Brian grabbed the card key he had gotten from the desk downstairs and slid it through the lock on the door. He turned the handle and opened it up, to find all four guys, sitting in the room waiting anxiously for him to walk in. "Brian!" yelled Kevin, as he jumped up to greet him, "how are ya? How'd everything go?!"

Brian just stood there beaming. "Dude, Rok, what'd she say?!" asked AJ anxiously, while Howie, Nick and Kevin stood there awaiting the answer. "She said yes, guys," Brian finally announced, as his smile got wider, "we're engaged."

Congratulations went all around, as Nick stood there, absolutely stunned. Nobody seemed to notice that Nick wasn't joining in on the celebration, as hugs and high fives were exchanged. Finally, when things calmed down a bit, Nick managed to choke out, "So you two are getting married? You and Lauren?"

Brian nodded, not at all noticing Nick's lack of enthusiasm. "We're probably not doing it for a while, but we haven't really made any plans yet," Brian said, gleaming. Nick nodded and faked a smile. What are you doing?!' he wanted to cry out to Brian, "why are you ruining your life?!' but he didn't say a word. Brian was so caught up in the moment and seemed so happy that he didn't want to ruin it.

"I think that girl's looking at you Frack," commented AJ, tipping his sunglasses down a bit to get a better look. All five guys were in some club in Houston after their show, just checking out the scene. Howie was dancing with some girl, Kevin was chatting it up with some girl at the bar, Brian was at the payphone talking to Lauren, and AJ was sitting with Nick at a table.

"I don't care," said Nick flatly, as he picked up his glass and downed another shot of tequila. AJ raised his eyebrows at the sight of Nick drinking shots like a madman. "What's up your ass tonight?" asked AJ, shaking his head.

"Fuck you," retorted Nick, his eyes darting from the girl who was noticeably checking him out to Brian on the phone. "Why don't you just go for that chick?" asked AJ, not understanding why Nick had such an attitude, "it looks like you need some relief from built up sexual frustration!"

Nick's only response was swallowing another tequila shot. "Whatever, dude," AJ mumbled, finally giving up. He got up and headed toward another group of girls, freeing himself from Nick's bad state.

Noticing AJ had left, Nick just scowled. Screw all of them,' he thought, looking one more time at Brian smiling into the phone. A wave of nausea passed over him, but he shook it off by rubbing his head. He wasn't used to drinking so much; he didn't quite have the tolerance any of the other guys had.

At that moment, thoughts came flooding back to him about why he was so pissed off in the first place. "Brian's getting married," he said to himself, his words all slurred, "he's getting married to Lauren."

Despite the fact that he was distraught, a smile spread across his face. He thought of Lauren, and how they had been friends for a little over a year. She had always been there to help him and talk to him, and they had always been close. "But they're getting married," he stuttered, "and Brian can't get married."

Nick gathered all his strength and stood up. He wobbled past everyone, to the edge of the room where the bathrooms were. He walked in the one marked "Mens" and passed out on the floor.

"Uh, Lauren?" said Brian, glancing nervously in the direction of the bathrooms, "I think I have to go now."

"Okay baby, will you call me tomorrow?" Lauren asked, not giving it a second thought to why he had to go so suddenly. "Of course," Brian answered, "love ya."

They hung up, and Brian looked again to the bathrooms. Nick went in there more than ten minutes ago,' he thought to himself, I hope he's okay.' He looked at the table where the guys were sitting before and saw they weren't there. He shrugged, and opened the door to the mens washroom. The minute he walked in, he gasped loudly, as he saw Nick lying curled up in a ball on the floor. "Oh shit," he said, as he instinctively checked to see if he was breathing. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized he was.

"Nick, buddy," Brian said semi-frantically, shaking his shoulder a bit and slapping him lightly on the face, "wake up....Nick, you gotta get up." Nick shifted and let out a groan. The smell of alcohol on his breath was so strong that Brian had to take a step back. "Nick, get up!" Brian said, quite insistent.

It only took a few tries, but Brian was finally able to hoist Nick up to his feet and help him out of the bathroom. He got the other guys and told them he was taking Nick back to their hotel, and jetted out of there quickly.

Brian looked at Nick sprawled out on his bed, breathing heavily. He had passed out again, but had made it until they had gotten back to the hotel. He shook his head, wondering what possibly could have possessed Nick to drink so much more than he usually did and could handle.

