She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and tried to stand up feeling dizziness rush to her head at such a fast movement. She sat back down on the edge and placed her hands in her head, not liking this feeling that she was having. She couldn't remember a thing that had happened last night, except for going to the club where the loud music had pounded into her head. She looked down at her clothes and noticed that she was still wearing the same black dress, which was a good sign.

She slowly tried to stand up again, holding onto the edge of the bed for support and standing there for a few moment to get her legs firmly planted. Taking a deep breath, she slowly made her way over to the couch feeling the dizziness increasing when she reached the side. She could feel her balance beginning to go and she groaned when she realized that there was no way she could stand any longer. She fell to the side letting her arms fly out to stop her, but only succeeding in hitting Lance in the face. She could feel her cheeks burning in embarrassment as his green eyes slowly opened to look at her with annoyment.

"What the hell," he mumbled as he looked down at her, where she was sprawled across his legs. "Get off of me."

She groaned and tried to push herself up, but not having any luck. She looked helplessly at him and shrugged before letting a shy grin grow across her face. "I can't exactly..stand right..now.."

He reached up and rubbed the spot on his face where her hand had hit, trying to keep a stern face. The situation was quite humorous simply because it hadn't ever happened to him before. "You've got a nice slapping effect."

"Want me to kiss it and make it better?" she asked, trying to block the images that had formed in her mind. Without even thinking about it, her tongue rolled across her lips as she continued to look at him. She watched as his eyes widened slightly, following the movement closely.

"You wouldn't be trying to seduce me, would you?" he asked as his voice became husky. Absently, he leaned forward letting his fingers reach up and touch her shoulder lightly.

She shook her head and leaned forward, leaving their faces mere inches apart, their breath hitting the other in the face. "Maybe..is it working?"

He nodded his head, his deep voice producing chills upon her arms. "Hell yes."

Making up her mind, she leaned forward those few inches and hesitantly let her lips touch his for the first time. The contact was brief but it was enough to make her head light. She pulled back and opened her eyes, seeing nothing but Lance's deep green eyes looking right back at her. "I'm sorry about that.."

"Don't be," he whispered before sliding his hand to cup her cheek and bringing her face back towards his so that he could kiss her again, this time the kiss was longer and held more contact. His lips moved with hers, beginning to love the soft feel that they possessed. "I waited too long to do that."

She let her eyes open in degrees, the soft orbs radiating happiness and joy. Her whole body was on fire from just those few kisses, and the dizziness had increased but this time it was all from him. "Why did you wait so long?"

He brought his finger up to rest against her lips before shrugging. "I guess I was scared."

"Why?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?" he asked her before chuckling softly as he pulled her into his arms. "Better late than never is what I always say."

"I guess I have to agree with you there," she whispered as she rested her head against his chest, feeling it move with each breath that he would take. The moment was too perfect to be true. "What happens now?"

"I don't know," he answered truthfully, placing a soft kiss against the top of her head before jumping slightly when there was a soft knock on his door. "People have really bad timing."

She nodded her head before reluctantly pulling herself from his arms and moving to the other end of the couch, pressing her hand against her forehead. She could still feel the affects of the alcohol and combined with the feelings that Lance had just produced made her feel great and sick at the same time. She removed her hand and turned her head toward the door when Lance opened it and felt her cheeks blushed when she saw Whitney standing there, smiling evilly at the dishelved appearance of her friend.

"If you don't mind, Lance," Whitney began before motioning for Stephanie to come with her. "I need to borrow your..love slave."

"Whitney!" Stephanie cried as she slowly made her way to the door, her face getting even redder as she walked past Lance. "We really need to have a talk about what you say."

"See you later Stephanie," he told her before grasping her hand and giving it a soft squeeze. She looked down at their conjoined hands and smiled up at him before pulling away and leaning against the wall as they walked down the hall into the room that she was supposed to have stayed in.

"I'm going to hold back my questions for the moment, but there's someone here right now that would like to see you," Whitney explained as she inserted her key and opened the door, pushing it open slowly to reveal Emily sitting on the bed.

"When did you get here?" Stephanie exclaimed as she made her way into the room and hugged Emily tightly to her, feeling comfort ease her mind. "I was worried sick about you."

"I'm fine..."

"There's so much I want to ask you, so much I want to tell you and then there's so much I wanna yell at you for but I'll hold back and let you tell me whatever you want."

"There's really nothing to tell," Emily said before sighing and walking slowly around the room, stopping in front of the huge window and letting her gaze fall down to the street below. "But I can tell you that it certainly was unique at how everything has unfolded."

"Where are you staying?"

"From now on, I'll be staying with JC..but just for two weeks," Emily said, rushing to add the last part in. She watched as Stephanie's face lite up but quickly shook her head to put an end to any assumptions that were being made. "Its just as friends and nothing is happening between the two of us."

"If that's true, then why is there a hickey on your neck?" Stephanie asked innocently, winking over at Whitney. She smiled as she watched Emily run to the mirror only to come back with a frown on her face.

"That wasn't very funny, Stephanie."

"Well, if nothing is happening between the two of you, you would have instantly known that I was just lying," she explained simply as she crossed her arms over her chest, acting as if she had done nothing wrong.

"Whatever."

Whitney, who had been silent through all of this couldn't hold back her laughter. As her body shook, Emily raised her eyebrows, silently questioning what could be so funny. "Are you having a breakdown?"

"Whitney...breathe," Stephanie commanded, taking a step forward and placing her hands on Whitney's shoulders, giving them a quick shake. "Pull yourself together!"

