This story takes place before Kevin or Brian got engaged. I wrote it when "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" was a single -- whenever that was.

Chapter 1 - The Arrival and the Meeting

Twelve people arrived in the middle of an unfamiliar forest. Not one of them remembered the trip there, who had brought them, or what the purpose of the excursion was.

Ellie looked around. "Well, now what? Where the fuck are we?!"

"Yelling about it won’t help," Karen told her.

"Well I don’t hear you offering any helpful suggestions!" Ellie shouted.

"Let’s just all calm down," Maggie said, being logical as usual.

"Does anyone remember getting here?" Tom asked.

No one answered.

"So, were we kidnapped or something?" Becky ventured.

"If we were, our kidnappers are the stupidest criminals on the face of the planet," Ellie answered. "Yeah, I think I’ll kidnap some kids and leave them in the forest where no one will find them. That’s a sure way to get money."

"Will you lose the attitude?" Karen said.

"NO!"

"I think the staying calm thing was a good idea," Tom said awkwardly.

"So, how do we get out of here?" Hazel asked.

"We don’t have any supplies. We don’t even have a compass," Karen pointed out.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Ellie muttered.

"We should stay where we are. That’s what you’re supposed to do when you get lost, right?" Becky asked.

"But no one even knows we’re out here," Tom commented.

"Wait, listen," Maggie said. Everyone stopped talking and moving.

"There’s someone over there!" Karen cried.

"Several someones," Becky added.

"Should we go see?" Sierra asked.

Tom shrugged. "What’ve we got to lose?"

"They could be our kidnappers and could kill us all," Ellie replied, smiling brightly.

Despite the comment, the seven moved closer to the clearing.

"Hey! Who’s there?!" a male voice called.

"Who are you?" Tom countered.

"You first!"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Do you know how we got here?"

"No! Don’t you?"

"No!" Ellie shouted back.

"Show yourselves!"

"You first!" Karen yelled.

"This could take forever," Sierra muttered to herself.

"Okay, we’re coming out . . . nice and slow."

"For God’s sake, we’re not armed!" Maggie cried.

Very slowly, five men emerged from the trees.

Everyone’s jaws hit the ground.

Becky began stuttering. "B-B-B-but y-y-you’re th-th-th-the . . ."

"Backstreet Boys," Kevin finished.

"What the fuck are you doing out here?!" Ellie cried.

"We’re just as confused as you apparently," Howie answered.

"So, you guys aren’t behind this, right?" Nick asked.

"No," Sierra replied.

Tom pointed at them. "We must ridicule you. You’re the Backstreet Boys! You suck!"

Ellie, Maggie, Karen, Sierra, and Hazel burst out laughing.

"Hey!" AJ cried, starting to step forward. Kevin stopped him.

Becky elbowed Tom. The five giggling girls quickly recovered.

"Look, if we’re going to get out this, we’ll have to work together," Sierra said calmly.

"So, who are you?" Brian asked.

The seven friends looked at each other.

"I’m Sierra."

"Karen."

"Becky."

"Ellie."

"Maggie."

"Tom."

"Hazel."

The BSB looked at each other. "Well, I guess you guys know us --" Nick began.

"No, actually the ones of us who have taste don’t know you at all," Tom said pleasantly. "And that would be all of us."

AJ glared at him. "In that case, I’m AJ."

"Nick."

"Brian."

"Kevin."

"Howie."

Sierra elbowed Ellie before she could comment on the last name.

"So, now what?" Nick asked.

"Maybe if we start a fire, someone will see the smoke," Maggie suggested.

No one answered. "Any objections?" Ellie asked.

Slowly, everyone shook their heads.

"Okay, leave it to me," Ellie said, clearing a place on the ground.

"Hey, who put you in charge?" AJ asked.

Ellie glared at him. "I know what I’m doing. I’m a pyro."

"That’s comforting," Brian muttered.

"So, we need to split up. We need water, a log, sticks, bark, and twigs, right?" Becky asked.

"Right," Ellie answered. "I need to stay here."

"Wait, no one should go anywhere alone," Tom said.

"Good point," Kevin agreed.

"I’ll stay here with her," Maggie said.

The rest of the group stared at the ground and each other.

Sierra threw her arms in the air, never one to stand for indecision. "Becky, go with Karen to find a log. Tom, come with me to find sticks." She turned to the BSB and pointed. "You and you, go see if there’s any water around here. You, you, and you gather twigs. Hazel, come with me and Tom. There."

Everyone broke up into their groups and headed in different directions.

"You know, I hope we can trust them," Nick said as he and Kevin walked along, looking for water.

"Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice. We need their help and they’ll probably need us," the older man said wisely.

After a moment of silence, Nick asked, "You think any of ‘em are cute?"

Kevin rolled his eyes at his band mate. "Is this really the time to be thinking about that? You’re as bad as AJ."

Nick shrugged. "Just tryin’ to lighten things up, I guess."

~~~

Chapter 2
Back to BSB fanfics