Nick was standing on stage in front of millions of screaming fans. He had just finished a solo, and the fans were going wild. He felt on top of the world, and had such a rush from the attention. "Now, I'd like to introduce you all to my best friend in the entire world, Brian Littrell!" he screamed out into the audience, and their cheers got louder. He stood their smiling, waiting for Brian to come out, but no one came. His smile suddenly turned into a worried look when he realized that Brian wasn't coming out. He looked into the wings of the stage and gave a confused look to AJ, who walked out onto stage to help Nick.

"Dude, where's Brian?" asked a now extremely worried Nick. AJ lowered his eyes and said into the microphone, "Brian's no longer a member of the Backstreet Boys."

The crowd went silent for a split second, then started to boo and make tons of noise. "What?!" screamed Nick, totally confused, "why not?!"

"He's a married man now, Nick," explained AJ, looking sad, "he doesn't want to have to deal with us while he's married to Lauren, and we can't manage without him...he's the heart and soul of the Backstreet Boys...so we're breaking up."

"No...." Nick trailed off, not believing anything AJ was saying, "we can't break up! Without the Backstreet Boys I'm nothing! Without Brian I'm nothing....."

Nick sat up suddenly, his heart beating a hundred times a second and his face and neck drenched in sweat. "Brian," he whispered, but caught himself before he called out again. He looked around at Brian and AJ sleeping in their beds, and lay back down. It was just a dream,' he assured himself, his eyes suddenly flooding over with tears, it was just a dream.' With that, two tears trickled slowly down his face.

"Nick, I swear, if you don't change your attitude I will punch you so hard in the face, you won't know what hit you!"

"AJ, fuck off."

"Man, Nick what's your problem anyway? For the past three weeks you've been like this and I really don't like it...and neither does anyone else!"

"Shut up Kevin."

Brian looked around the room and shook his head with a painful frown. Why is this happening?' he thought, feeling very upset, why does Nick have such a problem?' It was toward the end of August, and the boys were on the homestretch of the last leg of their tour. Everything seemed to be falling apart before Brian's eyes: his best friend was, for some reason, angry at the whole entire world twenty four hours a day, and he was bringing everyone down with him. Brian hadn't sat down to talk to Nick in what seemed like forever, but the fact was he was a little frightened at what he might do.

"Why don't you all just leave me alone?! God, I feel like I'm under constant supervision whenever I'm around you guys! Just...just...leave me alone!" Nick spat out, as he walked quickly out the door, shutting it hard on the way out.

The four boys just sat there, stunned. "What are we gonna do?" asked Howie quietly. No one knew the answer.

"So, how's the newly engaged one doing today?" asked Faren, taking a sip of her water. Lauren had invited Faren, Bailey and Nathalie over for dinner, and were catching up on stuff they had missed throughout the summer. Lauren had told them all about Brian, and they were all thrilled.

"Yeah," added Nathalie, "it must be weird while he's in like Canada or whatever, you're here in Florida." Lauren nodded, but then smiled. "He'll be home soon," she grinned, thinking of the awaited day. Her face then turned kind of strange, as she thought of what Brian had told her on the phone a couple days ago. "What's wrong?" asked Bailey, noticing right away something was off-key.

"Nothing...it's just that Brian told me something kinda weird the other day," she started, "he told me him and the boys were having some trouble with Nick."

"Trouble with Nick?" Faren asked, sarcastically, "you mean that boy actually is a troublemaker? You don't say!" Lauren laughed, but then said, "Seriously though...Brian said it was bad...he told me he gets in moody fits and screams at everyone, including Brian! He can't seem to get along with anybody now."

Faren shrugged along with Nathalie, but Bailey said, "Maybe he's lonely? I mean, being around the guys is great and all, but maybe he wants different friends? Maybe he wants a steady relationship, rather than a one-night stand with a girl he meets on the streets or in a club?"

Lauren nodded, still a little worried about what was going on thousands of miles away. She thought she knew Nick, but she wasn't sure what he may get himself into.

"I feel in heaven when I look in your eyes, I know that you are the one for me..." Brian belted out to the crowd in Syracuse, New York, on the last scheduled date of their world tour. It felt weird, but he was so excited for the tour to be over, and for him and the guys to be able to go back to Orlando and relax.

He glanced over at Nick who was dancing like he was supposed to, and trying not to look bored and angry to be there, but Brian knew he was. Nick had gotten progressively worse over the last week or so of their tour, and every time Brian had tried to talk to him, Nick had just blown up in his face and stormed away.

