Lilia watched the rehearsal the next morning. She could see right away that something was off with Premiere. She couldn't quite place it, but there wasn't the normal unity that the band had, that made them a band. She tried to spot it, but it was so subtle that she just couldn't quite place her finger on it.

Jacki, the lead singer, seemed fine. Of course, her mother could be dying and she would be fine, because she cared about one thing only, herself. There had always been distance between her and the rest of Premiere, because she hadn't been part of the band since the very beginning, she had joined about two years ago.

Damon, banging away at his drums, was fine. He was smiling and looked like he was having fun, but Lilia noticed that at crucial moments, his main focus was his playing. Watching him for a few minutes, Lilia decided that it wasn't him.

And then she saw it. It was so obvious, it was subtle. It was Paul and Sandy. That's what was off, it was those two. Normally, they would be together on stage, sharing the same mike or circling around each other while playing their separate guitars (bass and lead). But today, it was like they were avoiding each other. They were on separate sides of the stage, always standing so that they couldn't see each other.

It baffled Lilia. Paul and Sandy had always been so close to each other, they had always been such good friends. But now, to blatantly ignore each other? That was totally out of character for the both of them. Lilia made a mental note to talk to Paul and to find out what was up.

And then the Backstreet Boys took the stage. Once again, Lilia was utterly amazed at how good they really were. They had stage presence, good timing and most importantly, fabulous voices. As she watched the entire show, Lilia thought about each of them carefully.

Kevin and Howie were really nice. They seemed really down to earth, and Howie still couldn't get over the fact that a 20-year old owned a night club. Lilia was a little insulted at first when he kept stating that, but then she realized the reason behind his confusion. She heard Paul state that it was funny that, at home, she owned a night club, but here in the U.S., she couldn't even get into one, she wasn't the legal age.

Brian was a funny guy. He was always saying or doing something that would just crack everyone up. And she watched him sing, it came very naturally to him, almost like watching someone breath.

And then there was AJ. Lilia couldn't quite place it, but there was something that made her uneasy, yet giddy at the same time, whenever she was around him. She felt ill at ease around him, but there was something that attracted her to his presence. And it wasn't even anything he said or did. He was really nice, sometimes overly so, always complimenting her, causing her to blush so that her face was almost a permanent shade of deep scarlet. But out of all the members of the BSB, she felt the most comfortable with Nick.

Lilia thought about that, and she reasoned that it was because she had met him on the plane before hand. It had been half way through the flight before they'd realized that they were headed for the same spot. Lilia had never been in awe of his fame, like she had been with the other four. Well, any famous guy that can knock juice into someone's lap can no longer be held in awe, Lilia thought.

Paul came out from backstage and sat down beside her, startling her out of her thoughts. She looked at him, saw his jaw set in a hard line, the frown on his face, and knew that something was definately up with him.

* * * *

"Okay, so now you're telling me what's going on," Lilia ordered. She and Paul were walking outside. They had taken a break from the arena, and went walking in search of a convenience store and pop.

"Remember when we used to always walk to the corner store and buy pop after every single band practice? That never made sense Baby, because there was always the same kind in the house," Paul reminisced.

"It just wasn't the same. Anyway, don't try to change the subject. What's up with you? 'Cuz there is something, otherwise we wouldn't be out here like this," she said.

"You're right. I just had to get away from San...certain people," he corrected himself.

"You mean Sandy? I noticed something was off between you two. What's going on?" Lilia demanded.

"Things got a little weird last night," Paul started.

"Weird how?"

"Are you going to let me talk, or are you just going to ask questions?" Paul asked, exasperated.

"Okay, continue."

"Anyway, things got weird, so now we're avoiding each other, end of story," Paul finished.

"That's it? That's all you're going to tell me? Paul!" Lilia whined.

"If I told you more, I'd have to kill you," Paul warned. Suddenly Lilia understood.

"She's the one. It was Sandy you were talking about, with the whole complicated girl thing. It's Sandy," Lilia said, as everything fell into place.

"Lilia that's ridiculous," Paul started to say, but the look in Lilia's eye stopped him.

"It is her. Oh my god, no wonder things are complicated. Can you imagine if the rest of the band found out? They'd flip out totally. I don't know who made it up, but that stupid rule of not dating inside the band still stands today," Lilia reminded him.

"It could only take a best friend to point out the painfully obvious. And it's not a stupid rule. It reminds us that Premiere is our focus, our goal, the purpose behind everything. It takes priority over everything," Paul said.

