"LEXI! This is important, you have to come here right away. We need you, me, the guys and especially AJ. You have to come down here, right away."

"Roz, you know I can't just leave. I have a job. What's the emergency?" I heard Roz sigh as if to gather her strength for the ensuing argument.

"I can't explain on the phone, but you have to come here. It's AJ. And it is an emergency." I sighed in exasperation; I knew I wasn't going to end up having a choice in this battle. And worst of all I wasn't going to get anymore information.

"Okay, Rozzie. I need a couple days. Can it wait that long?"

"I can wait, but I don't know about AJ. Or the guys. Just get here as soon as you can."

I shook my head to bring myself back to reality as the flight attendant announced that we could leave the plane. I walked through the gate with my suitcase in my hand, looking around for a familiar face.

"Lexi! Over here." I turned knowing that it had to be Roz. She's the only person who always calls me Lex. I also noticed the tall blonde standing with her.

"Roz, I'm glad you're here." I gave her a hug, and then stepped back. "Hey Nicky."

"Hey Lisa." I was always amazed at how tall Nick had become, since I remembered what a little kid he had been when Backstreet had started. Fortunately his height was not in the least intimidating.

"Lex, we are SO glad you could get down here. We're worried about AJ, and you're the only person we could think of to help him." I was becoming more and more concerned with every word she spoke. I'd already spent the entire flight obsessing over what could possibly be the matter.

"What's wrong with him? You still haven't told me." We were walking towards Nick's Durango.

"Shoot, you don't even know? I figured he would have at least called you. Oh man, that's just worse." I shook my head from the back seat, confirming that I hadn't heard from him.

"He hasn't called in like a week. Which is kinda weird in itself. I tried calling yesterday after I talked to you, but there was no answer, and come to think of it, no machine, either. What's going on? I'm getting really worried now." Roz looked at Nick, and took a breath.

"Nick, maybe you should tell her, since you were there." Nick's eyes widened as though he didn't know what to say.

"I don't know what happened. None of us do." He looked at Roz, and knew he was going to have to say something. "We were rehearsing the dance routines for the tour the other day, and Kev noticed AJ was limping, so he asked him about it. We all figured he was fine, because he said he was. But halfway through the next number he was on the floor and none of us saw what happened." Nick paused, and glanced in the rear-view mirror at me.

"What's wrong with him? What happened?"

"We don't really know. Howie took him to the hospital, because he couldn't walk on his leg when he tried to get up, but nobody's heard from his since. Howie said he broke his ankle or something, but he had to leave before anything was definite." I was kind of confused.

"So, what am I here for? It's not like I can make his ankle better."

"Lex, you may not realize it, but you're like his best friend. If anybody can convince him it'll be okay, it's you." I thought about what Roz was saying. Somehow I knew she was right about me being his best friend, because I knew, even if I wouldn't admit it, that he was mine. He was the first person I called whenever I had a bad day or if anything went wrong. And I knew I was at the top of the list for him as well. Our phone bills were the proof for that.

"So you want me to make sure he's okay?" I was still a little confused. Roz and Nick looked at each other, and Nick spoke again.

"Actually, he told Howie that he won't go on the tour. Because he can't do the dance routines. And we kinda need him. He has to sing even if he can't dance. We've managed without him for one show, before, but a whole tour is completely different. We need you to convince him to go."

"You don't expect much from me do you?" I sighed. "I guess you should drop me off at his place then."

"Are you sure . You don't wanna call him or something first?" I shrugged.

"He's not answering the phone right? So what would be the point? Besides I've still got the key he gave me so I could use the house when the guys were on tour last time."

"Okay." The rest of the drive I was silent, as I thought about what I was going to say.

I felt the car pull up a driveway and stop, so I grabbed my suitcase and opened the door.

"I'll let you guys know as soon as I know anything okay?"

"Good luck, girl!"

"Thanks, I might need it. I'll see you guys later." I shut the door and waved as they drove away, before going up to the house. I rang the doorbell but wasn't surprised when nobody answered. I dug my keychain out of my backpack and used one of the keys to open the door.

"Aje! AJ! You here?" I was greeted by the yapping of AJ's two rambunctious dogs. "AJ! I didn't come all the way here, just to talk to Panda and Bear." All I heard was the dogs. I put down my bags and walked farther into the house. "C'mon AJ. I know you're here." I heard a noise from the room to my right. I almost didn't notice AJ as he slumped in a chair in the darkened room. "Is this any way to greet a friend who had to fly here to visit you?" I walked over to where he was sitting, and leaned to give him a hug, even though he didn't respond. I took a few steps back and sat on the edge of another chair. There was silence for a minute, before he spoke.

"They shouldn't have made you come here."

"You're right. YOU should have. What's going on AJ? This is totally not like you. You don't get depressed like this." I saw his eyes look up at me in the dark room.

"Never had a reason like this before. I can't walk, L. I won't be able to dance for months. I can't do the tour."