"Everybody, rock your body, everybody, Backstreet's Back ALL RIGHT!" they all sang, to end off the show. The boys ran backstage and collapsed, trying to cool off and catch their breath. As soon as everything was okay, Nick walked into his dressing room and slammed the door.

This wasn't a new thing for him to do, but nevertheless everyone was concerned. Even with his little brother, Nick seemed standoffish. Aaron, who was on tour with the boys, had always been close with Nick, but it was apparent that something wasn't right.

"Man, it feels good to be home!" announced Kevin, as the five guys, plus security and management, stepped off the plane at ten thirty at night to a bunch of screaming girls and fans. Over the summer, the boys had gained instant popularity, and had gone from nobodies in their hometown to superstars.

They pushed their way through the crowd, until they made it to the limo that was planning to take the boys home. The airport was a good fifteen minute ride from the area of their houses, and Brian was dreading the ride home, for many reasons.

"Damn, I am so excited to just go home and sleep!" exclaimed Howie, with AJ nodding in agreement. Kevin laughed, and Brian added, "and I can't wait to see Lauren!"

Kevin laughed again, but this time Nick just rolled his eyes as he glared blankly out the window. No one caught it, however. "So, Nick," said Kevin carefully, "are you excited to be home?"

No answer. "Nick?" tried Kevin again. Still no answer. "Nick, I think Kevin's talking to you," said Howie, trying to make him answer. "I can hear you!" screamed Nick all of a sudden, "do you think I'm fucking deaf?! The reason I'm not answering you is because I don't feel like talking to you!"

"Oh, that's it," muttered AJ to himself, as he leapt off his seat and positioned himself in front of Nick. He grabbed the collar of his shirt as he screamed, "Nick, I've had it fucking up to HERE with your shit! If you don't stop talking to all of us like that there's going to be serious trouble, do you understand?! SERIOUS! Now, you better change your fucking attitude, or shit's gonna fly!"

"Get off me!" Nick exclaimed, his voice quavering, "you just don't understand!"

"Don't understand what, Nick?" asked Howie quietly, hoping to open him up. "You don't understand..." he stammered, trying not to cry, "you just don't....you don't see..." and with that, the limo stopped in front of his house, he grabbed his bags and ran inside.

Nick was fuming. Instead of saying hi to his parents whom he hadn't seen in a month since they last met up with the tour to make sure Aaron was okay, he ran up to his room and slammed the door. "Why don't they see?!" he asked to an empty room, "why doesn't Brian know that if he gets married, everything will get screwed up?!"

Just then, something shimmering caught his eye. It was his car keys; his car in which he hadn't driven since he had been back in Orlando during Brian's surgery. "I've gotta get outta here," he mumbled, grabbing the keys. At that very moment, the phone rang, scaring Nick. He debated not picking it up, but grabbed it on impulse and said, in an exasperated tone, "hello?"

"Nick!" Lauren exclaimed on the other end, "how are you? Did you just get back? How was it?"

Nick gasped at the first sound of her voice. Brian must've told her about all that was going on, yet she still called him first thing. Tears came to his eyes as he answered, "Um, hi Lauren, I'm fine, how are you?"

"Good...Nick, is everything okay?" Lauren asked, showing concern in her voice. It was the same concern that Brian, Howie, AJ and Kevin and been showing him for the past month, and he wasn't liking it. "Yeah, yeah it's fine....Lauren, I gotta go...I can't talk now......bye," he said abruptly, as he hung up.

Lauren sat in her room, holding the phone to her ear, listening to the dial tone, stunned. What happened there?' she thought, then remembering everything Brian had told her. She had hoped it wasn't true, but it seemed to be.

Tears stung Nick's eyes as he realized he had just totally blown her off. "Suck it up, Nick," he said out loud, "these are the people that are going to abandon you." With that, he walked quickly outside into the night, hopped in his car, started the engine and drove away.

"Fuck all of them!" Nick announced to his car, as he drove erratically down the highway, "screw them all for leaving me! Especially Brian, that son-of-a-bitch...." Nick gripped the steering wheel tightly as he swerved left and right, "how could they do this to me?" was his last words, before losing control and slamming into an oncoming car.

"Hello?" said Lauren sleepily. It was three thirty in the morning and the phone had rung, waking her from a sound sleep.

