"We've got it going on" had been released as a single in US a month ago and it had barely hit 70 in the Billboard chards.

"It's not good enough."

Alex raised his eyes to look at Lou Pearlman, an angry semblance on his face.

"It's not good enough."

Alex snorted. It wasn't the first time he said that.

"Don't you think we know?" Kevin said darkly, his jaw set.

Lou turned to look at the eldest of them, the one who was always defying him and only gave him a stern look.

"We're doing better in Europe," Kevin added after a minute. He turned around a picked up a review of their single. "We're climbing very fast in Germany."

"We need to make it here," Lou said stubbornly.

"We know that, but we're doing great in Germany. We're already twenty and we seemed to be getting bigger. What's the problem with that?"

Howie run his fingers through his hair, shaking his head as he did so. He knew Lou had been expecting them to make it here right away. He wanted them to be bigger than "The new kids" but they weren't going to make it with a 70 in the Billboards.

"We've tried here. We've been touring and we've got a fan base, but we aren't getting anywhere." Kevin fought, his face a serious semblance and Nick watched him for afar. He didn't like it when Kevin got that look in his face, which seemed to prevalence whenever they talked with Lou.

"Kevin is right," Donna said, turning around and looking at Lou. He was a stubborn son of a bitch, but he had control over the boys, and that something he wasn't going to let go. It was, after all, his investment.

"We can do something over there," Donna added. "I could contact some people. We could try and be opening act for someone."

But Lou was looking mighty angered at the moment, eyes fixed with Kevin and the eldest of the group wasn't blinking, keeping his jaw set.

"Okay," Lou said, but his voice held no backing away. "We'll do that. But we have to make it."

"We will," Kevin stated with conviction he felt to the core. He was going to turn twenty-four in only a couple of days. They had to make it.

With one last glare, Lou turned around and left the room. Donna shrugged apologetically, following the man.

"Asshole," Alex said with a shake of his head.

Howie let out a long sigh. "I thought you were going to hit him."

"I was planning to," Kevin relented, running his fingers through his hair in the need to do something to let out the pent up energy.

"It's not our fault the single didn't make it," Brian said for the first time since the conversation started.

"We tried," Nick mumbled, eyes looking downwards.

Kevin nodded at the blonde's words. "Yep, we tried. But we're doing better in Europe. We'd just have go head over there."

Nick tilted his head to the side, looking at Kevin. "Are we actually going touring there?"

Kevin grinned from ear to ear. "We've just recorded in Sweden, what's keeping us from touring Europe?"

The corners of his lips going upwards, glee in his eyes, Nick nodded in anticipation.

Alex raised his eyebrows, crumbling the piece of paper in one had. So what if MTV didn't like them yet, they had Europe for that.

*****

"Guys," Donna said, entering the small studio, one wall covered with windows from top to bottom. All five of them were standing in the middle of the room, waiting for her.

She smiled at them, trying to look reassuring.

"Is she here yet?"

Donna nodded at Brian's question. "She'll be here in a second. I just wanted to tell you guys that this is going to change things. We have to get a show ready for when we start touring. We have to have a choreography."

Kevin accented with her. They had to be ready. They had to start taking things seriously. Right after his twenty-fourth birthday We've got it going on had climbed into the tenth spot in Germany and they had plans to begging touring in UK. They had to keep up. It was the only way.

"That's what's she's going to do."

Alex grinned like a Cheshire cat. "We can't wait."

There was a knock and the boys turned around, looking expectantly at the door as it opened, revealing a black woman with braided hair and a confident poise.

"Hello," she said, walking slowly, seizing each one of them with a glance of her dark eyes. "I'm Fatima."

Kevin was the first to acknowledge her, walking up to her and extending his hand. "Nice too meet you. I'm Kevin."

She grinned, nodding slowly. "That's good to know."

After the introductions were made and Donna left the room, Fatima looked at them.

