A week passed by. A.J. and Howie weren't talking to each other. Well, unless, they absolutely HAD to. Otherwise, they didn't even make eye contact. A.J., of course, didn't quit the group. Not yet, anyway. He just said that to make Howie mad. And it worked. But he didn't admit it. Neither's prides would allow them to apologize. Howie kept himself occupied with the Elena business. She would be arriving in Orlando in two days. She was in Miami with the band. He had her beeper number, so they did frequently talk. Howie was very careful to not mention anything about marriage. He wanted to completely surprise her when she got back.
A.J. kept his mind off Howie by continuing to fight with himself over whether or not to leave.
The other guys knew that things weren't right with Howie and A.J., but decided not to get involved. After all, Howie tried helping A.J. and look what happened! Their new album was coming out in a matter of weeks and they didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize the future of the band. Their European tour was also coming up, so they continued to rehearse and everything.
Big news in the music world. Trans-Continental Records had been taken over by some Californian tycoon! Lou Pearlman lost it all! It must have been hard for "Big Papa" to lose everything he had worked so hard to achieve. The guys felt sorry to hear this and sometimes felt kind of guilty, but they knew it wasn't their fault.
All of a sudden, the phone rang, which interrupted everybody's train of thought and scared them half to death.
"I'll get it," volunteered Kevin. "Hello?"
"Kevin! I need to talk to you guys!"
"Wait a second, who's this?"
"It's Lou Pearlman."
"What?!"
A.J., Howie, Brian, and Nick crowded around Kevin, wondering what was going on.
"Who is it?" hissed Nick.
"It's Lou!"
"Lou Pearlman?!"
Kevin nodded his head.
"Well, what does he want?"
"He wants to talk to us."
"About what?"
"Lou, what do you want to talk about?"
"I would rather tell you in person. It's really important! I promise I will NEVER bother you guys again after this! Please. You don't even have to go anywhere! I can just meet you guys in the studio in a few minutes!"
Kevin explained the situation to the rest of the guys. They all agreed that they should talk to Lou. Well, all except A.J. He wasn't too thrilled about it. Ever since that dream, the thought of them alone with Lou Pearlman made him cringe. That nightmare really creeped him out. But what could he do? The poor guy just lost his business. Besides, it sounded really important and he did promise to never disturb them again.
"Ok, Lou. You can meet us here, in say…" He glanced at his watch. "Half an hour?"
"Yes! Ok. Alright! I'll be there in half an hour! Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me! Thank you, guys. Thank you."
"You're…err, welcome. Bye."
"Bye."
Kevin hung up the phone and turned to the others. "He'll be here in thirty minutes."
"I wonder what this is all about," said a baffled Brian.
Kevin just shrugged. "Don't know, but we'll find out soon enough. C'mon, we still have half an hour to rehearse."
Everyone groaned, but listened to Train.
Half an hour later, right on time, Lou pulled into the studio driveway. He entered the building and made his way to the large room where the boys were. Watching them perform the all new non-Transcon routines brought tears to his eyes and anger in his heart. He cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Hi, boys. Looking good," he said with a hint of discomfort in his voice.
"Thanks. We couldn't have done it without you," stated Kevin.
Lou smiled. "Oh."
"So what did you want to talk to us about?" Kevin took charge. A.J. hid behind him, keeping his eyes on Lou. The others just watched and listened.
Lou looked at the ground and spoke quietly. "I've seen you grow from inexperienced little teens to mature, world-wide famous pop stars. That was my dream as well as yours. We made it happen, together. We could have done so much more. But I screwed everything up for a measly three million."
"No, Lou. That wasn't the real reason why we left. Although it was part of it. I mean, if we can't trust the people who made us, who can we trust? But that's besides the point…" A.J. finally decided to forget about the stupid dream and continue the explanation, so Kevin wouldn't have to do all the talking. Besides, it would be more convincing if more than one Backstreet Boy agreed, so it wouldn't look like they were just following Kevin.
"We felt trapped," A.J. began. "We couldn't do anything. We always had to worry about whether or not you'd let us cut our hair, or get another piercing, or try a new style of singing or clothes. We couldn't be ourselves. I remember when Johnny and Donna flipped out just because I bleached my hair and got a new tattoo. I was just expressing my individuality. And our music tastes were changing, too. But we couldn't improve or change our style because you were afraid of what our fans would think. We weren't trying to displease our younger fans. We just wanted to attract a more mature audience as well. We weren't getting anywhere."
Everyone was silent waiting for Lou's reaction.
"I see," Lou choked out. He paced back and forth pondering what A.J. just said. He made the boys very nervous. "After you guys left, I thought it didn't really matter. After all, we still had 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Imajin, and C-Note. We were doing very well actually. But then, 'N Sync decided to follow your lead and check up on us. They found out the same thing you did. But I was just recouping the millions I spent on the tutoring, vocal coaches, allowances, and choreographic lessons. But they didn't understand. So, they left. Britney didn't trust us anymore and left, too, convinced that we were going to do the same thing to her. Imajin never came out with a new single and C-Note weren't ready yet. I was left with no one. Then some jerk took over my business, my life, and now I'm left with nothing. Nothing."
"We are very sorry to hear that. Although, we had our differences, you were our father, teacher, and friend, and we'll always be grateful for everything you've done for us. But it's time to move on. We did, and you should too."
Lou was turning bright red and the vein on the side of his neck was popping out. "You think it's so easy?!!! I've lost everything! Everything!!! You guys just dumped me and took your bullshit act somewhere else!"
