Days became weeks, weeks became months and before Maggie knew it the summer was upon her. She had kept a close eye on the boys through television and the Internet, but they had both stayed their distance. Maggie hadn’t heard from Nick or AJ since that weekend back in January. She did know that AJ had begun the hard road to staying sober, although he didn’t enter rehab this time, he had an AA sponsor on tour with him.

It was now June and Maggie’s plans with Judy were only a few short weeks away. Part of her was excited for the vacation, but the other half was dreading being back on Florida turf.

At the moment Maggie was running around her apartment trying to get ready for another day of work at the dance studio. The radio in her room blared in the background, the station set on Kiis FM.

After pouring a hot cup of coffee, Maggie ran into the bathroom, pulled her hair up into a bun, and then she went back into the bedroom to find her jazz ballet shoes. They weren’t in the closet where she normally put them. “Damnit.” She muttered, seeing the time was 8:27 am, giving her 30 minutes to be at work in time. Maggie scanned the room, not seeing the shoes lying around anywhere. Then she got down on her knees and looked under the bed, still no luck. Giving up, Maggie grabbed her duffel bag and ran to the door.

“The radio.” She remembered, rushing back into her room.

The last few notes of ‘Drowning’ played through the stereo, causing Maggie to pause. “That was ‘Drowning’ by the Backstreet Boys, an old hit from the guys, but still a good one.” Rick Dees, the morning DJ, said. “We will be playing the newest Backstreet song in just a few minutes, but first let’s talk with our surprise guest DJ.”

“Hey, hey, hey. This is Kid Nicky here. How are ya doin’ L.A.?” Nick’s voice filtered into the room.

Maggie clicked off the radio with resistance. “Where has time gone?” she thought, heading out the door and to her car. She had forgotten that the Chapter One tour would be bringing the boys into Los Angeles. Or maybe she just didn’t want to think about it. Sure there had been other times the guys had come to town, and she had gotten through those, but this was different. They would be staying for a few weeks, two concerts then a video shoot for their newest single ‘Lost’.

Once she was in her car, Maggie turned the radio on to catch the rest of Nick’s disc jockey alter ego. She smiled as his voice came through the speakers.

“You know what I was thinking,” Nick said.

“Uh-oh, what’s that?” Rick teased.

Nick laughed. “I just thought I could play another Backstreet song before we play ‘Lost’. I’m sure the fans wouldn’t mind.”

“What about the non-fans?” Rick joked. “Yeah, that would be fine Nick, but first let’s go to commercials. We will be right back with DJ Kid Nicky and the mystery BSB song.”

Sighing Maggie lowered the radio and pulled onto the highway. Traffic was moving rather quickly for L.A. and soon the skyline of the city appeared. The commercials ended and she turned up the radio.

*

Inside the studio Nick waited patiently for the commercials to end. He hoped that Maggie would be listening to the morning show on her way to work. He might not have heard from her, but he knew that she was always keeping a close eye on their activities. Now he was ready to make a move. Five months had gone by and that was five months too long for him.

Nick remembered the morning after Maggie left and smiled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

AJ, Howie and Carmen came into the rehearsal room, excited for things to begin.

“Nice to have you back, Alex,” Kevin said, embracing his friend in a hug.

Next to Kevin, Brian waited for his chance to welcome AJ. “No more scares like that man,” he commented, before also giving AJ a hug.

Nick lingered back, unsure of what to say or do.

“Hey.” AJ stated, as he walked up to Nick. “No hard feelings.”

The words were just what Nick needed to hear. He grinned and pulled AJ close to him. “Thank you.”

Kevin cleared his throat and the tow men broke a part and looked at their band mate. “After rehearsals we have a meeting with The Firm and Jive to discuss what happens now.”

*

Rehearsals went smoothly and soon the five men were sitting around a large oak table waiting for the higher ups in the business to come in and go over things. The door opened and a few men in suits piled into the room and took their seats.