Whitney reached up and wiped the tears away from her eyes as she took deep breaths to calm herself. It had been so long since she had been able to laugh like that and it felt good. It felt as if everything was normal, the way that it should be. "I love you guys."

"Yeah, we love you too," Emily replied sarcastically before taking a seat on the bed and rolling her eyes.

"So..back to what I was getting at earlier..what's up between you and JC?"

"You just don't give up, do you?" Emily asked before sighing in defeat. "We're just friends...we went out last night...and he kissed me.."

"Was it a soft sweet kiss, deep, or was it brief?" Whitney asked as she took a seat beside Emily on the bed, leaving Stephanie the only one standing up.

"It was...wonderful," Emily began her eyes sparkling as she recalled the feel of his lips upon hers. She could still feel the soft strands of his hair between her fingers, leaving them aching to touch it once again. "I don't believe I've ever felt anything like it before."

"You're falling!" Stephanie exclaimed as her face lit up in excitement to know that her friend had finally found someone that would treat her with respect. "This is so great."

"Don't jump to conclusions," Emily was rushed to say as she pushed her hair behind her ears. "I haven't fallen for anyone. He's a great guy...he's someone that is nice to me and talks to me...but I haven't fallen..not yet anyways."

"If it hasn't happened now, then it will soon," Whitney added in as she laid back on the bed and rested her hands against her stomach. "Don't rush into anything Emily..take your time and enjoy it."

"I sense something wrong here," Stephanie began but shut up when Whitney raised up and looked at her with saddened eyes. "But I won't pressure you."

Whitney opened her mouth to comment but shut it when there was a knock on the door, followed by a key being inserted. The door opened to reveal JC standing there, with a soft smile directed towards Emily. "We have to get ready to go to a meeting and then we're all free to go home for a few days."

"What exactly am I going to do?" Stephanie asked as she reached for a pair of jeans and a tank top to put on. "Am I still staying in a hotel or..."

"You're staying with Lance," Whitney said as she winked at JC, who was in the process of smirking.

"You're very funny," Stephanie replied as she walked into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly cracked so she could still hear everyone talk. "But I seriously do need to know where I'm staying."

"You're Lance's guest..ask him," JC replied, his voice growing louder causing Stephanie to assume that he was walking further into the room.

Stephanie rolled her eyes as she pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail and applied a little make-up. After deciding that her appearance was half way decent, she turned the light off and walked out to where everyone had gathered, including Lance and couldn't stop herself from blushing when he winked in her direction. She took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure, but felt the blush still there on her cheeks. 'I really need to get hold of myself,' she told herself as she walked over to stand beside Whitney.

"Everyone has half an hour to get everything packed and ready to head over to JIVE, then we've got a meeting with Johnny about something, and then we're free to go home for a few days," JC said before slipping an arm around Emily's waist and resting his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you for that information, Dad," Justin joked before taking Whitney's hand and leading her out of the room so she could help him get everything packed.

Stephanie slowly made her way over to Lance, keeping her gaze directed on her feet once she was standing directly in front of him. "Where am I staying?"

"Where do you want to stay?" he asked her softly as he reached down and placed his fingers below her chin, moving her face so that he could look into her eyes. Just the feel of his fingers on her skin made her tingle in excitement.

"I don't care."

"Don't act silly, Steph," Lance told her before letting out a light chuckle. "You're going to be staying with me...I'm not like Chris when it comes to manners."

"I heard that!" Chris yelled before poking his head into the room and flipping Lance off. "I have perfectly good manners thank you very much."

"Whatever, Chris," Lance replied, winking again at her before walking out of the room so he could also finish packing his things.

Joey had been silently watching everyone in the room, a sadness filling him as he noticed how everyone seemed to be happy. He still hadn't talked to Cait since he had proclaimed that their relationship was over. He hated that his pride had such a strong hold on him, but he just couldn't bring himself to pick up the phone and call her. He let out a soft sigh, knowing that going home meant going home to be alone. Being alone meant that his thoughts would have a chance to consume him even more than they all ready were and he didn't know if be able to stand the pressure from it all.

One day, he would be able to pick up the phone and explain everything to her, but right then and there wasn't the time to do it. After all, she had made no attempt to contact him, so why should he go through all the trouble?

With an angry shake of his head he turned on his heels and left the room. If she didn't want to speak or be with him, then he was definitely better off without her. When he reached his room, he angrily kicked the duffel bag that held his dirty clothes and began to curse outloud. If he didn't care so much about her things would be a lot easier, but he cared so much about her that it frightened him. Before they had began dating, they had been friends and Joey always cared about someone whom he considered a friend. When they had taken their friendship to the next level, that caring feeling had been increased. Even now that they were apart, he still wanted to know if she was doing OK.

He wasn't a low enough person to just shrug his shoulders at someone who was now gone from his life. He had been raised better than that and he wouldn't let a little anger tell him otherwise. He made his mind up that once he got home he would call her, if nothing else just to hear her soft sweet voice. If she had nothing to say to him, then he would slowly prepare himself for moving on and letting go of her.

He unzipped the extra duffel bag that he had brought with him and threw the remainder of his clothes and other person items in there. He looked around once more to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything and slowly made his way out of the room, his mind still stuck on her. In a matter of hours, he would know if there was any hope left for the two of them. If there wasn't, he didn't know how he would continue on doing the normal things that he did, but he would definitely find a way. Afterall, a heart could heal.