"Are you saying for my benefit, or your own? Well, Paul, the rule isn't working because things are messed up just as much as they would be if you and Sandy were together. You guys totally ignoring each other isn't working, because you can tell that there's something missing from your preformance. So either get it together or let your quality suffer because of this little complication," Lilia said. Paul looked at her surprised.

"What's this all about? Lilia, you've told us all that there is something so much more important than the band, love, time and time again. You told me that yesterday! And now, suddenly the band should take precedence? What's that all about?" Paul demanded.

"I just wish that I had done that," she answered quietly.

"Lilia, you can't change the past, so don't dwell on it. What happened happened, there is no erasing that. Just cherish your memories, and look forward to making new ones, okay Baby?" Paul said tenderly. Lilia nodded her head and they continued on their way, in silence.

* * * *

"Jacki, you know you're my favorite person in the world, right?" Nick asked, walking over to her.

"Forget it, Nick. I know nothing," she said, turning away.

"What's the big secret?" he demanded.

"It's not that it's a secret, but I'm already in trouble enough for trying to get Lilia to sing yesterday. Damon and Sandy wouldn't even talk to me this morning, so I'm staying out of it. It's no big deal anyway, she's got an intense fear. That's all," Jacki said, escaping Nick and his question.

"Nick," someone called. He turned around and saw Damon standing there.

"Yeah?"

"Lilia is our little sister, we all protect her. So please, stop asking questions. If she wants to tell you she will, but that's her right. If you keep asking questions, it'll bring it all back and hurt her again, and we don't want that to happen," Damon said.

"Bring what back?" Nick couldn't resist asking.

"No more questions, okay?" Damon answered.

"Okay, I'll stay away from it," Nick promised, wishing he didn't have to. Just then, Paul and Lilia returned, bearing an assortment of pop. Everyone crowded around them, like bees to honey.

* * * *

"Baby! You took the last Cherry Coke! I'm going to have to murder you!" Damon warned. Lilia laughed. They had always argued over pop, no matter what kind it was.

"If you wanna go to the store, carry back, like, 500 bottles, then by all means. But until you do, let me enjoy my Cherry Coke in peace and I'll leave you to whatever you decide to drink. Translation: I get the Cherry Coke," she returned. He ran by and stole the bottle right out of her hand. She stood up and chased after him. He escaped her a few time when she dove for him, but she saw her opportunity when he ran down the centre aisle. She leapt up, towards him and landed...on AJ.

She jumped to her feet in shock.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry, are you okay?" she asked, trying not to freak.

"Really, I'm okay. Whoever said wrestling is a man's sport is incredibly mistaken," AJ commented. Lilia though of the previous day and their little 'wrestling match' and nearly died of mortification.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to get you. I was getting...Damon!" she yelled, looking over her shoulder to where the culprit was laughing his ass off, nearly rolling on the floor with laughter. Suddenly, Lilia could restrain herself any longer and she joined hin. Then AJ got into in, finding the humour in it, and they were were laughing as hard as possible without spotaneously combusting.

Suddenly AJ picked Lilia up around the waist, threw her over his shoulder and took off running. He ran down the aisle, reached the stage where the rest of the Boys were standing, observing the scene before them with idle amusement. AJ jumped up on the stage and tossed Lilia over to them. Suprised, Lilia screamed, the Boys tried to catch her and ended up breaking her fall.

"AJ, was that really necessary?" Kevin asked, as they all tried to untangle themselves from one another. Lilia looked up and smashed her head into Nick's, causing her to swear in pain.

"Shit, sorry Lilia. Are you okay?" he asked, rubbing her head where they had collided. She smiled at him and nodded.

"I just found another person to add to our brawls, guys. She could take any of you on," he guaranteed.

"Not if I'm broken," she commented, standing up slowly. She glared at AJ, green eyes flashing. "Now you're dead."

She tore after AJ and chased him down. Soon everyone joined in and it became on big tickle war, until someone found a cooler of ice. Then it became more interesting, as they began slipping bunches of wet, dripping ice down peoples shirts, pants, etc. Everyone was having fun, glad to have the stress of rehearsals eased for a few minutes.

Almost everyone. She was standing, trying to appear dignified, while watching the pandemonium around her. She watched Lilia attack Nick from behind, shoving a handful of ice down the back of his shirt.

"Jealous much?" Damon asked Jacki, coming up beside her.

"Whatever are you talking about?" she demanded, turning away from the scene before her.

"We all know that you want one of them, any one of them. It's no secret, Jacki. And Lilia's been here, what, two days? And already she's made better friends with all of them, well enough to start something like this. You are absolutely jealous. It's funny, really," Damon commented.

"Just shut up!" she yelled, and turned around and stormed off.