyes and it wasn’t a very good life so far. Nick runs his hand over the metal of the car and sighs finally pulling himself away from it. He walks out of the garage shutting off the light and walking back into Kevin’s house.

Nick walks past Kevin’s study where AJ is sitting in a chair behind a desk with his feet up on the desk itself with his eyes shut tightly singing along to Frank Sinatra’s “It Was A Very Good Year”. Nick had to hand it to AJ though, he always did have great taste in music. He continues down the hall until he walks up to Justin’s door and knocks on it. Justin opens the door with red eyes and stares at him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Nick asks him.

Justin shakes his head, “Get in here,” he says pulling Nick in and shutting and locking the door behind him.

“Where’s Ness?” Nick asks as Justin walks back into the bedroom and he follows closely behind.

“She took Alex out for a walk and shopping,” he says throwing himself down onto his bed.

“What’s wrong man?” Nick asks staring down at him.

“I was really fucked up wasn’t I?”

“Huh?”

“Back then before you took off. I was really messed up.”

Nick shrugs, “I was just as bad.”

“No you weren’t.”

“What have you been listening to?”

“Not listening…watching,” Justin says and points towards his TV, “I got those tapes that the guys were talking about.

“What’s on them?”

“Just some stuff about you, but most of it is me,” he shakes his head and rubs his temples, “I put her through so much. So fucking much,” he says as Nick stares down at him, “I’d be dead now if it wasn’t for her.”

“You shouldn’t watch these anymore Just,” he says shutting off the TV, “Get some rest man,” Nick says staring at him as Justin curls up on the bed, “Try to sleep. She’ll be back soon,” he says and walks out of the room shutting the door behind himself.

Wonderful now not only was he feeling the affects of returning to society, Justin was too now. Nick sighs and walks back down the hallway passing AJ who was still sitting in the same room listening to Frank Sinatra. Justin needed as much help as he did if not more in some areas that Nick didn’t need help in.

Nick had never felt like he needed drugs to make himself feel better surprisingly. Justin though had gotten into it from it just being all around him in the entertainment. When he felt the need to try and break free of his bonds he would go snort a line or trip on acid. In the end after Nick left Justin told him it had gotten worse…much worse. Ness couldn’t take it anymore and said she was going to leave. To Justin that was a fate worse then death…and if she left death would come on swift wings to Justin…probably because Justin would want it to then. So he left. Hew left publicly though. Dropped out of NSYNC, left the entertainment industry all together and got far away from America.

It always amazed Nick that out of all the people in the world he would find someone that he could have something in common with and make the experience just a little less painful. They both needed help of course and they both knew it, but they helped each other instead of trying doctors and psychologists. And for them it worked better…amazingly.

Now though, away from their comforts and safety of home, they were two lost souls trying to come to grips with a reality they had long ago left behind. They didn’t want to be here honestly. At any moment Nick knew he could feel the urge to go home and he would probably follow it.

The guys were trying hard to help him though. Kevin was helping a lot by just being understanding Kevin like he always was. The phone calls late at night when Nick was in trouble or messages on answering machines that always started off with, “What happened little brother,” came to mind now when he looked at Kevin. Nick had never expected Kevin to help him as much as he had been, but of course help can come from unexpected places and that always seemed to happen to him in his life.

Brian, was well Brian still. He still looked the same. Same bright eyes and smile that made you smile to yourself when you saw him even though you had no idea what was going on. Thankfully Brian had taken a liking to Justin and Nick was glad that Justin wasn’t secluding himself and his family when Nick wasn’t around. Brian and Leigh Ann were still unhealthily sweet to each other. Nick liked the fact that he could always come back and find Brian to be the same person even though times had changed. It was a kind of security he liked.

AJ was still a mystery to Nick though. AJ was warming up to him and he was trying his best to make Nick feel comfortable that much Nick could tell, but there still seemed to be something that Nick couldn’t put his finger on that he saw in AJ, almost a sign of anger or hurt. Brian had told Nick that night he and Justin had played pool that AJ had developed this complex almost that when he felt afraid or worried or just stressed out he would need to take shelter. This came in the form of a designated “safe place” that AJ had made this small room in his house into. So whenever he got upset AJ would be in that room, or hole in the wall as Brian put it. Nick could see traces of the old AJ every once and a while, but mostly he seemed shut up within himself. And that worried Nick more then anything about AJ, because he knew how that could end up.

