(A week later - Before the Grammy awards)

Aaron bounced off the stairs and ran after his brother before he set his foot out of the house. Nick spun around while rolling his eyes, when he heard his little brother's screaming and yelling. "Aaron, I am not going to bring you and that is final. I have to go to Kevin's house now." Nick said, shoving Aaron back into the house.

"Why are you always going to Kevin's house nowadays? Is he your best friend now? Whatever happened to Brian?"

"Aaron, you're such a bag of questions." Nick said, shaking his head. "Brian needs to go pick Leighanne up. She went back to her home for the weekend, remember? Alright, I gotta go now, okay?" Aaron pouted his mouth and move away from the door. Nick smiled and ruffled his brother's hair before going off.

Aaron's question kept swimming in his head as he drove over to Kevin's house. Now, even his little brother was aware of his closeness to Kevin. His best friend must have discovered it too. Brian was a sensitive person and he never let anything suspicious ran by his thoughts. New-age sensitive guy. That was one of his traits and the one that make Leighanne fall for him. Brian's sensitiveness was something that all girls would want their guys to have. Nick thought that it was cool and even wished he had half of Brian's trait. But, not anymore.

...

"Anyone had any idea why Kevin and Nick are always arriving together to all the places nowadays?" Brian asked when he spotted the duo arriving in a limo.

Howie gave a shrug and AJ was just too busy keeping a close watch on Amanda, who was talking to Ricky Martin. Brian looked at Leighanne and she shake her head. He let out a sigh.

Leighanne could tell that her boyfriend was upset. On the fact that he had been talking about how he had neglected his best friend and how short their conversations are nowadays. Brian was convinced that he was no longer Nick's best friend, but Kevin. Sad as he may be, Brian never confronted his cousin about this. It was just plain ridiculous if he did.

As they went into the backstage room together with the rest of the gang, Kevin noticed Nick furrowing his eyebrows and a little frown forming on his face. When Nick excused himself to go to the washroom, Kevin followed.

"Nick, why are you looking so disturbed?" Kevin asked as Nick turned on the tap to wash his hand.

Nick let out a sigh. "I don't know... It's just... it's just Brian. I smiled at him just now and he gave me this look... Weird look." he said and went over to the hand dryer. "Do you think Brian already knows about us?"

Kevin's heart almost jumped out of his chest when Nick mentioned that look which Brian gave him. However, it can't be possible. AJ, Amanda and Howie couldn't have let the cat out of the bag. He slightly shake his head and gave Nick a smile. "I'm sure that Brian still doesn't knows about us... He would have kill me right on the spot when we arrive if he knows it before hand."

"Don't be silly!" Nick exclaimed. "If anyone dares to touch you, I'll personally return that person ten times of whatever he did to you."

Kevin chuckled at the protectiveness that Nick was showing. "Even your best friend?"

"Even my best friend." Nick replied with a serious tone. Kevin averted his attention to the mirror and fixed his hair. That look in Nick's eyes was something that Kevin never knew existed. It startled him a little on the realization that Nick wasn't the little kid, which he used to get annoyed with anymore. He was someone who would give up everything, including his best friend, in order to be with him.

Kevin gently shake his head. "Don't ever think about hurting your best friend, Nick. Remember that Brian's your best friend and he always will be. No matter what happens." he said. Nick smiled a weak smile and the both of them returned to the backstage room.

...

All of them sat at third row in the audience, exactly where the camera was positioned. Leighanne doesn't like her seat as the camera was very near to her and Brian offered to change seats with her. When she had settled down, she realized that Nick was sitting beside Kevin. She had expected an empty seat because Kristin had not arrived yet.

Breaking into Kevin and Nick's conversation, she smiled politely. "I'm sorry to interrupt but do you guys realize that Kristin isn't here yet?"

Kevin moved uncomfortably in his seat. "She's sick and needed some rest."

"She's sick?" Brian asked. "Is it serious?"

"No... She's just having fever."