"You're talking. Which means you can sing, that's what everybody who bought tickets wants anyways."

"FUCK! It's not the same! I'm the one who's the dancer. All the reviews say that. That's what people expect from me."

"Actually, that's what YOU expect from YOU. All you really need to do is sing." I could tell from his expression that he wasn't convinced. "Take it from me, you were my favorite, and I would have been happy just to go to the show to hear you sing." I knew I had momentarily distracted him.

"I was your favorite? You never mentioned this before." I smiled.

"Why would I mention it just so you could use it against me. Besides why do you think Roz was so insistent on trying to set us up, when we met? Do you remember how weird she was about it?" I saw a slight smile on his face as we both remembered.

I stepped off the plane not knowing what to expect. Roz had called a week earlier, telling me to be on that flight. So, here I was, standing at an airport in Florida, using my only week of vacation from my job.

I scanned the crowded airport, hoping for someone or something, that I recognized. I didn't see anything and I was about to turn to the attendant when I heard my name. Actually, my nickname; knowing there was only one person who called me �Lex' I turned and yelled, "Rozzie!" before being enveloped in a hug. I took a step backwards to look at her. She had grown up so much since she'd graduated and moved out here.

"I'm so glad you're here, I didn't know if you'd actually come or not." She grabbed one of my bags and turned. "Let's get out of here."

We walked out of the airport and she led me to an impressive looking BMW.

"Oooo, nice. Yours?" Roz grinned.

"Nope, borrowed it from a friend, when I remembered how much you like �Beamers'"

"Nice friend."

She drove for a while before pulling up to a set of large gates. As we were let through I noticed a number of large homes inside the community.

"You're not going to tell me you live here?" I was amazed and Roz knew it as she laughed.

"No, but the car belongs here. And I spend a lot of time visiting." I had some idea whose car and who's home we were going to, but somehow I still couldn't believe it. Roz pulled up a driveway and stopped. "This is it, c'mon." Before I moved, I looked at the house, trying to memorize it. Roz was several steps ahead of me when the door swung open.

"Roz, �bout time you got back. How's my car?" Roz tossed the keys and responded immediately to the dark blonde at the door.

"Your baby's fine, B. Nick's not here yet, huh? As he shook his head, it suddenly sunk into me, who was standing at the door and I stopped. Roz noticed quickly. "Lex? Lexi, you okay?" I blinked several times.

"Uh, yeah. Just overwhelmed."

"Oh yeah. Hey Brian, this is Lex. Lexi, you've gotta recognize Brian." I glared at her momentarily out of fun, and then realized I didn't' know what to say.

"Hey, Roz talks about you all the time. �Big sis says this,' and "Lex says that.' It never stops."

"Aw, Rozzie, I feel so special." She knew my tone was in fun, and I turned toward Brian. "All I ever hear about is you guys. I thought she was bad as a fan, now WHOA!" I laughed as Roz reached over to punch me lightly on the arm.

"Ssh! As far as they know I was never a fan. Right B?" He thought for a minute.

"Oh yeah, I don't know why I found all that Backstreet stuff in the trash." Roz glared for a second before giggling. "Come in and wait for Nick. I"m not sure where Leigh Anne is." I raised my eyebrows at Roz and she nodded, knowing what I was thinking. We'd heard the stories about Leigh Anne, but I knew from Roz's reaction that she must think Leigh Anne was all right.

"I thought Nick would be here already. He said he would be." I looked at Roz, and knew my sarcastic nature was going to become more evident.

"Oh, and Nick is NEVER late." I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up, you've only met him once."

"And he was late. But I really should get to know people a little better before I start insulting them, I suppose."

"But you've always made fun of Nicky." I rolled my eyes again as she emphasized Nicky, and I thought of how I'd made fun of him before Roz had met him. I turned my head realizing he was standing in the doorway laughing silently.

"Can you still make fun of somebody a foot taller than you?" It didn't take me a minute to answer.

"Sure, only FREAKS are THAT tall." True, I was just over five feet tall, so it didn't take much to be taller than me. "Hi Nick, nice to see you again."

"You too, Lex." I always flinched when somebody other than Roz called me Lex; it was strange.

"How come you're late, Nick?" Roz caught his attention.

"I'm not late, am I?" He looked at his watch, then shrugged. "I don't know. You coming tonight, Bri?"

"Of course, y'all invited me, I'll be there."

"Alright." Nick looked at Roz. "So, if we're already late, let's go." Roz nodded and motioned to me.

"Come on. See you later, B."

"Yup, see ya. Nice to meet you, Lex." I smiled and waved, quickly before catching up to Nick and Roz. As Nick put my bags into his Durango, I overheard Roz whisper to him, �So, you convinced him to show up, right? Like we said?' Nick nodded, and then shushed her, as he realized I was listening.

"Let's go, we got some stuff to do for tonight." I didn't' say anything until we were on our way.

"Okay, Roz. What are you up to? What am I doing here?"

