"Man, it's not like that! Bree and I just went to a movie premiere. They blew it way out of proportion...AGAIN! You know better than to believe them!" AJ shouted into the phone at Kevin. The media had done their magic again. Kevin had been hanging out at Howie's house after they returned from the studio when they turned on the TV and found Breanna and AJ hugging and kissing as they exited the movie premiere. "I know, man. But I needed to hear it from the horses mouth. You know D's gonna believe the media cause he's just looking for a sign that he and Bree are over for good. He's tired of living on hope." Kevin stated quietly. "Yeah I know. She's just going through some shit right now. I guess we never knew it, though. She has her own demons to exercise before she can work things out with D." AJ almost whispered so Breanna couldn't hear him. "Like what?" Kevin questioned. He thought that Breanna had told him everything. "I don't know. I don't pressure her into telling me what's going on. I'm here if she needs someone to listen and she knows that, she just doesn't want to talk about it." "Hey AJ, D just walked in. Let me put you on speaker phone." Before AJ could protest he heard Howie greeting him. "So you saw the movie premiere? I just gave her a hug and friendly kiss but the press only focused on that. D, we're just friends. I'm just lookin' out for her. You know that..." AJ tried to convince his friend. "I know, AJ. I know. I just...I don't know. Don't worry about it. I trust you." Howie replied. AJ sighed with relief. "So, how is she doing?" Howie asked quietly. "She's fine. She's losing sleep and she's still gets sick when she eats but it's not as bad as it was. I keep ordering her favorites from room service and I watch to make sure she eats everything." AJ replied, extremely proud of himself. Kevin couldn't help but laugh at his friend. "Man, I think you'll make an excellent father." Howie chuckled at the idea. "Really?" AJ asked in shock. AJ a father. He could never fathom it in the past but things were changing. Maybe he could be a father, and a good one at that. "HOWIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!" Breanna's screams broke into AJ's thoughts. "SHIT!" AJ shouted. "What's going on?" Howie asked in a panic. "She's been having nightmares lately. I gotta go wake her up or she'll keep torturing herself." AJ shouted. "AJ, just put us on hold. We'll wait." Kevin demanded. "Yeah, yeah. Fine." AJ replied, putting the phone down as he ran up stairs to wake up Breanna.

"What's going on with her?" Howie asked Kevin, expecting him to have answers. "You know as much as I do." He replied. "I've never heard her scream like that. I've never heard anyone scream like that. And she screamed my name, Kev. I should be there." Howie was upset that AJ, the group flirt was there to comfort the woman of his dreams. But Howie knew that AJ was his best friend and only had feelings for Breanna as if she were his own sister. "You guys still there?" AJ asked ten minutes later. "Yeah. What's going on, AJ? The truth." Kevin demanded. Howie was listening to both men talk but his mind was elsewhere. He had never heard Breanna scream like that and it made his skin crawl. It frightened him like nothing before. And the worst part was that he couldn't be there to calm her down and make it all better. "Well..." AJ began, "yesterday Bree started having nightmares. And every time she goes to sleep she has them. She had two last night, two while she tried to take a nap today, and the one she had right now." AJ explained. "What are they about?" Howie asked. "D, it's really not my place to say. That's up to Bree. If she wants to tell you, she will. Right now they just frighten her. I'm staying in her room now to wake her when she starts to scream. She told me last night what they were about and..." AJ trailed off. "And?" Kevin asked. "Nothing. It's not my place, guys. I'm sorry." AJ apologized. "AJ? You alright, man? You've never been able to keep a secret before. Why now?" Howie asked, wanting answers. "This is different. Anyway, I'm gonna go. She has to be up in a few hours to rehearse for the show tomorrow night. Personally, I don't think she should be performing." AJ stated. "Is she that weak?" Kevin was deeply concerned. Breanna's schedule was more hectic than theirs ever was. "No, she's not weak. Just, mentally....I'm not sure..." AJ didn't feel comfortable talking about Breanna. "That's fine, man. Keep any eye on her. If you need to stay with her for longer than two weeks, go ahead. We've released enough albums. If this one is a month or two later than scheduled, who cares." Kevin stated. "Yeah, I'll probably end up staying three weeks. I'll call you guys later to let you know if she's better after tomorrow night. I think the stress is just getting to her, that's all." AJ said trying to downplay everything.

The next morning Breanna walked around her hotel room looking for something to wear as she heard the sound of scratching at her door. Breanna froze in her tracks. She could picture the large, green, pleading eyes and the long, curly hair and fair skin as she walked slowly towards the door. She peered through the peep hole but didn't see anyone. Her heart jumped into her throat as she answered the door slowly. "Boo!" Natasha shouted as she laughed at Breanna's reaction. Breanna had jumped two feet back clutching her chest. She was too scared to find her voice to scream. "If you weren't on contract I would have just fired you!" Breanna yelled, feeling slightly relieved that it was a tall, skinny blonde and not a little, mysterious girl. "What? You expecting a ghost?" Natasha joked not realizing how close to the truth she had come. "No, I just heard scratching at my door and I was expecting a roaring tiger." Breanna joked back. "So, where's your man?" "My man?" Breanna asked back pretending she didn't know what Natasha was talking about. "You know I'm talking about AJ. So, where is he?" "He's in the shower and he's *not* my man, Nat. He's my friend." Breanna replied as she walking back up to her bedroom to get dressed. Natasha followed her upstairs. "Okay, not your man, your tour boy toy. TBT." Natasha replied in a hushed voice. "TBT? Oh jeez!" Breanna said laughing. "So, you still having those nightmares?" Breanna turned to Natasha holding up a black mini skirt and a violet low-cut shirt with roses sewn into the shoulders. "Yeah, but they aren't as bad...at least not for me. I still wake up AJ in the middle of the night but I don't remember the dreams when I wake up." "I like that outfit. Wear it! So poor 'ol AJ has to take care of you in the middle of the night. You know how many guys would kill for that job?" Natasha said with a giggle. "Laugh all you want. I think I'm starting to annoy him and we still have two weeks to spend together. It's barely been three days." Breanna explained. "Well, I just heard the water turning off so I'm assuming he'll be out here in a few minutes and I know he doesn't want me to get the wrong idea so I'll just go meet everyone downstairs for lunch. You coming?" Natasha asked from the bedroom doorway. "No, I need to get an extra hour of rehearsal while you all are stuffing your face. That's all I need...heavy dancers. Eh, at least you guys would look. Just. Like. Me!" Breanna huffed as she tried with little effort to zip her skirt. Natasha cracked up laughing at Breanna as she jumped around the room. "It probably shrank. Do what I do to get into these pants. Lay on your bed, push your hips up towards the ceiling, suck in your gut and zip! Anyway, have fun and we'll see you in an hour ready to bust our asses!" Natasha replied as she left Breanna alone in her hotel room. Breanna listened as the front door closed, and sighed with relief. The only time she was alone was when AJ was in the shower. She quickly threw herself backward onto the bed and remembered what Natasha told her. She laid back with her knees up and her hips raised, sucked in her stomach and pulled the zipper up as hard as she could without breaking it. It finally gave and zipped completely. Breanna was satisfied and stood up to look herself over in the mirror. In the past two and a half years she hadn't cut her auburn hair more than an inch at a time and it was growing quickly. It was down to the middle of her back and very straight. She looked herself over in the mirror one last time before she realized that it was time for a change. Breanna wrote AJ a quick note telling him to do whatever he wanted. She would be late to rehearsal. She grabbed her purse and sunglasses and was out the door to find her awaiting limo. She climbed in and told the driver where she was going.