Leighanne felt the strange demeanor in Kevin as if he was unwillingly to speak about Kristin. She knew that Brian had felt the same way as her when he gave her a knowing look. Kristin would always showed up with Kevin in her best to support him, even if she was sick. In addition, this was an important awards show. Kevin's behavior also added a disturbed tremor into her. Throughout the show, her thoughts were buried in thinking about her friend. She decided to pay Kristin a visit tomorrow, just to make sure that everything was all right.

"Leighanne? Leighanne? We've won for the best group!" Brian said as he shake her a little.

Leighanne snapped out of her thoughts and smiled brightly. "Congratulation, honey." she said, giving her boyfriend a bear hug and proceeded to congratulate the other four too.

Howie's sister, Pollyanna was in tears and proud of another achievement by her little brother. Leighanne smiled at the love Pollyanna had for her brother. She noticed that Howie was winking at someone in her direction as he hugged his sister. She turned to look beside her and found Kevin and Nick in a tight embrace.

...

(Kristin's Apartment)

Pulling another piece of tissue out of the box, she blew her nose slightly into it. That was Kevin and Nick in a tight embrace on national television. Of course, the viewers and their fans would be thinking that it was just a brotherly hug and nothing more. Only she was the one who knew that it was more than a brotherly one. It was a lover's hug.

At this point, her tissues were used up and she decided to go into her room to get a new box of it. Just then, her telephone rang. She couldn't figure out who would call at this time even though she had hoped that it was from an impossible person, Kevin.

"Hel... Hello?" Kristin answered, trying to sound as normal as possible. She knew that her voice was still sounding hoarse from all the crying.

"Hello? Is this Kristin?"

"Mandy? Yes, it's me." she answered, a little surprise at the unexpected caller.

"Kristin, are you okay? You sounded kinda weird." Mandy asked with a concern voice.

Kristin picked up a used tissue on the table and wipe off her tears. "Yes, I'm fine. Just having sore throat... Is there anything I can help?"

"Okay... Well, I was calling to see if you are all right. I didn't saw you at the awards show tonight..." Mandy paused herself as she realized that Kristin was crying. Her muffled cries were heard clearly even though Kristin had block the speaker. "Kristin, are you really alright? Do I need to come over?"

"No-" Kristin added quickly. "I am fine... Really... It's just that I have... I have no reasons to be there. What am I talking about...?"

"What do you mean by you have no reasons to be there? Kevin's your fiancé!"

"He's not anymore." Kristin said in a monotone.

"Not anymore?" Mandy was surprised. Kevin and her are supposed to get married soon and they are calling it quits again? "This is so impossible. First off, it's me and now it's you. Don't tell me Amanda would be the next."

Kristin held a photo frame up in her other hand and gazed longingly at the photo. It was a group photo taken at the beginning of their Millennium tour. AJ, Amanda, Howie, Brian, Leighanne, Nick, Mandy, Kevin and her were in that photo. The friendly gesture of Kevin putting his arm around Nick, the little gap between Kevin and her and the look of happiness on Kevin's face. She never picked up those obvious hints. If she knew that things had already turned against her in advance, she would be doing her best to save her relationship. However, it was all too late. 'Better late than never' didn't work its charm for what she had lived for and the pain of letting him go will be etched in her memory forever.

"This is not impossible." Kristin said. "I think they had it all planned before hand."

Mandy sat up eagerly in her seat and grabbed her phone tightly. "What do you mean they had it all planned before hand? It sounds kinda ridiculous to me."

From the tone in her voice, Kristin deduced that Mandy still have no idea what was going on between Kevin and Nick. She felt that it would be unfair to Mandy if she didn't get to know the real reason behind everything and decided to tell her. "Mandy, Kevin left me for Nick."

Mandy's head spin a little. "What?" she laughed. "Kristin, you're joking, aren't you? Do you know what you had just said?"

"I am very sober right now and I know I just mention that Kevin had left me for Nick."

