He watched as her small bare feet stepped onto the blue springy floor. He watched her tiny hands curve gracefully.

After a moment, the soft, classical notes to her music began.

She danced a graceful dance, her expression flowing.

She flipped and tumbled her way into the hearts of her fans. He watched her small, lean body twist and turn.

From behind the notes of the music, above the whispers of the crowd he heard the instructions from her coach.

Howie was amazed at what she could do. He never was really a big gymnastics fan, but today, during a day off he had been bored so he put on the tv and there she was. Shannon Miller.

It hadn’t taken long but soon he was swept into her routines. So far she was in the lead.

He felt a tug in his heart. It wasn't that he felt as if he had fallen in love with her like many of her fans, no the tug was that of understanding.

He watched her finish her routine, watched as she smiled and waved to the crowd, then walk breathless to her coach for a hug.

Howie listened to the screams of her fans. He saw the cameras flashing as boys and girls snapped pictures of their favorite gymnast.

He kept his eyes glued to the tv and watched her face expression.

"And Shannon gets a 9.912 for a beautiful floor routine! Putting her in first for the gold." The announcer said.

Howie watched as Shannon looked on as Dominique Daws took the floor. He watched Dominique and her powerful tumbling. Then he watched as Dominique received a 9.925 for her routine leaving Shannon with a silver medal.

He could see the disappointment in Shannon’s face as she gave a small smile to Dominique and said good job while clapping.

"I understand the disappointment Shannon." He said quietly to the tv.

"People here watching Shannon wonder, is she getting too old for gymnastics? She is almost at the senior citizen age of 19 and has gone on a winning streak of silver medals instead of gold." The tv reporters said.

Howie understood in some ways what Shannon was going through. She was a sports celeb. Living in the limelight, giving autographs and pictures for fans. He knew what it was like not to have a normal childhood like most people.

He also knew how frustrating things could get when people doubted you for your ability as many had done to the Backstreet Boys, and what they were doing to Shannon.

"I love the competition and doing gymnastics. It's what I am and what I love to do." Shannon said on tv to the announcers as she smiled wearing her medals.

Howie felt the same. He loved singing even if he wasn't the most popular. Even when things got tough and people doubted the guys’ ability, they stuck through because it was what they loved.

Shannon continued gymnastics because it was what she loved.

The competition ended and a football game started. Howie sighed and flipped off the tv. He knows times would be rough and times would be great, because that’s how it always was.

In many ways he and Shannon, were one in the same.

Aimee McCool sat waiting for her boyfriend Howie to come see her. She had not liked the way he sounded over the phone when he called her.

He seemed very nervous and unsure of himself. She thought back to the phone call.

"Um, Aimee? Hey it's Howie. Listen can I come over? I think we really need to talk."

"Is there something wrong Howie?"

"Listen I need to talk to you about this in person ok?"

"Um, sure, ok..."

Then he had hung up.

She sighed hugging her knees to her chest and rocked herself.

She was afraid of what he had to say to her. They had been together for 2 long years and they had been the best years of her life. She thought back to the day when they first met.

"Honey, you have to go up to that young man Howie. I know it hurts that he beat you in this talent show, but you have to learn how to be a bigger person, no matter how much it hurts," Her mother told her pushing the younger Aimee towards the smiling boy.

"Um, hi. Congratulations." She said softly looking at the floor.

"Thank you. I know this probably doesn't mean anything, but for what it's worth, I think you deserved to win." Howie told her smiling shyly.

Aimee's cheeks heated up as she blushed deeply.

"Thanks..."

No, it hadn't been love at first sight. But as they kept running into each other at talent competitions, both winning their fair share.

Finally after a year of running into each other, he asked her out and she had agreed.

Now here they were, after two years of dating, they needed a serious talk.

There was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in." She called soflty.

Her door opened and there he was. Her boyfriend. Howie D. Her Sweet D.

"Um, hey." He said not meeting her eye.

"Hi. Would you like to sit?" She asked hoping her voice didn't sound as pathetic as she felt.

He nodded and sat on the chair by her desk. He clasped his hands in his lap, then finally looked at her.

"Aimee, I'm gonna cut to the chase. Nick and A.J and I decided to form a group. We found two more members, Kevin Richardson and his cousin Brian Littrell. Our group is called the Backstreet Boys and we have a record deal." He blurted.

She blinked. She could not believe what he just said.