"Hi baby, it's me," said Brian's voice on the other end. It didn't sound good; he sounded rushed and upset. "Bri, what's up? What's wrong?" Lauren said, sitting up in her bed, now fully aware that something wasn't right.

"It's Nick," Brian said, his voice cracking a bit, "he's....there's been an accident."

Lauren gasped, not believing what was said. "H-he what?!" she blurted out, her eyes filling with tears. "Nick was in a car accident," he managed to choke out, "he's in the hospital. I'm here right now, and...."

"I'll be right there," Lauren said, as she hung up the phone, not giving Brian a chance to finish. She didn't wanna hear what he had to say; she didn't want to hear any bad news.

It only took Lauren a total of fifteen minutes to get ready, and be at the hospital. She walked quickly into the dreaded place which carried tons of bad memories. A shiver went through her body as she remembered a year ago being in that very room waiting to see Nathalie after being in a coma.

She found Brian quickly, roaming the halls aimlessly looking for something that didn't seem to be there. When he spotted her, he felt as though he were going to just burst out bawling, but he controlled himself. "Hey baby," he said, his voice cracking, holding out his arms. It was the first time they had seen each other since the proposal, and the terms weren't very good.

"How is he?" Lauren asked carefully, while in his embrace. She could almost feel his angst, but she tried to stay calm. "I don't know," he answered, biting his lip, "I've only seen the doctor once since I've been here, and he said there was trauma to his head..."

Lauren couldn't handle staying calm anymore. Her lower lip began to tremble, and tears came pouring down her cheeks. Brian noticed this right away and tried to comfort her, but it was difficult, because he lost it there too.

"Oh God," whispered Lauren, as she glanced over Brian's shoulder and saw Nick's family standing by a doorway down the hall. It made her sick to her stomach to see so many sad faces. His dad was trying to comfort his mom, while Bobbie Jean, Leslie and Angel were all quietly crying. She caught her breath when she saw Aaron, though. His face had a stricken look on it, and he just looked horrified.

They soon met up with the rest of the guys, who also looked about on the verge of breaking down. Lauren had spoken to the doctors and nurses and they had said that no one was allowed to see him at that moment, and that they were still doing everything that they could do. They also couldn't let them know of his condition until everything was positive.

Lauren, plus Kevin, Brian, AJ and Howie all sat in the waiting room. No one said a single word until they all watched Aaron walk by. He was completely in a trance. "Poor guy," said AJ, shaking his head, "he must be devastated."

"Why did this have to happen to him?" Kevin asked hypothetically, choking up a bit, "why Nick? Of all people, why our little buddy?"

"He was so mad at us," commented Howie, "he seemed mad at the world, and no one knew why."

That suddenly caught Lauren's attention. "Guys, I think I spoke to him just before it happened," she said quietly, feeling the tears coming again. "Where? On the phone? What did he say?!" said Brian frantically.

"I called him and we only talked for a second....he sounded really upset and rushed, and said he couldn't talk...I bet that was right before he got in the car."

The four boys looked up suddenly. "It's my fault," concluded Lauren tearily, "it's my fault he got in the car angry and crashed."

"Lauren, don't say that," Brian said, sternly, "it is NOT your fault at all, and I don't want you to ever say that." Lauren just shrugged her shoulders, while the tears continued to fall, "I hope he's okay."

Time went by, and doctors came and went, all delivering the same news: they can't say anything yet, but they were doing everything they could. The Carters were not handling it well either. They were pacing up and down the hallway, trying to control the girls, and trying to see their boy. The drivers of the other cars had gotten away with only minor injuries, because he had been pushed into traffic and hit twice, according to police.

The morning came, and it was soon close to noon. Lauren was too anxious to fall asleep or anything, and none of the other guys had moved their eyes from the door. Eventually, a doctor came out, and walked toward the group.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carter?" the doctor asked, as they stood up. "Yes?" said Jane anxiously, tightly gripping Bob's arm, "how is he? How is my Nicky?"

"Well, right now he's in stable condition, which will hopefully hold up.....you can see him now, although he's not awake....Nick's in a coma," he finished.

Lauren gasped, instantly thinking of Nathalie. "Oh God," she whispered, taking Brian's hand. She noticed his hands were shaking. "Nick's in a coma," she said, not able to believe what he had said. It was as if she was experiencing deja vu. It was too much like when Gray had told her that Nat was in a coma on the ship. They waited until the family had gone in and come out before they went to see Nick....Lauren wasn't sure if she could handle seeing his family so upset.