Nick walks down the hallway and looks behind him as he hears the sound of a door opening. He lifts one eyebrow up as Justin walks out of his room and up to him.

“I thought you were going to rest?” Nick asks him.

“No, you said I should rest. I never said I would listen,” Justin says.

Nick shakes his head and sighs, “We’re two of a kind Justin…me and you.”

“Why because we’re fucked up?”

“Well that yes.”

Justin smirks and shakes his head as the two of them begin to walk down the hallway, “My anniversary is in four days.”

“I know. What are you gonna do for it?”

“I dunno,” he says, “I wanna do something big for her.”

Nick nods and looks into the room where AJ is sitting with his eyes shut listening to music still singing out loud to “Your Song”.

“Well he’s still got his voice,” Justin says looking at AJ.

“He never lost. None of them did,” Nick asks smiling at AJ before they continue to walk down the hall.

“Hope you don’t mind. I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now you’re in the world,” AJ sings to himself walking down the hallway carrying some papers in his hands.

AJ walks down the stairs and turns into Kevin’s kitchen and stares at Kevin’s back that us facing him from sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee and reading the paper. AJ smirks and walks up behind him.

“And you can tell everybody that this is your song. It may be quiet simple, but now that it’s done,” AJ sings loudly as Kevin turns around quickly to look at him, “Hope you don’t mind. I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now you’re in the world,” AJ sings softer walking up to the table and taking a seat across from him.

“Why are you so happy?” Kevin asks him.

AJ looks at him and smiles, “I was just thinking and I realized I’ve been acting like an ass.”

“I could have told you that,” Kevin smirks.

“Funny,” AJ says to him putting the papers he is holding on the table.

“What are these?” Kevin asks him looking at the paper.

“Read them,” AJ says as he sees Kevin’s eyes scan the papers.

“Where did you find these?”

“A lot of sleepless nights spent talking to people,” AJ says.

“Did you show these to Nick?”

“Not yet.”

“How do you know this is him?”

“Well aren’t that many people who are actually named Snap.”

Kevin’s eyes continue to scan the papers that are filled with a short biography of a young man named Snap Michael Brower. Police records, school transcripts, pictures, everything was on these few sheets of paper.

“Sounds perfect too don’t he?” AJ says.

Kevin nods as he looks at a picture of a young man no older then twenty three in the picture with a nice tan, bright blue eyes, dirty blond hair with blue on the tips and the kind of smile that almost seemed to resemble Brian’s smile, “You need to show these to Nick.”

“I know,” AJ says, “it’s just…”

“Show me what?” Nick asks looking in from the threshold with Justin.

“Nothing,” AJ says grabbing the papers from Kevin.

“No what is it?” Nick says walking in with Justin and up to the table, “What’s on the papers?”

AJ looks at Kevin who nods at him and AJ reluctantly gives the papers to Nick.

“Where did you find this?” Nick asks looking at the papers and Justin strains to see anything from over his shoulder.

“I know people that helped me out,” AJ says.

“You found these?” Nick asks looking at AJ as AJ nods.

“Is that him?” Kevin asks Nick.

Nick nods as he continues to scan the papers, “Yeah that’s him.”

“There’s not a lot on his older brother though,” AJ says, “I tried that too.”

Nick nods, “So what do you expect to do with this?”

“Nothing,” AJ says, “I just wanted to know more.”

“Fair enough,” Nick nods.

Justin stares at Nick and shakes his head.

“What?” Nick asks him.

“You’re so bull headed,” Justin mutters.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Nick asks him.

“That’s the stuff you have been looking for for years and now that you have it…” Justin says shaking his head, “…thank him Nick.”

Nick looks at AJ and stares at him, “Thanks AJ.”

AJ nods at him before looking down at the table.

“I missed you AJ,” Nick says, “Not that this idiot over her didn’t make up for your loudness, but you know what I mean.”

AJ smiles slightly and nods at him.

“Can I…can I borrow these papers?” Nick asks him.

“Yeah sure,” AJ says.

“Thanks,” Nick says again before turning and walking out of the kitchen.

“He never was good with words,” Kevin says before taking a sip of his coffee.

Justin shrugs, “It’s Carter what do you expect,” he smiles at them before walking off in follow of Nick humming to himself, “You see I’ve forgotten if they’re green or blue. Well the thing is what I really mean yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen,” Justin sings as he turns the corner to walk up the stairs.