"Howie thats great!" She smiled but then noticed that he wasn't sharing her happiness.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"Well sort of..." He looked away.

"Well what is it?"

"The thing is, I think it would be better if we broke up." He said soflty.

She felt her whole world crash around her. Her heart crumbled into a billion pieces. She fought back the tears that she knew were trying desperately to fall.

"Why?" She finally asked soflty.

"I'm not gonna be home that much, we will never see each other, and you know as well as I do that long distance relationships do not work out. You should be able to date other people, and I think I should also." He answered.

She stared at him.

"I can't believe you. After two years, you decide that you want to date other people! You are an ass Howard! A complete jackass and I hate you!" She shouted feeling anger take over her heart break.

"Baby please." He reached for her hand.

"DON'T CALL ME BABY AND DO NOT TOUCH ME!" Screamed at him standing up.

He got up tears pricking his eyes.

She grabbed her hard back book of the nighstand and threw it at him. He ducked.

"I'm sorry." He chocked out before he left.

She screamed frustrated and collapsed on her bed sobbing.

Howie got into his car. He just never realized just breaking up is hard to do. It was the first time he had ever broken up with someone. And this made him feel like shit.

Aimee was spent crying. She lay with red rimmed eyes. She really hated him for what he did. He was her first love. She sighed and turned on the radio. Her oldies favorite song played. She stiffened. Check that, ex favorite song.

She sat up determined. She was going to get over Howie no matter what.

Starting now.

Aimee McCool laid on her bed reading from her Spanish III Honors book. Suddenly the phone on her table rang.

"Hola?" She asked answering it still reading her book.

"Muchacha, como esta?" A familiar voice answered.

"Excuse me?" She wasn't quite sure who it was.

"Hey Aimee, how are you?" The voice said softly.

"Who is this?"

"Howie."

Aimee dropped the phone in shock. She quickly put herself together again and grabbed it once more.

"Howie...what do you want?"

"Um, just to talk..."

"About what?"

"Well, I was thinking, maybe I was wrong about us breaking up."

"Excuse me? You have to be kidding me!" She laughed at him.

"Forget it Howie, I am not taking you back."

"But Aimee.."

He was cut off when she slammed the phone down. He rolled over and turned on the radio.

He sighed. Once upon a time, he thought the song was exactly the way he would have discribed their relationship and how he felt about her.

At one point he had loved her more than anything.

He became thoughtful, January was the month that they had started dating, February he had given her the promise ring in diamonds in a heart shape, March they had their first big make out session, April went to their first dance.

Prom was typical. They had made love for the first time.

Howie sighed. He was really beginning to hate this song. Too many damned memories.

He knew that they could have made more together, but no he was a dumb jackass and he broke up with her.

He punched the wall, something very strange coming from him, the calm peace maker.

Aimee laughed with her new friend Will. He was the blond quarterback of her high school football team.

Will smiled down at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Aimee smiled back at him enjoying the feel of his arm around her. Her heart beat faster to the feeling of being so close to him.

She sipped on her milkshake as they walked together through the mall.

Suddenly a bunch of younger girls ran past her screaming. She looked at Will confused.

"What is going on?"

He shrugged.

"Oh, some boy band, the Backstreet Boys, or somthing is here signing." He answered not really caring.

She felt her heart drop to the floor.

Slowly she and Will passed the table.

Howie sat at the table in a bad mood. He hated being in his hometown knowing that he would not be able to go see his girl.

He looked up to get ready to sign the next autograph. His eyes widdened. There she was, his beloved Aimee.

His heart broke when he realized that she was not alone. He saw Will, a popular jock, with his arm around her.

Howie could not tear his eyes away from Aimee. Suddenly, their eyes met.

The crushing all of his hopes, she turned and walked away from him.

Aimee left with Will, he was not interested in some stupid boy band, she was not interested in the boy band that had stole her first love.

She slipped into Will's car and decided it was time to let go of her feelings. Time to push Howie back into just some nice memories.

She knew she couldn't hate him, they had too many beautiful memories.

She smiled slightly, maybe someday, she and Howie could actually be friends.

Howie nervously closed the seal on the envelope. Enclosed were two tickets and backstage passes to the concert for the following night. He wasn't even sure if she would show up, but still, he had to try.

He sent down one of his security guards with the instructions of how to get the envelope to its rightful owner.

