"Done!" A.J. announced triumphantly. He slammed his history textbook shut with a little whoop. On the next bed, Nick looked up from his math homework and rolled his eyes. He resumed chewing on his pencil without any further comment.

A.J. always finished his homework first. He always had more work than Nick did, since he was older and everything, but he was always faster. His mom had heard him teasing Nick about it a few weeks ago and intervened.

"Alex," she had reprimanded sternly, out of earshot of Nick, "We all know that Nick's... a little slower than you are. You don't have to rub it in. It's hard enough for him, not being in a normal school."

"Yeah mom," he had shrugged, giving her his "whatever" tone. "I'll quit it, okay."

The rest of the Backstreet Boys held a "Nick's slow because he's the youngest" idea, but he didn't buy the "Nick's dumb" excuse. Just because he was wired and bouncy most of the rest of the time, didn't mean that Nick wasn't deliberate about his homework. For some reason he cared more about getting it right, didn't rush through it as fast as possible the way A.J. did. A.J. wasn't sure why.

As usual when they were doing homework in the hotel, they weren't allowed to leave the room until they were both done. It was another way of catering to Nick, making sure he didn't get embarassed about his supposed stupidity. A.J. didn't mind too much though. He just flipped on the TV to MTV Europe and hoped for videos he could recognize. Nick never complained about the added noise, or the distraction when A.J. found something he liked and started dancing around the room.

This time, there was an eighties revival or something - the video for "Cover Girl" was just ending.

"Love this song!" A.J. exclaimed. "New Kids on the Block. We're gonna be just like that someday, Nicky!"

Nick looked over to watch the screaming girls and choreographed dance moves. The video ended and it cut to a German-speaking VJ. Neither of them understood the words, except "New Kids", but the tone was fairly obvious. The New Kids were definitely out of favour by now.

"Will we be like that someday, too?" Nick asked, unexpectedly. Startled, A.J. glanced at the younger boy. Nick matched his gaze for a moment before returning to his homework.

If any of the others had heard such perceptive comments out of Nick's mouth they wouldn't have believed it. He never seemed to come out with these things any other time. Sometimes he'd try, but he'd trip over his own tongue, or make a comment Brian could twist into something hilarious, and always ended up sounding like a bimbo.

Something about sitting down - lying, really - to do his homework focused Nick's thoughts enough that he regularly uttered little gems that made A.J. think. He had developed a secret respect for the kid. Beyond this enforced academic time, with other witnesses around, Nick was the mischevious prankster, the spacey new teenager too young for the jokes, always whining about this, that and the other. The world washed over him like water off a duck's back, seeming to make no impact at all.

The contrast between the two Nicks fascinated A.J.. He stared at Nick for a long while after this latest comment, watching the blonde head bent over the textbook, one leg kicking absently at the air. When Nick was finally done, he rolled into a sitting position.

"What?"

"Hmmm?" A.J. blinked.

"You're staring. What's on your mind, Bone?" Nick asked matter-of-factly.

"You'd never say "on your mind" out there," he blurted, unthinking.

"Huh?" Nick frowned in confusion, and A.J. found himself thinking the wrinkles on his forehead were kind of cute. The type of thing the girls were gonna like. "Out where?"

"I dunno," he stammered, flustered by his own thoughts. "Like... not here. You're different at homework time."

"Oh." He shrugged, a little of the "outside" Nick slipping in. He started piling his books together, preparing to leave. "I like it," he admitted with a shy grin. "It's downtime. The world just kind of... speeds by when we're working y'know?"

A.J. nodded, he did know. Ever since they'd come to Europe things had been going faster and faster, the hours getting longer and longer. It was already a little too much to assimilate.

"So um... I can focus here. If that makes any sense? I think better when I'm alone."

"Hey!" A.J.'s ego flared up just a little. "I'm here."

Nick laughed. "Aww, poor A.J." He bounced off the bed and planted himself directly in front of his bandmate. "Don't worry. I like people I can be alone with."

One wet sloppy kiss on the cheek and a cackle later, A.J. was alone, with another little statement to consider.

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