“I want this meeting to be quick, so unfortunately you boys don’t have much of a say on how things will go.” Mark, one of the men said, while giving a stern look to AJ. “This tour cannot be postponed. We’ve done that once before and sales dropped. I realize this is your lives and career, however, it is a marketing business too and we rely on those to pay the bills.

“Alex, what you choose to do over this past weekend was selfish and stupid, but I’m not here to criticize your actions. I’m here to tell you what your next career move will be. Because you’ve fallen off the wagon, you’re going to need a more watchful eye, someone to support and basically sponsor you. We’ve gone through AA to find that person for you and he will be joining you on the tour. Think of him as your new backbone.

“As for the media and how that is going to be handled, we’ve spoken with MTV and they are going to do a news exclusive on this. Alex, be prepared to the new anti-alcohol spokes person because that’s what the news report will focus on. Don’t forget that the spotlight has made you an icon to thousands of people and they watch, critique and sometimes mimic your every move. You’ve been through this once before and now you’re going to use your experiences to help others,” Mark concluded.

Another man spoke up next. “Gentlemen, I think you know the right things to say, you’ve had years of experience and media training. We just want this issue taken care of as soon as possible. Don’t forget the new tour begins in only one month. We’ll be using the time from now until then to promote. Thank you for taking time out for this meeting. You can pick up your schedule from my secretary. Have a good rest of the day.”

Each of the five Backstreet Boys left the room with somber faces. They knew what to expect from the meeting, but all the same it meant a lot of hard work for each of them, especially AJ.

The group parted to go their own ways, but Nick lingered back. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to head back home and be reminded of Maggie’s early morning departure.

At the elevator AJ noticed Nick hadn’t followed. Instead of leaving he opted to go find his friend instead. He found Nick by a water cooler, a glazed over look in his baby blue eyes. “Hey, man, are you okay?”

Startled to hear AJ’s voice Nick brought himself back to reality. “Not really. She left again.” His voice quivered. He swallowed the rest of the water in the paper cup he held and tried his best not to cry.

“Do you want to talk about it?” AJ offered. He was upset the moment had to come under such awkward circumstances, but he had been planning on calling Nick later that day to talk. After going back and forth with his mind and his heart, AJ knew that the brotherhood he and Nick shared was more important than a girl. Now all the love he had for Maggie didn’t matter as much as the happiness of his two best friends.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nick shook himself from the past. It hadn’t been easy for him, since Maggie walked out of his life again, but that day him and AJ had bonded. And what really mattered was, his best friend, band mate and most importantly, brother had given his approval to the relationship. Nick knew that hadn’t been easy for AJ, and he didn’t act on impulse and go after Maggie right away. Now here he was, ready to take a chance to get her back into his life again.

“Kid Nicky are you ready to introduce that mystery song?” Rick asked.

*

“Hey, this is DJ Kid Nicky back on the Kiis morning show with Rick Dees. Thanks for tuning in. I’ve been given permission to play a song by the Backstreet Boys, but before I do that I want to say something.

“I know the past can sometimes be hard to face, but maybe it’s better not to always dwell on the bad times. You can’t change those. You can only look to the future and hope it turns out better. The reason I say this is because for the past five months I’ve done nothing but think about things. I don’t know if she’s out there listening right now, but if you are, I’m sorry.” Nick gave a satisfied smile, which viewers didn’t get to see.

Maggie nearly swerved off the road when she heard Nick finish. “What the hell is he thinking?” She screamed. She could picture that trademark smirk of his dancing on his tanned face. Gaining control, she turned up the radio, curious to what song Nick had thought would fit their situation so well.

“Wasn’t that sentimental.” Rick spoke with sarcasm. “But this is your show, so now let’s get to the song, an unreleased single from the Millennium album. ‘Don’t Want To Loose You’.”

The song played through Maggie’s radio as tears welled up in her eyes. She drove the rest of the way to work, debating whether she should take Nick back or not.