He sat back. Part one of his plan was in motion. Now for the next step. He picked up his cell phone to make a very important call.

~!@#$%^&*

Aimee McCool was reading when the doorbell rang. She got up and answered the door.

"Aimee McCool?"

"That's me." She said not recognizing the person.

"Special delevery." He said handing her a envelope then turned and left.

Aimee shut the door wondering what on earth it could be.

She opened it and a not fell out. She read it.

Aimee, I am so sorry for the way things have ended. I cannot believe what a fool I was and I hope you can forgive me. Here and two tickets and backstage passes for tomorrow's concert. I hope to see you there, Howie

Aimee called her best friend Carly and told her the story.

"Girl you so have to go!"

"Why should I? He is the one who broke up with me!"

"Yeah, and obviously he is sorry!"

Aimee sighed and became thoughtful.

"Fine but you have to go with me."

Carly agreed and Aimee hung up.

************

The next day, Aimee picked up Carly.

"Girl you look hot!" Carly said with a smirk as she got into the car.

Aimee looked down at her outfit. She wore flared black jeans and a green sweater.

"You don't look bad yourself." She smiled at Carly

Carly wore white low rise jeans and a white jean halter that showed off her tummy and tan.

They drove the the concert ready for some fun but Aimee was beyond nervous.

**********************

Howie paced his dressing room nevously. He already had told the guys that there might be a slight change to the shows schedule and they had been understanding.

The door to his dressing room opened.

"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice." Howie told the person as he shook his hand.

"No worries, I was honored to be included in this."

Howie smiled.

"I just hope she comes and that this works."

He took a deep breath as the show began.

**************

Aimee happily danced with Carly to the music. They were bothing having a wonderful time.

Howie spotted Aimee and waved to her. She offered a shy wave back.

After the song finished, Howie went backstage.

"Ok guys, she is here, we are gonna go with the plan."

He walked out on stage.

"This next song is a slight change in the program, this is for a very special person here tonight."

Aimee was scared out of her mind. She held her breath. Her jaw dropped when Lionel Richie walked on stage with Howie.

"Aimee McCool, this is for you."

Music began.

Howie picked up a microphone and with a voice filled with emotion, began to sing with Lionel.

As the song came to an end, Howie nearly chocked on the emotion he was putting into it. He just hoped that this was working and he and Aimee would be ok again.

He met her eyes gaze, and held it.

Their voices blended beautifully with the last notes. When the last notes of the music faded, Lionel and Howie left the stage.

Aimee sat dazed for the rest of the concert. She had so many emotions going through her at that moment she had no idea what to do.

When the concert was finished, Carly dragged Aimee backstage.

"Hey." Howie said softly.

"Hi." She greeted shyly.

They both stood silent for a moment.

"So, do you forgive me?" Howie asked finally looking up.

She hesitated.

"Yeah, I do. Thank you so much for the song, it was beautiful."

Howie smiled.

Lionel walked over to them.

"So this must be the famous Aimee." He smiled and shook her hand.

"Yes, thank you so much for letting Howie sing your song with you, it was beautiful."

"It was no problem at all, I am honored that he wanted my song."

When Lionel walked away, Howie led Aimee to meet the rest of the band. She smiled and greeted them. Then she introduced Carly to the guys. She noticed Kevin and Carly eyeing each other. She smiled and poked Howie.

"Hhmmm, interesting."

They laughed.

"You wanna give it another try?"

"You mean it?!"

"Sure, I mean if you want to..."

Howie smiled widely and hugged her tight.

"I love you Aimee McCool."

"I love you too Howie."

Their love was reborn.

A Girl's First Kiss by Anita

It was a compete dream come true. After waiting all 17 years of my life I had finally gotten my first kiss. And this was no ordinary first kiss. No my first kiss was from Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys.

It all began on the day that they came to a mall near my house to sign autographs. I was very excited and grabbed my 8x10 pictures of them that I had gotten at their last concert. Bright and early I drove to the mall so I would be sure that I would get them to sign the pictures. Amazing as it was, I was pretty close to the front of the line.

I hugged my pictures close to my chest. After about 10 minutes I got to the front of the table. The first boy I got to was Howie. I handed him my picture of him with a shy smile. He smiled back, signed the photo and agreed to take a picture with me.

I moved on and the next person was Brian.

"What's your name sweetie?" Brian asked me.