"So I guess it's time to get you all in shape. Lets get one thing straight. I'm the choreographer here. I know some of you have some background on this," her eyes traveled to Alex, who smirked, then over at

Kevin, who just nodded, "but what I say gets done. Got it?"

The boys nodded.

"Good." Mirth reflected in her eyes and her expression. "Lets being then, shall we?"

*****

Nick looked at his reflection in the mirror.

He tried to repeat the move, but it look like the same one Fatima had showed them.

"You okay?"

Surprised, Nick turned around to look at Kevin, who was resting languidly against the threshold of the door.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

Nick grinned, turning his eyes back to the mirror. "I'm fine. I was just..."

"You were practicing."

Nick nodded, even though it had been a statement. "Yeah. I can't seem to get the first sequence right."

"Of what?" Kevin asked, entering the room with a slow pace.

"I wanna be with you" Nick tilted his head and started over again, pausing in mind motion. "See? It's not the same."

Kevin chuckled slightly, biting down his lower lip as he saw Nick glaring at him. "Sorry."

"I just can't get it."

"We're just starting."

Nick turned around, choosing to look at Kevin instead of his reflection. "We've been with this song for over two weeks. She'll kill us if we don't get it down soon."

This time Kevin let himself chuckle with a shake of his head. "She's not that bad."

"She hates me."

Kevin liked the way Nick pouted, his lower lip curling down, slightly extended from under the tip of a pink tongue. "She doesn't."

"I'm just so slow."

"Brian's worse," Kevin said comfortingly, remembering the way Brian's legs seemed to wrap themselves from under him, making him tumble often.

Nick snorted. "That's something. Then I'm second worst." Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked at Kevin. "How are you so good?"

Kevin shrugged nonchalantly. "I did ballroom dancing before, remember? Besides, I'm not that good. I'm having trouble with the ending of We've got it."

"I so need help."

With a small smile, Kevin walked over to the blond, calling out to him with his hand.

Kevin stood before the mirror and waited for Nick to join him. Placing his hands on the blonde's shoulders, he turned Nick around, both of them staring at the mirror.

"Show me where you have trouble."

Nick did as asked, doing the routine and pausing in mid step, as his legs didn't cooperate with him and his arms seemed lifeless.

"That's where you're wrong," Kevin said, placing his hands on Nick's hips.

The blond looked at their image together in the mirror, Kevin's head almost resting on his shoulders, their cheeks barely touching.

Kevin moved his hands up to Nick's arms, holding him by his forearms. "Here," he said, feeling Nick's warmth through the cotton fabric. "You have to do this," he said slowly, moving the arms according to the steps.

Nick nodded, his eyes following Kevin's lead, trying to memorize the way his limbs were supposed to go, how his hands had to bend and how it felt to do the step.

"Now, your legs."

Nick did the step once again, but was stopped by Kevin's hands on either side of his chest.

"No, like this."

Kevin did the step behind Nick, and the blond had to tilt his head to see the movement. With a nod, Nick tried to recreate it, falling miserably.

Kevin chuckled innocently and moved slightly to the side. He did the step once again, slower this time, and hoped Nick had gotten it right.

The blond repeated it, and this time it was close to being right.

"See, you almost got it."

Nick let out a long sigh of relief, his head hung back and his eyes closed. When the straightened up and opened his eyes, Kevin was looking right at him and Nick had to fight back the urge to tear his eyes away from such powerful green.

"Thanks," he whispered under his breath, his throat seeming to tighten.

Kevin smiled slyly, nodding slowly. "Sure."

The older man checked his watch, remembering the guys and how they were probably waiting for them to have lunch.

"We should get going."

Nick nodded numbly, his legs not following his instructions. Kevin turned around to pick up his gym bag, which was the main reason he had gone to the studio in the first place, and it gave Nick enough time to remember motor functioning.

With a thick swallow, Nick joined Kevin as they walked out of the room, blue eyes gazing over at dark green and a smile making its way to his lips.