Author's Notes: Response to a challenge issued by Sailor Twilight. Written live during an IM chat, but not an improve because there was only one stipulation to the challenge. What if AJ hadn't made his confession when he did? What if things got out of hand, and AJ ended up dead? What if his closest friends were the only suspect? The extended ending with an alternate killer is available upon request to cobalite@yahoo.com.

Broken
By Cobalite Ice

The maid opened the door to Mr. McLean's hotel room, expecting to see him sprawled drunkenly across one of the double beds like always. Something was wrong this morning. He was in bed, tucked in as if someone had actually bothered. Curious, she walked over. That's when she noticed he wasn't breathing.

The press arrived before the paramedics, and by the time the medical examiner declared him legally dead, thousands of girls across the country went into mourning. Alexander James McLean was dead. The date was July 11th, 2001. It was the end of an era, the end of Backstreet.

After everyone had gone, it was just the four of them. Howie was sobbing uncontrollably, Nick and Brian were trying to console each other, and Kevin looked like he was about to crack. "I.. I was going to call a group meeting this morning. I thought it was time for AJ to get some help." He couldn't go on. "Maybe I should have done this yesterday?"

"Yeah." Howie whispered. "I knew it was bad, but not this bad. I was with him until three in the morning, he wasn't that drunk! How could this happen." The unspoken question was there. 'How could we let this happen?'

"He was our brother. The wild one, and he needed help we couldn't give him." Nick pulled away from Brian. "This is it for me, guys. No more. I'm going home."

"I think this is it for all of us." Brian mumbled. "We're done now. I can't do this anymore either."

"No concerts. We get Jive to let us out of our contract, we make a press statement, and we go home." Kevin's cellphone rang. "Hello?" He listened in silence, and got progressively paler as whoever was on the other end of the line spoke. "I see. Yes, I understand." He hung up, and turned back to them. Almost ghostly now, he spoke with a hitch in his voice. "They have a cause of death."

"Alcohol poisoning?" Howie asked, quietly.

"Murder."

The glass of water Howie was drinking to calm his nerves smashed to the floor. "No."

"He was given some kind drug, and had a bad reaction to it. Fast acting, very fast. They found a bottle of Advil liquigels, all the capsules were some mood altering drug. He wouldn't have had time to get into bed like that. Someone did it, after he was dead." Kevin started turning a little green. "We're not going home."

"Of course not." Brian touched his cousin's shoulder. "We wouldn't leave a murderer on the loose."

"We're not going home because the Police won't let us. Someone used a keycard to let themselves into that room, AJ didn't have one on him. That makes us their chief suspects." Kevin sat down with a thud. "They think one of us killed him."

"Oh god." Nick started crying again. "How did they do it?"

"They're still waiting for the toxicology report." Kevin picked up the now near empty bottle. "We need to remember what happened last night."

Howie spoke first. "I went to some nightclub with AJ. We danced with a few dozen people, and he'd had a few drinks. Not even as bad as usual. I left about 2:30, after that everything gets a little fuzzy. He was dancing with someone, I think she was a blond, but I couldn't tell you for sure. Gone by this morning, obviously."

"Brian and I were playing basketball until about midnight." Nick rubbed his temples. "Then, I was with AJ and Howie at the club. After Howie left, AJ really started going at it. I think he was just trying to keep you from seeing it, D. I dragged him home about five o'clock in the morning, and left him sprawled out on top of one of the beds."

"I went home, and called Leighanne. It was around one, maybe." Brian still hadn't drunk his vodka, he just kept staring at it. "There was some movie on after that, I can't really remember."

"I was with Kristin until I put her on a plane home about an hour ago." Kevin sighed. "I can't believe he's gone. I can't believe someone would do this to him."

Howie looked at the ceiling. "His mother in going to kill me. I got him into this, he was just a kid when we started."

"I was younger, and I'm mostly ok." Nick got up and started pacing. "I can't believe one of us could do this. The Police are wrong, it's someone from Management, maybe even AJ's own bodyguard."

Brian looked up at Nick sadly. "No, Nick. It was one of us."

Howie turned to Brian, his eyes completely black. "Brian. No."

"Don't look at me like that, Howie." Brian walked over to Nick, and put a hand on his shoulder. "I saw you coming out of his room this morning, Nick."

"No, I left him on top of the bed and went back to my room." Nick began to look panicky. "Why would I want to hurt AJ? I loved him, we all loved him."

"You didn't want to hurt AJ, did you?" Brian's voice was soft and comforting. Kevin and Howie watched in shocked silence. "You decided to stay with him to make sure he was okay, but you fell asleep. He took those pills out of your bag, thinking they were real aspirin.

"Nick, tell him he's wrong." Howie begged.

"No. He's right." Nick crumpled to the floor. "They were my pills. You take a couple, you get a nice buzz. But never with alcohol. Never while you're drunk." He couldn't look them in the eye. "God, I killed him. I killed him."

"No, you didn't." Kevin knelt down beside him. "We won't let them find out."

Nick couldn't answer, he just kept crying. Brian and Kevin pulled him to his feet. Howie let his head fall back, watching the ceiling again. "The blond girl, did she really come back with you?"

"Yeah, but she didn't stay long. She wasn't even a fan, she just wanted to make sure AJ got home ok. I can't even remember her name." Nick was amazed Howie hadn't said anything. After all, wasn't he responsible for the death of his best friend?

"Good. Then that's what we tell the police." Kevin stepped over the glass shards next to Howie, and they shared a look. "Well?"

"We lost AJ. We aren't losing Nick too. The press would eat him alive, guilty before the trial." Howie finally looked Nick in the eyes. "I just wanna go home."

"Brian?"

"It wasn't your fault, Nick." Brian put a calming hand on the mop of blond hair. "No one will ever know. They'll never find that little blond girl, no one has to know they were your pills."

They buried AJ, and no one ever knew that if he'd lived he would have been in rehab by the end of the week. No one knew it was Nick's pills that killed one of his best friends. And that was it. Nine years, and it was over, for all of them. Just another broken dream.

END
Questions, comments, and concerns should be sent to cobalite@yahoo.com