The group of five walked slowly into the room, after the Carters had left. Lauren instantly let out another gasp. Nick looked nothing like Nathalie did when she was in a coma; Nat had looked peaceful and asleep, Nick just looked like he was in pain. He had bruises on his cheeks, along with a black eye. He had a cut above his eyebrow and on his jaw, and his left arm was in a brace. He had an IV stuck in his arm, and had tubes in his nose which were hooked up to a machine, and to top it all off, the look on his face showed nothing but distress.

The five sat with him for a while, no one saying anything really. Lauren couldn't bring herself to look at him for the first five minutes; it was too painful. After about 15 minutes of silence, Kevin said softly, "Boys, I think we'd better go...we have some stuff to do today and I don't think they'd appreciate it if we sat here all day..."

"You're right Kev," AJ agreed, standing up, "are you coming, Laur?"

"Naw, I think I'm gonna stay here a little longer," she answered, now not being able to take her eyes off Nick. When she finally did, she looked at Brian, which just made things worse. Nick was Brian's best friend in the world, and he was barely breathing. "Bye baby," he whispered to Lauren, before they left.

Lauren was alone in the room. For a couple minutes she just looked sadly at Nick, wishing that he'd just suddenly wake up and be better. No such luck. "Oh Nick..." she sighed out loud, then remembering what someone had told her a while ago. They had said that generally people in a coma can hear what you're saying, even though they can't respond.

"Well Nick, you've always been the one who wanted all the attention," she started, feeling kinda stupid for talking to herself, "and you got it, kid....." Just in case he COULD hear her, she wanted to lighten the situation up a bit....but it wasn't working. A single tear fell down her cheek, followed by another.

"Why?" she said, tearfully, pulling her chair closer to Nick's bedside, "why did you do this, Nicky? We all love you so much...there was no reason for you to be mad at us....I missed you so much while you were gone, and I never really got to speak to you....why did this have to happen?"

At this point, she was fully crying. "Oh God," she said, sniffling, "Please God, don't let anything happen to him...he's so young and still has his whole life in front of him...please don't let anything happen to Nicky..."

She gently took his hand and held it. "Please," she sobbed to a virtually empty room, "let him live...let my friend live...let him live a normal life...."

She continued to sob until she had no tears left and no energy. Right before she left, she looked at his face, which was all beaten up and cut, and heaved a great big sigh. "Bye Nick," she whispered, before exiting the room.

"....Pop sensation Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys was admitted to the hospital early Monday morning after being involved in a car crash, just outside of the area which is Orlando home is located. It has been reported that he is in stable condition at the present time, but it is questionable to whether his condition will stay stable. Sources report that the accident was possibly caused by alcohol consumption, but this has not been confirmed by authorities. Fellow members of the group have not talked to the media about his accident, but we hope to speak to friend and band-mate Brian Littrell..."

Lauren angrily shut off the television. "Damn those media bastards," she said loudly, slamming down the remote control, "he was NOT drunk! He wasn't......"

The media had been all over this since they first got their hands on it, not long after Lauren had left the hospital on her first visit. There was a crew of reporters and cameramen constantly standing outside the hospital, and every time Lauren walked in and out, they hounded her for information and gossip. They knew by now who she was, and who she was affiliated with...Lauren just hoped the kids who looked up to the Backstreet Boys and wished that one day Brian would marry them, weren't too hurt.

The truth was, Nick's condition was never the same every time she visited. Sometimes he was doing better, other times he was worse, but he was still unconscious. It made Lauren sad to think that maybe he'd never wake up, but she didn't like thinking of that too much.

Lauren wasn't generally a religious person, but she had been doing a lot of praying recently....for Nick's recovery. She also hadn't seen much of Brian and the rest of the guys, because they had been keeping a low profile for privacy reasons. But all in all, her life was going down the drain.

"Please Nick," she said to a picture of him and the rest of the guys in her room, "make it through...for me."

"Hey guys, what's up?" Lauren said, as she walked into the waiting room at the hospital and found Brian and Kevin sitting on the couches. Brian shrugged solemnly, and Kevin did the same. "Why aren't you guys in Nick's room?" asked Lauren, trying to get more of a response than a gesture.

"The doctor kicked us out," answered Brian, shifting over, making room for Lauren to sit down, "I don't know why, but he's still in there and it can't be good."

