"I need to talk to you about something." he said stepping out onto the balcony.
"Look, JC, I'm not in the mood to talk." Mike shook her head as she strolled to the door leading to her room.
"I need to talk to you about something." JC said again, grabbing her hand to keep her from leaving.
"I need to change." Mike stated stiffly. She hadn't wanted him to see her in this dress, didn't want him to have the privilege.
"You look stunning, and I don't think you should change. I think you should stay here so I can talk to you." he replied, his gaze traveling her then resting on her face.
"I don't want to hear about the new girl who has captured your heart, okay? I don't want to hear it!" Mike exclaimed, her eyes filled with pain.
"I want to tell you about her." JC countered softly, his pale blue eyes soft with understanding.
"Why? I'd rather stick a bunch of needles in my heart than listen to this." Mike shot out trying to pull her hand from his. Her heart couldn't take the torture of hearing about the new love of his life. It was unmerciful, painful and down right heartless for him to force her to stay and listen to this.
"This girl, well, she's amazing. She is the most beautiful person I've ever met. Her heart cares for everyone, no matter how long she's known you. She understands people and doesn't judge them for the mistakes they've made along the way. Her laughter can make anyone smile, and her sharp tongue cuts like a knife, but that's what helps people see that she cares. She's a fighter for people who can't fight for themselves. She's a woman who loves to wreak havoc in people's lives by being brutally honest. She turned my world upside down with just a statement. She's a little girl and loves to cuddle. She makes me feel like I belong here, in this career. She makes it all worthwhile. She keeps me sane and drives me crazy all at once. She's sun and rain, fire and ice. In a nutshell, she's everything to me." JC stated as he rested a hand on the small of Mike's back and started her dancing in a small lazy circle.
"Stop JC, just stop." Mike whispered closing her eyes, her arms hanging limply at her sides.
"Do you know who this girl is?" JC questioned softly.
"The blonde you were dancing with tonight. I'm not blind JC, and I'm not stupid." Mike retorted, sighing.
"You're not stupid, but we're both blind." JC countered shaking his head. "And it's not the girl I was dancing with tonight."
"I don't care who this phantom girl is JC. I'm tired of having this same conversation with you. You always come to me to tell me of the new loves in your life. I can't do it anymore." Mike exclaimed her hand resting on his chest, ready to push him away, but she didn't have the heart. She had waited too long to know what this felt like no matter if he didn't care for her in the way she wished for.
"The girl I've been talking about for the past ten minutes is --," JC started when Mike shook her head, putting a finger to his lips. She snatched her hand away as if she had been burned, a slight blush tingeing her cheeks.
"It has to be either Allison or Billie, cause Katie's just a bit too young for you." she sighed looking away from him.
"No." JC replied turning her to look at him again. "She's been my best friend for two years now."
"What?" Mike demanded, not quite sure she had heard correctly or if she even dared to hope that the words he was saying were true.
"She's you." JC whispered again, his lips a breath from hers.
"No, you're not serious."
"But I am." JC countered, then his lips finally met hers in a kiss that would change everything about their relationship. His arms tightened around her waist as her hands crept up his arms to rest on the back of his neck. This was definitely going to change everything.
The tour was a little more than half over, and they had picked up another passenger. Rachel Williams had decided to stay when Lance had asked her to, after their long week together in South Dakota and Rachel couldn't say no. An interesting occurrence had happened between Justin and Katie though. They had stopped flirting and were starting to get serious about one another, which made the others in the group weary, because Katie didn't live in Orlando and long distance relationships were always hard. More so if one of the people in the relationship is as famous as Justin. They were now on the road to California, where they had many concert dates. Most of the concerts on the tour were scheduled in the sunny state, which excited Allison because it was home.
"Justin, I swear if you don't stop cheating, I'll... I'll --," Katie sputtered tossing the game control onto the floor.
"You'll what, Missy?" Justin laughed as he continued with his extra life in the video game the two were playing.
"I'll wait til you're sleeping and dye your damn hair green!" Katie yelped folding her arms across her chest.
"Ooh. Tough words for a girl like you." Justin mocked with a look of fake fear on his face.
"I'd watch it Justin. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Chris smiled from his normal position at the table in front of his laptop. Mike laughed shaking her head from her normal position, directly across from Chris at the table, doing pretty much the same thing as he was. Joe was asleep on the couch and JC was talking on the phone with his mom, while Lance, Billie and Allison talked about things they could do while in California.
