"She's pretty," said Brian Littrell, Nick's best friend.

"Yeah, she is," said Kevin Richardson, Brian's cousin. "What does she want with you?"

"She looks a little old for you, Nick," AJ McLean said. "Maybe you better let me take over." AJ was looking at Raelene as she walked away.

"In your dreams, AJ. I met her first," Nick said, giving AJ a look that would've scared little kids.

"How old is she? About 15 or 16?" Howie Dorough, AJ's best friend, asked. He looked at Nick curiously.

"Way off, Howie," Nick said, laughing. "You won't believe me when I tell you."

"Well, how old is she?" AJ asked.

"Eleven going on twelve."

"You've got to be kidding," Kevin said in an amazed voice.

"I don't care how old she is," AJ said. "That girl has got a BODY!!"

"Milk sure has done that body GOOD," said Brian.

"You got that right. There's a lot to be said for early bloomers. So, what's her name?" asked Kevin.

"DeAnna Lopez, but her friends call her 'Raelene'," Nick answered.

"Why? 'DeAnna' is a pretty name," Howie said.

"But 'Raelene' is a sexy name," AJ said, a devilish smile on his face. Kevin elbowed him in the ribs.

"What?" AJ rubbed his side.

"Come on, AJ. She's a little young for you. Besides, she likes me, now you," said Nick, victory in his voice.

"Whatever, Nick."

"AJ, chill. Nick saw her first. I thing we should respect that fact," said Brian.

"Thanks, Bri," said Nick.

"No problem, Nick. So, when are you meeting with her again?"

"Yeah, we all want to meet her," said Kevin.

Everyone looked at Kevin. Considering Kevin was the oldest member of the group, they figured Kevin wouldn't waste another thought on Raelene.

"What?" he said, noticing all the raised eyebrows. "I think she looks like a nice girl."

"That's probably not all you're thinking," AJ said, giving him a knowing wink.

"Shut up, AJ. The girl was born when I was ten."

"Kevin, you know your thoughts aren't all that pure. Age is just a number," AJ said.

"Hey, guys," Nick yelled. "Remember me? The one going out with her tomorrow?"

"Just make sure you bring her to our hang-out tomorrow night. I want to see this girl up close," Brian said.

"Fine, but hands off, guys. She's mine," Nick said.

"Sure, Nick. It's your call...." he said, his voice trailing off.

Raelene had just turned around to find five guys staring at her. She smiled and waved at them. They all smiled and waved back. Then Raelene turned around and started walking again.

"Man, that girl is FINE!!" AJ exclaimed.

"She could be our good luck charm. You better hang on to her, Nick," Brian said.

"Don't worry, Bri. I plan on it," Nick said, still looking at Rae.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day, Raelene was running around the hotelroom, getting ready for her day out with Nick.

"What time is Nick coming?" Scott yelled from the bathroom.

"At 12:00 noon," Raelene yelled back. "You got ten minutes before he gets here."

"Alright, I'm ready," said Scott, walking towards the couch and sitting down.

"What are you getting ready for? I'm the one going out with him."

"Yeah, but I have to interrogate the guy. Todd would kill me if I didn't get as much out of this guy as I can."

"Todd needs to stay out of my business. We broke up last week and don't make me remind you why."

"So, he messed up. He said he was sorry."

"It's going to take a lot more than 'I'm sorry' for me to forgive him. When someone who supposedly loves you cheats on you, it's not just a bump in the road of relationship bliss. It's the Mississippi River during a really bad rainstorm."

Right at that moment, there was a knock on the door. Hoping Nick didn't hear any part of the arguement, Raelene went to open the door. She stopped in front of the mirror for a second to check her appearance before opening the door.

"Hey, Nick. Come on in," Raelene said.

"Hey, Raelene," Nick said, walking in. "Cool hotelroom. Who you here with?"

"My friend Scott is in the other room. Unfortunately, I have to introduce you to him before we can go. Since none of my brothers are here, he feels he has to take their place."

"That's fine with me."

They walked to the next room, where Scott was sitting watching a re-run of his TV show.

"Scott, this is Nick Carter. Nick this is my friend, Scott Weinger."

"What's up?" Scott said.

"How are you?" Nick said.

They shook hands and looked at each other. Both sort of evaluating the situation. Just when it looked like they weren't going to stop, they let go.

"So, where are you taking my best friends's girlfriend?" Scott asked, innocently.

"Scott, shut up. Don't listen to him, Nick. I don't have a boyfriend. Let's go." Raelene was about to walk out of the room.

"You're that guy in TV," Nick said, surprised.

"You watch this?" Scott asked.

"My friends and I watch it all the time."

"What do you guys think?"

"It's one of our favorite shows."

"Hey, I like this kid." Scott gave Rae a big smile. "You take care of her."

"Don't worry. Orlando is like my second home," Nick said. Then he and Rae walked out the door.