"I thought you needed a vacation. Is that wrong?" For a second I thought about how thoughtful she was, until I realized there had to be an ulterior motive.

"And?" I watched as Roz and Nick exchanged a knowing look.

"Okay, you needed to get away from memories of Scott." Nick pulled up a driveway and Roz giggled as she hopped out. "Believe me, you'll have a good time." I shook my head and got out to follow her into the house.

"Whoa, Nicky. Nice house." Nick just shrugged.

"C'mon. I'll take you to the guest room." Roz motioned to me before I followed Nick up the stairs.

"We've got to go out for a little bit. We invited the guys over to welcome you, so we gotta get some stuff. You can make yourself at home okay?"

"Sure, I just get here and you ditch me. I saw the concerned look on her face. "I'm kidding. Go ahead. I think I need a nap anyway."

I woke up a little while later to the sound of the doorbell. I rubbed my eyes, and heard it ring again. Whoever was there was definitely impatient.

"Roz?! Nicky?!" The house was quiet, except for the doorbell, that rang again. I decided I might as well answer it, the person didn't seem to be going away. I noticed as I opened the door that whoever had been ringing the bell had turned to face the street. Before I could speak, he did.

"Hey Nick, man. It's about time I've been standing out here for . . . " he paused as he turned to see me, "ever." I held back a small gasp of surprise, knowing that to see AJ at Nick's door shouldn't be surprising. I felt his eyes scan me from head to toe. "You've got to be Roz's friend, uh, Lex? I'm AJ." I blinked, surprised that he knew about me, then I nodded.

"Uh, ya, I know. Roz and Nick aren't here, but you can come in. I assume they'll be back soon." My mind was going a mile a minute, trying to comprehend who I was talking to. He moved into the hallway.

"I guess I'm early." I noticed that there seemed to be something sad in his eyes. I couldn't be sure, having only met him moments before, but from being a fan and listening to Roz, I felt like I'd known him forever. I felt him looking at me.

"What?" I had always been paranoid about people watching me.

"You looked . . . lost."

"Oh, I was just thinking . . ." I heard a door open and Roz and Nick came rushing into the room.

"AJ, man, you're early. Sorry we weren't here." AJ shrugged in reply to Nick as Roz came over to me.

"You met my big sis, huh AJ?" He nodded, and Roz continued looking at me, "And Lex, you finally met AJ. What'd ya think?" I didn't know how she expected me to answer, so I shrugged. Roz looked at me, then at AJ and back at me. "Did you two decide not to speak or something? Geez. Lex, come with me."

I followed Roz into the kitchen where she pulled me to a chair. "So, is AJ who you thought?" I wrinkled my eyebrows while I thought about what she was getting at.

"I met him like two minutes ago, how would I know?" I stopped, then realized I might as well speak my mind. "What are you doing anyway?" Roz looked slightly guilty and I knew right away what she was up to.

"Yes, okay, it's a semi-set up. I'm worried about you moping about Scott. Nick mentioned AJ was doing the same thing over Amanda. Again. So we figured We'd stick you together and see what happened." She looked carefully at me. "You're not mad are you? I didn't think you would be. It is AJ, after all." I sighed.

"You meant well. Although this is definitely not the way I expected to meet the guy I was crushing on for three years. But don't you expect anything. Nothing, okay? Don't push it." Roz nodded and we went back to the other room where Brian and Leigh Anne had since arrived.

Howie arrived with his girlfriend and then Kevin and his fiancee. I was amazed at how normal this all seemed to me. It didn't' seem like I was meeting anyone out of the ordinary.

I was having a great time hanging out with and getting to know the people who had become Roz's world in the last years, until I happened to hear a part of a song that reminded me of Scott. I wasn't talking to anyone at that moment, so I took advantage and wandered off on my own to be alone with my memories.

After a while, I heard someone come up behind me. Turning I noticed it was AJ, who sat down on the bench beside me.

"Hey."

I didn't look at him as I replied, "Hey, AJ." There was silence for a moment.

"What are you doin' out here by yourself?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?" I sighed, wondering if he really cared to hear the explanation, and if I even wanted to take the time to explain. I put my hand over my eyes, to help myself think through my emotion.

"Honestly, I was thinking about . . . " I looked at him suddenly. "You don't really want to hear this. It's just me whining." There was something understanding in his eyes.

"You look about as happy as I feel, so we can whine together. Go ahead." I smiled, thinking how strange this was.

"I was thinking about my ex, Scott. And how we were together for so long, and I still didn't really know him in the end." I looked up as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Roz called me to come out here, to make me stop moping about him."

"How long were you together?" I closed my eyes, before answering.

"Three years. He suddenly decided it wasn't right, and I didn't argue because part of me had known that all along. It's still hard, though. Y'know?" I heard him sigh, and my mind flashed back to the earlier conversation with Roz.

"Ya, I know. Amanda and I broke up again, recently. The guys are telling me to move on, which was easier last time."

"Nice how people who are attached can tell you to move on, isn't it?"

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