Three weeks passed and everything seemed to be going smoothly. AJ and Xanda stayed out of everyone's sight by checking out the cities they stopped in. No one ever saw them except for before, during, and right after each show. Brian and AJ's friendship didn't seem to be deteriorating as much as it had when Xanda and AJ first got together but they didn't seem to be talking either. On stage AJ played around with Howie, Nick or Kevin. Whenever he passed by Brian they would look in the opposite directions. They tried to out do each other on stage and the fans were starting to talk.

****

"Hey, check this out, D." Nick said from his hotel room as Howie walked past him to grab something from the fridge. "Oh Nick! You're not reading those stupid stories about you again, are you?" Howie laughed as Nick pointed at his computer screen. "Nah, man. It's that backstage brawl last month. It finally hit the internet." Nick stated as Howie lingered behind him, unsure if he wanted to see it. "Read it to me." Howie said as he plopped down on the couch and grabbed the room service menu to pick something for dinner. "All right...let's see. 'Hey my fellow BSB lovers!' Haha, that's cute!" Nick interrupted as Howie rolled his eyes. "Anyway...'Here's a rumor for you all but I happen to know that it's true. Supposedly, AJ's girlfriend Alexandra and Brian don't get along. That's no secret but it's a lot worse than friendly disagreements. They literally HATE each other. Last month my cousin went to their show and won backstage passes from the radio station to meet the guys after the show. So, my cousin was backstage getting an autograph from 'smart man stuck in a dumb mans body', sorry all, I don't like Nick" Nick stopped reading for a moment and turned to face Howie who was curled up silently laughing. "She's no fan!" Nick shouted. "Oh, Nick! You know what they say. 'I tease because I love.'" Howie laughed as Nick turned his attention back to the screen, no longer happy with the writer of the post. "...when she heard shouting. She said off to the side where only the guys are allowed to go because it leads to their dressing room was Alexandra and Brian screaming and shouting at each other. I guess they were really saying some mean things because they got louder each time one of them spoke. Kevin went to go interrupt the fight because I guess we're not supposed to see that but AJ told him to let them fight it out until they learn to get along but two minutes later that Alexandra chick had Brian down on the ground beating the crap out of him. That's why he got stitches! She busted open his lip. I know some of you won't believe me but my cousin took pictures. I barely convinced her to let me scan them and send them in. The first one is of them yelling at each other with their arms in the way. The second one is of Alexandra pounding on him while he's on the floor. And the third one is of Kevin holding her back. Hope you all have a great weekend...' Yadda yadda yadda." Nick finished.

****

"Well? What can we do? We can't exactly deny these charges because they have pictures." Howie stated to Kevin. Kevin thought for a moment, occasionally glancing around his hotel room; Brian and AJ were on separate sides. "I guess we'll just have to admit it. Lying will only make it worse. But we need to let the fans know that this hasn't affected us as a group; this is just a common problem where two normal people don't get along." Kevin finished summarizing before Nick cleared his throat. "Hey Kev? That's not gonna work too much, either." Nick said while waving a few pieces of paper in the air. "What's it say, Nick." Kevin demanded. "Let me see...'Hey fans! About this whole Alexandra-Brian situation. I think it's starting to affect the group as a whole. I just saw the guys three times and I'm gonna see them again tomorrow night and each of those times I've noticed that Brian and AJ DO NOT interact anymore. It's so sad! To think that AJ is stupid enough to let a girl come between a strong friendship not to mention his career? I hate that this is happening. Alexandra is either really good or he's just really stupid.'" Nick looked up to see AJ and Brian looking at each other.

"You two better think of something and you better think of it fast." Kevin demanded. "Ahhh...this is just stupid. Brian, we've been friends for too long." AJ stated. Brian nodded his head in agreement. "I know. I know you're not gonna give up Xanda and I'm not asking you to do it, either, but she and I will never get along. We're just two different people, AJ. You're gonna have to understand that." Brian explained. "Don't worry, she's leaving the tour this week, anyway. I guess tonight we're gonna have to show that we're okay. We're gonna go out there and we're gonna have fun together." AJ smiled as Brian nodded his head in agreement;  the tension in the air seemed to lift. "Then we're going to make a statement about that fight. We can't deny it but we can deny that it's affecting us as a group." Howie said. "Cool! Meeting adjourned!" Nick shouted as he leapt up to leave the room. He had company back in his room to attend to.

****

"Hey, baby?" AJ walked into their hotel room and noticed that Xanda's suitcases were out and in the process of being filled. Xanda poked her head out of the bathroom with sorrow in her eyes. "Why are you packing?" He asked quickly when he saw the look on her face. "The office called. I'm needed back home tonight. I'm so sorry!" "I guess I can't really argue with you about this, can I." AJ stated as he sat down in the recliner. Xanda emerged from the bathroom with her makeup back filled. "Not with this, I'm sorry. You know I'd stay if I could." She said as she tossed her makeup bag in the smaller of the four suitcases. She quietly zipped them as AJ watched her every move wondering if things would really work out with them. The fans were right. Either she was really good or he was really stupid. She was good at being herself. And he was really stupid for letting a woman come between him and his friendship and career but she wasn't trying to cause problems; she was actually trying to stay out of the way. "I can't go with you to the airport. There's not enough security to help..." "you couldn't go anyway. You have a show tonight." Xanda interrupted and pointed out.