"The beach is a must. We have to go, that's all there is to it." Allison shrugged.
"Great. I always wanted to look like a lobster." Billie commented drily.
"Oh come on, Billie. We'll slather so much sun block on you, that the UV Rays will never reach your precious skin." Allison laughed from her position on the floor. A phone started ringing and everyone groaned.
"Here we go again. Who's phone is that?" Chris grumbled rolling his eyes.
"Mine." Mike replied smiling sheepishly as she grabbed her cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Mike, this is Dr. Ross. We need to talk."
"Oh damn. Sage has gotten worse, hasn't he?"
"No, actually at the moment, he's getting better. He wants to see you as soon as you can get here."
"He wants to see me? Okay, I can arrange that."
"All right, I'll let him know."
"Okay, thanks Dr. Ross."
"Yeah." he said then hung up. Mike sighed setting the phone down on the table beside her.
"Hey guys," she called out. "I have to go to Boston for a few days."
"How come?" Chris asked looking up from his laptop.
"My brother wants to see me." Mike shrugged as JC walked over to her. She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He gave her a smile and a kiss on the forehead as his mom kept telling him about something his brother had done that week.
"I need to be dropped off at the closest airport." Mike finally said as she got to her feet.
"I'll let the driver know." Lance sighed as he climbed to his feet. He and Mike went separate directions, Lance to the front of the bus, and Mike to the back. She started packing a small bag with enough clothes to last a few days, her mind whirling at the reasons why Sage would want to see her if he was getting better.
"Sassy, you okay?" JC asked from the doorway. He had taken to the nickname Sage had given her when we were kids and decided to use it himself.
"Yeah, my brother just wants to see me." Mike replied distractedly.
"He's not getting worse, is he?" he questioned walking into the room.
"No, his doc says that he's getting better. I don't know. Maybe he just misses me." she shrugged standing up after she had finished packing. JC opened his arms to her and she walked into them with a small smile.
"I'm sure everything's fine." he told her as he rested his chin softly on the top of her head.
"That's a laugh. You don't know my family. When I get there, everything is going to get loud. Michaela, haven't you been eating? Michaela, you can't be serious working for a teen pop group. Michaela, when are you moving back to Boston, we miss you. I'm telling you, within the first hour, I'll be insane." Mike laughed into his chest.
"Well, whenever you feel that way, call me. I'll talk you out of killing your family. Besides, I don't want bars or plexiglass standing in between the two of us. Not after all we've been through to get together in the first place." JC smiled as she pulled away.
"All right, but be prepared for long and frequent phone calls." Mike warned with a smile as Lance knocked on the door.
"The driver says that there's an airport about an hour away." Lance informed the couple.
"Okay, thanks dear." Mike sighed rubbing her temples. JC wrapped his arms around her neck from behind.
"Do you want me to go with you? We technically don't have a gig until Friday night." he questioned in her ear.
"No, I wouldn't wish that kind of torture on my worst enemy. You have no clue about my family. They're all crazy." she laughed shaking her head.
"Don't want me to meet the family. I see." JC sighed pulling away from her.
"No, Josh, don't do that. Look, my parents, they freak every time Sage gets sick like this. Its one of those things. They snap at each other and everyone else, and everyone's always fighting because of the stress. Me not wanting you to come has nothing to do with you meeting my family. It has everything to do with not putting you in a tough and uncomfortable situation. Believe me, if the circumstances were different, I'd tell you to back your bag right now." Mike explained taking his hand, gently pulling him forward, toward her.
"I wouldn't mind the uncomfortable feelings of the whole thing, but I'll stay." JC sighed giving her a small smile.
"I'll be alright. I promise." Mike laughed giving him a playful push. "Lighten up Chavez, you're too old for your age."
They arrived at the airport a little behind schedule, and Mike was detained another twenty minutes saying goodbye to everyone and promising that she'd call if anything should happen. JC walked her to the departure gate, while everyone else waited near the security stands.
"Take care of you." JC said just before kissing her softly.
"Take care of you. I'll call you when I get there." Mike whispered and JC nodded. She gave him a bright smile before she walked over to the ticket booth. JC watched with a melancholy expression as she boarded the plane, then he turned and walked back over to where everyone was waiting.
"She'll be fine." Chris stated resting a hand on his friend's shoulder. JC nodded without saying a word as they walked out into the parking lot to load onto the bus again.
