It was finally the last week of the tour and the guys couldn't be happier. AJ was starting to show signs of happiness again; smiles here and there and a couple of jokes, though none of the other guys except for Kevin and Howie knew about the break up. Brian stopped asking AJ about his problems and decided to focus on his own.

For the most part, Nick had given up on stalking Keely on National TV but he had found out a way to obtain her phone; he got Susan drunk while she was visiting Howie on tour and stole her phonebook. Leaving an occasional "Hey babe. You know you want me" message on her machine almost daily was his favorite thing to do. She was the girl who wouldn't give him the time of day and the challenge was fun. He was tired of going up to any beautiful girl, asking for a fun night, and then waking up to nothing. Why he was annoying Keely and possibly pushing her away was beyond him. She was older, more experienced, and out of his reach.

Howie and Susan on the other hand couldn't keep their hands off each other when they were together. It got to the point where Nick separated the two one night and threw Howie over the balcony of his hotel room into the cold pool bellow. "That oughta cool your horny ass off! We got interviews tomorrow." Nick had grumbled before heading back to his thin-walled room next door, jealous that he wasn't getting some of his own.

Kevin was hardly seen. The man was an enigma to his own group. He came, he sang, he left. But no one questioned him. His responsibilities to the group never went ignored so who were they to question his actions? Nick suspected that Kevin was having an affair with their married tour coordinator but there was no solid proof other than catching the two on the elevator frequently. Kevin usually ignored Nick's facial expression and the wiggling of his eyebrows by telling him to "grow up".

***

Brian ran around the tour bus looking for something to wear to the club later that night and accidentally bumped into AJ who was in one of his moods again. "Fuck, Brian! Watch it." AJ demanded as he climbed into his bunk. "Just 'cause you're not gettin' any from Xanda doesn't mean you gotta take it out on any of us. You've been a dick lately; Maybe she should dump your sorry ass. Oh shit! I'm actually defending the bitch for a change." Brian almost laughed but the tight grip of someone's hands around his neck prevented him from breathing. "Take that back!" AJ shouted. Brian couldn't even breath let alone move. He tried to squirm but AJ's death grip was starting to knock him out. "She is NOT a bitch!" AJ shouted again but felt himself being torn away from Brian by a force far superior than his own. When he looked up he saw Kevin and their tour coordinator, Kirsten, holding him back while Brian sat slumped over on the ground holding his neck. "I better NEVER hear you talk about her like that every again or I will kill you." AJ growled. "Brian, go to my bus. We'll talk later." Kevin demanded. "But he..." "BRIAN! Go!" Kevin demanded as he pointed toward the bus door. "All right, I'm going but this is NOT over." Brian replied as he glared directly at AJ.