Mandy slumped back into her couch in shock and the receiver slipped out of her hand.

"Mandy? Mandy? Are you okay?" Kristin's voice boomed through the receiver and Mandy picked it up.

"I was just in shock. Sheer shock." Mandy replied. "So, guess what? I have been in love with a gay who finally dumped me when he found his true lover!" she laughed.

Kristin panic a little at Mandy's reaction. "Mandy, don't do anything stupid. It's not worth it."

"I'm not going to do anything. Don't worry, I'm fine. Yeah, I'm fine..." she said as her voice trailed off with a dangerous time bomb in it. "One day, we will be able to find the man who truly loves us. Now, get some rest and don't think too much. I'll call again. Goodbye, Kristin."

"Alright... The same to you. Goodbye."

After hanging up the phone, Kristin switched off the television and went into her room. The rest of the night was spent in her dreamland, the only place where Kevin belonged to her and no one else.

...

(The next day - Outside Kristin's apartment)

"Do you want me to pick you up later on? I am just going down to the studio to do some stuff. It won't take too long." Brian asked as Leighanne removed the safely belt.

"If you want to, honey. I'll meet you at the Starbucks, the one near Kristin's house." Leighanne said and gave Brian a peck on his cheek.

Leighanne stood by the sidewalk, watching Brian's car disappeared down the corner before going up to ring the doorbell. After a few minutes, the door finally opened and a very tired Kristin greeted her. Leighanne was taken aback by her friend's pale looking face and quickly ordered her to sit down when she wanted to get her a drink.

"Kristin, what happened to you? You looked a mess! Kevin told us that you had a fever and you look more serious than that."

"Kevin? How does he even know that I was sick?" Kristin asked as she laughed bitterly.

"Kris, you're scaring me." Leighanne said as she put her hand gently on Kristin's shoulder. "What happened? Did the two of you have a fight again?"

Kristin laughed again. "I wished we were just fighting." she replied, her laughers soon turning into small sobs. "But no. It's officially over. Everything is over..."

"Over? Wha- How can it be? I mean, Kevin didn't tell us anything about leaving you. Maybe it's just some misunderstandings between the both of you? Look, I'll get Brian to talk to Kevin if you want..." Leighanne watched as Kristin kept shaking her head and muttering in despair. "Kris! Look at me and calm down... Kris-" Leighanne attempt to grab her shoulders and shake her slightly to snap her out of her current trance. When Kristin looked at Leighanne straight in her eyes again, she stopped shaking her.

"Leighanne... It's not misunderstandings... It's not his fault... It is just too late. Too late... I can't save the relationship!"

Leighanne let out a huge sigh and decided to go into the kitchen to get her a drink to calm her down. When she came out, Kristin was holding that photo frame which she had held last night. "Look at this photo, Leighanne. What do you see?" she asked as she handed the photo frame over to her. Leighanne remembered this photo but she couldn't find anything special to it.

"All of us, including the girlfriends, were in this photo?" Leighanne guessed.

Kristin shake her head. "No... Look at Kevin and look at Nick. Do you feel the love between them?" Leighanne turned to look at Kristin in shock. "Can you feel the love which Kevin had for Nick? I can... It is... overwhelming. But why..." Kristin broke down once again. "Why Kevin? Why him? I lose him to another guy! And it's Nick! Nick! Leighanne..." she cried and Leighanne embraced her, letting Kristin to pour her heart out.

Despite Kristin's random muttering of words, Leighanne figured out what she was trying to say. Kevin left her for Nick. 'Kevin left Kristin for Nick.' she repeated the sentence in her thought. 'So, she's trying to tell me that Kevin and Nick are...' she grasped at her thought and decided that Kristin was just muttering things in an unstable state. But when she looked and listened to Kristin's melancholy cries, she knew that Kristin was speaking the truth. 'Oh lord, the last thing I need is to see Brian tearing everyone apart because of this. Just how did all these goes by us unnoticed? I should've know that something is wrong...' she thought.