JC was worried, not only about what was going on with Sage, for he knew how close Mike and Sage were, but about Mike having to deal with this alone. From what she had said, her parents weren't exactly in the mind to be the emotional support she would need for this. JC sighed as he sat on a chair, closing his eyes, as he rested his head in his hands.
Two years ago, or even a single year ago, if you had told him he would be dating Mike, he would have laughed and said you were crazy. He had never really thought about Mike in that way, basically because she was always there. Always. She kept him sane and drove him crazy at the same time. She always knew what she wanted, and tended to go after what she wanted, whether it be a new class or a new friend. Anything. JC smiled as his mind wandered.
JC sat in the studio, it was late and most everyone had already left. He had stayed because he didn't like the way his vocals had sounded on a particular song and wanted to rectify the problem. He had always been a perfectionist. One of his worst traits, other than his stubbornness. The technician cued up the song then nodded to JC who had put the headphones over his ears. He closed his eyes, and sang from his heart. The words meant something to him, more to him than they probably should and all because of Daphne. God, he loved her, but she had taken his love and disregarded it like a misplaced item. She had cheated on him with a friend of his. That alone had broken his heart like nothing else could. He not only lost a girlfriend, but a friend as well.
She had claimed she couldn't deal with his long absenteeism from her life. She wanted a boyfriend that would be there for her when she needed him. He had done his best, calling her every night and taking her on tour for a week or two at a time. He had tried to make the relationship work. She just decided to give up, to not care anymore.
JC finished his vocals and stood silently with his eyes closed for a few minutes, thinking about what he should do. If he should 'kick her to the curb' as Justin had advised or try to make the relationship work the way his heart advised.
"You gonna stand in there all night mulling things over in your mind?" a familiar female voice came through the intercom, filling the room. JC opened his eyes and saw Mike, one of his closest friends leaning over the control panel looking directly at him. JC slipped the headphones off and set them down on the stool behind him. He then walked into the control room, trying to mask the despair and confusion on his face.
"You once were somewhat of a good actor, JC. You're not anymore. You know you don't have to put up a front with me." Mike stated folding her arms across her chest. JC slid a sideways glance in her direction as the technician started shutting down the equipment.
"What are you still doing here, anyway?" she demanded walking over to him, holding his jacket.
"I was just finishing a track, what does it look like?" he sighed taking the jacket from her.
"Come on. We're leaving." Mike stated firmly.
"Where are we going?" JC inquired as she tapped her foot impatiently.
"There's a midnight showing of 'MacBeth' down at the river. If we leave now, we'll only miss the first twenty minutes." Mike answered, her lips twitching with a smile. JC smiled sadly as they headed out to the parking lot where her car was waiting. Mike always made him want to have fun, that's why he treasured her as a friend. She would just grab him and make him go off and do weird things with her. The last time she had done this to him, she had taken him to a midnight showing of the cult movie 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and he had a blast.
Lance and Rachel cuddled together on the couch, lost in a movie that they had decided to watch with Justin and Katie, though the other couple were constantly going back and forth over who was hogging how much of the floor. Lance and Rachel ignored the two, and tried their best to concentrate on the movie. Lance smiled as Rachel cuddled closer to him, resting her head on his chest.
"Justin, stop. Just --, argh!" Katie yelled throwing her hands into the air with indignation.
"I'm not taking anymore room than you are, princess." Justin retorted snidely as he leaned back on an elbow. Katie ignored him as she climbed to her feet, then looked down at him with both hands on her hips.
"I'm betting on Katie for this fight." Lance whispered in Rachel's ear with a smile. Rachel smiled, nodding in agreement.
"Justin, you are the most overbearing, self-righteous, conceited, self centered guy I've ever met. You have some serious issues." Katie practically yelled, fire blazing in her eyes as Justin, too, jumped to his feet.
"And you are the most infuriating, self absorbed, typical rich little girl I've ever met. You think just because mommy and daddy give you everything in the world, that I have to do the same. You aren't worth my niceness, and you certainly aren't worth my time." Justin yelled, now towering over her. He immediately regretted the words he had cried out in frustration when a look of pain crossed her face. Her eyes said it all. He had hurt her in the worst possible way. He knew that she didn't like the fact that her family was very well off, but he had still used it against her in this little fight.
"I knew you were low, but I didn't think you could stoop to that level." she whispered angrily then stormed from the room. Justin sighed, his head hanging for a few seconds.
