"This can't work anymore," AJ yelled storming to the door.
"I give up!" Howie cried throwing his hands up in the air, "I can't do this anymore! I'm sick and tired of dealing with you guys!"
"What's the point in staying?" Kevin asked, "The Backstreet Boys are history."
"You guys wait!!!" Nick yelled causing everyone to stop what they were doing, "We have to work this out!" His voice was urgent.
"Just give me one more reason why we should, Nick," AJ said, his angry words stinging the silence.
Tears formed in Nick's eyes as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded and crumpled letter. The envelope was tattered but it's precious contents were still intact.
"I got this a few years ago," Nick said quietly. AJ, Howie and Kevin pulled chairs over so they could face Brian and Nick who were sitting on the bed. "I only showed it to Brian because I didn't want to upset you guys."
"I think it's time you let them read it," Brian said softly. He knew what the letter contained and why Nick had kept it from the others for so long.
----------------------------------------------------
*A few years earler in a small Canadian town*
Harmony retreated to the shelter of her bedroom, locked the door and ran to her sterio. She fumbled with the CD case of the first Backstreet Boys Canadian album and shakily put the CD in her discman. Pressing the buttons with clumsily shaking fingers she put 'Roll With It' on repeat.
On the outside Harmony was like any other teenager but she had a lot of things going on in her life and not all of it good. Her parents fought, she had been an outcast at school for a long time and was just now starting to confide in friends again. When things got bad Harmony would go to her room and drown her sorrows in the comforting sound of Nick's voice, telling her that things would get better.
Harmony went to her desk and got out a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote, through her stinging tears, expressing her immense gratitude towards the singer.
Dear Nick,
I just wanted to write to you to tell you how grateful I am to you and the rest of the Backstreet Boys for the joy you have brought to so many lives.
My name is Harmony and I'm fifteen years old but yet I've been through more that most people experience in their entire lifetime. It's so hard to explain but I'll start with the easiest. My parents fight...alot...
~*~ "I hate you!" Harmony's mother cried as she smashed plates and glasses on the floor.
Harmony, only a mere 13 years old comforted her crying sister just out of sight on the stairs. She didn't know what the fight was about this time. It had gotten to the point that she just didn't care anymore. She peered out into the kitchen at her parents.
Her mother grabbed a sharp knife from the sharpener and pointed it directly at Harmony's father. "Get out," she cried, "or so help me God I'll kill you!"
"NO!" Harmony cried running down the stairs, "DON'T!"
The girl ran to her father but she was grabbed by the hair and pulled back.
"Get out of here," her mom hissed.
"No."
Her mother smacked her sending her crying to the safety of her basement and her CD player.~*~
Harmony cried as she explained the extent the Backstreet Boys had helped her cope with the situations. The memories she had were so vivid, she became scared...
When I was in grade eight a couple months later, my friend deserted me, I had no one to talk to until I was introduced to my two best friends. That helped but the rumors circulating, the fighting, and seeing my old friends at the center af it all sent me into a state of extreme depression. It was so bad I couldn't trust anyone, only your music and the message it gave me. At one point I event tried to end my life but with the help of my best friend and 'Roll With It', one of my very favorite songs, I managed to pull through.
~*~ "What's wrong?" Alyssa asked Harmony.
"Everything," Harmony answered the voice on the other end of the phone line. She played with the scissors she held in her hand, "My life is so unfair!"
"It's gonna be alright," she comforted not quite knowing what to do.
"I'm gonna die," Harmony whispered between sobs.
"No you're not," Alyssa urged, "We're gonna get through this."
"Will you invite the Backstreet Boys to my funeral?" Harmony asked quite seriously, tears still pouring down her face.
"Yeah," Alyssa cried, "But don't think like that. I know you've got sharp things around you so put them out of your reach, ok?"
"Ok," Harmony answered throwing the scissors across the room. She had tried this type of thing before and was now terrified of the pain that came with it.
"I've got an idea," Alyssa said, "if Nick were here he could make things better right?"
"Yeah I guess so," Harmony replied imagining that if he were there to hold her tight, her problems would magically disappear.
"Turn on your CD, number 10 Nick sings alot," Alysssa instructed, "It always helps me."
Harmony pressed the buttons on the CD player and Nick's soothing voice filled the room. Still crying, not so hysterically now, Harmony mouthed the words to 'Roll With It' as she listened to Alyssa tell her the latest news on the Backstreet Boys. ~*~
Honestly, if it weren't for you guys I wouldn't be here right now, I thought I was alone and that no one else knew what I was going though, but now I know I'm not and that's what scares me the most.
I'm not asking for pity or sympathy from you, just the promise that if you guys ever start to fight and think that you can't go on, you'll think about what you have done for the fans.
Thank you,
You're number one fan,
Harmony
----------------------------------------------------
As Nick read the last line out loud he looked up to see the other four, including Brian who read the letter as many times as Nick himself did, had tears in their eyes.
"I call her every night," Nick whispered breaking the silence.
"Is she alright now?" Howie asked wiping a tear away.
"Sometimes," Nick said, "When I call her she is the happiest girl on the face of the planet."
He smiled and then let his tears flow more freely.
"What?" Kevin asked moving from the chair to the bed.
"Other times," Nick continued, "Like last night, there was yelling in the background and she was crying. Someone told her to get off the darn phone and then I heared her whimper in pain."
AJ put his head down in his hands, Brian put an hand on Nick's shoulder.
"She didn't hang up, I wouldn't let her. I asked if there was anything that we could do to help. She said I already did! Just hearing my voice was enough, and she got me to promise again that we wouldn't split up." Nick finished and another wave of tears swept over him.
"We won't, Nick," AJ said, "I promise."
"There's no way we'll let her down." Kevin said.
Brian gave Nick a hug knowing how hard it was for him to tell the others. "Thanks," he said quietly wiping a tear away.
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