Back to the Dream Page
Chapter 1
Candace walks into the big arena with no idea of what to expect. She had just been hired to be a dancer for some boy band and she is happy. The thing is that she isn't sure what to do or who to check in with. After the ride in the taxi from the SeaTac airport, Candace is tired and overwhelmed with the feeling of being lost. Now that she is at the Dome, she is scared of finally fulfilling her lifelong dream of being a dancer.
As soon as she spots the stage, she walks over to it. She sees a guy with a staff shirt that says: 'NSync - No Strings Attached. Candace taps the man on the shoulder and he turns around.
"How did you get in here? I thought the fans were being kept out," the man says.
"They are. I'm the newest dancer," she responds.
"Oh. In that case, go behind the stage and down the hall. You'll see the others practicing somewhere back there."
"Thanks," she says before making her way there. 'Why did I let TJ talk me into this? I should have just gone directly into college instead of taking a year off.'
Candace stops when she sees a group of people doing moves to the music. "Hello?"
The leader stops the music and smiles. "Can I help you?" she asks.
"I'm the newest dancer, Candace."
"Candace? I thought you were someone else. Well, why don't you drop your stuff and jump in? All of us just got here today so we're trying to piece together all that we learned on our own. You did get the video, right?"
"Yes, I did," Candace answers, putting down her things.
"Good. I'm Beth, the girl in red is Angie, the twin guys are Matt and Mike, the guy in blue is Jason, the guy in brown is Tony, the guy in black is Sam, and the girl in yellow is Christina. You're our last edition. Ready to get to work?"
"Sure thing! Just direct me where to go."
"Great! Why don't you work with Jason? We're working on "Bye Bye Bye"."
Candace does as instructed and finishes her day in some hotel in Seattle, totally exhausted, bunking with Beth. The two get along perfectly and become instant best friends.
The next day, the group of dancers get back to work in the morning and have it all down by the time Candace spots a few guys coming into the arena. One has bright red hair, one is a blond, another is curly haired, while the other two have brown hair. Beth calls a break so Candace plops onto the ground and closes her eyes, listening to the 'NSync CD they are practicing to. She opens her eyes and sees one of the brown haired guys sitting next to her. Next thing she knows, he is kissing her. Candace pulls away in alarm and sees a hurt look in his eyes.
"What's wrong sweetie? Still mad?" he asks.
"About what? The only thing wrong is that I don't know you," she replies.
"You are mad."
"I don't know what I would be mad about."
He looks at Candace closely and sees that she's being honest. "But I thought you were-"
"JC! How could you kiss another girl?" a female voice asks.
JC looks up and gets an even bigger confused look. "Wait a minute-"
"No excuses! Even Justin looks shocked!" she says, drawing Candace's attention to the fact that only two of the five guys remained in sight.
"Cammy, I'm serious."
"About this girl? That's great!"
"No, I'm so confused. I thought she was you."
"Poor excuse JC. How could she look like me?" Cameron asks before coming into view of Candace.
"Candace! Ready to run through one last time before trying it with the guys?" Beth asks, coming back to the stage. She stops in her tracks when she sees two girls who look the same: 5'6", brown eyes, black hair. The only difference is that one is in a mini skirt while the other is in shorts and a leotard. The two girls are staring at each other in confusion while the guys look at the two.
Justin comes over to the group and asks, "How come you never told me you had a twin Cammy?"
"I didn't know. I don't think I do," she answers.
"Looks like it to me. Listen Candace, we're all sorry for scaring you in any way."
Candace pulls her gaze from her mirror image to see the curly haired guy standing there. "It's okay. Who are you guys?"
"God, where are my manners? My name is Justin, this guy who kissed you is JC, and your twin is his girlfriend Cameron."
"Well, I'm glad to meet you, I guess. I better go though. We need to go work on our dances," Candace says before scrambling up and joining the others. She can't help but stare at the three but gets into her dancing a few beats into the music.
"Man, that was a shocker," JC mutters.
"No kidding. Man, she is cute though," Justin says.
"Well she is exactly like me. How did this happen?" Cammy asks.
"Who knows?" Justin answers, staring at Candace as she twirls around a tall black guy.
"Never fear! Superman is here!" Joey yells before joining the three on-stage with Lance and Chris following him on. "What's wrong?" he asks before coming to a screeching halt from his flying.
"Look at the dancers," JC says.
The three do as they are told and feel their mouths drop as they see Cammy dancing.
"Since when was Cammy a dancer?" Chris asks.
"I'm not," she answers.
"But..."
"A twin or something," Justin supplies.
"Fantastic. Well, Joe is here to run choreography with us now. We should introduce ourselves and get started," Chris says.
"Sure. I'll see you later sweetie," JC says, giving Cammy a kiss before getting up.
The five guys walk over to where Joe is talking with the dancers. "Well, you all look really good. Now, the time of integrating it all comes into play. These five guys are the members of 'NSync. From left to right, we have Justin, Chris, Joey, Lance, and JC. Guys, these people are your dancers. I'll leave it up to you five to find out their names," he says before stepping back and allowing the group to mingle.
Joe pulls Candace aside and asks, "Are you going to be okay with being a twin of a girlfriend of one of the guys? There may be negative attention because of it. I didn't realize the resemblance until just now."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"If you say so. Why don't we start with one of their old numbers, "For the Girl Who Has Everything"? We're going to add choreography to most of the songs on the tour as all of the dancers have already seen, as well as the guys. Christina work with Chris, Angie with Lance, Beth with Joey, and Candace, you get to work with JC and Justin to do something special."
The male dancers take a seat while the group breaks up in accordance to Joe's instructions. Candace can feel Cammy's stare on her back as she joins Justin and JC in the center of the stage.
"Okay, as a group, I want to see what all of you have down. Skip the pair work and deal with it later. Go!" Joe instructs, putting all nine people into action. When they are done, he claps his hands and pulls the three away to show them what to do. By the end of the day, Candace is so exhausted that she almost forgets about Cammy.
Cammy finally gathers enough guts and approaches her twin. "Candace? Can we talk?"
"Sure Cammy. This is weird huh?"
"No kidding. Listen. Do you think there is any way we could be related? This seems too impossible if we aren't."
"I don't know. My parents are all I know."
"Same here. I think we both should investigate into this. Either way, I look forward to getting to know you much better over these next few months."
"Same here. I think JC is calling you."
Cammy looks behind her and sees Candace is right. "I guess I'll talk to you later."
"You bet. Later Cammy!" Candace says before walking off and joining the others to go back to the hotel. However, she manages to steal one last glance at Justin, who is actually staring back at her as she walks out of the arena.