"You surprise even us, Justin. You should go apologize." Lance stated, his eyes showing the disappointment he felt at his young friend's actions. Justin didn't acknowledge that he heard, he just left the room, heading in the same direction that Katie had taken off in.
"Alone at last. Too bad a fight had to happen to do it." Rachel sighed as she glanced up at Lance. Ever since she had first met him, she knew that he was different. Different in a good way. He was unlike any guy she had ever met. Lance was a huge romantic at heart and loved to do little things for her. She also loved the way he would slip into his southern accent when he was angry. He treated her as if she were the most important person in his life, something she wasn't used to. My God, I'm falling in love with him. The realization washed over her like warm water, making her feel both happiness and fear. She loved him.
"What are you thinking about?" Lance questioned softly, looking down at the beautiful woman in his arms.
"Nothing, really. Just letting my mind drift." she replied, her cheeks turning a soft rosy color.
"Sure, that's why you had that dreamy 'I'm in love' look on your face. I believe you." Lance laughed, yanking gently on her hair.
"I wouldn't be one to talk Lance. I see that look on you all the time." Chris snickered from the doorway.
"He got you on that one." Rachel grinned, smiling her thanks to Chris who left as suddenly as he came.
"Hey, my mom's gonna be at the concert on Friday. I want you to meet her." Lance stated suddenly.
"Um, isn't this a little too soon? I mean, technically we've only been dating for two and a half weeks." Rachel inquired sitting up.
"No." Lance replied shaking his head. "I want her to meet you."
"All right. If you think its a good idea, I'll go along with it." she sighed getting to her feet. She wasn't quite sure if she was ready to meet a member of the family. She was falling in love, but to meet mom only after the first two weeks of being a couple? Wasn't there some sort of law against that kind of fast paced dating? She walked to the kitchen to get something to drink, her mind in a state of confusion. This was weird, not to mention crazy. She had picked a great guy, unfortunately, he moved a little too fast in the meet and greet part of everything.
Katie stood in front of the window next to her bunk, drying the tears that had fallen after she stormed from the other room. How could Justin say that to me? She didn't understand. They had pretty much stopped fighting and things were getting nicer between the two of them. But that one little sentence that came from his mouth changed everything yet again. She knew change was inevitable, but she hadn't wanted this to change so soon. So suddenly. She sighed, raking a hand through her long blond hair as she turned only to come face to face with the man who had hurt her.
Justin sighed as her eyes turned icy cold with anger. "Look Katie, I just wanted to apologize."
"No need to do that." she stated coldly as she breezed past him to sit on her bunk. Justin shook his head with a small amused smile. She was a trip when she was angry.
"Katie, pay attention cause I'm not gonna say this again. I'm sorry for what I said out there." Justin repeated as he walked over to her.
"And you think a spoiled rich little girl is supposed to care about your trivial apology?" Katie replied snidely, glaring at him.
"What do you want me to say?" Justin exclaimed throwing his arms out.
"Believe me, you've already said too much." she shook her head.
"I didn't mean what I said. Its just one of those 'I wish I could call those words back cause I was angry' things. I honestly didn't mean them." Justin explained as she got to her feet again. She looked up at him, doleful eyes and a shake of her head.
"If you didn't mean it, you wouldn't have said it." She then turned and headed for the door. She needed to get away from him, needed her space so she could think. Katie couldn't do that when in such close proximity of the person who caused all her troubles. She made it all the way to the door, had her hand on the doorknob before Justin went into action. He put his palm on the door and leaned on it to keep her from opening the door.
"You're not going to leave until we have some sort of truce." Justin shook his head.
"You're a jerk." Katie ground out looking over at him.
"You're a snide child, so I guess we're even." Justin retorted, a smile playing with his features.
"I'm a child?!" she exclaimed loudly. "You're the one whose started every fight we've ever had!"
"I beg to differ. You always get angry when I do things you don't want me to do. Namely, yank on your hair, use all the secrets I've picked up in video games, laugh at your mistakes --," Justin listed, counting each on a finger.
"You...you... --, "Katie sputtered angrily when Justin grinned triumphantly at her. "You are the most childish person I know. You constantly need all the attention when in a room full of people, and when you don't get it, you throw a temper tantrum. So don't even tell me that I'm the childish one." Katie replied, her voice raising with her temper.
"And you're guiltless of doing the same?" was Justin's incredulous reply. "I've seen you do the same, so you can't tell me you're as innocent as you seem."
