Two weeks and countless fights had passed as Xanda sat at her office desk with tears streaming down her face. Why couldn't anything work between them? Why was she constantly being harassed? Why did Brian have to answer AJ's phone so many times?

It seemed every time they spoke to one another they would go out of their way to make each other feel guilty for having their own lives to lead. AJ could not understand how she just couldn't take a break from the office to spend some time with him when he needed her most even though they had barely seen each other a couple of weeks ago. She couldn't understand how he could be so thoughtless. Even Nick had more common sense than he did lately. But what she couldn't understand, and what he downplayed, was the amount of threats she received from fans for hurting their "precious" Brian. Brian could do no wrong; Brian was innocent. Brian had a heart condition. "My ass!" Xanda shouted as she thought about it more and more. And why did he have to be around AJ so much? It seemed to Xanda that whenever she called his hotel room for their nightly chats, Brian was the one who answered. Arguments always followed and AJ sided with Brian most of the time. Her whole relationship was falling apart in front of her.

Xanda tried to keep herself occupied by signing a few papers but was sidetracked when Susan bounded into the office like a happy puppy who was expecting a treat. "Yes?" Xanda asked as she watched Susan sitting cross-legged across from her. "Nothing. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go to New York with me." Susan giggled happily. "No, I have too much work to do. Anyway, why would I want to do that?" Xanda asked, suddenly feeling curious but at the same time cautious. "Oh, no reason. I just wanted to catch a concert this weekend and thought you'd be interested in living dangerously." Susan explained. "I am living dangerously; I'm dating AJ. If I even raise my voice to him or his buddies then I run the risk of getting shot with a b.b. gun." Xanda replied while she continued to sign more papers. "Okay, maybe this is a long shot or maybe it's just me but it appears to me that you're relationship with AJ has gone from 'I'll Never Break Your Heart' to 'I Want It That Way.'" Susan said with a slightly concerned look. Xanda looked up at Susan for a moment before looking back down. "Well, at the moment our relationship stands at 'I Want It That Way' but I'm pretty sure we're headed to 'Don't Want You Back.'" Xanda mumbled as Susan softly laughed. "No, we're not fans." She joked as Xanda laughed along with her.

"Honestly Susan, I can't go. You go to New York and have a good time. If I go then I'll probably spend the entire time in the office over there. I may even run into AJ while I'm there since they are heading there next and right now I really don't feel like speaking to him..." Xanda sniffled. Susan eyed her cautiously. "Please? It'll be fun! We'll go see a few good shows, maybe a good concert, and we'll shop 'til we drop! C'mon, when's the last time you gave MasterCard a good workout?" Susan asked with a grin. "No, Susan. I am not going to go because I am busy. And I do not want...wait a minute! A few good shows and maybe a concert? Which concert did you have in mind and it better not involve your good friend, Mr. Dorough!" Xanda shouted. Susan shrugged her shoulders. "It's DO-rough, not DOOR-ough, and no, we haven't spoken to each other in a while." Susan explained. "A while? Knowing Howie, that translates into hours, not weeks." Xanda stated smugly. "Oh, come on, Xanda! You have to go to New York with me! Howie and I already made reser..." Susan quickly covered her mouth in shock. "See? I knew you two were trying to plan something. You can forget it! Go by yourself. Make sure Howie gets laid so he can stop meddling in my sex life, you too for that matter, and have a good time. Tell me all about it when you get back." Xanda stated firmly. Susan knew it was useless and stood up to leave.