They were totally taken back by Lou's sudden outburst, but A.J. refused to let him bash them. He confronted him.
"Now wait a second! You were the one who screwed up, Lou! Not us! So just take the blame like a man and move on with your friggin' life!"
"What?! You little shit! You were nothing without me!"
The little peaceful discussion they were suppose to have didn't turn out very well.
"Fuck you! We were special before you, with you, and most definitely after you!"
Nick tried being the peacemaker, for once. "Whoa, whoa! Why doesn't everyone just calm d---"
"Back off, blondie!" shouted Lou. Nick immediately recoiled.
"Don't tell him to back off, fat ass! This concerns all of us!"
"Always trying to be the hero, huh?! The little rebel?! I've never liked you! I don't know why the fuck I let you be in the group!"
"Likewise, dickhead! And because I'm good and you know it!"
Lou growled and started walking away. But all of a sudden, he turned around and pulled out a gun.
"Fuck you!!! You bastards!!!"
A.J.'s face blanched with fear. It was just like his dream!
Kevin tried to calm him down. "Lou, please put the gun down! You don't want to do this! You can't do this!"
"It was all your fault! I've lost everything and it was all your fault! But don't worry! After I'm done with the five of you, I'm gonna go after 'N Sync! Those sons of bitches deserve to die as much as you!!!"
He pulled the trigger and a bullet sliced the air. Luckily it didn't hit anyone. He wasn't really aiming at anyone. It went through the window. A.J.'s fear disappeared and it was replaced with rage.
"What the fuck?!!!"
A.J.'s attention was turned to the broken window and he did not realize that he was Lou's next target. Nick, Kevin, and Brian were terrified and oblivious to the impending event. But Howie saw the gun aimed at his friend. Without thinking, he darted across the room and pushed A.J. out of the way. But he didn't have enough time to save himself. Lou fired two shots. Howie clutched his chest as the bullets ripped through him and the blood gushed out.
A.J. got up from the floor just in time to see Howie fall backwards.
"NOOOOO!"
He ran to his friend's side and so did the others. Howie was still conscious, but he was loosing a lot of blood fast, and he was shivering and having convulsions.
"Howie!" A.J. cried, tears streaming down his face. "Hang on, buddy! I'm sorry about everything I said! I didn't mean it! Just stay with us, please!"
Howie looked at him with sad and anguished eyes. He grabbed his hand and tried to tell him something. He was cold and shivering. He couldn't speak. When he opened his mouth, no words would come out…just terrible gurgling and choking sounds, along with oozing blood. He was dying right before everyone's eyes.
Nick was standing in back of them totally traumatized.
"Call an ambulance!" screamed Kevin.
Nick just stood there in complete shock.
"Nick!" he yelled again. "Call a damn ambulance!"
This time, Nick got it. He tried running to the phone, but Lou stopped him midway, threatening him with the gun.
"And just where do you think you're going?" he teased.
"Are you fuckin' crazy?!!! He's going to die!!!"
Lou continued to aim the gun at him and taunt him, showing no sign of remorse.
"I thought that what the point!"
A.J. and the others continued trying to keep Howie awake and to convince him to hang on.
"Don't worry, Howie, the ambulance will be here soon. Just hang on."
A single teardrop ran down his pale cheek as his eyes closed and his head rolled to one side. He didn't move. A.J.'s eyes widened in fear.
"Howie? Howie?!" He looked at the others, whose heads were hung down in sorrow and whose faces were wet with tears. A.J. couldn't believe what was happening! He turned to Lou who was still menacing Nick with the gun. A.J. felt the anger and hatred build inside him. His eyes burned with fury.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" In a split second, he tackled Lou, making him drop the gun. Nick immediately ran to the phone to call an ambulance, while Brian seized the gun.
"You fuckin' bastard! I'm gonna fuckin' kill you! You son of a bitch!" A.J. screamed in his face, while pounding his face in. Lou shrieked and moaned in pain. Kevin tried pulling him off him before he killed him.
"A.J.! A.J. stop it!"
"NO! I'm gonna fuckin' kill him!"
"A.J.! No! You can't kill him! We can't risk losing you, too!"
He didn't listen to him. He just kept the beating the crap out of Lou.
"A.J., listen to me! Stop it! Howie wouldn't want this!"
Kevin finally got through to him. A.J. stopped punching him and stood up. Brian kept the gun aimed at Lou in case he tried anything. Kevin pulled A.J. away from the bleeding and incapacitated Lou rolling around in pain on the floor.
A.J. was breathing heavily and sweating from all his anger. He started walking away and looked at Brian with the gun.
"Brian, if he does anything, don't hesitate to shoot!"
Brian nodded, trembling. All of a sudden, Lou started laughing hysterically like a madman.
"Ha! You think this little terd's gonna have the guts to kill me?! I'll kill him first!"
A.J. turned around and grabbed Lou's collar.
"If he dies, I swear, I'll fuckin' kill you!" he hissed in his face. Kevin held him back again.
"C'mon, A.J.!"
A.J. roughly let him go, causing Lou to hit his head on the floor. He winced in pain. They could hear sirens in the distance. The ambulance was almost there. Kevin forced A.J. to go with him to meet the paramedics because he was afraid A.J. would try to kill Lou again. As Kevin dragged A.J. out of the room, he kept on yelling threats.
"You hear me?! I'll slaughter you!" A.J. continued screaming at
Lou.
"And that's not a threat! That's a fuckin' promise!!!"
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