Chapter 2

"Yo Justin! Where have you been these past few days?" Chris asks as he spots his friend staring out the window of the bus.

"Right here," Justin answers.

"Yeah right!" Joey exclaims, entering the back room where Justin and Lance are lounging before he and Chris came in. "I don't think I've seen you like this before."

"Guys, leave the poor guy alone," Lance says.

Chris shoots Joey a look and says, "It's not fair that Lance knows and not us!"

"He doesn't have to tell me. Obviously, it has to do with a mirror image of Cammy who dances excellently and has amazed us all."

"My God! Why didn't I think of that?" Joey wonders.

"Because I've been trying to not be quite obvious about it. I haven't even really talked to her," Justin supplies.

"What?! Justin, it's been a week or more! Candace is always with either Beth or Cammy or both. Don't tell me you got shy on us!" Chris exclaims.

Justin throws a pillow at Chris, which smacks him right in the face. "Shut up! It's just weird, okay? I don't even know if she has a boyfriend. I've heard her talk about a TJ so I don't know if they are just friends or what."

"Then find out doofus!"

"It's more than just that though. A relationship could jeopardize the tour and how we are on-stage. She's my partner in a lot of dances so I don't want anything interfering with that."

"Who said relationship? Just ask her for a date! Maybe things won't work out. No one will know until you give it a try," Joey says.

"Okay! Now all of you stop!"

"Hey guys! Cammy and I have great news," JC announces as he and his girlfriend join them in the back.

"Finally! You two are getting married!" Lance exclaims.

"Yeah right. Cammy, tell them yours first."

"Well, my parents finally gave me a call and told me that Candace is my real sister. We were born as twins but they could only keep one of us so they put Candace up for adoption. Now I know the solution to the mystery!" she exclaims.

"That's great but won't that devastate Candace?" Justin asks.

"I don't know but I'm going to tell her."

"Maybe you should hold off and let her own parents tell her. That really is an insensitive thing to just announce to her. She could get seriously hurt."

Joey, Chris, and Lance all exchange looks in which to communicate how much more they see Justin being in love with the girl. Meanwhile, Cammy reconsiders and says, "Okay, maybe I'll hold off for a little bit. Good point Justin."

"Anyway, get this! In the middle of the tour, we will be breaking and joining Britney Spears, A*Teen, and LFO for a charity concert series for two weeks. We have to pick which numbers to do but it will be fun," JC says, trying to break that short tense moment.

"Excellent!" Joey yells.

"You are so old fashioned! That saying was so early 90's," Lance kids.

"Whatever!"

The group all laughs and continues to kid around until the bus pulls up to the Dome in Seattle, where they've been rehearsing for the past week. Their first show is that night. Justin is first off the bus and enters the building in search of Candace. He stops at the door of the green room when he sees some guy sitting really close to her.

"TJ, that is so funny! How could you do that?"

"It wasn't hard. I mean, she was totally asking to be sprayed by the hose herself for getting the idea of spraying me for part of that film."

"She must have creamed you!"

"Yeah right! Like a girl could cream me!"

Candace slaps TJ's arm, which is when she notices Justin. "Hey Justin! You came just in time to meet my best friend TJ. He's a dancer for Britney Spears."

Justin watches as TJ turns around and smiles as he takes in the fact that the two are just best friends. "What's up TJ? It's been a long time since I've seen you. How's Britney?"

"She's good. How have you been Justin?" TJ inquires.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Candace asks.

"Of course! Don't you remember me talking about Justin and the others?"

Candace feels totally embarrassed now and says, "Yes, but I didn't really know which guys you were talking about. No offense meant Justin."

Justin smiles and says, "None taken. I didn't know that you were the girl that this guy has talked about in the past. Speaking of, why are you here TJ?"

"We had a weekend off and I wanted to check on my little sister here," TJ answers.

"Sister?"

"Well not real sister. We grew up together and just became as close as siblings."

"Then why didn't you know she looked exactly like Cammy, JC's girlfriend?"

"I've never seen her, only heard of her. Candace just told me about it though. That's so weird."

"Yeah, we are all a little shocked but it's fun having two beautiful girls around."

Candace feels herself blush and says, "You are such a flirt Justin! Thanks though."

"Anytime Candace," he says while winking.

"Hmm... Making moves on her already. Geez, you work really fast Justin," TJ comments.

"Shut up TJ!" Candace shouts, smacking him playfully with a pillow.

"Ow! Geez... I forgot how feisty you can be. I think I'm going to go find the other guys to say hi. I'll see you little squirt before you go on for your first show." TJ gets up and exits the room, leaving Justin standing a few feet away from Candace.

"So..." Justin starts.

"Yes?" Candace asks.

"I was wondering, what are you doing tonight?"

"Besides hyperventilating after performing in front of so many people?"

"Yeah," Justin says with a laugh.

"Nothing, why?"

"I was wondering, what do you think of going out with me? We could hit a club or something like that."

Candace can feel her heart pounding in her chest and is afraid that Justin could hear it. She waits a minute before trusting her voice and saying, "I'd love to."

"Great. I'll pick you up at your hotel room then," Justin replies, a big grin on his face. "See you at our prayer before the show!"