"Forget it Justin. You wouldn't understand what a woman wants or thinks from and of you." Katie shook her head.
"You're no woman. You're a little girl." Justin shook his head.
"All right there, pretty boy."
"You know, I think you're one fruit loop shy of a whole box."
"You're one to talk. Why don't you go dye your hair and leave me the hell alone?"
"And give you the satisfaction of winning this one? Not on your life."
"Then how about yours?"
"No chance in hell sweetheart."
"All right blondie, don't call me sweetheart."
"Whatever you say, sweetheart." Justin nodded laughing.
"God, you do this just to piss me off don't you?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"You bothersome little pest, go play with someone else. I hear Chris has nothing to do this afternoon. The two of you have about the same mentality."
"Me? Bothersome? Never that. On the other hand, at least I'm not a kill-joy."
"Oh for God's sake, why don't you go play in traffic?" Katie shot out turning to face her competitor.
"Wouldn't want to walk off a moving bus."
"You cad, just leave me alone!"
"No, my little toddler, I won't."
"Argh, you have a twisted sense of humor."
"Yeah I do." Justin stated softly. Somehow the two of them had gotten so close their faces were only inches apart.
"You're an ass."
"You're a selfish bitch."
"You're a insufferable snob."
Suddenly Justin grabbed her, and planted a kiss on her lips. Her gasp of surprise was muffled with his lips. A few seconds after the initial shock, Katie tentatively inched her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders.
Justin had no idea he was going to kiss this sixteen year old girl, but now that he had, he was glad he did. The kiss ended as swiftly as it began, much to the disappointment of both parties involved. Katie looked up at him with shock and confusion in her eyes.
"W.. why did you do that?" she breathed, flustered, as she brought her fingers to her lips.
"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to see how you would react." Justin shrugged, his heart beating a wild tattoo in his chest. She looked so damn innocent standing there before him that he wanted to protect her. He wanted to shield her from the world of hurt and pain.
"Oh." she replied, her voice now devoid of all emotion.
"No, I didn't mean it like that." Justin sighed. "I wanted to kiss you."
"Justin, Katie, we're…oops. Sorry." Joe stopped short when he saw the two in each others arms.
"Its all right, Joe. What's up?" Justin questioned, pulling away from Katie.
"Oh, I just came to tell you that we're at the hotel." Joe shrugged as he grabbed a bag from one of the many closets.
"Thanks." Both replied in unison. For the next hour everyone unpacked and made themselves at home in their hotel rooms, going back and forth to give misplaced clothing back or to see how people were doing. There were two people to a room, except for one who had three of the guys. Billie and Allison were in one room, Katie and Rachel in another, JC, Chris and Justin in yet another, and Joe and Lance in the last room. The guys only had an hour to get everything settled before they had to take off to an LA radio station to be interviewed and act as guest DJs. The girls hung around the hotel just relaxing for a while before they all decided they wanted to go sight seeing. Allison being the veteran LA native, took the girls to meet a couple of her friends at the local mall. All four girls piled into a rented van, then took off for the afternoon.
"So, I hear something might be going on between you and pretty boy." Billie commented to Katie as she fiddled with the radio, trying to find a station that was playing a decent song.
"Which one, there's five?" Katie reminded dryly.
"Well, through the power of deduction, Lance is taken by Rachel here; Joe is mooning over Ashley; Chris keeps grinning like a laughing hyena every time Devon's name is mentioned; and JC, well JC's very happy with Mike. So that leaves our boy Justin." Billie ticked off each finger on her hand. Katie smiled distractedly, as she thought of Justin. She had learned quickly that Justin was more than just good looks, a great body and a sexy voice. He was more intricate than most people realized. What are you thinking, Katie. You know as soon as you go back home, he's going to forget all about you, so why are you letting yourself go gaga over the guy. You're smarter than that!
Katie sighed, her heart constricting painfully in her chest. She had become attached to each of the guys and she didn't want to say good bye in three weeks. She would miss Lance's reserved way of thinking, Joe's loud and rambunctious personality, JC's energetic ways of doing everything, Chris's obnoxious and sometimes childish sense of humor, and Justin's quick comments and soft eyes. Each had formed a friendship with her that she hoped would not end with the tour. She wouldn't like it if it did happen, but she knew how hard it was to keep in touch with friends while traveling they way that 'N Sync did. She just hope that things wouldn't end so quickly.
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