I was again sitting in front of the TV. My younger sister, Dawn, was sitting beside me. Tiny tears were rolling down both of our cheeks. We planned to watch the publicized press conference at 8:30. I didn't even know why I was going to watch it. It would just make me more upset, considering having to see the other Boys. I closed my eyes tightly, hoping to erase the whole day. I felt arms wrap around me. It was Dawn. I opened my eyes and hugged me trembling sister. Dawn was 2 years younger than me, 13. She seemed to be taking it harder than even I was!

The clock turned to 8:30 and the TV switched to a large room full of press members. A large man stood in front of them. There was a desk with only 3 microphones on it. The camera zoomed in on the man.
"Welcome everyone. In a minute or so Nick, AJ, and Howie will come out. Please keep your patience. They're going through a tough time. So here they are" the man explained. A door opened and in walked Howie. He had his head low. Behind Howie was AJ. AJ had the same characteristics as Howie. Finally, Nick came in. He wasn't alone. A woman, who I guessed was his mother, had her arm around his waist. Nick was rubbing his temples. Obviously, he wasn't taking it well. He sat down beside AJ at the desk. The woman whispered something in Nick's ear. She stroked his head and kissed his forehead. She left the room after. Howie paused before speaking.
"I wish we didn't even have to do this press conference. But we do" he replied softly. Nick looked terrible. His eyes were red rimmed and his face was tear stained. His hair was a mess. My heart sank when the camera zoomed in on poor Nick. I heard Dawn let out a loud sob beside me. I pulled her closer.
"We will start the questions now. Starting with Mr. Smith over here" he large man explained.
"Hi. I'm Robert Smith. I'm from the Chicago Tribune. I was wondering if you could all tell me how you're feeling about this" a man said. Howie looked at AJ and leaned forward to the microphone.
"Well, it's a shock. There aren't really words to say how we're feeling right now. We're just shocked" he said, solemnly. AJ leaned forward.
"Howie's right. Brian wasn't showing any signs of his condition. And had never been the kind to hold back his feelings. It was just so sudden" he said. Nick sighed loudly and slowly leaned forward. He cleared his throat.
"Brian was my...best friend. I can't believe this happened. It's just so --" he burst in to tears and put his head in his hands. Dawn sobbed even harder at the sight of Nick crying. AJ bit his lip tightly, obviously holding back tears. Howie's expression hadn't changed. They moved onto another question.
"Hi guys. This has shocked the whole world. The question on everyone's minds has to be if you guys will continue on as the Backstreet Boys, or will you split apart?" a woman said. Her voice was cracking. There was a moment of silence, then AJ leaned forward to talk.
"We're going to take a few months off from the group to deal with this. We just released out third album, so I doubt we'll totally split up. I guess we'll take it day by day. But we definitely need some time off" he explained. Nick had composed himself and seemed less upset. But you could see the pain in his eyes. They moved on to another question.
"Hi. I'm Kristen Robins. I was wondering what really happened to Brian". Howie sighed loudly.
"We were at a rehearsal for a concert tonight, during Get Down. We were all dancing when Brian fell down. We all thought he was joking around until he started yelling that his chest hurt" Howie stopped talking to keep his emotions under control. "He was brought to the hospital. The doctors originally thought it was a heart attack. But they later found out that Brian's heart had enlarged emencely. He was immediately put under to work on it. Brian didn't wake up...". Then Howie stood up and walked out of the room. AJ closed his eyes and Nick rubbed his temples. The large man came back on the screen.
"I'm terribly sorry everyone. But I don't think we can carry on this press conference. We're all too upset. Thank you for coming". Then a commercial came on. Dawn stood up, so did I.
"God Katie! What the hell is happening!" she yelled. I put my arms around her and tried to stay under control.
"I don't know Dawn. But it'll be okay. You always called Brian my angel. It just has a different meaning now--" Dawn pulled quickly away and glared at me.
"Please don't joke. I'm going for a walk. Do you wanna come?" she asked. I shook my head, I wanted to be alone. Dawn put on her sandals and left the house. I sat back down on the couch, and let out a whimper. In my whole life, I've never felt more pain. It felt like something had been torn away from me. Though I never met any of the guys, I felt a bond with them. Any non BSB fan wouldn't understand what I felt.