Lauren grimaced, as she sat down. Over the past week or so, she had come to dread arriving at the hospital, not knowing what was going on. Also, over the past week she had spoken less and less to Brian. Whenever they did talk, it was something about Nick and it never was anything good.

On the brighter side of things, Nathalie and Gray were busily planning their wedding. They both knew of Nick's condition and had been by to visit, along with Faren and Bailey, but still had a wedding to plan that was scheduled to happen the middle of October. All the guys were invited, but it was uncertain to whether all of them would be able to attend.

There was also the factor of Brian and Lauren's wedding that still did not have a date. In fact, they hadn't even remotely discussed it since he had proposed. Lauren sighed as she glanced at her ring. It definitely was a tough time.

Days and days passed, and Nick's condition stayed the same. The boys were affected by it tremendously, as they had to keep a low pro to stay away from media and the public.

"Coming!" called Lauren one day, as she walked quickly to her door after it had rung. She opened it, and was surprised when she saw Aaron standing on her doorstep.

"Aaron!" she exclaimed, genuinely surprised, "what are you doing here? Did you ride your bike all the way here?!" she said after seeing his mountain bike by his side.

"Yeah," he said timidly, "can I come in?"

"Of course!" she said, leading him inside to her living room, "do you want something to drink or anything? You must be thirsty after that long ride......do your parents know you're here?"

"Yeah," he said again, hesitant to move anywhere from where he was standing in the middle of the floor, "um, I just came by because, um, well...." He sat down and joined her on the couch, and twisted his fingers together. "Why, Aaron? What's wrong, sweetie?" Lauren said, trying to get him to finish his sentence.

"Well, um, I came here because....well, I'm kinda, well....I'm kinda lonely now."

Lauren's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. The look on her face must have affected Aaron, because Lauren could tell that he was fighting off tears. "Oh Aaron..." she trailed off, looking at him with such sympathy, "I'm sorry hun, I know this must be hard for you..."

Aaron just looked at his hands, biting his already trembling lip. "It's just that...well...the thing is, before I used to talk to Nick all the time and he was always there to talk to me and play basketball and Nintendo with me, even on the road, and now he's not home and I can't even talk to him..."

Aaron's voice broke on the last word, as tears began streaming down his face. He wiped them messily away, as Lauren leaned over and hugged him. She knew he was trying to be strong and trying not to cry, but he just couldn't. "It's okay Aar," she comforted, feeling his sobs through the hug.

When he pulled away, he looked down, ashamed. "Nick always told me not to cry in front of girls," he said, shyly, "he told me that if guys cry in front of girls they look like wimps."

Lauren had to hold back a smile, as she pictured Nick giving elderly advice to his younger brother. "Oh Aaron, it's okay to cry....I'm sure Nick didn't mean it like that...and I'm sure that if he knew you were crying for him, he'd be thankful," she said, wiping one of his tears away.

Aaron shrugged. "Listen, Aaron, if you ever feel lonely or you need someone to talk to or you want someone to play Nintendo with you, I'm always here," she explained, feeling incredibly sad herself. "Thanks Lauren," Aaron said, smiling a bit, but then his small smile turned scared again. His eyes welled up with tears again and looked away. "Aar, what's wrong?" Lauren asked, confusedly.

He shook his head and kept staring at the floor. After coaxing him for a minute or two, Lauren finally got him to open up. He was full on crying at this point, heavy sobs coming out in heaves. Lauren was just trying to keep composure herself; it was hard when this ten-year-old boy was crying his eyes out.

"W-what if Nick....what if Nick..." he trailed off sobbing, but then finished his sentence, "what if my brother dies?"

"Oh Aaron..." she said again, hugging him as he cried. "I'm so scared," he sobbed, holding Lauren tightly, "Nick's my best friend in the whole world...he's my brother...I love him...he can't die..."

This was too much for Lauren to bear. Tears began to roll down her face, and they had one big crying session. The worst part was, Lauren didn't know what to say to him. She wanted to tell him that everything was going to turn out okay, and that Aaron would see his brother again. But she wasn't sure if that was true. She wasn't sure if he would be able to play basketball with Nick again, or if they would be able to ride on their boat together. She didn't want to make a false promise.

"I'm telling ya, Bri, he was crying his eyes out and I didn't know what to do! I've never been really good with those things....Brian? Brian!" Lauren said loudly, waving her hand in front of Brian's face as they sat together.