Justin leaves an awed Candace sitting on the couch in the green room to start getting ready.

"So?" Lance asks as he walks through the dressing room door.

"So what?" Justin asks innocently.

"Did you or did you not just ask Candace out?"

"Of course I did. Didn't think I would leave her available for all of you to get a hold of, now did you?"

Lance laughs and shakes his head before leaving his friend to go find his missing wig.

It's finally the end of their first concert on the tour and all five members are tired. They are in the process of their second to last number, "Bye, Bye, Bye" when the crowd starts acting up.

"Boo! Get the girlfriend off the stage!"

"She doesn't belong there! She isn't good enough for the guys."

"I could dance better than that!"

Justin tries to see how Candace is taking it, knowing that she is hearing all of those rude statements. She seems fine on the outside, going on with the routine, but when she goes to him for their little pair dance, he sees the pain in her eyes. He can hardly get himself to push her away like he is supposed to but forces himself to, regretting letting her go into JC's arms. Justin goes on singing like nothing is wrong until out of the corner of his eyes, he sees something being thrown from the crowd onto the stage, directly hitting Candace. She falls to the ground, causing the music and dancing to stop. There's a commotion on the floor as bodyguards apprehend the fan that threw the object and take her away. There's more yelling going on as JC helps Candace up, checking to see if she is okay.

"Candace, are you sure you're okay?" he asks.

"Of course."

"Really? We can stop the show now. This crowd is really unruly and it isn't safe."

"Don't stop the show for me. I can stand and walk. That's no cause for stopping the entire show."

Justin finally makes it over to the two and asks, "Where are you hurt Candace?"

"No where. Justin, I'm fine. Let's start the number over and continue the show."

"No way! It's not safe."

"Justin, listen to me. If you stop this show just because of this, it will disappoint so many fans. Just because a few handful of girls who don't like you guys having girlfriends decided to act out of poor judgment shouldn't spoil it for everyone else."

"Are you really okay?" Justin asks, searching her eyes.

"Yes."

"JC! Your girlfriend sure can't keep her balance! She fell right on-stage!" a voice shouts out, enraging both Justin and JC.

"Let's show them that you aren't his girlfriend," Justin says, just before pulling Candace to him and kissing her lightly on the mouth. When he pulls away, he sees confusion in her eyes, causing him to kiss her again, just for a little bit longer. This time when he pulls away, he is treated to one of her dazzling smiles.

"That was sweet Justin."

Justin smiles and grabs her hand, pulling her with him as he joins JC, Chris, Lance, and Joey in the middle of the stage for a conference with the head of their bodyguards.

"Guys, we have to get you out of here," Al says. "It's not safe. I don't even know if you guys will be able to go on with the tour."

"Al, please, let them go on," Candace pleads. "All the fans will be so disappointed if they don't."

"You're one to talk. You could have been killed being hit with that brick."

"It was a brick?" Justin exclaims.

"Shh... Yes, it was a brick. That's why we were surprised that she got up and was fine. Are you sure you are okay?"

Candace looks at Al directly and says, "Yes, totally. It hit my hip, where I had some padding for the routine anyway, thus why it didn't harm me."

"If you guys want, you can continue. We have removed all the rowdy fans who are now being held in a room. I wouldn't advise it though."

"We have to go on though Al. Candace is right, we can't disappoint the fans," JC says.

Justin nods his head, causing Lance, Chris, and Joey to add their consent as well. "Let's go then. I'll tell the band to restart "Bye, Bye, Bye"."

Justin turns and sees that Candace is staring at him. "What?"

"Thank you," she says, before letting go of his hand and taking her place. She sees Beth who smiles at her and mouths "You okay?" Candace nods her head and takes a deep breath before starting the number again.

Twenty minutes later, Candace finds herself leaving the stage and entering the dancer's dressing room. "Oh my God Candace! You scared us all out there!" Angie exclaims.

"We thought you were seriously hurt for a minute there," Beth adds.

"So did I. Thank goodness for those bulky pads we wear for that number!" Candace answers.

"You did get a nice consolation though."

"What do you mean?"

"A kiss from Justin? I think you've got him smitten."

"Who knows? I do like him though."

"It would be a perfect match. Let's just hope that no more fans react that way to you looking so much like Cammy."

"If she pursues this relationship with Justin though, she won't be hated for having JC as a boyfriend any longer. She'll be hated for having Justin," Christina adds.

"Christina!" Beth and Angie exclaim.

"Sorry! I was just telling the truth."

"Hey! Nothing has happened. Just wait and see how things go," Candace says, finishing buttoning her shirt and heading out the door.

TJ is waiting for her outside and opens his arms up to her, being more than enough to cause Candace to enter them for a big hug. "You okay C?"

"Yeah. God, that was a horrible experience."

"True. That was sweet of Justin to kiss you though. You had me so worried!"

"I'm sorry TJ."

"Don't be sorry. God, if anything had happened to you, I would have kicked myself forever for getting you into this business."

"Never blame yourself. Other than that, how was the show?"

"Excellent. Can I escort you back to the hotel?"

"I'd love that. Thanks for coming TJ."

"My pleasure."

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