"Nah, I'm smarter than that," Keelia winked. "Besides, I'm not interested in what your kind has to offer."

"We know, Keelia," Adia giggled, enjoying the indignant look on her friend's face. "Trust me, we know."

"So tell us about the Backstreet Boy," Shane drawled, falling onto the couch next to Keelia. "Is he as much of an asshole as we expected?"

"Not at all," Adia answered honestly. "He's actually quite nice."

Keelia's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Define nice..."

"No shit," Jason muttered. "If he's trying to get into your pants, I'll kick his ass. You're too damn good for him, Dia."

"That, and your brother would kick my ass if I let you bag a Backstreet Boy," Shane admitted with a chuckle. "I'm supposed to be protecting you from the evils of the commercial music industry, and that includes skeezy, charming pop stars."

Adia frowned. "Can someone really be skeezy and charming at the same time?"

"I bet Nick can be!" Jason piped up. Keelia and Shane burst into giggles.

"Guys," Adia whined. "Stop, okay? He's seriously not like that. He was actually kind of nervous."

"A Backstreet Boy? Nervous around our little Dia?" Jason cried. "I don't believe it!"

"I do," Shane muttered. "She's a much better musician than he'll ever be."

"So you think that it really is all about the music with him," Keelia leveled with a grin.

Shane flinched. "Good point. He's a pop act."

"Which means he has no integrity?" Adia fired back. The others flinched at the conviction in her tone. They knew better than to be music snobs around Adia. "Come on, kids. I want to hear this."

"We're just joking, Dia," Jason chuckled. "We know he can sing."

"Have you guys even listened to his whole set before?" Adia asked pointedly. "Do you have any idea which songs he wrote? Did you know that he plays the guitar? Did you know that he plays the drums? Did you know that the only reason he's not allowed to demonstrate these talents is because the label keeps him from doing it?"

Shane frowned immediately at the wealth of new information. "Where'd you hear all this?"

"Ani," Adia replied with a roll of her eyes. "Duh."

Keelia nodded. "So Ani likes him?"

"Ani feels sorry for him," Adia sighed. "She thinks he's a talented victim of a soulless industry."

"Which is true," Jason finished. "Hell, those few times he's managed a conversation with us, he always seems pretty bitter about the label."

"They've certainly done a number on him," Adia agreed with a frown. "He's...God, he's so worried about the way everyone perceives him that he barely has time to breathe without panicking about the impression he's leaving."

Shane's smug look faded to a frown that matched his tour mate's. "That's really, really sad."

"Isn't it, though?" Adia asked. "THAT'S what we talked about last night. That, and music."

"I'm assuming he thinks he knows something about music," Keelia scoffed. Adia leveled her with a glare immediately.

"He probably knows more than you do, seeing as he doesn't eliminate mainstream genres from his listening catalog."

"Yikes," Jason flinched. "Can we keep the barbs to a minimum, guys? Keels, lay off on Adia, okay? You know how she is about music snobbery, and you have to admit that the kid does a good job onstage."

Keelia grudgingly admitted that she'd been impressed by Nick's stage presence, and Adia concealed her victorious grin.

"So you guys bonded?" Jason asked Adia carefully. He knew he'd get details later, as he was closer to Adia than the other two, but he was honestly curious about the way things had turned out. Hell, he must have seriously impressed her if she's defending him to this extent.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Adia sighed, "but I definitely enjoyed talking to him. Once he relaxes, he's a really intelligent guy."

"Did he inspire any cover ideas for this evening?" Shane asked carefully, hoping to steer the course of conversation back to the band. Adia's eyes lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"I want to do Our Lady Peace."

The others exchanged shrugs. The band was inoffensive enough. They'd definitely enjoy a punk tune after a few nights of soft rock.

"What song?" Jason inquired.

"Made of Steel."

"Sounds good to me," Shane agreed. "I should probably go brush up on the guitar part, though. If you guys need me, I'll be in the bunk."

Keelia groaned. "That's my cue to print tabs, I guess."

The two headed towards the bunk area, leaving Adia and Jason alone on the couches.

"So 'Made of Steel,' huh? What the hell did you two talk about?"

Adia smiled softly at Jason. "He's...God, Jase, he's the sweetest guy, but he's so unsure of himself that it makes ME nervous. He spent the first five minutes stumbling over words like he'd never spoken English before, and he was so worried about offending me..."

"Did he?" Jason interrupted, eyebrow raised. He liked the Carter kid enough, but he'd been Adia's first friend and was therefore insanely protective of her.

"Not in the slightest," she assured him. "He's not always politically correct, but he's very earnest."

"So it's more shyness than arrogance?"

"It's all shyness," Adia admitted with a small smile. "I think we really do intimidate him. He kept making comments about how much better our songs were."

"You sure he wasn't just trying to flatter you?" Jason asked pointedly.

"Definitely," Adia sighed. "He blushed far too much for that."

"So you're hoping for a self-esteem boost."

"In essence, yeah. I know he pays close attention to the covers. He was amazed that we only practice them once before performance." She paused, sharing a grin with Jason. "I'm hoping he's willing to be friends."

"Because it's still making you uncomfortable that you don't really know him?" Jason questioned with a laugh. Adia shook her head sadly.

"No, because I think he needs one."