They were both at his house after, once again, visiting the hospital. "Sorry Laur," he said distractedly, "I wasn't really listening."

"No shit," muttered Lauren, but Brian didn't hear. He was already back in his world.

Over the past week or so, Lauren had noticed a distinct change in Brian's behavior. He was sometimes moody and often didn't listen to things she, or anyone else, was saying. Sometimes she felt as though she was having a conversation with a rock.

He had acted the exact same way right before and right after his heart surgery.

This realization scared Lauren tremendously, as she remembered the horrible stuff that had gone on. They had almost broken up because of that. Lauren had left him during their tour; during the time he needed her most. But he had never shown any appreciation for her being there. Lauren shuddered at the thought of that time during the summer.

After an hour or so, AJ showed up at Brian's house, along with Howie and Kevin. The four seemed empty without Nick. The group was lifeless.

They talked for a while, but Brian didn't say a word throughout the whole conversation. "Yo, B-rok!" AJ exclaimed, nudging his shoulder, "Lauren asked you a question!"

"Oh, sorry," he said again, still not making eye contact with the group, and still not making an effort to hear the question she asked (which was whether or not he was going to the hospital again tonight.)

Lauren just rolled her eyes. Howie gave her a strange look, as if to say, "what's going on?" Brian seemed to come back to earth just in time to hear Lauren mutter, "he's a regular space cadet."

"A space cadet?!" Brian said loudly, "you're calling me a space cadet?!"

Lauren was quite taken aback by his sudden mood swing, but that seemed to be the pattern these days. "Yes, Brian," she said calmly, "this is the first time today you've actually heard what I've said!"

"Well, that could very well be because my best friend is in the hospital, Lauren! I'm sorry if I'm affected by this, but you're gonna have to deal! What right do you have to call ME a space cadet?!" he screamed.

"Brian, you have to get a grip!" she screamed, equally as loud, "you've got a job, and a life to deal with, and you're taking it all in shit! Look at Kevin and Howie and AJ....they're all in the same situation and they're taking it all fine!"

Kevin, AJ and Howie all shifted uncomfortably. The two were now involved in a full-on screaming match, with witnesses and everything. "You've also got a FIANCEE to deal with, Brian, who has been sitting back and watching you go through all this shit and I've been ignoring the fact that YOU'RE ignoring ME!" she ended, her voice quavering.

"As a fiancee you're SUPPOSED to be supportive, which is more than I can say for you! Can't you just think of someone else besides yourself for two minutes?!" he yelled, as Lauren's mouth almost dropped open.

"Don't you DARE tell me that I've been selfish, Brian!" she exclaimed, "I've been trying to stick with you this whole time! I love Nick just as much as you do, so I don't wanna hear any shit about me being selfish! I know that you're upset, but you can't keep living your life as a zombie stuck in la-la land! He's in a coma, and there's nothing you can do about it until he wakes up! You should try paying more attention to the other people who love you at the same time, Brian, like Kevin....or AJ and Howie! Or how about me, Brian?? The person you're getting MARRIED to for crying out loud?!"

Brian didn't even flinch. "Maybe a fiancee's not what I need right now, okay? Maybe this all came at a bad time...."

Lauren didn't let him finish. "Ya know what, Brian? I think you're right...a fiancee's NOT what you need right now! I'm sick of doing this, and I'm sick of the way you're acting! I've had it!" she screamed, as she pulled off her ring and threw it at him, "Take it!" She grabbed her purse and make a beeline for his front door, not looking behind, even to say goodbye to the other guys.

She drove home angrily and recklessly, to fired up to think straight. She got home and stormed up to her room, slamming doors and making noise on the way up. When she got to her room, she didn't know what to do with herself. I'm so mad...' she thought to herself, screaming inside her head, as far as I'm concerned, we're through!'

She looked down at her wrist and saw her bracelet. The one Brian had bought for her in Freeport. Just think of it as a graduation present or something!' he had said, right after he had bought it and given it to her.

Not giving it a second thought, she undid the clasp hastily and threw it into her drawer. Never had she taken off that bracelet; never. Not even after she had left Brian during their tour and she thought it was over for sure. This was the first time.

She looked down again, but this time at her naked ring finger. There was no ring: she had thrown it at him; given it back; said, "no thanks".

That's when it hit her. She collapsed onto her bed and started to cry. Heavy sobs that came from her lungs, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was over.......