"Yeah, guys?" teased Brian.
"Awww," said AJ sarcastically. "Is little Nicky gonna be our Daddy too?" AJ started cracking up, but quickly shut up when Nick whacked him across his head.
"We gotta get ready," said Nick.
"Ready for what?" asked Howie.
"You see," explained Kevin. "We're meeting a girl with brain cancer. She's only 12 years old. Her guardian told us the doctors said she only has a couple of weeks to live. She's a big fan of our's, and her mom wants her life to be at ease before she....she uh, goes."
AJ and Howie exchanged looks. "Oh, wow."
"Yeah, but you would think that she's depressed and all sad, right?" said Brian. No answer. "Anyway, she isn't. Her guardian said that she's very energetic and popular at her school because she's so helpful and caring to her fellow students."
"Sounds cool to me!"
"Poor gal."
"Come on, boys!" announced Donna Wright. "Go and change. We have one and half hours till the show but fans are already startin' to pile outside the gates. And that cancer girl will be here any minute."
"Cancer girl?" AJ questioned, with a tone of annoyance in his voice.
"You told them, right?" Donna asked Brian. He nodded.
Howie muttered, "You could be a little more sensitive, you know." Nick jabbed him in the ribs and they slipped into their dressing rooms.
The boys walked out from their dressing rooms. They were all wearing Tommy gear (of course). They wore identical outfits, except different colors. Since it was chilly in the beginning of March, they wore sweatshirts that would soak up their sweat once they were out in the blinding lights.
"There she is," Brian whispered to Kevin. They all turned their heads to see a girl with a bandana covering her head and she was arguing with a woman next to her, who they guessed as her guardian.
"No Sally!" she said, frustrated. "I don't need the wheelchair!"
"But Honey," Sally insisted. "You're too tired and worn out. Please listen to me." The girl just just shook her head and crossed her arms.
"Hi there," said Howie cheerfully as he stuck out his hand at the mom. "I'm Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys. You must be Mrs. Folger?"
She smiled at him and looked at her daughter. "Oh yes, I am. I look after this little girl, Maxine Hightower."
"That's Max," she corrected. AJ stared.
"Hey, you're that girl we met earlier today!"
She smiled shyly. "Yeah, I am. Did it surprise you?"
"Well, kind of," he said slowly.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" said Kevin. "You people know each other?"
Howie pointed and grinned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! We bumped into each other on the street! You guys were playing "Tag", right?" Max nodded. "Hold it!" he shushed everyone. "You have cancer?"