“You did a good thing AJ,” Kevin says to him.

AJ nods and looks down at his hands as he rubs them together.

“In the name of love one night in the name of love,” comes Justin’s voice from the stairs loudly.

“He reminds me of nick,” Kevin says ad AJ nods, “Before he changed that is.”

AJ nods, “Of course Nick sings a little more in tune.”

“AJ,” Kevin says.

AJ smiles slightly, “What?”

Kevin shakes his head sipping his coffee again.

“It’s true,” AJ smiles.

Nick sits on the floor in the corner of Justin’s room with his glasses perched on his nose staring down at the papers. Justin was perched on his bed staring at the TV again going through the videos Kevin had given them.

“Justin do you think I could have a little more light please?” Nick says to him as he strains his eyes in the dark to read the paper, “Justin?” he says again when he gets no reply.

Nick looks up at Justin who is sitting on the end of his bed staring mindlessly at the TV screen with the VCR remote in his hand fast-forwarding, playing and rewinding. Nick shakes his head and sighs before focusing his attention back on the papers in his lap. Justin was stressing himself out very badly over the tapes and Nick knew it was too much for Justin. He was going to end up having a breakdown or something.

“What are talking about,” yells a voice that Nick could tell from the TV screen and he looks up to watch the TV.

“What the hell have you been doing?” JC yells at Justin.

“Why the hell do you care?” Justin yells, “You never cared before!”

“Because now you’re affecting the group!”

“Oh God not your precious group! JC do you think the group even matters now? Honestly does it?”

“If you actually put your heart into it again instead of running around high as anything all the time or drunk off your ass and you weren’t around with whoever that whore is….”

“Don’t call her that! Don’t you ever call her that!” Justin yells quickly running up to JC and slamming him into the wall holding him by the shirt collar, “You have no idea who I am JC. You have no idea what I am like inside my head. You have no idea how I feel. You have no idea what I am capable of, so don’t you ever try to fucking tell me what to do again. I could kill you JC. I could kill you in so many way so DON’T FUCK WITH ME!” he yells finally letting go of him and walking away out of the camera shot.

JC stays leaning against the wall for a few seconds before sighing loudly and walking out of the shot the opposite way that Justin went.

Nick looks at Justin as his head drops a bit as the TV screen starts to turn to static and snow before opening up to a new picture. Nick sees himself sitting quietly on the floor at the foot of a couch as Justin sits on the couch nursing a beer. Neither of them spoke at all to each other. Nick could see a very lost expression on his own face. He had dark circles under his eyes and his eyes were red for whatever reason. Justin seemed even more lost though. He had a far of gaze in his stare and you could tell by his movements that he was miles away in his head high on something. Nick stares at the screen oddly as Justin begins to half sing half mumble something.

“There was a boy. A very strange enchanted boy. They say he wandered very far, very far. Over land and sea. A little shy and sad of eye. But very wise was he. And then one day. A magic day he passed my way. And while we spoke of many things. Fools and kings. This he said to me. ‘The greatest thing you'll ever learn. Is just to love and be loved in return.’”

Nick stares at the screen and shudders slightly. It wasn’t the song that frightened…even though David Bowie was always a little frightening, but the thing that scared him was the way Justin sang it. The way Justin didn’t seem to know what he was singing when he sang it and the tone of his voice part drunk, part high, part Justin. A very sad, lost and confused Justin. And the fact was that the song spoke volumes for Justin.

“Justin you ok?” Nick asks when he sees the far of gaze appear on his face again as he watches the TV, “Justin!”

“What?” Justin asks turning around snapping out of it.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah…yeah I’m ok,” he says focusing his attention back on the TV as the screen begins to fuzz and come back into focus.

“Wonderful I’m passed out in this one,” Nick says as he sees himself passed out on a couch.

Justin smiles slightly at his remark before focusing his attention on the TV again.

“Love lifts us up where we belong. Where an eagle cries on a mountain high. Love makes us act like we are fools. Throw our lives away for one happy day…” Justin sings clearly this time walking into the shot pulling Ness along.

Nick shakes his head as a wide smile spread across Justin’s face and he focuses his attention back on the papers in his lap. Yeah Justin and him were two of a kind. Be it for good or bad reasons. Now all they have to do is fight the demons together.