At this moment, Leighanne's cell phone rang. She answered the call and it was from Brian. However, she forgot that Kristin was still crying and her sobbing can be heard from the background. "It was just about all those management stuff again... Leigh, was that Kristin crying in the background?" Brian asked.

Leighanne panicked and quickly found an excuse. "Err... No, Brian... We were watching some soap dramas. It's not Kris-"

"Leigh-" Brian said. "I can recognize Kristin's voice. What is wrong? Did Kevin bully her?"

"Brian, honey... Everything is okay..."

"For once, Leighanne... I don't believe you. You stay at her house. I'm coming over right now." Brian said and hanged up before Leighanne could protest.

While waiting for Brian to arrive, Leighanne could only hope and pray to lord that he will take things easily. However, given his character, Leighanne can't bear the thought of an ugly scene unraveling. She closed her eyes and imagined the things that are going to take place. From Brian confronting Kevin and Nick to trying all ways and means to get them out of the group. There seemed to be no end to her thoughts until she heard the doorbell. Kristin pulled herself away from Leighanne and tried to make herself looked presentable. Leighanne looked over at the door and sighed. She had wished that some miracle would happen and make Brian forget about everything. "Kristin, I'll go get the door. The truth, Kris. We'll just tell him the truth... Everything will be okay," she mindlessly murmured as she stood up and went for the door.

Brian was in anger at the first sight of Kristin. Her puffy red eyes was filled with the most heart-breaking look that he had ever seen and her lips were paled with the bitter taste of overwhelming misery. What did his cousin do to make his loved one cried so much over him?

"Brian... No matter what I am going to tell you next, it will never change your friendship with Kevin and Nick. Promised me?" Leighanne said. Brian looked at his girlfriend awkwardly. Why was Nick involved too? "Brian, promise me."

"Leighanne, I can't promise you anything because I don't know what is going on. All I know is that the person who makes Kristin so upset will pay for it. I know that it's Kevin who started everything, right? Just tell me what happened! And why is Nick involved in this too?"

"It's not Kevin's fault. They just love each other... I was just too late to save everything..." Kristin spoke up.

"What? They just love each other? Who are the they?" Brian asked. "Kevin had found someone new?" Both Leighanne and Kristin just kept quiet. They couldn't find the courage to reveal the truth to him. Through the silence, Brian's thoughts wandered. 'Leighanne had mentioned something about Kevin and Nick and Kristin mentioned something about...' Brian shake his head and looked at Leighanne and Kristin. He wasn't hoping to hear the answer that his mind had just conjured up but their facial expression was already confirming it. "Tell me that it wasn't something to do with Kevin and Nick. Tell me that it wasn't something about them being... being together..."

Leighanne slightly nodded her head, followed by Kristin. "Give them your blessing, Brian. Don't hate them..." Kristin requested through her tears.

Brian's jaw dropped open in disbelief as if he had just heard the biggest joke of the year. He was about to laugh when he pull himself back into reality again. "Don't hate them?" Brian repeated the words slowly and painfully. He swallowed hard. "My cousin and my best friend...?" An unreadable assortments of facial expression flittered across his face and he was almost heading for a total breakdown.

The next thing they knew, Brian was out of the door and disappeared down the streets. He was too fast for Leighanne and Kristin to catch up. "Kris, Brian just needs someone to talk some sense into him. As for now, I am not sure if anyone else knows about this besides you and me-"

"Mandy knows." Kristin said.

"Mandy? She... She knows?" Leighanne asked. "Did Nick told her or is it you?"

"She doesn't know what is going on until last night. When I wasn't at the awards show with you guys. She called to find out what's wrong and... and I told her."

Leighanne shake her head as the bleak atmosphere added heavily onto their worries. "Let's just hope that things will not take a turn for the worst that we can imagine," she said, looking down the path where Brian was last seen before he disappeared out of her sight.

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