"Anita." I said in my soft voice.

He flashed me his angelic smile as he signed my picture then we posed for a picture together.

I thanked him then moved onto AJ who was next in line.

"Why hello there." He said taking his sunglasses off and looking me over.

I squirmed slightly. I wasn't used to guys looking at me like that.

"Hi." I answered him unsure of what else to say.

He took my photo and signed it then as we posed for a picture he kissed my cheek and winked at me.

I blushed slightly and moved on. The next person was the one and only Nick Carter. He was tied for favorite with Kevin. When he looked at me with those piercing blue eyes I swear I almost fainted. Asking my name he signed the photo then stood so we could take one together.

I was shaking slightly I was so excited. He stood behind me wrapping both arms around my waist then put his chin on top of my head. He bent and kissed my cheek after my friend took the picture. Lucky for me, Rachel was able to snap a picture of Nick kissing my cheek.

I moved on to the last boy, my other favorite, Kevin. He signed my photo and stood. Wrapping his arms around me Rachel took the picture.

That’s when it all happened. Once the picture was taken, I turned my head up to ask Kevin a question. Little did I know he was bending down to kiss my cheek. Both of us had moved so quickly our lips met in a sweet, gentle kiss. My eyes closed the second our lips met. I had expected him to quickly move away but instead he increased the kiss slightly making it all the ever more better.

We both pulled back and just looked at each other. Then he smiled and added something to what he signed. Then he sat again to continue signing photos. I meanwhile was floating on air.

Rachel and I rushed to the store to get the film developed then rushed home to compare autographs.

On mine Howie wrote, Thank you sweetie for your support. Love Sweet D.

Hers read, For a cute fan, Love Howie

From Brian, To Anita, a very shy girl who is also a beauty, Love B-rok

Hers, To Rachel, with the smile to light up a room, Love B-rok

From AJ, Hey there sexy don't be so shy! Bone

Hers, WOW! What boobs girl. You gotta shake what your momma gave ya! Bone

From Nick, Anita, you are a very beautiful girl with hypnotizing eyes. By the way aren't you gonna grow anymore you are so short! JK sweetie. Love Nick

Hers, Damn girl! ok sorry I won't say anything but nice :D You're a beautiful girl. Share some of your tallness with your friend. Love Nick

From Kevin, Anita, your smile is so sweet and your eyes are so full of life. You are a beautiful girl who’s gonna go far. Love Kevin ps. you are also a good kisser.

Hers, Rachel, You are a sweet girl. You are beautiful and a special person. Love Kevin.

We looked at each other and began to laugh.

"Dude! They noticed your big boobs though it was hard not to." I teased her.

"Well at least Nick didn't say I was short!" She shot back

I glared at her but smiled.

For a while longer we both talked about what had happened then went to pick up our pictures. She loved how her pictures came out. I smiled and began to look at mine. I blushed again seeing Nick kissing my cheek but what surprised me most was that she had gotten my kiss with Kevin on film.

"DUDE!" I yelled I was so excited.

"Surprise." She said with a smile.

I smiled back at her then looked at the picture again. I went and got it blown up to an 8x10 and had it framed. Then I hung it right by my bed. I would have my first kiss forever on film.

I looked first at the picture, and then at the large poster I had of Kevin and smiled at him. I put on my imported cd that had his song on it and listened to his beautiful voice. I also had my picture of Nick kissing my cheek blown up to an 8x10 and framed it then all the regular photos on my dresser. The pictures they signed were framed and put up too.

Kevin made my heart flutter, he was my first kiss something I would never forget.

Every word of every story,
every star in every sky,
every corner of creation, lives to testify.

Kassey laughed as Kevin chased her down the beach. She smiled when his strong arms wrapped tightly around her. She couldn't believe that she had fallen in love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin looked at Nick nervously; he couldn't believe it he was getting married. Something he had wanted desperately all his life.

~! @#$%^&*

Kevin straightened up as the white coffin lowered down into the soil. He thought back on all of the good times they had had. He knew that no matter what happened to him, he would always love her.

For as long as I shall live, I will testify the love,
be a witness in the silence say words are not enough.
With every breath I take,
we'll give thanks to God above
for as long as I shall live, I will testify the love.

He listened to the words playing. It had been one of their favorites. And many of the words expressed how he felt. He knew he would testify their love. And more than anything did he give thanks for him bringing Sai into his life.