****

"Did she buy it?" Howie asked with his fingers crossed. "Shit! Are you kidding? She figured out the entire thing as soon as the words 'New York' slipped out of my mouth." Susan complained. Howie sighed for a moment then shrugged. "Oh well, we tried. You can still come but be prepared for an attitude from Brian and a grumpy, not-gettin'-any attitude from AJ." Howie tried to joke to his friend. "I can handle them. I'll put AJ back into place if he tries to pull an attitude with me and bitchslap Brian whenever possible." Susan joked. "Well, it's going to be good to have at least SOME ONE with a sense of humor around here." Howie laughed as he sat on the couch in the tour bus staring at the trees as they passed by in a blur. "What's going on? You don't seem too happy." Susan noticed as Howie's voice trailed off. "Huh? Oh, nothing really. Just the basic tour shit. Nick's going through chicks like women go through a box of chocolates when they're PMS'ing and..." "HEY!" Susan shouted as she tried to stifle a laugh. Howie chuckled slightly. "I wasn't indicating you, Susan." He pointed out. "Oh, no, I wasn't mad. I was just going to accuse you of spying." Again, Howie chuckled. Things on the tour had become too tense in the past month. "Okay, finish telling me about how hellish it has been on tour. I've got all day. Xanda's problems with AJ are weighing her down so she doesn't care if I sit on my ass all day." She said as Howie continued to stare out the window, barely listening to Susan. "Okay, Nick's become a male slut, not giving a damn about who he sleeps with even though we've told him that these girls are going to the tabloids. At least he's smart enough to sleep with stupid girls or else they would go to the legit media. You know all about AJ so I won't get into that situation. Brian is basically Brian. His ex has been contacting him ever since she heard about his little situation with Xanda. That girl broke his heart but I think he forgot all about it because he keeps talking to her. Then again, she might be harassing him because his spirits are still down. As for Kevin? Well, he's Kevin. He's basically the only one on this tour that I can relate to at the moment. Well, him and the band and dancers but those guys are on another bus."

Susan thought about Howie's situation for a moment before she spoke. "Your situation doesn't seem too bad, Howie. Where is everyone at the moment? You can't all be on the same bus." Susan stated. "No, thank god we're not! AJ is with the band, the dancers have their own bus, Kevin and Brian are on another bus and I'm with Nick but he's in the back playing video games." Howie explained. "Once a child, always a child." Susan murmured happily. "True." Howie agreed with a smirk. Howie began to speak of the fans he met the night before when he could no longer see the trees passing by. "What's wrong, Howie?" Susan asked as he stopped talking in mid-sentence. Susan could hear a loud honking and people yelling in the background. A moment passed before she could hear Howie laughing. "Well, right now I see what appears to be an ass hanging out the window of one of the buses. Nick! Get over here!" Howie shouted down the hall. "And bring your Super Soaker and Sling Shot with you!" He added.

"Oh no, Howie! Don't do it!" Susan laughed. "I'm tired of seeing AJ's skinny ass hanging out the side of a bus. Ah shit, now Ro's doin' it, too!" Howie laughed. "Susan, you would love to see this! On the left of us, we have Ro hangin' his ass out the window while the rest of the dancers are egging him on. Damn! Nicki just flashed me and I didn't have a camera." Howie laughed. "Eh, she has a dancers body; You're not missing much. I'm sure Nick has bigger tits than she does." Susan remarked. "Man, that was low! ...but you're probably right." Howie laughed softly. His voice sent a chill down Susan's back but she quickly shook it off.

"You yelled...?" Nick asked as he stood in the hallway entrance of the bus holding up his Super Soaker in one hand and his sling shot in the other. Howie pumped a fist into the air and held his cell phone between his ear and shoulder as he used his other hand to take the water gun from Nick. "Okay, you said the dancers were to your left. I'm assuming AJ is to your right." Susan said. "Well, not anymore. A strong wind would probably pull him out of the window. But Dennis just flipped us off." Howie remarked as he watched with amusement as Nick struggled to open one of the windows. "Hey Nick! Use ice cubes." Howie suggested as Nick smirked. "I like the way you're thinking, D." He grinned slyly. "Ro's still got his ass hangin' out the window." Howie laughed. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to see THAT man's ass." Susan laughed. "Hey!" Howie remarked. "Well, he's willing to share and I'm willing to accept. If you show me your ass I'll watch it. Especially if you can shake it the way Ro Ro can." Susan giggled. "I can...and better." Howie remarked as he turned to look out the right window at the bus next to them. "Well, look at that. I think AJ is about to show us what his mama gave him!" Howie chuckled. "Oh, D! That was corny!" Nick remarked while grabbing a large glass of ice cubes.